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ollie-afe-2019: Article: Attributes from Effective Formative Assessment (CCSSO) - 0 views

  • Because the formative assessment process helps students achieve intended learning outcomes based on explicit learning progressions, teachers must first identify and then communicate the instructional goal to students.
    • alisauter
       
      The reason Learning Targets are so important to establish and communicate.
    • kmolitor
       
      Articulating goals in student friendly language is important so students know what the target is.
    • barbkfoster
       
      As our district moves forward to standards-based learning/grading, we need to change our mindset. Students need to see learning as more important that "getting a good grade'. We can help this process by sharing the learning targets with them.
    • jennham
       
      In order for the students to see that the learning is more important than the grade, educators also need to make that shift in thinking. As my son starts applying to colleges, it seems to be ALL about his grades. I know many of my sons' teachers also feel that getting a good grade is the end result. I think students as a whole would be more receptive to how much they have learned if their teachers modeled that as well.
    • annott
       
      This is where the rubric comes into play. Students need to know or see what they will be evaluated on for the final product. I really like the idea of having students create their own rubric.
  • Effective formative assessment involves collecting evidence about how student learning is progressing during the course of instruction so that necessary instructional adjustments can be made to close the gap between students’ current understanding and the desired goals. Formative assessment is not an adjunct to teaching but, rather, integrated into instruction and learning with teachers and students receiving frequent feedback.
    • alisauter
       
      People think this can be "scripted" but it really can't. Formative assessment CHANGES the teaching and learning processes to meet the needs of the learners. It is fluid.
    • mistermohr
       
      and I think it is difficult to say that formative assessment can close the gap. Imagine if classrooms waited for everyone to get something before moving on. Formative assessment is more beneficial, in my opinion, in small groups. If 90% of kids get an exit ticket correct, the class will likely move on. Even though we know that 10% don't get it.
    • jennham
       
      In an ideal situation you would move on, but the 10% would receive additional instruction in order to learn and understand what they didn't before. The trick is to find the time to do that. Every time we find time in order to make this happen it seems to get snatched up by something else that we need to do.
    • mschutjer
       
      This is something we can been discussing a great deal and whether we should include it in our grade books...with or without points and we do not give credit for formative assessments.
  • In self-assessment, students reflect on and monitor their learning using clearly explicated criteria for success.
    • alisauter
       
      I think this is harder for some kids to do than others.
    • kmolitor
       
      I agree but if we did it more and across the curriculum we could help them all become better at it.
    • Wendy Arch
       
      I find that kids are often more critical of themselves than I would be. Maybe it's false modesty, but when I've had students do a post-writing reflection or log, most of the time they think their writing is crap and they struggled more than I say in class. That is often eye opening since we think we know what happens in our classrooms, but it shouldn't be a surprise that students - like teachers - are experts at hiding their struggles.
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  • Creating such a culture requires teachers to model these behaviors during interactions with students, to actively teach the classroom norms, and to build the students’ skills in constructive self- and peer-assessment. In this type of classroom culture, students will more likely feel they are collaborators with their teacher and peers in the learning process.
    • alisauter
       
      This reminds me of the routines you have to build with elementary students each fall for things like centers, bell ringers, daily 5, etc. Even blended and flipped learning needs routines visited and revisited at the beginning.
    • mgast40diigo
       
      This is why I love the math curriculum I am using. The main focus is collaboration. Everyday students are expected to come up and share their work on how they solved the problem. Students enjoy learning from their classmates.
    • mrsmeganmorgan
       
      It's interesting to me that in elementary we spend the time to create a culture, but many teachers ignore this in the secondary classroom.
  • Increasing numbers of educators regard formative assessment as a way not only to improve student learning, but also to increase student scores on significant achievement examinations.
    • robertsreads
       
      It is worrisome to me that the focus seems to be more on increasing student standardized test scores than increasing student learning/understanding. Which is better for the student in the long run?
    • chriskyhl
       
      an agreed concern.....so much focus on standardized scores has changed focus to results instead of learning
    • rhoadsb_
       
      Do standardized tests provide value to our students, really? Cant say they do. Formative assessment is for guiding the teacher and student to learn, not take a test.
  • From a learning progression teachers have the big picture of what students need to learn, as well as sufficient detail for planning instruction to meet short-term goals.
    • robertsreads
       
      This is why it is important to begin each assignment with the end in mind. What do we want students to learn, how will we measure that learning, and how to we get there?
    • mistermohr
       
      Agreed. From a person interested in the content and the learning of their students this makes sense. From a practical perspective, I think a large portion of students would not find any value in this. I would guess over 50% would not read it and would not use it. Now, as a teacher, I can say you should have read this to know how to improve, that isn't a practical solution though. I think that has to come from application and purposeful relevancy.
    • tmolitor
       
      I also agree. As a teacher you need to know the end goal, and work backwards
    • mschutjer
       
      This is a great idea. I would love to get some of these set up. A great tool to use with students.
  • Descriptive feedback should be about the particular qualities of student learning with discussion or suggestions about what the student can do to improve. It should avoid comparisons with other pupils. Specific, timely feedback should be based on the learning goal and criteria for success. It should help the student answer three basic questions: Where am I going? Where am I now? How can I close the gap?
    • robertsreads
       
      It is of the utmost importance to make sure that students are only comparing their work to their prior efforts, as opposed to comparing their work to that of other students.
    • mgast40diigo
       
      I like the last 3 questions of the paragraph. Great questions for me to ask. It would be a nice way to have the students reflect after a test as well.
    • kmolitor
       
      I agree Matt, these questions can help students reflect on their learning, and it would be great to have all teachers use them so it becomes second nature to students.
    • barbkfoster
       
      I notice the word "timely". This is SO important but also so hard to do with teachers' workloads. Does anyone have something that works for both the teacher and student?
    • mrsmeganmorgan
       
      I love this idea from Caitlin Tucker: https://catlintucker.com/2019/02/ask-yourself-why-am-i-grading-this/ So much of what we grade does not require a grade. Maybe if we make this adjustment, our work load would decrease.
    • annott
       
      This is something that I have to continue to improve.
  • Alternatively, feedback could be given using a format such as “two stars and a wish,” which provides a structure for a student to identify two aspects of the work that are particularly strong (stars) and one aspect the peer might improve (a wish).
    • robertsreads
       
      I really like this idea, as it focuses on what students are doing well. It is much easier to take constructive criticism when it is couched with praise.
    • jennham
       
      I really like this idea as well! Phrasing it as "a wish" will be easier for the creator of the project to hear, but will also be easier for the evaluator to give. I know I have students who constantly say,"You don't need to change anything," not because they think that is true, but because they do not want to bruise anyone's feelings.
  • Formative assessment is a process used by teachers and students during instruction that provides feedback to adjust ongoing teaching and learning to improve students’ achievement of intended instructional outcomes.
    • sjensen21
       
      Notice the definition does not say that formative assessments can't be graded. I am a proponent of grading formative assessments, but I have heard others say it should not be.
    • mpercy
       
      I think Evan mentioned this in one of his video chats. He talked about the value of not grading the formative assessment but using it to enhance classroom discussion. Would this work in a math classroom?
    • cathy84
       
      This is an excellent point. My first reaction was No! Don't grade it! But then I thought about the chapter reading quizzes I would give. In some ways these were formative because I wanted to see if students understood the chapter in the novel. In others, it was summative in that I wanted to hold students accountable for the reading. I did grade them. Hmmm...Interesting
    • tmolitor
       
      I think it is so interesting to consider not grading formative assessments. I feel like every time I give an assignment to students the first question they ask is "Will this go on my grade?"
    • annott
       
      I think many times we ask students during a lesson, to give a number of fingers as to whether you understand what we just shared. And I had done that for many years, but never knew it was called formative assessment until a few years ago.
    • chriskyhl
       
      I really enjoy that formative assessment can be done in so many different ways (verbally, a quiz, practice problems, exit tickets, review games, etc.....) I do get where Trevor is coming from though......very much a grade centric focus instead of a learning focus
    • rhoadsb_
       
      Exactly we need to get away from grading everything as we may not have taught the content in way that ll can learn. Use FA to guide instruction and improve student learning.
  • five attributes
    • sjensen21
       
      1. Learning Progressions 2. Learning Goals 3. Descriptive Feedback 4. Self- and Peer-Assessment 5. Collaboration
  • Descriptive Feedback:
    • sjensen21
       
      This is by far the most important part of formative assessment for students. Teachers need to provide timely, informative feedback, so that students can learn from their mistakes.
    • tmolitor
       
      Agreed! The feedback piece is the most important by far, and you mentioned how important it is to have it in a timely manner!
  • Self- and Peer-Assessment
    • sjensen21
       
      Peer assessment is the most difficult for all parties involved. It is difficult for students to critique each other's work appropriately and it is difficult for students to receive feedback from peers. It is also difficult for teachers to model appropriate behaviors for peer assessment.
    • tmolitor
       
