Kate Ropchan's
ePortfolio
My voyage to Master of Educational Technology
Learning the Ropes
Learning should be a hands-on activity that students are actively involved in, just as crew members actively function to run their boat. Not only should learning be active, but it should also be authentic in terms of being meaningful and personally relevant. In order for boaters to effectively “learn the ropes”, they need to be engaged.
Most theories of learning state that it is most effective when it is an active process (Bates & Poole, 2003; Jonassen, 1999; So, 2002). After all, when students are sitting quietly and watching, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are learning. It is not enough to simply listen to a lecture, view a video, or read a textbook; learners need to manipulate the learning material to analyze new information in light of their prior knowledge. This active learning process involves learners articulating what they already know, forming hypotheses, testing their theories, then reflecting on what they did, how it went, and what they learned from the activities (Jonassen, 1999).
Learning should be authentic in addition to being active. This means that learners should engage in activities which present the same type of cognitive challenges that they would be faced with in the real world. Authentic problems "engage learners; they represent a meaningful challenge to them” (Jonassen, 1999, p. 222). Providing students with interesting, relevant, and engaging problems to solve provides greater ownership of the learning experience. Replacing classroom-bred discourse patterns with those having more immediate and natural extensions to the real world fosters transformational thought in the learning environment (Scardamalia & Bereiter, 1994). The key to making learning memorable, therefore, is to make the content and approach meaningful with applications to real life scenarios.
Throughout the MET program, I have had numerous opportunities to study and create active and authentic learning environments. In ETEC 512, I modified a lesson plan to make it more interactive, in ETEC 532, I studied characteristics of Net Generation students, and in ETEC 565A, I created a digital story. As I design learning opportunities in the future, I will bear in mind the importance of relevant, engaging, hands-on activities. After all, if I were teaching a crew member a new boating skill, I wouldn't expect them to master it just by watching me do it.
Artifact: WISE Lesson
Year after year, I used to struggle with finding a successful way to teach plate tectonics to my Science 10 students. When challenged to redesign a classroom unit in ETEC 512, I immediately knew that this was the topic I wanted to focus on. My goal was to diverge from a traditional, didactic approach and move toward students constructing their own knowledge by participating in active collaborative learning exercises that are relevant and memorable. The topics in this lesson (earthquakes, volcanoes, and mountain building) are concepts that most grade ten students are familiar with, so I began by drawing on their previous knowledge and then challenging them to build on what they know. During the lesson creation process, I focused on the theories that I learned about in ETEC 512 and utilized authentic, memorable tasks that require students to work together in order to collaboratively transform their knowledge.
I chose to use Berkeley’s Web-Based Inquiry Science Education (WISE) platform for my lesson activities because WISE is a customizable, inquiry-based website that engages students in the methods of real scientists. Through activities that I modified to apply specifically to plate tectonics in Southwestern B.C., students were challenged to make predictions, collaborate, pose relevant questions, experiment with computer-based models, work to evaluate discrepant information, and construct evidence-based explanations through reflection and discussion.
It was incredibly rewarding to see how successful this new lesson approach was in my classroom. My grade tens were thoroughly engaged as they used technology to reflect upon what they already know about earthquakes, volcanoes and mountains, then collaboratively built upon this knowledge as they studied local examples, such as the earthquake that occurred in their neighbourhood. Since creating this lesson, I have used WISE again to create a Physics lesson, and I certainly plan to utilize it more in the future. WISE is a technological tool that I would highly recommend to any Science educators as it has truly helped to transform the way that I teach.
Artifact: Net Generation Discussion Post
Why is it so important for learning today to be an active and authentic process? In ETEC 532, I critically examined this question while learning about the net generation. It was interesting to reflect once again on characteristics of today's students. I enjoyed the readings for this module and found that many of the authors' statements corroborated what I had witnessed in my own classroom. For example, I have noticed that most of my students are accustomed to multi-tasking and prefer hands-on activities over more passive lessons.
After taking part in this module's discussion post, Goldfarb's (2002) article "Students as producers" inspired me to try video production in my own classroom. I began by experimenting with iMovie and created the video posted on my Bio page to introduce myself to new students. Then I turned the video production process over to my Science 10 class as small groups were challenged to video an object with velocity and analyze its motion for a collaborative Physics project. I found that the video production process allowed students to make sense of course concepts and contribute to deeper learning as they manipulated objects in motion. Giving students the opportunity to co-construct knowledge actively and authentically with their peers was highly effective for engaging my "net generation" students.
Artifact: Digital Story
In ETEC 565A, I was provided with the opportunity to create a digital story to share with my students. I enjoyed the opportunity to try a totally new lesson format and found that my digital story engaged my students and piqued their curiosity, serving as a great hook to initiate conversation about predators, prey, and the effects of climate change.
Digital storytelling is something that I lacked prior experience with as a Mathematics and Science teacher, but now that I have tried it I foresee using it again as an educational tool in the future. My next step will be to identify an area where students can create their own informative digital story. This hands-on approach will maximize the potential for learning because “most theories of learning suggest that for learning to be effective it needs to be active” (Bates & Poole, 2003, p. 98). With the vast quantity of online information available today, partaking in digital story creation will provide my students with an opportunity to express themselves in new ways. As an educator, it’s exciting to imagine the dynamic storytelling that will take place.
