LPO+3340+-+Learning+and+Instruction

**Class Summaries**

__Weekend 1 -- Overall Theme__

Executive Summary:
 * 1) Theme 1
 * 2) Theme 2
 * 3) Theme 3

__Weekend 2 -- Overall Theme__

Executive Summary:
 * 1) Theme 1
 * 2) Theme 2
 * 3) Theme 3

__Weekend 3 -- Overall Theme__

Executive Summary:
 * 1) Theme 1
 * 2) Theme 2
 * 3) Theme 3

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 1.3em;">**Course Readings**
<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">__Weekend 1__

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">**Broad and Newstrom Chapter 2: Barriers to Transfer of Training (Kent)**
<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">The transfer problem is when an HR specialist engages in employee training and there’s no clear payoff: the training doesn’t result in changed behavior on the part of the trainees. Why does this transfer fail to happen? What barriers block transfer of the training to the job? Interviews of executives, trainers, and trainees identified nine: > separation from an inspiring trainer;
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">lack of reinforcement on the job;
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">interferences from work environment;
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">lack of organizational support;
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">trainees viewing the training as impractical;
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">trainees viewing the content as irrelevant;
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">trainees feeling uncomfortable with change;
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">poorly designed training; and
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">peer pressure against change.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">These barriers might come into play at three different times—before, during, or after the training—or come from four different sources—trainees themselves, trainers, managers, or the organizational culture.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">In order to overcome these barriers we need to know something about the change process—and Kurt Lewin has described that usefully enough. It involves three steps:
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">unfreezing or unlearning bad habits;
 * 2) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Creating disequilibrium by (ethically) manipulating driving forces to bring about change; and
 * 3) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Refreezing new practices by reinforcement.

**Broad and Newstrom Chapter 3: Managing Transfer of Training (Anna)**
Trainer must hold 2 HRD roles: 1) strategic organizational resource 2) HRD expert and skilled consultant
 * With these in place they can be the “manager of transfer” for the organization

Linking the HRD function to the Organization’s Strategic Direction is essential.

Decision-Making Models (3 models) 1) decisions made by manager 2) decisions made by trainer 3) decisions shared by manager and trainer

Common Assumptions in Model 1 & 2: //*As a result, the organization is vulnerable to all barriers of transfer (chapter 2)//
 * Most performance problems can be solved by training
 * Training function in an organization is primarily administrative, not strategically important to the organization
 * Managers and trainers can operate without substantive interaction

Factors that lead to Decisions Shared by Managers and Trainers (Model 3): //*Focus on human capital: build competitiveness out of knowledge, skills, and effort, link performance and commitment to a common vision of what the company intends to be.//
 * Many organizations realize that previous training investments have not paid off in transfer of skills and job performance
 * They recognize that skilled, flexible workforce is essential for success
 * They see the HRD function’s direct impact on improving productivity and competiveness and linked it directly with formation and implementation of their strategic plan.

Emerging Trend: Involving the employees in shared decision making

Key Decisions on Performance Improvement: 1) Identify the need for performance improvement 2) Identify the probable causes of the performance problem/opportunity 3) Address work environment and motivational causes for performance problem 4) When need for additional knowledge is cause, consider training as part of the solution 5) Develop the transfer partnership and implement transfer strategies (in conjunction with item 6, design and deliver training) 6) Design and deliver training 7) Evaluation training outcomes

Trainer’s Role/Expertise:
 * Keep up with best practices
 * Constant learning mode
 * Hone consulting skills
 * Serve as manager of transfer for the organization: link HRD function to the organization’s strategic goals
 * Initiation a transfer partnership with manager and trainees to manage the implementation of transfer strategies

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px;">**Halpern and Hakel: "Applying the Science of Learning to the University and Beyond” (**Eugenia)
<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px;">The authors state that the main goal of formal education is to promote long-term retention and transfer of learning. They then list 10 principles necessary to promote retention and transfer:

> Students need to be able to give responses, with as few cues as possible, repeatedly over time so that recall becomes fluent. Teachers can apply this principle by giving multiple tests on a topic over intervals. > > “[W]hen learning occurs under varied conditions, key ideas have ‘multiple retrieval cues’ and thus are more ‘available’ in memory” (p. 39). An example is mixing different types of problems and solutions in the same lesson. > > Humans process info using two channels: one for visuospatial info and another for auditory-verbal info. Information that is stored in both formats is more likely to be recalled than info stored in only one format. Teachers should use both verbal and visuospatial processing exercises in all the learning tasks they create. > > Teachers should assess learners’ knowledge at the beginning of each instructional encounter and test for changes as learning progresses. > > Deciding the best way for students to learn and recall will depend on what teachers want them to learn and be able to recall as well as what students already know and students’ beliefs about the nature of learning. Teachers should help students articulate their implicit beliefs about learning. Teachers’ subsequent construction of the learning task can help students construct new models of how they learn. > > What people learn from experience is often wrong. People, therefore, often have great confidence in erroneous beliefs and are thus poor judges of how well they understand complex topics. Contrary to popular belief, therefore, “authentic” and real-life situations may not provide the best environment for learning and assessment because they lack “systematic and corrective feedback about the consequences of various actions” (p. 40). > > Lectures don’t promote deep learning. Students need to be active participants in learning. High scores on multiple-choice and other recognition tests don’t necessarily indicate in-depth comprehension of a topic. A student may score well but not be able to apply a concept to other situations. The type of assessment, therefore, should match the learning objectives. > > “Asking learners to recall particular pieces of the information they’ve been taught often leads to selective forgetting’ of related information that they were //not// asked to recall. … Few instructors are aware of this effect and inadvertently create learning activities that actually //cause// students to forget information that they want them to retain” (p. 40). Also, even if students do well on tests given soon after initial learning, they often don’t perform as well on later tests after a longer retention interval. > > The goal of classroom instruction is to give students skills and information they can employ at some time in the future when the instructor isn’t present. The amount of detail students will need at this future date should guide decisions on how much info should be covered in the classroom and how deeply a topic should be covered. Both teachers and students should know the goals of instruction (such as gaining cursory knowledge of a broad area or gaining deep understanding of basic principles) at the start, and the teaching and learning process should be structured accordingly. > > “What professors do in their classes matters far less than what they ask //students// to do” (p. 41).
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px;">**“The single most important variable in promoting long-term retention and transfer is ‘practice at retrieval.’”** (p. 38)
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px;">**“Varying the conditions under which learning takes place makes learning harder for learners but results in better learning.”** (p. 39)
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px;">**“Learning is generally enhanced when learners are required to take information that is presented in one format and “re-represent” it in an alternative format.”** (p. 39)
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px;">**“What and how much is learned in any situation depends heavily on prior knowledge and experience.”** (p. 39)
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px;">**“Learning is influenced by both our students’ and our own epistemologies.”** (p. 39)
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px;">**“Experience alone is a poor teacher.”** (p. 40)
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px;">**“Lectures work well for learning assessed with recognition tests, but work badly for understanding.”** (p. 40)
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px;">**“The act of remembering itself influences what learners will and will not remember in the future.”** (p. 40)
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px;">**“Less is more, especially when we think about long-term retention and transfer.”** (p. 41)
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px;">**“What learners do determines what and how much is learned, how well it will be remembered, and the conditions under which it will be recalled.”** (p. 41)

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">**Mouton and Blake: "Principles and Designs for Enhancing Learning" (Kimberly)**
<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Synergogy is an alternative method of instruction to pedagogy or andragogy, each of which have their own limitations. Synergogy is based on three principles: <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">1) Learners are given direction via learning design and instruments (it is not purely student-led learning) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">2) Learners are involved in team activities (it is not individual learning) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">3) It involves synergy: the concept that the sum is more than the parts; members' shared experience/knowledge/reasoning increases learners' understanding beyond typical group discussion or individual learning

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Why Synergogy Works <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">1) Responsibility for learning is on the learner, which increases learner motivation to use their resources and help each other <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">2) Enjoyable for learners <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">3) Encourages team members to contribute and to accept others' contributions <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">4) Teams are self guided and must deal with real problems like time management, other responsibilities, etc. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">5) Clear measures of performance effectiveness are motivational

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Benefits of Synergogy <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">1) Broadly applicable: used with various types of learning, ages, etc. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">2) Modest resources required: does not require a lot of teachers or supervisors who are expert in subject matter <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">3) Increased learning / secondary learning: team members become more socially competent, develop sense of responsibility, improve cooperation

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Limitations <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">1) Threatening to some teachers <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">2) Limited by students' desire for extrinsic rewards (high grades on a paper/test, positive comments from teacher, etc. which may be present to a lesser degree)

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">How Synergogy Works: 4 Designs <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">1) Team Effectiveness Design: Learners assess individual knowledge of subject matter prior to discussion via true-false or multiple choice assessment. Then team members work together to achieve consensus on answers, exchanging information, rationale, pros and cons of alternatives, etc. A general session allows teams to compare responses with other teams and with rationale provided in an answer key. Evaluation period allows teams to assess their effectiveness and plan for future improvements. Useful for learning facts or data.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">2) Team-Member Teach Design: Each team member is responsible for teaching an assigned portion of the material to the rest of the team. A test assesses each team member's understanding. Official answers and rationale are provided. Teams assess how well they learned and how well members communicated the subject matter and provide suggestions for improvement. Useful for learning facts and data.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">3) Performance Judging Design: First, team members develop effectiveness criteria for their performance at a given task. Each person introduces evidence of his or her skill level. Team members critique each other on performance on the given task. Learners act on the suggestions of team members to meet the effectiveness criteria. Useful for learning practical skills.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">4) Clarifying Attitude Design: Learners clarify their own attitudes via sentence completion items or bipolar attitude scales. Teams meet to discuss a consensus on position on the scale in light of available information. Individuals repeat the initial task to determine whether or not attitudes have changed based on group discussion. Helps learners develop attitudes based on facts, data, and logic rather than unreasoned prejudices and optimism; increases participants awareness of alternative views.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">**Zenger, Ulrich, & Smallwood: "** **The New Leadership Development" (Anna)**
<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">The authors illustrate some faults with current corporate leadership development programs and posit what they believe to be remedies to reconstruct and increase the long-term effectiveness of leadership development programs.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Commons Problems with programs as are:
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">No lasting behavioral change, short-term change noted, but not long term
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Too much focus on the individual rather than the system
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Unwillingness by executives to evaluate the effectiveness of current programs, focus was rather on how it made people “feel”

