Effective Teaching: Reflecting and Revealing for Better Instruction

In Chapter 16 of Snowman, et. al. (2009), the authors focus on the teacher as student and the ways in which teachers can continually improve their teaching styles. Building from my last post, society needs to embrace the importance of a lifelong relationship with learning rather than viewing education as a a requirement that must be completed early in life.  No group of people benefits more from this viewpoint than teachers, and they should be not only allowed, but encouraged, to continue learning, taking classes, and improving their skill set.  Teaching is an ever evolving science that must be understood and improved upon as learners become more sophisticated.  Through reflection and revelation, two methods that will be further explored below, teachers can evolve with their student population and harness these changes for better instruction.

"Reflecting" as is mentioned in the title of this blog post refers to the constant checking of one's own teaching style and student outcomes. One of the most useful, but most dreaded, aspects of the end of year classroom experience is evaluation.  Students do not like filling them out, and teachers brace themselves for complaints about everything from homework levels to favoritism.  Rather than viewing this as a time of criticism, both sides should think of this as a real opportunity to learn and grow.  After feelings may be a bit hurt, there are real lessons in listening to students and their concerns.  Furthermore, for faculty of all ages, having a lesson videotaped or having a colleague observe your classroom can help one get a better perspective about how they are coming across or what signals might be getting crossed between the front and back of the classroom.

"Revealing" refers to the act of sharing stories with other educators of your experiences in the classroom, to both get ideas for what works, and to avoid what does not.  At Lehigh, there are a number of ways in which new teachers and developing teachers can practice, observe, and hone their skills.I have touched upon this before in a blog post, but it is worth mentioning the Teacher Development Series available here at Lehigh for teaching assistants and upcoming young faculty.  Through a series of talks and workshops, those preparing for a career in higher education can gain the skills necessary to be an effective professor, and hear experiences of other faculty and their struggles and successes.  In TLT 431, we are encouraged to do a set of classroom observations and write a reflective piece to analyze teaching styles and approaches.

We are marked by the outstanding and incompetent teachers we experienced from our first days in Kindergarten through our time now in graduate school.  I think we would find that most of the time, the extraordinary teachers are bred from both hard work and constant reflection of their teaching styles, successes, and the caring and effort that goes in to such improvement.  "Bad" teachers do not come from malicious or ill-intentioned backgrounds, but are a product of ignorance and the inability to grow.

As educators, we inherently should have developed a lifelong love of and relationship with learning.  From technology shifts to new developments in neuroscience, we are consistently finding new ways to reach learners and new things to learn ourselves.  Teachers must be allowed the time and the encouragement to understand and reflect upon those new methods, as well as share their experiences with other educators, to improve the classroom experience for themselves and their students.

Motivation: Creating the Conditions for Learning

Motivation is something we all struggle with at some point.  Whether in learning or in life, we all must find the focus and wherewithal to complete tasks and carve out an existence that keeps us sustained and participating in the world around us.  Whether it be K-12 students becoming engaged for the first time with learning or the 50-year-old student hoping to complete a college degree, students must find the motivation to learn and apply that knowledge in their own lives. A question that is central in my mind, having worked both in higher education and with adult learners in a small community health center, is how to keep adults engaged and learning beyond their formative years of education.  In other words, how do you keep motivation going long after the seeming "requirement" of learning has passed?  How do you cultivate a lifelong relationship with learning?

Part of the answer can be found in the social-cognitive theories of motivation.  As outlined in Snowman, et. al. (2009), these theories focus on the need for learners to both have structured, replicable models for learning that incorporate relevance and usefulness, while promoting self-efficacy and student empowerment.  Coupling this with the importance of "belonging" that is necessary for educational success, one can easily see why there are barriers to adult learners.  Adult learners do not often "belong".  There has not been an established norm or acceptance for older learners in any widespread way.  Furthermore, adults often do not have the time or finances to sit in a traditional classroom and benefit from structured learning.  Adults who may have missed out on college but want to attend later on often talk themselves out of attending due to concerns of belonging, time management, cost, and life commitments.

Another example of adult learning beyond "requirement" is professional development.  Many adults could benefit from professional development, but do not have the proper motivation, time, or encouragement from employers to pursue it.  Workplace research shows that individual incentives, especially monetary incentives, are not useful when prompting employees to go above and beyond to gain new skills.  When incentives do work, they are incentives which are informed by employee need, they instill pride in work beyond compensation, and there is a collaborative, team atmosphere built between the employer and employee.  Translating this research to the classroom, adult learners must have the time, need, and encouragement to learn, and there is rarely a cheerleader for the adult learner.  And, as we discussed in class, there can even be detractors as employers worry an "improved" employee educationally will find alternate work after completing more school.

