Kathryn's Teacher Ed Portfolio

Category: EDCI 335

Page for EDCI 335 – Learning Design.

Blog Post #5: Peer Review of Pod 3’s Interactive Learning Resource

November 20, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Hello, Pod 3! I’ve gone through your Interactive Learning Resource with the criteria in mind. I’ve copied & pasted the criteria, then wrote feedback for each part.

Peer Review for Pod 3’s Parkinson’s Disease Interactive Learning Resource

Derived from: EDCI 335’s Interactive Learning Resource Description: I input my feedback throughout in bold italics.

Your task in this assignment is to work with your group to create a learning resource related to the topic of your choice (ideally a topic within your academic major).

I see that your group members are mostly in Health and Information Science. Your topic of Parkinson’s Disease is a great choice relating to your majors!

The resource should take approximately 1-2 hours for a learner to complete.

You’ve stated that the course will take 1-2 hours to complete under your “description and rationale for the learning design you chose”. I think that it was very powerful of you to explain how your chosen teaching method, direct instruction, helps to contribute to this time limit as direct instruction can be a quicker avenue to learning in your particular topic than other teaching methods might be.

You should presume that you need to teach 15-20 people who are assumed to be in K-12, higher education, or are adult professionals.

You’ve stated that your resource will be for the Grade 12 age group, awesome! 20-30 students may be too many based on the criteria provided for us, but you could always check with Behnoosh to ensure this number is alright.

Your learners are spread across Canada and come from a variety of ethnic backgrounds. You should assume that two of the following contexts are present in your group of learners:

  • colour blindness
  • English language learner (ELL)
  • loss of hearing
  • single parent who is working full-time and has 2 kids in elementary school
  • a person who does not have access to a computer at home, but has a mobile phone with a data plan
  • your group can propose another context, but please check with your instructor first.

You’ve stated that you are designing your resource to include students with loss of hearing and a person who does not have access to a computer at home, but has a mobile phone with a data plan. I go into detail about your plans for these inclusion pieces further below.

You should use at least one, and ideally a combination, of the technology tools that we discussed in the course. Your learning resource will be reviewed by your peers before you submit it to your instructor during the final week of the course, and they will need to be able to complete the activities as if they were an actual learner in your target audience.

You must include the following in your resource:

  • An overview of the resource

Your overview looks great. It gave me a clear outline of what to expect from your resource.

  • A description and rationale for the learning theory upon which your resource will be based (behaviourism, cognitivism, constructivism)

You’ve clearly defined your learning theory of choice, cognitivism, and have provided the rationale for why you’ve chosen this learning theory.

  • A description and rationale for the learning design you chose (inquiry, project-based, direct instruction, etc)

You’ve chosen the “direct instruction” teaching method for your resource. I love the way that you explained the purpose for this method. You’ve clearly outlined how “direct instruction” is an effective teaching method for your chosen topic and interactive activities. 

  • A description of your learning context (K-12, higher ed, corporate, individual, etc)

You’ve stated that you are “assuming that the learners are in K-12, higher education, or adult professions”. I wonder if this is too wide of a demographic of people/ages. Perhaps depending on whether you think your resource is more suited for younger or older people you could narrow it down and just choose one group. To explain further, if your resource is made for professional adults working at a corporate level, it is probably not also suitable for Kindergarteners. 

  • 2-4 learning outcomes (copied or revised from your blueprint)

Your learning outcomes are clear and concise. I can easily identify what your students will be accomplishing or trying to accomplish with your resource. If I am understanding correctly, you have 3 outcomes highlighted in green. Your group has 4 members, so I believe that we are supposed to have one outcome per group member. You may want to add one more outcome because of this reason.

  • Brief commentary about each topic and activity

Under each of your learning outcomes, you’ve stated that you will “create content”. I’m sure that you are getting to this, but what content will you create? For example, under your first learning outcome which is to “define what Parkinson’s disease is”, more detail can be added about the content such as describing what Parkinson’s disease is.

You’ve also stated that you will do a poll/quiz for each learning outcome. Something that may be helpful may be to clearly state what will be in the poll and quiz. What are the questions? What are the answers? Again, I’m sure you’re getting to this, but it’s just something to keep in mind!

