I have always thought of inquiry learning as a pretty necessary ingredient in teaching science. It is integral to the scientific method and, indeed, the entire scientific enterprise. Background knowledge is important of course, but knowing facts, figures, definitions, and basic concepts is just the first step. In an scientific classroom, doing science should take precedence over learning science. In other words, it is about the experience itself. And to me, that is what inquiry is really all about.
One key thing that I have taken away from this course is the distinction between investigable and non-investigable questions. When engaging students, showing processes, discoveries, innovations and phenomena that get them curious about the natural world, we want them to ask non-investigable questions--questions that may sometimes be unanswerable, at least for the time being. But to teach with inquiry, it is crucial that students be able to take their questions and hone them into something they can test. To do this, they really need to think about what variables are involved and which variables can be isolated and manipulated. This allows them to design an investigation that will yield actual results, with valid data they can analyze.
Another key feature that really stood out to me throughout this course is the importance of student choice. Rather than just telling students what they are going to learn and what they need to do, part of inquiry is giving them the chance to sort it out on their own. Giving them some free reign in their exploration makes it so much more relevant and meaningful, which also gives it staying-power. Of course the content itself is important, but the process skills they implement along the way are just as important, if not more so.
I would say that I implement a good amount of inquiry into my teaching on a regular basis. One of the biggest projects we do in 9th grade science in my district is a wonderful inquiry lesson on hominid evolution. Students work in groups to observe and measure various features of ten different fossil hominid skulls (replicas obviously). They are guided through the process but really have to generate their own data, analyze it, and draw conclusions to explain how they think all these different species of ancient humans are related to one another in a gigantic family tree going back over 3 million years.
I would say this entire unit is a great model for inquiry-based learning, and going forward, I would really like to try to capture the essence of this investigation and apply it to some of the other units we do in 9th grade science. I do not know that I will ever be able to use inquiry as the only or primary way I teach in my classroom, but I think doing a major inquiry investigation once per marking period would be a worthy goal and one my students would benefit from. Part of the issue is just letting go of some control. When it comes to pacing, staying on schedule, getting through content, these are all the things that get in the way of inquiry learning. But I think that handing the classroom back to the students a little more often could really have a big impact on their learning, while at the same time, giving me the chance to be the guide or facilitator providing assistance and feedback, rather than the instructor telling them what to do.
21st century learners are living in a world very different to the one we grew up in just a couple decades ago. Collaboration, communicating, networking, and critical thinking will be more important than ever as these students leave school and enter a workforce that is likely to include vocations that currently do not even exist yet. Providing them with authentic learning experiences that bridge the gap between different subjects is a great way to prepare them for the unknown that awaits.
Sunday, August 5, 2018
EDIM 516 Final Project: Smartphones in the Classroom
The topic for my final project is smartphones in the classroom. Of course, we know that teachers, especially at the secondary level, are beginning more and more to allow students to use their phones in class for all sorts of great educational apps.
I decided not only to investigate some of the pros and cons of the various educational uses for smartphones, but also some of the research on the effects of smartphone use (even addiction) on the developing adolescent brain). We all have students who we know spend hours a day staring at their screen and would rather SnapChat with their friends than hang out in person. The social lives of modern adolescents are almost unrecognizably different from just a decade ago. So much of their lives revolves around this technology. So the main question for my exploration is this: "Are smartphones good for children?"
While researching I used Pinterest to bookmark and prioritize the resources I found helpful in organizing my thoughts. Here's my Pinterest board:
It was pretty difficult to find much solid research into this question in part, because it is so general, but also because this is still a pretty new phenomenon. Teenagers (and even many elementary students) are unwittingly involved in a grand social experiment, and there's no real plan behind it. We just have to wait and see what happens. Is smartphone addiction leading to rises in anxiety and depression among teenagers? Is our captivation with social media stunting our emotional growth? Some researchers are beginning to look into these questions but there are a lot of factors at play, so for the time being, much of what we know comes down to personal experience and anecdotal evidence.
For my interview, I spoke to Bridget Fox, a technology coach in my district and a member of the Future-Ready Committee, which works to plan ahead for what tech tools and infrastructure the district needs to be focusing and investing in. As her day job, Bridget is also a middle school librarian, so she has lots of firsthand experience working directly with students. She had some great insights into the ways students are using or misusing their phones in school.
Here's my interview:
I decided not only to investigate some of the pros and cons of the various educational uses for smartphones, but also some of the research on the effects of smartphone use (even addiction) on the developing adolescent brain). We all have students who we know spend hours a day staring at their screen and would rather SnapChat with their friends than hang out in person. The social lives of modern adolescents are almost unrecognizably different from just a decade ago. So much of their lives revolves around this technology. So the main question for my exploration is this: "Are smartphones good for children?"
While researching I used Pinterest to bookmark and prioritize the resources I found helpful in organizing my thoughts. Here's my Pinterest board:
It was pretty difficult to find much solid research into this question in part, because it is so general, but also because this is still a pretty new phenomenon. Teenagers (and even many elementary students) are unwittingly involved in a grand social experiment, and there's no real plan behind it. We just have to wait and see what happens. Is smartphone addiction leading to rises in anxiety and depression among teenagers? Is our captivation with social media stunting our emotional growth? Some researchers are beginning to look into these questions but there are a lot of factors at play, so for the time being, much of what we know comes down to personal experience and anecdotal evidence.
For my interview, I spoke to Bridget Fox, a technology coach in my district and a member of the Future-Ready Committee, which works to plan ahead for what tech tools and infrastructure the district needs to be focusing and investing in. As her day job, Bridget is also a middle school librarian, so she has lots of firsthand experience working directly with students. She had some great insights into the ways students are using or misusing their phones in school.
Here's my interview:
And here is my final project video, created with Adobe Spark:
Click HERE to view references and image credits.
