Last week I decided to share my ‘as learner’ – looking forward, looking back post in order to seek feedback. Thanks to those who had the time to critique the work and provide feedback. I really appreciate it.
In continuing this idea, but also ‘trying something different’ I thought I would post my current ‘As Teacher’ – Looking forward, looking back in order to seek feedback. This time I will post the reflection directly into my blog, but also share a Google Doc.
If you get a chance could you please comment on my ‘as teacher’ summary/reflection and provide any comments and constructive criticism. You could comment on the blog or provide comments inline on the shared Google Doc.
Thanks in advance
Brendon
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As Teacher: How can NGL inform my role as teacher?
Today’s digital world calls for contemporary pedagogical practice and curriculum that “clearly align with curiosities and needs to today’s youth” (Donovan, Green, & Hartley, 2010, p. 424). Educators frequently use contemporary digital tools and innovative teaching and learning approaches to engage their students. They are also faced with the challenge of fostering students’ ability to prepare them for an unknown future, one that will involve the effective use of networked and global connections. In order for teachers to be able to educate their students, they themselves need to be equipped with skills, confidence and vision in using and teaching with information and communication technologies within our networked and global knowledge society (Couros, 2008). Veletsianos (2011) notes that “transformative learning experiences cannot be imposed” on learners, rather educators need to adopt a phased approach where learners are invited, encouraged and facilitated.
The context in which my perceptions are entrenched are within a regional Catholic community in Australia for the education of boys from Year 5-12. The school provides each child from Years 8-12 with an iPad or laptop, with the key educational role to provide access to digital information and communication tools anywhere, anytime. All teachers are also provided with a laptop and iPad in order to create, engage and interact with learning experiences for their students.
Dede (2008) highlights that “no educational ICT is universally good; and the best way to invest in instructional technologies is an instrumental approach that analyses the natures of the curriculum, students, and teachers to select the appropriate tools, applications, media, and environments”. Therefore it is essential for me as an educator not to adopt the ‘one size fits all’ approach, but rather open learning to be personalised to the individual student. However, as a core concern for this open, connected and networked approach to learning I have highlighted numerous times (1, 2 and 3) how this could impact the heightened emphasis on a schools legal accountability for student protection and privacy. Whilst it is essential to acknowledge these barriers to transformation, it can also be argued that calculated risks need to be taken in order to improve student learning, engagement and hopefully improved outcomes. Do all the positives in relation to networked and global learning far-outweighing the negatives? Furthermore, the metaphor presented by David regarding the ‘walled garden’, as “something that puts barriers between the ‘real’ world and the world of formal education” is essential to knowledge in a P-12 context. The use of Learning Management Systems (LMS) or protected social learning tools, such as Edmodo or Schoology, does start to open up holes in the wall and there are signs of this being a ‘change management strategy’. Ultimately the argument returns to everything teachers do being centrally about learning and education, and teaching students to be resilient in a variety of situations and contexts within a networked and globalised economy.
Another core element of networked and global learning that I plan on implementing within my pedagogy immediately is the concept of student blogging. It was not until Week 6 of engagement in a blogging experience that I truly saw the possibility and empowering learning that is a product of blogging. The core benefits of utilising this strategy with P-12 students is that they provide:
- an authentic audience which could improve motivation and engagement (Patnoudes, 2014);
- promote reflective thinking and relationship building through collaboration;
- “extend learning outside the classroom walls”;
- “increase perceived accountability and therefore quality of student work”; and
- “increase opportunities for students to receive feedback” (MacBride & Lachman, 2008, p. 173).
Furthermore, the benefits of students receiving peer review and feedback from a wide audience are confirmed by Hattie (2003), who recognises that the single greatest influence on student learning is ‘feedback’. In this context the feedback could come from peers, teachers or any other individual in the learner’s network. It is the process of students writing their ideas down and making the tacit explicit that enables them “reflection upon it, and reanalyse it in light of the new and sometimes conflicting information” (Goel, Johnson, Junglas, & Ives, 2010, p. 11). Conversely, there is also an argument that if this blogging process is to be made public rather than within the ‘walled garden’ of an LMS, or similar, we might be doing some of our students a dis-service when they are trying to secure employment. Will our students want their ‘messy’ process of learning and discovery, when they are a school student, visible to their potential employers?
