Bringing my GAME plan into focus… And the questions…

This week I move closer to implementation of a project based lesson, for advancing the learning experience of my Advanced Placement art students through blog interaction.  The design of this lesson meets ISTE NETS-T Standards 1.d., 2.c, and d. (http://www.iste.org/docs/pdfs/nets-t-standards.pdf?sfvrsn=2). Before-Class Preparation includes student access to the blog site that I intend for them to work with, and setting the stage for loading images that they will post for critical reflection by their peers. This follows prior development of fine art imagery, digitizing the works of art, gaining facility in use of methods of critical review in verbal and written critique.  Once an interschool link is established, students are practiced and ready for uploading specific images for peer review, and critique. This plan’s use of technology provides a continuum of sorts from low-tech means of creation and critical evaluation of visual imagery through and to digital and social networking opportunities for interactive dialogue.

The resources that I have in play will be adequate for the present.  They consist of digital cameras, lighting, and associated lighting and imaging equipment, Adobe Photoshop CS6 software loaded onto student and instructor laptops, and management software Netop Vision software (http://www.netop.com/classroom-management-software/products/netop-vision.htm). This software is one that provides the students and instructor with the ability to be flexible interacting with each other, in monitoring student progress, providing reinforcement, resources, and conducting formative and summative assessment as needed for student learning.  

The issues that have come up are in the nature of the blogging experience itself. Because of a desire to limit student dialogue to provide the necessary learning environment, and to provide a safe environment for this active learning experience I have not yet found resolution to the question of how to limit the blog interaction to those students assigned to the task.  Dialogue with PLC peers, and IT personnel have to date provided limited success. The lack of an adequate fix for this concern has raised questions as to what alternatives might bring accomplishment of the student outcomes. Though originally designed to provide flexibility for the students learning experience, the inflexible nature of the use of the technology, and the systems and regulations in place within the school system have made the need for a back-up Plan, or an alternative solution very important. The next step in the process is in finding resolution to the technical issues, or an alternative approach that will still meet the students learning needs.  Therein lies the question that needs answered. Would any of you in my Walden online learning community have a thought, or response that might provide an answer to this dilemma?  I would enjoy hearing from you.

Jim

Developing Your personal GAME Plan

Developing Your Personal GAME Plan

I have spent the better parts of this week in deliberate review of the NETS-T, or, International Society for Technology in Education Standards.  Two areas of the standards that I have been reflecting upon and incorporating into the coursework that I teach are NETS-T 1.d., 2.c, and d. (http://www.iste.org/docs/pdfs/nets-t-standards.pdf?sfvrsn=2) One area (NETS-T 1.d.) is with the facilitation and inspiration of student learning and creativity.  A second area (NETS-T 2c and d.) deals with   designing and developing digital learning experiences and assessments.

Within the context of these standards, I have begun to establish the Goals, and develop the Actions, that will provide an engaging learning experience that will advance the learning experience of the Advanced Placement Art Studio students that I teach.  

Three areas where I would like to improve student learning is, first with student ability to be creative developers of  original art work at the high level expected for Advanced Placement students (NETS-T1b.).  Second would be to raise their ability to provide critical reflection of their work and their peers using a variety of, face-to-face, written, and digital means of communication (NETS-T2b.).   Following this the goal is for students to be better able to analyze and synthesize questions concerning the quality and breadth of their expression and develop solutions that will advance their work on as broad a scale as can be achieved (NETS-T4c.). (http://www.iste.org/docs/pdfs/nets-t-standards.pdf?sfvrsn=2)

Actions that I plan to implement are in two parts. One part includes the development of verbal and written skills that advance the student’s ability to communicate to others about their visual expression. These include written reflection, one-on-one and group, peer and instructor lead critical analysis. The second involves the use of a student blog site in which students will present and receive critical review of their visual expression at a peer level from beyond the classroom setting. The instructor(s) will monitor student involvement for, content, and the quality of the literacy and critical reflection of the discourse. Assessment on a broader scale will be comprised of, pre, formative, and summative means that will include evaluative criteria across the student’s reflective practices, initial image development, critical review across digital and analogue means, balanced against the students visual results. Assessment from a professional standpoint as an instructor will include Self-Assessment, Peer content review, and Peer review from platforms such as this blog space.  What do you think of these initial steps in my GAME plan? Where in the structure that I have presented do you think I need to strengthen, or not…? I appreciate your comments.  

Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology: Final Reflection

 “A student enters my room with three expectations. The first expectation is to enter with an open mind and be ready to think and create, to create with all senses being open to the many ways that the hand, eye, and mind can use, and to reflect on learning, in the same fashion.” I return to these words that I wrote a while back upon reflection of the reasons and directives for instruction. My expectations have not only been strengthened through current coursework taken at Walden University, the course entitled, Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology has placed a wide array of instructional tools and strategies into my hands that will expand my ability to teach more effectively.  As in industry, in order for growth to continue, there is a need to “retool” The shiny new toolbox that I have come away with is one that will not only contain tools that I will now use but one’s that will be shared.