  • One interactive activity for each learning outcome/topic based on a resource aligned with that topic (blog post, video, article, etc)

For each learning outcome you’ve stated what your interactive activities will be. I think that more information needs to be added here. For example, for your first outcome’s interactive activity, students will be posting a “self-reflection blog of what they learned and what they found interesting”. Something that may be helpful for students’ would be seeing an example of what their blog is to look like and/or contain. This can also be said for your second and third interactive activities. Additionally, I think you probably are, but you need some more clarifying information about these activities such as what the Case Study IS for your second learning outcome.

Additionally, further down your resource you have stated that you will use a “drag and drop interactive activity for Parkinsonism and parkinsons identification” but I don’t see this throughout your outcomes/lessons. I think this is a great idea for an activity and would love to see it included!

  • An overview of your assessment plan.

I think that your plan to provide students with formative feedback through polls and Kahoots is very effective. It’s low-stakes and something that students can learn from immediately. 

For your summative assessment, you’ve stated that you will do a “short test”. I enjoy that the content of the test is the content that you’ve stated you will cover in your outcomes/lessons, but I didn’t see this test anywhere through your lessons. Will it be at the end of your 3rd outcome/lesson? It would also be helpful to see this test, which I’m sure you are working on.

  • An overview of your plans to design for inclusion of diverse learners (choose two from the list above, and specify in your resource).

Loss of hearing: You have good ideas and actions to take for including students with loss of hearing. I think that throughout the resource it would be useful for you to restate under each outcome/lesson how this lesson is supporting this inclusion.

A person who does not have access to a computer at home, but has a mobile phone with a data plan: I appreciate that you’ve created your resource for activities that can be done on a phone. I would again suggest to state after each outcome/lesson that this is possible. Additionally, going to a library is a good option for some people, but I wonder about all people. Some things to consider are: What if they are in Kindergarten? What if the library is far away from them and they don’t have access to a vehicle or public transportation?

  • A rationale for your technology choices.

You’ve clearly stated rationales for most of your technology choices. A rationale for YouTube is still need. Additionally, under your learning outcomes, you’ve stated that you will use Kahoot, and an infographic but this is missing from your rationales. What will students use for the infographic? One technology I know for this is Canva!

Links to each peer review of your resource

  • A rationale for why you did or did not incorporate your peers recommendations into your final resource

Make sure you link this! 🙂

  • A bibliography or reference list of all resources cited and/or required for your learners;
    • Use whatever citation format you are comfortable with (APA, MLA, etc) but please be consistent throughout.

You still need to add a reference list for your used resources. Make sure that you choose just one citation format, such as APA, and stick with it throughout!

Overall feedback:

I think that your interactive learning resource has a lot of potential! It still does need some additions before it can be used by teachers or learners. One thing I wonder about is if you are going to keep the resource on the Google Doc and have learners work through it, or if you could use another platform such as Notion.  I am excited to see it when it is completed and ready for teachers and learners to use. I hope that my feedback has been helpful. Thank you, Pod 3!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IYVboXpjw0kQbcenJHI5QhFb_wCI6qwQm399TqB-xYY/edit

Response to Hannah’s Post #4

October 25, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Blog post #4- Interactivty

Hi Hannah,

I am also happy that we have had the opportunity to learn more about student-student learning and interaction.  I often find myself still reverting to more traditional teacher-student approaches. It is a constant process to be reflecting on our practice and ensuring that we are using the theory that we have learned throughout our program to offer a more student-centered learning experience.

I hope that we can offer our students an authentic learning experience that allows them to learn without the stress of being assessed!

Blog Post #4

October 25, 2022 / / 3 Comments

Interaction

The Peekaboo Kidz (2015) water cycle video (see reference below) is a fantastic video to be able to show students to begin their learning about the water cycle. The video would help the students’ ‘buy in’ – an important part of teaching anything. Since the video follows the story of Dr. Binocs, it is interesting and engaging for students.

The video is not inherently interact, however it seems to be “explicitly designed to encourage interaction with learners” (Chapter 9, 2019) For example, the in the very beginning of the video, Dr. Binocs says “Hey! Have you ever wondered where the rain comes from? Or how the clouds are formed?” This question can get students thinking and wondering right away.

