pedagogy

What If Kids Co-Created Customized Learning Pathways? [Vander Ark]

On 02/16/2014, in heutagogy, ideas, K-12 related, more voice more choice more control, motivation, passions, pedagogy, play, student-related, by Daniel Christian

What If Kids Co-Created Customized Learning Pathways? — from gettingsmart.com by Tom Vander Ark

Excerpt:

New tools are making it easier to customize learning for every student. Playlists, projects, and portfolios support big blocks, maker spaces, and flex schools. One thing I appreciate about the Christensen Institute definition of blended learning is that it stresses student agency by requiring “student control over time, place, path, and/or pace.” During an EdSession in Boise tomorrow, I’ll be discussing 10 ways that students can co-create customized learning pathways.

A new pedagogy is emerging… and online learning is a key contributing factor — from contactnorth.ca

Excerpt:

THREE EMERGING PEDAGOGICAL TRENDS
Underlying these developments are some common factors or trends:

1. A move to opening up learning, making it more accessible and flexible. The classroom is no longer the unique centre of learning, based on information delivery through a lecture.

2. An increased sharing of power between the professor and the learner. This is manifest as a changing professorial role, towards more support and negotiation over content and methods, and a focus on developing and supporting learner autonomy. On the student side, this can mean an emphasis on learners supporting each other through new social media, peer assessment, discussion groups, even online study groups but with guidance, support and feedback from content experts.

3. An increased use of technology not only to deliver teaching, but also to support and assist students and to provide new forms of student assessment.

It is important to emphasize that these are emerging pedagogical trends. More experimentation, evaluation, and research are needed to identify those that will have lasting value and a permanent effect on the system.

…

Impact on Student Learning
Student learning is the other key component of an emerging pedagogy, with their success as the goal of all our efforts.

What new demands are student making in terms of how they want to be taught and assessed and what are your responses?
What new roles are students taking in their online or hybrid learning and how has this changed your teaching practice?
What new strategies for and areas of student support are being built into course structures to facilitate effective online learning?

Lecturers need research time off campus to best teach students [Tickle]

On 12/23/2013, in adjunct faculty, faculty, higher education, pedagogy, real-world assignments, student-related, teaching & learning, UK, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Lecturers need research time off campus to best teach students — from theguardian.com by Louise Tickle; with thanks to strategic foresight practitioner Marie Conway for this resource on her University Futures Update

Louise Tickle meets four university teachers whose work in the field enriches their students’ learning

John Roberts

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Roberts’ new film, Day of the Flowers, is set in Scotland and Cuba and features ballet star Carlos Acosta. The lecturer invited students on to set as both extras and assistants, and used their observations of the practical reality of film-making to spark tutorial discussions. In the current debate around higher tuition fees and what purpose universities exist to serve, he argues that providing students with a combination of practice and theory is vital in equipping them for working life.

This means, he says, that it’s “vital” for lecturers to have a professional life away from university, “and really be engaged in their own industry in order to be the best teachers they can be and offer something special to students.” The chance to gain genuine insight into working practice, particularly in highly competitive industries, is the holy grail for soon-to-be graduates desperate to stand out from the crowd. And applying academic study into practical reality can feel hard to do, so an academic who takes the trouble to involve students in their professional practice is likely to be very popular indeed.

…

Close contact with someone working on the “inside” also means that students start to grasp more about the realities of what her working life is like.

From DSC:
Trying to change higher education is sooooo tough because no one person has all of the knowledge, wisdom, time, and energy that’s required. Faculty members — like Staff and Administration — are often just trying to stay afloat. With calls for increased productivity, it’s hard to create/experience the sorts of valuable opportunities described in the above article. However, I do think that if faculty members were also practicing their trade in a professional manner, they could stay abreast of what the markets require — what skillsets are key, how the employment landscape in their fields are changing, etc.