Thankfully, though slowly, the challenges of the adult learner are lifting and technology is playing a part.  Technology plays a huge role in helping to remove the barriers to adult student motivation. Technology can "enhance adult learning because it has the potential to increase flexibility, provide access to expertise, facilitate discussion among learners who cannot meet face to face, reduce feelings of isolation often experienced by nontraditional learners..." according to Susan Imel, Director and Adult Education Specialist for the ERIC Clearinghouse.  Through distance education programs, e-classrooms, facilitation software like Moodle, and educator-learner relationships carried out through email and Skype, adult learners are having an easier time fitting in learning to a busy and complex life. Opportunities abound and, hopefully, through educational endeavors on the web and in the classroom, adults can enjoy a new and lifelong relationship with learning.

Is Learning Universal?: Removing the Barriers to Learning

“Differences are not deficits”, says Snowman et. al. in Psychology Applied to Teaching (144), and it is from this perspective that we must look at the idea of grouping and tracking in the classroom.  While there is much to be concerned with grouping, ultimately educators must decide whether or not it is more detrimental to single out a student for assistance or to let that student flounder, overlooked in a classroom of 30.  Inclusive classrooms also assume a kind of "one-size-fits-all" mentality towards teaching and learning.  However, with the variety of tools and technologies, as well as non-traditional ideas of education that have formed in more recent decades, educators should have the ability to embrace an approach that allows for both the viewpoint of inclusion and the ability to diversify and individually address learning differences.  Individual bolstering of student strengths and assistance with weaknesses, while working to make the classroom an inclusive and accepting environment should not be mutually exclusive, and there is a danger with looking at it in such black-and-white terms.

So, how do we bridge that gap between learners without causing more harm to their burgeoning intellects?  Students have unique opportunities afforded by technology never before available to students of different learning types.  When talking about student variability, technology is one way in which we as educators can teach to a variety of learners.  Technology promotes cooperation, can be individualized, and can give students (just as much, if not more, than teachers) a toolbox to communicate their understanding of the material.  For instance, while not all students can express themselves in words or, more specifically, the same words but images are universal.  By assigning students a task of making a short documentary or art project to show their understanding of say, a historical or cultural event, this could give ESL students a way to communicate despite a language barrier.  As Pennsylvania, specifically, moves towards more inclusive classrooms, creativity will be the key in reaching large classes of diverse student populations.

Furthermore, as we discuss the dangers of tracking and grouping, one must also take into consideration the needs exhibited by students based on the amount of time afforded to teachers to specially address those needs.  It is undeniable that resources available to teachers are severely taxed, and it is sometimes just logistically impossible to take out the time necessary to help a student along individually.  While there may be emotional stress by singling students out, if it is done discreetly and framed as a "practice" session rather than a "remedial" session, students could get extra help as a bonus to their in-classroom instruction rather than a punishment or judgment.

One concrete example of a multi-faceted approach to dealing with diverse student populations is the "Case In Print" highlighted in Snowman et. al. highlighting the community of Affton, Missouri.  The Case of Affton focused on removing the barriers for Bosnian refugees by promoting a culture of inclusion and acceptance (142).  While initially there was tension between the Midwestern natives and the influx of immigrants, cultural celebrations and inclusive social practices helped acclimate and assuage feelings of non-belonging that both sides were experiencing.  Affton allowed for retention and celebration of differences in culture that eventually resulted in the current-day status of a non-issue with cultural difference.  As described in the book, a Bosnian student was recently named Homecoming Queen, and there was little discussion of culture or divisions.

In the end, the necessary approach is not solely grouping or complete inclusion, but most likely a middle ground that allows students to build a sense of belonging while reaching out to those who are struggling to keep up with their peers.  As was the case in Affton, a two-pronged approach to catching students up with ESL education, coupled with an overall culture of inclusion allowed for the students to flourish.  "Development is not merely a biologically driven unfolding process, but also an active process that derives essential information from experience" (Bransford 1999: 126).  Each student experiences learning in a different way, and we must work to address those differences while celebrating the unique capacity of each student to learn and grow.  This may seem like an impossibility, but as technology develops and our understanding of brain processes and emotional capacity grows, the day might not be far off where we can bridge these gaps.

How Children Learn: A Window to Opportunity

The common thread running through this week's readings is the importance of working with the learner as a whole human versus merely a student.  Specifically, these readings deal with children as learners and the misconceptions and new understandings of how children at different stages of development see and perceive the world around them.  This comprehensive approach to education, addressing human needs and incorporating all of the developmental stages of a learner, emphasizes that the complexity of what being a human is and how those many facets must be satisfied in order to create the conditions for learning.

