And it's Thursday again, and we're back. It's been another intense week, but a very good one. A colleague and I taught our second iteration of a Dissertation workshop, and it was awesome just how easily and effectively we were able to work together. Fantastic!
The real highlight of this week, though, was my observation a class. Pure, simple observation. It's been a long time since I sat in a classroom without floating or teaching, so it was a great time to actually reflect on instructional practices without actually being involved.
This experience helped me realize that pure observation can lead to a different type of reflection than I talked about last week, when I was reflecting on my own teaching. The observation of others allowed me to step outside myself and think about the instructional practices instead of how I, personally, was instructing. It helped me focus on the content and praxis of the lesson, and how students reacted to it. When I was reflecting on my teaching, I had been using a prescribed lesson plan, so most of my reflection was internalized - me thinking about how I was teaching.
After this experience, I can see now that both are extremely valuable. I could see how, as an "experienced" instructor who gets caught up in their job, one could forget to sit back and observe others. I will try to remember this experience as I move forward in my instructional career, so that I can continue to evaluate and reflect on myself as well as others to be the most effective professional possible.
Showing posts with label assessment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label assessment. Show all posts
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Thursday, September 29, 2011
And, We're Back! Realizing and Balancing Capacity
It's been a while... for the last time... I promise. Last I wrote, it was August, right before the madness that is grad school/work. Now, school has started and work is in full swing. A colleague in my same position tonight asked, "how many hours are you working this week?" and my number equaled his and we both said, "too much." It's not that I mind working a lot, because really, the past month has been amazing. It's more about taking the time to have time for a bit of reflection and knowing my capacity to do things well as opposed to just doing them.
Between last Tuesday and next Tuesday (7 days), I'll have taught 5 workshops. Whew. Might not sound like a lot (and I know people teach that much all the time) but what I didn't consider prior to committing to instruct was the prep time. Now I've taught before, and prepped before, but usually one workshop a month. Not two a day :) So, the reflection part of this - AND - the prep part of this all tie nicely into my thinking about capacity. I know that in order to be a good instructor, prep time is key. And, that reflection time is key. And both of those take time. Luckily, instructing is my job, and my job relates directly to one of my classes (Information Literacy) where part of my requirements are to observe and, ahem, instruct. So this is actually all great experience. But looking back on September (wait, what? September is over?), I realized that most of what I'd done was prep and teach. Which is good, but I didn't get much else done (homework, wait, what?).
So, back to capacity - what is the balance between doing a lot and doing well?
I felt over capacity at work last month. But then I started reflecting; during the last month, I think I became a better instructor. It felt at the time like I was doing too much, but in reality, I think I was doing the right things too much. It felt like I was just flying at an unreasonable pace, but that fast pace actually allowed me to not over think or get nervous, but rather just to do my job. Prep, instruct, prep, instruct. Reflect, prep, instruct. And then, all of a sudden, I'm comfortable instructing. Not that it didn't take hard work, it was just hard to see how that hard work payed off until the reflection came.
So, back to capacity - in the end, I've realized that doing the right things a lot can be very valuable, but that reflecting on that experience is just as important. My prior knowledge of instruction, paired with my whirlwind month of September did help me realize that teaching 5 classes in 7 days is not sustainable, but that now I can feel more comfortable teaching in general and helped me realize that I need to reflect to evaluate, learn, and move forward to continue gaining new skills.
Between last Tuesday and next Tuesday (7 days), I'll have taught 5 workshops. Whew. Might not sound like a lot (and I know people teach that much all the time) but what I didn't consider prior to committing to instruct was the prep time. Now I've taught before, and prepped before, but usually one workshop a month. Not two a day :) So, the reflection part of this - AND - the prep part of this all tie nicely into my thinking about capacity. I know that in order to be a good instructor, prep time is key. And, that reflection time is key. And both of those take time. Luckily, instructing is my job, and my job relates directly to one of my classes (Information Literacy) where part of my requirements are to observe and, ahem, instruct. So this is actually all great experience. But looking back on September (wait, what? September is over?), I realized that most of what I'd done was prep and teach. Which is good, but I didn't get much else done (homework, wait, what?).
So, back to capacity - what is the balance between doing a lot and doing well?
