Sometimes I feel like I'm bragging when I tell people about the school I work in.
"You get to teach on a TEAM? You get to make an individual plan for EACH STUDENT? You get to work ONE-ON-ONE?" Or the real kicker, "Hold on. YOU GET WORKOUT TIME BUILT INTO YOUR WEEKLY SCHEDULE?!?!?!?!" More often than not, colleagues working in the mainstream system really envy this intervention, called Health and Wellness Time, which is built into my weekly routine just as much as staff meetings and supervision duty is. This comes across as deeply unfair to these teachers, who have asked to leave the building during their preparation blocks for similar reasons (exercise being the main one), and having that request denied by their admin team. The reason we are "allowed" this time is because we work through a regular lunch hour, meaning that we just rearrange our scheduled breaks. However, the REAL reason for it is that our principal gets it. He truly understands that healthy, active teachers are more able to cope with the stresses of the classroom and the demanding career that we have chosen, and those teachers who have the time for a workout built into their week are more likely to get it done. Let's back up a minute to my first teaching position. It was 2005, and my husband and I had just packed up all of our belongings and moved to Haida Gwaii, where he had obtained a position as a senior math teacher, and where I was planning to work teaching on call. Part of the way through the year, the senior English teacher left her position, and I was thrust into a challenging position that I had the willingness and enthusiasm for, but no actual training (I trained for Primary with a focus on Early Literacy, but found myself teaching English 9, 10, and 12, Drama, and English as a Second Dialect). Add in students who were used to high teacher turnover and were not quick to trust or form attachments with new adults, and the job was challenging to say the least. Luckily, the survival phase, as referenced in the American Psychological Association video linked here, only lasted for the first year or so. I was supported with an official mentor teacher, and a handful of unofficial ones who offered their support and resources to get me through those difficult days of staying at the school from 6am until 10pm daily. As year one progressed into years 2-4, the students trusted that I would stay around, and great relationships began to develop and management issues decreased.. I was supported through the district to take part in numerous off-island professional opportunities, including the position as District Literacy Rep and a spot on their Leadership Development team. I was able to rejuvenate over the summers and incorporate new techniques gleaned from conferences (paid for by district funds) into my classroom repertoire. When we decided to start a family, I experienced new challenges in the classroom, such as the stress of putting your children into daycare (both emotional and financial, I should add), and the desire to leave your homework until after the kids have gone to bed, resulting in later nights and even more tired parents. This was where Health and Wellness time really saved my bacon - if I didn't have time for fitness built into my current working position, the life/family/work balance might still feel unmanageable. Now that I'm several years into teaching DL, and several years into being a working mom, I can reflect on the supports that I've received, and the coping mechanisms (midnight snacks, anyone?) that have gotten me through those tough times. I don't think I even really experienced the Disillusionment stage, as I've been spectacularly supported by colleagues and my husband, who is a masterful teacher and wise human himself. Now I'm fortunate to be able to combine my "mom-wisdom" with my teaching experience, and I once again feel excitement and anticipation for learning new strategies and techniques for improving the educational experiences of my students. I still struggle with being an overachiever and the self-inflicted stresses that accompany overly high expectations, but I'm learning to deal with this and make changes that are better for me. Finally, I hope that I can provide similar respite and support to my new team-teacher, who is just starting her journey into teaching DL and often experiences many of the overwhelming sensations that I was helped through a few years ago.
