Assisting the Learner to Think Like a Professional

I recently attended a workshop entitled “Beyond Assessing for Knowledge” presented by Kimberly Tanner whose research agenda is:

To understand how people learn science and how teachers and scientists can collaborate to make science teaching and learning in classrooms – Kindergarten through college – more like how scientists work (http://biology.sfsu.edu/people/kimberly-tanner).

The key points that I extracted from the talk are:

• To what extent do current assessments yield insight into the development of “Thinking Like a (Professional in the Field Being Studied)?”
• The problem with many assessments is they measure what students know not what they can do with that knowledge.
• How can instructional strategies help learners develop expertise in the content area?

Dr. Tanner presented her research about the development of expertise among graduating undergraduate biology students. Simply stated, she used card sorting to analyze expertise.  She got some baseline data using biology faculty and non-biology freshman.   Obviously, the biology faculty far outscored the non-biology freshman.  Then this same task was given to graduating biology students.  The predication was that the graduating biology students would more closely match the faculty, but the results indicated that that they were only a few percentage points above the non-biology freshman.

The results don’t surprise me as I believe this is indicative of the problem we not only have in higher education, but also in K-12 environments.  Students learn the basic surface knowledge related to the content presented in their classes.  Their test scores often indicate as such.  But what does testing students on the lowest levels of Blooms taxonomy – knowing, possibly understanding  – really tell us?  What will the students know, understand, and use outside of the classroom related to the content taught?  How will their ways of being and interacting in the world be different because of these learning experiences?

This information is not new nor earth shattering.  I have a hunch that similar results would occur if this research was used to assess students’ knowledge about most any content area.  There are several key elements or questions that are pertinent to this discussion:

1. What is the ultimate goal of teaching and learning?  For students to know something on the surface or for students to be able to think and do something differently?
2. What is the clarion call from the research like Dr. Kimmer’s?
3. How should and can instructional strategies be reformed to help learners think like the professionals in their respective fields?
4. What types of assessment measure deep learning?

One strategy proposed by Angela Maiers in Who Are Their Learning Heroes — and Why? is to have learners build a dream team of thinkers and doers, a team of their heroes and explore not only their knowledge base but also their -

• work ethic
• study habits
• thought process
• energy focus
• other behavioral practices

I believe that a focus in Passion-Based Learning can also lead to deep learning.  I discuss this more in PBL is Passion-Based Learning: Show Me Your Passion.

Are We Preparing Students for Generation Flux?

This Is Generation Flux: Meet The Pioneers Of The New (And Chaotic) Frontier Of Business was recently published by Fast Company. It’s intent is to introduce and describe some of the key movers and shakers in the business world and includes danah boyd and Peter Cashmore.  What is of particular to me, as an educator, is those factors that influenced their successes.

Some the key points from this article include:

The fast rate of change creates difficulties in predicting the future . . .

The pace of change in our economy and our culture is accelerating–fueled by global adoption of social, mobile, and other new technologies–and our visibility about the future is declining.

New technologies and social media are producing vast, significant change . . .

In an age where Twitter and other social-media tools play key roles in recasting the political map in the Mideast; where impoverished residents of refugee camps would rather go without food than without their cell phones; where all types of media, from music to TV to movies, are being remade, redefined, defended, and attacked every day in novel ways–there is no question that we are in a new world.

Being able to conceptualize today’s world in a single, static paradigm is impossible . . .

There is one certainty, however. The next decade or two will be defined more by fluidity than by any new, settled paradigm; if there is a pattern to all this, it is that there is no pattern. The most valuable insight is that we are, in a critical sense, in a time of chaos. Chaotic disruption is rampant.

Old and institutionalized models of problem-solving do not work for today’s problems in today’s institutions . . .

There’s a difference between the kind of problems that companies, institutions, and governments are able to solve and the ones that they need to solve. Most big organizations are good at solving clear but complicated problems. They’re absolutely horrible at solving ambiguous problems–when you don’t know what you don’t know. Faced with ambiguity, their gears grind to a halt (sounds like the current educational system).

The nostalgic “we’ve always done it that way” will lead to failure.  A future-focus needs to drive change . . .