      I agree. It is always hard to get students to do this the right way. The idea behind it is awesome though, if you could somehow get students to appropriately evaluate their classmates work.
  • The students must be actively involved in the systematic process intended to improve their learning. The process requires the teacher to share learning goals with students and provide opportunities for students to monitor their ongoing progress.
    • mgast40diigo
       
      I like this idea about students having an active process. This would be very valuable for both the student and teacher. If the student has more of an active process by setting goals and monitoring them I feel they would have sense of ownership in the process. Very powerful when they feel this way.
    • Deborah Cleveland
       
      I agree. I think it would increase student ownership of the learning process.
    • chriskyhl
       
      Totally agree! Student choice and voice is an important piece that I think we miss out on frequently in education
    • rhoadsb_
       
      If students are not involved in the process they will see it as a check box.
  • To support both self- and peer-assessment, the teacher must provide structure and support so students learn to be reflective of their own work and that of their peers, allowing them to provide meaningful and constructive feedback.
    • mgast40diigo
       
      This is something that I need to do a better job of. I've thought about using math journals where students could reflect on on their own work and that of their peers when peer evaluating. The lack of time is the excuse.
    • cathy84
       
      It's not an excuse; it's a reality. When you have over 100 students, it's impossible to give them as much attention as you would like.
  • This will provide students with a reasonably clear idea of the analytic skills they are to develop and also provide them with the tools required to assess their own written analyses.
    • zackkaz
       
      Hopefully being careful that students are not just regurgitating information. Sometimes I think we get wrapped up in getting content and skills across we don't notice ourselves spoon feeding.
  • This involves moving from the early stages of reasoning based on simple observation to the more complex stages based on indirect observation and the synthesis of multiple sources of information.
    • zackkaz
       
      Which happens at different times for different students. Some may have already accomplished it while others need more scaffolding to achieve it.
    • kimgrissom
       
      True! I think these kinds of complex skills are exactly the ones that might be worth the time for formal formative feedback so students and teachers see who has it and who doesn't.
  • A classroom culture in which teachers and students are partners in learning should be established.
    • zackkaz
       
      Honestly, I forget this part the most of the 5 categories. I am not the CEO, but more a manager.
    • mistermohr
       
      I like this one the most. It is all about relationships!!!
    • tmolitor
       
      I agree! However that quote goes "Students don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care."
    • annott
       
      This may be the most important attribute.
    • tommuller4
       
      I think this might be most important attribute of all. Culture and climate are so important. Kids will work hard for you even if they don't want to do the project if you have a good relationship with them.
  • without dissent:
    • zackkaz
       
      Amazing to me that no one disagreed. Worries me about groupthink occurring at that meeting. I'm not saying I disagree with the definition, but that really amazes me there was no dissent.
    • Wendy Arch
       
      I imagine if people were at a meeting about formative assessment, they would all be on the same page to begin with. I imagine this was merely a wordsmithing session and less of deliberate one.
  • is to provide evidence that is used by teachers
    • Wendy Arch
       
      depending on what I'm looking for, formative assessment can sometimes be more effective for just me. Often my students don't really know (or care) where they are in the grand scheme of things, but I need to know so I can determine our course.
    • cathy84
       
      I did have students use their comprehension quizzes as a formative assessment. If they did not get 8/10, I had them write a note on the quiz as to why. Did they just not do the reading? Did the read it while multi-tasking? Did they read it but just not get it? I was hoping to make them aware of their learning and why it was not where it should be when considering reading comprehension of a novel. But then, maybe I should not have graded it??
  • a process rather than a particular kind of assessment.
    • Wendy Arch
       
      This is where it gets difficult for me sometimes. The recursive aspect is difficult when dealing with a common course that is supposed to stay on track with other sections led by other teachers. Having the ability to be flexible with instruction is essential, but when "aligned" with other teachers, that flexibility can be constrained.
  • informal observations and conversations to purposefully planned instructionally embedded techniques designed to elicit evidence of student learning
    • kimgrissom
       
      Many teachers do a lot of formative assessment in the way of observation, listening, even questioning. In an online setting, this is the part that harder. But as standards move more to skills and concepts rather than just knowledge, those "embedded techniques" might be a piece that's missing. Many times when students "miss the mark" on the test, it's because there was a disconnect in what they thought they were supposed to know or lack of feedback on what they were supposed to do.
  • offers enough substantive information to allow the student an opportunity to identify ways to move learning forward.
    • kimgrissom
       
      The use of models here is the key though. Sometimes this info isn't enough if they have seen or heard many speeches that do this (and most kids haven't).
    • cathy84
       
      As a former writing teacher, I never doubted the power of the feedback. The problem was finding the time. I could not read 100+ papers twice: once formative and second summative. It was a struggle to provide the feedback they needed and survive the job.
    • tmolitor
       
      I teach Math so I can't imagine what it is like trying to provide timely feedback for writing assignments. I think it's hard enough to do it with math homework when the student is missing a piece of the equation or something.
  • they can take an active role in planning, monitoring, and evaluating their own progress.
    • kimgrissom
       
      I've always felt that one of the biggest benefits of peer-assessment has nothing to do with the feedback--it has to do with perspective. When a student sees how another student approached a writing prompt or a problem or a process, it allows them to look differently at their own work. If the only thing students ever see is the the teacher's thinking and their own, it can limit their understanding.
  • supporting students as they monitor and take responsibility for their own learning
    • kimgrissom
       
      This is something almost all teachers would like more of, but it's hard for students to do that if we don't give them the success criteria, vocabulary, and feedback to help them be more independent in reaching our expectations.
  • a formative tes
    • Deborah Cleveland
       
      I always wonder about this when I hear teachers saying that they are using plc time to develop "common formative assessments".
    • annott
       
      You have a valid point Deborah. Should we have common formative assessments or not? According to this article it's an ongoing process throughout a lesson and should be adaptive to each teacher.
    • mschutjer
       
      I think it is one more item in education we do not have time to create...common formative assessments.
  • teachers and students
    • Deborah Cleveland
       
      Shouldn't all teaching and learning involve educators and students? lol.
    • barbkfoster
       
      I feel that all too often teachers think of weekly quizzes as formative assessment. Unfortunately, those weekly quizzes are often not used to adjust teaching. This definition says it is a PROCESS. I don't think many teachers think of it that way.
    • annott
       
      I agree Barb, I know I don't think of it as a process. I need to work on that.
  • meta-cognitively
    • Deborah Cleveland
       
      Asking students to think metacognatively about learning will hopefully make them more efficient learners in the future.
  • Learning Goals and Criteria for Success: Learning goals and criteria for success should be clearly identified and communicated to students.
    • Deborah Cleveland
       
      While I am not in classrooms very often, almost all of them do this. I feel like this is something that teachers have made a real effort to do.
    • mistermohr
       
      Agreed. However, in my experience, most students don't care. It is kind of like showing them standards. Even in kid friendly language, they largely don't care. I think this article brings up lots of good information, but the reality of practice is much different than the reality of the folks coming up with these things.
    • nealjulie
       
      Formative assessments gives teachers the checkpoints of learning with their students. It informs their instruction of what to do next.
    • nealjulie
       
      I like how this clarifies that there are many different types of formative assessments.
  • and show the trajectory of learning along which students are expected to progress
    • annott
       
      As I learn more about scaffolding, I think that is a good way to cover learning progression.
    • nealjulie
       
      Progressions give teachers and students a pathway of learning.
  • evidence-based feedback
    • mistermohr
       
      ha ha ha...again a reality of practice. You can't reliably do this for 150 kids and every formative assessment. What about the informal formative assessments? Technology can help with this, but again it has to be setup to do so.
    • mrsmeganmorgan
       
      I think you bring up a valid point. We really need to spend the time giving feedback, but I am wondering what is the difference between informal vs formal feedback. I have seen teachers use an "autopsy" after certain assignments so major issues are address large group. Often students tend to make similar mistakes.
    • tommuller4
       
      Giving feed back to every student is all most impossible to do in a timely matter if you 100+ students. I like the idea of addressing major mistakes as a large group because like Megan said most times multiple students make the same mistake or have the same problem.
    • nealjulie
       
      Students should also be given descriptive feedback.
  • involving students in decisions about how to move learning forward are illustrations of students and teachers working together in the teaching and learning process.
    • nealjulie
       
      I like this idea of student feedback. This is a very powerful tool.
  • teachers and students
    • mpercy
       
      It is really important to get students to take ownership of their learning.
  • In addition to communicating the nature of the instructional goal, teachers must provide the criteria by which learning will be assessed so that students will know whether they are successfully progressing toward the goal. This information should be communicated using language readily understood by students, and may be accompanied by realistic examples of those that meet and do not meet the criteria.
    • mpercy
       
      How is this best accomplished? Does using an "I can" statement at the start of a math lesson accomplish this goal? I tend to think my students are not really interested in these statements. This also seems to feel like a time consuming requirement for a teacher. I feel a time crunch with just getting the lesson taught and giving kids a little work time in class.
    • cathy84
       