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The learning encapsulated in OLTD 511 has opened my eyes to the challenges and benefits of a blended learning program. Interestingly, I think that the switch from an online program, like the one I teach in, would actually require more disruption than the switch from a mainstream classroom setting. I find it much easier to envision having a group of children work in a station rotation model, for example, than to shake up my DL program and start requiring that the kids (gasp!) attend regularly. I appreciate the opportunity to view many sample classrooms, schools, and programs, and one of my major takeaways personally is that I feel more comfortable incorporating some educational screen time into my children's lives than I did before beginning the course. For the purposes of this blog post, I want to organize the big ideas that I will carry forward with me around quotes from reading and research. If we don't understand the philosophical and educational rationale for blended learning, we won't be able to advocate for it, as we won't be able to build and maintain the support needed to make such innovative changes. Transitioning to a blended environment takes people outside of their comfort zones, and can set off alarm bells around too much screen time or teachers being replaced by computers. The shift to blended learning attempts to address the failure of our existing "factory" educational system to adequately teach all students. Horn and Staker (2015, introduction xxvi) tell us that "if we hope to have all children succeed in school and life, then we need to be able to customize - or personalize - an education for each student's distinct learning needs." As parents we want this for our children, and as professional educators, we want this for our students, but the restrictions of the existing school system might make this task feel overwhelming. This is where blending comes in. This quote unites the notions of job hygiene, leadership, and data aggregation for me. First, the satisfaction and feelings of being appreciated and valued that a teacher achieves in his or her position is crucial - both for the teacher experience, and to the experience that results for the students. This comes from a combination of factors, such as the ability to collaborate and team teach, and the offloading the content delivery to an online system so teachers can focus on critical thinking and developing student relationships. Having the mundane data aggregation completed by machines means that teachers can focus on the human parts of their job, relieve marking overload, and focus on the parts of the job that they love - such as helping engage students and ensure deep learning. Finally, school leadership is critical for supporting teachers in this type of innovation - whether in finding time for professional development, finding money for purchasing technology, or simply sharing in the teacher's excitement and helping move the innovation forward. Support from leadership also creates some of those cultural norms that make teaching smoother, such as showing up for class on time and using time productively. This quote provides such a tangible focus to providing a student-centered experience. I appreciate having some actionable steps I can work with immediately in my design and my classroom. It also helps me see how the culture of inclusion and nerdy fun that I have worked hard to achieve in my class helps my students enjoy their experience. This quote also helps me understand why some students flounder in online classes - without hard deadlines, how are they supposed to see their progress? A visible course trajectory could help solve this problem. People might shy away from the added costs of shifting to blended learning (though of course these can be minimized). They might be wary of a shift in our educational paradigm, as we need to rethink the teacher-centric classroom and age-groupings and work towards helping students become independent and creative learners. We may need to break down walls and spend time learning in modalities that our parents and their parents had never imagined. We may need to blow up the existing reporting procedure and look at whether these help students learn, or only help us justify the expense of a public education system.
However we choose to look at it, the writing is on the wall, and students who continue to learn in old fashioned ways will not develop the digital literacy that they'll need in post secondary and beyond. In conclusion, the notion of shifting to a blended delivery model can be intimidating, not to mention initially expensive, but my firm belief is that it's worth it. In my classroom we eat and drink. This is not the norm in the mainstream classroom, where the students are bound by different rules and expectations. Over time, this difference developed into two cultural norms that build community while also encouraging students to concentrate: the Hot Chocolate Club and Elevenses. The Hot Chocolate Club (HCC) was created by students several years ago when they wanted to start their class with something to drink, and decided to pool their money to buy supplies. We already had a kettle and sink, so the HCC was an easy adaptation - especially because it was student directed. Leadership in the classroom, both that of older students and of the teachers, is inclusive in nature, and the HCC founders encouraged other students to join, charging a nominal fee to provide for continued purchase of hot chocolate powder. Later this developed into #MarshmallowMonday and #FestiveFriday, students bought personalized mugs, and really started to engage in a community within our DL classroom. Elevenses, as most fans of The Lord of the Rings know, is that crucial meal between Second Breakfast and Luncheon. For years, the regularly scheduled lunch in the school in which our Flex program resides started really late - at 1pm - and many students who frequented our room found that they were starving well before then. As a snacker myself, I encouraged students to eat when they’re hungry, and to allude to LOTR while they’re doing so (just because nerds are awesome). Although these are both wonderful ways that we have developed community and built a cultural identity within our program, that isn’t why I’m discussing them in terms of cultural norms. The magic - and “the shared paradigm for how to work together to be successful” (Horn & Staker, 2015, p.251) - comes from what happens after the kids have their snack or make a drink. Most of our students have learned that they come into our room, make a snack or a hot chocolate, and then get right down to work. They have a routine that encourages a little self-care before productive learning time. I think they also enjoy the quirky in-jokes and cultural references that mark you as a member of our community, such as knowing about the BVEC HCC or eating Elevenses and Second Breakfast daily. I rarely have students unable to concentrate because they’re hungry as I have granola bars and other snacks around for students who don’t have their own. The cultural expectation is that anyone can have some without the potential embarrassment of being needy or feeling self-conscious. I love this cultural norm because I think sharing nourishment is a fundamental community and culture builder, and I think it breaks down walls between students and teachers and encourages genuine relationships and collaboration. I also love the subtle opportunities to engage in rants about healthy food options and the need for a little indulgence now and again. And the fact grinding coffee by hand and using my aeropress daily fits into this paradigm is a bonus too! References: Horn, M.B. & Staker, H. (2015). Blended : using disruptive innovation to improve schools. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Photo: My Precious.... (Yep, another LOTR reference. #nerdalert!)