If ambiguity is high and adaptability is required, then you simply can’t afford to be sentimental about the past. Future-focus is a signature trait of Generation Flux. Nostalgia is a natural human emotion, a survival mechanism that pushes people to avoid risk by applying what we’ve learned and relying on what’s worked before. It’s also about as useful as an appendix right now. When times seem uncertain, we instinctively become more conservative; we look to the past, to times that seem simpler, and we have the urge to re-create them.  But when the past has been blown away by new technology, by the ubiquitous and always-on global hypernetwork, beloved past practices may well be useless.

It is imperative to learn the technology tools of the day and these change daily . . .

It’s irresponsible not to use the tools of the day. If you master those things and stop, you’re just going to get killed by the next thing. Flexibility of skills leads to flexibility of options. To see what you can’t see coming, you’ve got to embrace larger principles.

Only those who are open and adaptable will survive . . .

To flourish requires a new kind of openness. More than 150 years ago, Charles Darwin foreshadowed this era in his description of natural selection: “It is not the strongest of the species that survives; nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” As we traverse this treacherous, exciting bridge to tomorrow, there is no clearer message than that.

21st Century and Workforce Skills

Organizations such as The Partnership for 21st Learning and Institute for the Future have proposed skills necessary to survive and thrive in the current and future workforce.  But given as the article proposes, our visibility about the future is declining, even these might not address this Generation Flux.

Extracted from the article are the current 21st century skills needed in today‘s workforce:  (Note that the words current and today are highlighted meaning that they might change in the near future.)

• Embraces instability.
• Learns to recalibrate thoughts, actions, attitudes based on what is what is being presented.
• Learns continuously from multiple sources of information.
• Understands global, mobile, and technology trends.
• Ability to work collaboratively and within teams.
• Ability to work with and solve complex, ambiguous problems.
• Takes risks while managing fears.
• Has a passion for learning new skills.
• Open-mindedness.
• Future-focused.

How does the school curriculum reflect and “teach” these skills?  What is being done to prepare learners for generation flux?

Where are the spaces for kids to ponder and express thoughts and ideas?

I was at a summer day camp in sixth grade.  They took us on a field trip to a local amusement park.  I had wandered away from the group and settled on a park bench to watch a group of kids with developmental disabilities on the merry-go-round.  The looks of pure delight and squeals of joy resonated deeply within me.  I had never seen such pure and innocent joy.  The richness of the experiences I was witnessing brought tears to my eyes.  Growing up I had been given a message that folks like the ones I was seeing had disabilities but wondered who really had the disability.  Most of my friends and the adults I knew did not seem to have the capability to be that fully present in a moment.  So where was and who had the real disability?  This was a peak experience in my life.  I so desperately wanted to discuss my thoughts with someone but knew that my friends wouldn’t understand nor were there any adults in my life with whom I could share my thoughts.

I later become a counselor focusing on at-risk youth.  My preference was to use group counseling.  The things shared by youth in that setting were profound, insightful, and sometimes earth-shattering.  Not only did they share their often very difficult life experiences, they talked about religion, sexuality, and prejudice.  Since many were the “outcasts”, they had ideas often not shared by a mainstream public.  I often left those sessions and went to have a deep cry about the life experiences and thoughts shared by the kids.

Now as an educator and teacher educator, I wonder, given the extremely structured settings of education, where kids can share their personal ideas and thoughts.  Kids spend much of their time in school and this may be the only social setting in their lives.  So I believe school and after-school programs need to provide kids with a place and space to express themselves.  I believe this place needs to have the following characteristics.

• There is no agenda, topic for discussion, nor curriculum.
• It should be non-judgmental  – all ideas and thoughts are accepted, even those that would make adults shutter.
• There should be opportunities for all kids to have a voice.
• There should be materials for kids to share their voice in different ways through the spoken word, written word, photography, videography, and other art and music venues.
• It should be multi-age so the perspectives from different age groups can be shared.
• The role of the adults and educators in such a setting would be that of active listener and a witness not a teacher nor advice giver.
• I believe it can be done virtually with a moderator who censures comments and artifacts that do not meet the above criteria.

First Class Ice Breakers Using Mobile Devices

I previously wrote about the importance of beginning a class focusing on the learners in the room as opposed to the content to be covered in Beginning the School Year: It’s About Connections Not Content.