      And I am wondering, does this apply to adult learners in a PD setting?
    • rhoadsb_
       
      We are going down this road in more detail in our district now with SBG and rubrics are essential to learning and the communication to students.
  • Helping students think meta-cognitively about their own learning fosters the idea that learning is their responsibility
    • mpercy
       
      I need to include more opportunities for this as I think it is really important for students to take ownership of their learning.
    • barbkfoster
       
      I've always tried to do this as I teach high school math. I love that math has a right answer but there are multiple ways to get it. I always tell students that we are filling their "toolbox" as we learn strategies to solving problems. Ultimately, though, it is up to them to make sense of what "tool" works best for them.
  • However, for students to be actively and successfully involved in their own learning, they must feel that they are bona fide partners in the learning process.
    • mpercy
       
      I think this sounds right but is it attainable with all students? Or more importantly how is it attainable. Several of my students come to mind that really don't express a desire to learn Algebra or Geometry and I have not been successful in changing that attitude!
    • cathy84
       
      This is very doable, I think, when working with adult learners in a PD environment.
    • jennham
       
      I feel that is is doable, but I also feel it will be an uphill battle all the way with some students. It is very hard to overcome, in one week or month or year, the baggage some kids bring with them. However, this isn't a new struggle to us or to them. Anything and everything that helps them to succeed is what we will do!
    • mrsmeganmorgan
       
      Jen, YES! It takes time for our students to trust us to build a partnership. We need to realize that trust is built one small moment at a time.
    • cathy84
       
      Interesting...I have never heard of this group nor heard of this initiative. Education is a complex world
  • short-term goals to keep track of how well their students’ learning is moving forward.
    • kmolitor
       
      Learning progressions are a great way to scaffold and have those checkpoints to see where students are at and help identify where students need assistance.
    • whsfieldbio
       
      I agree that checkpoints or formative assessments during a learning progression are extremely important. Without, a student could easily go through the motions and when it came to the summative assessment they would completely fail.
  • inform instruction and learning
    • mistermohr
       
      I think there are constant examples of assessment informing instruction in classrooms. I find it interesting the formal formative assessment argument seems to hold water but informal or on the fly decisions in a classroom are not typically seen as quality modifications due to formative assessment since they are not done with hard data, but rather subjective data.
  • A teacher needs to have modeled good feedback with students and talked about what acceptable and unacceptable comments look like in order to have created a safe learning environment.
    • Wendy Arch
       
      Modeling is, of course, always the most effective, but how do we move students beyond just copying the model? I find most of my upper level, grade-grubbing, high-achieving students will stop taking intellectual risks the more I model. They don't want to be "wrong" so they play it safe.
  • Sharing learning goals and criteria for success with students
    • mrsmeganmorgan
       
      We need to spend more time sharing goals with our students.
  • The teacher might first offer students a paraphrased version of that goal such as, “You will be able to judge the strengths and weaknesses of arguments in the editorials you find in our daily newspapers.” The teacher would discuss the criteria for evaluating arguments and then provide several examples of critiques of political essays
    • tommuller4
       
      I think its a good idea to show students some sort of example of what you are expecting from them. Especially if its the first time you try something in your class.
  • Both self- and peer-assessment are important
    • tommuller4
       
      I think both self and peer assessment are a great idea. It's always good for student to self reflect on their work but its also good for them to hear feedback from classmates instead of just the teacher all the time.
    • chriskyhl
       
      Peer reflection and peer learning to me is almost as valuable as teacher reflection. I think students learn better from peers than teachers in lots of situations because students can explain in their own language
  • inform and adjust instruction
    • whsfieldbio
       
      I see a disconnect in utilization of formative assessment data to adjust instruction in elementary compared to secondary classrooms. K-5 teachers seem to be more knowledgable and willing to change instruction where secondary teachers struggle. Perhaps it's the number of students or race against the curriculum map, but I have observed that formative assessment data may come back showing poor understanding, but teachers keep moving forward.
  • The success criterion that the teacher gives them is, “Include any properties or rules that may apply in your explanation.”
    • whsfieldbio
       
      As I read this example I think about how this activity could be put online. You could easily to a screencast or Flipgrid "think-a-loud" to explain thinking and meet the criteria of the teacher. This could be done individually or in a small group.
  • Students then need time to reflect on the feedback they have received to make changes or improvements.
    • whsfieldbio
       
      I think this is a missed opportunity in classes. It is important to build in time to reflect, becuase students may not review this on their own. I thinking it's equally important to model what self reflection looks like and how it can be used to improve outcomes. It's just another layer of scaffolding.
  • investigate the past from a range of sources of information,
    • kylelehman
       
      This is how I get my students excited about inquiries. They get to play detective and have fun with the information that they are diving into.
  • in increasingly sophisticated ways
    • kylelehman
       
      This is where I allow my students to work on their own and really challenge themselves. This idea that a student can progress on their own gives them a sense of ownership and ability to make their own path.
  • provide an explanation
    • kylelehman
       
      I love this! I do something similar when it comes to quick writes in my class. The first quick write that we do, I take a great, a good, and a needs work. I post all three of them (without names) and then go over why we think as a class each got the score they did. Great way to build skills.
  • self-reflective b
    • kylelehman
       
      Self-reflection is huge! Now that we are moving towards SBG, I have tried working in more and more self-reflection into my rubrics. I want them thinking about what they did. On all my essays, they go through the rubric first and determine their score and add comments as to why they think they should get that score and then I go in after and grade and we can sort of compare.
annott

Implementation in a Secondary Classroom (Articles) - 0 views

  • choice serves as a motivator
    • mgast40diigo
       
      When I give some of my kids choices on what they want to do, they have a tendency to ask me for suggestions. I would think the students would need experience with choices to feel confident enough to go make their own.
    • anonymous
       
      I have found this as well, in language arts/my writing classes. Giving them an umbrella topic- How-To Essay, and the world at their finger tips, they'll try to take one of my simple examples (how to tie your shoes) instead of choosing their own. I wonder a good way to teach students how to make choices- seems like a valuable lesson!
    • tmolitor
       
      I've also witnessed this in many things.Most the time I try to put a similar assignment on paper as on chromebook and allow the students the choice on how they would even like to do the assignment for that day.
  • You have to have a principal who understands that when he walks into a room and it’s not silent, it’s okay.
    • mgast40diigo
       
      I have to get over this at times. We do a lot of collaborative work and if a visitor came into my room they would probably say it is noisier than most classrooms. Once they sit in there for awhile they see the students working together and learning from each other. It is a great thing to experience.
    • kmolitor
       
      I had a principal that once told me he loved when he'd walk into a classroom where the noise was coming from the students working together. Learning can be noisy and people need to understand that, whether that is in a library or a classroom.
    • anonymous
       
      It kind of bothers me nowadays when I walk into a room where students aren't talking. It can be hard to get students to know the difference between just 'socializing' and working together, but I often see the most learning happening in my classroom when the students (rather than just me) are discussing.
    • tmolitor
       
      I used to always get nervous when an administrator would come into my room, and it wasn't quiet. Now that I've been teaching for a couple of years I have figured out most learning seems to be occurring when students are talking.
  • One of the things I had to learn recently was to let go and allow the kids to experience the consequences of their choices. And maybe there’s a failure. Maybe a kid was trying to do a vodcast and he couldn’t get the video to work correctly on the computer. That’s a learning opportunity for that child. Because it was his choice, he’s going to try to figure out a way to make it work—sometimes with the help of a fellow student.”
    • mgast40diigo
       
      Such a real life skill. Learning to fail and work through a situation is such great lesson to learn. As teachers it is difficult to watch a student struggle. Knowing that it is part of the process of becoming better at something gives us a little more patience.
    • tracyc4
       
      This is a difficult thing to convince parents about in my school. They are looking for perfect scores and don't like it when we "let the kids fail". It will take time to make this shift in thought in our community. I agree that this is a very real life skill that is important for kids to learn how to work through.
  • ...28 more annotations...
  • Eighth grade math teacher Julie Ison describes a project her classes worked on that involved graphing. Working with Excel, the students went to a few websites (preselected by the teacher) and picked data about whatever they were interested in—flavors of ice cream, baseball statistics, basketball statistics, whatever they wanted. They sucked in all the information, put it in Excel, manipulated it, made graphs out of it, and figured out what graphs went with that data, what graphs didn’t go with that data
    • mgast40diigo
       
      Neat idea. I have a unit on statistics and probability coming up. This is an activity that I might steal. Great way to incorporate personalized learning with graphing real life data.
  • We use Schoology as a learning management system, which many students access on their own phones if there aren’t enough devices to go around.
    • mgast40diigo
       
      I heard this is a great program. My school is looking to adopt this as our LMS.
    • kmolitor
       
      I know often people think it's important for all teachers to use the same LMS is that true? Does it hurt students to have some teachers using one and some using another?
  • This flipped learning setup frees up my students to use classtime to practice their skills.
    • mgast40diigo
       
