For my Digital Curriculum Project, I decided to plan lessons for the Ecosystems Unit beginning in January. I look forward to seeing what organisms they choose and taking them on at least one field trip to Cabrillo National Monument! Check out the video I made for a bit of an introduction!
I admit it. I admit that reading comprehension is something I struggle with. With the close reading assignment this week, I felt myself continually frustrated. It could be that the reading is highly philosophical. It could also be that I was asked to do something I don’t naturally do when I read. I am used to highlighting to remember concepts and making comments on the side, but add anything more to that and my structured brain spins a bit. It also is frustrating because I am unsure if I am even close to correct on what I am doing. On the other hand, is there an official correct way all the time? This is all part of my learning. I read and I annotated. I shared my document with others even though I am not sure myself or my annotation skills. This week for Professor Jeff Heil’s EDL630 class we read an excerpts from Lave and Wegner’s book called Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation (Learning in Doing: Social, Cognitive, and Computational Perspectives). I was amazed how relevant their writing is since it was published in 1991. Its’ contents reminded me about Thomas and Brown’s thoughts on learning within the collective. Lave and Wegner (1991) state that there is a “growing use value of participants, and by newcomers’ desires to become full practitioners.” This made me wonder if newcomers to a learning community are validated as they participate on the periphery. They will eventually become part of the core group of learners and no longer be on the outskirts. Does that also mean that individuals can peek into a community of learning without fully committing? Can a person decide to leave the group? Is the group transient? Does it take a mind shift to fully participate in these communities of learning? I wonder about this because Lave and Wenger discuss learning as being social and engaging in a process. At the beginning of EDL630 with Professor Heil, I was definitely less social in my own learning process. I was hesitant and unsure. I wanted to possess and hold on to my own work and my own learning. I could not see the benefits of being a socially engaged learner. Now, after about thirteen weeks, I regularly post and participate in conversations on Twitter. I share about my students, my own teaching experience, and learn about apps and tools I never even knew existed. My website has allowed me to be transparent and open about my own learning instead of giving it to one instructor. You may ask, “Is it scary?” I’d have to say that some of the social participation is challenging for me. I like to think of it as baby steps (Ever seen the movie “What about Bob?”). I appreciate and am thankful Jeff has encouraged me to take those baby steps. It’s only after weeks of doing so that I really understand and feel like I am reaping the benefits. One final note - I have a lot of metacognitive comments that I constructed during my reading of excerpts from Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation. You can view those comments by clicking on the link below. References
Lave, J. & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation (Learning in doing: Social, cognitive, and computational perspectives). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Williams, B. & Ziskin, L. (Producers), & Oz, Frank (Director). (1991). What about Bob? [Motion picture]. USA: Touchstone Pictures. A New Culture of Learning: Cultivating the Imagination for a World of Constant Change by Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown Chapter 7 Quote: “Reaching that greater understanding and finding the meaning could not happen without the playfulness of mind.” This chapter is about the facets of learning: knowing, making, and playing. I chose this quote because learners seek to understand and find meaning in a variety of ways. They engage their minds to know facts and create items. The most interesting and novel dimension to me is the element of play. It is intriguing to think that even in the midst of objective scientific observations, there may be an element of play involved. Question: Is my mind playful because I seek to understand deeper, or do I need to allow my mind to be playful in order to find the meaning in what I seek to understand? Connection: The research for my 20% project is not just a compilation of content or transfer of information to one list in Diigo. The information is contextual because it is based on my personal understanding about coding. It is a depiction of a personalized learning path, and not merely a reference manual for someone who wants to learn how to code. Epiphany: Learning involves more than just knowledge about a topic or even verbal expression of that topic. While that is not a completely new concept to me, I do wonder how to intertwine knowledge with making and playing. How much structure is needed in a lesson for students, and what kind of structure supports them rather than restricts them? I want to continue to give my students opportunities to play, make, and gain knowledge. I also know that they need some structure to know where and how to focus their energies. I have already experienced them having too little structure, and perhaps too many distractions, that prevent them from reaching the intended goal. Chapter 