According to Darling-Hammond (2008, p. 93) “teachers learn best by studying, doing, and reflecting; by collaborating with other teachers; by looking closely at students and their work; and by sharing what they see”. Therefore, the promotion of teacher’s blogging within my context will not only facilitate the development of a personal learning community (PLC) which can improve teaching practice and student achievement, but also by teachers engagement in blogging may transfer to implementation of the strategy for their students. Within a PLC there can be an improvement in teaching culture as there is an increase in collaboration, a focus on student learning, teacher empowerment and continuous learning (Vescio, Ross, & Adams, 2008). Through engagement in a PCL that is focused on changing instructional practices of teachers, a measurable improvement in student achievement occurred (Supovitz, 2002; Supovitz & Christman, 2003). However, Little (2003, p. 913) cautions that PLC’s could be limited by their own “horizons of observation”, thus it is essential we seek external perspectives and turn towards our wider networks for support.
Another key realisation that is important for ‘me as teacher’ is differences in students learning styles and personality types. The Introvert/Extrovert debate in online learning is important to recognise as “extroverts choose higher levels of noise in a learning situation and perform better in the presence of noise, while introverts perform better in quiet (Ornstein, 1995, p. 57). Consequently, the introvert may have less difficulty entering the virtual community as they have time to think about information before responding. Therefore, the current practice of consistent face-to-face and collaborative delivery of professional learning may be restricting for introverts and engagement in an online dialogue may allow diverse personality types to engage. Siemens (2014) asserts this difference and states that “learning and knowledge rests in diversity of opinions”. While this diversity in learning styles and abundance of resources in multiple formats is enabling for learners as teachers are able to cater for their preferences and interests, it can be difficult as the decision-making required to scaffold and ‘cull’ resources for students.
Another clear possibility from networked and global learning is the omission of textbooks from schools. There is an abundance of resources and the networked student can access knowledge within the network at any time (Drexler, 2010). Why do we need textbooks? In order to change a teachers conception of learning and pedagogical approach to facilitate more of a ‘guide on the side’, rather than ‘sage on the stage’ should leadership be challenging staff on use of textbooks and promoting a more constructivist approach through facilitation of networked tools? Relating this back to the Harry Potter analogy I presented earlier, transformational learning with a digital wand. The uniformity and conversely the creativity in the clip below presents the need for us as educators to allow flexibility for our learners and realise that learning is not constrained to chairs and desks with a specific time limit. Growth and success can come from understanding the basics and individual experimentation and creative thinking, as evident from the Weasley Twins – Fred & George. This argument of creativity in schools leads to my post on ‘Do schools kill creativity?’. The latest in education is seeking teachers provide students opportunities to inquire, create their own questions, do their own research, and form their own conclusions with their learning. Consequently, I am going to seek to implement ‘20% time’ or ‘Genius Hour’ within my teaching in order to promote innovation and creativity.
This ‘increasing rate of technological change undermines stability’ (Glastra, Hake, & Schedler, 2004, p. 297). The barriers of adequate time, negative attitudes, lack of professional learning and status quo comfort can inhibit the development of educators and consequently students. However, it could be argued that this is not a negative aspect for contemporary educators, rather disruptive technology is initiating change and reflective practice amongst educators, which is ultimately positive for preparing students for the challenges they will face in building the capacity for a competitive global market. The demands of the competitive future society require educators to be lifelong learners and personal development and career success is going to be a pivotal challenge (Kolb, 1984).
