Assignment 2 EDEL20001 Video and Design Rationale

Video: Learning Support in a Digital Classroom created by Elena Keating 2013

Design Rationale EDEL 20001 - Assignment 2

 “Learning Support in a Digital Classroom”

This motivational video is designed to be shown to Executive Directors, Regional Directors, Principals, Deputy Principals, Heads of Curriculum and Learning Support Teachers. In fact all teachers in primary or secondary schools who are interested in improving the learning outcomes of their students. My initial focus is to encourage active research into the benefits the use of e-learning would bring to enhancing the reading outcomes of students requiring learning support for reading. However the project could work equally well with other key learning areas.

My presentation is backed by the easily recognised tune by John Lennon “Imagine” to focus attention on future possibilities within our system to provide students with additional assistance. The proposal is not intended as a replacement for teachers but rather an opportunity for teachers to add to their vast repertoire of teaching skills in providing assistance to their students based on needs in a time hungry environment. It is intended to demonstrate a way that twenty first century technology can be used to benefit both student and teacher with minimum disruption but maximum effect.

The layout is specifically designed to stimulate thought through the question and answer progression of the video. The questions are those that most educationalists ask themselves every day. The answers come from various readings I have completed and linked to my own pedagogical views.

Information from Richard Andrews, based on his extensive readings supports my beliefs digital media theory that the variety of tools and media available to us today to explore, allows us to change modify and provide opportunities for different ways to engage students and teach. According to Andrews (Andrews, 2011,) Andrews believes that e-learning allows the student more time to digest information and more control over the timing of the learning. Furthermore e-learning allows for access by the student anywhere any time. It does not require specific timetabling, nor will unexpected disruptions to class routines affect the progression of learning as in the regular classroom.

The questioning encompasses many of the 26 Elements of Explicit Instruction in Central Queensland Region’s Teaching in CQR, as do the responses: specifically the 4 Pillars, 8 Lesson Sequences and the 6 Givens. These elements can easily be accommodated through e-learning strategies and is supported by Susan Oxnevad’s blog.

In Susan Oxnevad’s blog “5 Instructional Shifts to Promote Deep Learning -http://gettingsmart.com/2012/10/5-instructional-shifts-to-promote-deep-learning/ she speaks of how technology can be used to assist students in developing transferable knowledge and skills. How active and increased participation and access to tools to support student learning encourages student engagement. She goes on to describe ways that teachers can use their expertise in better ways during instructional planning to facilitate better engagement, collaboration and feedback to students as does John Munro and Grant Wiggins.

John Munro, whilst speaking at a workshop on Explicit Instruction held at CQU for participating school staff Sat 15 May 2013 “Powerful Learning” spoke of the Key Learning Actions of Students. He sees each learning action as a thinking strategy that provide ways for students to modify or enhance their knowledge within a systematic framework. These learning actions become ‘self-scripts’ to guide students… ‘thinking and to manage, direct and regulate their learning activity.’ Encouraging a shift in responsibility for learning from teacher to student. The actions are categorized into 3 phases: orientating, acquiring new knowledge and consolidation. This is supported by Teaching in CQR.

Furthermore he emphasises the importance of feedback both to and from the student which is also supported by Grant Wiggins, PhD in his article in TeachThought entitled 7 Key Characteristics of Better Learning Feedback, thus seeking to resolve Hattie’s dilemma as to why some feedback works better than other feedback.

http://www.teachthought.com/learning/7-key-characteristics-of-better-learning-feedback/

The final slide is designed to provoke viewers to take a chance and move forward into the 21^st century of learning where students may already be experiencing what technology has brought.

References:

Andrews R.  (2011) Does e-learning require a new theory of learning?- Some initial thoughts. Journal for Educational Research Online Vol 3 (2011), N0, 104-121. © 2011 Waxmann.

Susan Oxnevad’s blog “5 Instructional Shifts to Promote Deep Learning -http://gettingsmart.com/2012/10/5-instructional-shifts-to-promote-deep-learning/

Grant Wiggins, PhD 7 Key Characteristics of Better Learning Feedback.

http://www.teachthought.com/learning/7-key-characteristics-of-better-learning-feedback/

John Munro,

University of Melbourne, Vic.

