USER Stage 1: Understand

Learning Blog #7:  What aspects of the Understand phase do you feel most and least confident about? Describe an "aha" moment you had this week, if any. 

First of all, I love the way Char Booth sets up the chapter on her USER instructional design model.  As I mentioned in my last post, I, too, have seem my fair share of "instructional acronyms" and will admit, like Booth, to rolling my eyes at mention of another one.  When she states, "it is with only a small amount of irony that I present the USER method," I was at least willing to read on. I also really like her analogy of the ID model as a road map.  A good ID model should point you in the right direction, tell you where you will end up, but leave the specific route up to you.  The routes can and should vary depending on a myriad of factors: the schedule, the materials available, the students' abilities and needs, the physical space, even the teacher's mood, and the list goes on.  I think this is the part of teaching that comes with experience: the intuitiveness to know which route is best in any given situation, and the willingness (and ability) to change routes--even while in the middle of the journey.

The first step in Booth's USER map is to Understand.  She says we need to "investigate the learning scenario" by first, identifying the problem: what is the challenge the learners face, and how can we help them meet it; then, analyze the scenario in order to facilitate a positive experience.  The first task seems fairly simple at first glance--but boy, can it get complicated! In a high school at least, there are many, many standards educators have to help students meet.  At the recent MLA conference, I went to a session addressing Minnesota's Common Core ELA standards and how school library media specialists might incorporate these into their lessons.  Cory Stai from the MDE provided the history and philosophy behind these new standards and explained their vertical alignment, then Sara Swenson, the media specialist from Edina High School, shared some best practices.

Stai stated that one of the goals when creating the Common Core was to reduce the number of standards for students.  He also admitted they may have failed in meeting that goal.  There are over 43 standards students must meet.  And that's not all.  In addition to the CC standards, Minnesota has added several of its own, and on top of that, each school district adds more. When Swenson admitted that her school focuses on only a handful of these--what they call "power standards," Stai emphatically replied that this is not, in fact, best practice: the MDE expects us to teach ALL of the standards.  Well, I have to side with Swenson on this one.  Like students who freeze up when they encounter "information overload," teachers do too.  They have to do a bit of triage with all of the standards.  Determining what is most important for students to learn, and the best way to teach it: that's the real challenge for those of us working on the front lines every day.

Instructional Design

Blog #6: What are the essential considerations of the planning process? What are the differences between program, teaching, and student assessments? Describe an "aha" moment you had this week, if any.

Lesson planning.  Obviously, I know how to do it.  If I didn't, I couldn't have survived in my job for the past 22 years.  I would even say, having worked on many curriculum writing teams throughout my career, I know how to do it pretty well by now.  But, when Joyce asked the "teacher group" in class what we thought of the lesson plan template in our text book and whether we could suggest better alternatives, I wasn't sure what to say.  I do create formal, detailed lesson plans from time to time, mostly when I have formal observations for Q-Comp or PAS assessments.  The lesson plan format I use for these observations is solely dependent upon what my district requires at the moment.  When I started teaching it was a Madeline Hunter template, then came OBE (Outcome Based Education), then...well, I'm sure there were others whose names are escaping me at the moment.  Currently, we use the UBD (Understanding By Design) model which seems to work as well as anything else.

Though I don't know that any one template is significantly different or more effective than the others, and though I don't think it is necessary to write out entire lesson plans each and every day (who has that kind of time?!), I have learned that what is most effective is to determine the outcomes you desire first, then build your lessons around them. For instance, I am just finishing up teaching the play Henry V with my regular English 12 students.  What do I want students to be able to do?  1.  Gain strategies for reading a difficult text.  So, I built in some lectures and formative assessments in my unit plan to help them with that as we read.  2.  Think critically about the issues presented in a classic text and then make connections to other, more modern texts.  So, I built in some journals, discussions, and an essay to get them started thinking about ways in which the themes in the various texts we read might relate to each other.  3.  Appreciate Shakespeare, or at least approach his works without fear. So, I tried to build some fun, interactive, creative group assignments into my lessons as well.  I don't really care if they can write in iambic pentameter, if they know many details about Shakespeare's life, or even--I have to admit--if they have read every line of the play.  So, I didn't create lessons and/or assessments around those things.

