Week 5 Reading Reflection

What exactly are we transferring?

I found "Put Understanding First" to be an extremely interesting article and I started to wonder why the obvious is seemingly unknown to the public school system in the United States.  Why can't a student's education help him attain his own goals for college or career readiness?  Why can't teachers focus on what students need to know for a job instead of what they need to know for standardized tests.  In the process of trying to create and assess effective schools, our public education system has deviated so far from preparing students for what they need to know in life.

Wiggins and McTighe's analogy of comparing student learners to athletes or performers is apt.  If I think of students as performers or athletes then the three instructional practices start to make more sense.  DIrect instruction is necessary, but it should come chunked into accessible pieces.   A director would not explain all the dialogue, songs, blocking, and choreography for a musical intending to have a performance at the end of four weeks without even having a run-through of the show.  Just as a coach would not lecture her basketball players on the finer points of dribbling, setting a pick, passing, and shooting in a classroom setting with the goal of playing a game before the players have even set foot on the court.  I know these examples cannot be exactly compared to how subject content learning is transferred by students in order to take a final exam, but the three instructional practices outlined by Wiggins and McTighe can be applied to every scenario.  

Understanding that the application of direct instruction, facilitation, and coaching should not be linear, but cyclical helps me to understand how teaching in the classroom can be more effective.  As the article states, the very first thing kids usually ask is, "Why do we need to know this?", if the teacher engages her students in an activity that reveals examples of the need for content learning, then students will quickly understand the relevance of what is being taught in class.  This will increase engagement and understanding.  Increased rigor (appropriately introduced by the teacher) can follow as students begin to transfer content knowledge more and more easily.  In this manner, students will make meaning in chunks as they acquire the knowledge needed in order to complete the next task or assignment.  Students can then develop an understanding that what they have been learning is all part of a bigger picture- where their new knowledge needs to be applied in order to succeed on their own.

Chapter 3 of "How People Learn" gave me a better idea of how the transfer of student knowledge can be more effective.  It is the transfer of knowledge that we measure in order to assess our students, but students need time to process the information given to them across multiple contexts through purposeful learning.  Motivation is the key to a student's desire to learn.  As WIggins and McTighe pointed out in their "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" vignette, the history teacher does a horrible job of motivating his students as he merely asks them to regurgitate facts back to the class.  Yes, the students were being asked to share knowledge, but it is only when students create new thoughts, ideas, and meanings of their own that they become excited enough to stand up and share with the rest of the class.

In my student teaching experience, I have been trying to motivate my students to learn, by encouraging them to share their thoughts, but the piece I am just starting to realize that I am missing is making sure that my students understand how what I am teaching them will be useful to them- at home and in the classroom.  Beyond that, I need to share with the classroom teachers the content knowledge I am teaching to my students so that the teachers can integrate student skills learned in the Media Center into classroom learning.  Again and again, I hear teachers complain that they don't like to use computers in class because the students don't know how to use a program, or how to log on to their servers, or how to save and print a document- but what I am not always sharing with the teachers is how I am teaching students this knowledge,  If teachers let students share this new knowledge, the students will see that their learning is relevant and is making a contribution to classroom activities.  The transfer of student knowledge from one setting to another (Media Center to classroom) through the application of skills learned in the Media Center to create products based on classroom content knowledge can excite and motivate students.  The more time students have to develop these skills, the more competent and confident they will become in transferring previous knowledge to new contexts. 

This transfer of knowledge based on previous learning is the goal of SI 502.  Students learn the Python programming language in 502 because it is what many other programming languages are based on.  Yes, we were heavily drilled in "while True" and "if/then" statements, but it was in hopes that we would be able to transfer the knowledge we had built in Python to work with other programming languages more easily.  That would be perfect if I remembered anything I had learned (which is most likely a result of not having mastered it), but...maybe if it all had been set to music...?  I know theater was Dr. Chuck's first love.  Maybe we can co-write, "If/then, while True" the musical?  

Nope, then I would just have memorized it and not actually understood it.

Week 4 Reading Reflection

There Is No "I" In TEAM...

