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ABSTRACT: With the emergence of technology from the late 20th century into the early 21st century, many colleges and universities are playing catchup with how modern students learn best. Administrations and instructors are expected to integrate the best use of technologies in their courses and remain vigilant to the ever-changing landscape of educational technology, “Effective use of technology is not an optional add-on or a skill that we simply can expect teachers to pick up once they get into the classroom. Teachers need to know how to use technology to realize each state’s learning standards from day one” (Department of Education, n.d.). Instructors are increasingly expected to become experts in their specialty area as well as in new teaching pedagogies that utilize changing technology. On top of motivating, stimulating and evaluating students, the expectations of adding educational technology to lesson planning can be challenging. Mobile technologies, such as podcasts and vodcasts offer educators a platform to supplement their material. Students are more and more familiar with these modes of learning and are able to adapt them not only to their education but to their day to day lives.
MOTIVATION
In the simplest of terms motivation is the reason or reasons we do anything and everything throughout our lives. We are motivated to do things as simple as going to the grocery store so we have food to eat, to more complex activities like going back to school to advance one’s career or taking courses to learn a new language. Motivation is defined as, “the act or process of giving someone a reason for doing something, a force or influence that causes someone to do something” (Merriam-Webster, 2017). There are many factors that play a role in motivation and many theories exist that explain how and why humans are motivated. In terms of online learning, finding new technologies and incorporating them into courses is a great way to keep students motivated and attentive to course material.
There are many accepted theories of motivation including: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Knowles’ Andragogy and Alderfer’s ERG Theory. These theories focus on why we do what we do, how we reach a certain goal and conceptualize the meaning behind what we do.
Perhaps the most widely known and accepted theory of motivation is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, which assumes that all humans have the same basic needs and move along the same spectrum when it comes to satisfying these needs. The five basic needs that Maslow identified are: physiological (the most basic), safety, love/belonging, esteem and self-actualization (the highest level of satisfaction)(Maslow, 1943). Maslow believed that everything we do follows these needs and once a need is fulfilled we move onto the next basic need, and then the next until we reach our full satisfaction with that need. Maslow also pointed out that needs are not individual, they often rely on each other and are dependent on the prior satisfaction of a different need (Maslow, 1943). Human motivation does not only focus on reaching the self-actualization need but also focuses on not being brought back to the physiological need. For instance, I go to the store to buy groceries to feel satiated (self-actualization) but also to not starve (physiological), satisfying both ends of the spectrum (Maslow, 1943). In relation to online and blended education, learning is a process that can be broken down into a hierarchy. In terms of a hierarchy of a course from the student perspective, they must be accepted into the school first (the most basic need) and they need to have support and self-actualization to succeed in the course (the highest level of satisfaction). When these needs are met, most students will be able to succeed, and integrating what many know best, technology, will help them reach these levels of satisfaction.
Another popular motivation theory is Knowles’ Adult Learning Theory, highlighting the idea of andragogy. Knowles believed that adult learners should be studied differently than just pedagogically, separate from adolescent learners. He hypothesized that adult learners have five key characteristics: self-concept, experience, readiness to learn, orientation to learning and motivation to learn. These traits brought him to the conclusion that adult educators must enforce why the content of their teaching is important and show adult learners how the content they are learning will help them reach their goals. Knowles’ theory encompasses these ideas by stating, “The adult learner brings into the continuing educational arena a rich array of experiences that will affect the learning styles and assimilation of knowledge. Adult learners need to be able to apply the knowledge into their life situations” (June, 2010). Essentially, adult learners are more likely to question educators and educators need to be proactive in their facilitation of their courses and have reasonable justification for why they are delivering their courses in the manner in which they choose to do so.
Being aware of these characteristics, Knowles also believed that adult educators must assume particular implications in their practice of teaching:
• Set a cooperative climate for learning in the classroom
• Assess the learner’s specific needs and interests
• Develop learning objectives based on the learner’s needs, interests, and skill levels
• Design sequential activities to achieve the objectives
• Work collaboratively with the learner to select methods, materials and resources for instruction
• Evaluate the quality of the learning experience and make adjustments, as needed, while assessing needs for further learning (TEAL Center Staff, 2011)
In other words, “Because adults learn by doing, effective instruction focuses on tasks that adults can perform, rather than on memorization of content”(TEAL Center Staff, 2011). A ten-year-old and a thirty-year-old function much differently due to life experience. When it comes to adult learners, many are motivated to build upon knowledge they have already gained to further their careers. A grade school, adolescent learner is learning brand new information in many cases and is fresh to the concepts and ideas. Everyone has to go to grade school in one way, shape or form, while adult learners are often doing so by choice and personal motivations.
Knowles’ theory is more focused on adult learners, opposed to Maslow that studied humans in general. In a way, Knowles expanded upon Maslow’s basic ideas and applied andragogy specifically to Maslow’s Hierarchy levels of esteem and self-actualization. The majority of adults who go back to school at a higher education level do so in order to gain prestige in the workplace and feel a sense of accomplishment. It is no small feat for adult learners to maintain a career, go to school and reach one’s full potential, outlined by Maslow and applied to Knowles Adult Learning Theory.
A third motivation theory that expanded on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is ERG Theory by Clayton Alderfer. Alderfer surveyed 110 bank employees on 21 hypotheses based on what effects their morale within the workplace. While not all the hypotheses were supported by the data collected Alderfer concluded that workers have three basic needs, existence (E), relatedness (R) and growth (G). Alderfer did not treat these human characteristics as static, rather he believed they were fluid and one did not need to be met before moving onto the next factor. He did not treat them in a hierarchy which differed from Maslow and did not treat the factors independently. Some similarities between the two theories are, Alderfer’s existence needs encompass Maslow’s physiological and safety needs, the relatedness factor is equal to Maslow’s social and self-esteem and the growth component of ERG theory uses Maslow’s self-esteem and self-actualization features (Alderfer, 1969). A criticism of ERG theory is like that of Herzberg. Alderfer only studied employees of a bank in New York. Translating this to other fields is possible but a deficiency with the original study. Regarding online education, the factors of existence, relatedness and growth all relate to keeping students motivated. Maintaining these characteristics will keep students focused and on track. Working them together and relating the students and allowing them to grow together will create a powerful learning environment.
In terms of online versus face to face (F2F) education, from my perspective of taking classes in both forms, the motivation of the instructor and the instructor’s ability to use technology can make or break a course. Even in F2F learning, if an instructor is uncomfortable with technology within the classroom, learners will react accordingly and if online instructors simply use discussion boards in place of in-person discussion the course becomes a form of a check list where students feel like they need to post a certain number of times and move on. Adults learners specifically, do not just go back to school for fun, they do so because they are motivated to move to a point in their life that they cannot do so without the education.
In the article, “17 Tips to Motivate Adult Learners”, written in 2013, Christopher Pappas makes a clear yet controversial argument for approaching adult learnings in online courses differently than others, “a lot of the learners are often forced to take on your eLearning course to enhance their skills, keep their job, get a job, or continue further with their career plans” (Pappas, 2013). While this theory does not have the most uplifting message, the truth of the matter is, online adult learners are in school for many different reasons than an 18-22 year-old straight out of high school looking to find a career path. To recognize this idea, he gives tips to combat the issue, many of which can be adapted to online learning and podcasting. A few key tips are: Facilitate Exploration, Build Community and Integrate Social Media, accommodate individual interests and career goals, stimulate your learners, ask for feedback and present the benefits of undertaking the course (Pappas, 2013). All of these ideas can help to keep students motivated, and knowing how they participate in classes is an important factor in creating courses that will appeal to them, “it is important to understand participation, to identify the different participation patterns and learner types, and to offer them appropriate support” (Nistor & Neubauer, 2010). If students are aware that a project or class discussion can help them in their job the next day, students are more likely to pay attention and gain interest in the concepts being presented. Adult learners have experience in the real world, so asking for their feedback does not only help the instructor but it makes them feel like a part of the course and like their opinions and experiences matter.
The use of technology is a good way to reach a group of students who are in a course and can adapt well to the use of different course deliveries as a learning material. Effective motivation in education has many facets, including useful promotion of learning and effective instructional techniques. Staying informed with how students learn can be a challenge but universities that accept this challenge will succeed in the long run and their students will benefit greatly, “the intense focuson student success has generated unprecedented pressure for improved retention and completion at institutions across the country and around the globe. At the foundation of an effective student success strategy is harnessing the right technology resources to drive results and positive outcomes(UB Custom Publishing, 2015). Higher education needs avoid resisting or pushing back on new technology since some students may know more about technology than some instructors, however, they do not know how to translate their knowledge into using it as a successful motivator in a course. By educating the educators to maximize outcomes and student’s success, universities as a system will succeed and be as useful as possible for the student.
ONLINE AND BLENDED LEARNING
Online and blended learning are described in many ways with different names that often refer to the same thing. One university describes online as, “Online learning provides meaningful learning opportunities using a wide variety of teaching modalities. In today’s society, learning takes place anytime, anywhere”(University at Buffalo, 2017). The authors of the book, Learning Online What Research Tells us About Whether, When and How, define blended learning as, “the use of online learning in conjunction with traditional teacher-led forms of instruction” (Means, Bakia, & Murphy, 2014). The anytime anywhere concept ties squarely to the overarching reasoning for online and blended learning. Technology is everywhere, it is hard to find someone without a smart phone, laptop, tablet or computer that does not have access to the internet and education is smart to tag on to this trend and incorporate meaningful ways for educators to reach a bigger audience than in traditional face-to-face classrooms.
There is some ambiguity surrounding the term online learning. There are many terms related to online learning that may mean the same thing but are used in different contexts. Some of these terms are:
• Online learning/online education/online programs
• Distance learning/distance education
• Hybrid learning/hybrid courses
• Blended
• E-Courses
• E-learning
• Web courses
• Distributed course delivery
• Independent learning (University at Buffalo, 2017)
All of these terms are used interchangeably to describe learning that takes place outside of the traditional classroom. As this university also describes, within online learning there are multiple types of technology mediations and terms that incorporate not just technology-based modes of learning but include face-to-face time as well:
Technology Mediation
Terminology
Definition
More
Fully online course
Course that does not require the student to come to the main campus or meet face-to-face
May use synchronous or asynchronous technology
Hybrid/blended course
Course with strong online component and significantly reduced face-to-face classroom meetings
Less
Web-supported course
Traditional course that is supported by online materials, but whose face-to-face schedule is not altered
(University at Buffalo, 2017)
In all these mediations they describe, technology plays a key role in the structure of the delivery of the course. These ideas are constantly evolving and will continue to do so as technology changes.
The authors of the book, Learning Online What Research Tells us About Whether, When and How, by Barbara Means, Marianne Bakia and Robert Murphy, also state four key factors that have led to the emergence of online learning and it’s continual growth that does not show any signs of slowing down:
1. As technology capabilities have expanded and information technology has become more affordable and mobile, people live more of their lives online.
2. The belief that it can address some of education’s persistent and emerging challenges including achievement gap and the rate at which students – especially poor and non-Asian minority students – leave high schools and colleges without a diploma
3. Economics – costs of online learning compared to face-to-face instruction consistently find savings associated with the online option, although variance in costs for both exists
4. Belief in its power to provide better learning experiences
(Means, Bakia, & Murphy, 2014)
All of these factors have led to a large growth in online learning at all levels of education, from K-12 to higher education. Once universities recognize these reasons, they also need to realize the purpose of blended and online learning to implement the technology correctly and keep students motivated.
A leading issue with online learning is dropout rates, which can be directly tied to motivation. If students are not highly motivated in online courses they are more likely to not stick it out and drop out before completing their classes. Given that online learners tend to be adult learners, special attention needs to be paid to this group of students to prevent them from losing motivation and dropping out of school, “online students were significantly more likely to dropout than campus-based students. Age was found to have a significant unique effect on dropout in both programs with older students more likely to dropout” (Patterson & McFadden, 2009). A key theory related to this concept is Knowles Adult Learning Theory of Andragogy. His theory assumes that adult learners have five key characteristics, including: self-concept, experience, readiness to learn, orientation to learning and motivation to learn (June, 2010). Knowing these characteristics can help instructors create courses with adult learners in mind and keeping students motivated while learning to their best ability should be the cornerstone of any successful course.
Online learning is very popular in the early 21st century, however, it does not come without its controversies. Online universities are popping up nationally and across the globe. U.S News and World Report, one of the most noted publishers of university and college rankings began ranking online degree programs in 2012 as a separate list. Businesses and universities are doing everything they can to stay relevant and beat out the competition. This has caused some skeptics to note a large amount of debt students leave for-profit programs with and the intense recruiting practices some schools implement (Means, Bakia, & Murphy, 2014). Unfortunately, few things in life remain successful without someone trying to take advantage of its popularity and potentially vulnerable users. Major universities with the proper accreditations and history can create online and blended degree programs and maintain their success by keeping to their core values and doing everything they can for their students and instructors.
PODCASTS
Podcasting is an emerging technology used to motivate students. A podcast is defined as, “a program, as of music or talk, made available in a digital format for automatic download over the internet” (Merriam-Webster, 2017). The ease of use of podcasts is what makes them so revolutionary:
“when a user subscribes to a podcast, audio content is downloaded over the internet to a user’s computer; when his or her portable media player is attached to that computer, the new audio content is automatically placed on the portable device. As new editions of the podcast become available, the content (usually in the form of an audio MP3 file) is automatically downloaded to the user’s computer and, subsequently, his or her portable device: the subscriber being required to do no more than obtain the initial subscription. It is this simplicity that leads to the true power of the concept behind podcasting, which can be thought of as a series of time- shifted radio shows to be heard whenever and wherever it is most convenient for the user” (Savel, Goldstein, Perencevich, & Angood, 2007).
Unlike many other forms of subscription based platforms, the only action the user has to take with Podcasts is to subscribe and the content is automatically downloaded. This allows the user to subscribe initially and not have to worry about whether or not they are getting the most up to date information or the latest rendition of a podcast.
Another adaptation of podcasts is the changing landscape of higher education student populations, “contemporary higher education reflects increasing diversity from this traditional student profile. As a major grouping, adult students now comprise more than 45% of the current post-secondary population in America” (Knapp, Kelly-Reid, & Ginder, 2010)
It is also important to note that an Apple product is not required to listen to podcasts, they can be played on any portable device or computer that plays MP3 files (Savel et al., 2007). With the wide array of cell phones in the market, the applicability of podcasts to multiple products makes them desirable in education. Every student now has some access to a phone or computer that can play audio, making podcasts omnipresent.
Knowing how students are adapting to the technology and if it remains a relevant form of instruction is vital to a successful pedagogy:
“Similar to many other educational technologies in the past, the ultimate use of podcasting and its influence on the traditional lecture may not be determined by the potential of the technology, but rather by the way in which it is perceived within the institution, by both teachers and students. Its use will be strongly influenced by the dominant pedagogies employed in these contexts” (McGarr, 2009).
When podcasts were first introduced to education, many students did not know how to use them. They were unsure how to utilize what they were listening to since so many students are used to taking notes or reading textbooks. Students slowly adapted to using the podcasts, not as more information on top of lectures or readings but learning that the podcasts allowed them to, “manage the rest of the course materials in a more efficient manner. Consequently, the course podcasts allowed for a decrease in the feeling of information overload and an increase in the importance of the rest of the course materials” (Fernandez, Simo, & Sallan, 2009). Relating to online learning specifically, students often undertake online or mobile learning due to family, job and time restraints. Podcasts have been shown to be abundantly accessible, “many students commented that they did not have a permanent place to study, so they appreciated all kinds of materials that could be used in different places, for example while using public transport” (Fernandez et al., 2009). Online learners are constantly on the move and their only focus in life is not their education. They have many things going on and being able to study while waiting in a doctor’s office or on a subway without having to pull out paper articles or a clunky textbook, leads to great student satisfaction with podcasts and their accessibility.
Having the ability to incorporate a form of technology that students use for entertainment in their non-education lives, in a course, is a great way to engage the learner and use something that they are familiar with. A student is probably not going to use a PowerPoint in their everyday life but they may listen to podcasts on their commute to work or while they exercise. Podcasts can be a crucial component of an online courses design and can help bring different instructional pieces together. As a 2010 study, conducted on teaching presence and adult learners in an online course, notes, course design, facilitation and instruction are essential qualities that create positive teaching presence in a course (Ke, 2010). The overall design of the content, discussions, evaluations and interface enhanced students’ interactivity, stated clear expectations, and gave the course purpose. All of these factors help motivate students to succeed and feel connected to the course, “in order to create a community of inquiry for adult students, we should first generate an effective teaching presence with supportive features to reinforce the emerging of cognitive and social presence in an online learning environment” (Ke, 2010). Students can learn the material from different sources, therefore they and the instructor can offer a range of different perspectives.
A majority of the literature points to podcasts as supplemental learning materials. As Fernandez, Simo and Sallan suggest, “podcasting is a powerful tool as a complement to the traditional resources on a course, but not a substitute for them” (Fernandez et al., 2009). Instructors should not simply create a podcast instead of a normal lecture or give students an article to read. The podcast needs to be used to enhance the information relayed in the typical instructional formats and help students expand the knowledge they are learning from simply listening in class or reviewing textbooks. McGarr writes, “if used exclusively as a substitute for traditional lectures such use may further reinforce students as passive recipients of information” (McGarr, 2009). To motivate students, instructors do not want them to be passive learners in their education, or simply using a podcast because it is the only means by which the material has been given to them. Instead, educators should want their students to engage in deep thinking and higher levels of cognitive learning to trigger their learning into eventual skill mastery. McGarr describes the use of podcasts as supplemental materials as,
“providing revision and summary material, supplementary material can also be in the form of additional material which may broaden or deepen the student’s understanding. This type of use can facilitate higher cognitive learning outcomes since the provision of supplementary material can provide students with alternative perspectives on content previously delivered or enable further and deeper exploration of topics” (McGarr, 2009).
Instructors can answer questions asked by previous students and incorporate these concepts into the podcasts to make students think outside the box.
By combining these materials, students learning has been shown to improve. A notable immersive study by Popova, Kirschner and Joiner looked at the use of podcasts as primers for lectures, in other words, the podcasts were given to students before they attended the lecture to help them scaffold their learning to which they could “hang” new information. This is another form of using podcasts as supplemental information rather than simply using it as the sole means of conveying the content. The podcasts were approximately five minutes in length and consisted of an introduction, summary definitions of core concepts and examples, and ended with epistemic questions that were either, exploratory, predictive or argumentative. They delivered a Likert based questionnaire to the students during the last lecture to ascertain their perceptions of the process and use of podcasts. They wanted to study how novel the podcasts were to the ways in which students made used of the podcast materials and why they made use of them. Over half, (55%) of the respondents reported that they listened to podcasts for personal use outside of class related to the topics of, entertainment, news and education. For the podcasts associated with the course, students noted that they listened to the podcasts more than once, and the majority did not partake in other activities while listening. The students also noted that they felt more involved with their education due to the questions posed at the end of the podcasts and that these questions forced them to think more about the content and question their own knowledge in a cognitive learning manner (Popova, Kirschner, & Joiner, 2014).
Students were motivated because the podcast was given by their instructor, helped them become familiar and feel connected with the instructor and the material. This study gives:
“insight on students’ motivation to use such additional resources to gain more from lectures. The evaluation provided by the students essentially confirmed the hypothesis that audio-only primer podcasts were experienced as stimulating for students to (1) engage more deeply with the lecture and understand the content better and (2) reflect on the topics and on what they know about them” (Popova et al., 2014).
Students do not typically conduct self-reflection on a lecture or podcasts. However, by adding in the epistemic questions the instructor forced the student to think holistically about the topic and bring questions to class that was sparked by the scaffolding podcasts.
Podcasts allow students to connect with instructors anytime and anywhere. The ease in which students in the 21st century can connect to a podcast is unmatched in most forms of technology, “Although podcasts are composed of MP3 files, it is the automatic distribution method combined with the potential for portability that makes podcasts what they are” (Bryans Bongey, Cizadlo, & Kalnbach, 2006). The majority of students, high school or adult learners, have access to a smart phone that can play podcasts and MP3 files. They can play them anywhere they want, as opposed to a video recorded lecture that has to be played on a computer and must have the visual attention of the learner to be effective. One author states this simplicity as, “What is novel with podcasting is the way that – a simple change in file format and delivery method – can meet students’ mobile and lifestyle needs by transporting a professor’s teachings away from the confinements of the lecture hall or computer/audio carrel and into any environment of the listener’s choosing” (Bryans Bongey et al., 2006). If a student attends a traditional class in person or reviews a PowerPoint and reading materials online or an online or blended course they are still able to enhance their knowledge or supplement the materials with podcasts on their own time. Podcasts can also be used to review material before an exam or to catch up on a missed lecture (Bryans Bongey et al., 2006). The reach of podcasts is limitless and not constrained by a particular topic. They have the ability to break through the constraints of traditional classroom learning and time with its on-demand features and accessibility (Bryans Bongey et al., 2006). Finding new ways to relay information and adapting these techniques continually helps students stay motivated and connected to the course.
This concept of anytime, anywhere use of podcasts, relates to medical students as they must cultivate independent teaching skills and are in a profession where you never stop learning, medicine. In the profession of medicine, doctors must complete board exams to recertify their credentials. The knowledge base for medicine is constantly evolving with new guidelines from different groups and boards based on the latest accepted treatments. The nature of residency is very similar to that of blended learning. In most cases, residents will have weekly lectures referred to as grand rounds where they present cases and discuss different treatment plans. They stay attuned to new research, practices, regulations and treatment options to supplement this learning with their own dedicated time to study the latest literature to keep themselves up to date and to contribute in grand round settings. A recent study conducted on emergency medicine residents and their use of podcasts suggested, “that residents spend a greater percentage of their time listening to podcasts than they do using other educational materials, including textbooks and journals” (Riddell et al., 2017). This group of students was motivated to use podcasts over traditional forms of educational resources for many reasons, including: portability, ease of use, ability to listen while doing something else, to “keep up with current literature” and to “learn EM core content” (Riddell et al., 2017). The students also noted that they were able to translate the knowledge learned from the podcasts into their own clinical practices (Riddell et al., 2017). While doctors are in the elevator or on lunch or driving to and from work, they are able to continue expanding their knowledge with podcasts. They can also choose podcasts based on topics they are interested in to keep their attention.
As the authors of a study on the use of podcasts by emergency medicine residents state, “As we adopt new technologies, we must also understand how and why they are being embraced by our learners in order to employ them more effectively” (Riddell et al., 2017). Another result of the study conducted by Riddell et al, was the fact that residents on average, preferred podcasts that were thirty minutes or less in length. They also, noted that the topics the residents preferred to listen to were based on themes that were more controversial new topics and related to cutting-edge analysis as opposed to emergency medicine core content. While this may not be problematic, knowing how and why students are choosing the content that they are listening to can help those creating the podcasts incorporate what they feel is necessary into cover into ideas that may spark listeners interest.
While modernizing education must be on the radar of all institutions and instructors, maintaining effective learning must remain a goal in the efforts of adopting new technologies. Knowing the potentials of podcasting and vodcasting can help instructors implement it properly and assist the students along the way that will find it advantageous. Knowing the rationale behind podcasting is crucial for instructors to be comfortable with the technology and eliciting proper student response and use of it (Heilesen, 2010). A way to address this issue is to evaluate the use of podcasts in multiple courses over a long period of time. Studies have shown that having students engage in the podcast and actively engage in the content learned in the podcast can assist in retaining knowledge and creating a better academic atmosphere, “When it comes to actively engaging the students in the creation of course podcasts, it is a well-known fact that having to transform and communicate information increases retention rates dramatically” (Heilesen, 2010). By helping students accept the use of podcasts the instructor can improve the academic environment and get recognition from those most affected by new technologies, students.
As noted earlier on the general concepts of online and blended learning and potential consequences of implementing it, there has also been concern with the adaptation of podcasts that attendance in class or in online and blended learning requirements would be affected in a negative manner. “several studies conclude that all fears of students skipping classes when lecture podcasts are available so far seem unjustified” (Heilesen, 2010). While this is an issue to be aware of, it should not deter universities or professors from using podcasts in their course materials. If it helps some students to supplement the other materials and allows them to expand their knowledge, they will be able to reach these students and teach them in a way they may not have been able to without the podcasts. Offering options in a course design for students will help them feel motivated to try new things and they may learn more about their own ways of learning that they did not know before and be able to relate their personal use of podcasting that they are already familiar with to their education.
VODCASTING
Podcasting has also evolved into video podcasting or vodcasting since its inception. A vodcast is simply formatting video into a podcast, a video podcast(Merriam-Webster, 2017). Similar to regular podcasting, vodcasting allows students to review material for missed classes, control their own learning and improve their learning on content that may have been presented in a different manner. Kay describes, “Receptive viewing of podcasts assumes that learning material in whatever format is to be viewed by a student in a relatively passive manner. Students may search for desired segments or pause and review noteworthy concepts or facts, but the main pedagogical strategy is the delivery of information” (Kay, 2012). Students can rewind a vodcast or podcast and review material that they may question, and skip over the material they feel they have mastered.
Vodcasts can also assist in motivating students in many learning formats. Notably, students are motivated by video podcasting because the format helps them sustain attention, they are intellectually stimulating, they were relevant and the format allowed the students to connect with the instructor and build a relationship they might not have been able to in a large classroom or by simply reading a textbook or article (Fernandez et al., 2009). Podcasting has been noted to have the same effect on creating a sense of community and proximity to the instructor. Hearing the actual instructors’ voice rather than reading printed documents, the non-pre-established nature of podcasts material based on comments and suggestions from students and the ability of all students, no matter their skill set or learning methods allowed students to feel like they had a permanent connection to the instructor. Students were also able to manage their time better and study with more purpose which, as one study noted, “have a common consequence: an increase in student motivation, which constitutes one of the main principles of good practice in higher education” (Fernandez et al., 2009). Giving students the freedom to manage their own time and learn their best skills when it pertains to studying can give them independence. However, too much independence, and disconnection from the course can be a disadvantage, podcasting has allowed instructors to circumvent this issue with the students being able to hear their professors voice and personalized messages.
Knowing the ways in which the majority of students utilize vodcasts to their best ability is crucial for the teacher the use best practice. Students benefit from video podcasts because they can learn at their own pace, they find the technology useful, helpful, effective and stimulating and they have allowed students to study in a different manner that has helped them succeed in earning higher test scores and increased performance of skills (Kay, 2012). A specific way for instructors to be sure that they are reaching both to auditory and visual learner alike is by creating vodcasts that run parallel to podcasts, a traditional podcast that is audio only and a second that contains PowerPoint slides in an enhanced format. While podcasts are readily available and cover a plethora of topics, some students will still not be familiar with them, so easing them into the process and adding in visual aspect can be helpful to many learners (Fernandez et al., 2009). This idea helps the instructor reach all learning types of students and helps the student feel connected and included in the class.
iTunes U
Given the overall success of Podcasts and the ability of the technology to adapt to most topics, professors should be aware of the effects of them compared to in-person lectures. As stated previously, podcasts can be used as a supplemental mode to traditional PowerPoint slides or face-to-face lectures or they can be used to assist students who miss class or want to refresh their memories on a particular lecture. With this idea, came the emergence of iTunes U which began as a storage space for classrooms to keep their podcasts and has evolved in 2017 to include, “homework hand-in, an integrated grade book, and private discussions, it is a seamless way to organize your classroom. See how simple it is to deliver lessons, grade assignments, and stay connected — all from your iPad” (Apple, 2017). McKinney describes the usefulness of iTunes U, “Apple points out that the benefits of iTUNES U include that it is easily accessible 24 hours per day, students can listen to the podcasts whenever and wherever they choose, and it helps to keep the students motivated because it engages them in a way that is very familiar to them (iTunes U is a link on the iTunes website)” (McKinney, Dyck, & Luber, 2009). While this technology is Apple based, it can be accessed on non-Apple products. iTunes U is a new and innovative way to not only used podcasts in a traditional online learning platform, such as WebCT or BlackBoard, but in this manner, the instructor can have their entire course, including grading in one place.
A unique aspect of iTunes U is the free access anyone that wants to access it can use. Any course that wants to put content onto the platform can do so, and any students or person with interest in the content can access it. Matt Breed states this as an advantage of the software advantages of iTunes U along with being supplemental to other courses. He identifies that podcasts on iTunes U come from many universities, including recognizable names like Harvard, Yale and MIT. While a lot of people may not think they can get into schools like these or have the money to pay for them, iTunes U allows the user access to a great deal of the information their students are learning in the classroom. He also notes that if a student is not excelling or working well with a certain professor or course, they can look up a similar course on iTunes U and study the material that way. While it is not identical to what their own professor may be learning, the supplemental qualities of podcasts can be taken advantage of in many ways (Breed, n.d.).
In a 2009 study comparing the use of podcast lectures versus in-class lectures by McKinney, Dyck, and Luber, 32 students participated in the in-class condition and 34 students completed the podcast condition. Since the podcast group was based on students having an mp3 player, students self-selected into which group they wanted to participate in. In both conditions, students were given the PowerPoint slides for note taking to utilize while listening or taking part in the in-person lecture. They were also instructed to log their study time and activities used in preparing for the exam that both groups would be given at the end of the process. Of the students in the podcast group, the majority appreciated viewing the slides while listening to the podcast. They found it easy to go back and review material based on the chapter markers that were integrated into each PowerPoint slide and found this helpful for studying purposes (McKinney et al., 2009).
Based on the exam administered at the end of the study, the students in the podcast group as a whole scored, on average, 8.77 points higher than the in-class lecture group. The authors also found that the 22 out of 34 students who were in the podcast group, who took notes while listening to the podcast, scored significantly higher than those who did not. Interestingly, the students who listened to the podcast without taking additional notes scored similarly to those in the in-class lecture group (McKinney et al., 2009). The authors assess that universities, instructors and students cannot yet jump to any conclusions about using podcasts as replacements for current content delivery systems, whether they be in-person or technological. However, knowing how students utilize podcasts is key to knowing how an instructor can deliver a constructive message in their courses on their use. Knowing what else students are doing while listening to podcasts and how this is similar or different from what they are doing in in-class lectures can be beneficial to study and lead to greater understanding of the changing world of course delivery.
As with any new concept there are trends and unforeseen consequences that cannot be planned for but being able to deal with them swiftly and in a positive manner is key. Means, Bakia and Murphy state four major trends in online learning in higher education”
1. Self-paced, adaptive instruction and competency-based learning
2. Blended learning
3. Learning analytics
4. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)
(Means, Bakia, & Murphy, 2014)
The last trend, Massive Open Online Courses is a noted unintended consequence related to online learning and podcasting specifically. MOOCs began when instructors in Canada wanted to offer their normal 25 student enrollment online theory course to anyone that wanted to take it and not pay tuition. Users had access to all readings, newsletters, discussions and all course material. Over 2,300 people signed up for access which began a new trend of offering courses to non-tuition paying students. The intent was to give access to information to people with simple curiosity or those that could not afford tuition. Other instructors and universities caught on to this success and began to offer their courses in this manner as well.
A very successful case of offering a normal online university course as a MOOC was in 2011 when two professors, Sebastian Thrun and Peter Norvig, offered their Introduction to Artificial Intelligence course to anyone outside of the 200 Stanford University students who were already enrolled. An astounding 160,000 people from 190 countries signed up to take the course. The university had to enlist 2,000 volunteer translators to translate the course materials into 44 different languages. After three weeks of the course, the actual number of people participating online was 45,000, still more students than the entire Stanford Universities enrollment. The main piece of their course design was one to five-minute videos to explain key concepts, very similar to podcasting. Also, at the end of the course, students who were non-tuition paying enrollees that completed all course assignments received a “letter of accomplishment”, to note their successful completion of the course (Means, Bakia, & Murphy, 2014).
Another case of the MOOC concept that portrayed the “viral” nature of podcasting took place in a 2005 study on Podcasting. The authors of this study aimed to, “explore the benefits, challenges and impact of podcasting on higher education” (Bryans Bongey et al., 2006). They describe the unintended success of the implementation of the podcasts in a traditional biology course:
“However, with a small amount of time and experience, we began to appreciate what has been referred to as the viral nature of podcasts, in which knowledge and use of the new podcasts spread rapidly and uncontrollably from one listener to the other. The distribution of the podcasts extended beyond the parameters of campus or students. Soon, Dr Cizadlo started receiving e-mail messages from out-of-state and non-US listeners. As one listener stated in an e-mail message, “I have directed friends (and yes, even my current Human Physiology Professor) to the podcasts” (personal communication, March 2, 2006)”
(Bryans Bongey, Cizadlo, & Kalnbach, 2006).
With the popularity where it was, the school and professor made some minor changes to their podcasts. They registered all of their podcasts to a directory, they were all made to be iTunes compliant, and all included an introductory statement and included a logo of the college’s crest. One user commented on the addition of these elements to the podcasts that kept the students motivated and wanting to come back for more. The academic experience created by the podcasts and the attention to detail the university and professor paid to the student feedback motivated the students and felt them feel like they were part of their education. They were intrigued by a new way of learning and the university was smart to grab ahold of the situation and work hand and hand with the students and those outside of the university to deliver online learning in the best possible way.
CONCLUSION
The integration of podcasts into online learning has been shown to successfully reach a new kind of student cognition and blends well into online and blended learning. The accessibility and comprehensive nature of podcasts lends itself to learners who need another mode of learning other than traditional face-to-face interaction and allows students to learn anytime and anywhere they choose to. Podcasts are also easy for the professor to learn how to use and allow for adaptation along the way. Allowing students to be integrated into their education, and have their voices heard will help them remain motivated. The scaffolding and supplemental use of podcasts adds another layer to learning that can help professors and educators reach the greatest number of students and educating those around the world. | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Learning_in_the_Digital_Age_(Asino_et_al.)/1.03%3A_Podcasting_as_a_Mode_of_Motivation_in_Online_and_Blended_Learning.txt |
Abstract. From elementary school through higher education, students have taken examinations to evaluate their knowledge, abilities and accomplishments. With increased pressures to have superior performances for future occupational or academic consideration, students may consider cheating to achieve higher exam scores. The evolution of new technology enables students in all learning environments to have unlimited access to digital content. Therefore, some form of exam proctoring is needed in a digital environment to ensure a quality, educational experience is maintained. The issue of academic integrity regarding cheating is particularly important when considering how online students are completing their course exams. Holding students accountable for their actions of violating university policies on academic integrity is demonstrating a greater societal value of personal integrity. It also accentuates the expectation that students will perform ethically in a digital society.
Institutions concerned with the academic integrity in their online courses are considering the use of virtual proctoring software designed to protect against academic dishonesty behaviors in their students. Virtual proctoring takes place with a student being on their own computer, initiating a secured testing session via a dedicated web browser (or having accessed an instructor designated website) that is subsequently recording the student’s behavior. Remotely the student is using technological means, a functional webcam and microphone, while they take their exam. To ensure the integrity of the exam-taking process in online learning, exams monitored through a virtual proctor are being found to be as secure as those completed in the presence of the instructor or another human proctor.
Introduction.
Since the latter part of the 20th century, advances in technology have dramatically changed the way education is delivered in colleges and universities. Online learning (also referred to in literature as eLearning or web-based distance education) has become an accepted means of delivering quality, accessible education to students in many different disciplines (Li & Irby, 2008). In the 2015 Survey of Online Learning (Allen & Seaman, 2016), for the thirteenth consecutive year, the number of higher education students taking at least one online learning course was up 3.9% over the previous year. With the increase in online learning opportunities, educators question how to maintain academic rigor while holding both on-campus and online students to the same standards, expectations, and academic integrity principles, particularly when considering methods of completing online course exams. Online learning fosters the perception, perhaps unfairly, that because students are separated by distance, it is difficult to monitor assessments and cheating – or academic dishonesty – may therefore occur (Poutre, Hedlund, & Nau, 2015; Watson & Sottille, 2010).
Despite efforts to prevent it, cheating remains widespread in academic institutions (Fass-Holmes, 2017; Kyzer, 2010; Lajoie & Bolichowski, 2010; McCabe, 2005; Rose, 2009). Placing an increased emphasis on grades, students in all learning environments may opt to cheat to achieve higher exam scores (McCabe, Trevino, & Butterfield, 2001). Higher education institutions must help students understand that embracing academic integrity is a necessary part of achieving success. As a means of contributing to a greater ethical society, universities should be taking steps to reduce instances of academic dishonesty by instilling a prominent level of ethical behavior and promoting digital citizenship in their students. As a part of the course design, instructors could incorporate how students would demonstrate digital citizenship in the exam completion process. Robb and Shellenbarger (2013) identified a way to promote digital citizenship and academic integrity in the classroom by addressing prevention, awareness, and role modeling. Prevention begins “with a clearly defined academic integrity policy that guides students in appropriate digital etiquette and helps them become responsible digital citizens. These statements, consistent with institutional academic integrity policies, should be included in the syllabus” (para 4). Offering activities within a course that demonstrate digital etiquette not only increases student awareness but serves as a good example of the instructor upholding academic integrity standards. “Perhaps most important in being a good role model are faculty addressing academic dishonesty when it occurs. Academic dishonesty has consequences and student offenders should experience them” (para 7). Mullins (2000) adds that “failure to address student academic dishonesty conveys the message that a core value of academic life, honesty, is not worth any significant effort to enforce” (p. 26). By allowing a student’s violation to go unhandled, or not be addressed even informally, faculty are not best preparing students for the professional world that awaits them (Amua-Sekyi & Mensah, 2016). According to Kiviniemi (2015), the “consequences should be serious, should cause students some psychological pain, and should require effort on the part of the student to overcome. Anything less is a disservice to our students as we prepare them to engage in their professional worlds” (p. 38).
The continual and rapid evolution of new technology enables students in all learning environments to have unlimited access to digital content, resources, and databases. While the focus of this chapter is regarding examinations, instructors who use other methods to show content mastery (e.g. presentations or portfolios) need to also consider technology resources (e.g. software plagiarism detectors) to ensure academic integrity is maintained. However, to ensure the integrity of the exam-taking process, there are creative solutions that instructors can implement. This chapter will first review how an online instructor could use Learning Management System (LMS) control procedures to achieve reasonable assurance that academic integrity has been maintained and that significant cheating has not occurred during online exams. Next, human and virtual proctoring options will be discussed followed by use of virtual proctoring software or websites in more detail, including this authors’ pedagogical experiences using a virtual proctor. Virtual proctoring is defined as a student being on their own computer, having initiated a secured browser and webcam or instructor designated website, that is subsequently recording the student’s behaviors remotely using technological means while they take their exam.
LMS Control Procedures.
With higher education institutions utilizing virtual proctoring tools in their online courses, the responsibility remains with the instructor to ensure that the correct tools for assessing student learning are in place. In addition to the proctoring of exam sessions, instructors who continue to offer traditional exams (e.g. multiple-choice questions) in their online learning environments can utilize LMS features (e.g. group work, portfolio development, restricted amount of time to take the exam, no going backwards in answering questions, etc.) and not just rely on test banks solely for the development of exams. The institution’s LMS controls the time, date, type, and length of the exam. Instructors can create exams from publisher purchased test banks or create their own multiple choice, fill in the blank, matching, or essay type exams; to name just a few of the options available. In setting up the online learning course exam, the instructor can adjust the length of time the student has to take the exam so the timing is congruent with the student’s cognitive processing and reading abilities. An instructor can choose how exam questions are displayed to the student: all at once or one question at a time; to have the questions randomized for each student; or if the instructor wants to allow – or prohibit – the student from backtracking or prevent changing an answer already submitted. Instructors can allow students just one exam attempt or multiple exam attempts; where different exam questions can be generated for each attempt allowed. Instead of using the same exam each term (or semester), instructors can generate exams from pre-established randomized question pools that are stored within the course LMS making it easy to create new exams for each course (Fang, 2012). Use of LMS control procedures can provide instructors reasonable assurance that academic integrity has been maintained and that significant cheating has not occurred during online exams (Cluskey, Ehlen, & Raiborn, 2011).
Human Proctoring.
Traditionally, instructors within a classroom or lecture hall on campus have proctored exams within the same physical space that the student is taking their exam. Also, live or human proctoring takes place in a university approved location. Students travel to this site to take their exam so both the human proctor and the student are in the same physical space. While offering a greater degree of confidence that the actual student is present taking the exam, the scheduling inconveniences, travel time, and other potential costs affiliated with human proctoring services are contrary to the reasons why students have chosen to take online learning courses. Additional drawbacks to the use of human proctors are a single person monitoring multiple students concurrently; poor training; lack of motivation; becoming tired, distracted, or overwhelmed; and being more subjective or biased towards the student they are proctoring (Marcus, Raul, & Ramirez-Velarde, 2008; Rios & Liu, 2017). Additionally, the subjectivity and variability of human proctoring also does not guarantee a cheating-free evaluation (Rose, 2009).
Virtual Proctoring.
Virtual proctoring looks quite different. The “eye” of the webcam focuses its attention on just that one student and acts in a more objective and unbiased way than a human proctor can (Marcus et al., 2008). Respondus Monitor, one virtual proctor option, requires that student’s complete exams in front of a computer-mounted or manufacturer-installed webcam that provides the instructor with live streaming images of the student and their environment while taking the assessment (“Respondus”, n.d.). The exam session is recorded and stored for the instructor to review after the student completes their exam. Concurrently, the use of software like Respondus LockDown Browser (“Respondus”, n.d.) prevents students from searching for answers on the Web while taking exams through the online course. While there are additional virtual proctoring services beyond Respondus Monitor (B Virtual, Examity, Honorlock, Kryterion’s Online Proctoring service, ProctorCam, ProctorU, and others), there is a lack of published research comparing the existing virtual proctoring systems (Foster & Layman, 2013).
With virtual proctoring, students secure an Internet connection, download required software (or log on to an instructor designated proctoring website) and complete steps for their authentication prior to taking their exam. To ensure that the student who is completing the exam is, in fact, the enrolled student, instructors could rely on technological tools to authenticate the student’s identity. Capturing an image of a government issued photo identification, or the university photo student ID, through their computer camera is one way to verify the identity of the student taking the exam. Students may also be asked to complete a 360-degree scan of their environment, including the specific area adjacent to their computer, where the student is taking their exam. This captures video and sound to provide a complete monitoring solution and to ensure other electronic devices, people, or supplemental external resources are not being used to assist the student in answering exam questions. Asking the student to check a box in the startup phase of their exam acknowledging they understand their institutions academic integrity policy and what is – or is not – allowed to be used when taking their exam can act as a deterrent against their engaging in academic dishonesty. Wilkinson’s descriptive research (2008) found that students engaged in cheating behaviors due to lack of knowledge of their institution’s academic integrity policy or lack of understanding what constituted a cheating violation for a particular course. If this information is presented to the online learner prior to them starting their virtual exam session, a student would be imprudent from using this as an excuse for their cheating actions.
Requiring students to complete a risk-free assessment, such as a two-question sample test, would allow students to exhibit their mastery of downloading the virtual proctoring software and completing the authentication steps required to successfully proceed through the test startup sequence. Completion of the no-risk sample test also models the navigation routine that will be the staple of the course for the student’s exam taking sessions in the online learning course. The sample test can also be an easy yet effective best practice for reducing online student anxiety (St. Clair, 2015). Instructors can then review the student’s sample test and address any problems before the first course exam. Knowing that their instructor will be reviewing their recorded exam session can affirm for the student the importance of academic integrity in this digital society forum.
Many institutions offering online learning courses and who are concerned with the academic security of these digital learning environments are implementing virtual proctoring software designed to protect against academic dishonesty behaviors in their students (Baron & Crooks, 2005). Utilizing virtual proctoring tools while students take online exams can provide the instructor reasonable assurance that academic integrity has been maintained (Cluskey et al., 2011). Virtual proctoring seeks to dissuade the perception that cheating on exams is easier and more common among online learning students (Bartini, 2008). Research by Bedford, Gregg, and Clinton (2009), on both faculty and students, showed that virtual proctoring may be a valuable resource to higher education online learning programs because of its functionality, low cost, and help in deterring students from engaging in acts of academic dishonesty by cheating. Furthermore, the use of a virtual proctor is at least as trustworthy as a human proctor (Marcus et al., 2008) while upholding exam integrity, academic rigor and university standards of a quality education.
Pedagogical Experiences with Cheating Violations.
When I first began teaching undergraduate courses in the online learning environment, the university’s psychology department required the online learning student to take their course exams in the presence of a human proctor. In addition to the set of human eyes watching for overt acts of academic dishonesty, the human proctors could discretely capture screenshots if they saw or suspected the student to be looking up information on the Internet. It was during my third term of teaching that my first incident of a student looking up exam content on the Internet while taking her exam was detected by the human proctor. Over the course of the next two years, six more students were caught looking up exam content on the Internet while actively taking their exams and being proctored by a human. This institution had a clear, detailed academic integrity policy which outlined what constituted a violation (in this case cheating) as well as the options for how to process the suspected violation (options ranging from a stern dialog with the student to recommending the student be expelled from the university). While there was a scripted policy, there remained a lack of any standard for how to proceed. For each of the violations I processed, the students received a sanction of a failing grade for the course. Aside from the administrative time required to process these cases, the personal stress experienced in addressing these violations was taxing, regardless if it was the first or the seventh violation.
Because of these cheating violations, when I heard that my university was considering the use of virtual proctoring software, I volunteered my course as a pilot for implementing this exam monitoring technology. With training materials offered by the software company, as well as my university’s office of information technology personnel, learning how to build virtual proctoring into my course, with the right balance of constraints, was not complicated. Prior to starting their webcam invigilated exam, the online students needed to install the Respondus LockDown Browser program to prevent them from accessing other websites while taking their online course exam(s). The Respondus software program allowed for me to review the recording of the students taking their (submitted) exams within 24 hours of the exam-taking session. There were options to view each student’s exam session in its entirety or to review randomly timed thumbnail images of the student. I could also watch before or after times when the software detected something unusual (e.g. student not in the picture, student looking to the side, another person presents in the image, etc.). Though several instances like these were documented by the software, upon further investigation and review of the exam recording, none showed a student to be cheating or otherwise engaged in unethical behavior. It was in 2014 when my course was piloted using virtual proctoring technology and I continue to use Respondus LockDown Browser and Respondus Monitor for all of my traditional online course exams – which now includes two universities. To date, there remains no academic integrity violations having been detected upon my review of each student’s recorded exam sessions.
Does Virtual Proctoring Deter Students from Cheating?
Within the academic community, it is commonly believed that cheating is more likely to occur in online classes than face-to-face classes (Miller & Young-Jones, 2012). It is perceived that online learning courses lend themselves to cheating by nature of the classroom environment utilized (Poutre et al., 2015). Such pervasive notions exist despite a lack of empirical evidence within the literature to support this comparative idea. Baron and Crooks (2005) conducted a meta-analysis relative to academic dishonesty in online learning settings and concluded both faculty and students believed it was easier to cheat in an online environment than in a traditional classroom setting. Whereas, Watson and Sottile (2010) utilized an academic dishonesty assessment tool with undergraduate and graduate university students deducing there were no significant differences in the student’s’ admission of cheating for live (face to face) and online courses. When querying the benefit of a virtual proctor in preventing students from cheating, Moten, Fitterer, Brazier, Leonard, and Brown (2013) found that 43% of their student participants thought the use of a webcam would prevent cheating. Karim, Kaminsky, and Behrend’s (2014) experimental study found that remote proctoring did not directly affect test-taker reactions and performance, but it did decrease instances of cheating. Thus, technology innovations such as virtual proctoring are improving instructor confidence that online summative assessments can be as secure as those completed in the presence of a human proctor (James, 2016).
Previous research about what propels students to engage in acts of academic dishonesty support these conclusions. Lim and Coalter (2006) reported that students are less likely to cheat if they perceive faculty to hold matters of academic integrity in high regard, if faculty respond appropriately to violations, and if faculty enforce institutional policy regarding acts of dishonesty. Professors are sometimes criticized for testing students on the memorization of formulas and equations that they would have access to in the working world electronically (Hodgkinson, Curtis, Macalister, & Farrell, 2015). It has been suggested that students may feel cheating is justified in retaliation for trick questions or being tested on material not adequately covered in the course (Cizek, 1999 as cited in Hodgkinson et al., 2015). Harding (2001) found that students were less likely to cheat if the test was perceived as fair. Wilkinson (2008) concluded the top eight common reasons for students to cheat included:
not understanding the rules of referencing, laziness or bad time management skills, easy access to material via the Internet, the student is not aware they are doing anything wrong, not feeling like they will get caught or penalties if they are caught are insignificant, wanting to get a better grade, and badly designed assessments. (p. 102)
The Internet has allowed for different methods of cheating that were impossible before its widespread popularity, but it is unclear whether students have dropped their old methods of cheating and replaced them with techniques involving technology (Heneghan, 2012). Students should be increasingly aware that they leave digital footprints in their work. For example, from my own experience shared above – when students looked up information while taking their exams, the technology utilized provided evidence through the content captured in a screenshot. Using a virtual proctor, the “eye” of the webcam documents the student’s every move. If any cheating was taking place, the exam recording would offer the instructor evidence of an academic integrity violation that could then be provided as indisputable evidence should that level of inquisition be rendered.
Conclusions.
Academic dishonesty in the form of cheating on examinations remains an issue in traditional (seated) classroom environments as well as in the digital age of online learning environments. Within the academic community, there is dissonance among researchers regarding increased prevalence of cheating in online classes compared to face-to-face classes (Baron & Crooks, 2005; Miller & Young-Jones, 2012; Watson & Sottile, 2010). Students may try to cheat, regardless of being proctored by a human or by a webcam, because students who make the choice to cheat will find a method for attempting such regardless of the learning environment. While institutional efforts occur to reduce acts of academic dishonesty, the pressure on students to succeed (or the belief that cheating is an easier way out) remains a part of human nature for some college students. Educators should not assume that students know what constitutes academic integrity. They need models of good practices and guidance on appropriate digital behavior; including needing new ways to monitor student behavior during their online course exam sessions. By instilling in college students the importance and value of ethical behavior, and using tools like virtual proctoring to convey a message of importance regarding academic integrity, institutions are then contributing to a greater ethical society.
We cannot teach behaviors of academic honesty if integrity is not part of the university’s culture (Fang, 2012). Holding students accountable for their actions of violating university policies on academic integrity is demonstrating a greater societal value of personal integrity and expectation that students will perform ethically in a digital society. Being consistent with student accountability and following through with consequences has been found to be one of the most useful ways to decrease instances of academic dishonesty (Hulsart & McCarthy, 2008). Although various techniques can serve to detect or minimize cheating, universities have a greater responsibility to teach students about the ethical implications of academic cheating (Fang 2012). In the online learning environment, in particular, utilizing virtual proctoring tools with students taking exams can provide the professor reasonable assurance that academic integrity has been maintained (Cluskey et al., 2011), thus upholding academic integrity standards. As the virtual proctoring technology continues to improve, further research specifically regarding its effectiveness in deterring students from engaging in cheating behaviors while taking their online course exams is encouraged. The use of virtual proctoring technology to uphold academic integrity standards as a cornerstone for a quality educational experience while not compromising academic rigor, especially in the online learning environment, should be considered by all university administrators and instructors. | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Learning_in_the_Digital_Age_(Asino_et_al.)/1.04%3A_Virtual_Proctoring_and_Academic_Integrity.txt |
Abstract. This article answers questions about what a personal learning network is, why you might want to build one, and how to create one for yourself to experience the benefits it has to offer.
What is a Personal Learning Network?
One of the strengths of the digital environment is its highly networked nature and this is particularly relevant for personal learning networks where access to information and resources far surpasses anything that has come before both in terms of variety and volume. Further, in such an environment information changes more rapidly than ever before, and individuals need to engage in ongoing learning to keep pace, be it in a professional, personal or civic capacity. At one time it was adequate to read a daily newspaper, a magazine or two on special topics of interest and perhaps belong to an organization of interest that had conferences or meetings once or twice a year. In the past, an education typically set one up for life in the work of their choice and while there were changes in fields or topics of interest, they happened slowly, in terms of years. In the digital world of the 21st century, however, this is no longer the case and information can change in days, weeks or months. An excellent tool for handling quickly expanding and growing data is to create a Personal Learning Network (PLN) (Delaney & Redman, 2014; Perez, 2012; Trust, 2012).
PLN’s consist of formal and informal networks of individuals with similar goals and interests who interact using digital tools to share information, learn from each other, problem solve and collaborate (Ferguson, 2010; Nelson, 2012; Perez, 2012; Trust, 2012). They provide a vehicle for lifelong learning for both personal and professional development by enabling individuals to remain relevant in a world of rapidly changing information. While PLN’s can encompass both digital and face to face connections (Perez, 2012) the focus of this discussion will be on digital learning networks and why they are significant to learning in a digital age.
In addition, PLN’s provide far greater resources and information than one can muster alone or in a small group (Ross, Maninger, LaPrairie, & Sullivan, 2013). Ferguson (2010, p. 13) emphasizes this point when he says, “Before I built my professional learning network, I did all my learning by myself. If I needed to understand something for a new unit, I researched it on my own…. A PLN is a community of individuals around the world who are learning together.” Even though Ferguson specifically mentions a professional learning network, the mechanics of how the network functions is much the same as in a personal learning network, just with a different focus. The key point here is the idea of “learning together”. Within a networked environment there is less emphasis on singular sources of expertise and instead, a focus on dialogue and constructing knowledge as a group comes into play. This is facilitated by the speed with which conversations take place in a digital environment where people can connect across the globe in minutes and hours instead of weeks, months or years.
While the characteristics of a PLN include fast access to massive amounts of information, a successful PLN is also characterized by participants who are highly self-motivated and curious. Without people who have a passion for learning, a PLN would not be as valuable. Further, the ability to build one’s own network makes it possible to develop a highly customized approach to learning. As you will see, building a PLN gives one the freedom to develop tools, skills and knowledge that specifically suit one’s learning needs.
Tools for building a PLN.
A digital PLN can reflect a variety of tools and methods, depending on individual preferences and goals. Most people will develop a variety of tools for a well-rounded learning network that meets all of their needs. An easy way to think about building a PLN is to decide what functionality you need. For example, one requirement of a PLN is to gather the information that helps one stay current with developments in a particular field or interest area. Blogs, RSS feeds, email lists, websites, news groups and podcasts can provide a steady stream of up to date information. To take advantage of the experience of a wider variety of people and practitioners, another way to connect is through social networking tools. Some are smaller and focused on a specific subject such as Edmodo, Classroom 2.0 or the Educator’s PLN while others are much bigger and provide a single tool for tracking a variety of topics and information such as Twitter, Linked-in and Pinterest. Websites such as these provide an opportunity to both share and receive new information as well as find support, collaborators and thoughtful discussions.
While informal networks and learning opportunities are a hallmark of PLN’s it is not uncommon to include formal learning tools as well. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCS) are offered by many colleges and universities. They are free and can offer opportunities to fold new topics and information into one’s existing expertise. ITunes-U has a large selection of lectures from multiple colleges and universities and there are also a number of websites offering online classes on a variety of topics such as Udemy and Khan Academy. Even YouTube is a good bet for finding instructional information for specific skills and topics. In short, a PLN is what each individual wants it to be and it reflects each individual’s personal passions, motivations and desire to know (Moreillon, 2016; Nelson, 2012).
What a PLN Might Look Like
Informal Learning Formal Learning Social Networking
• Blogs
• Pinterest
• Youtube
• RSS Feeds
• Udemy
• Podcasts
• Online Book clubs/groups
• Khan Academy
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Snapchat
Figure 1. Categories of learning for a personal learning network (Green, 2017).
How to build a PLN.
Because there is such a wide variety of available tools and goals for PLN’s not everyone’s PLN will look the same. In addition, the tools for inclusion are always changing and some have different features and benefits. Given the variety of different tools available, it may be intimidating to get started so this last section offers some advice about how to start and build a successful PLN. The following can suggest a typical path towards developing a PLN.
The best way to get started is to choose a specific tool and work with it until it feels comfortable (Trust, 2012). Setting up sources for current information is a good place to start and member organizations’ websites have a lot to offer. For example, if one has an interest in world drumming and participating in drum circles, one might start the web site http://www.worldmusicdrumming.com/. They have a resources list, provide workshops, and they have a Facebook page. This is a great start and it connects me with an organization that caters to my personal interest and to a Facebook page where I will engage with other people who share my passion for drumming. Once I begin checking the Facebook page I find a really interesting post about an African song. A few clicks later I have landed on http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/ where I find a lengthy article about traditional afro-Cuban music.
At this point I have an organizational website with information that is updated maybe monthly, a Facebook page that appears to be very active with posts every day and a related blog that is also updated at least every couple of days. This is a really good start to a PLN. At some point I may decide to take a drumming class, either online or in person and that organization will likely have a web presence that I can add to my PLN. I may also decide I need some help with a specific instrument and seek out some YouTube videos on how to play it and I can create a personal YouTube channel with my favorite videos. The important things to remember are “don’t try to read everything” and spend consistent time cultivating your sources (Perez, 2012).
A final step to consider in developing a PLN is to think about contributing your own information. The one thing that makes a PLN an excellent way to learn is to contribute your own information and expertise. Without people who contribute, a PLN would stagnate quickly. Nobody wants to hang out on a Facebook page where the last post was three months ago. So, when developing a social networking presence don’t lurk, actively participate and separate the professional from the private (Perez, 2012).
Now that one has a PLN the last tip is to tend to it. Without attention and care, the PLN will not be useful and interest will wane. Think of it as a garden. Sometimes planting, sometimes weeding, sometimes harvesting but always tending the garden so that it grows and is productive. Occasionally a resource may stop being useful so remove it. Other times a new, interesting resource can be added. Whatever the decision, keep in mind that this is your PLN and it is designed to serve your needs. There are no right and wrong ways to go about it. So, as one network source grows and matures expanding to another tool or community can help fill any gaps in the first one.
Conclusion.
In setting up a PLN, variety is a key factor to success. Engaging in different communities with different areas of focus will provide a rich environment for learning. This is especially easy to do in a digital environment where one literally has the entire world to draw from as a source of inspiration. There is no need to settle for sources that do not meet your needs. In the end, the important thing is that each individual can select those tools and websites that meet their learning needs. Those will not be the same for everyone and they may change over time as well.
Additional Resources.
How to build a PLN
Characteristics of successful PLN’s | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Learning_in_the_Digital_Age_(Asino_et_al.)/1.05%3A_Personal_Learning_Networks-_Defining_and_Building_a_PLN.txt |
Abstract. Training is invaluable and often required in most industries. To stay competitive, companies must be focused on keeping their employees up-to-date on the latest industry standards and compliant with new regulations. This writing discusses the types of learning and learners, the benefits and concerns of digital learning, and how these learners can embrace the digital platforms.
Introduction.
Training is invaluable and often required in most industries. To stay competitive, leadership must be focused on keeping their employees up-to-date on the latest industry standards and compliant with new regulations. Companies know that it takes time to train employees and time is money. However, many companies do not invest enough time in allowing their employees to be strong digital learners which leads to consequences in the workplace, such as, uninformed workers causing costly workplace errors.
The State of the Industry report released by the Association of Talent Development for 2016 states that “Organizations spent an average of \$1,252 per employee on training and development initiatives in 2015” (ATD Releases 2016 State of the Industry Report, 2016). With this cost, instructor-led training averaged about “49 percent of the learning hours” (ATD Releases 2016 State of the Industry Report, 2016). The remaining 51 percent involves informal learning which includes digital learning. This last percentage represents employees taking control of their education and seeking out learning opportunities through online sources.
The benefits of digital learning for employers are vast, depending on how they choose/allow the use of this type of education. It is a cost-effective benefit as a one-time investment in a digital training course, and can add training for their entire workforce while supplying consistent information to all employees. For example, by utilizing computer-based trainings or videos for newly hired employees, companies can provide training with little effort, consistent messages, and on-demand learning as needed, saving the company money and time. The result is a well-prepared workforce ready to do the job at hand with the latest industry knowledge.
The old-school way of training employees is to put them in a classroom and show a slide presentation while droning on about the material. Many companies still invest in this type of learning as they feel it works for them. However, employees do not find it interesting enough to pay attention and the instructors grow tired of teaching the same material over and over. Another traditional way of educating workers is on-the-job training (OJT). Although this can be far more valuable than classroom training, OJT is not often consistent. One mentor may teach how he would do the job while another may show a completely different way. Digital learning addresses these issues of consistency and helps ensure a systematic way of learning for new and existing employees.
Software tools have made it easy to create fun, interactive learning experiences. Images spin and turn, text flows with the audio, and the user can click on buttons and icons to learn the topic. These online courses ensure consistency in what is being taught and how it is being presented while keeping the tactile employee engaged. It eliminates the saying of “that’s the way we’ve always done it” and embraces the concept that learning does not have to be “one-size-fits-all”. The options that digital learning provides are endless and always changing for the better.
Types of Learning
LinkedIn Learning conducted a study on the state of learning in the workplace. They sum up the status with one statement... "But the L&D industry is complicated, with varying structures, shifting priorities, disruptive technologies and multiple audiences to appease. It's a lot to keep tabs on, and it's becoming increasingly more complex as new skills and new ways of learning emerge." (2017 Workplace Learning Report, 2017, p. 3). These surveys provide much information about current and future state of learning in the corporate world. You can review the latest report here.
The advent of the internet has opened many doors for learners. People no longer have to visit the library to learn something new. With the click of a button or two, the information needed is readily available. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have provided a realm for users to learn college-type courses for free at their convenience. This has been beneficial for workers and the workplace as employees can advance their knowledge on specific topics in their free time. Most corporate environments have embraced the digital tools available for their employees to learn new techniques, maintain regulatory compliance, and build their leadership skills.
Some of the many digital platforms and tools through which users can learn include YouTube, computer-based training, online forums, and application communities. There are a multitude of sites that offer online training, many of which are free or low cost. EBooks or audiobooks are an ever-evolving way of learning the most up-to-date material as these are easy to maintain with the latest information. There are even applications where the user can highlight and bookmark pages within the eBook making the virtual textbook a good alternative to the hard copy textbook.
For learners who do not have time to sit through a lecture, they can now participate in one online at their leisure. These can be pre-recorded or live. Podcasts make learning easy for users as they drive to work, exercise, or are waiting at the doctor’s office. To take digital learning even further, training designers have the capabilities to create simulations for learners to apply their knowledge in a situation where mistakes are virtual and learning experiences include operating rooms, science experiments, and car repairs.
The offerings of these tools are endless with topics suitable for anyone’s learning needs. Luckily, users can decide what they want to learn and when. The tools available are vast and employees are only constricted by their own schedules.
Types of Learners
When referring to learners in the corporate world, one must realize there are several types of learners. There are those new and unskilled employees who require intensive training, those employees who know the job but need a refresh of knowledge, and existing and new leaders who need more coaching or want to advance their positions. There are also varying industry learners. For example, mechanics will need different training in comparison to accountants. Many companies delegate their employees to different levels and train them depending on their knowledge and experience level. No matter what kind of learner, the digital tools available can be applied to every type of learner.
Generational differences are also a part of the different types of learners. Employers appreciate employees with skills to develop themselves inexpensively and conveniently (Will Online Learning Replace the Classroom?, 2014). Baby Boomers and Gen Xers may be more hesitant to learn digitally, but Millennials and GenEdgers embrace it. Employers must recognize these generational differences and provide outlets for all of these diverse learning groups. This is often easier said than done. Developing programs that can address the learning needs of various generations is a daunting task. By taking the specific company’s workforce differences into account, employee specific training can be identified and developed. This is the responsibility of the company to recognize the company and employee needs and develop appropriate learning opportunities.
Among these types of learners, there are also differing levels of engagement. When an employee is highly engaged, he or she will actively seek learning opportunities. When companies do not provide enough training, then these employees tend to go digital to see what they can learn on their own. This new-found learning can enhance these employees’ existing departments or, unfortunately, take them elsewhere. The opposite extreme is the actively disengaged employee who does not want to learn much of anything for their existing job as he or she has lost motivation for the job. This employee may be using digital learning opportunities to try and enter a different field of work altogether.
