Aracelie_Reflection_16 Feb Class
Posted onFebruary 27, 2010
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In our first class back after the snowstorm of 2010, we took some time to regroup and discuss where we were with respect to assignments and that day’s class. We talked about our presentations for the following week on our assigned books. As of classtime, I had not gotten my book, but from the way Ted and Carrie Ann were describing theirs and from the enthusiasm in their voices, I began looking forward to starting mine.
After talking about pending and upcoming assignments, we began looking through two websites that house course portfolios – the Gallery of Teaching and Learning and the Virtual Knowledge Project. I was excited to see what the famous course portfolio looked like. I must say, I was not at all surprised to find out that they differ from one another. I was a little surprised to see the degree of variation. Just in the few we viewed, two had lots of colors, section headers, and links. And while the other portfolio had the same qualities, it did not use them as effectively. The latter portfolio (Calculus Conversations) reminded me of a Power Point presentation gone bad. It had all the elements present. Unfortunately, they still did not capture the audience’s attention, and the content fell to the wayside.
Following our look at the websites, we moved on to our research proposal questions. Believer or Doubter” – that is the name of the game. I was the lucky volunteer whose question was addressed. First, I read the question. Next, while I was listening and taking notes, the others commented on the more positive aspects of my question and its implications. After the positives were finished, they commented on the more negative aspects. Finally, I was given a chance to respond to all the comments. In doing this exercise, I heard a few of my own thoughts echoed. For instance, focusing on a particular branch rather than all military services was something I went back and forth on when writing the question, but I had no idea whether “more specific” or “broader” was the answer. Hearing some of the reasoning behind why I might not want to be so broad (i.e., different cultures, processes, and vocabulary among the services) will help me to make the decision and decide what I am truly interested in finding out. Additionally, the concepts of “processes” and “protocol” came up. Taking another look at the two from various perspectives on a university – those of the veteran, the student, the faculty, the teacher, etc. – gives me another place to begin my research and refine my question.
Jason Bishop: Making the Most of College
Posted onFebruary 24, 2010
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Okay. So I printed this out and took it to class with me instead of posting on the blog (mistake one), then I forgot to hand it in in class (mistake two)! So here is my one page summary of the book that I presented last night.
Richard J. Lights highlights the importance of involving student interviews in our assessment of teaching and learning. Why not ask students what they think about their educational experience? In short, the light believes that we as teachers have a lot to learn from students, and he makes a pretty convincing argument. While there are some methodological issues with generalizing his findings (done with Harvard students) to all colleges, I do believe most of his findings are useful to most colleges.
Light begins by pointing out that learning is not just occurring in the classroom. In fact his research shows that when students were asked to think of a moment that changed their lives profoundly four out of five students interviewed reported moments outside of the classroom. Students benefit and are more satisfied with college when they connect their in-class and out of class experiences. The author then moves on to a section on student tips for success in college. He outlines the importance of time management, and specifically dedicating extended blocks of time to writing/studying rather than numerous short burst. Many struggling students come from high school’s that did not require critical thinking (gathering, analyzing, and constructing opinions).
If we understand that a majority of learning occurs outside of the classroom we must become very concerned with homework assignments and facilitating group studying. As many of the student quotes expressed, studying in groups can facilitate constructive criticism, and expose students to differing interpretations of the same material. However, we also must maintain a focus on students in the classroom learning (the author’s one-minute feedback activity on Page 66/69 struck me as a great practice.) Light also reports that faculty loose creditability when they become “predictable” and that they should focus on getting across “how academics in their field think about the world”.
Light then shifts focus to student diversity. He does not site his statistics that 1 out of 6 Harvard students come from families below $20,000, or that 35% of the 2004 graduating class was “non-white”. The use of “non-white” as a category seemed odd, although his later discussions of diversity made up for this. He makes the point that diversity can only have a positive effect in the right environment, which requires a culture of inclusion and a stressing of common ground. He uses student’s reports of negative high school experiences with diversity, and their opposite experience at Harvard to drive home this point. Harvard stresses inclusion and students have the common ground of taking school very seriously and striving to learn. The final student quote is probably the best in the book. The student stresses how he had a diverse classroom focus on affirmative action that could not have been so meaningful without a diverse student body.
