Category Archives: Module B

I really like the PCK and TPACK frameworks. It’s important to take into consideration the context in which each of these elements are framed and applied.

Thinking back to teacher’s college, I had general education courses that linked to pedagogy knowledge and in the final year of my concurrent program, we had curriculum/instruction/assessment courses in our teachables that link to the PCK intersection. Within just the PCK realm, I notice there are many inherent assumptions around how a subject should be taught. For example, in STEM courses at the secondary level, we often assess through tests although we may have other products (e.g., reports, assignments, presentations). Other courses, like visual arts, lean less towards written tests. In the last high school I was teaching in, PCK was not always respected and there was a general push from the administration and department heads from other departments saying that there shouldn’t be written exams (e.g., phys ed, special ed, arts) when these individuals either do not do exams in general, or do not teach science.

In terms of technology, it’s important to consider how it’s used for learning. These needs to be addressed with the general challenges involving pedagogy and the discipline specific needs (e.g., conventions, preconceptions, skills). Without the context, the specific technology becomes a stand alone software/hardware that will likely be replaced through technological turn over and its affordances skimmed over.

Example of PCK

Chemistry nomenclature of binary ionic compounds

As part of a different course, I created an e-module to illustrate the need for constructivism when learning how to name binary ionic compounds. This was based on my experience as a student teacher when I worked with an English Language Learner. There’s a scenario block included that lets you talk to a student and you can work on using constructivist methods like probing. It also highlights the importance of assessment.

Using the usual naming method of keep the name of the metal and use the name of the non-metal, drop its ending, and add -ide, there are misconceptions that arise from the instructional method if it’s left just like this.

Strategy to overcome this:

• Introduce the strategy and have students try naming something
  • Start with success strategy: build the momentum by highlighting that students are doing well already, praise them (e.g., magnesium bromide)
  • It would be helpful to also explain why we’re doing this (i.e., naming the ions that the compound is formed from)
• Repeat with another example (e.g., lithium iodide)
• Introduce disequilibrium with a targeted question (e.g., aluminum nitride; the idea is to use something that is not a halide)
  • Depending on the population of learners, people may think that the ending of a non-metal is the last three letters. This is observed with the halogens, but it’s not the case for all non-metals. It’s more based on the sound of the word rather than an actual pattern
  • Take up the answer and highlight that the ending of a non-metal isn’t always the last three letters of the word
• Iterate with more assessment, introduce another targeted question (e.g., some oxide)
  • Students will likely be confused at this point and frustrated that there really isn’t a pattern
• Have students create a word wall for the non-metal to non-metal ions
  • Transition to practice
  • With technology, I’ve used Kahoot! to get students to name compounds. The distractors are based on common misconceptions (e.g., just using the names of the elements with no change, not using the periodic table and picking a similar sounding element like Mn vs. Mg, incorrect non-metal endings, and adding -ide to the metal name) As students progress with the concepts of nomenclature, the distractors will mix with the naming methods for covalent compounds, multivalent ionic compounds, and polyatomic ions.

Each Jasper episode is a narrative adventure situated in a real life context. Students learn a bit about the context and then are presented with a complex multi-step problem to solve. Jasper is responding to the needs to increase student motivation in learning math and to help students solve complex problems (Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt, 1992b). These are currently issues given math anxiety and the challenges with seeing how abstract concepts can be applied in the real world. The materials have a constructivist design that leverage:

• generative thinking: students apply their current knowledge and skills to problem solve a more complex challenge
• anchored instruction: situated in a specific context, students identify subproblems and work towards solving them. The real context allows students to connect to additional resources to solve their problems.
• cooperative learning: working in groups, students for communities or inquiry to solve the problems (Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt, 1992b)

Compared to other video lessons (e.g., Khan Academy, Crash Course, BBC Learn, Academic Earth), Jasper is more about assessment rather than instruction. Making videos is expensive so if the same material could be captured in a .pdf, then it should be done through this method. Although these videos can be engaging due to the incorporation of multimedia, in the end, many are just lecture captures. Direct instruction is not necessarily bad, but the affordances of video should be leveraged. The closest thing I’ve seen to Jasper is the TED-Ed math videos. In these videos, students are presented with a riddle and told to pause the video before they get the full solution. If teachers are looking to create interactive videos with embedded assessment, H5P and EDpuzzle are options. With the TED-Ed videos, there is the opportunity for assessment but this depends on the user to pause the video and try on their own.