But as I say in the video, smartphones have already taken over, and they're not going away. So these are issues parents, children, teachers, and people of all ages are going to have to navigate. It will certainly be interesting to see where we end up.
References:
Barnwell, P. (2016, Apr. 27). "Do smartphones have a place in the classroom?" The Atlantic. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/04/do-smartphones-have-a-place-in-the-classroom/480231/.
Bergland, C. (2017, June 25). "Are smartphones making us stupid?" Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-athletes-way/201706/are-smartphones-making-us-stupid.
Bolden, Em. (2018, May 31). "Do cell phones and devices belong in the classroom?" LearnSafe. Retrieved Aug. 1 from https://learnsafe.com/do-cell-phone-and-devices-belong-in-the-classroom/.
Dennis-Tiwary, T. (2018, July 14). "Taking away the phones won't solve our teenagers' problems." The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/14/opinion/sunday/smartphone-addiction-teenagers-stress.html.
Doran, L. (2016, May 17). "1-to-1 laptop initiatives boost student scores, study finds." Education Week. Retrieved from https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2016/05/18/1-to-1-laptop-initiatives-boost-student-scores-study.html.
Room 241. (2012, Nov. 7). "Debating the use of digital devices in the classroom." Retrieved Aug. 1 from https://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/classroom-resources/pros-and-cons-of-allowing-digital-devices-in-the-classroom/.
Twenge, J. (2017, Sep.) "Have smartphones destroyed a generation?" Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/09/has-the-smartphone-destroyed-a-generation/534198/.
Sunday, July 29, 2018
EDIM 513: Week 6 Round-Up
I have written many a lesson plan over the years, and I've always stuck to the same basic formula. So this week, thinking about a new way to organize lessons around the 5E model was a welcome and refreshing challenge. I found this method to be a super useful way to think about building a lesson from the ground up in such a way as to really promote inquiry experiences in the classroom.
The first E, engagement is something all teacher obviously want from their students, but thinking of it as the primary step in setting forth on an exploration is really helpful. Rather than beginning with some sort of "warm-up", it really helps to think of this stage as the way to draw students in and get their minds going. For this to happen, the teacher needs to really tie the topic to something relevant... something that matters. If it matters to students, then they will be invested in the lesson and that makes a huge difference right from the beginning.
After delving into some of the Web 2.0 tools that I've gotten the chance to experiment with throughout this course, I am looking forward to figuring out some new ways for my students to present and explain their learning rather than the traditional written response or PowerPoint presentation. There are so many fantastic learning tools out there that really lend themselves to the secondary classroom, especially when it comes to inquiry lessons. One that I had never heard of until this week is called Plectica. It was included in a classmate's Google Sites lesson plan, and I must say it has awesome potential to go well beyond some of the basic presentation tools I've used in the past with my students. It is really perfect for encouraging higher order thinking skills as there are many layers and connections to be drawn between ideas.
Another important takeaway from this week was the evaluation piece. I really like how, in the 5E model, evaluation is in the center, and takes place throughout the entire lesson or activity. This should be continually happening through discussion and feedback. And it's not only the teacher who should be evaluating students. They should continually be evaluating themselves, their progress, the quality of their work, the validity of the evidence they have gathered. It is this reflection that can really take their learning to the next level, allowing them to extend beyond what they have learned and think how the concepts connects to the big picture.
Burning question this week: Is it really important to plan each day's session as a stand-alone lesson, or can it be just as effective to carry over from one day to the next?
The first E, engagement is something all teacher obviously want from their students, but thinking of it as the primary step in setting forth on an exploration is really helpful. Rather than beginning with some sort of "warm-up", it really helps to think of this stage as the way to draw students in and get their minds going. For this to happen, the teacher needs to really tie the topic to something relevant... something that matters. If it matters to students, then they will be invested in the lesson and that makes a huge difference right from the beginning.
After delving into some of the Web 2.0 tools that I've gotten the chance to experiment with throughout this course, I am looking forward to figuring out some new ways for my students to present and explain their learning rather than the traditional written response or PowerPoint presentation. There are so many fantastic learning tools out there that really lend themselves to the secondary classroom, especially when it comes to inquiry lessons. One that I had never heard of until this week is called Plectica. It was included in a classmate's Google Sites lesson plan, and I must say it has awesome potential to go well beyond some of the basic presentation tools I've used in the past with my students. It is really perfect for encouraging higher order thinking skills as there are many layers and connections to be drawn between ideas.
Another important takeaway from this week was the evaluation piece. I really like how, in the 5E model, evaluation is in the center, and takes place throughout the entire lesson or activity. This should be continually happening through discussion and feedback. And it's not only the teacher who should be evaluating students. They should continually be evaluating themselves, their progress, the quality of their work, the validity of the evidence they have gathered. It is this reflection that can really take their learning to the next level, allowing them to extend beyond what they have learned and think how the concepts connects to the big picture.
Burning question this week: Is it really important to plan each day's session as a stand-alone lesson, or can it be just as effective to carry over from one day to the next?
Wednesday, July 25, 2018
Gamers vs. Haters
Image credit: http://www.seascouts.org.au/wp/2nd-abbotsford-cub-blog/
Gamification of school... awarding badges to boost motivation... capturing the gamer spirit in the classroom. OK, where to begin with this one?
