May | 2012 | User Generated Education

Archive for May 2012

UDL and The Flipped Classroom: The Full Picture

In response to all of the attention given to the flipped classroom, I proposed The Flipped Classroom: The Full Picture and The Flipped Classroom: The Full Picture for Higher Education in which the viewing of videos (often discussed on the primary focus of the flipped classroom) becomes a part of a larger cycle of learning based on an experiential cycle of learning.

Universal Design for Learning has also been in the news lately as a new report Universal Design for Learning (UDL): Initiatives on the Move was released by the National Center on UDL, May, 2012. This post describes the principles of Universal Design for Learning and how they naturally occur when a full cycle of learning, including ideas related to the flipped classroom, are used within the instructional process.

Universal Design for Learning

The UDL framework:

includes three principles calling for educators to provide multiple means of engagement, multiple means of presenting instructional content, and multiple means of action and expression when designing and delivering instruction
is based on the latest learning sciences, including cognitive neuroscience, human developmental science, and education research
helps educators to use digital technology and innovative methods to teach whole classes while personalizing each student’s instruction
provides a blueprint for creating flexible instructional goals, methods, materials and assessments that work for everyone—rather than the one-size-fits-all approaches found in typical instructional environments http://www.udlcenter.org/advocacy/state/report

Source: http://www.cast.org/udl/

More about UDL can be found at:

Some of the key findings of the Universal Design for Learning (UDL): Initiatives on the Move study:

Both state and local district leaders:

reported a high degree of familiarity with the UDL principles. All state leaders reported having good, very good, or excellent familiarity with the UDL principles, while more than half of the local leaders reported being extremely or moderately familiar with the UDL principles.
linked UDL with other education initiatives that embrace universal approaches occurring in general education environments, e.g. response to intervention (RTI), positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS), and differentiated instruction.
perceived a connection between technology and UDL.

State leaders reported:

strong connection between UDL and standards-based education initiatives, e.g. the Common Core State Standards and statewide assessments.
UDL was addressed as part of their state technology plans or in the context of 21st century learning.
critical to UDL advocacy:two factors are critical to UDL advocacy: (1) state leadership need to embrace UDL and (2) UDL must be understood as a general education initiative that moves beyond special education.

UDL, the Flipped Classroom, and Experiential Learning

As I stated in my introduction, I proposed an experiential flipped classroom learning model in response to all of the attention being given to the flipped classroom. I think it is a great opportunity to change the predominant didactic model of education that is especially prevalent in upper elementary through graduate school education.This model has experiential learning at the core of the learning process with the content videos supporting the learning rather than being the core or primary instructional piece.

Simply put, experiential learning is learning from experience. Experiential learning can be a highly effective educational method^.It engages the learner at a more personal level by addressing the needs and wants of the individual. For experiential learning to be truly effective, it should employ the whole learning wheel, from goal setting, to experimenting and observing, to reviewing, and finally action planning. This complete process allows one to learn new skills, new attitudes or even entirely new ways of thinking. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Experiential_learning)

UDL is a strategy, a process that provides opportunities for all students, not just those with special needs (but I believe all learners have special needs), to be successful learners. This is the same goal for the flipped classroom model designed as an experiential learning cycle.

UDL and The Flipped Classroom: The Full Picture

What follows is how an experiential flipped classroom learning model, that includes elements of the flipped classroom, fits the principles of UDL. Explanations are provided about how the principles of UDL are naturally and seamlessly addressed in this model.

Experiential Engagement

The primary UDL principle addressed during this phase is Provide Multiple Means for Engagement. The goal of this phase, in line with the tenets of experiential learning, is to hook or motivate the student by engaging him or her on a personal level.

By introducing learners to the lesson topic and content through sensory-rich, highly-engaging, hands-on, and authentic learning activities, the following key guidelines of this principle are addressed:

Provide tasks that allow for active participation, exploration and experimentation
Design activities so that learning outcomes are authentic, communicate to real audiences, and reflect a purpose that is clear to the participants
Invite personal response, evaluation and self-reflection to content and activities
Include activities that foster the use of imagination to solve novel and relevant problems, or make sense of complex ideas in creative ways
Create cooperative learning groups with clear goals, roles, and responsibilities – many of these activities require cooperative learning. (http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/udlguidelines/principle3)

Concept Development: The What

The primary UDL principle addressed in this phase is Provide Multiple Means of Representation. This is the phase where videos, as proposed by the flipped classroom, are utilized to assist students in learning the theoretical concepts related to the content being covered. As previously noted, though, the videos are used to support, introduce, and reinforce the theoretical content as opposed as being at its core. Videos should not be the only source of concept formation. To support learning, a multimedia learning environment needs to provide multiple, flexible methods of presentation. Ways of addressing this principle include presenting material in a variety of formats (http://www.cited.org/index.aspx?page_id=147). Interactive websites and ebooks, simulations, and content-rich websites can also service this purpose. The learner should be offered a menu of resources to study and learn about the topic.