(but let me form a sub-committee just to make sure)

After finishing Chapter 6 of "How People Learn" I realized that in the discussion of the four perspectives on learning environments (learner centered, knowledge centered, assessment center, and community centered) that need to work together in order to promote student achievement  the amount of resources available to teacher and student was never addressed.  This made me wonder how the amount of available resources affects student learning.  We hear time and again that schools have limited budgets- with state funding cuts and higher staff expenditures, but can a high level of student achievement still be attained with limited funding?

Ludger Woessmann, a professor of economics at the University of Munich, conducted a study considering worldwide student achievement reports and asking  if school policy and institutional variation help to explain variation in student performance and if so, which school policies and institutions are most conducive to student performance?  Results of this study were publish in the article, "Why Students in Some Countries Do Better" on the Educationnext website.  (Check out Figure 1- the high achieving countries are not necessarily all rich.  Some are former Communist countries with more centralized governments).  Woessmann states that giving schools more resources is not the answer.  Spending more money on an institution that enacts ineffective policies will do nothing to improve student achievement.  Instead the focus should be for schools (at district, state, and national levels) to coordinate policies for student learning and assessment.  He concludes, "an institutional system in which all the people involved have an incentive to improve student performance is the only alternative that promises positive effects."

I'm not saying that funding for schools should be lowered and I'm not against giving schools more money.  I am sure that a tour of derelict buildings in a poor rural or inner-city school district would have me picketing the State Capitol for more school funding, but I wonder if (sometimes) districts use a lack of funding as an excuse for poor student achievement?   I am personally affected by limited budgets.  Many school media specialists have been laid off in many districts throughout the state as districts contend with ever decreasing budgets as they pare down resources to what is deemed the absolute minimum for learning.  Do I think that a school media specialist can help raise student achievement?  Sure I do... if they are an effective team member- collaborating with staff to integrate the four learning environments discussed in this chapter.  

As Woessmann states in his study, all people involved- teachers, students, administrators, and parents, need to have an incentive to work together to raise student achievement levels.  I think the four learning environments address this need.  If everyone works together encouraging students to contribute their "knowledge, skills, attitudes, and beliefs" within a learning environment that provides the additional knowledge and skills to function in and connect to society with formative and summative assessments that align with individual learning goals then student achievement will improve.  It takes time, effort, and patience to work together to enact policies that improve student learning, but aligning the four perspectives on learning environments will help to achieve that goal. 

Now, on to assessment...

The Sadler reading on formative assessment immediately reminded me of the research class I am taking right now- SI 623.  Evaluating an assessment's reliability and validity as a tool to make qualitative or quantitative judgements about student work is just as tricky as evaluating student work itself.  Just like in developing the appropriate research method to find answers for the questions of a research study, a teacher must consider the many aspects of student learning in order to create the most effective assessment tool.  Despite this effort, it has been shown that student achievement does not necessarily improve "when teachers provide students with valid and reliable judgments about the quality of their work" (Sadler 119).  This is frustrating to me.  Again and again in graduate school the use of formative assessments has been stressed as critical to student learning and achievement, but "students often show little or no growth or development despite regular, accurate feedback" (Sadler 119).  So why isn't a teacher's use formative assessments effective?

I think it is because of the type of formative assessment that is being given and the manner in which it is being delivered.  I appreciated the discussion of the difference between classroom learning environments worldwide.  Going back to Woessmann's study of student achievement in regard to the broad implementation of institutional policies- I think that is the key, the broad implementation of formative assessments.  Across the curriculum students should expect be given formative assessments on a daily basis.  If students know that their daily learning environment will not be passive, they will pay more attention and be more interested in collaborative learning with the teacher and their fellow students.  Daily feedback by all teachers throughout the day is key.  The formative assessments should not be all the same, but the similarity from classroom to classroom is that the student can expect for them to happen.

