To start off.....I apologize if this blog post is all over the place, but my thoughts and reflections are also all over the place! There is a definite connection between some of the readings we have been assigned. I am seeing the biggest connection between Dervin's writing and the SITE model reading we added this week. Both of these readings focused on learning about our end user or in our cases our "learners" or students. Both of these models focus on learning about our users motivations and current skills in order to help them bridge a knowledge gap and achieve a goal.
In reflecting on my own teaching practice, I know that I often dive right into a unit or lesson and for the sake of time, push aside a pretest where I can see where my students are at. In reading the texts from this class, I can now see how important that pretest is. Having spent 4 years at the junior high school level teaching a Career Exploration class, I have a pretty good idea about what motivates our students. So many of the students reported that they wanted careers that involved fame and recognition, or for others it was careers where they were seen as helping others or the world around them. I can see how this knowledge can be useful in creating products or lessons for my students. In the last year I have implemented many projects where students put their final product on display for not only their own class, but all of my class periods. I have used products like padlet where students can post their final work to a more authentic audience than just their teacher. Tools like flipgrid, where students have to record their voice and have it be viewable to their peers also pushes students into a zone where they are motivated to show what they know. I have found that students put a lot more effort into something that their peers will see and evaluate. This gives me the idea that maybe I want to develop a better peer feedback product for students to analyze each others work on sites like padlet or flipgrid. The site model reading also made it clear that students learn much better when it is in context or when they can apply their new knowledge to the real world. This makes me think that methods like project based learning in a blended classroom are highly effective when the topic relates to the learners in the class. I was very interested in the SITE reading that described learners as autodidacts. I found myself pondering if I thought that my students fit this description of someone who can learn on their own without a teacher. I do think that today's middle school students can find and learn almost anything online. They can find information with a few quick clicks on the computer or their smart phone and watch a youtube on the topic. I think our learners are more and more autodidacts but they are not aware of it. My dilemma is still trying to decide what my final project/capstone will be. My research was about digital literacy and I developed a week long lesson for students but I think that it needs some modification to fit the needs of my learners better. One thing I discovered during the unit was that students had learned some of those skills previously but were not implementing it in my class. One route I could take with my capstone would be to develop some kind of recognition tool like a digital badge that students could display on their profile, which would meet their motivations for peer recognition. Another choice would be to develop some procedures and systems for posting student work to websites like padlet and also developing tools for students to use to evaluate their peers and give strong comments.
6 Comments
Diana
3/24/2018 04:43:35 pm
Christina,
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Emily Feil
3/24/2018 09:57:03 pm
Your experience with your students has given you a great understanding of what motivates them. They are lucky to have your thoughtful insight. I love the digital badge idea--it taps into their desire for recognition. I wonder if this could be the first in a series of badges you might develop over time for students to show off their learning?
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Shawn
3/26/2018 12:23:49 pm
I can totally relate to you when it comes into just jumping right into a lesson for the sake of time. I know that every minute of my say is accounted for well as a few borrowed from tomorrow. As a professional we need to make sure we are doing what is best for our students. So many times throughout the day I spend extra time on lessons that are suppose to be 15-20 minuets long. I am having difficulty using some of these new approaches in my classroom with learning our new curriculum. I am not sure if one specific approach fits all. I have been mixing and matching the different approaches to meet my students needs. I think it is the best we all can do.
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3/26/2018 10:58:46 pm
I really like where you are going with your capstone project. Having something students can place on their page so others can see is a great idea. Having peers see their badges will motivate them to try to achieve different badges.
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3/27/2018 07:34:50 am
The idea of digital badges could be such a game changer! Instead of tracking students progress in specific skills through a tracker, why not make it into a badge orientated system. It conjures up the way that Girl/Boyscotts allow members to show fluency within skill sets.
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Lisa Gottfried
3/28/2018 08:35:11 am
I've wondered about badging. What age and type of student is motivated or excited about that. Do you get something in real life when you get a certain number of badges? Do you level up somehow? That might make it more motivating.
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