Category Archives: e-folio

This section will display all your e-folio posts.

Let’s be WISE about Climate Change

For my project, I chose to update “Chemical Reactions: How Can We Slow Climate Change?” The reason that I chose this one is because the final project asks students to pen a letter to their congressman, yet leaves them a little bit unguided in the writing process. The science was all fairly strong, with engaging modules, but some of the information, videos, and especially the writing process needed a freshening up.

First of all, I added a KWL chart to the first module to help guide them in their questioning. (Sabrina, I promise I didn’t copy you! I read yours after had customized my WISE project! Great minds…) The KWL chart is a more guided and structured way for students to think about a topic and try to figure out exactly what they are working with. It also clearly follows the first WISE/SKI principle by making thinking visible (Linn et al. 2003).

Next, I changed the outdated video that was included in the introduction to a more kid-friendly video that is hosted on EdPuzzle. Hosting the video on EdPuzzle allows for the teacher to place commentary over the top of the video, input words to help explain ideas, or ask questions to check comprehension. These abilities will help the teacher to right away get a feel for the room and know what kind of background knowledge they are working with.

Next, I added in a link to a group vocabulary page to which all students can contribute. The spreadsheet was hosted on Google Docs, making it easily accessible to all the students in the classroom. Since I was customizing the lesson with my own students in mind, I know that their vocabulary is lack and they need extra support to help them understand the texts. This EL support is beneficial not only for the EL students, but also for the general populace. The spreadsheet asks them to answer for every word 1) part of speech, 2) definition 3) use in context-rich sentence 4) a picture or link word to help with memory. The collaborative nature of this page is in keeping with the WISE principle of helping students learn from each other (Linn et al. 2003) and also helps to scaffold the writing task that is upcoming at the end (Kim & Hannafin, 2010). Furthermore, this running thread through the assignment is another way to keep the learning cohesive, coherent, and thoughtful, like WISE principles tout.

The final change that I made was including sentence frames and a bit more structure to the writing task to help scaffold that process, as many of the students probably haven’t written a formal letter before and would be unfamiliar with the process and format. While this isn’t necessarily making the “science” accessible, it does make the assignment more accessible for them, thereby meeting the second principle of WISE (Linn et al. 2003) of making science accessible. Also, the sentence frames focus on the effects they see in their own neighborhoods as well, thereby showing personal applications (Slotta & Linn, 2009).

I realize that most of the supports that I added in were language related, not necessarily science related, but again, the reason for that is that the scientific sections were already well made and providing adequate supports for students. Furthermore, with my current group of students in mind, the theories and inquiry would be less of an issue when compared with the writing tasks. Yet, it would require frequent updating to keep the resources up to date and accurate.

References:

Kim, M. C., & Hannafin, M. J. (2011). Scaffolding problem solving in technology-enhanced learning environments (TELEs): Bridging research and theory with practice. Computers & Education, 56(2), 403-417.

Linn, M. C., Clark, D., & Slotta, J. D. (2003). WISE design for knowledge integration. Science education, 87(4), 517-538.

Slotta, J. D., & Linn, M. C. (2009). WISE science: Web-based inquiry in the classroom. Teachers College Press.

WISE-ing up our Science Classes

The project I chose to customize was the one on Cellular Respiration. I would use this project to teach this concept to students in Grade 5. While the goal of WISE is to promote an atmosphere of inquiry, autonomy, and critical thinking, I found these project to be very text-heavy. My school has many EAL learners, and many would struggle to complete these tasks on their own without teacher guidance. Therefore, I added in activities at the beginning for students to complete that would give them a higher chance of succeeding on their own as they worked their way through the module. Also, I added in a reflection activity after the second activity for students to stop and reflect on their learning. Based on students reflections, teachers could either let them continue on their own, or intervene and go back and review information with small groups of students who need more support.

