RSA #5 Transformative Experiences

RSA #5 Transformative Experiences

Online Resource: www.columbia.edu/itc/tc/parker/adlearnville/transformative.pdf

Our reading defines transformative learning as “learning that is based on reflection and on the interpretation of the experiences, ideas, and assumptions gained through prior learning.” (Palloff & Pratt, 2007, p.185).  but perhaps a more comprehensive definition comes from a founding father of Transformative Learning Jack Mezirow who states that transformative learning is more a theory of deep  processed learning that goes beyond facts and content knowledge acquisition, Learning that leaps past the memorization of data,  learning equations, or learning historical facts and data.   It is a desirable process for learners to think for themselves, through “true emancipation from sometimes mindless or unquestioning acceptance of what we have to come to know through our life experience”. (Mezirow 2000).

I found a really great resource by Dr. Judith E. Parker a professor at Columbia University.  In her academic paper she discusses how transformative learning can be enhanced by looking at two real world life examples.  First she looks at implementation of technology in the teachers college at Columbia and then at a Seminary school in Pennsylvania.

At Columbia, she cites a professor teaching the same class on campus, and online, and looks at Blackboard as a springboard for the beginning of transformative learning.  One student said:

“The discussion conducted here is very involving; everybody could get a chance to express his own ideas. Moreover, the discussion board online gives us a further opportunity to share ideas with all of the class. It has been developed into a real learning forum. Everybody chose their favorite articles about learning and training in their fields, and then shared their own ideas on the “blackboard”, thus evokes a real open discussion. This learning style makes me feel that I can learn anytime anywhere from so many people of diverse fields... By posting, reading, and replying online, our learning location has burst out of the limited classroom and lecture time boundary, thus it has given us an authentic flexibility and motivation to learn.”

This kind of “authentic flexibility” is exactly what I feel will allow students to have a transformative experience because how can one really truly transform without doing it at their own pace and time.  Structure is important, but can also be limiting. 

When looking at how this can apply to professional development and PLC’s we can see that if as educators we can enhance our own learning and creative transformative learning experiences for teachers we will be able to create those same type of transformative experiences for our students.


Resources

Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2007). Building online learning communities: Effective strategies for the virtual classroom. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

 Parker, Dr. Judith E. (2001).  Transformative Learning Enhanced With Technology. www.columbia.edu/itc/tc/parker/adlearnville/transformative.pdf

Mezirow, J. and Associates (2000). Learning as transformation. San Francisco: Jossey-
Bass.

RSA #4 - Online vs. Face-to-Face Learning

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/19/study-finds-that-online-education-beats-the-classroom/?emc=eta1

So are we moving away from brick and morter schools.  Will we all be teaching and learning from home by 2025?  Is online learning really better than physical face-to-face interactions with live teachers and classmates?  What is making them so successful?  According to Palloff and Pratt, the success of the online learning environment is directly attributed to the instructor or facilitator. The instructor of online learning communities need to be flexible with a willingness to adjust instruction methods, delivery, assignments, or platforms of learning as needed. (Palloff & Pratt, 2007, pg. 124.)  The reading looks at the 2004 studies of Rovai and Jordan to suggest that, students do in fact perform better in online learning communities that meet face to face, because of “reduced sense of isolation” and [appealing]to more dependent learners who rely on direct instructor contact to support their learning process.”  (as cited in Palloff & Pratt, 2007, p. 125)  This study focused on the graduate level learners, and did not compare to younger elementary learners. The reading also stressed learner-centric processes that facilitate learning within a constructive collaborative infrastructure.  Lastly Pallof and Pratt stress the importance of the ‘environment’ of the online learning community.  If the individuals of the community are focused on the environment that normally means it is not doing its job.  The environment should be working towards transparency. (Pallof & Praff, page 117) 
  

The Sloan Consortium report really is just grasping at data and trying to hard to draw some larger conclusions or research from data which is vast and often difficult to not only collect but interpret.  There were inconsistencies with the defining of terms and programming as well as the overall processes with which data was extracted from the study schools.  Accepting this challenge they began the process of defining distance education, developing a guidelines and a methodology to collect information on distance education, and in the collection of data started a data driven discussion on distance education. The study found that in the future if the trend continues it will become a substantial component of K-12 education.  Research states that around one quarter of our nations K-12 schools have  some type of e-learning or virtual school instruction. (Picciano & Seaman, 2007, p.17).  However the focus of the coursework is in a blended or hybrid formatting.  So is blending face-to-face with online learning the key?  

