Vocational Teacher Education
Here was our agenda:
(note: if you want to hear my commentary, which includes most of the content, you need to download the original .pptx file: after clicking on the above link, click the downward arrow in the top left corner of the screen. You may also need to turn up the volume a bit, and my apologies that some of the speaking parts get cut off by the automatically-advancing slides...)
It was helpful to learn more about several other of my classmates, as well, as they told about their educational experience through a Pecha Kucha. There are a vast variety of backgrounds represented among my classmates, and most are already fully qualified in their own professions.
I thought the instructors did a great job of designing a comparison of virtual vs. physical presence learning environments. Dr. Deborah Hill, from Utah in the U.S., visited our class virtually via Skype. There were some technical problems to begin with, but once those were ironed out the communication went well. It was interesting to compare vocational education in the US versus in Finland, among other things. Dr. Hill mentioned the time difference (9 hours) on more than one occasion, and was, as it turns out, doing a very good job of acting: she was actually on site, just down the hall from where we were meeting! We learned this after she disconnected the Skype call and soon proceded to walk into our classroom. She then had more time to present more information and facilitate discussion, all the while using the rouse to emphasize the differences between a virtual and a physical classroom experience. It was very well-planned, and an effective way to compare different learning experiences. My own reflection is that I generally prefer learning when physically present in a classroom with an instructor and co-students...but that I appreciate (and need) the flexibility of virtual education.
Another highlight of our contact days was to do an Educational Sciences activity (the 4x4 Teaching Rotation). It involved each small group learning a different skill (a string activity, a song, drawing a symetrical face, and memorizing a poem), and then mixing up the groups so that everyone taught that skill to another small group. It was a good 'experiential education' activity, and one that challenged our ability to replicate - or improve upon - the way in which we were taught a skill.
During a presentation about experiential learning, I though one of points was particularly provacative:
Due to my past experiences as a learner and teacher, I was already a believer in the effectiveness of experiential education. However, I thought this was quite poignant. Learning experientially isn't just the best way to learn because it is interesting, but because learners building upon their own experience. It may also be due to their basic needs being met (as with Maslow's 'hierarchy of needs'). Very interesting!
One last noteworthy part of the Oulu contact days was our last Freire small group assignment: to demonstrate ineffective teaching. This was a bit of a challenge, but we did it through a classroom drama or sorts. I was the teacher, so I had the privilege of doing quite a bit of acting! In the end, we demonstrated the following ineffective teaching traits, and challenged students to come up with solutions to 'fix' them:
Team Dewey presented on Vocational Education within the whole of Finnish education, and in relation to working life. Most of the presentation challenged us with questions, as opposed to providing information. Part of the presentation was based on an interview one of our classmates had with the Project Manager at Kainuu Vocational College. The most helpful parts of the presentation for me revolved around teaching and working life in the future. A provocative video, "The Future of Work," (link to video) presented many interesting thoughts. The future of work...
I thought these are very interesting and insightful. How many of these will apply to the world of education? Quite many already do!
And now for our own session regarding expectations of a vocational teacher, equality, sustainability and entrepreneurship.
Our session outline is HERE.
This There was a bit of confusion within my breakout group during our presentation, and I ended up having only a couple of minutes to present the last portion on entrepreneurship. A video clip we were going to use ended up being for those that wanted to watch it during their break, which some did. It is an interesting view regarding the values that we can teach/give children if we want them to be entrepreneurial. (the whole video is interesting, but we asked students to scroll ahead to time mark 16:10 and watch to the end - about 4 minutes-worth).
Here is the video link.
Finally, we get to meet face-to-face!
Beginning in September, we began the first part of our course that involved more group collaboration. This began with two days together on campus in Oulu. Since I was out of the country during the Startup Days in June, this was my first time to meet my classmates. It was also good to meet with and work face-to-face with my small group, Freire!Here was our agenda:
AMOK iVET
Oulu Contact Days Schedule (2.9
and 3.9)
Day 1 (2.9)
9.00 – 9.15 Review
of June days
9.15 – 10.30 Pecha
Kucha presentations (6 min, 40 sec each) Group in two rooms
10.30 – 10.45 Break
10.45 – 11.15 Esa
Virkkula: Presentation on International Studies
11.15 – 12.00 Lunch
12.00 – 13.45 Amazing
QR Code Race and Discussion
13.30 – 13.45 VOC1
and VOC 2 review
13.45 – 14.00 Break
14.00 – 15.30 Educational
Sciences Activity and Discussion (4 x 4 Teaching Rotation)
15.30 – 16.00 Closing
Padlet Activity
Day2 (3.9)
9.00 – 9.15 Coffee
time
9.15 – 10.00 Video
contact to Utah – Dr. Deborah Hill followed by Discussion
10.00 – 10.15 Break
10.30 – 11.15 Online
survey activity
11.15 – 12.00 Lunch
12.00 – 12.45 Group
activity: preparation time for presentations
12.45 – 14.00 Group
presentations (4 x 20 min)
14.00 – 14.15 Break
14.15 – 14.45 Group
activity discussion
14.45 – 15.30 Discussion
and sharing for group work online logistics
15.30 – 16.00 Closing
updates on blogs
It was a busy two days, especially considering the commute to and from Oulu, finding my way to campus from the airport, etc. However, it was worth it: we accomplished a lot, and I learned quite a bit, too.
