This semester I have enjoyed each of the readings, models and videos individually. I think the challenge is bringing everything together and figuring out how this will change my practice. The Dervin reading really connected with everything. The image of bridging the gap between the user (our students) and the knowledge is a huge concept. I think everything else we learned about are tools that can help us bridge that gap. Dervin discussed interviews that really focus on the user experience, this connects with the SITE model and really focuses in on us getting to know our students. Getting to know our students is so foundational as we are in the classroom. We need to get to know many different aspects of them. What are their past experiences, what are their mindsets on education and learning, how they think they learn, and many other things.
Seeing how so many models overlap with PBL/PrBL was really exciting for me. This also helped me to strengthen my idea of what problem based learning can look like in my classroom. I got to look at things like the Design Thinking Model and the Pebble in a Pond Model through the lens of PBL yet outside of NTHS. This gave me a fresh perspective of what I would like my classroom to look like. I think one of the major takeaways I have is to be intentional about what I do and why I do it. This stood out to me when creating my Why-How-Ladder. As a facilitator, I need to be asking myself why I am doing things and how what I am doing is going to get the students to that point. This comes into play with the information learned from Baggio as well. When giving a presentation, I need to be thoughtful about what is included and how I present the information. Things done in a slightly different way can have a different effect on how the students or if the students get the information. Being clear and intentional also connects to our readings by Clark. I need to be clear on what it is that I want my students to learn, is it procedures, concepts, facts, processes, or principles. How I get this information can look different. I need to always make sure that I am clear about what it is I want my students to gain from any activity/lesson I do. Tying that back into Dervin, I need to look at what their experience was like. Did students get the outcome I intended? Eddie Obeng also inspired me in how I think about my classroom. The idea that global is the new scale is so powerful. We have access to so much information and so many people; how can I use this to support my students to become global citizens? How can I use this to make their work meaningful? Obeng's analogy of the green ink connected a visual to the idea that we don't realize so many things in world if we just look at it in the same way or don't try new things. I want to help students see the world in a different way, to see what happens when they put in the green ink. Overall, this semester has added so tools to my tool belt and pushed my way of thinking. This semester has inspired me to help make school an amazing place for students to learn, fail, and be creative. I know my struggle is to mold all of these tools, models, and ideas into one cohesive experience for my students. I am excited to see what this new year will look like at NTHS.
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As I continue to revisit the idea of sense-making by Dervin, I am continuing to question how we bridge the gap of our user (the students) to the information they are trying to access. I continue to ask myself several questions, what tools do we use? Do these tools work well for all students? How do we know students received the information? I think it is important as we continue to learn about new tools such as presentation platforms, add-on options, etc., that we get feedback from students about what worked for them and what didn't. Learning about how to be better at creating presentation by using CRAP and other design principles that we will be better prepared in providing students with access to the content.
I love the TPACK model and the concept that education is always about how technology, content knowledge and pedagogy overlap. I reminds me how important it is for us to be intentional about the tools we use and how we use them. We are not just teaching content, we are creating an experience for our students to learn through meaningful questions, designed to allow them to question and collaborate while interacting with technology in way that extends their possibilities. Keeping in mind the TPACK model while looking at how students cross the bridge of sense-making is important. As I look at how blogging in mathematics can align with and support both sense making and the TPACK model I get excited about developing a structure in which students create valuable blogs that allows them to interact with their peers, teachers, and experts. As I create my prototype I feel as if I could go in many different directions and my challenge has been to narrow my focus. When creating my prototype I struggles with which tool to use. I had an image of what I wanted it to look like and I had a hard time finding a program to align with it. I tried easil.ly, and visme, I also tried bubbl.us, canva, and piktochart. All of them had pros and cons. I was trying to focus on incorporating the elements of visual design that we have been learning and I found myself spending so much more time on the image and not focusing on the content. I wonder how we support our students in the use of the correct tools for a task and making sure we allow time to be spent in a meaningful way. Throughout this program as I build a bridge between my practice, my action research, and what I am learning, I realize that the things that inspire me, my observations, reflections, experiences, connections, and dilemmas are far too many to capture. It makes me wonder where do I focus and how do I provide an experience for my students to blossom into the best individuals and citizens that they can be?
For example, as I read Baggio, I come across some great concepts on how to make my presentations better. I love the CRAP Principle. I plan to redesign some of my lessons moving forward to incorporate those elements of design. While I read that, I also wonder, how often should I be providing a powerpoint type lesson? Is this the best way for students to learn? What does the balance of direct instruction look like? I would also like students to be able to use these design skills as they make presentations; these are skills learned in their digital design classes. So my question becomes, what is my role in that instruction? Listening to Eddie Obeng, I was inspired. His excitement is infectious. I love his analogy of the green dye; he is correct, our world has changed and what will it take for us to see that? What is our green dye? At the same time I don't think it is the way in which humans have learned that has changed, it is the things we are learning and what we are preparing for. The graph of the exponential world and the horizontal line of our learning struck me; maybe it is the math in me. What does happen when the world passes up our learning? This brought up a dilemma that I have now been reminded of several times throughout this program, what is the role of standards? As a math teacher, I have always been focused on the content I teach. Is that really what is important? I want my students to become mathematical thinkers, to be able to look at a problem that they have never seen, be able to analyze it and make connections to prior knowledge and to try something, have it not work, try something else and to keep going until they figure it out. So, what role does the ability to graph a line, or how to solve an equation have in this way of thinking. I don't have an answer, I am curious about what this balance looks like. This idea all leads me to what does success of my students look like? Does success mean that they can correctly solve math problems that have no context? I think this is what math has been in the past. This idea then leads me to the idea of a grade, a C means I understand the content enough to go to the next level. Hmmm, I am really pushing myself to think, what is the purpose of math, what is success, and how do I help create an experience for students to be their best? In terms of my action research, my focus is blogging about math. I think this is important for several reasons. First, this allows students to have a real, authentic audience for their learning. This could be powerful as we think about the connections that could be made as they sit in a classroom of a small town (as Sarah pointed out in her blog). Second, this provides a space for them to really reflect on what they are doing and why they are doing it. I want to be questioned and pushed as the teacher to help them in finding meaning and relevance in their work. I hope that I am able to use blogging to create a mindset within themselves and a network outside of their circle to do amazing things. My new driving questions is, In the context of a math classroom, how can blogging support students in setting and tracking their content goals? I decided to stick with the idea of blogging and its relationship with math content; however my focus now is more on them becoming reflective learners. When I use the SITE model to look at my students I realize that many of them have just been receivers of their educations; they are not the creators. I think it would be powerful to have blogging be a way in which they can become reflective learners and partially design their experience and to be able to connect with adults and experts outside of the classroom that guide them in their process.
