Week 5: Reflection
This week, we touched on transfer, gave more attention to the gaming discussion, discussed and identified the key issues we found in our blogger readings, and picked partners for the book club discussion. I must admit, I was looking forward to a little more discussion of transfer in class, but I feel that neglected that topic a little in our eagerness to discuss McGonigal's ideas of gaming. I did find our discussion of the bloggers' issues very interesting. Some of the contrasts between the issues discussed by the different types of bloggers were surprising. I was surprised in particular by the more detached style adopted by the public library bloggers in contrast to the reflective, open style of the academic library bloggers. Our small group discussion delved into the ideas of audience, purpose, and branding, which turned into a pretty engrossing class discussion.
Week 6: Book Club & Socratic Seminar Readings
"The Book Club, Exploded" focuses on ways to mix up the traditional focus of book clubs, mixing media, fiction and nonfiction, focusing on topic or genre and letting the group compare and contrast bigger issues than the ones contained in a single book. Hoffert also suggests connecting to authors, offering book club kits, and including "bonus materials," like author interviews and other works on similar topics or with similar themes.
"The Evolving Book Group" focuses more on innovation in placement and conduct of book clubs - a mix of online and face to face discussion, group meetings in senior centers and bars, partnerships with local bookstores and other organizations, and also nontraditional book club fare, like graphic novels. Dempsey stresses the need to create book clubs "with careful attention to patron needs and interests," to be willing to think outside of the box with regard to meeting times and places, and to be unafraid to reconfigure a struggling group to better fit user needs.
Both of these readings hold important lessons for libraries - most importantly, don't be afraid to think outside the box, consider patrons' needs, and look for ways to attract non-users.
"Teaching Reading" looks at the day-to-day mechanics of using a Socratic seminar in the classroom, discussing tips for implementation, possible pitfalls, and positive results. It's more of a case study than a comprehensive look at the use of Socratic seminars in education. "Socratic Seminars," on the other hand, is more of an overview of their use in education, as well as a look at the positive results of their use.
Though I wonder if a Socratic seminar format would be useful for book clubs, it might appeal to those former liberal arts majors (like myself, sometimes) who miss college literary discussions. I could also see its appeal for professional development purposes, to facilitate conversation about new practices or innovation in the use of traditional ones.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Week 4: Reflection -- Week 5: Learning and Transfer Readings
Week 4: Reflection
This week in class, we watched Jane McGonigal's TED talk on gaming and discussed surveys and formative assessment.
I really enjoyed watching the TED talk, and the points McGonigal made were definitely interesting, but I think it would take a major game developer to get on board with her scheme to really make a big difference through gaming. I imagine a cross between Oregon Trail and Mad Max or the zombie apocalypse might catch on in the wider world and be able to impart some of the transferable skills she was talking about, but I don't imagine the scale she was working with was making that much of a difference. It was definitely thought-provoking, though, to take an activity like gaming and frame it in a different way.
We discussed surveys, including question formats, possible pitfalls, length, and tools for online surveys. We also discussed formative assessments, focusing mostly on strategies to utilize in a library setting.
Week 5: Learning and Transfer
How do we identify and promote information transfer?
The question of how to identify information transfer seems complicated. According to the readings, the evaluation of effective transfer is the speed at which learners apply previously learned skills to new situations. First, we'd have to identify the skills that we're measuring, then ask learners to implement them in a new context, and finally evaluate the efficiency of that ongoing process.
As far as the promotion of information transfer, the readings stress the importance of learners making meaning and thinking abstractly about knowledge. We must take into account and build upon prior knowledge, and remember that transfer is "an active, dynamic process." Allowing for ample time to build understanding during the initial learning process, emphasizing understanding rather than memorization, contextualizing knowledge, and both giving feedback and encouraging self-monitoring habits in learners are all important pieces of the puzzle of promoting transferable knowledge.
This week in class, we watched Jane McGonigal's TED talk on gaming and discussed surveys and formative assessment.