Image credit: http://www.gaming.psu.edu/gamification/digital-badges/
This year's hot game was of course Fortnite. I haven't played it. I haven't watched anyone else play it. I don't know much about it except for the fact that you build stuff and kill people. For a shooter game, it's particularly non-violent (by which I mean more cartoonish violence with no blood) and there are all sorts of goofy trendy dances that avatars perform, which have taken on a life of their own with people mimicking them in real life and all over social media and YouTube:
Sure, it's fun. It's a popular fad. It's part of 2018 pop culture. Winning a battle in Fortnite certainly takes strategy and practice. It could be seen as kind of an "accomplishment" but only in the context of the game. Just like landing the perfect water bottle flip, the skills on display through most popular gaming are not the kind of skills that translate into something useful for anything in life. Maybe there's some research somewhere that says otherwise, but I haven't come across it yet. It would be one thing if gaming weren't consuming hours upon hours of peoples' lives, time that necessarily is taking away from time reading a book, eating dinner, exercising, playing outside, drawing, doing homework, talking with your family, etc. On this Fortnite subreddit, some players discuss how many hours they play per day. A few play 5 or 6 hours per day, and a one claims to play (this one game) for over 10 hours per day! Who knows how accurate a picture we can get from just a few online comments, but based on what I've heard from my students, it would not surprise me in the slightest if some of them regularly spent over 5 hours per day playing Fortnite. Not to mention, lots of players are racking up hundreds of dollars in bills playing this "free" game, by purchasing all sorts of add-ons. I could go on and on about various games (don't get me started on Minecraft). They all just seem like flashy ways to waste hours of your life, while giving you the illusion that you're really accomplishing something worthwhile. (I told you I was biased.) Nowhere is this more evident than on Twitch, a streaming site dedicated to watching other gamers play. I repeat: You sit an stare at a screen watching someone else you don't know play video games. I know I'm an outsider and just don't get it, but seriously, am I missing something? How is this a thing? I just can't imagine a more pointless activity in life.
So call me old-fashioned, but this phenomenon freaks me out a little. Another thing that freaks me out: At the pool where my own three kids take swim lessons, there is a large room with a wall of windows looking towards the pool so parents can watch their children as they swim with the instructor. At any given moment, I'd say easily 75% of the parents are staring at their phones, and a fair percentage of these are playing mindless games. I recently heard about a public pool that made their wifi password "putdownyourphoneandwatchyourkidswim". I don't know if it's true or not, but if not, it's a pretty funny story.
So gaming is all around us, and I'm not sure what to make of this notion of "gamification". I can understand the appeal of earning badges. In fact, I have been taking my own kids to our local public library each week this summer to participate in their QUEST program for which each child completes a fun task or craft and earns a real physical badge. My two older boys are collecting them and keeping them on keychains. It's pretty cool, plus it gives me an excuse to get the heck out of the house! But I'm very skeptical about using this type of motivation in the classroom, especially at the secondary level. To me, it screams FAD. I have noticed that a lot of the blog posts and resources I've found regarding the use of badges are dated from at least a couple years ago, which makes me wonder if the idea is kind of on its way out already. One resource that I found, called ClassBadges, seemed like a pretty promising system for creating, awarding, and managing digital badges. It is still operational, but is no longer being updated and their blog hasn't been updated since 2014.
After doing some more poking around, I did find a few proponents, including a high school social studies teacher who reported having some recent success with gamifying her American government class. When given the option, her students voted to earn actual physical badges (even ones just printed on card stock), which the teacher (and I) found pretty surprising. I just picture my own 9th graders who are just soooooo above it all. Everything is so "stuuuuuupid". In fact, a wide variety of things are apparently the "stupidest thing I've ever heard", according to some of my most vociferous whiners. (I tell them that everything can't be the stupidest; the word implies the singular pinnacle of stupidity. One girl replied that it makes perfect sense to say lots of things are the stupidest if things just keep getting stupider all the time.) Of course, I know that this is partially just a front, and every once in a while, I'll catch them geeking out on science. (I always try to point it out to them.)
One blog that I read discussed a few ideas about gamification that I did like. Self-admitted gamer and teacher Keith Sorensen compares badge-worthy educational tasks to gaming missions and points out that not all tasks necessarily have to be super meaningful for learning. He recommends that to keep kids motivated, you should award badges for three different categories of tasks: specific, extraordinary, and random. The first two are the obvious ones I would have thought of: tasks that require you to master a specific concept, or tasks that challenge you to push further and think outside the box. But the third category is pretty interesting. Sorensen recommends that some badges should be awarded for things that are fun, pointless, and random--things that kids would never have thought of and are not necessarily tied to learning. Thinking of badges in this way helps me get a slightly better grasp as to why this form of motivation might just have some value.
That said, I also read a 2016 blog post from Michelle Baldwin, a Colorado elementary teacher, who said that badges actually got in the way of her students' intrinsic love of reading. Some students got emotionally upset if they weren't able to earn all the same badges their friends did. So I can see it both ways.
The only personal experience I have with badges for learning was via Canvas, my school district's recently adopted Learning Management System (LMS), which will be piloted in 7th and 8th grade next year (they're also going 1:1 with laptops). At the end of this past school year, teachers had seven (yes, SEVEN) snow days to make up after students were already done. The administration understandably didn't want to come up with seven full days of staff development, so for the last two days, they created a couple modules through Canvas, which teachers could complete for trade-in credit so we wouldn't have to actually show up those two days. After completing each module, I earned a digital badge demonstrating that I had completed the required task. Of course, it was the very end of the school year and I was stressed about a million things at that point so that may have played a part, but for what it's worth I can unequivocally say that earning the badges did not increase my motivation.
I could be wrong but I can see the same going for many students who just want to figure out what the minimum effort they need to put in to earn their badge and then rush through the task. They might see it as a cheesy ploy from out-of-touch adults trying to relate to the younger generation but totally missing the mark. I suppose I'll get the chance to play around with gamification when I begin using Canvas with my students a year from now, as it has an integrated badge award system. Maybe I'll eat my words and they'll be all about it, but I guess we'll just have to see.
One final thought: I ran across a few sites that discussed gamification as a way to increase motivation in the workplace. Asha Pandey at the eLearningIndustry blog offers some ways that gamification is "reshaping corporate training" by making it competitive and fun. I'm starting to feel like such a naysayer, but wow, I find this really hard to believe. The whole idea just seems like such a manufactured attempt to tap into human psychology with a lot of wishful thinking. I really can't imagine this fad lasting for the long haul. But again, I could be wrong!