I found an interesting New York Times article by Steve Lohr called “Study finds that online education beats the classroom”.  The article begins quoting a 2009   93 page report from The US department of Education that claims “On average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction.” (as cited in Lohr 2009).  Barbara Means, the study’s lead author and an educational psychologist at SRI International said  “The study’s major significance lies in demonstrating that online learning today is not just better than nothing — it actually tends to be better than conventional instruction.” (Lohr 2009) 

Studies like this are helpful because it gives online learning or distance learning credibility.  I still feel like a blended format like our cohort is the best way to go because it gives face to the instructor as well as the learners which builds social presence and a sense of community.  In the same article, Philip R. Regier, the dean of Arizona State University’s Online and Extended Campus program, said “People are correct when they say online education will take things out the classroom. But they are wrong, I think, when they assume it will make learning an independent, personal activity. Learning has to occur in a community.” (as cited in Lohr 2009)

Sources Cited

Lohr, S. (2009, August 19). “Study finds that online education beats the classroom”. The New York Times, p. 1. Retrieved February 11, 2011, from http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/19/study-finds-that-online-education-beats-the-classroom/?emc=eta1

Picciano, A and Seaman PhD., J (2007) K–12 ONLINE LEARNING: A SURVEY OF U.S.SCHOOL DISTRICTADMINISTRATORS Sloan Consortium. USA:Sloan-C.  [http://www.sloan-c.org/publications/survey/pdf/K-12_Online_Learning.pdf]

Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2007). Building Online Learning Communities Effective Strategies for the Virtual Classroom. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

RSA # 3 Building Social Presence

http://www.lancs.ac.uk/fss/organisations/netlc/past/nlc2010/abstracts/PDFs/Kear.pdf

In order to create an authentic online learning environment it is critical that all stakeholders collaborate and work towards creating a social presence in the online community.  “Social Presence” is all about each individual making their “online self” more real to the other members of the group; likewise the learner is creating an identity in order to more effectively share who they are as a learner with the other members of the group to create a more effective and “personal” group experience where learners truly feel like they are not just interacting with “ghost people” but with real people with real identities and personalities. (Palloff & Pratt, 2007).

While it is essential that students work toward developing a sense of social presence, as with most practices in education the modeling begins with the instructor.  The instructor must act more like a facilitator of learning and create avenues which allow the learners in the community to interact in an open, respectful, thoughtful, academic yet personal way.  Instructors and learners must work together as balanced partners in the development of the online environment, as it is the learners who are know how they learn best. (Palloff & Pratt, 2007, p. 22-23) Although we know this is an essential component to effective online learning, building social presence is difficult and can be problematic for many learners.

Karen Kear, in her 2010 article “Social Presence in online learning communities”  explains that a diminished sense of social presence might create avoidance, or lack of participation in online discussions which may eventually cause a sense of separation between the student and the online learning community. Instructors or facilitators can help prevent this issue by helping students feel like they are a valued part of the online class by allowing students to communicate in various formats; this way students will be more likely to build a strong social presence.  Both Kear (2010) and Palloff (2007) stress the importance of blending face-to-face, asynchronous, and synchronous communication as essential to not only building social presence, but a strong, functioning online learning environment.  

Palloff  states “…that an initial face-to-face meeting can be helpful to orient students to the online environment and technology in use.” (p. 32) After this initial meeting, students may have a stronger connection and sense of belonging and trust not only to the instructor, but more importantly to their fellow learners.  This preliminary connection allows for further social presence and growth during the online portion of their education. By folding in synchronous chatting with asynchronous forums, students can establish a solid social presence during their online learning experiences.

Resources

Kear, K. (2010). Social presence in online learning communities. In L. Dirckinck-Holmfeld, V.  Hodgson, C. Jones, M. de Laat, D.

Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2007). Building Online Learning Communities Effective Strategies for the Virtual Classroom. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

RSA #2 - Assessing the PLC

Link to Article“Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; and working together is success.”

                            — Henry Ford

Our reading this week really centered on the assessment of a professional learning community.  According to Martin-Kniep, communities that last survive changes in leadership, membership, and policies (Martin-Kniep, 2008).  But how do we last?  How do we survive these obstacles?  Should we be self-assessing or should we have administrators formally evaluate our work?  I think the best answer is both.  Without self assessment the group flails; without outside evaluation we lose accountability. It would be nice to think that as teachers our students should be all we need in terms of accountability, but we all know that is not the case.  

That said, I think the onus must first be placed with the administration in terms of resources and guidance.  Currently, my PLC is sort of on our own.  We submit meeting minutes that I’m not sure anyone really reads, and we never get any sort of feedback on them or what is happening within the PLC every two weeks.  

Even with no formal evaluation from the administration we could all do better to look at our group, and our individual efforts and role within the PLC.   Richard Dufour in in his article “Professional Learning Communities: A Bandwagon, an Idea Worth Considering, or Our Best Hope for High Levels of Learning?”  gives a list of some critical questions we can use to asses ourselves:

1.    Are we clear on the knowledge, skills, and dispositions each student is to acquire as a result of this course, grade level, and unit we are about to teach?
2.    Have we agreed on the criteria we will use in assessing the quality of student work, and can we apply the criteria consistently?
3.    Have we developed common formative assessments to monitor each student's learning on a timely basis?
4.    Do we use the formative assessments to identify students who are having difficulty in their learning so that we can provide those students with timely, systematic interventions that guarantee them additional time and support for learning until they have become
proficient? 