I really enjoyed watching the TED talk, and the points McGonigal made were definitely interesting, but I think it would take a major game developer to get on board with her scheme to really make a big difference through gaming. I imagine a cross between Oregon Trail and Mad Max or the zombie apocalypse might catch on in the wider world and be able to impart some of the transferable skills she was talking about, but I don't imagine the scale she was working with was making that much of a difference. It was definitely thought-provoking, though, to take an activity like gaming and frame it in a different way.
We discussed surveys, including question formats, possible pitfalls, length, and tools for online surveys. We also discussed formative assessments, focusing mostly on strategies to utilize in a library setting.
Week 5: Learning and Transfer
How do we identify and promote information transfer?
The question of how to identify information transfer seems complicated. According to the readings, the evaluation of effective transfer is the speed at which learners apply previously learned skills to new situations. First, we'd have to identify the skills that we're measuring, then ask learners to implement them in a new context, and finally evaluate the efficiency of that ongoing process.
As far as the promotion of information transfer, the readings stress the importance of learners making meaning and thinking abstractly about knowledge. We must take into account and build upon prior knowledge, and remember that transfer is "an active, dynamic process." Allowing for ample time to build understanding during the initial learning process, emphasizing understanding rather than memorization, contextualizing knowledge, and both giving feedback and encouraging self-monitoring habits in learners are all important pieces of the puzzle of promoting transferable knowledge.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Week 3: Reflection -- Week 4: Reading Response
Week 3: Reflection
This week in class, we watched and discussed a few of our screencasts and discussed the information literacy articles we found and read before class.
Some of the positive points of our screencasting critiques included enthusiasm, suggestions of ways to use the tool, pacing, and clarity of instruction. Quite a few of us also learned of new tools from our classmates' screencasts. I definitely agree with my classmates that in that exercise, preparation was key, as well as the ability to edit my screencast.
Our discussion of the information literacy articles we had found and read revealed a huge breadth of investigations into information literacy, which makes sense considering the diversity of anticipated career paths in class. One point that seemed to figure into each small group discussion, however, was the need for collaboration - between faculty and librarians in academic libraries, between school and public librarians, and between public librarians and community members and organizations. The need for a library's patrons and community to recognize the value of the library and the services is especially important now, with many libraries facing continuing budget cuts, and the rapidly changing field of technology. We touched on the concepts of transliteracy, the ability to understand and communicate through many different media and platforms, and metaliteracy, (which I understand to be) a sort of unifying set of concepts that cross boundaries among multiple literacies to create a blueprint for understanding the information contained in different media environments.
Week 4: How People Learn, Ch. 6, and Sadler article
How People Learn, Ch. 6: The Design of Learning Environments
This chapter discusses learner-centered environments, knowledge-centered environments, assessment-centered environments, and community-centered environments and how they intersect and create a framework for learning. Along the way, formative assessment and the connection between educational television and student success are touched upon. Learner-centered environments build on prior knowledge to conceptualize new information, take into account the cultural norms of the students, and build connections between the language students use outside of the classroom and inside of the classroom. In a knowledge-centered environment, the curriculum begins with students' prior knowledge, as in a student-centered environment, but goes on to concentrate on the information that helps students to understand the subject, thinking critically about the information presented and seeking to understand in layers rather than just memorizing facts. Assessment-centered learning environments "provide opportunities for feedback and revision...congruent with one's learning goals." Formative and summative assessment both play a large part in these environment, though traditional assessment techniques frequently fail to measure deep understanding of the material, instead focusing on the memorization of facts and procedures. Community-centered environments encompass the classroom as community, the school as community, and the larger community to which the school belongs, including the global community. The ideal learning environment must balance all of these elements.
D. Royce Sadler, Formative assessment and the design of instructional systems. 1989.
Sadler focuses on the concepts and skills necessary for students and teachers to assess work qualitatively and make improvements. The nebulous nature of qualitative assessment makes the conceptualization of this process somewhat challenging, but Sadler breaks it down into manageable chunks. Formative assessment must include both feedback and self-monitoring. The concept of metacognition has come up in our readings before, and I'm sure it will again. Sadler emphasizes the importance and challenges of the student's understanding of what quality work is and the uselessness of comparisons among students, instead advocating the use of standards and exemplars to show high and low quality work. Students must take ownership of a goal to begin effectively evaluating their performance. One part of the article resonated particularly for me - the idea that "if the rate at which expectations are raised is consistently greater than the rate of improvement, the inability of the student to keep pace results in little or no sense of accomplishment even though improvement may actually be occurring."