In preparation for our two days together, each of us was asked to prepare a Pecha Kucha presentation about our learning history. Here is my presentation - approx. 6 minutes and 40 seconds long (you will need to turn up the volume a bit to hear my commentary, although it does get cut off a bit at the end of a few slides):
| Click HERE to see my Pecha Kucha presentation. |
It was helpful to learn more about several other of my classmates, as well, as they told about their educational experience through a Pecha Kucha. There are a vast variety of backgrounds represented among my classmates, and most are already fully qualified in their own professions.
I thought the instructors did a great job of designing a comparison of virtual vs. physical presence learning environments. Dr. Deborah Hill, from Utah in the U.S., visited our class virtually via Skype. There were some technical problems to begin with, but once those were ironed out the communication went well. It was interesting to compare vocational education in the US versus in Finland, among other things. Dr. Hill mentioned the time difference (9 hours) on more than one occasion, and was, as it turns out, doing a very good job of acting: she was actually on site, just down the hall from where we were meeting! We learned this after she disconnected the Skype call and soon proceded to walk into our classroom. She then had more time to present more information and facilitate discussion, all the while using the rouse to emphasize the differences between a virtual and a physical classroom experience. It was very well-planned, and an effective way to compare different learning experiences. My own reflection is that I generally prefer learning when physically present in a classroom with an instructor and co-students...but that I appreciate (and need) the flexibility of virtual education.
Another highlight of our contact days was to do an Educational Sciences activity (the 4x4 Teaching Rotation). It involved each small group learning a different skill (a string activity, a song, drawing a symetrical face, and memorizing a poem), and then mixing up the groups so that everyone taught that skill to another small group. It was a good 'experiential education' activity, and one that challenged our ability to replicate - or improve upon - the way in which we were taught a skill.
During a presentation about experiential learning, I though one of points was particularly provacative:
"Experience is the foundation of, and stimulus for, learning."
(Boud, Cohen and Walker, 1993)
Due to my past experiences as a learner and teacher, I was already a believer in the effectiveness of experiential education. However, I thought this was quite poignant. Learning experientially isn't just the best way to learn because it is interesting, but because learners building upon their own experience. It may also be due to their basic needs being met (as with Maslow's 'hierarchy of needs'). Very interesting!
One last noteworthy part of the Oulu contact days was our last Freire small group assignment: to demonstrate ineffective teaching. This was a bit of a challenge, but we did it through a classroom drama or sorts. I was the teacher, so I had the privilege of doing quite a bit of acting! In the end, we demonstrated the following ineffective teaching traits, and challenged students to come up with solutions to 'fix' them:
- The teacher is too 'comfortable' in their profession, and most everything is focused on making the teacher's job easier (tenured position).
- This focus leads to teacher to ignore student needs, particularly those that need the most help (and effort) from the teacher!
- Teaching content and methods are out-of-date and often irrelevant.
- The teacher him/herself is unsupported by the educational institution, and has given up on those mechanism that, for example, provide extra support for students with needs in and out of the classroom.
- in order to improve the teacher's motivation, he/she would be asked to observe other effective teacher's lessons.
- to improve his/her attitude, the teacher would be asked to teach a new subject
- to increase support of students, the teacher would take part in peer-to-peer performance reviews, which could effect pay.
In all, the Contact Days were a great way to get more connected and on-board with the overall iVet course, with the teachers, and with my classmates.
Sources:
- to improve his/her attitude, the teacher would be asked to teach a new subject
- to increase support of students, the teacher would take part in peer-to-peer performance reviews, which could effect pay.
In all, the Contact Days were a great way to get more connected and on-board with the overall iVet course, with the teachers, and with my classmates.
Sources:
Boud, D., Cohen, R. & Walker, D. (eds) Using Experience for Learning Buckingham: SRHE and Open University Press
Putting our money where our mouth is...
Voc I Session I:
Views of learning and guiding students
Sept. 17, 2013
Sept. 17, 2013
The guiding questions for Session I were:
Team Dewey: What is learning? What kinds of views (or theories) of learning are there? (Such as Kolb's learning styles.) What is your view of the various styles?
Team Freire (that's us!): What role do learning styles and strategies have in study guidance/tutoring/teaching?
Team Vygotsky: What is progressive inquiry? How does it differ from other cyclical theories such as Kolb's Experiental Learning? How is it similar?
I will start with our group, Team Freire, which had the following sub-topic to present:
What role do learning styles and strategies have in study guidance/tutoring/teaching?
Our group spent many hours preparing for this session. In addition to our own individual research, we met online via Skype for many hours. Although it was a bit inefficient and exhausting, the end result worked out quite well.
The summary of our overall session is here.
We started off the session with a brief survey. Here is a summary of the results (you will need to again download the original file. It was clear that a high percentage of participants saw themselves as more than one type of learners. In fact, all but one responded that they were all four types of learners! (visual, auditory, kinesthetic and tactile).
The main portion of our presentation was about McCarthy's 4MAT system. Here is a video we used to summarize it:
Here is the PowerPoint presentation for group Freire:
Group Freire Presentation - 15.9.2013
(Mikyong put together this very professional PowerPoint as part of the presentation.
Impressive!)
Team Dewey's topic: What is learning? What kinds of views (or theories) of learning are there? (Such as Kolb's learning styles.) What is your view of the various styles?
Team Dewey covered several theorists (Gardner, Kolb, Maslow) and then gave a quick overview of Behaviorism/Cognitivism and Humanism/Constructivism. Time ran short, so especially the end went very quickly. (over 40 slides in their .ppt!)
How do I feel about the usability of the each lesson?
Can I use something in my teaching?
