Trends

Trends:

There seems to be a lot of information on either: ‘adding technology to learn and teach anywhere – anytime’ and on a more ‘personalized’ approach. I’ll be looking at the ‘personalized approach’.
 
I gather I got a bit sidetracked in the research area, hence the delay in posting to my blog. There is a lot of information available ‘out there’.

I do really like what Sir Ken Robinson has to say: 

Sir Ken Robinson on ‘Creativity and Changing Educational Paradigms’, in an article published in ‘Brain Pickings’, by Maria Popova, shows this vid:

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2010/10/21/sir-ken-robinson-rsa/

Some notes taken while watching the video:

Points made in vid: economic imperative, cultural identity, meets globalization.  Current ed structure conceived during the age of industrial revolution. Intellectual model (academic ability/program) = smart vs (vocational program) = not smart. This model caused chaos.

Questions ADHD, medication, intense stimulation, being penalized for ADHD, due to having sensory overload, then talks about the arts being the victims of this mentality.
Waking children up to what is inside them not putting them to sleep. Currently educate children in batches e.g. age. What about different ages, time of the day etc…

Need to go opposite direction to standardizing.
Creative thinking = seeing lots of different answers – interpret questions. 
Taking into consideration the students tendencies and talents. 

Leading a learning revolution vid:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XTCSTW24Ss

Closing talk for the Learning Without Frontiers (12) conference.

Some notes taken while watching this vid:

‘This ‘revolution has been brewing for a long time’. Changes that need to be made are already known to us.
Progressive or liberal education – Pastelozzi – Montesory (Steiner not mentioned) arguing against the mainstream education. Can be traced back to 18^th century.
(K.R. wrote doctoral thesis ! about Drama)
Focusing education on the whole child – feelings, thinking, doing etc.
How do things happen in practice and how does that connect to theory?
Practitioners don’t have time for theory. Theorists have no time for practice…
Technology? – is driving everything? refers to N. Chomsky.


Notes on:


Social Morality:

http://socialmorality.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morality

How does Technology play against the culture? Cultural application? Population Growth? Unsustainable number if continue as is. Need radical shift and education is on the front of making this shift happening.

It’s a social change. people, feelings, culture, etc never linear, is unpredictable.

Incentive so far has been: Economically productive – better education – better job… Education has economic purposes. Arts at the bottom – Maths and science on top – Division by academic (smart) and vocational (practical) program …… is part of economic dimension.

Economic argument is strongly in favor of educational change. Cultural = pass on cultural genes, transmit values and believes. Forgetting the past causes suffering and cultural amnesia = forgetting past e.g. constantly reliving it (e.g. not learned from it).
 Personal agenda: Education is personal (politicians forget that). If you want students to learn you have to engage them.

Keeps pointing out standardized testing as limiting.

Everyone’s agendas are involved: School, parent, teacher, government, etc.

Revolutions always come from the bottom, never from the top.

Education will only work if it is personalized! Mentioning gaming as possible personalized option.
Customize education to the communities where it actually holds place. e.g. the school. If enough people are doing this that’s enough to introduce changes eg social revolution.

Move from subjects to disciplines. Knowledge is dynamic not static! Go with Evolution of understanding. Heart of education is teaching. Teaching as groups rather than in groups? Collaboration. Standardization makes it worse – drama works for collaboration (group ed). Education is moving from passive to active. Standardization encourages passivity. Assessments are reductive in the extreme. None-judgment assessment.

Be part of the solution not the problem. 

What do I think?

I do realize that personalized learning options could cause issues with ‘how are we to assess a (the) norm’ if there are too many variations or similar study areas within one particular subject (or discipline).

For example with drawing:
If I give three students total freedom of what they can explore with – lets say - two particular materials, e.g. charcoal and paper – the results of each one would most likely be quite different.
- One student might crumble up the paper and cover it with charcoal dust. That is not necessarily the traditional way of the concept of ‘drawing’ but certainly it is a creative idea involving the two given materials of charcoal and paper.
- Another student might do a more ‘traditional’ drawing of a face or an object, enjoying the activity.
- A third person might not find the materials very inspiring and do ‘something’ because it is required, but there is no enthusiasm.

I believe there is something to learn in everything we do, the question would be: does every student have to do the same because that’s what is expected to pass a course or could there be a different solution?

Looking at it lightly, the first student would probably be more inclined to study 3D (projects); student #2 seems to be in the appropriate class and student #3 still needs to discover what they actually enjoy and feel enthusiastic about because that student didn’t connect to charcoal and paper at all.