Basically, there are a few types of informal learning that digital learning falls into. These include career-driven, on-demand, and social learning (Designing Learning for a 21st Century Workforce, 2012). Career-driven employees are those who want to advance in their careers and will seek out training opportunities to help with their goals. These employees often locate training sessions that will increase their own knowledge and possibly grow them into a leadership role. The on-demand learners want to learn when it is convenient for them. It may be work related or not, but they find a need to answer a question and want to search for ways to learn about it. Then there is the social learner. This type of learner will not only embrace learning from those around them, but also learning within the group. This is often due to group peer pressure. They find what they need and decide if they want to learn more. Now, to look at the method of learning in terms of “on-demand learner” or a “social learner”. These would be ways a motivated learner might learn. “On-demand” learner uses technology to quickly find answers now. Whereas, a “social” learner will seek out instruction from resources within the organization. This could be to find out how this specific group does this or that. This type of information, often referred to as “tribal knowledge” can’t be found through ‘on-demand’ technology resources. The learner has to talk to someone in the group that has the knowledge they seek. However, the social learner can decide to go online to explore similar content.
The types of learners, whether generational or situational, are going to find ways to learn what they need to maintain or grow their positions and themselves. Companies would be smart to embrace this desired learning and offer courses (along with time to complete) to their employees. The benefits are not only for the employee but also the company.
What Are the Good Things about Digital Learning?
Although the traditional classroom has benefits such as focused learning time and one-on-one time with the instructor, digital learning offers the workplace more flexibility and is more astute to today’s learning situations. MOOCs are readily available courses where the user can decide what they want to learn and when. Just-in-time learning provides the training these employees need at their convenience. The learners may wish to learn a new skill, enhance current knowledge, or even earn credits for a certification.
Workers are busy and on tight schedules. They don’t always have time to spend in a classroom and sometimes these classes are offered at inconvenient times. With video and computer-based training courses available, they can learn when they have a few minutes to spare while waiting on a meeting or at the end of the day. Microlearning lends itself as useful for employees to educate themselves conveniently. With shortened segments, focused on specific topics, microlearning allows the employee to pick what is most important to learn at the time or to complete a small portion of a required training. The flexibility of remote learning is invaluable for learners and companies while having a manageable cost.
With this just-in-time learning, users can pace themselves according to their learning styles and abilities. Learners are in control of their own education. Having the ability to pause, rewind, and fast forward is a powerful tool for digital learners to accommodate their own learning styles. This allows the users to learn the way they prefer and when they want. For example, the learner may not be an avid reader but can listen to a podcast or audiobook with ease. Learning is relative to the situation and today’s tools make it ever so convenient.
Another benefit of online learning is online forums or communities within a similar industry which provides employees with the experience and knowledge of every member. Users simply have to submit a question, and within minutes, they will have the answers they need to do their jobs better. The time it takes to participate in these forums is well worth the return. There are some drawbacks in that the user has to stay active in order to remain up-to-date on the content being discussed. Once again, employers need to embrace this knowledge base and allow time during the day to participate.
One of the best aspects of digital learning is that it is customizable. An aerospace company can adjust a course on sales tactics to fit their sales team. An oil and gas company can create a training course that meets OSHA standards but also addresses specific issues to the company. This flexibility provides valuable training to employees rather than just completing a requirement. Also, companies no longer require dedicated instructors when working with digital material. This alleviates some of the training costs and ensures consistent training content for their employees, especially since the content can be taught to a large number of employees all at once. Remember that training takes time and time is money. There is no reason not to make it valuable for everyone.
What Could Possibly Go Wrong with Digital Learning?
A company must make digital tools accessible to employees while on the job, which has proven to be difficult in some industries. Digital security is a huge issue that many companies must manage in order to keep their information protected. While locking down their systems, they are also blocking users from the valuable tools only available online. Workplaces need to understand that if they want additional training sources available to employees, then they need to review their internet policies and find ways to secure access for their workers. Employees should also have the ability to reach out to IT and ask for permission to various sites of learning as necessary.
One way around some of the digital security issues is for employers to create their own internal digital training or purchase it from a vendor to be loaded into the organization’s learning platform. When companies implement computer-based training (CBT), they are offering just-in-time learning to their employees. Unfortunately, not all CBT courses are well monitored for their value and end up giving the employees a chance to simply check a box and no learning takes place. This is where traditional learning has leverage. Employees need to have time allotted to their learning throughout the workday, and employers need to recognize the importance of these learning opportunities while ensuring the provided courses are value-added.
Learners may not make as much effort while taking a course when there is little monitoring and expectations of participation. Without the human interaction, users can find it difficult to stay engaged. The courses are created at the time of usage and cannot be tailored to the user’s needs. The dynamic between the learner and facilitator is lost in cyberspace. It becomes prescriptive learning that does not always work for everyone in the audience. Online learning proposes a remedy for situations with few solutions without giving the user options to apply within their own organization or situation.
Taking a CBT or webinar is convenient, but what if the learner has a question? There is no way to instantly ask the instructor. The learner can send an email and hope for a prompt answer, but that is usually not the case. The user ends up having to search for their own answers or just be satisfied with not knowing all the information.
Another situation is that digital learners must be aware that not everything is true on the internet, so they must be aware of reputable learning sites. Just because it is read on the interwebs, does not mean that it is true. How does a digital learner distinguish between what is real and fantasy? Lots of research! Don’t ever settle for one explanation on one website. The user must always be looking for alternate solutions for all problems and situations.
When companies invest time and money into digital learning, they must remain vigilant to the effectiveness of the education being received by their employees. This is not an easy task but enhances the benefits of these digital learning opportunities. Commitment to improving their workforce is the first step.
What Does the Learner Get Out of It?
Competition in today’s workforce can be fierce. Employees must do more than obtain a degree to stay competitive. Certifications help maintain requirements, but don’t always mean eligibility to do a job. Increasing one’s knowledge in relevant subjects is necessary to ensure adequate employee placement. Unfortunately, not all companies offer career advancement training opportunities. Employees must take their education into their own hands and seek out training courses that will help them grow.
Building a personal learning network (PLN) can be invaluable to these workers when trying to keep up with the latest trends in their industry and trying to grow themselves personally or into a leadership position. Sites like LinkedIn, Twitter, association websites, and industry blogs are tools that all digital learners need in their PLN. With so many websites devoted to specific topics, enhancing one’s PLN takes time and cannot be accomplished overnight. However, this is an easy way to keep their knowledge current and forward-looking.
Since career growth is important to most employees, digital learning offers a greater access to training opportunities for the user. Utilizing digital learning options can help a worker grow into a new role, officially or not. With all of the digital learning options, users can determine what material they prefer to learn and follow it to more learning material suiting their styles.
Ultimately, digital learners obtain the knowledge they want out of the learning situations they are placed in. Experienced learners will know how to obtain the information they are seeking and where to apply this knowledge.
Closing.
Companies have a choice: they can choose to stay in the past and only utilize classroom training while not embracing digital learning, or they can welcome the new age of learning along with the benefits that it affords. If they choose not to accept this renewed way of learning, then they could end up with a disengaged workforce who is not learning the necessary skills to stay current in today’s trades. Having employees who know what they want to learn and how to achieve it is invaluable. Employers will be wise to listen and observe what is happening in their workplace and embrace the changes that are occurring. | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Learning_in_the_Digital_Age_(Asino_et_al.)/1.06%3A_Digital_Learners_in_the_Workplace.txt |
AbstractThis chapter is intended to provide a framework and understanding of digital literacy, what it is and why it is important. The following pages explore the roots of digital literacy, its relationship to language literacy and its role in 21st century life.
Introduction
Unlike previous generations, learning in the digital age is marked by the use of rapidly evolving technology, a deluge of information and a highly networked global community (Dede, 2010). In such a dynamic environment, learners need skills beyond the basic cognitive ability to consume and process language. In other words: To understand what the characteristics of the digital age, and of digital learners, means for how people learn in this new and changing landscape, one may turn to the evolving discussion of literacy or, as one might say now, of digital literacy. The history of literacy contextualizes digital literacy and illustrates changes in literacy over time. By looking at literacy as a historical phenomenon, the characteristics of which have evolved over time, we can glean the fundamental characteristics of the digital age. Those characteristics in turn illuminate the skills needed in order to take advantage of digital environments. The following discussion is an overview of digital literacy, its essential components and why it is important for learning in a digital age.
Moving from Literacy to Digital Literacy
Literacy refers to the ability of people to read and write (UNESCO, 2017). Reading and writing then, is about encoding and decoding information between written symbols and sound (Resnick, 1983; Tyner, 1998). More specifically, literacy is the ability to understand the relationship between sounds and written words such that one may read, say and understand them (UNESCO, 2004; Vlieghe, 2015). Literacy is often considered a skill or competency and is often referred to as such. Children and adults alike can spend years developing the appropriate skills for encoding and decoding information.
Over the course of thousands of years, literacy has become much more common and widespread with a global literacy rate ranging from 81% to 90% depending on age and gender (UNESCO, 2016). From a time when literacy was the domain of an elite few, it has grown to include huge swaths of the global population. There are a number of reasons for this, not the least of which are some of the advantages the written word can provide. Kaestle, (1985) tells us that “literacy makes it possible to preserve information as a snapshot in time, allows for recording, tracking and remembering information, and sharing information more easily across distances among others” (p. 16). In short, literacy led “to the replacement of myth by history and the replacement of magic by skepticism and science. Writing allowed bureaucracy, accounting, and legal systems with universal rules and has replaced face-to-face governance with depersonalized administration” (Kaestle, 1985, p. 16). This is not to place a value judgement on the characteristics of literacy but rather to explain some of the many reasons why it spread.
There are, however, other reasons for the spread of literacy. In England, throughout the middle ages literacy grew in part, because people who acquired literacy skills were able to parlay those skills into work with more pay and social advantages (Clanchy, 1983). The great revolutions of the 19th and 20th centuries also relied on leaders who could write and compatriots who could read as a way to spread new ideas beyond the street corners and public gatherings of Paris, Berlin, and Vienna. Literacy was perceived as necessary for spreading information to large numbers of people. In the 1970’s Paulo Freire insisted that literacy was vital for people to participate in their own governance and civic life (Tyner, 1998). His classic “Pedagogy of the Oppressed” begins from the premise that bringing the traditional illiterate and uneducated into learning situations as partners with their teachers awakens the critical conscience necessary as a foundation for action to foment change (Freire, 1973). UNESCO (2004) also acknowledges the role that literacy plays in enabling populations to effect change and achieve social justice aims. They speak even more broadly, moving beyond the conditions necessary for revolution, contending that literacy is a fundamental right of every human being, providing employment opportunities, and the fundamental skills necessary to accrue greater wealth and improve one’s quality of life.
Although the benefits of literacy were a driving force in its spread, technological advances also enabled the spread of literacy to greater and greater numbers of people. From stamped tokens, tally sticks and clay tablets, to ancient scrolls, handwritten volumes, the printing press, typewriters, and finally computers, technology is largely responsible for driving the evolution of literacy into the particular forms of encoding and decoding information associated with the digital age. Technology has made it possible for literacy to move from the hands of the few to the hands of the masses and to morph into a digital environment with characteristics extending far beyond anything that has been seen before.
Not only did computers and electronic technology deliver literacy into the hands of many but also created an environment that made it possible to store vast amounts of information. Books and libraries led the way to making information easily available to the public, but within the age of computers and the internet the volume of accessible information is larger than ever, more readily available than ever, and changing more quickly than ever before. In the early 21st century, technology continues to develop more quickly than at any time in the past creating an environment that is constantly changing. These changes contribute to the need for different skills beyond traditional literacy skills also called new media literacy (Jenkins, 2018). For a short video on the reasons why digital literacy is important visit “The New Media Literacies” located on YouTube.com and created by the research team at Project New Media Literacies.
Literacy in the Digital Age
If literacy involves the skills of reading and writing, digital literacy requires the ability to extend those skills in order to effectively take advantage of the digital world (ALA, 2013). More general definitions express digital literacy as the ability to read and understand information from digital sources as well as to create information in various digital formats (Bawden, 2008; Gilster, 1997; Tyner, 1998; UNESCO, 2004). Developing digital skills allows digital learners to manage a vast array of rapidly changing information and is key to both learning and working in an evolving digital landscape (Dede, 2010; Koltay, 2011; Mohammadyari & Singh, 2015). As such, it is important for people to develop certain competencies specifically for handling digital content.
People who adapt well to the digital world exhibit characteristics enabling them to develop and maintain digital literacy skills. Lifelong learning is a key characteristic necessary for handling rapid changes in technology and information and thus, critical to digital literacy. Successful digital learners have a high level of self-motivation, a desire for active modes of learning and they exercise the ability to learn how to learn. Maintaining and learning new technical skills also benefits learners in the digital age and an attitude of exploration and play will help learners stay engaged and energized in a world where speed of change and volume of information could otherwise become overwhelming (Dede, 2010; Jenkins, 2018; Visser, 2012). A final characteristic of a digital learner includes the ability to engage in a global network with a greater awareness of one’s place and audience in that network. Together, these characteristics of the digital age guide us in understanding what traits a learner will require to be successful in the digital environment. The following section will help understand what lies at the intersection of digital skills and traits of successful digital learners by reviewing existing digital literacy frameworks.
Reviewing Existing Frameworks for Digital Literacy/ies
Digital literacy is alternately described as complicated, confusing, too broad to be meaningful and always changing (Heitin, 2016; Pangrazio, 2014; Tyner, 1998; Williams, 2006). Due to this confusion, some feel it best to completely avoid the term digital literacy altogether and instead opt for the terms such as digital competencies (Buckingham, 2006), 21st century skills (Williamson, 2011) or digital skills (Heitin, 2016). Another way to sort out the confusion is to look at digital literacy as multiple literacies (Buckingham, 2006; Lankshear & Knobel, 2008; UNESCO, 2004)
Here, I take the latter approach and look at digital literacy as a collection of literacies each of which play a significant role in learning in a digital world. Ng (2012), operationalizes digital literacy as a framework of multiple, specific competencies which, when combined, form a cohesive collection of skills. By taking this approach, we link the characteristics of the digital environment as well as those of the digital learner not to a single digital skill but rather a set of digital literacy practices. In this way, we can consider the various skills needed to navigate the digital world in an organized and consistent manner.
Ng (2012) proposes a three-part schema for discussing the overlapping functional characteristics of a digitally competent person: technical, cognitive, and social (see Figure 1).
Technical literacy, also referred to as operational literacy, refers to the mastery of technical skills and tasks required to access and work with digital technology such as how to operate a computer; use a mouse and keyboard; open software; cut, copy and paste data and files, acquire an internet connection and so on (Lankshear & Knobel, 2008). The cognitive area of digital literacy focuses on activities such as critical thinking, problem solving and decision making (Williamson, 2011) and includes the ability to “evaluate and apply new knowledge gained from digital environments”(Jones-Kavalier & Flannigan, 2006, p. 5). The third of Ng’s three categories – social literacies – covers a wide range of activities which together constitute the ability to communicate in a digital environment both socially and professionally, understand cyber security, follow “netiquette” protocols, and navigate discussions with care so as not to misrepresent or create misunderstandings (Ng, 2012). Of particular note, Ng captures the essence of digital literacy by showing how digital literacy exists at the intersection of the technical, cognitive and social aspects of literacy which are referred to as dimensions. Ng’s framework is not, however, a digital literacy framework itself. Instead it provides a vehicle for exploring the various components of digital literacy at a conceptual level while remaining clear that the individual skills are at all times connected to and dependent upon each other.
There are a number of organizations that publish their own framework for digital literacies including the International Society for Technology in Education ICT Skills (ISTE), the American Association of College and Universities (AACU), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the American Library Association (ALA), and the Partnership for 21st Century Skills among others (Dede, 2010). The digital frameworks exhibit many similarities, and a few differences. There are some differences in the terminology and organization of these frameworks, but they all include similar skills. What follows is a brief overview of the different digital frameworks. See Figure 2 for a composite of these frameworks.
Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21)
• Core subjects
• 21st century content
• Learning and thinking skills
• ICT Literacy
American Association of College and Universities
• Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical and Natural World
• Intellectual and Practical Skills
• Personal and Social Responsibility
International Society for Technology in Education ICT Skills
• Creativity and innovation
• Communication and Collaboration
• Research and Information Fluency
• Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
Educational Testing Service
• Access
• Manage
• Integrate
• Evaluate
Society of College, National, and University Libraries (UK)
• Constructing strategies for locating information
• Locating and accessing the information sought
• Comparing and evaluating information obtained from different sources
• Organizing, applying and communicating information
• Synthesizing and building upon information
American Library Association
• Finding
• Understanding
• Evaluating
• Creating
Figure 2. Major Frameworks for 21st Century Skills (American Library Association, 2013; Dede, 2010; SCONUL, 2016; Vockley & Lang, 2008)
Each of the frameworks come from a slightly different angle and will at times reflect the background from which they come. The American Library Association (ALA) framework evolved out of the information literacy tradition of libraries, while the American Association of College and Universities (AACU) and the Society of College and University Libraries (SOCNUL) evolved from higher education perspective, the Partnership for 21st century learning addresses K-12 education, and the ISTE is steeped in a more technical tradition. Even with these different areas of focus the components of each framework are strikingly similar although some in more detail than others. Three of the six specifically address the skills necessary for accessing, searching and finding information in a digital environment while the other three have broader categories in which one might expect to find these skills including, research and information fluency, intellectual skills, and ICT literacy. Cognitive skills required for digital literacy are also covered by all of the frameworks in varying degrees of specificity. Among them one will find references to evaluating, understanding, creating, integrating, synthesizing, creativity and innovation. Finally, four of the six digital frameworks pay homage to the necessity of solid communication skills. They are in turn, referred to as life skills, personal and social responsibility, communication, collaboration, digital citizenship and collective intelligence.
What seems oddly missing from this list of skills is the technical component which only appears explicitly in the ISTE list of skills. The partnership for 21st century learning uses ICT literacy as a designation for the ability to use technology and the ALA, in discussing its framework, makes it clear that technical proficiency is a foundational requirement for digital literacy skills. Even with these references to technical skills the digital literacy frameworks are overwhelmingly partial to the cognitive and social focus of digital skills and technical proficiency tends to be glossed over compared to the other dimensions. Even though technical skills receive relatively little attention by comparison we will assume for this discussion, technical skills are a prerequisite to the other digital skills, and we will look more carefully at each of them in the next section.
To fully understand the many digital literacies, we will use the ALA framework as a point of reference for further discussion using the other frameworks and other materials to further elucidate each skill area. The ALA framework is laid out in terms of basic functions with enough specificity to make it easy to understand and remember but broad enough to cover a wide range of skills. The ALA framework includes the following areas:
• Finding,
• Understanding,
• Evaluating,
• Creating, and
• Communicating
(American Library Association, 2013).
Finding
Finding information in a digital environment represents a significant departure from the way human beings have searched for information for centuries. The learner must abandon older linear or sequential approaches to finding information such as reading a book, using a card catalog, index or table of contents and instead use lateral approaches like natural language searches, hypermedia text, keywords, search engines, online databases and so on (Dede, 2010; Eshet, 2002). The shift from sequential to lateral involves developing the ability to construct meaningful search parameters (SCONUL, 2016) whereas before, finding the information would have meant simply looking up page numbers based on an index or sorting through a card catalog. Although finding information may depend to some degree on the search tool being used (library, internet search engine, online database, etc.) the search results also depend on how well a person is able to generate appropriate keywords and construct useful Boolean searches. Failure in these two areas could easily return too many results to be helpful, vague or generic results, or potentially no useful results at all (Hangen, 2015).
Not immediately obvious, but part of the challenge of finding information is the ability to manage the results. Because there is so much data, changing so quickly, in so many different formats it can be challenging to organize and store it in such a way as to be useful. SCONUL (2016) talks about this as the ability to organize, store, manage and cite digital resources while the Educational Testing Service also specifically mentions the skills to access and manage information. Some ways to accomplish these tasks is through the use of social bookmarking tools such as Diigo, clipping and organizing software such as Evernote and OneNote, and bibliographic software. Many sites, such as YouTube allow individuals with an account to bookmark videos as well as create channels or collections of videos for specific topics or uses. Other websites have similar features.
Understanding
Understanding in the context of digital literacy perhaps most closely resembles traditional literacy in so much as it too, is the ability to read and interpret text (Jones-Kavalier & Flannigan, 2006). In the digital age, however, the ability to read and understand extends much further than text alone. For example, searches may return results with any combination of text, video, sound, and audio as well as still and moving pictures. As the internet has evolved, there have evolved a whole host of visual languages such as moving images, emoticons, icons, data visualizations, videos and combinations of all of the above. Lankshear & Knoble, (2008) refer to these modes of communication as “post typographic textual practice”. Understanding the variety of modes of digital material may also be referred to as multimedia literacy (Jones-Kavalier & Flannigan, 2006), visual literacy (Tyner, 1998), and digital literacy (Buckingham, 2006).
Evaluating
Evaluating digital media requires competencies ranging from evaluating the importance of a piece of information to determine its accuracy and its source. Evaluating information is not new to the digital age, but the nature of digital information can make it more difficult to understand who the source of information is and whether it can be trusted (Jenkins, 2018). When there is abundant and rapidly changing data across heavily populated networks, anyone with access can generate information online, making decisions about its authenticity, trustworthiness, relevance, and significance daunting. Learning evaluative digital skills means learning to ask questions about who is writing the information, why they are writing it, and who the intended audience is (Buckingham, 2006). Developing critical thinking skills is part of the literacy of evaluating and assessing the suitability for the use of a specific piece of information (SCONUL, 2016).
Looking for secondary sources of information can help confirm the authenticity and accuracy of online data and researching the credentials and affiliations of the author is another way to find out more about whether an article is trustworthy or valid. One may find other places the author has been published and verify they are legitimate. Sometimes one may be able to review affiliated organizations to attest to the expertise of the author such finding out where an employee works if they are a member of a professional organization or a leading researcher in a given field. All of these provide essential clues for use in evaluating information online.
Creating
Creating in the digital world makes explicit the production of knowledge and ideas in digital formats. While writing is a critical component of traditional literacy, it is not the only creative tool in the digital toolbox. Other tools are available and include creative activities such as podcasting, making audio-visual presentations, building data visualizations, 3D printing, writing blogs and new tools that haven’t even been thought of yet. In short, all formats in which digital information may be consumed, a digitally literate individual will also want to be able to use in the creation of a product. A key component of creating with digital tools is understanding what constitutes fair use and what is considered plagiarism. While this is not new to the digital age, it may be more challenging to find the line between copying and extending someone else’s work.
In part, the reason for the increased difficulty of finding the line between plagiarism and new work is the “cut and paste culture” of the internet referred to as “reproduction literacy” (Eshet 2002, p.4) also referred to as appropriation in Jenkins’ New Media Literacies (Jenkins, 2018). The question is, what can one change and how much can one change work without being considered copying? This skill requires the ability to think critically, evaluate a work and make appropriate decisions. There are tools and information to help understand and find those answers such as the creative commons. Learning about these resources and learning how to use them is part of this digital literacy.
Communicating
Communicating is the final category of digital skills in the ALA digital framework. The capacity to connect with individuals all over the world creates unique opportunities for learning and sharing information for which developing digital communication skills is vital. Some of the skills required for communicating in a digital environment include digital citizenship, collaboration, and cultural awareness. This is not to say that one does not need to develop communication skills outside of the digital environment but that the skills required for digital communication go beyond what is required in a non-digital environment. Most of us are adept at personal, face to face communication but digital communication needs the ability to engage in asynchronous environments such as email, online forums, blogs and social media platforms where what we say can’t always be deleted but can be easily misinterpreted. Add that to an environment where people number in the millions and the opportunities for misunderstandings and cultural miscues are much more likely.
The communication category of digital literacies covers an extensive array of skills above and beyond what one might need for face to face interactions. It includes competencies around ethical and moral behavior, responsible communication for engagement in social and civic activities (Adam Becker et al., 2017), an awareness of audience and an ability to evaluate the potential impact of one’s actions online. It also includes skills for handling privacy and security in online environments. These activities fall into two main categories of activity including digital citizenship and collaboration.
Digital citizenship refers to one’s ability to interact effectively in the digital world. Part of this skill is good manners, often referred to as “netiquette. There is a level of context which is often missing in digital communication due to physical distance, lack of personal familiarity with people online and the sheer volume of people who may come in contact with our words. People who know us well may understand exactly what we mean when we say something sarcastic or ironic, but those and other vocal and facial cues are missing in most digital communication making it more likely we will be misunderstood. Also, we are also more likely to misunderstand or be misunderstood if we remain unaware of cultural differences amongst people online. So, digital citizenship includes an awareness of who we are, what we intend to say and how it might be perceived by other people we do not know (Buckingham, 2006). It is also a process of learning to communicate clearly and in ways that help others understand what we mean.
Another key digital skill is collaboration, and it is essential for effective participation in digital projects via the internet. The internet allows people to engage with others we may never see in person and work towards common goals be they social, civic or business oriented. Creating a community and working together requires a degree of trust and familiarity that can be difficult to build given the physical distance between participants. Greater awareness must be paid to inclusive behavior, and more explicit efforts need to be made to make up for perceived or actual distance and disconnectedness. So, while the promise of digital technology to connect people is impressive it is not necessarily an automatic transition, and it requires new skills.
Parting thoughts.
It is clear from our previous discussion of digital literacy that technology and technical skills underpin every other digital skill. A failure to understand hardware, software, the nature of the internet, cloud-based technologies and an inability to learn new concepts and tools going forward handicaps one’s ability to engage with the cognitive and social literacies. While there are sometimes tacit references to technical skills and ability, extant digital literacy frameworks tend to focus more on the cognitive and social aspects of digital environments. There is an implied sense that once technical skills are learned, we the digitally literate person can forget about them and move on to the other skills. Given the rapid pace of technological change in the last 40 years, however, anyone working in a digital environment would be well advised to keep in mind that technical concepts and tools continue to develop. It does not seem likely that we will ever reach a point where people can simply take technological skills for granted and to do so would undermine our ability to address the other digital skills.
Another way to think of this is to recognize that no matter what the skill, none of them operate independently of one another. Whether searching, creating, evaluating, understanding or communicating, it is a combination of skills (or literacies) that allow us to accomplish our goals. Thinking critically, and evaluating information and sources leads to sound decision-making. Understanding and synthesizing information is necessary for creating and again the technical tools are necessary for completing the product. Finding information is of little use if one is unable to analyze its usefulness and creating a great video or podcast will not mean much if one is unable to navigate social and professional networks to communicate those works to others. If only understood in isolation, digital literacies have little meaning and can be of little use in approaching digital environments.
Ng’s (2012) conceptual framework reminds us that digital literacy is that space where technical, cognitive and social literacies overlap. A digital skill is not the same thing as digital literacy but the two are fully intwined. Acquiring digital skills is only the beginning of a study of digital literacies, however, and it would be a mistake to stop here. Furthermore, digital literacies span multiple areas including both the cognitive and the social. The real value of digital literacy lies in understanding the synergistic effect of individual digital literacy skills integrated with sets of competencies that enable one to work effectively in the digital world.
Learning Activities.
Literacy Narratives are stories about reading and composing in any form or context. They often include poignant memories that involve a personal experience with literacy. Digital literacy narratives can sometimes be categorized as narratives that focus on how the writer came to understand the importance of technology in his/her life or teaching pedagogy. More often, they are simply narratives that use a medium beyond the print-based essay to tell the story.
Kairos: A Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, and Pedagogy, 20(1), available at http://kairos.technorhetoric.net/20.1/praxis/bourelle-et-al
1. Combining both aspects of the genre, write a piece based on your technological literacy, choosing a medium you feel best conveys the message you want to share with your audience.
2. Find and read 2-4 literacy narratives online that emphasize the use of technology and write a short reflection that discusses the main digital literacies used, summarizes the main points made and describes the elements you felt were most important. Also, describe any digital literacy skills you utilized to complete the assignment.
3. Create your literacy narrative that tells the story of a significant experience of your own with digital literacy. Use a multi-modal tool that includes audio and images or video. Share with your classmates and discuss the most important ideas you noticed in others’ narratives.
4. Compare two of the literacy frameworks in Figure 2. How are they alike? How are they different? Do you like one better than the other? Why or Why not?
Resources.
1. Multi-Media Resources about Digital Literacy
2. Digital Literacy Standards
3. Literacy Resources and Training
4. Resource Library
5. Visual Literacy Resources
6. Digital Literacy Fundamentals
7. Microsoft Digital Literacy
8. 12 Essentials of Digital Literacy
9. US Digital Literacy
10. What are literacy skills? | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Learning_in_the_Digital_Age_(Asino_et_al.)/1.07%3A_Digital_literacies_and_the_skills_of_the_digital_age.txt |
Learning Objectives
Upon reading this chapter, students should be able to do the following:
• Provide a scholarly definition of play.
• Distinguish between key elements of play and work.
• Discuss how playful approaches might impact creativity.
• Articulate challenges inherent in playful activities as incorporated into educational spaces.
• Relate intentional play to personal learning experiences.
• Explicate (develop) a playful process for exploration of a digital resource, identifying, in particular, the intentional incorporation of play cues.
Kennedy and Abby reminisced as they packed Abby’s bags for transition to University. For over a decade, their moms had dragged them along on summer cross-country road trips.
“Remember when we got kicked out of the volcano?”
“Remember that town with donkeys just loose in the street?”
“Remember when we got kicked out of Canada?”
“Remember when the bear took your backpack?”
“Remember the glacier lake and salad margaritas after the accidental six mile hike?”
And the remember that bookended all their remembers–
“Remember when your mom threw the map out of the car window?”
Introduction: What is play? And why do we care?
The difference between play and work has been defined, quite simply, as intent (Harrison & West, 2014; Lotts, 2016; Schultz, Geithner, Woelfel, & Kryzwinkski, 2015). Participation in work is directed by external influences guiding the actor toward specific objectives; work has a clearly defined goal with a measurable outcome (Harrison & West, 2014; Lotts, 2016; Schultz, Geithner, Woelfel, & Kryzwinkski, 2015). Play, in contrast, is identified as an intrinsically motivated, “apparently purposeless” (Harrison & West, 2014, p. 72) practice through which humans “learn how to cope with a complex environment” (Harrison & West, 2014; Lotts, 2016; Schultz, Geithner, Woelfel, & Kryzwinkski, 2015, p. 236). An approach to the construction of learning spaces guided by play theory may improve creativity, innovation, and strategic thinking (Harrison & West, 2014; Lotts, 2016; Schultz, Geithner, Woelfel, & Kryzwinkski, 2015). Effective educators can leverage the strengths of the digital age classroom to facilitate attitudes of play.
Play with some of the digital resources found on this page. Create a post, image, or story describing an activity from both a work and play perspective. Stretch Activity: How did having a suggested end goal impact your playful approach to the resources? Would your experience have been different had you not been presented with an end goal?
Organizations and educational systems employ play.
Through play, participants may consider and progress toward objectives considered work related while employing techniques considered applicable to play (Statler, Heracleous, & Jacobs, 2011). To ease anxiety possibly associated with the pressure to create (Lotts, 2016), organizations and educational systems cultivate attitudes of play by incorporating things and processes generally found outside the adult workplace (Statler et al., 2011). Physical space may include Lego bricks, corporate activities might include physical movement involved in meaning construction (Statler et al., 2011), and meetings might include snacks and toys (Harrison & West, 2014). These “play cues” (Harrison & West, 2014, p. 71) may trigger attitudes in participants empowering them to channel the recursive, engaged, and fun elements of play (Harrison & West, 2014; Lotts, 2016; Statler et al., 2911). Work related objectives, those considered serious, are accomplished through the engagement of techniques more generally associated with play (Statler et al., 2011).
Why cultivate an attitude of play?
Play is considered a means through which technology can be integrated into learning environments, strengthening student proficiency in the development of media skills considered crucial “in an age of information and innovation” (Randolph, Kangas, Ruokamo, & Hyvonen, 2016, p. 418). Engaged through play, participants may feel permission to “behave in new ways” (Harrison & West, 2014, p. 75). Students may be more comfortable engaging in novel behavior and courageous about opening themselves up to variation (Statler et al., 2011). This combination of recursive play process and goal-oriented work facilitates results achieved in a “goal oriented but playful way” (Statler et al., 2011, p. 239). Incorporation of play taps into intrinsic motivation (Harrison & West, 2014), broadens opportunity for novel behavior, and releases new ideas (Schulz et al. 2015).
Play in the Digital Age Classroom
Christopher Ward (2009) used information and communications technology (ICT) to incorporate playful approaches into a secondary level music-making classroom to investigate the impact of play on creativity. He found that the instant feedback inherent in the digital resources enhanced students’ intrinsic motivation and allowed students to “capitalize on spontaneous and accidental action” (Ward, 2009, p. 155). Guided by Miles Davis’ admonition “Do not fear mistakes, there are none” (Ward, 2009, p. 155), students undertook playful explorations with the attitude that nothing accomplished their discoveries and work would not be considered wrong, but might rather be embraced as different. Over the course of the project, Ward (2009) provided sheets offering guidance, but noted they were rarely used by the students, as students playfully preferred to “experiment until something happened that they liked” (p. 163). As students created pieces departing from traditional tonality and re-coded traditional symbols for new use it became apparent that both the playful approach and the use of ICT served to free students’ creativity and empower them as interactive thinkers (Ward, 2009). Ward explained “The students became self-motivating, and were captivated by their ‘play-art’” (2009, p. 154).
What happens next?
Creative skill development can be enhanced through classroom incorporation of playful approaches (Davies et al, 2013). Play is inherent in human nature; educators can incorporate a variety of pedagogical strategies to capitalize on the strengths of this innate approach (Broadhead & van der Aalsvoort, 2009), facilitating playful, active, and participatory experiences and empowering creative learning processes (Randolph et al, 2016). “In a world of digital culture and new technology, novel ways of using information and playful and creative thought have become of paramount importance” (Randolph et al, 2016, p. 419). Technology and digital media help establish the 21st century as an “age of wonder” (Tan, 2015, p. 161). Resources available in the digital age classroom combined with attitudes of play can quicken the minds of students as they experience their world.
Identify a digital resource to present for your students’ playful exploration. What cues might you provide to facilitate their playful approach? Will you suggest an end goal? Why or why not? What challenges might a playful approach present in a necessarily structured learning environment? How can those be addressed? Using Canva.com (or other resources you may playfully have discovered) to create an infographic describing your activity. Address the above questions in a way that others might be able to adopt your approach. Share your completed infographic here. Enjoy each other’s ideas, and share what about those ideas you might incorporate into your classroom. | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Learning_in_the_Digital_Age_(Asino_et_al.)/1.08%3A_Playful_Approaches_to_Learning.txt |
Abstract: A digital divide is an economic and social inequality regarding access to, use of, or impact of information and communication technologies. However, economic or other resource gaps, differences in cultural tastes and preferences of different social classes are factors contributing to disparities in internet use. The digital divide arguably reflects structural factors in advanced societies that give rise to social inequalities in general. This chapter begins with an introduction to the history of expanded internet access across the U.S. and then covers who the digital divide consequentially affected by the expended access. Finally, organizations and resources designed to aid in the closing of the digital divide are presented.
Introduction
A digital divide is an economic and social inequality regarding access to, use of, or impact of information and communication technologies (U.S. Department of Commerce, 1995). Existing literature indicates that the digital divide at the individual level springs from many different sources. Comparisons between educational and occupational groups, income brackets, age groups, and genders have revealed systematic variation in both internet access and the frequency of its use (Hampton, 2010; Lehdonvirta and Räsänen, 2011; Rice and Katz, 2003; van Deursen and van Dijk, 2014). Economic or other resource gaps, differences in cultural tastes and preferences of different social classes are factors contributing to disparities in internet use (Emmison & Frow, 1998; Hargittai & Hsieh, 2010).
The digital divide encompasses differences in both access (first-level digital divide) and usage (second-level digital divide) of computers and the Internet between (1) industrialized and developing countries (global divide), (2) various socioeconomic groups within single nation-states (social divide), and (3) different kinds of users with regard to their political engagement on the Internet (democratic divide) (Schweitzer, 2015).
The digital divide is characterized by two crucial problems:
1. limited and costly infrastructure to support internet access
2. limited digital literacy in low/middle-income communities to use resources
Low/middle-income communities have limited access to digital technologies due to high costs and a general lack of infrastructure, ranging from intermittent supply of electricity to limited availability of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) facilities (Chipeva et. al, 2018; Ziemba & Becker, 2019).
The digital divide arguably reflects structural factors in advanced societies that give rise to social inequalities in general.
How did the digital divide begin?
The first great step in moving the United States to the digital age was the passing of the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 (Lindberg & Humphreys, 1995). The High-Performance Computing Act (HPCA) has also been called the Gore Bill. This bill, created and introduced by then-Senator Al Gore, led to the development of the National Information Infrastructure and the funding of the National Research and Education Network (NREN). The purpose of NREN was to provide internet access to all K-12 students. Al Gore was passionate about providing the same research and information tools to students that were used by businesses and the government. Teachers could use this access to share concepts, ideas, and methodologies with other teachers. Students could use it to communicate with other students and experts in various fields.
The High-Performance Computing Act funded a high-speed fiber-optic network that would eventually become the Internet (Cline & Haynes, 2001). Fiber-optic cables work by light bouncing repeatedly off the walls while traveling down the cables. Fiber-optic cables are now the primary method of transmitting information over long distances because of three main advantages over old-style copper cables (Ko & Qi, 2014):
• Less attenuation: (signal loss) Information travels roughly 10 times further before it needs amplifying—which makes fiber networks simpler and cheaper to operate and maintain.
• No interference: Unlike with copper cables, there’s no crosstalk (electromagnetic interference) between optical fibers, so they transmit information more reliably with better signal quality
• Higher bandwidth: Fiber-optic cables can carry far more data than copper cables of the same diameter.
The Gore Bill led to the funding of the Mosaic browser, to which many scholars attribute the beginning of the internet boom of the ’90s (Wiggins, 2010). The HPCA helped fund the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois, where the Mosaic browser was developed, as well as many other technological initiatives that laid the foundation of today’s modern computer networks and the internet.
Between 1991 and 1996, the number of personal computers in the United States jumped from 300,000 to over ten million (Weiss, 2007). By the mid-1990s the development of internet browsers like Mosaic and Netscape were leading more adventurous users out into a new realm called cyberspace (Weiss, 2007). Email was becoming an increasingly useful application, and officials in the Clinton Administration were beginning to wonder if access to information technology was being fairly distributed. In summer 1995, the new National Telecommunications & Information Administration prepared a report called Falling Through the Net: A Survey of the ‘Have Nots’ in Rural and Urban America (Rapaport, 2009).
In January 1996, the New York Times took up the call, running an article proclaiming, “A New Gulf in American Education, the Digital Divide.” The story compared the availability of computers and internet access at two nearby California Schools. (Students at the less affluent school had to make do with a six-year-old IBM PC, while students at the other, more affluent school were able to go home and work on their own Apple Macintosh computers.) In October 1996, the New York Times reported a story from Georgia titled, “A Nation Ponders Its Growing Digital Divide.” This piece reported that “only 9 percent of American classrooms have access to the internet.” Soon after, the Reverend Jesse Jackson referred to the Digital Divide as “classic apartheid,” while the NAACP’s Kweisi Mfume called it “technological segregation.” Al Hammond and others at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration took the “Digital Divide” one step further, using the term “electronic redlining” (Rapaport, 2009).
Who does the digital divide effect?
The effect of the digital divide is a myth for many people. For those lucky enough to be on the right side of the divide, this issue may be novel. There has been a multitude of studies aimed at understanding not only what the digital divide is, but whom it affects. Many researchers have defined the evolving digital divide in terms of levels (Dolan, 2016). They describe it as a continuum influenced by overlapping factors, such as digital inequity (Dolan, 2016), as “a New Digital Divide” driven by the intersection of race and gender (Jackson et al., 2008), and even as “Digital Divide 2.0” (Vie, 2008).
Researchers found that quantifying the digital divide was a more difficult task because there are various contributors to the divide. In its early stages, the negative effect of the digital divide had disproportionately excluded men. With men being most of the online U.S. population, gender was a notable predictor of internet access. In 2017, The International Telecommunications Union reported that the proportion of women using the internet was 12% lower than the proportion of men; this gender gap widens to 32.9% in the least developed countries (Singh, 2017). And even when a woman gets on a phone or is online, she might face additional hostility. A Web Foundation report states that “women around the world report being bombarded by a culture of misogyny online, including aggressive, often sexualized hate speech, direct threats of violence and harassment involving use of private information for defamation (Web Foundation, 2015).”
By 2001, women had surpassed men as most of the online U.S. population. 2009 Census data suggests that potential disparities in gendered connectivity have become nearly nonexistent; 73% of female citizens three years and older compared to 74% of males could access the internet from their home (Gorski, 2001). This was a very encouraging discovery, as one factor that predicted a lack of internet access has seemingly been resolved. While there is more work to be done, the digital divide is beginning to close.
Economic Disparity.
The Pew Internet and American Life Project was a project that started in 2000 and continues. It is a project that has spanned more than a decade to understand the role of the internet in the American lifestyle. The Pew Internet and American Life Project produces reports exploring the impact of the internet on families, communities, work, and home, daily life, education, health care, and civic and political life (Pew, 2018). The project’s reports are based on nationwide random phone surveys, online surveys, and qualitative research. This data collection is supplemented with research from government agencies, technology firms, academia, and other expert venues. The Project releases the data from 15-20 research projects each year, varying in size, scope, and objective. According to the Pew Report, “Digital Differences,” only 62% of people in households making less than \$30,000 a year used the internet, while in those making \$50,000-74,999 that percentage jumped to 90. Smartphones have helped bridge the divide, as they provide internet access to populations previously at a digital disadvantage. Pew reports that, among smartphone owners, “young adults, minorities, those with no college experience, and those with lower household income levels” are more likely to access the internet primarily through their phones. There are still gaps in high-speed internet access. Only 49% of African Americans and 51% of Hispanics have high-speed internet at home, as compared with 66% of Caucasians. Internet speed has important effects on media access, especially when it comes to streaming video, so this gap is significant.
In a Pew survey of teachers, teachers of low-income students tended to report more obstacles to using educational technology effectively than their peers in more affluent schools. Among teachers in the highest income areas, 70% said their school gave them good support for incorporating technology into their teaching. Among teachers in the lowest income areas, that numbers were just 50%. 56% percent of teachers in low-income schools say that their students’ inadequate access to technology is a “major challenge” for using technology as a teaching aid. 54% of all teachers said their students had adequate internet access at school, but only 18% said their students had adequate access at home. Interestingly, urban teachers are more likely to say students have poor access to the internet at school, while rural teachers are more likely to report that students have poor access at home (Zickuhr, 2012).
Access to resources.
92% of individuals aged 12–17 years go online daily, while 97% of them play computer, web, portal, or console games and 75% of them own a smartphone (Lenhart, 2015). However, not all students have an equal opportunity to access and use computers at home and in schools (Dolan, 2016). Historically, this access disparity has been called the “digital divide,” a definition that focuses on the “haves” and “have-nots” regarding physical access to a computer (Dolan, 2016).
Roughly three-in-ten adults with household incomes below \$30,000 a year (29%) don’t own a smartphone. More than four-in-ten don’t have home broadband services (44%) or a traditional computer (46%). And many lower-income Americans are not tablet owners. By comparison, each of these technologies is nearly ubiquitous among adults in households earning \$100,000 or more a year.
The disparity in online access is also apparent in what has been called the “homework gap” – the gap between school-age children who have access to high-speed internet at home and those who don’t. In 2015, 35% of lower-income households with school-age children did not have a broadband internet connection at home, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.
In 2017, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai reiterated his commitment to bringing high-speed internet services to lower-income communities (Pai, 2017). To review the Federal Communications Commission’s progress toward closing the digital divide, please access the embedded map below.
Bridging the Divide.
Surveys indicate that in the United States, more than 80% of all teachers believe that online learning improves education. While many consider access to technology at home to be critically important to the quality of a student’s education, it is alarming that one-third of all students in America, mostly from low-income households, lack that access in their home settings. Having a computer and internet service at home is no longer a luxury – it is a necessity (Leander, Scharber & Lewis, 2017; Grigoryeva, Abukenova & Gill, 2018). There are numerous initiatives that are designed to address the digital divide, below are two examples.
Cox Communications.
Internet providers are working to provide affordable Internet and devices to low-income students and their families through programs such as the Connect2Compete program by Cox Communications. Cox’s program is open to families with K-12 children who qualify for free or reduced school lunches through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Also, Cox has partnered with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to support its ConnectHome initiative. Families with K-12 children who live in Public Housing, as well as K-12 families who receive Tenant-Based Vouchers, Project-Based Vouchers or Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA), are eligible for Cox’s Connect2Compete discounted internet service offer. Since 2012, nearly 200,000 people have been connected to the internet through Cox’s Connect2Compete program – most of them for the very first time. This is one of the many programs that has been used to bridge the digital divide. In a 2015 survey of parents enrolled in the program, the grades of more than 50% of the students have improved and nearly 50% say their children are more interested in school.
Close the Gap.
Access to information and communication technology (ICT) is essential in the developing world because it is key to improving a country’s educational and economic prospects. However, the cost of new equipment, limited infrastructure and the lack of information technology (IT) knowledge and proficiency mean that many people still have no access to IT. Today, information is seen as one of the major drivers of economic and social development and ICT makes access to information available on an unprecedented scale. The digital divide is not only a divide between people who have access to ICT and people who don’t. It’s also a divide between people who know about ICT and those who don’t, between people who realize the opportunities presented by ICT and those who don’t. It consists of an infrastructure gap, a knowledge gap, and a psychological gap.
Close the Gap (http://close-the-gap.org/) is an international non-profit organization that aims to bridge the digital divide by offering high-quality, pre-owned computers donated by European companies to educational, medical and social projects in developing and emerging countries. Close the Gap collects decommissioned computers from companies and arranges for other organizations to clean the hard disks and then check and configure the hardware according to the requirements of its end-users. The computers are then shipped to the destination country by sea or air transport. Since 2003, Close the Gap has already received more than 250,000 computers from companies all over Europe.
Close the Gap not only provides computers to developing countries, but it also builds partnerships with organizations worldwide to deliver comprehensive software and hardware solutions to its recipients. Today, Close the Gap has supported more than 2,500 projects all over the world. However diverse the projects, they all have one common denominator: a focus on advancing both the individual and the community within a spirit of socio-economical education. By following this principle, Close the Gap is participating in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.
Conclusion.
The digital divide started because of a very progressive effort. The purpose of the National Research and Education Network was to provide internet access to all K-12 students. This effort, while well-founded, generated a divide in access to the internet. This subsequent divide had many contributing factors, including income and gender. Since the identification of the digital divide in 1996, efforts have been made to remedy it. Programs such as Close the Gap and Connect2Compete have been implemented to bridge the digital divide. The authors of this chapter believe that knowledge is power and that as individuals learn more about the prominence of the digital divide, the call to action will increase. Understanding learning in the digital age means understanding the solutions and problems that arise as the world becomes more digital. Many opportunities to aid in bridging the digital divide exist. | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Learning_in_the_Digital_Age_(Asino_et_al.)/1.09%3A_The_Digital_Divide.txt |
Introduction
Learning in the digital age is often positioned in a positive light. After all, it often means having access to varied digital resources that can be accessed by different computing devices including mobile phones. Learning in the digital age also mean connecting people across time and space to form a broader community of learners. All of these are very positive things that cannot be trivialized. However, in this sea of positivity, we must also own the negativity that still remains. Such negative aspects are often related to matter of access. Meaning that while learning in the digital age can conjure up positive images of learning, not everyone can access or equally participate in this new real. Often this problem of access is a result of financial constraints. This chapter addresses the issue access to learning in the digital age. Specifically, I look at financial constraints as a barrier to access, by exploring the #FeesMustFall in southern Africa. The goal of the chapter is to remind that there are many issues that while seen as tangential can directly influence one’s ability to learning in the digital age.
On October 12, 2015, at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg South Africa, what started as a peaceful protest against government’s decision to allow universities to increase fees for the 2016 academic year, and increase government budged to higher education institution (Hodes, 2017), quickly turned into violent riots which spread across the country. The protests quickly spread beyond the borders to neighbouring Namibia.
Namibia, which is a former South African colony, gaining its independence in 1990, has been experiencing economic growth since then; however, there is still a visible economic divide between whites and black Namibians. As a result of previous discriminatory and exclusion systems, many have called for the return of their ancestral land and remedial policies. Although the government has been trying to remedy the results of apartheid through policy, they have only achieved little success due to power imbalances.
Tuition fees have been at the centre of many debates around higher education. In Southern Africa, and particularly South Africa and Namibia where the apartheid history still has visible residue in the socio-economic status of the citizens, tuition fees remain one of the aspects continuing to challenge inequality in the countries (Hopson, 2001; Langa et al., 2017). According to the South Africa History Online (2016), historically black universities such as the University of Fort Hare and Tswane University of Technology have been protesting long before the fees must fall movement erupted, however, they never received any media attention. The fees must fall movement gained media momentum because it started at Witwatersrand, a historically white institution. Another indication of the inequalities left by apartheid.
This study will focus on the Fees Must Fall movement that erupted in South Africa during October 2015 as a central focus through which the paper will examine the impact of such a movement on Namibia’s higher education. The paper will further look at what could be the best funding structure for Namibian higher education institution, considering the history of the country to guard against movements such as fees must fall in the future. As small as the country is, and with only three higher education institutions (Naris & Ukpere, 2010) serving the 2.5 million population, like the rest of the world, there are still challenges in higher education.
The student debt challenge is not unique to Namibia and South Africa alone. In the United States, this challenge is visible through what is known as the student debt crisis, which has become such a topical issue that it has been central to the democratic candidates for the 2020 Presidential elections, with candidates competing on who has the better solution in their campaign.
Namibian history
According to South African history website, in 1884, Germany declared Namibia (then, South West Africa) as its colony. The Germans took occupation of the country from 1888, taking over Herero lands. The Herero and Nama people revolted in 1904 and lasted until 1907. Many were killed in this war, which led to the first genocide of the 20th century, with Germany setting up concentration camps where medical experimentation and executions took place. Over 90,000 Hereros and Namas, which is more than half of their population, was wiped out completely. War continued until Germany was eventually defeated.
During the First World War, South Africa took occupation of Namibia from 1915. In 1920, the League of Nations granted South Africa the mandate to govern Namibia and help it reach its independence; however, South Africa defied the orders. Since then, South Africa took occupation of Namibia as its colony until 1990 when Namibia finally gained its independence through a United Nations resolution. Namibia developed an army which waged war on South Africa in 1966, a war which lasted some 23 years. Many Namibians were dying and going into exile to neighbouring countries, including some leaders such as Andimba Toivo Ya Toivo, who was imprisoned on Robben Island with Nelson Mandela. Namibia was under the same apartheid rule as South Africa. When Namibia gained independence, South Africa was still going through war, and the apartheid government held back Walvis Bay, the harbour town to remain a territory of South Africa. Upon being released from prison and becoming the first President of a free South Africa, Nelson Mandela returned Walvis Bay to Namibia. Walvis Bay is home to the harbour and the fishing sector, which is the third contributing economic sector to the country’s GDP.
Political environment
At independence, the liberation movement, South West Africa People Organization (SWAPO) won the majority vote and became the ruling party. SWAPO originated from OPO (Owamboland People Organization) which was established in northern Namibia by the Aawambo people, the majority of the Namibian population to date. When it gained the country independence, it vowed to become a national builder which has the interest of the country at heart. The founding President, Dr Sam Nujoma was quoted saying “A people united for a common cause will always emerge victorious” as a binding statement to support the party’s “One Namibia, One Nation” campaign. The drive to keep the country together and maintain peace, stability and prosperity has been one of the country’s highest-ranking advantages on multiple indices.
Although the constitution only allows five-year presidential terms renewable once, the first President served three terms of 15 years as the country was seen as vulnerable, fresh out war and was not ready for a change of leadership. Thirty years later, Namibia has had multiple peaceful elections, with three Presidents, all belonging to SWAPO. Small opposition parties have been having trouble gaining support as most people are still voting on emotions of war and trusting their liberator SWAPO. In 2019, however, the incumbent President lost 30% of his support from the previous election, gaining only 56% of the votes from 87% in 2015. Most of these votes were lost to an internal SWAPO candidate who ran as an independent and promised people a new wave of economic freedom. Thirty years after the war, the number of young people has grown, including those who have never experienced war, and only need the “prosperity” that SWAPO has been promising. The independent candidate gained traction with the youth, especially on issues such as inflated land prices, corruption, high education costs and overall poverty that prevails within the country. As a result, the President has started listening to the people.
Economic status
Namibia’s population at independence was 1.4 million, which grew to 2.4 million as of 2018 (World Bank). The country covers an area of approximately 312,000 square miles, making it the second least densely populated country in the world after Mongolia (World Atlas). The country’s Gross Domestic Products (GDP) grew from \$2.79 in 1990 to \$14.52 in 2018. With a GDP per capita of \$5,931, Namibia is ranked by the World Bank as an upper-middle-income country and ranks much higher than many African countries. The main contributors to the GDP are minerals, fishing, tourism and agriculture (Humavindu and Stage, 2013). The country, however, faces high unequal distribution of income and has one of the highest Gini-coefficient in the world at 59.1%, second only to South Africa (World Bank) which is unsurprising considering their shared brutal history. About 70% of Namibians depend on subsistence farming for daily livelihood and survival. Although the country has a vast land, most of it is arid, hence 70% of its imports, especially food still comes from South Africa. As a result, and to ensure a smooth exchange of trade between the two countries the Namibian currency (the Namibian Dollar) is directly pegged to the South African Rand and the Rand is a legal tender in Namibia. The country’s human development index is ranked at 130/189 countries by the UNDP report.
Although education has often enjoyed the largest share of the country’s annual budget, competing priorities of development have been taking part of the pie, and allocation has reduced slightly with 3% in 2019, with higher education receiving only N\$3.1 billion (PWC Budget Report, 2019). The reduction places pressure on institutions of higher education in allocating the resources effectively to ensure effective execution of the education mandate placed on institutions. Although the government has done a considerable good job in reducing poverty from 22.6% in 2009 to 14.6% in 2018 (Du Plessis & Keyter, 2019), there are still significant economic challenges facing the country. The country has been experiencing low economic growth for four years since 2016, leading to high unemployment which reached 33.4% in 2018 (Cirrus Capital). Graduates from higher education institutions are struggling to find jobs in a depressed economy; parents are struggling to pay fees as some are laid off, and others cannot find employment. The value of higher education is not far from being questioned.
Namibia Higher Education
Before the establishment of the Academy for Tertiary Education in 1980, higher education was a privilege enjoyed by the few who could afford to study in South Africa, mainly white Namibians (Hangula et al., 2017). Black Namibians were historically subjected to Bantu Education Act of 1953, a curriculum designed by the apartheid government which was meant to keep black Namibians and South Africans as subhuman and only gain lower-paying jobs (Hopson, 2001).
After independence, two public institutions of higher education were established, the University of Namibia (UNAM) and the Polytechnic of Namibia, now known as the Namibian University of Science and Technology (NUST) to ensure social equity and access. UNAM was established in 1992 while NUST was established two years later in 1994, both by Acts of Parliament, 18 and 38 respectively (Nust Home). In 2018, UNAM had a total enrollment of 28,217 students (UNAM Statistics Office, 2018) while NUST had 11,235 (Annual Report, 2018). UNAM is a larger institution compared to NUST, which was only conferred a university status recently and hence had a more significant number of enrolled students, which also means they receive a larger share of funding from the government.
Sufficiently funding higher education could improve the socio-economic status of the country. If the current public institutions are not well funded, it means they cannot produce competent graduates. A lack of skilled labour in the country can only worsen the socio-economic status, increase poverty and unemployment, and the circle continues (Du Plessis & Keyter, 2019). In developing government policy of financing higher education; therefore, all these factors should be considered. Well-funded institutions will have great resources for students, and students would likely reduce protest activities. In the 2019/20 government budget, UNAM was set to receive N\$912 million while NUST would receive N\$500 million, a ration somewhat aligned with their student enrollment.
Another body administers most of the student loans, the Namibian Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF), which was established by the government. NSFAF has been marred by maladministration and board/executive infighting that its effectiveness has been compromised. Many students graduate and continue working without ever paying back the loans, leaving the body short of cash to provide funding for others.
Other means of funding higher education is student loans from commercial banks. The country is home to four major commercial banks, three (First National Bank, Standard Bank and Nedbank) of which are of South African origin and one (Bank Windhoek) was established in Namibia during apartheid. None of the banks is owned by indigenous Namibians, which often proves challenging to those from poor socio-economic backgrounds to access financing, as their products are not tailored for the poor.
Households further contribute to fees for those unable to secure any other form of funding. According to the Bank of Namibia Financial Stability Report of 2020, Namibian households spend over 70% of their disposable income servicing debt facilities, with a high risk of increasing due to the current low economic performance. This number excludes non-banking financial institutions such as micro-lenders, which if included will bring that number to 90%. This shows that households are highly indebted and have little disposable income available. Nuugulu et al. (2019) also highlight the high household debt in the country and further advocates for financial education on households to avoid individuals from falling deeper into debt. Most household, although they probably do not have a choice as they need to pay for their children’s education, could also do better with financial literacy in how to handle their limited income better. With the continuous drought, economic recession, lower commodity prices, unemployment at other shocks, households continue to remain under immense pressure for disposable income, leading to some students staying out of enrolling due to lack of funds. The poor continue to be excluded.
Fees Must Fall Namibia
Given the apartheid history that both South Africa and Namibia suffered, leaving both countries at the top of most unequal nations in the world, education is viewed as one of the economic equalizers. Therefore these protests are efforts to decolonize education.
Following the Fees Must Fall protests in South Africa, Universities in Namibia (UNAM) also started their protests calling for same. The protests were led by the University of Namibia (UNAM) Student Representative Council (SRC), who was said to have been fueled by the Affirmative Repositioning (AR) movement leader and youth activist Job Amupanda, who is also the head of a department at the university. Students started protesting after university management announced that students who owe more than 50% would not be allowed to write exams (Student News Grid, 2016). Both UNAM and NUST had to immediately reverse the decision and allow students to register without paying registration fees, in fear of the protests turning violent like in South Africa (UniversityWorldNews, 2016).
The universities, however, did not agree to write-off the fees, as the high debt would cripple their financial standing, which is already threatened by low government allocation. According to The Namibian newspaper, many students expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of education received at these institutions as compared to the cost. A final-year student, Petrus Shoopala, said:
Unam, as the leading university in Namibia, has done a lot to improve the education levels in Namibia, yes. However, the institution still lacks the adequate standards that you should expect… We pay thousands of dollars every year, yet we still do not deserve the standards we receive from Unam.
Another student, Atu Shimbilinga, is equally opposed to the fees hike and also took a jab at government, especially on corruption:
I do not think that Unam should increase fees. They are saying they are doing so because the government reduced their subsidy. What type of government is this that does not want to invest in education? Yet we have millions going missing every day, [they are] building new parliaments and paying for ministers’ stay in hotels but claim not to have enough money for education. Also, it is not like the increasing tuition fees are going to improve the standard/ quality of teaching we receive. I understand that Unam has bills to pay, etc but that does not justify the increase. Instead of putting the burden on the students, they should go to the root of the problem, which is government.
Corruption is a social evil that has been long entrenched in the political culture. Recently, two ministers and five of their friends were arrested for changing the fishing law to suit themselves in allocating fishing quotas to companies that benefit them amounts equivalent to \$15 million. Another corruption scandal of development bank executive benefiting up to \$12 million. When students see such headlines, while universities claim they cannot lower the unaffordable fees, they become enraged as they believe such funds could be used for better.
Although education has enjoyed the most significant budget allocation, the introduction of the Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) for grants, the availability of private companies’ scholarships to top performers as well as bank loans, there are still many challenges facing funding education in Namibia. Although there have been many suggested funding structures through policy papers, the government has been reluctant to implement, as education institutions do not agree on one structure (Matengu et al. 2014).
NSFAF is unable to fund everyone, and scholarships are minimal. Bank loans require suretyship, which, with the majority poor black population, many students are unable to provide. Namibians banks also all have their roots in South Africa and are mainly controlled by their South African counterparts (Boer & Sherbourne, 2003), which begs the question of equity when it comes to black Namibia students seeking student loans, as South African banks have a reputation of treating white and black borrowers differently. This practice leaves students who are unable to be funded by NSFAF without options.
Discussion
The issue of fees must fall comes from lack of funding of the entire higher education sector in the country, coupled with the poor socio-economic status of most families and low culture of philanthropy. Mawere (2017) indicates that both universities and students are victims of this fight, with students being tired of ever-rising fees which they cannot afford due to their backgrounds of apartheid and economic exclusion. Universities, on the other hand, are fighting the battle of a poorly resourced government with competing priorities as it cleans up the legacy of apartheid. African people should, therefore, be cautious not to continue fighting each other on issues that were left by the apartheid legacy.
A senior lecturer at the University of Namibia, Dr Lucy Edwards-Jauch in an opinion piece published by The Namibian newspaper highlighted that the Fees Must Fall movement is a result of neo-liberalism that has changed education from being a right as per the Namibian constitution, to become a privilege. Jauch (2015) further argues that the reduced state funding into a critical sector such as education further amplifies the apartheid regime practices of poverty and inequalities. She argues against privatization of education as most students will not be able to afford the fees and will leave households heavily indebted. The government should seriously consider some of the recommendations that were made during the protests such as wealth tax, capital gains tax and end to corruption to ensure there are enough funds to decolonize education.
Another lecturer at the Namibian University of Science and Technology (NUST), Dr Hugh Ellis also wrote an opinion piece in The Namibian newspaper where he cautioned government to take the fees must fall movement serious and take lessons from South Africa to avoid further protests. Ellis (2015) warns UNAM and NUST against increasing tuition because most students are already unable to afford the current fees due to their socio-economic backgrounds. He further encourages education institutions to reduce their spending on unnecessary activities such as logos, team-building retreats and instead use such funds to reduce tuition cost to students.
Namibia, as a country, does not have a culture of philanthropy in education, which leads to education institutions relying entirely on government funding for the operation. The country which has only been independent for less than 30 years also has competing priorities in terms of development, leading to a shrinking government contribution to education (Ras & Pretorius, 2007) and more pressure on already squeezed households.
Unfunded education means poor black people will remain at the bottom of the economic pillar, increasing poverty which affects life expectancy. Some students interviewed by Nhemachena & Kangira (2017) indicated that the university also needs to consider some unnecessary charges to students. Some fees charged are for services that are unavailable or dysfunctional. These fees include services such as recreational facilities which are often out of order and not available for use to students. Higher education administrators, therefore, have a role to play in cost allocations to ensure cost reduction to students without reducing university revenue.
As a result of limited funding, tensions have been breaking out at educational institutions, mainly at Board and Ministerial level. The Minister of Higher Education who was appointed in 2016 by the new President has been a subject of controversy in the media since appointment. Leadership at the two government-funded institutions, especially the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) had to be changed for the first time since its establishment after independence in 1992.
This change brought about clashes between the board and the minister on who the replacement should be, leaving the institution under and Acting Vice-Chancellor for more than a year. The search continues, while the institution experiences financial challenges. UNAM also went through a leadership change, although, since independence, UNAM has always enjoyed government support and funding more than NUST (Naris & Ukpere, 2010). The Vice-Chancellor of UNAM was cited by Lela Mobile (2016) cautioning students not to follow the South Africans in protesting and burning down universities, saying Namibians should be able to reason better. Prof Hangula mentioned that the government has plans to make higher education free (Lela Mobile, 2016) which is not backed by any policy and could be a dangerous statement to make inciting further protests if unmet.
The country has also in the process been experiencing its worst drought in 60 years, and with over 70% of the population depending on agriculture, this affects a lot of livelihoods and household income. The economy has further been in recession for three consecutive years, the first since independence, causing further reduction in government revenue and placing further pressure on allocation to government institutions, education, rail, as well as the national airline, Air Namibia which has been experiencing losses and dependent on government bailouts for over ten years. The country also went through the most contested elections in 2020, where the incumbent President over 30% of his previous support to an independent candidate. Most of the support is lost due to the most significant corruption case involving \$150 million that was discovered just before the elections, leading to the resignation of two Ministers, Fisheries and Justice. They, together with their co-accused, were arrested and await sentencing end February. The people are seeing the once beacon of African hope going the direction of many failed states and want change. Although Namibians are generally peaceful people, the youth are revolting and social media is an essential tool in this fight for economic freedom.