8 Quote: “Geeking out asks the question: How can I utilize the available resources, both social and technological, for deep exploration?” Mizuko Ito quantifies the social media use by youth in terms of hanging out, messing around, and geeking out. It is definitely an intriguing path to learning, and is a method already used by students today. It just is not used as often in formal learning yet. There is great potential for educators to assist students in geeking out. Within the context of a topic or general subject, students should have the chance to explore their own specific interests. They can discover information from articles and other people, and personally put their thoughts into a digital space such as a website, blog, or threaded discussion. As they continue to utilize the variety of resources they have, there is amazing potential for authentic exploration of the studied topic. Question: How could I use the framework of “hanging around, messing around, and geeking out” to provide an authentic learning experience within a science course? Connection: For me, Twitter began as a social experience where I would read tweets, favorite occasionally, and retweet if I felt the quote or information was relevant or meaningful. I have now personally been a part of several Twitter chats and even been part of several Twitter conversations with fellow educators. I am not quite constructing a Twitter chat, but I do feel like this type of involvement in a collective is valuable. My tacit knowledge is worth more than just watching videos about Twitter or remaining a visitor or observer. Epiphany: I had not truly considered how much learning is involved in a youth’s investment into social media. They are motivated to partake in social media by observing, viewing, posting, and commenting. Their method of gradually or quickly becoming involved is relevant to their learning processes in terms of formal learning. I am just not sure educators are even aware of the potential this holds. I am willing to continue to ponder how student involvement in social media can be used as a springboard to create authentic, successful learning environments for all students. Chapter 9 Quote: “Only when we care about experimentation, play, and questions more than efficiency, outcomes, and answers do we have a space that is truly open to the imagination. And where imaginations play, learning happens.” This will definitely take awhile for me to fully wrap my head around. I am a scientist and used to looking for answers and wanting things to be structured an efficient. Yet, as I learn more and more about technology and ways that technology is shaping learning, the less I am narrowly focused on the end result. At the same time, I have colleagues and administrators still concerned about the end result. There needs to be evidence. Question: After pondering that quote, how will I help imaginations to play in the midst of an evidenced-based educational system? Connection: Questions are often more important than the answers. (World of Warcraft, Thomas and Brown write, does not have answers.) This reminds me of critical thinking and curiosity - parts of two of the survival skills from Dr. Tony Wagner’s The Global Achievement Gap. In my adapted version of the survival skills, one skill is asking questions and being curious. I am glad asking questions is part of learning because I am realizing I have a lot of questions. Epiphany: I now understand a bit more how a guild within World of Warcraft can evolve to be an example of collective indwelling. From the social aspects to the personal involvement and then the collaborative strategies to complete raids, there is learning that is happening. I need to reflect on this “collective indwelling” model more and hope that I can use elements of this for my students. The concern I have is - collective indwelling cannot be forced. So, what will it take for my students to find collectives they want to truly be a part of? A New Culture of Learning: Cultivating the Imagination for a World of Constant Change by Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown Chapter 4 Quote: “In a collective, people belong in order to learn.” The collective is part of the new culture of learning, but it is something I’m still not fully comprehending yet. I do understand that a person needs to be motivated and want to know about a topic being learned in a collective. They participate and collaborate with others on whatever topic is being reviewed. They ask questions together and dialogue with one another, and play and imagination are an important part of being involved in a collective. Question: Can an individual be a part of a collective prior to deciding to actively engage within it? Connection: My personal learning network (PLN) is a form of a collective because we actively are learning together. It is a collaborative effort of sharing, which could not be done in the same way by one person alone. Epiphany: I should be a part of this collective type of environment with my students. I am not sure how that looks or what the path is ahead, but I would like to cultivate opportunities for a collective or several collectives among students (and myself) as we learn together. Chapter 5 Quote: “...technology has now made connecting personal interests to collectives possible, easy, fun, and playful because people are inspired to think past the boundaries and limitations of their current situations.” Learning using technology may involve reading an article, browsing photos or