I guess for me it is about what a student wants to study (engage in) rather than what they have to study to pass a subject or an entire course.

I thought here is an interesting scenario:
How would I assess a student who has an option (freedom of choice) of insisting that his practical work in his/her final (graduating) art exhibition (presentation) is showing the theory at the same time without handing in any written evidence?

Where I got that particular thought from is:
My tutor in my last year of Art studies with The Learning Connexion, Peter Adsett, was concluding his PhD studies with an exhibition of his Art work, but tried to convince his assessors, that he didn’t need to write a 30’000 word (theoretical) thesis because – his practical work showed the theory.

I have to write him an email and inquire if that idea actually was accepted, as I finished my studies before I heard about the success (or lack of) his idea.
Peter definitely challenged ‘the way it is usually expected to be done’.

Even so his approach has value and is certainly creative, the assessors would know, that if this student succeeded with that idea, other (Art) PhD students would want to do the same - and then what?
This could mean that the ‘established rules’ have to be reassessed and how would that be done? What would be the accepted criteria of ‘how much practical work equals 30’000 words of a thesis (theory) plus the usually expected practical work to achieve a (traditional) PhD?

While explaining ones work to the assessors, I would assume that theoretical knowledge would be clearly demonstrated.

I wonder – when is too much personalization - too much?

In my teaching context:

Facilitating the Art & Creativity class at Rehab is now based very much in a personalized approach.
Teaching actual lessons didn’t work really well as that didn’t take into consideration the (very) different levels of abilities, cultural background or emotional and psychological health of individual students. This caused some discord for some of them.
I reverted back to students choosing their own project. This leaves the student free to experiment without pressure but at the same time it requires self-responsibility (ref. 1), independent initiative (ref. 2), creative and critical thinking (ref. 3). 
Depending on what the student chooses to do, I will offer suggestions, like on required technical skills, materials needed, possible time limits to be taken into consideration and so on, basically establishing through conversation to see if the student has a realistic idea about the chosen project.

Some references I looked up:

1)   A blog post on self-responsibility in learners: ‘Learning Your Way – Michael Maser’s Bog, December 1, 2008:
Sourced from:
http://michaelmaser.blogspot.co.nz/2008/12/nurturing-self-responsible-learning-say.html

2)   On independent initiative (learning): The Highland Council Education, 2010:
Sourced from: 

 http://www.highlandschools-virtualib.org.uk/ltt/whole_learner/independent.htm

3)   Creative and critical thinking, ‘Problem Solving’ Home Page:
Sourced from: 
http://www.engin.umich.edu/~cre/probsolv/strategy/crit-n-creat.htm

Teaching Art & Creativity is truly a good discipline to teach in a personalized style, as creative expression is a very personal process anyway.

Does it make my task of facilitating more complicated? I don’t think so - not really. It does require more flexibility on my part because I have to ‘think on the spot’, never knowing who will come up with what kind of project; without having a ‘plan’ or fixed guidelines e.g. curriculum, assessment criteria, policies and so on. Everyone's projects are very much process based. I do actually enjoy that.

I've looked up some more www on project based learning/teaching and also personalized learning/teaching. I am aware that the trend in both can very much involve a lot of ideas integrating technology, e.g. planning personalized learning using various apps and the same goes with project based learning, where apps are required to be able to do the project (vid cams for visual presentations, research options and so on). 

This can not be the case in my context, as there are no technological options available. 
When I thought about what would be helpful in my situation, I realized that: being able to show youtube vids would be great and being able to access Google for 'on the spot' research to find answers to questions would be helpful as well. As it is, I am restricted to research at home and then bring the answers back to class the next time. 
Overall, art class does work as it is at the moment. I can also see how it requires different, creative solution orientated thinking by not having technology available when it could come in handy in certain situations. 

Some links of my research:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmoXze-Higc&feature=fvwp&NR=1

Propaganda Terms in the Media and What They Mean - Noam Chomsky

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XTCSTW24Ss

Sir Ken Robinson - Leading a Learning Revolution

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQrPviAAd4c&feature=endscreen

How to Find Your Passion

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAGHCwlfh-o&feature=endscreen

Sir Ken Robinson - Creative Leadership

Sir Ken Robinson - Why degree aren't worth anything.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqG7XT41WgM

very good !