Nhemachena & Kangira (2017) argue that African students access to education challenges cannot be taken lightly and evaluated on basic principles. African students challenges are a result of neo-colonialism dispossession and exploitation. African governments are designing policies for higher education in today’s age; therefore, they should place the issue into the context of dispossession and exploitation as it relates to neo-colonialism. Marketisation, where institutions of higher education run like private institutions, should be highly discouraged in Africa (Moganji et al., 2020). Unlike other continents, Africa has been robbed of its resources. It is also the continent where education arrived late and needs to be accelerated to meet the required economic demands.
Conclusion
In 2020, both UNAM and NUST students protested the registration fees and both institutions granted a reduction or altogether scrapped the fees, giving students a better chance to register. The loan system process was also revised, resulting in some students who never had access to the loan system before getting granted loans (Nhemachena & Kangira, 2017). This, however, has not become policy yet, and there is still a long way to go. As more and more students take up higher education, the need for funding will accelerate. NSFAF still does not have a substantive CEO, which is affecting its effectiveness in granting student loans and collecting outstanding debt.
The current economic conditions have not improved, and many households continue to drown further in debt. Education still appears to be the only equalizer in the country as the apartheid legacy of inequalities continues. Many students are hungry to further their education to become the beacon of hope in removing their families out of poverty. Fees continue to rise as government allocation continues to reduce due to competing priorities of development.
Counting all that is going on in the country in terms of protests, that is mainly fueled by low-income families as a result of low economic growth, drought, corruption, leadership challenges, lack of education philanthropy, reduced government revenue and youth involvement in politics seeking accountability, higher education continues to suffer funding deficits. Finding a useful funding model for Namibia’s higher education is vital if the government is to avoid further unrests. It has been proven through literature that marketization of higher education cannot work in the Namibian context; hence government and the institutions should be creative, fully understand and appreciate the complexity of the Namibian economic background before making these impactful decisions.
Implication for future research
History dictates that the Namibian higher education issues are deeply rooted in the inequalities brought about by the apartheid system (Hopson, 2001). These inequalities are manifesting themselves through student’s inability to access higher education, which further perpetuates the knowledge gap that exists in the black community. When analyzing topics such as fees must fall, researchers must be cautious to not only scratch the surface of what appears to be symptoms of a broader structural history of apartheid. Future research should consider digging deeper into the current funding structures and identify how they can be adjusted to account for the historical disadvantages that were committed and left many outside the higher education system. There is a further lack of data on the current knowledge structure across different ethnic groups. Such data, if provided, may fuel government efforts in bridging existing inequalities. Although there are several studies conducted on the fees must fall, Heffernan (2018) found that most are either racially exclusive, such as Fees Must Fall: Student Revolt, Decolonisation, and Governance in South Africa, a book by Susan Booysen, as well as others such as As By Fire: The End of the South African University, a book by Prof. Jonathan Jansen which focuses mainly on university vice-chancellors’ views and excludes student voices. Owing to the new nature of the movement, most of the current writing is premature and have not grasped the larger picture to the fees must fall movement (Heffernan, 2018). As time progresses, therefore, and more effects are becoming visible, it will be crucial for researchers to view #FeesMustFall clearer. | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Learning_in_the_Digital_Age_(Asino_et_al.)/1.10%3A_Ignored_Conversations-_Higher_education_funding_in_the_digital_age.txt |
Introduction
Literacy is an enigma. While it is easy to agree that everyone should be literate, the conversation around what being literate looks like, and what the term itself is even means depends much on who is leading the conversation and who has a stake in the conversation. The term itself has historically been defined as “possession of the complementary mental technologies of reading and writing, literacy is not only difficult to define in individuals and delimit within societies, but it is also charged with emotional and political meaning” (pg. 12). This perceived simplicity has at times led to many including news reporters and various academic scholars to refer “to whole societies as “illiterate and uncivilized” as a single referent, and “illiterate” is still a term which carries a negative connotation” (Wagner (1991, pg. 12). Of course, such characterization, although still rampant, they are at least being questioned. At last literacy is being considered much more widely, and being recognised as integral to a culture where it is embedded with functions and meanings.
Literacy can be challenging to define. When narrowly defined crucial elements are left off and when stated too broadly it can be a catch-all term. This chapter does not purport to present a definition of literacy, for such a task has been undertaken and explained by many (Buckingham 1993; Knobel & Healy, 1998; Burniske, 2000 Cope and Kalantzis, 2000; & Semali 2002) who are much better versed in the subject. The goal in this chapter is to look at the understanding of digital literacy and whether or not it is (it broad enough to include the features of) inclusive enough to account for the affordance of mobile devices. Affordance in this context, can mean providing an opportunity that allows an individual to learn or perform a specific action or ability by using a mobile device. Features like portability and individuality are playing a significant role in enhancing mobile digital literacies. These features give any individual the flexibility to learn whenever they want and wherever they want (Sunga et. al, 2015). Inclusiveness is used as a reference to considering a wide range of diverse human factors, i.e., every user is entitled to participation, content creation, and giving a response, which extends beyond reading, writing or any barrier (Kirisci et. al, 2012).
Evolution of Literacy
The term literacy itself has undergone numerous evolutions. Figure 1 below illustrates the different components that made up the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), definitions from 1958 – 2005.
UNESCO works continuously to promote inclusive education practices that eliminate the obstacles limiting the participation and success of all learners, respect the needs of people from different backgrounds and help to eliminate all kinds of discrimination in the learning environment. To illustrate the transformation of literacy Ahmed (2011), collected definitions that depict how UNESCO has changed their understanding over time. As cited by Ahmed (2011), over the decades, UNESCO has provided the following definition at different times between 1958 and 2005:
1. A person is literate who can, with understanding, both read and write a short simple statement on his or her everyday life (UNESCO 1958);
2. A person is functionally literate who can engage in all those activities in which literacy is required for effective functioning of his or her group and community and also for enabling him or her to continue to use reading, writing and calculation for his or her own and the community’s development (UNESCO 1978);
3. Literacy is the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate and compute using printed and written materials associated with varying contexts. Literacy involves a continuum of learning in enabling individuals to achieve his or her goals, develop his or her knowledge and potential, and participate fully in community and wider society (UNESCO 2005). (pg. 181)
The countries that have membership in UNESCO have also adopted similar stances on defining literacy and as such have had to adjust their definitions accordingly. The table below presents a random sample of countries and their definition of literacy. UNESCO has the information below available on their website from 1975 to 2010. The data was combined in an excel file and each item given a random ID which was used to create the table below. As evident, the definition of literacy has changed over time, and in alignment with the definitions provided by UNESCO.
Table 1: National literacy definitions by year
Country Year Literacy Definition
Rwanda 1978 A person is defined as literate if he or she can, with understanding, both read and write a short, simple statement on his or her everyday life
Argentina 1980 A person is defined as literate if he or she can, with understanding, both read and write a short, simple statement on his or her everyday life
India 1981 A person is defined as literate if he or she can, with understanding, both read and write a short, simple statement on his or her everyday life
Lithuania 1989 A person is defined as literate if he or she can, with understanding, both read and write a short, simple statement on his or her everyday life
Ukraine 2001 A person who has any level of education or can read (for 6 year old people and older)
Liberia 2004 A person is defined as literate if he or she can, with understanding, both read and write a short, simple statement on his or her everyday life.
South Africa 2007 Household member can read and write in at least one language. If a person can only read or only write, that person is considered illiterate.
Benin 2009 A person is literate who can, with understanding, both read and write a short simple statement on his or her everyday life
Chile 2009 Able to read and write. The population with 2 or more years of schooling is considered.
Uganda 2010 Able to read and write with understanding in any language
Source: UNESCO (http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/ED/GMR/pdf/gmr2009/EFA_Literacy_metadata_2009.pdf
The three definitions from UNESCO and the definitions by the countries above, show that literacy has undergone various transformations. They’ve ranged primarily from the reading and writing paradigm to now the inclusion of electronic media and communication. Smyth (2011) opined that literacy has evolved, it has gone beyond the mastery of the ability to read and write a language but now the comprehension and how to use technology as a medium and not the mastery of technical language.
The move to include technology into the definition of literacy is undoubtedly due to the integration of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) into everyday life. This integration and usage has brought about the information age, which is characterized by “the widespread proliferation of emerging information and communication technologies and the capabilities that those technologies provide and will provide humankind to overcome the barriers imposed on communications by time, distance, and location and the limits and constraints inherent in human capacities to process information and make decisions. Advocates of the concept of the Information Age maintain that we have embarked on a journey in which information and communications will become the dominant forces in defining and shaping human actions, interactions, activities, and institutions” (Alberts 7 Papp, 1997, pg. 2).
The information age has brought with it a new literacy referred to as digital literacy. In staying loyal to the trunk from which it sprouts, the term digital literacy has proven to be as elusive in its definition. Most definitions closely resemble that put forth by the United States, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) which argues that “. . . digital literacy generally refers to a variety of skills associated with using ICT (information and communication technologies) to find, evaluate, create and communicate information. It is the sum of the technical skills and cognitive skills people employ to use computers to retrieve information, interpret what they find and judge the quality of that information. It also includes the ability to communicate and collaborate using the Internet—through blogs, self-published documents and presentations and collaborative social networking platforms” (as cited by Clark & Visser, 2011, pg. 38).
This definition although seemingly a catchall and somewhat nebulous, still does not mention or reference the growth of mobile devices and the role that they are playing in society. Mobile devices evolved from what only the learned operated to a user-friendly device; it is not surprising that its price is beginning to decrease in emerging markets, pr items from being expensive luxuries (GMCA, 2017). The definition seems to also ignore the role mobile devices have in globalization which is not to be underestimated especially since such devices have grown beyond simple miniature computers that enable the transmission of the human voice to being content creation, delivery and consumption systems (Collins, 2005).
The definition of mobile digital literacy has grown over time due to technological advancement. An individual has become more reliant on mobile phones as compared to someone who was using it ten years back. In 1973, when a mobile phone was introduced, it was solely used for communication, mobile literacy meant being able to use the feature limited to the capability of dialing phone numbers to call someone. Today, that definition of mobile literacy can be seen in a new light with the incessant upgrades in the features. It can now be defined as the capability of using and exercising the wide array of features and applications in a personalized manner.
The growth of mobile devices to seemingly ubiquitous levels is affecting communities around the world, altering the ways we communicate, educate, collaborate and engage with one another; altering what we know or think we know about our identity and the very sense we have of space and time (Traxler, 2008). This development which in many ways is akin to Khuns’s (1962) paradigm shift theory of science necessitates an evaluation of the current models of literacies and more specifically digital literacies in which mobile devices seem to belong. As Clancy & Lowrie (2002), argued for new approaches and models to understand literacies brought about by the digital age, I am similarly arguing that the digital age has evolved beyond what it was at the turn of the century or even five years ago and as such the understanding of digital literacies need to be updated to address the new mobile digital era.
Why the Update
There is an interaction between mobile devices & traditional understanding of literacy. Whereas traditional literacy was more concerned with reading and writing, mobile devices afford even those without the ability to read or write a chance to participate in the conversation. Some do this by the voice features of the technology others can do so by memorizing various patterns of the device they own, which thereby allow them to conduct business and communicate with others even though they cannot tell a difference between a 6 and a 9, yet they are able to dial it without a problem.
Mobile devices are changing how people are learning. According to Telecomlead, an online B2B publication dedicated to the telecom industry, as of Feb 2019, 89 percent of India’s population are active mobile users. However, the literacy rate of India is often cited to be at 71.20%. Even though more than 89 percent of the Indian population has a mobile phone, it does not mean that the percentage of mobile literate in India is limited to 89 percent who own a smartphone. In fact, the number of mobile literacy rates can be higher than the number of people who actually own a device. To elaborate further, let’s look at an experiment “Hole-in-the-wall” conducted by Dr. Sugata Mitra in 1999 in India to check the effectiveness of digital literacy. Dr. Mitra’s team carved a “hole in the wall to append the slum in Kalkaji, New Delhi to the NIIT premises. A free accessible computer was set up as a learning station for the people living in the slums, especially the children. The children, who now had access to the device, self-taught themselves the skill to operate the computer without prior knowledge or experience. This experiment establishes the point that one does not have to have only the ability to read or write to be considered literate. Nor does one need to go to a formal educational institution to be digitally literate, but to be able to read and write one often needs to go through some sort of formal schooling. Viewed in the context of this paper, similarly, one does not need to only be able to read or write to be considered mobile digital literate. In fact, a person without the ability to read or write can still use a mobile device to accomplish their tasks. a mobile device in order to qualify for Mobile Digital Literacy.
Mobile Digital Literacies has four stages. These stages help to determine how literate an individual is in terms of using a mobile phone.
Basic: The basic digital mobile literacies mean a person can use their voice to communicate using mobile devices. For example, if a person is able to make a phone call to another they can be considered to have basic digital mobile literacy skills. One does not need to know how to read and write in this context, because since many mobile phones have the ability to store favourite numbers or speed dial, an individual can simply press one number and be able to communicate.
Technical: Mobile devices come with many features such as cameras and the ability to send multimedia messages. The ability to use mobile features such as sending the text, camera, calendar and calculator go beyond one’s ability to simply read and write. Such skills classify the user as a technical mobile digital literate.
Online Digital Literacy: Most mobile devices have the ability to connect to the internet. This connectivity aspect is what makes the devices so appealing to many. However, the presence of connectivity does not necessarily mean someone knows how to use the devices to complete tasks online. Hence, mobile online digital literates are those who can easily browse and search for content using different mobile applications and internet browsers.
Advance Online Literate: Lastly, advanced mobile online literates are capable enough to access, create, navigate and understand online content on a range of digital devices (GSMA, 2015). They not only have the abilities referenced in the previous stages but can also make use of the information for advance decision making.
Mobile Digital Literacies
We propose moving to adopt a new term, Mobile Digital Literacies (MDLS), which is concerned with the role mobile devices play in the world of digital literacy. Mobile Digital Literacies (MDLS) can be defined as an individual’s ability to identify, understand, interpret, create and communicate using the features and functionality of a mobile phone. It also serves an opportunity to create an identity and bring more people into the dialogue by allowing those often left out of the conversation a chance to create, recreate and reclaim their identities.
This re-imagining of digital literacy is more important because definitions, teachings and understandings of digital literacy have framed the conversation primarily “as the investigation of ways of dealing with the computer and the Internet” (Pietrass, 2007, pg. 8), which does not include new technologies.
This positioning of digital literacy or new literacies as something that someone else does that students have to examine critically does not go far enough to capture the effects of mobile devices on society and limits our ability, therefore, fall short at providing a framework to critically look at the phenomenon. The issue is no longer simply about the effect of available information but rather the effect of the information one creates.
Many people, especially those born in the 1990s to today have most of their life digitally recorded. They saw the evolution of many digital platforms firsthand, which includes mobile devices as well. They can easily adapt to the options and in turn, help the new age population to adapt to the options as well. In Born Digital, Palfrey & Gasser (2008) discuss ways to understand those born in the digital age and also cover the term Digital Dossier which they attribute to Daniel J. Solove, a professor of law at the George Washington University Law School (p. 301). The definition of digital dossiers is that, today even before a person is born today, their digital identity starts being constructed through things such as prenatal exams that a mother goes to, and ultrasound images from doctor visits. Even before a child is outside its mother’s womb, his or her picture has possibly already been on the Internet if the parents decided to share the picture of the ultrasound. This life cycle continues with doctor visits for various check-ups when a child is born, to tweets, blogs, websites and social networking sites that a person might engage in. Overtime the digital dossier accumulates a lot of material so that it is possible when a person born in 2000 reaches 30yrs of age there is no longer a need to go visit the parents to look at baby pictures, rather all that information would be available and accessible through some form of network, because it has been archived since before the person was born.
An examination of one’s digital dossier is not mentioned or alluded to in the current definition of digital literacy or the discussions of new literacies. Consequently, students in schools are taught how to critically examine what others produce and to question the validity of different perspectives presented in digital forms (a case can be made that even this is not being done well), however what is missing is a lesson on self-examination.
In 2011, world governments and leaders were overthrown because of injustices that they committed against their own people, which are brought to light by the use of mobile devices. The power of mobile devices has extended the nature by which humans are connected, a critical examination of the role the individual plays not only in critically examining what they’ve read or seen, but rather what they’ve created and posted is a necessary aspect of a new digital literacy or a creation of a new literacy all together.
Another motivation for the evaluation of the current understanding of digital literacy is the nature by which mobile devices have allowed those traditionally viewed as disenfranchised and marginalized to enter the conversation.
The argument against the investment in ICTs especially in Afrikan schools has often revolved around whether such an investment is worthy of consideration more so than other pressing needs such as addressing, HIV/AIDS, malnutrition, malaria, etc. (Slay & Dalvit, 2008). This ‘can’t chew and work/walk at the same time’ or ‘the one thing at a time approach’ is no longer the only option. Mobile devices have taken away the absence of communities in the “developing world” from the global conversation while they address “more pressing issues”. Mobile devices and the effect they’ve had have also allowed for different communities to be looked at from their perspectives because of what they contribute to the overall network. This has moved the conversation from the generic global village to recognising that even as technology there are still differences amongst cultures. This realisation has prompted Mills (2010) therefore conclude that “while giving acknowledgment to the significant advances in digital communication technologies, there is not a single global village—rather, there are groups with varied levels of participation in digital practices across local villages around the world” (p. 262).
As argued by Millis (2010), in her survey of the literature, new literacies have often been concerned with the digital divide and leave the impression that technology is leaving those in marginalised and low income communities at a disadvantage. Although there are constraints, those in marginalised communities are finding a way to enter into the dialogue and are not simply shut out.
Put simply, the conversation should no longer be solely about how the marginalized are left out of the conversation but rather how they are altering the conversation because they are taking part. Whether the various gatekeepers and those in privilege positions are recognising it, the fact remains that those that did not participate before are not only part of the conversation, but they are beginning their own conversations that have nothing to do with what has been designated as the topic du jour. Like water they are seeping through at all different crevices albeit slowly.
Conclusion
In this paper, we have argued that the current framing of digital literacy does not go enough to include the changes and affordance that are brought on by mobile devices. We are proposing for an expanded definition of digital literacy which takes into account the different “practices across multiple technologies, media, modes, text formats, and social contexts” (Mills, 2010, p 262).
In agreement with Kress (2010), we believe that the new definition of digital literacies (even if it does not result in the name we propose of Mobile Digital Literacy – MDL), it must have the following three components:
1. the rapid evolution of digital technologies;
2. a new more pervasive emphasis on multimodality in digital communications;
3. a new approach to communication and interaction that is best characterised by an emphasis on design rather than a highly separable distinction between ‘writing’ and ‘reading’ (p5).
The choice is to either make room at the table by broadening the definition of digital literacy or to create a new table introducing a new category that includes mobile devices. The traditional way of defining literacy & digital literacies is coming up short – we need to include the different things that mobile devices contribute, and as such we must continue to reconfigure what we traditionally know as literacy. | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Learning_in_the_Digital_Age_(Asino_et_al.)/1.11%3A_Literacy_in_the_Digital_Age-_From_traditional_to_Digital_to_Mobile_Digital_Literacies.txt |
Imagine walking into a bank and seeing no bank tellers around to take deposit money. A few years ago, that is what happened to me. I walked into a private bank to deposit money into my mom’s account with no bank tellers’ insight. I later realized that the bank had done away with the bank tellers, including the drive-through teller, and instead moved basic financial transactions online. Imagine a young person with no knowledge of online banking and no understanding of financial literacy terminology to figure out online banking on their own. Now throw in that the young person may also have no access to a computer and uses an old cell phone where it only works with public WiFi.
As a former assistant branch manager for a private bank and Certified Financial Education Instructor with the National Financial Educators Council, I know the frustration that people go through when they don’t understand how online banking works and the frustration of basic financial literacy terminology. The future of banking going digital has me more worried about first-generation college students, especially among minority groups, because I fall into the two groups. Studies show how the digital divide and lack of financial literacy education among first-generation college students can be set back compared to non-first generation peers.
As a first-generation college student myself, I had to learn financial literacy on my own through life experiences, and I did not have the latest computer technology growing up until I was in high school. A first-generation college student is defined as an individual whose family comes from a low or medium-income background or high school education without attending college (College Board, 2016). When it comes to financial literacy, studies consistently show that a large number of people lack the financial literacy skills necessary to make critical financial decisions such as taking out a mortgage or understanding the stock market (Mandell & Klein, 2009). First-generation college students are vulnerable to falling into debt, ruining their credit score, or lacking the knowledge of building a budget (Lusardi, Mitchell & Curto 2010). A recent study by the TIAA-CREF Institute stated that 12% of college-educated Hispanics demonstrated advanced financial knowledge, and only 32% displayed basic financial literacy (De Bassa, Lusardi, & Yakoboski, 2015). This kind of experience makes it difficult for Hispanics to be financial stable, comprehend financial literature, and build wealth for the future. I don’t see any easy solution to solving financial literacy and the digital divide at the same time.
The solution I have for financial literacy is that every university across the United States requires its students to complete a three-credit financial literacy course. Financial literacy education can play a pivotal role in students’ lives. Ineffective money management can result in individuals making poor financial decisions that may prevent them from reaching full financial relief and possibly living paycheck to paycheck. I have yet to figure out how to solve the digital divide among first-generation college students because of their complexity. For example, the digital divide includes unreliable internet access, older devices that don’t work, inadequate cell phone data places, and computers.
To reach a larger audience for financial literacy education the best way are free tools such as YouTube and social media like Instagram. I can teach an individual the basic concepts of online banking and the terminology associated by publishing online courses on YouTube, which I have done. The tools that I use to create financial literacy education in the digital age is Camtasia to record the video and publish on YouTube and Vimeo for easy access to anyone that is interested. Another digital tool I use to teach financial literacy education is Instagram. I published short videos on Instagram TV for individuals to learn about saving money, creating a financial budget, and developing financial goals.
No matter how many courses I publish on YouTube the individual still needs to access the internet. I can’t teach a person how to obtain a computer or a smartphone capable of opening up a bank account. How do you solve the digital divide and lack of financial literacy among first-generation college students? | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Learning_in_the_Digital_Age_(Asino_et_al.)/1.12%3A_The_Digital_Divide_and_the_lack_Financial_Literacy_among_First_Generation.txt |
Abstract. Most people think of escape rooms as a fun recreational activity one can do with friends. In the educational world, escape rooms have become a popular way for teachers to utilize game-based learning as an engaging classroom tool. This chapter aims to explain the history of escape rooms, how escape rooms can be educational, and how to design an escape room. Additionally, this chapter aims to provide a brief history and overview of types of assessment and works to explain how escape rooms can be used as assessment tools. Ultimately, the goal of this chapter is to show how escape rooms can provide an experience of playfulness that appeals to students’ various learning styles, motivates students, provides teachers with a fun and productive way to assess, and provides a doorway for wonder and curiosity to enter a classroom.
Introduction
As time progresses, the world grows more technologically advanced as innovations in technology are seemingly created each day and new uses for old technology seem to be discovered by the minute. Every day, innovators create new ways to communicate and teach the world. Just as the field of technology never stops inventing and becoming more advanced, so should the field of education never stop advancing. Schools are the bases for teaching the future generation who will be the creators of more advanced technology, which means schools should not be left behind. Too often local and national news sources show that schools across the United States are using outdated technology, textbooks, and techniques. Ringstaff and Kelley (2002) point out that what can be “gleaned from most current research on the implementation of computer-based technology in K-12 education is that technology is a means, not an end; it is a tool for achieving instructional goals, not a goal in itself” (p. 5) Teachers should be reaching modern 21st-century students with modern 21st-century methods with a clear plan of how using technology can enhance their teaching and assessing. As Ringstaff and Kelley (2002) suggest “technology is most powerful when used as a tool for problem-solving, conceptual development, and critical thinking” (p. 9).
Escape Rooms
Escape Rooms can be defined “as live-action team-based games where players discover clues, solve puzzles, and accomplish tasks in one or more rooms in order to accomplish a specific goal (usually escaping from the room) within a limited amount of time” (Nicholson, 2015 as cited in Vidergor, 2021, p. 2). The use of escape rooms was first documented in 2007 when a single-room escape room game called Real Escape Game Event for 5-6 players was open to the public in Kyoto, Japan (Taraldsen et al., 2020). Taraldsen et al. (2020) suggest that the origins of escape rooms can be traced back to an array of genres such as “live-action role-playing, point-and-click adventure games, puzzle hunt, interactive theatre, and haunted houses” (p. 1) Martens and Crawford (2019) adds adventure game shows and Vidergor (2021) adds shows and movies to the list of origins. As a rapidly growing phenomenon between the years, 2012-2013, recreational escape rooms began to reach a large part of the world outside of Japan (Vidergor, 2021). Eventually, recreational escape rooms made their way to the United States, though it is not entirely evident how that transition happened or when it occurred. However, escape rooms soon were seen as more than just a fun experience for adults as they came to also be seen as an educational tool that teachers could utilize in their classrooms.
Educational Escape Rooms
“Escape” means to “free oneself from confinement” (Martens & Crawford, 2019, p. 74). As an educational tool, teachers can use escape rooms to help free themselves and their students from the confinement of outdated and boring lessons. Educational escape rooms allow teachers an opportunity to be creative and to truly customize and differentiate content to fit students’ needs by using a wide array of tools and resources within their escape rooms. Marki et al. (2021) and Taraldsen et al. (2020) define educational escape rooms as pedagogical activities that are time-constrained and problem-based. Having such interactive activities in the classroom encourages active learning from students through discussions and cooperation.
Escape Rooms as a recreational game can be used in different ways and can use a smorgasbord of tools to present clues and puzzles for those who wish to test their skills and see if they can escape. In an educational setting, escape rooms can take multiple formats. Teachers can use educational escape rooms as in-person activities that include hiding clues, puzzles, and other activities for students to complete in teams throughout the physical classroom. Additionally, escape rooms might use a blended format where some technology is used to help present clues and to keep track of students’ progress through challenges that lead to escaping the escape room. Sometimes escape rooms can be fully digital which means teachers use websites such as Google forms and Google Slides to present a scenario and students work through digital activities to escape the game. Digital escape rooms help to overcome the limitations of traditional classroom teaching by being game-based and learner-centered, allowing students to practice cooperation and problem-solving while using a variety of digital materials within the escape room list of tasks to find clues, solve puzzles, and ultimately escape the game (Huang et al., 2020).
How to Create Educational Escape Rooms
Escape rooms might be fun and challenging to partake in, but the act of creating educational escape rooms can also be fun and challenging. To begin creating an escape room for classroom use teachers should go through a few steps to ensure they cover everything they wish to cover. The first step teachers should take is to identify their audience, the length of time they have to conduct the escape room, and the topic they wish to cover throughout the escape room (Neumann et.al, 2020). Next, teachers should pick several “takeaways” from their topic and then write a question for each takeaway that will challenge students to show what they know (Neumann et.al, 2020). One of the most exciting steps is to write a scenario to get students engaged. A good scenario is an interesting background story that sets up why students are trapped in the escape room and why they need to find a way to escape the game. For example, a scenario story might be that students went on a field trip to a movie theater where they become trapped in the theater and have to find a way to escape! Neumann et. al (2020) suggests that in the scenario story there should be hidden clues that students can use to solve the first puzzle. Teachers then need to decide what steps students are going to need to take to escape, what puzzles they will need to solve, and how students are going to unlock “keys” that eventually lead to their escape. According to Neumann et. al (2020), teachers should create a digital form where students can submit their answers to progress through the escape room. Teachers should create a digital “room” (see figure 1) that compiles the background story, the location, and a place for students to submit the answers to the puzzles in one place.
All of the steps above can be followed whether a teacher wants to turn their classroom into an escape room, a blended escape room (where parts of the escape room are in the classroom and other parts are done with technology), or a digital escape room. When creating in-person escape rooms, teachers can use old cash boxes, locks, keys, shoe boxes (designed to fit the theme), and other items that teachers can find that might fit the theme of the escape room. For blended or digital escape rooms, teachers have a wealth of resources through the internet. Resources such as Google suite apps such as Google Sites, Google Docs, Google Forms, and Google Drawings are free to use and can all be used together to create an extensive escape room. Many YouTube videos are available to assist teachers throughout the process of creating their rooms. Other online resources include virtual jigsaw puzzles, virtual newspaper builders, custom eye charts, and note generators. Teachers can also use sites such as Canva (see figure 1) or Genially to create templates or to create a virtual room such as a bitmoji classroom where there are clues and links to different places of how students solve all the tasks to eventually escape the room. While it may take time to design an escape room, it can be a fun and challenging endeavor for a teacher that will pay off in an engaging, motivating, and collaborative activity for their students.
Assessment
Teaching with modern methods is important, as is assessing students with methods that match the times. For schools in the United States, it is common practice to teach to the test or in other words for teachers to focus on test prep in order to achieve high test scores from their students. Assessing students should not have to follow traditional methods such as pen and paper tests. Teachers should be allowed to move past the influences of more significant economic and political trends to teach students with the most appropriate researched-based methods.
HISTORY AND TYPES OF ASSESSMENT
Since the 19th-century, assessments and the United States educational system as it is known in modern times, were created out of a need to educate all citizens and were inspired by the economic and instructivist ways that are still present today (Box, 2019). In the United States, assessments are an important aspect to determine students’ learning abilities in specific contexts. Assessments often take either a formative or summative form though there are plenty of other forms of assessment. Formative assessments are administered during instruction and summative assessments are administered after instruction to ensure students have learned the material (Dixson & Worrell, 2016).
One of the main methods of using formative and summative assessments is through portfolios and traditional pen-and-paper tests such as quizzes and exams (Dixson & Worrell, 2016). Unfortunately, more often than not, technology tools that teachers might use to engage students in learning activities are not used to assess students on the same topics. Current assessment practices do not typically allow for collaboration amongst students as they are expected to be tested individually and they do not encourage unique uses of educational technology.
Continuing with current assessment methods prevents students from engaging in more modern learning techniques and does not push teachers to try new teaching methods. New teaching methods such as game-based learning or escape rooms can help students retain more knowledge. When students retain more knowledge, they are engaged and well-suited to practice collaboration amongst classmates. One of the high-level goals of this chapter and why escape rooms as assessment tools should be considered in schools is echoed by the words of Brown (1992) when she said her high-level goal was to restyle K-12 classrooms from a workplace where students are thought of as vessels to be filled with knowledge from their teachers “into communities of learning and interpretation, where students are given significant opportunity to take charge of their own learning” (p. 141).
EDUCATIONAL ESCAPE ROOMS AS ASSESSMENT TOOLS
Educational escape rooms are generally considered a way to bring game-based learning into the classroom to engage students and cover content in a different way. Typically escape rooms are not thought of as an assessment tool. An educational escape room makes sense as an assessment tool for a variety of reasons. For one, educational escape rooms already cover many of the same skills that are expected from students when they complete traditional assessments. As mentioned previously in this chapter, one of the recommended steps when creating an escape room is for the teacher to write a question for each takeaway. When the questions are well-developed and thought-provoking they can serve as a way for teachers to assess students in a formative way while the students complete each challenge of the escape room. How successful students are in escaping the room is a way for teachers to assess students in a summative way. While designing educational escape rooms teachers can include different challenges and different ways to solve these puzzles, which creates unique and discreet ways to assess their students. Teachers can use any subject or a combination of subjects as a base for their escape room since many puzzles could potentially require math problems, scientific inquiries, riddles for English, or finding a location for geography.
Additionally, teachers can divide students into groups to work together to figure out how to escape while also deciding how much students can do together and if there are things they want students to do individually. If students work together it can help teachers assess social-emotional skills such as how collaborative and how cooperative students are with each other. In other words, how well students can work together to overcome mutual challenges. Allowing students to work together can also be a way to group assess students and discover which students need more help with certain topics (as they seem to be the ones not as involved in solving challenges) and which students are ready to move on to more challenging tasks (they appear as the leaders).
Conclusion
Over time, escape rooms have rapidly expanded from activities that fulfill the population’s desire for thrills and challenges to their now being an extensive use of escape rooms in educational settings as highlighted in studies by Huang et al. (2020), Taraldsen et al. (2020), and Makri et al. (2021). In more recent times, escape rooms have gained popularity in many academic disciplines showing that escape rooms can be used for any subject at any grade or educational level. As emphasized by Hill and Brunvand (2018), each grade level has unique advantages and challenges when designing and implementing escape rooms but implementing a gameful approach in every classroom can be an effective way to unlock different learning opportunities while promoting active engagement and collaboration amongst students. Martens and Crawford (2019) point out that escape room activities can help kindle children’s wonder and determination, which is crucial to building a foundation for future innovators. Time will only tell how the use of gamified education will change as teachers find new ways to implement escape rooms in their classrooms as a way to engage and assess their students.
2.01: Resources
Below are a few readings that can inform our thinking on learning in the digital age. Inclusion below does not mean an endorsement or agreeing with the views of the authors. Rather it is simply to show the different debates and arguments around the topic.
Additional Readings
What do we need/want to know about digital learning?
• Bates, A. W. (2015). Fundamental change in education. In. A.W. Bates ‘Teaching in a digital age’, open.bccampus.ca, [online] Available at: http://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/ – Chapter 1
• Spector, J. M., & Kinshuk, P (2011). Learning to Solve Problems in the Digital Age: Introduction. In D. Ifenthaler, J. M. Spector, P. Isaias, P., J.M. Spector, Kinshuk, and D. Sampson (eds.), Multiple perspectives on problem solving and learning in the digital age (pp. 1-8). Springer New York.
• Ifenthaler, D. (2010). Learning and instruction in the digital age. In J.M. Spector, D. Ifenthaler, P. Isaias, P., Kinshuk, D. Sampson (eds.), Learning and Instruction in the Digital Age (pp. 3-10). Springer US.
What is different about learners in a digital age?
• Prensky, M. (2001), “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants Part 1”, On the Horizon, 9(5), pp. 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1108/10748120110424816
• Bullen, M., & Morgan, T. (2016). Digital learners not digital natives. La Cuestión Universitaria, (7), 60-68.
• Asino, T. I., Young, P. A. & Peck, K. L. (2015). Positing the Future. TechTrends, 59(1), 20 – 29
• Prensky, M. (2001), “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants Part 2: Do They Really Think Differently?”, On the Horizon, 9(6), pp. 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1108/10748120110424843
• Bennett, S., Maton, K. and Kervin, L. (2008), The ‘digital natives’ debate: A critical review of the evidence. British Journal ofEducational Technology, 39: 775–786.
• Bennett, S. & Maton, K. (2010). Beyond the ‘digital natives’ debate: Towards a more nuanced understanding of students’ technology experiences. Journal ofComputer Assisted Learning, 26. 321-331.
• Thompson, P. (2013). The digital natives as learners: Technology use patterns and approaches to learning. Computers & Education, 65, 12-33.
• Ball, C., Francis, J., Huang, K. T., Kadylak, T., Cotten, S. R., & Rikard, R. V. (2017). The physical-digital divide: Exploring the social gap between digital natives and physical natives. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 0733464817732518
• Judd, T. (2018). The rise and fall (?) of the digital natives. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 34(5)
Do we need new learning theories to explain
• Siemens, G. (2005). Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age. InternationalJournal of InstructionalTechnology & Distance Learning, 2(1).
• Clarà, M., & Barberà, E. (2013). Learning online: massive open online courses (MOOCs), connectivism, and cultural psychology. Distance Education, 34(1), 129-136.
• Tschofen, C. & Mackness, J. (2012). Connectivism and dimensions of individual experience. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 13(1) | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Learning_in_the_Digital_Age_(Asino_et_al.)/1.13%3A_Escape_Rooms-_An_Alternative_to_Traditional_Forms_of_Assessment.txt |
In this section of the workshop, you will explore your role as an online learning student. By the end of this section, you will be able to:
• Describe the characteristics of a self-directed learner.
• Use the plan-monitor-evaluate strategy to organize and evaluate your learning.
• Apply critical questioning and reflective strategies to assess your learning at each stage in your course.
Go to the next chapter to move on to the first section of this module.
01: Who am I as an online learner
Though all university courses ask students to apply independent learning strategies, online learning requires an even higher level of self-directed learning skill.
Many students have experience in teacher-directed classrooms. In these classrooms, the teacher is the central figure, and the students take direction about what to learn directly from the instructor. In these environments, students might spend time taking notes on an instructor’s lecture, and might focus much of their learning time on memorizing concepts in preparation for recalling them on an exam.
Online university courses are different. The instructor is no longer the central figure in the learning environment. You, the student, become the central actor in your own learning journey. As you undertake this journey, you are supported by your community of fellow students. Your instructor serves as your guide, using their knowledge and experience to direct you to learning experiences that will lead you to your learning goals.
As you begin the workshop, reflect on your current self-directed learning skills. The quiz below will help you to get started. Complete the quiz before continuing on in the workshop below. If you are unable to view or complete the quiz, please access this activity in an alternative format.
An interactive or media element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://kpu.pressbooks.pub/learningtolearnonline/?p=23
Skills for Independent Learning
Image Credit: Rawia Inaim
Independent learning requires the following skills:
• Defining your learning goal for your program, each course, and each assignment you complete.
• Identifying the steps you must take to move towards your goal. What content do you need to know? How will you learn it?
• Choose strategies that will support your own learning.
• Reach out for the support you need from your instructor, classmates, and university support services.
In the next section, you will explore the ways that a skill called metacognition supports you in becoming an independent learner.
1.02: Apply the plan-monitor-evaluate model for assessing your learning progress
What is metacognition?
Have you ever wondered what the most successful students do differently from other students? Students who have developed effective ways of learning have mastered a skill called metacognition. In simple terms, metacognition is understanding your own thinking and learning processes. In other words, it is “thinking about your thinking”. Metacognitive skills include planning your learning, monitoring whether your current learning strategies are successful, and evaluating results of your learning. Improving your metacognitive skills is associated with increased success in all of your academic life. To learn more about how metacognition applies to student life, watch the video below.
Learning Choices: Videos and Text
At several points in the workshop, you will have the opportunity to learn key skills by watching a short video. If you prefer reading to watching videos, you will find a video transcript located directly below each video. Scroll past the video to read if this is your learning preference.
Use the planning, monitoring, and evaluation cycle to think about your learning strategies and how they are working for you (https://youtu.be/vmaneqx2_3Q)
How do you gain the skill of metacognition? One way to think about developing metacognition is gaining the ability to plan, monitor, and evaluate your learning.
The Learning Cycle (Image Credit: Christina Page)
Planning involves two key tasks: deciding what you need to learn, and then deciding how you are going to learn that material.
Monitoring requires you to ask “how am I doing at learning this?”. In monitoring, you are constantly tracking what you have learned, what you don’t yet know, and whether your study strategies are helping you to learn effectively.
Evaluation involves reflection on how well you met your Learning Objectives after completing a unit of study, or receiving feedback (such as a test or assignment).
Key Questions to Improve Your Learning
At each stage in the learning cycle, there are key questions that you will ask yourself to support your learning process. In the chart below, you will identify the key question for each stage in the cycle, along with the other questions you will want to consider. To use these questions in your courses, download a printable worksheet version.
Key question Other questions to ask yourself
What do I need to learn? (Planning)
• What are the Learning Objectives for this class?
• What do I already know about this topic?
• What are the concepts I need to master before my next test?
• What do I want to learn about this topic?
• How do I distinguish important information from the details?
How am I going to learn the material? (Planning)
• How can I integrate textbook reading with lecture notes?
• What active learning strategies will support my learning?
• Will I study alone or with a study group?
• What charts or visuals will help me reorganize or process this material?
• What memory strategies can I use to remember key words and concepts?
• How can I connect with my instructor in office hours?
How am I doing at learning this material? (Monitoring)
• What concepts do I understand well?
• What concepts are still confusing for me?
• Can I explain the material to someone else without referring to notes?
• Can I create and answer self-testing questions about these concepts?
• What other strategies could I use to learn this material?
• Am I using the supports available to me (e.g. office hours, tutors)?
• How can I make this material more personally relevant to me?
Did I learn the material effectively? (Evaluation)
• To what extent did I meet the Learning Objectives for this unit?
• What in my exam preparation worked well?
• What in my exam preparation did not go well? What do I want to change?
• How did my exam answer compare with the suggested answer? What key components did I miss?
• How will what I have learned help me in my next courses?
Reflect
One key metacognitive skill is being able assess what you already know about a course topic, and to identify what you would like to learn through your reading, discusssions, assignments and other class activities. Complete the exercise below, or download a printable version.
1. Chick, N. (2017). Metacognition. Retrieved August 31, 2017, from https://wp0.vanderbilt.edu/cft/guides-sub-pages/metacognition//
2. Tanner, K. D. (2012). Promoting student metacognition. Cell Biology Education, 11(2), 113–120. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.12-03-0033 | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Learning_to_Learn_Online_(Page_and_Vincent)/01%3A_Who_am_I_as_an_online_learner/1.01%3A_Identify_skills_for_self-directed_learning.txt |
Learning in an online environment requires you to move beyond simple memorization of course concepts. To gain knowledge that will support you in your growth as a lifelong learner and in your future career, you will want to interact with course concepts deeply and in ways that are personally relevant to you.
One way of picturing deeper learning is Bloom’s Taxonomy.
Image Credit: Rawia Inaim
The levels of Bloom’s taxonomy build upon each other. While you need to be able to remember key concepts, your courses will spend more time developing your ability to apply, analyze, evaluate, and create using this knowledge. As you encounter new concepts, you will want to use critical questioning to understand the concepts at all levels, moving from surface to deeper knowledge. The chart below includes some questions that might be relevant at each level.
Level Question Stems
Remember (knowledge recall) – retrieving relevant knowledge from long-term memory
• What is the definition of…?
• Who did…?
• When did…occur?
• How much/many…?
Understand (comprehension) – interpreting the meaning of information; being able to “translate” knowledge into one’s own words; linking new information to what you already know
• What are types of…?
• How does…function?
• How does the process occur?
• What are my own examples of…?
Apply – using what you know to do required tasks
• What is a case study where this might apply?
• How would I perform _____ task using this information?
• What problems can I use this information to solve?
• What does theory x predict will happen?
• How does… affect or apply to…?
Analyze – taking things apart; dissecting; asking “why?”; seeing relationships and how things work
• What is the relationship between…and…?
• How is…similar to/different from…?
• What is the best solution to the problem, conflict, issue?
• Distinguish between ____ and ____
• What hypothesis or theory explains this data or given information?
Evaluate – appraising, judging and critiquing the outcomes of any of the other levels
• Is…
Correct or incorrect? Why?
Effective or ineffective? Why?
Relevant or irrelevant? Why?
Logical or illogical? Why?
Applicable or not applicable? Why?
Proven or not proven? Why?
Ethical or unethical? Why?
• What are the advantages or disadvantages of…? Why?
• What is the best solution to the problem, conflict, issue? Why is it the best?
Create (synthesis) – putting things together; building on what you know to create something new; seeing new relationships or making new connections. [1] [2]
• How does this new information change my understanding of ____.
• Can I create a paragraph/journal/video/portfolio page that demonstrates how I integrate this information with my other knowledge?
One method for creating study questions or planning active learning activities is to move step-by-step through each level of Bloom’s Taxonomy. Begin with a few questions at the Remembering level. If you don’t yet know the technical language of the subject and what it means, it will be difficult for you to apply, evaluate, analyze, or be creative. Then, go deeper into your subject as you move through the levels. Learning at university requires you to learn the basics of your discipline by remembering and understanding; however, you will spend much more of your time applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating.
Here is an example of what this might look like. What questions can you create for your topic?
Image Credit: Rawia Inaim
Try It!
Create Study Questions Using Bloom’s Cognitive Taxonomy
Pick a subject area in which you are working. For each level of Bloom’s Taxonomy on this page:
• Develop a question and answer it to show that you can think about the material at that level. Use the example questions on the handout above as a guide.
• Think about how your questions would allow you to assess how much you know and what level you are working at.
Level Question
Remembering Remembering and Recalling information.
My question(s):
Understanding Understanding Explaining ideas or concepts.
My question(s):
Applying Applying information in a
familiar situationMy question(s):
Analyzing Analyzing by breaking information into parts to explore relationships.
My question(s):
Evaluating Justifying a decision or course of action.
My question(s):
Creating Generating new ideas, products, or ways of viewing things.
My question(s):
Media Attributions
1. Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. (Eds.). (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives. New York: Longman.
2. Bloom, B., Englehart, M. Furst, E., Hill, W., & Krathwohl, D. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of educational goals. Handbook I: Cognitive domain. New York, Toronto: Longmans, Green; Salustri, F. (2015). Four levels of questions. Retrieved April 23, 2018, from http://deseng.ryerson.ca/dokuwiki/design:four_levels_of_questions.
1.04: Manage information for online learning
As you develop your identity as an online learner, you will want to consider the role of information management in your learning process. Strong independent learners actively read, evaluate, and use information for current course tasks, but more importantly, to develop a resource file of information that will support professional growth.
Many online learners feel overwhelmed at the volume of reading and the wealth of online resources available to them. Managing information well requires you to develop skills in identifying the purpose for your reading (What do you need to learn from this reading? Why is it important to you personally and professionally?), and the strategy that will help you achieve your purpose (skimming, reading key portions, a close reading). In the Strategic Reading module of this workshop, you will discover additional ways to manage the reading process.
Early in your learning journey, you will want to select a system for managing information. As you will frequently work with electronic texts and articles, selecting a system that allows you to store, search, and retrieve readings and notes from current and past courses. Online note systems, such as OneNote or Evernote, are highly effective for this purpose.
Benefits of Using an Online Notebook
Online notebook platforms allow you to do the following:
• Create individual notebooks for courses or assignments, creating additional sections or pages for weekly module topics
• Create flexible notes that include text, images, audio, and video files
• Store PDFs and other course documents for your own records (note: you will eventually lose access to Moodle pages when courses are complete)
• Clip and store relevant information from the web
• Search stored content to quickly find relevant information, making connections between courses and your previous learning
• Sync notes across all of your devices
Choose a Notebook
Two fully-featured and common software platforms are Onenote and Evernote
Advantages Disadvantages
OneNote
-Included in Office 365 subscriptions (free to KPU students) -Mac version is less fully featured
Evernote
*Used under license from Evernote Corporation
-Simple interface is easy to learn and use -Basic version is free, but additional features require an annual subscription
To evaluate which platform best serves your needs, you may wish to investigate by trying out each on your preferred devices. You may also wish to explore the following linked video tutorials for further information, and to begin developing your organizational system.
OneNote:
Evernote:
Comparison of Notebook Apps
Try it!
After investigating and installing your preferred digital notebook, create a notebook for each of your semester courses. Save your course presentation as a file in each of the notebooks.
Media Attributions
• OneNoteLogo
• FullSizeRender | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Learning_to_Learn_Online_(Page_and_Vincent)/01%3A_Who_am_I_as_an_online_learner/1.03%3A_Use_critical_questioning_to_support_your_learning.txt |
When you join an online course, you become part of what is known as a Community of Inquiry. In the Community of Inquiry, you will have an Instructor, content to process, and a learning community in which to grow.
This is a learning community that fosters your learning (cognitive growth), in a way that allows you to apply new insights to your life and work. Within a Community of Inquiry, learners have two key roles:
1. Maintaining a cognitive presence in the community. This requires a continual process of critical thinking.
2. Developing a social presence in the learning community. This involves creating the open and mutual relationships that allow for learning and collaboration to occur.
Image Credit: Rawia Inaim. Adapted from: https://coi.athabascau.ca/coi-model/
Cognitive Presence and Critical Thinking
How does learning happen? Is it the result of reading, memorizing, and taking exams? While many learning experiences have these components, the best kind of learning involves constructing new knowledge in a learning community. This requires interacting with new information (for example, from readings, discussions, videos, and lectures). You may receive this information with instructors, from fellow students, or you may search it out to solve questions or problems. Then, together with your learning community, you make connections between this new knowledge and your prior experiences. You also determine how this new knowledge will shape your professional practice.
The Community of Inquiry supports this process through the exchange of ideas, supporting one another exploring connections, and challenging ways of thinking through thoughtful questioning.
Social Presence
If learning occurs in a collaborative community, how does this take place online? Maintaining a social presence in an online environment involves allowing for open communication. Social presence allows you to risk expressing your ideas online, based on the knowledge that your classmates will be respectful and supportive. All members of the community commit to supporting each other in their learning. Though it may be difficult to express some nuances and emotions online, using emoticons can help. [1]
Group work is also a key part of the Community of Inquiry experience. The best online learning experiences happen when you are able to form connections within a team as you work towards your learning goals. The next sections of this module provide strategies for developing your learning community in the context of group work and team development.
An interactive or media element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://kpu.pressbooks.pub/learningtolearnonline/?p=43
Media Attributions
1. Athabasca University. (n.d.). Community of inquiry coding template. Retrieved from http://cde.athabascau.ca/coi_site/documents/Coding%20Template.pdf; Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T., & Archer, W. (1999). Critical Inquiry in a Text-Based Environment: Computer Conferencing in Higher Education. The Internet and Higher Education, 2(2–3), 87–105. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1096-7516(00)00016-6
2.02: Understand the principles of effective teamwork
Now that you have identified what you hope to achieve through teamwork in your learning community, consider how you will form effective teams.
Five Basic Elements of Effective Teams
Image Credit: Rawia Inaim
Effective teams share five key characteristics:
Positive Interdependence
Members believe they are linked together; they cannot succeed unless the other members of the group succeed (and vice versa).
They sink or swim together.
Individual Accountability
The performance of each individual member is assessed and the results given back to the group and the individual
Group Processing
At the end of its working period, the group processes it’s functioning by answering two questions:
• What did each member do that was helpful for the group?
• What can each member do to make the group work better?
Skills in Communication
Necessary for effective group functioning.
Members must have – and use – the needed leadership, decision-making, trust-building, communication, and conflict-management skills.
Promotive Interaction
Members help, assist, encourage, and support each other’s efforts to learn.[1]
Complete the quiz below to strengthen your knowledge of the five elements of effective teams.
An interactive or media element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://kpu.pressbooks.pub/learningtolearnonline/?p=46
Now that you understand the characteristics of effective teams, move to the next section to discover how good teams develop and grow through their life cycle.
Media Attributions
1. Johnson, D., T. Johnson, R., & Smith, K. (1998). Active Learning: Cooperation in the College Classroom (Vol. 47). https://doi.org/10.5926/arepj1962.47.0_29
2.03: Plan for successful teamwork
Tuckman suggested that teams move through stages in their life cycle: forming, storming, norming, and performing. At each stage, the group will work through a series of interpersonal tasks, as well as a series of project-related tasks.
Image Credit: Alice Macpherson and Rawia Inaim
In the first section of this module, you explored the components of a Community of Inquiry. Both cognitive presence and social presence are required in the online learning community. Tuckman’s model of team development also indicates that both components are needed. In a class-based team, it may be easy to focus only on the cognitive output of the group — the creation of the project, paper, or presentation. However, as you can observe from Tuckman’s model, a well-functioning team requires its members to exhibit social presence throughout, communicating well in interpersonal interactions.
In the days ahead, you will likely find yourself on a newly forming team in an online environment. Consider the strategies you plan to use to demonstrate social presence and form a strong interpersonal foundation for your newly forming team.[1]
Media Attributions
1. Tuckman, B.W. (1965) ‘Developmental sequence in small groups’, Psychological Bulletin, 63, 384-399. Reprinted in Group Facilitation: A Research and Applications Journal ,Number 3, Spring 2001
2.04: Progress through the stages of team development
As your group moves through these stages, stay aware of the patterns that tend to occur at each stage. For example, many teams falsely assume that their group cannot function when they find themselves at the storming stage. However, this stage is a normal part of team development, like the others. The infographic below indicates what steps you and your group members can take together to move to the next stage in your work together. Ultimately, you want to achieve a performing team that supports your learning in community
Image Credit: Alice Macpherson
Now that you have reviewed the ways that a team can move on in their development, apply your knowledge to team dilemmas in the quiz below. When you have finished the quiz, go to the next chapter to move on in the workshop.
An interactive or media element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://kpu.pressbooks.pub/learningtolearnonline/?p=52 | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Learning_to_Learn_Online_(Page_and_Vincent)/02%3A_Who_am_I_on_my_learning_journey_with/2.01%3A_Define_your_learning_community.txt |
In this module, you will review some key concepts about becoming an effective team, presented within the infographic below. If you prefer a more traditional reading experience, scroll below the interactive graphic for the full text. You can also download a copy of this infographic for your reference.
Image Credit: Rawia Inaim
Becoming a Team
A Team is two or more people; working together; on a Common Goal (or goals). Groups become Teams if the common goals are clear and attention is paid to both interpersonal and task functions.
The Team must Decide how to Communicate Effectively (Interpersonal)
Each Team must set up their own guidelines for good communication and a Team Charter. Through discussion and negotiation the members choose the items that are most important for their clear communication as a Team. These often include commitment to:
• Respect and Listen to others
• Not blame (work hard on the problem, not on the person)
• Group members and Project process
• Supportive and Constructive Feedback
• Agreed upon Goals and Clear Timelines
• Positive interdependence (sink or swim together)
• Individual Accountability (say what you will do and do it)
• Analysis of work done and Planning for next steps
• Process for conflict and Problem Management
The Team must Decide what is Important and Measure This (Task)
Early in the formation of the group, the members must decide what will be measured in the process. These items are generally critical to success and for the group to become an Effective Team. A team that has succeeded shares the following characteristics. Its members:
• Came prepared
• Offered ideas and suggestions, Provided information
• Asked for clarification/feedback
• Identified resources
• Solicited others’ participation
• Kept group on task
• Was easy to work with
• Prepared materials
• Made presentation
• Participated in discussions
• Managed group conflict
The Team must Acknowledge Success and Aim for Improvement
What have we done (individually and collectively) to meet our goals and keep the Team Charter?
How can we do better for next time? (Next steps)
The Team Celebrates!
Celebrate what you have accomplished and then refocus your efforts for greater success!
Framework for Working Together
Core Values
Your personal beliefs are the core values that affect and drive how you look at the world, your behaviour in the world and your interaction with others. They are how you do “business” with the rest of the world. In other words, they are the basis for everything that you are and do. These beliefs about appropriate behaviours, attitudes and strategies also guide every working group and need to be explicit and understood.
Mandate
It is useful to know what you are expected to do in a group situation. This is often delivered or requested from an administrative or political level and appears in the form of a “job description”. The group which is mandated may not be able to effect the general outline of the mandate. The context in which the group operates has critical effects on what can be done.
Identifying a Mission Statement
A mission statement embodies the group’s current purpose and intent and answers (within the mandate of the group) questions such as: What are we about? Why are we working together? What do we want to achieve? It describes the business that you are in. This may be a statement developed by the whole organization or it may be more localized in a department, program, class, work group or individually. It gives direction to actions. Without knowing your mission, you may not be able to get started.
Developing Shared Vision
Vision is a future oriented statement of a group’s purpose in a task, project or work team. Having the members shared a vision that aligns with their personal values and aspirations is a solid basis for production. Time spent at the beginning in dreaming and discussing what the final result will be is time well spent. If it is not possible to have a shared vision of the end product and the goals and milestones that must be reached then the team may also have difficulty identifying whether they have accomplished their purpose.
Sometimes, when the project is open ended or ongoing, the final product cannot be totally “visioned” at the beginning. A shared vision will then be one that all of the team members agree are the elements of where they want to get at this time and the direction that they will start moving towards to achieve these elements.
Visions should be revisited and refined over time. If the team is not heading in the same direction, then it may not get anywhere.
Determining Appropriate Goals
What are the individual tasks and goals that will build to making your vision manifest? Goals lead towards the realization of the vision. It is important to develop appropriate goals, make them explicit and share an understanding of each one.
Goals have:
• Targets – where we expect to get to realistically balanced with time and resources.
• Objectives – identifiable, measurable and achievable steps.
• Tasks – ways of reaching the objectives.
• Indicators – ways of measuring progress.
Like our vision statement, goals need to be realigned with reality on a regular basis. Evaluation and adjustment drive this process.
Improving Continuously
Knowing where you are going and how you intend to get there is a good start. The final step is continuous improvement. Planning, implementation, and verification are tools for analysis and change as the process unfolds. Improvement is continual but the steps are small. Pick changes that can be made now that will have a positive effect – 1% is enough each time. | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Learning_to_Learn_Online_(Page_and_Vincent)/02%3A_Who_am_I_on_my_learning_journey_with/2.05%3A_Make_commitments_that_support_teamwork.txt |
Image Credit: Rawia Inaim. Adapted from: https://coi.athabascau.ca/coi-model/
As you have already learned, when you join an online course, you become part of what is known as a Community of Inquiry and you take on an important role in this online learning environment.
What is the role of your instructor in this learning environment? Your online instructor provides the teaching presence to create design significant learning experiences for you and your fellow students. Instructors also thoughtfully facilitate the content that will support your learning in the class. They also direct you by answering questions and challenging your assumptions to help you grow in your knowledge and skills.
Image credit: Christina Page
In online classrooms, your instructor takes on the following roles:
• Designer: In a museum, a curator locates the best artifacts to create an effective experience for those who visit. In an online learning environment, your instructors take on the role like that of a curator as they design the course. They will guide you towards readings and other learning materials that will serve your learning goals. Based on their experience in their field, they are able to help you focus your attention on learning resources that are accurate and relevant.
• Facilitator: Your instructor carefully creates opportunities for you to learn the skills you need for your future career, and designs assignments and learning activities to lead you towards intellectual, personal, and professional growth. As you review the course presentation, consider each of the learning activities and assignments. Think about the reasons why your instructor may have selected these course components to contribute to your development.
• Director: Online instructors are available to answer questions along the way. As you learn, you will inevitably find areas that are unclear to you, either related to the course content or your learning process. By communicating with your instructor effectively, you will take full advantage of their role in guiding you on your journey.[1]
For Reflection
Now that you have considered the roles of your online instructor, consider how these roles will shape your work as a student, and your relationship with the instructor.
Instructor Role My Response and Learning Strategies
Designer
Facilitator
Director
Media Attributions
1. Garrison, D. R., & Vaughan, N. D. (2008). Blended learning in higher education: framework, principles, and guidelines (1st ed). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
3.02: Develop an effective student-instructor connection
Image Credit: Rawia Inaim
Now that you have developed a picture of the role that your instructors will have in your online learning journey, how might you develop an effective relationship with them. Consider the following suggestions:
1. When you look at a course reading, activity, or assignment, try to put yourself inside the mind of your instructor. Why do you think they chose this particular learning experience for you? What do you think they intend for you to learn? Understanding the purpose of a learning activity can increase your motivation and help you to stay on track in your work.
2. Take advantage of opportunities to connect with your instructor, either face to face or during online office hours. You can attend office hours to clarify course difficulties, but also to build your relationship with your instructor and demonstrate your interest in the course material.
3. Check the course site regularly. Your instructor is likely to post announcements and other key messages for the class. This provides another point of frequent contact.
4. Use email effectively to connect. You will learn more about how to construct an effective email in the section on professional communication in this workshop — but if you are curious, you may choose to view the chapter on how to email an instructor now.
5. When you receive feedback on an assignment, consider it carefully. How does your instructor want to see you grow in your academic or professional skills?
For Reflection
Reflect on the questions below. If you wish, you may print out a downloadable version of this activity.
How would you define an effective relationship with an online instructor?
What is one step you will take to develop a relationship with each of your course instructors? | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Learning_to_Learn_Online_(Page_and_Vincent)/03%3A_Who_are_my_instructors_What_is_their_role/3.01%3A_Describe_the_role_of_an_online_instructor.txt |
Online courses often provide you with a great deal of flexibility in organizing your time. This can be a tremendous asset, particularly if you are balancing study with work, family, or other commitments. However, this also requires you to accurately determine how much work you must complete over the semester, and to develop a plan that allows you to complete this work effectively.
Many students find it helpful to develop a semester schedule that provides an “overview at a glance” of what will be required. You will find the information you need for this in your course presentations.
The following video will help you to better understand how to read your course presentation and how to plan for the semester ahead.
A YouTube element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here: https://kpu.pressbooks.pub/learningtolearnonline/?p=70
Video Transcript: Creating a Semester Schedule
Creating a master schedule for your whole semester can help you to see the big picture and to stay on track. In this video, you will learn how to compile the information from your course presentations into one master schedule that will allow you to see your semester at a glance.
Here are 3 STEPS you can take to use your course presentations to create a semester schedule.
Step 1: Create a table with 7 columns, one column for each day of the week, and with one rows for each week of the semester. Label the days, Monday, Tuesday, and all the way along, across the top of the table. Then label the weeks, across the side of the table. At this point you can also add specific dates for each week of the semester. You can download a ready-made semester schedule by clicking in the description of this video.
Step 2: Next, gather up all of your course presentations for the semester. You should have one for each course you are taking, which includes details about the weekly schedule and readings, assignment due dates, and exams. If you have a part time job, and know your schedule, and if you have family commitments which have a regular schedule, gather up these schedules as well.
Step 3: Now, go through the course presentation looking for important details and commitments that will take place in Week 1 of the semester. This could include required course readings, homework and assignments. On your semester schedule table, find the day of the week these commitments need to be completed by and write them down. Make sure to include the course name, the details of the commitment, and what it is worth if it is a graded assignment. Now keep working through your course presentation, through each week of the semester. Keep following these same steps for each of your courses, until you have completed your schedule.
Now, add important life events to your semester schedule – this might include work events, family events, trips and special occasions.
In summary, once you have completed these 3 steps using your course presentations to create a semester schedule, you will now have a central and easily accessible schedule that includes all of your commitments, in one place. You won’t have to go searching through piles of paper, or back online through the course website, to remember what you have to get done each week. As well, being able to see, in one place, what your commitments are today, this week, and in the upcoming weeks, can help you organize your time in the most efficient way possible. | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Learning_to_Learn_Online_(Page_and_Vincent)/04%3A_Time_Management_for_Online_Learning/4.01%3A_Use_your_course_presentations_to_understand_the_shape_of_your_semester.txt |
A semester schedule gives you a visual picture of the assignments, projects, tests, exams, presentations, and practicum requirements that will happen during the semester. If you are taking a number of classes, this is a tool to be able to see what is coming up next.
By having the “big picture” in view, you will be able to proactively manage busy periods in your semester. If you have flexible due dates, you will be able to schedule your assignments for the optimal time in the semester. For example, you may notice that you have a larger than typical number of major assignments due in week 6. This allows you to schedule work on some of these projects earlier in the semester.
Look at the example semester schedule below. What do you notice about what the student chose to include? What will you include on your semester schedule? After viewing the example schedule below, download the semester schedule template to create your own schedule. When you have completed your schedule, go to the next chapter to move ahead.
Image Credit: Rawia Inaim
4.03: Develop a weekly schedule that works
Your next step is to create a weekly schedule. This will include your class times for face to face or blended classes, work commitments, volunteer roles, practicum placements, as well as any other regular events in your week. A weekly schedule is a good tool to evaluate whether your time use allows you to meet your overall goals. Do you have enough time for study? Is there time to maintain a healthy lifestyle? Analyze the example student schedule below. What do you notice about how this student has planned their week?
Image credit: Rawia Inaim
Download the weekly schedule template here. The following principles will guide you as you create your weekly schedule:
1. Record your regular weekly commitments on the schedule template. This includes any face to face or blended class times.
2. Designate regular study blocks for each of your classes. Remember that university courses typically require at least 9-12 hours of weekly study. Remember that it is more effective to study for multiple, shorter blocks of time during the week than to plan for one extended study block. Shorter study periods will allow for greater focus. Regular review will help you retain information well.
3. Record meal times, family times, laundry times, etc.
4. Record all regularly scheduled personal activities such as meetings, employment and athletics.
5. Record any special activities you need to do or want to do on a regular basis.
6. Schedule to start your study period with the courses you like least or that you’re not doing well in. Try to study the same subjects at the same time each study day. Although this seems to be a mechanical way of scheduling, you will find that such a routine can help you develop a pattern for efficient and effective learning.
7. Schedule a weekly review (WR) for each course. Do it at the end of the week if possible. This weekly review gives you an opportunity to go over the past week’s notes along with the reading assignments to see what you have been learning in the past week during class and study time for each course. You can also look ahead to plan the next week and determine how much reading you need to do, what projects are due, and if any tests are scheduled.