To start, I added in some ‘Tuning In’ activities to both activate students prior knowledge and to tune them into the topic. The first activity I added was a See/Think/Wonder. In this activity, the students will look at two macro images of plants and record what they ‘see’ in the pictures, what they ‘think’ about the pictures and any wonderings they might have. This is meant to both tune them into the topic as by starting a discussion, and the teacher can then formatively assess what language they are using and record questions they might have.

The next activity I added was a Key Word activity. In my class there are many EAL learners, so learning and reviewing any new vocabulary is essential to creating understanding before emerging into content. Here the students use the ‘Frayer Model’ to define and learn the new words, and then find out what the word translates to in their mother tongue.

Key Words:

Carbon Dioxide, Chloroplast, Glucose Photosynthesis

(still working on how I can add something like this to the WISE platform)

Both these activities are consistent with the SKI model as they will activate prior-knowledge and are a way of making students thinking visible. Furthermore, they are open-ended and inquiry in nature.

Finally, I added the video below explaining at the end of section 2 as a summary of the above materials. I added a split screen reflection for the students to fill out. The first side is for students to write what they learned from the video and how they can connect it to what they learned through the above materials. The second is the same reflection but done after discussion with others.

Anchored Instruction – Follow up reflection

After our discussion on Anchored Instruction and the Jaspers materials, it appears that everyone agrees that this type of approach is valuable in the classroom at all levels. Anchored instruction attempts to give students authentic learning experiences through open-ended, inquiry-based problems, using tools that will motivate students, and strives to create an authentic learning experience where students can make meaningful connections to real life and apply their knowledge to the outside world. This method is consistent with the constructivist learning theory where hands-on learning and collaboration are considered essential for buildings one’s understanding using prior-knowledge.

Through the discussions this week one key point that stood out to me was that anchored instruction is less about the technology and more about the strategies and learning experiences planned by the teacher. Authentic learning then requires careful consideration of what tools best suit what concept you want your students to grasp. Perhaps in some instances, it will involve a movie such as the Jaspers materials where students are working together to solve problems, but other times perhaps students are working on their own.

In regards to the Jaspers materials, while it appeared that everyone agreed they were a valuable resource it was interesting that Elske pointed out that no long-term data was collected to see if the positive outcomes were long-lasting, and no adverse results were ever yielded. While we can agree that we use similar approaches and more modern but similar resources today, are they having the desired effects that we think they do? Perhaps we need to look at how teachers are utilizing these resources and re-consider their purpose.

A word to the WISE

I chose to customize ‘Global Climate Change and Ozone’ from the WISE library. I chose this particular project because I have a few students who are covering this topic in their classes and are having some trouble understanding climate change. These students are designated with learning disabilities and they process information at a slower pace so I had them in mind when I was going through this. First, I customized the first lesson to use a KWL (Know, Wonder, Learn) chart to ask:

1.What do you know about climate change?

2.What do you wonder about?

3.What do you want to learn about?

The reason that I implemented this is because I would want to find out what my students know before I began so I could tailor the to their needs and what they want to learn. I also customized the project to take out the assessment items. These particular students have a lot to process and having assessments would give them anxiety. I would assess in a way that my students would be comfortable and I would give them a choice in how they want to tell me what they have learned.