As seen in the learning theory reflections below, David A. Kolb's Experimental Learning theory connected well with me. This was very useable, and I learned that I am already using applications of this theory in my current teaching. Since our school is an IB (International Baccalaureate) World School (Middle Years Program), we use experiential learning and reflection as part of our curriculum. The cycle of doing, observing, thinking and planning is a core part of our everyday tasks!
Team Vygotsky's topic: What is progressive inquiry? How does it differ from other cyclical theories such as Kolb's Experiental Learning? How is it similar?
How do I feel about the usability of the each lesson?
Can I use something in my teaching? I have to admit that the presentation, while professionally done with a nice .ppt, was quite difficult to follow due to the presentation style. When I looked back over my notes and the presentation, I realized the long and the short of it: progressive inquiry is exactly what we are doing with our small group sessions/presentations!
In our sessions we try to...
- set up the context with a real world issue
- present research questions to guide the process (or at least Juha assigns them to us)
- create working theories: sharing prior knowledge and perspectives with others
- evaluate critically (if nothing else, right here in our portfolios)
- search for deepening knowledge (do research, compare our intuition with experts knowledge)
- develop deepening problems (leading to more specific questions)
- eventually - hopefully - develop a theory (new or not) that answers the original 'big question'...and then this spurs on more questions - the inquiry process.
I am learning that this style of learning through progressive inquiry is quite effective, but it does take some getting used to. Can I use it in my teaching? I already am, in some ways, but to make it most effective I would need to be more intentional about it. Challenging students to do more of the research and sharing of their own knowledge can be difficult - especially with young teens - but it is something they can grow into as they mature and move on to high school and university, and then careers!
WHAT DID I LEARN? Funny you should ask...
I will again start with our own Team Freire's portion...
Preparing for our session on Learning through discussion also took several hours of online Skype group work. However, we learned more and more how to work together well as a team. Here is what we came up with:
- The OUTLINE of our session.
- The PRESENTATION used in our session.
We used two Padlets for group discussion during our 50-minute session. You can see reference to these in the session outline. HERE is the first one, which shows some good thoughts from the group.
In the second part of the session, we used another Padlet. It shows some feedback from the group in terms of learning during our session...although it also shows we did not have enough time to get responses from the group on the last question! (in the center of the screen).
What did I learn? I really appreciate the definition we used for LSD:
Learning occurs as learners are actively involved in a process of meaning and knowledge construction as opposed to passively receiving information.
This is practical and real information, and a belief that has solidified throughout my career in education (both as a learner and as a teacher). I guess this means I am a believer in the core principals of constructivism!
Is this lesson useable? Can I use it in my teaching? I am already doing so in many ways, but it is important to remember this in all you do as a teacher. If students are simply receiving info. passively, they are unlikely to truly learn it (remember it, apply it, etc.)...just like adults, for that matter. Words to teach by!
What is a "curriculum"? What role does the curriculum have when designing teaching activities and guidance for students? What other roles does it have in Finland? Are the curriculae of a particular program the same all over Finland? (Or, do regional differences exist?)
This session included a pre-task of watching a video with various educators discussing the topic of 'curriculum'. Some of the quotes I appreciated:
Curriculum is...
'a map, a process, a common working tool'
'The experience of learning something...that matters'
' What we want our students to be when they are done'.
I thought these were excellent. We then covered several topics within this theme:
- the Finnish national curriculum, and those that participate in its process
- parts of the curriculum
- role/influence of the teacher/student in the curriculum
- different approaches of curriculum for teachers: as a building drawing, coach's tactic plan, or as a piece of art
A final video was quite nice, too: Why Education in Finland Works
This helps sum up some of what I learned from this session. For me, an American educator teaching in Finland, this video was meaningful. I especially like the portion that points out how publishers in Finland make changes to textbooks based on teacher's feedback/requests. Impressive! However, it is not always that easy...especially if you want equivalent textbooks to the Finnish ones, but in English (a real problem for English-language schools in Finland). By and large, though, Finland has a very effective education program, and the flexibility teachers have to affect the curriculum is a big part of that.
How can lecturing (and teaching) be enriched using virtual teaching? What are the "extended" possibilities of virtual teaching and eLearning?
In this session, the leading team included...
- sharing of samples of e-learning we use in our classrooms
- social learning and the new learning culture
- LOTS of online learning/teaching tool samples
- benefits of e-learning, suggestions for teachers
- studies showing benefits of educational games
- Coursera - an example of the future of online education (massive online courses...for free)
- extended possibilities of online education
I thought the presentation material was excellent, including the variety of ways learners were involved, shared our experiences, collaborated, etc. What did I learn? Even more about online education that I knew before. I especially liked learning more about, for example, Coursera. Amazing how much is out there for free! Additionally, I appreciated the listing of sample resources, including sites such as TedTalks and more. I have already used some of these in my classes now, so this was very useable! Finally, I now understand more of how online educational tools/e-learning helps support education as a fundamental human right through cheap access. This is an example of education for the world heading in the right direction.,
The guiding questions for Session III were:
Team Piaget's presentation on Portfolio's as a Learning Tool helped justify portfolios in general...and specifically, like this digital one! I took a lot of useful notes during the session, and it was also interactive with a Padlet, discussion, etc. Perhaps the most useful part of the presentation was the discussion on the 'Portfolio Process'.
As the graphic makes clear, there is a flow to the process: start with clear ideas about the purposes of the project, gather/sort/select the most important parts, add a personal touch/judgments, REFLECT, inspect, perfect/evaluate, share and dialogue with others, the add/delete to keep it new.
