by Chip Flemmer - Friday, 27 February 2009, 07:14 AM
I chose to look at the Experiential Learning theory.
2. Re: 3/4 - 3/10: Information Processing
by Chip Flemmer - Sunday, 8 March 2009, 06:03 PM
I am critiquing what I know about
our K-12 system. I can't speak for the entire country; but I know that in my
own school and district the Memory Load is often overlooked or maybe a
better way to put it would be abused. We tend to be guilty of trying to pour
two gallons of information into a shot-glass and it just doesn't work. Due to
the pressures imposed from state testing, we tend to increase the amount of
information that we are requiring the students to know. If more of a conscious
effort was put into the chunking of information into more manageable segments I
believe that we would have better results. My school has very bright students
and we always do really well on the state testing; but I do fear that with there
being a limit to our working memory that we often push the students beyond what
they can process and handle. Don't get me wrong and think that I am saying that
we need to dumb-down our curriculum because I am not. I just think that instead
of dumping the entire buffet on our students' plate; we would be better-served
to put more focus on chunking our information into more manageable pieces. I
believe we would see results that would even be better than what we already
have.
If we fail to chunk the information adequately we are risking our students losing the necessary information because we are dumping more than our working memory can handle. If we fail to set up a learning environment that chunks information we are setting up our students for failure.
I was and still am a big fan of task modeling. I always seem to do better when I have examples that can help me target the specific skill being taught. I think it makes good sense to help get the students going in the right direction and then they can take it to the next level.
I am also a big fan of motivation. If I am
not motivated or have instructors that appear to care about what I am doing
then I lack that drive to be an active-learner and it always ends-up being a
waste of time. I know that in athletics we really focus on the motivational
aspects and I try to carry that into my classroom and it has been very
successful.
3. Re: 3/11 - 3/17: Situated Cognition Principles
by Chip Flemmer - Saturday, 14 March 2009, 06:43 AM
Looking over the table about Situated Cognition Principles Relating to Learning Environments, I was drawn straight to Learning as an Active Participant. I think that so much more can attained when the students are actively participating in the process. It mentions that learning is seen as a dialectical process of interaction which is very true. Yesterday, I took my social studies classes to another classroom for a guest speaker to present information about South Africa. The guest speaker happens to be one of our math teachers who is from South Africa. Every single class was just hanging on his every word. The presentation had maps, information, stories, adventures, but most importantly he had the students actively involved and asking/answering questions. I was looking around the room and you didn't see one student look disinterested. I guarantee that when we come back from spring break, if I asked my students to list all of the things they learned from Mr. Munsami's presentation of South Africa that they will be able to list a whole lot more than if I handed them the textbook (yesterday) and had them read 3-5 pages about South Africa and the system of apartheid. Active learning was the key to the success.
In my own learning, I am the same way as my students were. When I am actively involved in a lesson, whether it is a lecture that gets the students involved or a lab or whatever, I am much more likely to listen, think, and ultimately learn.
I think the rules, norms, and beliefs can be challenging when trying to create a strong learning environment. I have taught in four different schools over the past thirteen years and each of them brought their own challenges and benefits. I am currently teaching in a school that is mostly upper-middle class; but there are many who self-classify as rich and feel that the world owes them and their children special benefits and treatments. We have some that think they have a special exception to all of the rules, norms, and beliefs. Our students and parents are great most of the time; but if there is a situation in which a rule, norm or belief doesn't benefit their child---we are likely to hear about it and why their son/daughter should be allowed (entitled) special privileges.
On the other end of the spectrum, I have worked in a very poor school and it becomes very tough to get all of the students to buy into the learning process when it has never been emphasized at home. It can sometimes feel like you are pulling teeth as a teacher to try to get those students to buy into our rules, norms, and beliefs when that just isn't the ways things roll at home.
Despite all of the challenges, we just have to do the best we can and remember
that our job is to provide the best education possible for all of our students.
4. Re: 3/11 - 3/17: Situated Cognition Principles
by Chip Flemmer - Sunday, 15 March 2009, 07:40 PM
Paul,
I probably did a disservice by referring to what happened in my class last
Friday as being a lecture (because it was not a lecture in any sense). Yes,
there are cool speakers that can engage learning and it would in no way be
classified as a community of practice; but I am thinking that our lesson with
the speaker would qualify for a couple of reasons.
On page 34 in our book it talks about interactions with the world producing meaning
and identity. I considered what happened as bringing the world to the class. I
guess that I was applying the community of practice in the sense that all of my
students have been going through several interactive lessons dealing with
Africa and apartheid together (community with a common goal) and that it
would fit what I had read. All of the lessons we had done, for the most part,
had been collaborative efforts. I felt that bringing in someone from
South Africa would be in a sense bringing the world in to them.