To make this happen, school buildings need to set standards for learning, understand where each student falls within that standard, and be able to provide differentiated learning experiences to help each student reach the agreed upon standard. Again, this is not easy- but it is possible.  Though as the article states, the student must not be left out of the equation.  Each student needs to understand his own abilities and be able to make self-assessments throughout the learning process.  It may be as simple as a younger student asking himself, "Is this my best work?"  I have tried this in the classroom just last week after a discussion with my mentor teacher about how we can allow our students to become more independent during computer lessons.  Sometimes students need to be told step-by-step how to save or print a document again and again- never transferring knowledge from one lesson to the next.  This is not teaching students how to use a program- it is only teaching students how to follow step-by-step instructions.  Given the tools they need through instruction the goal I have for my students is for them to be able to assist themselves through different processes, gaining more confidence along the way.   When the time comes for self-assessment they can assure themselves that it is their best work, and if it's not... they can fix it and make it better.

Readings:

National Research Council. How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School: Expanded Edition. National Academies Press, 2000. 131-154.

Sadler, D. Royce. "Formative assessment and the design of instructional systems." Instructional Science 18 (1989): 119-144.

Week 3 Reading Reflection

My mentor teacher has just signed-up for Twitter and is now following Joyce Valenza.  Everyday she tells me something extremely informative and pertinent to our day-to-day duties and activities in the school media center that Ms. Valenza has just tweeted.  So- I've decided to go ALL "Valenza" on this week's readings so that I have something to contribute to the conversation.  A high school teacher-librarian, Joyce Valenza was also the techlife@school columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer for ten years, providing tips for students, teachers, and librarians on using techno-gadgets, information literacy skills, and Web 2.0 tools. (Source: http://joyce-valenza.wikispaces.com/Who+Is+Joyce+Valenza%3F).

These articles, in my view, all tie together.  As a teacher-librarian I can help teachers create a flipped classroom, through the creation of a virtual library that uses social media to get the instruction to students.  In Valenza's article "The Flipping Librarian", she suggests that the teacher-librarian is perfectly poised to guide teachers in the quest to "flip" their classroom instruction.  As the article describes, a flipped classroom allows for active learning in the classroom- NOT just a lecture.  The lecture is assigned by teacher to be watched by students outside of class time, and what would be considered traditional "homework" is tackled during class time.  A flipped classroom allows for differentiation- faster learners may only need to review the "lecture" once, but slower learners can review the "lecture" again and again as needed.  Because students have more background knowledge of the lesson an increase in discussion promotes more collaborative and hands-on learning in the classroom where students can apply knowledge learned and not just be presented with it.  Proof of the success of the flipped classroom is collected through an ongoing survey by "Flipped Learning Network"- advantages include: improved job satisfaction for teachers, improved student test scores, and improved student attitudes.  I have discussed the flipped classroom model in my blog before, but I did not realize how valuable a resource a Media Specialist could be in presenting, assisting, and promoting the flipped model in schools.  The teacher-librarian can introduce the practice to teachers, help teachers learn how to create their own instructional content (screencasts anyone?), and act as a content curator to allow ease of access (now and in the future) to teacher created content and resultant student work.  I am hopeful that I can help with this endeavor.  I know that for some learners, hands-on help in the classroom with knowledge building would help students overcome major hurdles in their learning curves.


Despite its "age" Valenza's article, "6 Ways: K-12 LIBRARIANS CAN TEACH SOCIAL MEDIA" s spot on its description of the "new" teacher-librarian as the chief information officer of the school.  Valenza points out that major shifts in the landscape of communication and information make this "the best time in history to be a teacher-librarian".  I totally agree, there are so many exciting products, tools, and services to share everyday with teachers and students- and it is my job to make sure that everyone in my building (through my instruction and my virtual library) will be able to "effectively interact with information and leverage it to create and share and make a difference in the community and beyond".  It is a tall order to keep up with all that is new and shiny, but the most important thing to convey to my learners (as digital citizens) is that they should never stop learning and sharing with others what they have learned.