In summary, networked and global learning principles have changed my conceptions of learning and teaching and I am going to strive to:
- Develop a phased approach to further implementing NGL principles with my students;
- Use and LMS as a ‘change management strategy’;
- Implement reflective blogging;
- Promote a PLC at my context;
- Recognise diversity of students and knowledge as a strength;
- Challenge the conception of textbooks;
- Strive more to be the ‘guide on the side’, rather than the ‘sage on the stage’;
- Promote ‘20% time’ or ‘Genius Hour’; and
- Continue to engage in reflective practice and sharing via blogging.
Overall, as educators we need to continually remember that technology in an educational setting should focus on learning goals rather than technology innovation and be cognisant that “the most profound technologies are those that disappear. They weave themselves into the fabric of everyday life until they are indistinguishable from it” (Weiser, 1991, p. 94). However, amidst all the forces of discontinuity we must maintain compassion towards students’ individual circumstances and protection.
References
Couros, A. (2008). What does the network mean to you? Retrieved 7 September 2014, 2014, from http://www.slideshare.net/Downes/open-educational-resources-and-the-personal-learning-environment
Darling-Hammond, L. (2008). Teacher learning that supports student learning. Teaching for intelligence, 2, 91-100.
Dede, C. (2008). Theoretical perspectives influencing the use of information technology in teaching and learning International handbook of information technology in primary and secondary education (pp. 43-62): Springer.
Donovan, L., Green, T., & Hartley, K. (2010). An examination of one-to-one computing in the middle school: Does increased access bring about increased student engagement? Journal of Educational Computing Research, 42(4), 423-441.
Drexler, W. (2010). The Networked Student Model for Construction of Personal Learning Environments: Balancing Teacher Control and Student Autonomy. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 26(3), 369-385.
Glastra, F. J., Hake, B. J., & Schedler, P. E. (2004). Lifelong learning as transitional learning. Adult Education Quarterly, 54(4), 291-307.
Glazer, C., Abbott, L., & Harris, J. (2004). A teacher‐developed process for collaborative professional reflection. Reflective Practice, 5(1), 33-46.
Goel, L., Johnson, N., Junglas, I., & Ives, B. (2010). Situated learning: Conceptualization and measurement. Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education, 8(1), 215-240.
Hargreaves, A. (2003). Teaching in the knowledge society: Education in the age of insecurity: Teachers College Press.
Hattie, J. (2003). Teachers make a difference: what is the research evidence? : Australian Council for Educational Research Melbourne.
Kalantzis, M., & Harvey, A. (2004). New teaching, new learning: A vision for Australian education: Australian Council of Deans of Education.
Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development (Vol. 1): Prentice-Hall Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
Little, J. (2003). Inside teacher community: Representations of classroom practice. The Teachers College Record, 105(6), 913-945.
MacBride, R., & Lachman, A. L. (2008). Capitalizing on Emerging Technologies: A Case Study of Classroom Blogging. School Science & Mathematics, 108(5), 173-183.
Ornstein, A. C. (1995). Teaching: Theory into practice: Allyn & Bacon.
Patnoudes, E. (2014). Empowering Students Through Blogging. Retrieved 7 September 2014, from http://www.edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2014/08/empowering-students-through-blogging
Siemens, G. (2014). Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age. Instructional Technology and Distance Education, 2(1), 3-10.
Supovitz, J. (2002). Developing communities of instructional practice. The Teachers College Record, 104(8), 1591-1626.
Supovitz, J., & Christman, J. B. (2003). Developing communities of instructional practice: Lessons from Cincinnati and Philadelphia. CPRE Policy Briefs. (pp. 1-9). Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania.
Veletsianos, G. (2011). Designing Opportunities for Transformation with Emerging Technologies. Educational Technology, 51(2), 41-46.
Vescio, V., Ross, D., & Adams, A. (2008). A review of research on the impact of professional learning communities on teaching practice and student learning. Teaching and teacher education, 24(1), 80-91.
Weiser, M. (1991). The computer for the 21st century. Scientific American, 265(3), 94-104.
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