Four radically different models in higher ed worth considering [Morrison]

On 12/17/2013, in 21st century, blended learning, education technology, experimentation, game-changing environment, heutagogy, higher education, hybrid learning, more voice more choice more control, new business models, online learning, pedagogy, personalized/customized learning, teaching & learning, by Daniel Christian

Four radically different models in higher ed worth considering — from onlinelearninginsights.wordpress.com by Debbie Morrison

Excerpt:

Yet there are few models in practice that offer face-to-face education experiences that are truly transformational. However, I suggest the four models presented here are worth pondering; two created from scratch, and two that changed within an existing framework.

To reiterate, the institutions discussed here are not virtual schools, each provides face-to-face undergraduate learning experiences where technology is leveraged to facilitate learning. The schools are also committed to teaching foundational subjects—courses from the humanities, yet each provides unique learning experiences that challenge the traditional model in some way. Each institution takes a different approach, though all encourage learners to choose a learning path, to be self-directed, to follow their interests, and establish their own learning goals. All seek to engage young people in learning, prepare students to think critically and to guide them to find their passion.

Next-gen schools thriving in Detroit [GettingSmart.com]

On 11/25/2013, in 21st century, blended learning, budgets, education, education reform, heutagogy, innovation, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, more voice more choice more control, pedagogy, teachers, teaching & learning, by Daniel Christian

Next-gen schools thriving in Detroit — from GettingSmart.com

Excerpts:

Student Centered:
Designed to meet the diverse learning needs of each student every day
High Expectations:
Committed to ensuring that every student will meet clearly defined, rigorous standards that will prepare them for success in college and career
Self Pacing and Mastery Based Credit:
Enables students to move at their own optimal pace and receive credit when they demonstrate mastery of the material <— From DSC: More choice, more control.
Blending Instruction:
Optimizes teacher- and technology- delivered instruction in group and individual work
Student Ownership:
Empowers students with skills, information, and tools they need to manage their own learning
Scalable:
Designed to serve many more students if it demonstrates impact
Financial Sustainability:
Sustainable on public per-pupil revenue within four years

Blended learning -- the best of both worlds

Blended/hybrid learning: Combining the best of both worlds

5 ways to reduce cognitive load in eLearning [Guyan]

On 11/08/2013, in corporate universities / corporate training, digital learning, elearning, instructional design, learning theories, memory, online learning, pedagogy, teaching & learning, teaching online, training / L&D, workplace, by Daniel Christian

5 ways to reduce cognitive load in eLearning — from elearningindustry.com by by Matthew Guyan

Excerpt:

Present some information via the visual channel and some via the verbal channel
Break content into smaller segments and allow the learner to control the pace
Remove non-essential content
Words should be placed close as possible to the corresponding graphics
Don’t narrate on-screen text word-for-word

From DSC:
Thanks Matt for a well-written, concise, beneficial posting here. I especially appreciated the quick review of the Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) as well as the 5 suggestions to reduce cognitive load (with the goal being to move content into peoples’ long term memories).

GottaMakeItThoughTheGate

A new pedagogy is emerging..and online learning is a key contributing factor — from Contact North ; with thanks to Stephen Downes (@oldaily) for putting this on The MOOC Newsletter

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

What is clear is that major changes in the way we teach post-secondary students are being triggered by online learning and the new technologies that increase flexibility in, and access to, post-secondary education.

…

What drives the development of this new pedagogy? Changes in society, student expectations, and technology are motivating innovative university and college professors and instructors to re-think pedagogy and teaching methods.

…

As professors and instructors become more familiar with digital technologies for teaching and learning, pedagogical challenges and strategies are emerging. The developments listed below have had an impact on how teaching is structured and how and where learning happens.

23 iPad alternatives to the book report [Lustenhouwer]

On 10/17/2013, in communications, creativity, digital audio, digital learning, digital photography, digital storytelling, digital video, education technology, engagement / engaging students, Europe, ideas, K-12 related, motivation, multimedia, new media literacies, passions, pedagogy, by Daniel Christian

23 iPad alternatives to the book report — from ipadders.eu by Suzanne Lustenhouwer; with thanks to Jackie Gerstein for the tweet this.

