I was inspired to teach high school based on experiences I had throughout my own time in high school. Several teachers left a lasting impression and these were almost universally due to their ability to tell stories and connect with their students. My teachers loved their content and they just seemed to love life. They had hobbies and interests that often intersected with their content, and they weren't afraid to share it. Discussions were facilitated by my teacher, but were live and always changing based on students comments and interactions. Some days we did end up talking about one teacher’s Harley-Davidson motorcycle between research methods and biology, but in the end, we learned the content that was needed. Little did I know that my teachers were using the learning theories of constructivism. These conversations allowed us to develop ideas into our own schemas. According to Piaget’s theory, schemas are the way that we process new information by categorizing it without our contextual knowledge and learning happens when new ideas challenge our schemas. (Cherry, 2019). By allowing us to share our ideas, we were sharing our learning categories with our peers. Lev Vygotsky’s theory of sociocultural learning suggests that learning is a collaborative process that is prompted by our culture and the people around us challenging our ideas (McLeod, 2019). This was also in play, as we were empowered to interact with our peers, share ideas, challenge each other, and genuinely learn from one another. I carried this idea into my own classroom. I wanted to be personable. I wanted to share enthusiasm for the material and connect it to me and my interests. I wanted, above all, to be a person who loved my content area, and loved talking about it with students so I could get their opinions, ideas, and perspectives. I wanted to learn with them. I have been in the classroom for 10 years and it didn't take long for me to consider that they grew up in a vastly different world than I did. My childhood was pre-internet, slower, and patient. My hobbies and interests were enriched largely through my friends and family. Now, my students have the world at their fingertips. Their sphere of influence is vast and the potential for hobbies and interests must be overwhelming. I am always curious about how they find their interests and these conversations quickly connect to material. When considering my personal theory of learning, I decided to ask my former students about what they experienced in my class. I asked them, “How do you describe learning in my classroom?. Please enjoy their responses in the video below: I was not surprised at the sheer amount of students who mentioned discussion. Nearly every day, I attempt to open with some questions that get them talking. This may or may not be attached to the current content, but it will usually get there. These conversations are in the spirit of Vygotsky’s sociocultural learning. I believe that facilitating discussions is one of my strengths, and I was happy to see the students mostly respond to the discussions in a positive way. Discussions allow students to frame their understanding within their experiences, and then, ideally, learn from other ideas that are presented. By having students share their perspective and challenge other ideals, students learn to empathize and understand situations in a more complex way (Cherry, 2022). As new ideas push the boundaries of our schemas we begin to learn (Cherry, 2019). By allowing students to use their context to discuss and connect with the material, they start the conversation empowered, and hopefully, leave the conversation challenged by other ideas and opinions. I want my students to be challenged by ideas and then given a venue to play with this new way of thinking. In addition to the question above, I asked my students, “What is one specific thing that you learned in my class?” I was curious what specific items stuck with them over the years, and I figured it would give me a sense of what my approach to sociocultural learning is yielding. Their answers are provided in the video below: I allow unlimited revision to empower a spirit of play in my classroom. The revision process was inspired by Papert’s constructionism, which focuses on play and making ideas sharable and tangible (Ackerman, 2001). Through the revision process my students share their information with me and their peers. The process is iterative and collaborative. We work together to make the work better, and putting your ideas out there in a public space is key to Papert’s constructionism theory (Ackerman, 2001). I stress the idea that learning doesn't always look like an A on a test or a successful essay and it often is seeing something in a new light, and those significant moments don’t always come from me. I also continue to consider Vygotsky’s sociocultural learning, which theorizes that we learn best when supported - and challenged - by our peers (Cherry, 2022), and discussions and revision work well to respect what students know, make them feel welcome, and then challenge them to grow through successes and failures. We need others to challenge our understanding and ideals. To fully teach my students, I need them to challenge my understanding of the content and the best way to reach them. I allow unlimited revision to empower my students to understand that mistakes are where the learning happens. Each group of students that graces my presence is made up of different experiences, culturals, and contexts, and they help me guide the discussion to ensure we all learn something. References:
Ackerman, E. (2001). Piaget’s constructivism, Papert’s constructionism: What’s the difference. Future of learning group publication, 5(3), 1-11. Cherry, K. (2019, September 23). The role of a schema in psychology. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-schema-2795873 Cherry, K. (2022, June 3). Sociocultural theory of development. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-sociocultural-theory-2795088 McLeod, S. A. (2019, July 17). Constructivism as a theory for teaching and learning. Simply Psychology. www.simplypsychology.org/constructivism.html