Photo Caption: Check out that 1980s privilege and opulence! (Note: No one likes a blog post with no photos) If you could go back in time and design your own learning environment, what would you create for yourself knowing what you know about education today? (Primary, Secondary, Post-Secondary). Full Disclosure: I was an awesome student. I was highly successful in the traditional system, and I had parents who were supportive and educated, and provided me with opportunities that enriched my educational experiences. I went to a community elementary school, the local high school, and followed that up at UBC, where I won scholarships and finished two degrees debt-free. My experiences afforded me with tremendous opportunity and I would feel disingenuous if I were to complain about my education. That said, I can imagine an educational utopia and some tweaks I would make to the system if I were to go back in time and design my ideal learning environment. Note: I asked my seven year old daughter what her perfect school would be like, and she told me it would be all playing and recess and art class. I have to admit, this does sound perfect. Photo Caption: So cute! So chubby! So ready to learn and have fun and PLAY! I was really inspired by the examples of Station Rotational models given in Blended by Horn and Staker (2015) for early elementary school. Examples like KIPP Empower and Acton Academy had the nurturing, supportive environment that my 5 year old self thrived in, combined with the 21st century skills that would have been unimaginable back in ‘86. My ideal educational environment would have the care and support so many schools have, combined with rotation through centres, and a heavy emphasis on inquiry and the arts. Play and creativity would need to be emphasized, with more focus on solving real world problems than completing worksheets. The collaborative process would be a big part of the program, as I am a very social person. I would appreciate open ended inquiry projects, allowing me to learn as much and as deeply as desired. That said, I do think there is a place for rote learning and practicing concepts, especially since I benefited from this in math as a child. I could see this being a great area to blend with adaptive software. Photo Caption: Always a team player, little Leslie is willing to give a leg up to her peers (and sibling). In high school, my educational experiences were still great for learning, but harder socially. This is where the example of San Francisco Flex Academy shines through for me. Students reported feeling very welcomed and accepted by other students, which would have made life a lot happier for me as a teen. I was also frequently bored in class and rarely challenged, so the ability to take accelerated programs (ideally in a cohort) and to organize my own schedule would be ideal. Again, I would want lots of exposure to the arts and physical activity, and engaging inquiry based projects. I was lucky to be able to take AP English as a high school student, but I would have jumped at the chance to take other AP courses, which a Flex or A La Carte program would offer me. I was also a social activist as a teen, so the chance to participate in a number of extra curricular groups around these interests would be crucial. Finally, the chance to have an online, self-paced backbone with freedom to change assignments to suit my interests and to complete challenge assignments and hands on learning activities would round out my ideal secondary experience. Photo Caption: Hands on learning, please! For Post-Secondary, I went to UBC, which is a large university, and I took lots of HUGE first year courses where we had giant lectures and maybe a lab or tutorial that was smaller. This worked really well for me. However, I would have loved to see some flipped classrooms at the university level, as I often found I had a million questions that needed to be answered during office hours. I also found I got a better grade in the courses where my profs knew who I was and we were able to develop a working relationship, so smaller class sizes (maybe through flipped lectures or a rotational method) would make this more accessible to greater numbers of students. It took several years of study before I started to actually find ideas that were unique and insightful, and I wonder if more open ended study earlier on would have sped up this development (or whether it was related to maturity…). Photo Caption: Please don't make me present in front of the class!