I also customized it to show a bill Nye video. I found that this video was thorough and who doesn’t love bill Nye! https://www.climaterealityproject.org/video/climate-101-bill-nye. I show Bill Nye videos to my students quite a bit and my students love it. I would show this once I knew where my students were in terms of their knowledge and learning. I scaffold in my teaching and I try to get my students to reflect on their learning quite a bit because I want them to make connections and I have found that “the process of reflection on ideas, we suggest, motivates students to revisit, test and, reformulate the links and connections among their ideas leading to more coherent, integrated understanding.” (Davis, 2000). It’s hard to customize the rest of the project as I could only do this once I knew where my students were at in terms of their learning. But regardless of this, I would customize the project so that reflection is integrated into each lesson so my learners can ask questions and link what they know to new information and build on their knowledge. I would also customize this project to integrate collaborative work (SKI framework) in each lesson. With my set of learners, it would take extra time to complete one lesson but as long as they are able to comprehend ideas and information, that is all that matters. I would ensure that with collaborative work, a stronger student was with a struggling student so that “students learn from one another” (Slotta & Linn, 2003). I would also embed the rest of the SKI framework into each lesson as these are the four pillars of pedagogical principles. For the learners that I work with, it is imperative that thinking is visible for all learners so they can see how “links and connections are made” (Slotta & Linn, 2003). This is critical because if they cannot see how connections are made in science, there is no point in moving on to the next lesson as this will confuse them and hinder their learning. I would use interactive diagrams and videos to help these would provide a mode of interaction with technology that would engage learners and transfer information.

WISE was developed so that learners could develop inquiry-based science projects in order to enhance learning and collaboration in the science classroom and to also support educators with technology platforms with confidence as “they engaged in a depth-of-coverage approach to learning science topics” (Slotta & Linn, 2003). Although I think WISE is a fantastic tool for both educators and students, it is not suitable for all learners without customizing the lesson. There is nothing wrong with that but it is important that educators use the customizing tool to tailor the lesson to their students especially those students who struggle with subjects such as science.

For one of our e-folio questions, we had to answer ‘What about WISE would you customize’?

My answer: I would customize WISE so that all learners, including ELL and designated learners would be able to use WISE in a way that engaged and helped them to learn. I know that WISE uses many different languages which is great but it does not use all the languages that exist so it would be difficult for those learners to be able to use such a great platform for learning. I would also customize it to integrate other subjects besides science like social studies, math, and physical education.

I think it is great that WISE has the option to customize the lesson so that the classroom teacher can make those differentiations for students but it would also be great if WISE had specific lessons for designated learners.

But Spaceships Don’t Have Anchors!

Creating digital video is now more available and more efficient than it was when the Jasper series were initially developed. Briefly, if given the opportunity, what kind of mathematical or science adventure might you design? Why? Pay attention to your underlying assumptions about teaching and learning regarding your design and your definition of technology. How would instruction in this adventure help to address misconceptions in math or science for some students?

The Jasper Series included many innovative (for the time) techniques to engage and involve students in active problem-solving. I can strongly appreciate the focus of showing students the usefulness of the science and math while giving them self-confidence (Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt). However, many issues have been raised with programs that are purely project-based learning (Park & Park 2012). Park & Park (2012) among others have exposed how PBL alone is not enough to ensure that holes and misconceptions are not present in student learning. Direct instruction must be coupled together with the series in order for maximum effectiveness. Also, Biswas, Schwartz, & Bransford (2001) showed that in order for learning to be fully flexible and able to be transferred to other areas, more scenarios are needed for students to apply the learning in multiple contexts, lets the information be welded into the one specific context in which it was learned.

For these reasons, and because I strongly believe that students need to be using technology in ways that will prepare for them for the future, I would propose a new system that blends advanced problem solving, building concepts, the integration of key, explicit standards in math and science taught as mini-lessons, as well as work with emerging technologies. By coupling all these together, complex, real-world, situations could be created in which students are using key mathematical and scientific concepts that have been taught in class to solve advanced technological problems.

For example, a popular program for teaching physics and math (among other things) is The Kerbal Space Program. In this program, students are engaged with real-world physics, math, and problems that exist in designing, building, launching, and flying a rocket into outer space or to the moon. The complexity of the game is exponential as different challenges could be employed. Furthermore, the Kerbal Space Program could function as a teachable agent (Park & Park 2012), as the student must program the rocket in the way it should go and receive feedback through trial and error. A successful launch and mission could mean a mastery of skills. A failed mission sets them back to problem-solve and check calculations.

