Reflection

I think reflection of one's own effectiveness as an educator is the single most important practice that can have a direct impact on student learning.

Listening to Dr. Derek Cabrera in his TED talk, How Thinking Works, helps to solidify this point.  As educators we can just follow the script, so to speak, and teach our content.  This allows us to "check the boxes" of our list of duties.  We teach all the content, we try to deliver content in ways that can be absorbed my learners of different types, we provide clear instructions for assignments and paths for success in the classroom.  Teachers that do all of the above can be considered pretty good teachers.  Dr. Cabrera did all that.

Dr. Cabrera noticed that his Harvard students could regurgitate content very well.  They understood the process of education and had mastered the skills required to get good grades.  On the surface, there seemed to be no problem, and he could have considered the job he was doing as "well done" and called it a day.  But what bothered him was that his students couldn't apply their knowledge, work through problems relating to the content, or make any connections between the content knowledge and other knowledge.  In other words, his students could memorize material, but they didn't understand what that material meant in the real world.  They had no critical thinkings skills.

As educators, we could just toss this off as a problem with contemporary students.  I have to agree with Dr. Cabrera that this isn't a problem with modern students, it is a problem with modern education.  How do we get students to be thinkers, to understand the content of courses as it is applied in the real world, and become problem solvers?  One answer is that we look at ourselves as educators.

Reflect!  Reflecting on our effectiveness as educators in providing a means for learners to not only grasp content knowledge, but give them practice at solving problems,  helps us to be constantly refining our methods and improving the learning environment.  Whether this is done via a journal, with reflective teaching partners, or even as a daily self-evaluation on the drive home from work, as long as the reflection leads to action and adjustment of the classroom environment in order to enhance learning, then it is valuable.  I am wondering if this single act of reflection is what separates the great teachers from the average ones.  Without reflection as to the educator's effectiveness, I think applying the theories of connected learning, personalization, collaboration, etc. are rendered practically useless, or at the very least superficial.

I'm a firm believer in self-reflection as an educator and will strive to be in a state of reflection, in many ways, about my ability to connect with learners, help them connect with the content in a way that is meaningful and connect with other learners to establish a learning environment that provides learners with the means to become strong problem solvers.

Cooperative Learning

K-12 Teaching in the 21st Century

Module 3 - Collaboration

Cooperation and Collaboration are cousins.  Is there is a difference between Cooperative Learning and Collaborative Learning?  Yes...and Wow!...what an interesting distinctions these two cousins make.  

In the video Cooperative and Collaborative Learning in the Classroom, produced by Education Portal, the distinction between these two cousins is spelled out for the viewer.  Cooperative Learning does involve collaborating with peers, but it remains unique in its own right as a method of collaboration.  

Let's look at one type of Cooperative Learning.  Jigsaw is a type of Cooperative Learning in which the assignment, or the group task, is divided amongst the members of the group by the teacher.  Each individual member of the group is responsible for learning, or completing a task, within the broader group task.  The work of each person only makes complete sense when the work of each person is brought together.  The contributions of each member of the group complete the task at hand and provide a comprehensive work product, just like a jigsaw puzzle.  Each piece is separate from the others, but needs to be in place and connected to the others so that the viewer can see the picture on the puzzle in its entirety.  You can learn more about Jigsaw as their is an official website dedicated to this practice.

I love this concept.  It is similar to the types of learning environments in some graduate school programs that I have tried to emulate in my undergrad classrooms as an instructor at Henry Ford Community College.  Unfortunately, I didn't carry this concept all the way through, which I think would have made all the difference.  The idea here is that the structure of accountability is built into this system.  With Collaborative Learning, often one or some members of the group can end up carrying the workload for the entire group and the entire group's grade is singular.  In Cooperative Learning, specifically, Jigsaw, the group as a whole is dependent on the work of each individual because the entire project, goal or task of the group, cannot be completed without the unique contribution of every member.  Each member of the group has a job to do.  If one member fails to perform his or her job, then the assignment  won't make sense.  But, each individual's work can be measured and assessed in its own right because the job of each individual is distinct and separate from the job of the other members of the group.  Thusly, and unlike Collaborative Learning, the bulk of the work cannot fall on just one or some members of the group.  All of the work is divided evenly among the members.  All are accountable to each other.

I'm definitely going to keep the concept of Jigsaw Cooperative Learning in mind.  It seems like it can have a very positive impact on the learning process.

Padlet as collaborative learning tool

K-12 Teaching in the 21st Century

Create:  Collaboration (module 3)

Pinch me...I'm MOOCing

I've been hearing so much about this Padlet technology over the past couple of weeks, I just had to try it out.  It is an interesting idea.  A person can create a wall and allow others to post text, images and video on the wall, pertaining to a particular topic.  It is similar in nature to Pinterest, except Padlet allows others to post on the wall, fostering collaboration.