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Week two MSU MAET Hybrid face-to-face is in the books, and I am thankful for my peers, professors, and others who joined me along the way. During the two-week experience we participated in two conferences:, the Michigan State University Educational Technology Summit, and EdCamp MACUL, hosted by the Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning (MACUL). These conferences focused on ways to leverage technology in education spaces. Despite the similar theme, the approach was quite different. The MSU Ed Tech Summit was traditional with speakers presenting via Zoom, and offered a question and answer session. However the Edcamp, was presented as an “unconference” where professional peers get together, establish themes, and then talk about those themes within their professional and personal contexts. Both of these conferences were firmly within Vygotsky’s sociocultural learning theory. Vygotsky claimed that we learn through social interaction and pushing ourselves slightly with the help of others. Called the zone of proximal development, he defined it as “the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem-solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers.” (Cherry, 2022). It is the gap between what a child could learn on their own, versus what they need a bit of help with. This help comes from a parent, mentor, or peer who has that more advanced skill - a more knowledgeable other. I love the presentation of these mentors as peers. Peers are people on the same level, yet Vygotsky, recognizes that we all have specializations and strengths. In my mind, it limits the power hierarchy. We are all on the same level and all learning from one another. During the MSU Edtech Conference, I shared my experiences using design and creation tools as both a student and a K-12 educator. See our collected slides, here. Despite the limitations of being on Zoom, there were a variety of great questions and suggestions from the audience that led to more two-way learning. We were not presented as experts, but simply those that had experience using the tech. This same philosophy carried into Edcamp but due to it being face-to-face, it led to more organic conversation and learning. Facilitators were simply meant to introduce the topic and then let the participants discuss in an open fashion. Maybe because of us all being there due to interest and our professional role as teachers, the free form model worked. We all shared our experiences, challenges, successes, etc. I feel we walked out of there with more ideas and confidence to try new things, or look at aspects of education with a fresh perspective. Below is a montage illustrating edcamp MACUL. I was immediately interested in how I could use this model in my classroom. Edcamp works because participants are able to define the discussion topics, but given that it is through the lens of education, those topics were linked to the theme of the event. How could I get my students to facilitate big ideas from a text? What incentives would be needed to participate? Despite my love of sociocultural learning, public school students are still driven by points in a very behaviorist way. Would they be able to pick a core theme from a text and then spitball ways to connect it to their lives? The outside world? What about writing? Could we break into groups about the various components of an essay and then discuss ideas, evidence, etc.? I don’t have the answers to these questions, but it is clear the conferences, and hybrid as a whole got me thinking. I see these approaches as the future of education. As we get more understanding of cultural background and the influence it has on education, it is important to metaphorically open your door to others and their perspectives. We need to be willing to learn from everyone in a classroom, and we need to ensure that we are pushing ourselves slightly out of our comfort zone but within the zone of proximal development. Challenging ourselves can be intimidating, but it is possible to have fun while doing it. Sharing your expertise is awesome, but so is listening to others and amending our ideas. In a world where we are apt to shut out the outside world and keep ourselves in our own bubbles, we need to approach learning by understanding the importance of the whole class. References:
Cherry, K. (2022, June 3). Sociocultural theory of development. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-sociocultural-theory-2795088 Dillman, B. (2022). Ed Tech Summit: MSU Graduate Student Perspectives of Spartan Ed Tech [PowerPoint Slides]. Google Slides. https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1jBXFSNcQEu9MWTmWGHJn-oOZkGei82Ovc2HtDg7f4eY/edit?usp=sharing Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning (MACUL). (2022, August 7). EdCamp MACUL 2022 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ne5WyUTZZ8 We were asked for one word to define the first week of our hybrid MAET face-to-face experience, and without much thought I said “whirlwind.” While seemingly negative, I intended anything but. This week has been loaded with experiences and information that, at times, has been overwhelming, but the experience has also been a whirlwind of inspiration. From reflections on learning theories, to creative play, we have been put through a week of rigorous fun. While discussing learning theories, we’ve discovered that we are all a bit of a behaviorist, cognitivist, and critical in our learning. We all know the feeling of positive reinforcement, learning from others, and questioning long standing