One of the biggest challenges in online teaching seems to be getting to really know your students - and to have them get to know you as well. Relationships are crucial for building the trust necessary for a rich learning environment, and many of the techniques we have learned about so far in the OLTD program have been focused on bridging this transactional distance and creating real relationships with distance learners.
For the first assignment in OLTD 511 (blended learning), we are creating an autobiography to introduce ourselves professionally and personally. Mine is two part. First, an infographic of my school career, and second, a humorous film clip to introduce elements of my personal life and character.
I created the infographic using easel.ly, a web tool that I was first introduced to in OLTD 501, and have since used with my students numerous times. I created the video using iMovie on my iPad, and uploaded it to my YouTube account. These are all great tools that are user friendly, have intuitive interfaces, and are readily available in many classrooms.
As a side note, I didn't actually read the assignment details until I had already created a far too personal YouTube introduction using Camtasia and Google Slides... If you are interested in learning A LOT about what I think and how I function, please feel welcome to check out the following video, but know that I wouldn't necessarily use it in a course introduction... Unit Design is exciting. No, seriously! You get to take some important ideas, break them down to the essence, and think of fun ways to engage students in learning about them. Ideally, you engage them so fully that the lessons take off, and the students become motivated to participate in a rich and meaningful learning experience. Kind of like happened in one of my favourite bad movies of all time. in 1989, MGM released an unsung hero of educational design theories - Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. What does a movie about a couple of stoner near-dropouts have to do with educational unit design? A lot, surprisingly. And, terrifyingly, this movie actually corresponds most excellently with my teaching credo. So let's jump in our phone booth time machine and explore elements of instructional design, and my own Week 4 and 5 learning experiences. Bill and Ted start their educational experience with a strong motivation; they need to pass history with an amazing final report, otherwise Ted is going to be sent away to military school in Alaska, keeping the duo from achieving their dreams of forming a band. Like Backwards Design, they are starting with the end in mind, and working backwards from there. Emily and I started our design process the same way, We both saw a need to invigorate our online Social Studies 9 courses with a unit examining the lasting impact of colonialism on Indigenous peoples in Canada. We knew where we wanted our learners to end up, now we had to gather our resources and structure a unit. Like Bill and Ted, I felt a little lost as to where to start. Was our topic too big? Too broad? Too sensitive for online study, where it's difficult to gauge the readiness and maturity of your students? I also struggled with "teaching what you're not" - as in, how do I create a unit that is sensitive and respectful to the experiences of indigenous peoples when I am not an indigenous Canadian? Luckily I knew about the First Nations Education Steering Committee (FNESC), and that they had resources available for teachers online. A short email later to clarify permissions, we were off and designing. For Bill and Ted, their direction comes from Rufus, who has traveled back in time to assist the boys in meeting their goal (and saving the world at the same time, which is kind of what teachers are doing every day, right?). He is a great teacher, providing support and resources, and even direction, but leaving the boys to guide their own learning and take it in the direction they choose. This fits my teaching credo, in which I want to empower my students through choice and flexibility for how they demonstrate learning outcomes. Bill and Ted's actual task (learn enough to successfully keep the band together) has real life consequences and authentic meaning for the duo, and I strive to align my learning goals with similar intention. Open and free resources have an amazing benefit to teachers and students alike. If we were all "reinventing the wheel" each time we taught, educational design would still be in the dark ages. Personally, having a framework to adapt for my own purposes makes the task achievable within a reasonable timeline, and quite frankly means that my students are more likely to have exposure to creative and engaging units. I can be creative and fun, but not all the time, and not on demand, so using other resources makes the creativity and expertise of others available to my learners. Following proper copyright and creative commons law also ensures that those people who created the excellent ideas in the first place get credit where credit is due. The design process was challenging, in that I felt intimidated by the topic and its monumental scope and importance. I was able to approach it comfortably not only due to the online resources, but also due to the collaborative presence of Emily. Collaborative learning is crucially important, as Bill and Ted also demonstrate. Being able to bounce ideas off each other, split up tasks, share the cognitive load, and view a topic with multiple eyes means the learning for everyone is enhanced. The past two weeks were an immersive learning environment. Like the boys in the time machine, we were put right in the thick of our task, and that made it real and meaningful. If this had been a purely theoretical unit design, I wouldn't have spent the same amount of time thinking about the needs of my learners, or how the lessons would actually come across. It also wasn't easy. Time management as a full-time teacher and full-time parent to two small people is difficult at the best of times, but for some reason this time of year means the culmination of a million commitments, requiring more time and allowing less focus. Collaboration allowed for us to problem-solve these roadblocks, and create, what I would consider to be a most triumphant unit. Was it rewarding? Absolutely! I am going to build this unit into my Moodle course for September, and I'm proud that we took a topic that had scared me a bit in its import and sensitive nature (Residential Schools) and created lessons that not only can be actually used, but that I think are quite engaging and informative. From goal setting, backwards design, teamwork, flexibility in the face of adversity, out-of-the-box solutions to problems, and above all, respect for everyone ("Be excellent to each other"), I learned a lot from Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure as an 8 year old. 28 years later I've been able to apply those lessons to this assignment. Party on, dudes!