I've developed an assignment in which students can come to the wall to deposit an image, and small bits of information, regarding the habitat of Yellowstone National Park.  Each student will post one item and the class will decide which animals and plants will be the focus of the study in the Yellowstone National Park unit.  They can view the contributions of others, contribute their own information and then use that information to accomplish a goal.  I've embedded my Padlet for use in the Yellowstone National Park assignment below, if you'd like to take a look.  If you choose, feel free check out my Padlet full screen.

I can see how this technology can be used for a multitude of purposes in collaboration.  One member of  the MOOC community, Michelle Byers, created a Padlet wall so that other teachers could post their favorite collaboration tools on it.  Collaboration on collaboration...I love this idea!  I think it might also be used as an "Introduction Wall", in which students could take a photo of themselves with their webcam and write a few sentences about themselves as a way of getting to know each other.  This may be particularly nice for an online class.

I'd love to hear other ideas for using this technology.  The possibilities are not only endless, they are great fun!

Created with Padlet

Personalized Learning

K-12 Teaching in the 21st Century

Module 2:  Personalized Learning

(Still loving this MOOC!)

At the time of this writing, I have read and watched much of the Consume section of Module 2 regarding Personalized Learning.  I just can't stop at one resource because I am afraid I will miss out on some really good bits of information.  :)

I have always found Sir Ken Robinson to be not only funny, but truly inspiring.  His TED talk titled "Bring on the learning revolution!" did not disappoint.  He is able to make his presentations so entertaining because he knows the topic well.  His perspective on what works and what doesn't, within our educational system and learning process, seems to be right on point.  And, what is most remarkable is that he doesn't purport to have the perfect solution to all our educational struggles.  He states the trouble spots, discusses why they exist and inspires educators to take action. This leaves the door open for educators to adjust the system in their classroom, school or district in a way that works for their particular classroom, school or district.

From his Sir Ken Robinson's TED talk, I learned that personalized learning isn't just a luxury, or a fancy trick to get students to learn.  I feel that his talk illustrated the bigger picture and how personalized learning impacts society as a whole.  Personalized learning fosters each individual's natural curiosity and desire to learn. He speaks to the idea that the current industrial model of education seems to suppress the natural urges to learn for many students because it doesn't give each individual the opportunity to approach the subject matter from one's unique perspective.

Personalized learning allows each learner to feel safe to engage in learning in a way that is meaningful to that particular learner.  This generates a deeper understanding of the subject matter at hand and develops a sense of value of education for learners as they embark on an investigation of the subject matter driven by their distinct interest. For example, a learner interested in sewing can learn just as much about Native American tribes as a person interested in camping.  The sewer can explore Native American culture, the symbolic meaning of colors, mythology, lifestyle, etc. through the study of Native American textiles just as a camper can through the study of tepee making, campfire rituals, hunting, and the like. Therefore, through personalized learning, we can keep the content we find important for learners and only personalize the pathways that students are allowed to approach the content so that each type of learner feels a connection to the content.  This will reinforce the content material and provide a more enriching educational experience for every student.

K-12 Teaching in the 21st Century

Create:  Module 2 - Personalization

I decided to work with a technology called "Thinglink" that I found in the course Delicious site this week to work on an idea for personalized learning.  I checked out DIY and Meograph and liked both technologies, but decided to go with Thinglink mainly because I like the idea, as an educator, to be able to use a tool to personalize learning that is quick and could be done at the last minute to fit the unique needs of a particular class or class session. I've used Prezi, Weebly and Voki before and wanted to have something on hand that could be used with little prep time in order to supplement a lesson, or fulfill an academic need, that comes up during the time of learning, in order to personalize the learning.

Thinglink is a technology in which you can take an image and layer it with information, such as text, other images, videos and the like.  This way, an educator can let a picture tell a thousands words, so to speak, by pointing out the significant elements relating to the content material of class, within a single image.   

There is a search feature directly within Thinglink to help provide material to use to layer on the main image, however, I found it to be somewhat limited in the material it provides for still images.  You can check out my Thinglink below.

I think this would also be a good technology for students to use.  I envision an assignment in which each student needs to create an Thinglink on a topic.  For instance, if in a Social Studies class studying Native Americans, students could choose amongst topics, such as a headdress, sweat lodge, rain dance, hunting rituals, etc., on which to create a Thinglink consisting of three text blurbs, one short video, an audio piece, or whatever elements a teacher deems important.  Then, the students can share with one another or embed their Thinglinks in a class wiki, in order to use everyone's work as a study tool for a test.

I like this technology and would use it again.  I would love to learn about how other educators are using this technology, so please feel free to share your projects.  Thanks!