The following guidelines of Provide Multiple Means of Representation are addressed if learning is approached in this manner:

Present key concepts in one form of symbolic representation (e.g., an expository text or a math equation) with an alternative form (e.g., an illustration, dance/movement, diagram, table, model, video, comic strip, storyboard, photograph, animation, physical or virtual manipulative)
Provide visual diagrams, charts, notations of music or sound to support auditory content and information.
Provide descriptions (text or spoken) for all images, graphics, video, or animations
Provide interactive models that guide exploration and new understandings
Provide multiple entry points to a lesson and optional pathways through content (e.g., exploring big ideas through dramatic works, arts and literature, film and media)

Meaning Making: The So What

The primary UDL principle addressed during this phase is Provide Multiple Means of Action and Expression. Learners, during this phase, construct their own meanings and understanding of the experiences, content, and topics covered in the previous phases. They do so via blogs, vodcasts, podcasts, Voicethread, Edmodo, wikis, and other web 2.0 tools that allows for personal reflection and expression. A digital environment supports student learning when it provides multiple, flexible methods for student action, expression, and apprenticeship (http://www.cited.org/index.aspx?page_id=147). As with content presentation, several options should be offered to the students.

The following guidelines related to Provide Multiple Means of Action and Expression are addressed when learners making meaning of the content:

Use social media and interactive web tools (e.g., discussion forums, chats, web design, annotation tools, storyboards, comic strips, animation presentations)
Compose in multiple media such as text, speech, drawing, illustration, comics, storyboards, design, film, music, visual art, sculpture, or video
Use web applications (e.g., wikis, animation, presentation)
Use story webs, outlining tools, or concept mapping tools

Also addressed are guidelines from Provide Multiple Means for Engagement:

Provide learners with as much discretion and autonomy as possible by providing choices
Vary activities and sources of information so that they can be personalized and contextualized to learners’ lives
Design activities so that learning outcomes are authentic, communicate to real audiences, and reflect a purpose that is clear to the participants
Invite personal response, evaluation and self-reflection to content and activities
Provide feedback that is substantive and informative rather than comparative or competitive

The Multiple Means of Representation are also reinforced during the meaning making phase as learners are asked to . . .

Incorporate explicit opportunities for review and practice

Demonstration and Application: The Now What

During this phase, learners demonstrate what they learned during the previous phases and how this learning will transfer to other areas of their lives. The primary UDL principle addressed during this phase is Provide Multiple Means of Action and Expression

Compose in multiple media such as text, speech, drawing, illustration, design, film, music, dance/movement, visual art, sculpture or video

Also addressed are guidelines from Provide Multiple Means for Engagement:

Provide learners with as much discretion and autonomy as possible by providing choices
Allow learners to participate in the design of classroom activities and academic tasks
Vary activities and sources of information so that they can be personalized and contextualized to learners’ lives
Design activities so that learning outcomes are authentic, communicate to real audiences, and reflect a purpose that is clear to the participants
Provide tasks that allow for active participation, exploration and experimentation
Include activities that foster the use of imagination to solve novel and relevant problems, or make sense of complex ideas in creative ways
Vary the degrees of freedom for acceptable performance

The Multiple Means of Representation are also reinforced during this demonstration and application phase as learners . . .

Provide explicit, supported opportunities to generalize learning to new situations
Offer opportunities over time to revisit key ideas and linkages between ideas

UDL Photo Images from http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/whatisudl

Written by Jackie Gerstein, Ed.D.

May 29, 2012 at 2:02 am

Posted in Education

Tagged with experiential learning, flipped classroom, learning, school reform, technology integration, UDL, universal design for learning

Mash-Up of Commencement 2012 Speeches

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I love quotes. They are soundbites of wisdom. Commencement speeches are filled with such soundbites, so I spent part of my Memorial Day weekend creating a mash-up of quotes from the commencement speeches by Aaron Sorkin, Adam Savage, Oprah Winfrey, Barack and Michelle Obama, Jane Lynch, Maria Shriver, Colin Powell. FYI – Aaron Sorkin’s and Adam Savage’s were my favorite speeches.

Written by Jackie Gerstein, Ed.D.

May 29, 2012 at 2:00 am

Posted in Education

Mobile Learning Presentation for the 4T Virtual Conference

Is There a Digital Divide or an Intellectual-Pedagogical One?

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This post includes a number of wonderings . . .

For the past few days, there has been some controversy over a TED talk that included some commentary about classism. See the Time article Was Nick Hanauer’s TED Talk on Income Inequality Too Rich for Rich People? for a synopsis. The basic premise was that the talk was censored from public viewing due to it being offensive to the wealthy folks that pay to attend the TED conference.

I really love watching TED talks but this controversy got me thinking about intellectual elitism. I cannot nor will ever be able to afford to go to a TED conference but I can watch them online. I often ask, in group settings, if folks heard of TED. Groups that contain higher education faculty and teachers, who are engaged in social networks, do know of TED talks. My college students and friends, many who are of lower SES levels, have not.

I wonder what would happen if I were to ask this question of the larger population. I believe the results would show that more higher income folks would know about the TED talks than lower income folks.

I have the privilege of using my laptop, iPhone, and iPad to learn about anything I want throughout the day. These devices along with skills I gained about how to learn have provided me with opportunities to access information I desire. I am wondering if folks from lower income brackets can say the same.

The use of technology use by our society has sparked discussion about the digital divide.

Such numbers may seem proof that America is, indeed, online. But they mask an emerging division, one that has worrisome implications for our economy and society. Increasingly, we are a country in which only the urban and suburban well-off have truly high-speed Internet access, while the rest — the poor and the working class — either cannot afford access or use restricted wireless access as their only connection to the Internet. As our jobs, entertainment, politics and even health care move online, millions are at risk of being left behind.