I felt over capacity at work last month. But then I started reflecting; during the last month, I think I became a better instructor. It felt at the time like I was doing too much, but in reality, I think I was doing the right things too much. It felt like I was just flying at an unreasonable pace, but that fast pace actually allowed me to not over think or get nervous, but rather just to do my job. Prep, instruct, prep, instruct. Reflect, prep, instruct. And then, all of a sudden, I'm comfortable instructing. Not that it didn't take hard work, it was just hard to see how that hard work payed off until the reflection came.
So, back to capacity - in the end, I've realized that doing the right things a lot can be very valuable, but that reflecting on that experience is just as important. My prior knowledge of instruction, paired with my whirlwind month of September did help me realize that teaching 5 classes in 7 days is not sustainable, but that now I can feel more comfortable teaching in general and helped me realize that I need to reflect to evaluate, learn, and move forward to continue gaining new skills.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Instructional Reflections and Feedback
Last week I wrote about participating in lots of instruction over the coming week. Well, that was this week, and this week is nearly over!
On Monday, I participated in orientation workshops for incoming freshman (I did this Thursday as well), and also completed a Word for Dissertation workshop. On both occasions, I had the chance to collaborate with colleagues, which was a great experience. Co-teaching has allowed me to feel more comfortable with instruction and has also provided me with the confidence that I could probably have done both on my own if I absolutely needed to. Working with my colleagues was great, though. It was wonderful to have someone there who could help answer questions or jump in if I forgot something, however it was also simply nice to work with people whom I respect and admire.
The orientation sessions were a nice "warm up" for my later Dissertation workshop. Talk about different audiences! I went from working with 18-year-old-incoming freshman to mainly doctoral students of all ages. The freshman were tired - it was early morning and they were there because they had to be. The doctoral students were fully interested and engaged as this was something they chose to attend on their own and something they knew would be helpful throughout their long dissertation process.
The freshman orientation provided little to no feedback, other than what we could see. Some students asked great questions while others struggled to keep their eyes open. Most participated in our polls via iClicker but other than that, it was impossible to tell how effective of an instructor I was. I did receive some feedback from my co-instructors, which was helpful because they could do this presentation in their sleep and have a good deal of instructional experience.
The Word for Dissertation workshop, on the other hand, provided more and different feedback. I not only received tips from one of the facility's main instructors, but also from 7 out of the 9 workshop participants. The feedback from my instructor was very helpful - she talked about not saying things were simple or easy (because they may not be for everyone!) and also about leading into topics with analogies and in simpler terms. Extremely useful information that I can carry across my instructional experiences.
We also received feedback from the participants via an anonymous evaluation system. The numbers that we received were good - no negative feedback, a few neutrals, and mostly good. The comments, however, were one of my first lessons of criticism in the way that I could not ask for further information or could not really use the information to be constructive. I received a comment that said it looked like I was nervous and made a lot of mistakes by having to go back and repeat myself. I read this comment, and of course, felt a little bad. The same commenter had said my colleague had a nice presence about him, so he clearly did not see that same confidence in me. I did, to be completely fair, mess up right at the beginning of my transition... which probably through this person off. But it was hard to read the comment and not be able to follow up, ask what I might do better, or simply realize that the beginning of my half of the workshop was confusing for people and that I need to practice more for next time. Which I will, regardless :)
The point of this post is just a reflection on my instruction this past week. It also is a beginning thought on how we could make our assessment of the workshops better in a way that might provide more constructive feedback. I'm pretty sure that there will nearly always be "that person" or people who don't respond at all, but as I am more confident in teaching certain workshops, I would like to evaluate the assessment that goes along with them. The one-shot workshop model might be something I re-visit when this time comes.
On Monday, I participated in orientation workshops for incoming freshman (I did this Thursday as well), and also completed a Word for Dissertation workshop. On both occasions, I had the chance to collaborate with colleagues, which was a great experience. Co-teaching has allowed me to feel more comfortable with instruction and has also provided me with the confidence that I could probably have done both on my own if I absolutely needed to. Working with my colleagues was great, though. It was wonderful to have someone there who could help answer questions or jump in if I forgot something, however it was also simply nice to work with people whom I respect and admire.
The orientation sessions were a nice "warm up" for my later Dissertation workshop. Talk about different audiences! I went from working with 18-year-old-incoming freshman to mainly doctoral students of all ages. The freshman were tired - it was early morning and they were there because they had to be. The doctoral students were fully interested and engaged as this was something they chose to attend on their own and something they knew would be helpful throughout their long dissertation process.
