DESIGN PRINCIPLE 3: KNOWLEDGE

“Good learning designs recognize concepts as tools, situate those concepts in the context of their use reflecting authentic activity, conceptual tool, and culture, and analyze content for generalizable knowledge?”  What does that all mean for us as teachers?

In the article “Situated Cognition and the Culture of Learning” by Brown, Collins and Duguid (1989) suggests that by “ignoring the situated nature of cognition, education defeats its own goal of providing useable, robust knowledge.”  This basically means that much of the learning and work done at schools in inauthentic and thus not fully productive of useful learning.  As teachers, we need to strive to provide authentic- or coherent, meaningful, and purposeful activities to our students.  So, how do we do this?  We need to situate kids in the context of the tools, activities and culture.  This is known as enculturation.  Students need to see that tools, both conceptual and physical, can be used differently by different groups.  We need to bring kids into the culture to show them how to use a tool and provide them multiple opportunities to use the tool within the context of the activity.  Tool- Activity- Culture… This is The Golden Triangle and students learn best when we combine these.  In the library, if I want the students, especially my 4^th and 5^th graders, to understand the importance of keeping the shelves neat and using shelf markers to assist them in keeping the books in order, are they going to learn it by hearing about it in a book or watching a cute video demonstration? Probably not! It’s more likely that they will gain the knowledge if I immerse them in the authentic activity of giving them books to shelve.  That way they see and will hopefully understand all that goes into it.  They need to understand the concepts, or structures, of call numbers, the different sections of the library, the Dewey decimal system and different types of books.  They also need an understanding of the processes of alphabetizing fiction books by the first 3 letters of the author’s last name, whereas the books in the biography section are alphabetized by the famous person’s last name.  Although the culture is within the school, this understanding can be applied to any type of library and is purposeful and meaningful to any student who wishes to be a library patron.  I also learned two very important questions to ask when designing these authentic learning activities: Why do they need to use it?  Who uses it?  Another important insight that I gained is the role of the teacher referred to as a cognitive apprenticeship.  Teachers need to model their thinking, metacognition, with students.  This was always a principle that I lived by during writer’s workshop when I taught in the regular classroom (kindergarten, first and second grade).  During my mini lessons, I always connected what we were learning to the previous concepts taught, modeled my thinking as I specifically shared  what I was doing while writing and explained why.  Then I gave students time to try it out right there with me.  I linked it to how they could do this as writers, today and every day when writing, and sent them off to have more time to try it out on their own while I conferenced with students, coaching alongside them.  As students grasped the conventions of writing, and honed their author’s craft, my support faded.  I also used many books as mentor texts where we analyzed what the authors did.  When doing read alouds with the students, I always shared the bios about the authors with the class, and we often visited their websites so the children could better understand that authors/writers are real people like them who have stories to tell with many of their stories coming from their life. 

In reading the other articles, I learned even more and saw many overlaps of knowledge design principles.  They spoke to the importance of engaging students in authentic activities or authentic context.  Both the SPD and AeCTS articles spoke of having a clear outcome/product. We must ask ourselves, “What do I really want students to know?” All three articles, including ABCs, spoke of process and providing the students with constructing activities to allow them opportunities to test their knowledge with teacher guidance so students can construct their own meaning and understanding.  Lastly, we must consider the patterns of communication that they use and provide them with sharing activities so students can receive feedback and compare the meanings they have constructed about knowledge with their peers.

I see the importance of all of these aspects in creating carefully designed learning opportunities. But I am struggling to think of ways to create culturally relevant, as well as,  purposeful and meaningful activities regarding information using outcomes such as web searching, citing sources, and evaluating sources to name a few.  Suggestions are welcome.

Kahoot Quiz: Situated Cognition

DESIGN PRINCIPLE 2: THE ENDS PRINCIPLE & THE SABER-TOOTH CURRICULUM

While reading the satire called "The Saber-Tooth Curriculum", published in 1939 I was struck how this curriculum debate still exists in education today.  The book is about a former student seeing his highly admired professor, Dr. Peddiwell, years later in a bar in Tijuana and the five-day seminar in the history of paleolithic education ensues.  The student remembers that Peddiwell "liked critical ability in his students" (p. 12.) If teaching today, (I think that Dr. Peddiwell would support the design notion of including critical thinking and problem solving). Peddiwell shares his studies of stone-age curriculum and the first great educational theorist and practitioner, New-Fist.  He refers to New-Fist as an educated man- both a doer and a thinker. "He knew how to do things his community needed to have done, and he had the energy and will to go ahead and do them. Then, as now, there were few lengths to which men would not go to avoid the labor and pain of thought."  (p. 25) New Fist pushed himself beyond those lengths, became strongly dissatisfied with the accustomed ways of his tribe. Upon observing ways in which life might be made better for himself, his family, and his group the concept of a conscious systematic education was born.  First he set up an educational goal, then proceeded to construct a curriculum for reaching that goal.  The curriculum consisted of "Fish Grabbing with the Bare Hands" and "saber-tooth Tiger Chasing with Fire." The practical value of the courses was obvious, until the Ice Age where the climate changed- the lakes dried up and Saber-tooth tigers migrated to warmer places.  Still there were traditionalists, the Elders, who argued that the great ideas embedded in these courses should be preserved for all generations because they were necessary for building the mind.  The book goes on to show the failure of educational systems and the lack of responsiveness and resistance to change, even when needed.  There were two main learnings from the book. The first was to define the purpose of education- to educate students to better one’s life, his community, and the lives of others.  The second point was the importance of educational systems to be able to change and adapt to changes in conditions of our world.

