Here is my Video for my Week 6 Blog
View my video for the the Blog Forum 3 Response-
Clark Hall is an example of what can happen when a school is
designed from the ground up with technology integration and progressive educational
science thinking in mind. This dynamic learning environment employs a different
learning model than do most schools in that the learning spaces are designed
with the primary goals of facilitating higher order thought and collaboration. Higher
order learning is enabled by the specialized training that the teachers receive
in the form of curriculum design for technology. Teachers are trained in the
use of digital devices at an “IT Bootcamp” and also are trained in how to
integrate this technology into lesson material. Teachers are taught how to
utilize the strengths of digital media such as online research databases to
create learning activities that go beyond the “rote memory” techniques of yesterday.
Without this specialized training, a true marriage of technology and curriculum
cannot occur.
The aspect of this school that I found most interesting was
the use of the public space on the first floor of the building. I feel that
this space could be used to produce a partnership that is truly dynamic. The
first floor of this space was leased to businesses that catered to the
residents of the building. They were charged a fee that helped pay for the
building’s cost. I feel that is a hugely untapped resource. If I were to design
this space, the first floor would also include offices of major companies that
would be seeking to hire students from the school. A robust internship program could
be developed with the companies having a part in the development of the
curriculum of the school. “Nationwide, manufacturers say the lack of skilled
workers is the reason for hundreds of thousands of unfilled jobs” says a recent
2012 study by CBS News. In the news report Three
million open jobs in U.S., but who's qualified? The authors describe a
skills gap because of the lack of qualified candidates for today’s high tech
jobs. This problem could be significantly impacted by the onsite presence of
leading companies in this “school of the future”. When city and state officials
saw the productive partnership that developed by partnering business with
education, they would realize that this could have a significant impact on the
state jobless rate and the expense of unemployment benefits. I believe it would
be a simple matter to arrange funds from both city and state departments of
education. The program would pay for itself!
CBS News. (2012).
Three million open jobs in U.S., but
who's qualified? Retrieved September 29, 2015 from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/three-million-open-jobs-in-us-but-whos-qualified/
Sheninger, E.
(2014). Digital leadership: Changing paradigms for changing times. Thousand
Oaks: Corwin.
View my video for the the Blog Forum 3 Response-
In order to
describe the relationship between constructivism and the Breaking Ranks
Framework, we must first describe the basic terms of each concept.
Constructivists believe that the individual gives meaning to the world through
experience (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright & Zvacek, 2012). It involves
learning through experimenting and designing a new reality through what is
learned. The Breaking Ranks Framework
stresses a system of learning that is more student-centered and therefore more
personalized (Sheninger, 2014). Because of manpower restrictions, less direct
teacher involvement in their education would occur, so naturally the student would
need to adopt a more independent and constructivist approach by building a body
of knowledge based on the experiences they acquire through personal and
collaborative research and trial and error learning. This trial and error
learning will fall under the assimilation aspect of constructivist philosophy
where the student adjusts their cognitive framework in response to new
experiences.
The three core
areas of the Breaking Ranks are Collaborative
Leadership (CL), Personalizing your school Environment (PER), and Curriculum,
Instruction, and Assessment (CIA) (Sheninger, 2014). In the realm of CL, school
leaders need to cooperate with one another to create safe and productive online
and physical learning environments in which student can collaborate with their
peers. In the realm of PER, school staff need to dedicate the time to analyze
the learning needs of each student and design a learning environment that will
be tailored to their needs, while offering room to expand their constructivist
experience base. In the realm of CIA, the curriculum should also be responsive to
this learner needs analysis. It should take into account the strengths and
weaknesses of each learner and design a personalized path for success. The
assessment strategy should also accurately measure learning outcomes and
exercise higher taxonomy learning experiences. By incorporating these three
core areas, teachers can best serve the needs of each student by customizing an
educational system that will allow the independent learning dictated by
constructivism while providing the structure needed by developing
learners.
Sheninger, E.
(2014). Digital leadership: Changing paradigms for changing times. Thousand
Oaks: Corwin.