But I wonder if the digital divide is really an intellectual or pedagogical one.
I wonder that if a comparison was done of higher and lower income schools, what would be the ratio of 1:1 (one mobile device per student during school time) initiatives?
I wonder, for those lower income schools, how many students have computer devices at home that match those they are using in school.
Even considering the new Ted-Ed Lessons Worth Sharing, I wonder which schools are using the lessons.
I wonder if technology integration strategies are similar for higher income schools in comparison to lower income skills.

Are we sugarcoating a larger sociological issue of classism in our school systems? Thirty years ago, Jean Anyon wrote Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work

It’s no surprise that schools in wealthy communities are better than those in poor communities, or that they better prepare their students for desirable jobs. It may be shocking, however, to learn how vast the differences in schools are – not so much in resources as in teaching methods and philosophies of education.

I fear that the digital divide is really an intellectual and pedagogical one and that it is being perpetuated in our educational system by the use or lack thereof of the technologies that are influencing and driving our society-at-large.

Image Attribution: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vaxzine/2278300537/

Written by Jackie Gerstein, Ed.D.

May 18, 2012 at 2:45 pm

Posted in Education

Tagged with classism, educational reform, learning, TED talks

Flipped Classroom: The Full Picture for Higher Education

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The Flipped Classroom, as most know, has become quite the buzz in education. Its use in higher education has been given a lot of press recently. The purpose of this post is to:

Provide background for this model of learning with a focus on its use in higher education.
Identify some problems with its use and implementation that if not addressed, could become just a fading fad.
Propose a model for implementation based on an experiential cycle of learning model.

Background About the Flipped Classroom

This first section provides information from various articles that describe the flipped classroom, and how it is being discussed and used in educational settings.

In its simplest terms, the flipped classroom is about viewing and/or listening to lectures during one’s own time which frees up face-to-face class time for experiential exercises, group discussion, and question and answer sessions.

It’s called “the flipped classroom.” While there is no one model, the core idea is to flip the common instructional approach. With teacher-created videos and interactive lessons, instruction that used to occur in class is now accessed at home, in advance of class. Class becomes the place to work through problems, advance concepts, and engage in collaborative learning. Most importantly, all aspects of instruction can be rethought to best maximize the scarcest learning resource—time. Flipped classroom teachers almost universally agree that it’s not the instructional videos on their own, but how they are integrated into an overall approach, that makes the difference (The Flipped Classroom by Bill Tucker).

Several trends have converged that are influencing how classes should be taught within higher education settings.

The first is technological innovation, which has made it easier to distribute lectures by the world’s leading instructors. Some faculty members wonder whether it still makes sense to deliver a lecture when students can see the same material covered more authoritatively and engagingly—and at their own pace and on their own schedule.

At the same time, policy makers, scholars, advocacy groups, and others who seek to improve higher education want to see more evidence that students are truly learning in college. Cognitive scientists determined that people’s short-term memory is very limited – it can only process so much at once. A lot of the information presented in a typical lecture comes at students too fast and is quickly forgotten. (How ‘Flipping’ the Classroom Can Improve the Traditional Lecture).

Physics education researchers determined that the traditional lecture-based physics course where students sit and passively absorb information is not an effective way for students to learn. A lot of students can repeat the laws of physics and even solve complex problems, but many are doing it through rote memorization. Most students who complete a standard physics class never understand what the laws of physics mean, or how to apply them to real-world situations. (http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/tomorrows-college/lectures/rethinking-teaching.html)

Sal Khan, of the Khan Academy, states:

There was nothing practical that anyone could do about this broken “learning” model until recently. But we can now deliver on-demand content to any student for nearly zero incremental cost. The video content can be paused and repeated as needed. Students can focus on exactly what they need to know. They don’t have to be embarrassed to fill in remedial gaps. They don’t need to take notes. Crucially, the lectures can be given by superb communicators, with a deep, intuitive understanding of the material.

Ten years from today, students will be learning at their own pace. The classroom will be a place for active interaction, not passive listening and daydreaming. The role of the teacher will be that of a mentor or coach as opposed to a lecturer, test writer, and grader. The institutions that will remain relevant will be those that leverage this paradigm, not fight it.

There are a number of higher education initiatives that are seeking to go beyond the lecture and flip the classroom.

Charles Prober, MD, senior associate dean for medical education at the School of Medicine, teamed with Chip Heath, PhD, a professor of organizational behavior, to design and use the Flipped Classroom with a core biochemistry course.

This year, our core biochemistry course at Stanford Medical School was redesigned following this model; rather than a standard lecture-based format, the instructors provided short online presentations. Class time was used for interactive discussions of clinical vignettes highlighting the biochemical bases of various diseases. The proportion of student course reviews that were positive increased substantially from the previous year. And the percentage of students who attended class shot up from about 30% to 80% — even though class attendance was optional (Lecture Halls without Lectures — A Proposal for Medical Education by Charles G. Prober).

Eric Mazur, a Harvard Physics teacher, has gained popularity due to changing his teaching methods. The following are excerpts from the Harvard Magazine article, Twilight of the Lecture.

To Mazur’s consternation, the simple test of conceptual understanding showed that his students had not grasped the basic ideas of his physics course. “In a traditional physics course, two months after taking the final exam, people are back to where they were before taking the course,” Mazur notes. “It’s shocking.”

Sitting passively and taking notes is just not a way of learning. Yet lectures are 99 percent of how we teach!