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Remedies Proposed: <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Principles to guide all developmental activities
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Clarify business purpose and desired outcome up front: need concrete goals and business objective for the program
 * 2) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Put leadership development into an organizational context: rather than focusing on individual competencies, consider the organizational context and constant change that comes along with a dynamic system. Vision of where the organization is going is “paramount”.
 * 3) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Start at the top: Train the senior-level managers first, engage the team top-down. Include managers in leading training for subordinates. They should be good examples.
 * 4) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Begin with results, back into attributes: investigate individual’s underlying assumptions about self, company, leaders since assumptions drive behaviors. What are we trying to accomplish, what is the goal? Leaders should produce results. Less focus on analysis and diagnosis, more focus on implementation.
 * 5) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Build scoreboards for results: need leaders to leave program with ways to measure results. Accountability!
 * 6) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Link competencies to results: link clearly the competencies to the organization’s desired results/goals. Every competency statement should follow with the words “so that…”
 * 7) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Change the learning methodologies: include time planning what participants need to do better after training when they return to their jobs, create measurements, use skill based activities, and 360 degree feedback; mechanisms for follow-up.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Practical, concrete content
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Job-related activities
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Use involving, emotionally engaging, action-orientated methods
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Focus on implementation skills
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Generate accountability
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Develop feedback mechanisms
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Emphasize learning that can be applied immediately
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Use talented executives to lead/teach training
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Group participants by same org level

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">8. Transform leadership development from an event into a process: not a 2 week program, but rather structure as 3-5 day sessions over 18-24 months. Coaching, communication between formal sessions. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">9. Create accountability: look at personal improvement, not comparison to others <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">10. Help leaders transform complexity into simplicity and see the big picture: balance growth and change with predictability and control <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">11. Create realistic, pressured situations in which to learn, fail, and try again: prepare people to perform in realistic pressured situations. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">12. Train everyone to lead: leadership development at every level in the organization; “everyone is a leader”

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">**Lei et al: "Academic Cohorts: Benefits and Drawbacks of Being a Member of a Community of Learners" (Anna)**
<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">This article explores the benefits and drawbacks of being a student learning in a cohort model as well as being an instructor teaching a cohort.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Cohorts are used to promote retention and success of the students.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">A cohort is defined as “a group of about 10-25 students who begin a program of student together, proceed together through a series of developmental experiences in the context of that program of study, and end the program at approximately the same time” (p. 498)

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">The best way to summarize this article is the table on page 500 (student benefits/drawbacks) and the table on page 501 (instructor benefits/drawbacks)

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">**Student Benefits:**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Cohort culture
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Group of supportive learners with similar goals
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Positive peer relationships
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Positive student-faculty relationships
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">More cooperative learning, peer teaching, student discussions
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">More collaborative voice when addressing concerns to faculty/admin
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Instructors may be more attentive
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">More likely to create small study groups
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Feelings of cohesiveness
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Ease of navigating instructional and departmental policies
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Availability of student mentors
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Higher retention, graduation, and student success
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">More intrinsically motivated to learn new materials
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">More social academic and professional networks
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">More likely to integrate course materials and reality

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">**Student Drawbacks:**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Less flexibility in curriculum
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Cliques
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Limited interaction with other cohorts
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Same group of students may stunt knowledge
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Predictability of academic roles
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Intellectual mismatches
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Competition
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">May resemble dysfunctional families
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Disbanding after formal education

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">**Faculty Benefits:**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Easier to manage advising of students
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Easier to disseminate course information
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">More positive relationships with students

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">**Faculty Drawbacks:**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Less flexibility in curriculum development
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Mau feel isolated from cohort group dynamics
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Cohorts may treat an instructor in a unique way
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">More difficulty scheduling courses to keep students together

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">**Future research questions:**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Impact on professional career/success
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Clique phenomenon
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Role of professors

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">**Learning School in And Out by Lauren B. Resnick** (Nate Johnson)
<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">This article discusses the disconnect found in outside learning and real life application and what is taught and how it is taught in school. It then implies that the lack of connection between school and real life weakens the possibilities that in school learning will transfer to long term retention because of lack of practice.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">//Resnick highlights various weaknesses in the in school methodology//: <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">//-Individual cognition in school versus shared cognition outside-// “students are ultimately judged by what they can do by themselves” vs “work, personal life, and <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">recreation take place within social systems and each person’s ability to function successfully depends on what others do… (13) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-My thoughts: This is highlighted by my school giving out honor roll awards to elementary students- individual achievement is accolade <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-My thoughts: But isn’t this just part of the American individuality? We study for our own awards, we pursue our own scholarships and then we work to spend <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">our money on ourselves? What a comparison to stories like that shared about Rwanda where family is placed before the individual- even during a genocide. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-Resnick uses a US Navy example to suggest that we need to learn the skill of interdependence

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">//-Pure mentation in school versus tool manipulation outside// <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-Resnick argues that schools downplay the use of tools like not allowing students to use books, notes, calculators… in assessments. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-My thoughts- there is a part here where the mind and critical thinking need to be developed and you have to distinguish between tools and crutches <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-He agrees that as technology becomes more advanced, our need to think as deeply lessens- however he does not bemoan this fact he just acquiesces that <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">the makers of the compass have the knowledge not the users… <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-Overall this argument was pretty week but it leads into the later argument for the need of a more intentional attempt at authentic vocational education

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">//-Symbol recognition in school versus contextualized reasoning outside of school-// “symbolic activities tend to be detached from any meaningful context.” <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-He uses examples of math where its application is awkward in the real world and thus there is a disconnect. For example- a student has some 55 cents <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">change and needs to pay 32 cents- black and white math says to pay 55 and get back 23. However, real life would be- give 37- get back a nickel and add that <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">to your remaining 18 cents. Another example is working with fractions verses cooking with measuring cups. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-My thought- this is an effective argument for the use of manipulatives and real life scenarios in the classroom

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">//-Generalized learning in school versus situation specific competencies outside// <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-Example- doctors read xrays differently than how they are taught in medical school (short section)

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">**Is the purpose of school is to equip students to acquire employment and earn money**? <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">- He assumes the answer is yes, theoretically but then he questions if education is more of a consumer good (paying for education) versus an economic benefit <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">(equipping for a well paid job). He uses this point to say- if we do not want education to be a consumer good but instead the enablement for employment- then <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">schooling should be more vocationally focused.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-He argues that true vocational education should be like an apprenticeship where they are authentically placed in the role verses just working with scenarios. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">They need to be exposed to the full range of conditions. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-Specifically they need to be placed in “breakdown” situations where they have to recognize, analyze and problem solve on their feet (that is what <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">distinguishes man from machine- when a machine breaks down the man needs to use his reason to resolve the situation.) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-He then takes it past the economic purposes and says this kind of analytical thinking and reasoning teaches us to “engage reflection and reasoning” and this in <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">turns affects all facets of society-social, political, and personal- which in turn improves our civic function and thus all of society- the cornerstone of democracy <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; text-align: center;">-My reaction- I agree there is a huge disconnect between school and real life and its growing rapidly as children are less engaged with real life in their homes as <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; text-align: center;">well as they invest hours in tv and video games.


 * Cooperative Learning Strategies: Pratt (Anna)**


 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">** I. **** Overview **
 * 2) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px;">a. Term cooperative learning buzzword in education in early 1990s
 * 3) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px;">b. Brushed aside more recently due to new standards (2003)
 * 4) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px;">c. Best method to increase classroom success
 * 5) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">** II. **** Results of CL **
 * 6) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px;">a. Dec. in discipline problems
 * 7) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px;">b. Inc. in positive interdependence among students
 * 8) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px;">c. Simultaneous learning
 * 9) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px;">d. Allows for multiple interactions in the class (not just teacher-student, but also student-student)
 * 10) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">** III. **** How It’s done **
 * 11) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px;">a. Grouping Students
 * 12) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px;">i. Groups of 4 students (in this model used families of elements, science class)
 * 13) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px;">ii. Jobs: communicator, materials manager, checker, tracker
 * 14) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px;">iii. Change group after each marking period
 * 15) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px;">iv. New groups have one high, one low, two middle achieving students (based on Kagan’s model)
 * 16) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px;">b. “Your Turn” cards
 * 17) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px;">i. With numbers 1-4. Randomly draw card to see which group member is responsible for any given task/assignment
 * 18) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px;">c. “Think, Pair, Share” (Kagan’s model)
 * 19) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px;">i. Students work independently, then share with a partner, then discuss with group
 * 20) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px;">ii. Group discussion=better remembrance, less re-teaching
 * 21) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px;">iii. Every group member should be ready to report on behalf of their group if their “your turn” card is pulled
 * 22) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px;">iv. Student gain confidence in their abilities
 * 23) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">** IV. **** Discovery Lab illustration of this learning model **
 * 24) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px;">a. Pre-lab work: students have a reading assignment
 * 25) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px;">b. At lab there are 3 substances (table salt, paraffin chips, and rock salt) labeled A, B, C
 * 26) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px;">c. Students make observation of substance, write down, pass to group member, new observation, etc until all 4 group members have written 1 observation on each person’s page (4 observations)
 * 27) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px;">d. Group decides which is most significant and a team member reports back when “your turn” card is pulled
 * 28) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px;">e. Repeated for other substances and for substances when water is added—how do they behave?
 * 29) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px;">f. Group makes hypothesis, all members should be ready to report. Teacher affirms but does not comment on validity of hypothesis
 * 30) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px;">g. Evaporation and conduction are investigated for each substance, and then students must write a hypothesis at home that night to answer the question “Why do substances A, B, and C behave so differently.
 * 31) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px;">h. Next day, students share hypotheses with their group, and choose best one to present
 * 32) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px;">i. Teacher does a brief lesson on properties
 * 33) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">** V. **** Keys to Success **
 * 34) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px;">a. Teacher must be engaged, walk around room, interact with students
 * 35) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px;">b. Assessment must be due at the end of the task to keep students engaged-makes groups more productive
 * 36) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px;">c. 7 or 8 weeks optimum for group to function
 * 37) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px;">i. Need time to group to form interdependence, learn to work with others
 * 38) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px;">ii. Social skills are enhanced by this
 * 39) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px;">d. Group goals, but individual accountability (learn together, assess individually)

**DeLisi: "Promoting Thinking Through Peer Learning"**
<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">__Weekend 2__

