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Excellent Example of the Reflective Captioned Artifact assignment from ITED 8100TRANSCRIPT
Emily Whiteside RCA: Theory Caption ITED 8100 February 24, 2007 When I enrolled in the Specialist program in Instructional Technology I thought
that I had a basic understanding of what my online experience would be. After all, I had
participated in several online mini-courses, had been a member of an online discussion
group, and had observed my son’s participation in a distance learning course from a
technical college. I could not have judged more wrongly. Not only had I not anticipated
taking charge of my own learning, but my last thought was that I would be helping to
teach my classmates also. Now, after the initial jolts of fear and anxiety have settled, I, as
the student, have truly come to enjoy this constructivist approach. I have shared the tacit
knowledge of 21 years of teaching experience, applied this new and foreign body of
instructional technology information to my practice, analyzed what I have read and
shared with others, and synthesized it all to create a fundamental understanding of a new
field for myself in less than two months. I have also changed how I teach.
I began my participation in the discussion groups with some tentativeness,
because I believed that no one would relate to postings that were strictly about what I
know: speech pathology. Although I continue to feel most comfortable writing about
what I do best, classmates have responded with ideas, suggestions, and conclusions that
have resonated with me. I do hope to be able to move away from relating ideas only in
terms of speech and language, but I also do feel that I have made good observations at
times and have contributed regularly and enthusiastically, including some brutally honest
assessments of my professional life.
The first of my discussion compilations came from the Objectivist and
Constructivist thread. I looked at how the two Speech Pathologists in the group, Susan
and I, reflected on our own schema of learning theory and instructional design as we read
postings of constructivists, like Katrina and Jessie. I wanted to determine how that
reflection influenced an openness to change in our teaching strategy, as documented in
the discussion groups.
I began the assignment by gathering the relevant postings and then looking for
patterns. Susan and I both determined objectivist theory, which is second nature to us, to
be comfortable, reflexive, and, well, a bit tired. Over the course of the week we both
began to see how others used constructivist approaches, along with behaviorism, in ways
that we could apply to our own work to facilitate carryover to automatic speech. Having
been a staunch objectivist, insistent on measurable goals and objectives, sequential step-
by-step direct instruction with reinforcement and evaluation of behavior, and total teacher
dominance of student response (Hannafin & Hill, 2007), I now also value the real-life
application, complete with rich, relevant contexts, and student-directed opportunities that
are possible with constructivist strategy.
My second compilation came from the Implementation of Innovative Programs
discussion. Using Ely’s eight conditions (as cited in Surry & Ely, 2007, p.108) that
facilitate implementation, I chose to look for patterns of facilitative conditions present
during adoption and use of new technology programs in schools. I looked at two
successful programs, cited by Katrina and Tracie, and found that all eight conditions were
present to a high degree in each of these projects. There were three other programs that I
considered. Two were outright failures and the other was partially successful. Jennifer
and I cited the failures and Gini the partial success.
Each of the three of the unsuccessful or partially successful projects lacked
leadership, commitment, and participation of all stakeholders. If the organizational
leadership is not committed to the innovation's successful implementation and does not
value participation of all stakeholders, that the other factors will most likely not be
present to the necessary degree. If the remaining five factors are present without
leadership, commitment, and participation, success may be present but limited, and
institutionalization may not occur. Facilitating conditions should be present beginning
with the design phase. Development, utilization, management, and evaluation will all be
negatively affected by their omission in the earliest stage of the project.
For the third compilation I used postings from the Informal Learning discussion
group and looked for evidence of informal learning (Rossett & Hoffman, 2007) within
our formal online learning community and in our work settings. I wanted to know how
informal learning might have engaged participants in unexpected ways through shared
authentic experiences. Evidence of informal learning within our formal online learning
community was occasionally found in the role reversal of the students and instructor,
particularly with student-directed prompts for chapters 14 – 17. Informal learning was
also evident in the nature of the experience, which was always engaging, but also
unexpected and quite social at times. The most intriguing aspect was the unexpected
nature of learning from the tacit knowledge base of the diverse group of my peers.
Evidence of informal learning in our work settings was more visible, with nature
of the outcomes being evident in how learning was measured. I found engaging
classroom discussions and vivid photographs that were relevant to learners. At times our
students originated their own learning while the teacher became a facilitator.
Interestingly, in the informal learning situations Instructional Design was sometimes
more natural than systematic.
References
Hannafin, M.J., & Hill, J.R. (2007). Epistemology and the design of learning
environments. In R.A. Reiser & J.V. Dempsey (Eds.), Trends and issues in
instructional design and technology (pp. 53 – 61). Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Pearson Prentice Hall.
Rossett, A., & Hoffman, B. (2007). Informal learning. In R.A. Reiser & J.V. Dempsey
(Eds.), Trends and issues in instructional design and technology (pp. 104 - 111).
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Surry, D.W., & Ely, D. P. (2007). Adoption, diffusion, implementation, and
institutionalization of instructional innovations. In R.A. Reiser & J.V. Dempsey
(Eds.), Trends and issues in instructional design and technology (pp. 104 - 111).
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
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Topic: Module 4: Chapters 4-6 Discussion Group Date: January 30, 2007 11:32 PM
Subject: Whiteside: 95% Objectivist in Artic. Tx Author: Whiteside, Emily
Speech/language pathologists routinely address all five of Gagne’s major categories of learning: verbalinformation, intellectual skills, cognitive strategies, attitudes, and motor skills (as cited in Driscoll,2007) on a daily basis. However, articulation therapy is the area most squarely situated in the motorskill category, and as such is well-served by very direct demonstration and individual practice of theskill (as cited in Driscoll, 2007) As someone who began learning to treat articulatory pathology thirtyyears ago, it is affirming to me to see that the objectivist theory and practice that I learned thencontinues to be an appropriate framework for instructional design, development, and implementation.
Recently I worked with a first grade hearing impaired student to help her correct the substitution of /s/ for /sh/ in spontaneous words. I had selected /sh/ as one of her annual goals because it is one of the loudest phonemes, making it easy for her to hear; it is the initial phoneme of her name, making it relevant to her; and it is developmentally appropriate for her age, increasing the likelihood of her success. I selected spontaneous words for the context because she is able to produce /sh/ accurately 90% of the time in repeated, alternated consonant-vowel syllables and imitative words, but only 65% of the time in spontaneous words, which is the next step in my list of instructional objectives.