Simonson, M.,
Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a
distance: Foundations of distance education. Boston, MA: Pearson.
DB2 Video
Option 1
The seven essential skills that Sheninger discusses in the
preface of his book Digital Leadership- Changing
Paradigms for Changing Times are as follows:
1. Creativity- I
believe that creativity is the ability to manufacture something completely new
and different than ever existed previously. According to Bloom’s Taxonomy-
creating is the highest order of skill usage. To be able to create means that
you have completely mastered the concepts of the subject and have used those
concepts to expand the understanding of the topic. This is typically only achieved
through a lot of time spent with the concept. I believe that this type of
understanding should only be presented to students after they have mastered the
concepts of a topic. This would generally not involve young learners.
2. Communications-
I believe that this is the ability to “talk the talk” of the concept. In order
for individuals experienced in a certain area to converse with each other- they
have to use certain “lingo” to convey their ideas appropriately. This level of
understanding I believe falls under the “applying” taxonomy level which would
occur just after the understanding of a concept. This would come at a midpoint
in a course.
3. Collaboration-
This is certainly a 21st century skill and it pertains to a group’s
ability to work together. This is going to be more of an issue as the advent of
online learning and BYOD technology progresses. This concept is also more
effective when all members have a basic level of understanding but may be
administered earlier in the course to foster higher thought.
4. Critical Thinking-
Critical thinking is the ability to utilize the concepts of a topic and
begin to scrutinize its fundamental structure. I believe this pertains to Bloom’s
Analysis level of understanding. This would pertain to students who have
mastered the basics of a topic and are ready to appraise its value.
5. Problem Solving-
I believe that problem solving is utilizing the concepts of a topic to resolve
a conflict. That conflict may be in the form of “what should be” and “what is”.
Our goal is to transform the current condition to the ideal condition. This
would be best delivered just after the knowledge portion of a course in which
students can practice and apply what they have learned.
6. Technological
Proficiency- I believe that this is more of a fundamental level of
understanding. The learner has become familiar with the topic or skill but is
not ready to apply it to a great degree. I consider this a baseline goal prior
to skills training.
7. Global Awareness-
I believe this would pertain to the skill of comparing your own understanding to
that of other individuals. This would fall under the Taxonomy of Evaluation. It
is necessary to have a thorough understanding of your own topic as well as
others and have the ability to compare them. Global awareness is not only “awareness”
but also evaluating the merits of your own understanding when compared to
others. I believe this would be best present later in a curriculum but before
any creative efforts.
Reference
Sheninger, E.
(2014). Digital leadership: Changing paradigms for changing times. Thousand
Oaks: Corwin.
Greetings EDUC 638 class! I look forward to working with each of you this semester. Here is my introduction video.
My name is Crawford Brown and I live in Virginia Beach, Virginia. I write curriculum for the Navy and I have been involved in Naval Education in one form or another for over 20 years. I have both taught and written courses and I must say that I prefer to teach it! I am currently pursuing my Master’s in Teaching and Learning with a focus on Educational Technology and online instruction. I am at the end of my immediate educational goals for now and I hope to graduate in the spring. I think I will even drive to Lynchburg and take part in the graduation ceremony on campus! Currently I am the project manager for an Integrated Learning Environment (ILE) project and we spend our time revising curriculum when new occupational standard requirements come out. It is a never ending job and it is hard to keep up. My favorite Scripture would have to be: Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. This is from James chapter 3 verse 1. This tells me that to teach requires a higher level of dedication and there are some who should not be in the profession. There have been a lot of stories in the news lately about teachers not conducting themselves appropriately. It makes you wonder why they became teachers.
I do enjoy repairing things, cars, electronics, etc. because
that is one thing that the Navy taught me-how to solve problems. I have one son
in the Navy in Hawaii and two sons at Virginia Tech. They are both in
engineering programs and are doing well.
I believe we are at the crest of a wave of online education
and that this form of learning will only get more popular. By taking this
class, I hope to gain the knowledge needed to play a role in the leadership of
this growing trend. We are lucky to be students learning this material at this
time. I believe the future is wide open for online and computer based
education.