      One of my goals before the end of the school year is to do a flipped lesson. I'm excited to try it.
    • rhoadsb_
       
      Given that we only see our students twice a week in PE, the use of blended learning is very beneficial to making the best use of face to face class time.
    • kmolitor
       
      I think we need to do more flipping as it would also help parents, especially in math. Often times I hear parents say well I can't help them with their math, so this way they could see how the teacher was doing the problem and help their child easier.
  • fantasy football stats during class, their motivation began to soar.
    • mgast40diigo
       
      I've used the curriculum Fantasy Math and Sports by Dan Flockhart. The students who love sports love this program. It's great way to learn math and is aligned with the common core.
  • The more meaningful an activity is to the person engaging in it, the more likely he or she will be motivated to continue doing it.
    • cmanring
       
      This is definitely the case in History/Social Studies. Some students will come in and out of interest based on the time period/unit/activity. Finding a way to keep interest would help.
    • tommuller4
       
      I was thinking the same exact thing about my Social Studies classes. Some time periods/events are more exciting then others but if you can relate it to current day things or to how it still impacts students today they seem more interested in the topic.
    • annott
       
      This is a very valid point. Technology does give way for more student engagement.
  • But when the teacher started to use the students’ questions rather than her own to frame discussions, motivation began to rise.
    • cmanring
       
      I have found success and better serving students in the last few years by continually asking them what is and isn't working.
  • They became more motivated and less fidgety when the teacher allowed them to find a comfortable place to read.
    • cmanring
       
      I have loosened up on this as well the last few years. I wouldn't want to read on the dusty floor but some really enjoy it.
    • kmolitor
       
      Our school is moving to more flexible seating in most classrooms. I think in some cases it works well, in others I think it can be an issue. I think it's important to at least allow students to stand up as opposed to staying seated as they literally sit all day.
  • Certainly, giving choice to students often means that teachers need to allow students to make their own decisions, and it can be difficult to give up this control.
    • cmanring
       
      In the end just allowing students to have and make choices at the minimum gives them the sense that their opinion matters, counts, and they can make decisions.
  • While choice can be a powerful motivator, on some occasions it can also have an adverse effect
    • tommuller4
       
      I've given kids freedom to choose topics/ideas in my class and many times I have a handful of kids coming up and asking me what they should do, what would be a good one, what would be an easy one to do.
  • However, if tasks are perceived to be too difficult, motivation is likely to suffer.
    • tommuller4
       
      I feel like this is kind of a catch 22. If you make the project challenging for the students they are more likely to lose interest in doing it. So should we make easy projects to keep them motivated. I don't think thats the solution.
  • For example, when a teacher assigns a research project, some students will prefer to have a broad range of topics, others will prefer a small list of options, and yet others will prefer to be told what to do. Giving students a short list of topics with an option to create their own topic, with the teacher’s approval, often works well.
    • tommuller4
       
      This just described just about every class I have ever taught. Some kids like endless options, some want a few, and some want to be told their only option.
    • kmolitor
       
      I agree Tom, but I think it's because they have lacked choice before they get to HS and then once they get to HS they worry about grades and want to know how to get an A.
  • Not every program lends itself to choice
    • tracyc4
       
      This is something that is important to remember. It doesn't always have to be choice in the topic or the process of learning, it can be choice in the presentation.
    • tmolitor
       
      Right, I think that is sometimes easily forgotten. Just any choice along the way can be good.
  • So far the teachers have talked about choice in terms of curriculum, but choice can also, surprisingly, come into play in relation to discipline
    • tracyc4
       
      This is so true! I have started using this in my classes, "these are your options....you choose" Many times I have used, "Would you like me to help with the situation or do you think you can settle it yourselves?" Sometimes they do actually want my help to settle a conflict and other times they are able to do it on their own. This of course is for small disagreements, not big blow outs. I think it is important though to give them the chance to sort things out on their own if they feel they can do so. Most of the time they can and it is a good skill to practice.
    • tmolitor
       
      We have done a lot of PBIS training recently, and this is one of the big things they tell us.
  • They could be two ‘bad’ choices
    • tracyc4
       
      There are consequences for actions and the teacher is still in charge of those consequences, even when students are getting choice in the disciplinary action.
  • Show us what you’ve learned,
    • mistermohr
       
      I think that choice in assessment is the harder one to implement. Choice in what you learn about seems more common place. (ie what dinosaur to study, which event to study, etc.)
  • differentiation of instruction, assessment and expression of learning as well as the collection of student data.
    • mistermohr
       
      I think that automating what you can in these categories makes teachers more effective.
    • rhoadsb_
       
      This is key to the Physical Education world especially as they tend to have twice as many students than other teachers.
    • anonymous
       
      Pretty much anything that gives you more data is brilliant in my book- particularly if it's a technology that gives the student data that they can reflect on as well!
  • Now they have access to the full unit from the beginning
    • mistermohr
       
      Having a unit ready to go from day 1 of the unit is tough. When students see that though, I think they have confidence because that means the expectations are all set out at the beginning. They just have to navigate each expectation. It is the difference in running a race and knowing where the finish line is and running a race and not knowing where the finish line is.
    • rhoadsb_
       
      I am thinking this is the way to go but I worry that if changes need to me made midstream how that will affect the students who may moved ahead.
  • Your class is easy. I don’t mean simple — I mean it is easy for me to learn because I can pick assignments that let me do my best work.
    • mistermohr
       
      I love this quote. Easy vs. simple.
  • It is the purposeful design of instruction to combine face-to-face teaching, technology-assisted instruction and collaboration to leverage each student’s learning style and interests for deeper learning.
    • rhoadsb_
       
      There is so much to be learned about the design of instruction for all teachers as we move forward. All teachers need more PD on this to get us into the 21st Century of Learning and beyond. There are so many exciting things that can happen when this is done well for students. I really think that our students would be more motivated to come to school if we would move out of the industrial era!
    • kmolitor
       
      I totally agree. We need to change the way school is structured so we can motivate students.
  • require students to work in groups
    • kmolitor
       
      I think we need to work on getting students to collaborate with different people but they tend to want to be with friend groups especially in MS. I like the idea of giving one "buddy" in their group.
    • anonymous
       
      My system of group selection works as follows- I draw names randomly, and students jump into groups as they are called. It very rarely happens that an entire group of friends gets together, as some other students will jump in. For this to work, though, there usually has to be a topic set up beforehand, so they know what they're getting into.
  • “One of you needs to move. You decide.”
    • anonymous
       
      I'm surprised I haven't heard much/seen much on this fairly simple concept. Maybe it doesn't work as well as they mention here? I could forsee, if I have two students causing issues, and I ask one of them to decide who moves- they would just get in another fight and/or both refuse to move. Nice in principle though!
    • tmolitor
       
      I feel the same as you. It seems like when you give two or more students a choice they start arguing about it.
  • The journey from old school to new learning paradigm was bumpy at first.
    • annott
       
      I would agree, it has been bumpy, but it's definitely better!
  • And our classroom is often noisy and active as we play a round of Kahoot
    • annott
       
      Some of my students love to play it and others don't . But its great for a change of pace.
    • annott
       
      Learning doesn't have to be quiet.
  • This year I create experiences to expose my students to a range of real-world issues, review the fundamentals of research and help them discover authentic ways to research their issues using a wide variety of digital tools.
  • When it is time to take the standardized tests at the end of the year, your teachers use your project portfolio to help you identify the standards you have already met and rehearse the test with you but don’t otherwise find it necessary to do extensive test prep.
  • Here’s a list of choices. Choose one. As long as you follow the steps in my rubric, you’re fine.’”
    • annott
       
      I would agree that giving options is much better for student learning. When they are part of the planning and designing it natural makes it more engaging.
  • As a result, instead of lecturing to students and showing them a PowerPoint during classtime, I give them screencasts or videos to watch at home.
    • annott
       
      We have to let go of the idea that every student must watch every minute of our videos. Good point that they can fast forward, that does make it adaptive.
  • Just three short years ago, my AP students would each have produced their own 10-page research paper. This year, they will select social justice issues that they will research with a team. Each team will collaborate to create a presentation for the board of a philanthropic organization in competition for a hypothetical grant that will be awarded to the program or event most likely to deliver real change. I will bring in administrators and community members to serve as the “board” and choose a winner.  The students won’t get a real grant, but they will receive public recognition for the winning project.
    • annott
       
      I love this idea, what a great way to get higher order thinking along with collaboration, and an authentic audience.
crystalseier

Implementation in a Secondary Classroom (Articles) - 0 views

  • It is a messier way to teach, though it takes more organization on the teacher’s part, not less. You really have to be on top of things to allow the students choice since now there is more than one “right” way of doing something in the classroom.
    • edgerlyj1
       
      I agree with this 100%! It takes a lot of time on the front end to set something like this up, and then the teacher has to be ok with some chaos in their classroom as students go in every which direction.
    • christopherrush
       