=<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">**Bransford, Brown and Cocking Text** =

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">**Bransford, Brown and Cocking** <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">**Chapter 1 ( Kent)**

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">**Learning: From Speculation to Science**
Key findings from science:


 * 1) preconceptions; unengaged, will revert to preconceptions
 * 2) competence requires: deep foundation of factual knowledge; conceptual framework; organized knowledge that facilitates retrieval
 * 3) metacognitive—learning goals and progress

Implications for teaching:
 * 1) draw out and work with preconceptions
 * 2) teach in depth, with many ways into the same concepts
 * 3) metacognition integrated into the curriculum

Designing classroom environments:
 * 1) learner centered (where are learners developmentally and culturally?)
 * 2) knowledge centered (what does competency or mastery look like?)
 * 3) assessment centered: formative assessments—ongoing feedback about performance
 * 4) community centered; culture and group must support learning

Chapter 2 Experts and Novices Experts notice meaningful patterns of information Experts organize knowledge based on deep principles Expert knowledge is conditionalized Experts can flexibly retrieve information Experts may not be able to teach others [“expert blind spot” in UbD] Experts vary in their adaptation to new situations
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Bransford, Brown and Cocking **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Chapter 2 ( Kent) **


 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Bransford, Brown and Cocking **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Chapter 3 **

**<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Learning and Transfer **

 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Bransford, Brown and Cocking **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Chapter 4 **

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">**How Children Learn**

 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Bransford, Brown and Cocking **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Chapter 5 **

Mind and Brain
<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">**Chapter 6** **(Eugenia)**

**<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">The Design of Learning Environments **
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Learning goals for schools have changed over the past century. For example, the definition of functional literacy has changed from being able to sign one’s name to being able to decode words to being able to read for new information. New goals require comparable changes in the characteristics of learning environments.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">The authors present a framework for designing environments that optimize learning. Such environments are learner centered, knowledge centered, assessment centered, and community centered.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">In **learner-centered environments**, teachers:
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">“pay careful attention to the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and beliefs that learners bring to the educational setting” (p. 133)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">“recognize the importance of building on the conceptual and cultural knowledge that students bring with them to the classroom” (p. 134)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">respect and understand the prior experiences students bring with them and use them as the “foundation on which to build bridges to new understandings” (p. 136)


 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Knowledge-centered environments **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> promote learning with understanding and encourage sense making. Creating such environments requires critically examining existing curricula.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Many curricula emphasize a broad range of subjects and produce disconnected rather than organized knowledge (“rutted path” metaphor of curriculum).

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">An alternative metaphor is one of “learning the landscape.” This metaphor involves helping students develop interconnected pathways so that they learn their way around within a discipline and don’t lose sight of where they are.


 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Assessment-centered environments **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> provide opportunities for feedback and revision and include assessments that reflect the learning goals of the environment.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Effective assessment measures understanding rather than memorization.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Formative assessment gives students the opportunity to revise their thinking as they are working on a lesson and helps students evaluate their progress over time. Formative assessment also allows teachers to identify problems that need to be addressed and to improve their teaching.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">The term **community centered** refers to the classroom and school as communities and the degree to which students, teachers, and administrators feel connected to the broader community.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Classroom and school norms affect student achievement as well as what is taught and how it is assessed.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Learning is enhanced by norms that promote the search for understanding and allow the freedom to make mistakes during the process. Norms that value learning and high standards increase students’ opportunities to interact, get feedback, and learn.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Because students spend most of their time engaged in activities outside the classroom, it is important to connect schools to the broader community. Families, after-school programs, and other institutions affect and provide resources and opportunities for students’ learning.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">In addition, the impact television has on students’ learning must be taken seriously.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Lastly, the four perspectives of effective learning environments must be aligned in ways that mutually support one another.


 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Bransford, Brown and Cocking **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Chapter 7 (Nate) **

Effective Teaching
Main objective: Introduction: History example: Skills of the expert HS teacher: Math example: Science example: Skills of expert science teachers:
 * “Understand why effective teaching requires much more than a set of “general teaching skills,” and it will use one expert example in Math, History, and Science to demonstrate this need. P157
 * Expert teachers of all subject matter need to know pedagogical content knowledge which is understanding specific teaching methods specific to their content relative to: understanding cognitive road maps that guide assignments, assessments that gauge progress, and questioning. They need to know the conceptual barriers and areas are harder or easier for students to master. Branson then gives an example of a master teacher that begins by collecting students questions and then maps the objectives of the year around the knowledge students are seeking, exemplifying her knowledge of the material. In the final review, he emphasizes the need to have constant assessment occurring in the classroom so students have to make their thinking visible and teachers can know how to coach them. And the final note, is none of the expert teachers whom they had interviewed considered that they still had much to learn (lifelong learners).
 * History is deeper than facts and dates, it is a discipline guided “by particular rules of evidence and how particular analytical skills can be relevant for understanding events in their lives” 157 (Big Ideas-UBD). It gives an example of how some HS seniors excelled at a factual test but failed at examining a primary document and interpreting it- which is the primary skill of a historian.
 * Separates what is important to know from the periphery and teaches students the “Rules for determining historical significance.” (and they can change the rules as the year goes on)
 * History is evidentiary knowledge where students can track and interpret the causes and effects and understand the progression, connections and patterns in events (p161 gives an example to how a teacher would grade an essay based off if this style of understanding).
 * Understanding the nature of man (philosophy) as a base for understanding wars and debates
 * Often mathematics is taught to achieve mastery of computation, but expert math teachers “see computation as merely a tool in the real stuffy of mathematics, which includes problem solving, and characterizing and understanding structure and patterns.” 164
 * Skills of the expert Math teacher:
 * Use and build off what students already know even if its beyond the realm of math (for example- exchanging $$$, games or illustrative stories/examples) and then work to numbers and symbols and mathematical properties. One example: to teach negative integers the teacher used an elevator scenario with the below ground floors being negative and she slowly make the questions more challenging and reaching the point where students had to provide all of the ways a student could arrive at the second floor
 * Build a culture where students “conjecture, experiment, build arguments, and //frame//and solve problems.” 166
 * Allow students to create word problems and discuss possible strategies to solve them without much teacher intervention- students being able to apply the concepts and create new scenarios demonstrates transfer knowledge
 * K-12- Modeling. Modeling construction, evaluation and revision (ex in Geometry- understanding interior angels through optics, navigational wayfinding, laying floor tile)
 * Seeing science not through a lens of equations and definitions but of principles and procedures (Big Ideas). P 173 gives examples of both according to a Physics problems. Strategies for solving problems could be hierarchical which means- they would begin with a verbal description of how to solve the problem and break it into 3 components: “the principle to be applied; the justification for why the principle was applicable; and the procedures for applying the principle.” 175
 * Impart to students the skill set of being able to describe a problem before solving it, and distinguish what is the pertinent information that should enter the solution
 * Uncover and Understand students’ misconceptions (which happen often) and an expert teacher should know when they will happen, and then build bridges to correct understanding (pretests and problems to solve that highlight the misunderstandings are effective)
 * Require students to justify their choices with questions like “Why do you believe that”
 * Have students explore their own questions, design their own studies, gather and analyze the data, build an argument with evidence and debate the conclusions- and create a framework for living and encountering the world through this lens, not just science
 * Ensure that students understand the conceptual knowledge and that proper scientific experimentation can alter their conceptualizations.


 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Bransford, Brown and Cocking **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Chapter 8 (Nate) **

**Teacher Learning**

 * What are opportunities for teachers to learn?**
 * They learn from evaluating their instruction and knowledge about their students and by adjusting their own teaching
 * They learn from other teachers: From their interactions from other teachers/ from expert teachers are teaching others in inservice education/ and from Teacher workshops and conferences
 * They learn from teacher educators in school and observations
 * Enrolling in graduate programs
 * In real life- such as through parenting

However, normally there is little investment in teacher education (on average school districts spend 1-3% of the budget on professional development) Teachers rarely have influence in the subject or methods of the training
 * Usual facts on teacher opportunities for learning:**

Similar to chapter 6- teacher learning opportunities need to be learner centered, knowledge centered, assessment centered, community centered.
 * What are keys to effective teacher education?**
 * (learner centered) Learning goals and outcomes need to be clear. Because teacher needs are so diverse, development of interest groups around particular topics and projects is effective
 * (knowledge centered) Like students, teacher knowledge is constructive, and development initiatives should seek to uncover and build off teacher experiences in teaching new understandings
 * (assessment centered) As we now clearly know in this class- implementation and accountability are key to professional devt and it should be ongoing!
 * (community centered) Teacher development that creates communities has a greater chance for successful implementation. Create and empower groups around collaborative work that can discuss and make decisions about student learning in the classes


 * Action research**- design for teachers to analyze and gather data on one aspect of their teaching for a time period (such as one year), and then present their evidence and conclusions are their “experiment”

//Inadequate time// studying to thoroughly understand the nature of learners and learning //Fragmentation//- Classes on education, development, psychologoy, learning methods and practicums are rarely all tied together into a meaningful whole //Uninspired teaching methods//- most of their professors used lecture based methods and they have not experienced sufficient hands on approaches //Superficial understanding of curriculum//
 * Preservice**- Educational opportunities for new teachers should address the following shortcomings of undergraduate degrees:
 * And realizing new teachers have all of these challenges, they are often given the leftover students, classes, and supervisions along with a full loard since veteran teachers have seniority which adds to the sink or swim mentality.


 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Bransford, Brown and Cocking **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Chapter 9 (Scott) **
 * Technology to Support Learning**

Technology can be used effectively in the classroom in five ways:

__**1. New Curricula:**__
 * Technology allows teachers to bring real world examples into the classroom.
 * Voyage of Mimi example (p.208) and Jasper Woodbury example (p.209)
 * Technology offers the ability to overcome the constraints of field trips, laboratories, and work-study programs by creating software to create mirrored environments in the classroom.
 * Interactivity is very important with technology curricula, as it makes it easier for students to test ideas, and to receive feedback.
 * Technology allows for classrooms to be connected to "real-world" experts.
 * Global Lab example (p. 209)
 * Project GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) example (p.212)
 * Working with practitioners and connected peers on projects with meaning beyond the classroom is great motivation for students.