For our session, instead of traditional therapy picture cards, I chose to display the stimulus pictureswith PowerPoint and used pictures of my student, her family, and her school friends, who were engagedin various activities. I selected pictures with /sh/ targets (Sheliah, Shania, shoes, shirt, shiny, wish,leash, wash). In previous lessons she had demonstrated success in sound discrimination of /s/ and /sh/and in positioning her tongue properly with appropriate tension, movement, voicing, and breath stream.To introduce this lesson we simply reviewed the graphic organizer in her notebook to remind her of theskill she had learned the week before: saying the sound in isolation and in CV syllables. During thiswarm-up exercise I praised her for several, but not all, correct responses, as this was an old skill. Wethen began work with the slide show. As each slide was presented, I asked her to point to the “sh” inthe printed word on screen and I used the highlight tool to mark it, praising her for finding her sound. Ithen asked her to say the word with a correct /sh/. I praised correct responses, giving specific reasonsfor her success, and gave specific corrective feedback for incorrect responses. To collect data during thelesson, I used two counters to record every correct/incorrect response. That data will direct me duringour next session.
I do use some constructivist practices, especially for language therapy, and welcome stretchingsomewhat to incorporate more of these into what I do as an SLP. However, for articulation therapy, I’mabout 95% behavioral in my approach.
Driscol, Marcy P.(2007). Psychological Foundations of Instructional Design. In R.A. Reiser & J.V.Dempsey (Eds.), Trends and issues in instructional design and technology (pp. 17–34). Upper SaddleRiver, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
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Topic: Module 4: Chapters 4-6 Discussion Group Date: February 1, 2007 9:00 AM
Subject: Re:Whiteside: 95% Objectivist in Artic. Tx
Author: Hayden, Jessie
I found your post fascinating. Having taught oral communication skills and phonology to ESOL studentsin years past, I can identify with the approach to phonemic awareness that you've outlined in your post. However, I see some constructivist elements at work in your approach. For instance, you chose a tohelp your student produce the sound of a phoneme that is the initial sound in her name. By doing this, you helped make your student connect an abstract symbol with a sound that correlates to her identity
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and individuality . This created a rich and meaningful context for your student to begin working with the /sh/ phoneme. You also opted to reinforce the student's phonemic awareness with the use of pictures ofthe student, her family, and her school friends. Again, to me, this instructional strategy aligns more with a Constructivist approach to teaching and learning because of the personal meanings these images undoubtably represented to your student. I guess that's where your other 5% comes in.
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Topic: Module 4: Chapters 4-6 Discussion Group Date: February 2, 2007 7:27 PM
Subject: Constructivism, Application of a First Principle, or Motivational Design? Author: Whiteside, Emily
SLPs and ESOL teachers do have similarities in that we both teach phonology, syntax, semantics, andmorphology of the English language. SLPs who teach deaf students share a further similarity: teachingEnglish as a new language. Usually students who misarticulate sounds have had several years topractice the error sound or language structure, and by the time I see them, the errors are ingrainedhabits, complete with rules. I suspect that this may be another similarity, in that while your studentshaven’t practiced error sounds, they have surely practiced sounds that do not occur in English (trilled/r/, for example). This is the reason that most SLPs continue to use behavioral strategies to shapecorrect behavior; if the student were going to discover how to say a sound correctly on his own, hewould have done so in the most ideal environment for learning language: home. Our students must betaught intentionally, systematically, and repeatedly to repair the erroneous rule structure that theyhave constructed for themselves.
That being said, yes, I very much subscribe to many constructivist views, most especially to creating arich context for constructing meaning. I guess that in selecting a practical and motivating context(family, friends, self), I intuitively used the first principal that Merrill (Merrill, 2007) refers to as“activation,” and the ARCS component calls “attention” (Keller, 2007).
Keller, J.M. (2007). Motivation and performance. In Robert A. Reiser & John V. Dempsey (Eds.), Trends and issues in instructional design and technology (pp. 82-92). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Merrill, M. David (2007). First Principles of instruction: a synthesis. In Robert A. Reiser & John V. Dempsey (Eds.), Trends and issues in instructional design and technology (pp. 62-71). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
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Topic: Module 4: Chapters 4-6 Discussion Group Date: January 31, 2007 8:13 PM
Subject: Bland, I Confess, mostly an Objectivist Author: Bland, Virginia
I teach Earth science and English/Language Arts to 8th graders so I have many opportunities to useboth constructivism and objectivism in my instruction. If an observer were to compare the followinglesson with the data in Table 6.2, he or she would have to assume I am primarily an objectivist. I doemphasize the word primarily, because as I read the textbook descriptions of both designs, I thought ofmany times in my teaching when I use a combination of both designs – and I suspect the same is truefor most classroom teachers.My current unit objective is to develop an understanding of Earth’s landforms and their representationin two- and three-dimensional forms. The specific task was to have students locate designated sites ona globe. This would then lead into a discussion of skills and knowledge necessary for understanding andsuccessfully navigating the Earth’s surface. The materials needed to complete the task included a globe for each two students and a list of specific locations that included cities, states, countries, rivers, oceans, seas and mountain ranges from around the world.The desks were arranged in pairs and I designated the pairs of students who would work together. Most
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Topic: Module 4: Chapters 4-6 Discussion Group Date: February 1, 2007 5:12 PM
Subject: S. Williams: 95%Objectivist & 5% Constructivist
Author: Williams, Susan
Before writing this message, I considered my instructional design to be objectivist. As I have studiedthe text and other information, I see that while the basis of my instruction is objectivist, little bits of constructivist design are also present.
My teaching design is very structured. My students all have specific goals they are striving to attain. Anexample would be, “John will correctly produce the [r] phoneme in conversation with 90% accuracy.”The student attempts to attain this skill through a step by step process that I structure. It is, basically,the same structure that I use with all of my students who exhibit articulation disorders. The studentmust be near mastery of each step before moving on to the next step. The steps include learning toproduce the phoneme in syllables, words, phrases, sentences, readings, and conversation. These steps,except the last two, are first taught imitatively and then practiced in guided independent productions.This independent production is where I think constructivist design sneaks in.