The book referred to New Fist as an educated man.  Being "educated" is a tern that is all relative to the time period in which you live, where you are, and the community that you are a part of.  When curriculum is designed and revised, it should be done with the recognition that being "educated" involves much more than knowing skills, but understanding the process and figuring out how to apply it to life. Lessons need to be authentic. The purpose of education is to prepare students to become successful, contributing, civic members of society in which they live. Learning should include active engagement of students in purposeful, authentic practices.  The activities should allow and encourage students to develop critical thinking, an ability to question… Basically teach one HOW to think, not WHAT to think. The mirrors articulated this very well in the book on p. 48 stating, “They do not teach us to learn what we live and live what we learn.” This is the second design principle- The Ends Principle.  "Good learning designs prepare learners to meet community needs by linking living and learning to the PICKLE (problem-solving, information using, community participation, knowledge, literacy, and ethical decision making).

The elementary school where I work strives to support “Community Participation” and “Ethical Decision Making” as we live the “7 Habits for Happy Kids” from The Leader in Me by Sean Covey.  We live and model the habits everyday as educators and educate the students to Be Proactive; Begin with the End in Mind; Put First Things First; Think Win-Win; Seek First to Understand, Then Be Understood; Synergize; and Sharpen the Saw. We provide students opportunities to develop their full potential while teaching them 21^st Century leadership and life skills such as responsibility, accountability, problem solving, communication, collaboration, initiative and self-direction, creativity, cross-cultural skills, and teamwork. The Leader in Me is also aligned to many national and state academic standards, but the process teaches students the skills needed for academic success in any setting.  These skills include critical thinking, goal setting, listening and speaking, self-directed learning, presentation-making and the ability to work in groups.  As a librarian/media specialist, my curriculum covers “Information Using” and Literacy.  I am the lead facilitator for obtaining our school’s Digital Citizenship certification through Common Sense Media®.  I am responsible for educating both staff and students with Information literacy, Web searching, Citing sources, Evaluating sources, and Web safety.  I have also stepped up as a technology resource leader in my building to help facilitate the integration of technology as a tool in learning.

Such conflict over the purposes of education and curriculum outcomes will probably always continue, and this conflict gives rise to healthy discussion and progress.

DESIGN PRINCIPLE 1: TEACHERS ARE DESIGNERS

What does it mean and how does it affect my practice?

Teaching is designing and there is both a science and an art to the profession.  To begin, a teacher needs to have three kinds of knowledge: content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and technological knowledge and these are thought processes used “in reflection to action”.  Then there is classroom practice which entails planning, delivering instruction and assessment, evaluation and perhaps, re-teaching.  These practices are what we do “in action”.  Lastly, there is design knowledge or “design practice” which is what teachers do “before action”.  This instructional design practice is what bridges the previously mentioned teacher knowledge and classroom practice. Educators need to know the following to be designers: “Teachers need to learn to identify the ‘real’ design problems. Teachers need to learn to consider and invent possibilities as well as recognize and embrace constraints. Teachers need to understand and integrate the four design P’s- principles, processes, patterns, and paraphernalia.”

To me, design is an informed, strategic approach to instruction often called the backwards design model.  It can be large in scope and challenges teachers to begin with the end in mind.  This means that teachers first identify desired results- learning goals or standards.  A teacher comes up with an authentic problem to solve- essential questions to answer.  Additionally, an acceptable evidence of learning is determined- the finished product with a rubric or other instrument to measure student success.  After this, the teacher or team of teachers design learning experiences and instruction using best practices.  When it comes to best practices, I remember these three questions that I learned in a college course in the 90’s, and still find them so important to use as a guide in my practice when designing instruction: Is it knowable to the learner?, Is it meaningful to the learner? Is it purposeful to the learner?  Best practices also encompass the practice of actively engaging students, developing critical thinking in students, giving them ample time to practice while the teacher guides them, fostering the ability to question and nurturing the desire to wonder, allowing time for reflection on learning, and providing opportunity for students to give and receive feedback,  just to name a few.

As a librarian, this impacts my practice of being a resource to the staff at all grade levels that I work with in my building.  As the county continues to implement its One to the World initiative and expect teachers to embrace project-based learning and B-Y-O-T, Bring Your Own Technology, my role is morphing into a media specialist/technology resource teacher.  It is becoming more collaborative in nature and the county is moving in the direction of utilizing a flexible schedule in the library at the elementary level where grade level 3-5 teachers would bring their class to the library with a set purpose/need that is planned collaboratively. Time to collaborate is a constant obstacle as my schedule is fixed and set up/viewed by administration and teachers alike as a special where teachers drop their kids off so they may have daily planning time and meet in PLT’s once a week during the school day. This creates dis-connect between what I want to do with teachers collaboratively, design instruction, and what I am able to actually do.  To compound this challenge is the fact that the schedule only allows me to work with grades 2-5 classes every other week which is not conducive to project-based learning.  I strive to keep informed of grade level projects, attend planning meetings as frequently as I can to allow for more collaboration, and design my lessons to support the context of their project, learning outcomes, standards, and skills needed by the students.  I also assist teachers with their use of design paraphernalia, technology, as I am facilitating the digital citizenship curriculum through Common Sense Media to support B-Y-O-T.  One area that I am successful is in creating lessons to support students with sustained inquiry- with their process of asking questions, finding resources, and applying information.  In addition to this, I will be facilitating “Tech Tuesdays” this year as a way to support the teachers with their integration of technology into their classroom practice.  One of the One to the World key elements is “Connected with The World” and when appropriate, students use technology to make these connections with the world.  Another key element is “Public Product for the World” where students make their work public by displaying and/or presenting it to people beyond the classroom. Technology and social media are valuable platforms to support this requirement.