 * __2. Scaffolds and Tools:__**
 * Technology can function as a scaffold or tool to help students solve problems (i.e. calculators, spreadsheets, graphing programs, etc.)
 * MMAP example (p. 213)
 * The Little Planet Series example (p. 214)
 * The challenge is to create technology that builds on preexisting knowledge and ability "much like training wheels allow young riders to practice cycling when they would fall without support." (p. 214)
 * Scaffolding experiences can be structured:
 * Apprenticeship Model: expert models the way
 * Simulations and computer based models
 * Interactive visualizations
 * Note: The tools must be used in accordance with knowledge about learning, their existence will not necessarily improve learning.

__**3. Feedback, Reflection, and Revision:**__
 * Technology can make it easier for teachers to give feedback about their thinking and for students to revise their work.
 * Jasper Woodbury example (p. 216)
 * SMART (Special Multimedia Arenas for Refining Thinking) Challenge example (p. 217)
 * Classtalk example (p. 219)
 * Technology must be used as a spring board for learner discussion about process and revision
 * Connection to peer review
 * CSILE (Computer-Supported Intentional Learning Environments example (p.219)
 * Networked technologies provide ability for students to communicate with one another and share feedback
 * GLOBE Project example (p. 220)
 * Tutoring programs give students an insight into how experts view certain problems.

__**4. Connecting Classrooms to Community:**__
 * Bringing students and teachers into contact with the broader community can enhance their learning.
 * Transparent School example (p. 224)
 * Using telephones to help parents understand homework assignments
 * Three factors were important for network communication to the community
 * emphasis on group rather than one-to-one communication
 * well-articulated goals or tasks
 * explicit efforts to facilitate group interaction and establish new social norms

__**5. Teacher Learning:**__
 * When teachers learn to use a new technology in their classrooms, they model the learning process for students.
 * They also gain new insights on teaching by watching their students learn.
 * Teachers must be partners in innovation:
 * Critical partnerships are necessary between teachers, administrators, students, parents, the community, university and the computer industry.
 * Teachers need time to learn, reflect, absorb, and adapt practices to new technology.
 * Teachers need collegial advisers, to create a partnership in learning the new technologies.

The creation of effective technological learning tools that focus on learning, and not just game play, is in the infant stage. 'Much remains to be learned about using technology's potential: to make this happen, learning research will need to become the constant companion of software development." (p.230)

=<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Wiggins and McTighe Text =

Wiggins and McTighe Chapter 5 - Essential Questions: Doorways to Understanding (Andrea)
Design and teaching must “focus on the big ideas that connect and bring meaning to all the discrete facts and skills.” This personally reminds me of the Bransford text – it seems like UbD is a way to create expert level thinking among novices, since experts think about big ideas and novices tend to think about discrete skills. In UbD, goals are framed around Essential Questions. The aim of Esssential Questions is to “stimulate thought, to provoke inquiry, and to spark more questions...They are broad, full of transfer opportunities…Deep and transferrable understandings depend upon framing work around such questions.”

The chapter offers several good examples. Instead of asking students specific questions about the three branches of government, the E.Q. might be, “How might a government guard against abuses of power?” What makes a question essential? “The best questions push us to the heart of things – the essence.” EQs can be global (What is democracy?) or more specific (What are the strengths and weaknesses of the big bang theory?). “The most vital discipline bound questions open up thinking and possibilities for everyone – novices and experts alike.”

There are four connotations to EQs:


 * 1) EQs involve important questions that recur throughout our lives.
 * 2) Essential refers to core ideas and inquiries within a discipline.
 * 3) A question is essential if it helps students effectively inquire and make sense of important but complicated ideas, knowledge, and know-how.
 * 4) The questions will most engage a specific and diverse set of learners.

The characteristics of an EQ are:


 * 1) Cause genuine and relevant inquiry into big ideas
 * 2) Provoke deep thought, lively discussion, sustained inquiry, and new understanding as well as more questions
 * 3) Require students to consider alternatives, weight evidence, support their ideas, and justify their answers
 * 4) Stimulate vital, ongoing rethinking of big ideas
 * 5) Spark meaningful connections with prior learning
 * 6) Naturally recur, creating opportunities for transfer

On p. 113, we find that EQs can be framed around four categories: key concepts, purpose and value, strategy and tactics, and context of use.

EQs can be overarching or topical. The overarching ones refer to big ideas that “cut across units and courses.” The topical ones can help with understandings within a unit of study. So an overarching EQ might be: What are common factors in the rise and fall of powerful nations? and a topical one might be: Why did the Roman Empire collapse?

One tip for generating EQs is to look at national or state standards and look for recurring concepts. Another key thought from this chapter is that students need to see “how penetrating questions and arguments produce knowledge and understanding.”

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Wiggins and McTighe Chapter 6: Crafting Understandings (Andrea)
An understanding “summarizes a sought after lesson based on facts and experiences. It summarizes a transferrable idea that we want students to grasp eventually. It draws conclusions from various facts that make up the content.” The chapter goes on to define understandings further:


 * 1) An understanding is an important inference, drawn from the experience of experts, stated as a specific and useful generalization.
 * 2) An understanding refers to transferable, big ideas having enduring value beyond a specific topic. (The book gives the example of the Magna Carta – the understanding there is that written laws specify the limits of a government’s power and the rights of individuals.)
 * 3) An understanding involves abstract, counterintuitive, and easily misunderstood ideas.
 * 4) An understanding is best acquired by “uncovering” and “doing” the subject (the example is doing key ideas in physics that are often misunderstood or hard to grasp)
 * 5) An understanding summarizes important strategic principles in skill areas

Just like with EQs, there are overarching and topical understandings. Example of overarching: A president is not above the law. Example of topical: Watergate was a major constitutional crisis, not mere election shenanigans.

Since an understanding is “an inference drawn from facts,” information is still critical to this process. It is applicable to skills as well, such as PE or home ec. The authors share their opinion that state standards should be framed as big idea understandings.

A caveat: the reader is warned that an understanding is more than a restatement of the topic. The authors suggest a sentence frame: Students should understand that….

An enduring understanding can have two different connotations:


 * 1) The understanding has endured over time and across cultures because it has proven so important and useful.
 * 2) The understanding should endure in the mind of the student because it will help the student make sense of the content and it will enable transfer of the key ideas.

We are warned against the Expert Blind Spot – what is obvious to us as adult experts is rarely obvious to a novice.

W<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">iggins and McTighe Chapter 7: Thinking Like an Assessor **(Tony)**
This Chapter elucidates the second stage of BD, the evidence of understanding

I. Stage 2 of BD - What is the evidence of understanding? A. Design Considerations 1. The six facets of understanding 2. A continuum of assessment types B. Design Criteria 1. Authentic, valid, and reliable work 2. Sufficient and feasible work 3. Student-friendly work C. Accomplishment of the final design 1. A unit based on credible and vital evidence of desired understanding II. Two Questions for Assessment A. Where should I look for evidence of understanding? B. What should I look for to distinguish degrees of understanding? III. Criteria A. Explanation - accurate, coherent, justified, systematic, predictive B. Interpretation - meaningful, insightful, significant, illustrative, illuminating C. Application - effective, efficient, fluent, adaptive, graceful D. Perspective - credible, revealing, insightful, plausible, unusual E. Empathy - sensitive, open, receptive, perceptive, tactful F. Self-Knowledge - self-aware, metacognitive, self-adjusting, reflective, wise IV. The Ambiguity of Assessment A. Quality vs. Knowledge 1. What form does understanding take? 2. Should an assessor value insight or performance? B. Perception vs. Reception 1. Is knowledge and skill more valuable than insight? 2. Is explanation valid, regardless of its quality? C. Speculation vs. Observation 1. Does speculation offer viable evidence of understanding? 2. Is observation a valid form of insight? D. Precedence vs. Improvisation 1. Is the act of understanding independent of action or performance? 2. Does the quality of the performance trump the quality of the idea?

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Wiggins and McTighe Chapter 8: Criteria and Validity **(Tony)**
<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">This chapter focuses on the Depth and Breadth of understanding: uncovering content in a curriculum instead of covering it.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">I. Stage 3 of BD - Learning Experiences that Promote Understanding, Interest, and Excellence <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">A. Design Considerations <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">1. Research-based repertoire of andra/pedagogy <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">2. Functional knowledge and skill <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">B. Design Criteria <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">1. Improvisation, Analysis, Engagement of the Learner, Exploration <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">2. To where does the inquiry of uncoverage lead? <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">C. Evocative lessons that inspire exploration of desired understandings that render excellent performance <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">II. Depth - "a continuous process of reconstruction of experience" <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">A. Analysis of facts - exploring given information from alternative perspectives <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">B. Evaluation of ideas - not taking given information for granted <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">C. Synthesis of schemes - accommodating old information with empirical information <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">III. Breadth - Relating Disparate Facts and Ideas <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">A. Experience should be concrete and simple <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">B. Represent a single idea for different learning styles and types of intelligence <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">C. Be explicit and hypothesize <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">IV. Depth and Breadth in terms of the Six Facets <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">A. Explanation - build, test, and verify theories or explanations <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">B. Interpretation - build translations of primary source texts, events, and experiences <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">C. Application - plan and troubleshoot situational tasks <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">D. Perspective - identify strengths and weaknesses of existing theories, explanations, proofs, and arguments <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">E. Empathy - challenge assumptions through simulation <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">F. Self-Knowledge - self-assess the how and why of existing knowledge, and make thought processes explicit

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Wiggins and McTighe Chapter 9: Planning and Learning (Brad)
Chapter 9 – Planning for Learning


 * Stage 3 of UbD involves planning the appropriate learning activities – moving from thinking about what we want to accomplish as designers to who the learners are and what they need.


 * The design must be user-friendly and not just intellectually defensible – thinking less about teaching and more about the “learnings” sought. This design should continually provide learners with feedback so they may rethink, revise and refine.


 * Best designs are Engaging (thought provoking/fascinating) and Effective (competent/productive) resulting in worthy intellectual effort and substantive, value-added learning.

WHERETO – characteristics of the best designs – the six facets are important in design as well as assessment.

W – Where and Why? Number one characteristic of best designs is clear goals for the learner – where they are going and why. How is it purposeful from the student’s point of view?

H – Hook them and Hold them – important to engage them and motivate them by organizing design around provocative questions and challenging problems. The most effective and engaging designs involve challenging/meaningful applications of learning.