I believe this describes quite accurately my experience with my own blog so far, even though I have not reached the last stage yet. I would say I am still in the 'interject' and 'reflect' stages, although I will soon move on to 'inspect' and 'perfect' with this VOC I page (and have already inspected some of the earlier sections).
To quote from Team Piaget's presentation, "We do not learn from experience, but from reflection on experience." - John Dewey
Excellent. Ever since I was a camp counselor - my earliest experience as an (outdoor) educator - I have been trained on and lived according to that mantra. True, indeed!
Team Dewey: What is learning? What kinds of views (or theories) of learning are there? (Such as Kolb's learning styles.) What is your view of the various styles?
Team Freire (that's us!): What role do learning styles and strategies have in study guidance/tutoring/teaching?
Team Vygotsky: What is progressive inquiry? How does it differ from other cyclical theories such as Kolb's Experiental Learning? How is it similar?
I will start with our group, Team Freire, which had the following sub-topic to present:
What role do learning styles and strategies have in study guidance/tutoring/teaching?
Our group spent many hours preparing for this session. In addition to our own individual research, we met online via Skype for many hours. Although it was a bit inefficient and exhausting, the end result worked out quite well.
The summary of our overall session is here.
We started off the session with a brief survey. Here is a summary of the results (you will need to again download the original file. It was clear that a high percentage of participants saw themselves as more than one type of learners. In fact, all but one responded that they were all four types of learners! (visual, auditory, kinesthetic and tactile).
The main portion of our presentation was about McCarthy's 4MAT system. Here is a video we used to summarize it:
Here is the PowerPoint presentation for group Freire:
Group Freire Presentation - 15.9.2013
(Mikyong put together this very professional PowerPoint as part of the presentation.
Impressive!)
Team Dewey's topic: What is learning? What kinds of views (or theories) of learning are there? (Such as Kolb's learning styles.) What is your view of the various styles?
Team Dewey covered several theorists (Gardner, Kolb, Maslow) and then gave a quick overview of Behaviorism/Cognitivism and Humanism/Constructivism. Time ran short, so especially the end went very quickly. (over 40 slides in their .ppt!)
How do I feel about the usability of the each lesson?
Can I use something in my teaching?
As seen in the learning theory reflections below, David A. Kolb's Experimental Learning theory connected well with me. This was very useable, and I learned that I am already using applications of this theory in my current teaching. Since our school is an IB (International Baccalaureate) World School (Middle Years Program), we use experiential learning and reflection as part of our curriculum. The cycle of doing, observing, thinking and planning is a core part of our everyday tasks!
Team Vygotsky's topic: What is progressive inquiry? How does it differ from other cyclical theories such as Kolb's Experiental Learning? How is it similar?
How do I feel about the usability of the each lesson?
Can I use something in my teaching? I have to admit that the presentation, while professionally done with a nice .ppt, was quite difficult to follow due to the presentation style. When I looked back over my notes and the presentation, I realized the long and the short of it: progressive inquiry is exactly what we are doing with our small group sessions/presentations!
In our sessions we try to...
- set up the context with a real world issue
- present research questions to guide the process (or at least Juha assigns them to us)
- create working theories: sharing prior knowledge and perspectives with others
- evaluate critically (if nothing else, right here in our portfolios)
- search for deepening knowledge (do research, compare our intuition with experts knowledge)
- develop deepening problems (leading to more specific questions)
- eventually - hopefully - develop a theory (new or not) that answers the original 'big question'...and then this spurs on more questions - the inquiry process.
I am learning that this style of learning through progressive inquiry is quite effective, but it does take some getting used to. Can I use it in my teaching? I already am, in some ways, but to make it most effective I would need to be more intentional about it. Challenging students to do more of the research and sharing of their own knowledge can be difficult - especially with young teens - but it is something they can grow into as they mature and move on to high school and university, and then careers!
WHAT DID I LEARN? Funny you should ask...
Reflections on Learning Theories
After this first session, and the required reading we have had so far, I have been exposed to a lot of learning theories. It is appropriate to mention some of the main theories we have learned, and then to discuss which ones are ones that especially 'click' with me and my personal view of learning.
From our summer reading (Teaching Engineering - Wankat & Oreovicz), we learned about several theories. Behaviorism and Piaget's Theory of Learning (Cognitive theory) are two of these, and I relate most to Piaget. Piaget believed that there are four specific intellectual stages of development that humans experience: the sensorimotor (birth-2 yrs.), preoperational (2-7 yrs.), concrete operational (7-11 yrs.), and formal operational stages (11-adult). People generally progress from one stage to another at similar ages. I think Piaget's concept of 'disequilibrium' is quite compelling:
"Mental development occurs because the organism has a natural desire to operate in a state of equilibrium. When information is received from the outside world which is too far away from the mental structure to be accommodated but makes enough sense that rejecting it is difficult, then the person is in a state of disequilibrium" (Wankat & Oreovicz).
This makes a lot of sense to me, and I agree that this is a convincing way of explaining how people learn.
Other theories we studied were Constructivism and the Scientific Learning Cycle, Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences, Kolb's Experimental Learning, McCarthy's 4MAT, and Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Of these, I relate most to Gardner's, Kolb/McCarthy's and Maslow's theories. I have already discussed my personal 'intelligences' on my 'welcome' page, but in general, I think people do have a variety of ways they learn best and ways they are intelligent (musical, visual, verbal, logical, kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalistic, existential).