The two biggest takeaways from both readings were these: there is no age that is too young to start educational endeavors, and children learn best when they are educated and cared for holistically.  Humanistic education, as it is summarized in Snowman, et. al. (2009), addresses the three basic psychological needs - belonging, autonomy, and competence.  While autonomy and competence are stressed in traditional American educational settings, the humanistic model incorporates the needs of the learner as one who "belongs".  When children feel that they lack human connections for belonging, or that they do not have their basic needs taken care of, their last goal is education.  Without a strong base of support and sustenance, formidable obstacles are then created for a young learner to fulfill their potential.

The research also points to the importance of education from the earliest days.  Moving away from the assumption of infant as a tabla rasa, much of the literature now points to the infant to toddler phase as one of great educational opportunity (Bransford 1999).  But what happens when parents are children themselves?  What happens when 0-3 year old children have no parent reading to them?  What happens when students are concerned with whether or not they will have enough breakfast to keep them from passing out in third period gym class?  Having worked in an area of extreme poverty, with rates of teen parenthood and dropout rates, I saw the consequences of structural violence and the opportunities missed for learners of all ages.  When students are not struggling to meet their daily physiological needs, their minds can expand and grow as other children’s do.

The humanistic model is one shining possibility in an otherwise bleak outlook.  If schools begin to incorporate a needs-based model that provides for the psychosocial and physiological needs for those who need it, there is more potential to reach every young learner, regardless of socioeconomic status.  One prime example of holistic/humanistic education is the work of the Harlem Children's Zone.  Under the guiding principle of "whatever it takes", the Harlem Children's Zone recognizes the need for care and education from birth through high school, as well as the need to incorporate the human needs outlined on Maslow's Hierarchy.  (The public radio program This American Life highlighted HCZ's work and founder Geoffrey Canada for a segment called "Harlem Renaissance".)  Under the guiding principle of "whatever it takes", the program offers a number of services aimed at addressing the whole learner experience.  Charter schools, foster-care prevention, afterschool activities are offered with the intent on creating well-rounded students who can focus on their intellectual development without fear of being taken away from their families or going hungry.

Similar programs have followed HCZ’s example (including the nearby Allentown Youth Success Zone sponsored by the United Way), and a campaign promise from President Obama would replicate the program in 20 cities.  Such tapped potential could help bring educational opportunities to all learners regardless of race, class, or location.  The solutions to poverty are most often theorized to be employment, loans, and other financial incentives.  However, if a child's human security can be strengthened through the educational system, it would not only translate into better educational outcomes, but it would give them the means to break free from the cycle.

How People Learn: Engaging Learners' Minds

I have been attending the Teacher Development Series here at Lehigh, which aims to take those in teaching assistant positions or students who are about to become young faculty, and helps build their educational toolbox.  From physics to mechanical engineering to theater, students come from a variety of backgrounds, but all have similar concerns about how to best reach their students.  A large focus has been put on engaging the student and how relevance of material - or the understanding of how it will be relevant later - is key to getting those students engaged and absorbing the material.  Because this has been at the forefront of my mind, I see the lessons that resonate from Snowman, et. al. (2009), and the Bransford, et. al. (1999) as being those of student engagement.

Snowman, McCown, and Biehler (2009) talk about "meaningful" learning and the characteristics of that exercise.  Meaningful learning, they contend, happens when a learner encounters a lesson that is logical, well-organized that is relatable to prior knowledge and experiences.  When meaningful learning occurs, the learner is more apt to remember and retain that lesson.  At the same time, information taught that is meaningful, but not approached in a way that students can grasp as meaningful, is often not comprehended or retained as well.  Sometimes as students, we put up barriers to learning because we fear the material is either too hard or seemingly irrelevant.  In the transfer process, teachers and students must be aware that when new knowledge gets fit into the puzzle that is already comprised in your brain, it must make a logical fit that can be called up later.  By relating it to real life circumstances, or potential future goals, students would be more apt to want to learn the material and retain it more readily.

From Bransford, et. al. (1999), the example of homemakers who could calculate the best buy in the grocery stores but struggled with math is one example of the need to bridge the theoretical with the concrete.  This speaks to an issue of applicability and should be taken into consideration when crafting exercises and lesson plans for students.  If students can find the relevance to their own lives - even if that simply means sparking interest, rather than a real applicable skill - they are much more likely to retain and use the information than if only relayed the bare facts.

Another important perspective is that of variety in the classroom. "Knowledge that is taught in only a single context is less likely to support flexible transfer than knowledge that is taught in multiple contexts (NAP 2000: 78)."  Every student learns in a different way, and it is impossible to tailor lessons specifically to the strengths of each person in a classroom.  Through a variety of methods and tactics, students retain information at a different rate and in a different way.  The exercise done at the last part of class on Tuesday (I am sure by design) highlighted these differences.  We are all students in a graduate program, of varied backgrounds but of same educational level for the most part, but through a simple memorization exercise, we could see just how differently our brains work to memorize.  Some employed photographic memory to recall the list of words, others tried repetition. Stories were created.  Pneumonic devices were employed.  But the way in which every person in that room absorbed that information was in a different fashion.  Even similar methods might have slightly different characteristics from person-to-person.

