Content Framework: the Total Package
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Context
I teach in Michigan for public high school. This comes with many things. Recently the state has been in economic turmoil (to be honest, I can't even remember a time when it wasn't ). With this, comes larger class sizes (35-37 usually for me) . Also, due to budget cuts, teachers have begun a new definition of normal which includes traveling to multiple buildings, having no prep hour, teaching 4-5 preps, being forced to teach subjects and so on. My day this fall will consist of 4 classes ( 8th grade English , journalism, newspaper, and advanced television production). I also teach a semester of independent study video production each spring. I will travel on my prep hour between the middle school and high school . But probably the most concerning for Michigan teachers has been the implementation of newer evaluation processes for administrators. Teachers will now be rated and given a percentage which ultimately results in a label: highly qualified or something else ( there area lower levels I believe). Needless to say, no teacher wants to be anything less than highly qualified. This rating goes on the teacher's "permanent record" so to speak. It can ultimately affect a teacher if he/she wanted to transfer positions, look for a new job, or serve as any comparison point against other educators for that matter. In order to reach the highly qualified status, teachers must be formally evaluated in classroom (for me this consists of two formal observations and one walk through) . For the evaluations, administrators are using iPads. The program being used in my school is iObserve. Mostly, it's based on Marzano and the administrator checks off what he/she sees happening during the lesson (the iPad is literally set up to check the box). There are two other new components, one based on data and the other on reflection of the data and practice. We are to set a yearly goal, measure it , and reflect on it at the end of each year. We are asked to identify 25 students at the beginning of the year who are at risk, and use them and collect data on them as well. Sounds pretty tough right? I can only begin to say how much I have simplified this experience for this proposal. It's extremely messy. The data collection alone is a nightmare. Long story short, each interprets "data" differently and often educators disagree on what should be used as "data points". This has been the dictated discussion of almost every department meeting in the past two years at my school. We are supposed to be continually "collecting data" . But what is good data? What should I be measuring? What unit of measurement goes with learning??!! When asked, administrators simply point to the requirementsf the evaluation ( set by the district, guided by the state requirements). They have no examples, no answers for teachers. This year, things really got heated because many educators in my building didn't receive the highly qualified status. Something has got to give! Content Looking at data collection, the big problem is that "data" can take many forms (I' ve had extensive experience I collecting data due to my journalism background) However, in the field of education we seem to only be focusing on one or two types, test scores or written analysis. Moreover, this collection of data is used by the teacher alone and rarely get communicated or discussed with the student. Perhaps a teacher gives a test score back, and goes over the answers to the test, maybe re-teaches a thing or two and that's the end of it. Modern research has shown that we are not closing the achievement gap any better than before ( I can speak at least personally in my department in my district, ours got larger- even though the at risk went up, so did the others ). Most teachers find themselves scrambling to collect the data just to get it done, on top of their regular teaching, and therefore it is not utilized in a productive way. Yet at the beginning of each year we are again asked to set an arbitrary goal ( mine was to improve writing by 10%) . The content of the data collection is vague and does not tap into most students learning . And students have little or no recollection of what they are supposed to be achieving as the teacher collects the data. Their goals are set differently , and the teacher is asked to simultaneously manage all these different worlds at once. It ends up becoming busy work for the teacher and a daunting task to say the least. Technology The most difficult part is that a technology doesn't exactly exist for this - yet. And this is my big idea. I hope that in time I can utilize small pieces of existing tech tools to begin, and with more training or more outreach, I can actually create something new. My dream technology would be a standalone site ( like Wordpress or Weebly or a Moodle ) that teachers would use to build to their own needs. The site would be set up with preexisting options, based on different modes of measurement, and ones that include more modern concepts of a students experience in the classroom. I envision the tools including a "like" option that the teacher could set up where students could rate a lesson, activity, or unit, per se . It would have a Twitter-esque widget that kids could communicate with one another freely and with the teacher about concepts, troubleshooting, etc. for the lessons/units. It would have a section that would be game-based , that allowed students to visually track their learning goals and get "rewards" as they reached them (leveled up). Finally, it would include a tracker, so teachers could monitor the activity levels