Active learners take new information and apply it, rather than merely taking note of it. Firsthand use of new material develops personal ownership. When subject matter connects directly with students’ experiences, projects, and goals, they care more about the material they seek to master.

Taking active learning seriously means revamping the entire teaching/learning enterprise—even turning it inside out or upside down. For example, active learning overthrows the “transfer of information” model of instruction, which casts the student as a dry sponge who passively absorbs facts and ideas from a teacher. This model has ruled higher education for 600 years, since the days of the medieval Schoolmen who, in their lectio mode, stood before a room reading a book aloud to the assembly—no questions permitted. The modern version is the lecture.

“I think the answer to this challenge is to rethink the nature of the college course, to consider it as a different kind of animal these days,” he continues. “A course can be a communication across time about a discrete topic, with a different temporal existence than the old doing-the-homework-for-the-lecture routine. Students now tap into a course through different media; they may download materials via its website, and even access a faculty member’s research and bio. It’s a different kind of communication between faculty and students. Websites and laptops have been around for years now, but we haven’t fully thought through how to integrate them with teaching so as to conceive of courses differently.”

Personal Experiences

I began my teaching career in the field of experiential education – the focus, obviously, is on learning by doing. My first job in higher education was as an instructor of Outdoor Education at Unity College in Maine. I knew from past experiences as an experiential, outdoor educator for at-risk youth, and from my desire to create classrooms that I wished I had as a student, that lectures would not be part of my classroom strategies. Theoretical content learning would occur as homework during the students’ time. Face-to-face classroom time would be spent putting the theory into practice. In the twenty-plus years I have been in higher education, students were given course content to review and study at home. Since I never valued the textbook as the best means for delivering that content (they are edited books based on one or two authors’ perspectives), I started by providing them with compendiums of theme/content-related articles, later lists of web links to articles, and currently adding video lectures to those lists. Students are not required to read nor view all of the suggested web resources. The list offers a menu of learning possibilities. Class time, as I’ve said, is then used to put the theory into practice. These experiences include group problem-solving and team building games, simulations, case study reviews, and group discussions.

Use and Implementation Problems with the Flipped Classroom

Two noteworthy problems exist when thinking about using the flipped classroom in higher education settings.

If video lectures drive the instruction, it is just a repackaging of a more traditional model of didactic learning. It is not a new paradigm nor pedagogy of learning.
Educators need to be re-educated as to what to do with the class time that previously was used for their lectures.

Repackaging Old Paradigms

As Cathy Davidson noted in Why Flip The Classroom When We Can Make It Do Cartwheels?

In some ways, the flipped model is an improvement. Research shows that tailored tutoring is more effective than lectures for understanding, mastery, and retention. But the flipped classroom doesn’t come close to preparing students for the challenges of today’s world and workforce. As progressive educational activist Alfie Kohn notes, great teaching isn’t just about content but motivation and empowerment. Real learning gives you the mental habits, practice, and confidence to know that, in a crisis, you can count on yourself to learn something new.

The flipped classroom isn’t likely to change the world. Energized, connected, engaged, global, informed, dedicated, activist learning just might. Transformative, connected knowledge isn’t a thing–it’s an action, an accomplishment, a connection that spins your world upside down, then sets you squarely on your feet, eager to whirl again. It’s a paradigm shift.

Harvard Professor Chris Dede stated in his Global Education 2011 keynote in response to a question directed about the flipped classroom . . .

I think that the flipped classroom is an interesting idea if you want to do learning that is largely based on presentation. You use presentation outside of the classroom. Then you do your understanding of the presentation and further steps from the presentation inside the classroom. I think it is a step forward. It is still, in my mind, the old person. It’s still starting with presentational learning and then trying to sprinkle some learning-by-doing on top of it. I am interested more in moving beyond the flipped classroom to learning by doing at the center than a kind of the intermediate step that still centers on largely on tacit assimilation.

What am I supposed to do with class time that was once used for lectures?

In The Flipped Classroom: The Full Picture, I discussed that a problem with flipping the classroom is that educators, who are used to and trained in using class time for lectures, do not know how to transition from a lecture-based classroom to one that includes more student-centered activities. The message being given to teachers is that when students review the lectures on their own time, the teachers now have time to do whatever they want during class time. A major roadblock or barrier to the implementation of this model is that many educators do not know what to do within the classroom, with that “whatever they want to do” time. For educators, who are used to and use the didactic model, a framework is needed to assist them with the implementation of the Flipped Classroom.

This problem is especially relevant in higher education where faculty are hired based on their content expertise not their expertise in being facilitators of learning.

There are many reasons professors who lecture don’t want to give it up. Tradition may be the mightiest force. A lot of them are not excited about the idea that they might have to move out of their comfort zone.

Professors stick with traditional approaches because they don’t know much about alternatives. Few get training or coaching on how to teach. It’s kind of ironic that professors don’t have any type of training in any way, shape or form. It’s the only teaching degree that you don’t need to go through any actual training in teaching to do. (http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/tomorrows-college/lectures/inventing-new-college.html)

The Experiential Flipped Classroom Model: Foundation

This section describes a model of flipped classroom learning that addresses the concerns just discussed. It incorporates the use of videos and other online content in the flipped classroom fashion described by current proponents but also includes methods, strategies, and activities for the face-to-face and/or synchronous class time.