8. Keep open some time for daily physical activity. Remember, research indicates that regular exercise will not only give you a general sense of well-being, but can reduce tension and help you accomplish a tough class, study, and work schedule.
9. Label some empty blocks of time as OPEN for academic or personal needs.
10. Schedule some time during Friday, Saturday, and Sunday for you to play, relax, or do whatever you want to do. This is your reward for sticking to your schedule. In addition, you’ll enjoy your free time more. Because it is scheduled you do not need to feel guilty.
Try it!
Download the weekly schedule template. Create your weekly schedule based on the principles you have explored in this chapter. Follow your schedule for a two week period. Then, evaluate and make adjustments. | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Learning_to_Learn_Online_(Page_and_Vincent)/04%3A_Time_Management_for_Online_Learning/4.02%3A_Create_a_semester_schedule.txt |
Now that you can see the big picture of your semester and weekly priorities, the next step is to create a daily to-do list to prioritize your tasks. The video below introduces you to some principles for creating daily task lists. When you are finished, move to the next section to choose strategies for managing your tasks.
A YouTube element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here: https://kpu.pressbooks.pub/learningtolearnonline/?p=78
Managing Daily Tasks Video Transcript
By the time you’ve finished the day today, what will you have accomplished? In this video, you will learn to create a system to manage your daily to-do list, so that you can prioritize effectively and use your time efficiently. For every task you have to complete, you need to decide:
1. When do I need to finish this by?
2. How much time will it take? and
3. Is this task a priority, or can it wait until later?
A good to-do list helps you make sure that you complete all of your high priority tasks, and that you allocate a manageable amount of work to each day. So, how do you make a daily task list? First, you will want to find the format that works best for you. Some people prefer to use a paper planner. Others prefer to use the reminders function on their phone, or another task list app. Choose the format that meets your needs the best. Second, you will need to divide your work into tasks that are specific, measurable, and achievable. In general, a task should be anything that you can complete in a single work period – for example, in an hour or less. If you have a large project, break it down into smaller tasks.
Third, you will need to assign your tasks to a specific day. Make sure that each day’s task list is reasonable and achievable.
Fourth, prioritize each day’s tasks. What tasks must be finished today. Be sure that you complete these before moving on to lower priority tasks. After the most important things have been done, move on to the less urgent tasks.
At the end of the day, decide what to do with any tasks that aren’t yet complete. Most often, you will move the task to another day. You might also decide that the task isn’t important, and delete it from your list.
Finally, be sure to reward yourself for a day’s work well done. If you are able to create an effective motivational system for yourself, you will be less likely to procrastinate, and more likely to finish your most important work each day.
To summarize, a daily to-do list can help you stay on track and achieve your most important goals. Choose a tool that works for you, organize your tasks, prioritize them, and work through your list each day.
4.05: Choose a daily task management system
Some students prefer paper-based task management systems, while others prefer to use technology to manage daily tasks. Consider the following advantages and disadvantages of systems you might choose.
Choose a Daily Task Management System
System Advantages Disadvantages
Paper planner • User is not required to learn new technology
• Eliminates possible distraction with apps
• Flexible and adaptable to user preferences
• Difficult to share tasks with team members in group projects
• May require time to create effective calendar and task list layouts
Online calendar (e.g. Outlook Calendar, Google Calendar) • Tasks and other life commitments are integrated in a single view
• Information is easily viewable on multiple devices
• Easy to schedule meetings with team members or share events
• May be difficult to integrate smaller tasks into the work plan
• May be difficult to move incomplete tasks to a new time slot on a later date
Time management app (e.g. Wunderlist, Remember the Milk, Microsoft To-Do) • Information can viewed on multiple devices
• Most apps allow project lists to be shared between team members
• Easy to integrate small tasks into the daily task list
• Easy to mark task completion
• Incomplete tasks can be rescheduled simply
• May require time to learn the platform
• Apps may become obsolete
• Some apps require payment
Reflection and Action
Consider what kind of task management system will help you most in your current study program:
1. What kind of time management system do you prefer? Paper or technology-based?
2. Do you plan to keep your current time management system, or make some changes to support your online learning? If you are trying a new system, when will you evaluate how effective it is for you?
3. When will you organize your daily tasks? Will you set aside a longer block of time on a weekly basis for planning, or set aside a few moments for planning at the beginning or end of each day? | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Learning_to_Learn_Online_(Page_and_Vincent)/04%3A_Time_Management_for_Online_Learning/4.04%3A_Manage_daily_tasks.txt |
Through using smaller blocks of time you can cover material in chunks (more on the next page) and not have to worry about the larger whole. A mistake that many people make is that they try to cram information into their minds in one large session. This isn’t a successful strategy for most students.
Look for smaller blocks of time to study. If you are a public transit user, you can likely spend 20 minutes on your bus ride to read or review for your upcoming class or exam. You could even listen to an audio recording of your notes. In the evening, instead of watching three episodes of your favourite TV show, you could watch one and spend the remaining time preparing for your studies. Going out to eat often? Consider making something simple at home that you could put in the oven to cook without needing tending to; that time could be used doing some work for class and still leave you time for other activities once dinner is done.
Making time for your studies can be overwhelming. The following video introduces you to ways to use smaller blocks of time to get your tasks done, while not using up numerous hours at once.
Click on the video to learn more as you continue down this pathway. Answer the questions (by clicking on the icons that appear) to further your learning. When you are finished, go to the next chapter to continue.
An interactive or media element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://kpu.pressbooks.pub/learningtolearnonline/?p=84
Video Transcript: Using Small Blocks of Time Productively
One trick to balancing work and study is taking advantage of small blocks of time to get things done.
In this video, you will consider the small blocks of time in your schedule, and identify strategies to increase your productivity during these moments in your day.
Often, we think we need to have a lot of time available for study, or we think that we can only study at home or in the library. By adjusting your thinking, you’ll be able to open up additional productive learning time.
• Do you commute by transit? Though it wouldn’t be ideal to try to master detailed or complicated reading material on the bus, perhaps you can do some initial scanning or skimming while in transit, to prepare yourself for class or deeper reading later.
• Consider creating flash cards for material that you need to learn. You can take a set of flash cards with you and work whenever a few minutes become available. If you use one of the many flash card or self-testing apps available on your phone, you’ll be able to easily pull out your phone and make use of those small blocks of time.
• Self-testing is one of the most effective ways to learn. Create a list of study questions for your course. Pull out the list when you have time available, and review a few questions. Keep track of those you answer correctly, and those you need to study more.
• Does your course include access to online videos that explain and review key concepts? Watch a video or two to review, or to improve your understanding of a key course idea.
• Some courses also include access to online self-study questions. Try answering a few review questions in your spare moments. These online quizzes usually provide immediate feedback on what you understand, and what you should study further.
• Do you like to learn by listening? Make an audio recording of the important points you want to remember, and listen while you commute or exercise. Maybe audio books are for you – are any of your course materials available in this format? | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Learning_to_Learn_Online_(Page_and_Vincent)/04%3A_Time_Management_for_Online_Learning/4.06%3A_Make_use_of_small_blocks_of_time.txt |
In an online learning environment, communicating by email is an important part of getting things done. For many students, emailing instructors can be intimidating, at least at first. The video below, which includes an interactive quiz, will provide you with some tools for sending a clear and professional email. You will use many of these same principles for your communication with classmates, and in other work settings.
An interactive or media element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://kpu.pressbooks.pub/learningtolearnonline/?p=88
Video Transcript
Communicating with your instructor throughout the semester is an important part of being an active and engaged post-secondary student. Email is by far the most popular means by which this type of communication takes place. For students, emailing instructors is particularly appealing because it is familiar, easy and convenient. But messages sent via email can easily be misunderstood unless special care is taken in their composition.
To avoid confusion, and to make it as easy for your busy instructors to read and understand your email as possible, there are a few basic principles to keep in mind when sending an email message to your professor. In this video, we are going to cover five of these principles that will help ensure that your email communication is clear, effective, and professional.
First, it is important to use a formal, professional tone when emailing your instructor. Include an informative subject, and avoid simply saying “hey” or “hello” For example, if your instructor’s name was Tom Smith, an email to them might look something like “Dear Professor Smith.” You may wish to conclude with a closing like “best regards”. In general, don’t worry about being too formal with your instructor. Think of your email as a professional, business communication.
Second, make sure that your email is grammatically correct. You should think about your email as a chance to show your instructor that you care about the class, and that you are willing to take the time to proofread your message before sending it. It is also a good idea to break your message up into multiple paragraphs with appropriate punctuation. This makes your email easier to read, and it helps to avoid unnecessary confusion. Remember, your instructor is much more likely to help you if they are able to understand what you are saying.
Third, it is helpful to keep your message brief. Avoid long emails that go into too many unnecessary details or that appear to be long-winded rants. Keep your tone friendly and respectful, and keep your emails concise and to the point. With that said, it is also not a good idea to be too short with your message, as shortness can sometimes be misinterpreted as rudeness.
Fourth, it is a good idea to make sure that you actually need to send the email in the first place. Sometimes, simply reading through your syllabus, assignment description, class website, or lecture notes can answer many of the questions you might have.
Finally, it is important not to expect that your instructor will response to you immediately. Unlike with instant messaging, email responses can take anywhere from one to three days. Your instructors have a lot of email to respond to, along with their other responsibilities, so patience is advisable. Moreover, it is important to only re-send an email after at least five days have passed.
In this video, we covered five key principles that, if followed when writing an email to your instructor, will help ensure that you communicate clearly, effectively, and professionally. | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Learning_to_Learn_Online_(Page_and_Vincent)/05%3A_Professional_Communication_in_the_Online_Environment/5.01%3A_Use_email_in_the_online_learning_environment.txt |
Many online courses include forums, either as a required assignment, or to support your learning process. How can you use forums to support your learning in the best way possible?
Earlier in the workshop, you encountered the social presence and cognitive presence elements of the community of inquiry you are building in your course. Forums are a tool for creating collaborative learning relationships. They can also be a low-stakes way to express your developing ideas, and to get feedback on the ways in which you are learning the course material as you work towards larger assignments.
What makes a good forum post?
The rubric below outlines what distinguishes stronger online posts from those that are less successful. Review the chart below. What do you notice? If your instructor has provided a rubric for online posts, read the rubric, and identify your instructor’s criteria for success.[1]
Image Credit: Christina Page
Tips for Participating in Forums
1. Develop a clear understanding of the expectations and ground rules for the forum. Review your course presentation (syllabus) to guidance on how often to post, the type of content to include in each post, and the best way to respond to others’ posts.
2. Make connections between your posts and the content you are learning in the course. A forum post is often an excellent place to engage in critical reflection. Make connections between the course content and the ways that your growing understanding are shaping your present and future practice.
3. Set a regular schedule for posting and commenting on forums. This prevents the amount of content from becoming overwhelming, and allows you to develop stronger relationships in the course by regularly engaging with classmates.
4. Include resources that might be useful to other classmates or your instructor in your posts.
5. Use language that is appropriate for an academic environment. Avoid writing in a way that is too informal (ie. writing that resembles a text message).
6. Make sure that each post is clearly written and well structured. Take time to clarify the message you want to communicate in your post, and organize your content into clear and concise paragraphs. This is easier for your reader than a long or disorganized post.
7. Respond to others’ posts in a supportive and challenging way. In writing, messages may be unintentionally misinterpreted. Be sure that your responses to others are respectful, positive in tone, and do not appear angry, even when you wish to disagree or present an alternative viewpoint.
8. Participate in the community discussion. Read others’ comments before posting, and connect your ideas with what you are hearing from your classmates. [2]
For Reflection
Read through your course presentations and find any guidelines for posting to forums. Create a checklist for yourself based on these guidelines and the rubric above. What do you need to do to create successful forum posts in your course? Keep this checklist, and refer to it regularly as you post to forums.
Media Attributions
1. Fenwick, T. J., & Parsons, J. (2009). The art of evaluation: a resource for educators and trainers (2nd ed.). Toronto: Thompson Educational Publishing.
2. Pappas, C. (2015a, June 6). 10 netiquette tips for online discussions. Retrieved August 7, 2018, from https://elearningindustry.com/10-netiquette-tips-online-discussions; Pappas, C. (2015b, August 16). 7 tips on how to use forums in elearning. Retrieved August 7, 2018, from https://elearningindustry.com/7-tips-use-forums-in-elearning. | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Learning_to_Learn_Online_(Page_and_Vincent)/05%3A_Professional_Communication_in_the_Online_Environment/5.02%3A_Communicate_in_online_forums.txt |
Good communication and learning in an online environment requires giving and receiving feedback. You might give feedback to classmates in a group project, or receive feedback from your classmates and instructors. What strategies can help you use feedback most effectively?
Image credit: Rawia Inaim
Effective feedback must include:
1. What is being done correctly and well.
2. How it can be improved.
3. What the next steps might be.
Receiving Feedback
If another person offers you feedback, it may sound like criticism. It may be that they intend to be positive but they may not know how to say something positively. It may also be that their self-esteem is low and they are being defensive or aggressive towards you. Most importantly, you may become defensive or aggressive if you see their feedback as critical or negative, no matter what was meant.
Attempt to suspend your reaction until you understand the information that is being given. Paraphrase what you hear. If it seems unclear, ask for clarification. Having it presented in other words or from another point of view may increase your understanding about what is being said.
Explore and discover the reasons for the comments.
• Is a change by you indicated?
• Is it an evaluation of the past or an indication for the future?
Think about and cope with your possible defensive reaction.
• Do you see wants as demands?
• Do you feel guilty or obligated?
• Are you hearing more than is being said?
Ideally, listen to his/her comments and find the positive side of them. Then, explain your position or point of view without feeling that you must justify yourself. Determine the importance of the message to you. You may choose not to change.
Any discussion will profit from more information. You can wall yourself away from information and change by being defensive. You may open new lines of communication by being open.
Giving Positive Feedback
It is easy to criticize and to think that we are helping a person deal with a situation. To give the right commentary, at the right time, to the right person, with the right reasons, in the right way, and to the right degree is very difficult.
You first need agreement to interact. If the other person is not ready to hear your comments, you set up a negative interaction that will cause them to block you and your opinions out. If you do not have permission to comment, you may be seen as aggressive and the other person may respond by being aggressive or defensive towards you.
Ask if the other person wants your feedback. If they say no, then you will have to discuss or problem-solve that before you say anything more, or you will say nothing at all.
Search out all the facts you can prior to giving your feedback. Ask the people involved about what they feel is happening and how they see the situation. This may solve or help to solve the problem.
Time the discussion so that you are all reasonably unstressed. Leave time so there is another chance to talk before a parting of ways. This will help to avoid or clear misunderstanding or confusion.
Be Positive. Try to begin and end your feedback with comments about what is working, correct, or right about the situation. No matter how bad you perceive things to be, there will be good points to comment on.
Avoid using absolutes or negative words, words like always or never or don’t. Each situation tends to be many shades of grey rather than black and white. Actions taken are seen by each person in the light of his/her own experiences and perceptions. Use alternative positive words and phrases. Avoid comparing the person involved to other people in other situations. The where, when, what, and who of each situation are different. Comparisons tend to produce resentment and frustration.
Be Specific in your description of the problem. Avoid vague or misleading statements. If attitude seems to be a problem, show specific instances and then take one point at a time so as not to overload or overwhelm the other person. Make sure that it is something that can be changed.
When you tell someone that you feel they could improve or change, then also make suggestions on how you think they might go about making those changes, and what behaviour would be observed if the changes were made. Be prepared for no change.
Feedback can be Positive if it:
• is offered at the right time and place,
• is offered with comments on good points as well as possible changes,
• is connected to facts and not rumours,
• is directed to behaviour that can be changed,
• is specific and one point at a time, and
• gives information and possible solutions to change the situation.
You will not use all of these items in all circumstances, but all of them can be used in some situations.
[1]
1. Adapted from: KPU Learning Centres, & Macpherson, A. (2017). Level One Peer Tutoring Fundamentals Workbook. Kwantlen Polytechnic University. Retrieved from https://kora.kpu.ca/islandora/object/kora:98
5.04: Learn with ePortfolios
Image Credit: Rawia Inaim
Many online courses include the opportunity to learn and demonstrate your learning with ePortfolios. To get started with your ePortfolio, you may need to learn to use an online tool: Mahara and WordPress are two commonly used tools. Though ePortfolio assignments differ from class to class, there are some advantages to producing portfolios — both for your classes, and to extend your professional learning. Eportfolios offer the following benefits:
• By recording your learning regularly, you are able to show your growth as a learner and a professional over time.
• Eportfolios allow you to show and reflect on your learning process. While other assignments focus on the final product, an eportfolio allows you to record reflections, weekly learnings, and to document the changes in your learning and practice over a semester.
• The process of considering the content to include and the best way to present it is itself a learning experience. By consolidating your learning from different course activities and assignments, and applying your learning to your past experience, present personal goals, and future practice, you are engaging in meaningful life-long learning.
• Eportfolios provide a record of your learning to present in applications for future study programs or employment.[1]
Developing your eportfolio might require you to develop new technical skills in Mahara or WordPress. For information on using Mahara, download this PDF quick-start guide.
Media Attributions
1. Fenwick, T. J., & Parsons, J. (2009). The art of evaluation: a resource for educators and trainers (2nd ed.). Toronto: Thompson Educational Publishing. | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Learning_to_Learn_Online_(Page_and_Vincent)/05%3A_Professional_Communication_in_the_Online_Environment/5.03%3A_Give_and_receive_feedback.txt |
You need a clear understanding of what the instructor wants before starting on any assignment of project. Then you will want to translate assignment terms and requirements into useful clues as to what your instructor expects. When you are not sure, remember to ask the instructor.
The first step is to read the assignment carefully as soon as you receive it.
Image Credit: Rawia Inaim
Interpreting the Assignment
Ask yourself a few basic questions as you read and jot down the answers on the assignment sheet:
• What is the task you need to do in this assignment?
• Why did your instructor ask you to do this particular task?
• Who is your audience?
• What kind of evidence do you need to support your ideas?
• What kind of writing style is acceptable?
• What kind of referencing style must be used?
• What guidelines must you follow?
Terms that might be used to determine the task
• Identification Terms: cite, define, enumerate, give, identify, indicate, list, mention, name, state.
• Description Terms: describe, discuss, review, summarize, diagram, illustrate, sketch, develop, outline, trace.
• Relation Terms: analyze, compare, contrast, differentiate, distinguish, relate.
• Demonstration Terms: demonstrate, explain why, justify, prove, show, support.
• Evaluation Terms: assess, comment, criticize, evaluate, interpret, propose.
Begin with Background Content
Most assignment will be related to the materials you have studied in the course up to the point of the assignment. As you read the assignment or project requirements, start by identifying which theories, formulas, and graphics relate. Consider what research you will need to do to complete the project.
6.02: Use a rubric to evaluate your work
What is a rubric?
When you receive many of your course assignments, you may also receive a copy of the rubric the instructor will use to grade your work. The rubric provides information on what criteria shape a highly successful assignment.
How to use rubrics
Your assignment instructions and rubric are two of your key tools throughout the process of completing the assignment. These provide an outline of the criteria that the instructor has set out for a successful assignment. There are two key times to use the rubric and assignment instructions:
1. Before you start writing: Unfortunately, time may be lost writing something that does not meet the key guidelines you must follow. To avoid this problem, take time to read both the assignment instructions and rubric carefully before beginning. Clarify any areas of confusion with your instructor.
2. After you have written a draft, but before you submit the assignment: At this point, grade your work according to the rubric. Think carefully and critically. Are there areas where you may not have met the criteria well? If so, edit your work accordingly, making the needed revisions before submitting the assignment.
The video below provides additional strategies for using rubrics. When you are finished the video, scroll to the bottom of the page for a reflective activity. Then, go to the next chapter to move on in the workshop.
A YouTube element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here: https://kpu.pressbooks.pub/learningtolearnonline/?p=107
Making Rubrics Work for You: Video Script
When you receive an assignment, you may notice that it includes a rubric or checklist that indicates how your instructor will mark your work. Have you ever thought that this could be a powerful learning tool for you?
In this video, you’ll learn how use a rubric to its maximum potential to support your learning.
The first time you want to look at the rubric is when you first begin working on your assignment. You want to avoid making the unfortunate make of putting a lot of time and effort into an assignment, only to miss an important element of the assignment requirements.
Analyze the rubric carefully. What is your instructor looking for? Which sections receive more marks? What elements are worth fewer marks? Use this information to determine how you want to focus your efforts.
Not sure what a term on the rubric means? Now is a great time to ask!
Now, imagine that you’ve finished writing the first draft of your assignment. How does the rubric help now? As it turns out, there are some powerful things you can do with a rubric at this stage in your work.
One secret to student success is learning to accurately understand how your work meets the expectations of your course. One way that you can do this is to put yourself into the place of your instructor, and try to grade your own assignment according to the rubric.
Does your assignment meet expectations? If it doesn’t quite yet, you still have time to consider what changes you want to make.
After you receive the marked assignment from your instructor, compare how your self-evaluation with the rubric compares with how your instructor graded your work. Where did you notice differences?
As you continue to use this process, you will work towards using a rubric to self-evaluate accurately – so that your self-evaluation closely matches your instructor’s evaluation of your work.
So, as you can see, a rubric can be a powerful tool for learning. By using your rubric effectively, you will be able to produce work that accurately meets the expectations of your course. Make the rubrics work for you!
Reflection and application
Take out your assignment instructions and rubric. Use them to answer the following questions:
• Describe in one sentence your task on this assignment: What do you need to do?
• What resources will you use to complete this assignment? Review any textbook materials, handouts, or class notes that relate to this assignment.
• How many additional resources do you need to find to complete the assignment task? (consider books, peer reviewed articles, websites, or other resources).
• What content do you need to create for this assignment?
• What guidelines do you need to follow related to the format of the assignment?
• What format do you need to use for citations and references (APA, MLA, and Chicago are the most commonly used). | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Learning_to_Learn_Online_(Page_and_Vincent)/06%3A_Analyzing_Online_Assignments/6.01%3A_Identify_learning_goals_for_assignments.txt |
Now that you have a clear idea of what you need to do, the next step is to break down the assignment into manageable “chunks”. The idea of completing a major research paper may seem overwhelming, but if you can divide the task into achievable steps you will be on your way to success.
Use the chart below to break your assignment into smaller steps. You will want to create steps that can be done easily in one day, and preferably in a single work period. Consider the following example breakdown for a research paper.
Assignment Task Target Completion Date Complete?
Read assignment instructions and rubric October 2 Y
Review course materials and choose topic October 3 Y
Library research — find 3 peer reviewed articles and two books October 5
Read and take notes on two articles October 7
Read and takes notes on final article and books October 8
Organize notes; write thesis and outline October 9
Write body paragraph 1 October 10
Write body paragraph 2 October 10
Write body paragraph 3 October 11
Write body paragraph 4 October 11
Write conclusion October 12
Write introduction October 12
Self-edit content and organization (use the rubric) October 14
Writing tutor appointment October 15
Edit and proofread assignment October 16
Submit final assignment October 18
In the above example, the assignment is divided into smaller pieces, with a manageable amount to complete each day. It is also clear when each task has been completed. A daily work goal like “work on research paper” is not well-defined, and can seem overwhelming. This can make it easy to procrastinate. By choosing specific and achievable goals, you may become more motivated to get started, and you will be able to measure your progress each day. Remember to reward yourself for meeting your goals along the way.
Try it!
Choose one of your upcoming assignments, and create a work plan modelled on the example above.
Image Credit: Graeme Robinson-Clogg
6.04: Use feedback to move forward
“We all need people who will give us feedback. That’s how we improve.” – Bill Gates
During the learning process, we have many opportunities to receive feedback about the quality of our learning and work. In the university environment, this often comes in the form of grades and instructor comments on assignments and exams. By using this feedback to evaluate your learning strategies in light of your goals, you will be able to make adjustments to move you towards your goals in current and future courses.
Consider the purpose of feedback
Many people find feedback difficult to receive, particularly when it indicates areas for improvement. Shifting your mindset as you receive feedback can be a catalyst for personal growth. View feedback as a gift that is intended to allow personal growth, stronger future academic performance, and professional development. When you receive feedback, take time to reflect on the comments given. Direct the feedback towards future assignments; rather than considering what you might to differently on the current assignment, use the feedback to inform your future goals and work on subsequent projects.
Reflecting mid-course
An excellent time for self-evaluation is after you have received feedback on your first midterm exam or major assignment. Consider the following reflection questions at this stage in your course:
• What grade do I hope to achieve in this course? ________
• To what extent am I meeting my goal for the course at this point?
• What about my exam/assignment preparation worked well?
• What about my exam/assignment preparation did not work well? What do I want to change?
• How will what I have learned help me in the second half of the course?
If you have identified an area for growth that requires change, consider new learning strategies. Consider the resources available to you: online learning, workshops, tutoring, support from classmates, and your instructor. Identify the people on your “team” that can help you respond to feedback and move towards your new goals.
Image Credit: Graeme Robinson-Clogg
Reflecting at the End of a Course
The completion of a course is also an excellent time for reflection and evaluation. In addition to the questions in the midterm evaluation, consider the following:
1. How will what I have learned help me in my next courses?
2. How will I use what I have learned in my future career and other aspects of my life?
By reflecting on feedback and evaluating your learning regularly, you will avoid getting stuck in unproductive patterns. You will contribute to your own ongoing personal growth and development, supporting your success in future courses and other life endeavours.
Try it!
Download the evaluation template to support you in the process of reflecting and moving ahead.
1. Chen, P., Chavez, O., Ong, D. C., & Gunderson, B. (2017). Strategic resource use for learning: A self-administered intervention that guides self-reflection on effective resource use enhances academic performance. Psychological Science, 28(6), 774–785. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797617696456;
2. Tanner, K. D. (2012). Promoting student metacognition. Cell Biology Education, 11(2), 113–120. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.12-03-0033 | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Learning_to_Learn_Online_(Page_and_Vincent)/06%3A_Analyzing_Online_Assignments/6.03%3A_Create_an_assignment_plan.txt |
Photo credit: Emily Tan
Reading and the online learning journey
Online learning typically requires you to interact with a larger amount of written material than traditional in-class courses. This can benefit your growth as a lifelong learner by developing your skills in selecting relevant reading material, approaching it purposefully, and managing the information you read. Consider the following principles as a guide as you approach reading:
1. Not all reading material requires equal time or attention. Unlike a novel, where you give most pages equal time in order to understand the story, much of your professional reading is focused on finding and using relevant information. This means that you may not read every word in available readings. Some information may require a close and careful reading, while other information may be skimmed to find key points.
2. Before you begin reading, identify your purpose for reading. What do you need to learn from this reading? This will determine how you approach the reading material.
3. Use questions to guide your reading. In the next sections of this module, you will learn a strategy called SQ3R that can guide you through the process of using questions to guide your reading.
4. Develop a system for identifying important information and taking notes. You have already explored systems for online information management. Consider how you will mark key learnings in the texts that you read, and organize this information in a form where you can easily access it again.
Go to the next chapter to explore reading strategies in more detail.
7.02: Evaluate your reading skills
Now that you have identified the place of reading in your online learning journey, the next step is to explore your current reading strategies. What do you do now?
Complete the quiz below. You will receive feedback about the effectiveness of your current preferred strategy. In the next sections of the workshop, you will learn some additional strategies to make your reading more effective. After you complete the quiz, go to the next chapter to move on in the workshop.
An interactive or media element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://kpu.pressbooks.pub/learningtolearnonline/?p=120
7.03: Review the SQ3R method for strategic reading
In this chapter, you will watch a short video that describes a method called SQ3R that provides a way to read efficiently and purposefully. After the video, you will complete a quiz that tests your knowledge of the content you learned. If you prefer reading to watching a video, scroll below the video to find a transcript.
A YouTube element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here: https://kpu.pressbooks.pub/learningtolearnonline/?p=122
Video Transcript
Now that you’ve thought about your personal reasons for reading textbooks, how can you read them effectively? One of the barriers to reading for many students is the time it takes. So, what strategies can help you read more effectively and efficiently?
First, it’s important to know that you can approach a textbook very differently than a novel. You don’t need to read everything right in order. You will also pay more attention to some sections, and less attention to others. Here’s a process to guide you in your reading. It’s called the SQ3R strategy. What does that stand for?
• Survey
• Question
• Read
• Recite, and
• Review
Let’s talk about each step.
S- Survey. This step allows you to get an overview of the chapter as a whole – what will you learn by reading? In this step, you will:
-Read the Learning Objectives or chapter introduction
-You will read the chapter summary and the end (you don’t have to wait until you’re finished the chapter to read the summary)
-You’ll skim the study questions at the end of the chapter
-And you’ll skim the chapter headings, and any important diagrams or charts.
At the end of this step, you should know how this chapter is organized and what you will learn by reading. You might find it helpful to end this step by making an outline of the chapter on a separate page.
Q– The in S3QR stands for question. This is a key step in reading for a purpose – you need to know what you hope to learn by reading each part of the chapter. Look at the first chapter heading. Now, make up a question that you will answer by reading.
Use who, what, where, when, and why questions.
R- The first R stands for Read. You will read to answer the questions you just created. This will help you to stay focused on your purpose for reading.
R– The second R stands for Recite. After reading each section, say the answer out loud. Now, write this down in your notes. This step helps you to summarize the material in your own words, which will support your learning and remembering. Explaining a concept in your own words demonstrates that you understand it.
R – The last R stands for Review. Look at your notes from the whole chapter. Think about how different concepts fit together, and fill in any gaps.
Now that you know the steps in the method, it’s time to think more deeply about how this method supports your learning. You’ll do that by completing the quiz in the next section of the workshop. The real test will be applying the method to your actual reading – try it out, and see how it works for you.
7.04: Identify the purpose of SQ3R steps
In the previous section of the workshop, you watched a video or read about a reading method called SQ3R. To strengthen your knowledge of what you learned in the video, take the quiz below. To complete the quiz, drag the words to the correct places in the paragraph. When you are finished the quiz, move on to the next topic.
An interactive or media element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://kpu.pressbooks.pub/learningtolearnonline/?p=124 | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Learning_to_Learn_Online_(Page_and_Vincent)/07%3A_Strategic_Reading/7.01%3A_Assess_the_place_of_reading_in_your_learning_journey.txt |
Now that you are familiar with the steps of the SQ3R Method, you may want to apply them to a text you are reading this week. To see how the steps are applied to an actual reading activity, watch the video below. At several points in the video, you will have the opportunity to pause and try the steps in the method. When you are finished the video or reading, go to the next chapter to move on in the workshop.
A YouTube element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here: https://kpu.pressbooks.pub/learningtolearnonline/?p=126
Apply it!
Commit to trying the SQ3R method once this week as you complete your course readings. As you do, consider the following questions:
1. How does the SQ3R method change how you approach your reading?
2. How will you adapt and personalize this process to your own learning strengths and the specific requirements of your courses?
Video Transcript
Now that you have learned the five steps in the SQ3R method, how will you apply them as you read? In this video, you will view a demonstration of how this method is applied to the type of reading you might encounter in a course textbook. I’ll focus on the first three steps in the method: surveying the chapter, formulating questions, and reading to find key information.Today I’m going to read a chapter in an Organizational Behaviour Textbook on need-based theories of motivation – the same principles would apply to reading in other courses. My first step is to survey. I’ll skim the chapter quickly to get the main idea.
The first place I will begin is the Learning Objectives. I notice that in this textbook, they are located at the beginning of the chapter. I read these carefully to discover the main concepts that I will learn by reading. The next part of the chapter I’ll review is the key takeaways at the end of the chapter. Remember – there’s no rule that says that I need to read each page in order. By reading the key takeaways, I gain a sense of the most important information in the chapter. This will help me to focus my reading later.
Now, I’ll go back to the beginning of the chapter, and briefly skim the contents. I’ll pay particular attention to the headings and to any key diagrams. I’m noticing a key diagram for both Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and the ERG theory. I also notice two other key headings as I skim: I now know I will read about two factor theory, and acquired needs theory. From the information I’ve gained in the survey step, I’ve determined that my goals for reading are:
• To be able to describe the four theories of motivation.
• To identify how these theories are similar and different.
• And to understand how each theory explains employee behavior.
My next step is to begin questioning and reading. I’ll base my questions on key headings I notice. The first heading I read is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. What questions can I ask about this? You may want to pause this video here, and try to create 3-4 questions you might want to ask. Then, resume the video to see how the questioning process works.
Here are the questions I’ve developed:
1. What is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?
2. What are the levels in Maslow’s hierarchy? (I remember that there are levels from my survey step)
3. Why are there different levels in the hierarchy?
4. How does Maslow’s theory explain employee behavior?
I’ve added my questions to my notetaking page. I begin reading looking for the answer to my first question. I find the answer here, in the first paragraph. The theory is based on a simple premise: Human beings have needs that are hierarchically ranked. There are some needs that are basic to all human beings, and in their absence nothing else matters. As we satisfy these basic needs, we start looking to satisfy higher order needs.
Now, I want to add this information to my notes. To get the most benefit of this step, I will recite the information in my own words, then write it down. The step of putting information into my own words ensures that I understand it clearly.
I pause and think about how I can express what I’ve read in my own words. I can say it like this: Maslow’s theory states that everyone has levels (a hierarchy) of needs. When our basic needs are met, we move to fulfill our higher levels of need. I’ll now add this information to my notes.
You will notice that I have left a wide margin on my notetaking page. This space allows me to add additional thoughts, images, and questions about the material later on. I may want to add additional information I learn in class.
I’ll move through the same steps to answer my other three questions. You may want to pause this video here, and try these steps out for yourself.
As I’m reading, I will also take note of key terms in bold letters. For example, I see that physiological needs is a key term in this chapter. These are words that I want to be able to define, as they are important to my understanding of the course material.
I will work through the chapter, following the same steps for each main chapter section: create questions, read to find the answers, recite my answer, and write it in my notes in my own words.
Now that you have seen how the SQ3R method might be applied to a textbook chapter, try it! Notice how this changes your reading process? How do you want to use this information to read in the future? | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Learning_to_Learn_Online_(Page_and_Vincent)/07%3A_Strategic_Reading/7.05%3A_Apply_the_SQ3R_method.txt |
Throughout your academic career, you will read a variety of journal articles as you complete coursework and conduct research for assignments. Journal articles may seem daunting, but by understanding how journal articles are organized and written, you will be able to choose relevant articles and find the information you need.
Parts of a Journal Article
Abstract and Keywords This is a concise summary of the article. Read this first to decide if the article is relevant to your current research topic. Below the abstract you will find 4-5 keywords. These indicate the subject area of the article.
Literature Review Most articles will have a literature review early in the paper. This summarizes the past research done on the topic. Note that this is not a discussion of the research in the current article. However, the literature review may point you to other material relevant to your project.
Research Methodology This section describes the way in which the research was conducted. Who are the participants? Is the study qualitative or quantitative? How was the data gathered? Where was the study conducted?
Results This section discusses the findings of the study in detail. It often includes statistical information, charts and graphs.
Discussion In this section, the researchers discuss the significance of the results. What do the results mean? Are they significant? What are the implications of what was found? The authors might also indicate areas for further study.
References Skim the reference list. This may lead you to other key articles that are related to your topic.
How to Approach Journal Articles
1. Begin by reading the abstract and keywords. Decide if this article relates to your current research project. If the article does not fit well with your research, stop reading.
2. If the article seems relevant, scan the article briefly. Look at the headings, as well as terms in bold and italics. Also, look at charts and graphs.
3. Before you begin reading the article, note the bibliographic information. You will need this for your Works Cited or References page.
4. Now, read the discussion section closely. This is key to understanding the article well.
5. On a separate sheet of paper, create questions that you will answer by reading the article. Include questions such as: “From what you know, does this author agree with other researchers and what you understand about the topic? Does this article support or contradict your thesis?”
6. Read the article purposefully, answering your questions. Do not be afraid to change your questions as you read and discover more.
7. When you find the answers to your questions, write them down, along with the page number where you found the information. You will need the page numbers to properly cite your sources when you write.
As you learn to approach journal articles systematically, you will become skilled at extracting important information as you read.
Test Yourself!
Complete the quiz below to reinforce your knowledge of article reading strategies. When you are finished, go to the next chapter to move on.
An interactive or media element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://kpu.pressbooks.pub/learningtolearnonline/?p=128 | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Learning_to_Learn_Online_(Page_and_Vincent)/07%3A_Strategic_Reading/7.06%3A_Read_journal_articles_strategically.txt |
Why take notes on online content? After all, you can easily search for it and read it again. However, re-reading is not always the most effective use of time. Taking good notes helps you to quickly review the key points in the material that you have read.
Taking notes is also an effective learning strategy. Intentionally annotating the texts that you read requires you to critically engage with the material. You are doing the work of identifying the important content, and considering its implications for your course and your professional practice. This practice facilitates deep learning, and ensures that you remember key material.
Choose the note taking method that is most effective for you. You may prefer traditional notebooks. Many readers underline, highlight, and put key notes in the margins of their books. You may prefer to create typewritten notes, and to store these notes in using your electronic notebook/ information management system. Another tool for engaging with digital texts is Hypothes.is. Watch the video below, and consider how this tool might work for you. If you prefer reading to watching videos, scroll to the bottom of the page for a transcript. When you are finished, go to the next chapter to move on.
A YouTube element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here: https://kpu.pressbooks.pub/learningtolearnonline/?p=130
Video Transcript
So, you have your texts for your course – but they’re not regular textbooks. You’ll be using online texts and other articles as the primary readings in your course. What strategies can you use for making effective notes that will help you retain what you are reading, prepare for exams, and note key information for use in your assignments?
One tool that can help you take notes electronically is Hypothesis. Hypothesis is a free tool that you add to the Chrome browse that allows you to highlight and add notes to online text. In this video, you will learn how to install Hypothesis, create notes and highlights, and create a group to work collaboratively with your classmates.
To get started with Hypothesis, you will first create a free account. Type hypothes.is into the search bar to visit the page. On the top right, you will find a “Get Started” button. Click here to create your account. You will provide your email address, create a user name, and password. Then, check your email and click on the link to activate your account.
The second step is to install the Hypothesis extension in your web browser. In this case, you will use the Chrome browser. To install the extension, go to the “Get Started” section of the Hypothesis page. Then, click the Chrome extension button. This will guide you through the steps of installing the extension.
When the extension is installed, you will see a square icon at the top left of your screen. When you click this icon, you will see a new menu on the far right of your browser. Click the arrow to open the menu and login.
Next, you will choose where to store your notes. Be aware that the default setting is public. You will likely want to create a private group for personal notes or group projects. To create a group, click on Public, and then create a new private group. For each text you highlight, you can choose which group can see your notes. This feature can be especially helpful for group study and projects. You may also wish to create a group that only you can see to store personal notes.
Now, begin reading and taking notes. Today I’m going to read and take notes on this chapter on procrastination from an online text.
When I highlight some text, I have the option to highlight or annotate the text. When you click on highlight, the text is marked with a yellow highlight, as you might expect. This can be helpful in identifying key points in the document. However, be careful not to over-highlight – be very selective in highlighting only key information.
I assumed that procrastination was always a time management problem. What might be a different reason that I procrastinate?
Finally, I can choose to add a page note that summarizes my key learnings or questions, or indicates how I might use this information in the future. As I read this page, I found the information on the Pomodoro technique useful. If I was reading this text together with a group of classmates, I might add something like this to the notes:
I found the Pomodoro technique interesting – has anyone else used this method successfully?
My group members can then respond with their own insights.
Reading purposefully requires you to actively interact with texts. In this video, you learned how to use Hypothesis as a tool for engaging with online texts. You learned how to create an account, install the extension, and use the basic highlighting and annotation tools.
How might you use Hypothesis to support the reading in your courses?
7.08: Review your learning
To finish this section of the workshop, summarize what you have learned, and identify what you want to start doing as a result of the new strategies you have explored. The activity below allows you to identify your goals and next steps for reading and engaging with text.
An interactive or media element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://kpu.pressbooks.pub/learningtolearnonline/?p=132 | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Learning_to_Learn_Online_(Page_and_Vincent)/07%3A_Strategic_Reading/7.07%3A_Take_effective_notes_on_online_readings.txt |
Learning Objectives
Participants will be able to:
• Describe the historical roots of the Summer Institute on Scientific Teaching (SI) and the Mobile Summer Institute on Scientific Teaching (MoSI)
• Reflect on the limitations of passive instruction
• List your teaching challenges and supports
Posing the Problem:
A Private Universe Video, Minds of Our Own: https://vimeo.com/113349804
Father Guido Sarducci: 5 Minute University
2: Inclusivity Session
Learning Objectives
Participants will be able to:
• Be aware of the benefits and challenges of diversity in the classroom
• Describe the impact of privilege, stereotype threat and unconscious bias and strategies to offset their impact
• Discuss ideas about how to incorporate inclusive strategies into classroom activities
Implicit Bias
Implicit bias tests
Three steps to address unconscious bias: https://www.aperianglobal.com/3-steps-address-unconscious-bias/
1. Understand that unconscious bias is normal
2. Identify your biases and their potential impact in the workplace
3. Broaden your viewpoint and educate others
Assumptions & Privilege:
The assumptions we and our students make in a learning community can exacerbate discrepancies in privilege
Equality vs. Equity:
• With equality, we assume everyone is the same and have the same needs
• With equity, we want everyone to be treated fairly depending on needs
• With liberation, the cause of the inequity was addressed and systemic barriers were removed
Awareness:
Awareness is key to mitigating the impact of our unconscious assumptions with intentional actions in the classroom
Additional Resources:
New classroom tool being developed at Harvard for inclusive teaching practices in large courses: http://teachly.me/
Video on Cultural Humility:
3: Backwards Design I (Goals and Outcomes)
Learning Objectives
Participates will be able to:
• Use the principles of backward design to align learning outcomes with both learning activities/formative assessments and summative assessments
• Develop/modify learning materials to engage students in deliberate practice
• Use Bloom’s Taxonomy to evaluate assessments
Readjusting Our View of the Classroom:
In active learning classes, students fail less & perform better
• Students in traditional lectures are 1.5 times more likely to fail
• Students in active learning classes average > half a letter grade higher
Freeman et. al: Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics
The one doing is the one learning. But, how do you decide what they spend timing doing?
The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance
Backwards Design:
Wiggins, G & McTighe, J. (1998). Understanding by design, Alexandria, VA: ACSD
Goals vs. Objectives:
Goals are:
• Broad, vague
• Not easily measured
• E.g., Understand, know, appreciate
Objectives are:
• Specific, concrete
• Easily measurable
• E.g. describe, contrast, predict, defend
Well written objectives have three parts: Verb, Subject, Context
Blooms Taxonomy
"Bloom's Taxonomy"by Vandy CFT is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Modified version of Bloom's Taxonomy:
https://lifelonglearning.wisc.edu/resources/
List of Blooms Verbs
3-D LAP:
Verbs associated with critical thinking:
1. Asking questions
2. Developing & using models
3. Planning & carrying out investigations
4. Analyzing & interpreting data
5. Using mathematics & computational thinking
6. Constructing explanations
7. Engaging in argument from evidence
8. Obtaining, evaluating, & communicating information
PLOS One Article on 3D LAP by Cooper et. al.Characterizing College Science Assessments: The Three-Dimensional Learning Assessment Protocol
Acknowledgements:
• Michelle Withers, Clarissa Dirks, Jenny Knight, Jay Labov, Jose Mestre, Mary Pat Wenderoth, Chris Gregg
• National Academies Summer Institute on Undergraduate Biology Education
3: Backwards Design I (Goals and Outcomes)
Learning Objectives
Participates will be able to:
• Use the principles of backward design to align learning outcomes with both learning activities/formative assessments and summative assessments
• Develop/modify learning materials to engage students in deliberate practice
• Use Bloom’s Taxonomy to evaluate assessments
Readjusting Our View of the Classroom:
In active learning classes, students fail less & perform better
• Students in traditional lectures are 1.5 times more likely to fail
• Students in active learning classes average > half a letter grade higher
Freeman et. al: Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics
The one doing is the one learning. But, how do you decide what they spend timing doing?
The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance
Backwards Design:
Wiggins, G & McTighe, J. (1998). Understanding by design, Alexandria, VA: ACSD
Goals vs. Objectives:
Goals are:
• Broad, vague
• Not easily measured
• E.g., Understand, know, appreciate
Objectives are:
• Specific, concrete
• Easily measurable
• E.g. describe, contrast, predict, defend
Well written objectives have three parts: Verb, Subject, Context
Blooms Taxonomy
"Bloom's Taxonomy"by Vandy CFT is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Modified version of Bloom's Taxonomy:
https://lifelonglearning.wisc.edu/resources/
List of Blooms Verbs
3-D LAP:
Verbs associated with critical thinking:
1. Asking questions
2. Developing & using models
3. Planning & carrying out investigations
4. Analyzing & interpreting data
5. Using mathematics & computational thinking
6. Constructing explanations
7. Engaging in argument from evidence
8. Obtaining, evaluating, & communicating information
PLOS One Article on 3D LAP by Cooper et. al.Characterizing College Science Assessments: The Three-Dimensional Learning Assessment Protocol
Acknowledgements:
• Michelle Withers, Clarissa Dirks, Jenny Knight, Jay Labov, Jose Mestre, Mary Pat Wenderoth, Chris Gregg
• National Academies Summer Institute on Undergraduate Biology Education
4: Backward Design in Action Session II
Learning Objectives
Participates will be able to:
• a
• b
• c
Readjusting Our View of the Classroom:
In active learning classes, students fail less & perform better
• Students in traditional lectures are 1.5 times more likely to fail
• Students in active learning classes average > half a letter grade higher
Freeman et. al: Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics
The one doing is the one learning. But, how do you decide what they spend timing doing?
The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance
Backwards Design:
Wiggins, G & McTighe, J. (1998). Understanding by design, Alexandria, VA: ACSD
In the classroom:
• Critical thinking, problem-solving, cognitively demanding material
• Active learning
• Formative assessment
Out of the classroom:
• Pre: Low cognitive demand
• Post: Practice w/ class content
• Online quizzes
• Online tutorials
• Homework
Active Learning Strategies:
• Brainstorm
• Think Pair Share
• Clicker question
• Model-based reasoning question
• Case study/scenario
• Statement correction
• Predict-observe-explain
• Graph reading/interpretation
• Strip sequence
• Small group/whole-class discussion
• Defend
• Minute paper
• Concept map
• Diagram | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Mobile_Institute_on_Scientific_Teaching/2019_MoSI/During_the_Institute/1%3A_Welcome_Session.txt |
Learning Objectives
Participants will be able to:
• articulate the benefits of using student response systems like clickers in your class
• compare and contrast the various ways to implement a clicker question
• when do you re-poll
• when do you ask students to discuss
• when do you explain the answer vs have students explain their reasoning
• describe 5 best practices of clicker implementation
Effective Use of Clickers: Using Clicker to Maximize Student Learning
Article by Smith et. al (Science, 2009): Why Peer Discussion Improves Student Performance on In-Class Concept Questions
Clickers have the potential to:
• Engage students
• Give students practice on important concepts
• Give the instructor insight into what students are thinking
• Give students insight into what they do not understand
Challenges implementing clicker questions:
• Student buy-in:
• Explain why you are doing this (show research, etc...). Remind the students that sharing ideas is learning.
• Demonstrate why you are doing this (let them practice peer discussion).
• Student fear/motivation:
• Make it safe - value all answers that students are willing to share.
• Give low-stakes incentives:
• Participation points vs. points for correct answers
• At the end of a semester, substitute average clicker score for the worst homework score if it is better
• At the end of a semester, give full points if they've answered 75% of clicker questions
Implementation Tips
Implementation Tip #1: Use clicker questions to focus on important learning objectives
• Low-order questions rarely promote meaningful discussion/learning, and encourages overconfidence.
• High-order questions - questions that really challenge students - maximize learning, and are a better use of class time.
Implementation Tip #2: Use peer discussion
Implementation Tip #3: Do not show the histogram after a vote unless students are evenly split - wait until after student reasons have been shared
• Students are 30% more likely to switch to a popular vote if they see the histogram (Perez et al., 2010).
• Students that picked an unpopular choice may be reluctant to participate in discussions.
Implementation Tip #4: Whenever you value student reasoning, cue them to discuss their ideas
• Kinds of Cues:
• Answer Centered: "Discuss your answers, we will talk about the correct answer afterwards."
• Reasoning Centered: "Discuss your answers focusing on the reasoning, we will share your ideas afterwards."
• When students were prompted to use reasoning, they were significantly more likely to engage with their groups.
Implementation Tip #5: Follow up - make sure many voices are heard
• Possible Techniques:
• Ask for volunteers to describe why they chose an answer
• Put students into informal groups, and randomly call on groups to articulate why they chose an answer
Group-work and Team-based Learning
Resources and references
https://lse.ascb.org/evidence-based-teaching-guides/group-work
Hughes, B. E., Hurtado, S., & Eagan, M. E. (2014). Driving up or dialing down competition in introductory STEM Courses: Individual and classroom level factors. A paper presented at the Association of the Study of Higher Education, Washington, DC.
Derry, S. J., Levin, J. R., Osana, H. P., Jones, M. S., & Peterson, M. (2000). Fostering students' statistical and scientific thinking: Lessons learned from an innovative college course. American Educational Research Journal, 37(3), 747-773.
Jensen, J. L., & Lawson, A. (2011). Effects of collaborative group composition and inquiry instruction on reasoning gains and achievement in undergraduate biology. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 10(1), 64-73.
Nicol, D. J., & Boyle, J. T. (2003). Peer instruction versus class-wide discussion in large classes: A comparison of two interaction methods in the wired classroom. Studies in higher education, 28(4), 457-473.
Johnson, D. W. (1991). Cooperative Learning: Increasing College Faculty Instructional Productivity. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report No. 4, 1991. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Reports, George Washington University, One Dupont Circle, Suite 630, Washington, DC 20036-1183.
Oakley, B., Felder, R. M., Brent, R., & Elhajj, I. (2004). Turning student groups into effective teams. Journal of student centered learning, 2(1), 9-34.
http://www.teambasedlearning.org/
https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/team-based-learning/
Student Grouping Resources
SCALE-UP https://www.ncsu.edu/per/SCALEUP/Groups.html Physics activities in collaborative classroom spaces with resources for assigning group roles.
CATME https://www.catme.org/login/index provides a mechanism to use surveys to gather information about students to form diverse groups. Then, instructors can allow students to anonymously evaluate team members’ contributions. (Takes several weeks to get an account, so plan ahead.)
StrengthsFinder (not free)
Transparency in Learning & Teaching
TILT in Higher Education website | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Mobile_Institute_on_Scientific_Teaching/2019_MoSI/During_the_Institute/5%3A_Scientific_Teaching_in_Action.txt |
Learning Objectives
Participants will be able to:
• provide feedback on how to make classes more active and student-centered using a mentoring rubric
• provide an objective snapshot of the current use of engaged pedagogies using an evaluation rubric
• develop a 1-year plan for visiting the classes of your peer-mentor using these rubrics to help one another develop reflective practices
Videos for viewing active learning
Wendy Dustman – University of Georgia teaching Microbiology for Biology Majors using the flipped classroom model and collaborative student working groups
• Tessa Andrews – University of Georgia teaching introductory biology for non-science majors using a series of problem-based challenges related to sex determination
• Mara Evans – University of Georgia teaching ecology and competition in an introductory course for biology majors using a categorizing table
• Erin Dolan – University of Georgia introducing a peer review activity on vaccines for an introductory biology course for non-science majors.
• Paula Lemons – University of Georgia teaching regulation of energy transformation pathways for a Biochemistry course for biology majors.
Erin Dolan –University of Georgia teaching regulation on energy transforming pathways for a Biochemistry course for biology majors using model building, clickers, and collaborative learning.
Peggy Brickman – group testing University of Georgia
Peer Evaluation Feedback Guide
Adapted from J. Momsen, NDSU, FIRST IV
1. Is the instructor doing something that the students should do for themselves, i.e., describing a graph?
2. Does the cognitive demand of the learning activities warrant class time, i.e. could student complete these tasks out of class without the help of the instructor?
3. What could the instructor do to make the class more active and/or student-centered?
Blurb for Annual Evaluation
Authored by Peggy Brickman, UGA
"As part of participating in the Mobile Summer Institute, faculty members will be undergoing peer evaluation of their teaching using the Course Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM (COPUS). This protocol was recently highlighted in Science magazine as an answer to the repeated calls for improved data collection on the use of evidence-based instructional practices by the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (Stains et al., 2018). The COPUS along with the peer mentoring and observation provided by the participants can provide data for peer reviews of teaching such as those that are becoming a required step for promotion and tenure at many institutions across the country (CU Boulder, UT Austin, University of Arizona). This observation conducted by the participants of the Mobile Summer Institute can provide that evaluation. In addition, we know that peer evaluation can help provide evidence of performance on aspects of teaching such as depth of subject knowledge and appropriateness of course material that are better assessed by peers rather than students (Berstein 2008; Peel 2005). Studies examining peer evaluation have also documented several positive outcomes for faculty involved in the process including: improved self-assurance (Bell and Mladenovic 2008); collegiality and respect (Quinlan and Akerlind 2000); and improved classroom performance (Freiberg 1987)."
References for Blurb
• Bell, Amani, and Rosina Mladenovic. 2008. "The Benefits of Peer Observation of Teaching for Tutor Development." Review of. Higher Education: The International Journal of Higher Education and Educational Planning 55 (6):735-52.
• Berstein, Daniel J. 2008. "Peer Review and Evaluation of the Intellectual Work of Teaching." Review of. Change 40 (2):48-51.
• Freiberg, H. Jerome. 1987. "Enriching Feedback to Student-Teachers Through Small Group Discussion." Review of. Teacher Education Quarterly 14 (3):71-82.
• Peel, Deborah. 2005. "Peer Observation as a Transformatory Tool?" Review of. Teaching in Higher Education 10 (4):489-504.
• Quinlan, Kathleen M., and Gerlese S. Akerlind. 2000. "Factors Affecting Departmental Peer Collaboration for Faculty Development: Two Cases in Context." Review of. Higher Education 40 (1):23-52.
• Stains, M., Harshman, J., Barker, M. K., Chasteen, S. V., Cole, R., DeChenne-Peters, S. E., ... & Levis-Fitzgerald, M. (2018). Anatomy of STEM teaching in North American universities. Science359(6383), 1468-1470. | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Mobile_Institute_on_Scientific_Teaching/2019_MoSI/During_the_Institute/6%3A_Peer_Mentoring_and_Evaluation_Training.txt |
Learning Objectives
Participates will be able to:
• Identify potential metrics to measure student learning and/or teaching effectiveness
• Develop a plan for evaluating your classroom
• Describe how your future curricular revisions will be informed by the data you collect
Reflecting on your course
Are your students learning what you want them to learn?
How do you know?
What are you already doing to measure learning in your class?
Evaluation Guide Link
What are concept inventories?
Guidelines for Concept Inventories
Content Independent Metrics
List of concept inventories
Evaluative Assessment Resources Link
Additional content specific assessment resources
7: Scholarly Teaching
What are concept inventories?
(Excerpted from presentation by J. Knight, UC Boulder).
• Multiple choice (usually) instruments that address fundamental concepts and contain known student misunderstandings
• Developed through an iterative process that includes gathering evidence of validity and reliability through student and faculty interviews
• Diagnostic: can identify specific misunderstandings and measure student learning over time
• Objective: not tied directly to a course, but rather to a set of concepts
Guidelines for using concept inventories
(Dirks, Wenderoth, Withers Assessment in the College Science Classroom, 2013).
• Protect the test!
• Must be given in a proctored environment to keep questions from getting out to students.
• Use for evaluation only
• Not a learning tool.
• When used for pre-/post-testing
• Use the same testing context
• Can use same or isomorphic questions (Resource: Research Methods Knowledge Base – W. Trochim, 2013)
• Normalized learning gain
• <g> = (%post - %pre)/(100-%pre)
Other Resources
Table below from Dirk et al., (2014) Assessment in the College Science Classroom, Ch7 Appendix A; Freeman, NYC.
Concept Inventories in Astronomy
Astronomy Diagnostic Test (ADT)
Lunar Phases
Light and Spectroscopy
Hufnagel 2002
Lindell and Olsen 2002
Bardar et al., 2007
Concept Inventories in Biology
Genetics Concept Inventory (GCA)
Genetics Literacy Assessment Instrument 2 (GLAI-2)
Conceptual Inventory of Natural Selection (CINS)
Biology Literacty (http://bioliteracy.net/)
Diagnostic Question Clusters: Biology
Host Pathogen Interactions (HPI)
Introductory Molecular and Cell Biology Assessment (IMCA)
Smith et al., 2008
Bowling et al., 2008
Anderson et al., 2002
Klymkowsky et al., 2010
Wilson et al., 2006; D’Avanzo 2008
Marbach-Ad et al., 2009
Shi et al., 2010
Concept Inventories in Chemistry
Chemistry Concept Inventory
Mulford and Rbonison 2002
Krause et al., 2003
Concept Inventories in Engineering
Engineering Thermodynamics Concept Inventory
Heat Transfer
Materials Concept Inventory
Signals and Systems Concept Inventory
Static Concept Inventory
Thermal and Transport Science Concept Inventory (TTCI)
Midkiff et al., 2001
Jacobie et al., 2003
Krause et al., 2003
Wage et al., 2005
Steif et al., 2005
Streveler et al., 2011
Concept Inventories in Geoscience
Geoscience Concept Inventory (GCI)
Libarkin and Anderson, 2005
Concept Inventories in Math and Statistics
Statistics Concept Inventory (SCI)
Calculus Concept Inventory (CCI)
Allen 2006
Epstein 2005
Concept Inventories in Physics
Force Concept Inventory (FCI)
The Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation (FMCE)
Thermal Concept Evaluation
Brief Electricity and Magnetism Assessment (BEMA)
Conceptual Survey in Electricity and Magnetism (CSEM)
Hestenes et al., 1992
Thornton and Sokiloff 1998
Yeo and Zadnick 2001
Ding et al., 2006
Maloney et al., 2001
Measuring Students Science Process and Reasoning Skills
Rubric for Science Writing
Student-Achievement and Process Skills Instrument
Timmerman et al., 2010
Bunce et al., 2010
Measuring Student Attitudes about Science, Research or Study Methods
Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS)
Revised Two-Factor Study Process Questionnaire
Student Assessment of Their Learning Gains (SALG) Instrument
Survey of Undergraduate Research Experiences
Views About Science Survey (VASS)
http://www.colorado.edu/sei/class
Biggs et al, 2001
http://www.salgsite.org/
Lopatto 2004
Halloun and Hestenes 1998 | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Mobile_Institute_on_Scientific_Teaching/2019_MoSI/During_the_Institute/7%3A_Scholarly_Teaching/7A%3A_Evaluation_Guide.txt |
I. BIOLOGY
Initially compiled by Kathy S. Williams (San Diego State University) and Erilynn T. Heinrichsen (University of California, San Diego)
Updated 2019 by Jenny Knight
ANIMAL DEVELOPMENT
Flowering Plant Growth and Development (13 two-tiered MC items)
Lin SW. 2004. Development and application of a two-tier diagnostic test for high school students’ understanding of flowering plant growth and development. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education 2: 175–199.
BIOCHEMISTRY
Threshold concepts in Biochemistry: Loertscher, J. (2011). Biochemistry and molecular biology education, 39(1), 56-57.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4152212/
BREATHING AND RESPIRATION
Breathing and Respiration (12 two-tiered MC items)
Mann M, Treagust DF. 1998. A pencil and paper instrument to diagnose students’ conceptions of breathing, gas exchange and respiration. Australian Science Teachers Journal 44: 55–59.
DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
Developmental Biology Content Survey (15 MC items)
Knight JK, Wood WB. 2005. Teaching more by lecturing less. Cell Biology Education 4: 298-310. doi:10.1187/05-06-0082. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/05-06-0082
ENERGY AND MATTER
(total of 16 Diagnostic Question Clusters of 6-8 items each; some items appear in more than one DQC)
Diagnostic Question Clusters on Energy and Matter (DQCs)
Wilson CD, Anderson CW, Heidemann M, Merrill JE, Merritt BW, Richmond G, Silbey DF, Parker JM. 2006. Assessing students’ ability to trace matter in dynamic systems in cell biology. CBE Life Sciences Education 5: 323–331. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.06-02-0142
Hartley LM, Wilke BJ, Schramm JW, D’Avanzo C, Anderson CW. 2011. College students’ understanding of the carbon cycle: contrasting principle-based and informal reasoning. BioScience 61: 65-75.
Thinking like a biologist: Using diagnostic questions to help students to reason with biological principles (16 DQC sets of ~7 items each, MC, TF, open-ended)
D'Avanzo C, Anderson CW, Griffith A, Merrill J. 2011. Thinking like a biologist. Using diagnostic questions to help students reason with biological principles. [The site at http://www.biodqc.org/ has Diagnostic Question Clusters (DQC's) organized by three ecological topics (Carbon Cycling, Energy Flow in Ecosystems, Climate Change), and by three biological processes; (Photosynthesis, Biosynthesis, Cellular Respiration) - with two DQCs each; plus one each DQC under topics Gasoline, Biofuels, Carbon in Nature, and Carbon Balance. Some items appear in more than one DQC.
ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
EcoEvo-MAPS: An Ecology and Evolution Assessment for Introductory through Advanced Undergraduates https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.17-02-0037
EvoDevoCI (MC and open ended items for 3 Exploratory Surveys and 6 Interview Question sets)
Hiatt A, Davis GK, Trujillo C, Terry M, French DP, Price RM, Perez KE. 2013. Getting to Evo-Devo: Concepts and challenges for students learning evolutionary developmental biology. CBE Life Sciences Education 12: 494-508. doi:10.1187/cbe.12-11- 0203. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.12-11-0203
EvoDevoCI (11 MC items, 4 scenarios)
Perez KE et al 2013. The EvoDevoCI: A Concept inventory for gauging students’ understanding of evolutionary developmental biology. CBE Life Sciences Education 12: 665-675. doi:10.1187/cbe.13-04-0079. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.13-04-0079
Basic Tree Thinking Assessment (two tests, 10 MC items each, diagrams): Baum DA, Smith SD, Donovan SSS. 2005. The tree-thinking challenge. Science 310: 979-980.
Conceptual Inventory of Natural Selection (CINS) (20 MC items, scenarios)
Anderson DL, Fisher KM, Norman JG. 2002. Development and validation of the conceptual inventory of natural selection. Journal of Research in Science Teaching 39: 952-978.
Kalinowski, S. T., Leonard, M. J., & Taper, M. L. (2016). Development and validation of the conceptual assessment of natural selection (CANS). CBE-Life Sciences Education, 15(4), ar64. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.15-06-0134
EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
Dasgupta, A. P., Anderson, T. R., & Pelaez, N. J. (2016). Development of the neuron assessment for measuring biology students’ use of experimental design concepts and representations. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 15(2), ar10. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.15-03-0077
Deane, T., Nomme, K., Jeffery, E., Pollock, C., & Birol, G. (2014). Development of the biological experimental design concept inventory (BEDCI). CBE-Life Sciences Education, 13(3), 540-551.https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.13-11-0218
GENETICS
Genetics Literacy Assessment Instrument (GLAI) (31 MC items) FOUR in Bowling et al. Genetics 2008;
Bowling BV, Acra EE, Wang L, Myers MF, Dean GE, Markle GC, Moskalik CL, Huether CA. 2008. Development and evaluation of a genetics literacy assessment instrument for undergraduates. Genetics 178: 15-22. [download PDF] from nku.edu
Genetics Concept Assessment (GCA) (25 MC items, diagrams)
Smith MK, Wood WB, Knight JK. 2008. The genetics concept assessment: A new concept inventory for gauging student understanding of genetics CBE Life Science Education 7: 422-430. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.08-08-0045
Genetics Diagnostic (13 two-tiered MC items, diagrams)
Tsui CY, Treagust D. 2009. Evaluating secondary students’ scientific reasoning in genetics using a two-tier diagnostic instrument. International Journal of Science Education 32: 1073-1098.