Simulations/gameplay like this could be created and enhanced with VR, robotics, or digital design for most situations that come up in the science and math classroom, allowing students to see the immediate applicability and receive instantaneous feedback from their calculations. Paired together with an intelligent course designer that is teaching relevant mini-lessons on math and science standards, students would be well-prepared for success in any STEM field that they desire, with their misconceptions and gaps filled in and real-world experience in solving a wide variety of problems.

-Jonathan-

References

Biswas, G., Schwartz, D., & Bransford, J. (2001). Technology support for complex problem solving: From SAD environments to AI.

Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt. “The Jasper series as an example of anchored instruction: Theory, program description, and assessment data.” Educational Psychologist 27.3 (1992): 291-315.

Park, K., & Park, S. (2012). Development of professional engineers’ authentic contexts in blended learning environments. British Journal of Educational Technology, 43(1).

Ahead of their time?

The Jaspers materials were created to address the lack of meaningful problem-solving opportunities that students were being provided within Math classes. It was gathered that classrooms activities were not offering students the chance to connect Math to other subjects and the outside world, and were too close-ended. Jaspers, carefully designed videos, were created to engage students in multi-step problem-solving Math problems. Each video was carefully crafted to grab the students attention and then give them a chance to find answers to the questions posed through collaboration and critical thinking. The questions being asked were open-ended and had more than one possible solution allowing students at all ability level to access them. Furthermore, students were solving the problems in small groups which helped them build their understanding by learning with and through their peers.

The Jaspers materials are consistent with the constructivist learning theory, a theory that many educators have adopted in recent years and is being seen as best-practice in many contexts. In a constructivist classroom, students are not simple told information that they are expected to remember, instead, they construct their own understandings through hands-on learning experiences where they are can apply their knowledge and practice problem-solving strategies. They were shown to have a number of positive effects when used in the classroom such as high math achievement and increased motivation (Hickey et al. 2001).

There are currently a number of available resources that have similar features and goals of Jaspers materials. Kahn Academy, for instance, is a free resource that teachers can access to find online tutorials and videos where students are posed similar questions and can interact with online materials. It provides a platform that is accessible everyone and promotes problem-solving and critical thinking. Through resources like these teachers do less front-loading and give students a chance to explore and come to conclusions on their own.

One thing for us to be mindful of, though, is that these resources are just one item out of a number of different tools that we can utilize in the classroom to promote transdisciplinary learning, problem-solving, etc. While they can engage students in meaningful experiences, students should still be given a diverse number of learning opportunities outside videos such as Jaspers and modern ones today.

References:

Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt (1992a). The Jasper experiment: An exploration of issues in learning and instructional design. Educational Technology, Research and Development, 40(1), 65-80.

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

Hickey, D.T., Moore, A. L. & Pellegrin, J.W. (2001). The motivational and academic consequences of elementary mathematics environments: Do constructivist innovations and reforms make a difference? American Educational Research Journal, 38(3), 611-652

My adventure design

Creating digital video is now more available and more efficient than it was when the Jasper series were initially developed. Briefly, if given the opportunity, what kind of mathematical or science adventure might you design? Why? Pay attention to your underlying assumptions about teaching and learning regarding your design and your definition of technology. How would instruction in this adventure help to address misconceptions in math or science for some students?

If I was given the opportunity to design a mathematical or science adventure, I would ensure that it was tailored for all types of learners and had various skill levels. This is extremely important because if there were not different types of levels, some students would give up (might be too hard/easy). This computer-based design would have a lot of opportunities for learners to:

practice problem solving
there would be a combination of group and individual work
critical thinking skills embedded into the adventure
decision-making
reasoning
trial and error
rewards
learners would be able to monitor their own progress
it would be suitable for all students including those that are ELL, LD, MID
there would be scaffolding in this adventure game
learners would have to build a plan of action
apply current knowledge to build upon new knowledge
it would have some kind of sequence to the adventure so learners can make predictions so they can understand that if they go North, the big monster may end up getting them
it would be interdisciplinary; math, science, socials, etc. rooted into the adventure
there would be a lot of exploration
there would also be an option for learners to use a time-pressured button if they wanted to (not all learners like this so that is why it would be an option)
would allow not just collaboration with peers who are sitting next to them but this adventure game would also allow learners from around the world to learn from one another and figure out problems together