The basic principals of Kolb's experimental learning theory also connect with me. Learners go through a cycle of doing, observing, thinking and planning (concrete experience, observation and reflection, forming abstract concepts, and testing these in new situations). My own take on this is that anyone that wants to learn goes through cycles similar to this, and that giving as many hands-on experiences to learners as is realistically possible can help them move forward in the cycle to further their learning.
As we discussed in our session (see above), and as I commented on in my Welcome page on this blog, McCarthy's 4MAT theory of learning is a clever modification of Kolb's theory. The concept of student-driven, dynamic learning (as opposed to content-driven learning) is appealing, and I believe quite effective. Moving through the cycles - meaning, concepts, skills and adaptations - seems natural. I also like the idea of appealing to and engaging all types of learners (or 'types', as McCarthy refers to them). The student roles within each of the four quadrants of the cycle show just how comprehensively the whole cycle can be in terms of appealing to all types of learners. On the other hand, I believe it is quite a challenge as a teacher to actually carry out all of the roles of the teacher (discussion, information, coaching and self-discovery). However, trying to encompass all of these at times when teaching is certainly to the benefit of the learner. Now to actually try this in practice!
Finally, Maslow's hierarchy of needs also makes good, practical sense to me in terms of the needs of learners being met (or not) and therefore how receptive they are to learning. If students do not have their physiological needs met, for example, or safety and security needs, they are not going to be able to be able to focus on higher-level learning tasks. This ties in with my belief that teachers must be aware of/sensitive toward their students' lives outside of the classroom. Whenever possible, students' basic needs must be addressed to ensure that they can truly focus on learning when in the classroom.
Sources:
Teaching Engineering, Wankat & Oreovicz
www.aboutlearning.com
www.learning-theories.com/maslows-hierarchy-of-needs.html
www.literacyworks.org
From our summer reading (Teaching Engineering - Wankat & Oreovicz), we learned about several theories. Behaviorism and Piaget's Theory of Learning (Cognitive theory) are two of these, and I relate most to Piaget. Piaget believed that there are four specific intellectual stages of development that humans experience: the sensorimotor (birth-2 yrs.), preoperational (2-7 yrs.), concrete operational (7-11 yrs.), and formal operational stages (11-adult). People generally progress from one stage to another at similar ages. I think Piaget's concept of 'disequilibrium' is quite compelling:
"Mental development occurs because the organism has a natural desire to operate in a state of equilibrium. When information is received from the outside world which is too far away from the mental structure to be accommodated but makes enough sense that rejecting it is difficult, then the person is in a state of disequilibrium" (Wankat & Oreovicz).
This makes a lot of sense to me, and I agree that this is a convincing way of explaining how people learn.
Other theories we studied were Constructivism and the Scientific Learning Cycle, Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences, Kolb's Experimental Learning, McCarthy's 4MAT, and Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Of these, I relate most to Gardner's, Kolb/McCarthy's and Maslow's theories. I have already discussed my personal 'intelligences' on my 'welcome' page, but in general, I think people do have a variety of ways they learn best and ways they are intelligent (musical, visual, verbal, logical, kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalistic, existential).
The basic principals of Kolb's experimental learning theory also connect with me. Learners go through a cycle of doing, observing, thinking and planning (concrete experience, observation and reflection, forming abstract concepts, and testing these in new situations). My own take on this is that anyone that wants to learn goes through cycles similar to this, and that giving as many hands-on experiences to learners as is realistically possible can help them move forward in the cycle to further their learning.
As we discussed in our session (see above), and as I commented on in my Welcome page on this blog, McCarthy's 4MAT theory of learning is a clever modification of Kolb's theory. The concept of student-driven, dynamic learning (as opposed to content-driven learning) is appealing, and I believe quite effective. Moving through the cycles - meaning, concepts, skills and adaptations - seems natural. I also like the idea of appealing to and engaging all types of learners (or 'types', as McCarthy refers to them). The student roles within each of the four quadrants of the cycle show just how comprehensively the whole cycle can be in terms of appealing to all types of learners. On the other hand, I believe it is quite a challenge as a teacher to actually carry out all of the roles of the teacher (discussion, information, coaching and self-discovery). However, trying to encompass all of these at times when teaching is certainly to the benefit of the learner. Now to actually try this in practice!
Finally, Maslow's hierarchy of needs also makes good, practical sense to me in terms of the needs of learners being met (or not) and therefore how receptive they are to learning. If students do not have their physiological needs met, for example, or safety and security needs, they are not going to be able to be able to focus on higher-level learning tasks. This ties in with my belief that teachers must be aware of/sensitive toward their students' lives outside of the classroom. Whenever possible, students' basic needs must be addressed to ensure that they can truly focus on learning when in the classroom.
Sources:
Teaching Engineering, Wankat & Oreovicz
www.aboutlearning.com
www.learning-theories.com/maslows-hierarchy-of-needs.html
www.literacyworks.org
Session 2:
Curriculum, Lectures and Virtual Teaching
October 1, 2013
October 1, 2013
The guiding questions for Session II were:
Team Piaget: What is a "a curriculum"? What role does the curriculum have when designing teaching activities and guidance for students? What other roles does it have in Finland? Are the curriculae of a particular program the same all over Finland? (Or, do regional differences exist?)
Team Piaget: What is a "a curriculum"? What role does the curriculum have when designing teaching activities and guidance for students? What other roles does it have in Finland? Are the curriculae of a particular program the same all over Finland? (Or, do regional differences exist?)
Team Freire: What is learning through discussion? What other methods can be used in vocational teaching? How can these skills be taught?
Team Vygotsky: How can lecturing (and teaching) be enriched using virtual teaching? What are the "extended" possibilities of virtual teaching and eLearning?