All of the steps follow a prescribed sequence of behaviors, step 1 is followed by step 2, step 2 isfollowed by step 3, etc, and these behaviors must be acquired and exhibited at a prescribed level beforemoving on to the next level. This process is very objectivist. After a student can correctly produce aphoneme in a word, i.e. rabbit, imitatively (I say it, he says it) with at least 90% accuracy, the studentthen gets a chance to produce the word on his own. This might be called independent practice andoccurs when the student looks at a picture of a rabbit and says “rabbit”. This is a learning by doingenvironment where the student is applying the skill he has learned by correctly articulating it in a realword. When this task can be performed with at least 90% accuracy, the next step, making sentences, isattempted. Again, this is taught imitatively (objectivist) and practiced independently (constructivist).
The next two steps are almost completely constructivist in nature. The student practices his acquiredskill in the authentic activities of reading passages and speaking with others. If a student is strugglingto transfer his newly learned skill to these authentic environments, I will often drop back and offer cues by highlighting the target phonemes in the reading materials.
In looking at this activity, the analysis portion of my instructional design is objectivist in nature,expected outcome is determined and goals established. My design is also objectivist, the goals arebroken down into attainable objectives and tasks which must be measured and mastered before movingon. Materials that are used are developed by me or by others for the express purpose of providingphoneme specific words or giving visual cues of targeted phonemes. These materials eventually allowstudents to practice the targeted phoneme authentically in readings and conversation. I am theteacher, conveying methods for the correct placement of articulators that result in correct production oftargeted phonemes. Hopefully, my students learn correct placement and transfer that placement tocorrect production of phonemes in all environments. Correct production can be measured by listening toa student’s speech at each level and counting correct and incorrect productions.
All in all, I would say this instructional design is 95% objectivist and 5% constructivist.
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Topic: Module 4: Chapters 4-6 Discussion Group Date: February 1, 2007 5:48 PM
Subject: Vaughn - Definately constructivist Author: Vaughn, Katrina
I am currently teaching Language Arts and Math in fifth grade. After reading these chapters, I began toanalyze my teaching over the past ten years. I realize that there have been times when I wasextremely contructivist and other times when I have been a very objective instructor. It seems that mydesign implementation is affected by several factors: time, the learners, system curriculum restraints,and motivation. When my time to plan is limited, it is often easier to create and compile teacherdirected lessons (most textbook series provide this type of instruction). At times when my learners arestruggling with a subject area, direct instruction is often easier for them to grasp (because it gets to the point). I have also been employed with systems which mandate systematic implementation (such asSRA reading or math). Furthermore, constructivist designs take more time to develop, so I must beextremely motivated in order to implement this style of instruction.
As I analyze my standards for instruction, I definitely prefer to allow my students to construct their own learning. In my experiences, this has increased their understanding, participation, and application ofskills. Currently, my students are actively involved in a measurement unit. They must be able to choosethe correct unit of measure for a particular task, understand and apply this knowledge, and be able to convert units. These units include length, weight, volume, and time. I have introduced each unitseparately (spending one week of study on each). If possible I have used nonfiction literature tointroduce the need for each unit of measurement. For this example, I will focus on time. We read abook titled New Providence which is a timeline of events in a particular city. We then brainstormedexperiences from our lives when we have incorporated elapsed time (cooking, traveling, etc.). Thestudents worked in small groups and actively constructed real life applications. Once they realized apurpose for understanding elapsed time, we identified the key concepts and skills needed to find it.
Upon discovering our needs for learning, we began to explore this concept using virtual clocks on ourPromethen Board at National Library of Virtual Manipulatives(http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vlibrary.html). This site allowed my students to explore the advantagesand disadvantages of analog and digital clocks. We also compared their display methods andexperimented with finding elapsed time using two clocks. My students were separated into pairs andgiven calculators to solve problems with a start and end time (which was displayed on analog anddigital clocks). As pairs of students discovered the solutions, they were asked to explain or illustratetheir methods for the class using “math talk”. We discovered four different algorithms for solvingelapsed time.
As their understanding increased, they were asked to work independently to solve elapsed time problems. During this time, I focused on the students who were still having difficulties. We spent timeworking together and in small groups to determine in which area they were having difficulties. We thenworked to solve these issues and practiced more until they felt comfortable.
To evaluate their learning, they will complete a performance task which demonstrates their understanding of elapsed time and conversions. Each student had to find out what time they were born(and their birth date). They will work independently, with calculators (if needed), to express their age inyears, months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, and seconds. This portion of evaluation allows for differentlearners. I am only requiring them to determine years, months, weeks, days, and hours. However,many of my skilled math students will determine all seven.
While this type of constructivist unit is my preference, I am not always able to teach this way. I realizethat some students don't learn well this way and need more direct instruction to be successful.However, I believe in constructivist learning because the learners are actively involved in the units. Iam more comfortable facilitating learning and encouraging my students to be independent thinkers.From my experiences, they are then better able to apply and retain their “new” skills.
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Topic: Module 5: Chapter 11 Discussion Group Date: February 5, 2007 10:44 PM
Subject: Re:Gini Bland Author: Bland, Virginia
Individualized, Independent Computer-based Instruction: Successful in Certain (Sometime Surprising)Situations. Last year there was an unusually large group of “behaviorally challenged” 8th graders,enough so that they were disrupting instruction in several classes. Although our school system has analternative education site available, we didn’t want to have them placed in that program. Most of thesestudents had the capacity to handle 8th grade academics, the real problem was their inability tofunction in a traditional classroom setting. After trying a variety of teaching/learning alternatives, theteam of teachers who had the majority of these students met and, through lengthy discussion,determined that the answer was to find some type of learning situation that minimized interactionbetween individuals. Most of us on the team were fairly computer-savvy, (and our principal was theformer system technology director) so we asked for permission to research computer-based solutionsfor our problem. With his blessing, we talked to several schools, surfed the internet, and attended thetechnology conference in Atlanta looking for options.We concluded that laptops with individualized web-based learning modules were the best option at that time and for those students. Under the direction of our principal, a system administrator helped secure funds, the laptops were selected and purchased, and the site licenses were secured. We underwent company-provided training and put the program in place. We served 16 students in that group, and in the process discovered a few additional benefits, as well as shortcomings, of the program. The individualized instruction worked well for the students who still had some respect for their teacheror the benefits of education. Approximately 50% of the students in the class went on to finish units andlessons at a faster rate than that of many students in the traditional classroom. Several of thoseexperienced a success they had never had before and thrived in the program. Other students weresimply filling in the hours until they could legally quit school and we were unable to motivate them toengage in the learning. We also had to purchase and install software that allowed the teacher tomonitor every computer at all times. In spite of careful supervision, a couple of students still managedto go to inappropriate internet sites. An added benefit for the entire school was the availability ofanother resource. Because of using site licenses, anyone in the school could access and use theprogram as long as we didn’t exceed a specific number of users at any given time. The math, scienceand language arts modules are still being used throughout the school to supplement regular instructionon a whole-class basis because of the exceptional quality of the software in those subject areas. Thisyear, two 8th grade classes are using the laptops in math and language arts for individualizedinstruction and skills development and practice.