(came about to meet the needs of industrialism –

steered away from what one liked to do)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iL4rtDnfts

Sir Ken Robinson, Keri Facer Mick Waters - Learning Without Frontiers

Links to: Personalized teaching; Learner centered teaching/learning; Project based teaching/learning; Flip classrooms:

Personalised learning section from Wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personalized_learning

Dr. David Hargreaves, another early key architect of the idea, referred to ‘personalizing’ learning rather than ‘personalized’ learning, in order to emphasize that it should be more of a process than a product. The former chairman of the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency BECTA, Hargreaves has been instrumental in trying to claim and define this space by establishing nine gateways to personalized learning. These nine gateways were student voice; assessment for learning; learning to learn; new technologies; curriculum; advice and guidance; mentoring and coaching; workforce development; and school design and organization.[2] Charles Leadbeater is also a key architect of the notion with his work, and gave advice to Tony Blair, on the personalization of public services in the U.K.[3]

Learner Centred Learning: (from GCTLT course material):

Learner centred learning is based on 3 key factors:

Constructivism (based on the belief that learners develop new knowledge through building on previous knowledge and experience),

deep learing (where learners actively engage with meaning),

and learner self responsibility.

Deep Learning

Learning that seeks to understand and connect the concepts

Relates ideas to previous knowledge and experience

Explores links between evidence and conclusions

Critiques arguments and examines rationale

Interesting www's: 

21th Century skills Wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/21st_Century_Skills

All below from bie.org (Buck Institute for Education) / Project based learning explained vid:

http://www.bie.org/videos/video/project_based_learning_explained

What is PBL (Project Based Learning) and image:

http://www.bie.org/about/what_is_pbl/

PBL Rubrics blog:

http://biepbl.blogspot.co.nz/2013/04/how-to-use-rubrics-to-assess-student.html

Same blog on: Does PBL teach critical thinking?

http://biepbl.blogspot.co.nz/2013/04/does-project-based-learning-teach-critical-thinking.html

Vids on PBL:

http://www.bie.org/services/webinars

More articles on stuff about PBL:

http://www.bie.org/research/snapshots/

These guys are part of Green business:

http://www.greenbiz.ca.gov/

Cool click on chart called: 21^st Century skills:

http://www.bie.org/research/21st_century_skills

VERY COOL ! Click onto numbers and it’ll show a whole blurb on explanatory stuff…..

Vid of students talking about PBL:

http://www.bie.org/diy

Another’s opinion on personalised teaching:

http://cmslearning1.wordpress.com/2012/06/25/inevitable-personalized-learning/

+ a vid:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXlh8w0azXs&feature=youtu.be

Flip teaching / or flipped classroom is a form of blended learning using technology, students can watch outside of classroom, vids created by teacher; a little bizarre as it is meant to increase human contact……

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flip_teaching

Good explanation of flipped classroom:

http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/eli7081.pdf

There is no single model for the flipped classroom—the term is widely used to describe almost any class structure that provides prerecorded lectures followed by in-class exercises.

www with loads of links to all sorts connected to personalised learning: What 100 Experts think about the future of teaching:

http://www.teachthought.com/trends/what-100-experts-think-about-the-future-of-learning/

What is personalised teaching?

http://www.personalizelearning.com/2012/10/the-5-ws-of-personalized-learning.html

Concluding: 

What are the most obvious pedagogical trends in my context: 

Project based learning/teaching / Experiential learning
Personalized learning/teaching
Learner centered learning/teaching
Flexible learning/teaching



Below is a lovely picture and a Sir Ken Robinson quote, which I consider quite suitable to apply to adult education as well as to children's: 

Picture sourced from:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151318415812274&set=pb.199763797273.-2207520000.1366508269.&type=3&theater

Response to Bronwyn's question: 

Hi Bronwyn

Thank you for your feedback.

The blog post by Mark Smith is very interesting and no, I haven't read any of Illich's books, but - there are certainly people 'out there' who, most likely through the education they've experienced, realized that it didn't work for them (as was the case for me) and started thinking about what would make it 'better'. I can't change anything about my own schooling I received in Switzerland, as that was chosen for me by my parents. I remember going to school on Saturday mornings as well at that time. I have been told that this is now not the case anymore. My education at the time was 'the norm' and not questioned by my parents.

Based on my own experience and what I found lacking with it, I chose a Waldorf School for my own children's education (and here they are stuck with their parent's choice, but luckily it agreed with them).