As a journeyman teaches an apprentice, the learning that takes place is both active and interactive, making best use of the technology at hand to increase production in the development of, an art product, and the learning experience of the “apprentice”. Tools that my students have already begun to use include computer, and digital imaging equipment in the production of digital imagery as a form of creative expression, and as a means of advancing cognitive abilities that relate to literacy and critical thinking. Tools that I have begun to use on an instructional level are interactive software, instructional software such as Voice Thread, Virtual Field Trip, and an array of digital devices for presentation of content.

Tradition in the classroom has been focused on incorporation of a diverse range of classical methods of art making.  There is and will always be the need for, the face-to-face, hands on instruction found in a traditional approach. What I can now include from my retooling experience is the learning opportunity that students gain from peer based interaction of social networking situations, and expansion of student centered, peer collaborative experiences.

This new learning has provided technological advancement that will increase the opportunity to provide students with the ability to take greater ownership of their learning experience, and be able to extend the student’s ability to think critically beyond the insular quiet of a studio experience to a more social setting. I believe that it is within these two areas that I, with more time and practice can provide for a more effective learning experience on the student’s arrival at my shop door.  

A further note, would be to thank Dr. Susan Krauss at Walden University for being an "apprentice" in her "shop".

Constructionism in Action

It has been a week of project building, reflection, & assessment. It has been a week of learning.  Images of the week include students manipulating ink onto paper side by side with those manipulating pixels using Adobe Photoshop software. These students were working in the classroom while others were in the hallway staging artwork and lighting to document their work digitally for AP Studio Art Portfolios and My Big Campus blog critique. Image development and critical review occurred at the beginning, during, and at the conclusion of activity that in some cases extended into the night (Or, during student learning in other content areas). 

The students though appearing at first glance to be loose and less than constructive were engaged in their learning process.  The preplanning and understood expectations set the stage, along with constructive and instructive guidence The combination of collaborative and introspective, hand built and digital investigation methods appeared to be on track for a successful learning experience. The tie in for continued success for this constructive experience is with continuation of the process of learning reinforced by the dialogue that will take place between students and peers seated next to and across from each other via social network. The collaboration that follows will create the “promotive interaction” (Pittler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Melonoski, 2007, p. 140) of a social environment were the students can support both personal and group advancement within their creative and cognitive development.

Now if I could only get the students to do a thorough cleanup of physical and digital workspaces before they move to different work locations.  …. Artists!

References:
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E. R., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Cooperative Learning. In Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works (pp. 139-154). Denver, Colorado: MCREL.

Constructivist/Constructionist Learning Theories

“Every thought tends to connect something with something else [intentionality], to establish a relation between things.  Every thought moves, grows and develops, fulfils a function, solves a problem” (1962, p.125; 1986, p.218).

I have been studying Lev Vygotsky and Jean Piaget this week and the process tends to have been, as Vygotsky has been quoted, “every thought tends to connect something with something else to establish a relationship”. It is with this in mind that I am coming to an understanding of the Zone of Proximal Development that comprises the student experience within the classroom and teaching experience.  It is with the cognitive tools that an instructor supplies that a student can begin to make those connections that will change the schema that they bring into the classroom. Whether by accommodation or assimilation it is the instructor’s role to provide the student the opportunity to find equilibration.  Providing the student with the social connection to guide cognitive growth is only the beginning of the learning process. The student should also have an active role in the development of their learning, and their peers.

The instructor has a number of options at his disposal for providing a well-laid and fertile ground for student growth. Two that would be affective would be in the area of problem solving and with the incorporation of project based learning opportunities. 

In an age where technological growth has made such amazing inroads, its use in the classroom can provide opportunities for more learning to occur by relieving the student of the weight of burdensome calculations, and the time consuming searches that can be a deterrent for student motivation to advance. Technology in and of itself can also provide the means for, cognitive growth, success at problem solving activities, and interpersonal skill development through cooperative opportunities both real time, and through social networks. (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Melonoski, 2007, p. 140). An example of technology that has proven successful in my classroom is with the development of a virtual field trip http://www.spiderscribe.net/app/?ee21c62d383523e46a9d368dfbd0c961.  This mechanism provides the instructor and learner with the opportunity to work together in the creation of an online tool where the students become a part of not only the questioning process but the development and synthesis of the information that is being produced.   This in a sense adds another connection for the process of learning and student cognition.

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E. R., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Cues, Questions, and Advanced Organizers. In Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works (pp. 73-85). Denver, Colorado: MCREL.

Cognitivism in Practice

In advance of a student field trip to the National Gallery in Washington DC, I have begun to build a Virtual Field Trip Concept map to plan the course of the student visit.   Sitting down with several students to discuss and plot out on the computer, the “essential question” learning objectives, and logistics of the trip was an eye opening experience for us both.