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Topic: Module 5: Chapter 11 Discussion Group Date: February 15, 2007 1:21 PM
Subject: Good Description Author: Zahner, Jane
Interesting experiment; seems that some of the facilitative conditions were in place and some not.Interesting to speculate from this end which were and weren't.
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Topic: Module 5: Chapter 11 Discussion Group Date: February 7, 2007 10:16 PM
Subject: Jennifer Mire Author: Mire, Jennifer
Scantron’s Performance Series Testing—An unsuccessful program
A few years back, my school purchased the use of Scantron’s Performance Series Test through
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www.edperformance.com. Basically, the four core academics could be tested via the computer in amultiple choice format. Initially, each subject area tested at the beginning of the year, the middle andthe end. In theory, the tests were to provide a baseline and then show growth throughout the schoolyear. One piece of data that is provided is a grade level equivalency. Dissatisfaction with the status quo (Surry & Ely, 2007) is not a belief that my school is under.Statistically, my middle school has always been at the top in the state rankings. The majority ofstudents are above grade level and at the least, in one gifted class. I don’t need a performance test totell me what I already know. Training sessions for skills and knowledge (Surry & Ely, 2007) needed forthe program were handled through electronic mail. The email contained directions for how and when tosign up for the computer lab as well as the login and password. With only two computer labs availablefor more than fourteen-hundred students, resources (Surry & Ely, 2007) were limited. In the beginning,dread was the only emotion I felt when I had to test my students. Having 27 students in one lablogging on to the same website at the same time, did not always make for a good experience. Sincethen, many of the “bugs” have been worked out of the system by Scantron. Once the tests were taken,and they all had to be completed in a two week time frame, results could be gained throughadministrative access. Of course, this took time (Surry & Ely, 2007). To get the most benefit from theprogram and its results, much time was needed to explore the site’s features. “Company” time wasdifficult to find due to the other demands I faced every day. If I had a student who was struggling with a concept, I could find their results for the domain underwhich the concept fell and get an estimate of their ability. I would consider this an incentive (Surry &Ely, 2007) for me. It was beneficial to have the results to show a parent, counselor, or administratorduring a conference. Participation and commitment are rarely conditions which promote theimplementation of this program. Participation (Surry & Ely, 2007) of teachers was mandatory and wasnot decided by a collaborative team. In fact, I was never sure who found, bought, and implemented thisprogram. It is my opinion that commitment (Surry & Ely, 2007) to this program will only last theduration of the school’s paid contract. This year, participation in the program was mentioned only at thelast moment and only communicated through email. Support for this program is lagging. Theadministration and leadership (Surry & Ely, 2007) of this program has been handed over to the teacherwho runs the labs. Not only does she run the labs and oversee the performance testing, but she alsoteaches two language arts classes. Leadership for the tests is not something the administrative team atmy school takes care of. Overall, this program is unsuccessful. I strongly suspect that the school will not renew its subscriptionto the site due to the magnitude of negative feedback the administrative team has received. However, Ihave seen success with this program in the area of special education. In fact, many special educationteachers have expressed the value of this program as another source for gathering data. However,when testing a population whose majority is advanced students, a test that provides grade-level equivalencies is not much benefit.
Surry, D.W. & Ely, D.P. (2007). Adoption, diffusion, implementation, and institutionalization ofinstructional innovations. In R.A. Reiser & J.V. Dempsey (Eds.). Trends and issues in instructionaldesign and technology (pp. 104-111). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall.
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Topic: Module 5: Chapter 11 Discussion Group Date: February 7, 2007 10:58 PM
Subject: Emily Whiteside Author: Whiteside, Emily
Medicaid Billing: Failure
Several years ago our county began a Medicaid billing program, which required SLPs, OccupationalTherapists, Physical Therapists, and nurses to submit bills to a third party vendor for therapy servicereimbursement. The funds generated by this program are paid to the school system to help provideservices for the children whose Medicaid accounts are billed. Was this program implemented in a way topromote success? If one looks at Ely’s eight facilitative conditions (Surry & Ely, 2007), that answerbecomes apparent.
When the program was begun, therapists and nurses were told that they would be given laptops to facilitate the billing process. Some were excited about having a computer; most were dubious; none
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were dissatisfied with the status quo of not billing. The superintendent and the special education director left the school system before the program was implemented. However, new administrators came to work resolutely and intractably committed to the program, informing therapists that their input was unwanted. Though the program brought in millions of dollars to the school district, none of the departments issuing bills received any money or resources, including the promised laptops, until years after implementation. Not only did the lack of resources make billing difficult, inconsistent, and inaccurate, but served as a reminder of the promised incentive that did not materialize.
Currently, billing amounts are down to a fraction of the initial numbers, because administrators did notunderstand Medicaid regulations, did not provide adequate training to therapists, and, consequently,incorrectly billed for services without securing a doctor’s referral for every student. The program mayhave been a financial windfall for the district in the past, but lack of knowledge on the part of leadershiphas insured that the income will not continue to make the program worthwhile.
