Week 8; Your Professional Development

I've posted the presentation portion of this week: Professional Development . As educators, we have an opportunity (obligation?) to model the skills and mindsets we are teaching. Professional development is an important aspect of our role. Our ongoing development is critical to the "meta" learning skills we have discussed in this course: self-reflection, creative/critical thinking, deep understanding, varying aspects of learning (Bloom's) and more. While our daily teaching load often prevents time for reflection, periodic review of how we are developing ourselves is vital.

I present three broad areas for consideration in your development:

1. Your subject matter (what you teach)
2. The act of teaching itself (improving your ability to teach)
3. Understanding of tools of teaching (technology)

For your portfolio this week, please detail how you intend plan for your own development.

PowerPOint - Week 7

The PowerPoint file for week 7 is available: Differentiated Instruction

Personalized (differentiated) instruction

This week, we move into concepts of personalized (or differentiate) instruction. Much of what we've covered so far sets the base of adjusting our instruction to meet the needs of each individual learner. As educators, we are constantly balancing numerous factors: the curriculum, the needs of learners, our department/program, personal pressures, and more. To teach involves more than simply lecturing (as we have discussed over the last six weeks). Teaching involves allowing learner's needs to be accounted for in the classroom. But, we have numerous competing priorities...so we need to balance the challenges of differentiated instruction with meeting the curricular needs of the program. Fortunately, the concepts of learning and teaching that we have explored to date can provide guidance in meeting the needs of learners - without necessarily taking more time than is allotted for the courses in our portfolio. Here are a few readings to explore in advance of our class:

Differentiated Instruction

Learner-Centered Teaching - only read the first 4 pages

Strategies for Differentiating

How to Differentiate Instruction

Powerpoint File - Week 6

I've uploaded the powerpoint file for today's lecture: Tying it Together

Some information on Multiple intelligence

We've briefly discussed multiple intelligence in this course (the notion that we are all intelligent in different ways). If you're interested, here are a few online evaluation tools:

MI Inventory

Multiple Intelligence Test

Week 6: Tying things together...

The last five weeks have focused on broad areas of course implementation. We've explored various theorists and their views of learning, different methods of instruction/interaction (group, lecture, self-directed), lesson plans and preparing for instruction, teaching practical skills, and motivation. In the proces, we have explored Bloom's taxonomies (the most prominent being his cognitive taxonomy), Chickering and Gamson's "good practice" at college level instruction, Wiggin's Facets of Understanding, and Gagne's events of instruction. We have also explored concepts of scaffolding, leading students beyond where they are comfortable, holding high expectations, using review as a means of connecting new information to what is known (the value of repitition!), and means to extend the classroom for increased effectiveness of the learning experience.

One of the key concepts I've emphasized during this course is that of "intentionality" - i.e. we do things for a reason. Our use of lecture, small group discussion, the types of assignments we require, and so on, are clearly thought out and reflective of our philosophy and views of education. We are intentional in all of our planning, teaching, and interaction with the learners.

This week, we will focus on another key concept - consistency. Our instruction needs to be seamless. Our learning outcomes influence our instruction, content and learning activities. Our assessemnt (beyond the scope of this course, but those who are continuing on with me will encounter this next month :)) needs to be tightly related to what our outcomes profess and what we have taught.

To bring these ideas together, we will spend time reviewing Bloom's taxonomy (simply because it is prominently in use in Manitoba college systems...though keep in mind earlier criticism of it's lack of focus on "understanding" and the erroneous notion of graded thinking scales).

1. Blooms cognitive taxonomy is explored well in this short tutorial.

2. Spend time on the RRC Learning Outcome support site - review the tutorial on writing outcomes (this is a component of the Course Development course in the CAE program, but it's important to be aware of these requirements in planning a seamless and consistent instructional approach - from outcomes to teaching to evaluating)

3. Review the material from week 4 on classroom sessions. Which teaching methods best align with the level of Bloom's taxonomy you are trying to achieve?

4. Review this article on moving from passive to active learning

5. Read this article: Motivating to learn

Week 5: Extending the Classroom

This week, we'll be exploring some opportunities to extend our classrooms, through the use or technology. I've also provided additional readings on the aspects of our lecture last Tuesday that were a bit rushed.

First, start by viewing this presentation: Extending the Classroom

Then, view this short resource: http://www.elearnspace.org/media/gettingstarted/player.html - degrees of teaching with technology.

Finally, spend a few minutes with this article on Low Threshold Applications.

In terms of readings based on our lecture last week...here are some resources on sections we didn't spend time with:

GRASPS

WHERETO - instructing tasks

...we will skip DESCA, quadruple agenda and 4MAT for the time being. As frameworks or principles, I do not actively use them in my instruction...but I will cover them briefly in future classes.