Excerpt:

If a journey was involved, draw a map with explanatory notes of significant places. (Google Earth, Notability, Showme)
Dramatize a scene from the book. Write a script and have several rehearsals before performing it to the class or recording it. Include stage directions in your script. (Screenplay, iMovie, Puppet Pals)
Lead a small group discussion with other readers of the same book. Focus on a specific topic and report your group’s conclusion to the class. (Notability)

…see more here

Humanizing your online class [Pacansky-Brock]

On 10/14/2013, in online learning, pedagogy, teaching & learning, teaching online, by Daniel Christian

Humanizing your online class — from InsideHigherEd.com and Academic Partnerships, by Michelle Pacansky-Brock

From DSC:
Resources include the recording of this recent webinar, the accompanying slides, etc. Also see:

Humanizing Your Online Class Webinar: A Success! — from facultyecommons.org

Metacognition and learning: Strategies for Instructional Design [Malamed]

On 10/02/2013, in education, instructional design, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, learning theories, metacognition / metacognitive skills, pedagogy, strategy, teachers, teaching & learning, by Daniel Christian

Metacognition and learning: Strategies for Instructional Design — from guestlessons.com; guest post by Connie Malamed

Excerpt from Metacognitive Strategies section

Metacognitive strategies facilitate learning how to learn. You can incorporate these, as appropriate, into eLearning courses, social learning experiences, pre- and post-training activities and other formal or informal learning experiences.

Ask questions.
Foster self-reflection.
Encourage self-questioning.
Teach strategies directly.
Promote autonomous learning.
Provide access to mentors.
Solve problems with a team.
Think aloud.
Self-explanation.
Provide opportunities for making errors.

From DSC:
There’s something here for classrooms/education — even for the living rooms of the future!

Little Mermaid Second Screen Live makes iPads part of the movie world — from gigaom.com by Liz Shannon Miller

Summary:

Disney advertises the Second Screen Live experience as a rebellion: “Break the rules — bring your iPad to the movies!” But it’s less a trip to the movies and more a fully interactive experience.

…

As the film began, so did the games. Most second-screen experiences I’ve tried have been largely passive, but Little Mermaid demanded the audience’s attention right from the beginning with games, trivia questions and other forms of interactivity for all ages.

…

The action on the big screen even froze from time to time for more complex games, and there were moments of seemingly new animation inserted at key plot points, as well.

symbaloo [with thanks to Kara Sevensma for the resource]

On 08/27/2013, in cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, education technology, ideas, K-12 related, Michigan, pedagogy, teachers, teaching & learning, tools, by Daniel Christian

Per Kara Sevensma, Assistant Professor of Education at Calvin College:

This Symbaloo includes links to iPad apps that are essential for any educator. It also provides links to recommended educational technology resources and standards/guidelines.

Alive in the Swamp — from nesta.org.uk by Michael Fullan and Katelyn Donnelly

Excerpt (emphasis and link below from DSC):

The authors argue that we should seek digital innovations that produce at least twice the learning outcome for half the cost of our current tools. To achieve this, three forces need to come together. One is technology, the other pedagogy, and the third is change knowledge, or how to secure transformation across an entire school system.

…

The breakthrough in Alive in the Swamp is the development of an Index that will be of practical assistance to those charged with making these kinds of decisions at school, local and system level. Building on Fullan’s previous work, Stratosphere, the Index sets out the questions policymakers need to ask themselves not just about the technology at any given moment but crucially also about how it can be combined with pedagogy and knowledge about system change. Similarly, the Index should help entrepreneurs and education technology developers to consider particular features to build into their products to drive increased learning and achieve systemic impact.

The future will belong not to those who focus on the technology alone but to those who place it in this wider context and see it as one element of a wider system transformation. Fullan and Donnelly show how this can be done in a practical way.

.

Also see:
.

Learning Ecosystems

Four radically different models in higher ed worth considering [Morrison]

5 ways to reduce cognitive load in eLearning [Guyan]

Humanizing your online class [Pacansky-Brock]

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