Here is an interesting article about a Waldorf School, well worth reading:

http://www.ithaca.com/family_and_health/ithaca-waldorf-school-an-education-based-in-music-movement-and/article_9b32bfb4-aea8-11e2-bfa0-001a4bcf887a.html

Personally, I found it interesting to hear what some people thought of Waldof Schools:

A short time ago I was asked by a lady who worked in the office at a private school about where my children went to school. After hearing my response, she fully said: 'Oh - do they actually learn anything there?' 

Other people think the teachers and students at a Waldorf School talk to Fairies or that the only children going to 'those' schools are the ones with - well - 'difficulties' (sigh!).

To me, this is a good example about what can happen when something is not 'the norm'. Within the norm - everyone is 'doing the same', hence it must be right. There is no challenge to their choice. Anything outside the norm can threaten the norm (conformity).

It's lovely to see that both my daughters are A/A+ students within their current Degree studies, hence proving a lot of people wrong in their understanding of 'only the norm must be right'. My girls did learn to enjoy learning, be curious, have critical and creative thinking, question things etc.

What would I like to do with the students if I would have free access to technology?

In the context of Rehab, it definitely would be helpful to have access to Google and Youtube.

With Google, it would mean a student could access information themselves rather than me going home, research on their behalf, compile a Word doc, sent it through to the office, get it printed, then use it.

With Youtube, we could access available tutorials about all sorts, if there is a project chosen about which I do not know much.

I do think though that I would limit the use of technology to these two options in this particular teaching context.

As to any other teaching situation and what technology would I use:

How about the students choose what technology they want to use, according to their chosen projects, what is possible for them (etc) rather than me telling them what they ‘have to’ use?

I came across this video (link below) this morning and I couldn’t like it any more. In a way it is very similar to how I ‘mentor’ at Rehab.

During this fantastic vid, which shows so well what can happen when a student can choose a project/topic he feels enthusiastic about and wants to learn the subject, rather than ‘has to learn what someone else thinks/tells them they should’, words like: self-directed, self-motivated, ownership over learning, social constructivism (learn from each other) etc are definitely a big part of this ‘independent project’ way of learning, designed by a teenager.

Yes – it does change the traditional role of the teacher but - so what?! 

I can see how 'independent projects' like the ones shown in the vid could be perceived by teachers as a huge threat to 'the norm'. I am sure it would be experienced by many teachers as a 'lack or even loss of control' and aren't they the ones who 'know better anyway'? Even so in some ways that is definitely correct, I do in fact find that attitude a bit disrespectful towards the needs of the individual learner/student.  

There is this science teacher featured in the vid, who says that some of the questions these students have surprise her and make her think as well. My interpretation of this is, that she hasn't got the answers right there and then, hence - naturally she could be out of her 'comfort zone'. With the 'traditional role of a teacher', this is not so much the case. 

I encounter questions I don't know the answer for all the time in my 'teaching' context and I find that really exiting. Because of the diversity of the projects being chosen, it's natural I can't actually know all the answers. I will research and try to find answers, and through that process, I learn as I go as well. It also feels great to be able to say 'I don't actually know the answer to that'. I experience this as more of a 'power balance' between 'teacher/student' then the clear cut: 'I know - you don't - and this is how, when etc you have to learn what I tell you - no more - no less'. 

I am really glad to see that there are ‘trends out there’ moving towards the direction of 'independent project learning' and what a wonderful principal they have too.

If the passion to be a teacher is all about 'encouraging the joy of lifelong learning' - does it matter how this learning comes about? I believe that there isn't only one way to do this. In the case of independent project based learning, it requires a multitude of approaches / flexibility from the 'mentor' and that would incorporate a vast amount of different 'learning/teaching styles', as no two students are the same. 

If students designed their own schools:

http://vimeo.com/60919251?utm_source=5%2F16&utm_campaign=5%2F16%2F13&utm_medium=email

from Charles Tsai PLUS 2 months ago

And an other thought: Maybe being a 'teacher' isn't necessarily something that can be learned at a teachers college? An other question could be: What are (future) teachers being taught and to what purpose? Or - how do the preferences of teaching style or personal believes of the individual teacher influence their way of teaching? (etc).


Here is an article from the viewpoint of teachers about standardization: 

Article on standardization, teachers viewpoint: 

The Atlantic, JOHN TIERNEY, APR 25 2013, 11:01 AM ET

 http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/04/the-coming-revolution-in-public-education/275163/