This week's Food for Thought focuses on encouraging active learning in our classrooms that again aligns perfectly with our mission and building an achievement culture in an environment where students are energized, engaged and empowered through constructing their learning.
I am not going to excuse the increased length of this week's post because I believe spending 40 minutes-1 hour a week thinking and reflecting upon classroom practice is a fair expectation for a professional who wants to grow.
The two videos talk about the "why" of allowing students to become active in their learning but from slightly different perspectives. Eric Mazur should certainly encourage some of us IB Diploma teachers to reflect upon our dominant pedagogy, whilst Shelley Wright further emphasizes why the direction we are trying to move teaching at ISHCMC is so empowering for all concerned.
Following the videos I have included two short readings that provide some strategies and ideas for creating active learning and ensuring it is successful. As the IB programmes stress through Trans-disciplinary and Approaches to Learning Skills, it is important to deliberately foster and monitor group work and collaboration and not assume it takes place naturally.
Hope you find this useful,
Have a good weekend,
Yours
Adrian
Video 1: Professor Eric Mazur; Harvard Professor (13 minutes)
Video 2: Shelley Wright, Canadian teacher (15 minutes)
| Peer Learning http://www.cdtl.nus.edu.sg/success/sl37.htm | ||||
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| Many institutions of learning now promote instructional methods involving ‘active’ learning that present opportunities for students to formulate their own questions, discuss issues, explain their viewpoints, and engage in cooperative learning by working in teams on problems and projects. ‘Peer learning’ is a form of cooperative learning that enhances the value of student-student interaction and results in various advantageous learning outcomes. To realise the benefits of peer learning, teachers must provide ‘intellectual scaffolding’. Thus, teachers prime students by selecting discussion topics that all students are likely to have some relevant knowledge of; they also raise questions/issues that prompt students towards more sophisticated levels of thinking. In addition, collaborative processes are devised to get all group members to participate meaningfully. Peer Learning Strategies To facilitate successful peer learning, teachers may choose from an array of strategies:
Critique sessions, role-play, debates, case studies and integrated projects are other exciting and effective teaching strategies that stir students’ enthusiasm and encourage peer learning. Students thus have diverse opportunities to experience in a reasonably ‘safe’ and unconstrained context (while perhaps being evaluated by another group and/or the teacher), reactions to complex and ‘real’ problems they may face later in their careers. Successful Peer Learning For peer learning to be effective, the teacher must ensure that the entire group experiences ‘positive interdependence’, face-to-face interaction, group processing, and individual and group accountability. ‘Positive interdependence’ emphasises the importance and uniqueness of each group member’s efforts while important cognitive activities and interpersonal dynamics are quietly at work. As students communicate with one another, they inevitably assume leadership roles, acquire conflict-managing skills, discuss and clarify concepts, and unravel the complexities of human relationships within a given context; this process enhances their learning outcomes. Thus, students’ learning extends far beyond the written word and even the given task. Conclusion Research indicates that peer learning activities typically result in: (a) team-building spirit and more supportive relationships; (b) greater psychological well-being, social competence, communication skills and self-esteem; and (c) higher achievement and greater productivity in terms of enhanced learning outcomes. Although peer-learning strategies are valuable tools for educators to utilise, it is obvious that simply placing students in groups and telling them to ‘work together’ is not going to automatically yield results. The teacher must consciously orchestrate the learning exercise and choose the appropriate vehicle for it. Only then will students in fact engage in peer learning and reap the benefits discussed above. | ||||
| References Felder, R.M. ‘Active and Cooperative Learning’. http://www2.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/Cooperative_Learning.html (last accessed: 18 June 2003). Johnson, D.W.; Johnson, R.T.; & Holubec, E.J. (1993). Circles of Learning. Edina, MI: Interaction Book Company. Kaufman, D.B.; Felder, R.M.; & Fuller, H. (June 1999). ‘Peer Ratings in Cooperative Learning Teams’. Proceedings of the 1999 Annual ASEE Meeting, ASEE, Session 1430’. http://www2.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/Papers/kaufman-asee.PDF (last accessed: 18 June 2003). Nelson, C. (1999). ‘Critical Thinking and Collaborative Learning’. Tomorrow’s Professor Msg. #173. Center for Teaching and Learning, Stanford University. http://ctl.stanford.edu/Tomprof/postings/173.html (last accessed: 23 June 2003). Shaftel, F. & Fair, Jean (eds.). (1967). Effective Thinking in the Social Studies. Washington, D.C.: National Council for the Social Studies. Nurturing Collaboration: 5 Strategies
When collaboration goes wrong, it can be toxic for learning and classroom culture. We are all familiar with the scene: a group of students that is supposed to be completing a collaborative project has splintered off into dysfunctional factions. Maybe it's one student who has sullenly separated her- or himself from the rest of the group, or maybe the group has become two non-communicative teams with separate visions. Sometimes these conflicts lead to resentments that have the potential for long-term damage to the classroom community.