Preparing for our session on Learning through discussion also took several hours of online Skype group work. However, we learned more and more how to work together well as a team. Here is what we came up with:
- The OUTLINE of our session.
- The PRESENTATION used in our session.
We used two Padlets for group discussion during our 50-minute session. You can see reference to these in the session outline. HERE is the first one, which shows some good thoughts from the group.
In the second part of the session, we used another Padlet. It shows some feedback from the group in terms of learning during our session...although it also shows we did not have enough time to get responses from the group on the last question! (in the center of the screen).
What did I learn? I really appreciate the definition we used for LSD:
Learning occurs as learners are actively involved in a process of meaning and knowledge construction as opposed to passively receiving information.
This is practical and real information, and a belief that has solidified throughout my career in education (both as a learner and as a teacher). I guess this means I am a believer in the core principals of constructivism!
Is this lesson useable? Can I use it in my teaching? I am already doing so in many ways, but it is important to remember this in all you do as a teacher. If students are simply receiving info. passively, they are unlikely to truly learn it (remember it, apply it, etc.)...just like adults, for that matter. Words to teach by!
What is a "curriculum"? What role does the curriculum have when designing teaching activities and guidance for students? What other roles does it have in Finland? Are the curriculae of a particular program the same all over Finland? (Or, do regional differences exist?)
This session included a pre-task of watching a video with various educators discussing the topic of 'curriculum'. Some of the quotes I appreciated:
Curriculum is...
'a map, a process, a common working tool'
'The experience of learning something...that matters'
' What we want our students to be when they are done'.
I thought these were excellent. We then covered several topics within this theme:
- the Finnish national curriculum, and those that participate in its process
- parts of the curriculum
- role/influence of the teacher/student in the curriculum
- different approaches of curriculum for teachers: as a building drawing, coach's tactic plan, or as a piece of art
A final video was quite nice, too: Why Education in Finland Works
This helps sum up some of what I learned from this session. For me, an American educator teaching in Finland, this video was meaningful. I especially like the portion that points out how publishers in Finland make changes to textbooks based on teacher's feedback/requests. Impressive! However, it is not always that easy...especially if you want equivalent textbooks to the Finnish ones, but in English (a real problem for English-language schools in Finland). By and large, though, Finland has a very effective education program, and the flexibility teachers have to affect the curriculum is a big part of that.
How can lecturing (and teaching) be enriched using virtual teaching? What are the "extended" possibilities of virtual teaching and eLearning?
In this session, the leading team included...
- sharing of samples of e-learning we use in our classrooms
- social learning and the new learning culture
- LOTS of online learning/teaching tool samples
- benefits of e-learning, suggestions for teachers
- studies showing benefits of educational games
- Coursera - an example of the future of online education (massive online courses...for free)
- extended possibilities of online education
I thought the presentation material was excellent, including the variety of ways learners were involved, shared our experiences, collaborated, etc. What did I learn? Even more about online education that I knew before. I especially liked learning more about, for example, Coursera. Amazing how much is out there for free! Additionally, I appreciated the listing of sample resources, including sites such as TedTalks and more. I have already used some of these in my classes now, so this was very useable! Finally, I now understand more of how online educational tools/e-learning helps support education as a fundamental human right through cheap access. This is an example of education for the world heading in the right direction.,
Session 3:
Evaluating learning and competences
October 16, 2013
During virtual session 3, Group Freire was the moderating group. This meant we were responsible for time-keeping and participating in the other three sessions, but did not need to prepare a session of our own.
It was quite nice to be in the role of host, especially when we had some technical difficulties with sound. I ended up calling the presenter and putting her voice through my computer's mic so the rest of the AC group could hear her. Problem solving, on the spot! : )
The guiding questions for Session III were:
Team Piaget: How can
various competencies be documented and developed using a portfolio? What
kinds of portfolios are there? How to show one's competencies in a
digital portfolio?
Team Dewey: How to evaluate/assess learning?
Team Dewey: How to evaluate/assess learning?
Team Vygotsky: What is the role of the student's self evaluation in vocational education?
Team Piaget's presentation on Portfolio's as a Learning Tool helped justify portfolios in general...and specifically, like this digital one! I took a lot of useful notes during the session, and it was also interactive with a Padlet, discussion, etc. Perhaps the most useful part of the presentation was the discussion on the 'Portfolio Process'.
As the graphic makes clear, there is a flow to the process: start with clear ideas about the purposes of the project, gather/sort/select the most important parts, add a personal touch/judgments, REFLECT, inspect, perfect/evaluate, share and dialogue with others, the add/delete to keep it new.
I believe this describes quite accurately my experience with my own blog so far, even though I have not reached the last stage yet. I would say I am still in the 'interject' and 'reflect' stages, although I will soon move on to 'inspect' and 'perfect' with this VOC I page (and have already inspected some of the earlier sections).
To quote from Team Piaget's presentation, "We do not learn from experience, but from reflection on experience." - John Dewey
Excellent. Ever since I was a camp counselor - my earliest experience as an (outdoor) educator - I have been trained on and lived according to that mantra. True, indeed!
Team Dewey's presentation on Evaluation and Assessment of Learning incorporated sharing our own experiences of evaluation with a lot of information on different types of assessment. Some things I learned and things that are useful:
- The Finnish matriculation exams will be available online beginning in 2016! This is certainly a big change, and one that will likely bring with it plenty of heated debate. I remember when the SAT's and GRE's in the US first became available as computer-completed (I took one of the first versions), and it was just as controversial. Is the new format fair? Secure? Easier to cheat the system? Harder to complete? (actually, I discovered that tasks such as reading comprehension are more difficult, as it is not easy to 'turn the page' or make notes in the margins on the computer!).