E – Explore and Experience, Enable and Equip – core of the learning plan is here as students must experience big ideas as real and be equipped for their final performances. Scaffolding is a means for enabling/equipping

R – Reflect, Rethink, Revise – the big ideas must constantly be reconsidered so the flow of the teaching must be iterative. Students need to be made aware of the necessity of constant reflection and revision in light of the most recent learning. Highlights the facets of perspective, empathy and self-understanding.

E – Evaluate – students need to self-monitor, self assess and self-adjust their work as it progresses. Importance of proactively considering what is and isn’t working and making correction – self-awareness/metacognition takes the form of an internal dialogue. Design must allow for these opportunities for reflection.

T – Tailor and personalize the work – designers should tailor the Content, Process and Product of their design for a diverse set of learners.

O – Organization for optimal effectiveness – what is the most powerful sequence for the design that will provide the most engaging and effective learning experience? Backwards, forward; learning-doing-reflecting; whole-part-whole. Continual return to Why? And So What?

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Wiggins and McTighe Chapter 11: The Design Process **(Kimberly)**
-Coming to a deep understanding requires rethinking ideas, for both students and teachers-Design is a non-linear process—requires rethinking, revision, back and forth aspects; the pathway to good design varies by designer

6 Common Approaches to Design


 * 1) Begin with content standards
 * 2) Begin by considering desired real world applications
 * 3) Begin with a key resource or favorite activity
 * 4) Begin with an important skill
 * 5) Begin with a key assessment
 * 6) Begin with an existing unit

-Any of the above methods can be used with UbD; designers can start at any point on the template

Revising Existing Designs -Working backward, using UbD template, creates a better, more cohesive design that includes all parts of the UbD framework, helps focus on big ideas -Use the same knowledge and skill, but imbed it in more meaningful issues -Template provides a guide for teachers/designers to self-assess their work

Standards, not recipes -UbD provides loose guidelines -The UbD templates are flexible so they can be relevant in many ways -Ambiguity is a necessary part of the process to promote teacher empathy and responsiveness to student needs/feedback -Ongoing assessment is vital to student success

Unavoidable Dilemmas in Design


 * 1) Big ideas and transfer vs. specific knowledge and skills: balancing too philosophical/abstract with too isolated/discrete
 * 2) Complex, realistic, messy performance vs. efficient and sound tests: making assessment rich and educative but efficient and feasible
 * 3) Teacher control vs. learner control: when should teacher’s understanding drive learning, and when should students develop their own understandings about the big idea
 * 4) Direct vs. constructivist: when is direct instruction most appropriate? When is uncovering meaning most appropriate?
 * 5) Depth vs. breadth of knowledge: how do we cover an array of material with an in-depth approach that will lead to transferability and understanding
 * 6) Comfort and feelings of competence vs. real challenges: finding an appropriate amount of stretch for students
 * 7) Uniform vs. personalized work and expectations: instructing diverse learners effectively without losing some along the way
 * 8) Effective vs. engaging: address goals and standards efficiently and effectively while remaining interesting and engaging
 * 9) Simplified vs. Simplistic: balancing the richness and complexity of the subject with student abilities so that student focus is not lost
 * 10) Well-crafted plan vs. flexibility and open-endedness: well thought out plan is required, but so is responsiveness to feedback
 * 11) Great individual unit vs. larger goals and other designs: working in required content and materials without subverting good design

Grappling with Dilemmas -Aggressively seek feedback as you work (a key to continuous improvement) -Feedback doesn’t have to be formal or demanding-Don’t avoid seeking feedback out of fear

Making Adjustments -Gather feedback at various points in time -Use diagnostic pre-assessment to gauge students’ prior knowledge -Use this info to improve your instructional design

===**<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Wiggins and McTighe Chapter 12: T he Big Picture: UbD as Curriculum Framework ( <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Kimberly) **===


 * Until this chapter, UbD has focused on unit plans, but it can also be applied to entire courses or programs
 * Essential questions, enduring understandings, key performance tasks, rubrics
 * Courses/programs connect UbD units together cohesively

How Big is Big?


 * Some concepts are large/broad/universally transferrable enough that they require more than a unit to do them justice—these should be program goals.
 * These overarching ideas connect individual units

Essential Questions as Course and Program Foundations


 * Framing curriculum around essential questions makes it thought-provoking, cohesive, more than a list of standards

Cross-Disciplinary Questions


 * Essential questions are often multidisciplinary—makes it more likely curriculum will help students make interesting connections and meanings from the material

Framing Curriculum by Performance Tasks


 * Frame the macro curriculum by its assessments
 * Common assessment tools across classes or units bring coherence to the program and improve student performance

From Tasks to Rubrics


 * Development of performance tasks leads to designing scoring rubrics to go with them
 * Students should be provided with an example at each score point on the rubric
 * Longitudinal rubrics track student progress/development over time
 * Use the UbD facets (figure 8.3) as a framework for developing other rubrics

Applying “Scope and Sequence” to a Curriculum for Understanding


 * Flow of units has a big impact on understanding
 * Goal is to be able to “do” the subject with understanding—acquire knowledge as a means for handling tasks in the field
 * Backwards design from specific performance goals with adjustments based on feedback
 * Constant and frequent movement between element of performance and the whole complex task
 * Regular movement between being instructed and applying learning
 * Sequence that enables learning from results prior to formal performance

Logic of Content vs. Logic of Coming to Understand Content


 * Approach to content and sequence is different when productive use is the goal—leads to different delivery
 * Focus on meaningful use/overarching questions
 * Avoid textbook as syllabus—lacks priorities

Rethinking Scope and Sequence


 * “Sequencing” originally meant the unfolding of work that is most natural and interesting to the learner
 * “Logic” of content is illogical for learning what is important about the content, from the learners’ point of view

Hook and Rethinking, Rethought


 * First order of business in designing curriculum or program is establishing questions/issues that make the content seem interesting, meaningful, and valuable (the W and H in WHERETO)
 * Textbook summary is not the best way to learn ideas, their meaning, and their value

The Spiral Curriculum


 * Well-known alternative to scope and sequence
 * Develops curriculum around recurring, ever-deepening inquiries into big ideas and important tasks
 * Helps students understand in a way that is effective and developmentally wise
 * Subject matter is organized to move from problem to problem—knowledge increases in depth and breadth
 * Move back and from the known to the problematic
 * Teacher design so that students create new ideas—new ideas become the ground for further experiences (new problems)
 * Critical elements are continuity, sequence, integration

Toward a Better Syllabus


 * All teachers, including K-12, should be required to have a public syllabus
 * Specify essential questions, core values
 * Core performances and challenges
 * Rubrics and scoring systems
 * Summary of major learning goals in calendar
 * Built-in flexibility for using feedback

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Wiggins and McTighe Chapter 13: "Yes, but..."

 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Beyer "What the Research Tells us About Thinking Skills" (Kent) **

This article pulls together research about teaching thinking skills. Q: What thinking skills are we talking about? A: The four essential skills: comparing, classifying, sequencing, and predicting. Beyond that, the skills for specific subjects and disciplines, as well as specific components (strategies and heuristics/rules). Q: Should we teach them or will they just happen? A: Yes, teach them. Instruction helps. But students need practice and repetition. One instruction session isn’t enough. Rely on modeling, coaching, and fading to facilitate transfer. Q: How do we teach them? A: keep students focused on the skill (not distracted by the subject matter) and make explicit the key steps in carrying out the skill—make the routines visible—and engage in metacognitive reflection after practicing the skill. You might also do thinking aloud. The teacher can be either constructivist or didactic. Q: How do we continue to develop it? A: With practice… frequent practice that includes scaffolded and cued instructional support (remind people to do it). Q: Anything else? A: Name the skill. Provide feedback. And, like I said, do metacognitive reflection. And make the steps explicit. Q: How do we encourage transfer? A: Help learners identify the similarities between old and new contexts where the skill might be useful. Bridge these two events. Reintroduce a thinking skill in a new context. Q: When should we teach these? A: In academic subject matter courses. Thinking skills help learners master the subject matter and the subject matter serves as a vehicle for improving thinking sills. Q: Anything else? A: Yes—students will be motivated to learn these when the skill is introduced at the moment when they need it, when they are trying to accomplish something. Q: And? A: Students will score higher on tests, too—students taught thinking skills explicitly score better than those students who were not. Q: That’s pretty cool. A: I think so too.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Lord "Revisiting the Cone of Learning" **(Scott...Only because the title sounds cool)**
This article talks about the success of learning and information retention as it relates to student involvement in the learning process. Summation: The more actively involved students are in the learning process the more engaged they are and information is retained longer. This is based on Dale's 1969 construction of the Cone of Learning. Dale's statistics are:

Method of Teaching---Percentage of Retention After Six Weeks Lecture-4-8% Reading6-10% Lecture with Visuals---12-18% Demonstration20-45% Hand-on Independent Study-45-65% Cooperative Learning as a Group---60-80% Teaching Another Student One on One--80-98%

There were several critics of the cone based on the percentage breakdown (specifically its preciseness) and the lack of access to the original research. Lord then reinvents the study in his non-science major classes at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He divided two classes into groups of 12-13 students. Each group was given a puzzle that they had a minute to solve, but were each exposed to a different instructional method.

Group Identification-# that completed the 60sec testAfter six weeks Group A: Lecture-1 student---0 students Group B: Reading2 students-1 student Group C: Lecture with Visuals---4 students-3 students Group D: Demonstration---5 students-3 students Group E: Allowed to work the puzzle with a partner with no demonstration6 students-6 students Group F: Cooperative Learning Groups---8 students-7 students Group G: One learner was taught the process to solve the puzzle, they in turn taught another student etc, until all of the group had been taught13 students12 students Group H; Control group, not involved in the experiment per se, but were the definers of the testing time

Lord, confirmed Dole's Cone of Learning by discovering that student involvement does indeed affect understanding, transfer, and retention. This is pulled together in the article by the creation of an educational proverb from the Chinese proverb //tell me and I shall forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I will understand...//Lord's educational adaptation is //teach a student to memorize and you'll relieve his ignorance for a day; teach a student to understand and you'll relive his ignorance for a lifetime.//

On a personal note this proverb reminds me of my favorite Jack Handy quote...Build a man a fire and you will keep him warm for a day, set a man on fire and you will keep him warm for the rest of his life. Same principle, just a little more morbid.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">King "How Do We Know? What do We Believe?" **(Kent)**
College tries to get people to make “thoughtful, reasoned judgments.” The Reflective judgment model provides a heuristic tool for describing and accounting for student’s development as reflective thinkers. Reflective thinking/judging is what people do when they encounter problems that their current cognitive resources can’t account for. The reflective judgment model deals with how individuals respond to “ill-structured” problems (as opposed to well-structured ones). These problems can neither be described clearly nor do they have answers that are certain. The reflective judgment model examines the way people “explain and justify their interpretations and judgments about controversial topics” (4).