traditions. Ideally, we know the importance of seeing things from multiple perspectives, showing respect for cultural differences, and going into learning situations with an open mind and an eagerness to be better. Whatever better might mean for you within your context and experience. The course has seemingly been designed to reinforce these theories throughout the week. From field experiences to the Michigan State Capitol Building and even ice cream from the Michigan State Dairy Store incentivizing us to soldier through the more content heavy research portions, behaviorism is alive and well. This was combined with fun creative exercises that allowed me to play with pipe cleaners for the first time since elementary school. I gravitated to the pipe cleaner due to childhood memories of using them, and while my products were pretty bad, they were met with enthusiasm from my peers and professors. My context of having nostalgia for the medium allowed me the comfort to take a risk and that was supported by my peers and professors. Sociocultural learning was in full effect with the people around me inspiring new ideas, and challenging me to push forward, even with my elementary school art supplies. Professionally, I saw the value of thinking of concepts through play. While seemingly “simple” these creative abstractions allowed me to see my professional role in a way that could allow students time to “play” with concepts. The acceptance of mistakes and expectation to simply try new things has allowed me to consider how I can redesign lessons with this same philosophy. What relevance is there in students memorizing plot points and regurgitating those back in a typical multiple choice test when they could make something that connects themselves to the plot, characters, and themes. Isn’t that a more rich learning experience as they seem themselves in the text versus me simply telling them what is important and asking to hear it back? These connections are less point driven and punitive. This week has reinforced how much of a pleasure it is to learn in a low stakes environment while having fun and making connections with the content. I have always been self conscious of putting pen to paper. My handwriting is terrible and borderline illegible, my art has always felt underbaked and lacking in representation of what I set out to capture, but in the spirit of constructionism, and the social backing of my peers, I put caution to the (whirl)wind and just went for it. That is what I mean when I call this a week of rigourous fun. Rigor in that I am often outside of my comfort zone and fun in that the environment welcomes play, mistakes, and growth. People are many things, their context matters, their interests matters, and their prior knowledge matters. We are all whirlwinds, and with the help of others, we can hopefully figure ourselves out. References:
McGregor, D. (2022). Experiences [Photo collage] McGregor, D. (2022). Creativity [Photo collage] When I was young, I remember hearing the phrase, “It takes a village to raise a child.” It seemed it was a common understanding that becoming a fully realized, intelligent, adult required more than what was going on in the house and home. By interacting with ideas that differ from what is presented in our homes, we widen our understanding of a subject while also practicing the powers of empathy. Lev Vygotsky looked at the way culture affects learning with his theory of sociocultural learning. This theory suggests that those within our culture, including parents, peers, mentors, etc. are a major asset in developing higher order thinking (Cherry, 2022). This theory continues with the idea of the Zone of Proximal Development which theorizes that to learn most effectively you must stretch your current knowledge, but if you stretch it too far you enter an area that you are incapable of with your current knowledge (Cherry, 2022). By students collaborating, playing, and simply socializing, students can learn effectively and in a more fun and culturally enriching way. In my experience, my best learning comes from reaching out for help, collaborating, and discussing with others. I attempted to capture the benefits of sociocultural learning in a time lapse video. This was meant to be stop motion, but it sort of turned into a slideshow. My intention was to illustrate that learning together leads to more empathy and peaceful coexistence. Please view the video below: My best experiences in my professional role are learning from my colleagues, but more importantly, from my students. I am eager to learn from them. I have recently moved to a wide variety of choice menu assessments for my English 12 class. For example, students are able to make playlists, short podcasts using Anchor, or pieces of art as chapter assessments highlighting theme, symbolism, plot development, or even major plot points. They then explain their assessment models in a low stakes writing scenario. I am not interested in perfection, but a personal connection to the main ideas of the text. Every year, I understand the books that I teach, and I understand how my students see these texts in a much clearer way. I graduated high school 22 years ago. I was a student during the infancy of the internet and broadband. My childhood was defined by a pre-internet world. I watched what was on TV, because it was the only thing that was on. I want to hear about their experiences having everything “on demand,” and how that shapes their interests, education, and learning. These choice menus allow my class to turn into a learning environment where we are all learning from one another, and because the students are connecting the material to their experiences and contexts, they are often eager to share. This model would not have been possible without support from my colleagues. Once again, our wild ideas become refined and possible through collaborating.