References:
Baldwin, Michelle. (2016, May 12). "We don't need badges for reading." Avenue for Learning. Retrieved July 25, 2018 from http://avenue4learning.com/2016/05/12/we-dont-need-badges-for-reading/
"My gamification experience." (2016, May 12). Teaching With Technology. Retrieved July 25, 2018 from http://usingeducationaltechnology.com/mission-american-government-gamification-experience/
Pandey, Asha. (2017, Oct. 24). "5 killer examples on how gamification in the workplace is reshaping corporate training." eLearningIndustry. Retrieved July 25, 2018 from https://elearningindustry.com/gamification-in-the-workplace-reshaping-corporate-training-5-killer-examples
Sorensen, Keith. (2013, Apr. 24). "We need more stinkin' badges." The Five Points of Technology and Education. Retrieved July 25, 2018 from http://keithosorensen.blogspot.com/2013/04/badges.html
Sunday, July 22, 2018
Using Web 2.0 for Inquiry
I think the big takeaways for me for this past week have been just how powerful Web 2.0 technology can be in facilitating inquiry. For years, so much of ed tech seemed to be geared towards simply replacing or improving technology that we already had. Digital projectors, PowerPoint, SmartBoards, online notebooks, YouTube... these tools all represent major upgrades to the classrooms I sat in twenty years ago. They certainly allow for much more interactive experiences, but it is truly the connectivity of the internet itself that has made them all much more powerful as teaching tools. It's all about access to content, and without a doubt, the classrooms of 2018 have access to a vast wealth of resources that continues to grow grows exponentially.
It is pretty unbelievable to think how how much technology has transformed education in the last two decades. I began teaching in 2005 (which doesn't seem that long ago), and YouTube didn't even exist yet. Social media was still in its infancy (MySpace was still pretty big). I was still literally cutting and pasting together test questions before running them through the copier. I kept track of all my grades on paper. And there were a couple digital projectors that could be signed out if they weren't being used. Of course, there was no such thing as a smartphone (although my brother had a Palm Pilot... remember those?)
Within a few short years, all that changed. It's a reminder of the incredible pace of technology as well as how quickly old tech becomes obsolete.
But in just the last few years, teachers have started moving towards technologies that don't just make things easier; they transform the learning process and open up completely new avenues for exploration that would have seemed virtually magical by the standards of even a decade ago. Web 2.0 tools which allow for cloud-based sharing, editing, design and publication are a real game-changer, and even though many of them have been around a while now, I think the technological revolution in classrooms has really gained a tremendous amount of traction in just the last couple years, partly due to the rise of smartphones. Both students and teachers are surrounded by so many of these amazing technologies on a daily basis that it seems only natural to integrate the best ones into our teaching.
Some of the tools I explored this past week (such as Canva, Animoto, Padlet, and Flipgrid) are things that I've been hearing about more and more from other teachers who are trying them out and having excellent results. To me, this says more than anything. And it's truly the best way to get technology in the hands of teachers--encourage and support them, and most of all, provide them with plenty of opportunity to share and collaborate.
Many of these tools are fantastic ways to teach with inquiry. Not only do they allow students to collaborate and share content, but they give them the chance to create their own content. Inquiry learning is all about investigating; it's a process. And Web 2.0 tools that facilitate this process and encourage students to dig deeper can take a simple inquiry lesson to the next level.
One burning question that I have regarding some of these online applications is this: Does anyone have any advice as far as utilizing apps that require students to have an account? I tend to gravitate towards apps that students can use on the fly just entering a temporary code. This is so useful and quick. But tools that allow students to create and save their content just about always require a login and password, and this can sometimes lead to all sorts of logistical headaches. I know that many of them allow access through a Google account for the students that have one. So I'm wondering, is that the best route to take?
It is pretty unbelievable to think how how much technology has transformed education in the last two decades. I began teaching in 2005 (which doesn't seem that long ago), and YouTube didn't even exist yet. Social media was still in its infancy (MySpace was still pretty big). I was still literally cutting and pasting together test questions before running them through the copier. I kept track of all my grades on paper. And there were a couple digital projectors that could be signed out if they weren't being used. Of course, there was no such thing as a smartphone (although my brother had a Palm Pilot... remember those?)
Within a few short years, all that changed. It's a reminder of the incredible pace of technology as well as how quickly old tech becomes obsolete.
But in just the last few years, teachers have started moving towards technologies that don't just make things easier; they transform the learning process and open up completely new avenues for exploration that would have seemed virtually magical by the standards of even a decade ago. Web 2.0 tools which allow for cloud-based sharing, editing, design and publication are a real game-changer, and even though many of them have been around a while now, I think the technological revolution in classrooms has really gained a tremendous amount of traction in just the last couple years, partly due to the rise of smartphones. Both students and teachers are surrounded by so many of these amazing technologies on a daily basis that it seems only natural to integrate the best ones into our teaching.
Some of the tools I explored this past week (such as Canva, Animoto, Padlet, and Flipgrid) are things that I've been hearing about more and more from other teachers who are trying them out and having excellent results. To me, this says more than anything. And it's truly the best way to get technology in the hands of teachers--encourage and support them, and most of all, provide them with plenty of opportunity to share and collaborate.
Many of these tools are fantastic ways to teach with inquiry. Not only do they allow students to collaborate and share content, but they give them the chance to create their own content. Inquiry learning is all about investigating; it's a process. And Web 2.0 tools that facilitate this process and encourage students to dig deeper can take a simple inquiry lesson to the next level.
One burning question that I have regarding some of these online applications is this: Does anyone have any advice as far as utilizing apps that require students to have an account? I tend to gravitate towards apps that students can use on the fly just entering a temporary code. This is so useful and quick. But tools that allow students to create and save their content just about always require a login and password, and this can sometimes lead to all sorts of logistical headaches. I know that many of them allow access through a Google account for the students that have one. So I'm wondering, is that the best route to take?