      That's one of the basic infrastructural needs that seems to get overlooked: actual space to do this. Our classrooms barely have enough room for tables and chairs, let alone stations for multiple learning environments.
  • One of the things I had to learn recently was to let go and allow the kids to experience the consequences of their choices. And maybe there’s a failure. Maybe a kid was trying to do a vodcast and he couldn’t get the video to work correctly on the computer. That’s a learning opportunity for that child. Because it was his choice, he’s going to try to figure out a way to make it work—sometimes with the help of a fellow student.
    • edgerlyj1
       
      This control is hard to give up! When I know we can learn something in less time and in a more "clean" fashion, it's hard to let students get messy, but sometimes it's worth it!
    • crystalseier
       
      I agree that it can be difficult to release complete control and avoid jumping in and pointing out an 'easier' way. It is worth it though to see students take so much ownership and pride in their learning!
  • Now she says, “One of you needs to move. You decide.” It is less stressful to her and focuses the students on what they need to do to regain control.
    • edgerlyj1
       
      I also use this strategy. It makes it less personal and the students decide between themselves who is going to move, rather than it seeming like I singled one of them out.
  • ...19 more annotations...
  • It makes them feel that they are part of the process, not powerless
    • edgerlyj1
       
      This is such a huge component! Part of our purpose as educators is to empower students, so this a great way to do that!
    • crystalseier
       
      I completely agree! The ideas and themes of this article also help to illustrate the point that giving students ownership can happen in small steps and strategies, which makes it seem much more attainable and less intimidating for teachers.
  • motivation is integrally connected to achievement
    • mriniker
       
      Grit!! We learned the importance of motivation in learning achievement in another class. I have also discussed with 5th and 6th graders the importance of grit, ultimately they have to take charge of their learning. Here is a link to a Ted Talk https://www.ted.com/talks/angela_lee_duckworth_grit_the_power_of_passion_and_perseverance
  • Ongoing assessment of performance at every level of the system is needed to successfully personalize teaching
  • unique needs and preferences
    • christopherrush
       
      I keep seeing "individual needs" and its variants, but no one seems to be able to define it or give specific examples. Is it just "deficiencies in basic educational content and/or skills"? And preferences ... are we still talking supplemental or the entirety of a class/curriculum? I am probably wrong, but I keep getting the impression Personalized Learning keeps getting put up on this pedestal because of its potential when done well, but not too many proponents seem willing to comment on the pitfalls beyond "well, you need everyone on board" and "it will take time to get used to it" and other ancillary notions.
  • Although it is not the focus of a student-centered classroom
    • christopherrush
       
      It isn't? Everything we've been looking at indicates computers and tablets and the like are essential to do this (except for the million-dollar grade school classrooms that have a dozen "dive into whatever you want to do" stations). I would love to hear more about how technology is not the focus of enabling student-centered learning.
  • because it’s an important skill
    • christopherrush
       
      But is it, though? How much longer before college application essays go by the wayside? The author seems to be saying this with all the enthusiasm of a weary teacher saying "we should still teach how to balance check books." Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of essays and articles and papers and theses, but I've also sat through Teacher Workshops in which experts told us only English classes should be doing papers, since students should basically learn the skill and do more enjoyable things in other classes. Sort of like this article here. But, if it's a "skill" only for one class, and a class fewer and fewer are taking in college or 'needing" after school years, why are we saying it is still important?
  • videos are better than face-to-face lectures because they can skip forward
    • christopherrush
       
      I don't want to have a Jim from The Office eye-brow raising moment here, but it's difficult not to. This sounds all great, especially the "rewind" until mastery notion, but are students so capable of handling video lectures they will truly utilize them correctly? I still fear the temptation to treat computer-driven learning as less real than in-person/in-community learning. And I don't say that to be the Keeper of the Lecture Stronghold. Everything on the computer/Internet is designed to be fast, flashy, shallow ... why would they consider school stuff less so? Sure, the "good students" will, but they would regardless of the medium, wouldn't they? If this continues, is there a need for us to even be teachers? Why not just put all our courses on pre-packaged flashdrives and download sites and implement a pay-by-the-class access fee? Have we taken the notion of "teaching ourselves out of a job" in the wrong direction?
  • continuously
  • to a story
  • research process
    • christopherrush
       
      So is this an "English" class? It's all been so vague, it's been hard to tell except for a few notions about reading a story above. The generalities have been wholly unhelpful. Where are the specifics? Instead of saying "I use videos to create meaningful experiences and Web sites to beget actionable feedback opportunities," I would have rather read about actual tools and programs and in-class activities. Does anyone outside of the English/Research world find this practical?
  • discover authentic ways
    • christopherrush
       
      This is exactly what I'm talking about above. What does this even mean?
  • The students won’t get a real grant, but they will receive public recognition for the winning project.
    • christopherrush
       
      How is this better? I'm not saying I'm opposed to effecting "real change," but as with so much of this article, the heart of the issue is either implied or missing. How has the change of format demonstrated an improvement in the general abilities of students to demonstrate research/writing skills?
  • I mean it is easy for me to learn because I can pick assignments that let me do my best work.” I strive to make my classes that kind of “easy” for every student I teach. Across the board, my students acknowledge that they feel better prepared for college or jobs because of our use of collaborative technology. I feel that I am on this blended learning journey with them, and I truly believe it has made us all more engaged in our work and more focused learners.
    • christopherrush
       
      And again, this is just ambiguous enough to sound good, but what does it mean? Busy work is still busy work regardless if students are "engaged" or bored. By "assignments that let me do my best work" are we talking "I can do things I'm already good at"? I fear that is an area of Personalized Learning many students will exploit (for lack of a better term). If they are given the opportunity to do things they already like or are good at, why would they ever challenge themselves to do anything else, learn anything else, risk anything else? Are we prepared for Speech Classes in which students do Screencasts or Prezzis all semester long and never stand up in front of an audience and look people in the eyes? Is that the "genuine learning" PL and technology are giving the next generation of politicians, lawyers, doctors, teachers, diplomats, and the rest? (This is where you tell me how far afield I am. I would genuinely be glad for some alleviation.)
  • When they are given the option to decide what they’re going to do, whatever the product is, it’s theirs—giving them ownership and responsibility for their own learning.”
    • bennettfr
       
      I think as teachers, we all want our students to take ownership and responsibility for their own learning, but I question if simply giving them a choice is enough to accomplish this. I've often given students a choice in my math class, such choose five problems or you pick the odds or evens.
    • christopherrush
       
      That's a good point - if it isn't a meaningful choice, it's not really any choice at all.
  • I worked with Modern Teacher to understand the shifts in pedagogy necessary to transition to blended learning. And I compared my lesson structure to those I saw on a trip to the iZone (Innovation Zone) in New York City.
    • bennettfr
       
      I'm going to have to check out theses two resources for myself and see if they can help me.
  • While choice can be a powerful motivator, on some occasions it can also have an adverse effect. In other words, not all choices have a positive effect on motivation and achievement.
    • bennettfr
       
      This is exactly what I was referring to in my post on the first article. Is simply providing choice enough to motivate? Now I know it's not always enough and hopefully will get some sense of what else I can do!
  • people who believe they will succeed during challenging activities tend to be more motivated. However, if tasks are perceived to be too difficult, motivation is likely to suffer.
    • bennettfr
       
      This is often the most challenging aspect of motivation. As many of us know, math is often the class perceived to be the most difficult. I know even for myself, math was challenging when I was in school. Students who have failed over and over again, often move into the arena of learned hopelessness and figure it is better to not even try, then to fail again.
  • “You have to have a principal who understands that when he walks into a room and it’s not silent, it’s okay. And luckily we have that—a principal that supports innovative learning.”
    • crystalseier
       
      Allowing quiet time for students to reflect is important, but I have found that classroom noise (more often than not) is a product of student discussion and processing information together. Silent learning environments aren't a reality nor should they be.
  • When done right, it meets several of the ISTE Standards for Students and Teachers while leading to a more rigorous, challenging, engaging and thought-provoking curriculum.
    • crystalseier
       
      This statement helps to clarify that personalized learning is so much more than just giving students access to technology. When done purposefully by well-informed teachers, personalized learning can help maintain high expectations for students.
Jamie Fath

dol1: Lesson Planning: The Missing Link in e-Learning Course Design - 7 views

  • The point of the template is to force a comparison between the two instructional delivery modes, and to make the differences between them explicit to the ID.
    • Deborah Cleveland
       
      I work with a lot of individuals/groups who want to take their f2f training to a online/self-paced lesson/training. I have had a difficult time explaining how content needs to look different online. The comparative lesson plan/template looks like a great way to make these differences explicit to the content experts and help them begin to see how they may need to adjust their content to fit the way in which it is being delievered.
  • lesson planning does not preclude an iterative approach to e-Learning course design.
    • Deborah Cleveland
       