The freshman orientation provided little to no feedback, other than what we could see. Some students asked great questions while others struggled to keep their eyes open. Most participated in our polls via iClicker but other than that, it was impossible to tell how effective of an instructor I was. I did receive some feedback from my co-instructors, which was helpful because they could do this presentation in their sleep and have a good deal of instructional experience.
The Word for Dissertation workshop, on the other hand, provided more and different feedback. I not only received tips from one of the facility's main instructors, but also from 7 out of the 9 workshop participants. The feedback from my instructor was very helpful - she talked about not saying things were simple or easy (because they may not be for everyone!) and also about leading into topics with analogies and in simpler terms. Extremely useful information that I can carry across my instructional experiences.
We also received feedback from the participants via an anonymous evaluation system. The numbers that we received were good - no negative feedback, a few neutrals, and mostly good. The comments, however, were one of my first lessons of criticism in the way that I could not ask for further information or could not really use the information to be constructive. I received a comment that said it looked like I was nervous and made a lot of mistakes by having to go back and repeat myself. I read this comment, and of course, felt a little bad. The same commenter had said my colleague had a nice presence about him, so he clearly did not see that same confidence in me. I did, to be completely fair, mess up right at the beginning of my transition... which probably through this person off. But it was hard to read the comment and not be able to follow up, ask what I might do better, or simply realize that the beginning of my half of the workshop was confusing for people and that I need to practice more for next time. Which I will, regardless :)
The point of this post is just a reflection on my instruction this past week. It also is a beginning thought on how we could make our assessment of the workshops better in a way that might provide more constructive feedback. I'm pretty sure that there will nearly always be "that person" or people who don't respond at all, but as I am more confident in teaching certain workshops, I would like to evaluate the assessment that goes along with them. The one-shot workshop model might be something I re-visit when this time comes.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Just had to write... a great professional trip to Chicago!
So I went to Chicago yesterday - train left at 7:30am, and I took the train back, returning into Ann Arbor at 12:00am. A long, long day. But a good one; my time there couldn't have been better spent.
I had the opportunity to present at the Educause Midwest Regional Conference, held at the InterContinental Hotel right down town. My supervisor at the library and I participated in a poster session, where we displayed a poster we'd created and talked to people about it's contents. Our poster was on assessment of handouts that we provide at the Knowledge Navigation Center, Faculty Exploratory and Tech Deck. We complete four focus groups earlier in the term to evaluate how people learn new technology and what they like and dislike about the handouts we currently provide. Of course, the like the longer handout, but want a shorter handout, videos, an interactive handout, and activities. Needless to say, this was the first phase of our research.
It was interesting, because during the hour-long poster session I learned several things. First, I learned more about our project, just by talking about it and answering questions. I was able to better synthesize what we'd actually done and what we could do in the future. Second, I learned that not a lot of others have done this sort of assessment of their materials. To me, it seemed a fairly small task - a few focus groups and analyzing a fairly small amount of data, but it's just something that people haven't done. Finally, I learned what it was like to be at a conference. I was a bit nervous at first, but found the whole experience to be great professional development.
After our session, I traveled down to the Harold Washington Library YouMedia Center I had a chance to see not only a big, beautiful, old public library (which, ahem, needs to do research on how it uses it's huge amount of space), but also a youth media center in action. And wow, what a place. The walls are a bright green, there are flat screens on every wall, a young librarian (a 2008 SI grad) was working with some boys on redesigning and creating their youth center blog while another set of kids practiced their spoken word and recorded music. IN THE LIBRARY. This reconfirmed my beliefs that public libraries not only have to redefine themselves, but can and should. The YouMedia Center was one of the most lively places I've ever seen and kids actually want to be there. In my mind, this should be a model for other public libraries who are "fighting to survive." This place isn't just surviving, it's thriving. And your library can do this too... the MacArthur Foundation and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) are scaling this up, and offering an RFP that will end up funding 30 libraries nationwide. They see the value in sustainable, progressive public libraries, and they're showing it can be done.
It was so inspiring to see this and it gave me a lot of hope for our profession if we are willing to be creative, step outside the box, help people think about libraries differently, and make this change happen.