People's methods of justification are rooted in their epistemological assumptions. In the model, stages 1 & 2 (pre-reflective) assume that knowledge is gained through direct experience or from authorities. In stage 3, people are less certain of the answers, but assume that answers will be forthcoming. Such persons view all problems as well structured. Stage 4 reasoning (quasi-reflective) differentiates between ill- and well-structured problems, but individuals have difficulty making judgments because of the ambiguity in the answers (knowledge is seen as idiosyncratic to the individual). Stage 5 sees knowledge as more contextual and guided by “principles, values, or accepted rules of inquiry” (50), but has difficulty dealing with conflicting views. Stages 6 & 7 are the most advanced levels. Here, knowledge is contextual, but some perspectives are judged to be better than others. At this level, one’s understanding of the world is not “given,” so knowledge claims must be understood in relation to the context that generated them.

Some assumptions underlie this model: 1) individuals actively make sense of their world and so efforts to make sense engage prior knowledge; 2) people develop over time; 3) the environment—challenges, feedback, opportunities to fail without fear—matters for how people learn to reason; 4) people exhibit responses across stages depending on other factors; they aren't "in" a stage.

College students do develop some over the college years, but not much. They may get to level 5—so teachers need to respect and show “emotional acceptance” for students operating at these levels. Although they might look unreasonable, the positions have “a strong internal logic” for the individual. How do we structure environments that move students to higher levels but also respect where they are?

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Eyler and Giles "Critical Thinking Outcomes" **(Joe)**
// The beginning of this article connects to our readings on experts and novices—the more educated you become on a matter, the more you realize how much you don’t know and intend to find out. **In this chapter excerpt, Service Learning is seen as a way to become more of an expert, more devoted to finding out what you don’t know when in the action of reflecting on the community experience.** The studies cited question whether service learning classes and experiences can increase the levels of critical thinking in participating students. //

Introduction:
 * The beginning problem of a faculty was posed- //Why do students lose heart in community service?// “We suspect the issue may be cognitive as well as affective. Feeling committed in spite of the intractability of social problems requires the ability to accept the complexity of and think critically about the social problems related to community service. (p. 107)” –service learning requires thinking critically about problems that are inherently complex.
 * As students increase in critical thinking, the more they recognize and investigate the paradoxes and confusion of social problems and not write it off to personal or societal defect.
 * Definition for critical thinking in the context of service learning and being a citizen: to identify, frame, and resolve issues. Dependent on content knowledge (situational knowledge) and on the level of cognitive development (ex. ability to analyze controversial issues, evaluate competing claims, an justify positions are levels in which some college students may not typically reach).
 * Effective service learning can help students reach the following educational goal for an aspiring citizen: //figure out how to act in spite of the fact that one can never know//.

Section I: Nature of Social Issues that Students Face in their Service Settings and Why They May Be Difficult to Understand and Solve // Fantastic Four: // 1) Life doesn’t come with a syllabus; a lecture or textbook can’t //really// help students recognize how ill-structured societal problems exist and help them be able to frame the nature of the problem. 2) Citizens in democracy must be able to make decisions in spite of the doubt inherent in the process. 3) Students have a hard time framing the questions for the problems at hand 4) Effectively addressing ill-structured problems requires à considerable expertise about subject + advanced abilities to evaluate competing claims

Section II: Importance of Cognitive Development to Critical Thinking about these Issues // Fab Five: // 1) Experts pay more attention to understanding and describing a problem before trying to fix it while novices jump into it, quickly assuming what the issues are and offering immediate solutions. 2) Anecdote of a student’s service learning experience: went in with much ideas and enthusiasm about she wanted to do in an inner city school à eventually chastened by experience, placing the service setting into a larger context, becoming more of a problem solver, developing more expertise, more restraint, and obtaining a reflective knowledge tested with the experience. 3) To increase likelihood that students will be able to apply critical thinking principles to future situations (as a citizen), **multiple opportunities** to deal with a variety of ill structured problems should be created. (p. 115) This will allow them to generalize to new subjects since they have been exposed to many issues and experiences. 4) In regards to cognitive levels of understanding, each advance in thinking creates a structure, which is a bit more powerful for understanding experience (p. 117). 5) See chart on Reflective Judgment Stages (King and Kitchener) aligned with Perry’s student development and problem solving levels of skills (p.118): The levels begin with knowledge as certain and defined à variables that affect certainty of knowledge à contextual knowledge à justification through comparisons of evidence from different sides à knowledge outcome of inquiry, using evidence and argument for complete understanding of problem and tying back to the larger picture à **highest stages (6/7) are able to identify** **an ill-structured problem, frame it in complex ways, justify the choices for resolution, and open to adjustments as new dimensions of the problem emerge. (pp. 119-123 goes into minute details from one stage to next)**

Section III: How the Experiences Students Have in Service Learning May Contribute to the Development of Critical Thinking // Terrific Trio // 1) Argument in Favor of Service Learning: coming to terms with conflicting perspectives and taking a position, no matter how tentative is intellectually engaging work. (p. 126) 2) Winning combination for developing critical thinking ability during instruction (Pascarela and Terenzini, 1991): emphasis on engaging students in problem solving, focuses on problem solving procedures, involve students in discussions at relatively high levels of cognitive activity (come to closure, create solutions, reconcile conflicting points of view and info. sources) à **this piece indicated the importance of the classroom “frontloading”, “coaching”, and “debriefing” that needs to take place during a course where a service learning component drives it.** 3) Infusing the service learning experience with a self-assessment piece is effective à positively affects students’ own perceptions of ability to identify social issues and openness to new ideas

Section IV: Measuring Critical Thinking (studies) and Support for the Hypothesis that Highly Reflective Service Learning Programs May Contribute to Improved Critical Thinking // Dynamic Duo // 1) Used self-assessments of students about their own critical thinking improvements but then found the interviews to be more effective: the Reflective Judgment Scoring Instrument did show upward shifts in score à showed that //intensively reflective programs might have an impact on a cognitive developmental measure of critical thinking.// (p. 132) 2) Critical thinking/problem solving pre-test scores (all 65, control and non-control) averaged 4.08 (reflective judgment scores—this level of 4.08, still not able to recognize ill-structured problems) à now let’s go to the three groups à control group score went down .02 (3.96 to 3.94); low-integration service learning went up .01 (4.07 to 4.08); and high-integration service-learning went up .25 (4.16 to 4.41). (p. 134) //The high group obviously had a higher level of cognitive thinking to begin with though which shows that have some expertise of the subject makes the SL experience more optimal and effective for critical thinking development.//

Conclusion Statements: 1) The findings support the value of service learning in intellectual development + multiple experiences combining community service with academic courses may be valuable. (See great classroom example of service learning integrated course on top of p. 136.) 2) The service learning component must NOT be optional; the course must have the goal of increased critical thinking ability of students as they have frequent and intense reflections that are tightly linked to the service experience. 3) Critical thinking abilities will improve as students transform the ways they see and use knowledge about society and social problems as a result of their service learning experiences.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Argyris "Teaching Smart People how to Learn" **(Kimberly)**

 * Success depends on learning, but most people don’t know how to learn
 * Misunderstandings about what learning is and how to do it
 * People define learning too narrowly as “problem-solving”
 * In order to learn, one must look inward
 * Smart people have trouble learning
 * Rarely fail and don’t know how to learn from failures
 * Become defensive, screen out criticism, put blame on anyone but selves
 * Common mistake: Learning is largely a matter of motivation
 * Defensive reasoning blocks learning even when individual commitment to learning is high
 * Examples of consultants (very intelligent people) whose job is to teach others to do things differently
 * They were threatened by the prospect of critically examining their actions
 * Continuously repeated defensive actions
 * Trouble finding common language with management regarding improvement
 * The “master program” on which people act is rarely the program they use
 * People consistently act inconsistently, unaware of the difference between how they think they act and how they really act
 * Most people act on the same basic values (to avoid embarrassment, threat, vulnerability, incompetence)
 * To remain in unilateral control
 * To maximize winning and minimize losing
 * To suppress negative feelings
 * To be as rational as possible
 * Externalizing (blaming others) becomes the first reaction
 * Encouraging open inquiry can be seen as intimidating
 * Smart people are often driven internally by unrealistically high ideals—feel shame and guilt from perceived failures
 * Focusing on attitudes or commitment or changing organizational structure won’t produce real change—people value acting competently and performing effectively
 * Begin with inconsistencies between actual and espoused theories of action
 * Face up to the fact that they act in ways they don’t intend
 * Learn to identify defensive actions
 * Senior managers must become aware of defensive actions first
 * Connect learning programs to real business problems
 * Example: Having participants in a workshop produce case study with analysis using own firm/employees with colleagues

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">**Webster and Schempp "Self-Monitoring"** **(Lori)**
__Overview__—There is very little evidence to support the existence of natural-talent. Research shows the compounding effects of practice on developing expertise. Those who reach expertise in instruction commit to continued practice and use strategies to develop better teaching skills. Expert teachers monitor their limits and advantages and take action to maximize their potential. Self-monitoring is the process of observing and tracking one’s own professional performances and outcomes, and continuously advancing expertise in teaching.

