Tools to Expand the Mind

This weeks readings were much more comprehensible for me, and felt much more comfortable in my mind. Last week focusing on behaviorism I had a terrible time trying to pull from my experience and see how it either fell into the behaviorism camp, or was opposed to it. I spent so much time trying wrap my head around the whole thing that I didn't spend much time looking at what I do through that particular lens. This week I am much more comfortable. I'm not sure if the reason is that I feel more at ease using the strategies from the cognitive learning theory, or I am just more familiar with them. Regardless, this week has been much more comfortable for me.

For my own learning I have been using strategies that fall in line with the cognitive learning theory for years. I am a verbal learner and write summaries of new information. I rarely organize the summaries on paper but leave them as lists and organize as I write. I use all kinds of highlighting, color-coding, and note taking strategies that I have developed or modified to help me hang on to information. I have, however never really been able to pass these strategies on to students and have realized that being explicit, and teaching students how to use tools to extend the power of their minds so they can learn and recall information is an important part of teaching. Teaching learners how to learn is a crucial step in helping students develop into life-long learners and using the strategies discussed this week is a great way to start.

A suggested strategy was to use mind-tools such as spreadsheets for processing data or concept-mapping tools to process information. (Laureate Education, Inc, 2011) A quote from the teacher who was talking about using a spreadsheet with students was that doing the calculations by hand was possible, but it didn't add to the students mathematical understanding. (Laureate Education, Inc) That line had a powerful impact on my understanding of using cognitive-tools. I finally had a grasp of the power of the tool. Though the students were using it to do something they could have done themselves, it wasn't just that it was faster to use the spreadsheet, but that using it freed up "mind space" for more creative thinking. This is certainly using an application as a cognitive tool to distribute cognition; adding the power of the human mind to the power of the computer and letting the human mind do what the computer can not, be creative.

Information processing falls within the cognitive learning theory. It states that learning starts with sensory information. If you attend to the information it moves into short term memory and there are limits to the amount of information you can process in short term memory. Using mind-tools can extend those limits greatly. As a teacher I can provide tools like graphic organizers to help students capture information, and in more than one sensory register (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). Using questions I can help students process information deeply thus allowing it to move from short-term to long term memory. Moving to long-term memory requires active participation of the learner and Pitler, Hubbell and Kuhn's suggestions would help accomplish that. They suggest using cues, questions and organizers as well as summarizing and note taking (2012). All of these strategies help the learner process information, allow the learner to elaborate by making connections to previous learning and using combination notes specifically allow learners to include pictographs or other graphics in their notes.(2012)  This facilitates making connections to more than just the verbal center of the brain, thus making it easier to retrieve.

I need to be more conscious of my teaching strategies so that I can explicitly and clearly teach skills to support student learning. I have used some of these tools in the past, but have never been focused on the power of the tool,  I have focused instead on the result of using the tool. Working with students who have gaps in their English language skills, it is doubly important to give them tools that extend their power to learn. These can amplify their efforts and give them greater results with the same amount of energy expended. Giving them episodic memories through virtual field trips (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011)  providing the structure of graphic organizers or scaffolds for note taking and summarizing necessary to process new concepts, (Pittler, Hubbell & Kuhn, 2012) allowing them to add multiple sensory inputs will all present an enriched classroom experience so that they can take full advantage of the time they have to learn.

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Program five: Cognitive learning theory [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E. R., & Kuhn, M. (2012). Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works--2nd ed. Alexandria: ASCD.

Behaviorism and Teaching Strategies

The theory of behaviorism states that we can look at people’s actions and work on modifying behaviors by ignoring them so they are extinguished, punishing them so they happen less frequently or rewarding them so they happen more frequently. While reading through and cataloging the strategies suggested in Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works I found that some strategies fit into this theory and some did not. Some of the technology suggested to support the strategies correlates well, and some did not.

A strategy that was suggested to support student achievement was to show students the relationship between effort expended and achievement using data collection, spreadsheets, charts and graphs. In my mind this fits into the theory. The authors suggest that once students have been given explicit guidance about what it means to expend effort they will be able to keep track of their effort and achievement. (Pitler, Hubbel & Kuhn, 2012 ) They can observe their behavior and using the reward of achievement can increase the action (effort) that brings about the reward (achievement). The technology suggested, spreadsheet software that has the capability to produce charts and graphs, correlates very well with this strategy and supports it.