I had the opportunity to present at the Educause Midwest Regional Conference, held at the InterContinental Hotel right down town. My supervisor at the library and I participated in a poster session, where we displayed a poster we'd created and talked to people about it's contents. Our poster was on assessment of handouts that we provide at the Knowledge Navigation Center, Faculty Exploratory and Tech Deck. We complete four focus groups earlier in the term to evaluate how people learn new technology and what they like and dislike about the handouts we currently provide. Of course, the like the longer handout, but want a shorter handout, videos, an interactive handout, and activities. Needless to say, this was the first phase of our research.
It was interesting, because during the hour-long poster session I learned several things. First, I learned more about our project, just by talking about it and answering questions. I was able to better synthesize what we'd actually done and what we could do in the future. Second, I learned that not a lot of others have done this sort of assessment of their materials. To me, it seemed a fairly small task - a few focus groups and analyzing a fairly small amount of data, but it's just something that people haven't done. Finally, I learned what it was like to be at a conference. I was a bit nervous at first, but found the whole experience to be great professional development.
After our session, I traveled down to the Harold Washington Library YouMedia Center I had a chance to see not only a big, beautiful, old public library (which, ahem, needs to do research on how it uses it's huge amount of space), but also a youth media center in action. And wow, what a place. The walls are a bright green, there are flat screens on every wall, a young librarian (a 2008 SI grad) was working with some boys on redesigning and creating their youth center blog while another set of kids practiced their spoken word and recorded music. IN THE LIBRARY. This reconfirmed my beliefs that public libraries not only have to redefine themselves, but can and should. The YouMedia Center was one of the most lively places I've ever seen and kids actually want to be there. In my mind, this should be a model for other public libraries who are "fighting to survive." This place isn't just surviving, it's thriving. And your library can do this too... the MacArthur Foundation and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) are scaling this up, and offering an RFP that will end up funding 30 libraries nationwide. They see the value in sustainable, progressive public libraries, and they're showing it can be done.
It was so inspiring to see this and it gave me a lot of hope for our profession if we are willing to be creative, step outside the box, help people think about libraries differently, and make this change happen.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
ALA Ethics, Mosley, and HarperCollins
ALA Code of Ethics
I've been thinking a lot about ethics this term, mostly because I'm taking a course on Ethics and Applied Policy. I think this is actually the third class this semester for which I've been asked to read and review the ALA Code of Ethics - which is pretty cool in my book. It shows that SI and the field of library science are very aware that ethics are important to being a professional librarian. Overall, I find I agree with most all of the ethical statements, and believe they are necessary to upholding the rights of both librarians and users. The statements of providing: a high-level of service; intellectual freedom; library users rights to privacy; co-workers and colleagues the appropriate level of respect and fairness; public interest not private interest, service that keeps personal convictions and professional duties separate; and professional development (participation in as well), all seem vitally important to our profession. I've seen some of these in action, for example, in the February 2011 edition of the Ann Arbor Observer, there is a short piece in the UpFront section talking about fines and user's privacy rights. In another case, a librarian at the UM wanted to pull what they thought was a vulgar material from the collection and found ways to disallow it from circulating (keeping personal convictions and professional duties separate). In my relatively short library career, I've seen these ethical statements be needed to provide guidance on issues that are not always straightforward. Which is basically what "ethics" is :)
Mosley: Creating a Library Assignment Workshop for University Faculty
This article was particularly interesting to me because of my current and former jobs. In my former job, I worked for the Director of some of the UM libraries and she was very focused on engaging faculty in the library. This article shows one way to do it well. Secondly, an issue that has arose several times in my current job is librarians working with faculty on assignments and providing direct support to the professors via ctools and in-person meetings. Ctools now has a feature where the librarian can upload resources and access the particular relevant assignment. Finally, I've actually been at the reference desk when these students come up with their library-integrated assignment. It's interesting to read this article, then, because it appears Texas A&M has thought through their model and that it works. Faculty often know the library for their own purposes but don't necessarily know how their students use the library. Through a workshop like the one described, faculty can have an orientation about the library AND better understand their students. Further, through librarian outreach, librarians can become integrated in curriculum (as was discussed a few weeks earlier in a different fashion), and can become a larger part of the campus.
