It’s hard to believe that class has finally ended!  I would have to say that it has been a privilege to work with everyone in the course and I have learned so very much from our discussion, collaborations, and projects.

To me, assessment is a continual process in education.  A good teacher constantly measures student understanding through the use of different types of formative and summative assessments.  Traditional paper-and-pencil tests have a place in education, but there are a world of opportunities to evaluate student learning!  In a hybrid course, such as my Psychology class, I can take from the best of both worlds to provide my students with authentic, meaningful learning experiences.

Thank you all for helping me on this educational journey!

Caroline

Final Project

Learning used to mean that a teacher stood on stage and pontificated upon a topic for an hour with diligent students taking notes page after page.  Now, some instructors were engaging and interesting and connected to their students, others did not even notice that their students were struggling to remain conscious.  As time has changed, educators have had to develop new methods of teaching because the skills and knowledge needed to be successful after schooling is complete have changed.  Another component thrown into the mix is the increase in online educational programs, many of which are attended by adult learners.  Enter the cybercoaching model of teach-student interaction.  Like a coach overseeing the training of an athlete and providing constant feedback on performance, the cybercoach educator gives students feedback during the process of education, instead of merely waiting until a final, high stakes, summative evaluation.  Through the use of email; which enables students to contact and receive responses from professors outside of “office hours;” online testing, which gives an immediate result to a student; rubric based grading, which provide specific guidelines for the completion and evaluation of student work; audio feedback; and other technological tools, students can be guided along the learning path by the “cybercoach” instructor.  By taking the role of “coach”, the instructor is making the learning experience more about the student, and less about them.  In my opinion, by doing this, the learning becomes more personal, meaningful, and retained.

Click here to take survey

Bloom’s Taxonomy is part of the standard curriculum in most undergraduate teacher preparation programs; but in my humble opinion, it should be emphasized even more.  The taxonomy provides the fledgling teacher with a clear-cut understanding of how to scaffold student understanding by creating educational experiences that increase in complexity, make learning more personal, and build upon the foundations that have been created during previous learning experiences.    It shows the progression of learning, increases the chance that active, observable learning activities occur, and contributes to the creation of measurable assessment activities.

In my personal experience, one of the best education courses I ever had the pleasure of being enrolled in was the “methods” course that was required right before my student teaching experience.  Our professor, Dr. Moore, had many years of experience teaching K-12 students before he made the transition to a college professor, so he understood the mindset of the “compelled to be there” student.  In his course, he drilled the importance of using Bloom’s taxonomy to create objectives and activities because they gave you a measurable method of assessing student understanding.  When completing the Assessment Taxonomy table this week, I was reminded of his lessons.  Bloom’s taxonomy creates a progressive model of student understanding; one that makes the student an active participant in the learning process.  As the knowledge base of the student increases, then the activities can move to a higher level of the taxonomy, eventually culminating in an authentic assessment activity.

One other note….plagiarism is a serious issue in both the online learning environment as well as the traditional classroom.  I find it sad that students do not comprehend that it is the PROCESS of learning that is the most important aspect of school, no matter what the subject.  We live in such a “results driven” culture that they are often more concerned with the product than the process.  Any teacher can see this because students often ask “Are we being graded on this?” or “How many points is this worth?” instead of focusing on the process taking place during the learning experience.  When my students complain, I often remind them of an old adage my grandmother always repeated “If you give a man a fish, he eats for a day.  If you teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime.”  I am a firm believer that the process of learning something is just as important as the product created.  This is why I see plagiarism as such a serious concern in today’s educational environment because it is product without process.

Module 1: The Origins and Approaches of Psychology

In my school, the word technology has always been met with eye rolling and skepticism on the part of the staff.  I will admit, I too have been resistant to the addition of technological resources in my classroom, largely because I have found that there is little to no follow through on supplemental training, or that the “new” technology innovation use dues out after being around for a year.  I can remember going to in-services about the “new distance learning” classes that were going to be held in school which allowed students to be in a classroom and be connected to another class in the district via monitor.  Students could attend class, but the teacher was in another location.  There were three such classes in the beginning of the year, at the end there was one, with only five AP students.  The students in the class did not enjoy it or feel engaged because they had little or no interaction with the teacher and other students other than asking questions about the lecture.