Genetic Drift Inventory (GeDI) (22 agree–disagree items)
Price RM, Andrews TC, McElhinny TL, Mead LS, Abraham JK, Thanukos A, Perez KE. 2014. The Genetic Drift Inventory: A tool for measuring what advanced undergraduates have mastered about genetic drift. CBE Life Science Education 13: 65-75. doi:
10.1187/cbe.13-08-0159. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.13-08-0159
Dominance Concept Inventory: Abraham, J. K., Perez, K. E., & Price, R. M. (2014). The Dominance Concept Inventory: a tool for assessing undergraduate student alternative conceptions about dominance in Mendelian and population genetics. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 13(2), 349-358. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.13-08-0160
GENERAL BIOLOGY
Gen-MAPS: Couch, BA, Wright CD, Freeman S, Knight JK, Semsar K, Smith MK, Summers MM, Zheng Y, Crowe AJ, Brownell SE (2019). GenBio-MAPS: A programmatic assessment to measure student understanding of Vision and Change core concepts across general biology programs. CBE Life Sci. Educ. 18:arx 1–14, doi: 10.1187/cbe.18-07-0117
HOST-PATHOGEN INTERACTIONS
Host-Pathogen Interactions (HPI) (17 [18 noted in Marbach-Ad et al. 2009] two-tiered MC items) ITEMS NOT PROVIDED
Marbach-Ad G, Briken V, El-Sayed NM, Frauwirth K, Fredericksen B, Hutcheson S, Gao L-Y, Joseph SW, Lee V, McIver KS, Mosser D, Quimby BB, Shields P, Song W, Stein DC, Yuan RT, Smith AC. 2009. Assessing student understanding of host pathogen interactions using a concept inventory. Journal of Microbiology Education 10: 43-50.
Marbach-Ad G, McAdams KC, Benson S, Briken V, Cathcart L, Chase M, El-Sayed NM, Frauwirth K, Fredericksen B, Joseph SW, Lee V, McIver KS, Mosser D, Quimby BB, Shields P, Song W, Stein DC, Stewart R, Thompson KV, Smith AC. 2010. A model for using a concept inventory as a tool for students' assessment and faculty professional development. CBE Life Science Education 9: 408-416. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/full/10.1187/cbe.10-05-0069
INTRODUCTORY BIOLOGY
Biology Concept Inventory (BCI) (30 MC items) ON-LINE at http://bioliteracy.colorado.edu/
Klymkowsky MW, Garvin-Doxas K, Zeilik M. 2003. Bioliteracy and teaching efficacy: What biologists can learn from physicists. Cell Biology Education 2: 155-161. doi: 10.1187/cbe.03-03-0014. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.03-03-0014
Garvin-Doxas K, Doxas I, Klymkowsky MW. 2008. Ed's Tools: A web-based software toolset for accelerated concept inventory construction. pp 130-140. In: Deeds, D & B Callen, editors; Proceedings of the National STEM Assessment Conference.
MACROEVOLUTION
Measure of Understanding of Macroevolution (MUM) (28 items: 27 MC items, plus one open-ended item, diagrams) PROVIDED
Nadelson LS, Southerland SA. 2010. Development and preliminary evaluation of the Measure of Understanding of Macroevolution: Introducing the MUM. The Journal of Experimental Education 78: 151–190. [download PDF] from researchgate.net
MICROBIOLOGY
Development, Validation, and Application of the Microbiology Concept Inventory.Timothy D. Paustian, Amy G. Briggs, Robert E. Brennan, Nancy Boury, John Buchner, Shannon Harris, Rachel E. A. Horak, Lee E. Hughes, D. Sue Katz-Amburn, Maria J. Massimelli, Ann H. McDonald, Todd P. Primm, Ann C. Smith, Ann M. Stevens, Sunny B. Yung. (2017) J. Microbiol. Biol. Educ. 18(3): doi:10.1128/jmbe.v18i3.1320
Development and Validation of the Microbiology for Health Sciences Concept Inventory. Heather M. Seitz, Rachel E. A. Horak, Megan W. Howard, Lucy W. Kluckhohn Jones, Theodore Muth, Christopher Parker, Andrea Pratt Rediske, Maureen M. Whitehurst. (2017) J. Microbiol. Biol. Educ. 18(3): doi:10.1128/jmbe.v18i3.1322
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
Central Dogma: Newman, D. L., Snyder, C. W., Fisk, J. N., & Wright, L. K. (2016). Development of the central dogma concept inventory (CDCI) assessment tool. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 15(2), ar9. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.15-06-0124
Lac Operon: Stefanski, K. M., Gardner, G. E., & Seipelt-Thiemann, R. L. (2016). Development of a Lac Operon Concept Inventory (LOCI). CBE-Life Sciences Education, 15(2), ar24.
https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.15-07-0162
Introductory Molecular Biology: Introductory Molecular and Cell Biology Assessment (IMCA) (24 MC items, diagrams) Shi J, Wood WB, Martin JM, Guild NA, Vicens Q, Knight JK. 2010. A diagnostic assessment for introductory molecular and cell biology. CBE Life Sciences Education 9: 453-461. doi: 10.1187/cbe.10-04-0055. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.10-04-0055
Molecular Biology Capstone Assessment: Couch, B. A., Wood, W. B., & Knight, J. K. (2015). The Molecular Biology Capstone Assessment: a concept assessment for upper-division molecular biology students. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 14(1), ar10. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.14-04-0071
Molecular Life Sciences Concept Inventory (MLS) www.lifescinventory.edu.au
OSMOSIS AND DIFFUSION
Diffusion and Osmosis Diagnostic Test (DODT) (12 two-tiered MC items, diagrams)
Odom AL, Barrow LH. 1995. The development and application of a two-tiered diagnostic test measuring college biology students' understanding of diffusion and osmosis following a course of instruction. Journal of Research in Science Teaching 32: 45-61. [HTML] from wiley.com
Odom AL. 1995. Secondary and college biology students' misconceptions about diffusion and osmosis. American Biology Teacher 57: 409–415. [download PDF] from pbworks.com
Osmosis and diffusion conceptual assessment (ODCA) (8 two-tiered MC items, diagrams) Fisher KM, Williams KS, Lineback J. 2011. Osmosis and diffusion conceptual assessment. CBE Life Sciences Education 10:418-29. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.11-04-0038
PHOTOSYNTHESIS AND RESPIRATION
Photosynthesis and Respiration (13 two-tiered MC items, plus open ended)
Haslam F, Treagust DF. 1987. Diagnosing secondary students’ misconceptions of photosynthesis and respiration in plants using a two-tier multiple choice instrument. Journal of Biological Education 21: 203–211.
Covalent Bonding and Photosynthesis test development ITEMS NOT PROVIDED
Treagust D. 1986. Evaluating students’ misconceptions by means of diagnostic multiple choice items. Journal of Research in Science Education 16: 199-207.
PHYSIOLOGY
Homeostasis: Development and Validation of the Homeostasis Concept Inventory McFarland, JL, Price RM, Wenderoth MP, Marinkova P, Cliff W, Michael J, Modell J, Wright A CBE—Life Sciences Education Volume 16, Issue 201 Jun 2017
Phys-MAPS: Semsar K, Brownell SE, Couch BA, Crowe AJ, Smith MK, Summers MM, Wright CD, Knight JK (2018). Phys-MAPS: A programmatic physiology assessment for introductory and advanced undergraduates. Adv Physiol Educ 43: 15–27, 2019; doi:10.1152/advan.00128.2018.
QUANTITATIVE/STATISTICAL REASONING
Stanhope, L., Ziegler, L., Haque, T., Le, L., Vinces, M., Davis, G. K., ... & Umbanhowar, C. (2017). Development of a Biological Science Quantitative Reasoning Exam (BioSQuaRE). CBE-Life Sciences Education, 16(4), ar66. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/full/10.1187/cbe.16-10-0301
Deane, T., Nomme, K., Jeffery, E., Pollock, C., & Birol, G. (2016). Development of the Statistical Reasoning in Biology Concept Inventory (SRBCI). CBE-Life Sciences Education, 15(1), ar5. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.15-06-0131
SCIENTIFIC LITERACY
Gormally, C., Brickman, P., & Lutz, M. (2012). Developing a test of scientific literacy skills (TOSLS): Measuring undergraduates’ evaluation of scientific information and arguments. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 11(4), 364-377.https://www.lifescied.org/doi/full/10.1187/cbe.12-03-0026
TRANSPORT IN PLANTS AND CIRCULATION IN HUMANS
Internal Transport in Plants and the Human Circulatory Systems (28 two-tiered MC items) Wang JR. 2004. Development and validation of a two-tier instrument to examine understanding of internal transport in plants and the human circulatory system. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education 2: 131–157.
II. ASTRONOMY
Astronomy Diagnostic Test (ADT) Hufnagel 2002
Lunar Phases Lindell and Olsen 2002
Light and Spectroscopy, Bardar et al., 2007
III. COMPUTER SCIENCE
http://dbserc.pitt.edu/Assessment/As...mputer-Science
IV. CHEMISTRY
INORGANIC CHEMISTRY (VIPER)
Virtual inorganic pedagogical electronic resource: a community for teachers and students of inorganic chemistry https://www.ionicviper.org//
CHEMISTRY
Compiled in list of chemistry concept inventories: http://chemistry.miamioh.edu/bretzsl/cer/assessment.html
DBER Resources - curated by Marilyne Stains - https://sites.google.com/site/marilynestains/useful-links-for-the-group
others
http://dbserc.pitt.edu/Assessment/Assessments-Chemistry
http://www.rsc.org/learn-chemistry/r...id=CMP00004906
V. PHYSICS
The AAPT ComPADRE Digital Library is a network of free online resource collections supporting faculty, students, and teachers in Physics and Astronomy Education. https://www.compadre.org/
Other Resources:
The Living Physics Portal-Due for Beta release Fall 2018
The Living Physics Portal is an online environment for physics faculty to share and discuss free curricular resources for teaching introductory physics for life sciences (IPLS). The objective of the Portal is to improve the education of the next generation of medical professionals and biologists by making physics classes more relevant for life sciences students. http://livingphysicsportal.org/
ALPhA
The Advanced Laboratory Physics Association (ALPhA) was formed in 2007 to provide communication and interaction among the faculty and staff who are involved in advanced laboratory physics instruction at colleges and universities in the United States and the rest of the world. https://www.advlab.org/
VI. STATISTICS
Statistics Concept Assessment
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/35439982_The_statistics_concept_inventory_development_and_analysis_of_a_cognitive_assessment_instrument_in_statistics
Research Methods and Statistics: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0098628317711287
VII. Inventories for Assessing Students’ Perceptions About Biology (College-level)
ENGAGEMENT
Wiggins, B. L., Eddy, S. L., Wener-Fligner, L., Freisem, K., Grunspan, D. Z., Theobald, E. J., ... & Crowe, A. J. (2017). ASPECT: A survey to assess student perspective of engagement in an active-learning classroom. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 16(2), ar32. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.16-08-0244
Student Course Engagement Questionnaire
http://serc.carleton.edu/files/NAGTWorkshops/assess05/SCEQ.pdf
(Handelsman et al. 2005)
23 Likert items assessing perceived skills engagement, participation/interaction engagement, emotional engagement, and performance engagement
LEARNING GAINS
Classroom Activities and Outcomes Survey (Terenzini et al. 2001)
24 Likert items rating progress in learning skills related to engineering or general scientific inquiry.
Student Assessment of Learning Gains (SALG) http://salgsite.org/(Seymour et al. 2000)
Multiple Likert items within 10 major categories rating gains in learning, skills, and attitudes due to components of a class
Survey of Undergraduate Research Experiences (SURE) (Lopatto 2004)
http://www.grinnell.edu/academic/csla/assessment/sure 20 Likert items assessing perceived learning gains as a result of participation in undergraduate research.
Undergrad Research Student Self-Assessment
http://www.colorado.edu/eer/research...gradtools.html (Hunter et al. 2007)
Multiple Likert items assessing perceived gains in skills related to participation in research, yes/no questions categorizing specific experiences, and open response items.
MOTIVATION
Achievement Goal Questionnaire
(Elliot and Church 1997, Finney et al. 2004)
18 Likert items rating performance approach and avoidance goals, and mastery goals.
Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ)
http://www.indiana.edu/~p540alex/MSLQ.pdf (Pintrich Paul R. 1991, Pintrich P. R. et al. 1993)
31 Likert items assessing students' goals and value beliefs. 31 assessing use of learning strategies and 19 items concerning student management of learning resources.
Science Motivation Questionnaire (SMQ)
http://www.coe.uga.edu/smq/ ← not working
(Glynn et al. 2011)
30 Likert items comprising 6 components of motivation: intrinsic, extrinsic, relevance, responsibility, confidence, and anxiety.
Self-Efficacy
College Biology Self Efficacy
(Baldwin et al. 1999)
VIEWS/ATTITUDES
Biology Attitude Scale (Russell and Hollander 1975)
22 items: 14 Likert-type and 8 semantic differential measuring students’ perceptions of liking or disliking biology
Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS)- Biology https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.10-10-0133
(Semsar et al. 2011) 31 Likert-type items for measuring novice-to-expert-like perceptions including enjoyment of the discipline, connections to the real world and underlying knowledge and problem-solving strategies.
Environmental Values Short Form (Zimmermann 1996)
31 Likert items assessing level of agreement with statements describing concern for different environmental issues
Survey of Teaching Beliefs and Practices for Undergraduates (STEP-U)
Marbach-Ad, G., Rietschel, C., & Thompson, K. V. (2016). Validation and Application of the Survey of Teaching Beliefs and Practices for Undergraduates (STEP-U): Identifying Factors Associated with Valuing Important Workplace Skills among Biology Students. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 15(4), ar59. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.16-05-0164
Views About Sciences Survey (VASS)
http://modeling.asu.edu/R%26E/Research.html (Halloun and Hestenes 1996)
50 items: Students choose a value describing their position with regards to two alternate conclusions to a statement probing their views about knowing and learning science in three scientific and three cognitive dimensions.
Views on Science and Education (VOSE)
http://www.ied.edu.hk/apfslt/download/v7_issue2_files/chensf.pdf
(Chen 2006)
15 items for which several statements or claims are listed. Respondents choose their level of agreement to these series of predetermined statements/claims to provide reasoning behind their opinion.
Views on Science-Technology-Society (VOSTS) (Aikenhead and Ryan 1992)
http://www.usask.ca/education/people/aikenhead/
8:Workshop Sessions
What To Expect
At the end of each day, we will post slides, links, and resources for each of the days sessions here. | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Mobile_Institute_on_Scientific_Teaching/2019_MoSI/During_the_Institute/7%3A_Scholarly_Teaching/7B%3A_Evaluative_Assessment_Resources.txt |
Upload teachable tidbit and related/supporting materials to the google drive folder for the workshop.
2019 UA
Upload teachable tidbit and related/supporting materials to the google drive folder for the workshop.
Group 1
Link here to access the Google drive folder for Group 1.
Group 2
Link here to access the Google drive folder for Group 2.
Group 3
Link here to access the Google drive folder for Group 3.
Group 4
Link here to access the Google drive folder for Group 4.
Group 5
Link here to access the Google drive folder for Group 5.
1: Why the MoSI
Welcome to the Mobile Summer Institute on Undergraduate STEM Education (MoSI)
MoSI is a new iteration of the nationally renowned National Academies Summer Institute (NASI) founded at the University of Wisconsin – Madison by Jo Handelsman (UW Madison) and Bill Wood (UC-Boulder, Emeritus). Historically, this has been an intensive workshop on undergraduate science technology, engineering and math (STEM) education, which is now being applied to all disciples of education. NASI was developed in response to the National Research Council report, Bio2010, which called for a transformation of science education by improving classroom teaching and attracting diverse students to science.
The goal of the MoSI is to better address institutional challenges to education reform by traveling to post-secondary institutions and training a critical mass of educators in the best evidence-based teaching strategies. The original founders distilled the most effective teaching strategies from education research into a framework called Scientific Teaching. Scientific Teaching is defined as "active learning strategies to engage students in the process of science" (Handelsman et al., 2004). In addition to the proven summer institute training paradigm, participants of the MoSI will receive training in peer evaluation and mentoring. Local educators and administrators also will take part in facilitated strategic planning to improve education.
The MoSI team is composed of national leaders in education reform, who will share teaching methods that engage students to learn – as scientists do – through problem solving and discussion. Through workshops, group work, and presentations you will learn about innovations and research in undergraduate education. MoSI trainers will facilitate group work to help participants implement these strategies while creating novel teaching materials. By the end of the MoSI, you will have developed and peer-reviewed teaching materials, learned how to implement scientific teaching in your classrooms and to evaluate your peers in order to develop as reflective practitioners.
Schedule
2: Goals and Outcomes
Goal
The goal of the Mobile Summer Institute is to improve undergraduate education. This will be achieved by a) training faculty in effective, evidence-based, teaching strategies; b) facilitating reflective practices through peer mentoring and evaluation and c) facilitating strategic planning to reform educational practices at the host institution. This institute is modeled after the National Academies Summer Institute and is meant to extend the impact of that successful, nationally renowned professional development workshop and promote broader adoption of reformed pedagogies and promote institutional reform in education.
Specific Outcomes
By the end of the institute, you will have:
• practiced a variety of evidence-based teaching strategies through workshops, presentations and group work
• worked as a team to create teaching materials that implement these strategies
• begun to shift your focus from content and teaching to outcomes and learning
• practiced peer evaluation to promote reflective teaching practices
The MoSI Approach
Scientific teaching provides a framework for making our classrooms more learner-focused and our curricula more richly representative of the nature and process of science. Scientific teaching encompasses three core themes: inclusivity, active learning, and assessment. Over the course of the week, you will implement strategies that address each of these themes into your teaching material.
Charles Henderson’s four categories of strategies for change provide the model for the institutional change approach used by the mobile version of the Summer Institutes. In addition to the proven training paradigm provided by the pedagogy workshop, the MoSIs provide training in peer evaluation to drive long-term reflective teaching, facilitated strategic planning to leverage newly gained expertise toward educational reform and an administrator’s workshop to foster buy-in and support of local policy makers.
3: Format
Interactive Workshops
The interactive workshops are designed to introduce participants to innovations and research on undergraduate education, and to model principles about which they teach. These sessions will be interactive and model the strategies that are being introduced.
Group Work Sessions
Group work carefully designed to model scientific teaching has been found to be one of the most important processes at the Summer Institute. The group process also encourages cross-fertilization of ideas among colleagues and departments and strengthens the impact of the changes that you make in your classrooms. Therefore, much of the MoSI is devoted to group work time.
During morning group work sessions, your group will collaborate to develop teaching materials that incorporate the strategies from the interactive workshops. Each group has been assigned a trained facilitator – a Summer Institute veteran – to model teaching practices that will help the group establish and meet common goals. On Wednesday, following the group work session, you will take part in a group share where groups pair off and present their teachable tidbit to one another. This will provide the opportunity to practice the presentation of the teachable tidbit and to gain feedback before final presentations that afternoon.
Group Presentations
The Wednesday afternoon session will consist of group presentations of teachable tidbits that will be peer-reviewed by organizers and participants. This will allow groups to practice assessing the effectiveness and student-centeredness of learning activities and to incorporate peer feedback into their teaching modules before using them in their own classes.
5: Participant List
Thank you for joining the University of Arkansas - Little Rock's 2019 MoSI session! We hope that you enjoy yourself and take away something that will enhance your teaching capabilities. If you are a participate and do not see your name and information, please contact ____ (insert hyperlink to person information here).
6: Leaders List
These leaders have been working with MoSI for quite some time. They are here to....
7: Support Staff
These individuals are volunteers responsible for facilitating with the progression of each day.
1: Before the Workshop
• Link to tests here: https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html
• Create a student iClicker account.
• If you already have an instructor account, this works as well. Follow steps to enroll as a student.
• Instructions for creating a student account are here.
• Watch Claude Steele on Stereotype Threat (below)
3: Before Day 3
• Sign up for a GORP account
• Go to https://gorp.ucdavis.edu/
• Click "Sign Up"
• Complete the sign up, and search for your university / college in the Institution box. | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Mobile_Institute_on_Scientific_Teaching/2019_MoSI/Group_Work/Bookshelves_Education_and_Professional_Development%2F%2FMobile_Summer_Institute_on_Scientific_Teaching%2F%2FGeneric%2.txt |
Post your discussion comments here!
Interactive Element
5 Stages of Group Development
Overview
The MoSI is a project-based training program combining interactive workshops on the tenets of scientific teaching with group work sessions where participants develop inclusive, student-centered teaching materials that they present to colleagues for peer-review at the end of the week.
Group work carefully designed to model scientific teaching has been found to be one of the most important processes at the Summer Institute. Each is led by a trained facilitator to model teaching practices that will help the group establish and meet common goals. Each group presents their teaching module for review during a dress rehearsal with another group and a final presentation. This allows groups to practice providing feedback on the effectiveness of learning activities and to incorporate peer feedback into their teaching modules before using them in their own classes.
Each group will create a folder in this Google Group Work folder where you will work collaboratively on your teaching module (tidibt) for the week.
In addition, all new MoSI participants have access to a Master MoSI Google folder, where you can access teaching modules from other institutions.
The pages below contain resources to support your group work.
Group Work
About Group Work Sessions
Throughout the week, you and your team will participate in groups of four during group work sessions. During those sessions, you will be moving at your pace through the stages described below.
Goals
The goal of the first session is to meet your group mates, pick the topics for your teachable tidbit, and begin to backward design your tidbit. Backward design will consist of writing learning goals and outcomes, identifying summative assessments that will provide data about student learning and finally developing the learning activities that will help students achieve the desired outcomes.
Teachable tidbits
During the institute, each group will develop teachable tidbits that address topics/concepts within the group’s topic area. Teachable tidbits are instructional materials designed to engage students in learning. Generally, they consist of a single activity that can be integrated into a larger context, such as a course or a lecture. You will work through the following stages in your group:
1. Group Dynamics. Identify and discuss your own constructive and destructive group behaviors and the stages of group development.
2. Identify a topic area for your teachable tidbit. You want this to be narrow enough to address within the timeframe allotted. For example, if your topic is evolution, will you focus on some aspect of the concept of natural selection, like the role of mutation in genetic variation, or another concept altogether?
3. Identify learning goals and intended outcomes for the teachable tidbit. Start by stating broad learning goals such as “students will understand equilibrium” and then move on to more specific learning outcomes for each goal. If you stopped at this point, you might leave students wondering, “what do you mean by understand?” Think about how you will assess student understanding. When stating learning outcomes, use active verbs that suggest suitable assessments. For example, “Students will be able to predict how relative changes in concentrations of reactants or products will affect forward or reverse reaction rates” is a specific and assessable learning outcome that would indicate whether or not a student actually understood the concept of equilibrium.
4. Determine appropriate assessments.
5. Construct an inclusive, active lesson plan.
The goal of these sessions is to continue to develop your teachable tidbit(s) incorporating active learning/formative assessment strategies to create an inclusive learning experience that will help students achieve the intended learning outcomes. Learning activities should engage students’ previous knowledge and help them construct new knowledge and engage in deliberate practice of important skills. Ultimately, your learning outcomes, learning assessments, and learning activities should all align with each other.
Upload your materials
Each group will create a folder in this Google Group Work folder where you will work collaboratively on your teaching module (tidibt) for the week.
Participants also have access to tidbits from other groups and other institutions by going to the MoSI Host Campus Folder that holds all of the folders associated with the workshops and group work.
1: Group Work Sessions
Stages of Team Development
This process of learning to work together effectively is known as team development. Research has shown that teams go through definitive stages during development. Bruce Tuckman, an educational psychologist, identified a five-stage development process that most teams follow to become high performing. He called the stages: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. Team progress through the stages is shown in the following diagram.
Most high-performing teams go through five stages of team development.
Forming stage
The forming stage involves a period of orientation and getting acquainted. Uncertainty is high during this stage, and people are looking for leadership and authority. A member who asserts authority or is knowledgeable may be looked to take control. Team members are asking such questions as “What does the team offer me?” “What is expected of me?” “Will I fit in?” Most interactions are social as members get to know each other.
Storming stage
The storming stage is the most difficult and critical stage to pass through. It is a period marked by conflict and competition as individual personalities emerge. Team performance may actually decrease in this stage because energy is put into unproductive activities. Members may disagree on team goals, and subgroups and cliques may form around strong personalities or areas of agreement. To get through this stage, members must work to overcome obstacles, to accept individual differences, and to work through conflicting ideas on team tasks and goals. Teams can get bogged down in this stage. Failure to address conflicts may result in long-term problems.
Norming stage
If teams get through the storming stage, conflict is resolved and some degree of unity emerges. In the norming stage, consensus develops around who the leader or leaders are, and individual member’s roles. Interpersonal differences begin to be resolved, and a sense of cohesion and unity emerges. Team performance increases during this stage as members learn to cooperate and begin to focus on team goals. However, the harmony is precarious, and if disagreements re-emerge the team can slide back into storming.
Performing stage
In the performing stage, consensus and cooperation have been well-established and the team is mature, organized, and well-functioning. There is a clear and stable structure, and members are committed to the team’s mission. Problems and conflicts still emerge, but they are dealt with constructively. (We will discuss the role of conflict and conflict resolution in the next section). The team is focused on problem solving and meeting team goals.
Adjourning stage
In the adjourning stage, most of the team’s goals have been accomplished. The emphasis is on wrapping up final tasks and documenting the effort and results. As the work load is diminished, individual members may be reassigned to other teams, and the team disbands. There may be regret as the team ends, so a ceremonial acknowledgement of the work and success of the team can be helpful. If the team is a standing committee with ongoing responsibility, members may be replaced by new people and the team can go back to a forming or storming stage and repeat the development process.
Team Norms and Cohesiveness
When you have been on a team, how did you know how to act? How did you know what behaviors were acceptable or what level of performance was required? Teams usually develop norms that guide the activities of team members. Team norms set a standard for behavior, attitude, and performance that all team members are expected to follow. Norms are like rules but they are not written down. Instead, all the team members implicitly understand them. Norms are effective because team members want to support the team and preserve relationships in the team, and when norms are violated, there is peer pressure or sanctions to enforce compliance.
Norms result from the interaction of team members during the development process. Initially, during the forming and storming stages, norms focus on expectations for attendance and commitment. Later, during the norming and performing stages, norms focus on relationships and levels of performance. Performance norms are very important because they define the level of work effort and standards that determine the success of the team. As you might expect, leaders play an important part in establishing productive norms by acting as role models and by rewarding desired behaviors.
Norms are only effective in controlling behaviors when they are accepted by team members. The level of cohesiveness on the team primarily determines whether team members accept and conform to norms. Team cohesiveness is the extent that members are attracted to the team and are motivated to remain in the team. Members of highly cohesive teams value their membership, are committed to team activities, and gain satisfaction from team success. They try to conform to norms because they want to maintain their relationships in the team and they want to meet team expectations. Teams with strong performance norms and high cohesiveness are high performing.
For example, the seven-member executive team at Whole Foods spends time together outside of work. Its members frequently socialize and even take group vacations. According to co-CEO John Mackey, they have developed a high degree of trust that results in better communication and a willingness to work out problems and disagreements when they occur.[1]
1. Jennifer Alsever, Jessi Hempel, Alex Taylor III, and Daniel Roberts, “6 Great Teams that Take Care of Business,” Fortune, April 10, 2014, http://fortune.com/2014/04/10/6-great-teams-that-take-care-of-business/
LICENSES AND ATTRIBUTIONS
CC LICENSED CONTENT, ORIGINAL
• Stages of Team Development. Authored by: John/Lynn Bruton and Lumen Learning. LicenseCC BY: Attribution
• Five Stages of Team Development. Authored by: John/Lynn Bruton and Lumen Learning. LicenseCC BY: Attribution
Constructive and Destructive Group Behaviors
Constructive Group Behaviors
Cooperating: Is interested in the views and perspectives of the other group members and is willing to adapt for the good of the group.
Clarifying: Makes issues clear for the group by listening, summarizing and focusing discussions.
Inspiring: Enlivens the group, encourages participation and progress.
Harmonizing: Encourages group cohesion and collaboration. For example, uses humor as a relief after a particularly difficult discussion.
Risk Taking: Is willing to risk possible personal loss or embarrassment for the group or project success.
Process Checking: Questions the group on process issues such as agenda, time frames, discussion topics, decision methods, use of information, etc.
Destructive Group Behaviors
Dominating: Takes much of meeting time expressing self views and opinions. Tries to take control by use of power, time, etc.
Rushing: Encourages the group to move on before task is complete. Gets “tired” of listening to others and working as a group.
Withdrawing: Removes self from discussions or decision-making. Refuses to participate.
Discounting: Disregards or minimizes group or individual ideas or suggestions. Severe discounting behavior includes insults, which are often in the form of jokes.
Digressing: Rambles, tells stories, and takes group away from primary purpose.
Blocking: Impedes group progress by obstructing all ideas and suggestions. “That will never work because…”
________________________________________________________________________
Brunt (1993). Facilitation Skills for Quality Improvement. Quality Enhancement Strategies. 1008 Fish Hatchery Road. Madison. WI 53715
2: Group Presentations
Final preparation for Presentations
During this session you will put finishing touches on the 30-minute presentation of your teachable tidbits.
Group Presentations
1. Teach one of your tidbits, including a brief overview of the context in which the tidbit will be taught. You will have 30 minutes for your presentation.
2. Provide feedback on your peers’ tidbits. Use the rubric from the Peer Mentoring workshop to provide constructive feedback that will help the presenters become more active and student-centered.
Upload your materials
Upload teachable tidbit and related/supporting materials to your institutional folder inside the Group Work Google Folder for the workshop. | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Mobile_Institute_on_Scientific_Teaching/2020_MoSI/Discussion_Forum/During_the_workshop.txt |
Overview
The MoSI is a project-based training program combining interactive workshops on the tenets of scientific teaching with group work sessions where participants develop inclusive, student-centered teaching materials that they present to colleagues for peer-review at the end of the week.
The interactive workshops are designed to introduce participants to innovations and research on undergraduate education, and to model principles about which they teach.
The workshop links below are in order of occurrence during the week and will take you to a page for each workshop.
Interactive Workshops
Workshop Overview
The Welcome and Introduction workshop introduces participants to the MoSI approach and rationale, promotes community building, models scientific teaching in action and orients participants to the Libretext platform that will be used for asynchronous content delivery.
Learning Outcomes
Participants will be able to:
• Describe the rationale and approach of the Mobile Summer Institute on Scientific Teaching (MoSI)
• Implement relationship and community-building approaches on the first day of class
• Identify current teaching challenges
• Compare and contrast, at a broad level, in-person and remote teaching approaches
• Navigate the MoSI asynchronous content-delivery platform, Libretext
Key Terms
• Scientific teaching
• Evidence-based teaching
• Inclusive teaching
• Student-centered learning
• Backward design
• Active learning
• Formative assessment
• Synchronous/asynchronous delivery
Active Learning/Formative Assessment Strategies
• Brainstorming
• Small group discussion/breakout rooms
• Polling questions
• Think-pair-share
Pre-Workshop
Background
Since its inception in 2014, the Mobile Summer Institute has trained nearly 1000 faculty at 35 institutions across 6 countries in scientific teaching. This program is a place-based iteration of the successful National Academies Summer Institute (SI) on Undergraduate Education (founders: Drs. Jo Handelsman (UWisconsin), Bill Wood (CU Boulder), Sarah Miller (UWisconsin) and Chris Pfund (UWisconsin)). The original SI was developed in response to a National Research Council report, Bio2010, that called for an intensive training program to promote adoption of active learning strategies to improve student learning and success. While the original summer institute was focused on life sciences, the current regional and mobile iterations have expanded to other STEM and many non-STEM disciplines over the past decade.
Like the original model, the MoSI is an intensive 5-day pedagogical workshop focused on evidence-based teaching practices and curricular design strategies intended to improve learning for all students and reduce the disproportionate loss of underrepresented students from higher education. Research shows that use of active learning increases performance and decreases failure (Freeman et al., 2014) and reduces the performance gap for underrepresented students (Theobold et al., 2020).
Scientific teaching is a condensation of effective, evidence-based teaching strategies targeted at faculty who understand the importance of evidence-based approaches but may not have any formal pedagogical training. It is a student-centered learning approach embedded in Backward Design, a curricular approach that places the focus on what students learn rather than what teachers cover.
Tasks
Please complete the following tasks prior to the workshop:
1. Getting to know you: Visit the Introduction/Welcome Session Google Folder then go to the folder for your institutions
• Fill out the Getting to know you Google Doc according to the instructions in the document.
2. Watch this 3-minute video overview of Scientific Teaching, the organizing principle of the MoSI, created by Dr. Jessamina Blum (UMinnesota).
3. Watch the first 2 minutes and 40 seconds of A Private Universe - a documentary on the persistence of misconceptions.
4. Optional - watch Father Guido Sarducci's 5-minute University for a humorous look at the failings of passive, lecture-based education. Father Guido was a recurring fictional character developed by comedian Don Novello for Saturday Night Live in the 1970s.
During Workshop
Activity
1. Hopes - What do you hope to get out of this week? Visit the Introduction/Welcome Session Google Folder then go to the Google folder for your institution.
• Record your answers in the Hopes & Gains Google Doc.
Post-Workshop
Task
1. Please provide feedback on Libretext using this Libretext Feedback Google doc provide us with feedback on how to make Libretext more useful/user-friendly.
Session Slides
Introduction/Welcome session slides | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Mobile_Institute_on_Scientific_Teaching/2020_MoSI/Interactive_Workshops/1%3A_Welcome_Session.txt |
Workshop Overview
The Inclusivity workshop uses facilitated discussion and reflection to increase awareness of the most common invisible factors that serve as barriers to success for students from underserved groups. Awareness is only useful when paired with action, so participants will use their awareness to develop and share teaching strategies to offset the impact of structural barriers. Therefore participants will walk away with concrete examples of strategies they can use in their courses to reduce barriers and increase success for all students.
Learning Outcomes
Participants will be able to:
• Determine the benefits and challenges of diverse populations in the classroom
• Describe the impact of privilege, stereotype threat, and unconscious bias on learners and strategies to offset their impact
• Incorporate inclusive teaching strategies into classroom activities that offset inequities and/or invisible barriers
Key Terms
• Inclusive teaching
• Implicit/explicit diversity
• Implicit assumptions/unconscious biases
• Privilege
• Equity
• Microaggression
• Cultural competency
• Stereotype threat
Active Learning/Formative Assessment Strategies
• Brainstorming
• Directed- and random-call report out
• Life walk
• Think-pair-share
• Back-channel discussion
• Front-channel report out
• Small group discussion/breakout rooms
• Reflection
Pre-Workshop
Background
The goal of the following pre-workshop homework is to introduce all participants to four common factors that make our classrooms exclusive: a) unconscious bias, b) stereotype threat, c) microaggressions and d) cultural competency. During the workshop, each participant will choose one of these areas and as part of a group will do a deeper dive into that topic and then share resources and strategies with their cohort peers for offsetting that factor in the classroom.
Tasks
Please complete the following tasks prior to the workshop for an introduction to four barriers to inclusive classrooms:
1. Unconscious bias:
• Read this 2-page NYTimes Op-Ed "What? Me Biased? What? Me Biased?.pdf
• Visit Harvard Project Implicit and take at least two Implicit Assumption tests of your choice. (*Note: It can be uncomfortable to find out that you have unconscious biases. It's important to know that unconscious biases are a result of YOUR ENVIRONMENT and not what you consciously believe. The goal is to use awareness to make conscious efforts to offset unconscious biases. Knowledge is power.)
2. Stereotype threat: Watch the following the 8-minute video of Dr. Claude Steele (Stanford) discussing stereotype threat, the focus of his book, Whistling Vivaldi
3. Microaggression: Watch this 4.5 minutes video on Microaggressions by Dr. Derald Wing Sue (Columbia).
4. Cultural competency: Visit the National Education Association website and read through the information on cultural competency on the first page. This can also serve as a resource later as there are links to resources for educators here as well.
During Workshop
Activities
1. Equality vs Equity - Visit the Inclusivity Workshop Google Folder and go to the folder for your institution.
1. Record your group's answers in the Equality/Equity Google Doc.
2. Deeper Dive on Invisible Barriers to Inclusion:
• Visit the Inclusivity Workshop Google Folder and go to the folder for your institution to report your findings in the Deeper Dive on Invisible Barriers Google Doc.
• Use the materials linked below for your topic to develop and share classroom strategies to offset one of the four invisible factors that contribute to classroom inequities.
3. Reflection - Visit the Inclusivity Workshop Google Folder and go to the folder for your institution.
• Record your reflections on the benefits of this session in this Inclusivity Reflection Google Doc.
Session Slides
Inclusivity Session Slides
3: Backward Design I
Workshop Overview
The Backward Design workshop sessions provide an introduction to this learner-focused course design approach. During the workshop, participants first will engage with the different steps of the process. Then, participants will apply the approach to a topic from a course with which students struggle. This workshop is split into two sessions. The first session will introduce the overall method. In the second session, the participants will practice what they learned about backward design - stating learning goals (broad, vague, not easily assessed, e.g. know, learn, understand...) and outcomes (specific, concrete, easily measurable, e.g. predict, explain, contrast, defend...) - by applying it to a specific topic.
Learning Outcomes
Participants will be able to:
• Argue the merits of a learner-centered course design approach
• Identify and align learning goals and outcomes for a specified topic/concept.
Key Terms
• Backward Design
• Deliberate practice
• Learning goals
• Learning outcomes
• Learning objectives
• Alignment
• Bloom's Taxonomy
• 3-Dimensional Learning Assessment Protocol (3-D LAP)
Active Learning/Formative Assessment Strategies
• Matching/categorizing
• Small group discussion
• Alignment table development
• Reflection
Pre-Workshop
Background
In order for our students to develop mastery, they need to spend time and effort engaged with the specific concept or skill. This idea is called Deliberate Practice (Ericsson et al., 1993). Essentially, the one doing is the one learning. The two essential components of this learning theory are effort expended on activities (practice) that are specifically designed to result in mastery of a desired skill or concept (deliberate). Backward Design is a course design approach that helps us focus on the deliberation aspect of Deliberate Practice. Backward Design guides us to be specific and intentional about what we want students to know, understand, and be able to do by the end of our course. With Backward Design, we then use that knowledge to guide our development of assessments that will provide evidence about whether or not students achieve our desired goal. Lastly, with Backward Design, we develop learning activities that will maximize the likelihood of students' success.
Tasks
Please complete the following tasks prior to the workshop:
1. Identify a topic from your class that you would like to transform during this workshop.
During Workshop
Activities
1. Developing learning goals and outcomes - Visit the Backward Design Session Google Folder then go into the folder for your institution.
• Copy the alignment table template, rename it as yours, and use it to develop your alignment table for your topic during these sessions.
• Asking questions
• Developing & using models
• Planning & carrying out investigations
• Analyzing & interpreting data
• Using mathematics & computational thinking
• Constructing explanations
• Engaging in argument from evidence
• Obtaining, evaluating, & communicating information
Post-Workshop
Task
1. Complete the Learning Goals and Outcomes columns in your personalized Alignment table in your institution's folder inside the Backward Design Session Google Folder. Use the examples of alignment tables (a document in your institution's folder) as a guide.
Session Slides
Backward Design session slides | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Mobile_Institute_on_Scientific_Teaching/2020_MoSI/Interactive_Workshops/2%3A_Inclusivity_Session.txt |
Workshop Overview
The Backward Design (BD) workshop sessions provide an introduction to this learner-focused course design approach. During the workshop, participants first will be engaged in the different steps of the process and then will apply the approach to a topic from a course with which students struggle. This workshop is split into to session. The second session will take participants through steps 2 & 3 of BD - developing assessments and learning activities that align with participants learning goals and outcomes developed in the first session. The term "engaugement" was coined by the authors of Scientific Teaching - Handelsman, Miller and Pfund, to indicate the nearly inextricable link between active learning and formative assessment, i.e. when you ask a student to do something, they are simultaneously engaged in learning and can gauge their progress by whether or how well they can perform.
Using Backward Design allows us to re-envision our classes, so that in-class or synchronous time is spent on collaborative learning activities and formative assessments that foster critical thinking, problem-solving, and understanding of cognitively demanding material, while out-of-class or asynchronous time focuses on lower cognitive demand material in preparation for class or on further practice with higher cognitive demand concepts and skills after class.
Learning Outcomes
Participants will be able to:
• Use the principles of backward design to align learning outcomes with both learning activities/formative assessments and summative assessments
• Develop/modify learning materials to engage students in deliberate practice
• Use Bloom’s Taxonomy & 3-D LAP to evaluate assessments
Key Terms
• Backward Design
• Deliberate practice
• Formative assessment
• Summative assessment
• Alignment
• Bloom's Taxonomy
• 3-Dimensional Learning Assessment Protocol (3-D LAP)
Active Learning/Formative Assessment Strategies
• Gallery walk
• Small group discussion
• Alignment table development
• Reflection
• Polling questions
• Case scenario
• Scenario/statement correction
Pre-Workshop
Background
In order for our students to develop mastery, they need to spend time/effort engaged with the specific concept or skill. This concept is called Deliberate Practice (Ericsson et al., 1993). Essentially, the one doing is the one learning. The two essential components of this learning theory are effort expended on activities (practice) that are specifically design to result in mastery of a desired skill or concept (deliberate). Backward Design is a course design approach that helps us focus on the deliberation aspect of Deliberate Practice. Backward Design that guides us to be specific and intentional about what we want students to know, understand and be able to do by the end of our course and then use that knowledge to guide development of assessments that will provide evidence about whether or not students achieve our desired goal and learning activities that will maximize the likelihood that they will be successful.
Tasks
1. *See the post-task from Backward Design I Session
During Workshop
Activities
1. Gallery Walk: Visit the Backward Design Session Google Folder then go to the folder for your institution to find the alignment tables from yesterday's session.
• Review your peers Alignment tables using the Comment function in Google
• Instructions for giving comments in Google
• Highlight the text you want to comment on and a small plus sign inside a comment bubble symbol will appear to the right.
• Click the plus sign symbol and put in your comment.
• Click the "comment" button at the bottom.
Session Slides
Backward Design Session Slides
5: Scientific Teaching in Action
Workshop Overview
The Scientific Teaching workshop has many flavors depending on the expertise of the trainer(s) running the workshop. The general goal is to provide a deeper dive into the use of a variety of active learning approaches like immediate polling questions, the formation and management of learning groups, and other examples of deliberate practice. For your MoSI, this workshop will focus on the use of deliberate practice to improve graph reading and interpretation skills. This workshop also demonstrates how to integrate the teaching of subject content with the development of student skills.
Learning Outcomes
Participants will be able to:
• Use deliberate practice to foster the acquisition of graph reading and interpretation skills
Key Terms
• Deliberate practice
• Evidence-based teaching
• Backward design
• Alignment between formative and summative assessment
Active Learning/Formative Assessment Strategies
• Small group discussion/breakout rooms
Pre-Workshop
Background
Deliberate practice posits that to develop expertise or mastery over a subject or skill, for example, it is necessary to spend sufficient time engaged in intentional effort that specifically relates to achievement of that mastery. The perfectly complements Backward Design in that it calls for practice that aligns with intended outcomes. For example, if you intend for students to leave your class with proficiency in reading and interpreting graphs, then students have to spend sufficient time practicing that skill. While sitting in class watching the teacher explain how to read graphs is effort, the effort is not aligned with the desired outcome of having students be able to read and interpret graphs for themselves. This type of misalignment between desired learning outcomes and class activities is common in passive lecture classes. | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Mobile_Institute_on_Scientific_Teaching/2020_MoSI/Interactive_Workshops/4%3A_Backward_Design_II.txt |
Workshop Overview
Scientific teaching is at it's core an evidence-based pedagogical approach. Consulting education literature to determine which teaching strategies to use and gathering evidence to determine how well those strategies work in your classroom are critical steps when developing effective learning environments. This workshop explores various types of data that instructors can gather to evaluate student learning in order to facilitate the development of course evaluation plans by participants.
Learning Outcomes
Participants will be able to:
• Determine sources of evidence to measure student learning and/or teaching effectiveness
• Identify potential metrics and develop a plan for evaluating instructional practices their classes
Key Terms
• Scholarly teaching
• Evaluation
• Assessment
• Qualitative data
• Quantitative data
• Concept inventories
• Perception surveys
• Normalized learning gains
Active Learning/Formative Assessment Strategies
• Small group discussion/breakout rooms
• Whole class discussion
• Development and assessment of instructional plans
Pre-Workshop
Background
Are your students learning what you want them to learn? How do you know? In preparation for this workshop, think about these three questions: 1) What knowledge do you want your students to gain from your class? 2) What types of skills (e.g. life skills, learning skills, technical skills) would you like students to acquire? and 3) What affective or behavioral changes would you like to see your students exhibit (e.g. improved critical thinking, increased confidence or enthusiasm for your discipline, identifying as a professional in your area, becoming a more civically engaged citizen) at the end of your course? We will explore different types of data that we can collect in all types of teaching environments to help us evaluate changes in pedagogy and to inform iterative rounds of course revisions.
During Workshop
Activities
1. Course Evaluation Plan development: Visit the Course Evaluation Plan Google folder then go to the folder for your institution.
• Make a copy of the Course Evaluation Plan template, name it as yours and respond to the prompts to develop your course evaluation plan.
• While you can revisit your plan in the Google folder at any time, I would recommend that you also download a copy for easy access when you are ready to implement.
2. One website that you may find useful to find available assessments is FLAG (Field-tested Learning Assessment Guide).
Session Slides
Scholarly Teaching Slide Deck
6: Scholarly Teaching
What are concept inventories?
(Excerpted from presentation by J. Knight, UC Boulder).
• Multiple choice (usually) instruments that address fundamental concepts and contain known student misunderstandings
• Developed through an iterative process that includes gathering evidence of validity and reliability through student and faculty interviews
• Diagnostic: can identify specific misunderstandings and measure student learning over time
• Objective: not tied directly to a course, but rather to a set of concepts
Guidelines for using concept inventories
(Dirks, Wenderoth, Withers Assessment in the College Science Classroom, 2013).
• Protect the test!
• Must be given in a proctored environment to keep questions from getting out to students.
• Use for evaluation only
• Not a learning tool.
• When used for pre-/post-testing
• Use the same testing context
• Can use same or isomorphic questions (Resource: Research Methods Knowledge Base – W. Trochim, 2013)
• Normalized learning gain
• <g> = (%post - %pre)/(100-%pre)
Other Resources
Table below from Dirk et al., (2014) Assessment in the College Science Classroom, Ch7 Appendix A; Freeman, NYC.
Concept Inventories in Astronomy
Astronomy Diagnostic Test (ADT)
Lunar Phases
Light and Spectroscopy
Hufnagel 2002
Lindell and Olsen 2002
Bardar et al., 2007
Concept Inventories in Biology
Genetics Concept Inventory (GCA)
Genetics Literacy Assessment Instrument 2 (GLAI-2)
Conceptual Inventory of Natural Selection (CINS)
Biology Literacty (http://bioliteracy.net/)
Diagnostic Question Clusters: Biology
Host Pathogen Interactions (HPI)
Introductory Molecular and Cell Biology Assessment (IMCA)
Smith et al., 2008
Bowling et al., 2008
Anderson et al., 2002
Klymkowsky et al., 2010
Wilson et al., 2006; D’Avanzo 2008
Marbach-Ad et al., 2009
Shi et al., 2010
Concept Inventories in Chemistry
Chemistry Concept Inventory
Mulford and Rbonison 2002
Krause et al., 2003
Concept Inventories in Engineering
Engineering Thermodynamics Concept Inventory
Heat Transfer
Materials Concept Inventory
Signals and Systems Concept Inventory
Static Concept Inventory
Thermal and Transport Science Concept Inventory (TTCI)
Midkiff et al., 2001
Jacobie et al., 2003
Krause et al., 2003
Wage et al., 2005
Steif et al., 2005
Streveler et al., 2011
Concept Inventories in Geoscience
Geoscience Concept Inventory (GCI)
Libarkin and Anderson, 2005
Concept Inventories in Math and Statistics
Statistics Concept Inventory (SCI)
Calculus Concept Inventory (CCI)
Allen 2006
Epstein 2005
Concept Inventories in Physics
Force Concept Inventory (FCI)
The Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation (FMCE)
Thermal Concept Evaluation
Brief Electricity and Magnetism Assessment (BEMA)
Conceptual Survey in Electricity and Magnetism (CSEM)
Hestenes et al., 1992
Thornton and Sokiloff 1998
Yeo and Zadnick 2001
Ding et al., 2006
Maloney et al., 2001
Measuring Students Science Process and Reasoning Skills
Rubric for Science Writing
Student-Achievement and Process Skills Instrument
Timmerman et al., 2010
Bunce et al., 2010
Measuring Student Attitudes about Science, Research or Study Methods
Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS)
Revised Two-Factor Study Process Questionnaire
Student Assessment of Their Learning Gains (SALG) Instrument
Survey of Undergraduate Research Experiences
Views About Science Survey (VASS)
http://www.colorado.edu/sei/class
Biggs et al, 2001
http://www.salgsite.org/
Lopatto 2004
Halloun and Hestenes 1998 | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Mobile_Institute_on_Scientific_Teaching/2020_MoSI/Interactive_Workshops/6%3A_Scholarly_Teaching/6A%3A_Evaluation_Guide.txt |
I. BIOLOGY
Initially compiled by Kathy S. Williams (San Diego State University) and Erilynn T. Heinrichsen (University of California, San Diego)
Updated 2019 by Jenny Knight
ANIMAL DEVELOPMENT
Flowering Plant Growth and Development (13 two-tiered MC items)
Lin SW. 2004. Development and application of a two-tier diagnostic test for high school students’ understanding of flowering plant growth and development. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education 2: 175–199.
BIOCHEMISTRY
Threshold concepts in Biochemistry: Loertscher, J. (2011). Biochemistry and molecular biology education, 39(1), 56-57.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4152212/
BREATHING AND RESPIRATION
Breathing and Respiration (12 two-tiered MC items)
Mann M, Treagust DF. 1998. A pencil and paper instrument to diagnose students’ conceptions of breathing, gas exchange and respiration. Australian Science Teachers Journal 44: 55–59.
DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
Developmental Biology Content Survey (15 MC items)
Knight JK, Wood WB. 2005. Teaching more by lecturing less. Cell Biology Education 4: 298-310. doi:10.1187/05-06-0082. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/05-06-0082
ENERGY AND MATTER
(total of 16 Diagnostic Question Clusters of 6-8 items each; some items appear in more than one DQC)
Diagnostic Question Clusters on Energy and Matter (DQCs)
Wilson CD, Anderson CW, Heidemann M, Merrill JE, Merritt BW, Richmond G, Silbey DF, Parker JM. 2006. Assessing students’ ability to trace matter in dynamic systems in cell biology. CBE Life Sciences Education 5: 323–331. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.06-02-0142
Hartley LM, Wilke BJ, Schramm JW, D’Avanzo C, Anderson CW. 2011. College students’ understanding of the carbon cycle: contrasting principle-based and informal reasoning. BioScience 61: 65-75.
Thinking like a biologist: Using diagnostic questions to help students to reason with biological principles (16 DQC sets of ~7 items each, MC, TF, open-ended)
D'Avanzo C, Anderson CW, Griffith A, Merrill J. 2011. Thinking like a biologist. Using diagnostic questions to help students reason with biological principles. [The site at http://www.biodqc.org/ has Diagnostic Question Clusters (DQC's) organized by three ecological topics (Carbon Cycling, Energy Flow in Ecosystems, Climate Change), and by three biological processes; (Photosynthesis, Biosynthesis, Cellular Respiration) - with two DQCs each; plus one each DQC under topics Gasoline, Biofuels, Carbon in Nature, and Carbon Balance. Some items appear in more than one DQC.
ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
EcoEvo-MAPS: An Ecology and Evolution Assessment for Introductory through Advanced Undergraduates https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.17-02-0037
EvoDevoCI (MC and open ended items for 3 Exploratory Surveys and 6 Interview Question sets)
Hiatt A, Davis GK, Trujillo C, Terry M, French DP, Price RM, Perez KE. 2013. Getting to Evo-Devo: Concepts and challenges for students learning evolutionary developmental biology. CBE Life Sciences Education 12: 494-508. doi:10.1187/cbe.12-11- 0203. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.12-11-0203
EvoDevoCI (11 MC items, 4 scenarios)
Perez KE et al 2013. The EvoDevoCI: A Concept inventory for gauging students’ understanding of evolutionary developmental biology. CBE Life Sciences Education 12: 665-675. doi:10.1187/cbe.13-04-0079. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.13-04-0079
Basic Tree Thinking Assessment (two tests, 10 MC items each, diagrams): Baum DA, Smith SD, Donovan SSS. 2005. The tree-thinking challenge. Science 310: 979-980.
Conceptual Inventory of Natural Selection (CINS) (20 MC items, scenarios)
Anderson DL, Fisher KM, Norman JG. 2002. Development and validation of the conceptual inventory of natural selection. Journal of Research in Science Teaching 39: 952-978.
Kalinowski, S. T., Leonard, M. J., & Taper, M. L. (2016). Development and validation of the conceptual assessment of natural selection (CANS). CBE-Life Sciences Education, 15(4), ar64. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.15-06-0134
EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
Dasgupta, A. P., Anderson, T. R., & Pelaez, N. J. (2016). Development of the neuron assessment for measuring biology students’ use of experimental design concepts and representations. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 15(2), ar10. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.15-03-0077
Deane, T., Nomme, K., Jeffery, E., Pollock, C., & Birol, G. (2014). Development of the biological experimental design concept inventory (BEDCI). CBE-Life Sciences Education, 13(3), 540-551.https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.13-11-0218
GENETICS
Genetics Literacy Assessment Instrument (GLAI) (31 MC items) FOUR in Bowling et al. Genetics 2008;
Bowling BV, Acra EE, Wang L, Myers MF, Dean GE, Markle GC, Moskalik CL, Huether CA. 2008. Development and evaluation of a genetics literacy assessment instrument for undergraduates. Genetics 178: 15-22. [download PDF] from nku.edu
Genetics Concept Assessment (GCA) (25 MC items, diagrams)
Smith MK, Wood WB, Knight JK. 2008. The genetics concept assessment: A new concept inventory for gauging student understanding of genetics CBE Life Science Education 7: 422-430. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.08-08-0045
Genetics Diagnostic (13 two-tiered MC items, diagrams)
Tsui CY, Treagust D. 2009. Evaluating secondary students’ scientific reasoning in genetics using a two-tier diagnostic instrument. International Journal of Science Education 32: 1073-1098.
Genetic Drift Inventory (GeDI) (22 agree–disagree items)
Price RM, Andrews TC, McElhinny TL, Mead LS, Abraham JK, Thanukos A, Perez KE. 2014. The Genetic Drift Inventory: A tool for measuring what advanced undergraduates have mastered about genetic drift. CBE Life Science Education 13: 65-75. doi:
10.1187/cbe.13-08-0159. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.13-08-0159
Dominance Concept Inventory: Abraham, J. K., Perez, K. E., & Price, R. M. (2014). The Dominance Concept Inventory: a tool for assessing undergraduate student alternative conceptions about dominance in Mendelian and population genetics. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 13(2), 349-358. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.13-08-0160
GENERAL BIOLOGY
Gen-MAPS: Couch, BA, Wright CD, Freeman S, Knight JK, Semsar K, Smith MK, Summers MM, Zheng Y, Crowe AJ, Brownell SE (2019). GenBio-MAPS: A programmatic assessment to measure student understanding of Vision and Change core concepts across general biology programs. CBE Life Sci. Educ. 18:arx 1–14, doi: 10.1187/cbe.18-07-0117
HOST-PATHOGEN INTERACTIONS
Host-Pathogen Interactions (HPI) (17 [18 noted in Marbach-Ad et al. 2009] two-tiered MC items) ITEMS NOT PROVIDED
Marbach-Ad G, Briken V, El-Sayed NM, Frauwirth K, Fredericksen B, Hutcheson S, Gao L-Y, Joseph SW, Lee V, McIver KS, Mosser D, Quimby BB, Shields P, Song W, Stein DC, Yuan RT, Smith AC. 2009. Assessing student understanding of host pathogen interactions using a concept inventory. Journal of Microbiology Education 10: 43-50.
Marbach-Ad G, McAdams KC, Benson S, Briken V, Cathcart L, Chase M, El-Sayed NM, Frauwirth K, Fredericksen B, Joseph SW, Lee V, McIver KS, Mosser D, Quimby BB, Shields P, Song W, Stein DC, Stewart R, Thompson KV, Smith AC. 2010. A model for using a concept inventory as a tool for students' assessment and faculty professional development. CBE Life Science Education 9: 408-416. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/full/10.1187/cbe.10-05-0069
INTRODUCTORY BIOLOGY
Biology Concept Inventory (BCI) (30 MC items) ON-LINE at http://bioliteracy.colorado.edu/
Klymkowsky MW, Garvin-Doxas K, Zeilik M. 2003. Bioliteracy and teaching efficacy: What biologists can learn from physicists. Cell Biology Education 2: 155-161. doi: 10.1187/cbe.03-03-0014. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.03-03-0014
Garvin-Doxas K, Doxas I, Klymkowsky MW. 2008. Ed's Tools: A web-based software toolset for accelerated concept inventory construction. pp 130-140. In: Deeds, D & B Callen, editors; Proceedings of the National STEM Assessment Conference.
MACROEVOLUTION
Measure of Understanding of Macroevolution (MUM) (28 items: 27 MC items, plus one open-ended item, diagrams) PROVIDED
Nadelson LS, Southerland SA. 2010. Development and preliminary evaluation of the Measure of Understanding of Macroevolution: Introducing the MUM. The Journal of Experimental Education 78: 151–190. [download PDF] from researchgate.net
MICROBIOLOGY
Development, Validation, and Application of the Microbiology Concept Inventory.Timothy D. Paustian, Amy G. Briggs, Robert E. Brennan, Nancy Boury, John Buchner, Shannon Harris, Rachel E. A. Horak, Lee E. Hughes, D. Sue Katz-Amburn, Maria J. Massimelli, Ann H. McDonald, Todd P. Primm, Ann C. Smith, Ann M. Stevens, Sunny B. Yung. (2017) J. Microbiol. Biol. Educ. 18(3): doi:10.1128/jmbe.v18i3.1320
Development and Validation of the Microbiology for Health Sciences Concept Inventory. Heather M. Seitz, Rachel E. A. Horak, Megan W. Howard, Lucy W. Kluckhohn Jones, Theodore Muth, Christopher Parker, Andrea Pratt Rediske, Maureen M. Whitehurst. (2017) J. Microbiol. Biol. Educ. 18(3): doi:10.1128/jmbe.v18i3.1322
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
Central Dogma: Newman, D. L., Snyder, C. W., Fisk, J. N., & Wright, L. K. (2016). Development of the central dogma concept inventory (CDCI) assessment tool. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 15(2), ar9. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.15-06-0124
Lac Operon: Stefanski, K. M., Gardner, G. E., & Seipelt-Thiemann, R. L. (2016). Development of a Lac Operon Concept Inventory (LOCI). CBE-Life Sciences Education, 15(2), ar24.
https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.15-07-0162
Introductory Molecular Biology: Introductory Molecular and Cell Biology Assessment (IMCA) (24 MC items, diagrams) Shi J, Wood WB, Martin JM, Guild NA, Vicens Q, Knight JK. 2010. A diagnostic assessment for introductory molecular and cell biology. CBE Life Sciences Education 9: 453-461. doi: 10.1187/cbe.10-04-0055. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.10-04-0055
Molecular Biology Capstone Assessment: Couch, B. A., Wood, W. B., & Knight, J. K. (2015). The Molecular Biology Capstone Assessment: a concept assessment for upper-division molecular biology students. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 14(1), ar10. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.14-04-0071
Molecular Life Sciences Concept Inventory (MLS) www.lifescinventory.edu.au
OSMOSIS AND DIFFUSION
Diffusion and Osmosis Diagnostic Test (DODT) (12 two-tiered MC items, diagrams)
Odom AL, Barrow LH. 1995. The development and application of a two-tiered diagnostic test measuring college biology students' understanding of diffusion and osmosis following a course of instruction. Journal of Research in Science Teaching 32: 45-61. [HTML] from wiley.com
Odom AL. 1995. Secondary and college biology students' misconceptions about diffusion and osmosis. American Biology Teacher 57: 409–415. [download PDF] from pbworks.com
Osmosis and diffusion conceptual assessment (ODCA) (8 two-tiered MC items, diagrams) Fisher KM, Williams KS, Lineback J. 2011. Osmosis and diffusion conceptual assessment. CBE Life Sciences Education 10:418-29. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.11-04-0038
PHOTOSYNTHESIS AND RESPIRATION
Photosynthesis and Respiration (13 two-tiered MC items, plus open ended)
Haslam F, Treagust DF. 1987. Diagnosing secondary students’ misconceptions of photosynthesis and respiration in plants using a two-tier multiple choice instrument. Journal of Biological Education 21: 203–211.
Covalent Bonding and Photosynthesis test development ITEMS NOT PROVIDED
Treagust D. 1986. Evaluating students’ misconceptions by means of diagnostic multiple choice items. Journal of Research in Science Education 16: 199-207.
PHYSIOLOGY
Homeostasis: Development and Validation of the Homeostasis Concept Inventory McFarland, JL, Price RM, Wenderoth MP, Marinkova P, Cliff W, Michael J, Modell J, Wright A CBE—Life Sciences Education Volume 16, Issue 201 Jun 2017
Phys-MAPS: Semsar K, Brownell SE, Couch BA, Crowe AJ, Smith MK, Summers MM, Wright CD, Knight JK (2018). Phys-MAPS: A programmatic physiology assessment for introductory and advanced undergraduates. Adv Physiol Educ 43: 15–27, 2019; doi:10.1152/advan.00128.2018.
QUANTITATIVE/STATISTICAL REASONING
Stanhope, L., Ziegler, L., Haque, T., Le, L., Vinces, M., Davis, G. K., ... & Umbanhowar, C. (2017). Development of a Biological Science Quantitative Reasoning Exam (BioSQuaRE). CBE-Life Sciences Education, 16(4), ar66. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/full/10.1187/cbe.16-10-0301
Deane, T., Nomme, K., Jeffery, E., Pollock, C., & Birol, G. (2016). Development of the Statistical Reasoning in Biology Concept Inventory (SRBCI). CBE-Life Sciences Education, 15(1), ar5. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.15-06-0131
SCIENTIFIC LITERACY
Gormally, C., Brickman, P., & Lutz, M. (2012). Developing a test of scientific literacy skills (TOSLS): Measuring undergraduates’ evaluation of scientific information and arguments. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 11(4), 364-377.https://www.lifescied.org/doi/full/10.1187/cbe.12-03-0026
TRANSPORT IN PLANTS AND CIRCULATION IN HUMANS
Internal Transport in Plants and the Human Circulatory Systems (28 two-tiered MC items) Wang JR. 2004. Development and validation of a two-tier instrument to examine understanding of internal transport in plants and the human circulatory system. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education 2: 131–157.