I wrote about the power and potential of collaborative projects and peer feedback.
(extract from previous blog post: Despite these difficulties, I believe that it would be a huge mistake to teach in a way that did not emphasize collaboration. Each year, as a result of different collaborative experiences, my classroom is transformed from a random collection of individuals into a supportive learning community. The collective effort and exchange of ideas lead to final products and understanding that would not be possible if students were working in isolation. These collaborative relationships between students are the result of intentional effort, careful planning, modeling and facilitation. I am frequently reminded that collaboration is a learned skill.
Why Emphasize Collaboration?
Learning is a social process, and the learning process is deepened when ideas are challenged and learners are pushed to produce work that surpasses their expectations of what they can do. That said, working in groups is a continually challenging process. It is important that students aren't forced to work together on projects where collaboration isn't necessary or beneficial to the final product.
Collaborative projects are a strategy to shift the focus away from the teacher as sole authority, evaluator and audience for student work. This democratization of the classroom provides multiple opportunities for learning beyond traditional content. Collaboration makes our classrooms places of exploration and exchange where students gain deeper knowledge of themselves, their potential and their roles in a community.These opportunities work to democratize the classroom and provide opportunities for learning on multiple levels.
Facilitating collaboration is one of the many aspects of teaching that requires skillful planning, a high degree of awareness, and on-the-fly decision making. Of course, even with the best preparation, the messiness of learning and the fact that we are all humans will cause unforeseen challenges to emerge!)
Below are five strategies that can help nurture successful collaborations.
1. Model Feedback
On the days when my students have come to class with a draft of a project that's ready for feedback, I'll reach out to a couple of students on the side before class starts. I then start class by calling on these students who have consented to share parts of their project. After each excerpt, I ask the class what they notice or what stands out. These affirmations set a tone for appreciating each other's work. After we have a list on the board of pluses (+), I then ask the class if they have questions (?) for the author. Asking for multiple questions instead of critiques helps me to reinforce the idea that, as authors and creators, it's important to solicit feedback and that everyone has the right to decide which feedback is most helpful for them.
2. Be Aware!
The talented nonviolence trainer George Lakey, author of Facilitating Group Learning, first introduced me to the idea of "internal weather" within individuals who are part of a group process. When I have groups working on a larger project, I maintain a constant awareness of the dynamics and the physical language of individuals around the room, even when I am far away from a group. I make mental notes about which groups are communicating effectively and which groups are dominated by one or two individuals. I take note of who is sitting separately from other group members. I often have groups work on Google Docs that are shared with me and color coded to represent the contributions of different students. A quick glance at a doc can give me a sense of a group's status.
3. Provide a Clear Structure
When students are giving each other feedback on a draft or collaborating on a larger project, I always provide clear structure and expectations. I may tell them, "You need to insert four comments on your partner's doc -- two things that are working well and two questions that will help the author to improve the piece." I recently gave students a peer review sheet asking them to give feedback on:
4. Use Tech Tools to Simplify the Process
If technology is available, the right tool can simplify collaboration and give students easy access to the work of their peers. That said, inappropriate tech choices can stop a project in its tracks. Google Docs, wikis and blog posts all have the potential to give students access to each other's work. Audio and video projects are often edited on one machine. In these situations, I strategize -- or have groups strategize -- different roles that can contribute to the final product.
5. Be Ready to Provide a Jump Start
Even with careful planning, collaboration can go really wrong -- really quickly! In these moments, I am quick to step in and provide help for a dysfunctional group in finding a way to move forward. This may mean facilitating a conversation about delegating tasks, conflict resolution, providing tips or sources for research, or offering affirmations and helping to establish a positive tone within a group.
I am constantly in awe of the different ways that my students, who come from so many different backgrounds, deeply engage with one another. Whether they are debating an issue, editing a podcast or planning a skit, these young people regularly teach me about the many ways it is possible to learn from and create with those around us.
In what different ways do you facilitate and nurture collaboration?
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