{Instructional} Design Thinker

i DON'T know. I don't know. i don't KNOW. i don't know.

2011-06-30T10:27:00.008-05:00

There are many ways to say it and I have said it many times... I DON'T KNOW!

So now, I have a question. Could "I Don't Know" be a strategy for instruction? Say, for instance, you had to succeed in real life. Is there one location to get all the answers? Can you always get all the answers? Do you get all the answers just when you need them? Are the answers you get always the best answers? In the TED Talk with Sugata Mitra, the children continually ask him "how do I...?". His answer is always, "'I don't know', and then I leave". The children seem to figure out more things and risk more and achieve more than if they are given the specifics. Is this considered informal learning, even if it is in a classroom setting? Do the students really learn if they aren't being taught?

In John Hunter's TED talk about World Peace, he explains to students in the beginning that he is sorry, but he does not have the answers. His students then develop solutions and are able to think deeper and beyond the issue(s) directly in front of them. His description of the little girl waging war was a great example of thinking beyond the simple and small to get to a larger and better solution. His use of the students' "collective wisdom" is critical to what they gain from the... instruction.

Learners need content, but maybe, only as answers to the questions students have that support the solutions that develop in their minds. There seems to be a myth that for learning to happen there must be a teacher. I am stepping up on my soapbox to say that learning (in a formal setting) requires a problem, a bit of guidance, and space to think, but really, I don't know.

Instructional Activities and Ollie and the Olive

2010-08-24T10:32:00.005-05:00

I recently completed the maze to help Ollie the Olive (or was it Ricky the Ravioli) get from somewhere to somewhere else at Olive Garden. I was wondering if everyone goes about it the way I do? Do you take your pen and start... leaving all the dead-end mistakes, or do you map it out with pen in hand without any marks, only placing the marks when you have reached the goal, or do you visually figure it out before ever making a mark? How do students figure out the "mazes" they are assigned? What happens between the lesson (where they acquire new knowledge) and the assessment? Where do they get to (or even better, where are they required to) "practice" with their new knowledge and make mistakes and learn from their mistakes and say, "OOhh!, I get it now."? A few activities assigned between the lesson and the assessment will provide that practice time to build understanding of the maze of new information.

Ollie the Olive and his friends aren't with Olive Garden any longer, they probably went on to bigger and better, but I found a few online to print and try! http://www.free-coloring-pages.com/maze.html

Just thinking...

2010-04-22T09:13:00.004-05:00

Just wondering... does this make you curious? Would you want to learn more about it? How would investigate the purpose? Who could teach you? Where would your exploration begin?

C o g n i t i o n \käg-ˈni-shən\

the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses. A result of this; a perception, sensation, notion, or intuition. Oxford American Dictionary

M e t a c o g n i t i o n meta-\käg-ˈni-shən\
awareness or analysis of one's own learning or thinking processes Merriam-Webster Dictionary

L e a r n \ˈlərn\ - ing
gain or acquire knowledge of or skill in (something) by study, experience, or being taught; commit to memory; become aware of (something) by information or from observation

E x p l o r e \ik-ˈsplȯr\
inquire into or discuss (a subject or issue) in detail
examine or evaluate (an option or possibility)

I n v e s t i g a t e \in-ˈves-tə-ˌgāt\
carry out research or study into so as to discover facts or information Merriam-Webster Dictionary

C u r i o s i t y \ˌkyu̇r-ē-ˈä-s(ə-)tē\
interest leading to inquiry Merriam-Webster Dictionary

T e a c h \ˈtēch\
to cause to know something; to cause to know how; to accustom to some action or attitude; to guide the studies of; to impart the knowledge of Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Pretend

2010-04-01T13:45:00.001-05:00

http://www.girleffect.org/#/splash/

I like the thinking of this video.... The word with the most impact is “pretend”. Pretend that you can. In the world of pretend (think back... way back if necessary) there are no obstacles to a solution. Pretend that you can build it, solve it, fix it, do it. How would you? After (and only after) you have that solution, identify the obstacles and deal with each one... one at a time. Then, go do it... design a solution! Make the world better, one person, one day at a time.

Building instruction. Teaching a student. Teaching a classroom of students. Learning. Passing a test. Completing an assignment. What else?

The responsibility of the learner... Part 2

2010-03-01T12:29:00.002-06:00

Back to making learning the responsibility of the learner. I don't think you can hand them a book and say learn this. Well, you can, but.... They need structure because not only are they learning content, they are learning to learn and problem solve. When presented with an issue, problem, or challenge what is the first solution that comes to mind? Write it down. Tell someone. Their reaction probably takes your solution on a different path OR you defend your solution. Hmmm, maybe some thinking going on now. Then, what thoughts come next? Write it down. Tell someone, etc.

And tell students, actual real world solutions don't always happen in a semester, but they all start at the same place... recognizing a need and forging ahead with a solution.

The responsibility of the learner...