Wednesday, July 18, 2018
The Flipped Classroom
Most of you probably already have enough background on the idea of the flipped classroom, so I'm not going to waste my time delving deep into the principle and how it works. John Bergmann, founder of the flipped class model definitely explains it best. Here's a 5-minute FAQ that gets the point across:
So in a nutshell, what is it that's being flipped? Bergmann and his colleague, Aaron Sams, take the traditional educational model (direct instruction in class; practice at home) and turn it on its head. Most of the direct instruction takes place at home through lectures and demonstrations recorded on video, leaving class time free for student-centered practice, inquiry activities, discussions and formative assessment, with the teacher acting as facilitator.
For all the talk around the flipped classroom, I had never really looked much into it. In the world of education, there are so many buzzwords and fads floating around and many of them end up being passing phases. It's often hard to know which ideas are really worth trying out in the classroom unless you know someone who is trying something that really seems to be working for them. Sometimes it takes some evangelizing to spread the good news.
One of the main voices I'm aware of regarding flipped classroom "movement" is that of Sal Khan of Khan Academy fame.
I have used his videos here and there, and I've found them to be very succinct and well-done, especially considering their simplicity (using just simple paint tools). It goes to show that all the bells and whistles are sometimes distractors rather than visual aids. Generally however, they were an afterthought--a tool to share with students who really need extra help getting a complex concept. It never really dawned on me to use these videos (or as John Bergmann suggests) create my own video content for the purposes of direct instruction outside of the classroom.
Doing some further research into the flipped classroom, I wouldn't say I'm sold on the model as the most effective tool in my own classes, but I'm definitely open to the idea of trying it out to see what sorts of new opportunities it could open up when it comes to making the most of the limited class time I have with my students.
According to Bergmann, the main question behind his and Sams' research is, what is the best use of face-to-face time we have with our students?
As middle school science teacher Linda Dunavant points out, the best use of class time for any science teacher is to have our students doing science as much as possible. This becomes difficult when we spend such a large amount of our time teaching (often at a frenetic pace) to get through all the content we need to cover over the course of the year. I know that I constantly feel like I'm racing to get as much in as possible, often at the expense of time I would like to spend interacting with students individually and providing adequate closure at the end of each lesson.
On the Blackboard Blog, Dr. Caroline Steel, a strategic consultant for Blackboard, outlines some of the pitfalls that can cause a flipped classroom experience to "flop". Among them were, "There was no clear induction into flipped learning; Students didn’t understand why the class was flipped." Another common problem in failed classroom flipping: "There was no obvious integration or linkages between the online and in-class components." Additionally, "There was no appeal for learners to engage; no incentives to engage with content, activities or classes," (Steel, 2018). Obviously, these are some of the things we want to avoid if we are to use this method effectively and get students to buy into it.
Steel goes on to outline a framework for successfully flipping the classroom, including a few major pieces of advice. This framework is definitely worth checking out, but I think the most important suggestion right off the bat is the first one she gives: "Provide learner induction and FLC [Flipped Learning Classroom] rationale." For any teacher who is thinking of trying out this method, the first thing to do is just to lay it out explicitly for the students, explaining what will be taking place and why. Without this initial step, there is sure to be a lot of confusion along the way.
Since it's the middle of summer, I haven't had the chance to actually flip a lesson with my students. However, I have put some significant thought into how I could go about doing this logistically. What type of lesson should I try out? What specific topic? How should I record my lesson? What sorts of visuals should I use?
Now, I know enough about myself to know that I can't just sit in front of a camera and talk. In front of a class of students, no problem; the words just flow. But talking to a camera or a microphone, for some reason I can't think and talk at the same time. I'm the type of person who literally has to take at least five tries to record my voicemail greeting (you know, the one that goes like... "Hi, you've reached Josh Collins. Sorry I missed your call... bla bla bla." How hard is that to say? But I manage to screw it up every time.
So for my lesson, I knew this wouldn't work. There's no way I'd be able to record more than a minute at a time (if that). So I looked around online for ideas, but then it came to me. I'm very comfortable with PowerPoint and it's what I use to present content in class every day. I know that the new version of PowerPoint has a recording tab that allows you to record audio and video over a presentation and integrate it all together in the perfect way for a flipped lesson video.
For my lesson, I chose a topic within the subject of evolution: bad design. What I mean by this is the exact opposite of "intelligent design", which has been touted as a more sciencey way to spice up creationism. The idea is that some organs and organisms are so complex that there's no way random natural selection could have allowed for their gradual evolution, hence an intelligent power must have designed them. The human eye is often held up as a classic example.
The point in my lesson is that there are indeed ways to explain complex parts like the eye, and that many parts illustrate the exact opposite point, i.e. they are poorly designed and are obviously the result of a natural gradual process, completely lacking in foresight. No intelligent designer would arrange some of our parts the way they are arranged. Check out my video for some examples including a very cool demonstration of the blind spot we have in the retina of each eye.
Having my students view this lesson from home should give them the basic background they need on this concept to understand the power of natural selection in explaining the origins of some most complex anatomical parts evolution has cooked up in the lab. Following this, the next day's lesson would be devoted to (1) answering any questions students have and addressing misconceptions and (2) finding and researching other examples of "bad design" in nature. For instance, doesn't it seem a little strange that the same body parts used for reproduction are also used for elimination of liquid waste? (Who came up with that idea?)
My video is definitely longer than I intended it to be, and it took many (MANY) more takes that I thought it would to get through (especially when my neighbor randomly started revving the engine of his motorbike for about a half hour this afternoon). At this point, I feel comfortable saying that I don't know if I'm cut out for this. Like Bergmann said in the video above, it's one thing to give students video content from YouTube; but what's really effective is creating your own content tailored to your class. It would be great to put together a bunch of lessons to use in this manner, but it would definitely take a lot of practice, and I'm not sure how worth it it would be for my teaching style.