      While lesson planning may take some additional time upfront, does it streamline the time and effort it takes to storyboard and at the same time turn out a higher quality product? Thus, reducing the need to go back and "fix" things?
  • IDP to storyboards requires intermediate steps. What can we do to help close the “e-Instruction gap”? Lesson planning is the answer.
    • Deborah Cleveland
       
      How much overlap should one expect to see between the content in the lesson plan and what goes on the storyboard? As I work on the lesson plan, I can see myself starting to write out the content for the actually storyboard and eventually getting lost in all of the content and loosing sight of the lesson plan.
  • ...38 more annotations...
    • kelly40
       
      Creating the same lesson for 2 different delivery methods will be so helpful in seeing the difference between what is needed with face to face and online instruction.
  • The comparative lesson plan requires the ID to develop the same lesson for two different delivery methods: instructor-led, face-to-face instruction, and self-paced e-Learning
    • Pam Buysman
       
      While different strategies and techniques are needed for F2F settings and online design, one thing that is the same is the need to plan and develop strong lessons first. 
    • kelly40
       
      How do we model in a way to engage students? When they are watching a "how to" video, they are engaged, but in LA, don't have many of those types of videos...often I am modeling paragraph structure or textual citation which isn't very interesting to many.
  • . Modeling • Learners need to see examples of a product or a process • Instructor may model or learner may model • Needs to be visual and verbal
  • But why choose? Do both. Remember, lesson planning does not preclude an iterative approach to e-Learning course design.
    • kelly40
       
      Doing both will only make the lesson more effective and make it much easier to understand if the end goal/objective is attainable and clear. I really like this comparison model.  
    • Kelly Snyder
       
      I like this as well.  This will definitely help with clear goals and targets for the learners. 
  • Comparative lesson plans help to ensure that self paced e-Learning includes the “voice of the instructor.”
    • Judy Sweetman
       
      I remember learning about the "voice of the instructor" in one of the OLLIE courses. This is important not only in the course content, but also in feedback provided to the students. In all of the OLLIE courses, and also so far in this course, I've learned how important subtle (and perhaps not so subtle) humor is for the online student.
  • Since introducing lesson plans as required deliverables in my e-Learning design courses, I have seen tremendous improvements in the work of my students. Even students who have considerable experience developing e-Learning courses say they benefit from doing both comparative and detailed lesson plans. This has led to many “Aha” moments!
    • Judy Sweetman
       
      This is one of the reasons I am taking this course! The instructional design of my online courses definitely improved after my taking the OLLIE courses, but there is still something missing in my courses. I am hoping that learning how to design lessons in SoftChalk will be the missing piece in my courses, and that my students will benefit from this addition.
  • The graduate students’ learning products are not just mere “page turners,” they are lacking both in interactivity to hold the learner’s interest and to ensure that learning occurs, and in sufficient information to guide the learner through the lesson or course.
    • Judy Sweetman
       
      Even though my students typically indicate that they learn a lot from my courses, I don't feel they are very interactive. Learning how to design lessons for the courses may help with this, as well as providing sufficient information to the learners. I provide websites for students to read that are related to the module concept, but a lesson would really help to gel the resources and the objectives together.
  • “The Design Document: Your Blueprint for e-Learning Standards and Consistency” in the December 5, 2005 issue of Learning Solutions e-Magazine.
    • lauralross
       
      I wonder if the designs features in this dated article are still relevant to instructional design in 2016. 
  • It is important to let IDs know that not every section needs to be used for each lesson. IDs can think of “Modeling” as “show me” and “Guided Practice” as “let me try.” “Independent practice” might be used for a case study that ties together practice for multiple objectives.
    • lauralross
       
      I think this is reassuring that we don't have to cover each method for every lesson. How can each section, when applicable, be truly engaging for the online learner?
    • Deborah Cleveland
       
      I wonder if this goes back to Evan's post about Divergent or Convergent lessons. Depending on your general purpose you might vary which parts of the lesson you would include.
  • Lesson plans require clarity; they make ideas explicit.
    • lauralross
       
      The difficulty in lesson planning for e-learners is dealing with the unknown.  What if one of the technology aspects of the lesson plan is unsuccessful, or instructions aren't clear?  
  • For lesson planning, we assume that IDs can write learning or performance objectives. We assume that IDs know how to assess learning in meaningful ways and at the right cognitive level. And we assume that they know the limitations and possibilities of the course media. Detailed lesson plans are particularly useful for this last point. While we ask IDs to be creative in designing instruction, we also ask that they be cognizant of the appropriate use of media for instruction
    • Pam Buysman
       
      Just like when we are using technology in a F2F class, we need to make sure the technology fits the lesson and is not just used for it's wow factor. Again, always thinking about why and how the technology fits will make it much more effective. 
  • Too often, formal storyboarding does not occur prior to authoring. Instead, IDs use the authoring tools to generate storyboards of their already-developed instruction.
    • Pam Buysman
       
      What happens behind the scenes is often much more important than what we actually see! No matter what format or platform we use, that will probably never change! 
  • hey are lacking both in interactivity to hold the learner’s interest and to ensure that learning occurs, and in sufficient information to guide the learner through the lesson or course
    • khageman2
       
      How do new online instructors ensure that their lessons have clear instructions, engaging content, and meaningful learning outcomes?
  • Lesson planning is also useful for helping facilitators and technical writers transition to instructional design roles.
    • khageman2
       
      Educators transitioning to creators of online content may find great value in using comparative and detailed lesson plans to ensure development of quality course content.
  • Though developing a lesson plan for e-Learning is similar in many ways to developing a lesson plan for instructor-led learning, there are also differences.
    • khageman2
       
      I think it is often difficult for instructors moving from face-to-face to online environments to accurately gauge student understanding and reactions to online instructional strategies, which makes lesson planning a challenge.
  • To demonstrate the effectiveness of integrating lesson planning into the e-Learning design flow, I will work through an example of the documentation for a project. The result will be one lesson for a self-paced WBT course on using basic features of Microsoft Word. The lesson focuses on using the Word Count feature.
    • Evan Abbey
       
      This is a sample comment.
  • Recently, I drew upon my background in elementary education and in special education to devise a way to help novice instructional designers (IDs) progress quickly in their e-Learning design competencies
    • Evan Abbey
       
      Thought goes here
  • Lesson plans are merely templates that can guide the development of good e-Instruction, saving much time and effort by minimizing revisions and misunderstandings."
    • Holly Palmersheim
       
      I am not sure why lessons plans are seen as a negative.  Anyone delivering learning whether to students or professional learning for adults should be engaging in purposeful planning.
    • evanabbey
       
      Good point!
  • "In this article, I will describe [how to use] lesson planning [to help] IDs transition into e-Learning course designers without slowing down the design process. The term 'lesson plan' may sound 'school marm-ish' and academic, but I ask that you reserve judgment until you finish reading this article. Lesson plans are merely templates that can guide the development of good e-Instruction, saving much time and effort by minimizing revisions and misunderstandings."
    • evanabbey
       
      Sample post
  • The “e-Instruction” gap
  • Editor’s Note: Parts of this article may not format well on smartphones and smaller mobile devices. We recommend viewing on larger screens.
    • evanabbey
       
      Sample Thought goes here
  • How would the learner know that?
    • Holly Palmersheim
       
      I am lucky to work with the professionals I do.  They alert me to situations in my online courses that need more direction development and do so in an understanding manner.  I am teaching a course for the 11th time and there will be tweaks made again to try and provide the best experience possible.
    • Denise Krefting
       
      Very true Holly- students and participants are very helpful in vetting content. Whenever I get a "I don't understand..." message I always as them to help me make it better for others. They are often happy to be asked.
  • Our learners want to jump in and take just the training they want and need to perform a task.
    • Holly Palmersheim
       
      This is an area I struggle with.  Trying to gauge the level of the room to provide enough instruction that everyone can preform the tasks without frustration or boredom.
  • Checking for understanding • Has learner acquired knowledge? • Sampling — group response • Signaling — agree, disagree, not sure • Individual response — to instructor — another learner
    • Kelly Snyder
       
      Makes me rethink my own practice after seeing all the examples in the lessons we looked at.  Many had check for understandings along the way.  This is an area that I need to spend more time developing in my lessons.
  • The first lesson section — the Anticipatory Set — for the face-to-face lesson has the instructor displaying a Word memo and asking participants to guess how many words the memo contains.
    • Kelly Snyder
       
      Love using screencasts for anticipatory sets.  Give them a little snip of what you are teaching toward.
  • n the second lesson section — Objectives
    • Kelly Snyder
       
      I need to do a better job at writing clear objectives for the students so that they know what is expected of them in the lesson or module.  This can more easily guide the teaching and learning.
  • Gain attention Inform learner of objectives Stimulate recall of prior learning Present stimulus materials Provide learner guidance Elicit performance Provide feedback Assess performance Enhance retention and transfer
  • http://www.e-learningguru.com/articles/art3_3.htm
    • Kelly Snyder
       