Technology, which has the inherent ability to flex, shape, and deliver information in different contexts, can be seen as the ultimate bridge between different learner personalities and we as educators.  As we move further into the Clark/Kozma debate, we must keep in mind the lessons of meaningful learning and contextual varieties.  While technology cannot be the silver bullet to solving our hardest learning challenges, it is unquestionably a key element to offering the variety and interactivity students need for meaningful learning.

REFERENCES
Snowman, J., McCown, R., and Biehler, R. (2009). Psychology Applied to Teaching. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Bransford, J.D., Brown, A.L., and Cocking, R.R. (Eds.). (1999). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Available: http://www.nap.edu/html/howpeople1.

How People Learn: Levels of Expertise and the Impact on Learning

In Chapter 2 of How People Learn, the characteristics of expertise are outlined to illuminate the difference between novice and expert learners.  Of the ideas presented in this chapter, one in particular stuck out at me: the idea that it is not what experts learn, but how they think and recognize patterns that allows them to develop said expertise.  Building from that, the authors also give some strong words of guidance and caution to educators on how this should inform one's teaching and approach to building knowledge in students.

Expertise, as defined by the authors, is not in the ability to recount bits of information on command, but the ability to apply the knowledge and facts accumulated over a lifetime to act in a particular situation.  The author calls this a "conditionalized" set of circumstances upon which an expert can bring applicable knowledge and assistance.  Experienced chess players, having seen many scenarios, can recognize meaningful patterns and therefore know the consequences of actions and the counteractions.  It is not from reading a handbook on chess, per se, but the repeated turns at the chess board that cultivates expertise.

While the chapter discusses learners in terms of expert and novice, a question that arose in my mind was: are there only two types of learners?  When talking about adult education, there is rarely a case when a student comes to class without some preconceptions or knowledge that will impact their capacity to learn the material.  It is then especially important to take into consideration the different stages from which each student might be starting. Adult learners come from a variety of backgrounds and educational experiences, therefore measures must be taken to meet students where they are and guide them to the highest understanding they can attain.

The Dreyfus Model for Skills Acquisition, originally proposed in 1980, is one way of taking into account a learner's capacity for instruction.  The essence of the report is that skill acquisition learning is only successful if the teacher understands how to help the learner to the next level.  Categorized into Novice, Advanced Beginner, Competent, Proficient, and Expert, learners are not forced to be classified as knowing or unknowing, but rather through different stages of knowing.  Conversely, I would argue that a realistic self-understanding for the student on what level they currently reside would be beneficial to their process, as well. Oftentimes, when subject matter is difficult, students become frustrated at their "half-knowing" concepts.  They feel that if they do not understand it completely, they never will and give up.  If they had a better understanding that there are many levels to learning, they may be less apt to forfeit study when they hit that struggle.

Harkening back to the chapter in How People Learn, there is a word of caution about focusing on experts educational prowess. The authors state that while the study of experts gives insight into what plays into creating that expertise, expert models should not be applied on those who are not ready to absorb that information. Understanding that sheer facts do not determine expertise-level or intelligence is an important in how we educate. Expert models can be applied to a classroom or a learner, does not mean that that learner will necessarily become an expert. Learning is a process, and this chapter reinforces to educators the need for lessons to build on each other for maximum "sticking power".

Physicist Niels Bohr said that "An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made, in a narrow field".  The authors of How People Learn show us the reader why this is true, and why as educators we must not fall into the trap of merely cramming information into students.  We should encourage the process and understanding that it is, indeed, a multi-step process so each student can nurture their own level of expertise.

The Daily Me and the Individualization of Information

After our class discussion, I wanted to find the reference for the "Daily Me" and the idea of what the web becomes when you customize to an extent that you never see alternative viewpoints.  The originators of these ideas - Nicholas Negroponte of MIT and Cass Sunstein of Harvard - discuss the dangers of living in an echo chamber where information merely confirms your prejudices and biases rather than opens your mind to new ideas.  They argue that when you do not have the ability to run across information you would not have sought out otherwise (e.g. reading an article in a newspaper, catching a documentary on public television), people become more polarized and unchanging on the views they already held.  Technology, as Professor Sunstein argues, gives us an abundance of information and an abundance of ways to close your ears to information you do not like.

A terrific op-ed by Nick Kristof of the New York Times outlines these views.  There is also an interesting article by Samantha Power that shows a fantastic personal story of what happens when you do not have a filter delivering all of your news.  (Full disclosure: In my previous life, my job was as the author's Research Associate.  I factchecked this article.  This could be why it left a mark on my brain.)