We soon discovered each other’s level of understanding of what it takes to plan and pull off a bus trip with Advanced Placement Art Studio students into a big city and back.  We also discovered how little the expectations that each had for the trip matched.

Planning and plotting the steps into the bubbles on the screen presented the group with an opportunity to be actively involved in the development of the itinerary and the opportunity to take ownership of their learning experience.  The students examined prior knowledge of the site and educational objectives of their course work, adjust their thinking after investigation of current shows, and possible learning opportunities.  The planning had to allow for, travel time, time at site, time allowance for lunch.     

From an instructor’s point of view this provided both a teaching, an assessment moment, and more importantly, a moment to observe and study the process of learning, particularly the critical thinking involved.  From the students’ perspective, the mapping provided them with an opportunity to participate in their own learning, contribute to the planning, and help reinforce learning that related to their content. 

One additional note on the process was with the use of the technology itself.  The speed at which the students were able to adjust the map to accommodate the updates and changes in was a very positive aspect of its use.  This lessened the amount of time necessary for adjusting and readjustment of the timeline and provided an almost immediate visual reference of how the trip was coming together. 

All in all the incorporation of  technology and this particular mapping program was a good one for both instructor and student and provided  growth in student and instructor’s  understanding of  a variety of  learning opportunities.

Behaviorism in Practice

“Practice makes perfect” as the old idiom goes but as the psychologist Ericsson also presents, “In the absence of adequate feedback, efficient learning is impossible and improvement only minimal even for highly motivated subjects. Hence mere repetition of an activity will not automatically lead to improvement in, especially, accuracy of performance” (Ericsson, Krampe, & Tesch-Romer, 1993, p. 367). In recent readings I have discovered two areas of instruction that can be directly linked and tied to both reinforcement of learning in the classroom and contributing to the learning itself. This would be in the area of reinforcing effort generally and more specifically with homework and practice.

When applied to homework Eriksson’s comment is especially true. For it to be affective and to reinforce student learning it must include well-developed tasks that engage the student on a number of levels both cognitively and behaviorally.  Dr. Pitler states in his writings in Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, “homework is an extension of the classroom” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Melonoski, 2007, p. 187).  It is a place where reflection upon and shaping of the content should occur. To accomplish this without the undue effect of homework losing reinforcement value and be perceived as either punishment or becoming a meaningless rote drill the “role of expectancy and value components” (Trautwein, Ludtke, Schnyder, & Niggli, 2006, p. 16) should be taken into consideration in that students are clear on how they are expected to behave and are provided with the motivation to be successful . 

Dr Pitler and McREL speak also in a more general sense of addressing reinforcement of learning in the area of effort.  Where homework design and presentation is instructor-based, the notion of effort and success is within the control of the individual. Dr. Pitler and the authors state, “effort is the most important factor in achievement” (Pitler et al., 2007, p. 155). Students taught that the relationship of effort and achievement are tightly meshed whether with homework or other areas of learning, and understand the importance of effort for success are viewed to be more likely to succeed (Trautwein et al., 2006, p. 19). 

How an effective instructor brings these two factors for reinforcement of content acquisition into play in this age of the 21^st Learner, should vary in both, method and delivery. With the use of technology, an instructor can provide the means for motivating and reinforcing learning growth.  The use of spreadsheet software to create, rubrics, effort/ achievement Microsoft Excel charts that the student can access and record progress (Pitler et al., 2007, p. 160), and survey charts that provide visual clarification of how effort and achievement correlate.

The incorporation of technology into shaping skill mastery and adaptive learning can provide success in homework design with word processing applications, spreadsheet software, and the use of multimedia, and communication software such as Writeboard (Pitler et al., 2007, p. 208).  Means such as these can provide a student with a broader range of learning experiences that reinforce content acquisition and application, and provide motivation for success.  This provides the student with the “extension” to the classroom (Pitler et al., 2007, p. 187)  and reinforcement strategies that will lessen Eriksson’s concerns where “practice will make perfect".   

References

Ericsson, K. A., Krampe, R. T., & Tesch-Romer, C. (1993). The Role of Deliverate Practice in the

       Acquisition of Expert Performance [Scientific Article]. Psychological Review, 100(3), 363-406.

      doi:http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/blogs/freakonomics/pdf/DeliberatePractice

      (PsychologicalReview).pdf

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E. R., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Homework and Practice. In Using

      Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works (pp. 187-201). Denver, Colorado: MCREL.

Trautwein, U., Ludtke, O., Schnyder, I., & Niggli, A. (2006). Predicting Homework Effort: Support for a

      Domain-Specific, Multilevel Homework Model [Scientific Article]. Journal of Educational

      Psychology, 98(2), 438-456.

     doi:http://www.willettsurvey.org/TMSTN/Articles/PredictingHomeworkEffort.pdf