      Link doesn't work.  Wanted to read this as well.
  • instructional designers start the storyboarding process. Designers
    • Denise Krefting
       
      I have tried for what feels like forever to have students storyboard their work. They do not like it and some have even done the work then created the storyboard for grade. When I talk about storyboarding or graphically organizing work for adults they often don't want to spend the time doing it. I would be interested how others are getting students and adults to storyboard.
    • Jamie Fath
       
      I have a hard time storyboarding, Denise!  I think it has to do with how different people process information and plan!  I like to think of myself as a backwards designer and start very big picture.
  • You might even address compliance with Section 508 of The Americans with Disabilities Act in the lesson plan template
    • Denise Krefting
       
      Great idea! This is very helpful online and something we forget about but fairly easy to do.
  • Detailed lesson plans help to ensure that there is adequate instruction — practice and feedback — for each learning objective
    • Denise Krefting
       
      Very important. I like that addition of simulations in the example.
  • The comparative lesson plan requires the ID to develop the same lesson for two different delivery methods: instructor-led, face-to-face instruction, and self-paced e-Learning
    • Jamie Fath
       
      I think this is an interesting concept - if people struggle moving from F2F instruction this seems like a good scaffold help IDs bridge the gap between F2F and eLearning.  I occasionally offer the ISU class I teach as an online module and really struggle the weeks we are online - thinking through what it would like look F2F always helps me (even if I don't formally lesson plan them out).
  • section of a comparative lesson plan
    • Jamie Fath
       
      This is a big a-ha for me!  I think this is an interesting concept - if people struggle moving from F2F instruction this seems like a good scaffold help IDs bridge the gap between F2F and eLearning.  I occasionally offer the ISU class I teach as an online module and really struggle the weeks we are online - thinking through what it would like look F2F always helps me (even if I don't formally lesson plan them out).
  • Guided practice
    • Jamie Fath
       
      As a district, we have spent a lot of time exploring two Fisher and Frey frameworks - Productive Group Work and Gradual Release of Responsibility.  I'm wondering how these frameworks would fit into an eLearning structure.
  • not all nine events were required for every lesson
  • asks IDs to consider activities,  assessment, and materials/inputs for each learning or performance objective
    • Jamie Fath
       
      I like that from the beginning, IDs are linking objectives and tasks together in this version
  •  
    Lesson Planning - The Missing Link in e-Learning with stickies
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    Lesson Planning - The Missing Link in e-Learning with stickies
mpercy

Implementation in a Secondary Classroom (Articles) - 0 views

  • in each of the four major academic subjects, students are offered choice as a means to motivate them and to enable them to take charge, even in small ways, of their own education
    • Wendy Arch
       
      This is the ideal, but the logistics are insane. At a former district, the English department tried our own - very pared down - version of this. I like to believe it was a success. We scrapped all the old courses and created entirely new courses based on themes we thought would appeal to teenagers, divided them into 2 framework categories, divided all the 11-12 grade band standards between the courses, and let students choose. They had to take at least one course from each framework before the graduated, so we still covered all the standards. The curriculum and pacing were traditional, but we required at least one literature circle or free choice book per course. At least, in some small ways, students had ownership of their learning.
  • let go and allow the kids to experience the consequences of their choices. And maybe there’s a failure. Maybe a kid was trying to do a vodcast and he couldn’t get the video to work correctly on the computer. That’s a learning opportunity for that child. Because it was his choice, he’s going to try to figure out a way to make it work—sometimes with the help of a fellow student.”
    • Wendy Arch
       
      This 1000%! As a society, we are trained to fear failure, yet we learn most when we fail. Sometimes the difference between future success and failure is learning to cope with past failures in a healthy manner. We're going to keep failing in large and small ways our entire lives. The sooner we learn to cope with and learn from our failures in a healthy way, the better off we are as individuals and a society. The hardest part of this is justifying the "failure" to parents or administrators looking at numbers. As a parent and a teacher, I know how hard it is to tell a parent that their child has failed a course. As a parent, when my own children's teachers have communicated a failure on my children's part, it feels like I'M the one who failed. The same as a teacher, when a student fails my class, I feel like I failed them. Maybe we can relearn about failure and incorporate it into a healthier society for everyone.
    • lwinter14
       
      How do we respond to the students who do not handle failure well? I have students who would see failing as a reason to shut down and not move forward. As many times as I have tried to have that conversation with students that failure can be a learning opportunity, a lot of them still can't see past that moment of "failure." I think that the older students become, the less likely they are willing to take risks that may involve possibilities of failure. And for many of them, they are a lot less likely to let their peers know it.
  • I’m putting together a wiki where my students will have to respond a certain number of times a week to whatever they’ve read. I am going to give them a series of questions like I always do, but they don’t have to respond to those directly. The response will be very open. They can choose instead to respond to someone else’s views. Everybody will read each other’s responses. They’ll have to post a couple of responses—and post a couple of responses to responses— as part of the class.
    • Wendy Arch
       
      This seems like a great way to hear the voices that don't normally get heard. It also really connects with and promotes civil online discussion and discourse. THAT is something we desperately need!
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  • Another key piece in preparing personalized curriculum units and projects includes mandates, such as performance standards, standardized texts, and academy themes. If mandates are seen as “something we have to teach,” they become a discouraging burden on teachers. If they are seen as ways to inspire, inform, and lend coherence to planning, they can be seen as useful. Both vertical departmental discussions and horizontal grade-team discussions are useful in mapping and creatively incorporating mandates into curriculum designs.
    • Wendy Arch
       
      A phrase I hear a LOT is "If we aren't teaching what we're supposed to, then just tell us. Don't make us tie everything to standards I didn't write." Unfortunately it seems, that even as educators, we can't move out of the dislike of requirements. :-P. If WE as educated learners don't like mandates and requirements, why in the heck would we think students would? It always boggles my mind when teachers act like the very students they complain about the most.
  • At the end of the project they can choose how they will present their findings
    • tkofoot
       
      I think it is great the students will have a choice on how they want to present their project at the end. I do get feedback from students on what they prefer for projects and presenting them. They are different.
  • with one student working one way, another a different way—you get the picture.
    • tkofoot
       
      This is something I need to learn to get use to, a "disorganized" classroom. I do think it has to do with working in special ed so long. I have a hard time letting kids go as not all of them can handle it. I may need to try letting go a little, but with daily goal for tasks.
  • I would gather up the two paragraphs each student wrote and take them home to read, grade, and turn back in, with nobody else getting the chance to read them.
    • tkofoot
       
      I am learning a lot of different ways for presentation through the Ollie courses. I like that it doesn't have to be just a written response as this had been a barrier for some students in the past.
    • jnewmanfd
       
      I think that this tool we are using here could also be useful. If you have students post their work to a site like this, and then use this tool, I wonder it you could get students collaborating across different teams or even grade levels I recently used it with the other 8th grade team so they could see how students on the other team were learning the same content. It was really cool for them to make connections to each other's work and I think it helped increase the "realness" because they were explaining their thinking to their peers.
  • they loved doing it because it was a break from math!
    • tkofoot
       
      Math can be fun. The math teacher I work with tries to get the kids moving and doing activities other than pencil to paper. Kids benefit from seeing what math can look like in the real world, like creating a graph.
  • It is a messier way to teach, though it takes more organization on the teacher’s part, not less. You really have to be on top of things to allow the students choice since now there is more than one “right” way of doing something in the classroom.
    • lwinter14
       
      I think that this is something that both teachers and students likely struggle with at first. Because it looks so different, teachers really have to be prepared to help 28 different students on any one thing. At the same time, students have to be comfortable with knowing that there isn't that one way of doing things to get it right. I've spoken with some of my students and I ask them what they would be interested in studying if they had some more choice and a lot of them give me the traditional "idk" answer. They want choices, but then when asked what they might choose, they realize that the decision isn't as simple.
  • I won’t lie. The journey from old school to new learning paradigm was bumpy at first. I tried blended lessons that took less time than planned, had technology failures, chose the wrong method of delivery for various types of content or skills, and generally made every mistake you can imagine.
    • lwinter14
       
      I've definitely had some struggles along the way with trying to set up a more blended classroom. Even small things that I thought were set up correctly in Moodle and then when students go to access them, I find out I forgot to do something. However, the small successes when things go well do make the effort to shift thigns worth it. I do try to listen to the students who provide input beyond the usual complaints because they know what works best from their perspective.
    • jnewmanfd
       
      I hear you. I hope 9th graders are little more forgiving when things don't quiet right. Most of my bumps in the road have been setting up different types of forums. I agree the some students have provided good and useful feedback that I've used to make my Moodle site better. I can also relate the authors comment about the wrong delivery methods. I have already gone back and changed some lessons and activity types. Hopefully next year will go smoother.
    • mpercy
       
      There is definitely a learning curve as you begin to blend or flip your classroom. It's great that you are using student feedback to make decisions as you continue to change your classroom.
  • Now they have access to the full unit from the beginning, so they can gauge their own pacing and get practice in time management. Completion rules also give me the freedom to have small-group or individual conferences to assess learning and make choices about future instruction.
    • lwinter14
       