Throughout both of these readings, I kept thinking how much sense all of this made, and how hard it can be to actually implement strategies informed by these concepts. At the same time, I'm not sure how many of these ideas would be implemented in the sort of short-term instructional environments most often found in library settings. I'm looking forward to class to hear what everyone else is thinking!
This week in class, we watched and discussed a few of our screencasts and discussed the information literacy articles we found and read before class.
Some of the positive points of our screencasting critiques included enthusiasm, suggestions of ways to use the tool, pacing, and clarity of instruction. Quite a few of us also learned of new tools from our classmates' screencasts. I definitely agree with my classmates that in that exercise, preparation was key, as well as the ability to edit my screencast.
Our discussion of the information literacy articles we had found and read revealed a huge breadth of investigations into information literacy, which makes sense considering the diversity of anticipated career paths in class. One point that seemed to figure into each small group discussion, however, was the need for collaboration - between faculty and librarians in academic libraries, between school and public librarians, and between public librarians and community members and organizations. The need for a library's patrons and community to recognize the value of the library and the services is especially important now, with many libraries facing continuing budget cuts, and the rapidly changing field of technology. We touched on the concepts of transliteracy, the ability to understand and communicate through many different media and platforms, and metaliteracy, (which I understand to be) a sort of unifying set of concepts that cross boundaries among multiple literacies to create a blueprint for understanding the information contained in different media environments.
Week 4: How People Learn, Ch. 6, and Sadler article
How People Learn, Ch. 6: The Design of Learning Environments
This chapter discusses learner-centered environments, knowledge-centered environments, assessment-centered environments, and community-centered environments and how they intersect and create a framework for learning. Along the way, formative assessment and the connection between educational television and student success are touched upon. Learner-centered environments build on prior knowledge to conceptualize new information, take into account the cultural norms of the students, and build connections between the language students use outside of the classroom and inside of the classroom. In a knowledge-centered environment, the curriculum begins with students' prior knowledge, as in a student-centered environment, but goes on to concentrate on the information that helps students to understand the subject, thinking critically about the information presented and seeking to understand in layers rather than just memorizing facts. Assessment-centered learning environments "provide opportunities for feedback and revision...congruent with one's learning goals." Formative and summative assessment both play a large part in these environment, though traditional assessment techniques frequently fail to measure deep understanding of the material, instead focusing on the memorization of facts and procedures. Community-centered environments encompass the classroom as community, the school as community, and the larger community to which the school belongs, including the global community. The ideal learning environment must balance all of these elements.
D. Royce Sadler, Formative assessment and the design of instructional systems. 1989.
Sadler focuses on the concepts and skills necessary for students and teachers to assess work qualitatively and make improvements. The nebulous nature of qualitative assessment makes the conceptualization of this process somewhat challenging, but Sadler breaks it down into manageable chunks. Formative assessment must include both feedback and self-monitoring. The concept of metacognition has come up in our readings before, and I'm sure it will again. Sadler emphasizes the importance and challenges of the student's understanding of what quality work is and the uselessness of comparisons among students, instead advocating the use of standards and exemplars to show high and low quality work. Students must take ownership of a goal to begin effectively evaluating their performance. One part of the article resonated particularly for me - the idea that "if the rate at which expectations are raised is consistently greater than the rate of improvement, the inability of the student to keep pace results in little or no sense of accomplishment even though improvement may actually be occurring."
Throughout both of these readings, I kept thinking how much sense all of this made, and how hard it can be to actually implement strategies informed by these concepts. At the same time, I'm not sure how many of these ideas would be implemented in the sort of short-term instructional environments most often found in library settings. I'm looking forward to class to hear what everyone else is thinking!
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