Basic Tenets

The tenets that drive The Experiential Flipped Classroom Model are:

The learners need to be personally connected to the topic. Student engagement is the key to learning. This is more likely to occur through engaging experiential activities.
Informal learning today is connected, instantaneous, and personalized. Students should have similar experiences in their more formal learning environments.
Almost all content-related knowledge can be found online through videos, podcasts, and online interactives, and is more often better conveyed through these media than by classroom teachers.
Learning institutions are no longer the gatekeepers to information. Anyone with connections to the internet has access to high level, credible content.
Lectures in any form, face-to-face, videos, transcribed, or podcasts, should support learning not drive it nor be central to it.
And from Doug Holton, “Lectures do still have a place and can be more effective if given in the right contexts, such as after (not before) students have explored something on their own (via a lab experience, simulation, game, field experience, analyzing cases, etc.) and developed their own questions and a ‘need to know.’” (http://edtechdev.wordpress.com/2012/05/04/whats-the-problem-with-moocs/)
A menu of learning acquisition and demonstration options should be provided throughout the learning cycle.
The educator becomes a facilitator and tour guide of learning possibilities – offering these possibilities to the learners and then getting out of the way.

Foundational Learning Theories

Along with the tenets above, the Experiential Flipped Classroom Model has it roots in several theories. Older models of experiential learning can be updated to include technology tools and build off of the tenets proposed for the flipped classroom model.

Experiential Learning Cycle

The Experiential Learning Cycle models emphasize that the nature of experience is of fundamental importance and concern in education and training. It is the teacher’s responsibility to structure and organize a series of experiences which positively influence each individual’s potential future experiences. In other words, “good experiences” motivate, encourage, and enable students to go on to have more valuable learning experiences. Experiential Learning Cycles can be seen as providing a semi-structured approach. There is relative freedom to go ahead in activity and “experience”, but the educator also commits to structuring other stages, usually involving some form of planning or reflection, so that “raw experience” is package with facilitated cognitive (usually) thinking about the experience. (http://wilderdom.com/experiential/elc/ExperientialLearningCycle.htm)

Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle

David A. Kolb (with Roger Fry) created his famous experiential learning circle that involves (1) concrete experience followed by (2) observation and experience followed by (3) forming abstract concepts followed by (4) testing in new situations. (http://www.infed.org/biblio/b-explrn.htm)

For more information, see http://www.ldu.leeds.ac.uk/ldu/sddu_multimedia/kolb/kolb_flash.htm

The 4Mat System

4MAT® System is a teaching model which combines the fundamental principles of several long-standing theories of personal development with current research on human brain function and learning. 4MAT is a process for delivering instruction in a way that appeals to all types of learners and engages, informs, allows for practice and creative use of material learned within each lesson. A very important component of this method is the need for teachers/instructors to understand and present their material conceptually, presenting the big picture, and the meaning and relevance of material to be learned. The instructional events of the 4MAT system can be divided into four categories: orientation, presentation, practice, and extension/evaluation.

See http://www.aboutlearning.com/what-is-4mat for more information about the 4MAT model.

The Experiential Flipped Classroom Model

What follows is an explanation of the Flipped Classroom Model, a model where the video lectures, screencasts, and vodcasts fall within a larger framework of learning activities.

Experiential Engagement: The Experience

The cycle often begins with an experiential exercise. This is an authentic, often hands-on, learning activity that fully engages the student. It is a concrete experience that calls for attention by most, if not all, the senses. According to McCarthy, learning activities are designed that are immersive. Learners “experience the now.” They become hooked through and motivated by personal connection to the experience, and a desire to create meaning for and about that experience (ala constructivist learning).

These are teacher generated and facilitated. They work best during classroom time. These are those “what to do with the time that used to be filled with lectures” class activities.

The options for experiential engagement are limitless. Again, the goal is to offer an engaging and authentic learning activity that introduces learners to the course topic, that creates a desire for them to want to learn more. Options include:

Team Problem Solving Activities: Wilderdom, Teampedia
Science Experiments: Steve Spangler Science Experiments, Kitchen Science Experiments
Experiential Mobile Activities (Note: Some of these can also be used for online courses)
The Arts: Artsedge

Facilitating experiential activities may be tricky, at first, for those who have never led them. Experiential activities are often used for organizational development and corporate training. As such, those new to their use can get ideas for the how-to facilitation through business related websites:

There are also some options for online courses:

Virtual Field Trips: 100 Incredible Educational Virtual Tours
Online Simulations: PhET Science Simulations, National Library of Virtual Manipulatives
Google: Google Earth Tours, Google Art Project
Students can conduct interviews or take photos or videos and post these online, e.g., Picture Your Values.

Concept Exploration: The What

During this phase, learners are exposed to and learn concepts touched upon during Experiential Engagement. They explore what the experts have to say about the topic. Information is presented via video lecture, content-rich websites and simulations, and/or online text/readings. In the case of the flipped classroom as it is being currently discussed, this is the time in the learning cycle when the learners view content-rich videos. This is where and when videos are used to help students learn the abstract concepts related to the topic being covered. The role of the teacher, during this phase, is to offer the learners choices of video and related online content.

Some video archives and related online resources that may be of value in higher education include:

Teachers can also record their own lectures for student viewing. Some tools to do so include:

(Note: Describing the specific technologies that one can use to record one’s own lectures is not the intent of this post. I recommend doing further research to decide which tools would be most appropriate.)