- It was good to remind me of the definition of formative assessment (mid-course) vs. summative assessment (end of course). Both can be used also to improve and make corrections in your course, but at different times.
- Some of the material from John Biggs was useful and new information for me:
- Keep in mind what the course objectives are
- The best assessment method is the one that realizes your objectives (as an example, essay-based tests require higher cognitive level processes than multiple choice)
Finally, Team Vygotsky presented on the role of student self-evaluation in vocational education.
There were a lot of valuable take-aways from this session. For example, the benefits of learning how to self-evaluate. Students...:
- write better
- have more motivation, confidence and persistence
- have a more positive attitude toward self-evaluation
Additionally, as long as students are taught evaluation criteria well, self-evaluation has been shown to be quite accurate. In all, self-evaluation is a method of learning-based education.
There were a lot of valuable take-aways from this session. For example, the benefits of learning how to self-evaluate. Students...:
- write better
- have more motivation, confidence and persistence
- have a more positive attitude toward self-evaluation
Additionally, as long as students are taught evaluation criteria well, self-evaluation has been shown to be quite accurate. In all, self-evaluation is a method of learning-based education.
Session 4:
Special areas of vocational teacherhood
October 29, 2013
The guiding questions for Session IV were:
Team Piaget: Group dynamics,
what is it? Describe the features of a functioning group. How to use
collaborative learning methods in vocational teaching?
Team Dewey: How does vocational education
relate to the larger whole of the Finnish education? What challenges
for vocational education are set by the working life?
And Team Freire's guiding questions: "What is expected of a vocational teacher? How does a vocational teacher
deal with the demands of equality, sustainability and entrepreneurship?"
Due to my background, I was quite familiar with Team Piaget's topic of Group dynamics. It covered why team work is important, the theory behind it and stages of development. Tuckman's stages of groiup development were, however, new to me: forming, storming, norming and performing. We were challenged to think of which stage our own group was in. I though Norming was the most accurate description (group goal is unified).
Team Dewey presented on Vocational Education within the whole of Finnish education, and in relation to working life. Most of the presentation challenged us with questions, as opposed to providing information. Part of the presentation was based on an interview one of our classmates had with the Project Manager at Kainuu Vocational College. The most helpful parts of the presentation for me revolved around teaching and working life in the future. A provocative video, "The Future of Work," (link to video) presented many interesting thoughts. The future of work...
- will be transparent
- will mean productivity will be accurately measured and tied to the bottom line (the more you get done, the more money you are paid)
- is flat: communicating non-stop, and no need to be physically in the same building (remote, home offices)
- is competitive (no one will pay you because you have a degree, especially when many are now free online, jobs can be filled anywhere in the world, there is no excuse to 'not know')
- will mean we compete with 'crowdsourcing' (to split a task into smaller pieces and unleash it to millions of individuals around the world)
- is On Demand (no guarantee of a lifelong career - contract employees, virtual teams - often temporary)
- means individuals will have more freedom and power than ever before, earning power will be based on merit, not location
- is YOU!
I thought these are very interesting and insightful. How many of these will apply to the world of education? Quite many already do!
And now for our own session regarding expectations of a vocational teacher, equality, sustainability and entrepreneurship.
Our session outline is HERE.
Our presentation is HERE.
This There was a bit of confusion within my breakout group during our presentation, and I ended up having only a couple of minutes to present the last portion on entrepreneurship. A video clip we were going to use ended up being for those that wanted to watch it during their break, which some did. It is an interesting view regarding the values that we can teach/give children if we want them to be entrepreneurial. (the whole video is interesting, but we asked students to scroll ahead to time mark 16:10 and watch to the end - about 4 minutes-worth).
Here is the video link.
IVET VOC 1 Final Session 13.11.2013
Equity
For our final session, we were given the following assignment:
Activity:
Each
student will individually create a lesson plan in order to teach about one
of three themes in a subject (field
of work) that they are familiar with. Use the template provided. Send the
completed template to tutors on email by 12.11.2013 or earlier.
The three themes were Entrepreneurship, Sustainable Development, and Equity. I was assigned to Equity. In addition to the template we needed to complete, we were also combined with one third of our classmates (who were also working on equality) to discuss and answer the following: What are the key
themes when creating a lesson plan about their particular theme? In a very pressing way, we also needed to throw together a 10 minute presentation on our answer to that question. This was not much time, and it was not easy!
Here is the lesson plan I created as my main assignment and which I briefly presented to the class during our session. I think it would be a very useable and practical lesson to use someday in my current setting:
Equality Lesson Plan
Class and grade: Grade 9 Student Guidance Counseling class (Working Life unit)
Number of students: 24
Learning objectives: To teach students about the equality within the Finnish education system and working life, which stem from basic Finnish values.
Expected outcomes: Students will have an understanding of and an appreciation for the equality found within the Finnish education system and working life. In Finland, a high priority is to give everyone equal opportunities for success in education and employment.
Prior knowledge of students: The teacher knows the students fairly well, having taught them for approximately one year (eighth and ninth grade Student Guidance Counseling courses). Students have only basic previous knowledge of the teaching topic (from, perhaps, history/civics lessons).
Forms of assessment: Typed, individual paragraph submission from each student, summarizing ways in which Finland has achieved overall educational and working-life equity (the ‘big picture’, as opposed to specific information retention.)