Surry, D. W., & Ely, D.P. (2007). Adoption, diffusion, implementation, and institutionalization of instructional innovations. In R. A. Reiser & J. V. Dempsey (Eds.), Trends and issues in instructional design and technology (pp.104-111). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
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Topic: Module 5: Chapter 11 Discussion Group Date: February 9, 2007 2:16 PM
Subject: Re:Emily Whiteside Author: Hayden, Jessie
Whew! This sounds like a nightmare. Did this fiasco cause huge morale problems among the SLPs inyour district?
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Topic: Module 5: Chapter 11 Discussion Group Date: February 9, 2007 4:51 PM
Subject: SLP Morale Author: Whiteside, Emily
Yes, initiating the program without end-user input did cause morale problems. The misinformation thatwas dispersed system-wide during implementation caused confusion and disillusionment with the system. The broken promise of the laptops created a huge trust issue, which continues. Further, there has been no incentive for therapists to bill, because none of the $3 million generated by the program goes to any of the therapy departments. I would say that morale within our department is at an all-time low.
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Topic: Module 5: Chapter 11 Discussion Group Date: February 10, 2007 10:04 AM
Subject: Vaughn - TECH teams - successful! Author: Vaughn, Katrina
About ten years ago, I was asked to participate in a “technology-inclusion” grant. The name of thegrant was “TECH Teams – Teaching Each Child How”. This grant focused on using technology in aninclusionary setting to improve student achievement. The school system I worked for did not have aninclusionary model, because they had tried it in the past unsuccessfully. We also were extremely limitedwhen it came to technology. Everyone was dissatisfied with the technology issue, however very fewteachers wanted to spend “their time” working with special needs students – they felt it was the specialed teachers’ jobs. I was (and still am) willing to try something new!
A few other teachers, and myself, wanted to work with the special education teachers to help thesestudents, which is probably why we were asked to participate in this grant. Originally, we were asked toattend a one-day workshop (and we would receive laptops for our classrooms). Nobody in our system
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had laptops, so of course we said “YES!” Well…it was really a two-year commitment and we would notonly receive equipment, but we would also receive training (once a month). I was in heaven! By theend of the first year, we had received training for our new equipment, training for our new software,and training for incorporating this technology into our curriculum. We were also given a “true”heterogeneous mix of students that would remain with us all day (the special ed teacher would becoming to our rooms for instruction).
This program was extremely successful, in the three years I participated, and I had one student each year test out of special education (in third grade) as a result of this grant. I should mention these werehigh-functioning students. The first two years we implemented, collected data, and presented ourfindings. The third year, we became mentors to other schools who implemented this grant. The nextyear I moved from Florida to Georgia, which is why I ended my participation. However, as I reflect onthis experience, I can see many effective conditions. We were provided necessary resources, training,and time. We were obviously given incentives: 2 laptops, 4 desktop stations, a printer, digital camera,scanner, and video conferencing capabilities. Each participant was actively involved in training andimplementation. We were all committed to the goals of the grant. Eventually, we were trained to bementors and present our findings, which encompassed many leadership skills.
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Topic: Module 5: Chapter 11 Discussion Group Date: February 10, 2007 7:53 PM
Subject: Re:Vaughn - TECH teams - successful! Author: Vaughn, Katrina
I think a big reason is lack of training, frustration with technology not working, and an overall fear ofchanging what they're used to. All of the teachers at my school (3rd - 5th) are using technologybecause we received a lot of technology through the Title 2D e-Math grant. If we want to keep it, wehave to document we use it. MOST of the teachers effeciently use it on a daily basis, however I'm surethere are some who are not real creative with it.
This is probably one of life's great mysteries:)
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Topic: Module 5: Chapter 11 Discussion Group Date: February 10, 2007 8:01 PM
Subject: Re:Vaughn - TECH teams - successful! Author: Woodworth, Robert
I agree. I also would posit there exists a major disconnect between the decision makers and the endusers. That is, someone at the system level decides to spend the money on some cool, trendy technology but fails to elicit input from teachers. Hence there is no perceived unmet need from teachers' point of view - until they see what they're missing, they seem ignorant of the benefits. Arghh
Which comes first, the technology or the training? If teachers don't see the benefits, they won't implement technology. But they won't see the benefits UNTIL they see it implemented. I suppose that's the value of the innovator/early adopter or a UGA GRAD!
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Topic: Module 5: Chapter 11 Discussion Group Date: February 10, 2007 1:17 PM
Subject: Tracie Folsom Author: Folsom, Tracie
Library Automation Software – Highly Successful
Several years ago, the GCPS Department of Media and Information Services implemented a county
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wide conversion to Destiny, an updated version of our library automation software. In accordance withthe eight facilitative conditions for successful implementation (p. 108), the conversion could be deemed a success.
Dissatisfaction with the Status Quo/Knowledge and Skills ExistFirst, many media specialists were dissatisfied with the existing library automation software provided bythe county. Each school ran this software from a local server, which did not allow for interlibrarysearching and loans, patron management of transfers within the school system, nor county office batchfixes. In addition, the software’s functionality was directly effected by the age of the hardware, whichdiffered at each school. Media specialists were in dire need of an updated library automation systemthat was maintained, managed, and distributed by a county server.
Participation/Commitment/LeadershipThe county office took into consideration many factors prior to adopting the new software. A committeeof technical support staff, media specialists, and county office members was formed to review the software, and to determine the effects that this conversion would have on local schools. The softwarewas piloted at several schools before county wide implementation occurred, ensuring an easier transition at each local school.
Availability of Time/Rewards and Incentives ExistSoftware training was provided to all media specialists and media clerks during the summer prior to implementation, and each employee received a stipend for their time. Additional training continues tobe provided at county meetings several times a year, and technical support is available on an as needs basis. Media specialists are very pleased with this new software because it makes every day circulationand patron management so much easier than before.
Surry, D. W. & Ely, D. P. (2007). Adoption, diffusion, implementation, and institutionalization of instructional innovations. In R. A. Reiser & J. V. Dempsey (Eds.), Trends and issues in instructionaldesign and technology (pp. 104-111). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
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Topic: Module 6: Chapter 17 Discussion Group Date: February 13, 2007 12:00 PM
Subject: Chapter 17 Informal Learning Author: Mayo, April
I can see informal learning taking place at the college level without any problem. I can see informallearning taking place at the high school level pretty easily with some students. After all, by the timestudents are in high school, their fate is ultimately up to them. I was wondering if anyone could giveexamples of informal learning taking place in elementary school and how to go about encouraging it.