Pinterest for Vocabulary Retention

K-12 Teaching in the 21st Century

(I'm in MOOC Heaven!)

Module 1:  Create

Pinterest

Pinterest?  How can that be used in education?  There are numerous innovative ways to answer that question.  

I tweaked an idea I read about in an article in Module 1 of the MOOC I am taking...and loving.  I found the article in the Delicious account of the course.  The article suggested using Pinterest to help ESL students learn vocabulary.  What a great idea!  I think it could be used for anybody learning vocabulary words.  Attaching a visual image to a definition can go a long way in helping to understand the meaning of the definition, as well as how to apply that word within everyday language.  I think this exercise will help learners internalize vocabulary words so that they aren't a distant list of words that one needs to memorize for a test.  Going through the VERY FUN process of attaching an image, that actually may not have any direct relation to the word helps reinforce the meaning and usage of words.  The exercise I gave myself was to make a Pinterest Board for my son's vocabulary words.  He is in fifth grade.  And, I think he'd love the assignment I created, if I do say so myself. 

Each day at school, my son's teacher gives the learners a Word of the Day.  They study not only primary meanings of words, but secondary ones, as well as homophones.  After two weeks, they are given a spelling and definition test.  A companion assignment to the test could be a Pinterest Board featuring the correct spelling of the Words of the Day, their definitions, an example sentence correctly using the word and an image that relates to the example sentence.  I think that this exercise personalizes the learning process as I'm guessing that the actual search for an image to "match" the example sentence is where the learning process is kicked into high gear.  The photo doesn't have to exactly "match" the definition.  For example, I used a picture I had on my computer of a shark matched to the word "desist".  While I was thinking of the word "desist" and perusing my photos, this spooky profile of a shark cruising for its prey struck me.  I made the personal connection at that moment between the definition of "desist" and the photo of the shark.  I should desist in being proximity of a hungry shark.  Now the meaning of the word is internalized, not just memorized.  Interesting.

Feel free to check out my Words of the Day Pinterest Board below.  I hope to keep building on it.

K-12 Teaching in the 21st Century MOOC

Connected Learning(Module 1)

(So excited to be participating!!)

I read through and watched all of the material in the Consume section of the Connected Learning Module and found all of it useful.  One piece sparked excitement more than the others.  The webinar on "How Great Teachers Reinvent Their Classrooms" was inspiring to me.  There are three main points that I took away from the meeting.

1.  Jennie Magiera mentioned a point that I think many of us forget in this flurry of emerging technology.  Technology solves problems.  In this quest for 21st century learning, I think it is important to keep this in the forefront of our minds.  We should not use any technology that doesn't solve a problem or save valuable time in some way.  Technology is a teaching tool that can enhance learning.  If not used appropriately, I think it just becomes an obstacle to learning.

2.  Kristin Ziemke brought up the idea that there is really no need to wait for technology equipment to drop into our laps before "inviting curiosity" into the classroom.  This is a great point that really relates to the point above.  We can help build 21st century skills in learners without technology.  Furthermore, I think this really gets to the real point here.  This movement of bringing 21st century skills into classrooms actually has very little to do with technology itself.  We, as educators, are tasked with preparing learners for THEIR future.  Nobody knows what the future will look like.  But we do know that if we provide a path for learners to build their critical thinking skills, problem solving skills, creative skills and social skills, they will be prepared for whatever their future looks like.  Technology is a great tool to help educators in their task and help learners develop skills, but it isn't the only tool.  Technology is the way we often communicate and express ourselves in modern society, which is why it needs have a significant role in education, but I don't think we should lose site of the understanding that it needs to serve a purpose by enhancing the educational process.  Otherwise, it is useless.

3.  Justin Reich, the facilitator of the webinar, shared an experience he had in visiting classrooms in Singapore.  What was striking to me was his observation that the schools in Singapore think of the environment of the classroom as a community responsibility.  The teachers aren't isolated in the teaching process.  The teaching process is considered a group effort.  This reminds me of the "Teacherpreneur" video we watched.  For us in the U.S., this is a new idea as our educational system tends to be more compartmentalized.  I'd really like to see this idea blossom in the U.S., maybe not the exact same way as in Singapore, but in a way that works for us, perhaps in blurring the lines between teachers and administration so that there is more of a community effort in the teaching/learning process.

So, what did I learn about "Connected Learning"?  I'd say that I learned that the real connection here is between learners and teachers, between learners and learners, and between teachers and teachers.  If we take the time to teach ourselves, as educators, and our students, as learners, that we can use technology to connect with one another to learn, we will stimulate, enhance and remain true to the learning process so that our learners are prepared for their future in the world, however that world presents itself.  Connected Learning is the real "No Child Left Behind Act" because it connects the people in the educational process to each other so that learning happens for all.