II. ASTRONOMY
Astronomy Diagnostic Test (ADT) Hufnagel 2002
Lunar Phases Lindell and Olsen 2002
Light and Spectroscopy, Bardar et al., 2007
III. COMPUTER SCIENCE
http://dbserc.pitt.edu/Assessment/As...mputer-Science
IV. CHEMISTRY
INORGANIC CHEMISTRY (VIPER)
Virtual inorganic pedagogical electronic resource: a community for teachers and students of inorganic chemistry https://www.ionicviper.org//
CHEMISTRY
Compiled in list of chemistry concept inventories: http://chemistry.miamioh.edu/bretzsl/cer/assessment.html
DBER Resources - curated by Marilyne Stains - https://sites.google.com/site/marilynestains/useful-links-for-the-group
others
http://dbserc.pitt.edu/Assessment/Assessments-Chemistry
http://www.rsc.org/learn-chemistry/r...id=CMP00004906
V. PHYSICS
The AAPT ComPADRE Digital Library is a network of free online resource collections supporting faculty, students, and teachers in Physics and Astronomy Education. https://www.compadre.org/
Other Resources:
The Living Physics Portal-Due for Beta release Fall 2018
The Living Physics Portal is an online environment for physics faculty to share and discuss free curricular resources for teaching introductory physics for life sciences (IPLS). The objective of the Portal is to improve the education of the next generation of medical professionals and biologists by making physics classes more relevant for life sciences students. http://livingphysicsportal.org/
ALPhA
The Advanced Laboratory Physics Association (ALPhA) was formed in 2007 to provide communication and interaction among the faculty and staff who are involved in advanced laboratory physics instruction at colleges and universities in the United States and the rest of the world. https://www.advlab.org/
VI. STATISTICS
Statistics Concept Assessment
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/35439982_The_statistics_concept_inventory_development_and_analysis_of_a_cognitive_assessment_instrument_in_statistics
Research Methods and Statistics: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0098628317711287
VII. Inventories for Assessing Students’ Perceptions About Biology (College-level)
ENGAGEMENT
Wiggins, B. L., Eddy, S. L., Wener-Fligner, L., Freisem, K., Grunspan, D. Z., Theobald, E. J., ... & Crowe, A. J. (2017). ASPECT: A survey to assess student perspective of engagement in an active-learning classroom. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 16(2), ar32. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.16-08-0244
Student Course Engagement Questionnaire
http://serc.carleton.edu/files/NAGTWorkshops/assess05/SCEQ.pdf
(Handelsman et al. 2005)
23 Likert items assessing perceived skills engagement, participation/interaction engagement, emotional engagement, and performance engagement
LEARNING GAINS
Classroom Activities and Outcomes Survey (Terenzini et al. 2001)
24 Likert items rating progress in learning skills related to engineering or general scientific inquiry.
Student Assessment of Learning Gains (SALG) http://salgsite.org/(Seymour et al. 2000)
Multiple Likert items within 10 major categories rating gains in learning, skills, and attitudes due to components of a class
Survey of Undergraduate Research Experiences (SURE) (Lopatto 2004)
http://www.grinnell.edu/academic/csla/assessment/sure 20 Likert items assessing perceived learning gains as a result of participation in undergraduate research.
Undergrad Research Student Self-Assessment
http://www.colorado.edu/eer/research...gradtools.html (Hunter et al. 2007)
Multiple Likert items assessing perceived gains in skills related to participation in research, yes/no questions categorizing specific experiences, and open response items.
MOTIVATION
Achievement Goal Questionnaire
(Elliot and Church 1997, Finney et al. 2004)
18 Likert items rating performance approach and avoidance goals, and mastery goals.
Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ)
http://www.indiana.edu/~p540alex/MSLQ.pdf (Pintrich Paul R. 1991, Pintrich P. R. et al. 1993)
31 Likert items assessing students' goals and value beliefs. 31 assessing use of learning strategies and 19 items concerning student management of learning resources.
Science Motivation Questionnaire (SMQ)
http://www.coe.uga.edu/smq/ ← not working
(Glynn et al. 2011)
30 Likert items comprising 6 components of motivation: intrinsic, extrinsic, relevance, responsibility, confidence, and anxiety.
Self-Efficacy
College Biology Self Efficacy
(Baldwin et al. 1999)
VIEWS/ATTITUDES
Biology Attitude Scale (Russell and Hollander 1975)
22 items: 14 Likert-type and 8 semantic differential measuring students’ perceptions of liking or disliking biology
Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS)- Biology https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.10-10-0133
(Semsar et al. 2011) 31 Likert-type items for measuring novice-to-expert-like perceptions including enjoyment of the discipline, connections to the real world and underlying knowledge and problem-solving strategies.
Environmental Values Short Form (Zimmermann 1996)
31 Likert items assessing level of agreement with statements describing concern for different environmental issues
Survey of Teaching Beliefs and Practices for Undergraduates (STEP-U)
Marbach-Ad, G., Rietschel, C., & Thompson, K. V. (2016). Validation and Application of the Survey of Teaching Beliefs and Practices for Undergraduates (STEP-U): Identifying Factors Associated with Valuing Important Workplace Skills among Biology Students. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 15(4), ar59. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.16-05-0164
Views About Sciences Survey (VASS)
http://modeling.asu.edu/R%26E/Research.html (Halloun and Hestenes 1996)
50 items: Students choose a value describing their position with regards to two alternate conclusions to a statement probing their views about knowing and learning science in three scientific and three cognitive dimensions.
Views on Science and Education (VOSE)
http://www.ied.edu.hk/apfslt/download/v7_issue2_files/chensf.pdf
(Chen 2006)
15 items for which several statements or claims are listed. Respondents choose their level of agreement to these series of predetermined statements/claims to provide reasoning behind their opinion.
Views on Science-Technology-Society (VOSTS) (Aikenhead and Ryan 1992)
http://www.usask.ca/education/people/aikenhead/ | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Mobile_Institute_on_Scientific_Teaching/2020_MoSI/Interactive_Workshops/6%3A_Scholarly_Teaching/6B%3A_Evaluative_Assessment_Resources.txt |
Workshop Overview
Scientific teaching is at its core an evidence-based pedagogical approach. Peer feedback based on class observation is another form of evidence that we can gather to give us an indication of the effectiveness of our teaching. During this workshop, participants will discuss the merits of feedback and reflection in helping inform course revision and improvement and practice giving feedback using two course observation rubrics - a peer mentoring rubric and a class observation protocol. Participants will also develop a 1-year mentoring plan with a colleague to provide feedback to one another on their classes.
Learning Outcomes
Participants will be able to:
• use a peer feedback rubric to provide guidance on how to make classes more active and student-centered
• use an observation rubric to provide an objective snapshot of a peer’s current use of engaged pedagogies for self-reflection
• develop a 1-year plan for visiting the classes of a peer using these rubrics to help one another develop reflective practices
Key Terms
• Peer observation
• Student-centered learning
• Active learning
• Peer Feedback
• Reflection
Active Learning/Formative Assessment Strategies
• Small group discussion/breakout rooms
• Whole class discussion
• Brainstorm
• Peer observation
Pre-Workshop
Background
Nationally, campuses are measuring the use of active learning (Stains et al., 2018). Lecturing still predominates in post-secondary STEM classes, but active, students-centered strategies are being adopted. Transitioning to active learning from lecture or Socratic methods can be uncomfortable. Peer feedback and mentoring provide support that can reduce feelings of isolation during the process and improve performance in the classroom. The peer observation protocol that we train participants with during this workshop (COPUS, Smith et al, 2014) is the same metric used in the Stains et al., (2018) nationwide project. We will use this rubric in the Generalized Observation and Reflection Protocol (GORP) platform, an online and smartphone compatible platform develop at UC Davis.
Tasks
1. Sign up for a Generalized Observation and Reflection Protocol (GORP) account
• Go to https://gorp.ucdavis.edu/
• Click "Sign Up"
• Your site administrator will assign you the roles you need (observation-create, observation-destroy, course-create, course-view, course-destroy, course-update)
• Complete the sign up, and search for your university / college in the Institution box.
2. Watch this 9-minute Introduction video on GORP:
During Workshop
Tasks
1. Download the Peer Mentoring Rubric to practice giving feedback on a video clip. We will use this same rubric to give feedback during the final presentations.
Post-Workshop
Tasks
1. Develop your 1-year peer feedback/reflection plan: visit the Peer Feedback and Reflection Google Folder then go to the folder for your institution.
• Make a copy of the 1Yr Peer feedback reflection document, rename it as yours and use it to develop your mentoring plan.
• Fill out your plan for pairing up with another person, preferably a MoSI participant/alumnus to visit each other's classes and get feedback on your teaching in the coming year. You can leave a copy here to revisit at any time, but you can also download the copy for your convenience.
Selected Resources
• Peer Evaluation Feedback Guide adapted from Jenny Momsen/FIRST IV - Peer mentoring rubric.pdf
• A statement created by Dr. Peggy Brickman (UGA) that extols the virtues of taking part in peer mentoring and evaluation accompanied by a list of references. This statement can be added to yearly teaching evaluation portfolios for participants who visit one another's classes and provide peer feedback and mentoring. Peer Mentoring and Evaluation blurb for yearly teaching evaluation.pdf
• A great new resource for an evidence-based, departmentally-defined approach to enhance teaching evaluation called TEval at CU Boulder, by Drs. Noah Finkelstein, Joel C. Corbo, Daniel L. Reinholz, Mark Gammon, and Jessica Keating.
• A tool for utilizing the noise level in your classroom to gage the % of times that students have an opportunity to be actively engaged in class: Decibel Analysis for Research in Teaching (DART): https://sepaldart.herokuapp.com/. Developed by Kimberly Tanner.
• Video demonstrations of active learning techniques
• Wendy Dustman – University of Georgia teaching Microbiology for Biology Majors using the flipped classroom model and collaborative student working groups
• Tessa Andrews – University of Georgia teaching introductory biology for non-science majors using a series of problem-based challenges related to sex determination
• Mara Evans – University of Georgia teaching ecology and competition in an introductory course for biology majors using a categorizing table
• Erin Dolan – University of Georgia introducing a peer review activity on vaccines for an introductory biology course for non-science majors.
• Paula Lemons – University of Georgia teaching regulation of energy transformation pathways for a Biochemistry course for biology majors.
• Erin Dolan –University of Georgia teaching regulation on energy transforming pathways for a Biochemistry course for biology majors using model building, clickers, and collaborative learning.
• Peggy Brickman – group testing University of Georgia
•
Session Slides
Peer Reflection and Feedback slide deck
8: Strategic Planning
Workshop Overview
The strategic planning workshop is a facilitated session that guides participants through: a) visioning of the ideal campus for student learning, b) needs assessment to gauge where the host campus is falling short of the ideal, c) identification of an issue or issues that the participants wish to address to move the campus closer to the ideal, d) strategic planning using Backward Design (Wiggins and McTighe, 1998) to develop a plan to successfully address the issue.
Learning Outcomes
Participants will:
• Develop a strategic plan to address a campus issue whose resolution will support participants' efforts to adopt evidence-based teaching and create an inclusive learning program for students.
Key Terms
• Backward design
• Visioning
• Needs assessment
Active Learning/Formative Assessment Strategies
• Brainstorming
• Whole group discussion
• Consensus-forming
• Strategic planning
Pre-Workshop
Background
Work by organizational change researchers has shown that pedagogical training focused on the individual, without concomitant changes to the individual's environment that support them as they transition from more passive to more active, student-centered teaching, is insufficient. For this reason, the MoSI was adapted from the original National Academies Summer Institute using Charles Henderson's Four Categories of Change Strategies to add elements- the Strategic Planning and Administrator workshops - that address institutional barriers to broad adoption of evidence-based teaching approaches.
Task
1. Reflect on the following two questions:
• If you were dropped into the middle of a campus that was ideal for student learning, what would attributes would you see? What would you see in terms of spaces, infrastructure, policies, attitudes, values, cultures, teaching behaviors, curricula, etc?
• What would your campus need to do to move closer to this ideal?
During Workshop
Activities
1. Create your vision statement: Visit the Strategic Planning Google Folder then go to the folder for your institution.
• Collect vision statements on the vision statement report out document.
2. Create your needs assessment: Visit the Strategic Planning Google Folder then go to the folder for your institution.
• Collect needs assessment statements on the needs assessment report out document.
3. Develop your strategic plan: Visit the Strategic Planning Google Folder then go to the folder for your institution.
• Make a copy of the Strategic Planning template and name it for your groups topic and fill it out with your goal, outcomes and action plan for achieving your outcomes. | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Mobile_Institute_on_Scientific_Teaching/2020_MoSI/Interactive_Workshops/7%3A_Peer_Feedback_and_Reflection.txt |
Here you can find information about the MoSI workshops and your fellow workshop participants.
MoSI - Who and What
What is the MoSI?
The Mobile Summer Institute is a place-based iteration of the renowned National Academies Summer Institute on Scientific Teaching. This format uses the Four Categories of Change Strategies to expand the focus from the individual to the institutional in order to better address institutional challenges to education reform. In addition to the proven training paradigm provided by the pedagogy workshop, the MoSIs provide training in peer evaluation to drive long-term reflective teaching, facilitated strategic planning to leverage newly gained expertise toward educational reform and an administrator’s workshop to foster buy-in and support of local policy makers.
Goal
The goal of the Mobile Summer Institute is to improve undergraduate education. This will be achieved by a) training faculty in effective, evidence-based teaching strategies; b) facilitating reflective practices through peer mentoring and evaluation and c) facilitating strategic planning to reform educational practices at the host institution. This institute is modeled after the National Academies Summer Institute and is meant to extend the impact of that successful, nationally renowned professional development workshop and promote broader adoption of reformed pedagogy and promote institutional reform in education.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the institute, you will have:
• practiced a variety of evidence-based teaching strategies through workshops, presentations, and group work
• worked as a team to create teaching materials that implement evidence-based teaching strategies
• begun to shift your focus from content and teaching to outcomes and learning
• practiced peer evaluation to promote reflective teaching practices
The MoSI Format
The MoSI is a project-based training program combining interactive workshops on the tenets of scientific teaching with group work sessions where participants develop inclusive, student-centered teaching materials that they present to colleagues for peer-review at the end of the week.
The interactive workshops are designed to introduce participants to innovations and research on undergraduate education, and to model how to implement their underlying principles in a learning space.
Group work carefully designed to model scientific teaching has been found to be one of the most important processes at the Summer Institute. Each is led by a trained facilitator to model teaching practices that will help the group establish and meet common goals. Each group presents their teaching module for review during a dress rehearsal with another group and a final presentation. This allows groups to practice providing feedback on the effectiveness of learning activities and to incorporate peer feedback into their teaching modules before using them in their own classes.
People
MoSI participants, local leaders, and training team
Thank you for joining the 2020 online MoSI workshop! We hope that you enjoy yourself and take away something that will enhance your teaching capabilities.
Literature
Overview
The treasure chest is meant to serve as a site that you can visit during and revisit after the MoSI to find literature and resources that may be beneficial to you as you continue to transform your courses in the future.
Treasure Chest
*Note: if the link to the publisher’s website does not provide free access to the article, you can still find freely available pdfs online. | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Mobile_Institute_on_Scientific_Teaching/2020_MoSI/MoSI_-_Who_and_What/About_MoSI.txt |
Post your discussion comments here!
Interactive Element
3: After the workshop
Post your discussion comments here!
Interactive Element
5 Stages of Group Development
Overview
The MoSI is a project-based training program combining interactive workshops on the tenets of scientific teaching with group work sessions where participants develop inclusive, student-centered teaching materials that they present to colleagues for peer-review at the end of the week.
Group work carefully designed to model scientific teaching has been found to be one of the most important processes at the Summer Institute. Each is led by a trained facilitator to model teaching practices that will help the group establish and meet common goals. Each group presents their teaching module for review during a dress rehearsal with another group and a final presentation. This allows groups to practice providing feedback on the effectiveness of learning activities and to incorporate peer feedback into their teaching modules before using them in their own classes.
Each group will create a folder in this Google Group Work folder where you will work collaboratively on your teaching module (tidibt) for the week.
In addition, all new MoSI participants have access to a Master MoSI Google folder, where you can access teaching modules from other institutions.
The pages below contain resources to support your group work.
Group Work
About Group Work Sessions
Throughout the week, you and your team will participate in groups of four during group work sessions. During those sessions, you will be moving at your pace through the stages described below.
Goals
The goal of the first session is to meet your group mates, pick the topics for your teachable tidbit, and begin to backward design your tidbit. Backward design will consist of writing learning goals and outcomes, identifying summative assessments that will provide data about student learning and finally developing the learning activities that will help students achieve the desired outcomes.
Teachable tidbits
During the institute, each group will develop teachable tidbits that address topics/concepts within the group’s topic area. Teachable tidbits are instructional materials designed to engage students in learning. Generally, they consist of a single activity that can be integrated into a larger context, such as a course or a lecture. You will work through the following stages in your group:
1. Group Dynamics. Identify and discuss your own constructive and destructive group behaviors and the stages of group development.
2. Identify a topic area for your teachable tidbit. You want this to be narrow enough to address within the timeframe allotted. For example, if your topic is evolution, will you focus on some aspect of the concept of natural selection, like the role of mutation in genetic variation, or another concept altogether?
3. Identify learning goals and intended outcomes for the teachable tidbit. Start by stating broad learning goals such as “students will understand equilibrium” and then move on to more specific learning outcomes for each goal. If you stopped at this point, you might leave students wondering, “what do you mean by understand?” Think about how you will assess student understanding. When stating learning outcomes, use active verbs that suggest suitable assessments. For example, “Students will be able to predict how relative changes in concentrations of reactants or products will affect forward or reverse reaction rates” is a specific and assessable learning outcome that would indicate whether or not a student actually understood the concept of equilibrium.
4. Determine appropriate assessments.
5. Construct an inclusive, active lesson plan.
The goal of these sessions is to continue to develop your teachable tidbit(s) incorporating active learning/formative assessment strategies to create an inclusive learning experience that will help students achieve the intended learning outcomes. Learning activities should engage students’ previous knowledge and help them construct new knowledge and engage in deliberate practice of important skills. Ultimately, your learning outcomes, learning assessments, and learning activities should all align with each other.
Upload your materials
Each group will create a folder in this Google Group Work folder where you will work collaboratively on your teaching module (tidibt) for the week.
Participants also have access to tidbits from other groups and other institutions by going to the MoSI Host Campus Folder that holds all of the folders associated with the workshops and group work.
1: Group Work Sessions
Stages of Team Development
This process of learning to work together effectively is known as team development. Research has shown that teams go through definitive stages during development. Bruce Tuckman, an educational psychologist, identified a five-stage development process that most teams follow to become high performing. He called the stages: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. Team progress through the stages is shown in the following diagram.
Most high-performing teams go through five stages of team development.
Forming stage
The forming stage involves a period of orientation and getting acquainted. Uncertainty is high during this stage, and people are looking for leadership and authority. A member who asserts authority or is knowledgeable may be looked to take control. Team members are asking such questions as “What does the team offer me?” “What is expected of me?” “Will I fit in?” Most interactions are social as members get to know each other.
Storming stage
The storming stage is the most difficult and critical stage to pass through. It is a period marked by conflict and competition as individual personalities emerge. Team performance may actually decrease in this stage because energy is put into unproductive activities. Members may disagree on team goals, and subgroups and cliques may form around strong personalities or areas of agreement. To get through this stage, members must work to overcome obstacles, to accept individual differences, and to work through conflicting ideas on team tasks and goals. Teams can get bogged down in this stage. Failure to address conflicts may result in long-term problems.
Norming stage
If teams get through the storming stage, conflict is resolved and some degree of unity emerges. In the norming stage, consensus develops around who the leader or leaders are, and individual member’s roles. Interpersonal differences begin to be resolved, and a sense of cohesion and unity emerges. Team performance increases during this stage as members learn to cooperate and begin to focus on team goals. However, the harmony is precarious, and if disagreements re-emerge the team can slide back into storming.
Performing stage
In the performing stage, consensus and cooperation have been well-established and the team is mature, organized, and well-functioning. There is a clear and stable structure, and members are committed to the team’s mission. Problems and conflicts still emerge, but they are dealt with constructively. (We will discuss the role of conflict and conflict resolution in the next section). The team is focused on problem solving and meeting team goals.
Adjourning stage
In the adjourning stage, most of the team’s goals have been accomplished. The emphasis is on wrapping up final tasks and documenting the effort and results. As the work load is diminished, individual members may be reassigned to other teams, and the team disbands. There may be regret as the team ends, so a ceremonial acknowledgement of the work and success of the team can be helpful. If the team is a standing committee with ongoing responsibility, members may be replaced by new people and the team can go back to a forming or storming stage and repeat the development process.
Team Norms and Cohesiveness
When you have been on a team, how did you know how to act? How did you know what behaviors were acceptable or what level of performance was required? Teams usually develop norms that guide the activities of team members. Team norms set a standard for behavior, attitude, and performance that all team members are expected to follow. Norms are like rules but they are not written down. Instead, all the team members implicitly understand them. Norms are effective because team members want to support the team and preserve relationships in the team, and when norms are violated, there is peer pressure or sanctions to enforce compliance.
Norms result from the interaction of team members during the development process. Initially, during the forming and storming stages, norms focus on expectations for attendance and commitment. Later, during the norming and performing stages, norms focus on relationships and levels of performance. Performance norms are very important because they define the level of work effort and standards that determine the success of the team. As you might expect, leaders play an important part in establishing productive norms by acting as role models and by rewarding desired behaviors.
Norms are only effective in controlling behaviors when they are accepted by team members. The level of cohesiveness on the team primarily determines whether team members accept and conform to norms. Team cohesiveness is the extent that members are attracted to the team and are motivated to remain in the team. Members of highly cohesive teams value their membership, are committed to team activities, and gain satisfaction from team success. They try to conform to norms because they want to maintain their relationships in the team and they want to meet team expectations. Teams with strong performance norms and high cohesiveness are high performing.
For example, the seven-member executive team at Whole Foods spends time together outside of work. Its members frequently socialize and even take group vacations. According to co-CEO John Mackey, they have developed a high degree of trust that results in better communication and a willingness to work out problems and disagreements when they occur.[1]
1. Jennifer Alsever, Jessi Hempel, Alex Taylor III, and Daniel Roberts, “6 Great Teams that Take Care of Business,” Fortune, April 10, 2014, http://fortune.com/2014/04/10/6-great-teams-that-take-care-of-business/
LICENSES AND ATTRIBUTIONS
CC LICENSED CONTENT, ORIGINAL
• Stages of Team Development. Authored by: John/Lynn Bruton and Lumen Learning. LicenseCC BY: Attribution
• Five Stages of Team Development. Authored by: John/Lynn Bruton and Lumen Learning. LicenseCC BY: Attribution | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Mobile_Institute_on_Scientific_Teaching/2021_MIST/Discussion_Forum/2%3A_During_the_workshop.txt |
Constructive Group Behaviors
Cooperating: Is interested in the views and perspectives of the other group members and is willing to adapt for the good of the group.
Clarifying: Makes issues clear for the group by listening, summarizing and focusing discussions.
Inspiring: Enlivens the group, encourages participation and progress.
Harmonizing: Encourages group cohesion and collaboration. For example, uses humor as a relief after a particularly difficult discussion.
Risk Taking: Is willing to risk possible personal loss or embarrassment for the group or project success.
Process Checking: Questions the group on process issues such as agenda, time frames, discussion topics, decision methods, use of information, etc.
Destructive Group Behaviors
Dominating: Takes much of meeting time expressing self views and opinions. Tries to take control by use of power, time, etc.
Rushing: Encourages the group to move on before task is complete. Gets “tired” of listening to others and working as a group.
Withdrawing: Removes self from discussions or decision-making. Refuses to participate.
Discounting: Disregards or minimizes group or individual ideas or suggestions. Severe discounting behavior includes insults, which are often in the form of jokes.
Digressing: Rambles, tells stories, and takes group away from primary purpose.
Blocking: Impedes group progress by obstructing all ideas and suggestions. “That will never work because…”
________________________________________________________________________
Brunt (1993). Facilitation Skills for Quality Improvement. Quality Enhancement Strategies. 1008 Fish Hatchery Road. Madison. WI 53715
2: Group Presentations
Final preparation for Presentations
During this session you will put finishing touches on the 30-minute presentation of your teachable tidbits.
Group Presentations
1. Teach one of your tidbits, including a brief overview of the context in which the tidbit will be taught. You will have 30 minutes for your presentation.
2. Provide feedback on your peers’ tidbits. Use the rubric from the Peer Mentoring workshop to provide constructive feedback that will help the presenters become more active and student-centered.
Upload your materials
Upload teachable tidbit and related/supporting materials to your institutional folder inside the Group Work Google Folder for the workshop.
1: Welcome Session
Overview
The MoSI is a project-based training program combining interactive workshops on the tenets of scientific teaching with group work sessions where participants develop inclusive, student-centered teaching materials that they present to colleagues for peer-review at the end of the week.
The interactive workshops are designed to introduce participants to innovations and research on undergraduate education, and to model principles about which they teach.
The workshop links below are in order of occurrence during the week and will take you to a page for each workshop.
Interactive Workshops
Workshop Overview
The Welcome and Introduction workshop introduces participants to the MoSI approach and rationale, promotes community building, models scientific teaching in action and orients participants to the Libretext platform that will be used for asynchronous content delivery.
Learning Outcomes
Participants will be able to:
• Describe the rationale and approach of the Mobile Summer Institute on Scientific Teaching (MoSI)
• Implement relationship and community-building approaches on the first day of class
• Identify current teaching challenges
• Compare and contrast, at a broad level, in-person and remote teaching approaches
• Navigate the MoSI asynchronous content-delivery platform, Libretext
Key Terms
• Scientific teaching
• Evidence-based teaching
• Inclusive teaching
• Student-centered learning
• Backward design
• Active learning
• Formative assessment
• Synchronous/asynchronous delivery
Active Learning/Formative Assessment Strategies
• Small group discussion/breakout rooms
• Polling questions
• Think-pair-share
Pre-Workshop
Background
Since its inception in 2014, the Mobile Summer Institute has trained nearly 1000 faculty at 35 institutions across 6 countries in scientific teaching. This program is a place-based iteration of the successful National Academies Summer Institute (SI) on Undergraduate Education (founders: Drs. Jo Handelsman (UWisconsin), Bill Wood (CU Boulder), Sarah Miller (UWisconsin) and Chris Pfund (UWisconsin)). The original SI was developed in response to a National Research Council report, Bio2010, that called for an intensive training program to promote adoption of active learning strategies to improve student learning and success. While the original summer institute was focused on life sciences, the current regional and mobile iterations have expanded to other STEM and many non-STEM disciplines over the past decade.
Like the original model, the MoSI is an intensive 5-day pedagogical workshop focused on evidence-based teaching practices and curricular design strategies intended to improve learning for all students and reduce the disproportionate loss of underrepresented students from higher education. Research shows that use of active learning increases performance and decreases failure (Freeman et al., 2014) and reduces the performance gap for underrepresented students (Theobold et al., 2020).
Scientific teaching is a condensation of effective, evidence-based teaching strategies targeted at faculty who understand the importance of evidence-based approaches but may not have any formal pedagogical training. It is a student-centered learning approach embedded in Backward Design, a curricular approach that places the focus on what students learn rather than what teachers cover.
Tasks
Please complete the following tasks prior to the workshop:
1. Getting to know you: Visit the Introduction/Welcome Session Google Folder then go to the folder for your institutions
• Fill out the Getting to know you Google Doc according to the instructions in the document.
2. Watch this 3-minute video overview of Scientific Teaching, the organizing principle of the MoSI, created by Dr. Jessamina Blum (UMinnesota).
3. Watch the first 2 minutes and 40 seconds of A Private Universe - a documentary on the persistence of misconceptions.
4. Optional - watch Father Guido Sarducci's 5-minute University for a humorous look at the failings of passive, lecture-based education. Father Guido was a recurring fictional character developed by comedian Don Novello for Saturday Night Live in the 1970s.
During Workshop
Activity
1. Hopes - What do you hope to get out of this week? Visit the Introduction/Welcome Session Google Folder then go to the Google folder for your institution.
• Record your answers in the Hopes & Gains Google Doc.
Session Slides
Introduction/Welcome session slides | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Mobile_Institute_on_Scientific_Teaching/2021_MIST/Group_Work/Constructive_and_Destructive_Group_Behaviors.txt |
Workshop Overview
The Inclusivity workshop uses facilitated discussion and reflection to increase awareness of the most common invisible factors that serve as barriers to success for students from underserved groups. Awareness is only useful when paired with action, so participants will use their awareness to develop and share teaching strategies to offset the impact of structural barriers. Therefore participants will walk away with concrete examples of strategies they can use in their courses to reduce barriers and increase success for all students.
Learning Outcomes
Participants will be able to:
• Articulate factors that contribute to systemic inequities in education;
• Self-reflect on beliefs and behaviors to better understand how we can change to remove barriers to our students success;
• Incorporate strategies to remove, mitigate or offset barriers that contribute to system inequities.
Key Terms
• Inclusive teaching
• Social justice
• Equity
• Implicit/explicit diversity
• Implicit assumptions/unconscious biases
• Privilege
• Microaggression
• Cultural competency
• Stereotype threat
Active Learning/Formative Assessment Strategies
• Brainstorming
• Directed- and random-call report out
• Life walk
• Think-pair-share
• Small group discussion/breakout rooms
• Reflection
Pre-Workshop
Background
The goal of the following pre-workshop homework is to introduce all participants to five factors that make our classrooms exclusive: a) unconscious bias, b) stereotype threat, c) microaggressions, d) lack of cultural competency and exclusive language and policies in our syllabi. During the workshop, each participant will choose one of these areas and as part of a group will do a deeper dive into that topic and then share resources and strategies with their cohort peers for offsetting that factor in the classroom.
Tasks
Please complete the following tasks prior to the workshop for an introduction to four barriers to inclusive classrooms:
1. Unconscious bias:
• Read this 2-page NYTimes Op-Ed "What? Me Biased? What? Me Biased?.pdf
• Visit Harvard Project Implicit and take at least two Implicit Assumption tests of your choice. (*Note: It can be uncomfortable to find out that you have unconscious biases. It's important to know that unconscious biases are a result of YOUR ENVIRONMENT and not what you consciously believe. The goal is to use awareness to make conscious efforts to offset unconscious biases. Knowledge is power.)
2. Stereotype threat: Watch the following the 8-minute video of Dr. Claude Steele (Stanford) discussing stereotype threat, the focus of his book, Whistling Vivaldi
3. Microaggression: Watch this 4.5 minutes video on Microaggressions by Dr. Derald Wing Sue (Columbia).
4. Cultural competency: Visit the National Education Association website and read through the information on cultural competency on the first page. This can also serve as a resource later as there are links to resources for educators here as well.
5. An inclusive syllabus: A Google doc with Six Principles of an Inclusive Design syllabus
During Workshop
Activities
1. Cultivating Brave Spaces: visit the Inclusivity Workshop Google Folder and go to the folder for your institution.
1. Read the opening information in the Cultivating Brave Spaces Google doc and record your group's answers to the prompts at the top of the first Table.
2. Move to the second activity - Setting community guidelines for engagement in the same document and add your groups list of brainstormed guidelines to the second table. We will adopt these as the guidelines for engagement during this workshop.
2. Equity - Visit the Inclusivity Workshop Google Folder and go to the folder for your institution.
1. Record your group's answers in the Equity activity Google Doc.
3. Deeper Dive on Invisible Barriers to Inclusion:
Session Slides
Inclusivity Session Slides | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Mobile_Institute_on_Scientific_Teaching/2021_MIST/Interactive_Workshops/2%3A_Inclusivity_Session.txt |
Workshop Overview
The Backward Design workshop sessions provide an introduction to this learner-focused course design approach. During the workshop, participants first will engage with the different steps of the process. Then, participants will apply the approach to a topic from a course with which students struggle. This workshop is split into two sessions. The first session will introduce the overall method. In the second session, the participants will practice what they learned about backward design - stating learning goals (broad, vague, not easily assessed, e.g. know, learn, understand...) and outcomes (specific, concrete, easily measurable, e.g. predict, explain, contrast, defend...) - by applying it to a specific topic.
Learning Outcomes
Participants will be able to:
• Argue the merits of a learner-centered course design approach
• Identify and align learning goals and outcomes for a specified topic/concept.
Key Terms
• Backward Design
• Deliberate practice
• Learning goals
• Learning outcomes
• Learning objectives
• Alignment
• Bloom's Taxonomy
• 3-Dimensional Learning Assessment Protocol (3-D LAP)
Active Learning/Formative Assessment Strategies
• Matching/categorizing
• Small group discussion
• Alignment table development
• Reflection
Pre-Workshop
Background
In order for our students to develop mastery, they need to spend time and effort engaged with the specific concept or skill. This idea is called Deliberate Practice (Ericsson et al., 1993). Essentially, the one doing is the one learning. The two essential components of this learning theory are effort expended on activities (practice) that are specifically designed to result in mastery of a desired skill or concept (deliberate). Backward Design is a course design approach that helps us focus on the deliberation aspect of Deliberate Practice. Backward Design guides us to be specific and intentional about what we want students to know, understand, and be able to do by the end of our course. With Backward Design, we then use that knowledge to guide our development of assessments that will provide evidence about whether or not students achieve our desired goal. Lastly, with Backward Design, we develop learning activities that will maximize the likelihood of students' success.
Tasks
Please complete the following tasks prior to the workshop:
1. Identify a topic from your class that you would like to transform during this workshop.
During Workshop
Activities
1. Developing learning goals and outcomes - Visit the Backward Design Session Google Folder then go into the folder for your institution.
• Open the Backward Design in Action Google doc and follow along with the sequential activities to develop your alignment table for your topic during these sessions. Resources to help are linked to the bottom of the Google doc and linked below as well for your convenience.
• Asking questions
• Developing & using models
• Planning & carrying out investigations
• Analyzing & interpreting data
• Using mathematics & computational thinking
• Constructing explanations
• Engaging in argument from evidence
• Obtaining, evaluating, & communicating information
Post-Workshop
Task
1. Complete the Learning Goals and Outcomes columns in your row of the Alignment table in the Backward Design in Action Google doc in your institution's folder inside the Backward Design Session Google Folder. Use the examples of alignment tables (a document in your institution's folder) as a guide.
Session Slides
Backward Design session slides | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Mobile_Institute_on_Scientific_Teaching/2021_MIST/Interactive_Workshops/3%3A_Backward_Design_I.txt |
Workshop Overview
The Backward Design (BD) workshop sessions provide an introduction to this learner-focused course design approach. During the workshop, participants first will be engaged in the different steps of the process and then will apply the approach to a topic from a course with which students struggle. This workshop is split into to session. The second session will take participants through steps 2 & 3 of BD - developing assessments and learning activities that align with participants learning goals and outcomes developed in the first session. The term "engaugement" was coined by the authors of Scientific Teaching - Handelsman, Miller and Pfund, to indicate the nearly inextricable link between active learning and formative assessment, i.e. when you ask a student to do something, they are simultaneously engaged in learning and can gauge their progress by whether or how well they can perform.
Using Backward Design allows us to re-envision our classes, so that in-class or synchronous time is spent on collaborative learning activities and formative assessments that foster critical thinking, problem-solving, and understanding of cognitively demanding material, while out-of-class or asynchronous time focuses on lower cognitive demand material in preparation for class or on further practice with higher cognitive demand concepts and skills after class.
Learning Outcomes
Participants will be able to:
• Use the principles of backward design to align learning outcomes with both learning activities/formative assessments and summative assessments
• Develop/modify learning materials to engage students in deliberate practice
• Use Bloom’s Taxonomy & 3-D LAP to evaluate assessments
Key Terms
• Backward Design
• Deliberate practice
• Formative assessment
• Summative assessment
• Alignment
• Bloom's Taxonomy
• 3-Dimensional Learning Assessment Protocol (3-D LAP)
Active Learning/Formative Assessment Strategies
• Gallery walk
• Small group discussion
• Alignment table development
• Reflection
• Model-based reasoning/problem-solving
• Scenario/statement correction
Pre-Workshop
Background
In order for our students to develop mastery, they need to spend time/effort engaged with the specific concept or skill. This concept is called Deliberate Practice (Ericsson et al., 1993). Essentially, the one doing is the one learning. The two essential components of this learning theory are effort expended on activities (practice) that are specifically design to result in mastery of a desired skill or concept (deliberate). Backward Design is a course design approach that helps us focus on the deliberation aspect of Deliberate Practice. Backward Design that guides us to be specific and intentional about what we want students to know, understand and be able to do by the end of our course and then use that knowledge to guide development of assessments that will provide evidence about whether or not students achieve our desired goal and learning activities that will maximize the likelihood that they will be successful.
Tasks
1. *See the post-task from Backward Design I Session
During Workshop
Activities
1. Gallery Walk: Visit the Backward Design Session Google Folder then go to the folder for your institution to return to the Backward Design in Action Google Doc with the alignment table from yesterday's session.
• Review your peers Alignment table rows starting with the rows directly under yours and work down (if you are at/near the bottom, wrap around and review rows at the top of ht table) using the Comment function in Google
• Instructions for giving comments in Google
• Highlight the text you want to comment on and a small plus sign inside a comment bubble symbol will appear to the right.
• Click the plus sign symbol and put in your comment.
• Click the "comment" button at the bottom.
Session Slides
Backward Design Session Slides
5: Scientific Teaching in Action
Workshop Overview
The Scientific Teaching workshop has many flavors depending on the expertise of the trainer(s) running the workshop. The general goal is to provide a deeper dive into the use of a variety of active learning approaches like immediate polling questions, the formation and management of learning groups, and other examples of deliberate practice. For your MoSI, this workshop will focus on the use of deliberate practice to improve graph reading and interpretation skills. This workshop also demonstrates how to integrate the teaching of subject content with the development of student skills.
Learning Outcomes
Participants will be able to:
• Use deliberate practice to foster the acquisition of graph reading and interpretation skills
Key Terms
• Deliberate practice
• Evidence-based teaching
• Backward design
• Alignment between formative and summative assessment
Active Learning/Formative Assessment Strategies
• Small group discussion/breakout rooms
Pre-Workshop
Background
Deliberate practice posits that to develop expertise or mastery over a subject or skill, for example, it is necessary to spend sufficient time engaged in intentional effort that specifically relates to achievement of that mastery. The perfectly complements Backward Design in that it calls for practice that aligns with intended outcomes. For example, if you intend for students to leave your class with proficiency in reading and interpreting graphs, then students have to spend sufficient time practicing that skill. While sitting in class watching the teacher explain how to read graphs is effort, the effort is not aligned with the desired outcome of having students be able to read and interpret graphs for themselves. This type of misalignment between desired learning outcomes and class activities is common in passive lecture classes. | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Mobile_Institute_on_Scientific_Teaching/2021_MIST/Interactive_Workshops/4%3A_Backward_Design_II.txt |
Workshop Overview
Scientific teaching is at its core an evidence-based pedagogical approach. Peer feedback based on class observation is another form of evidence that we can gather to give us an indication of the effectiveness of our teaching. During this workshop, participants will discuss the merits of feedback and reflection in helping inform course revision and improvement and practice giving feedback using two course observation rubrics - a peer mentoring rubric and a class observation protocol. Participants will also develop a 1-year mentoring plan with a colleague to provide feedback to one another on their classes.
Learning Outcomes
Participants will be able to:
• use a peer feedback rubric to provide guidance on how to make classes more active, inclusive and student-centered
• use an observation rubric to provide an objective snapshot of a peer’s current use of engaged pedagogies for self-reflection
• develop a 1-year plan for visiting the classes of a peer using these rubrics to help one another develop reflective practices
Key Terms
• Peer observation
• Student-centered learning
• Active learning
• Peer Feedback
• Reflection
Active Learning/Formative Assessment Strategies
• Small group discussion/breakout rooms
• Whole class discussion
• Brainstorm
• Peer observation
Pre-Workshop
Background
Nationally, campuses are measuring the use of active learning (Stains et al., 2018). Lecturing still predominates in post-secondary STEM classes, but active, students-centered strategies are being adopted. Transitioning to active learning from lecture or Socratic methods can be uncomfortable. Peer feedback and mentoring provide support that can reduce feelings of isolation during the process and improve performance in the classroom. The peer observation protocol that we train participants with during this workshop (COPUS, Smith et al, 2014) is the same metric used in the Stains et al., (2018) nationwide project. We will use this rubric in the Generalized Observation and Reflection Protocol (GORP) platform, an online and smartphone compatible platform develop at UC Davis.
Tasks
1. Sign up for a Generalized Observation and Reflection Protocol (GORP) account
• Go to https://gorp.ucdavis.edu/
• Click "Sign Up"
• Your site administrator will assign you the roles you need (observation-create, observation-destroy, course-create, course-view, course-destroy, course-update)
• Complete the sign up, and search for your university / college in the Institution box.
2. Watch this 9-minute Introduction video on GORP:
During Workshop
Tasks
1. Download the Peer Mentoring Rubric to practice giving feedback on a video clip. We will use this same rubric to give feedback during the final presentations.
2. Develop your 1-year peer feedback/reflection plan: use the Google form link provided by your workshop leader to answer questions to develop your peer feedback and reflection plan for the coming year.
1. Visit the Peer Feedback and Reflection Google Folder then go to the folder for your institution.
• You can view your plan in the Google Form's response report out (Google sheet) and look at the plans of your peers to visit each other's classes and get feedback on your teaching in the coming year. You can copy your plan and revisit it here at any time.
Post-Workshop
Tasks
1. If you didn't finish your 1-year peer feedback/reflection plan, do so now following the instructions directly above.
Selected Resources
• Peer Evaluation Feedback Guide adapted from Jenny Momsen/FIRST IV - Peer mentoring rubric.pdf
• A statement created by Dr. Peggy Brickman (UGA) that extols the virtues of taking part in peer mentoring and evaluation accompanied by a list of references. This statement can be added to yearly teaching evaluation portfolios for participants who visit one another's classes and provide peer feedback and mentoring. Peer Mentoring and Evaluation blurb for yearly teaching evaluation.pdf
• A great new resource for an evidence-based, departmentally-defined approach to enhance teaching evaluation called TEval at CU Boulder, by Drs. Noah Finkelstein, Joel C. Corbo, Daniel L. Reinholz, Mark Gammon, and Jessica Keating.
• A tool for utilizing the noise level in your classroom to gage the % of times that students have an opportunity to be actively engaged in class: Decibel Analysis for Research in Teaching (DART): https://sepaldart.herokuapp.com/. Developed by Kimberly Tanner.
• Video demonstrations of active learning techniques
• Wendy Dustman – University of Georgia teaching Microbiology for Biology Majors using the flipped classroom model and collaborative student working groups
• Tessa Andrews – University of Georgia teaching introductory biology for non-science majors using a series of problem-based challenges related to sex determination
• Mara Evans – University of Georgia teaching ecology and competition in an introductory course for biology majors using a categorizing table
• Erin Dolan – University of Georgia introducing a peer review activity on vaccines for an introductory biology course for non-science majors.
• Paula Lemons – University of Georgia teaching regulation of energy transformation pathways for a Biochemistry course for biology majors.
• Erin Dolan –University of Georgia teaching regulation on energy transforming pathways for a Biochemistry course for biology majors using model building, clickers, and collaborative learning.
• Peggy Brickman – group testing University of Georgia
•
Session Slides
Peer Reflection and Feedback slide deck | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Mobile_Institute_on_Scientific_Teaching/2021_MIST/Interactive_Workshops/6%3A_Peer_Feedback_and_Reflection.txt |
Workshop Overview
Scientific teaching is at its core an evidence-based pedagogical approach. Consulting education literature to determine which teaching strategies to use and gathering evidence to determine how well those strategies work in your classroom are critical steps when developing effective learning environments. This workshop explores various types of data that instructors can gather to evaluate student learning in order to facilitate the development of course evaluation plans by participants.
Learning Outcomes
Participants will be able to:
• Determine aspects of your teaching or student learning that you would like to assess
• Identify metrics with which to gather evidence pertaining to the selected aspects of teaching/learning
• Develop an evaluation plan to deploy the metrics to evaluate the selected aspects of teaching/learning in one of your courses
Key Terms
• Scholarly teaching
• Evaluation
• Assessment
• Qualitative data
• Quantitative data
• Concept inventories
• Perception surveys
• Normalized learning gains
Active Learning/Formative Assessment Strategies
• Small group discussion/breakout rooms
• Whole class discussion
• Practice using peer observation metrics
• Development of a course evaluation plan
Pre-Workshop
Background
Are your students learning what you want them to learn? How do you know? In preparation for this workshop, think about these three questions:
1. What knowledge do you want your students to gain from your class?
2. What types of skills (e.g. life skills, learning skills, technical skills) would you like students to acquire? and
3. What affective or behavioral changes would you like to see your students exhibit (e.g. improved critical thinking, increased confidence or enthusiasm for your discipline, identifying as a professional in your area, becoming a more civically engaged citizen) at the end of your course?
We will explore different types of data that we can collect in all types of teaching environments to help us evaluate changes in pedagogy and to inform iterative rounds of course revisions.
During Workshop
Activities
1. Course Evaluation Plan development: Visit the Scholarly Teaching Google folder then go to the folder for your institution.
• Open the Course Evaluation Plan Google doc and following instructions.
• You will claim a row, name it and respond to the prompts to develop your course evaluation plan.
• Use the resources and links embedded in the Google doc to help you develop your plan.
• You can download a copy for easy access when you are ready to implement and also revisit your plan in the Google folder at any time.
Session Slides
Scholarly Teaching Slide Deck
7: Scholarly Teaching
What are concept inventories?
(Excerpted from presentation by J. Knight, UC Boulder).
• Multiple choice (usually) instruments that address fundamental concepts and contain known student misunderstandings
• Developed through an iterative process that includes gathering evidence of validity and reliability through student and faculty interviews
• Diagnostic: can identify specific misunderstandings and measure student learning over time
• Objective: not tied directly to a course, but rather to a set of concepts
Guidelines for using concept inventories
(Dirks, Wenderoth, Withers Assessment in the College Science Classroom, 2013).
• Protect the test!
• Must be given in a proctored environment to keep questions from getting out to students.
• Use for evaluation only
• Not a learning tool.
• When used for pre-/post-testing
• Use the same testing context
• Can use same or isomorphic questions (Resource: Research Methods Knowledge Base – W. Trochim, 2013)
• Normalized learning gain
• <g> = (%post - %pre)/(100-%pre)
Other Resources
Table below from Dirk et al., (2014) Assessment in the College Science Classroom, Ch7 Appendix A; Freeman, NYC.
Concept Inventories in Astronomy
Astronomy Diagnostic Test (ADT)
Lunar Phases
Light and Spectroscopy
Hufnagel 2002
Lindell and Olsen 2002
Bardar et al., 2007
Concept Inventories in Biology
Genetics Concept Inventory (GCA)
Genetics Literacy Assessment Instrument 2 (GLAI-2)
Conceptual Inventory of Natural Selection (CINS)
Biology Literacty (http://bioliteracy.net/)
Diagnostic Question Clusters: Biology
Host Pathogen Interactions (HPI)
Introductory Molecular and Cell Biology Assessment (IMCA)
Smith et al., 2008
Bowling et al., 2008
Anderson et al., 2002
Klymkowsky et al., 2010
Wilson et al., 2006; D’Avanzo 2008
Marbach-Ad et al., 2009
Shi et al., 2010
Concept Inventories in Chemistry
Chemistry Concept Inventory
Mulford and Rbonison 2002
Krause et al., 2003
Concept Inventories in Engineering
Engineering Thermodynamics Concept Inventory
Heat Transfer
Materials Concept Inventory
Signals and Systems Concept Inventory
Static Concept Inventory
Thermal and Transport Science Concept Inventory (TTCI)
Midkiff et al., 2001
Jacobie et al., 2003
Krause et al., 2003
Wage et al., 2005
Steif et al., 2005
Streveler et al., 2011
Concept Inventories in Geoscience
Geoscience Concept Inventory (GCI)
Libarkin and Anderson, 2005
Concept Inventories in Math and Statistics
Statistics Concept Inventory (SCI)
Calculus Concept Inventory (CCI)
Allen 2006
Epstein 2005
Concept Inventories in Physics
Force Concept Inventory (FCI)
The Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation (FMCE)
Thermal Concept Evaluation
Brief Electricity and Magnetism Assessment (BEMA)
Conceptual Survey in Electricity and Magnetism (CSEM)
Hestenes et al., 1992
Thornton and Sokiloff 1998
Yeo and Zadnick 2001
Ding et al., 2006
Maloney et al., 2001
Measuring Students Science Process and Reasoning Skills
Rubric for Science Writing
Student-Achievement and Process Skills Instrument
Timmerman et al., 2010
Bunce et al., 2010
Measuring Student Attitudes about Science, Research or Study Methods
Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS)
Revised Two-Factor Study Process Questionnaire
Student Assessment of Their Learning Gains (SALG) Instrument
Survey of Undergraduate Research Experiences
Views About Science Survey (VASS)
http://www.colorado.edu/sei/class
Biggs et al, 2001
http://www.salgsite.org/
Lopatto 2004
Halloun and Hestenes 1998 | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Mobile_Institute_on_Scientific_Teaching/2021_MIST/Interactive_Workshops/7%3A_Scholarly_Teaching/7A%3A_Evaluation_Guide.txt |
I. BIOLOGY
Initially compiled by Kathy S. Williams (San Diego State University) and Erilynn T. Heinrichsen (University of California, San Diego)
Updated 2019 by Jenny Knight
ANIMAL DEVELOPMENT
Flowering Plant Growth and Development (13 two-tiered MC items)
Lin SW. 2004. Development and application of a two-tier diagnostic test for high school students’ understanding of flowering plant growth and development. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education 2: 175–199.
BIOCHEMISTRY
Threshold concepts in Biochemistry: Loertscher, J. (2011). Biochemistry and molecular biology education, 39(1), 56-57.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4152212/
BREATHING AND RESPIRATION
Breathing and Respiration (12 two-tiered MC items)
Mann M, Treagust DF. 1998. A pencil and paper instrument to diagnose students’ conceptions of breathing, gas exchange and respiration. Australian Science Teachers Journal 44: 55–59.
DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
Developmental Biology Content Survey (15 MC items)
Knight JK, Wood WB. 2005. Teaching more by lecturing less. Cell Biology Education 4: 298-310. doi:10.1187/05-06-0082. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/05-06-0082
ENERGY AND MATTER
(total of 16 Diagnostic Question Clusters of 6-8 items each; some items appear in more than one DQC)
Diagnostic Question Clusters on Energy and Matter (DQCs)
Wilson CD, Anderson CW, Heidemann M, Merrill JE, Merritt BW, Richmond G, Silbey DF, Parker JM. 2006. Assessing students’ ability to trace matter in dynamic systems in cell biology. CBE Life Sciences Education 5: 323–331. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.06-02-0142
Hartley LM, Wilke BJ, Schramm JW, D’Avanzo C, Anderson CW. 2011. College students’ understanding of the carbon cycle: contrasting principle-based and informal reasoning. BioScience 61: 65-75.
Thinking like a biologist: Using diagnostic questions to help students to reason with biological principles (16 DQC sets of ~7 items each, MC, TF, open-ended)
D'Avanzo C, Anderson CW, Griffith A, Merrill J. 2011. Thinking like a biologist. Using diagnostic questions to help students reason with biological principles. [The site at http://www.biodqc.org/ has Diagnostic Question Clusters (DQC's) organized by three ecological topics (Carbon Cycling, Energy Flow in Ecosystems, Climate Change), and by three biological processes; (Photosynthesis, Biosynthesis, Cellular Respiration) - with two DQCs each; plus one each DQC under topics Gasoline, Biofuels, Carbon in Nature, and Carbon Balance. Some items appear in more than one DQC.
ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
EcoEvo-MAPS: An Ecology and Evolution Assessment for Introductory through Advanced Undergraduates https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.17-02-0037
EvoDevoCI (MC and open ended items for 3 Exploratory Surveys and 6 Interview Question sets)
Hiatt A, Davis GK, Trujillo C, Terry M, French DP, Price RM, Perez KE. 2013. Getting to Evo-Devo: Concepts and challenges for students learning evolutionary developmental biology. CBE Life Sciences Education 12: 494-508. doi:10.1187/cbe.12-11- 0203. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.12-11-0203
EvoDevoCI (11 MC items, 4 scenarios)
Perez KE et al 2013. The EvoDevoCI: A Concept inventory for gauging students’ understanding of evolutionary developmental biology. CBE Life Sciences Education 12: 665-675. doi:10.1187/cbe.13-04-0079. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.13-04-0079
Basic Tree Thinking Assessment (two tests, 10 MC items each, diagrams): Baum DA, Smith SD, Donovan SSS. 2005. The tree-thinking challenge. Science 310: 979-980.
Conceptual Inventory of Natural Selection (CINS) (20 MC items, scenarios)
Anderson DL, Fisher KM, Norman JG. 2002. Development and validation of the conceptual inventory of natural selection. Journal of Research in Science Teaching 39: 952-978.
Kalinowski, S. T., Leonard, M. J., & Taper, M. L. (2016). Development and validation of the conceptual assessment of natural selection (CANS). CBE-Life Sciences Education, 15(4), ar64. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.15-06-0134
EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
Dasgupta, A. P., Anderson, T. R., & Pelaez, N. J. (2016). Development of the neuron assessment for measuring biology students’ use of experimental design concepts and representations. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 15(2), ar10. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.15-03-0077
Deane, T., Nomme, K., Jeffery, E., Pollock, C., & Birol, G. (2014). Development of the biological experimental design concept inventory (BEDCI). CBE-Life Sciences Education, 13(3), 540-551.https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.13-11-0218
GENETICS
Genetics Literacy Assessment Instrument (GLAI) (31 MC items) FOUR in Bowling et al. Genetics 2008;
Bowling BV, Acra EE, Wang L, Myers MF, Dean GE, Markle GC, Moskalik CL, Huether CA. 2008. Development and evaluation of a genetics literacy assessment instrument for undergraduates. Genetics 178: 15-22. [download PDF] from nku.edu
Genetics Concept Assessment (GCA) (25 MC items, diagrams)
Smith MK, Wood WB, Knight JK. 2008. The genetics concept assessment: A new concept inventory for gauging student understanding of genetics CBE Life Science Education 7: 422-430. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.08-08-0045
Genetics Diagnostic (13 two-tiered MC items, diagrams)
Tsui CY, Treagust D. 2009. Evaluating secondary students’ scientific reasoning in genetics using a two-tier diagnostic instrument. International Journal of Science Education 32: 1073-1098.
Genetic Drift Inventory (GeDI) (22 agree–disagree items)
Price RM, Andrews TC, McElhinny TL, Mead LS, Abraham JK, Thanukos A, Perez KE. 2014. The Genetic Drift Inventory: A tool for measuring what advanced undergraduates have mastered about genetic drift. CBE Life Science Education 13: 65-75. doi:
10.1187/cbe.13-08-0159. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.13-08-0159
Dominance Concept Inventory: Abraham, J. K., Perez, K. E., & Price, R. M. (2014). The Dominance Concept Inventory: a tool for assessing undergraduate student alternative conceptions about dominance in Mendelian and population genetics. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 13(2), 349-358. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.13-08-0160
GENERAL BIOLOGY
Gen-MAPS: Couch, BA, Wright CD, Freeman S, Knight JK, Semsar K, Smith MK, Summers MM, Zheng Y, Crowe AJ, Brownell SE (2019). GenBio-MAPS: A programmatic assessment to measure student understanding of Vision and Change core concepts across general biology programs. CBE Life Sci. Educ. 18:arx 1–14, doi: 10.1187/cbe.18-07-0117
HOST-PATHOGEN INTERACTIONS
Host-Pathogen Interactions (HPI) (17 [18 noted in Marbach-Ad et al. 2009] two-tiered MC items) ITEMS NOT PROVIDED
Marbach-Ad G, Briken V, El-Sayed NM, Frauwirth K, Fredericksen B, Hutcheson S, Gao L-Y, Joseph SW, Lee V, McIver KS, Mosser D, Quimby BB, Shields P, Song W, Stein DC, Yuan RT, Smith AC. 2009. Assessing student understanding of host pathogen interactions using a concept inventory. Journal of Microbiology Education 10: 43-50.
Marbach-Ad G, McAdams KC, Benson S, Briken V, Cathcart L, Chase M, El-Sayed NM, Frauwirth K, Fredericksen B, Joseph SW, Lee V, McIver KS, Mosser D, Quimby BB, Shields P, Song W, Stein DC, Stewart R, Thompson KV, Smith AC. 2010. A model for using a concept inventory as a tool for students' assessment and faculty professional development. CBE Life Science Education 9: 408-416. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/full/10.1187/cbe.10-05-0069
INTRODUCTORY BIOLOGY
Biology Concept Inventory (BCI) (30 MC items) ON-LINE at http://bioliteracy.colorado.edu/
Klymkowsky MW, Garvin-Doxas K, Zeilik M. 2003. Bioliteracy and teaching efficacy: What biologists can learn from physicists. Cell Biology Education 2: 155-161. doi: 10.1187/cbe.03-03-0014. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.03-03-0014
Garvin-Doxas K, Doxas I, Klymkowsky MW. 2008. Ed's Tools: A web-based software toolset for accelerated concept inventory construction. pp 130-140. In: Deeds, D & B Callen, editors; Proceedings of the National STEM Assessment Conference.
MACROEVOLUTION
Measure of Understanding of Macroevolution (MUM) (28 items: 27 MC items, plus one open-ended item, diagrams) PROVIDED
Nadelson LS, Southerland SA. 2010. Development and preliminary evaluation of the Measure of Understanding of Macroevolution: Introducing the MUM. The Journal of Experimental Education 78: 151–190. [download PDF] from researchgate.net
MICROBIOLOGY
Development, Validation, and Application of the Microbiology Concept Inventory.Timothy D. Paustian, Amy G. Briggs, Robert E. Brennan, Nancy Boury, John Buchner, Shannon Harris, Rachel E. A. Horak, Lee E. Hughes, D. Sue Katz-Amburn, Maria J. Massimelli, Ann H. McDonald, Todd P. Primm, Ann C. Smith, Ann M. Stevens, Sunny B. Yung. (2017) J. Microbiol. Biol. Educ. 18(3): doi:10.1128/jmbe.v18i3.1320
Development and Validation of the Microbiology for Health Sciences Concept Inventory. Heather M. Seitz, Rachel E. A. Horak, Megan W. Howard, Lucy W. Kluckhohn Jones, Theodore Muth, Christopher Parker, Andrea Pratt Rediske, Maureen M. Whitehurst. (2017) J. Microbiol. Biol. Educ. 18(3): doi:10.1128/jmbe.v18i3.1322
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
Central Dogma: Newman, D. L., Snyder, C. W., Fisk, J. N., & Wright, L. K. (2016). Development of the central dogma concept inventory (CDCI) assessment tool. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 15(2), ar9. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.15-06-0124
Lac Operon: Stefanski, K. M., Gardner, G. E., & Seipelt-Thiemann, R. L. (2016). Development of a Lac Operon Concept Inventory (LOCI). CBE-Life Sciences Education, 15(2), ar24.
https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.15-07-0162
Introductory Molecular Biology: Introductory Molecular and Cell Biology Assessment (IMCA) (24 MC items, diagrams) Shi J, Wood WB, Martin JM, Guild NA, Vicens Q, Knight JK. 2010. A diagnostic assessment for introductory molecular and cell biology. CBE Life Sciences Education 9: 453-461. doi: 10.1187/cbe.10-04-0055. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.10-04-0055
Molecular Biology Capstone Assessment: Couch, B. A., Wood, W. B., & Knight, J. K. (2015). The Molecular Biology Capstone Assessment: a concept assessment for upper-division molecular biology students. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 14(1), ar10. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.14-04-0071
Molecular Life Sciences Concept Inventory (MLS) www.lifescinventory.edu.au
OSMOSIS AND DIFFUSION
Diffusion and Osmosis Diagnostic Test (DODT) (12 two-tiered MC items, diagrams)
Odom AL, Barrow LH. 1995. The development and application of a two-tiered diagnostic test measuring college biology students' understanding of diffusion and osmosis following a course of instruction. Journal of Research in Science Teaching 32: 45-61. [HTML] from wiley.com
Odom AL. 1995. Secondary and college biology students' misconceptions about diffusion and osmosis. American Biology Teacher 57: 409–415. [download PDF] from pbworks.com
Osmosis and diffusion conceptual assessment (ODCA) (8 two-tiered MC items, diagrams) Fisher KM, Williams KS, Lineback J. 2011. Osmosis and diffusion conceptual assessment. CBE Life Sciences Education 10:418-29. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.11-04-0038
PHOTOSYNTHESIS AND RESPIRATION
Photosynthesis and Respiration (13 two-tiered MC items, plus open ended)
Haslam F, Treagust DF. 1987. Diagnosing secondary students’ misconceptions of photosynthesis and respiration in plants using a two-tier multiple choice instrument. Journal of Biological Education 21: 203–211.
Covalent Bonding and Photosynthesis test development ITEMS NOT PROVIDED
Treagust D. 1986. Evaluating students’ misconceptions by means of diagnostic multiple choice items. Journal of Research in Science Education 16: 199-207.
PHYSIOLOGY
Homeostasis: Development and Validation of the Homeostasis Concept Inventory McFarland, JL, Price RM, Wenderoth MP, Marinkova P, Cliff W, Michael J, Modell J, Wright A CBE—Life Sciences Education Volume 16, Issue 201 Jun 2017
Phys-MAPS: Semsar K, Brownell SE, Couch BA, Crowe AJ, Smith MK, Summers MM, Wright CD, Knight JK (2018). Phys-MAPS: A programmatic physiology assessment for introductory and advanced undergraduates. Adv Physiol Educ 43: 15–27, 2019; doi:10.1152/advan.00128.2018.
QUANTITATIVE/STATISTICAL REASONING
Stanhope, L., Ziegler, L., Haque, T., Le, L., Vinces, M., Davis, G. K., ... & Umbanhowar, C. (2017). Development of a Biological Science Quantitative Reasoning Exam (BioSQuaRE). CBE-Life Sciences Education, 16(4), ar66. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/full/10.1187/cbe.16-10-0301
Deane, T., Nomme, K., Jeffery, E., Pollock, C., & Birol, G. (2016). Development of the Statistical Reasoning in Biology Concept Inventory (SRBCI). CBE-Life Sciences Education, 15(1), ar5. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.15-06-0131
SCIENTIFIC LITERACY
Gormally, C., Brickman, P., & Lutz, M. (2012). Developing a test of scientific literacy skills (TOSLS): Measuring undergraduates’ evaluation of scientific information and arguments. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 11(4), 364-377.https://www.lifescied.org/doi/full/10.1187/cbe.12-03-0026
TRANSPORT IN PLANTS AND CIRCULATION IN HUMANS
Internal Transport in Plants and the Human Circulatory Systems (28 two-tiered MC items) Wang JR. 2004. Development and validation of a two-tier instrument to examine understanding of internal transport in plants and the human circulatory system. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education 2: 131–157.
II. ASTRONOMY
Astronomy Diagnostic Test (ADT) Hufnagel 2002
Lunar Phases Lindell and Olsen 2002
Light and Spectroscopy, Bardar et al., 2007
III. COMPUTER SCIENCE
http://dbserc.pitt.edu/Assessment/As...mputer-Science
IV. CHEMISTRY
INORGANIC CHEMISTRY (VIPER)
Virtual inorganic pedagogical electronic resource: a community for teachers and students of inorganic chemistry https://www.ionicviper.org//
CHEMISTRY
Compiled in list of chemistry concept inventories: http://chemistry.miamioh.edu/bretzsl/cer/assessment.html
DBER Resources - curated by Marilyne Stains - https://sites.google.com/site/marilynestains/useful-links-for-the-group
others
http://dbserc.pitt.edu/Assessment/Assessments-Chemistry
http://www.rsc.org/learn-chemistry/r...id=CMP00004906
V. PHYSICS
The AAPT ComPADRE Digital Library is a network of free online resource collections supporting faculty, students, and teachers in Physics and Astronomy Education. https://www.compadre.org/
Other Resources:
The Living Physics Portal-Due for Beta release Fall 2018
The Living Physics Portal is an online environment for physics faculty to share and discuss free curricular resources for teaching introductory physics for life sciences (IPLS). The objective of the Portal is to improve the education of the next generation of medical professionals and biologists by making physics classes more relevant for life sciences students. http://livingphysicsportal.org/
ALPhA
The Advanced Laboratory Physics Association (ALPhA) was formed in 2007 to provide communication and interaction among the faculty and staff who are involved in advanced laboratory physics instruction at colleges and universities in the United States and the rest of the world. https://www.advlab.org/
VI. STATISTICS
Statistics Concept Assessment
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/35439982_The_statistics_concept_inventory_development_and_analysis_of_a_cognitive_assessment_instrument_in_statistics
Research Methods and Statistics: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0098628317711287
VII. Inventories for Assessing Students’ Perceptions About Biology (College-level)
ENGAGEMENT
Wiggins, B. L., Eddy, S. L., Wener-Fligner, L., Freisem, K., Grunspan, D. Z., Theobald, E. J., ... & Crowe, A. J. (2017). ASPECT: A survey to assess student perspective of engagement in an active-learning classroom. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 16(2), ar32. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.16-08-0244
Student Course Engagement Questionnaire
http://serc.carleton.edu/files/NAGTWorkshops/assess05/SCEQ.pdf
(Handelsman et al. 2005)
23 Likert items assessing perceived skills engagement, participation/interaction engagement, emotional engagement, and performance engagement
LEARNING GAINS
Classroom Activities and Outcomes Survey (Terenzini et al. 2001)
24 Likert items rating progress in learning skills related to engineering or general scientific inquiry.
Student Assessment of Learning Gains (SALG) http://salgsite.org/(Seymour et al. 2000)
Multiple Likert items within 10 major categories rating gains in learning, skills, and attitudes due to components of a class
Survey of Undergraduate Research Experiences (SURE) (Lopatto 2004)
http://www.grinnell.edu/academic/csla/assessment/sure 20 Likert items assessing perceived learning gains as a result of participation in undergraduate research.