I found a really great article by Joan Richardson this week when doing research for my essay that I think would be great to share.  It is called “Transform your group into a Team.” The article really lays out some great ways that we can assess ourselves and leadership can properly look at how a PLC is functioning. They ask administrators to ask the question: “How do you move from being a group of people with a common characteristic — such as teaching the same subject or grade level — to being a team or a community with a common vision and focus?” (Richardson 2005)

The article explains that all teams are in one of 4 stages:  Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing based on Bruce Tuckman’s 1965 research.  It also has a questionnaire to help assess which stage your group may be in as well as tools to help your PLC transition. 

References

Martin-Kniep, G. (2008). Communities that learn, lead, and last: Building and sustaining educational expertise (pp. 77-110). San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

DuFour, R.  (2007).  Professional Learning Communities: A Bandwagon, an Idea Worth Considering, or Our Best Hope for High Levels of Learning?  Middle School Journal, 39 (1),4-8.

Richardson, J. (2005). Transform your group into a TEAM. Tools for School, 9(2), 1-8. Retrieved January 29, 2011, from www.nsdc.org/members/tools/tools11-05.pdf

TSA #1: Online PLC = Longevity, Growth and Sustainability

Our reading in Martin-Kriep was really about how professional learning communities work and are sustained.  Perhaps not just sustained, but how they can evolve and flourish.  When starting a collaborative learning endeavor, such as a PLC, ideas always seem to be flowing during the inception, but finding structure, form, and a set of guiding principles to keep the group moving forward in a positive and goal-oriented framework always seems to be the downfall of such groups. “Success of a professional learning community is its ability to define its purpose, its criteria for membership, and the values and norms it upholds”. (Martin-Kriep, 2008)

I think that one way that we could really breathe life into the PLC's is to find a way for teachers to dialogue and create collaborative learning environments outside the four walls of the actual PLC.  In alignment with our coursework, I feel that one way to keep teachers engaged in the PLC is have them thinking about their work in the PLC outside the PLC.  Currently at Homewood Flossmoor our PLC's meet for 55 minutes every two, or sometimes 3 weeks.  We meet Friday mornings at 7:30 and I have noticed that:

1.) Many members of various PLC’s are late to these meetings.  Much of the faculty regards the PLC as wasted time, and because they are not seeing students, they feel as though they can walk in a little late.  As far as I am aware, the administration is aware of this trend, but nothing has been said to the staff about this.

2.)Everyone feels sluggish at 7:30 on a Friday and it usually takes 10 minutes just to get focused.

3.) Often, PLC’a although driven by a SMARTGoal lack focus, and tangent easily away from the task or topic at hand.

This has left me wondering about how valuable the PLC actually is in a physical setting.  I feel that one thing that would increase productivity and prolong a sense of growth and professional achievement within a PLC is to take some of the work of the PLC online.  I found a website called Edweb.net which just might be a solution.

EdWeb.net is a social networking site that allows any stakeholders in education to connect with colleges, share information and best practices, spread innovative ideas, and provide professional development. “... edWeb provides an easy and intuitive Web 2.0 platform that includes blogs, discussions, file-sharing, shared calendars, wikis, live chat, messaging, polling, and shared links. Communities (groups) can be created and linked for closer collaboration.”  (edweb)

According to the homepage of edWeb.net, the website allows educators to do the following:
    1.) Connect with Colleagues in Education
    2.) Create Professional Learning Communities
    3.) Collaborate on Goals and Initiatives
    4.) Provide Support for New Teachers
    5.)  Practice 21st Century Skills

I think that the free service would be amazing for PLC’s.  The stakeholders in each PLC could join an online group, chat about things as they come up in the real world, conduct research, online meetings, and conference with other colleagues in and out of their own district, or city or state who may be dealing with similar issues.  I think if this were an added component to my current PLC, we would have a greater sense of purpose, a little more freedom, more research opputunities, and a clean convenient way to move our PLC outside of 55 minutes every few weeks.  This would therefore create a sense of “long term” thinking and "in the moment" communication.  If something happens in class that might relate to the work in the PLC, a teacher can quickly chronicle it, and share it without having to wait to have a physical discussion.

I also think that this may be a great beginner site to technology reluctant educators.   If they personally use this site for PLC work, they may start to see the benefits of social networking in the classroom, and other available web 2.0 tools to enhance their teaching and eventually be successful at both personal and PLC goals.  I hate to even mention this but if you keep your groups public, administationcan keep tabs on the work being done...Although a little like "big brother", it would hold teachers to a higher standard, and I think more work would be accomplished.

I also found a youtube video published by the site which is a brief overview and tutorial of the edweb.net for your reference. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiBwqr5PD34

Works Cited
 

edpublishing. (2010, March 10). YouTube - edWeb.net Tour . YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. . Retrieved January 21, 2011, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiBwqr5PD34

Martin, Kniep, Giselle O. 2008. Communities that Learn, Lead, and Last. San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass.

Schmucki, L. (n.d.). edWeb.net - Networking, resource sharing, collaboration, and professional development for the education community. edWeb.net - Networking, resource sharing, collaboration, and professional development for the education community. Retrieved January 20, 2011, from http://edweb.net