Eclectic Technology

In this post Jackie Gerstein raises the question "if the research on the process of learning is compared to the practices being implemented in school, does this research influence school practices?"

After reflecting on her experience at school she shares five questions (shown in the image above) that will help guide learning:

* Is failure viewed as normal and as a productive part of the learning process?

* Is learning spaced out over time rather than crammed into a short time period?

* Are distractions during learning normalized?

* Is the learning practiced often and in a variety of contexts?

* Is the learning playful and fun? (especially important when one gets stuck at an impasse)

Each is discussed and there is also a link to a short video that provides a brief overview of learning from the book How We Learn by Benedict Carey.

Do you share current research on learning strategies with your learners? This post also references a post from Mind/Shift that discusses current learning strategies. Click through to the post to learn more and consider sharing this information with your learners as well as parents and staff in your school.

So the question is, what does research tell us are the best teaching and learning strategies? This list, from John Hattie's research, provides insight into this question.

After an introduction that describes how the effect size is applied and the cautions that must be observed, there is a short section that discusses how you might apply this data...and then there are six scrollable pages where the data is shared. There is also a list of of the 39 strategies that is to the point. The scrollable list provides additional insights for better understands.

What is least successful? Retention.

What is most successful? Teacher credibility in the eyes of the student.

This post is worth reading, and reading again. The strategies may not be new to you, but as you read through the research you may choose one or two to work on as this school year continues.

Check out this chart that looks at the progression of :"using technology" to "integrating technology" to "learning by design" (think Wiggins and McTighe). 

The chart looks at seven areas: Planning, Frequency of Use, Purpose, Content, Focus, Task, and Information-Knowledge-Understanding.

Consider how you use technology in your practice and see where you fall on the chart. Are there areas that you would like to shift?

How can we get students more engaged in units of study? What if we design our class so that they have ownership from the beginning of the unit? This post explores this issue, and although the focus is on social studies you could use the same steps in other curricular areas. What are the steps?

1. "Partner students and have them do a speed search on the topic." What can they find in 12 - 15 minutes? Let them generate a list of interest.

2. "Decision by debate." Change partners. Allow them 3 minutes to discuss and rank the topics by interest.

3. "Main characters." Switch partners again. In history you might be looking at key individuals, or key battles in a conflict.

There are five more steps that will help students learn to collaborate, analyze perspectives, co-create with you (as the teacher your job is to  make sure that all key areas are covered and help create the framework as well as providing additional input where necessary), and more.

This type of process allows the students to be engaged and have their voices heard from the beginning....a win-win situation in the classroom.

How about starting a New Year by sharing learning strategies? Here is an infographic that provides 26 learning strategies. Consider sharing one a day for the next 26 days, or print out a copy and share it with your students. A few of the ideas included are:

* Connect the Dots

* Hypothesize, Test, Adjust

* Listen More

* Question Assumptions

What can you do to help extend the learning process, to keep it going in your classroom? This post provides "six strategies to help keep the learning going in your classroom." Below are two.

* At the end of an activity, project, lesson, or unit ask simple questions: So? So what? What now? What have you learned? Why is that important? What makes sense to do next in light of this progression?

* Promote self-directed learning using frameworks that teach students to access, evaluate, and use information in real-time, rather than simply “doing assignments.”

Click through to the post to read four more strategies.