Free online courses by major universities also offer some materials that can be used to assist students in developing an understanding content-related knowledge:

Part of this phase can include an online chat for asking and addressing questions about the content presented via the videos, podcasts, websites. Through online “chat” areas, learners can ask questions and post thoughts and opinions. Responses can then be provided by co-learners and educators.

TitanPad
TodaysMeet
Google Docs
Elluminate, Adobe Connect or Blackboard Collaborate Rooms with chat functions
Obviously, in a face-to-face setting, students can bring their questions into the real time environment where questions and answer periods become part of the in class activities.

Meaning Making: The So What

Learners reflect on their understanding of what was discovered during the previous phases. It is a phase of deep reflection on what was experienced during the first phase and what was learned via the experts during the second phase. Learners develop skills for reflective practice through discussing, reviewing, analyzing, evaluating, and synthesizing key learning through their experiential activities and exploration of expert commentaries.

I discussed the importance of reflection in a blog post, Where is reflection in the learning process?

Learners do not just receive information only at the time it is given; they absorb information in many different ways, often after the fact, through reflection. The most powerful learning often happens when students self-monitor, or reflect.

Students may not always be aware of what they are learning and experiencing. Teachers must raise students’ consciousness about underlying concepts and about their own reactions to these concepts. ETE Team

During this phase, the educator can demonstrate reflection strategies and offer choices for student reflections, but the focus should be on the learner constructing his or her understanding of the topic. Learners can articulate and construct their understanding of the content or topic being covered through a variety of technology tools:

Blogs such as WordPress or Blogger: Student examples can be found at http://gretelpatch.wordpress.com/ (graduate student in Educational Technology) and http://perfectlypaigespage.blogspot.com/ (undergraduate student in Interpersonal Relations).
Audio and Video Recordings
Facebook Group Page: Facebook introduced Groups for Schools. An example for my Interpersonal Relations course can be found at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Broadview-Interpersonal-Relations-Course/241152722603421
Voicethread: The advantage of using Voicethread is that students can hear review the ideas of other students and have a choice in the type of medium used; video, audio, or written. The Voicethread set up for my undergraduate course on Interpersonal Relations is at http://voicethread.com/?#u1025159.b2349919.i15073398 and the one for m graduate course on Integrating Technology Into the Classroom at http://voicethread.com/?#u1025159.b1372964.i7281354

Within the standard school system where testing is the expectation, this would be the phase when students are tested about their understanding of the content. If this is the case, it is recommended that the tests target higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy – evaluation, applying, synthesizing.

Demonstration and Application: The Now What

During this phase, learners get to demonstrate what they learned and apply the material in a way that makes sense to them.

When students have multiple choices in ways to demonstrate their knowledge, the evidence of their learning is more accurate. We wanted the students to actually become the experts through the learning process. This assessment isn’t just a fancy term for a presentation at the end of a unit. To actually engage in an authentic celebration is to witness a true display of student understanding. (http://education.jhu.edu/newhorizons/strategies/topics/Assessment%20Alternatives/meyer_glock.htm)

This goes beyond reflection and personal understanding in that learners have to create something that is individualized and extends beyond the lesson with applicability to the learners’ everyday lives. Opportunities should be provided for students to, at the very least, make concrete plans how they will use the course content in other aspects of their lives.

This is in line with the highest level of learning within Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy of Learning – Creating - whereby the learner creates a new product or point of view. In essence, they become the storytellers of their learning (See Narratives in the 21st Century: Narratives in Search of Contexts). A list of technology-enhanced ideas/options for the celebration of learning can be found at: http://usergeneratededucation.wordpress.com/2010/09/09/a-technology-enhanced-celebration-of-learning/

Here is a slideshow of former students’ Demonstration and Application projects and presentations.

Examples included:

A ten commandments of teaching strategies.
A calendar where each month had reminders of application ideas.
A Minecraft video of what was learned and how it is being applied in his life.
A Medicine Wheel by a Zuni student about how the course concepts applied to the Native American culture.

Flipped Classroom Full Picture: An Example Lesson

An example on how this model was used in a blended undergraduate course can be found at Flipped Classroom Full Picture: An Example Lesson.

Summary

The Flipped Classroom offers a great use of technology - especially if it gets lecture out of the classrooms and into the hands and control of the learners. As it is being discussed, it is part of a larger picture of teaching and learning. The Flipped Classroom videos have a place in the models and cycles of learning proposed by educational psychologists and instructional designers. Providing educators with a full framework of how the Flipped Classroom can be used in their educational settings will increase its validity for educators and their administrators.

Written by Jackie Gerstein, Ed.D.

May 15, 2012 at 11:14 pm

Posted in Education

Tagged with Education, educational reform, emerging technologies, experiential learning, flipped classroom, online education, passion-based learning, technology integration, web 2.0

Assessment as a Means for Developing a Sense of Achievement

with 2 comments

They replaced the old spin bikes with some new ones at the health club where I work out. These new ones have a feedback monitor that provides feedback about effort via the RPM, watts, and gear level, The spin instructor told us that the recommended watts for a good workout is over 200. I started my workout as I always do, putting out my typical amount of effort. The watts indicator hovered between 100 and 125. Yikes! I have gone to two workouts using this monitor. I have reached, huffing and puffing, 200 watts on a few occasions, and attempt to keep it at around 150. I wasn’t able to reach 200 watts the first time and felt a great sense of achievement upon doing so during my second spin class with the monitor. Needless to say, these were some of the best spin workouts I have accomplished. I realized that the monitor made my spin performance into a type of game by me providing me with ongoing and continuous feedback and a way to level up.