I think what makes Jasper successful is its assessment and community centred approach. The assessments are rich and can connect students to real life problems. However, video is not necessarily required to do this. For example, around this time last year, the Chuck E. Cheese pizza recycling controversy arose. One of my math teacher friends took this as an opportunity to explore the controversy using proportional reasoning. However, it’s difficult to connect higher level math (e.g., calculus) to real world contexts. In cases like this, it’s useful to link to resources like Jasper and CEMC. Connecting math to everyday life makes me think of creating math trails and creating more project based assessments.

Overall, I think Jasper can definitely be useful, although teachers will need to address the challenges connected to language that will arise. In terms of teachers creating their own DIY Jasper adventures, I think we will need to re-think our current approach to assessment and evaluation before we make such an expensive commitment.

References

Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt (1992b). The Jasper series as an example of anchored instruction: Theory, program, description, and assessment data. Educational Psychologist, 27(3), 291-315.

The Jasper series is a collection of narrative adventures. It looks like each video introduces students to a scenario: relevant background information is presented and then students must solve a problem connected to the narrative. The problems require multiple steps to be solved and are generally open.

First Impressions

• For some reason, I thought that Jasper was done as homework: Maybe because that’s how I’m watching the Jasper videos, I was a bit overwhelmed and wondered how students would be solving the complex problems without help. As I write this, I realize that my experience with video instruction are through independent learning (e.g., Khan Academy, Crash Course). I’ve rarely seen this form of instruction in a classroom.
  • The only times I’ve heard of a video that encourages students to solve a problem are the TED-Ed math puzzles and through EDpuzzle and H5P. The TED-Ed math puzzles present an interesting scenario and then encourage the viewer to pause the video and then solve. The rest of the video will provide a solution. H5P allows users to create interactive videos. You can insert links or quizzes within a video. EDpuzzle takes things further. You can crop videos and insert questions. Until learners submit their responses to questions, they are locked at that specific point. As well, the teacher can review what students submitted and view how many times a student has reviewed a specific segment
• That was a lot of words: Since I only saw clips from Jasper, I don’t know if there was anything before the narrative I watched. Regardless, I think there will be challenges for English Language Learners given how fast the video can move and all the new vocabulary that each clip contains.

Questions about Jasper’s implementation

Pedagogically, I think Jasper can work really well because it contextualizes math. The questions are complex so learners apply multiple skills and connect with multiple concepts. The assessments can be rich. Peer collaboration can be leveraged to ensure students work in their zone of proximal development. However, I wonder how Jasper is applied in classrooms given the challenges that can arise:

• What happens before/after a Jasper video? I’d like to know how Jasper is initially framed to the class and how students’ perception of math are addressed.
• What scaffolding is needed for the Jasper videos? In the video clips I saw, many concepts were required to solve the problem. Are these broken down with the students? How is readiness addressed in these classrooms?
  • As I write this, I think I’ve answered my own question. I would approach this the way I would always approach a more student centred activity: with facilitation. Guiding questions and intervention as needed. Check in with the students to see how their plans are going and converse about the math and problem solving approach.

Jasper’s similarities to other activities

I think Jasper is interesting. It’s a nice way to introduce problem based learning in a math class. It reminds me of the math trail I’ve done in teacher’s college. The math trail I experienced involved a walk in Downtown Toronto. There was one question about estimating the radius of the fountain. This required estimation as the fountain had a lip and we didn’t walk into the fountain. These questions are definitely fun because of the context and it’s nice to apply the math as well.

When I think of my reductionist thinking, I often discredit the fun aspect of the context. Sometimes I see the context as a layer of complexity that is too difficult. However, this is not the case. The context can be helpful and it situates learning. I think along my math learning, I have forgotten the fun of math and see it as computation. Losing sight of the pedagogy content knowledge connections, math became a computational subject that’s only connection the “real world” was as a prerequisite course.

I like that Jasper reminds me of the fun in math and that math is everywhere. Math is about the logic, problem solving, and critical thinking. Math is about numeracy and applications in the everyday. Math can be fun and math involves rigour and discipline. These aspects of the content knowledge need to be communicated to students through varied and meaningful assessment.