Since the water cycle and this video is more geared towards younger students, most students would not be ready to take notes as the video is playing. I think that students would respond to the video just by watching it and thinking to themselves, or if they like and are acting appropriately, doodling about the video as it is playing.

I think that it would be beneficial to complete activities at different points in the video. The video allows space for pausing, trying/thinking about what Dr. Binocs is saying, then going back to the video.

To begin, an activity that would get students background knowledge working, would be for the teacher to pause the video after Dr. Binocs asks the first two questions (about rain and clouds). When the video is paused, the teacher can prompt students to “think-pair-share”. Students can turn to a partner and take a minute to answer the questions, then share out to the whole class if they wish.

Second, the teacher can facilitate a water vapour science experiment with the class. The teacher can bring in a bunsen burner and show the class how when water is heated, you can see the water vapour rising up in the air. Students can predict what might happen when the water is heated.

Third, the teacher can show students condensation by putting a lid over the heated water. Students again can predict what might happen.

After the activity, the teacher could facilitate the students to create a whole-class water cycle mural. Students can sign up to complete different parts of the water cycle – and draw, paint, or use whatever artistic style they would like for that part.

 

Reference

Bates, T. A. W. (2019). Choosing and using media in education: the SECTIONS model. In Teaching in a digital age: Second edition (Chapter 9). https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/teachinginadigitalagev2/chapter/pedagogical-roles-for-text-audio-and-video/

Peekaboo kidz. (2015, March 11). The water cycle | The Dr. Bincos show | Learn videos for kids [Video]. Youtube.

Response to Hannah’s Post #3

October 25, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Blog post #3- Inclusivity

Hi Hannah,

I resonate with your thoughts on how important inclusion is. I hope that the work that is being done to offer inclusive education for all will continue and give all students their best learning experiences possible.

The differences between equity and equality are definitely important to note. I recall when I worked in after-school care years ago, some students had difficulties with the fact that other students got more resources. However, in my recent 6-week practicum, I witnessed students understanding and even supporting other students who needed more resources. I am very hopeful that this trend will continue and students will become more accepting of one another.

Thanks for your thoughtful post!

Blog Post #3: UDL & Inclusion

October 20, 2022 / / 2 Comments

In EDCI 335: Learning Design for Technology-Mediated Environments, my groups members and I have created a learning design blueprint for an interactive learning resource about the water cycle. Our resource is ideal to use with primary students, specifically Grade 2 students.

One important aspect to consider when creating an interactive learning resource is inclusion. Ensuring all students’ needs are being met is a crucial part of facilitating a learning experience.

Our group has considered students who are hard of hearing. Hard of hearing means that the student has some hearing loss but does have some residual hearing. Offering inclusive learning for this includes ensuring the use of subtitles on all videos and audio and the teacher wearing a microphone.

Some areas that we have not considered yet but will include in our interactive learning resource and lesson are:

  • Sitting the student at the front of the classroom or near the teacher/area that the teaching/speaking is coming from (Inverso, 2021).
  • Minimizing background noise (Inverso, 2021).
  • Looking at the student when talking to them (Inverso, 2021).

Our group has also considered students who have colour blindness. Colour blindness can show itself differently in different people, but we are considering the fact that it makes it difficult for students to distinguish colours. Offering inclusive learning for this includes teaching with the use of minimal colour and instead using a lot of black and white ink.

Some areas that we have not considered yet but will include in our interactive learning resource and lesson are:

  • Sitting the student in an area with a lot of light (Gavin, 2022).
  • “[W]riting out the names of colors if they are relevant to instruction (yellow sun, green frog, etc.)” (Gavin, 2022).
  • Labeling supplies that are colour specific such as markers and paint (Gavin, 2022).