I think I'll have to take Bergmann and Sams' advice and try it out with one lesson that I could flip. If I end up liking it, I can try it again, and if it's something that proves valuable for my students and our time together, then who knows? Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go re-record my voicemail greeting.
References:
Common Sense Education (2016, July 12). "What is flipped learning?" Retrieved July 18, 2018 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ot_dKs_LRf0.
Dunavant, L. (2015, Aug. 21). "Flipping the science classroom." Educational Innovations, Inc. Retrieved July 18, 2018 from http://blog.teachersource.com/2015/08/21/flipping-the-classroom-science/.
Steel, C. (2018, Feb. 15). "Why do flipped classrooms sometimes flop?" Blackboard Blog. Retrieved July 18, 2018 from https://blog.blackboard.com/why-do-flipped-classrooms-sometimes-flop/.
For all the talk around the flipped classroom, I had never really looked much into it. In the world of education, there are so many buzzwords and fads floating around and many of them end up being passing phases. It's often hard to know which ideas are really worth trying out in the classroom unless you know someone who is trying something that really seems to be working for them. Sometimes it takes some evangelizing to spread the good news.
One of the main voices I'm aware of regarding flipped classroom "movement" is that of Sal Khan of Khan Academy fame.
Image credit: https://www.thelavinagency.com/speakers/salman-khan
Doing some further research into the flipped classroom, I wouldn't say I'm sold on the model as the most effective tool in my own classes, but I'm definitely open to the idea of trying it out to see what sorts of new opportunities it could open up when it comes to making the most of the limited class time I have with my students.
According to Bergmann, the main question behind his and Sams' research is, what is the best use of face-to-face time we have with our students?
As middle school science teacher Linda Dunavant points out, the best use of class time for any science teacher is to have our students doing science as much as possible. This becomes difficult when we spend such a large amount of our time teaching (often at a frenetic pace) to get through all the content we need to cover over the course of the year. I know that I constantly feel like I'm racing to get as much in as possible, often at the expense of time I would like to spend interacting with students individually and providing adequate closure at the end of each lesson. On the Blackboard Blog, Dr. Caroline Steel, a strategic consultant for Blackboard, outlines some of the pitfalls that can cause a flipped classroom experience to "flop". Among them were, "There was no clear induction into flipped learning; Students didn’t understand why the class was flipped." Another common problem in failed classroom flipping: "There was no obvious integration or linkages between the online and in-class components." Additionally, "There was no appeal for learners to engage; no incentives to engage with content, activities or classes," (Steel, 2018). Obviously, these are some of the things we want to avoid if we are to use this method effectively and get students to buy into it.
Steel goes on to outline a framework for successfully flipping the classroom, including a few major pieces of advice. This framework is definitely worth checking out, but I think the most important suggestion right off the bat is the first one she gives: "Provide learner induction and FLC [Flipped Learning Classroom] rationale." For any teacher who is thinking of trying out this method, the first thing to do is just to lay it out explicitly for the students, explaining what will be taking place and why. Without this initial step, there is sure to be a lot of confusion along the way.
Since it's the middle of summer, I haven't had the chance to actually flip a lesson with my students. However, I have put some significant thought into how I could go about doing this logistically. What type of lesson should I try out? What specific topic? How should I record my lesson? What sorts of visuals should I use?
Now, I know enough about myself to know that I can't just sit in front of a camera and talk. In front of a class of students, no problem; the words just flow. But talking to a camera or a microphone, for some reason I can't think and talk at the same time. I'm the type of person who literally has to take at least five tries to record my voicemail greeting (you know, the one that goes like... "Hi, you've reached Josh Collins. Sorry I missed your call... bla bla bla." How hard is that to say? But I manage to screw it up every time.
So for my lesson, I knew this wouldn't work. There's no way I'd be able to record more than a minute at a time (if that). So I looked around online for ideas, but then it came to me. I'm very comfortable with PowerPoint and it's what I use to present content in class every day. I know that the new version of PowerPoint has a recording tab that allows you to record audio and video over a presentation and integrate it all together in the perfect way for a flipped lesson video.
For my lesson, I chose a topic within the subject of evolution: bad design. What I mean by this is the exact opposite of "intelligent design", which has been touted as a more sciencey way to spice up creationism. The idea is that some organs and organisms are so complex that there's no way random natural selection could have allowed for their gradual evolution, hence an intelligent power must have designed them. The human eye is often held up as a classic example.
The point in my lesson is that there are indeed ways to explain complex parts like the eye, and that many parts illustrate the exact opposite point, i.e. they are poorly designed and are obviously the result of a natural gradual process, completely lacking in foresight. No intelligent designer would arrange some of our parts the way they are arranged. Check out my video for some examples including a very cool demonstration of the blind spot we have in the retina of each eye.
Having my students view this lesson from home should give them the basic background they need on this concept to understand the power of natural selection in explaining the origins of some most complex anatomical parts evolution has cooked up in the lab. Following this, the next day's lesson would be devoted to (1) answering any questions students have and addressing misconceptions and (2) finding and researching other examples of "bad design" in nature. For instance, doesn't it seem a little strange that the same body parts used for reproduction are also used for elimination of liquid waste? (Who came up with that idea?)
My video is definitely longer than I intended it to be, and it took many (MANY) more takes that I thought it would to get through (especially when my neighbor randomly started revving the engine of his motorbike for about a half hour this afternoon). At this point, I feel comfortable saying that I don't know if I'm cut out for this. Like Bergmann said in the video above, it's one thing to give students video content from YouTube; but what's really effective is creating your own content tailored to your class. It would be great to put together a bunch of lessons to use in this manner, but it would definitely take a lot of practice, and I'm not sure how worth it it would be for my teaching style.
I think I'll have to take Bergmann and Sams' advice and try it out with one lesson that I could flip. If I end up liking it, I can try it again, and if it's something that proves valuable for my students and our time together, then who knows? Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go re-record my voicemail greeting.