“Finland ofOfers Lessons in Equality for Educators”; Fillies, Benjamin. www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/2013/01/21/finland_offers_lessons_in_equality_for_educators.html
“Gender Equality in Finland”. www.wikigender.org/index.php/Gender_Equality_in_Finland
“Overview of Gender Equality Issues in Finland”. www.gender-equality.webinfo.lt/results/finland.htm
Here is the lesson plan I created as my main assignment and which I briefly presented to the class during our session. I think it would be a very useable and practical lesson to use someday in my current setting:
Equality Lesson Plan
Name of (student) teacher: Jay Thompson
Date/Time/Location: 18.11.2013, 10.00
AM, Computer Lab with desks/chairsClass and grade: Grade 9 Student Guidance Counseling class (Working Life unit)
Number of students: 24
Learning objectives: To teach students about the equality within the Finnish education system and working life, which stem from basic Finnish values.
Expected outcomes: Students will have an understanding of and an appreciation for the equality found within the Finnish education system and working life. In Finland, a high priority is to give everyone equal opportunities for success in education and employment.
Prior knowledge of students: The teacher knows the students fairly well, having taught them for approximately one year (eighth and ninth grade Student Guidance Counseling courses). Students have only basic previous knowledge of the teaching topic (from, perhaps, history/civics lessons).
Forms of assessment: Typed, individual paragraph submission from each student, summarizing ways in which Finland has achieved overall educational and working-life equity (the ‘big picture’, as opposed to specific information retention.)
Lesson
structure:
Activity
|
Key outcome (e.g. students
should...)
|
Class structure (e.g. students in
groups, seated individually)
|
Time
(min.)
|
Introduction
Students get into four
groups based on eye color and gender. Brown-eyed
girls are given 20 small pieces of candy, blue-eyed girls five, brown-eyed
boys are given 1 piece, and blue-eyed boys none (candy eaten after
class). No other reason is given for
the rewards. Groups discuss and express their reaction to the large group. Small
groups are then asked how this activity relates to real life for some people
in the world. After brief small group discussion, groups share their thoughts
with the large grp.
|
Hopefully students
make the connection to gender and ethnic inequality throughout many places in
the world. If not, the teacher
explains this issue, and that this is the reality in many societies (brief
examples given of minority and gender discrimination in the US, Middle East,
etc.).
|
Small groups,
divided as described.
|
15
|
Main section
Teacher delivers a
verbal/ visual presentation regarding the societal values of equality in
Finland, which manifests itself in educational and working life
policies. In particular, educational
policies regarding gender and socio-economic equality help make Finland’s
educational system one of the most successful in the world: both in terms of
quality and equality.
|
Students should
become familiar with: the history of Finland’s equality/‘tasa-arvo’ values,
some of the educational reforms since the 1970’s to reflect these values, and
policies that affect equity in the workplace, as well. Students should also understand current weaknesses
in workplace gender equity in Finland (e.g. the 20% pay gap between men and
women).
|
Seated individually,
taking notes, asking and answering questions.
|
20
|
Conclusion
Students should
individually write one paragraph summarizing ways in which Finland has achieved
overall educational and working-life equity.
|
All students should
understand (and appreciate) the general conditions of equality in the Finnish
education system and in Finnish working life.
The teacher emphasizes how this may lead students to feel empowered
and in full control of their educational and professional opportunities in
life, knowing that everyone has a fair chance to succeed.
|
Seated individually
at computer, uploading response via the student Fronter system for teacher
review.
|
10
|
Homework
For extra credit:
read the article, “Equality and Cooperation,” by Jukka Sarjala, and give
one-minute of highlights to the class next lesson.
|
An fuller
understanding of the history behind the policies and cooperation that has led
to the high quality and equality of the Finnish educational system.
|
Individual, at home.
|
Sources:
“Equality
and Cooperation: Finland’s Path to Excellence”;
Sarjala, Jukka. www.aft.org/pdfs/americaneducator/spring2013/Sarjala.pdf
“Equality
in Finland”. www.mol.fi/mol/fi/99_pdf/fi/04_maahanmuutto/07_aineistot_kirjasto/01_esitteet/tasarv/tasarv_eng.pdf“Finland ofOfers Lessons in Equality for Educators”; Fillies, Benjamin. www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/2013/01/21/finland_offers_lessons_in_equality_for_educators.html
“Gender Equality in Finland”. www.wikigender.org/index.php/Gender_Equality_in_Finland
“Overview of Gender Equality Issues in Finland”. www.gender-equality.webinfo.lt/results/finland.htm
Reflections on my research for the lesson planning...
When I first saw that I was assigned the topic of equity, I was a little apprehensive about finding enough helpful sources. However, several of the sources offered by our tutors were very useful and quite interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed much of the research reading, particularly because I have a better understanding of the state of equality within the Finnish education system...and how it came to be. The most compelling of the articles was, "Equality and Cooperation: Finland's Path to Excellence", by Jukka Sarjala. Sarjala, whose background made him an ideal author for such a topic, effectively laid out the history and current state of equality within our schools, thanks in large part to the cooperation between entities such as Parliament, the Ministry of Education, the National Board of Education, the teacher's union, principals, teachers, and parents/students. Coming from the U.S., such political and system-wide cooperation is enviable, especially considering the high quality of education that has resulted today.
"If Finland holds any lessons for the United States, the main one would be this: when everyone cooperates to achieve equality, inequality can be dramatically reduced and excellence can be attained."
(Sarjala, "Equality and Cooperation: Finland's Path to Excellence")
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