Providing recognition for specific behaviors also fits the behaviorist theory. In fact, it is almost purely a behaviorist strategy. The teacher defines a desired behavior and rewards it through recognition or reward. Using technology to supply the reward in the form of badges, or feedback points as in ClassDojo is an excellent correlation. Providing reward in the form of recognition for exemplary products is not purely a behaviorist action. The actions or behaviors used to create the product are what should be rewarded. However, rewarding excellence can increase the possibility that excellence will occur again. For students who don’t achieve, rewarding behaviors that can lead to excellence will be more effective. The technology suggested to support this strategy: web showcases, blog polls, online picture galleries, tools that allow communication via audio or video to provide recognition correlate fairly well.

The next chapter talks about homework and practice. The only part of the homework portion that fit into the behaviorist theory in my mind was providing feedback for homework completed and using drill and practice software or websites to extend learning beyond the classroom. Feedback could be construed as a reward or punishment (depending on the feedback) and would then have the possibility of changing behavior. However, I think the only behavior it might be able to change is whether homework is completed or turned in or not. Using drill and practice software or websites can fit into this theory because generally desired behaviors (those that lead to correct answers) are rewarded and undesirable behaviors (those that lead to incorrect answers) are not, so they should decrease.

Using Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) software is one of the technologies to support practice. There are most certainly aspects of the behaviorist theory that are included in CAI software, in the immediate feedback and rewarding correct behaviors to increase their frequency. Most of the other strategies suggested for practice fall into other theories of learning. Based on these readings, it is obvious that there it a time and a place for using strategies that fit into behaviorism. However it is also clear that there are many successful strategies that do not.

References

Pitler, H., Hubbel, E. R., & Kuhn, M. (2012). Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works. Alexandria: ASCD

Next...

I've started my second course in my graduate certificate program. It is called Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction and Technology. We've only just started to look at learning theories but I think it's going to be a good class. I've always been fascinated by how the brain works. I've read a number of books, The Brain that Changes Itself is one of my favorites. It talks about neuroplasticity and tells stories that show how truly amazing the brain is. One of the stories is around phantom pain from amputated limbs. The story really had an impact because the son of a friend stepped on an IED in Afghanistan and lost both legs above the knee. As part of his recuperation and dealing with the immense phantom pain he had, the hospital used the precise treatment explained in the book. It was not only fascinating because there was a story that played out in my life, but also because it worked for Daniel.

After doing the first week's readings I have a bit more understanding about memories and how they are encoded in the brain. The idea that connections are made is not new, but understanding that the connections are between specific neurons and somehow that allows me to remember phone numbers, or the name of street is totally amazing. How can it be that when one neuron sends a signal to the next, and neurotransmitters are released that I can recall what a pomegranate is, or how to figure out the area of a circle? It's like this cartoon...

I find it amazing and fascinating.

Theories of learning are based on observed results, but also on PET scans and MRIs. They try to explain what happens when someone learns. We have more of an idea, but there are still a lot of things we don't know. But though it can help to know (or think we know) how someone learns, teachers have been teaching, and students learning for millennia without current learning theory. Pat Wolfe states that the problem with teaching from intuition is that it is difficult to pass on the knowledge gained through experience. I think it can be difficult, but not impossible. It just means that the experienced teacher has to think about what they do. I've done some recent reading about what makes good teachers, and came across this article. The quote I love the most, that resonates with me is this one:

Good teaching isn't about technique...but about people who have some sort of connective capacity, who connect themselves to their students, their students to each other, and everyone to the subject being studied.

Teachers who have relationships with students have more success as teachers, and their students have more success as well. I think it is crucial to use tools and techniques that engage students, but all of the tools and all of the techniques and most up to date technology can't make as big of an impact if the students don't have a relationship with the teacher. In the end, teaching is about relationships, and so is learning.

I Believe PBL is the Answer

I just completed a class at Walden University titled Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society. The biggest impact taking the class had on me as an educator was that it deepened my conviction that students need to be invested in their education. How that happens is immaterial, but it must happen for the time spent in schools to be worthwhile and education to have a positive  effect on student lives and their futures. In the United States a focus of change has become integrating more technology into the school day and building activities around solving problems. Both of these changes have the chance to positively affect graduates' opportunities for high interest, high paying jobs, staying competitive in a global economy, and becoming self-reliant, life-long learners.