Years ago, we said “It takes a village to raise a child,” but lately it seems that tradition has fallen out of fashion. Politics has led us to believe that public schools are places for indoctrination, and that person down the road may be a predator or bad influence. We seem to be more inclined to shut our doors to ideas that shake our contexts, traditions, and morals, even though several theories support that this is exactly how we strengthen our convictions, shake those same convictions, learn new things, and become more empathic. Despite that being the sentiment on social media and popular cable news networks, that is not what I am seeing in my class. My students are more homogenous than when I was a student, they are eager to learn from one another, use technology to do so, and try new things. I hope these same kids enter the adult world with their eyes and minds as open as they are in my classroom, and I will still be there waiting to learn from the next batch that I have the pleasure to meet. References: Cherry, K. (2022, June 3). Sociocultural theory of development. Verywell Mind. Https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-sociocultural-theory-2795088 McGregor, D (2022, July 22). My Learning Theory Stop Motion. [Video]. YouTube https://youtu.be/TwJRU6F-834 As a public school educator I am often asked to rethink ideas, modify lessons, and attend professional development that, ideally, helps me on this journey. However, I am rarely given time to do so. One of the advantages of the masters in Education Technology program at MSU, is the time I have been given time to think critically and creatively about my professional role. Being an English teacher, you would think that I would be confident with creativity, and practice it frequently, yet I, like many, rarely think of myself as a creative person. I think we all need to start to respect the type of creativity that we participate in everyday. From solving common problems around the house using an odd solution, composing an email to our boss, or simply breaking out a quick dance when no one is looking, we all take some time to be a bit creative. While these past two weeks have seen me dabble in creativity from a variety of lenses, abstraction felt like I was back at home in my classroom. According to Root-Bernstein & Root-Bernstein, abstraction is isolating your focus to one view while ignoring its other properties, thus focusing on one feature that is of importance (2001, p. 72-73). By looking at themes, settings, characters, etc. we use abstraction in the ELA classroom often. However, with more time to play, I was able to abstract ideas and then combine them with my personal interests, hobbies, and context to come up with deeply personal abstractions that connect myself to the content. For example, I took my love of board games, and combined it with my intention to revise my Macbeth unit, to create a Macbeth card game. Abstractly, this looks at the component parts of a stage production. Players take cards to put together the best stage show. Please see my video for more details: After leveraging my interests and combining them with Macbeth, I had a newfound interest in stage production. I continued to think about how I could abstractly “score” various components of a stage in a way that made sense and even spent some time reading about how theater performances are put together. Connecting the content to my real life saw me more inspired to find out more. I can only hope that my students can make similar connections and find themselves interested in learning more. Abstraction also works as we detect symbols throughout the pieces of literature we discuss. To students, symbolism can feel like cruel and unusual punishment. It seems like a puzzle that English teachers have put together just to torment them, but again, these abstract concepts are what connect us to literature. Symbols connect literature to the real world. Similarly, themes connect us to ideas that guide who we are. I often tell my students that themes and symbols are why they love a book. When they find an aspect of themselves in ideas or objects with symbolic representation, they connect with the story. To play with this, I used Craiyon, an AI that can generate original art based on text prompts. I started plugging in specific ideas from Macbeth, but quickly dove back into abstraction, and started to move away from the tangible to intangible ideas. The creations were magnificent, eerie, and evocative. Craiyon still has a permanent tab on my phone’s web browser, and I frequently dump large text prompts in it to see what new horrors it bestows upon the world. After playing with it, I immediately put together a draft assignment so that my students could explore how this AI “paints” their abstract ideas, and then write about where they see the connections and what surprised them. I hope writing and thinking about these ideas, and even discussing how on Earth a computer can do that, will stoke the same interest it did for me. I think the reason abstraction excites me is that, to me, it requires empathy. It requires you to break things apart in the same way we can get into the minds of others, and experience the context of their life that makes them who they are. I can’t think of a more valuable skill as an educator than to break something into its component parts or ideas, and then reassemble them, with a fresh understanding and respect of their nuance and complexity. By abstracting, we better understand our material, but more importantly, our students. References