“Equity is at the heart. It involves starting at a place of clear expectations of where students need to be at graduation and the experiences to get there. The main goal is to get ALL students there.” (Tom Skjervheim)
As I discussed in my last post, I have chosen to use the Understanding by Design (UbD) framework as a starting place for my 512 Design Project. Stage one of this process is where we determine the desired results, and for me this necessarily means looking at how I will use assessment as, for, and of learning. This week I had the opportunity to read “Assessing Deeper Learning: a Survey of Performance Assessment and Mastery-Tracking Tools” by Carri Schneider and Tom Vander Ark (2014). This report has given me tremendous insight into how I can start to align my teaching credo with what I envision for my ideal online classroom, which is not possible without the design element. In order to fit with my credo, which emphasizes both authenticity, student choice, and meaningful learning, my design project needs to incorporate well-constructed, open-ended, inquiry-based projects. The six key competencies defined by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation are as follows (Schneider and Vander Ark, 2014):
However, if we want to help our students achieve deeper learning, we need to be able to assess it too. One of the biggest challenges I face as an online teacher is the marking load, and being able to provide accurate, meaningful, and detailed feedback requires a massive amount of effort and energy. This is where I think the theory/practice divide originates. Teachers don’t always have the time, the technology and the training to make the kinds of assessments that we need to assess deeper learning effectively. To further complicate matters, the support tools that teachers could use to ease the marking load while clarifying things for students are not yet very robust. “The tools for creating and managing performance assessments and tracking student progress are still inadequate for teams creating next-generation learning environments” (Schneider and Vander Ark, 2014). This lack of depth and functionality is likely due to lack of investor interest. Schneider and Vander Ark further explain that “Big companies as well as startups continue to build products for yesterday’s school because they don’t see a viable market for next-generation tools” (2014). If this is, in fact, true, how do we attract attention and investment? How do we build a school system with enough “next-gen” teachers to warrant significant investment? I would like to use elements of the assessment strategies that Schneider and Vander Ark (2014) discuss in my Design Project (and later in more of my practice). A standards based grade book with some sort of data analysis and way to visualize the data could help my students see how they are doing in terms of meeting the learning goals for the unit (mastery tracking). Badges, which I could use in Moodle, are another method to visualize and clarify data for the student, helping to verify and celebrate achievement. Finally, a portfolio will help my students collect and reflect upon their artifacts of learning. I will strive to combine the five criteria for UbD performance tasks with clear, criterion referenced assessment. All of these elements can be used as part of the Moodle Learning Management System that I use with my students. This is not to say that there aren’t better (paid) resources out there, but the reality of my teaching practice requires that I largely stick with Open or Free Educational Resources. Because I haven’t discovered the one perfect system that would meet all of my school needs, I have to combine a number of educational resources for my students. If I were using paid resources, this could quickly become prohibitively expensive. Have I solved the "Assessment Challenge"? Absolutely not. Teaching is a practice, and I will continue refining it for the duration of my career. However, I can move forward into the design stage for this project with some clear ideas of methods for assessment. References: Schneider, C. and Vander Ark, T., (2014) "Assessing Deeper Learning: a Survey of Performance Assessment and Mastery-Tracking Tools." Getting Smart. Photo credit: A. Christopher (link) In preparation for our OLTD 512 Design Project, we have reviewed and learned about different design models that we might choose to employ. Finding a design template to follow is a personal choice that should be informed by a number of different aspects, as there are pros and cons for each model,
and what works for one instructor might not be suitable for another. "ADDIE" is an acronym that stands for Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, and Evaluate, and was initially developed decades ago (Epigogy, 2013). It is one of the most common design models, and has a number of benefits. Each of the five phases of "ADDIE" can be further broken into manageable chunks. This model gives instruction and framework for creating clear learning goals and objectives in terms of what the student will be able to do at the end of the lesson or unit (Epigogy, 2013). The biggest pro from my point of view is the Evaluate phase, where teachers use ongoing assessment methods to loop back and change design for future lessons. One of the biggest design traps that teachers can fall into is the stubborn persistence to push