Teddy’s Reading Log 02.23.2010
Posted onFebruary 23, 2010
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Teddy’s Reading Log 02.23.2010
For class session 02.23.2010
The book Opening Up Education focuses on the development of Open Educational Resources or OER. The 38 prominent scholars that authored this book promote learning platforms beyond the traditional classroom. The open education movement demands full access to education anywhere, anytime for students everywhere! Students engage learning activities at home, work, and other non-traditional environments. This project is an on-going metamorphosis that is sure to someday become the norm. Greater access makes this form of education very attractive to the busy nine-to-fivers and others with challenging schedules. Time is a precious commodity and open education provides learners with resources that are very accommodating for the adult learner. Participation by teachers and students is a must if the movement is to be a success.
Leaders of the open education movement seek to enable and encourage participation of the entire learning community, but are centering their current efforts on teachers and future scholars. It must become an agency for formal and informal education as it creates ecologies within ecologies of productive thinkers that enjoy deep learning. The designing of open education requires carefully molded scaffolding designed by teachers and students of cross-disciplines, building informative channels of structured frameworks that have educational resources that build on old data to enhance the scholarship of teaching and learning.
Open education is presently reforming education and the results is a new community of learning and practice. As always, the mission here is to create a community of instructors, theorists, scientists, and students who want to achieve the most effective best practices for teachers by studying what students know and how they learn through civil/practical engagement. By implementing open-content, open-teaching and other forms of the movement, students experience an international band of critical thinkers that enjoy scores of digital content located in online libraries of endless data 24 hours a day. We’ve been granted great insights through the mediums of open education. The provision of more access, agency, design freedoms, and ownership of our education is truly a most welcomed “Reformation” in the 21st century!
Carrie Ann’s 2/16 Class Reflection
Posted onFebruary 22, 2010
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I have to admit it was nice to be back in the classroom after two weeks of class absence due to the Snowpocalpyse or Snowmaggedeon, whatever you want to call it. That has been the first time in my academic career to have two consecutive weeks of classes cancelled due to snow and I hope it never happens again. With that being said, I took quite a good bit away from this week and I hope to expand my knowledge on some of the topics that we discussed. First, I enjoyed taking the time to look at the Visible Knowledge Project and the Gallery of Teaching and Learning to see how electronic research projects are formatted and presented. Looking through some of the project and e-portfolios started to get the wheels turning in my head of how I would like to create my own e-portfolio for the music classes that I teach. This is something that I would like to do more research on and I know it would only help to enhance the material presented in my class. Before this class I never knew of the Visible Knowledge Project and the Gallery of Teaching and Learning, and now I feel that I will be looking and visiting these sites a lot in the future.
With regards to our nine questions for research study, the “Believer/Doubter game” that we participated in was an interesting way to receive feedback on our topics. This provides both “positive” and “negative” (and I am using those terms lightly) in a non-abrasive way so that your colleagues can help you take your research to the next level. I am looking forward to continuing this “game” with everyone in class this week and I welcome all critiques on my research topic. Looking forward to the rest of the semester and hopefully… no more snow!
Carrie Ann’s Reading Log 2/22
Posted onFebruary 22, 2010
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Changing the Pathways in the Brain
Though we will be discussing in more depth our assigned books in class this week I would like to share with you all a brief summary of The Art of Changing the Brain.
Take a pinch of Piaget, add a touch of classroom techniques, and a cup or more of neuroscience and you will have The Art of Changing the Brain by James E. Zull. This book looks into how the science and the biology of the brain can affect your students learning style, how they process information, how they synthesize the material into other aspects of learning. As Zull takes you through the brain by breaking it down into three distinct sections 1) Foundations, 2) Knowledge, Neuronal Networks, Change, and Recommendations for the Teacher, 3) Using more of the Cerebral Cortex to deepen Learning- you as an educator will see how the biological structures of the brain can be “changed” by your teaching methods to make more meaningful connections in student’s learning.
Though loaded with discussions and terminology dealing with neuroscience and how the brain functions, the terms that Zull presents are easily understood by the reader since they are supported by real-life teaching experiences by the author that support the topic at hand. As I was reading, I saw some of my students in the stories that Zull presented and now I have a better understanding of how their brain might be processing the information and how I should present material to make the brain/neuron connections stronger with the way I disseminate the topics in class. Tomorrow I will discuss this book in more detail with all of you, but I can say wholeheartedly that this is a book that all educators need to read because you really change your student’s brains and the unique ways that they learn.