McGregor, D (2022, July 19). Macbeth Abstraction [Images]. McGregor, D. (2022, July 18). Stage Production Card Game. [Video]. YouTube https://youtu.be/QzWp0duWiNc Root-Bernstein, R. S., & Root-Bernstein, M. (2001). Sparks of genius: The thirteen thinking tools of the world's most creative people. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Education is inundated with “research based” curriculum and supplements that say they will improve test scores and engage students. However, with capitalist intentions taking over education, it is important to scrutinize these products that are “researched based.” Daniel Willingham, in his book, When Can You Trust the Experts? (2012) attempts to tackle this issue. One problem is that people like to be right. We want our beliefs to maintain our “self identity, values, social ties, and manage our emotions” (Willingham, 2012, p. 51). We are more inclined to believe things that reforce ideas that we have previously heard or make us comfortable. What has become more chilling is how pervasive social media platforms have become since the publishing of Willingham’s book. Willingham stated, “People believe lots of things for which the scientific evidence is absent” (p. 12), and this is even more true in online spaces and on social media platforms. As the world gets taken over by more and more social media platforms, humans are interacting with more information than ever before, much of which is dubious and created with an agenda. Much of this is occurring due to automatic algorithms that are designed to keep us interested, but an unintended effect is seeing us fall into “filter bubbles.” Eli Pariser discussed this in his 2011 TED Talk. As we browse our experience becomes our own, links show us what we want to see, and unfortunately our reality also becomes our own. Considering this TED talk was in 2011, I am disappointed that conversations about social media are not addressed in When Can You Trust the Experts? Despite that, the book does illustrate how sinister these forces can be at manipulating our reality. Part of the problem is education's obsession with seeking the answers. We see this in the classroom with students looking for the shortcut to the answers and limited creativity. Recently, our department made an effort to shift the focus of our English 12 class to a humanities course that utilizes creative assessment models and choice menus to allow students to be successful. Each year, it takes students a solid month to get used to this style of class. At first, they are terrified of essay tests or projects that represent test grades. We wanted students to “play” with the material and then give us some combination of the content with their personal experiences. We want students to take risks, dabble, iterate, and ask better questions. Curiously, dabbling, iterativing, and asking questions can comprise good science, and following that method can get us closer to discovering the trustworthiness of a particular source. I look forward to finding out what we do next. I want all the tools to ensure that I share methods with my students to ensure they can do their best to overcome the power of internet algorithms and then echo chambers that are affecting our political landscape, friendships, safety, and ultimately, our happiness. References:
Pariser, E. (2011). Beware online “filter bubbles” [Video]. TED Conferences. https://www.ted.com/talks/eli_pariser_beware_online_filter_bubbles?language=en Willingham, D. (2012). When can you trust the experts? How to tell good science from bad in education. Jossey-Bass. Wicked problems have multiple variables that often require compromise and creative ideas to work toward complicated solutions. I considered why so many teachers are overworked. What is it about the day to day job that leaves us burned out and tired? What responsibilities are necessary and which could be modified to simplify our lives and make our jobs more fulfilling? I drafted a survey, did some research about the causes, and delivered the survey to my colleagues. After a week, I collected the data, and you can see the method and findings below: In addition to my role as a high school teacher, I am the current Vice President, Secondary of my local Education Association. I have been a member of the negotiation team for several years, and have been part of the negotiation of other smaller Letters of Agreement outside of the negotiation window. These LOAs are used between contract negotiations to shore up problems that arise due to the ever changing needs within education. Administration, and their understanding of this problem, is key to finding compromise and solution. I drafted a sample Letter of Agreement that hopes to address some of these issues. Read it here. Topics that educators are able to negotiate do change from state to state. For example, here in Michigan, evaluations are a nonnegotiable topic. However, a district may still work within the law to alleviate some of the teacher workload due to it. While they cannot eliminate the evaluation process, they can lessen some of the stress. The goal of this LOA was to clarify some language and hire support staff to help teachers with some of the problems that they mentioned as unnecessary and issues that caused them to feel overworked. This is just one sample set, from teachers in Mid-Michigan. There is much more work to be done, but we know that the responsibilities of teachers continue to grow. The state of Michigan continues to see a shortage of educators, and without meaningful conversation about how to support educators, it is likely to continue. References:
McGregor, D. (2021, December 16). Why Are Teachers Overworked?. [Video]. YouTube https://youtu.be/sPwvUR-YlkQ Prior to this course, I would have never referred myself to a maker, but after dabbling with course content, technology, and ideas, and producing a variety of creative items, I realize that most teachers are inherently makers. From the way we let students guide us through the curriculum, to our modifications of that same curriculum, we throw various things at the metaphorical wall to see what sticks, and then we do it all again the next year, but ideally, better. Beyond the great interactions with the students, being creative and trying new things is the best part of the job. Why I never saw that as “making” until this course is beyond me, but I am eager to continue to learn, share, and make for as many years as I am allowed. I used the 1 Second Everyday app to cobble together short videos from my life from October until today. In it, some successes and failures with my innovative technology, but mostly shots of Marissa and I at home, with our cat. I guess I am a cat lover, teacher, gamer, board game designer, endlessly curious, and with a brief surprise at the 56 second mark, an expectant father. The past 8 weeks have been a whirlwind, and will certainly sit with me for the rest of my life. Maybe I will name the kid MAET(pronounced Matt), but probably not. I hope to share my curiosity with MAET(it is growing on me), and Marissa and I can continue to be inspired by young people, but this time one of our own creation. I never knew this semester of “making” would culminate with this, but here is to new adventures. References:
McGregor, D. (2021, December 13). Well, That Was a Couple of Months [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/eQRyb__ZEtU My room, 518, is pretty typical of the American public school classrooms that I have been in. There is a giant whiteboard on one wall and a projector that points directly at it. I, of course, have a lectern at the front of the room that is used more for storage than its intended purpose. All of the rooms in the school that I work in function the same way. We do have some modern luxuries, such as air conditioning, however the AC units are huge grey abominations that make a hideous racket, and compete with the original boilers, so that the temperature fluctuates constantly. While our school has invested millions in the athletic facilities, and the cutting edge technology therein, there has been little conversation about the layout of the classroom and the effect it has on students’ learning. Sadly, this isn’t uncommon in districts around the country. Over the years, I have tried to incorporate cozy “reading areas” and other options for students, but they are rarely used. Maybe it is the high school fear of being an “outsider”, but students never engaged in these spaces. One year I created a “backyard” theme to the class, with artificial grass rugs and lawn chairs adorning these “reading areas”. I had two tables with small artificial candles that produced light with a flickering effect to simulate an outdoor fire. This proved to be much more popular, but I did away with it due to COVID restrictions, and it has not returned due to the continued complications of the pandemic. I was surprised to see the benefit of letting the, even artificial, outdoors in was supported by Barrett et. al.(2012), in A holistic, multi-level analysis identifying the impact of classroom design on pupil learning. This study found that classrooms that focused on design and aesthetic elements provide success, but so do those with usability. Given my inability to expand my classroom, my goal with this redesign was to focus on usability and collaboration. I wanted a classroom that would work without recreating the floorplan and something I could realistically bring to administration. I began with circular desks. Without immobile desks pointing toward the front of the room, there was no way for my students or myself to make assumptions about where the “show” was. We were all going to be moving and working together. Instead of one huge whiteboard, I added multiple smaller whiteboards that could be used for the type of group collaboration that is celebrated in maker movements (Halverson & Sheridan, 2014). I wanted students to dabble with ideas, share opinions, and work on a variety of “products” or “artifacts” together. Low storage was added to free up wall space avoiding clutter and overstimulation. While my classroom looks quite cluttered in the attached pictures, due to an invasion of Turkensteins, I generally avoid it. My work space rarely has loose papers, and everything is filed or returned the moment it is graded. However, I have always celebrated student artwork around the upper perimeter of my classroom. According to research presented by Barrett, et. al.(2012), this collage of art may actually have a negative affect on students and provide overstimulation. My remedy to this is to move the student artwork to this oddly shaped alcove in the northeast corner of the classroom. I have always used this space to hold a file cabinet that has not been used in years. I went ahead and trashed the ancient file cabinet and replaced it with a shelf for student creations. Additionally, I figured I would move the collage of artwork to these walls. That way they would be out of the way for students who may be overstimulated, yet still there to celebrate the artwork. I want the students to feel like they have agency in the classroom, and they have a chance to leave something behind. I remind my students often that it isn't my class, but theirs. I hope they know they lead my decisions in the way I filter curriculum, and with open spaces, less formal and disciplined instruction, and more trying, collaborating, and making, they finally feel that it is their room. References