on through a unit that is not working, simply because the lesson plans are in place. Having revision built into the main design helps many of us avoid this pitfall. The biggest downfall of "ADDIE" from my perspective is that it assumes that the teacher already knows at least some of the needs and competencies of the learner. Because the model is completely interdependent, any changes that you need to make according to the results of lesson evaluation means that you need to rework your whole design. In this way, one of the biggest pros of the "ADDIE" model is also its downfall, because it makes it time consuming. "ASSURE" is another common design model, standing for analyze student characteristics, state objectives, select methods, media and materials, use materials and media, require learner participation, and evaluate and revise (Assure The Instructional Model 2017). Like "ADDIE", evaluation and revision are huge benefits of this template. However, "ASSURE" starts with analysis of student characteristics, which fits nicely into my credo of learner-centered learning and design (Assure The Instructional Model 2017). Furthermore, this template instructs us to design our lessons for student participation, which I think is crucial for deep and meaningful learning to occur. A downside of "ASSURE" is that the process for defining and choosing outcomes and lessons is not as clearly outlined as in other models. I also feel like there is a lot of focus on the materials and media, which are great, but this does not necessarily allow for as much student choice in how learning is presented. My personal choice for Design Model is Wiggins and McTighe’s Understanding by Design (UbD) or Backwards Design template. This format, above all others, best fits my credo, while also helping catch all of the possible mistakes that I might otherwise overlook. My only criticism of UbD is that it fails to explicitly design for students with different learning needs the way, for example, the Universal Design model does. However, for my purposes as a DL teacher who believes firmly in student choice and inquiry, UbD is a fantastic fit. Like "ADDIE" and "ASSURE", UbD starts with identifying the learning goals, but is more specific in terms of what makes a goal acceptable or not. Wiggins and McTighe (2011) provide four filters for determining the value of a learning goal.
UbD is very specific and guides the designer clearly through the creation of student understandings as well. Not only are there rubrics available for the six different facets of understanding (explanation, interpretation, application, perspective, empathy, and self-knowledge) but we are also prompted to anticipate what misunderstandings learners might encounter as well. I find this to be one of the strongest elements of UbD, as we all know how difficult unlearning something can be, and avoiding potential misunderstandings can increase engagement and avoid frustration. Clear assessment criteria, but with freedom to choose how one executes performance tasks, in combination with discussions of both what quantity and quality of evidence of learning to collect and numerous clear suggestions of what to include in your learning activities (WHERETO) make UbD one of the strongest design models I have seen, and the one that I have chosen to use when creating my 512 Design Project. The design project I am envisioning is suited to the needs of my students. We have only just begun using a new curriculum for BC Social Studies 9, and I have much to do to bring my older courses (which I use from the BC Learning Network) up to my standards of choice and authenticity. I live in Northern BC, on the un-ceded territory of the Wet'suwet’en peoples. Many of my students are of First Nations ancestry, and the impacts of colonialism are something that is important for all of us to understand. For these reasons, I have chosen to begin a Design Project of a Moodle unit around the following critical question: What are the continuing effects of colonialism on indigenous peoples in Canada and around the world? Curriculum design really excites me. The creativity and challenge appeal to me on many levels, and I look forward to the opportunity to turn my learning towards something that I can use in my online classroom as early as September. The framework of Understanding by Design should further engage me as a learner, and my students will hopefully benefit as well. References Assure The Instructional Model (2017). Retrieved from http://www.instructionaldesign.org Epigogy (2013). Instructional Design: Episode 3 The Models. Video File. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/RwBUsAJLiqY. Wiggins, G., McTighe, J. (2011). The Understanding by Design guide to creating high-quality units. Alexandria, VA: ASCD. Photo: Leslie McCurrach @Lesliejmcc (Instagram) What does it take to design a strong online learning environment? As a DL teacher and member of the OLTD program, this has been at the forefront of my mind for a number of years. My learning journey started with a desire to decrease the Transactional Distance physically within my DL classroom. Now that I'm more comfortable with building classroom culture in a distance classroom, and the workload entailed with teaching online, I can begin to turn my mind to course design and decreasing Transactional Distance psychologically through a variety of different methods.
