791 Sensemaking and Research Design Bog |
Over the course of the is class I have come to the realization that less is more. Not exactly profound, but for someone who likes to talk a lot, do a lot, go...go...go, it is important lesson to learn. I have a lot of ideas, and I want to do them all. But over committing, and over-doing has lead to stress and a lack of quality. You can't have 15 priorities, I have tried. We have all worked for districts or schools that have a million goals...none of them get done well. I don't want to add to that frenzy. I want to have a more singular message. A minimalist approach. How can I whittle my idea down to the most fundamental core? How can I present my message in such a simple way, that it leaves the view with a sense of peace, instead of that frantic feeling..."oh great! another thing I need to start doing!" I have always agreed with Baggio's philosophy on keeping visuals simple and clear, even before I knew who Baggio was. Visual clutter makes me cranky. But I have never though about the mental clutter. If I relate Baggio's ideas to Dervin's sensemaking, I see a connection. Dervin relates sensemaking to building a bridge between the learner and what they want or need. If Baggio was the bridge builder, there would be clear signage...you would always exit to the left..not the right. The lanes would be clearly marked. There wouldn't be a lot of extra billboards selling Hot Wings or Happy Meals. The path would be clear. The message direct. My message can get lost in my excitement. I want to add more, do more, throw in a few more strategies. My bridge will be cluttered with billboards, side roads, bike lanes, on ramps and exits. These paths might eventually lead you to the same destination, but the path is confusing, the driver might get lost and give up entirely. If my message is to increase student talk, I need to minimize the number of different strategies and focus on a basic strategy that will lead to maximum impact. I think teachers will appreciate using one strategy in a myriad of ways and situations. Less is more. Less of the new info; More ways to use that new info in meaningful ways.
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TPACK
I loved this reminder from Punya Mishra as he explained TPACK. I have struggled a bit in trying to fit technology into my project. I want kids to talk more, not less. Often when we think of technology, we think of 5 kids sitting together staring at 5 separate screen, not talking. I think this reminder gave me the freedom to find technology that encourages partner/group talk, like Padlet or Kahoot. It is not about the technology at all, but the strategy, context and content that the teacher uses it in. Challenges & Changes during prototyping process The prototyping process was very enjoyable to me. I want to dig into other projects and websites and find designs that speak to me. I often get stuck getting the "visuals" right...I can't move onto the content until the fonts, headers etc. are correct. Through this process, I am also considering altering the focus of my driving question slightly. Here's why. I have a lot of content...how will increasing student talk improve student achievement in math, reading, writing and inquiry. I wanted to provide some research, pre/post data, a strategy and a piece of technology for each area. I think this might be overwhelming to teachers. I am thinking of using one strategy in all areas. How can think-pair-share be used in Math? How can use tweek think-pair-share to improve student writing. How can think-pair-share be modified to work in any content area? I wonder if using a single "old fashioned" strategy in new and innovative ways would encourage more teachers to increase student talk? I would love feedback about this idea.. Sensemaking...and making sense of the Master's Project examples. Sensemaking is both completely personal and universal. What makes sense to one person, may not make sense to another. Some of us think linearly and others think circularly. We all think our way of thinking makes sense, and might possibly be the best way of thinking. But when we have to share our thinking with others...our sensemaking needs to be universal. How will my linear thought process make sense to someone who thinks circularly? And how will I know if it makes sense to a circular thinkers...if I can't think like them? This stood out to me as I looked at other Master Project examples. I wanted to ask why things weren't in chronological order. I wanted to add bold headings and use less words. What I realized is that I will need to share my prototype with people who don't think like me. Often times, I seek feedback from like-minded people. But if I want my project to make sense universally, I need to find the most different minded, different thinking people...and see what they think. |
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