Barrett, P., Zhang, Y., Moffat, J., & Kobbacy, K. (2013). A holistic, multi-level analysis identifying the impact of classroom design on pupils’ learning. Building and Environment, 59, 678–689. https://doi-org.proxy2.cl.msu.edu/10.1016/j.buildenv.2012.09.016 Halverson, E. R., & Sheridan, K. M. (2014). The maker movement in education.Harvard Educational Review, 84(4), 495-504,563,565. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.msu.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/maker-movement-education/docview/1642662200/se-2?accountid=12598 McGregor, D (2021, December 8). Classroom Photos [Images]. McGregor, D (2021, December 8). Classroom Floor Plans [Images]. Teaching English Language Arts allows for so much freedom to design lessons that connect the skills of reading and writing with each student as an individual. I remind my students that the key skill of any English class is empathy. Each piece of reading requires us to understand the thoughts and motivations of the characters. Each piece of writing requires us to consider our audience and their thoughts and understanding of the topic so we can properly leverage our ideas. Due to how open the course material is to students’ interpretations, I have found it easier to connect traditional course content to contemporary and diverse media. I set out to incorporate the use of 3D printing into the ELA classroom. As I was brainstorming, my English 12 students were working through 1984 and I had them write arguments about the symbolic meaning of the famous paperweight. The paperweight has totemic power for Winston Smith, and I thought, “Wouldn’t it be cool if they could fabricate an item that had some symbolic meaning?”. I drafted my lesson and was fortunate to get feedback from peers. Through their excellent feedback, that was filtered through the lens of Intersectionality and Universal Design for Learning, I was able to see some of the shortcomings of my lesson. I lifted the reins on the forced grouping. What seemed like a way to get them talking and brainstorming in big ways, could also stifle ideas from students less willing to speak up. Instead, I decided to open it up to a “loose” collaboration. They are all making objects, but we will be having discussion and sharing our breakthroughs as a class. I also felt the need to reinforce ideas of symbolism and, at the recommendation of my professor, have them practice crafting pictures of abstract concepts using a Pictionary generator. I took most of the advice given, but I did not change the overall structure of the lesson, and retained its loose feel. I wanted it to feel like we are all figuring it out as we go. Looking at research on using 3d printing in the classroom, the authors of, Use of 3D Printers for Teacher Training and Sample Activities (2021), had teachers from a variety of technological backgrounds use 3D printers and get their opinions on the use in the classroom. Some challenges expressed included the difficulty of the design work and the length of time it takes to print. I considered the difficulty of design, but I was hoping that through examples the students would understand that I was looking for something spontaneous and imperfect. My intention was to model this with some of my own designs, but I am certain students may find the process frustrating. The study concluded by saying that, “The majority of participants had positive views on the effect of 3D objects on learning. They stated that 3D objects turned abstract concepts into concrete visual representations, facilitated learning, made lessons enjoyable….” (Arslan & Erdogan, 2021, p. 355) I was excited to see that they felt that abstract concepts being made tangible had such value in the learning experience. Tinkering learning in classroom: an instructional rubric for evaluating 3D printed prototype performance (2020) discussed the importance of formative assessment throughout the process. Throughout the design process my goal is to be an active participant in the discussions and move around the room. This finding about formative assessment, coupled with my experience in the MAET graduate program, led me to the rubric format that was used in that program. I wanted to celebrate what they did well and allow for some revision to improve. The whole lesson was based on a philosophy of tinkering and making mistakes along the way. All of the students should get some positive feedback about their willingness to figure out the technology, connect the tech to the text they are reading, and create a tangible object. Initially, I wanted to connect this to a text, but it might be more impactful for the artifact they create to not represent a text, but their lives. Much like Winston Smith’s paperweight, their object could have meaning for a personal goal, belief, or aspiration. Maybe that will be v3.0? References
Arslan, A., & Erdogan, I. (2021). Use of 3D Printers for Teacher Training and Sample Activities. International Journal of Progressive Education, 17(3), 343–360. https://doi-org.proxy2.cl.msu.edu/10.29329/ijpe.2021.346.22 Çelik, A., & Özdemir, S. (2020). Tinkering learning in classroom: an instructional rubric for evaluating 3D printed prototype performance. International Journal of Technology & Design Education, 30(3), 459–478. https://doi-org.proxy2.cl.msu.edu/10.1007/s10798-019-09512-w |
David McGregorI am an English teacher and cat lover from Genesee County, Michigan who is eager to learn new things. Archives
August 2022
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