The Theory of Transactional Distance, as defined by Moore, serves as a good filter for viewing my credo of education. I feel strongly that students should have autonomy, and that assignments need to allow for both student choice and authenticity. Transactional Distance Theory postulates that there is an interplay between structure, dialogue, and autonomy where is one is high, the others may be lower. I also feel strongly that assignments need to turn away from "what" and "how" and towards analysis and critical thinking. The reality of the 21st century classroom is that knowledge can exist outside of humans (Siemens, 2005). We no longer need to be able to remember massive amounts of information because our devices will do that for us. It’s much more important now to know how to choose reliable sources, how to use the information effectively, and how to adapt to constantly changing learning environments. These are all foundational beliefs of Connectivism, and my own philosophy of education as well. Much of my credo is based on Social Constructivist Theory (the notion that we create meaning through dialogue and interaction), which conflicts slightly with Connectivism. Pure Connectivists seem to believe that meaning already exists (therefore, we don’t create it), and that our job as learners is to identify the pattern in the chaos. I do think that chaos is part of the equation (what classroom teacher could deny it?), but I fundamentally believe that the experience and perspective of the individual informs their learning. Siemens (2005) refers to this as “sensitive dependence on initial conditions” and likens it to the Butterfly Effect on weather. A tiny stimulus (or learning experience) early on can have massive impacts on later learning. I think this means that we have a huge responsibility as teachers, particularly in the early years, to ensure that our students have belief in themselves and their capacity as a learner. The final bit of Connectivist Theory that is getting me excited is the clear elucidation of the increasing importance for students to be able to recognize connections and synthesize ideas. “The capacity to form connections between sources of information, and thereby create useful information patterns, is required to learn in our new knowledge economy” (Siemens, 2005). This fits into my credo perfectly, especially as I am primarily an English teacher, and much of our discipline is based on this idea of interpretation and explanation. I am giddy at the idea that this higher order thinking may expand into more traditionally “rote” disciplines. The potential downside to this kind of learning is that it is scary. As teachers we need to ensure that our classroom culture and dialogue work towards allowing our students to trust the process, and feel comfortable taking risks. The beauty of the OLTD Program so far is that we have been able to experience much of this theory put into practice. The Cohort Model has created a strong bond where our group works together to lift each other up. I don’t feel afraid to make a mistake, because I know that the faculty and my classmates will treat it as learning and help me move forward. It is highly collaborative, and has overcome many of the traditional barriers of online classrooms, where we are physically distanced from each other. Much of how I have experienced this is through the course design. Most of our work is collaborative, creating meaningful dialogue to help reduce feelings of isolation. Use of difference synchronous applications where we can physically see each other (Zoom, Google Hangouts, etc.) have also made a huge difference in how connected I feel to the coursework. Perhaps most importantly, the learning has been practical. I don’t have to complete assignments where I’m regurgitating massive amounts of rote learning. Instead the focus is on applying the knowledge to my own situation and practice, making it easier to engage with and highly authentic. Our cohort functions as a social network where we have arguably achieved the “Quantum Theory of Trust” (Siemens, 2005). We are increasing the cognitive capability of our group by being able to access the knowledge and experience that we each bring to the program. Siemens states that “the amplification of learning, knowledge, and understanding through the extension of a personal network is the epitome of connectivism” (2005), and I would argue that this is what is happening with OLTD Cohort 5. Learning here isn’t individualistic -- it’s collaborative, it’s inquisitive, and it’s external. “The pipe is more important that the content within the pipe” (Siemens, 2005), and I hope I can start to build such robust “pipes” within my own practice. Perhaps, like a butterfly, I will emerge from this program metamorphosed, with the skills and network to bring new vitality and depth to my classroom. References: Marthaler, J.. "Theory of Transactional Distance." 2011. https://sites.google.com/a/nau.edu/learning-theories-etc547-spring-2011/theory/theory-of-transactional-distance Siemens, G., "Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age." Jan 2005. International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning. Retrieved from: http://www.itdl.org/journal/jan_05 As part of my current class, I've been asked to look at how we as online teachers can use Learning Management systems to design the ultimate educational experience that suits the needs of a variety of learners with a variety of needs. Naturally, this means I need to actually analyze and develop my philosophy of education - a clear credo.