I may be way off base with how I have applied a community of
practice because my tangential mind has done that before.
Maybe a better example that I could have used would have been our school's Rachel's Challenge Club
which has formed a great learning community while extending their mission
beyond the walls of our school. Their community has reached out to other
communities to provide various services that are not only impacting our school;
but also our world in a positive manner.
All the best,
Chip
5. Re: 3/11 - 3/17: Situated Cognition Principles
by Chip Flemmer - Tuesday, 17 March 2009, 06:47 AM
Scott,
It sounds like Moodle is gaining popularity in various high
schools. I was in contact with a high school (talking about a basketball
position) and they mentioned that they use Moodle. I may have been a little too
excited and let them know that I had just recently been introduced to Moodle.
I can see where the quiet or even the generally uninterested students would be
more likely to get involved with Moodle. That is a great way to build a
community of practice.
What are the toughest struggles you have faced with Moodle (other than the writing assignment) in transitioning from the
more traditional classroom experience?
As for the formal writing assignment not going as you had hoped; I am sure that
through our social network (community) somebody has tried something or heard of
something that will likely work. That is the cool thing about incorporating
technology into the classroom...some things will work while others will flop. I
am all about trial and error until something works.
Sounds like some good things are happening in your classroom.
All the best,
Chip
6. Re: 4/1 - 4/7: How Does Technology Affect How We Learn?
by Chip Flemmer - Friday, 3 April 2009, 05:03 AM
My findings are similar to Randy's in that with the internet
and all the great new technological tools that we have access to, there are so many different ways
to learn that our students just need to find their niche for learning. I believe
that the designers of educational technology
should really keep in mind the various ways that people learn; but I also
strongly feel that most people will adapt to what is put before them.
I was in a technology training on using Interwrite in our classrooms yesterday
with a couple of teachers present. It was funny to see how different people
learn new technology differently. Some people are the trailblazers that just
mess-around with the devices and learn how things work on their own, you also
have the patient learners that wait for each step of the process to be
thoroughly explained in fear that they will cause the computer to explode, and
there are also the "tweeners" that listen closely to how it works
until they are comfortable and then they leave the pack to venture out on their
own.
As far as how technology has changed the way we learn, it is evident on a daily
basis for me. Ten years ago I would have to make sure all of my students had
all of the necessary resources for whatever assignment, activity, or project we
were doing in class. Today, I have the assignment along with the rubric and if a
student doesn't finish in class it is almost always that I say, "Go home
and get on that new invention called the World Wide Web and finish your
work." It doesn't matter if it is a mapping assignment or a cultural
research paper.
We just completed a project in class trying a novel idea; the students could
only use library books and encyclopedias. The purpose of doing this for me was
more to see how flexible my students are in their approach to finding
information. I used the analogy that the index was your Google search engine
and the page numbers showed you where the links were. After we got past the
fact that it is important to read the book to find information (it just doesn't
jump off the page and smack you in the face), the students were awesome. I half
jokingly told the classes that they could tell their children and grandchildren
that they remember doing a project with a thing called books. It also had me
wondering what libraries will look like in the future.
I think that technology has had an overall good impact on learning. I do get
concerned when you see a group of teenagers (either in the hall after school or
hanging out at the mall) gathered in a circle and nobody is talking to each
other because all ten of them have out their phones and are texting other
people. I don't want to see the personal face-to-face interactions disappear.
However, when I look at the big picture I see an endless supply of information
and access to that information that is as quick as a click of a button which I
see as being extremely helpful in supporting learning.
7. Re: 4/8 - 4/14: How does connectivism manifest itself?
by Chip Flemmer - Thursday, 9 April 2009, 05:18 PM
Connectivism manifests itself in student-centered learning environments in a variety of ways. Since connectivism involves how the learners find information and make connections, SCLE's can foster connections through small-group collaboration and interaction. Students can take previous experiences and construct learning with each other in these groups. Connections can easily be made from one discipline to another. A student may be in a math class and make a connection to something they learned in science class. Taking previous experiences and applying it to learning something new is making a connection.
I don't consciously think about connectivism when I am creating my lesson plans; but I believe I do incorporate connectivism into my planning by building off what we previously learned and transitioning into our new information. We learn a lot of information in my World Cultures class like geography, cultures, religions, governments, etc. The new information that we are learning often has connections to something that we previously learned. An example in teaching geography would be that most major cities are located near a large body of water. If we initially discussed this while learning about North America's geography and students noticed the same patterns in Europe or Africa then we would have a connection through taking prior knowledge and applying it.