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Topic: Module 6: Chapter 17 Discussion Group Date: February 13, 2007 10:09 PM
Subject: Re:Chapter 17 Informal Learning Author: Whiteside, Emily
April, while informal learning isn't frequently a part of what I do, it does happen at times. For example,I have open-ended toys (doll house, stuffed animals, cars and trucks, puppets, Legos) set up in my room to facillitate natural language use. I have set the stage for learning by choosing the toys and limiting their use to times that I find convenient, so that part is controlled. However, when I let the students play in these areas, I don't have scripts or even target language structures. I do encourage conversation by being a good role model and "passing the ball" back to them conversationally. Language learning does occur in these natural play settings. Children quickly learn that toys are shared more readily when asked for them, than when grabbed. Language is a more efficient way to get what they want than their old behavior.
Keeping data is very difficult if I am an authentic part of the group, so in these cases I often take my behavioral hat off and enjoy the spontaneous and child-directed topics. Spontaneity, in this case, shouldn't be equated with no planning. I do use my knowledge of each child's present level of performance and the next step in the language development hierarchy to model appropriate language use for them. Informal learning situations are rare for me, but they do happen.
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Topic: Module 6: Chapter 17 Discussion Group Date: February 14, 2007 8:09 AM
Subject: Re:Chapter 17 Informal Learning Author: Mayo, April
setting the environment to encourage informal learningthe kids probably just think they are "playing", little do they know they are actually learning. I haveseen these learning centers slowly going away in the lower grade to be replaced by more teacher directed/sit at your desk lessons. i think it is because of one of the reasons you stated, "keeping data".have you found that the use of the learning centers you described has decreased or are discouraged?
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Topic: Module 6: Chapter 17 Discussion Group Date: February 14, 2007 9:44 AM
Subject: Re:Chapter 17 Informal Learning Author: Hayden, Jessie
Data doesn't have to be quantifiable. How about being a participant observer during these informallearning experiences and taking some field notes? These notes could provide a rich source of data.
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Topic: Module 6: Chapter 17 Discussion Group Date: February 14, 2007 9:53 AM
Subject: Re:Chapter 17 Informal Learning Author: Whiteside, Emily
That's a great suggestion. Descriptive notes (a language sample of sorts) would be very helpful asformative evaluation. One difficulty I run into with doing that sort of thing is that I have to use both hands to sign the conversation with most of my students. Picking up a pen or pencil interrupts the flow. I guess I could video tape it, but time constraint is an issue with that. Maybe a rubric that I designed beforehand and could quickly check off after the session would be a solution. Believe it or not, I've never used a rubric!
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Topic: Module 6: Chapter 17 Discussion Group Date: February 14, 2007 10:20 AM
Subject: Re:Chapter 17 Informal Learning Author: Hayden, Jessie
Hmmm... I wonder if a checklist might work better for you. Maybe your could write up your field notesAFTER several of these informal learning "sessions". You could then analyze your notes to create a list or catalog of the behaviors that typically occur during these informal learning sessions. From that compiled list, you could then create a checklist that you could use as an observational tool. Forexample, your checklist (in the form of a table) could have rows across with specific behaviors, and then a column to the left with each students' name. Every time you saw a student exhibit a specificbehavior noted in your checklist, you could simply put a check mark in that box.
Also, if you're interested in making rubrics, there's a great website that will help you with this. Here's the link http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php
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Topic: Module 6: Chapter 17 Discussion Group Date: February 14, 2007 11:32 AM
Subject: Re:Chapter 17 Informal Learning Author: Whiteside, Emily
Perfect! I love it! I could use the checklist for the annual review as well. Thanks for the link also. I'll letyou know how it goes.
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Topic: Module 6: Chapter 17 Discussion Group Date: February 13, 2007 4:22 PM
Subject: Chapter 17 Informal Learning Author: Hayden, Jessie
What are some ways that you integrate informal learning opportunities for your students whendesigning instruction?
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Topic: Module 6: Chapter 17 Discussion Group Date: February 13, 2007 5:57 PM
Subject: Re:Chapter 17 Informal Learning Author: Bland, Virginia
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I teach 8th grade ELA and science. Sometimes I shoot myself in the foot in regards to QCC's, etc., butwe do a lot of discussing in my classes when learning new material, particularly in science. I design powerpoints around the material, but because I use a lot of photographs, we often "chase rabbits" based on something they see during a lecture. To make connections between their own experiences and what we are about to cover I often ask my students questions about their past - things they've done, places they've been - which of course brings about A LOT of conversation. Sometimes I just sit back and let them talk to each other for a few minutes before jumping back in and leading them in a specific direction. I also use pairs and group activities that allow them to chat informally and help each other through the project or process.
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Topic: Module 6: Chapter 17 Discussion Group Date: February 13, 2007 8:24 PM
Subject: Re:Chapter 17 Informal Learning Author: Hayden, Jessie
Virginia,
Interesting comments. I think that by allowing your students to "chase rabbits", work collaboratively, and chat informally you create a more natural learning environment for them. How (and what) do you perceive that your students are learning in these unscripted moments?
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Topic: Module 6: Chapter 17 Discussion Group Date: February 14, 2007 5:03 PM
Subject: Re:Chapter 17 Informal Learning Author: Bland, Virginia
The most important outcome of the unscripted moments is that my students get to be heard. Whenthey see I am interested in their lives and experiences, they are far more likely to engage in the lesson. Also, because I am a part of their lives and communityand they get to know me as a "person," they see what I've done in my life and believe that as they get older they can do it too.
Specifically, I have non-education career experience in both the science and journalism fields that I bring to the classroom. I can tie real-world experiences into the content on a regular basis so they believe that what they're learning has real value. I also make connections between different units within the content areas, creating an interest in things we haven't yet studied.
I probably drive some of my student teachers crazy because of my concrete, random tendencies, but if we don't follow our natures in the classroom, we lessen our effectiveness. If we aren't real, our students know it.
Agree? Disagree?
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Topic: Module 6: Chapter 17 Discussion Group Date: February 14, 2007 8:02 PM
Subject: Re:Chapter 17 Informal Learning Author: Whiteside, Emily
Agree whole-heartedly. Children of all backgrounds have pretty finely honed radar for personalauthenticity. I don't think you can bluff them in that regard. I would be willing to bet that your students will remember content that you have related to your other career experiences much longer and more accurately than those that you didn't.