of their classes ( see who's on, when, what units, for what length of time, etc). All of these things exist on their own in different aspects of society, for different purposes, but not in education. All I have right now for this is a drawing (see left). As I began working out the doodles , I did envision that each part of this could be created separately and then brought into a web creator like an actual Wordpress. I may be adventurous this year and try it, if nothing else to see if the social data collection ( the real change ) is effective. For example , Wordpress.com has a site tracker that tells who is reading which entries, from where , what is trending, etc. There are already many simple ways to embed a Twitter widget. With a little coding knowledge, my achievement game could actually be created from scratch, using apps like scratchpad. The idea is that the tech be fluid between student and teacher, and students could basically complete the data actively, while the teacher is able to analyze and give feedback all along. It is meant to be collaborative between teacher and student. Pedagogy The backbone of this proposal is the notion that the educational model of "data" is outdated and does not match the collection of data in the "real world". This pedagogical change is based on more recent research like Danah Boyd's (2014) and documentaries such as PBS's "Generation Like". Students are very socially inclined and crave interaction. Too often they struggle to switch between worlds of school and society, and most teachers find themselves struggling to get students to quit the social engagement. But , the business world has become smart. Instead of asking people to switch off the social tendencies, they play up on them, and ultimately people are having fun and willingly being sold to. I'm not saying to turn a teacher into some sort of manipulator, but realistically, trying to teach a kid a new belief of the world is not that far off . Kids feel no connection to their outcomes right now, and the teacher is the only owner of their data. It's crazy! My dream model strives to engage the student, in their experience in the classroom, ultimately involving them in the data process and changing the type of data collected to something more classroom centered. Instead of measuring test scores, it strives to measure the student experience and troubleshoot problems in order to help facilitate the teaching and ultimately lead to better end of unit outcomes. Although the focus seems to use social psychology, the dream site would also include behavioral notions ( for example, some sort of game and reward system to visualize growth chats) . The main idea is that collecting data in this way will help track attention, engagement, emotion, and students can simultaneously (along with the teacher giving feedback) track their growth. This way, a teacher can more accurately make goals that are measurable, and that have purpose. For example, a teacher may say "my goal is for my students to all reach the creative level of achievement for at least 3 units each this year ". The best part is that the teacher can not simply guess it's what the students need, it gives real data to work with and even use to back up their practices to administrators. The TPACK Way The package is total in this proposal. The content should be on collecting data , ( on attention in the classroom (site monitor), the emotional status of the students (like feedback, emogees) , the growth of the student and feedback (game structured goal, with focus on creativity at the highest level). The pedagogy should include behavioral and social norms ( much like The business world). The technology holds both of these together and is the mode in which the two work together. Ultimately the technology is the tool in which students and teachers collaborate about their classroom experience as well as the outcomes. Right now, students cannot engage in their own goal setting and analysis of data. Data measurement also does not take into context the society and practices already used I their everyday lives ( things they are familiar with and willing to participate in). Furthermore, data collection rarely goes beyond just that- collection. With the new model I'm proposing, the data is meant to be useful and engaging and flexible for both students and teachers. Evaluation The impact in this case would be transparent as the technology is used. It is meant to give immediate feedback (using the like button is an example). If 35 of 37 students are "liking" something, it can lead to analysis of trends....the more liked, the more the test outcomes improve perhaps. Other aspects are also transparent for the student, their growth is measured in a simple, fun way ( using icons/visuals, using a game model where they can "level up", using rewards as in a game). You could monitor the class activity as well, with implications on attention and engagement (like Wordpress 's site tracker). To supplement a teacher could track trends, as in tracking achievement levels ( those who reached "creative" and relatively how they performed on summarize assessments). Or, the class engagement versus how they did on the summarize tests. Probably most useful however would be the data and it's relationship to tracking these behaviors altogether.... as in realizing that only 3 of 37 students "like" what they are doing. This data can really help teachers modify units, assignments , assessments, and even the communication between themselves and the students as they interpret the data. The data would be focused on the active learning in the class, and not just the outcome (the summative assignment). |