8. Re: 2/11 - 2/17: An Examination Knowledge from Different Points of Views
by Chip Flemmer - Saturday, 14 February 2009, 06:04 AM
As a constructivist I am going to have to wholeheartedly disagree with Mr. Skinner's claim which implies that students are globs of clay and may be molded into anything that society wishes them to become. Your belief as a behaviorist suggest that students have no independent thought process whatsoever and may be brain-washed in whichever way an instructor or authority-figure decides is fit. My question to you is when does that student transition from being the glob of clay being molded and shaped by society into being the one doing the molding and shaping?
I strongly believe that learning is a process in which discovery is key. Each student is unique and will obtain knowledge in a multitude of ways. Active engagement and making connections are crucial to learning. One's experiences play a key role into how one constructs learning and knowledge is retained by an individual from those experiences.
Mr. Skinner, with all respect, I must disagree with your claim that "Education is what is left when what has been learned has been forgotten."
9. Re: 2/11 - 2/17: An Examination Knowledge from Different Points of Views
by Chip Flemmer - Sunday, 15 February 2009, 06:30 AM
I pondered the quote, “I did not direct my life. I didn't design it. I never made decisions. Things always came up and made them for me. That's what life is.”.
I would not totally agree that a child, when they are born are essentially blank slates. I believe that there are numerous conditions which effect the growth, development, and behaviors of the child; however, I don't believe that it all hinges strictly on behavior. I believe that there are times where the right decision are basically staring one straight in the eye, but people still have to make the decision. To say, "I have never made decisions" is too broad in my opinion. That would mean that the eighteen year old working the counter at McDonald's is supposed to decide if we want a Big Mac or a side salad? Wait, he would have never have made a decision; so I am now lost.
There have been numerous studies dealing with how children learn to speak languages in various cultures around the world and remarkably they have all shown similar results: "Children don't mimic adult forms. They try to figure out rules and regularities and then construct their own interpretations of what to say. As they get more feedback and have more experiences trying to communicate, they eventually come to accepted constructions and expressions."
If children didn't have their own innate ability to learn and do their own thing, wouldn't all of us parents have then missed out on those "NO!" tantrums. The behaviorist approach sounds nice with the children being guided into doing as the parent or society wishes through positive or negative reinforcement, but I still believe that we all construct our learning from our experiences in life.
10. Re: 4/15 - 4/15: School systems and creativity
by Chip Flemmer - Friday, 17 April 2009, 04:35 AM
I believe that there are many incidents in which Sir Ken Robinson is correct and our schools are indeed having a negative impact on learners' creativity. This is where I believe that a Student-Centered Learning Environment would be extremely beneficial. If the facilitator is creating a learning environment with the primary purpose being to enrich each student’s individual abilities and maximize the learning for all, then the sky is the limit on what each student is able to achieve.
I also think back to my own education and being a student that never liked English class. I couldn’t stand writing papers because they always ended-up being tattooed in red marker and filled with “Fix this” or “Change that” comments from an old lady with glasses perched at the edge of her nose and chains dangling from the side that prevented those spectacles from ever leaving her reach. During my first year of college I took a creative writing course that changed my opinion of writing. I had a professor who was all about bringing out your creativity and expressing yourself through many different avenues. For the first time I was actually excited about writing because I could actually put down ideas from my own mind on to the paper and not just ideas that I knew that my teacher wanted to read, but had nothing to do with how I felt.
I have a couple of students who love to ask the “why?” questions about everything we do in class and I actually like that because it does cause me to consider my practices in the classroom to identify whether or not my method of operation is the most effective way in helping my students learn.
I like to use a menu approach (ex. select any two of the five choices) on tests with our essay or short answer questions because this give the students a better opportunity to find something that they will have success with and may even enjoy.
On projects, it is nice to have a variety of formats the students can use to complete the task. I also like having the option of "OTHER." With an Other option the student can come up with an idea for a project that wasn't listed and if it meets the criteria for the project then it will be approved. Allowing students to be creative makes learning fun for everyone and it can also motivate others (including the teacher).
I have heard from another colleague about how his son, who is very bright, has a high school teacher who seemingly cringes whenever students challenge conventional thinking or try to think outside of the box. When teachers are threatened by a student’s intellect and are discouraging students taking a chance by trying to challenge the status quo, I believe that a student’s creativity is being stifled. This young high school man's creativity in marketing and utilizing social networking for promotion has recently helped an author receive a six-figure contract on a book.
I believe that the first thing that could be done differently would be for the teacher to no be so quick to dismiss novel ideas and creativity from students that may be considered unconventional. I like what Sir Ken Robinson said about creativity being original ideas that have value. Having the freedom to be creative is similar to a dog who has always been stuck on a leash and finally is let go; you never really know what is going to happen and where it may lead you.