It is easy, when teaching, to lose sight of the forest through the trees. To get caught up in the minute details of any one text or historical event or math problem. Or to insist students sit through a very long lecture about something in which I am interested (iambic pentameter, Shakespeare's life, and every line of Henry V), but that does not relate to any of the outcomes.  It means, sometimes, letting go of the things that don't matter as much and spending time and energy on those aspects that do. It also means thinking daily about how each and every activity relates to your final outcomes. The rest of lesson planning, then, will fall into place.  Yes, it helps to make sure you have an engaging anticipatory set (thanks, Madeline), that you have all the materials prepared ahead of time, that you provide a variety of direct instruction, cooperative learning, and independent work time, that you scaffold skills, provide alternative assessments for those who need it, etc., etc., etc.  But, really none of that matters much (well, besides just keeping students occupied) if you are not working towards a meaningful end.

Online Instruction and Tech Tools

Blog #5: What are the characteristics of good teaching? 
What are some types of online instruction?
What are some characteristics of effective online instruction?
Compare the advantages & disadvantages of online & face-to-face instruction? 
Describe an "aha" moment you had this week, if any.

I am not an "early adopter" of new technologies.  I had a flip phone for years after the iPhone came out, I hung on to my transparencies long after other teachers in my school had switched to powerpoint presentations, and I was one of the last to ditch my red gradebook and use the online grading software.  This doesn't mean, though, that I am anti-technology.  I now love my iPhone and couldn't imagine life without it; I use the online class management system Schoology and often "flip" lessons in my classes; and I Tweet and Facebook and Pin in both my personal and professional lives.  I like to think of myself, instead, as a "cautious adopter."  I'm happy to let others try technology out before I spend my precious time and energy (and sometimes money) learning something new that may or may not make my personal and professional lives better.

Good teaching is good teaching. Students are engaged, they are learning, discovering new ideas, practicing new skills.  This can happen with or without technology.  I found this article about Finland's schools interesting: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/05/finland-school-system-107137.html  According to the article, "With little educational technology in the classroom, Finnish students have repeatedly outperformed American students on international tests."  Instead of investing in the latest technology, the Finish government and the teachers' union spend their energy focusing on teacher training.  I cringe when I see the school district for which I work spend thousands of dollars on SmartBoards and then watch as many teachers, including myself, decide that they would actually rather just write on the board. And I worry about the new iPad initiative in St. Paul schools.  Every student will receive an iPad, and yet teachers have little or no training on how to incorporate them into their own lessons.  How many of initiatives like these directly lead to better teaching and learning?  Wouldn't all of that money be better spend on teacher training, smaller classes, etc.?

That said, I do feel that some technology tools do allow me to design my lessons better as a teacher, and enjoy my coursework more as a student.  D2L helps keep me organized, YouTube videos present information in a new way, blogs help build communities in my classes.  For me, though, where I learn the most is in face to face discussions and group work in class.  When deciding where to go to school for my MLIS, I thought carefully about whether I should choose an online program.  Certainly, they are more convenient.  But for me, that's where the list of advantages ended. Without face-to-face interaction, I knew I would not have the same opportunity to develop the relationships and depth of understanding that I have in this program.  The same is true for high school students.  Studies have shown that one of the most important aspects of teaching is the relationship building that occurs between teacher and student, something that is quite difficult to do well in an online course.  The success rate for these alternative courses is low, and for obvious reasons.  Students who did not do well in a regular high school often need more guidance and interaction with teachers, not less.

In Defense of Howard Gardner

Blog #4: What is your learning style? How do you think this will influence your teaching/facilitation? Is your teaching approach more akin to behaviorism, cognitivism, or constructivism?  Describe an "aha" moment you had this week, if any.  

While pursuing my teaching degree in the early 90s, I spent a lot of time thinking about Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences which posits that students learn and understand in different ways. Gardner lists (at least) seven types of intelligences: 1. Visual-Spatial; 2. Kinesthetic; 3. Musical; 4. Interpersonal; 5. Intrapersonal; 6. Linguistic; 7. Mathematical.  Then, as now, I found his theory interesting and useful.  Certainly, I could identify that my strengths were in the Linguistic and Interpersonal areas. And as I began teaching, I could see certain strengths in my students as well, and so I tried my best to individualize lessons to play to students' strengths when I could.
  