Everyone thinks that they already know the best way to search the Internet, but that can NEVER be the case, because the Internet changes everyday.  The job for the teacher-librarian is to be the "guide" for navigating the Internet- and when the teacher-librarian cannot be there than "The Virtual Library" as Valenza describes should be there in the teacher-librarian's stead.  An effective virtual library can direct new learners to new knowledge while helping expert learners discover their own pathways to new knowledge.  What are virtual libraries?  They are simply pathfinders (designed by the teacher-librarian for specific learner communities) that are accessible through the library's home page allowing for independent instruction, as well as assistive instruction.  I have worked with a few "Virtual Libraries" and have found some more effective than others.  There are problems with maintaining a virtual library.  The first issue is that it takes time to create and maintain an effective site- time that most teacher-librarians do not have.  Secondly, access to resources is constantly changing as free resources come and go- or become sponsored by inappropriate ads, and districts stop paying for valuable resources like online encyclopedias.  This situation is frustrating, but it should not deter the teacher-librarian from making every effort to maintain a virtual library that can provide its learners with quality resources.

Info- Lit Articles chosen:

Valenza, Joyce Kasman. "The Flipping Librarian." Teacher Librarian 40.2 (2012): 22-5. ProQuest Research Library; ProQuest Technology Collection. Web. 30 Jan. 2013.

Valenza, Joyce Kasman. "The Virtual Library." Educational Leadership 63.4 (2006): 54-59. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Web. 30 Jan. 2013.

Valenza, Joyce. "6 Ways: K-12 LIBRARIANS CAN TEACH SOCIAL MEDIA." Tech & Learning 30.3 (2009): 30,30,32,34,36.ProQuest Research Library; ProQuest Technology Collection. Web. 30 Jan. 2013.

Week 2 Reading Reflection

If we build it...

I have Jing somewhere… hanging out on my computer, but I haven’t seen that yellow dot in a while.  I should go look for it.  I downloaded it after hearing some SLM’s from last year talking about it, but I never used it- and really was never quite sure what it did.  Technology is amazing if you know how to use it!  Oh yeah, that is the whole point of the week’s readings.  Griffis’ article reminded me how much I enjoy learning from screencast tutorials.  I find it extremely helpful when a U of M librarian sends me a captured screenshot in an “Ask A Librarian” chat, but I personally feel that they are not for everyone.  Right away I think of how much trouble my elderly parents would have following a webinar with multiple screencast images.  When I try to explain something to them I can move my little cursor around like crazy, but usually end up just pointing my finger at the screen.  I’m finding this happens a lot (for some students more than others) in the classroom as well.  I can repeat until I’m blue in face, “Look at the big screen… see where the ‘magic hand’ is?”, but until I physically point with my finger on a confused student’s individual monitor, her eyes focused only on where she is, she has no concept of the place I am referring to.  Every learner is different- and before we create a screencast tutorial, we should be knowledgeable of the intended audience, and focus the instruction (speed, visual attributes, style, content, etc.) to their specific needs.

What first struck me in the Yelinek reading was the comment about explicit versus implicit learning of software.  Again, I think the age of the learner plays a huge part in the instructional librarian’s approached to teaching.  Younger students have no problem diving into a lesson about a topic that utilizes a piece of unknown software as a means to create a product responding to the larger theme, what is important is to continue this implicit learning with the software in order to develop a further understanding of it.  The article brings up the critical problem of being able to provide differential learning experiences in one tutorial- this is the same problem experienced in the classroom.  How can one lesson cater to both the novice and the expert?  What prior knowledge does one learner bring to a lesson that other learners do not possess and how does the teacher (or instructional method) accommodate varying levels of expertise?  The answer in this article was simple- chunking: provide individual lessons that add up to create the whole lesson.  Learners can then decide which parts of the tutorial they need to learn and which they can pass over.  Lessons become short, self-contained modules that can be taken in any order (or even not at all).  In thinking about how this method could be used in the classroom, I can see developing “chunking” centers- and allowing students to join in on lessons based on what they need to learn and moving on to another “chunking” center when they become competent in the task.    This might be a successful way to introduce new software into the curriculum without loosing leaners along the way- either because they can’t keep up or have lost interest because they already know how to use it.