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Topic: Module 6: Chapter 17 Discussion Group Date: February 13, 2007 10:18 PM
Subject: Re:Chapter 17 Informal Learning Author: Whiteside, Emily
I see a similarity with your making connections between your students' experiences and your lessonsand my use of semantically potent words as targets for my students. I use photographs of the students and their families and friends as prompts for articulation and language therapy. While the therapy sessions themselves aren't informal learning, there are elements of informal learning involved. When the students respond to the photographs about their own lives, they are using automatic speech that is meaningful to them. Their language is unscripted and we often pick some of the words that they said as targets to include in our session.
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Topic: Module 6: Chapter 17 Discussion Group Date: February 14, 2007 7:13 AM
Subject: Re:Chapter 17 Informal Learning Author: Hayden, Jessie
Awesome example of creating opportunities for informal learning within a formal lesson. I've usedphotographs (and music) as writing and discussion prompts in the past as well. Images seem to make language spring to life in very natural ways.
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Topic: Module 6: Chapter 17 Discussion Group Date: February 14, 2007 4:40 PM
Subject: Re:Chapter 17 Informal Learning Author: Bland, Virginia
Do you find that they are more successful in their speech goals when their language is unscripted andmore relaxed? Or do they use the patterns that you are attempting to change?
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Topic: Module 6: Chapter 17 Discussion Group Date: February 23, 2007 8:54 PM
Subject: Re:Chapter 17 Informal Learning Author: Whiteside, Emily
It depends upon how successful they have been during the smaller steps that lead to the unscriptedsetting and upon what the goal is. If the goal is one that has been practiced over several previous session and the student can monitor himself for accuracy in a highly structured setting, then the motivating nature of the play therapy session usually leads to more success. If, on the other hand, the play activity comes prior to focused practice on specific structures or phoneme use, when I am simplyencouraging language use, the results are not as positive in terms of accuracy for specific structures. However, sometimes simply communicating IS the objective and accuracy is not.
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Topic: Module 6: Chapter 17 Discussion Group Date: February 14, 2007 6:05 PM
Subject: Informal Math? Author: Woodworth, Robert
I think that informal learning is the most efficient way for kids to learn math. It is my goal to maximizethe number of opportunities for informal learning. I find myself alone on an island though and I'm unable to get feedback from teachers around here.
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I generally have three or four different things working in any class at any one time. Students have apreview sheet they carry and work on throughout any given unit, many will also have a test correctionsprocess that lasts a week or so, they will all have an individual semester project, and they will all beworking the current unit’s material. Two to three times a week, when the time is right, I will have 20minute sessions during which students may talk and get each other’s help on any topic they areworking. Invariably, students tell me that this is the one thing that helped them the most in learningthe math – more than cooperative groups, more than “board work”, more than extra tutoring.
What characteristics does this 20 minute activity possess that make it so valuable in the students’ view?In what ways is it different than other informal learning opportunities I provide that seem less valuable?
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Topic: Module 6: Chapter 17 Discussion Group Date: February 14, 2007 10:35 PM
Subject: Re:Informal Math? Author: Whiteside, Emily
Another reason that it might be so valueable to the class is that each student is not only listening,learning, and receiving but also talking, teaching, and giving. In order to help a peer understand a troublesome concept, the student who is helping has to clarify the process internally first. The student has to reflect on, analyze, and synthesize what he knows before he can relay it to his friend. Hmmmmmm, kind of like ITED 8100, no?
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Topic: Module 6: Chapter 17 Discussion Group Date: February 17, 2007 4:24 PM
Subject: Peer tutoring Author: Wilkerson, Patsy
I find that most students have the same or similar problems in lessons.There's a procedure called peer tutoring where the instructor will let a student who has mastered the problem help the student who is having the same problem. It not only helps resolve the student'sproblem but in helps the student that has mastered the problem reinforce what he or she has learned.I make sure I listen in on this because the student who has supposedly mastered the problem may not have processed this information into his long term memory and give the student misinformation.
Would you feel comfortable using peer tutoring as a source of informal learning in your field? Why orwhy not.
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Topic: Module 6: Chapter 17 Discussion Group Date: February 17, 2007 6:27 PM
Subject: Re:Peer tutoring Author: Woodworth, Robert
I use peer tutoring daily. It adds to differentiation for just the reasons you mention. It helps theadvanced students from being bored as soon. It helps students learn to communicate mathematical ideas. I could go on.
Obviously, I am quite comfortable with peer tutoring. Students become accustomed to it and begin "arguing" about methods and resolving issues independently. If there is a time when they can't, they call me over (they are allowed a limited number of questions. By the end of the semester, they'reallowed only one question. They get soooooo stingy with that one question!
In order to provide incentive to the tutors, i generally add 5 points to the grade they're working on if I can document them helping. I walk around with a pad write names of students who are helping. I also write names of those who aren't.
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From my point of view, the problems with this approach are related to behavior. I have also done pure cooperative learning and given each group the lowest of their group members' grades, or average, or some variation. Oddly, the kids like this but the parents REALLY don't. Go figure.
Anyway, I look forward to checking this thread frequently for more ideas on peer tutoring!
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Topic: Module 6: Chapter 17 Discussion Group Date: February 17, 2007 9:52 PM
Subject: Peer Sign Language Tutoring Author: Whiteside, Emily
As most everyone knows by reading my previous postings, many of the 23 deaf or hard of hearingstudents I teach are American Sign Language (ASL) users. Most who do speak have so many articulation errors that they are not understood by their peers or even by their teachers. They do have interpreters in class, but as you can imagine, even when these students are in an inclusion class setting, as most of them are, they are socially isolated. Many people are actually fearful of trying to communicate with deaf people and would rather avoid them than risk the discomfort of communication failure.
This year I Initiated a program called "Sign of the Day," which is broadcast over our in-house newscast, WKEY, each morning. The idea was to teach staff and students a new ASL word each day to try to breaksome of the communication barriers between deaf students and everyone else in the building. Irecruited two deaf students to teach the signs each morning.