Dr John Munro is Head of Studies in Exceptional Learning and Gifted in the Graduate School of

Education at the University of Melbourne. He is a trained primary and secondary teacher and a

registered psychologist. His research interests, teaching and publications are in the areas of literacy

learning and learning difficulties, maths learning disabilities, gifted learning, learning

internationally, professional learning and school improvement. His most recent books include

Teaching oral language and Powerful Learning – A strategy for system reform. He is a consultant

to several Victorian and national school improvement projects.

Dr Munro was elected a Life Member of Learning Disabilities Australia and an Honorary

Fellow of the Australian Council for Educational Leaders. He is a past president of the Australian

Remedial Education Association and chair of the College of Educational and Developmental

Psychologists.

Dr. Munro’s experience in curriculum development includes the VELS English syllabus, the

Language Disorders Program and the support materials for dyslexia and other learning difficulties

for DEECD and the Critical and creative thinking component for the Australian Curriculum. He

has worked extensively in the International Baccalaureate programme, particularly for the Extended

Essay and the Theory of Knowledge and was an international consultant to the Primary Years

Program. 

Reflective Synopsis: weaving technology with my pedagogical beliefs into my personal quilt of teaching and learning.

Let’s stitch this all together now. Here is my patchwork quilt, still a work in progress and as long as I am still teaching and learning, and so it should be. This may appear a short synopsis but if you look at each Item in my quilt. Compare it with the curations and the original artefacts this image becomes an extremely powerful statement  about my beliefs and learning journey .

Feedback is a powerful learning tool. If you are not face to face with your class how well will this be provided?

This article is important in many levels. Firstly feedback is vital if we want outcomes to improve. Wiggins is quick to point out that there is a notable difference between feedback and advice. He also states that we must use all seven characteristics of feedback if we wish to achieve “robust improvements”.

How does this fit in with my philosophy and e-learning? Let’s go back to the cycle in the flipped classroom. Goal setting although teacher led was integral to the process of concept exploration. Set a goal and you know where you are going Therefore goal referenced feedback is a way of keeping students in the direction they want to go. Can goals be modified, certainly and isn't  that part of Constructivist thinking? – Build and modify- to create the knowledge you need.

If feedback is to be transparent and tangible what better way than to link it to a model of what your goal is. Here is where technology comes to the fore. Look at the plethora of apps for students to use to present their knowledge or model their response to the project they are involved with. This is truly augmentation. This self-regulation to feedback can be compared to the feedback received from video games. It allows for a change in direction in striving for the goal. Brett Taylor’s insights into gaming as a learning tool in his Scoop about Learning Objects supports this argument. Grant adds that often as teachers we may  miss what is or is not happening while we teach, as can student. By recording ourselves or keeping a record of discussions we may be able to look back and find that transparent, tangible feedback and shift our learning direction as needed.

This then becomes actionable feedback. What is working, and what is not? How can I make it work? This type of feedback can be discussed in a social setting through Blogging and reflection by the students, peers and learning coaches (teachers).

In order for the feedback to be ‘user friendly’ it must be perceived as do-able and in terms understood by the learner. What better than feedback from peers. The language is familiar and the understanding on a par with the student to whom the feedback is offered. In Gerstein’s Flipped Classroom, the Meaning-making quadrant offers the opportunity for user friendly feedback.

Technology is probably one of the better ways for timely feedback to be proffered. Time is allowed for reflection, thinking and reviewing the work. Presentations can be edited right up until the minute of presentation. It can be ongoing to allow for constant adjustment and readjustment of ideas and learning. This type of feedback was demonstrated beautifully in Eric Mazur’s U-Tube watched earlier in this course. His advocating of less lecturing and more problem solving, allows the student to actualize the learning in a way that is best for their level of development, whilst still encouraging the thinking process, higher level thinking and problem solving strategies that are meaningful to the student.

Finally consistent feedback keeps both the learner and the coach a symbiotic understanding of how each are travelling on their learning journey. For we are all learners.  As teachers we modify our approaches according to the needs of the students from their feedback and as students we are guided by feedback to find our own way in the learning journey.

Cool Tools for 21st Century Learners: An Updated Digital Differentiation Model

Cool Tools for 21st Century Learners: An Updated Digital Differentiation Model
Differentiation - something that is vital if we want students to work not only at their capacity but beyond.