Undergrad Research Student Self-Assessment
http://www.colorado.edu/eer/research...gradtools.html (Hunter et al. 2007)
Multiple Likert items assessing perceived gains in skills related to participation in research, yes/no questions categorizing specific experiences, and open response items.
MOTIVATION
Achievement Goal Questionnaire
(Elliot and Church 1997, Finney et al. 2004)
18 Likert items rating performance approach and avoidance goals, and mastery goals.
Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ)
http://www.indiana.edu/~p540alex/MSLQ.pdf (Pintrich Paul R. 1991, Pintrich P. R. et al. 1993)
31 Likert items assessing students' goals and value beliefs. 31 assessing use of learning strategies and 19 items concerning student management of learning resources.
Science Motivation Questionnaire (SMQ)
http://www.coe.uga.edu/smq/ ← not working
(Glynn et al. 2011)
30 Likert items comprising 6 components of motivation: intrinsic, extrinsic, relevance, responsibility, confidence, and anxiety.
Self-Efficacy
College Biology Self Efficacy
(Baldwin et al. 1999)
VIEWS/ATTITUDES
Biology Attitude Scale (Russell and Hollander 1975)
22 items: 14 Likert-type and 8 semantic differential measuring students’ perceptions of liking or disliking biology
Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS)- Biology https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.10-10-0133
(Semsar et al. 2011) 31 Likert-type items for measuring novice-to-expert-like perceptions including enjoyment of the discipline, connections to the real world and underlying knowledge and problem-solving strategies.
Environmental Values Short Form (Zimmermann 1996)
31 Likert items assessing level of agreement with statements describing concern for different environmental issues
Survey of Teaching Beliefs and Practices for Undergraduates (STEP-U)
Marbach-Ad, G., Rietschel, C., & Thompson, K. V. (2016). Validation and Application of the Survey of Teaching Beliefs and Practices for Undergraduates (STEP-U): Identifying Factors Associated with Valuing Important Workplace Skills among Biology Students. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 15(4), ar59. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.16-05-0164
Views About Sciences Survey (VASS)
http://modeling.asu.edu/R%26E/Research.html (Halloun and Hestenes 1996)
50 items: Students choose a value describing their position with regards to two alternate conclusions to a statement probing their views about knowing and learning science in three scientific and three cognitive dimensions.
Views on Science and Education (VOSE)
http://www.ied.edu.hk/apfslt/download/v7_issue2_files/chensf.pdf
(Chen 2006)
15 items for which several statements or claims are listed. Respondents choose their level of agreement to these series of predetermined statements/claims to provide reasoning behind their opinion.
Views on Science-Technology-Society (VOSTS) (Aikenhead and Ryan 1992)
http://www.usask.ca/education/people/aikenhead/
8: Strategic Planning
Workshop Overview
The strategic planning workshop is a facilitated session that guides participants through: a) visioning of the ideal campus for student learning, b) needs assessment to gauge where the host campus is falling short of the ideal, c) identification of an issue or issues that the participants wish to address to move the campus closer to the ideal, d) strategic planning using Backward Design (Wiggins and McTighe, 1998) to develop a plan to successfully address the issue.
Learning Outcomes
Participants will:
• Develop a strategic plan to address a campus issue whose resolution will support participants' efforts to adopt evidence-based teaching and create an inclusive learning program for students.
Key Terms
• Backward design
• Visioning
• Needs assessment
Active Learning/Formative Assessment Strategies
• Brainstorming
• Whole group discussion
• Consensus-forming
• Strategic planning
Pre-Workshop
Background
Work by organizational change researchers has shown that pedagogical training focused on the individual, without concomitant changes to the individual's environment that support them as they transition from more passive to more active, student-centered teaching, is insufficient. For this reason, the MoSI was adapted from the original National Academies Summer Institute using Charles Henderson's Four Categories of Change Strategies to add elements- the Strategic Planning and Administrator workshops - that address institutional barriers to broad adoption of evidence-based teaching approaches.
Task
1. Reflect on the following two questions:
• If you were dropped into the middle of a campus that was ideal for student learning, what would attributes would you see? What would you see in terms of spaces, infrastructure, policies, attitudes, values, cultures, teaching behaviors, curricula, etc?
• What would your campus need to do to move closer to this ideal?
During Workshop
Activities
1. Create your vision statement: Visit the Strategic Planning Google Folder then go to the folder for your institution. https://drive.google.com/drive/folde...NL?usp=sharing
• Collect vision statements on the vision statement report out document.
2. Create your needs assessment: Visit the Strategic Planning Google Folder then go to the folder for your institution.
• Collect needs assessment statements on the needs assessment report out document.
3. Develop your strategic plan: Visit the Strategic Planning Google Folder then go to the folder for your institution.
• Make a copy of the Strategic Planning template and name it for your groups topic and fill it out with your goal, outcomes and action plan for achieving your outcomes. | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Mobile_Institute_on_Scientific_Teaching/2021_MIST/Interactive_Workshops/7%3A_Scholarly_Teaching/7B%3A_Evaluative_Assessment_Resources.txt |
Here you can find information about the MoSI workshops and your fellow workshop participants.
MoSI - Who and What
What is the MoSI?
The Mobile Summer Institute is a place-based iteration of the renowned National Academies Summer Institute on Scientific Teaching. This format uses the Four Categories of Change Strategies to expand the focus from the individual to the institutional in order to better address institutional challenges to education reform. In addition to the proven training paradigm provided by the pedagogy workshop, the MoSIs provide training in peer evaluation to drive long-term reflective teaching, facilitated strategic planning to leverage newly gained expertise toward educational reform and an administrator’s workshop to foster buy-in and support of local policy makers.
Goal
The goal of the Mobile Summer Institute is to improve undergraduate education. This will be achieved by a) training faculty in effective, evidence-based teaching strategies; b) facilitating reflective practices through peer mentoring and evaluation and c) facilitating strategic planning to reform educational practices at the host institution. This institute is modeled after the National Academies Summer Institute and is meant to extend the impact of that successful, nationally renowned professional development workshop and promote broader adoption of reformed pedagogy and promote institutional reform in education.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the institute, you will have:
• practiced a variety of evidence-based teaching strategies through workshops, presentations, and group work
• worked as a team to create teaching materials that implement evidence-based teaching strategies
• begun to shift your focus from content and teaching to outcomes and learning
• practiced peer evaluation to promote reflective teaching practices
The MoSI Format
The MoSI is a project-based training program combining interactive workshops on the tenets of scientific teaching with group work sessions where participants develop inclusive, student-centered teaching materials that they present to colleagues for peer-review at the end of the week.
The interactive workshops are designed to introduce participants to innovations and research on undergraduate education, and to model how to implement their underlying principles in a learning space.
Group work carefully designed to model scientific teaching has been found to be one of the most important processes at the Summer Institute. Each is led by a trained facilitator to model teaching practices that will help the group establish and meet common goals. Each group presents their teaching module for review during a dress rehearsal with another group and a final presentation. This allows groups to practice providing feedback on the effectiveness of learning activities and to incorporate peer feedback into their teaching modules before using them in their own classes.
People
MoSI participants, local leaders, and training team
Thank you for joining the 2021 online MoSI workshop! We hope that you enjoy yourself and take away something that will enhance your teaching capabilities.
Literature
Overview
The treasure chest is meant to serve as a site that you can visit during and revisit after the MoSI to find literature and resources that may be beneficial to you as you continue to transform your courses in the future.
Treasure Chest
*Note: if the link to the publisher’s website does not provide free access to the article, you can still find freely available pdfs online. | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Mobile_Institute_on_Scientific_Teaching/2021_MIST/MoSI_-_Who_and_What/About_MoSI.txt |
Overview
The MIST is a project-based training program combining interactive workshops on the tenets of scientific teaching with group work sessions where participants develop inclusive, student-centered teaching materials that they present to colleagues for peer-review at the end of the week.
The interactive workshops are designed to introduce participants to innovations and research on undergraduate education, and to model principles about which they teach.
The workshop links below are in order of occurrence during the week and will take you to a page for each workshop.
01: Interactive Workshops
Workshop Overview
The Welcome and Introduction workshop introduces participants to the MIST approach and rationale, promotes community building, models scientific teaching in action and orients participants to the Libretext platform that will be used for asynchronous content delivery.
Learning Outcomes
Participants will be able to:
• Describe the rationale and approach of the Mobile Institute on Scientific Teaching (MIST)
• Implement relationship and community-building approaches on the first day of class
• Identify current teaching challenges
• Compare and contrast, at a broad level, in-person and remote teaching approaches
• Navigate the MIST asynchronous content-delivery platform, Libretext
Key Terms
• Scientific teaching
• Evidence-based teaching
• Inclusive teaching
• Student-centered learning
• Backward design
• Active learning
• Formative assessment
• Synchronous/asynchronous delivery
Active Learning/Formative Assessment Strategies
• Small group discussion/breakout rooms
• Polling questions
• Think-pair-share
Pre-Workshop
Background
Since its inception in 2014, the Mobile Summer Institute has trained nearly 1000 faculty at 35 institutions across 6 countries in scientific teaching. This program is a place-based iteration of the successful National Academies Summer Institute (SI) on Undergraduate Education (founders: Drs. Jo Handelsman (UWisconsin), Bill Wood (CU Boulder), Sarah Miller (UWisconsin) and Chris Pfund (UWisconsin)). The original SI was developed in response to a National Research Council report, Bio2010, that called for an intensive training program to promote adoption of active learning strategies to improve student learning and success. While the original summer institute was focused on life sciences, the current regional and mobile iterations have expanded to other STEM and many non-STEM disciplines over the past decade.
Like the original model, the MIST is an intensive 5-day pedagogical workshop focused on evidence-based teaching practices and curricular design strategies intended to improve learning for all students and reduce the disproportionate loss of underrepresented students from higher education. Research shows that use of active learning increases performance and decreases failure (Freeman et al., 2014) and reduces the performance gap for underrepresented students (Theobold et al., 2020).
Scientific teaching is a condensation of effective, evidence-based teaching strategies targeted at faculty who understand the importance of evidence-based approaches but may not have any formal pedagogical training. It is a student-centered learning approach embedded in Backward Design, a curricular approach that places the focus on what students learn rather than what teachers cover.
Tasks
Please complete the following tasks prior to the workshop:
1. Getting to know you: Visit the Introduction/Welcome Session Google Folder then go to the folder for your institutions
• Fill out the Getting to know you Google Doc according to the instructions in the document.
2. Watch this 3-minute video overview of Scientific Teaching, the organizing principle of the MoSI, created by Dr. Jessamina Blum (UMinnesota).
3. Watch the first 2 minutes and 40 seconds of A Private Universe - a documentary on the persistence of misconceptions.
4. Optional - watch Father Guido Sarducci's 5-minute University for a humorous look at the failings of passive, lecture-based education. Father Guido was a recurring fictional character developed by comedian Don Novello for Saturday Night Live in the 1970s.
During Workshop
Activity
1. Hopes - What do you hope to get out of this week? Visit the Introduction/Welcome Session Google Folder then go to the Google folder for your institution.
• Record your answers in the Hopes & Gains Google Doc.
Session Slides
Introduction/Welcome session slides | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Mobile_Institute_on_Scientific_Teaching/2023_MoSI/01%3A_Interactive_Workshops/1.01%3A_Welcome_Session.txt |
Workshop Overview
The Inclusivity workshop uses facilitated discussion and reflection to increase awareness of the most common invisible factors that serve as barriers to success for students from underserved groups. Awareness is only useful when paired with action, so participants will use their awareness to develop and share teaching strategies to offset the impact of structural barriers. Therefore participants will walk away with concrete examples of strategies they can use in their courses to reduce barriers and increase success for all students.
Learning Outcomes
Participants will be able to:
• Articulate factors that contribute to systemic inequities in education;
• Self-reflect on beliefs and behaviors to better understand how we can change to remove barriers to our students success;
• Incorporate strategies to remove, mitigate or offset barriers that contribute to system inequities.
Key Terms
• Inclusive teaching
• Social justice
• Equity
• Implicit/explicit diversity
• Implicit assumptions/unconscious biases
• Privilege
• Microaggression
• Cultural competency
• Stereotype threat
Active Learning/Formative Assessment Strategies
• Brainstorming
• Directed- and random-call report out
• Life walk
• Think-pair-share
• Small group discussion/breakout rooms
• Reflection
Pre-Workshop
Background
The goal of the following pre-workshop homework is to introduce all participants to five factors that make our classrooms exclusive: a) unconscious bias, b) stereotype threat, c) microaggressions, d) lack of cultural competency and exclusive language and policies in our syllabi. During the workshop, each participant will choose one of these areas and as part of a group will do a deeper dive into that topic and then share resources and strategies with their cohort peers for offsetting that factor in the classroom.
Tasks
Please complete the following tasks prior to the workshop for an introduction to four barriers to inclusive classrooms:
1. Unconscious bias:
• Read this 2-page NYTimes Op-Ed "What? Me Biased? What? Me Biased?.pdf
• Visit Harvard Project Implicit and take at least two Implicit Assumption tests of your choice. (*Note: It can be uncomfortable to find out that you have unconscious biases. It's important to know that unconscious biases are a result of YOUR ENVIRONMENT and not what you consciously believe. The goal is to use awareness to make conscious efforts to offset unconscious biases. Knowledge is power.)
2. Stereotype threat: Watch the following the 8-minute video of Dr. Claude Steele (Stanford) discussing stereotype threat, the focus of his book, Whistling Vivaldi
3. Microaggression: Watch this 4.5 minutes video on Microaggressions by Dr. Derald Wing Sue (Columbia).
4. Cultural competency: Visit the National Education Association website and read through the information on cultural competency on the first page. This can also serve as a resource later as there are links to resources for educators here as well.
5. An inclusive syllabus: A Google doc with Six Principles of an Inclusive Design syllabus
During Workshop
Activities
1. Cultivating Brave Spaces: visit the Inclusivity Workshop Google Folder and go to the folder for your institution.
1. Activity 1: Setting community guidelines for engagement. In the Cultivating Brave Spaces Google doc, read the opening information add your groups list of brainstormed guidelines to the first table. We will adopt these as the guidelines for engagement during this workshop.
2. Activity 2: In the same Google doc, record your group's answers to the prompts at the top of the second Table.
2. Equity - Visit the Inclusivity Workshop Google Folder and go to the folder for your institution.
1. Record your group's answers in the Equity activity Google Doc.
3. Deeper Dive on Invisible Barriers to Inclusion:
Session Slides
Inclusivity Session Slides | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Mobile_Institute_on_Scientific_Teaching/2023_MoSI/01%3A_Interactive_Workshops/1.02%3A_Inclusivity_Session.txt |
Workshop Overview
The Backward Design workshop sessions provide an introduction to this learner-focused course design approach. During the workshop, participants first will engage with the different steps of the process. Then, participants will apply the approach to a topic from a course with which students struggle. This workshop is split into two sessions. The first session will introduce the overall method. In the second session, the participants will practice what they learned about backward design - stating learning goals (broad, vague, not easily assessed, e.g. know, learn, understand...) and outcomes (specific, concrete, easily measurable, e.g. predict, explain, contrast, defend...) - by applying it to a specific topic.
Learning Outcomes
Participants will be able to:
• Argue the merits of a learner-centered course design approach
• Identify and align learning goals and outcomes for a specified topic/concept.
Key Terms
• Backward Design
• Deliberate practice
• Learning goals
• Learning outcomes
• Learning objectives
• Alignment
• Bloom's Taxonomy
• 3-Dimensional Learning Assessment Protocol (3-D LAP)
Active Learning/Formative Assessment Strategies
• Matching/categorizing
• Small group discussion
• Alignment table development
• Reflection
Pre-Workshop
Background
In order for our students to develop mastery, they need to spend time and effort engaged with the specific concept or skill. This idea is called Deliberate Practice (Ericsson et al., 1993). Essentially, the one doing is the one learning. The two essential components of this learning theory are effort expended on activities (practice) that are specifically designed to result in mastery of a desired skill or concept (deliberate). Backward Design is a course design approach that helps us focus on the deliberation aspect of Deliberate Practice. Backward Design guides us to be specific and intentional about what we want students to know, understand, and be able to do by the end of our course. With Backward Design, we then use that knowledge to guide our development of assessments that will provide evidence about whether or not students achieve our desired goal. Lastly, with Backward Design, we develop learning activities that will maximize the likelihood of students' success.
Tasks
Please complete the following tasks prior to the workshop:
1. Identify a topic from your class that you would like to transform during this workshop.
During Workshop
Activities
1. Developing learning goals and outcomes - Visit the Backward Design Session Google Folder then go into the folder for your institution.
• Open the Backward Design in Action Google doc and follow along with the sequential activities to develop your alignment table for your topic during these sessions. Resources to help are linked to the bottom of the Google doc and linked below as well for your convenience.
• Use the examples of alignment tables for different topics/disciplines also found in your institutions folder.
• Below are embedded versions of Bloom's Taxonomy and the 3-D Learning Assessment Protocol - cognitive taxonomies. These and other related resources can be found in this Cognitive Taxonomy Google Folder
• Modified Version of Bloom's Taxonomy
Dirks, Wenderoth & Withers (2014) Assessment in the College Science Classroom. W.H. Freeman, New York, NY.
• 3-D LAP: The 3-Dimensional Learning Assessment Protocol (we are only using one of the dimensions that cuts across all disciplines). Use this as a guide to help you decide which disciplinary skills/habits of mind that you want students to practice in your class. (PLOS One Article on 3D LAP by Cooper et. al.Characterizing College Science Assessments: The Three-Dimensional Learning Assessment Protocol)
• Asking questions
• Developing & using models
• Planning & carrying out investigations
• Analyzing & interpreting data
• Using mathematics & computational thinking
• Constructing explanations
• Engaging in argument from evidence
• Obtaining, evaluating, & communicating information
Post-Workshop
Task
1. Complete the Learning Goals and Outcomes columns in your row of the Alignment table in the Backward Design in Action Google doc in your institution's folder inside the Backward Design Session Google Folder. Use the examples of alignment tables (a document in your institution's folder) as a guide.
Session Slides
Backward Design session slides | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Mobile_Institute_on_Scientific_Teaching/2023_MoSI/01%3A_Interactive_Workshops/1.03%3A_Backward_Design_I.txt |
Workshop Overview
The Backward Design (BD) workshop sessions provide an introduction to this learner-focused course design approach. During the workshop, participants first will be engaged in the different steps of the process and then will apply the approach to a topic from a course with which students struggle. This workshop is split into to session. The second session will take participants through steps 2 & 3 of BD - developing assessments and learning activities that align with participants learning goals and outcomes developed in the first session. The term "engaugement" was coined by the authors of Scientific Teaching - Handelsman, Miller and Pfund, to indicate the nearly inextricable link between active learning and formative assessment, i.e. when you ask a student to do something, they are simultaneously engaged in learning and can gauge their progress by whether or how well they can perform.
Using Backward Design allows us to re-envision our classes, so that in-class or synchronous time is spent on collaborative learning activities and formative assessments that foster critical thinking, problem-solving, and understanding of cognitively demanding material, while out-of-class or asynchronous time focuses on lower cognitive demand material in preparation for class or on further practice with higher cognitive demand concepts and skills after class.
Learning Outcomes
Participants will be able to:
• Use the principles of backward design to align learning outcomes with both learning activities/formative assessments and summative assessments
• Develop/modify learning materials to engage students in deliberate practice
• Use Bloom’s Taxonomy & 3-D LAP to evaluate assessments
Key Terms
• Backward Design
• Deliberate practice
• Formative assessment
• Summative assessment
• Alignment
• Bloom's Taxonomy
• 3-Dimensional Learning Assessment Protocol (3-D LAP)
Active Learning/Formative Assessment Strategies
• Gallery walk
• Small group discussion
• Alignment table development
• Reflection
• Model-based reasoning/problem-solving
• Scenario/statement correction
Pre-Workshop
Background
In order for our students to develop mastery, they need to spend time/effort engaged with the specific concept or skill. This concept is called Deliberate Practice (Ericsson et al., 1993). Essentially, the one doing is the one learning. The two essential components of this learning theory are effort expended on activities (practice) that are specifically design to result in mastery of a desired skill or concept (deliberate). Backward Design is a course design approach that helps us focus on the deliberation aspect of Deliberate Practice. Backward Design that guides us to be specific and intentional about what we want students to know, understand and be able to do by the end of our course and then use that knowledge to guide development of assessments that will provide evidence about whether or not students achieve our desired goal and learning activities that will maximize the likelihood that they will be successful.
Tasks
1. *See the post-task from Backward Design I Session
During Workshop
Activities
1. Gallery Walk: Visit the Backward Design Session Google Folder then go to the folder for your institution to return to the Backward Design in Action Google Doc with the alignment table from yesterday's session.
• Review your peers Alignment table rows starting with the rows directly under yours and work down (if you are at/near the bottom, wrap around and review rows at the top of ht table) using the Comment function in Google
• Instructions for giving comments in Google
• Highlight the text you want to comment on and a small plus sign inside a comment bubble symbol will appear to the right.
• Click the plus sign symbol and put in your comment.
• Click the "comment" button at the bottom.
Session Slides
Backward Design Session Slides
1.05: Scientific Teaching in Action
Workshop Overview
The Scientific Teaching workshop has many flavors depending on the expertise of the trainer(s) running the workshop. The general goal is to provide a deeper dive into the use of a variety of active learning approaches like immediate polling questions, the formation and management of learning groups, and other examples of deliberate practice. For your MIST, this workshop will focus on the use of deliberate practice to improve graph reading and interpretation skills. This workshop also demonstrates how to integrate the teaching of subject content with the development of student skills.
Learning Outcomes
Participants will be able to:
• Use deliberate practice to foster the acquisition of graph reading and interpretation skills
Key Terms
• Deliberate practice
• Evidence-based teaching
• Backward design
• Alignment between formative and summative assessment
Active Learning/Formative Assessment Strategies
• Small group discussion/breakout rooms
Pre-Workshop
Background
Deliberate practice posits that to develop expertise or mastery over a subject or skill, for example, it is necessary to spend sufficient time engaged in intentional effort that specifically relates to achievement of that mastery. The perfectly complements Backward Design in that it calls for practice that aligns with intended outcomes. For example, if you intend for students to leave your class with proficiency in reading and interpreting graphs, then students have to spend sufficient time practicing that skill. While sitting in class watching the teacher explain how to read graphs is effort, the effort is not aligned with the desired outcome of having students be able to read and interpret graphs for themselves. This type of misalignment between desired learning outcomes and class activities is common in passive lecture classes.
Session Slides
Google drive folder for Scientific Teaching in Action. | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Mobile_Institute_on_Scientific_Teaching/2023_MoSI/01%3A_Interactive_Workshops/1.04%3A_Backward_Design_II.txt |
Workshop Overview
Scientific teaching is at its core an evidence-based pedagogical approach. Peer feedback based on class observation is another form of evidence that we can gather to give us an indication of the effectiveness of our teaching. During this workshop, participants will discuss the merits of feedback and reflection in helping inform course revision and improvement and practice giving feedback using two course observation rubrics - a peer mentoring rubric and a class observation protocol. Participants will also develop a 1-year mentoring plan with a colleague to provide feedback to one another on their classes.
Learning Outcomes
Participants will be able to:
• use a peer feedback rubric to provide guidance on how to make classes more active, inclusive and student-centered
• use an observation rubric to provide an objective snapshot of a peer’s current use of engaged pedagogies for self-reflection
• develop a 1-year plan for visiting the classes of a peer using these rubrics to help one another develop reflective practices
Key Terms
• Peer observation
• Student-centered learning
• Active learning
• Peer Feedback
• Reflection
Active Learning/Formative Assessment Strategies
• Small group discussion/breakout rooms
• Whole class discussion
• Brainstorm
• Peer observation
Pre-Workshop
Background
Nationally, campuses are measuring the use of active learning (Stains et al., 2018). Lecturing still predominates in post-secondary STEM classes, but active, students-centered strategies are being adopted. Transitioning to active learning from lecture or Socratic methods can be uncomfortable. Peer feedback and mentoring provide support that can reduce feelings of isolation during the process and improve performance in the classroom. The peer observation protocol that we train participants with during this workshop (COPUS, Smith et al, 2014) is the same metric used in the Stains et al., (2018) nationwide project. We will use this rubric in the Generalized Observation and Reflection Protocol (GORP) platform, an online and smartphone compatible platform develop at UC Davis.
Tasks
1. IF YOU ARE USING Generalized Observation and Reflection Protocol (GORP), then sign up for an account ahead of time by doing the following:
• Go to https://gorp.ucdavis.edu/
• Click "Sign Up"
• Your site administrator will assign you the roles you need (observation-create, observation-destroy, course-create, course-view, course-destroy, course-update)
• Complete the sign up, and search for your university / college in the Institution box.
2. Watch this 9-minute Introduction video on GORP:
During Workshop
Tasks
1. Download the Peer Mentoring Rubric to practice giving feedback on a video clip, found in the Google Drive Folder for Peer Mentoring. We will use this same rubric to give feedback during the final presentations.
2. Send yourself a reminder to schedule your peer observation visits using FutureMe.org
1. Go to the website and set up a future email to yourself dated close to the beginning of the school term as a reminder to plan your peer observation visits.
2. Include information related to the following questions:
1. which class[es] you want to have observed
2. who will observe your class
3. which rubric will they use to observed, i.e. the feedback rubric, timing analysis rubric, COPUS...
4. when will they visit, e.g., near the beginning and end to get a comparison of your progress; on certain dates when you plan to try out specific modules or strategies...
Post-Workshop
Tasks
1. If you didn't send your FutureMe.org peer observation reminder email, do so now following the instructions directly above.
Selected Resources
• Peer Evaluation Feedback Guide adapted from Jenny Momsen/FIRST IV - Peer mentoring rubric.pdf
• A statement created by Dr. Peggy Brickman (UGA) that extols the virtues of taking part in peer mentoring and evaluation accompanied by a list of references. This statement can be added to yearly teaching evaluation portfolios for participants who visit one another's classes and provide peer feedback and mentoring. Peer Mentoring and Evaluation blurb for yearly teaching evaluation.pdf
• A great new resource for an evidence-based, departmentally-defined approach to enhance teaching evaluation called TEval at CU Boulder, by Drs. Noah Finkelstein, Joel C. Corbo, Daniel L. Reinholz, Mark Gammon, and Jessica Keating.
• A tool for utilizing the noise level in your classroom to gage the % of times that students have an opportunity to be actively engaged in class: Decibel Analysis for Research in Teaching (DART): https://sepaldart.herokuapp.com/. Developed by Kimberly Tanner.
Session Slides
Peer Reflection and Feedback slide deck | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Mobile_Institute_on_Scientific_Teaching/2023_MoSI/01%3A_Interactive_Workshops/1.06%3A_Peer_Feedback_and_Reflection.txt |
Workshop Overview
Scientific teaching is at its core an evidence-based pedagogical approach. Consulting education literature to determine which teaching strategies to use and gathering evidence to determine how well those strategies work in your classroom are critical steps when developing effective learning environments. This workshop explores various types of data that instructors can gather to evaluate student learning in order to facilitate the development of course evaluation plans by participants.
Learning Outcomes
Participants will be able to:
• Determine aspects of your teaching or student learning that you would like to assess
• Identify metrics with which to gather evidence pertaining to the selected aspects of teaching/learning
• Develop an evaluation plan to deploy the metrics to evaluate the selected aspects of teaching/learning in one of your courses
Key Terms
• Scholarly teaching
• Evaluation
• Assessment
• Qualitative data
• Quantitative data
• Concept inventories
• Perception surveys
• Normalized learning gains
Active Learning/Formative Assessment Strategies
• Small group discussion/breakout rooms
• Whole class discussion
• Practice using peer observation metrics
• Development of a course evaluation plan
Pre-Workshop
Background
Are your students learning what you want them to learn? How do you know? In preparation for this workshop, think about these three questions:
1. What knowledge do you want your students to gain from your class?
2. What types of skills (e.g. life skills, learning skills, technical skills) would you like students to acquire? and
3. What affective or behavioral changes would you like to see your students exhibit (e.g. improved critical thinking, increased confidence or enthusiasm for your discipline, identifying as a professional in your area, becoming a more civically engaged citizen) at the end of your course?
We will explore different types of data that we can collect in all types of teaching environments to help us evaluate changes in pedagogy and to inform iterative rounds of course revisions.
During Workshop
Activities
1. Course Evaluation Plan development: Visit the Scholarly Teaching Google folder then go to the folder for your institution.
• Open the Course Evaluation Plan Google doc and following instructions.
• You will claim a row, name it and respond to the prompts to develop your course evaluation plan.
• Use the resources and links embedded in the Google doc to help you develop your plan.
• You can download a copy for easy access when you are ready to implement and also revisit your plan in the Google folder at any time.
Session Slides
Scholarly Teaching Slide Deck
1.07: Scholarly Teaching
What are concept inventories?
(Excerpted from presentation by J. Knight, UC Boulder).
• Multiple choice (usually) instruments that address fundamental concepts and contain known student misunderstandings
• Developed through an iterative process that includes gathering evidence of validity and reliability through student and faculty interviews
• Diagnostic: can identify specific misunderstandings and measure student learning over time
• Objective: not tied directly to a course, but rather to a set of concepts
Guidelines for using concept inventories
(Dirks, Wenderoth, Withers Assessment in the College Science Classroom, 2013).
• Protect the test!
• Must be given in a proctored environment to keep questions from getting out to students.
• Use for evaluation only
• Not a learning tool.
• When used for pre-/post-testing
• Use the same testing context
• Can use same or isomorphic questions (Resource: Research Methods Knowledge Base – W. Trochim, 2013)
• Normalized learning gain
• <g> = (%post - %pre)/(100-%pre)
Other Resources
Table below from Dirk et al., (2014) Assessment in the College Science Classroom, Ch7 Appendix A; Freeman, NYC.
Concept Inventories in Astronomy
Astronomy Diagnostic Test (ADT)
Lunar Phases
Light and Spectroscopy
Hufnagel 2002
Lindell and Olsen 2002
Bardar et al., 2007
Concept Inventories in Biology
Genetics Concept Inventory (GCA)
Genetics Literacy Assessment Instrument 2 (GLAI-2)
Conceptual Inventory of Natural Selection (CINS)
Biology Literacty (http://bioliteracy.net/)
Diagnostic Question Clusters: Biology
Host Pathogen Interactions (HPI)
Introductory Molecular and Cell Biology Assessment (IMCA)
Smith et al., 2008
Bowling et al., 2008
Anderson et al., 2002
Klymkowsky et al., 2010
Wilson et al., 2006; D’Avanzo 2008
Marbach-Ad et al., 2009
Shi et al., 2010
Concept Inventories in Chemistry
Chemistry Concept Inventory
Mulford and Rbonison 2002
Krause et al., 2003
Concept Inventories in Engineering
Engineering Thermodynamics Concept Inventory
Heat Transfer
Materials Concept Inventory
Signals and Systems Concept Inventory
Static Concept Inventory
Thermal and Transport Science Concept Inventory (TTCI)
Midkiff et al., 2001
Jacobie et al., 2003
Krause et al., 2003
Wage et al., 2005
Steif et al., 2005
Streveler et al., 2011
Concept Inventories in Geoscience
Geoscience Concept Inventory (GCI)
Libarkin and Anderson, 2005
Concept Inventories in Math and Statistics
Statistics Concept Inventory (SCI)
Calculus Concept Inventory (CCI)
Allen 2006
Epstein 2005
Concept Inventories in Physics
Force Concept Inventory (FCI)
The Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation (FMCE)
Thermal Concept Evaluation
Brief Electricity and Magnetism Assessment (BEMA)
Conceptual Survey in Electricity and Magnetism (CSEM)
Hestenes et al., 1992
Thornton and Sokiloff 1998
Yeo and Zadnick 2001
Ding et al., 2006
Maloney et al., 2001
Measuring Students Science Process and Reasoning Skills
Rubric for Science Writing
Student-Achievement and Process Skills Instrument
Timmerman et al., 2010
Bunce et al., 2010
Measuring Student Attitudes about Science, Research or Study Methods
Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS)
Revised Two-Factor Study Process Questionnaire
Student Assessment of Their Learning Gains (SALG) Instrument
Survey of Undergraduate Research Experiences
Views About Science Survey (VASS)
http://www.colorado.edu/sei/class
Biggs et al, 2001
http://www.salgsite.org/
Lopatto 2004
Halloun and Hestenes 1998 | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Mobile_Institute_on_Scientific_Teaching/2023_MoSI/01%3A_Interactive_Workshops/1.07%3A_Scholarly_Teaching/1.7.01%3A_Evaluation_Guide.txt |
I. BIOLOGY
Initially compiled by Kathy S. Williams (San Diego State University) and Erilynn T. Heinrichsen (University of California, San Diego)
Updated 2019 by Jenny Knight
ANIMAL DEVELOPMENT
Flowering Plant Growth and Development (13 two-tiered MC items)
Lin SW. 2004. Development and application of a two-tier diagnostic test for high school students’ understanding of flowering plant growth and development. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education 2: 175–199.
BIOCHEMISTRY
Threshold concepts in Biochemistry: Loertscher, J. (2011). Biochemistry and molecular biology education, 39(1), 56-57.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4152212/
BREATHING AND RESPIRATION
Breathing and Respiration (12 two-tiered MC items)
Mann M, Treagust DF. 1998. A pencil and paper instrument to diagnose students’ conceptions of breathing, gas exchange and respiration. Australian Science Teachers Journal 44: 55–59.
DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
Developmental Biology Content Survey (15 MC items)
Knight JK, Wood WB. 2005. Teaching more by lecturing less. Cell Biology Education 4: 298-310. doi:10.1187/05-06-0082. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/05-06-0082
ENERGY AND MATTER
(total of 16 Diagnostic Question Clusters of 6-8 items each; some items appear in more than one DQC)
Diagnostic Question Clusters on Energy and Matter (DQCs)
Wilson CD, Anderson CW, Heidemann M, Merrill JE, Merritt BW, Richmond G, Silbey DF, Parker JM. 2006. Assessing students’ ability to trace matter in dynamic systems in cell biology. CBE Life Sciences Education 5: 323–331. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.06-02-0142
Hartley LM, Wilke BJ, Schramm JW, D’Avanzo C, Anderson CW. 2011. College students’ understanding of the carbon cycle: contrasting principle-based and informal reasoning. BioScience 61: 65-75.
Thinking like a biologist: Using diagnostic questions to help students to reason with biological principles (16 DQC sets of ~7 items each, MC, TF, open-ended)
D'Avanzo C, Anderson CW, Griffith A, Merrill J. 2011. Thinking like a biologist. Using diagnostic questions to help students reason with biological principles. [The site at http://www.biodqc.org/ has Diagnostic Question Clusters (DQC's) organized by three ecological topics (Carbon Cycling, Energy Flow in Ecosystems, Climate Change), and by three biological processes; (Photosynthesis, Biosynthesis, Cellular Respiration) - with two DQCs each; plus one each DQC under topics Gasoline, Biofuels, Carbon in Nature, and Carbon Balance. Some items appear in more than one DQC.
ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
EcoEvo-MAPS: An Ecology and Evolution Assessment for Introductory through Advanced Undergraduates https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.17-02-0037
EvoDevoCI (MC and open ended items for 3 Exploratory Surveys and 6 Interview Question sets)
Hiatt A, Davis GK, Trujillo C, Terry M, French DP, Price RM, Perez KE. 2013. Getting to Evo-Devo: Concepts and challenges for students learning evolutionary developmental biology. CBE Life Sciences Education 12: 494-508. doi:10.1187/cbe.12-11- 0203. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.12-11-0203
EvoDevoCI (11 MC items, 4 scenarios)
Perez KE et al 2013. The EvoDevoCI: A Concept inventory for gauging students’ understanding of evolutionary developmental biology. CBE Life Sciences Education 12: 665-675. doi:10.1187/cbe.13-04-0079. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.13-04-0079
Basic Tree Thinking Assessment (two tests, 10 MC items each, diagrams): Baum DA, Smith SD, Donovan SSS. 2005. The tree-thinking challenge. Science 310: 979-980.
Conceptual Inventory of Natural Selection (CINS) (20 MC items, scenarios)
Anderson DL, Fisher KM, Norman JG. 2002. Development and validation of the conceptual inventory of natural selection. Journal of Research in Science Teaching 39: 952-978.
Kalinowski, S. T., Leonard, M. J., & Taper, M. L. (2016). Development and validation of the conceptual assessment of natural selection (CANS). CBE-Life Sciences Education, 15(4), ar64. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.15-06-0134
EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
Dasgupta, A. P., Anderson, T. R., & Pelaez, N. J. (2016). Development of the neuron assessment for measuring biology students’ use of experimental design concepts and representations. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 15(2), ar10. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.15-03-0077
Deane, T., Nomme, K., Jeffery, E., Pollock, C., & Birol, G. (2014). Development of the biological experimental design concept inventory (BEDCI). CBE-Life Sciences Education, 13(3), 540-551.https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.13-11-0218
GENETICS
Genetics Literacy Assessment Instrument (GLAI) (31 MC items) FOUR in Bowling et al. Genetics 2008;
Bowling BV, Acra EE, Wang L, Myers MF, Dean GE, Markle GC, Moskalik CL, Huether CA. 2008. Development and evaluation of a genetics literacy assessment instrument for undergraduates. Genetics 178: 15-22. [download PDF] from nku.edu
Genetics Concept Assessment (GCA) (25 MC items, diagrams)
Smith MK, Wood WB, Knight JK. 2008. The genetics concept assessment: A new concept inventory for gauging student understanding of genetics CBE Life Science Education 7: 422-430. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.08-08-0045
Genetics Diagnostic (13 two-tiered MC items, diagrams)
Tsui CY, Treagust D. 2009. Evaluating secondary students’ scientific reasoning in genetics using a two-tier diagnostic instrument. International Journal of Science Education 32: 1073-1098.
Genetic Drift Inventory (GeDI) (22 agree–disagree items)
Price RM, Andrews TC, McElhinny TL, Mead LS, Abraham JK, Thanukos A, Perez KE. 2014. The Genetic Drift Inventory: A tool for measuring what advanced undergraduates have mastered about genetic drift. CBE Life Science Education 13: 65-75. doi:
10.1187/cbe.13-08-0159. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.13-08-0159
Dominance Concept Inventory: Abraham, J. K., Perez, K. E., & Price, R. M. (2014). The Dominance Concept Inventory: a tool for assessing undergraduate student alternative conceptions about dominance in Mendelian and population genetics. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 13(2), 349-358. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.13-08-0160
GENERAL BIOLOGY
Gen-MAPS: Couch, BA, Wright CD, Freeman S, Knight JK, Semsar K, Smith MK, Summers MM, Zheng Y, Crowe AJ, Brownell SE (2019). GenBio-MAPS: A programmatic assessment to measure student understanding of Vision and Change core concepts across general biology programs. CBE Life Sci. Educ. 18:arx 1–14, doi: 10.1187/cbe.18-07-0117
HOST-PATHOGEN INTERACTIONS
Host-Pathogen Interactions (HPI) (17 [18 noted in Marbach-Ad et al. 2009] two-tiered MC items) ITEMS NOT PROVIDED
Marbach-Ad G, Briken V, El-Sayed NM, Frauwirth K, Fredericksen B, Hutcheson S, Gao L-Y, Joseph SW, Lee V, McIver KS, Mosser D, Quimby BB, Shields P, Song W, Stein DC, Yuan RT, Smith AC. 2009. Assessing student understanding of host pathogen interactions using a concept inventory. Journal of Microbiology Education 10: 43-50.
Marbach-Ad G, McAdams KC, Benson S, Briken V, Cathcart L, Chase M, El-Sayed NM, Frauwirth K, Fredericksen B, Joseph SW, Lee V, McIver KS, Mosser D, Quimby BB, Shields P, Song W, Stein DC, Stewart R, Thompson KV, Smith AC. 2010. A model for using a concept inventory as a tool for students' assessment and faculty professional development. CBE Life Science Education 9: 408-416. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/full/10.1187/cbe.10-05-0069
INTRODUCTORY BIOLOGY
Biology Concept Inventory (BCI) (30 MC items) ON-LINE at http://bioliteracy.colorado.edu/
Klymkowsky MW, Garvin-Doxas K, Zeilik M. 2003. Bioliteracy and teaching efficacy: What biologists can learn from physicists. Cell Biology Education 2: 155-161. doi: 10.1187/cbe.03-03-0014. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.03-03-0014
Garvin-Doxas K, Doxas I, Klymkowsky MW. 2008. Ed's Tools: A web-based software toolset for accelerated concept inventory construction. pp 130-140. In: Deeds, D & B Callen, editors; Proceedings of the National STEM Assessment Conference.
MACROEVOLUTION
Measure of Understanding of Macroevolution (MUM) (28 items: 27 MC items, plus one open-ended item, diagrams) PROVIDED
Nadelson LS, Southerland SA. 2010. Development and preliminary evaluation of the Measure of Understanding of Macroevolution: Introducing the MUM. The Journal of Experimental Education 78: 151–190. [download PDF] from researchgate.net
MICROBIOLOGY
Development, Validation, and Application of the Microbiology Concept Inventory.Timothy D. Paustian, Amy G. Briggs, Robert E. Brennan, Nancy Boury, John Buchner, Shannon Harris, Rachel E. A. Horak, Lee E. Hughes, D. Sue Katz-Amburn, Maria J. Massimelli, Ann H. McDonald, Todd P. Primm, Ann C. Smith, Ann M. Stevens, Sunny B. Yung. (2017) J. Microbiol. Biol. Educ. 18(3): doi:10.1128/jmbe.v18i3.1320
Development and Validation of the Microbiology for Health Sciences Concept Inventory. Heather M. Seitz, Rachel E. A. Horak, Megan W. Howard, Lucy W. Kluckhohn Jones, Theodore Muth, Christopher Parker, Andrea Pratt Rediske, Maureen M. Whitehurst. (2017) J. Microbiol. Biol. Educ. 18(3): doi:10.1128/jmbe.v18i3.1322
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
Central Dogma: Newman, D. L., Snyder, C. W., Fisk, J. N., & Wright, L. K. (2016). Development of the central dogma concept inventory (CDCI) assessment tool. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 15(2), ar9. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.15-06-0124
Lac Operon: Stefanski, K. M., Gardner, G. E., & Seipelt-Thiemann, R. L. (2016). Development of a Lac Operon Concept Inventory (LOCI). CBE-Life Sciences Education, 15(2), ar24.
https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.15-07-0162
Introductory Molecular Biology: Introductory Molecular and Cell Biology Assessment (IMCA) (24 MC items, diagrams) Shi J, Wood WB, Martin JM, Guild NA, Vicens Q, Knight JK. 2010. A diagnostic assessment for introductory molecular and cell biology. CBE Life Sciences Education 9: 453-461. doi: 10.1187/cbe.10-04-0055. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.10-04-0055
Molecular Biology Capstone Assessment: Couch, B. A., Wood, W. B., & Knight, J. K. (2015). The Molecular Biology Capstone Assessment: a concept assessment for upper-division molecular biology students. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 14(1), ar10. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.14-04-0071
Molecular Life Sciences Concept Inventory (MLS) www.lifescinventory.edu.au
OSMOSIS AND DIFFUSION
Diffusion and Osmosis Diagnostic Test (DODT) (12 two-tiered MC items, diagrams)
Odom AL, Barrow LH. 1995. The development and application of a two-tiered diagnostic test measuring college biology students' understanding of diffusion and osmosis following a course of instruction. Journal of Research in Science Teaching 32: 45-61. [HTML] from wiley.com
Odom AL. 1995. Secondary and college biology students' misconceptions about diffusion and osmosis. American Biology Teacher 57: 409–415. [download PDF] from pbworks.com
Osmosis and diffusion conceptual assessment (ODCA) (8 two-tiered MC items, diagrams) Fisher KM, Williams KS, Lineback J. 2011. Osmosis and diffusion conceptual assessment. CBE Life Sciences Education 10:418-29. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.11-04-0038
PHOTOSYNTHESIS AND RESPIRATION
Photosynthesis and Respiration (13 two-tiered MC items, plus open ended)
Haslam F, Treagust DF. 1987. Diagnosing secondary students’ misconceptions of photosynthesis and respiration in plants using a two-tier multiple choice instrument. Journal of Biological Education 21: 203–211.
Covalent Bonding and Photosynthesis test development ITEMS NOT PROVIDED
Treagust D. 1986. Evaluating students’ misconceptions by means of diagnostic multiple choice items. Journal of Research in Science Education 16: 199-207.
PHYSIOLOGY
Homeostasis: Development and Validation of the Homeostasis Concept Inventory McFarland, JL, Price RM, Wenderoth MP, Marinkova P, Cliff W, Michael J, Modell J, Wright A CBE—Life Sciences Education Volume 16, Issue 201 Jun 2017
Phys-MAPS: Semsar K, Brownell SE, Couch BA, Crowe AJ, Smith MK, Summers MM, Wright CD, Knight JK (2018). Phys-MAPS: A programmatic physiology assessment for introductory and advanced undergraduates. Adv Physiol Educ 43: 15–27, 2019; doi:10.1152/advan.00128.2018.
QUANTITATIVE/STATISTICAL REASONING
Stanhope, L., Ziegler, L., Haque, T., Le, L., Vinces, M., Davis, G. K., ... & Umbanhowar, C. (2017). Development of a Biological Science Quantitative Reasoning Exam (BioSQuaRE). CBE-Life Sciences Education, 16(4), ar66. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/full/10.1187/cbe.16-10-0301
Deane, T., Nomme, K., Jeffery, E., Pollock, C., & Birol, G. (2016). Development of the Statistical Reasoning in Biology Concept Inventory (SRBCI). CBE-Life Sciences Education, 15(1), ar5. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.15-06-0131
SCIENTIFIC LITERACY
Gormally, C., Brickman, P., & Lutz, M. (2012). Developing a test of scientific literacy skills (TOSLS): Measuring undergraduates’ evaluation of scientific information and arguments. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 11(4), 364-377.https://www.lifescied.org/doi/full/10.1187/cbe.12-03-0026
TRANSPORT IN PLANTS AND CIRCULATION IN HUMANS
Internal Transport in Plants and the Human Circulatory Systems (28 two-tiered MC items) Wang JR. 2004. Development and validation of a two-tier instrument to examine understanding of internal transport in plants and the human circulatory system. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education 2: 131–157.
II. ASTRONOMY
Astronomy Diagnostic Test (ADT) Hufnagel 2002
Lunar Phases Lindell and Olsen 2002
Light and Spectroscopy, Bardar et al., 2007
III. COMPUTER SCIENCE
http://dbserc.pitt.edu/Assessment/As...mputer-Science
IV. CHEMISTRY
INORGANIC CHEMISTRY (VIPER)
Virtual inorganic pedagogical electronic resource: a community for teachers and students of inorganic chemistry https://www.ionicviper.org//
CHEMISTRY
Compiled in list of chemistry concept inventories: http://chemistry.miamioh.edu/bretzsl/cer/assessment.html
DBER Resources - curated by Marilyne Stains - https://sites.google.com/site/marilynestains/useful-links-for-the-group
others
http://dbserc.pitt.edu/Assessment/Assessments-Chemistry
http://www.rsc.org/learn-chemistry/r...id=CMP00004906
V. PHYSICS
The AAPT ComPADRE Digital Library is a network of free online resource collections supporting faculty, students, and teachers in Physics and Astronomy Education. https://www.compadre.org/
Other Resources:
The Living Physics Portal-Due for Beta release Fall 2018
The Living Physics Portal is an online environment for physics faculty to share and discuss free curricular resources for teaching introductory physics for life sciences (IPLS). The objective of the Portal is to improve the education of the next generation of medical professionals and biologists by making physics classes more relevant for life sciences students. http://livingphysicsportal.org/
ALPhA
The Advanced Laboratory Physics Association (ALPhA) was formed in 2007 to provide communication and interaction among the faculty and staff who are involved in advanced laboratory physics instruction at colleges and universities in the United States and the rest of the world. https://www.advlab.org/
VI. STATISTICS
Statistics Concept Assessment
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/35439982_The_statistics_concept_inventory_development_and_analysis_of_a_cognitive_assessment_instrument_in_statistics
Research Methods and Statistics: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0098628317711287
VII. Inventories for Assessing Students’ Perceptions About Biology (College-level)
ENGAGEMENT
Wiggins, B. L., Eddy, S. L., Wener-Fligner, L., Freisem, K., Grunspan, D. Z., Theobald, E. J., ... & Crowe, A. J. (2017). ASPECT: A survey to assess student perspective of engagement in an active-learning classroom. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 16(2), ar32. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.16-08-0244
Student Course Engagement Questionnaire
http://serc.carleton.edu/files/NAGTWorkshops/assess05/SCEQ.pdf
(Handelsman et al. 2005)
23 Likert items assessing perceived skills engagement, participation/interaction engagement, emotional engagement, and performance engagement
LEARNING GAINS
Classroom Activities and Outcomes Survey (Terenzini et al. 2001)
24 Likert items rating progress in learning skills related to engineering or general scientific inquiry.
Student Assessment of Learning Gains (SALG) http://salgsite.org/(Seymour et al. 2000)
Multiple Likert items within 10 major categories rating gains in learning, skills, and attitudes due to components of a class
Survey of Undergraduate Research Experiences (SURE) (Lopatto 2004)
http://www.grinnell.edu/academic/csla/assessment/sure 20 Likert items assessing perceived learning gains as a result of participation in undergraduate research.
Undergrad Research Student Self-Assessment
http://www.colorado.edu/eer/research...gradtools.html (Hunter et al. 2007)
Multiple Likert items assessing perceived gains in skills related to participation in research, yes/no questions categorizing specific experiences, and open response items.
MOTIVATION
Achievement Goal Questionnaire
(Elliot and Church 1997, Finney et al. 2004)
18 Likert items rating performance approach and avoidance goals, and mastery goals.
Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ)
http://www.indiana.edu/~p540alex/MSLQ.pdf (Pintrich Paul R. 1991, Pintrich P. R. et al. 1993)
31 Likert items assessing students' goals and value beliefs. 31 assessing use of learning strategies and 19 items concerning student management of learning resources.
Science Motivation Questionnaire (SMQ)
http://www.coe.uga.edu/smq/ ← not working
(Glynn et al. 2011)
30 Likert items comprising 6 components of motivation: intrinsic, extrinsic, relevance, responsibility, confidence, and anxiety.
Self-Efficacy
College Biology Self Efficacy
(Baldwin et al. 1999)
VIEWS/ATTITUDES
Biology Attitude Scale (Russell and Hollander 1975)
22 items: 14 Likert-type and 8 semantic differential measuring students’ perceptions of liking or disliking biology
Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS)- Biology https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.10-10-0133
(Semsar et al. 2011) 31 Likert-type items for measuring novice-to-expert-like perceptions including enjoyment of the discipline, connections to the real world and underlying knowledge and problem-solving strategies.
Environmental Values Short Form (Zimmermann 1996)
31 Likert items assessing level of agreement with statements describing concern for different environmental issues
Survey of Teaching Beliefs and Practices for Undergraduates (STEP-U)
Marbach-Ad, G., Rietschel, C., & Thompson, K. V. (2016). Validation and Application of the Survey of Teaching Beliefs and Practices for Undergraduates (STEP-U): Identifying Factors Associated with Valuing Important Workplace Skills among Biology Students. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 15(4), ar59. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.16-05-0164
Views About Sciences Survey (VASS)
http://modeling.asu.edu/R%26E/Research.html (Halloun and Hestenes 1996)
50 items: Students choose a value describing their position with regards to two alternate conclusions to a statement probing their views about knowing and learning science in three scientific and three cognitive dimensions.
Views on Science and Education (VOSE)
http://www.ied.edu.hk/apfslt/download/v7_issue2_files/chensf.pdf
(Chen 2006)
15 items for which several statements or claims are listed. Respondents choose their level of agreement to these series of predetermined statements/claims to provide reasoning behind their opinion.
Views on Science-Technology-Society (VOSTS) (Aikenhead and Ryan 1992)
http://www.usask.ca/education/people/aikenhead/
1.08: Strategic Planning
Workshop Overview
The strategic planning workshop is a facilitated session that guides participants through: a) visioning of the ideal campus for student learning, b) needs assessment to gauge where the host campus is falling short of the ideal, c) identification of an issue or issues that the participants wish to address to move the campus closer to the ideal, d) strategic planning using Backward Design (Wiggins and McTighe, 1998) to develop a plan to successfully address the issue.
Learning Outcomes
Participants will:
• Develop a strategic plan to address a campus issue whose resolution will support participants' efforts to adopt evidence-based teaching and create an inclusive learning program for students.
Key Terms
• Backward design
• Visioning
• Needs assessment
Active Learning/Formative Assessment Strategies
• Brainstorming
• Whole group discussion
• Consensus-forming
• Strategic planning
Pre-Workshop
Background
Work by organizational change researchers has shown that pedagogical training focused on the individual, without concomitant changes to the individual's environment that support them as they transition from more passive to more active, student-centered teaching, is insufficient. For this reason, the MIST was adapted from the original National Academies Summer Institute using Charles Henderson's Four Categories of Change Strategies to add elements- the Strategic Planning and Administrator workshops - that address institutional barriers to broad adoption of evidence-based teaching approaches.
Task
1. Reflect on the following two questions:
• If you were dropped into the middle of a campus that was ideal for student learning, what would attributes would you see? What would you see in terms of spaces, infrastructure, policies, attitudes, values, cultures, teaching behaviors, curricula, etc?
• What would your campus need to do to move closer to this ideal?
During Workshop
Activities
1. Create your vision statement: Visit the Strategic Planning Google Folder then go to the folder for your institution.
• Collect vision statements on the vision statement report out document.
2. Create your needs assessment: Visit the Strategic Planning Google Folder then go to the folder for your institution.
• Collect needs assessment statements on the needs assessment report out document.
3. Develop your strategic plan: Visit the Strategic Planning Google Folder then go to the folder for your institution.
• Make a copy of the Strategic Planning template and name it for your groups topic and fill it out with your goal, outcomes and action plan for achieving your outcomes. | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Mobile_Institute_on_Scientific_Teaching/2023_MoSI/01%3A_Interactive_Workshops/1.07%3A_Scholarly_Teaching/1.7.02%3A_Evaluative_Assessment_Resources.txt |
Overview
The MIST is a project-based training program combining interactive workshops on the tenets of scientific teaching with group work sessions where participants develop inclusive, student-centered teaching materials that they present to colleagues for peer-review at the end of the week.
Group work carefully designed to model scientific teaching has been found to be one of the most important processes at the Summer Institute. Each is led by a trained facilitator to model teaching practices that will help the group establish and meet common goals. Each group presents their teaching module for review during a dress rehearsal with another group and a final presentation. This allows groups to practice providing feedback on the effectiveness of learning activities and to incorporate peer feedback into their teaching modules before using them in their own classes.
Each group will create a folder in this Google Group Work folder where you will work collaboratively on your teaching module (tidibt) for the week.
In addition, all new MIST participants have access to a Master MoSI Google folder, where you can access teaching modules from other institutions.
The pages below contain resources to support your group work.
02: Group Work
About Group Work Sessions
Throughout the week, you and your team will participate in groups of four during group work sessions. During those sessions, you will be moving at your pace through the stages described below.
Goals
The goal of the first session is to meet your group mates, pick the topics for your teachable tidbit, and begin to backward design your tidbit. Backward design will consist of writing learning goals and outcomes, identifying summative assessments that will provide data about student learning and finally developing the learning activities that will help students achieve the desired outcomes.
Teachable tidbits
During the institute, each group will develop teachable tidbits that address topics/concepts within the group’s topic area. Teachable tidbits are instructional materials designed to engage students in learning. Generally, they consist of a single activity that can be integrated into a larger context, such as a course or a lecture. You will work through the following stages in your group:
1. Group Dynamics. Identify and discuss your own constructive and destructive group behaviors and the stages of group development.
2. Identify a topic area for your teachable tidbit. You want this to be narrow enough to address within the timeframe allotted. For example, if your topic is evolution, will you focus on some aspect of the concept of natural selection, like the role of mutation in genetic variation, or another concept altogether?
3. Identify learning goals and intended outcomes for the teachable tidbit. Start by stating broad learning goals such as “students will understand equilibrium” and then move on to more specific learning outcomes for each goal. If you stopped at this point, you might leave students wondering, “what do you mean by understand?” Think about how you will assess student understanding. When stating learning outcomes, use active verbs that suggest suitable assessments. For example, “Students will be able to predict how relative changes in concentrations of reactants or products will affect forward or reverse reaction rates” is a specific and assessable learning outcome that would indicate whether or not a student actually understood the concept of equilibrium.
4. Determine appropriate assessments.
5. Construct an inclusive, active lesson plan.
The goal of these sessions is to continue to develop your teachable tidbit(s) incorporating active learning/formative assessment strategies to create an inclusive learning experience that will help students achieve the intended learning outcomes. Learning activities should engage students’ previous knowledge and help them construct new knowledge and engage in deliberate practice of important skills. Ultimately, your learning outcomes, learning assessments, and learning activities should all align with each other.
Upload your materials
Each group will create a folder in this Google Group Work folder where you will work collaboratively on your teaching module (tidibt) for the week.
Participants also have access to tidbits from other groups and other institutions by going to the MoSI Host Campus Folder that holds all of the folders associated with the workshops and group work.
2.01: Group Work Sessions
Stages of Team Development
This process of learning to work together effectively is known as team development. Research has shown that teams go through definitive stages during development. Bruce Tuckman, an educational psychologist, identified a five-stage development process that most teams follow to become high performing. He called the stages: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. Team progress through the stages is shown in the following diagram.
Most high-performing teams go through five stages of team development.
Forming stage
The forming stage involves a period of orientation and getting acquainted. Uncertainty is high during this stage, and people are looking for leadership and authority. A member who asserts authority or is knowledgeable may be looked to take control. Team members are asking such questions as “What does the team offer me?” “What is expected of me?” “Will I fit in?” Most interactions are social as members get to know each other.
Storming stage
The storming stage is the most difficult and critical stage to pass through. It is a period marked by conflict and competition as individual personalities emerge. Team performance may actually decrease in this stage because energy is put into unproductive activities. Members may disagree on team goals, and subgroups and cliques may form around strong personalities or areas of agreement. To get through this stage, members must work to overcome obstacles, to accept individual differences, and to work through conflicting ideas on team tasks and goals. Teams can get bogged down in this stage. Failure to address conflicts may result in long-term problems.
Norming stage
If teams get through the storming stage, conflict is resolved and some degree of unity emerges. In the norming stage, consensus develops around who the leader or leaders are, and individual member’s roles. Interpersonal differences begin to be resolved, and a sense of cohesion and unity emerges. Team performance increases during this stage as members learn to cooperate and begin to focus on team goals. However, the harmony is precarious, and if disagreements re-emerge the team can slide back into storming.
Performing stage
In the performing stage, consensus and cooperation have been well-established and the team is mature, organized, and well-functioning. There is a clear and stable structure, and members are committed to the team’s mission. Problems and conflicts still emerge, but they are dealt with constructively. (We will discuss the role of conflict and conflict resolution in the next section). The team is focused on problem solving and meeting team goals.
Adjourning stage
In the adjourning stage, most of the team’s goals have been accomplished. The emphasis is on wrapping up final tasks and documenting the effort and results. As the work load is diminished, individual members may be reassigned to other teams, and the team disbands. There may be regret as the team ends, so a ceremonial acknowledgement of the work and success of the team can be helpful. If the team is a standing committee with ongoing responsibility, members may be replaced by new people and the team can go back to a forming or storming stage and repeat the development process.
Team Norms and Cohesiveness
When you have been on a team, how did you know how to act? How did you know what behaviors were acceptable or what level of performance was required? Teams usually develop norms that guide the activities of team members. Team norms set a standard for behavior, attitude, and performance that all team members are expected to follow. Norms are like rules but they are not written down. Instead, all the team members implicitly understand them. Norms are effective because team members want to support the team and preserve relationships in the team, and when norms are violated, there is peer pressure or sanctions to enforce compliance.
Norms result from the interaction of team members during the development process. Initially, during the forming and storming stages, norms focus on expectations for attendance and commitment. Later, during the norming and performing stages, norms focus on relationships and levels of performance. Performance norms are very important because they define the level of work effort and standards that determine the success of the team. As you might expect, leaders play an important part in establishing productive norms by acting as role models and by rewarding desired behaviors.
Norms are only effective in controlling behaviors when they are accepted by team members. The level of cohesiveness on the team primarily determines whether team members accept and conform to norms. Team cohesiveness is the extent that members are attracted to the team and are motivated to remain in the team. Members of highly cohesive teams value their membership, are committed to team activities, and gain satisfaction from team success. They try to conform to norms because they want to maintain their relationships in the team and they want to meet team expectations. Teams with strong performance norms and high cohesiveness are high performing.
For example, the seven-member executive team at Whole Foods spends time together outside of work. Its members frequently socialize and even take group vacations. According to co-CEO John Mackey, they have developed a high degree of trust that results in better communication and a willingness to work out problems and disagreements when they occur.[1]
1. Jennifer Alsever, Jessi Hempel, Alex Taylor III, and Daniel Roberts, “6 Great Teams that Take Care of Business,” Fortune, April 10, 2014, http://fortune.com/2014/04/10/6-great-teams-that-take-care-of-business/
LICENSES AND ATTRIBUTIONS
CC LICENSED CONTENT, ORIGINAL
• Stages of Team Development. Authored by: John/Lynn Bruton and Lumen Learning. LicenseCC BY: Attribution
• Five Stages of Team Development. Authored by: John/Lynn Bruton and Lumen Learning. LicenseCC BY: Attribution
2.1.02: Constructive and Destructive Group Behaviors
Constructive Group Behaviors
Cooperating: Is interested in the views and perspectives of the other group members and is willing to adapt for the good of the group.
Clarifying: Makes issues clear for the group by listening, summarizing and focusing discussions.
Inspiring: Enlivens the group, encourages participation and progress.
Harmonizing: Encourages group cohesion and collaboration. For example, uses humor as a relief after a particularly difficult discussion.
Risk Taking: Is willing to risk possible personal loss or embarrassment for the group or project success.
Process Checking: Questions the group on process issues such as agenda, time frames, discussion topics, decision methods, use of information, etc.
Destructive Group Behaviors
Dominating: Takes much of meeting time expressing self views and opinions. Tries to take control by use of power, time, etc.
Rushing: Encourages the group to move on before task is complete. Gets “tired” of listening to others and working as a group.
Withdrawing: Removes self from discussions or decision-making. Refuses to participate.
Discounting: Disregards or minimizes group or individual ideas or suggestions. Severe discounting behavior includes insults, which are often in the form of jokes.
Digressing: Rambles, tells stories, and takes group away from primary purpose.
Blocking: Impedes group progress by obstructing all ideas and suggestions. “That will never work because…”
________________________________________________________________________
Brunt (1993). Facilitation Skills for Quality Improvement. Quality Enhancement Strategies. 1008 Fish Hatchery Road. Madison. WI 53715
2.02: Group Presentations
Final preparation for Presentations
During this session you will put finishing touches on the 30-minute presentation of your teachable tidbits.
Group Presentations
1. Teach one of your tidbits, including a brief overview of the context in which the tidbit will be taught. You will have 30 minutes for your presentation.
2. Provide feedback on your peers’ tidbits. Use the rubric from the Peer Mentoring workshop to provide constructive feedback that will help the presenters become more active and student-centered.
Upload your materials
Upload teachable tidbit and related/supporting materials to your institutional folder inside the Group Work Google Folder for the workshop. | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Mobile_Institute_on_Scientific_Teaching/2023_MoSI/02%3A_Group_Work/2.1.01%3A_5_Stages_of_Group_Development.txt |
Overview
The treasure chest is meant to serve as a site that you can visit during and revisit after the MIST to find literature and resources that may be beneficial to you as you continue to transform your courses in the future.