images, watching videos, or even chatting with a group of people. It is not confined to a face to face interaction or forced viewing or communication. Collectives give learners a variety of paths to journey through on their own quest for understanding. The journey is self led, but is not done alone. Could it even be said that a collective helps to facilitate a personal learning journey for every individual involved? Question: Networking and creating collectives from beyond our own locales is beneficial and possible these days. Collaboration is beneficial. However, isn’t there still personal information that needs to be kept personal? What is the limit in sharing information, or should there be one? Connection: I have had to expose personal learning publicly on my blog. It has not been easy for me. Is my hesitancy due to my personality, or would I feel the same way about writing a blog if I had grown up learning via collectives? I am not sure, but I do know that my learning is constant and my blog is a new way I can share some of my personal learning with others for the collective good. Epiphany: Being able to put my personal thoughts out via a blog allows me to facilitate a collective of learners. I may never have regular readers or devout followers, but I am sharing my personal learning. I desire to continue to learn with others, and engage with them as they read and respond on my blog. Chapter 6 Quote: “With access to the nearly endless supply of collectives today, however, learning that is driven by passion and play is poised to significantly alter and extend our ability to think, innovate, and discover in ways that have not previously been possible.” Information is accessible from a variety of sources and thus people have multiple places to begin and proceed on in learning. Often times, collectives form without the formality of a specific location. Collectives encourage questioning and experimentation. They give people a chance to ponder topics among others in a group or within the context of a variety of websites. Ultimately, by asking questions and enjoying the process of learning about a topic, new questions can emerge. Question: How does collective indwelling look within a classroom, or is a classroom too confining to be a source of collective indwelling? Connection: I have chosen to research coding for my 20% project. I am driven by my passion for the topic. As I learn about coding, I am thinking about apps, programs, and websites in a different way. I am shaping my own understanding of technology and enjoying it. Is it possible to quantify my participation in the various collectives? Epiphany: I do not know if I have always been this curious, but this made me acutely aware that I ask a lot of questions. I wonder a lot. I don’t always express my thoughts out loud, but I do ask a lot of the questions in my writing. My blog and my discussion posts for my SDSU Masters courses are evidence of that. I hope that this questioning mentality in my own learning can serve as an example for my students. I want them to be inquisitive in their own learning too. QQCE Style Reflections on Chapters 1 - 3 A New Culture of Learning: Cultivating the Imagination for a World of Constant Change by Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown Chapter 1 Quote: “The trick is to figure out how to harness these new resources, which make play, questioning, and imagination the bedrocks of our new culture of learning.” This quote and all the stories within the chapter has me thinking differently about what can be learned from the available information in the world today. It is a worthy goal to determine how to have a learner uncover information and help them explore that information in a new way. I truly believe we, as educators, are in the “figuring out how” stage.” Even if there is no set path, there can be a mental progression you would like the learner to experience. Question: How do we, as educators, create those opportunities? In other words, given that each student is unique, how can I help cultivate student imagination and motivation for all students? Connection: In my blog post after watching the video about Caine’s Arcade, I wrote: “How can educators create spaces and spark interest for learners to increase their knowledge and use their imagination?” I admit that I did not remember writing about imagination! I know that having an active imagination is important but sometimes it is difficult for my scientific mind to remember. Caine constructed such an amazing set up of games using his knowledge and imagination. Imagination should be encouraged and cultivated in our learners. Epiphany: I had not pondered the necessity of play in learning. Thomas and Brown have brought this to light in Chapter 1. Is play part of the explorative and experimenting qualities we are now looking to cultivate in our learners? Is it the principles of play we want to use - where the individual questions and thinks of new scenarios, or is it actually having the learner play within a fact-based world? I have more questions than answers right now, but the light bulb has been turned on to pondering this topic further. Chapter 2 Quote: “...the teaching based approach focuses on teaching us about the world, while the new culture of learning focuses on learning through engagement within the world.” If an individual can recite the facts about a variety of topics, it does not mean he or she can apply that knowledge in a new situation. If a learner is challenged to determine a problem