Over a decade ago, when I was a beginning teacher working on Haida Gwaii, I had the opportunity to be the District Literacy Representative. Part of what this entailed was attending regional meetings, which corresponded with meetings of the Network of Performance Based Schools (now called the Network of Inquiry and Innovation). The Network was my first introduction to Inquiry Based Learning, and it was a revelation to someone fighting to get her head above water in a new and challenging position. I completed a few Inquiry projects with the Network, and learned immensely from the experiences. One idea that was formative for me came from Linda Kaser and Judy Halbert in one of their announcements at a Network meeting. They announced that their goal was to improve education to the point where each student had the chance to cross the stage (graduate) with dignity, purpose, and options. These words are absolutely crucial to my personal education credo, and key in how I design my classroom and my lessons. They're the backbone of a strong philosophy of education, and crucial to learner-centered design. Dignity, purpose, and options: how can I create an educational environment that encourages these? I think the key comes down to two things I've written about before: authenticity and relationships. Being authentic in our design means creating activities that are meaningful for the student, and have, if possible, real application to their lives. I think it also means being up-front and clear - respectful of their context, their strengths, and their challenges. This ties beautifully into relationships, as you can't design properly for students without an understanding of where they're coming from. So how do we do this online? If we build discussion and plenty of opportunity for student feedback into our courses, we can start to build social presence and relationships. If we design units around student choice and gradually increase their responsibility, we begin to see tasks take on an authenticity that we as teachers might not be able to conceive of. If we allow for different ways of knowing, and different ways of showing learning, we can build trust and strength in our relationships, while giving students the opportunity to spend time finding their passions, which could in turn develop into a sense of purpose for their future. Students who are treated as equal partners in the learning experience are a wonder to behold. They advocate for themselves. They begin to disconnect from an extrinsic motivation for learning (grades) to one that is more intrinsic (fun!). They will surprise you with their great ideas and their ability to interpret the learning outcomes into demonstrations of knowledge and skill. They will also make you learn a lot about yourself while they're doing it. A last facet of my credo deals with feedback and criticism. My wish for my students is that they will learn how to gracefully accept and give quality feedback and criticism. I want them to learn to look for the comments on an assignment instead of a grade, and to have the grit to keep revising until they are proud of their work. This preserves dignity for the individual by disconnecting their value as a human being from their academic achievement. Detailed feedback and the ability to interpret it and make changes as a result is a lifelong skill that I hope all of my students can carry with them into their lives after high school, along with a belief in themselves as capable learners. Learning Management Systems are a tool for teachers to design quality learning experiences for students, in ways that provide lots of options, preserve and enhance individual dignity, and allow students to follow their passions and discover purpose. The design is more important than the tools we use, but allowing for choice and flexibility can be one important way that online and blended learning gives students their own tools to prepare for a successful future. |
Leslie McCurrachEnthusiastic Learner. Avid Gardener. DL Teacher. Archives
March 2018
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