HarperCollins: Three Perspectives
Whew! What an issue. And these tough issues will continue to come - quickly - as the digital world changes libraries forever. I chose to read three of the more generic pieces from this list since I (admittedly) did not read much about HarperCollins up to this point
Official HarperCollins statement: HC's official statement on Library Love Fest blog 3/1/2011, An Open Letter to Librarians
-Clearly HarperCollins knows they are in a jam - they wrote this letter on the defense, seeing that libraries won't be happy with their new policy. While they discuss their reasoning, they do not provide hard statistics or numbers showing where they got their 26 uselife of books. While they do say that they've talked to librarians, they don't specify who, what, where or the topic of the discussions. It's clearly problematic; the backlash justifies my statement.
Professional Organizations Respond: ALA Washington Office, 3/8/11, American Library Association tackles new challenges in the e-environment
-ALA's response was entirely professional. They've identified a solid, practical way to deal with this and how to keep their members informed. I'm not an ALA expert, so I don't know the way they usually deal with issues such as this, but it was refreshing and uplifting to see their response. They know that they need to take immediate action - and they have - and they know that it is their responsibility as a professional organization to inform their members and work for them. Kudos.
Press: Library Journal, 3/7/11, Library Consortia Begin To Vote Against HarperCollins Ebook Checkout Policy
This piece was helpful to read because it not only gave an overview of the issue, but also relayed what some libraries are doing in response. The statements by folks in the article show the way real people and organizations are dealing with this decision by HarperCollins. That libraries have revoked their licensing to HarperCollins sends a very strong statement that they completely disagree with the fact that books expire after 26 uses and that they will not stand for a company supposedly committed to resource sharing to do such a thing. The article is a bit biased, but it also raises issues of concern for the future.
My Thoughts
This whole thing is quite a mess - libraries already in funding trouble now are being challenged with providing users with what they think should be a given resource - one that is part of their future as a library. How are libraries supposed to move into the digital age if more and more constraints are put upon them? How are they supposed to survive (in the way they need to) if companies continue to restrict them? This seems to be a game between public and private, with private holding the cards trying to make money off the public which has very little right now. The companies need to survive too, but not at the cost of libraries.
I've been thinking a lot about ethics this term, mostly because I'm taking a course on Ethics and Applied Policy. I think this is actually the third class this semester for which I've been asked to read and review the ALA Code of Ethics - which is pretty cool in my book. It shows that SI and the field of library science are very aware that ethics are important to being a professional librarian. Overall, I find I agree with most all of the ethical statements, and believe they are necessary to upholding the rights of both librarians and users. The statements of providing: a high-level of service; intellectual freedom; library users rights to privacy; co-workers and colleagues the appropriate level of respect and fairness; public interest not private interest, service that keeps personal convictions and professional duties separate; and professional development (participation in as well), all seem vitally important to our profession. I've seen some of these in action, for example, in the February 2011 edition of the Ann Arbor Observer, there is a short piece in the UpFront section talking about fines and user's privacy rights. In another case, a librarian at the UM wanted to pull what they thought was a vulgar material from the collection and found ways to disallow it from circulating (keeping personal convictions and professional duties separate). In my relatively short library career, I've seen these ethical statements be needed to provide guidance on issues that are not always straightforward. Which is basically what "ethics" is :)
Mosley: Creating a Library Assignment Workshop for University Faculty
This article was particularly interesting to me because of my current and former jobs. In my former job, I worked for the Director of some of the UM libraries and she was very focused on engaging faculty in the library. This article shows one way to do it well. Secondly, an issue that has arose several times in my current job is librarians working with faculty on assignments and providing direct support to the professors via ctools and in-person meetings. Ctools now has a feature where the librarian can upload resources and access the particular relevant assignment. Finally, I've actually been at the reference desk when these students come up with their library-integrated assignment. It's interesting to read this article, then, because it appears Texas A&M has thought through their model and that it works. Faculty often know the library for their own purposes but don't necessarily know how their students use the library. Through a workshop like the one described, faculty can have an orientation about the library AND better understand their students. Further, through librarian outreach, librarians can become integrated in curriculum (as was discussed a few weeks earlier in a different fashion), and can become a larger part of the campus.
HarperCollins: Three Perspectives
Whew! What an issue. And these tough issues will continue to come - quickly - as the digital world changes libraries forever. I chose to read three of the more generic pieces from this list since I (admittedly) did not read much about HarperCollins up to this point
Official HarperCollins statement: HC's official statement on Library Love Fest blog 3/1/2011, An Open Letter to Librarians
-Clearly HarperCollins knows they are in a jam - they wrote this letter on the defense, seeing that libraries won't be happy with their new policy. While they discuss their reasoning, they do not provide hard statistics or numbers showing where they got their 26 uselife of books. While they do say that they've talked to librarians, they don't specify who, what, where or the topic of the discussions. It's clearly problematic; the backlash justifies my statement.