they face or a question they have about the world, they can begin to see many moving parts to a large puzzle. They seek information about more than one subject and can use the resulting knowledge to ponder how to solve a problem that is not bound to one content area or one classroom. Question How can we actively encourage fellow educators to shift their thinking and classroom practices from an “old model of teaching to a new model of learning?” Connection In my blog post about Sir Ken Robinson’s talk, “Changing Education Paradigms,” I wrote “Teachers, students, and families should constantly be interacting with each other.” This chapter reminded me of that very thought. Learning does not need to be all about one topic learned within the classroom each day. It can include many different curricular areas and be explored without the confines of time or space in a classroom. Epiphany Cultivating this new culture of learning includes not interfering with the process that is happening. This is tough for me to practice! Unlike traditional culture development, is not adapting to this new culture but functioning within it and creating it. I wonder if means there are basic principles which mark the trailhead of this new culture but the trail has few, if any, trail markers. Chapter 3 Quote “The challenge is to find a way to marry structure and freedom to create something altogether new.” I thrive on structure. I like to create structure because it helps me gain understanding of the world around me. However, I also know that structure can be a limitation by itself. I need to feel freedom to alter structures I create as I learn. At the same time, is there a certain structure in which my learning in this new culture will take shape? There is a tension between setting out on a project an intended structure and being comfortable with one that organically evolves. I believe this quote challenges us to turn this tension into a compromise. Question Adaptation is not longer easy, because change is occurring at a rapid pace. How can we help fellow educators to recognize this and shift their mindset for the benefit of our students and ultimately our future? Connection Change can be tough and frustrating, and I am not always taught how to deal with every change that comes my way. As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, “Learning by Observations and Conversations,” it has taken me awhile to be okay with other people observing my teaching. It was a change that did not come easy, as I can be very self reflective naturally. Ultimately, it gives me the chance to see another person’s perspective on my “work” and I have the chance to learn. By no means is this completely easy for me now. Epiphany I did not see Wikipedia as a way to “read across time” previously. How amazing is that to see the progression of information as a historical document. It reminds me of the chance my students have in Canvas, their LMS, to see a record of their work on a particular assignment. I hadn’t thought of Wikipedia being such a beneficial set of documents that way. Douglas and Brown enlightened me to the potential and benefits of recorded yet evolving documents. During a busy Wednesday afternoon this last week, I made it to Cabrillo National Monument to research owl limpet plots, a fast food restaurant (that I almost never visit) so I could have free wi-fi to participate in this #digcit Twitter chat, and even a board meeting for the National School District. It was busy and I almost skipped the chat. However, as you'll see, I am glad I did not miss out! 1. Be curious and ask questions. These two behaviors can lead you to information and people you never knew existed.
Educator Action Steps: I will personally demonstrate how to be curious about topics. I will talk about my 20% project with my students. I will give examples of how to ask questions to find out what I want to know. I will give students a selection of readings and a variety of experiences that will encourage them to ask questions. These questions may include one similar to one I heard today during a chemical reaction lab activity. One student asked “Why is my liquid yellow but other people’s are orange?” 2. Know how to access and analyze information. There is a lot of information in this world, but not all of it is helpful, beneficial, or needed at all times. Choose and use it carefully. Educator Action Steps: I will provide scaffolded activities to help them discover their learning. I will need to research how I can best help students conduct research to learn about a given topic. Also, I will need to make sure they can comprehend the readings they find on their searches. 3. When the answer is not easy to find, be prepared and willing to spend time solving the problem. Not all answers are found doing a Google search. You have been created with a mind that has the capacity to think critically and problem solve. Use it! Often the situations you face are more complicated than just looking at one or two facts. While discovering the facts may be part of your learning, they do not simply solve real world problems. You need to figure out how to answer those questions that have more than a one word answer. Educator Action Steps: Give my students opportunities to learn about and solve real world problems. Continue to move away from multiple choice exams or any assessment that can be completed entirely by conducting a Google search. On campus, I will encourage students to be involved in building, planting and maintaining a