Module 5: Journal of Connections to My Professional Community

Connections

Connection to Education Week blog post by Starr Sackstien

Starr Sackstien is an author on the Hack Learning Series team and you can see her bio below.  Her book on Hacking Assessment was of particular interest to me in this process because it involves changing the way educators think about assessment.  

Through my exploration of the hack learning platform I discovered that Starr Sackstien was an active contributor to EdWeeks Work in Progress and I was able to read her posts from the spring and summer of 2018.

A post on July 31, 2018 discussed the competing values in education.  The post challenged the conception of education being reformed to the idea of educational transformation.  Sackstien discusses that this transformation should reflect on treating each student as an individual and using teaching and assessment to respond to those needs.  

Competing Values in Education Make Real Transformation Challenging

http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/work_in_progress/2018/07/competing_values_in_education_.html

Transformation as opposed to reformation is a powerful shift in terminology and one that may not occur as quickly as some would like.  That traditional structures of educational systems can limit changes to practices. Standardized assessments is an example of how these changes can be slow to occur or often not changes at all.  Standardized testing does serve a purpose, but it is important to recognize that it does not have a significant impact on student learning and does not reflect the skills and processes of the real world.  With that in mind, I am always curious as to what teachers can do to transform in a system that is often reluctant to change.

I left this comment below building on some of the conceptual questions I want to ask myself during the planning, instruction, and assessment phases of my teaching.  I am also curious to see what other actions teachers can take to take initiative to play a role in transforming education from a practical point of view.

Thought Provoking Tweet from @markbarnes19

This tweet came across my twitter feed on August 6th and I thought I would fill in this checklist with some possible actions I can take as a teacher.  These actions can to fit into my teaching philosophy that I now have a better understanding of.

__ Reconsider traditional homework: it doesn’t enhance learning.

What I can do…

• Teach students accountability throughout the school day.
• Say yes to student generated ideas, and support independent thinking and learning.
• Support the creativity and spontaneous elements of learning at home.

__ Reconsider traditional grades; learning can’t be measured

What I can do…

• Take pictures and document learning throughout the process in non-traditional ways.

• Help students develop their own self-assessment tools.
• Good grades or bad grades both lie about learning!!! https://www.youtube.com/user/LearnitN5

__ Reconsider rules and consequences; carrots and sticks don’t change behaviour

What I can do…

• Create a compassionate environment for learning.
• Analyze the reasons for rules along with students.
• Encourage individual and collective accountability to accomplish goals

__ Reconsider self-compassion; you deserve it!

What I can do…

• Actually consider the concept of self-compassion.  In the education profession, teachers are always working for others.  However, it is important to consider our own needs in a sometimes hectic environment to be the best educator we can be.  

Hack Learning Chat: Depth vs Breadth

Question 1: In thinking about a mile wide vs. an inch deep, what are the pros and cons of each?

My initial thoughts about the question To me a “mile wide” in relation to learning would reflect an awareness of multiple perspectives and knowledge of many issues.  This can be a pro because it represents the beginning of a conversation about a topic.  To consider curricular designs, this may reflect a progressive philosophy. An “inch deep” or a deeper understanding of an issue is when there is an exemplary understanding on a particular issue.  This can be a pro when someone becomes an expert on a topic and can represent and engage with the topic in an accurate and insightful manner.  Again, considering curricular philosophies, this would better represent perennialism on the other side of the philosophical spectrum. It will be interesting to see if I am off in my analysis throughout the discussion and I predict there will be a strong response for depth in learning.

Reflection after the chat One of the things I thought about reading through the discussion was to switch the order; perhaps breadth comes before depth.  If students are not exposed to a variety of issues they may not find the issue that they can deeply engage with. The analogy of an iceberg also connected with me because there are some clear advantages of  a deeper understanding. An advantage of this type of learning is it does provide the potential for students to explore their interests and passions in school.

Question 2:When there seems to be too much to teach and not enough time to teach it.  How can depth vs. breadth be addressed?

My initial thoughts about the question I think this is a question of time vs goals.  When goals can be established prior to the progression of learning activities time can be allocated appropriately.   My initial thought to this question is rather than consider time as the limiting factor, teachers can prioritize the goals to be accomplished and skills students needed to be develop to best plan out learning time.

Reflection after the chat Acknowledging that time is a factor in material that needs to be addressed in the classroom just means that teachers have to become better planners.  A tweet from Dr. Randall Sampson presents an organization to capture and share learning. The message from this portion of the conversation reflected the idea of balance and collaboration in order to accomplish goals.

Question 1:How do we know students have depth in learning?

My initial thoughts about the question The first thing that came to mind is that the worst way to assess the depth of learning could be a multiple choice test.   However, to better assess depth of learning, teachers can incorporate non-traditional assessment methods.  These could be things like interviews, creative projects, portfolios etc… In other words, better ways to assess depth of learning is to find ways for students to express themselves.   A further challenge in a learner-centered design is to determine in what ways students prefer to express themselves and how we can find methods that work for individual students.

Reflection after the chat My take away from this portion of the conversation is that when students start using their learning represents depth in learning.   Now there may be a variety of ways for students to share their learning, however, if there are authentic, real world situations where students can apply their craft or ideas, it is those situations when depth of learning can be confirmed.

here is a link to a log of the chat for Sunday August 12
https://wakelet.com/wake/a2476ffc-4a93-47be-91ed-506f5445f69e

Hack Learning Youtube Clip

Good grades, bad grades - they both lie about learning

This little clip really make me reflect on the concept of assessment; what it was, what it is, and what it could be.  

I think one of the misconceptions about assessment is that it is about what students have done.  When assessment includes an end it automatically shuts down further growth.  Not only is this unrealistic, it shuts down further effort and engagement within a task.  When I think about how assessment can play a role in shaping students for their future I think assessment should centre around growth.  In this way it does represent the progressive and learner centre designs that seem to best prepare students for the unknown of the future.  

Assessment is not about the past, it should have a much greater focus on the potential impact students will continue to have in the future.  

For whatever reason, my mind jumped to assessment in physical education when I reflected on these ideas.  Based on some of the learning hacks I have discovered, I created a little chart that could provide the opportunity for students to reflect, self-assess, and document feedback for personal growth in a particular activity.  I think something like this could be applied to just about any subject area, but ensuing students are building working knowledge and skills for the future is an essential part of assessment.

comment with response:

Physical Education: Progress Tracker

Unit: _____________________

Activities What skills/activities did you complete? What game/mini-games did we play?	Feedback What feedback did I provide to myself during this unit? What feedback did I receive from peers during this unit? What feedback did I receive from my teacher during this unit?	Strategies for Success What strategies could I use to improve my skills and abilities for this unit.

Physical Education: Progress Tracker

(example)

Unit: Basketball

Activities What skills/activities did you complete? What game/mini-games did we play?	Feedback What feedback did I provide to myself during this unit? What feedback did I receive from peers during this unit? What feedback did I receive from my teacher during this unit?	Strategies for Success What strategies could I use to improve my skills and abilities for this unit.
Practiced dribbling, shooting and passing Played 1 on 1, 2 on 2 and 3 on 3. Knock out dribbling games. Played  21 and Horse	I know I need to keep my head up when dribbling so I know where I am going My teammates told me I need to pass the ball better and hit the target they present for me My teacher said I could shoot better if I kept my feet shoulder width apart when I am shooting	I could practice dribbling with my head up. I could pass the ball stronger and make sure there is a good target for me to pass too. Practice shooting from the same spot to get more comfortable with proper shooting technique.