I would design it in this particular way because I feel that it would reach a majority of learners and that is the most important aspect; all learners should be able to play this adventure game and feel confident (i.e. the different levels). It is important that this adventure game be suited for students with learning disabilities because many times, games are not suited for these kids and I would not want anyone to feel left out; everyone has the right to play and learn. I know that many of my students have a fear of math and I was thinking of them when I was writing this. This adventure game would allow students to go at their own pace so they are comfortable at their own level otherwise they will not be learning anything. Learners would be able to explore and if one thing doesn’t work, they would be able to try another. In practical work, learners spend a lot of time and effort on one thing before they understand that it will not work but in computer-based adventure game, those results would be much quicker.

According to the ‘Jasper experiment: using video to furnish real-world problem-solving contexts: The Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt (1993), the results of using the Jasper series was evaluated by implementing it into a number of classrooms for one year; the teachers would administer tests over the materials. Students who were not receiving instruction from the Jasper were also given these tests. The results were that the students who were getting the Jasper series instruction did much better than the students who did not receive it. Moreover, the students who received the Jasper series had a better attitude towards math and liked it better than before.

These results influenced the characteristics of my adventure game as the results were so positive and not only did students learn but their outlook on math was much more optimistic. This design is constructivist in nature and allows students to ask questions and problem solve on their own (or in groups). They are able to develop critical thinking skills and apply them to the real-world.

References:

THE JASPER EXPERIMENT: USING VIDEO TO FURNISH REAL-WORLD PROBLEM-SOLVING CONTEXTS: The Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt University Source: The Arithmetic Teacher, Vol. 40, No. 8 (APRIL 1993), pp. 474-478

Teaching with TPCK

Since I am not a math or science teacher, but rather focus solely on Language Arts and Creative Writing, I’ll focus on more on the technology side to tie it in with STEM learning.

This is not the first course where I have come across the idea of TPCK, so I have had ample time in which to reflect on the ideas that are presented here. I went back and found my notes from the first time hearing of this idea and it was amazing to see how my understanding and application of these ideas has progressed. When I first read Mishra & Koehler (2006), I had notes down like, “Does technology really require/possess new sets of knowledge and skills?” Yet, now, looking at it, I can more clearly see that there are technology specific skill sets that are necessary to be successful.

In my classroom this week, we are working on creating ePortfolios. In my Creative Writing class, they function more as interactive notebooks, rather than simple collection agencies. For this post, I will be breaking apart teaching my students how to create one using the TPCK framework:

Technology
- Typing: The technology skills that are necessary for the creation of an ePortfolio in my class begin simple with knowing how to type. The faster they are at typing, the more efficient the entire process is.
- Web-Design: Using Google Sites requires a very basic amount of knowledge of web design. Some of it is related to word processing and is a simple carryover (headers, footers, etc.), yet others require more specific knowledge (formatting, page previews/proofs, publishing to the web)
- Cloud Computing: Students (and myself) must have an adequate knowledge of how to link documents from Google Drive to the webpage and display them correctly. Collaboration and teamwork are necessary for those projects that were done in pairs.
Pedagogy
- Classroom Management: All good lessons stem from consistent and solid classroom management. From students knowing how to get out Chromebooks to knowing protocols for group work and asking questions, management comes first.
- Scaffolding: Students cannot take in too much information at one time. To assist in this, I create a visual step by step presentation that shows the various steps of creating a website (Front loading). I then demonstrated it in front of them, then asked them to join in with a part of the creation (Guided practice). Finally, they were set free to build their own sites (independent practice).
- Reflection: The entire activity of keeping a record of learning and reflecting back on it is built on Constructivist ideals. By compiling all their work in one place and writing about what they learned, students are actively involved in the process of reflection and growing through their dealing with past artifacts.
Content
- Grammar: Creative Writing is built around using the language to play with ideas. In order to do this, I need to have a solid grasp on the rules of grammar, how to apply them, and when they are able to be broken for stylistic choices.
- Forms: Each piece that the students made was in a different genre (descriptive, narrative, poetry, fiction, non-fiction). To effectively teach the students, I need to be sure of the distinctions between these genres and also be able to show exemplars to the class to guide them through the classification of these pieces.