I made the connection between my experiences on the spin bike and the need for humans to feel a sense of achievement.

Need for achievement (N-Ach) refers to an individual’s desire for significant accomplishment, mastering of skills, control, or high standards. The term was first used by Henry Murray^[1] and associated with a range of actions. These include: “intense, prolonged and repeated efforts to accomplish something difficult. To work with singleness of purpose towards a high and distant goal. To have the determination to win”. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Need_for_achievement)

I began thinking about how all of this applies to the educational setting. I have a cynical view about assessments, most often in the form of tests, and how they are used at school. They are often contrived and separate from the learning process, and a measure of a student’s deficiencies. As such, students do not use information gleamed from the assessment process to improve their performance. As a deficiency model, rather than one that promotes a sense of achievement, students who do not achieve 100% proficiency feel as though they have failed in some way.

Assessment should be a continuous feedback loop, one that is integrated into the learning process, and where the feedback improves the competency of the learner. Assessments should be used as opportunities to develop competencies and the related sense of achievement.

Sal Khan discusses this problem of testing:

Regardless of whether they can prove proficiency in 70, 80, or 90 percent of the material, they are “passed” to the next class, which builds on 100 percent of what they should have learned. Fast-forward six months, and students are lucky to retain even 10 percent of what was “covered.”

This is a grand exercise in labeling and filtering students with arbitrary grades rather than teaching them. It is a hugely inefficient use of time and resources, but no one wants to notice, because it is the way things have always been done.

Perhaps the worst artifact of this system is that most students end up mastering nothing. What is the 5 percent that even the A student, with a 95 percent, doesn’t know? The question becomes scarier when considering the B or C student. How can they even hope to understand 100 percent of a more advanced class?

Ten years from today, students will be learning at their own pace, with all relevant data being collected on how to optimize their learning and the content itself. Grades and transcripts will be replaced with real-time reports and analytics on what a student actually knows and doesn’t know. (YouTube U. Beats YouSnooze U.)

This is why I believe that game-based learning is becoming popular and being promoted viable means for assessment.

As James Gee notes:

Games don’t separate learning and assessment. They are giving you feedback all the time about the learning curve you are on.

So what is the difference between a game or a machine giving feedback and a teacher giving a grade? How does all of this relate to intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation? Is getting feedback from a game extrinsic motivation? Does the external rewards gained through leveling up in a video game or gaining a badge by completing a series of competencies diminish the sense of accomplishment?

Judy Willis, A Neurologist Makes the Case for the Video Game Model as a Learning Tool:

It may seem counter intuitive to think that children would consider harder work a reward for doing well on a homework problem, test, or physical skill to which they devoted considerable physical or mental energy. Yet, that is just what the video playing brain seeks after experiencing the pleasure of reaching a higher level in the game. A computer game doesn’t hand out cash, toys, or even hugs. The motivation to persevere is the brain seeking another surge of dopamine — the fuel of intrinsic reinforcement.

Good games give players opportunities for experiencing intrinsic reward at frequent intervals, when they apply the effort and practice the specific skills they need to get to the next level. The games do not require mastery of all tasks and the completion of the whole game before giving the brain the feedback for dopamine boosts of satisfaction.

. . . which she further notes, helps students develop competencies and the related sense of achievement.

In the classroom, the video [game] model can be achieved with timely, corrective feedback so students recognize incorrect foundational knowledge and then have opportunities to strengthen the correct new memory circuits through practice and application. However, individualized instruction, assignments, and feedback, that allow students to consistently work at their individualized achievable challenge levels, are time-consuming processes not possible for teachers to consistently provide all students.

The best on-line learning programs for building students’ missing foundational knowledge use student responses to structure learning at individualized achievable challenge levels. These programs also provide timely corrective and progress-acknowledging feedback that allows the students to correct mistakes, build understanding progressively, and recognize their incremental progress.

How can all of these ideas influence how educators provide feedback to learners and opportunities to develop competencies along with the resultant sense of achievement?

Written by Jackie Gerstein, Ed.D.

May 12, 2012 at 3:04 pm

Posted in Education

Tagged with assessment, Education, game-based learning, school reform, technology integration

PBL: Project, Passion, Play Based Learning

with 5 comments

Effective and progressive educators understand and attempt to implement PBL strategies and practices within their learning settings. What is PBL? Project-Based Learning? Passion-Based Learning? Play-Based Learning? I contend that education, not necessarily schooling, when done “right” is all of these. How can project-based learning not include elements of passion and play? Doesn’t play connect one to his or her passions? Shouldn’t passion-based learning include the development of playful projects?

Project Based Learning

Project Based Learning is an instructional approach built upon authentic learning activities that engage student interest and motivation. These activities are designed to answer a question or solve a problem and generally reflect the types of learning and work people do in the everyday world outside the classroom. (http://pbl-online.org/)

Here is a curated Scoop.It of Project-Based Learning Resources: http://www.scoop.it/t/project-based-learning.

Passion-Based Learning

Today knowledge is everywhere – it’s easily accessible. With a couple clicks of the button, I can find content beyond my ability to absorb it in a lifetime. As a young person today, I can learn anything I want to learn at any time I want to learn it. Therefore, instead of focusing so much of our effort on the content, we really need to focus on helping them learn. We must help students understand how to synthesize and analyze and to create – to think deeply and become passionate learners.