As I continue to read Baggio, I am excited to see how I think differently when designing a presentation. I also hope to share some of that knowledge with them as they blog and design their weebly page. It is amazing how much visual processing we do without even thinking about it. One quote that stood out to me in chapter 7 was “Learning is not about your information. It is not about how much you know. It is all about what you can get the learners to take in.” I think this is so powerful. As educators it is not about what we know but how we bridge the gap between our students and that knowledge. I know that strengthening the way I use visuals in the classroom can help build that bridge. I found that as I looked at math through the lens of Clark and the cognitive load learning processes: Concepts, Facts, Procedures, Processes, Principles, I found myself thinking differently about the way I would teach things. In math students definitely need to learn all five of these. I think it will be powerful to write clear learning objectives for each of these as separate things. It may be valuable to have them use blogging in order to track their progress within each of these categories. For example a student may have "mastered" the facts and procedures about linear equations; however this does not mean that they have mastered the concepts of linear equations. It may be an interesting way for students to look set goals and track their learning. I tend to always want to focus on my students. My main audience is the kids, the goal is to implement new tools to support them in both engagement and achievement. At the same time I think it is important that we share this information with other in the education field. I love the fact that teaching is becoming more and more collaborative and I think it is essential that we continue to share both our successes and our failures with other educators so that we can build on each other and support each other. Being part of a new school structure at New Tech means that our model will be analyzed, discussed, and shared, both the good and the bad, and everything in between. This means that new things that I try will not be isolated in my classroom, they will be part of the team and potentially shared out with many others. At the heart of what I do, my audience is about the kids, at the same time what I do with my students will be shared with other educators.
It is my understanding that our capstone has a fairly structured format that we must follow. After reading Dervin, Baggio, and Clark it is very clear that I should make something as visual as possible. Knowing that my capstone will be something viewed by educators, I will need to consider what tools will make my research most accessible for them. I need to know what will gain their attention and how I can use my layout to make it as easy to read and navigate as possible. I started my teaching career in southern California. When I was there I went through an intense training process as the district adopted a new approach to math. I was constantly pushing my practice, reflecting, and analyzing student engagement and achievement. After eight years, I came to New Tech High, I felt as if I was back at square one. I even got to the point where I felt like I was ready to move on from teaching to whatever my next steps will be. Upon starting the Innovative Learning program I was very excited. I love learning new things and being exposed to new tools and ideas that push me to be a better teacher for my students. I found the first semester to have its benefits and frustrations. I enjoyed the collaboration amongst the "C-15 fam" and exposure to things such as screencasting. The research process, although had value and I learned from it, could have been done in a way that would have been less stressful and more meaningful and innovative.
Moving into the second semester, I am excited about continuing to grow as an innovator. Going into next year and being part of something innovative as far as the structure of school, I am inspired to be able to incorporate the things I learn into the new way we are doing things. I also know that embarking on this new structure, I will have a lot of questions; it is nice to know that I have a group of people that are there to get feedback and support from. In thinking about action research as I move forward, I think it has a lot of relevance. Within our team of teachers we will be constantly engaging in an inquiry cycle. We will be trying new things, reflecting, analyzing data, and adjusting. Because this will be new to everyone, this cycle will be so important for the success of the model and the students achievement. "From the Mind's Eye of the User: The Sense-Making Qualitative-Quantitative Methodology" by Brenda Dervin was a challenging article to make sense of. I found myself reading and rereading most sentences. It was almost impossible for me to read it on the computer, I printed it out and made sure to highlight and take notes. Even after these strategies, I still found it hard to understand what she was saying. It was very helpful to then watch the video. I found myself making connections to what I had read and then realized what was trying to be communicated in the article. I found that listening to the concepts simplified with a scenario along with visuals was very helpful.
My understanding of the article was demonstrated in the triangular visual of the situation (patron), the gap (bridge), and the information. Making sense of something is trying to get the used connected to the information and how the gap is closed. I think it made some important points about how tools and systems are in place to help the user connect to the information; however, those systems and tools are not always what works for the user. Dervin discussed methods that could be used to help close the gap between the user and the information. Conducting interviews was the main method. These interviews help understand the used and their experience. There are many different groups of people and within the groups there is a huge amount of diversity, how do we support the access of information given how different each person is? I think these are important things to address with our students, how do we all make sense of things and how do we support others in that process. If I were teaching this to students I would not start by giving them the article. I would start by showing the video and maybe having them come up with a situation that was modeled that same ideas as the librarian situation. I would have them draw pictures and have a conversation about what they got out of it. I may then have them read the article to draw connections to the information they already interacted with. To close I would have them do something to analyze what tools help them make sense and have them do some reflection about their sense making process. |