I have been in education for thirty-four years and have seen many changes, most of them in the way society perceives schools and their success in doing the job society wants done. Over the years more and more responsibility has been put on schools as the solution to societal problems, and less and less respect has been given to those working in the field of education. More of the decisions about what should happen in the classroom are being made by non-educators. The education system has become a political football, tossed around and used as a tool to win an election or beat the other guy. Educators have to take back the initiative and do what is best for students. They cannot ignore the political realities of teaching in a public education system, but they have to act such that the time and energy students spend in the classroom gives them a harvest of success. Teachers have to use the power inherent in classroom situations and apply it to enhancing students' success when their years of school are finished.

The  true power I see in technology is the way it can focus students' attention and get them invested in activities in the classroom. Like all power it can be misused and wasted. It takes careful consideration and concentration to figure the best way to use the power offered by technology. It takes will on the part of the teacher to see the power and apply it at the fulcrum point so it can have the most affect with the least amount of effort. I believe that fulcrum is project based learning (PBL). It isn't easy, but I believe it is worth every moment spent on planning and implementation.  One of the statements that has stuck with me since I've been doing reading about PBL is that the problems posed to students should be ones that students are interested in, not ones that teachers are interested in. I think the best way to find those sorts of problems is to ask students. I know it might be difficult for elementary aged students to invent problems they want to solve, but with guidance and lessons that give the student skills, they can figure out what they want to figure out.

The process is not easy, nor it is simple. Making sure all of the crucial standards are being included in solving the problems proposed, that students will be able to handle the mechanics of standardized tests and that administration, parents and school boards will be willing to trust the process are all hurdles that must be overcome. The teacher has to be committed to the process because it will take work in ways that may be new, especially for teachers who have been in the classroom for a number of years.  One of the advantages of using PBL over choosing and implementing yet another curriculum is that the teacher is in the classroom with the students, he is in a relationship with the students and can see in the moment what needs to be changed, what needs to be emphasized and what should be ignored. Personal  relationship is crucial to all educational endeavors, but can become bogged down in teaching page 23 and doing practice sheets 15 and 16 on Tuesday. PBL requires a much more fluid approach to planning and requires student self-monitoring for success to happen, and the teacher's relationship with the students as support and guide is crucial to this process. Success creates a domino effect of one skill leading to another and when the problem is solved and the answer presented to others, the students will have practiced crucial skills without making the focus of the project those particular skills.

I am lucky in that the newest strategic plan has stated that each teacher will incorporate at least two PBL units during the year. Teachers have an extrinsic motivation to learn about and carry out projects, so even if there is some resistance, they have a reason to work with me and I can work to guide them so they have success and see the benefit for using projects. If, in the next couple of years, I can get at least one teacher in each school at each grade level to embrace PBL, I will feel that I have made a positive change in the practice in the classroom. I know from my experience in the classroom that if there is an enthusiastic teacher who has tried something new with great results, that enthusiasm may spread. So only reaching a few teachers will actually reach many more. If the results are as I predict, then the students who experience projects with passionate teachers will show growth in many more areas than just those targeted in the objectives of the project. Success breeds success, so I will concentrate and work hardest with those teachers who are most willing to give PBL a try.

To make PBL a success, I also have to continue learning about it and understanding its complexities so I can translate those for classroom teachers. I have to find resources that will be easily adapted for students who are deaf or blind, for students who have multiple disabilities, and for those who may have become used to and expectant of failure in school. Sometimes working only with special education students, educators can become focused on the differences between the students they teach and students in regular education. They can start doubting that the students they teach can benefit from the same sorts of activities students in general education benefit from. They see how much our students have to overcome and can start to believe it is too much to expect that they will succeed in the same way. I will have the task to show that PBL can and will work with our students; that resources meant for teachers in regular education classes can be adapted and differentiated so that they can succeed with our students.  I found an article about the efficacy of PBL with special needs students and the authors state at one point the PBL  "… is experiential, involves cooperative learning, and occurs within a meaningful authentic context.". They believe because of these characteristics it will be highly successful with special needs students, and I agree. If I can focus teachers attention on these aspects of PBL, I believe I can encourage them to use it, and use it successfully. 