Professional Organizations Respond: ALA Washington Office, 3/8/11, American Library Association tackles new challenges in the e-environment
-ALA's response was entirely professional. They've identified a solid, practical way to deal with this and how to keep their members informed. I'm not an ALA expert, so I don't know the way they usually deal with issues such as this, but it was refreshing and uplifting to see their response. They know that they need to take immediate action - and they have - and they know that it is their responsibility as a professional organization to inform their members and work for them. Kudos.
Press: Library Journal, 3/7/11, Library Consortia Begin To Vote Against HarperCollins Ebook Checkout Policy
This piece was helpful to read because it not only gave an overview of the issue, but also relayed what some libraries are doing in response. The statements by folks in the article show the way real people and organizations are dealing with this decision by HarperCollins. That libraries have revoked their licensing to HarperCollins sends a very strong statement that they completely disagree with the fact that books expire after 26 uses and that they will not stand for a company supposedly committed to resource sharing to do such a thing. The article is a bit biased, but it also raises issues of concern for the future.
My Thoughts
This whole thing is quite a mess - libraries already in funding trouble now are being challenged with providing users with what they think should be a given resource - one that is part of their future as a library. How are libraries supposed to move into the digital age if more and more constraints are put upon them? How are they supposed to survive (in the way they need to) if companies continue to restrict them? This seems to be a game between public and private, with private holding the cards trying to make money off the public which has very little right now. The companies need to survive too, but not at the cost of libraries.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
How People Learn Chapter 6 & Sadler
How People Learn Chp. 6
I find "How People Learn" to be such an engaging text to read. It is straight-forward, clear, and to the point. Yet, it's full of practical and interesting information.
Chapter Six on "The Design of Learning Environments" not only gave valuable inforamtion about different learning environments, but it also made a great deal of sense. That's easy to say, but when discussing such an important topic, that the text is coherant and complex is very refreshing. Chapter Six discusses the different ways that learners should be engaged. Through a mix of learner-, knowledge-, assessment-, and community-centered, one can see how people could truly becoming high-level thinkers who can analyze their own work and build up on it. That the authors started with learner-centered made me happy (OK, I know readings for class shouldn't and won't always make me happy, but its' nice when they do...). I have always thought learner-centered environments where the learner's backgrounds and prior knowledge are considered, has been the only way to educate. We are not in factories, as the system is designed, we are in a learning environment! One can only really learn if they can connect the material to their own lives and what they want to do.
However, I think I often don't regard the other parts of this chapter as as important as the learner-centered part, so it was great to read about how although knowledge-centered environments are necessary, they too can become more learner centered. The idea of "progressive formalization" (pg. 137) was a new concept to me, and one that completely makes sense. That students would progress during the learning process only seems obvious (though it doesn't always happen that way).
Further, assessment is something I've always been skeptical of because I have never believed that tests are the way to evaluate learning, it was interesting to read more deeply about what makes a formative assessment good and what makes it work. That students receive feedback throughout their learning process so that they can gain understanding and not just facts, that it is continuous and self-monitoring, means that students can truly engage with material and actually learn (not memorize).
Finally, the section about community-centered learning was something I was so glad to see in this reading. Part of my background is in afterschool, and the idea of "Learning Beyond the Classroom." To my earlier point, students cannot really understand material that doesn't make sense to them or their lives. I believe this is our current education system's biggest downfall - what students learn in school does not relate to the lives they lead outside. Community-centered learning where learning is coordinated and cooperative through the community (e.g. bringing in mentors from the community to help students learn) can only help learners become more engaged citizens, which is good for everyone.
The alignment of these will allow students to truly gain knowledge while becoming real "thinkers" where they can analyze and actually use information they learn.