Self-monitoring involves introspection over a long period of time. Teachers must have interest in rediscovering and renewing oneself. Teachers must self-monitor four fundamental aspects of their teaching:


 * 1) Instructional Skills-competencies needed to effectively interact with students during a lesson (presenting tasks to learners, providing useful feedback, reinforcing desired student behaviors)
 * 2) Videotape performances-identify critical aspects of performance against a systematic evaluation tool (these are designed to train the observer’s focus on selected critical dimensions of instructional process against clear definitions of effective teaching)
 * 3) Set goals (short-term and long-term) for improvement and continuously revisit and revise goals
 * 4) List and rate teacher functions and reflect on each skill separately and in relation to others


 * 1) Teaching Perspective-seeking new approaches and challenges to broaden view of teaching-learning process and provide students with even greater service
 * 2) The broader and more diversified the range of approaches that teachers employ, the better chance of reaching more students in a meaningful way
 * 3) Enables teachers to define more clearly their own approach and develop an understanding of how they might adopt new and more effective approaches


 * 1) Personal Characteristics- maximize performance through behaviors, beliefs, values, dispositions, concerns, and demeanor that influence how teachers teach and how students respond
 * 2) Strengthen the link between personal and professional attributes to better serve the needs of students
 * 3) Monitor personal conduct to role model desired behaviors
 * 4) Factors that are valuable in relation to quality teaching:
 * 5) Job satisfaction-linked to teaching performance
 * 6) Concerns about teaching-concern for students vs. concern for self


 * 1) Knowledge Base-content knowledge and knowledge of students
 * 2) Read extensively (classic and contemporary works on teaching and learning, in and outside of one’s field)
 * 3) Seek out expertise of others (observe lessons of more experienced teachers)
 * 4) Attend professional conferences and workshops

__Summary__-expertise emerges from a driven and directed pursuit of excellence. It is with deliberation and purpose that experts engage in self-monitoring to continually assess and adapt aspects of instructional skills, teaching perspective, personal characteristics and knowledge base.

**<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Lucas "Mind Your Brain"(Lori) **
Main Points- Lifelong learning-coined in1990s-is largely informal We learn things to live more effectively or more happily Learning is what you get when you reflect on the experiences of living Learning involves using all of your mind and body, engaging your thoughts and feelings Learning is the most important of all human activities You learn as a result of something that happens to you (accidental learning) Andragogy, adult learning, coined in 1970s, is self-directed Learning is one of the key methods by which you extract meaning from your experiences of life

The five Rs of lifelong learning:
 * 1) Resourcefulness-having a good range of techniques and resources (a few examples: getting big picture, chunking, visualization, mental rehearsal, developing and argument)
 * 2) Remembering-getting the best out of your memory (article includes a lengthy list of tips for improving memory)
 * 3) Resilience-persistence in learning, ability to see difficult things through (a few examples: staying positive, setting goals, dealing with stress, dealing with distractions)
 * 4) Reflectiveness-extract meaning from experience, reliving and processing what you have learned (learning log, ask better questions, critical review of events, giving and receiving feedback)
 * 5) Responsiveness-putting into practice what you have learned, decide to do things differently next time, being flexible and adaptable (dealing with change, fears, conflict and aligning behaviors with beliefs)

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">**Smith (OPTIONAL) "Increasing Student Engagement" (Lori)**
This study examined the use of cognitive, affective and metacognitive questioning strategies to increase student engagement and academic success, especially for at-risk 9th graders. The premise is that aspirations, interest levels, and academic achievement of students are often tied to students' belief in their ability to master academic activities. An increased sense of efficacy allows for greater effort, persistence, and resilience in the face of difficult tasks, and as a result, self-efficacy beliefs are strong determinants of the level of accomplishment that students often obtain. Self-efficacy is influenced through both cognitive and motivational mechanisms. The use of questioning promotes thinking, productive learning, and content retention. Most currently used questions do not provide an opportunity for active involvement by the student. Metacognitive and affective questions provide that opportunity.

Metacognitive knowledge-personal knowledge and how people learn and process information Metacognitive reflection-strategies that are sequential in nature and used to control cognitive activities Cognitive-to obtain knowledge in a task-specific way Metacognitive-a way of monitoring what one has learned
 * Metacognitive Questions**

It is the responsibility of the teacher to help students interpret and make sense of information. By requiring students to address their own learning styles (strengths and weaknesses), the teacher provides an opportunity for them to monitor, control, and regulate their cognition and learning. Studies support the use of metacognitive questioning to engage students in using the "executive function" of the brain (the most important part), which helps them become productive learners, capable of assuming responsibility for their own learning.

Conditions under which metacognitive strategies should take place:
 * 1) Metacognitive knowledge should be embedded within the usual content-driven lesson
 * 2) Metacognitive knowledge should be labeled explicitly
 * 3) Teachers should model and provide examples
 * 4) Assessment of metacognitive knowledge should be informal
 * 5) Metacognitive knowledge is positively linked to student learning and metacognitive questions provides a strategy to support student self-efficacy

Student interpretations are influenced by student's experiences, language, education and culture. In affective questions, the student's interpretation counts. These questions probe further thinking and help students become more comfortable with being questioned. Journal writing is used as a means to give students a voice and make them responsible for their own learning. The ability to express oneself in writing is a critical skill and it helps students crystallize their ideas and views. It also prepares students for class discussions, makes them think more deeply, and clarifies thinking.
 * Affective Questions**

Study-to further explore the effectiveness of journal writing, this study compares the effects of two types of structures journal writing strategies on students considered at risk for school failure. Three questions were asked: 1) will journal writing increase learning and result in better grades, 2) do types of questions answered make a difference on learning and grades, and 3) can specific types of questions benefit at-risk students. Students were divided into 3 groups: control group, cognitive questions only for journal writing, cognitive, metacognitive and affective questions in journal writing. All 3 classes had a common lesson plan, but responded to these different types of questions in journals.

Results of study-
 * journal writing had a positive effect on grades
 * journal writing with cognitive, metacognitive and affective journal questions resulted in higher grades than cognitive only or no journal writing
 * the at-risk students did not benefit greater than the other students who received all 3 types of questions for journal writing
 * answering cognitive questions only does not engage students in learning
 * metacognitive and affective questions are key to sustained student learning
 * benefits of all 3 questions apply to ethnically diverse as well as at-risk student

A teacher must provide questions to students in multiple formats, check to see that students are writing in their journals, and provide feedback. Teaching students to jump start the executive function portion of the brain will help them assume responsibility for their learning and support feelings of self-efficacy.

**<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Payne "Capstone Business Course Assessment" (Lori) **
This article discussed the review of a business capstone course as it relates to determining that the learning objectives of the business program were achieved. The review of literature was specifically related to business courses, but a few themes are applicable to all disciplines: students need to develop and practice certain modes of thinking more actively; teaching should be student- and learning-centered; courses should have a greater focus on student diversity, skill development; student imagination or creativity, stronger connections to general education, higher-order paradoxical thinking, and dialogues to help students become more critical, analytical and flexible.

Effective Assessment:
 * Learning outcomes must be clearly defined
 * Courses should be assessed in terms of value-added knowledge or skills gained throughout the program
 * Compare courses/programs against benchmarked courses/programs
 * Assessment questions should be based on mission and goals of institution/department/program
 * Assessment from multidimensional perspective
 * Use SOTL framework for assessment (scholarship of teaching and learning)
 * Scholarship of teaching-discovery, integration, application and teaching
 * Practices of classroom assessment, evidence gathering, current ideas involvement and peer collaboration
 * Focus on role of student in the learning process
 * More public sharing and use of stakeholders (employers, other faculty, community)
 * Concern for faculty-student relationships
 * Key linkages between student outcome and instructional activities
 * Faculty commitment for inquiry, reflection and experimentation

Multidimensional Framework for Assessing Courses: = =
 * 1) Assess perspectives and practices from other schools (establish comparisons)
 * 2) Institutional faculty perceptions and curricular concerns (upstream analysis)
 * 3) Student perceptions (assessing student views of actual teaching and learning outcomes)
 * 4) Business community stakeholders (downstream assessment) to determine needs of future employers

= **<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Pescurie and Byham "The New Look of Behavior Modeling" (Lori) ** =

Due to greater pressure to increase yield of training results, behavior-modeling-based training has helped build skills and produce lasting behavior change. It was introduced in the 1970s and is still the best way to develop skills and change behavior. There are 5 components to behavior-modeling:
 * 1) Content Overview
 * 2) Positive Model Video
 * 3) Skill Practice
 * 4) Feedback
 * 5) Application on the Job

It concentrates on a learning structure that includes situation-specific behaviors a person learns and then applies.

Benefits:
 * This type of training provides hands-on, relevant guidance that learners appreciate
 * Step by step approach to dealing with situations through positive modeling, visual demonstrations and a target to shoot for
 * Safe haven of classroom eases fears and risk of trying something new

What is changing to keep up with changing environments:
 * Organizations are changing (more complex, more informal leaders)-focus on building and developing skills to change as situations change
 * Learners are changing how they learn and how they want to learn (varying educational levels and experiences, learners desire high level of involvement in learning)
 * Rapid change in technology allows for more methods of learning (allow for more flexibility in design-wide range of delivery options)
 * More chunking of content (teach content, model, practice, more content, repeat)
 * Training has been enhanced with simulation for practice of skills and case-studies for learning and exploration
 * More opportunities for feedback (self-diagnosis, 360 degree evaluations, focused learning for weaknesses or areas for improvement)
 * Skill training can be conducted outside of the traditional classroom (virtual reality, electronic support systems, peer coaching)

Behavior Modeling allows for the greatest transfer of skills and knowledge, but must be consistently reviewed and modified to keep up with changing work environments and learner preferences.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Agnelle "Mentoring the Beginning Teacher" **(Molly)**
1. Introduction A. American school systems will need to hire more teachers in coming years (esp high-poverty districts) B. Role of socialization in beginning teachers, esp re: instructional effectiveness C. Study designed to answer: 1. Are the differences in the socialization expriences of beginiging teachers in more effective middle schools and in less effective middle schools? 2. Following this, what are the processes in differentially effective schools that account for these differences? 3. What role does the quality of mentoring assistance play in the beginning socialization experience? D. Only looking at LA teachers during first or second yr teaching 2. Lit Review A. School Effectiveness 1. School Effectiveness Research (Teddlie and Reynolds, 2000); three strands a. studies of school effects b. “effective schools” studies (ours falls here) c. school improvement studies B. Assistance for the Beginning Teacher 1. “The process variable of assistance is the extent to which a new teacher receives support in the work of teaching.” (p16) 2. Often in the form of a mentor; often state-mandated (LA Teacher Assistance and Assessment Program example) 3. Methods/Design A. Examine outliers that are more effective middle schools and those which are less effective B. Purposeful outlier sampling using intensity sampling strategy C. Detailed descriptions in areas of interest to add richness 4. School Effectiveness Index (SEI) and other Methodology A. Pair effective with ineffective B. Derived through linear regression procedure regressed onto percent of students in poverty, percent minority, percent special ed C. School performance school using LEAP 21 test data D. Interviews with mentors analyzed using constant-comparative method E. Site visits included informal observations of school operations F. Data from beginning teachers: perceptions of assistance and school process G. Beginning teachers observed using Components of Effective Teaching data 5. Findings A. Components of Effective Teaching 1. Measured “management” and “instruction” rated from 1 (unsatisfactory) to 4 (demonstrates excellence) 2. No special ed classroom observations due to confidentiality 3. used MANOVA test; “Differences in classroom performance indicated a significant difference in beginning teachers in more effective and less effective schools…those in more effective schools are much better teachers” (pg 20) 4. Management and instruction indexes stat sig higher in more effective schools across the board (see chart in article) B. Mentor and Beginning Teacher Interviews 1. Priori themes: mentoring assistance, effective instruction, and the role of the mentor C. Mentoring Assistance 1. Generally speaking, mentors in less effective schools viewed this role more passively, restricting their involvement, offering little help; the more effective schools have “proactive, vigorous mentoring program[s]” (pg 23) 2. All agree that districts should do more to ease the transition from student teacher to teacher of students D. Effective Instruction 1. “Teachers in more effective schools were more likely to demonstrate the components of effective teaching in their instruction than were teachers in less effective schools” (pg 23) E. Role of the Mentor 1. Coach, Model, Professional Dev. Specialist (need all three) 2. The mentors held differing attitudes towards what they believed was required of them 3. Offering maximum support, minimum support, or MIA 4. More effective schools had mentors who viewed their duties as addressing the whole person of the beginner (“Hands-on” mentoring; proactive; nurturing) 5. “Social support is imp to new teachers and will more likely predict their intent to stay in teaching” (pg 25) 6. Conclusion A. “The key to effective assistance lay in the //extent// of the support” (pg 26) B. “New teachers in less effective schools were forced to seek out informal mentors for guidance …” (pg 26) C. **“A school that is more effective or less effective breeds itself.”** (pg 27)

