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
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
David McGregorI am an English teacher and cat lover from Genesee County, Michigan who is eager to learn new things. Archives
August 2022
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. |