In my education courses, Gardner's intelligences and the term "learning styles" were synonymous.  I have never found any of this to be problematic until I was introduced to Daniel Willingham's emphatic claim that "learning styles do not exist!"  Interestingly, Gardner never intended for his multiple intelligences to be considered learning styles. Recently, he set the record straight in a recent Washington Post article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/10/16/howard-gardner-multiple-intelligences-are-not-learning-styles/

In the article, Gardner claims there are two problems with the idea of learning styles.  One, he says those who use the term often do not "define the criteria for the style, nor where the styles come from, how they are recognized/assessed/ exploited."  Second, he agrees with Willingham that there is "not persuasive evidence that learning style analysis produces more effective outcomes than a 'one size fits all approach.'"  He also notes, though, that "the fact that one intervention did not work does not mean that the concept of learning styles is fatally flawed; another intervention might have proved effective.  Absence of evidence does not prove non-existence of a phenomenon."  

Certainly, I believe that claiming you can't learn math because it's not "your learning style" is bogus.  However, I do believe that some people naturally learn more easily or faster/are more interested in understanding mathematics than others. Regardless of whether we call them intelligences or learning styles, and regardless of Willingham's claims, my experience in the classroom tells me that: 
1. Students do have different natural strengths. 
2.  Students do have preferences in how they learn; material presented a particular way might click more easily than another.
3.  All of our senses work together to pick up information; what matters isn't how we receive it, but how we make sense of that information.

In the end, I think Gardner's advice is exactly right: Don't worry about whether or not "learning styles" exist, but do individualize your teaching as much as possible (easier to do with small classes, of course), and teach important material in several ways to deepen understanding.

Philosophy of Teaching and Learning

Blog #3:  What is your general philosophy of teaching and learning? How have your previous educational experiences affected your philosophy? What is critical thinking? What is reflective practice? Why are these important?  Describe an "aha" moment you had this week, if any. 

I've been wondering this week about whether my philosophy of teaching has evolved over the course of the past 22 years in the classroom.  In most ways, I've decided, it hasn't.  What I consider good teaching now is essentially the same as it has always been.  From when I was just 23 years old to now at 45, I  have always strived to be what Booth calls an authentic teacher.  When I am able to relate to students as fellow human beings, work cooperatively with colleagues, and improve my practice through official and unofficial professional development, I am happier, more confident, and I believe, more effective in the classroom.  And conversely, when I am not doing those things, I feel less successful.

There have been students over the years whom I just could not reach. From the student who insisted on hating English no matter what I tried, to the student whose parents felt that A- I gave her was a personal vendetta against their daughter, there have been challenges in "liking", and thus relating to certain students. There have been times, whether because of my schedule or the personalities of my colleagues when I didn't do much collaborating and felt isolated in my teaching.  And of course, life can get crazy and sometimes professional development takes a back seat to simply surviving day to day. In all of those cases, my teaching has suffered and my students' learning experiences were less than they could have been.  I think the main way in which I have changed is that I now truly know this about my practice; I know I have to work extra hard at times to "kill" certain students with kindness, to reach out to colleagues who are difficult to reach, and to carve out at least some time for my own learning.

Studies have found over and over that the relationships students have with their teachers is the single biggest factor in improving student achievement, and yet, I find that at least large public schools do little to foster those relationships.  Increasing class sizes, less time spent on pursuit of personal inquiry projects and more on standardized testing, and pressure for teachers to spend more and more time on data collection and other record keeping are not exactly encouraging positive relationships to be built among teachers and students.

During an internship at a small private school last year, I had an aha moment.  The teachers were able to spend time before school started in small groups with the counselors "getting to know" the individual students they would have that year.  The counselors shared data, stories about past successes and challenges, and even notes from parents while the teachers took copious notes.  During workshop week this year back at my large public high school, I spent quite a bit of time discussing how to manage students en masse: enforcing dress code and cell phone violations, etc.  It was a completely different approach, one influenced by the size of the student population, sure, but also the school's philosophy about what matters.

Technology and Information Literacy

Blog #2:  How is technology changing our view of information literacy?  What challenges does this bring to library services? Describe an "aha" moment you had this week, if any. 