Most classes, starting with about middle school, begin the school year with reviewing the content to be covered, expectations regarding grades, and other academic information provided by the teacher or instructor.  The human or social element is often disregarded.

What is interesting is that most learners enter the classroom wondering who is in the course.  They want to know about the teacher and the people in the class not what material is to be covered. What this says to me as an educator is that it all begins with a social connection – between the educator and the learners, and between the learners themselves.

All of my classes, regardless of student age or demographics – elementary gifted students or graduate students, begin with ice-breakers and team-building activities.  I recently developed a passion for using students’ mobile devices to do so as this devices have become natural and personalized extensions of students’ “selves.”

What follows are several of the mobile-driven ice-breakers I recently used in an undergraduate course on Interpersonal Relations.  I also include some student reactions to these activities.

Cell Sharing

• Ask participants to locate a photo, song, or video from their mobile device that best represents them.
• Each person then shares his or her media and the reason it was selected.
• For photo or video sharing:  Pass the device around so all students can view the image or use a webcam to project the image onto a larger computer screen or whiteboard.
• For sharing of music: Attach portable speakers to assist with the sharing of songs so others can hear them.

Student Reflections about Cell Sharing

Several students stated that this was their favorite activity of the class.

I thought it was awesome that you wanted everyone to show the class a picture or type of music that had meaning to us. By doing this we got to see and learn a little bit more of our peers.

We did a photo/audio thing which was my favorite activity because we got to learn a little bit of everyone’s lives

Question Selector

• Participants use a random number picker to select a number from one to 145.
  • Online
    • http://andrew.hedges.name/experiments/random/
    • http://www.mathgoodies.com/calculators/random_no_custom.html
  • Blackberry
    • http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/18863?lang=en
• They then answer the question that corresponds with their number on http://www.teampedia.net/wiki/index.php?title=Question_Cup
• Answers are posted on a Sticky Note Board such as Wallwisher or Wifitti.
• The answers can be projected on a whiteboard (if done face-to-face) or students can view the answers via their own computers (face-to-face or virtually).

Texting Interviews

• Randomly pair students (can be either face-to-face or virtually).
• Ask them to develop questions that they would ask to help them get to know someone better.
• The pairs text their questions and answers back and forth.
• Interviewers summarize what they found out about their partners and posts their partners’ names and this information on a Sticky Note Board such as Wallwisher.

Student Reflection About the Texting Interviews

I enjoyed the texting exercise. It’s pretty cool when your teacher lets you use your phone for the activities especially since I got to learn more about my partner.

Student Reflections About the Ice Breaker Activities

I think that those games helped us get to know each other and were a very good ice breaker to help us know who our class mates are.

We played many activities and I believe that they all helped in breaking the ice between us all. We were able to get to know each other easier and faster than in a typical classroom environment.

I learned to communicate better instead of hanging back in a corner.

Although we all come from different backgrounds and cultures we all related quite well and by learning about each other we can start to establish friendships

Student Reflections As Part of Class Design

I previously blogged about the important of including reflections in education in Where is reflection in the learning process? This posts describes two ongoing strategies I use for student reflections for an undergraduate course I teach.  These strategies are extremely easy to implement and provide such rich information both for the learners and me as the educator.

End of Class Reflections

At the end of each class session, students report in a verbal go-around, what the class session meant to them.  They are asked to extract key and significant learnings.  The video that follow was from our first class together that focused on building a learning community.

I view this as a verbal exit ticket.  I see the power of the exit ticket especially in shorter class periods, but the verbal reflections permits the entire classroom community to hear one another’s responses.  This method also allows me, as the teacher, to get immediate feedback about how the class went and which activities were the most powerful/significant for the students.

Class Reflections on Facebook

Each week (the class meets once a week), students post their reflections about the class onto a Facebook page set up for the course.  They are also asked to respond to at least two other members.  All students have Facebook pages so this increases ease of access.

The use of the end of class verbal go-arounds and the Facebook reflections allows for a community-based form of reflection.  Not only do students get to personally reflect on and learn from the class activities, the community of learners get to learn about what others got from these experiences.  This builds a sense of community and increases the potential learning of all students in the class as they get to discover what others have learned.

2011 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 37,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 14 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.