Hi Crawford!
ReplyDeleteIt's great to "meet" you!
Many blessings!
April
Crawford,
ReplyDeleteI couldn't imagine the hoops you must have to jump through in your work. With the constant change in demands and needs, I don't think I would have the patience to do what you do. Kudos to you!
And, I can see why you'd rather be the one to teach the material rather than being the one to write it. Not having been in the classroom for going on four years now, I have come to realize that there's nothing like working hands-on with learners, regardless of age. You and I seem to be at the spectrums of education, me teaching the youngest and you leading those who are beyond their high school years, it seems. Despite that, we are clearly on the same path. Best of luck to you in this course and in your work.
I love the seven essential skills that are talked about in Sheninger’s book, Digital Leadership. I believe that creativity can begin at a very young age if encouraged in young children. I look at creativity as the ability to create something through actions or imagination. Young children might not have the ability to be as creative as older children but I still believe that they creative genius can be welcomed and skills can be honed in on and improved. Communication is a very important skill that we must help our students understand. At the beginning of the school year, I taught my children the difference between positive feedback and negative feedback so that when they are communicating with their teams no one is being ugly with their words. Collaboration is so important especially in science, which is the subject I teach, because we do many group projects and it students have a difficult time working together collaboration is difficult. I begin my year with many teambuilding activities and continue throughout the year with those activities to remind them of what working as a team looks like. Critical thinking and problem solving skills are so important when we are working with our students not only to solve problems they are given in class to figure out but also in real life situations where critical thinking skills and problem solving skills are needed. We are responsible for helping our kids to hone in on these skills and improve them throughout their lifetime so they will be successful lifelong learners. Technology is ever changing in our world today. Our students need to know how to use technology for more than sending a Tweet or posting on Facebook. Technology can help bring a classroom to life for the students who need that interaction with their learning. Global awareness is wonderful because it helps students learn about the differences and uniqueness of each other.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteInteresting thoughts, Crawford. I, too, like to see curricula that encapsulates all 7 skills. I also think that any age can be encouraged to participate through all 7 skills within a given curricula. You have some interesting thoughts; thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteCrawford,
ReplyDeleteI don’t know if you have experienced this in your years of teaching, but I have a majority of students who are not self-motivated. I have a minority who will learn if you put them in a box and give them a book. A large portion of the majority will cry and pout and try to find a way out of the box before reading the book. The remainder of the majority will just stare at the book until you feel they need to be let out. So, as much as I would like to break ranks in teaching and have my students be independent and self-driven learners, I still have that majority of those who either have to be forced to learn or those who won’t learn, regardless of the situation or efforts given by others.
With that, I am a newer teacher. I am trying to flip my classroom, or at least have a highly integrated classroom with technology use daily. As such, maybe you have ideas to help those unmotivated become motivated. Any bit of help I can get I will appreciate greatly.
Your post was interesting. Thank you for your post.
Adrienne Haggerty
The constructivist approach to education is based on Piaget’s concept of cognitive development, as well as works by Vygotsky, Bruner, and others. Generally, pedagogical constructivism is viewed as the student’s transition to teaching themselves through self-initiation, self-organization, and self-evaluation (Juvova, Chudy, Neumeister, Plischke, & Kvintova, 2015).
ReplyDeleteThe Breaking Ranks Framework seeks to make learning more student-centered through personalized programs and support systems, while meeting the intellectual needs of each student (NASSP, n.d.). It seems, to me, that the Breaking Ranks Framework is based on, at least in part, the constructivist approach.
The Breaking Ranks Framework can be used as a tool to improve the school environment. “The Breaking Ranks Framework is designed to improve student performance by making learning personal” (NASSP, n.d.). It can be used by any school in the K-12 arena. In order to improve the learning environment, schools must address three core areas. These areas are: collaborative leadership (CL); personalizing the school environment (PER); and curriculum, instruction, and assessment to improve student performance (CIA). Within these areas are nine concepts that serve as the basis of the framework. These nine concepts are: leadership, professional development, culture, organization, curriculum, instruction, assessment, relationships, and equity (NASSP, n.d.).