 

When planning a learning experience it is important to remember that all students need something different to succeed. One thing that I would ensure when teaching our interactive learning resource is that students understand that we all have unique needs and just because you may not need something to succeed, that doesn’t mean that someone else doesn’t. This illustration showcased in EdTech Admin (n.d.). from Leigh Blackall, retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/leighblackall/26701766821/ is a great way to show students that we all need different things in order to be at our best:

References

EdTech Admin. (n.d.). Universal design. EDCI 335: Learning design for technology-mediated environments. Retrieved October 20, 2022, from https://edtechuvic.ca/edci335/universal-design/

Gavin, M. L. (2022, January). Color blindness fact sheet (for schools). Kids health. Retrieved October 20, 2022, from https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/color-blind-factsheet.html#:~:text=Ways%20to%20help%20a%20student,labels%20in%20addition%20to%20colors

Inverso, D. (2021, March). Hearing loss fact sheet (for schools). Kids health. Retrieved October 20, 2022, from https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/hearing-factsheet.html

Response to Alecia’s Post #2

October 8, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Hi Alecia,

I, like you, didn’t realize that the direct instruction teaching method contained so many layers. I always just head ‘direct instruction’ and thought that I would never teach that way (I thought it was the teacher at the front transferring information to students in a passive way).

However, your inquiry has proved that there is much more to the direct instruction teaching method. Giving examples and demonstrations is, in my opinion, a great way to learn! I know that as a learner I do well with observing others, so without this aspect of direct instruction, I would be uncomfortable in many learning areas.

One area of direct instruction that you mentioned that I dislike is that direct instruction is involves the teacher communicating information in a “clear and faultless” (Boxer, 2019) way. I think this puts a lot of pressure on teachers, and when teachers are always trying to be perfect, I think it is a missed opportunity to show students that teachers are not the all-knowing knowledge keepers. When teacher’s make mistakes and learn from them, it shows students that it’s okay if they make mistakes too. In the end, we’re all just human, and I personally want to create a classroom environment where my students and I are more equal and learning together, than just them learning from me.

References:

Boxer, A. (Ed.). (2019). The researched guide to explicit and direct instruction: An evidence-informed guide for teachers. John Catt Educational, Limited.

Post #2

Love to learn
Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

Blog Post #2: Project-Based Instructional Approach Inquiry

October 8, 2022 / / 1 Comment

Project-based learning is an instructional style that values deep learning (L. Harvey, personal communication, July2022). The Buck Institute for Education states that in a project-based teaching approach, students are at the center of learning. The learning is shaped around a goal, a project, and the students learn as they are reaching this goal or finishing this project (n.d.).

Boss and Larmer state that in a project-based teaching approach, the teacher is the facilitator, but they step back and let students do the work of learning. Compared to a traditional teaching approach, project-based learning teachers must let go of control. Teachers must not tell students what and how to learn, the students need to come to their own conclusions (2018a).

Project-based teaching and learning is effective because the projects that teachers help facilitate, or the projects that students decide to do on their own, relate to real-life and so are meaningful to the students. Additionally, compared to a traditional teaching approach, project-based learning leans into these projects, sometimes taking weeks or even the whole year to complete (Buck institute, n.d.). In a traditional teaching approach, the goal is to learn as much as possible in a short amount of time (wide learning), but the effect of this is often that students forget the information they are learning.

Boss and Larmer also say that to have a successful project-based classroom, it is important that the teacher does not overstep on students learning, however teachers are responsible for scaffolding student learning so that they do not get overwhelmed by just being thrown into a project. Once students are ready to learn through a student-led project, teachers should continue to have conferences with students to ensure they are comfortable (2018b).

A project-based instructional approach could align with our chosen topic, however the way my group is teaching our topic is not a project-based approach. I think that in the beginning of the year, especially since our topic is covered in Grade 2, it would be too early to facilitate the students to create their own edpuzzle for learning about the water cycle. So, for our topic and Interactive Learning Design, we are not using a project-based instructional approach. However, if a teacher scaffolded their students properly, they could adapt our topic and learning blueprint to be more student-centered, and have the students create their own edpuzzle.

References

Buck institute for education. (n.d.). What is PBL? PBL works. Retrieved October 6, 2022, from https://www.pblworks.org/what-is-pbl

Boss, S., & Larmer, J. (2018a). Scaffold student learning. In, Project based teaching: How to create rigorous and engaging learning experiences (pp. 127-156). Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development.

Boss, S., & Larmer, J. (2018b). Engage and coach. In, Project based teaching: How to create rigorous and engaging learning experiences (pp. 157-175). Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development.