      This sounds like such a freeing way to operate a classroom. I would love to have students move through things at their own pace so that I have the opportunity to meet with small groups or individual students based on their needs. It makes me uncomfortable though, because I cannot imagine being able to have a full unit ready ahead of time that students can go ahead and dive into. I'm guessing this teacher had a curriculum that was well developed because sometimes I am planning things as I go. I also how this works from a perspective of science teaching? How does a teacher manage multiple labs within one day or anticipate when labs would be needed at times? Perhaps there is more structure that would be needed for those days and deadlines to where all students need to be at a certain point so that the whole group can do a lab and then they go back to moving at their own pace?
  • Since the project focuses on student learning that is engaging and relevant, we asked the teachers to tell us about ways they are using choice to involve students in content learning.
    • jnewmanfd
       
      This is such an important part in the path toward helping students take charge in their own education. Getting student voice is key. I think that too often we forget this aspect and for the most part our educational system hasn't changes a whole lot. Most of our classrooms still look like they did 100 years ago and yet the "real world" had moved beyond that. What future will our students have if they can't or won't take a hold of their own education and become invested?
  • So far the teachers have talked about choice in terms of curriculum, but choice can also, surprisingly, come into play in relation to discipline. In her first years of teaching, Julie, like just about every other teacher, would confront students sitting near each other who either were having too good a time socializing or were fighting. In either case, she would separate them by sending one to another part of the classroom. Not anymore. Now she says, “One of you needs to move. You decide.” It is less stressful to her and focuses the students on what they need to do to regain control. And if students require more serious discipline, Julie again usually offers them choices: “They could be two ‘bad’ choices; for example, one of them might be to go to the principal’s office and the other to stay in a specific teacher’s room. But if they have a choice, they’ll pick one; they take ownership.”
    • jnewmanfd
       
      I just plain like this part. Making the students choose. I use this a lot and for the most part is works. Sure, sometimes the student makes the wrong choice or the choice I wish they wouldn't, but it's their choice. They are the ones who have to deal with the consequences good or bad. It is also nice at the teacher when students want to complain about the situation. You simply say, well that was you're choice, and again you put the ownership back on them.
  • Instead of just giving a final exam at the end of each unit, I try to use formative assessment to enable me to give my students guidance and assistance when they need it. I use a variety of methods for this. For instance, my video lectures often include interactive questions to assess their understanding of the material. And our classroom is often noisy and active as we play a round of Kahoot, which gives me ins
    • jnewmanfd
       
      The assess as you go is something I've been trying to do more of this year. I haven't waited until the end to do one big assessment, but rather, I've done several smaller ones. For the most part, student don't always realize they are being assessed as the smaller pieces seem to fit seamlessly with our current activities. I think it is easier for me as a instructor to make needed changes on our learning course before it's too late. What I need work on next would be getting meaningful feedback to students. Getting better, but it's not where I want it yet.
  • Low motivation does not need to be a recurring problem in the classroom. Although teachers can draw from myriad strategies to cultivate higher levels of motivation, well crafted choices have the potential to have a powerful impact on students’ attitudes toward classroom work. When promoting student decision making, it is important to remember that some of the most motivating choices are those that promote feelings of control, competence, and purpose. Certainly, giving choice to students often mea
    • jnewmanfd
       
      I would say that this year, I am hurting big time in the area. My group last year loved it and they really excelled. They got to the point that they wanted to explore on their own. My group this year just doesn't want to take charge of their learning and seeks the easiest way out of work. They say things like, "...just tell us the answer or can we just read an article or something". I'll keep pushing them because I know it's worth it, but man it's a struggle.
  • All of this guidance helped me find more effective ways to lead my students while empowering them to take responsibility for their own learning.
    • mpercy
       
      The goal of blended learning: giving students the tools and encouraging them to become self-motivated learners!
  • they can access and even return to my videos and screencasts when they need them most, as they are working on an assignment or reviewing for a test.
    • mpercy
       
      This is a great resource for students to have at their convenience. All of the instruction can be viewed at any time.
  • I feel that I am on this blended learning journey with them, and I truly believe it has made us all more engaged in our work and more focused learners.
    • mpercy
       
      Teachers have an opportunity to model being a life long learner by looking for ways to adjust their classrooms to create a more engaging environment for students. It's great to model this for students.
bhauswirth

Implementation in a Secondary Classroom (Articles) - 2 views

  • she uses choice when she assigns homework
    • travisnuss
       
      I've thought about figuring out a way also to give the students a choice in the delivery of the problems they do in class. Where they can choose a set of practice problems from a book, worksheet or a computer program such as IXL or Khan academy to do.
  • picked data about whatever they were interested in—flavors of ice cream, baseball statistics, basketball statistics, whatever they wanted.
    • travisnuss
       
      Choice works well here because there is data involved and data can be found all over the place. With many topics in math, there aren't always choices that can be given that meets a wide range of interests.
    • bhauswirth
       
      I so agree. This example worked, but choice is hard when solving equations (some choice as in how you want to go about solving it, but all come together). But yet again, not much choice that meets a wide range of interests as stated above.
  • Now they have access to the full unit from the beginning
    • travisnuss
       
      This is always a worry of mine. Just in a traditional class, I see a lot of students when given a worksheet and the students start to work and work ahead assuming they know how to do it. But when they get done and realized it's all wrong, it's frustrating to have to re-explain everything. I know, that's traditional mindset again.
    • bhauswirth
       
      If you have assessments throughout those worksheets to make sure students understand before going on to the next level will ensure that students understand each step. I love this idea, as some of our students work faster than others.
  • ...13 more annotations...
  • The classroom is more disorganized, with one student working one way, another a different way—you get the picture. Students are more motivated to do projects than they would have been before. Yes, in the past, I might have said, ‘We’re doing a poster project, and you have to have six pictures on the poster and have this many facts. But I’ve come to the conclusion that the kids are much more motivated when I say, ‘Okay. Here’s a list of choices. Choose one. As long as you follow the steps in my rubric, you’re fine.’”
    • brippentrop-nuss
       
      This idea is always fascinated. I really like the idea of giving choices and having a rubric to follow. Options does increase the motivation, pick a method that inspires them and works for them in the learning process. I wonder how teachers get students to venture out and try new project ideas?
    • Janet Wills
       
      I'm okay with the level of chaos described if students are on task
  • I finally understood how to choose the right delivery method for various types of content
    • brippentrop-nuss
       
      This has to be a hard concept and skill to get right for the students. I often question what is the difference between finding a video that explains it or a screencast of my lesson. What other modes can be utilized? Been stuck at that stage for about 10 years.
  • my students are now the masters of their own learning destinies.
    • brippentrop-nuss
       
      What we all probably strive to get to...but how? So many times I hear students question why don't you just lecture or give us the information. Good article talking about the evolution to a more personalized type of learning.
  • Giving students a short list of topics with an option to create their own topic, with the teacher’s approval, often works well.
    • brippentrop-nuss
       
      Like this idea! Students sometimes are overwhelmed with too much choice. This is a nice compromise a short list of ideas with the option of creating their own.
    • Janet Wills
       
      genius!
  • giving them some choice about whom they get to work with may increase motivation
    • travisnuss
       
      This is something that pre-covid I use to do a lot. My room was normally set up in groups of three and I would never create a seating chart the first day. I always found that most students would sit with others that they could work with naturally. Many times they put themselves in groups with similar abilities or with people that they knew they could work with. Honestly, this made my life easier because many times they figured out they could work through questions without asking me. Only a handful of times (usually with the freshman) would I have to move students and create the groups myself because of disruptions of class. Even the days that some groups were off topic, I never worried too much, because I figured that 95% of the other time they did stay on task was worth the tradeoff.
  • . It hasn’t been easy. It’s taken a lot of research, trial and error, and adjustments on my part. But the results have definitely been worth it.
  • My units in Schoology
  • construct my units with specific learning goals that drive the method of delivery and learning activities.
  • we worry about how to motivate students who appear unmotivated and apathetic.
  • not all choices have a positive effect on motivation and achievement.
  • . Assess as you go.
    • bhauswirth
       
      As I continue with blended courses I realize throwing in Kahoots, Quizlets, Quizizz, Nearpods, Peardecks, Forms, and etc. all to see where students are at throughout a chapter. This gave me a good idea of what students needed during face to face class.
  • he’s going to try to figure out a way to make it work—sometimes with the help of a fellow student
    • bhauswirth
       
      I had this happen during my blended course, as a video wouldn't work or his computer wasn't working and he was trying to complete homework at 11:30 when it was due at 12. These are thing students need to understand and figure out.
  • 1. Learn from others.
    • bhauswirth
       
      This is 100% true about anything in teaching. Collaboration and networking are key in seeing what works for others, what works well for you, and what new tools are out there!
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