2010-02-01T12:21:00.004-06:00

I recently heard a faculty member comment that when there is no lecture students think the instructor "doesn't do anything". So I wonder... how do we change this "wrong thinking" and make learning the responsibility of the learner? I would just bet that when they want to learn something about their own interests, they don't have to have a classroom lecture to figure it out.

sit and think...

2010-01-21T09:54:00.000-06:00

I came across something the other day that said "Never be afraid to sit and think." and thought what a marvelous idea. How many times do I intentionally sit to think about a project or problem I have? And how many times have I accomplished something by getting stuck in a waiting room an extra 30 minutes or arriving somewhere early and having nothing with me to occupy my hands and mind? I tend to think best with something to draw or write on (and I find receipts and napkins with the best ideas and thoughts from years ago). At times, I can develop an entire project that has been evasive for weeks in one waiting room sitting. So how do we get our students to "sit and think"? What in the instruction inspires them to think? Is it an activity or assignment?

How DO you know?

2010-01-19T14:43:00.000-06:00

So the question is how do you know what you know? Where did you learn it? From the information that can be written down to the physical movement that allow knitters to knit (without looking) and baseball players knowing when to take aim and swing... where does it come from? Are you thinking about it? How DO you know what you know?

Next question... how does this impact instruction? How do we create thinkers that solve problems. From problems in science to the next great author or artist to tackling world hunger, are we preparing our students to be great thinkers with solutions in mind? Oh, and what happens when the solution they had in mind didn't work? Are we teaching how to back up, take another look and try again, or are we assigning a C+? How should instruction approach thinking?

P e r s p e c t i v e

2009-03-12T08:44:00.002-05:00

P e r s p e c t i v e

per·spec·tive -pər-ˈspek-tiv - a particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view; true understanding of the relative importance of things; a sense of proportion.

Perspective is an interesting topic. It has so many possibilities. Think about it... the perspective of a 2-year-old, a 6-year-old, a high school student with a job, a high school student without a job, a college student, a young parent or an older parent... the list is never ending.

Think about two tenured faculty with similar teaching experience. Will they present the same, will they have the same stories to connect the content to real life, will they "approach" students the same way?

Okay, let's back up and think about the "perspective" of someone photographing a tree. If the person is sitting under the tree, they are surrounded by roots underneath and branches overhead. If they are viewing a tree from a 3rd or 4th story window, they may see no tree trunk, only the branches and leaves. If they are sitting close, the drawing will appear large with individual leaves and if they are far away, the tree will appear small with mounds of leaves. If it is winter, the tree may not have leaves... unless it is an evergreen. There are just too many possibilities... or perspectives to know what a tree will look like if you send someone out to photograph it.

Teaching people is no different. There are so many things people - students (and faculty) - bring to a learning situation. Their experiences, knowledge base and interests come from the individual, but also from their family, friends and the things they watch and read. The content is the factor that is stable, but where each student's perspective takes the class is the interesting part.
When an instructor assigns reading, each student will focus on something slightly if not entirely different from another. Bringing all those differing thoughts and opinions into the learning environment is where true learning happens. It can expand the knowledge and thinking skills of everyone involved. This can happen in a face-to-face (F2F) environment, a threaded discussion or a blog. How many times have you been listening or watching something, and thought "oh, I never thought of it like that". THAT is what should be happening to our students.

What perspective are you using today? Mine are from conducting a workshop a few days ago for CoB faculty, a class called "The Presidency", a new HPR course, and the new Edutopia magazine that discusses creativity and the learning process. My new colored markers help me think out loud and the handy-dandy notebook keeps all the perspectives in one place.

Blogs, wikis, and podcasts. Oh My!

2008-09-04T11:56:00.000-05:00

Last week I decided to use my new "alone" time in the car more constructively. (My child started kindergarten.) I found and downloaded a podcast about technology and faculty development. What I found was good "stuff" but as always it led me to more questions.... questions about the content, questions about the who, what, where, and how of the podcast, and of course, how can I start doing it and informing USM faculty about it.

The podcast was about technology in the classroom, but I walked away with information about using blogs and wikis to extend the classroom, make students more conscience of the quality of their work, the resources they have in classmates (classmates as colleagues), and getting students thinking beyond those classroom walls (traditional or virtual). As the presenters (http://connect.educause.edu/blog/gbayne/podcastsupportingfacultya/46943) say, a wiki makes the content real... the students are no longer just writing for another teacher, but they are thinking, organizing, and writing for real people sitting out there reading. A blog - used as an ongoing notebook to keep thoughts can show the complete process a student goes through to create understanding.... and can be used by another student to complete or expand their process for understanding. What an amazing instructional tool. I wasn't sure how and why blogs and threaded discussions were different, but as usual, my partner in crime, Bonnie and I dug until we found out how and why and then what was best for instruction. We found that blogs are best for keeping up with individual thoughts, processes, information, while a threaded discussion is a conversation board for a class to discuss, argue, share, and support. Both are useful in a teaching and learning setting... it depends on the goal... what the student should walk away from the lesson with.

I have enjoyed taking my podcasts with me. I generally listen to them more than once sometimes forwarding through to the point(s) I miss.... what a great learning tool.

As always, I'm still searching...