References:
Common Sense Education (2016, July 12). "What is flipped learning?" Retrieved July 18, 2018 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ot_dKs_LRf0.
Dunavant, L. (2015, Aug. 21). "Flipping the science classroom." Educational Innovations, Inc. Retrieved July 18, 2018 from http://blog.teachersource.com/2015/08/21/flipping-the-classroom-science/.
Steel, C. (2018, Feb. 15). "Why do flipped classrooms sometimes flop?" Blackboard Blog. Retrieved July 18, 2018 from https://blog.blackboard.com/why-do-flipped-classrooms-sometimes-flop/.
Wednesday, July 11, 2018
Experiments with Flexible Classroom Spaces
I must say, I have a pretty great classroom situation. Eight years ago, I inherited the biggest classroom (besides the band room) from a friend. Joe and I had worked together for years, collaborating daily and geeking out on science. He had been teaching in the science room at the end of the 9th grade hallway, in its own little corner of the building, and the classroom itself was about as spacious as you could ask for. Even with thirty students, it never felt cramped. It was the same basic layout as the rest of the science classrooms in the building, but this one, due to the happenstance of the building's architecture had a nice bumped out section that added another ten feet of width to the room. Anyway, Joe decided to move back to California where he was able to secure a position teaching in Monterrey--awesome for him! And the day he decided to take the new position, he called me and said I should contact our principal that day and casually request to swoop in and snatch up this gem for myself. So I did! On a regular basis, students I don't teach, or even other teachers, will pop their head in to ask a quick question, and they'll stop in mid-sentence to comment: "Wow, this room is awesome!"
I've done some experimentation with the layout over the years and I'm pretty happy with the way things are set up. I have tables turned towards each other, creating seven groups of four. Not a single table is turned towards the front of the room, which is a bit of a trade-off, but as far as collaboration goes, I love it:
In a science classroom, the flexibility is a bit limited. For instance, both sides of the room are already taken up with counter space, with cabinets above and below for storage of lab equipment. This means I can't really put anything up against these side walls without limiting the use of the counter space, sinks, and cabinets. And rather than individual desks for students, we have heavy, hulking lab tables that are pretty cumbersome to move around. They're pretty necessary though because we need table tops that are fire and heat resistant so they can be used for lab activities. But looking at the above diagram, you can get an idea of what all the other science rooms look like if you imagine removing just about the entire left section of the room. So really, I've got it pretty good.
Doing some research regarding the benefits of flexible seating, I was eager in this week's assignment to do some experimentation to see what might be possible. In doing so, I've had to really think outside the box and take a few liberties in imagining what could be achieved on a reasonable budget. I don't know how realistic my new ideas are, but it's definitely a starting point, and I'll have to do some more thinking about it as we approach fall to see what I might actually be able to implement this coming school year.
I found Mary Wade's Edutopia article to be really helpful in getting a clear idea about what some of the recent research says about flexible classroom spaces. Out of her suggestions, the thing that stood out the most to me is the idea of having different "zones" of learning. In other words, students need different types of spaces to work individually, in small groups, or in a whole class discussion setting. Although my space (and subject area) places some natural restrictions on this principle, it is an idea that I definitely want to work into my new classroom layout.
Doing some digging around online, I came across some amazing and inspiring classrooms that got my creative juices flowing. The first is Jen Ward, a high school English teacher who has put together an awesome setup for her room.
On her teaching blog, she talks about how she began developing her flexible space when one student had been suffering from debilitating headaches that seemed to be triggered in part by the bright fluorescent lighting standard to most classrooms. Jen decided to try something new so she found some cheap table lamps along with various other types of lighting including strings of white Christmas lights. This was the jumping off point for her classroom makeover, which as you can see, incorporates different types of furniture, work spaces, and a beautiful little library--not to mention the decor is pretty awesome. If you polled a large group of high school students, I'd imagine close to 100% would prefer this space to a traditional classroom. It just looks like the kind of place you'd want to spend some time. It reminds me a bit of Barnes & Noble (does anyone else have a secret desire to bring a cozy sleeping bag, curl up and spend the night at Barnes & Noble, or is it just me?)
The next educator I found was another English teacher, Rebecca Malmquist. She shared her flexible classroom ideas with blogger Jennifer Gonzalez on her Cult of Pedagogy blog. Rebecca's classroom is truly mindblowing:
To get the full effect, you really need to check out the blog post. There are a few more pictures and a full panoramic. But as you can see just from the picture above, this space is just incredible. It's just such an eclectic, funky mix of thrift store awesomeness that you can't help but wish you were there right now, and just looking at it, I can't imagine this teacher not being awesome herself.
Once again, this teacher's motivation began with some basic practical concerns, including fidgety students who just didn't want to be in class and struggled to sit still. She had special needs students that she knew would really benefit from having some different choices in their learning environment. Once Rebecca began redesigning her space, with help from thrift stores and donations from friends, it was obvious that her all her students benefited tremendously from the flexible layout that was now their space. According to Rebecca, "People gravitate towards what they need without even having to really think about it... Most people, if given a choice, choose their spots based on some known or unknown instinct." In her interview, she goes into some of the logistics as far as how students get to choose their spot each day (for the first two weeks or so, they had to sit somewhere they hadn't sat before, and this got them comfortable with the idea of being flexible and open to change). She goes on to say that students are allowed to literally sit anywhere they want, "so as long as a student’s postures and movements do not disrupt others’ learning and comfort." How awesome is that?! And how motivating would it be to the kids who normally might not be that into school?
So my classroom redesign takes into account some of the ideas I've gleaned from these inspiring teachers. As a science teacher, I've got to consider my space in practical terms first and foremost because, ideally, we do a lot of science, and that can get messy. But creating some movement in my classroom with some different zones would really bring something new to the space.
