791 Sensemaking and Research Design Bog |
Baggio, Clark and Dervin all say “focus on the learner.” Content is nothing without a learner. So I am going to try to convince teachers to increase student talk. And when I think about the learners, I think of teachers thinking, “I don’t want a loud, unruly classroom talking about whatever they want!”
So my thoughts this week have been thinking about “road blocks” to student talk. Why don’t we allow more student talk now? Historically, what has prevented student talk? What technology can help us increase student talk...or decrease teacher talk? What is innovative? I think the most innovative part of my action research is the simplicity. Student talk is not a new concept. Think-pair-share has been around forever. And yet, a seemily simple strategy can have a big impact on student achievement. I think that the simplicity will appeal to teachers. This does not require a new program, or software upload or curriculum. This strategy is “easy” to use and yet can dramatically change the way we teach and the way students learn. I don’t know if this is very outside of the box thinking, but I feel like in education, they keep reinventing the box. Instead, i want to exploring using tool in the box that has been overlooked. Reflections on Processes and CRAP. I love CRAP! Contrast, repitition, alignment and proximity; the four attributes of good design. Baggio’s book speaks to me. Simple design, clear message, less is more. I love it. When I read it, I am picturing good & bad website; cluttered and sparse classroom; word or confusing presentations. I appreciate that this book is a design book focusing on learning. In contrast, I don’t love Clark. I like Clark. I understand the need for Clark. I just wish that Ruth Clark’s book for Developing Technical Training was geared towards education. Although, I can find similarities and parallels between work place training and educational training, I find diagrams of toilets distracting. I know I am biased, but I feel that education is a special world. I think teachers are always designing lessons about procedures, concepts, facts, processes and principals...sometimes all at the same time. I wish this text was more geared to our specific field, with examples from various educational senarios instead of customer service senarios.
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Instructional design from Clark and Baggio....what are my take-aways?
In the assigned chapters from Clark, the focus is content. What type of content and instruction will I be trying to communicate. What type of information will I need to convey? Clark separates the instructional content into Facts, Concepts, Process, Procedure and Principals. I "think" that my design will require mostly procedure, or lessons plans. Lesson plans follow step by step procedures to get to the learning outcomes. Although, I will need to include facts, and concepts in order to explain the content and tools to a variety of users. I like that Clark talks about step by step procedures with pictures and action words to make following the procedures easy for all learners. Baggio on the other had focuses on visual design. This is a subject matter near and dear to my heart. My dad is a screen printer. My childhood was submersed in T-shirt designs, company logos, and various graphics. I good t-shirt design or logo is like a good web design. Many company's or teams what to pile every detail onto a shirt, it gets cluttered and busy and visually unappealing. Think about the most basic logo, take first-aid for example, a red shirt with a large white plus sign. Everyone knows that it means first-aid, help is on the way, emergency assistance or perhaps a hot life guard...all of which attracts the eye immediately. Visual clutter also happens in a classroom. I know many teachers that want to ensure their students don't forget anything. There are educational posters EVERYWHERE. How to use a comma is hanging from the ceiling, long division is to the left next to Least Common Multiple and don't forget about school rules...ahhh! There are kids and teachers that love visually stimulating classrooms and design. And there are people like me, who get what I call "rashy" when there is too much visual stimulation. I can't concentrate, I can't listen to the teacher because I am too busy looking at the walls. Was the teacher even talking?....Did she call on me? Prime factorization? Where is that poster...? Baggio's chapter 6 & 7 really spoke to me. Less is more. Visuals should support the content. I liked these rules: 1. Keep is simple. 2. Keep it clear. 3. Keep it focused. 4. Connect with the content. 5. Connect with the learner. Is it a process, a procedure or a principal? If a concept is a chair, what is a fact? Is the relevance the context or is the attention the engagement? I am in instructional design overload.
I am enjoying thinking about all of the different aspects and considerations that go into good instructional design. Considering the learners sociocultural background, the needs and expectations of the learner. Thoughtfully planning what technical tools and resources the learner might needs, along with their comfort level with those tools...it can all be a bit overwhelming. It does make me appreciate all the work that has gone into curriculum, web design and instructional training. When I think of the SITE model, I think about the professional learning I provide for my staff. I am often required to lead teacher through a data analysis process. The data is housed on a variety of websites. These days often give me anxiety. In a staff of 30 teachers, there are a few who don't use their computers at all....so getting them to log in to the correct site and navigate through the data is a challenge. Inevitably, there will be a few teachers who don't value the particular piece of data we are looking at, so they feel it is a waste of their time. Another handful of teachers will have looked at this data on their own, so going through step by step is a waste of their time. A few teachers will be in see the value of the data and be able to use the technical tools, so for them, the professional learning is a success. I think of this group when I think of my next steps. My working driving question is "What will the effects of increased academic language have on academic achievement?". My audience is teachers, my staff in particular. Good instructional design should be able to connect to all these groups of people. On the plus side, I know my staff well, I have worked with most of them for 10 plus years. I know who has tech trouble, I know who embraces change and who avoids it. My challenge is presenting the information in a way that can meet the needs of this diverse group and have the instruction be meaningful and relevant to all of them. |
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