Although the broadcast lesson is not informal, it has encouraged hearing students and teachers to interact more with our deaf students both in class and in non-instructional situations. I frequently see hearing students ask the deaf student/tutors what the word for the day is. So, in those situations the peer tutoring is done informally. Hearing students and teachers have commented that they have enjoyed learning the signs and deaf students are proud to see their language respected. It's a sure thing that these two tutors have benefitted as much as their school-full of students. They are more confident that they can attempt new tasks outside of their protected hearing impaired classrooms and, besides, now they are stars and are quite aware of it!
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Topic: Module 6: Chapter 17 Discussion Group Date: February 18, 2007 9:32 AM
Subject: Re:Peer Sign Language Tutoring Author: Woodworth, Robert
That sounds cool Emily - the few hearing impaired students we have are generally isolated for thereasons you mention. Your "sign of the day" sounds like a good idea - I'm going to pass it along to speddept!
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Topic: Module 6: Chapter 17 Discussion Group Date: February 18, 2007 11:53 AM
Subject: PowerPoint for Informal Learning Author: Whiteside, Emily
Thanks, Bob. I also created some PowerPoints that cover units of all of the signs for the day. Each slidecontains the printed word, a photo representation of the word, and a photo or series of photos illustrating the sign. There is no audio, other than soft background music. These are looped by broadcast for about 15 minutes before we go live. Students entering their classrooms may choose to view the slideshow as they get settled for the day. Because viewing the show is strictly voluntary, this would be an example of instructional design for informal learning.
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Topic: Module 6: Chapter 17 Discussion Group Date: February 18, 2007 8:01 PM
Subject: Peer tutoring across grade levels Author: Vaughn, Katrina
I use peer tutoring with my students (within my classroom) as Bob mentioned, but I also incorporate itacross grade levels. I teach 5th and, as an incentive to my students, I recruit students to tutor a 3rd or4th grader. They are eligible to tutor in any subject, but they must be maintaining an A in that subject.
I found two 3rd grade teachers and one 4th grade teacher who were willing to try this and it has worked great. During their activity time, I keep in the tutors and we bring the tutees to my room. Wehave been doing this for several months. The tutors feels very honored to have been chosen (goodbehavior and social skills are also a prerequisite) - they just beg for me to do this everyday. I only dothis once a week. The students receiving help feel special and get A LOT of attention from their tutors.My students take ownership of their tutees learning, because we give them feedback about how they perform after receiving help (no specifics - of course).
Peer tutoring has encouraged my students to do well academically and behaviorally, because they enjoy being "in charge" of someone younger than them.
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Topic: Module 6: Chapter 17 Discussion Group Date: February 23, 2007 8:26 PM
Subject: Peer Tutor/Mentors Author: Whiteside, Emily
Katrina, your cross-grade level peer tutoring discussion rumbled around in the back of my head this week. My son enjoyed just such a peer tutoring experience when he was a kindergartener and had a third grade buddy. When he was in third grade, he remembered how much he looked up to his buddy and tried to be a good teacher for "his" kindergartener.
Though I hadn't planned to do so, the opportunity presented itself today and I gave it a try. My two deaf fifth grade girls who teach sign language on our morning broadcast were working with me when two of our deaf kindergarten girls came in for their speech time. I remembered this discussion thread and asked the older girls to stay 15 minutes more to help me. I got the girls to model their own simple "sentences" (subject-verb-object, with no articles or tenses) to describe a picture book with which they were familiar. The book had language structures and vocabulary items that were much too difficult for the younger students, but the older ones' paraphrasing simplified the story so that the kindergarteners understood and retold the story, page-by-page with similar structures and vocabulary. I cannot tell you how excited I was to see this happen!
My kindergarteners have been stringing words together without a hint of semantic relationship between the words, which is quite typical of young deaf children. In this one encounter, they were usingsemantic relationships correctly and meaningfully. If I had told the story to them and asked them toimitate me, I am sure that they would have had some measure of success. However, these young students are easily distracted and unmotivated during imitative activities. Today they were mesmerized by these "rock star" girls who read them a story in their own language (ASL), paid attention to what they had to say, and praised them for their efforts.
Of course, an added benefit was that the older girls were very proud to have been the speech therapist for a few minutes. They have both been in speech therapy since they were three years old and don't often have the opportunity to be a language role model.
Thank you for the great idea!
RCA Theory Grading Criteria (35 % of course grade; 350 points) You are expected to demonstrate achievement of the Course Objectives and Assignment Specifications as outlined in the Course Syllabus. Points Course Objectives and Assignment Specifications ___/50
1. Identify learning theories from which a variety of ID models are derived and the consequent implications. (AECT, Design Domain) 2. Identify the theories and historical background of analysis as a component of instructional design and instructional systems development. (AECT, Design Domain) 3. Recognize and articulate current trends in the development of theory and emerging practice related to instructional design and instructional technology. (AECT, Design Domain) 6. Analyze the effectiveness of macro- and micro-level design efforts by considering the interactions of learner characteristics, instructional strategies, nature of content, and the learning situation. (AECT, Development and Evaluation Domains) 7. Apply theories underlying the domains of design, development, utilization, management, and evaluation. (AECT, Design Domain)
• Postings are selected from appropriate chapter discussions • Postings are selected to demonstrate learning • Connections between textbook and postings are evident • Caption provides analysis and synthesis
___/125 8. Demonstrate clear competence in oral, graphic and written communication and
comprehension. (AECT, Design and Evaluation Domains)
• Caption is reflective • Caption demonstrates comprehension of textbook material • Caption is technically correct • Caption is written at graduate level • Graphic elements enhance written work
___/125 10. Demonstrate skill in organizing, documenting and reflecting upon assigned and self-
generated activities. (AECT, Management Domain)
• Caption is correctly formatted (Has student name on it; 2-3 pages, single-spaced) • Referencing (if used) is correct APA style • File is submitted on time and named properly • Bookmarks aid navigation • Reflective stance toward learning is demonstrated • Creativity in construction and formatting is demonstrated
___/50
11. Work effectively and efficiently both as a leader and member of a group. (AECT, Management Domain)
• Demonstrates clear recognition of peer influence in learning • Gives examples of exemplary work in both roles • Shows evidence of regular engagement in all discussions
Total Points (___/350)