Response to Zoe’s Post #1

September 25, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Hi Zoe! I agree, it is very complicated for us as new teachers to try and ‘forget’ the way we were taught and redesign our thinking to the new way of teaching and learning. When we are learning new learning theories in class at UVic, it seems so simple to implement this new way into our classrooms, but once we actually get to our classrooms, our mind automatically shifts back to the way we have known for most of our life, particularly our childhood life. Like the SmarterEveryDay (2015) video, and like you state in your post, it will take much time and lots of practice to really shift our mindset!

https://happyandhealthyteachers.opened.ca/blog-post-1/

Resource

SmarterEveryDay. (2015, April 24). The Backwards Brain Bicycle – Smarter Every Day 133 [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved September 24, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFzDaBzBlL0&t=376s

Photo by Brands&People on Unsplash

Blog Post #1

September 25, 2022 / / 1 Comment

In this blog post, I am going to be elaborating on the following questions:

  1. Share a story about how you overcame a learning challenge. Why was it a challenge? What strategies did you use?  Use the language you learned in this unit.
  2. Share a story about your best learning experience (could be a formal course or something more personal). Why did you enjoy it?
  3. Based on your reading, would you consider your current instruction style more behaviouralist, cognitivist, or constructivist? Elaborate with your specific mindset and examples.

This past summer, I enrolled in the ‘Personalized Learning Institute’ at UVic. The Institute consisted of 3 separate but related courses that took place over 3 weeks in July. Full time studies (8:30am – 3:20pm, Monday to Friday) and completing one course per week would prove to be challenging, but one of the best learning experiences of my life. I attribute a large portion of my teaching pedagogy to the experiences that came from the Institute.

         Week 1 of the Institute was ‘Project Based Learning and Teaching’. Coming into the course, I had a slight idea that we would be learning about how to implement inquiry into our classrooms to give our students a personalized learning experience. The very first day of this course challenged me. Our first assignment was surrounding the questions “How do we ‘Build the Culture’ of Project Based Learning? As a group, we were to discuss something that we were interested in or something that made us feel vulnerable in regards to this, along with questions we had going forward. Our group decided on answering, “How do we ensure inclusion and equity in group participation?” We discussed and researched some answers, then made our presentation in front of the class. We made a PowerPoint slideshow that revealed our findings and relayed that information to the rest of the class. I initially thought that we did really well on the assignment, until we received our feedback from the instructor. From the feedback, it was clear that we had completely misinterpreted what the assignment was supposed to be. The instructor wanted us not to relay the information that we found, but take the class on the learning journey with us. Rather than transferring information from us to the class, we needed to become vulnerable and facilitate a space for the class to come to their own conclusions.

         So why was this so hard for my group to grasp? We all admitted that we completed the assignment the way we’ve always completed assignments. We didn’t fully understand that this wasn’t about showing our knowledge and giving that knowledge to the class, it was about helping the class create their own knowledge. As the SmarterEveryDay (2015) video lays out, our group had a rigid way of thinking about presenting information. Even for the rest of the course, once I realized that the goal was to help the class come to their own knowledge and understanding, I struggled and continued back to my old ways. I constantly had to check myself by reflecting on my actions and changing them to reflect the theory I was trying to implement.

         When this new learning finally clicked, it all made so much sense. Taking the class on their own learning journey allowed them to follow a more constructivist approach to learning. They were making meaning from their own experiences and collaborating with others to discover different perspectives (Ertmer & Newby, 2013). This way of learning and instructing is something I will take with me into my own classroom because rather than focusing on memorization, like in behaviouralist and cognitivist ways of learning, students are learning from and remembering their own experiences. This way of learning is more meaningful and relevant to their individual lives, and they may be able to take their new knowledge and apply it to other parts of their lives.

 

References 

Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (2013). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design      perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 26(2), 43-71.

SmarterEveryDay. (2015, April 24). The backwards brain bicycle – Smarter every day 133 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFzDaBzBlL0&t=425s

 

 

Self-Introduction

September 18, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Hi everyone!

This page, EDCI 335, is for the Learning Design course in Educational Technology. This is the last course that I need to take to receive my

Information Communication Technology Professional Specialization Certificate (PSC ICT) and the last course that I need to take to move up a TQS category! I’m excited to learn more about technology and how it can be a useful tool for teaching and learning. When I graduate with my BEd in Elementary Curriculum in the spring, I will be sure to integrate technology into my classroom(s)!

Archives

Attributions

Image Attributions

© 2024 Kathryn's Teacher Ed Portfolio

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