garden. I will also be taking a group of students to the local national park to allow them to observe, reflect, and care for the environment in which they live. 4. Communicate personal thoughts effectively. Proper written and oral communication is important. You are sharing your voice, and that should be done with care! Also, be aware of your audience. You may need to adjust how you speak or write depending on who you are communicating with. Educator Action Steps: Communicating is a daily task for my students. I recognize that I need to be more mindful of designing tasks that will give them a chance to work on their formal communication skills in a variety of ways. Whether they are telling a story to a younger sister or writing a blog post for their website, I need to do my best to help them consider their audience and remember to read through their work. 5. In terms of your learning, be adaptable to your environment. You won’t always know what you will be interacting with until it comes your way. You may need to shift or change your perspective in order to see the trail ahead of you. Educator Action Steps: Give students some structure and routine for consistency, but also provide opportunities where they need to adapt to changes. I will use technology to do this. Apps do not always run correctly and the server sometimes crashes. Not only will I troubleshoot, I will encourage them to troubleshoot. They may have better solutions than my own! 6. Be ready and willing to share what you have learned and also be ready and willing to learn from others. This is not easy to do at all times. Dealing with other people can be messy. We are human beings, and all have our own issues. At the same time, we are all unique and have so much to offer to one another. Educator Action Steps: Students will interact with a number of their peers during class time. They will even be asked to share with people who may be difficult for them to speak with at times. Just because the person is not your best friend, does not mean you cannot learn from her. Students will also have the chance to share their learning with the broader school community, and hopefully even blog or Tweet about their learning with others. Feedback on the blog or on Twitter facilitates opportunities for learning. 7. It takes self initiative to learn about the world and about yourself. You have to want to understand information and figure out what you want to be like in life. Nobody can be your brain for you. Educator Action Step: I hope that through the learning opportunities I provide, at least one will spark a student’s interest. I also hope that the real world applications of learning as well as collaborative aspects of science class will allow a student to build on their own understanding of the world and himself. Middle school is a tough time to learn this skill How will I know if I, as the educator, have successfully implemented all action steps? Success in teaching these survival skills feels like a huge challenge. However, I hope to notice success in several ways. There should be an increase in student questions between now and the end of the course. There should be improvements on student projects in terms of their speaking and writing. Students should spend more time independently or collaboratively figuring out a problem instead of instantly asking the instructor when they get stuck. I hope their end of course reflections include learning that involves at least four of the items in the survival skills. All images are taken and edited by Sara Chai, October 2014. Reflections on Chapter 4 of The Global Achievement Gap by Dr. Tony Wagner
While change is not always easy for me in other avenues of life, I see and recognize the need for change constantly in my classroom. I am naturally self reflective and tend to be a perfectionist. In my years as an educator, I have had to learn to work through my frustration so I can quickly improvise when an activity or lesson does not go as I have envisioned. I used to have a rough time being observed and evaluated by fellow educators and administrators. I would wonder if I what I was doing was okay, and what they may be writing about me or my students. More recently, I have become confident enough to ask and have a dialogue with whomever is observing me or my students. I enjoy learning about what I am doing that is positive, but I also want to know what I can do to improve. I am also very fortunate that I have had several colleagues over the years willing to engage in conversations with me on a regular basis to help me reflect on my teaching. I yearn for these conversations - even though it is tough at times for me to hear constructive criticism. We are not meant to teach in isolation, just like our students are not meant to learn in isolation. Dr. Tony Wagner writes in Chapter 4 of his book, The Global Achievement Gap, “….viewing and discussing videos of teaching and supervision is the single most effective strategy for improving instruction for all schools.” This cannot happen if a teacher firmly believes that her way is the only right way. This strategy will not work if people are not willing to have colleagues enter their classrooms. It might not be easy and there may be bumps in the road. We are all human and we do fail sometimes. We aren’t perfect. However, isn’t there beauty in these imperfections? Isn't there beauty in learning? |
Authorloves to ask questions as she learns about life Archives
December 2014
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