Podcast- Digital Natives Access to and Use of Computers

I produced a podcast as part of my class at WaldenU. The idea was to come up with an age appropriate survey, interview three kids, record them as they are being interviewed and then put clips of their responses into the podcast. Unfortunately, I was only able to reach them by phone, so ended up writing out their answers as I questioned them and then recording the podcast myself. Below is my podcast with my reactions to the information I got from the students. It could be valuable to ask students what they think, and what they know and not assume what they know. The parents of the students I interviewed are very comfortable with computers, how to use them, search, facebook, word process. None of them are technophobic, but they also are not "geeks" who love computers and play with them in all sorts of ways. Listen and see what you think.

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills-Site Review

The P-21 website is one that I will visit in the future. It has given me resources that will help me work with teachers to develop activities to build student's skills. The common core toolkit shows how 21st century skills are already embedded in the Common Core, and where there are areas that need to have more focus on 21st century skills.  Being able to address the common core, and work on 21st century skills simultaneously gives teachers the chance to enrich their lessons and provide student's the opportunity to practice on many levels. The kit also show examples of what it looks like to align teaching with the common core and the 21st century skills listed. I find examples most useful for understanding how to infuse these skills into lessons, and will use this resource when I am working with teachers. The videos which show sample lessons will also be helpful to show teachers how small changes in their lessons can model and require the use of 21st century skills. The skills maps and literacy maps are excellent for getting a better idea of what these skills look liken when addressed in a classroom. These help me get a handle on what I need to do, how I need to guide teachers in writing lessons and developing activities that support learning the new skills.

The website provides resources for professional development, which will be most useful for my coaching next year. The most important will be to use 21st century tools which I will use while coaching and supporting and encouraging collaboration among staff members. If teachers are using the tools and experiencing how the enrich their own learning, they will not only learn how to use the tools but be more likely to use them in their classrooms. I will also work on supporting teachers "in their role of facilitators or learning" through my coaching. Moving from the teacher in front of the class lecturing to a facilitator or learning may be difficult for some teachers, but if they can experience the benefit of it and see student involvement increase I believe they will be willing to work at changing teaching strategies.

As I was watching some of the videos of sample lessons I saw some that made me wonder if they were really excellent examples. One was a kindergarten math lesson about story problems. The 21st century tools used were a document camera and a interactive white board. I don't think this was the best lesson to show as an exemplar of teaching and infusing 21st century skills. I believe that the resources on the site should be outstanding examples of what it means to teach and include 21st century skills. This particular video (and another I watched of a kindergarten math lesson) could lead teachers to believe that simply using technology makes the lesson 21st century rich. I would want to see more student activities and outcomes that require students to develop skills, even at the kindergarten level.

The implications of the information on this site for teaching in my school is that no matter what the content, these skills can and should be taught. They don't have to be the focus of the lesson, but using the right types of activities and asking for particular types of products from students will require that students use 21st century skills. During lesson planning, looking to see what the objectives of the lesson are, then simply adding (to the teachers awareness) 21st century skills can and should enrich them and give students the chance to practice and become proficient in these areas. They will need them to compete in the world of work they will move into after school no matter what work they choose to do.

Using Collaborative Tools

Here's the thing. You have to have collaborators in order to have collaboration. The implication in the readings I have done recently is that if you put something out on the web, someone will respond. If we are going to use the read-write-web with our students we have to let them know that there is no guarantee that someone will respond to your writing. There is no way to predict if what you write, or publish, or ask questions about on the web will be responded to.

In the classroom we certify there will be a response if we require it of other students, but we can't promise that once the students are on their own someone will. If we can show the intrinsic value of thinking and wondering and putting those thoughts and wonderings down in writing; that the process has to be enough, then our students won't be discouraged if no one responds at first. If students have an unrealistic expectation about how their writing will be received they will stop doing it. They won't want to continue without the payback. I think part of the teaching about the process is to let them know there may not be anyone (at least at first) who will respond to their questions or comment on their writing.

I don't mean we should discourage them from posting, but let them know that there has to be a reason to write other than to gain an audience. Without putting something out, you will certainly not make connections. We should also teach that one of the responsibilities of being part of a community is to give, to participate. So part of being part of the world community online is to make comments where appropriate.