In the Johnston study, a literature review found that a face-face learning session with an instructional librarian increases student retention, but an online learning scenario also has its benefits- 24-hour availability and online access to materials.  Again, I think the preferred learning style depends on the learners, available resources, and time.  The study proposes that a combination of these instructional methods is the most effective.  This would give the students the ability to ask questions of a real person (somewhere) while moving along at their own pace.  The greatest benefit of an online tutorial is that it can provide greater access to more learners, which may result in formally reluctant learners coming to the source of the tutorial for personal assistance.  If we build it (and they find it worthwhile and want to learn more about it) they will come.

The One Shot Workshop reading is a great resource for planning and designing effective instructional workshops with purpose and intent for learning. I found the breakdowns of the four different types of workshop designs (individual, individual w/sounding board, with a partner, or as part of a team) especially helpful, because I can never expect to create every lesson plan on my own and this resource gives me ideas, suggestions, and methods to make collaborative lesson planning more effective.  I think the UMSI staff that creates the SI 501 groups must have read the "Building the Team" section.

Readings

“Building Pathfinders with Free Screen Capture Tools”

by Patrick Griffis

“Is an Online Learning Module and Effective Way to Develop Information Literacy Skills?”

by Nicole Johnston

“Creating the One-Shot Library Workshop: A Step-By-Step Guide”

by Jerilyn R. Veldof

http://books.google.com/books?id=5iTc-j-FfhUC&lpg=PP1&ots=9kpElO1Da5&dq=google+books+one+shot+workshop&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false

“Captivate MenuBuilder: Creating an Online Tutorial for Teaching Software”

by Kathryn Yelinek, et al

Week 1 Reading Reflection

The Goal is NOT to Cram for the Exam

I am most intrique by the idea of formative assessments.  My elementary and secondary schooling experience was a while ago, but I DO remember the end-of-the-week, end-of-the-unit, end-of-the-semester, and end-of-the-year summative assessments.  My grades were reported based on these summative assessments that I only studied for on the night before the test, trying frantically to remember everything thing I learned- only to be immediately forgotten the moment I filled in the last bubble with my #2 pencil.  I suppose my daily homework assignments were formative assessments, but these assignments to be done at home were useless to me if I did not understand the content presented to me in class.  My homework might have been checked and graded, but it was rarely reviewed to assist me with concepts I might not have understood... and the next time I saw the information was usually on the summative assessment.  

Today my children's teachers are starting to "flip" lessons in the upper grades.  The student's "homework" is to watch a recorded lesson at home (sometime it is the teacher, but usually it is a YouTube video) and then class time is spent working on what once was considered "homework".  More common in math classes, this technique allows students and teachers to work through problems together, giving every student the opportunity to master the lesson in class with assistance from the teacher, as well as classmates.  What once was homework is now a formative assessment.  I like this idea.

Formative assessments are easily adapted to library instruction.  A lesson plan can be built around the in-class creation of a product.  The effective instructional librarian doesn't just stand in front of the class lecturing on how to create a short video in iMovie, but instead models how to create such a project as participants follow along- each creating their own video.  Experts can assist novices- no one is on their own.  By the end of this hands-on learning experience each student, by completing the task, has provided the teacher with an individual formative assessment and students have more likely mastered the content of the lesson.  This scenario works well in a school library where the Media Specialist can build on past lessons to create a larger product which encourages mastery of a subject/program, can work with the same group of students to understand each student's prior knowledge, and can develop a community of learners that is comfortable asking questions and sharing ideas.

I should have my mother read the ALA/AASL Standards for Initial Preparation of School Librarians (2010), then she might start to understand that my intent is NOT to be like the school librarian at the elementary school that she taught at for 30 years.  Every time I mention something that I am doing in class or in my student teaching she states, "My school librarian never did that."  Though the librarian at my mother's old school was a lovely lady, after my volunteering experience of weeding old books off the shelves of my own children's school libraries throughout the years, I've developed a theory that "old school" librarians didn't have any time to actually teach because they had to spend all of their time painting the Dewey Decimal call numbers on the spines of books... with very tiny brushes.