How we view Information Literacy has changed drastically because of advances in technology.  When I think back to my own high school and college years, information literacy comprised mostly just knowing how to find resources that fit my topic and how to incorporate them into my research paper.  I had to learn to use the card catalog, record call numbers, and then physically find the book in which the information I needed was stored.  It was slow going, and I often didn't have very many sources with which to work. I don't recall spending much time critically evaluating the sources I found, other than perhaps looking at the date, and I doubt I created anything with my research other than a traditional paper.

Things have changed.  They have changed so much the ACRL Framework for IL calls information literacy an "educational reform movement."  Because of technology tools, it is much easier to find and obtain certain resources, but there is a much greater need for students to understand the dynamics of the world of information.   The words "landscape," "environment," and even "ecosystem" were used in our readings this week to describe this world.  This, I think, was my biggest aha moment. As Renee Hobbs points out, as researchers, we now have to consider not only the information, but the role economics and entertainment might be playing in what information is available to us, and how that information is presented.  Dunaway (2011) also points out all of the captured knowledge that exists and stored is manipulated by information technology.  Databases and Web search engines limit access to information and rank search results.  Certainly, one of the biggest challenges tech brings to library services is a general sense that we are not needed, that patrons can certainly just Google all by themselves.  We need to help our patrons understand the complexities of the information ecosystem, and that Google is really just the tip of a very large, very complex information iceberg.

Another big shift caused by technology, particularly social media, in information literacy is the know-how to create and share new knowledge.   Students must be able to go beyond writing a traditional research paper that is read only by a professor into a creating a myriad of presentation possibilities that can be shared on a much larger scale.  This involves evaluating which presentation style is appropriate for the message and audience, knowing how to use the technology tools to create the presentation, and considering ethical issues in sharing particular information in particular ways.  The teacher/librarian's role in this process is much different than simply standing up and lecturing about citation styles.  It is essential that we teach critical evaluation and self-reflection skills.

Information Literacy

Blog #1:  What is information literacy?  What is your experience with the 4 components of instructional literacy - reflective practice, educational theory, teaching technologies, instructional design?

Information literacy is the ability to find, evaluate, obtain and use information that meets a particular need.  Although I don't think this definition has changed over my lifetime, I do think the emphasis has shifted.  When I was in high school and college, it could be very difficult to find information.  There was no Google (which is so hard for my own students to comprehend), no online finding tools, databases, etc.  I had to use a card catalog and search print sources, and often I came up empty handed.  What I lacked in efficiency, however, I gained in quality assurance.  Most of the sources I found were scholarly and from (at least we believed at the time) trustworthy sources. Today, we are bombarded with information from all sorts of sources, some biased, some inaccurate, some who publish with malicious intent.  So, instead of spending most of our time on finding this information, I believe the focus of being informationally literate should be placed on the evaluation piece.

As a high school teacher, I have had experience with all four of the components of instructional literacy.  I try to engage in Reflective Practice whenever I'm in a classroom.  The ability to assess the learning as well the attitudes in the room as you teach takes a lot of practice.  There is no more frustrating feeling than when you recognize your students just aren't getting what you are trying to teach.  And so you sometimes have to adjust on the spot in order to help students understand or to increase their engagement.   Sometimes it works, sometimes not.  Educational Theory: research-based learning, instructional, and curriculum theory, is something that most teachers do not have time for in their daily teaching lives.  This reality is unfortunate, as I believe teachers could gain a lot from the knowledge that researchers are sharing.  I think most of us try to "keep up" by going to conferences and reading blogs and journals, but it is a problem that teachers are so overloaded they don't engage in this much.  I think this is a place where school and academic librarians could really help.  Often, their days are less structured and so they can, at times, spend more time looking at current research and share it with instructors.  Keeping up with Teaching Technologies is another struggle for many classroom teachers.  Taking graduate and professional development classes has helped introduce me to new technologies.  Finally, Instructional Design is a method of integrating reflection, theory, and technology as you plan, deliver, and assess your lessons.  Again, I try to do this as often as possible, but daily lesson planning can sometimes be spontaneous and based on factors that have nothing to do with good teaching and learning (e.g. time, space, administrative, and personal constraints).

Even though I have taught for 20+ years, actually, because I have taught for 20+ years, I am truly looking forward to this class.  I think there is a danger that experienced teachers can sometimes get a bit...lazy, or at least wrapped up in routine.  I know that much of what I do is intuitive, so it will be good to step back and look critically at my teaching skills to see if they are, in fact, best practices.