Week 5 Reflection on SAMR

The SAMR Model certainly provoked much thought and soul searching. Firstly because it made me reflect on how I use technology in the classroom. Is it for my own benefit to make lesson planning easier and the final product more stimulating for the students? I know that access to a much wider range of information and resources than we have had access to previously. This means we can use and adapt and transform the information in a multitude of ways using a host of different applications and multimedia methods. Or do I use technology to meet the needs of my students with their different abilities and learning styles?
To answer these questions I need to go back to where we started. I need to have a clear view of my educational beliefs about what I consider to be good pedagogy based not only on the research of educational theorists but on my personal experience as a teacher. I need to consider what has worked for students and what hasn't worked as well as I hoped. How can I best use web2.0 tools to inform my practice as a teacher in order to get the best results from students.
Working in a primary school setting with students requiring learning support usually requires me to firstly engage the students and then maintain their interest whilst trying to teach them basic skills in literacy.
 Add to the mix that many of them have very poor self esteem about their learning abilities and the limited time I have to work with them on a weekly basis. Some groups of students come to me for 2 one hour sessions per week. Others for 4 half hour sessions per week and still others for 2 half hour sessions over a two week period.
I could honestly say that at this stage majority of the use of technology would fall within the substitution, augmentation and maybe a little into the modification areas of the SAMR model. Yet these students are probably the ones that could have their attitudes to learning turned around by the use of communication technologies and maybe even their attitudes towards learning.
My challenge I guess is to tap into my educational beliefs and look for a way that the pedagogy can best be demonstrated through technology suited to influencing my students in ways that direct them to the learning goals they not only need to achieve but want to work towards because of their belief in themselves as genuine learners.
The reflections of other group members about ways they have used technology for modification has stimulated my interest into delving into some of the technologies that I am not quite as familiar with as perhaps I could be.
What a great source the Voice Thread is! Maybe I can get responses from students in their own time through this form of technology.
 Now the challenge is to investigate more of the newer technologies and how I can get the students immersed into the learning process by tapping into their personal learning styles and abilities. I've already thought of a few things to try. I'll let you know how it goes.  

Week 3 Concept Map

This is where I am currently sitting with my learning theory and how I use it within my teaching. When planning a lesson, a unit or series of lessons the Constructivist approach is predominant. I like to think of myself  as "the guide at the side" rather than "the sage on the stage", however that is not to say that Behaviourism and Cognitivism is totally behind me but rather a little further in the background. The current push towards explicit teaching and the related theories behind it are steeped in the learning theories explored in this course. By identifying components of what is considered to be good pedagogy and linking them to theorists it is clear that there is a place for each in our schools. There are aspects of every students learning that must be learnt and remembered to provide a foundation on which further learning is built .
Whether it is the learning of a young child , a teenager or an adult this basic foundation can then be used as a stepping stone to "morph" into Constructivist approaches to learning. Vygotsky's belief that when a student has reached their Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) for as specific task that with a little guidance from the teacher they will be able to achieve the task supports this belief. This scaffolding of encouragement is articulated in the practice of the explicit teaching  model as I Do, We DO and You Do or in the case of IMPACT Model , Practice and Connect. A natural progression from this scaffolding approach by teachers is to shift the responsibility to the students Group work and strategies such as Jig-saw, Think Pair Share etc provide opportunities for the collective brain of a group to develop and transform ideas in a way that offers the opportunity to expand ideas and thus learning. Add to this a non threatening environment in which mistakes are considered opportunities for further learning and where everyone's opinion is considered and you have Social Constructivism. Now the student is edging their way towards independent and lifelong learning.
Where I want to go is to jump forward and embrace the advances in technology. I want to be able to guide the students as they negotiate  the information highway. I want to interact with those that can help me move forward taking advantage  the immense opportunities within 21st century technology. I want to develop and adapt my learning and just as Connectivist theory suggests, constantly learning and evolving.
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My Overview of Pedagogy

Like Wendy I found myself being introduced to Productive Pedagogies as the answer to providing the best possible learning to enable the best possible outcomes for all students. At this time I was in a band 5 school as a Teaching Principal with a second teacher with similar views to myself of the learning theories that I had - Social Constructivism with Cognitive Constructivist aspects included.

At the same time the Qld Education Department had been launching new curriculum with outcomes based assessment of the Essential Learning. Being an extrovert and ready for a challenge, as a collaborative staff, the two of us set out to see if we could make the curriculum fit both the requirements of the Department and our perceived needs of the students. Considerations for all four aspects of the placemat of the productive pedagogies were embedded into the planning of units - Intellectual Quality, Connectedness, Social Support and Recognition of Difference.