I’m sure the lists here could go on and on, but for this post, I will leave them here, as there are solid representative categories for each one. Solid TPCK makes for lessons that are well informed and for students who are learning from experience (Shulman 1987), forming comprehensive knowledge (Shulman 1987), and are learning by design (Mishra & Koehler 2006). Authentic problems, active engagement, and tangible artifacts make an equation for success.

References

Shulman, L.S. (1986). Those who understand: Knowledge growth in teaching. Educational Researcher, 15(2), 4 -14.

Shulman, L.S. (1987). Knowledge and teaching. The foundations of a new reform. Harvard Educational Review, 57(1)1-23.

Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. J. (2006). Technological pedagogical content knowledge: A framework for teacher knowledge. Teachers college record, 108(6), 1017.

Rocket Fuel for Potential

Design of TELEs

The idea of technology as a carpenter’s tools meshes very well with my ideas of what technology is. I envision a world where getting a master’s in Educational Technology would sound as silly as getting a master’s in “Writing Implements.” They are both tools that are useful for inspiring ways of thinking of and for recording the thoughts, plans, and dreams of students. The largest difference is that educational technology has the ability to expand a student’s potential and allows them to accomplish things that they before could only think about doing.

For these reasons, if I were to make my own analogy for technology, it would be something along the lines of supercharged fuel. It works in the same types of systems, but it pushes the potential of what is possible and unlocks the true potential that was always there. This definition of technology also is broad enough to include whatever is used to help the students to reach their potential. This distinction of keeping the focus on the students is vital to me, as it continues to keep all instruction and efforts student focuses and centric.

As designers of learning environments, it is our job to continue to expand what students believe they are capable of. I believe that we do our students a disservice when we simply teach the same way we always have been taught. Rather than push the agenda of standards, we would better serve our students if we focused on skills. Skills are the pieces that can be applied to any project and make for success in the future. Technology is one way in which those skills can be utilized, but the emphasis should be on the cultivation of talents and mechanisms that set students up for success. A student who knows how to communicate, collaborate, think critically, and be creative is going to go much further in a rapidly progressing world than one who simply can get correct answers. Learning environments need to adapt more to accommodate and recognize this type of learning if our students are to see the true potential that they each have, and how that intelligence multiplies when they rely on their collective intelligence.

-Jonathan-

Ideal Definitions & Reality-Based Designs

My most appealing technology metaphors from the list are Jonassen’s idea of technology being something students learn with rather than from. His concept of “Mindtools” as a category of technology which supports this meaning-making truly resonated with me. My unspoken definition of “technology” places an emphasis on the rich potential of the tool to enhance student exploration, creation, communication, and collaboration in our perpetual quest for deeply connected “learning”. Dede’s notion that technology includes interactive media which are “tools in service of richer curricula…” accurately describes many of the examples I would have chosen to illustrate what pedagogically-minded technologies might look like.

Ideally, the designers of the learning experience should also be the deliverers of those very same experiences, so that their TELEs can be crafted to cater to the unique (and changing!) affordances and constraints of a real group of children in a real place, rather than a one-size-fits-all plan or program. When otherwise, designers should be required to pilot their designs as the only adult in actual classrooms from several different socioeconomic neighbourhoods before marketing their products or handing down their initiatives. In other words, how would I design a TELE? It depends!