And it’s going to be a different way of thinking when I put the learner first. Instead of me having all these preconceived ideas of what they should doing, saying and producing, I have to be open to what I find in each student. I have to discover – and help each student discover – their talents and interests and create a learning environment where they can use those gifts and passions to learn from a position of strength. Passion-based learning in the 21st century: An interview with Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach

Some resources and blog posts about Passion-Based Learning:

Play-Based Learning

The beauty of a play-based curriculum is that very young children can routinely observe and learn from others’ emotions and experiences. Through play, children learn to take turns, delay gratification, negotiate conflicts, solve problems, share goals, acquire flexibility, and live with disappointment. By allowing children to imagine walking in another person’s shoes, imaginative play also seeds the development of empathy, a key ingredient for intellectual and social-emotional success. from CNN’s Want to get your kids into college? Let them play

Play and its related benefits are not just for children. Stuart Brown discusses Why Play is Important, No Matter Your Age is his TED talk.

Resources:

Caine and his Arcade have been given a lot of attention and press lately. Rightfully so. It is a great example of PBL – Project, Passion, Play Based Learning. I discuss it in more depth in 9 Year Old Boy’s Arcade Creation: An Example of Passion-Based Learning.

Integrating projects, passions, and play into education in this era of learning has become a moral imperative, in my perspective. We often ask students to spend 8 or more hours of their day in the pursuit of education. Through my experiences as a student, I feel that the education system stole time in my life making me do things for which I had no interest, desire, nor use. As such, I am in a lifelong quest not to do the same to the children who are participating in our current systems.

Written by Jackie Gerstein, Ed.D.

May 8, 2012 at 4:15 pm

Posted in Education

Tagged with educational reform, experiential learning, passion-based learning, unschooling

Relative Advantage of Technology Integration

with 2 comments

My educational beginnings were in the field of experiential education – adventure ropes courses, new games, team building initiatives. These activities are highly engaging, fun, and often adrenaline producing. As such, some facilitators use them to produce these results but did not engage in the foresight to determine which activities were best for the specific participants to create transferable changes in thoughts, knowledge, and/or behavior. The focus through training organizations such as Project Adventure and the Association of Experiential Education become on not just teaching facilitators about the adventure activities themselves but also how to select, implement, and process these experiential activities.

Technology also can be fun, engaging, and has a seductive quality. Some educators are using new technologies as the experiential educators used the adventure games – as a cool thing to do in the learning environment. They are not being intentional about the underlying pedagogy and desired educational outcomes. It has almost become like a technology flavor of the month: one month it is Interactive Whiteboards, another tablets, and yet another it is online videos like Khan Academy.

I teach a course on integrating technology into the curriculum for the Boise State University’s graduate Educational Technology program. As part of the course, students are expected to write weekly blog posts, many of weekly themes are related to the relative advantage of using particular technologies or related strategies in a learning setting. Relative advantage is defined as:

In order to succeed, an innovation has to be perceived as offering advantages relative to existing comparable products or services (http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=397861&section=16.2.1)

In other words, they are asked to discuss how certain technologies, applications, and strategies would improve current practices. Example relative advantage posts from one of the course students:

Exploring relative advantages of the technologies is often the highlight of the course for many of the students. This week was the Spring semester student’s final course reflection. Here are some of their comments regarding the value they found in determining relative advantage.

Professionally, I have grown tremendously because of this course. I think my mantra at school to other teachers is “Do not use technology for technology sake! Do it because you have a purpose!” I think that is the biggest lesson I have learned from this class. This may not be the first class that has emphasized this point but it is the first class that has taught me how to use it AND have a purpose. I get so excited when I able to motivate my students with technology that I have learned in this class. Tanya

Another important concept for me has been relative advantage. As one who loves technology, I often jump right in as a parent or in casual teaching environments just because I can. I have learned to determine the relative advantage of such tools, and to use and implement them wisely–not just because they are available. This has been a profound lesson for me and one that has already shaped my current efforts. Gretel

Considering the relative advantage of integration strategies I have found especially valuable. Using this approach with my own work and sharing the value of considering why you use technology in a given educational setting validates the process. Barry

I guess the other real change that I can say I see at this point is I have a renewed willingness to try new things. I think we all have a tendency to stay within our comfort zone and to be honest its easier. Stepping outside the box and altering our approach, even if we are confident in ability takes extra effort, a little courage, and an understanding that failure might be an option. It is that failure though, that gives us a better chance the second time around for success. Jill

This is such a valuable exercise when considering technology integration – one I believe any teacher or staff at an educational institution could benefit from when considering integrating any new technology.

Written by Jackie Gerstein, Ed.D.

May 7, 2012 at 2:05 am

Posted in Education

Tagged with disrupting education, Education, technology integration

User Generated Education

Archive for May 2012

UDL and The Flipped Classroom: The Full Picture

Mash-Up of Commencement 2012 Speeches

Mobile Learning Presentation for the 4T Virtual Conference

Is There a Digital Divide or an Intellectual-Pedagogical One?

Flipped Classroom: The Full Picture for Higher Education

Assessment as a Means for Developing a Sense of Achievement

PBL: Project, Passion, Play Based Learning

Relative Advantage of Technology Integration

A Review of Sal Khan and Khan Academy

Jackie Gerstein, Ed.D.

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