Now flash forward 12 years…

The world has changed and there are a plethora of new technologies available to connect online or remote learners with their instructors, fellow classmates, and even the world in general.  Students now have access to websites and other collaborative technology that enable them to work together on projects and other class activities in real-time or as their schedules allow.  This connection is what the students sitting in the “distance learning rooms” were missing.  

Seeing all of the “tools” that are being investigated by members of the course, I realize that if all of these were available a decade ago, those distance learning classrooms would still be in use today instead of functioning as storage rooms full of clutter.  Boy, how times have changed!

This week we read and discussed The Perfect E-Storm by Dr. Curtis J. Bonk.  This article detailed the various technologies that have or will change the process of learning and teaching.  After “hearing” what everyone had to say, I really believe that it is exciting time to be a teacher because all of these new technologies are becoming more and more accessible to the everyday instructor.  These technological developments are allowing increased collaboration, increased participation, increased personalization of the learning experience, which I believe will lead to better learning outcomes.  Although there are some definite challenges faced by teachers, including the “paper mills” and “cut and paste” plagiarism; the benefits of using online resources and collaborative activities outweigh the inconvenience.  Teaching students to work with each other, and holding them accountable for their efforts, is going to help prepare them for the future, whether it be in business, technology, education, or the myriad of other fields available today .

The other task that we had to complete this week was developing objectives that we could use in our online courses.  This is something that I am familiar with because I have written curriculum numerous times for my district.  However, in our curriculum, we usually do not go into specifics of assessment in the objectives because it limits the freedom of teachers to develop their own instructional strategies based on their strengths, and the learning styles of their students.  Instead, we give a list of “suggested activities” for each essential question that is listed.  Trying to put it all together was a bit of a challenge for me, but I think that I’m getting the hang of it.

On another note, I am completely in love with the graphic organizer program we used in class!  One of the biggest problems I have had as a psychology teacher is that there are precious little non-copyrighted resources for use that are appropriate for the high school classroom.  Many of the resources are geared to the college classroom, and do not work in a class with 35 students and only 45 minute periods.  In the past, I have cut and pasted to make graphic organizers that were “OK” but have never found a program that allows me to create my own, that was not “babyish”, or actually worked for a psychology class.  As I worked with the Inspiration program, I could not contain my glee (much to the amusement of my boyfriend who walked away laughing at me), because I could actually create something that looked professional and not break the bank buying the program.  I have a strong feeling that I will purchase the program long before the 30 day trail period is over!

Blogging.  Once the domain of the self-involved, or the conspiracy theorist, or the celebrity follower, it has become a tool for reflecting on life, events, as well as learning.  As someone who teaches in the field of Social Studies, I have always seen how making a personal connection to content material makes the learning process more meaningful.   Reading a textbook full of snippets of information gives you a general knowledge of the events or concepts in history, but reading and reflecting on the diaries, letters, and papers of someone who was actually there creates a more meaningful learning experience.  Some of the best learning experiences I have had involved the instructor making us “reflect” on the opinions, personal lives, and/or accounts of historical events or controversial topics.  As a result of these positive educational experiences, I have developed as a personal educational philosophy that reflecting on what is being learned is critical to student understanding of material and concepts.  Previous to this module, I relied on students completing “personal reflection” papers that are graded by me, perhaps discussed in class, and then placed in the student’s writing portfolio.  After completing the readings for this chapter, I have come to the conclusion that using a blog format for these reflections may in fact be a better way to allow students to personalize their learning because they can receive feedback from others regarding their opinions and interpretations, in addition to my comments and thoughts.  These blogs have students evaluate and reflect on their own learning experience, and not just the content, but the process.  Self-reflection, in my opinion, leads to greater student comprehension and achievement because it makes them not only practice metacognitive strategies, but also allows the instructor insight into the thought process, learning styles, and understandings of the student.  In addition, students who may not be ready to “open up” in class may feel more comfortable writing their ideas and commenting on others via blog and comments.  In all, I believe that blogging can be an effect teaching tool and provide an instructor with formative assessment data, so that the instructional program and methodology can be modified to increase student comprehension and achievement.