As you can see in my proposed design, I've gotten rid of the student desktop computers with the assurance that we will soon be going one-to-one with students laptops. I've also swapped out the large, bulky student lab tables for longer, narrower, tables that each seat three students. The idea is that these tables, which comprise the main learning space, could be moved and manipulated a bit easier to allow for group work.
The main change is in regards to zones. With the long counters along either side wall, the back of the room really seemed like the only choice for a separate learning area, devoted to discussion, small group collaboration, or even individual reading, studying, or research. There is a large rug to mark the boundary of this collaborative space, with a low coffee table in the center, surrounded by a mix of various cushy chairs, beanbags, and a couch. I also thought it would be great to incorporate more bookshelf space along the back wall to create my own science library. In 9th grade honors science, students are required to do a non-fiction reading project, and it would be nice to have a whole selection of books for them to choose from, not to mention a place to read and hold discussion groups at various points throughout the project.
I don't know if this whole plan would be entirely feasible, but I think the idea of dividing up the room into these zones would be something my students would be into. And it might also provide some inspiration for my own teaching in ways that would benefit all my students.
References:
Gonzalez, J. (2015, Nov. 15). Classroom eye-candy 1: A flexible-seating paradise. Cult of Pedagogy. Retrieved July 11, 2018 from https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/flexible-classroom/
Wade, M. (2016, Mar. 29). Visualizing 21st century classroom design. Edutopia. Retrieved July 11, 2018 from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/visualizing-21st-century-classroom-design-mary-wade
Ward, J. (2017, Aug. 8). Evolving space. Teacher Et Cetera. Retrieved July 11, 2018 from http://www.jenniferward.org/2017/08/evolving-space.html
I've done some experimentation with the layout over the years and I'm pretty happy with the way things are set up. I have tables turned towards each other, creating seven groups of four. Not a single table is turned towards the front of the room, which is a bit of a trade-off, but as far as collaboration goes, I love it:
Doing some research regarding the benefits of flexible seating, I was eager in this week's assignment to do some experimentation to see what might be possible. In doing so, I've had to really think outside the box and take a few liberties in imagining what could be achieved on a reasonable budget. I don't know how realistic my new ideas are, but it's definitely a starting point, and I'll have to do some more thinking about it as we approach fall to see what I might actually be able to implement this coming school year.
I found Mary Wade's Edutopia article to be really helpful in getting a clear idea about what some of the recent research says about flexible classroom spaces. Out of her suggestions, the thing that stood out the most to me is the idea of having different "zones" of learning. In other words, students need different types of spaces to work individually, in small groups, or in a whole class discussion setting. Although my space (and subject area) places some natural restrictions on this principle, it is an idea that I definitely want to work into my new classroom layout.
Doing some digging around online, I came across some amazing and inspiring classrooms that got my creative juices flowing. The first is Jen Ward, a high school English teacher who has put together an awesome setup for her room.
The next educator I found was another English teacher, Rebecca Malmquist. She shared her flexible classroom ideas with blogger Jennifer Gonzalez on her Cult of Pedagogy blog. Rebecca's classroom is truly mindblowing:
Once again, this teacher's motivation began with some basic practical concerns, including fidgety students who just didn't want to be in class and struggled to sit still. She had special needs students that she knew would really benefit from having some different choices in their learning environment. Once Rebecca began redesigning her space, with help from thrift stores and donations from friends, it was obvious that her all her students benefited tremendously from the flexible layout that was now their space. According to Rebecca, "People gravitate towards what they need without even having to really think about it... Most people, if given a choice, choose their spots based on some known or unknown instinct." In her interview, she goes into some of the logistics as far as how students get to choose their spot each day (for the first two weeks or so, they had to sit somewhere they hadn't sat before, and this got them comfortable with the idea of being flexible and open to change). She goes on to say that students are allowed to literally sit anywhere they want, "so as long as a student’s postures and movements do not disrupt others’ learning and comfort." How awesome is that?! And how motivating would it be to the kids who normally might not be that into school?
So my classroom redesign takes into account some of the ideas I've gleaned from these inspiring teachers. As a science teacher, I've got to consider my space in practical terms first and foremost because, ideally, we do a lot of science, and that can get messy. But creating some movement in my classroom with some different zones would really bring something new to the space.
As you can see in my proposed design, I've gotten rid of the student desktop computers with the assurance that we will soon be going one-to-one with students laptops. I've also swapped out the large, bulky student lab tables for longer, narrower, tables that each seat three students. The idea is that these tables, which comprise the main learning space, could be moved and manipulated a bit easier to allow for group work.
The main change is in regards to zones. With the long counters along either side wall, the back of the room really seemed like the only choice for a separate learning area, devoted to discussion, small group collaboration, or even individual reading, studying, or research. There is a large rug to mark the boundary of this collaborative space, with a low coffee table in the center, surrounded by a mix of various cushy chairs, beanbags, and a couch. I also thought it would be great to incorporate more bookshelf space along the back wall to create my own science library. In 9th grade honors science, students are required to do a non-fiction reading project, and it would be nice to have a whole selection of books for them to choose from, not to mention a place to read and hold discussion groups at various points throughout the project.
I don't know if this whole plan would be entirely feasible, but I think the idea of dividing up the room into these zones would be something my students would be into. And it might also provide some inspiration for my own teaching in ways that would benefit all my students.
References:
Gonzalez, J. (2015, Nov. 15). Classroom eye-candy 1: A flexible-seating paradise. Cult of Pedagogy. Retrieved July 11, 2018 from https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/flexible-classroom/
Wade, M. (2016, Mar. 29). Visualizing 21st century classroom design. Edutopia. Retrieved July 11, 2018 from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/visualizing-21st-century-classroom-design-mary-wade
Ward, J. (2017, Aug. 8). Evolving space. Teacher Et Cetera. Retrieved July 11, 2018 from http://www.jenniferward.org/2017/08/evolving-space.html
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