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Billig "Research on K-12 School-Based Service Learning" (Q)

 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Service Learning (Issues raised: distinction between service learning and community service, empirical work around service learning, community engagement and authentic partnerships)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Billig's Research Summary on K12 School-Based Service Learning. In this article, Billig gives the origins of service learning in schools (a need to reform today's youth--no civic engagement; a need to reform contemporary education). The main portion of the article looks at the research (or lack their of) and looks at studies that have largely substantiated the benefits of service learning. She also points out that mediating factors play a role; getting students to demonstrate sustained and enduring outcomes from the service learning project is more than just getting them engaged in the project itself. She ends with a call for more research around service learning (clarity and precision in definition, best practices, longitudinal studies, characteristics of the serving and the served)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Billig's Resarch Outcomes (n = number of studies Billig refers to in her work)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Impacts on School
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">SL results in greater mutual respect between teachers and students (100% confirm; n=2)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">SL improves the overall school climate (100% confirm; n=1)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">SL improves discussion and climate around colleague interaction for teaching practices (100% confirm; n=2)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Impacts on Civic Responsibility (For these to be enduring outcomes for students, teachers must connect actions to beliefs, values, and attitudes of civic engagement)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">SL develops students' sense of civic responsibility and engagement (80% confirm; n=5)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">SL provides an avenue for students to become more engaged with society (100% confirm; n=5)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Impacts on Personal and Social Development
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">SL has a + impact on the personal development of youth (87% of the selected cases confirm; n=7)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">SL has a + effect on students' interpersonal skills and cultural competence (100% of the cases confirm; n=6)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">SL participants are less likely to engage in risk behaviors (80% of the cases confirm; n=5)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Impacts on Career Choice and Aspiration
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">SL helps students become more knowledgable and realistic about career options (100% confirm; n=3)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Impacts on Academic Performance (For these to be enduring outcomes for students, SL projects need high levels of (1) student responsibility, (2) student autonomy, (3) student choice, (4) direction contact with SUSTAINED duration, (5) high-level reflective activities (before/during/after), and (6) teacher preparedness (active partners and knowledge facilitators)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">SL is associated with school attendance (100% confirm; n=2)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">SL helps students become better engaged in their studies (100% confirm; n=2)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">SL helps students acquire academic knowledge and skills (100% confirm; n=7)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Impacts on Community
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">SL leads to more favorable perceptions of students in the community (100% confirm; n=1). NOTE: This seems to be an area of research that is severely lacking, if we are looking at 2-way or bidirectional partnerships
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Key components of service learning programs (National Service Learning Partnership)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Active participation
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Thoughtfully-organized experience
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Focused on community needs (how do we assess these while being genuine?)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">School and community coordination (how do we create partnerships that are authentic, meaningful, and mutually beneficial?)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Academic curriculum integration (this matters with regard to domain -- we tend to see domain-specific outcomes; i.e. an environmental service learning project creates more environmentally aware students)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Time for intentional reflection (at higher levels of Bloom's taxonomy -- analysis, synthesis, evaluation, problem solving)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Development of a sense of empathy and concern for others
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">A chance to apply learned knowledge and skills in a real environment (transfer)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Definitional issues: is service learning a programmatic element? A paradigm shift in education? A pedagogic technique?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Service Learning vs. Community Service: Furco says that service learning is designed to be mutually beneficial for both the recipient and those serving. Furthermore, there should be an equal focus on both the service being provided and the learning occurring.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Wong "Transactions, Transformations, Transcendence" (Kimberly)
<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">This article focuses on multicultural education for future teachers through service learning. Students are increasingly diverse, while the vast majority of teachers are white, middle class, and female. A multicultural approach will be important for these teachers as they work with continuously larger diversity in students. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Student teachers (majority white, female students between ages 19 and 23) were asked to tutor Hispanic and Hmong ESL students. Their work was assessed via a series of journal articles. Three types of tutors emerged: <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Transformational and transcendent tutors increased their multicultural awareness. Transactional teachers made little progress and needed additional coaching on dealing with multicultural students/issues, their own fears and ignorance, and how to build rapport with students. Even transformational tutors could benefit by coaching to see the bigger picture--the environmental barriers the ESL students face. Transcendent teachers can be role models for others as the student teachers enter the education profession.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Transactional (just got the work done, completed the worksheets with the students, etc.; little relationship)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Transformational (relationship with students beyond completed the work, empathy toward students)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Transcendent (similar to transformational, but goes beyond; big picture, focus on social issues of students, social change, etc.)

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">__Weekend 3__

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Serafini "Reflective Practice and Learning" (Brad)
Serafini – Reflective Practice and Learning
 * Reflection is an integral part of the assessment process
 * Formally “Assessment/Learning Cycle” consisted of classroom-based assessments used to gather information which is reflected upon and used to construct learning experiences
 * Instead assessment should be part of the “Reflective Cycle” – Instead of beginning with the gathering of information, the “Reflective Cycle” begins with a willingness to question our teaching and take a critical look at our beliefs, theories, and educational practices.
 * Assessment is part of reflective practice, used by reflective teachers to gather information necessary to make curricular decisions – only after being willing to question our practice.
 * Dewey described three attitudes teachers must adopt in order to teach reflectively:
 * Open-mindedness – ability to suspend judgment and be open to new possibilities
 * Whole-heartedness – capacity to teach with all of one’s heart and attention
 * Responsibility – moral and ethical implications inherent in the educational process


 * Reflection must lead to action - if not, teachers are not using their new understandings to improve practice.
 * Four aspects to consider in promoting reflective practice
 * Time – hard to reflect when you are busy
 * Distance – a critical distance from one’s practice
 * Dialogue – need support from colleagues as reflection is also social
 * Preferred vision – what it would look like if perfect – need to know where you are going


 * Teachers must be promoters of learning communities that are reflective
 * In the reflective learning community, a reflective practitioner is constantly evaluating and providing time and space for students to do so as well.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">**Brown "Transforming Schools into Communities of Thinking and Learning..."**(Scott)

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Bova and Kroth "Workplace Learning and Generation X" **(Lori)**
This study investigated workplace learning preferences of Gen X employees (born 1965-1981). "The purpose of this study was to investigate ways in which Generation X employees prefer to learn in the workplace." It was descriptive in nature and collection methods included surveys and follow up interviews. Each generation has its own perspective on work and organizations must understand generational differences. "Not only will the organization be more likely to retain employees -- but potential employees will seek them out."

Attributes of Generation Xers:
 * Parallel thinkers
 * independent and resourceful
 * accepting of change
 * they want it now
 * comfortable with diversity
 * have expectations of work/life balance
 * technologically literate
 * free agent approach to careers
 * lifelong learners

Training strategies should focus on:
 * focus on outcomes rather than techniques
 * make learning experiential
 * give employees control over their own learning
 * respect learners' ability to engage in parallel thinking
 * highlight key points
 * motivate learning by engaging them in creating their own learning environments
 * provide challenges

"Understanding the impact of generational demographics upon organizations and the way they are managed is becoming a pervasive organizational imperative."

The findings showed that three approaches to learning appear to have relevance and application for Generation X:

1) action learning (4.8 on 5 point scale)-systematic process through which individuals learn by doing learning is based on the solution of real problems learning occurs with and from others who are also engaged in managing real problems members of the group are responsible for solving their own problems members of the group are concerned with implementing actions, moving beyond the stages of analysis and recommendation.

2) incidental learning (3.9 on 5 point scale)-learning which occurs as a by-product of something else it is difficult to validate incidental learning as an effective strategy because it is not anticipated and not easily evaluated requires reflective practices, a culture of forgiveness, and open-mindedness and awareness unstructured and dependent on circumstances

3) formal or traditional learning (2.1 on 5 point scale)-guided learning that takes place in a classroom Can be effective if: opportunities for self-direction, such as e-learning are emphasized over classroom training materials and exercised are geared to the style which they are comfortable with (in much the same way some publications have designed their products learning is made fun, challenging and flexible

"Employers recruiting or attempting to retain this workforce need to understand generational differences and needs. If a prime concern of the Generation Xer is professional growth, the question becomes how an organization can support that."

Facilitating the GenX Learning Process
 * the human touch-mentors and leaders who lead by example; value on building lasting relationships
 * organizational scaffolding-the support needed, but not too much or too little
 * high quality management-supervisors who treat each work problem as a learning opportunity to develop the employee
 * special programs-job rotations, stretch assignments, task force leadership, mentoring, or new product development assignments

"Organizations which provide the human touch, appropriate organizational scaffolding and high quality management will be able to capture the most enduring sustainable competitive advantage-talent. By focusing on leveraging the incidental and the action aspect of learning, your organization provides the conditions for maximizing the full potential of the Generation X workforce--starting with recruitment, continuing through development, and including retention."