All four areas were recognised and a much as possible all KLA's were integrated into units of work that were developed over a period of a term. Whilst Literacy and Numeracy were taught as stand alone subjects, using a cognitive constructivist approach, they were also integrated into the units of work covering the other KLA's and here the approach leaned more toward the social constructivist approach. Integrating ITC activities into the units became a challenge that we felt was imperative if students in our small school were going to be able to keep up with what we believed the larger schools in our area were doing.

How could we use technology as part of the learning activities without making them an ad-on but an integral part of the learning experience? I guess this is what this course is about. The difference is perhaps that the students are more familiar with many of the technologies but haven't really considered how it could be used to enhance their learning. Teachers likewise have barely tapped into the potential.

EDEL 20001 Week 3 Behaviourism vs Constructivism

My Teaching Context.
Currently I am working as a support teacher for literacy, specifically reading, with Yr 6&7 students.
Identified students are withdraw from class for either 1 or 1/2 hour sessions in small groups ranging from 5 to 8 pupils at a time, so that each group has 2 hours per week tuition. My brief is to raise the comprehension results on standardised tests and ultimately improve their English results to a passing grade. Those students who show an improvement in the use of  the identified skills are then monitored in class by the classroom teacher. Most of the students have low self esteem, lack of confidence in their ability and many behavioural issues due to their poor reading abilities and self belief.

I hear the wheels turning in the brain..."Ahaa... let's use the Behaviourist Approach in teaching."
Yes I have to some degree and that has had some positive results. I have been able to increase their active participation in lessons by rewarding them with smiley face green cards each time they actively respond to tasks set for them. These cards are cumulative and at the end of each week, the student in each group collects a small prize from me (a pencil, rubber, or trinket). Great! I can identify the task performance. It is measurable. I can set goals for the students to achieve at the beginning of each session and collect evidence of their active participation. But how do I know if they apply this and assimilate the knowledge for future use to build on their skills?

I want the students to be self motivated learners. To take responsibility for their own learning. I want to give them the tools and let them decide how best to use them to take them where they want to go.
This is where Constructivism comes into play. Gagne's Information Processing ideas - his nine steps- provides a lovely concise platform for preparing lessons. It allows for the Schema Theory to be applied building on the pre-existing knowledge of the learner with me as the teacher didactically infusing their brains with the sequential knowledge I wish to impart to reach predetermined goals.
In fact Gagne's  Nine Steps assists the learner to take the sensory information provided by me, store it in their working memory (short term memory) then through repetition, practise and adaptation assimilate it into their long term memory, where it is anticipated they will retrieve it when needed.

However it dos have its limitation. One size does not fit all. So when I plan for my group of students I must take into account that they may not in fact more likely will not all have the same starting point. They have different background experiences both socially and culturally. Their knowledge base will not necessarily be the same and their willingness to engage will vary from student to student.

Introduction

Well if I did it right I have created my first Blog or at least I am in the middle of creating one.
I live at the beach in Taranganba with hubby, two dogs,two birds and five chooks. One of my sons lives near by. The other one lives in Port Hedland WA. I am a babyboomer and hence technology is something I have to become familiar with, probably in a more painful way than most of you.

I have been teaching here in Qld for about 18 or so years. Most of that time has been as a teaching principal in one teacher schools. Most of my ITC skills have been picked up along the way in a
'just in time' fashion.
Despite attending several workshops, once I have mastered what I need to do that is about all I do. I don't ever seem to make the time to just"play" and become familiar with skills.
Shock horror I don't Facebook or Twitter. I have blogged in the Learning Place space as part of virtual classrooms I have set up or the Project 600 set up I was involved with. I have an Ipad that my eldest son set up for me and I play games on it. I don't even know how to use I Tunes yet.
A bit long winded I know, but leading to a big apology to those of you who have diligently blogged your way through the first 3 weeks of this course, when I have done nothing but read what has been given us so far and attended one tutorial.
Hopefully this will be remedied beginning this week. I promise to blog responses for Week four and gradulally work my way back through the previous threads. Please bear with me I am on a long journey that has a lot of steep hills and obstacles that I am determined to master.