School improvement can only take place when a school is ready to make the change. They must also create an environment where the change can be sustained. In order to improve the school environment, leadership must: gather and analyze data to determine priorities, explore possible solutions, access readiness and build capacity, create and communicate the improvement plan, implement the plan, and monitor and adjust (NASSP, n.d.). Collaboration among administration, teachers, and students is needed in order for a school improvement plan to be successful.
I like that the concepts behind the Breaking Ranks Framework can be applied to any school. With the right leadership, change can occur.
References:
Juvova, A., Chudy, S., Neumeister, P., Plischke, J, & Kvintova, J. (2015). Reflection of constructivist theories in current educational practice. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 3(5), 345-349. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1062318.pdf
National Association of Secondary School Principals. (n.d.). School improvement. Reston, VA: National Association of Secondary School Principals. Retrieved from http://www.nassp.org/school-improvement
Crawford,
ReplyDeleteI think your idea of an internship program is interesting and intriguing. The idea of renting out the unused common space to a company, or companies, to allow for a give back to the community of the school and surrounding area is also interesting. Being from California, where most of the cities were designed based on the concept of the car and are more spread out in structure (we typically have two-three story schools at maximum on a completely separate piece of land from other buildings and parts of the community in most of southern California), we would have to be a little more creative in the area of finding businesses and companies to partner with for internships. However, it can be done.
Technology skills are greatly important. However, something that is taken for granted is that our students know how to use technology intrinsically. That intrinsic knowledge actually is limited. Specifically, my students know how to use their phones and iOS devices very well. You want them to type out a paragraph that has already been written down by hand in less than 20 minutes? That’s just crazy talk. Two words: chicken pecking. That is what their typing is like. Ask them to write the same stuff out as a text? It’s done in about 5 minutes. My students know some technology, but not all. The idea of an IT boot camp is intriguing and something I actually have been mulling over suggesting to my principal for new students and students who just want a refresher on what is going to be taught to them this year (I’m doing a ton of technology integration this year, so they are increasing their tech skills already).
Thank you for your post.
Adrienne Haggerty
You offer a great example of a dynamic school Crawford. While technology is prevalent in the world we live in today it isn’t always leveraged effectively. I believe that the example you offered demonstrates the need for professional development centered on the tight integration of technology pedagogy and content knowledge into academia.
ReplyDeleteTeachers today have to work collaboratively to look for effective ways to integrate technology into the classroom. Stewart (2014) reviewed “professional development norms as they are shifting toward collaborative practice” and found that the result was improved teaching and learning processes when teachers worked together to tackle tough problems (p. 28). This rings true in the college where I work today. We always get better results when we put more than one head together to brainstorm, problem solve, or think critically about issues that have a bearing on learning outcomes. I believe that leadership is also a key factor.
Shared leadership makes a difference don’t you think? When leadership is distributed throughout a school, teachers are empowered to work collaboratively to tackle problems, look for new possibilities, and integrate technology where it can have the greatest impact. Sheninger (2014) asserts that educators must work together to “successfully implement the best ideas to improve teaching and learning” (p. 38). This wouldn’t be possible if all of the leadership responsibility is retained in the front office. I have experienced an evolution of sorts in this area in the college where I work today. We have had leadership that retained the decision making process at the headquarters. Our growth as a college was hampered in this environment. When we moved to a shared leadership construct, morale increased, we began to grow, and more importantly we empowered our critical faculty resource in ways that made us more effective.
We have to do our best to integrate technology in ways that enhances pedagogy and bolsters our ability to apply content knowledge in effective ways. Doing this in academia will always require a team effort. The Word of God talks about this principle; “Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety” (Proverbs 11:14, King James). We need the collective efforts of the entire team to build effective schools. Building collective responsibility for outcomes will always require, in my view at least, collaboration and shared leadership.
Sheninger, E. (2014). Digital Leadership. Changing Paradigms for Changing Times. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Stewart, C. (2014). Transforming professional development to professional learning. Journal of Adult Education, 43(1), 28-33.