Sadler
Sadler's piece on formative assessment was also a useful text to read in the context of learnign and instruction. That learners are assessed by means of multiple criteria and have the ability to self-monitor their work means they can be more engaged and empowered during their learning process. Sadler's discussion of what it takes for a learner to be self-monitoring was very in-depth and interesting. That a student has to "(a) possess a concept of the standard(or goal, or reference level) being aimed for, (b) compare the actual (or current) level of performance with the standard, and (c) engage in appropriate action which leads to some closure of the gap" (p. 121) is very relevant to the "How People Learn" discussion of feedback. Further, that assessment should be guided but direct and authentic as well as cooperative gives instructors many ways to allow their students the opportunity for formative assessment and self-monitoring.
Reflections
This week's readings on environments and assessments was very personal for me - I've always felt that the environment in which one learns can affect everything they learn and that assessment is done in the completely wrong way for students. From experience, I've seen how engaging, trusting environments can foster student growth and learning. That students receive feedback and that their experiences are acknowledged is a very important part of my educational philosophy. Further, that students are allowed to learn and not recite seems critical to a true learning process. That education is plagued by federal and state laws that place emphasis on tests and that they do not have the time or resources to always provide formative assessments would be two things I am passionate about changing in the future of education.
I find "How People Learn" to be such an engaging text to read. It is straight-forward, clear, and to the point. Yet, it's full of practical and interesting information.
Chapter Six on "The Design of Learning Environments" not only gave valuable inforamtion about different learning environments, but it also made a great deal of sense. That's easy to say, but when discussing such an important topic, that the text is coherant and complex is very refreshing. Chapter Six discusses the different ways that learners should be engaged. Through a mix of learner-, knowledge-, assessment-, and community-centered, one can see how people could truly becoming high-level thinkers who can analyze their own work and build up on it. That the authors started with learner-centered made me happy (OK, I know readings for class shouldn't and won't always make me happy, but its' nice when they do...). I have always thought learner-centered environments where the learner's backgrounds and prior knowledge are considered, has been the only way to educate. We are not in factories, as the system is designed, we are in a learning environment! One can only really learn if they can connect the material to their own lives and what they want to do.
However, I think I often don't regard the other parts of this chapter as as important as the learner-centered part, so it was great to read about how although knowledge-centered environments are necessary, they too can become more learner centered. The idea of "progressive formalization" (pg. 137) was a new concept to me, and one that completely makes sense. That students would progress during the learning process only seems obvious (though it doesn't always happen that way).
Further, assessment is something I've always been skeptical of because I have never believed that tests are the way to evaluate learning, it was interesting to read more deeply about what makes a formative assessment good and what makes it work. That students receive feedback throughout their learning process so that they can gain understanding and not just facts, that it is continuous and self-monitoring, means that students can truly engage with material and actually learn (not memorize).
Finally, the section about community-centered learning was something I was so glad to see in this reading. Part of my background is in afterschool, and the idea of "Learning Beyond the Classroom." To my earlier point, students cannot really understand material that doesn't make sense to them or their lives. I believe this is our current education system's biggest downfall - what students learn in school does not relate to the lives they lead outside. Community-centered learning where learning is coordinated and cooperative through the community (e.g. bringing in mentors from the community to help students learn) can only help learners become more engaged citizens, which is good for everyone.
The alignment of these will allow students to truly gain knowledge while becoming real "thinkers" where they can analyze and actually use information they learn.
Sadler
Sadler's piece on formative assessment was also a useful text to read in the context of learnign and instruction. That learners are assessed by means of multiple criteria and have the ability to self-monitor their work means they can be more engaged and empowered during their learning process. Sadler's discussion of what it takes for a learner to be self-monitoring was very in-depth and interesting. That a student has to "(a) possess a concept of the standard(or goal, or reference level) being aimed for, (b) compare the actual (or current) level of performance with the standard, and (c) engage in appropriate action which leads to some closure of the gap" (p. 121) is very relevant to the "How People Learn" discussion of feedback. Further, that assessment should be guided but direct and authentic as well as cooperative gives instructors many ways to allow their students the opportunity for formative assessment and self-monitoring.
Reflections
This week's readings on environments and assessments was very personal for me - I've always felt that the environment in which one learns can affect everything they learn and that assessment is done in the completely wrong way for students. From experience, I've seen how engaging, trusting environments can foster student growth and learning. That students receive feedback and that their experiences are acknowledged is a very important part of my educational philosophy. Further, that students are allowed to learn and not recite seems critical to a true learning process. That education is plagued by federal and state laws that place emphasis on tests and that they do not have the time or resources to always provide formative assessments would be two things I am passionate about changing in the future of education.
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