03: Treasure Chest
*Note: if the link to the publisher’s website does not provide free access to the article, you can still find freely available pdfs online.
Hear what people are saying
What is the MoSI?
The Mobile Institute (formerly MoSI) is a place-based iteration of the renowned National Institute on Scientific Teaching. This format uses the Four Categories of Change Strategies to expand the focus from the individual to the institutional in order to better address institutional challenges to education reform. In addition to the proven training paradigm provided by the pedagogy workshop, the MIST provides training in peer evaluation to drive long-term reflective teaching, facilitated strategic planning to leverage newly gained expertise toward educational reform and an administrator’s workshop to foster buy-in and support of local policy makers.
Goal
The goal of the Mobile Institute is to improve undergraduate education. This will be achieved by a) training faculty in effective, evidence-based teaching strategies; b) facilitating reflective practices through peer mentoring and evaluation and c) facilitating strategic planning to reform educational practices at the host institution. This institute is modeled after the National Institute and is meant to extend the impact of that successful, nationally renowned professional development workshop and promote broader adoption of reformed pedagogy and promote institutional reform in education.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the institute, you will have:
• practiced a variety of evidence-based teaching strategies through workshops, presentations, and group work
• worked as a team to create teaching materials that implement evidence-based teaching strategies
• begun to shift your focus from content and teaching to outcomes and learning
• practiced peer evaluation to promote reflective teaching practices
The MoSI Format
The MIST is a project-based training program combining interactive workshops on the tenets of scientific teaching with group work sessions where participants develop inclusive, student-centered teaching materials that they present to colleagues for peer-review at the end of the week.
The interactive workshops are designed to introduce participants to innovations and research on undergraduate education, and to model how to implement their underlying principles in a learning space.
Group work carefully designed to model scientific teaching has been found to be one of the most important processes at the Institute. Each is led by a trained facilitator to model teaching practices that will help the group establish and meet common goals. Each group presents their teaching module for review during a dress rehearsal with another group and a final presentation. This allows groups to practice providing feedback on the effectiveness of learning activities and to incorporate peer feedback into their teaching modules before using them in their own classes.
04: MoSI - Learn More
See what participants have to say about what they gained from and/or did following the MoSI:
"The Summer Institute was a great experience for me. I have tweaked and improved my in-class practices and opened my network of faculty at the University."
"I am very thankful for the opportunity to participate in the Summer Institute and believe it would be useful to any faculty member who cares about the quality of their teaching."
"I incorporated more active learning activities in both of my classes, but especially in my typically lecture-heavy survey class. I used the voting card method, think pair share, jigsaw for discussions"
"I have spent more time planning lessons based on my desired outcomes -- the whole reason we looked at backward design and tried to design intro's that lead students to the objectives of the lesson“
"I made my assignments more inclusive by getting rid of time limits and allowing them to complete assignments at home. I used a mid-term survey to see which teaching and learning strategies worked best for them."
"I have been applying more active learning strategies. I have started using note cards to get to know the students on the first day. I have also been using them as "exit tickets" where students answer a question before they leave. This allows me to look over the answers quickly. I also use them for students to reflect back on after a few lessons."
"This was my first teaching experience. The tools I learned in the teaching summer institute were incredibly valuable. I plan to continue to implement more and more of the ideas from the training in the future."
What is MoSI
What is the MoSI?
The Mobile Institute (formerly MoSI) is a place-based iteration of the renowned National Institute on Scientific Teaching. This format uses the Four Categories of Change Strategies to expand the focus from the individual to the institutional in order to better address institutional challenges to education reform. In addition to the proven training paradigm provided by the pedagogy workshop, the MIST provides training in peer evaluation to drive long-term reflective teaching, facilitated strategic planning to leverage newly gained expertise toward educational reform and an administrator’s workshop to foster buy-in and support of local policy makers.
Goal
The goal of the Mobile Institute is to improve undergraduate education. This will be achieved by a) training faculty in effective, evidence-based teaching strategies; b) facilitating reflective practices through peer mentoring and evaluation and c) facilitating strategic planning to reform educational practices at the host institution. This institute is modeled after the National Institute and is meant to extend the impact of that successful, nationally renowned professional development workshop and promote broader adoption of reformed pedagogy and promote institutional reform in education.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the institute, you will have:
• practiced a variety of evidence-based teaching strategies through workshops, presentations, and group work
• worked as a team to create teaching materials that implement evidence-based teaching strategies
• begun to shift your focus from content and teaching to outcomes and learning
• practiced peer evaluation to promote reflective teaching practices
The MoSI Format
The MIST is a project-based training program combining interactive workshops on the tenets of scientific teaching with group work sessions where participants develop inclusive, student-centered teaching materials that they present to colleagues for peer-review at the end of the week.
The interactive workshops are designed to introduce participants to innovations and research on undergraduate education, and to model how to implement their underlying principles in a learning space.
Group work carefully designed to model scientific teaching has been found to be one of the most important processes at the Institute. Each is led by a trained facilitator to model teaching practices that will help the group establish and meet common goals. Each group presents their teaching module for review during a dress rehearsal with another group and a final presentation. This allows groups to practice providing feedback on the effectiveness of learning activities and to incorporate peer feedback into their teaching modules before using them in their own classes. | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Mobile_Institute_on_Scientific_Teaching/2023_MoSI/03%3A_Treasure_Chest/3.01%3A_Literature.txt |
Here you can find information about the MoSI workshops and your fellow workshop participants.
01: MoSI - Who and What
What is the MIST?
The Mobile Institute (formerly MoSI) is a place-based iteration of the renowned National Institute on Scientific Teaching. This format uses the Four Categories of Change Strategies to expand the focus from the individual to the institutional in order to better address institutional challenges to education reform. In addition to the proven training paradigm provided by the pedagogy workshop, the MIST provides training in peer evaluation to drive long-term reflective teaching, facilitated strategic planning to leverage newly gained expertise toward educational reform and an administrator’s workshop to foster buy-in and support of local policy makers.
Goal
The goal of the Mobile Institute is to improve undergraduate education. This will be achieved by a) training faculty in effective, evidence-based teaching strategies; b) facilitating reflective practices through peer mentoring and evaluation and c) facilitating strategic planning to reform educational practices at the host institution. This institute is modeled after the National Institute and is meant to extend the impact of that successful, nationally renowned professional development workshop and promote broader adoption of reformed pedagogy and promote institutional reform in education.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the institute, you will have:
• practiced a variety of evidence-based teaching strategies through workshops, presentations, and group work
• worked as a team to create teaching materials that implement evidence-based teaching strategies
• begun to shift your focus from content and teaching to outcomes and learning
• practiced peer evaluation to promote reflective teaching practices
The MIST Format
The MIST is a project-based training program combining interactive workshops on the tenets of scientific teaching with group work sessions where participants develop inclusive, student-centered teaching materials that they present to colleagues for peer-review at the end of the week.
The interactive workshops are designed to introduce participants to innovations and research on undergraduate education, and to model how to implement their underlying principles in a learning space.
Group work carefully designed to model scientific teaching has been found to be one of the most important processes at the Institute. Each is led by a trained facilitator to model teaching practices that will help the group establish and meet common goals. Each group presents their teaching module for review during a dress rehearsal with another group and a final presentation. This allows groups to practice providing feedback on the effectiveness of learning activities and to incorporate peer feedback into their teaching modules before using them in their own classes.
1.02: People
MoSI participants, local leaders, and training team
Thank you for joining the 2022 online MoSI workshop! We hope that you enjoy yourself and take away something that will enhance your teaching capabilities.
2.01: Welcome Session
Overview
The MIST is a project-based training program combining interactive workshops on the tenets of scientific teaching with group work sessions where participants develop inclusive, student-centered teaching materials that they present to colleagues for peer-review at the end of the week.
The interactive workshops are designed to introduce participants to innovations and research on undergraduate education, and to model principles about which they teach.
The workshop links below are in order of occurrence during the week and will take you to a page for each workshop.
02: Interactive Workshops
Workshop Overview
The Welcome and Introduction workshop introduces participants to the MIST approach and rationale, promotes community building, models scientific teaching in action and orients participants to the Libretext platform that will be used for asynchronous content delivery.
Learning Outcomes
Participants will be able to:
• Describe the rationale and approach of the Mobile Institute on Scientific Teaching (MIST)
• Implement relationship and community-building approaches on the first day of class
• Identify current teaching challenges
• Compare and contrast, at a broad level, in-person and remote teaching approaches
• Navigate the MIST asynchronous content-delivery platform, Libretext
Key Terms
• Scientific teaching
• Evidence-based teaching
• Inclusive teaching
• Student-centered learning
• Backward design
• Active learning
• Formative assessment
• Synchronous/asynchronous delivery
Active Learning/Formative Assessment Strategies
• Small group discussion/breakout rooms
• Polling questions
• Think-pair-share
Pre-Workshop
Background
Since its inception in 2014, the Mobile Summer Institute has trained nearly 1000 faculty at 35 institutions across 6 countries in scientific teaching. This program is a place-based iteration of the successful National Academies Summer Institute (SI) on Undergraduate Education (founders: Drs. Jo Handelsman (UWisconsin), Bill Wood (CU Boulder), Sarah Miller (UWisconsin) and Chris Pfund (UWisconsin)). The original SI was developed in response to a National Research Council report, Bio2010, that called for an intensive training program to promote adoption of active learning strategies to improve student learning and success. While the original summer institute was focused on life sciences, the current regional and mobile iterations have expanded to other STEM and many non-STEM disciplines over the past decade.
Like the original model, the MIST is an intensive 5-day pedagogical workshop focused on evidence-based teaching practices and curricular design strategies intended to improve learning for all students and reduce the disproportionate loss of underrepresented students from higher education. Research shows that use of active learning increases performance and decreases failure (Freeman et al., 2014) and reduces the performance gap for underrepresented students (Theobold et al., 2020).
Scientific teaching is a condensation of effective, evidence-based teaching strategies targeted at faculty who understand the importance of evidence-based approaches but may not have any formal pedagogical training. It is a student-centered learning approach embedded in Backward Design, a curricular approach that places the focus on what students learn rather than what teachers cover.
Tasks
Please complete the following tasks prior to the workshop:
1. Getting to know you: Visit the Introduction/Welcome Session Google Folder then go to the folder for your institutions
• Fill out the Getting to know you Google Doc according to the instructions in the document.
2. Watch this 3-minute video overview of Scientific Teaching, the organizing principle of the MoSI, created by Dr. Jessamina Blum (UMinnesota).
3. Watch the first 2 minutes and 40 seconds of A Private Universe - a documentary on the persistence of misconceptions.
4. Optional - watch Father Guido Sarducci's 5-minute University for a humorous look at the failings of passive, lecture-based education. Father Guido was a recurring fictional character developed by comedian Don Novello for Saturday Night Live in the 1970s.
During Workshop
Activity
1. Hopes - What do you hope to get out of this week? Visit the Introduction/Welcome Session Google Folder then go to the Google folder for your institution.
• Record your answers in the Hopes & Gains Google Doc.
Session Slides
Introduction/Welcome session slides | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Mobile_Institute_on_Scientific_Teaching/Parent/01%3A_MoSI_-_Who_and_What/1.01%3A_About_MoSI.txt |
Workshop Overview
The Inclusivity workshop uses facilitated discussion and reflection to increase awareness of the most common invisible factors that serve as barriers to success for students from underserved groups. Awareness is only useful when paired with action, so participants will use their awareness to develop and share teaching strategies to offset the impact of structural barriers. Therefore participants will walk away with concrete examples of strategies they can use in their courses to reduce barriers and increase success for all students.
Learning Outcomes
Participants will be able to:
• Articulate factors that contribute to systemic inequities in education;
• Self-reflect on beliefs and behaviors to better understand how we can change to remove barriers to our students success;
• Incorporate strategies to remove, mitigate or offset barriers that contribute to system inequities.
Key Terms
• Inclusive teaching
• Social justice
• Equity
• Implicit/explicit diversity
• Implicit assumptions/unconscious biases
• Privilege
• Microaggression
• Cultural competency
• Stereotype threat
Active Learning/Formative Assessment Strategies
• Brainstorming
• Directed- and random-call report out
• Life walk
• Think-pair-share
• Small group discussion/breakout rooms
• Reflection
Pre-Workshop
Background
The goal of the following pre-workshop homework is to introduce all participants to five factors that make our classrooms exclusive: a) unconscious bias, b) stereotype threat, c) microaggressions, d) lack of cultural competency and exclusive language and policies in our syllabi. During the workshop, each participant will choose one of these areas and as part of a group will do a deeper dive into that topic and then share resources and strategies with their cohort peers for offsetting that factor in the classroom.
Tasks
Please complete the following tasks prior to the workshop for an introduction to four barriers to inclusive classrooms:
1. Unconscious bias:
• Read this 2-page NYTimes Op-Ed "What? Me Biased? What? Me Biased?.pdf
• Visit Harvard Project Implicit and take at least two Implicit Assumption tests of your choice. (*Note: It can be uncomfortable to find out that you have unconscious biases. It's important to know that unconscious biases are a result of YOUR ENVIRONMENT and not what you consciously believe. The goal is to use awareness to make conscious efforts to offset unconscious biases. Knowledge is power.)
2. Stereotype threat: Watch the following the 8-minute video of Dr. Claude Steele (Stanford) discussing stereotype threat, the focus of his book, Whistling Vivaldi
3. Microaggression: Watch this 4.5 minutes video on Microaggressions by Dr. Derald Wing Sue (Columbia).
4. Cultural competency: Visit the National Education Association website and read through the information on cultural competency on the first page. This can also serve as a resource later as there are links to resources for educators here as well.
5. An inclusive syllabus: A Google doc with Six Principles of an Inclusive Design syllabus
During Workshop
Activities
1. Cultivating Brave Spaces: visit the Inclusivity Workshop Google Folder and go to the folder for your institution.
1. Activity 1: Setting community guidelines for engagement. In the Cultivating Brave Spaces Google doc, read the opening information add your groups list of brainstormed guidelines to the first table. We will adopt these as the guidelines for engagement during this workshop.
2. Activity 2: In the same Google doc, record your group's answers to the prompts at the top of the second Table.
2. Equity - Visit the Inclusivity Workshop Google Folder and go to the folder for your institution.
1. Record your group's answers in the Equity activity Google Doc.
3. Deeper Dive on Invisible Barriers to Inclusion:
Session Slides
Inclusivity Session Slides | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Mobile_Institute_on_Scientific_Teaching/Parent/02%3A_Interactive_Workshops/2.02%3A_Inclusivity_Session.txt |
Workshop Overview
The Backward Design workshop sessions provide an introduction to this learner-focused course design approach. During the workshop, participants first will engage with the different steps of the process. Then, participants will apply the approach to a topic from a course with which students struggle. This workshop is split into two sessions. The first session will introduce the overall method. In the second session, the participants will practice what they learned about backward design - stating learning goals (broad, vague, not easily assessed, e.g. know, learn, understand...) and outcomes (specific, concrete, easily measurable, e.g. predict, explain, contrast, defend...) - by applying it to a specific topic.
Learning Outcomes
Participants will be able to:
• Argue the merits of a learner-centered course design approach
• Identify and align learning goals and outcomes for a specified topic/concept.
Key Terms
• Backward Design
• Deliberate practice
• Learning goals
• Learning outcomes
• Learning objectives
• Alignment
• Bloom's Taxonomy
• 3-Dimensional Learning Assessment Protocol (3-D LAP)
Active Learning/Formative Assessment Strategies
• Matching/categorizing
• Small group discussion
• Alignment table development
• Reflection
Pre-Workshop
Background
In order for our students to develop mastery, they need to spend time and effort engaged with the specific concept or skill. This idea is called Deliberate Practice (Ericsson et al., 1993). Essentially, the one doing is the one learning. The two essential components of this learning theory are effort expended on activities (practice) that are specifically designed to result in mastery of a desired skill or concept (deliberate). Backward Design is a course design approach that helps us focus on the deliberation aspect of Deliberate Practice. Backward Design guides us to be specific and intentional about what we want students to know, understand, and be able to do by the end of our course. With Backward Design, we then use that knowledge to guide our development of assessments that will provide evidence about whether or not students achieve our desired goal. Lastly, with Backward Design, we develop learning activities that will maximize the likelihood of students' success.
Tasks
Please complete the following tasks prior to the workshop:
1. Identify a topic from your class that you would like to transform during this workshop.
During Workshop
Activities
1. Developing learning goals and outcomes - Visit the Backward Design Session Google Folder then go into the folder for your institution.
• Open the Backward Design in Action Google doc and follow along with the sequential activities to develop your alignment table for your topic during these sessions. Resources to help are linked to the bottom of the Google doc and linked below as well for your convenience.
• Asking questions
• Developing & using models
• Planning & carrying out investigations
• Analyzing & interpreting data
• Using mathematics & computational thinking
• Constructing explanations
• Engaging in argument from evidence
• Obtaining, evaluating, & communicating information
Post-Workshop
Task
1. Complete the Learning Goals and Outcomes columns in your row of the Alignment table in the Backward Design in Action Google doc in your institution's folder inside the Backward Design Session Google Folder. Use the examples of alignment tables (a document in your institution's folder) as a guide.
Session Slides
Backward Design session slides | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Mobile_Institute_on_Scientific_Teaching/Parent/02%3A_Interactive_Workshops/2.03%3A_Backward_Design_I.txt |
Workshop Overview
The Backward Design (BD) workshop sessions provide an introduction to this learner-focused course design approach. During the workshop, participants first will be engaged in the different steps of the process and then will apply the approach to a topic from a course with which students struggle. This workshop is split into to session. The second session will take participants through steps 2 & 3 of BD - developing assessments and learning activities that align with participants learning goals and outcomes developed in the first session. The term "engaugement" was coined by the authors of Scientific Teaching - Handelsman, Miller and Pfund, to indicate the nearly inextricable link between active learning and formative assessment, i.e. when you ask a student to do something, they are simultaneously engaged in learning and can gauge their progress by whether or how well they can perform.
Using Backward Design allows us to re-envision our classes, so that in-class or synchronous time is spent on collaborative learning activities and formative assessments that foster critical thinking, problem-solving, and understanding of cognitively demanding material, while out-of-class or asynchronous time focuses on lower cognitive demand material in preparation for class or on further practice with higher cognitive demand concepts and skills after class.
Learning Outcomes
Participants will be able to:
• Use the principles of backward design to align learning outcomes with both learning activities/formative assessments and summative assessments
• Develop/modify learning materials to engage students in deliberate practice
• Use Bloom’s Taxonomy & 3-D LAP to evaluate assessments
Key Terms
• Backward Design
• Deliberate practice
• Formative assessment
• Summative assessment
• Alignment
• Bloom's Taxonomy
• 3-Dimensional Learning Assessment Protocol (3-D LAP)
Active Learning/Formative Assessment Strategies
• Gallery walk
• Small group discussion
• Alignment table development
• Reflection
• Model-based reasoning/problem-solving
• Scenario/statement correction
Pre-Workshop
Background
In order for our students to develop mastery, they need to spend time/effort engaged with the specific concept or skill. This concept is called Deliberate Practice (Ericsson et al., 1993). Essentially, the one doing is the one learning. The two essential components of this learning theory are effort expended on activities (practice) that are specifically design to result in mastery of a desired skill or concept (deliberate). Backward Design is a course design approach that helps us focus on the deliberation aspect of Deliberate Practice. Backward Design that guides us to be specific and intentional about what we want students to know, understand and be able to do by the end of our course and then use that knowledge to guide development of assessments that will provide evidence about whether or not students achieve our desired goal and learning activities that will maximize the likelihood that they will be successful.
Tasks
1. *See the post-task from Backward Design I Session
During Workshop
Activities
1. Gallery Walk: Visit the Backward Design Session Google Folder then go to the folder for your institution to return to the Backward Design in Action Google Doc with the alignment table from yesterday's session.
• Review your peers Alignment table rows starting with the rows directly under yours and work down (if you are at/near the bottom, wrap around and review rows at the top of ht table) using the Comment function in Google
• Instructions for giving comments in Google
• Highlight the text you want to comment on and a small plus sign inside a comment bubble symbol will appear to the right.
• Click the plus sign symbol and put in your comment.
• Click the "comment" button at the bottom.
Session Slides
Backward Design Session Slides
2.05: Scientific Teaching in Action
Workshop Overview
The Scientific Teaching workshop has many flavors depending on the expertise of the trainer(s) running the workshop. The general goal is to provide a deeper dive into the use of a variety of active learning approaches like immediate polling questions, the formation and management of learning groups, and other examples of deliberate practice. For your MIST, this workshop will focus on the use of deliberate practice to improve graph reading and interpretation skills. This workshop also demonstrates how to integrate the teaching of subject content with the development of student skills.
Learning Outcomes
Participants will be able to:
• Use deliberate practice to foster the acquisition of graph reading and interpretation skills
Key Terms
• Deliberate practice
• Evidence-based teaching
• Backward design
• Alignment between formative and summative assessment
Active Learning/Formative Assessment Strategies
• Small group discussion/breakout rooms
Pre-Workshop
Background
Deliberate practice posits that to develop expertise or mastery over a subject or skill, for example, it is necessary to spend sufficient time engaged in intentional effort that specifically relates to achievement of that mastery. The perfectly complements Backward Design in that it calls for practice that aligns with intended outcomes. For example, if you intend for students to leave your class with proficiency in reading and interpreting graphs, then students have to spend sufficient time practicing that skill. While sitting in class watching the teacher explain how to read graphs is effort, the effort is not aligned with the desired outcome of having students be able to read and interpret graphs for themselves. This type of misalignment between desired learning outcomes and class activities is common in passive lecture classes. | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Mobile_Institute_on_Scientific_Teaching/Parent/02%3A_Interactive_Workshops/2.04%3A_Backward_Design_II.txt |
Workshop Overview
Scientific teaching is at its core an evidence-based pedagogical approach. Peer feedback based on class observation is another form of evidence that we can gather to give us an indication of the effectiveness of our teaching. During this workshop, participants will discuss the merits of feedback and reflection in helping inform course revision and improvement and practice giving feedback using two course observation rubrics - a peer mentoring rubric and a class observation protocol. Participants will also develop a 1-year mentoring plan with a colleague to provide feedback to one another on their classes.
Learning Outcomes
Participants will be able to:
• use a peer feedback rubric to provide guidance on how to make classes more active, inclusive and student-centered
• use an observation rubric to provide an objective snapshot of a peer’s current use of engaged pedagogies for self-reflection
• develop a 1-year plan for visiting the classes of a peer using these rubrics to help one another develop reflective practices
Key Terms
• Peer observation
• Student-centered learning
• Active learning
• Peer Feedback
• Reflection
Active Learning/Formative Assessment Strategies
• Small group discussion/breakout rooms
• Whole class discussion
• Brainstorm
• Peer observation
Pre-Workshop
Background
Nationally, campuses are measuring the use of active learning (Stains et al., 2018). Lecturing still predominates in post-secondary STEM classes, but active, students-centered strategies are being adopted. Transitioning to active learning from lecture or Socratic methods can be uncomfortable. Peer feedback and mentoring provide support that can reduce feelings of isolation during the process and improve performance in the classroom. The peer observation protocol that we train participants with during this workshop (COPUS, Smith et al, 2014) is the same metric used in the Stains et al., (2018) nationwide project. We will use this rubric in the Generalized Observation and Reflection Protocol (GORP) platform, an online and smartphone compatible platform develop at UC Davis.
Tasks
1. IF YOU ARE USING Generalized Observation and Reflection Protocol (GORP), then sign up for an account ahead of time by doing the following:
• Go to https://gorp.ucdavis.edu/
• Click "Sign Up"
• Your site administrator will assign you the roles you need (observation-create, observation-destroy, course-create, course-view, course-destroy, course-update)
• Complete the sign up, and search for your university / college in the Institution box.
2. Watch this 9-minute Introduction video on GORP:
During Workshop
Tasks
1. Download the Peer Mentoring Rubric to practice giving feedback on a video clip, found in the Google Drive Folder for Peer Mentoring. We will use this same rubric to give feedback during the final presentations.
2. Send yourself a reminder to schedule your peer observation visits using FutureMe.org
1. Go to the website and set up a future email to yourself dated close to the beginning of the school term as a reminder to plan your peer observation visits.
2. Include information related to the following questions:
1. which class[es] you want to have observed
2. who will observe your class
3. which rubric will they use to observed, i.e. the feedback rubric, timing analysis rubric, COPUS...
4. when will they visit, e.g., near the beginning and end to get a comparison of your progress; on certain dates when you plan to try out specific modules or strategies...
Post-Workshop
Tasks
1. If you didn't send your FutureMe.org peer observation reminder email, do so now following the instructions directly above.
Selected Resources
• Peer Evaluation Feedback Guide adapted from Jenny Momsen/FIRST IV - Peer mentoring rubric.pdf
• A statement created by Dr. Peggy Brickman (UGA) that extols the virtues of taking part in peer mentoring and evaluation accompanied by a list of references. This statement can be added to yearly teaching evaluation portfolios for participants who visit one another's classes and provide peer feedback and mentoring. Peer Mentoring and Evaluation blurb for yearly teaching evaluation.pdf
• A great new resource for an evidence-based, departmentally-defined approach to enhance teaching evaluation called TEval at CU Boulder, by Drs. Noah Finkelstein, Joel C. Corbo, Daniel L. Reinholz, Mark Gammon, and Jessica Keating.
• A tool for utilizing the noise level in your classroom to gage the % of times that students have an opportunity to be actively engaged in class: Decibel Analysis for Research in Teaching (DART): https://sepaldart.herokuapp.com/. Developed by Kimberly Tanner.
Session Slides
Peer Reflection and Feedback slide deck | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Mobile_Institute_on_Scientific_Teaching/Parent/02%3A_Interactive_Workshops/2.06%3A_Peer_Feedback_and_Reflection.txt |
Workshop Overview
Scientific teaching is at its core an evidence-based pedagogical approach. Consulting education literature to determine which teaching strategies to use and gathering evidence to determine how well those strategies work in your classroom are critical steps when developing effective learning environments. This workshop explores various types of data that instructors can gather to evaluate student learning in order to facilitate the development of course evaluation plans by participants.
Learning Outcomes
Participants will be able to:
• Determine aspects of your teaching or student learning that you would like to assess
• Identify metrics with which to gather evidence pertaining to the selected aspects of teaching/learning
• Develop an evaluation plan to deploy the metrics to evaluate the selected aspects of teaching/learning in one of your courses
Key Terms
• Scholarly teaching
• Evaluation
• Assessment
• Qualitative data
• Quantitative data
• Concept inventories
• Perception surveys
• Normalized learning gains
Active Learning/Formative Assessment Strategies
• Small group discussion/breakout rooms
• Whole class discussion
• Practice using peer observation metrics
• Development of a course evaluation plan
Pre-Workshop
Background
Are your students learning what you want them to learn? How do you know? In preparation for this workshop, think about these three questions:
1. What knowledge do you want your students to gain from your class?
2. What types of skills (e.g. life skills, learning skills, technical skills) would you like students to acquire? and
3. What affective or behavioral changes would you like to see your students exhibit (e.g. improved critical thinking, increased confidence or enthusiasm for your discipline, identifying as a professional in your area, becoming a more civically engaged citizen) at the end of your course?
We will explore different types of data that we can collect in all types of teaching environments to help us evaluate changes in pedagogy and to inform iterative rounds of course revisions.
During Workshop
Activities
1. Course Evaluation Plan development: Visit the Scholarly Teaching Google folder then go to the folder for your institution.
• Open the Course Evaluation Plan Google doc and following instructions.
• You will claim a row, name it and respond to the prompts to develop your course evaluation plan.
• Use the resources and links embedded in the Google doc to help you develop your plan.
• You can download a copy for easy access when you are ready to implement and also revisit your plan in the Google folder at any time.
Session Slides
Scholarly Teaching Slide Deck
2.07: Scholarly Teaching
What are concept inventories?
(Excerpted from presentation by J. Knight, UC Boulder).
• Multiple choice (usually) instruments that address fundamental concepts and contain known student misunderstandings
• Developed through an iterative process that includes gathering evidence of validity and reliability through student and faculty interviews
• Diagnostic: can identify specific misunderstandings and measure student learning over time
• Objective: not tied directly to a course, but rather to a set of concepts
Guidelines for using concept inventories
(Dirks, Wenderoth, Withers Assessment in the College Science Classroom, 2013).
• Protect the test!
• Must be given in a proctored environment to keep questions from getting out to students.
• Use for evaluation only
• Not a learning tool.
• When used for pre-/post-testing
• Use the same testing context
• Can use same or isomorphic questions (Resource: Research Methods Knowledge Base – W. Trochim, 2013)
• Normalized learning gain
• <g> = (%post - %pre)/(100-%pre)
Other Resources
Table below from Dirk et al., (2014) Assessment in the College Science Classroom, Ch7 Appendix A; Freeman, NYC.
Concept Inventories in Astronomy
Astronomy Diagnostic Test (ADT)
Lunar Phases
Light and Spectroscopy
Hufnagel 2002
Lindell and Olsen 2002
Bardar et al., 2007
Concept Inventories in Biology
Genetics Concept Inventory (GCA)
Genetics Literacy Assessment Instrument 2 (GLAI-2)
Conceptual Inventory of Natural Selection (CINS)
Biology Literacty (http://bioliteracy.net/)
Diagnostic Question Clusters: Biology
Host Pathogen Interactions (HPI)
Introductory Molecular and Cell Biology Assessment (IMCA)
Smith et al., 2008
Bowling et al., 2008
Anderson et al., 2002
Klymkowsky et al., 2010
Wilson et al., 2006; D’Avanzo 2008
Marbach-Ad et al., 2009
Shi et al., 2010
Concept Inventories in Chemistry
Chemistry Concept Inventory
Mulford and Rbonison 2002
Krause et al., 2003
Concept Inventories in Engineering
Engineering Thermodynamics Concept Inventory
Heat Transfer
Materials Concept Inventory
Signals and Systems Concept Inventory
Static Concept Inventory
Thermal and Transport Science Concept Inventory (TTCI)
Midkiff et al., 2001
Jacobie et al., 2003
Krause et al., 2003
Wage et al., 2005
Steif et al., 2005
Streveler et al., 2011
Concept Inventories in Geoscience
Geoscience Concept Inventory (GCI)
Libarkin and Anderson, 2005
Concept Inventories in Math and Statistics
Statistics Concept Inventory (SCI)
Calculus Concept Inventory (CCI)
Allen 2006
Epstein 2005
Concept Inventories in Physics
Force Concept Inventory (FCI)
The Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation (FMCE)
Thermal Concept Evaluation
Brief Electricity and Magnetism Assessment (BEMA)
Conceptual Survey in Electricity and Magnetism (CSEM)
Hestenes et al., 1992
Thornton and Sokiloff 1998
Yeo and Zadnick 2001
Ding et al., 2006
Maloney et al., 2001
Measuring Students Science Process and Reasoning Skills
Rubric for Science Writing
Student-Achievement and Process Skills Instrument
Timmerman et al., 2010
Bunce et al., 2010
Measuring Student Attitudes about Science, Research or Study Methods
Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS)
Revised Two-Factor Study Process Questionnaire
Student Assessment of Their Learning Gains (SALG) Instrument
Survey of Undergraduate Research Experiences
Views About Science Survey (VASS)
http://www.colorado.edu/sei/class
Biggs et al, 2001
http://www.salgsite.org/
Lopatto 2004
Halloun and Hestenes 1998 | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Mobile_Institute_on_Scientific_Teaching/Parent/02%3A_Interactive_Workshops/2.07%3A_Scholarly_Teaching/2.7.01%3A_Evaluation_Guide.txt |
I. BIOLOGY
Initially compiled by Kathy S. Williams (San Diego State University) and Erilynn T. Heinrichsen (University of California, San Diego)
Updated 2019 by Jenny Knight
ANIMAL DEVELOPMENT
Flowering Plant Growth and Development (13 two-tiered MC items)
Lin SW. 2004. Development and application of a two-tier diagnostic test for high school students’ understanding of flowering plant growth and development. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education 2: 175–199.
BIOCHEMISTRY
Threshold concepts in Biochemistry: Loertscher, J. (2011). Biochemistry and molecular biology education, 39(1), 56-57.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4152212/
BREATHING AND RESPIRATION
Breathing and Respiration (12 two-tiered MC items)
Mann M, Treagust DF. 1998. A pencil and paper instrument to diagnose students’ conceptions of breathing, gas exchange and respiration. Australian Science Teachers Journal 44: 55–59.
DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
Developmental Biology Content Survey (15 MC items)
Knight JK, Wood WB. 2005. Teaching more by lecturing less. Cell Biology Education 4: 298-310. doi:10.1187/05-06-0082. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/05-06-0082
ENERGY AND MATTER
(total of 16 Diagnostic Question Clusters of 6-8 items each; some items appear in more than one DQC)
Diagnostic Question Clusters on Energy and Matter (DQCs)
Wilson CD, Anderson CW, Heidemann M, Merrill JE, Merritt BW, Richmond G, Silbey DF, Parker JM. 2006. Assessing students’ ability to trace matter in dynamic systems in cell biology. CBE Life Sciences Education 5: 323–331. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.06-02-0142
Hartley LM, Wilke BJ, Schramm JW, D’Avanzo C, Anderson CW. 2011. College students’ understanding of the carbon cycle: contrasting principle-based and informal reasoning. BioScience 61: 65-75.
Thinking like a biologist: Using diagnostic questions to help students to reason with biological principles (16 DQC sets of ~7 items each, MC, TF, open-ended)
D'Avanzo C, Anderson CW, Griffith A, Merrill J. 2011. Thinking like a biologist. Using diagnostic questions to help students reason with biological principles. [The site at http://www.biodqc.org/ has Diagnostic Question Clusters (DQC's) organized by three ecological topics (Carbon Cycling, Energy Flow in Ecosystems, Climate Change), and by three biological processes; (Photosynthesis, Biosynthesis, Cellular Respiration) - with two DQCs each; plus one each DQC under topics Gasoline, Biofuels, Carbon in Nature, and Carbon Balance. Some items appear in more than one DQC.
ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
EcoEvo-MAPS: An Ecology and Evolution Assessment for Introductory through Advanced Undergraduates https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.17-02-0037
EvoDevoCI (MC and open ended items for 3 Exploratory Surveys and 6 Interview Question sets)
Hiatt A, Davis GK, Trujillo C, Terry M, French DP, Price RM, Perez KE. 2013. Getting to Evo-Devo: Concepts and challenges for students learning evolutionary developmental biology. CBE Life Sciences Education 12: 494-508. doi:10.1187/cbe.12-11- 0203. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.12-11-0203
EvoDevoCI (11 MC items, 4 scenarios)
Perez KE et al 2013. The EvoDevoCI: A Concept inventory for gauging students’ understanding of evolutionary developmental biology. CBE Life Sciences Education 12: 665-675. doi:10.1187/cbe.13-04-0079. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.13-04-0079
Basic Tree Thinking Assessment (two tests, 10 MC items each, diagrams): Baum DA, Smith SD, Donovan SSS. 2005. The tree-thinking challenge. Science 310: 979-980.
Conceptual Inventory of Natural Selection (CINS) (20 MC items, scenarios)
Anderson DL, Fisher KM, Norman JG. 2002. Development and validation of the conceptual inventory of natural selection. Journal of Research in Science Teaching 39: 952-978.
Kalinowski, S. T., Leonard, M. J., & Taper, M. L. (2016). Development and validation of the conceptual assessment of natural selection (CANS). CBE-Life Sciences Education, 15(4), ar64. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.15-06-0134
EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
Dasgupta, A. P., Anderson, T. R., & Pelaez, N. J. (2016). Development of the neuron assessment for measuring biology students’ use of experimental design concepts and representations. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 15(2), ar10. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.15-03-0077
Deane, T., Nomme, K., Jeffery, E., Pollock, C., & Birol, G. (2014). Development of the biological experimental design concept inventory (BEDCI). CBE-Life Sciences Education, 13(3), 540-551.https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.13-11-0218
GENETICS
Genetics Literacy Assessment Instrument (GLAI) (31 MC items) FOUR in Bowling et al. Genetics 2008;
Bowling BV, Acra EE, Wang L, Myers MF, Dean GE, Markle GC, Moskalik CL, Huether CA. 2008. Development and evaluation of a genetics literacy assessment instrument for undergraduates. Genetics 178: 15-22. [download PDF] from nku.edu
Genetics Concept Assessment (GCA) (25 MC items, diagrams)
Smith MK, Wood WB, Knight JK. 2008. The genetics concept assessment: A new concept inventory for gauging student understanding of genetics CBE Life Science Education 7: 422-430. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.08-08-0045
Genetics Diagnostic (13 two-tiered MC items, diagrams)
Tsui CY, Treagust D. 2009. Evaluating secondary students’ scientific reasoning in genetics using a two-tier diagnostic instrument. International Journal of Science Education 32: 1073-1098.
Genetic Drift Inventory (GeDI) (22 agree–disagree items)
Price RM, Andrews TC, McElhinny TL, Mead LS, Abraham JK, Thanukos A, Perez KE. 2014. The Genetic Drift Inventory: A tool for measuring what advanced undergraduates have mastered about genetic drift. CBE Life Science Education 13: 65-75. doi:
10.1187/cbe.13-08-0159. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.13-08-0159
Dominance Concept Inventory: Abraham, J. K., Perez, K. E., & Price, R. M. (2014). The Dominance Concept Inventory: a tool for assessing undergraduate student alternative conceptions about dominance in Mendelian and population genetics. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 13(2), 349-358. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.13-08-0160
GENERAL BIOLOGY
Gen-MAPS: Couch, BA, Wright CD, Freeman S, Knight JK, Semsar K, Smith MK, Summers MM, Zheng Y, Crowe AJ, Brownell SE (2019). GenBio-MAPS: A programmatic assessment to measure student understanding of Vision and Change core concepts across general biology programs. CBE Life Sci. Educ. 18:arx 1–14, doi: 10.1187/cbe.18-07-0117
HOST-PATHOGEN INTERACTIONS
Host-Pathogen Interactions (HPI) (17 [18 noted in Marbach-Ad et al. 2009] two-tiered MC items) ITEMS NOT PROVIDED
Marbach-Ad G, Briken V, El-Sayed NM, Frauwirth K, Fredericksen B, Hutcheson S, Gao L-Y, Joseph SW, Lee V, McIver KS, Mosser D, Quimby BB, Shields P, Song W, Stein DC, Yuan RT, Smith AC. 2009. Assessing student understanding of host pathogen interactions using a concept inventory. Journal of Microbiology Education 10: 43-50.
Marbach-Ad G, McAdams KC, Benson S, Briken V, Cathcart L, Chase M, El-Sayed NM, Frauwirth K, Fredericksen B, Joseph SW, Lee V, McIver KS, Mosser D, Quimby BB, Shields P, Song W, Stein DC, Stewart R, Thompson KV, Smith AC. 2010. A model for using a concept inventory as a tool for students' assessment and faculty professional development. CBE Life Science Education 9: 408-416. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/full/10.1187/cbe.10-05-0069
INTRODUCTORY BIOLOGY
Biology Concept Inventory (BCI) (30 MC items) ON-LINE at http://bioliteracy.colorado.edu/
Klymkowsky MW, Garvin-Doxas K, Zeilik M. 2003. Bioliteracy and teaching efficacy: What biologists can learn from physicists. Cell Biology Education 2: 155-161. doi: 10.1187/cbe.03-03-0014. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.03-03-0014
Garvin-Doxas K, Doxas I, Klymkowsky MW. 2008. Ed's Tools: A web-based software toolset for accelerated concept inventory construction. pp 130-140. In: Deeds, D & B Callen, editors; Proceedings of the National STEM Assessment Conference.
MACROEVOLUTION
Measure of Understanding of Macroevolution (MUM) (28 items: 27 MC items, plus one open-ended item, diagrams) PROVIDED
Nadelson LS, Southerland SA. 2010. Development and preliminary evaluation of the Measure of Understanding of Macroevolution: Introducing the MUM. The Journal of Experimental Education 78: 151–190. [download PDF] from researchgate.net
MICROBIOLOGY
Development, Validation, and Application of the Microbiology Concept Inventory.Timothy D. Paustian, Amy G. Briggs, Robert E. Brennan, Nancy Boury, John Buchner, Shannon Harris, Rachel E. A. Horak, Lee E. Hughes, D. Sue Katz-Amburn, Maria J. Massimelli, Ann H. McDonald, Todd P. Primm, Ann C. Smith, Ann M. Stevens, Sunny B. Yung. (2017) J. Microbiol. Biol. Educ. 18(3): doi:10.1128/jmbe.v18i3.1320
Development and Validation of the Microbiology for Health Sciences Concept Inventory. Heather M. Seitz, Rachel E. A. Horak, Megan W. Howard, Lucy W. Kluckhohn Jones, Theodore Muth, Christopher Parker, Andrea Pratt Rediske, Maureen M. Whitehurst. (2017) J. Microbiol. Biol. Educ. 18(3): doi:10.1128/jmbe.v18i3.1322
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
Central Dogma: Newman, D. L., Snyder, C. W., Fisk, J. N., & Wright, L. K. (2016). Development of the central dogma concept inventory (CDCI) assessment tool. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 15(2), ar9. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.15-06-0124
Lac Operon: Stefanski, K. M., Gardner, G. E., & Seipelt-Thiemann, R. L. (2016). Development of a Lac Operon Concept Inventory (LOCI). CBE-Life Sciences Education, 15(2), ar24.
https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.15-07-0162
Introductory Molecular Biology: Introductory Molecular and Cell Biology Assessment (IMCA) (24 MC items, diagrams) Shi J, Wood WB, Martin JM, Guild NA, Vicens Q, Knight JK. 2010. A diagnostic assessment for introductory molecular and cell biology. CBE Life Sciences Education 9: 453-461. doi: 10.1187/cbe.10-04-0055. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.10-04-0055
Molecular Biology Capstone Assessment: Couch, B. A., Wood, W. B., & Knight, J. K. (2015). The Molecular Biology Capstone Assessment: a concept assessment for upper-division molecular biology students. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 14(1), ar10. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.14-04-0071
Molecular Life Sciences Concept Inventory (MLS) www.lifescinventory.edu.au
OSMOSIS AND DIFFUSION
Diffusion and Osmosis Diagnostic Test (DODT) (12 two-tiered MC items, diagrams)
Odom AL, Barrow LH. 1995. The development and application of a two-tiered diagnostic test measuring college biology students' understanding of diffusion and osmosis following a course of instruction. Journal of Research in Science Teaching 32: 45-61. [HTML] from wiley.com
Odom AL. 1995. Secondary and college biology students' misconceptions about diffusion and osmosis. American Biology Teacher 57: 409–415. [download PDF] from pbworks.com
Osmosis and diffusion conceptual assessment (ODCA) (8 two-tiered MC items, diagrams) Fisher KM, Williams KS, Lineback J. 2011. Osmosis and diffusion conceptual assessment. CBE Life Sciences Education 10:418-29. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.11-04-0038
PHOTOSYNTHESIS AND RESPIRATION
Photosynthesis and Respiration (13 two-tiered MC items, plus open ended)
Haslam F, Treagust DF. 1987. Diagnosing secondary students’ misconceptions of photosynthesis and respiration in plants using a two-tier multiple choice instrument. Journal of Biological Education 21: 203–211.
Covalent Bonding and Photosynthesis test development ITEMS NOT PROVIDED
Treagust D. 1986. Evaluating students’ misconceptions by means of diagnostic multiple choice items. Journal of Research in Science Education 16: 199-207.
PHYSIOLOGY
Homeostasis: Development and Validation of the Homeostasis Concept Inventory McFarland, JL, Price RM, Wenderoth MP, Marinkova P, Cliff W, Michael J, Modell J, Wright A CBE—Life Sciences Education Volume 16, Issue 201 Jun 2017
Phys-MAPS: Semsar K, Brownell SE, Couch BA, Crowe AJ, Smith MK, Summers MM, Wright CD, Knight JK (2018). Phys-MAPS: A programmatic physiology assessment for introductory and advanced undergraduates. Adv Physiol Educ 43: 15–27, 2019; doi:10.1152/advan.00128.2018.
QUANTITATIVE/STATISTICAL REASONING
Stanhope, L., Ziegler, L., Haque, T., Le, L., Vinces, M., Davis, G. K., ... & Umbanhowar, C. (2017). Development of a Biological Science Quantitative Reasoning Exam (BioSQuaRE). CBE-Life Sciences Education, 16(4), ar66. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/full/10.1187/cbe.16-10-0301
Deane, T., Nomme, K., Jeffery, E., Pollock, C., & Birol, G. (2016). Development of the Statistical Reasoning in Biology Concept Inventory (SRBCI). CBE-Life Sciences Education, 15(1), ar5. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.15-06-0131
SCIENTIFIC LITERACY
Gormally, C., Brickman, P., & Lutz, M. (2012). Developing a test of scientific literacy skills (TOSLS): Measuring undergraduates’ evaluation of scientific information and arguments. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 11(4), 364-377.https://www.lifescied.org/doi/full/10.1187/cbe.12-03-0026
TRANSPORT IN PLANTS AND CIRCULATION IN HUMANS
Internal Transport in Plants and the Human Circulatory Systems (28 two-tiered MC items) Wang JR. 2004. Development and validation of a two-tier instrument to examine understanding of internal transport in plants and the human circulatory system. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education 2: 131–157.
II. ASTRONOMY
Astronomy Diagnostic Test (ADT) Hufnagel 2002
Lunar Phases Lindell and Olsen 2002
Light and Spectroscopy, Bardar et al., 2007
III. COMPUTER SCIENCE
http://dbserc.pitt.edu/Assessment/As...mputer-Science
IV. CHEMISTRY
INORGANIC CHEMISTRY (VIPER)
Virtual inorganic pedagogical electronic resource: a community for teachers and students of inorganic chemistry https://www.ionicviper.org//
CHEMISTRY
Compiled in list of chemistry concept inventories: http://chemistry.miamioh.edu/bretzsl/cer/assessment.html
DBER Resources - curated by Marilyne Stains - https://sites.google.com/site/marilynestains/useful-links-for-the-group
others
http://dbserc.pitt.edu/Assessment/Assessments-Chemistry
http://www.rsc.org/learn-chemistry/r...id=CMP00004906
V. PHYSICS
The AAPT ComPADRE Digital Library is a network of free online resource collections supporting faculty, students, and teachers in Physics and Astronomy Education. https://www.compadre.org/
Other Resources:
The Living Physics Portal-Due for Beta release Fall 2018
The Living Physics Portal is an online environment for physics faculty to share and discuss free curricular resources for teaching introductory physics for life sciences (IPLS). The objective of the Portal is to improve the education of the next generation of medical professionals and biologists by making physics classes more relevant for life sciences students. http://livingphysicsportal.org/
ALPhA
The Advanced Laboratory Physics Association (ALPhA) was formed in 2007 to provide communication and interaction among the faculty and staff who are involved in advanced laboratory physics instruction at colleges and universities in the United States and the rest of the world. https://www.advlab.org/
VI. STATISTICS
Statistics Concept Assessment
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/35439982_The_statistics_concept_inventory_development_and_analysis_of_a_cognitive_assessment_instrument_in_statistics
Research Methods and Statistics: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0098628317711287
VII. Inventories for Assessing Students’ Perceptions About Biology (College-level)
ENGAGEMENT
Wiggins, B. L., Eddy, S. L., Wener-Fligner, L., Freisem, K., Grunspan, D. Z., Theobald, E. J., ... & Crowe, A. J. (2017). ASPECT: A survey to assess student perspective of engagement in an active-learning classroom. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 16(2), ar32. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.16-08-0244
Student Course Engagement Questionnaire
http://serc.carleton.edu/files/NAGTWorkshops/assess05/SCEQ.pdf
(Handelsman et al. 2005)
23 Likert items assessing perceived skills engagement, participation/interaction engagement, emotional engagement, and performance engagement
LEARNING GAINS
Classroom Activities and Outcomes Survey (Terenzini et al. 2001)
24 Likert items rating progress in learning skills related to engineering or general scientific inquiry.
Student Assessment of Learning Gains (SALG) http://salgsite.org/(Seymour et al. 2000)
Multiple Likert items within 10 major categories rating gains in learning, skills, and attitudes due to components of a class
Survey of Undergraduate Research Experiences (SURE) (Lopatto 2004)
http://www.grinnell.edu/academic/csla/assessment/sure 20 Likert items assessing perceived learning gains as a result of participation in undergraduate research.
Undergrad Research Student Self-Assessment
http://www.colorado.edu/eer/research...gradtools.html (Hunter et al. 2007)
Multiple Likert items assessing perceived gains in skills related to participation in research, yes/no questions categorizing specific experiences, and open response items.
MOTIVATION
Achievement Goal Questionnaire
(Elliot and Church 1997, Finney et al. 2004)
18 Likert items rating performance approach and avoidance goals, and mastery goals.
Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ)
http://www.indiana.edu/~p540alex/MSLQ.pdf (Pintrich Paul R. 1991, Pintrich P. R. et al. 1993)
31 Likert items assessing students' goals and value beliefs. 31 assessing use of learning strategies and 19 items concerning student management of learning resources.
Science Motivation Questionnaire (SMQ)
http://www.coe.uga.edu/smq/ ← not working
(Glynn et al. 2011)
30 Likert items comprising 6 components of motivation: intrinsic, extrinsic, relevance, responsibility, confidence, and anxiety.
Self-Efficacy
College Biology Self Efficacy
(Baldwin et al. 1999)
VIEWS/ATTITUDES
Biology Attitude Scale (Russell and Hollander 1975)
22 items: 14 Likert-type and 8 semantic differential measuring students’ perceptions of liking or disliking biology
Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS)- Biology https://www.lifescied.org/doi/abs/10.1187/cbe.10-10-0133
(Semsar et al. 2011) 31 Likert-type items for measuring novice-to-expert-like perceptions including enjoyment of the discipline, connections to the real world and underlying knowledge and problem-solving strategies.
Environmental Values Short Form (Zimmermann 1996)
31 Likert items assessing level of agreement with statements describing concern for different environmental issues
Survey of Teaching Beliefs and Practices for Undergraduates (STEP-U)
Marbach-Ad, G., Rietschel, C., & Thompson, K. V. (2016). Validation and Application of the Survey of Teaching Beliefs and Practices for Undergraduates (STEP-U): Identifying Factors Associated with Valuing Important Workplace Skills among Biology Students. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 15(4), ar59. https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.16-05-0164
Views About Sciences Survey (VASS)
http://modeling.asu.edu/R%26E/Research.html (Halloun and Hestenes 1996)
50 items: Students choose a value describing their position with regards to two alternate conclusions to a statement probing their views about knowing and learning science in three scientific and three cognitive dimensions.
Views on Science and Education (VOSE)
http://www.ied.edu.hk/apfslt/download/v7_issue2_files/chensf.pdf
(Chen 2006)
15 items for which several statements or claims are listed. Respondents choose their level of agreement to these series of predetermined statements/claims to provide reasoning behind their opinion.
Views on Science-Technology-Society (VOSTS) (Aikenhead and Ryan 1992)
http://www.usask.ca/education/people/aikenhead/
2.08: Strategic Planning
Workshop Overview
The strategic planning workshop is a facilitated session that guides participants through: a) visioning of the ideal campus for student learning, b) needs assessment to gauge where the host campus is falling short of the ideal, c) identification of an issue or issues that the participants wish to address to move the campus closer to the ideal, d) strategic planning using Backward Design (Wiggins and McTighe, 1998) to develop a plan to successfully address the issue.
Learning Outcomes
Participants will:
• Develop a strategic plan to address a campus issue whose resolution will support participants' efforts to adopt evidence-based teaching and create an inclusive learning program for students.
Key Terms
• Backward design
• Visioning
• Needs assessment
Active Learning/Formative Assessment Strategies
• Brainstorming
• Whole group discussion
• Consensus-forming
• Strategic planning
Pre-Workshop
Background
Work by organizational change researchers has shown that pedagogical training focused on the individual, without concomitant changes to the individual's environment that support them as they transition from more passive to more active, student-centered teaching, is insufficient. For this reason, the MIST was adapted from the original National Academies Summer Institute using Charles Henderson's Four Categories of Change Strategies to add elements- the Strategic Planning and Administrator workshops - that address institutional barriers to broad adoption of evidence-based teaching approaches.
Task
1. Reflect on the following two questions:
• If you were dropped into the middle of a campus that was ideal for student learning, what would attributes would you see? What would you see in terms of spaces, infrastructure, policies, attitudes, values, cultures, teaching behaviors, curricula, etc?
• What would your campus need to do to move closer to this ideal?
During Workshop
Activities
1. Create your vision statement: Visit the Strategic Planning Google Folder then go to the folder for your institution.
• Collect vision statements on the vision statement report out document.
2. Create your needs assessment: Visit the Strategic Planning Google Folder then go to the folder for your institution.
• Collect needs assessment statements on the needs assessment report out document.
3. Develop your strategic plan: Visit the Strategic Planning Google Folder then go to the folder for your institution.
• Make a copy of the Strategic Planning template and name it for your groups topic and fill it out with your goal, outcomes and action plan for achieving your outcomes. | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Mobile_Institute_on_Scientific_Teaching/Parent/02%3A_Interactive_Workshops/2.07%3A_Scholarly_Teaching/2.7.02%3A_Evaluative_Assessment_Resources.txt |
Overview
The MIST is a project-based training program combining interactive workshops on the tenets of scientific teaching with group work sessions where participants develop inclusive, student-centered teaching materials that they present to colleagues for peer-review at the end of the week.
Group work carefully designed to model scientific teaching has been found to be one of the most important processes at the Summer Institute. Each is led by a trained facilitator to model teaching practices that will help the group establish and meet common goals. Each group presents their teaching module for review during a dress rehearsal with another group and a final presentation. This allows groups to practice providing feedback on the effectiveness of learning activities and to incorporate peer feedback into their teaching modules before using them in their own classes.
Each group will create a folder in this Google Group Work folder where you will work collaboratively on your teaching module (tidibt) for the week.
In addition, all new MIST participants have access to a Master MoSI Google folder, where you can access teaching modules from other institutions.
The pages below contain resources to support your group work.
03: Group Work
About Group Work Sessions
Throughout the week, you and your team will participate in groups of four during group work sessions. During those sessions, you will be moving at your pace through the stages described below.
Goals
The goal of the first session is to meet your group mates, pick the topics for your teachable tidbit, and begin to backward design your tidbit. Backward design will consist of writing learning goals and outcomes, identifying summative assessments that will provide data about student learning and finally developing the learning activities that will help students achieve the desired outcomes.
Teachable tidbits
During the institute, each group will develop teachable tidbits that address topics/concepts within the group’s topic area. Teachable tidbits are instructional materials designed to engage students in learning. Generally, they consist of a single activity that can be integrated into a larger context, such as a course or a lecture. You will work through the following stages in your group:
1. Group Dynamics. Identify and discuss your own constructive and destructive group behaviors and the stages of group development.
2. Identify a topic area for your teachable tidbit. You want this to be narrow enough to address within the timeframe allotted. For example, if your topic is evolution, will you focus on some aspect of the concept of natural selection, like the role of mutation in genetic variation, or another concept altogether?
3. Identify learning goals and intended outcomes for the teachable tidbit. Start by stating broad learning goals such as “students will understand equilibrium” and then move on to more specific learning outcomes for each goal. If you stopped at this point, you might leave students wondering, “what do you mean by understand?” Think about how you will assess student understanding. When stating learning outcomes, use active verbs that suggest suitable assessments. For example, “Students will be able to predict how relative changes in concentrations of reactants or products will affect forward or reverse reaction rates” is a specific and assessable learning outcome that would indicate whether or not a student actually understood the concept of equilibrium.
4. Determine appropriate assessments.
5. Construct an inclusive, active lesson plan.
The goal of these sessions is to continue to develop your teachable tidbit(s) incorporating active learning/formative assessment strategies to create an inclusive learning experience that will help students achieve the intended learning outcomes. Learning activities should engage students’ previous knowledge and help them construct new knowledge and engage in deliberate practice of important skills. Ultimately, your learning outcomes, learning assessments, and learning activities should all align with each other.
Upload your materials
Each group will create a folder in this Google Group Work folder where you will work collaboratively on your teaching module (tidibt) for the week.
Participants also have access to tidbits from other groups and other institutions by going to the MoSI Host Campus Folder that holds all of the folders associated with the workshops and group work.
3.01: Group Work Sessions
Stages of Team Development
This process of learning to work together effectively is known as team development. Research has shown that teams go through definitive stages during development. Bruce Tuckman, an educational psychologist, identified a five-stage development process that most teams follow to become high performing. He called the stages: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. Team progress through the stages is shown in the following diagram.
Most high-performing teams go through five stages of team development.
Forming stage
The forming stage involves a period of orientation and getting acquainted. Uncertainty is high during this stage, and people are looking for leadership and authority. A member who asserts authority or is knowledgeable may be looked to take control. Team members are asking such questions as “What does the team offer me?” “What is expected of me?” “Will I fit in?” Most interactions are social as members get to know each other.
Storming stage
The storming stage is the most difficult and critical stage to pass through. It is a period marked by conflict and competition as individual personalities emerge. Team performance may actually decrease in this stage because energy is put into unproductive activities. Members may disagree on team goals, and subgroups and cliques may form around strong personalities or areas of agreement. To get through this stage, members must work to overcome obstacles, to accept individual differences, and to work through conflicting ideas on team tasks and goals. Teams can get bogged down in this stage. Failure to address conflicts may result in long-term problems.
Norming stage
If teams get through the storming stage, conflict is resolved and some degree of unity emerges. In the norming stage, consensus develops around who the leader or leaders are, and individual member’s roles. Interpersonal differences begin to be resolved, and a sense of cohesion and unity emerges. Team performance increases during this stage as members learn to cooperate and begin to focus on team goals. However, the harmony is precarious, and if disagreements re-emerge the team can slide back into storming.
Performing stage
In the performing stage, consensus and cooperation have been well-established and the team is mature, organized, and well-functioning. There is a clear and stable structure, and members are committed to the team’s mission. Problems and conflicts still emerge, but they are dealt with constructively. (We will discuss the role of conflict and conflict resolution in the next section). The team is focused on problem solving and meeting team goals.
Adjourning stage
In the adjourning stage, most of the team’s goals have been accomplished. The emphasis is on wrapping up final tasks and documenting the effort and results. As the work load is diminished, individual members may be reassigned to other teams, and the team disbands. There may be regret as the team ends, so a ceremonial acknowledgement of the work and success of the team can be helpful. If the team is a standing committee with ongoing responsibility, members may be replaced by new people and the team can go back to a forming or storming stage and repeat the development process.
Team Norms and Cohesiveness
When you have been on a team, how did you know how to act? How did you know what behaviors were acceptable or what level of performance was required? Teams usually develop norms that guide the activities of team members. Team norms set a standard for behavior, attitude, and performance that all team members are expected to follow. Norms are like rules but they are not written down. Instead, all the team members implicitly understand them. Norms are effective because team members want to support the team and preserve relationships in the team, and when norms are violated, there is peer pressure or sanctions to enforce compliance.
Norms result from the interaction of team members during the development process. Initially, during the forming and storming stages, norms focus on expectations for attendance and commitment. Later, during the norming and performing stages, norms focus on relationships and levels of performance. Performance norms are very important because they define the level of work effort and standards that determine the success of the team. As you might expect, leaders play an important part in establishing productive norms by acting as role models and by rewarding desired behaviors.
Norms are only effective in controlling behaviors when they are accepted by team members. The level of cohesiveness on the team primarily determines whether team members accept and conform to norms. Team cohesiveness is the extent that members are attracted to the team and are motivated to remain in the team. Members of highly cohesive teams value their membership, are committed to team activities, and gain satisfaction from team success. They try to conform to norms because they want to maintain their relationships in the team and they want to meet team expectations. Teams with strong performance norms and high cohesiveness are high performing.
For example, the seven-member executive team at Whole Foods spends time together outside of work. Its members frequently socialize and even take group vacations. According to co-CEO John Mackey, they have developed a high degree of trust that results in better communication and a willingness to work out problems and disagreements when they occur.[1]
1. Jennifer Alsever, Jessi Hempel, Alex Taylor III, and Daniel Roberts, “6 Great Teams that Take Care of Business,” Fortune, April 10, 2014, http://fortune.com/2014/04/10/6-great-teams-that-take-care-of-business/
LICENSES AND ATTRIBUTIONS
CC LICENSED CONTENT, ORIGINAL
• Stages of Team Development. Authored by: John/Lynn Bruton and Lumen Learning. LicenseCC BY: Attribution
• Five Stages of Team Development. Authored by: John/Lynn Bruton and Lumen Learning. LicenseCC BY: Attribution
3.1.02: Constructive and Destructive Group Behaviors
Constructive Group Behaviors
Cooperating: Is interested in the views and perspectives of the other group members and is willing to adapt for the good of the group.
Clarifying: Makes issues clear for the group by listening, summarizing and focusing discussions.
Inspiring: Enlivens the group, encourages participation and progress.
Harmonizing: Encourages group cohesion and collaboration. For example, uses humor as a relief after a particularly difficult discussion.
Risk Taking: Is willing to risk possible personal loss or embarrassment for the group or project success.
Process Checking: Questions the group on process issues such as agenda, time frames, discussion topics, decision methods, use of information, etc.
Destructive Group Behaviors
Dominating: Takes much of meeting time expressing self views and opinions. Tries to take control by use of power, time, etc.
Rushing: Encourages the group to move on before task is complete. Gets “tired” of listening to others and working as a group.
Withdrawing: Removes self from discussions or decision-making. Refuses to participate.
Discounting: Disregards or minimizes group or individual ideas or suggestions. Severe discounting behavior includes insults, which are often in the form of jokes.
Digressing: Rambles, tells stories, and takes group away from primary purpose.
Blocking: Impedes group progress by obstructing all ideas and suggestions. “That will never work because…”
________________________________________________________________________
Brunt (1993). Facilitation Skills for Quality Improvement. Quality Enhancement Strategies. 1008 Fish Hatchery Road. Madison. WI 53715
3.02: Group Presentations
Final preparation for Presentations
During this session you will put finishing touches on the 30-minute presentation of your teachable tidbits.
Group Presentations
1. Teach one of your tidbits, including a brief overview of the context in which the tidbit will be taught. You will have 30 minutes for your presentation.
2. Provide feedback on your peers’ tidbits. Use the rubric from the Peer Mentoring workshop to provide constructive feedback that will help the presenters become more active and student-centered.
Upload your materials
Upload teachable tidbit and related/supporting materials to your institutional folder inside the Group Work Google Folder for the workshop.
4.01: Literature
Overview
The treasure chest is meant to serve as a site that you can visit during and revisit after the MIST to find literature and resources that may be beneficial to you as you continue to transform your courses in the future.
04: Treasure Chest
*Note: if the link to the publisher’s website does not provide free access to the article, you can still find freely available pdfs online.
5.02: During the workshop
Post your discussion comments here!
Interactive Element
5.03: After the workshop
Post your discussion comments here!
Interactive Element | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Mobile_Institute_on_Scientific_Teaching/Parent/03%3A_Group_Work/3.1.01%3A_5_Stages_of_Group_Development.txt |
Figure 1.1: Abawi, L. (2019). Photograph of street art: Giving diversity voice. Stavanger Norway, USQ.
This book is for any reader who wishes to learn more about the rich tapestry of learners and individuals who make our world such an interesting and diversely textured community. Although our focus is largely on diversity and inclusion in Australian educational contexts we believe that the perspectives and insights presented within each chapter have much to offer the broader community as a whole.
Each of the authors provide unique insights into a diverse range of learners, from Chapter 2 that considers different childhoods through to Chapter 8, in which eyes are opened into experiences of visual impairment and Chapter 9 with its eye opening look at Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in education. Each authors’ lived experiences of, and research into, diversity underpin the perspectives presented. Every chapter is designed to not only provide information, but to stimulate reflection and present opportunities to demonstrate knowledge transfer into personal contexts. By opening eyes onto diversity we challenge every reader to consider what it means to be inclusive of diverse individuals, both within educational contexts and beyond.
As with many countries across the world, Australia has a long history of colonisation and immigration. Many might automatically consider diversity within Australian society as being about culture, race and religion, at least as their initial response to this powerful and exciting word. Diversity is much more than this. However you might define diversity, and certainly many definitions abound, it is diversity in the world around us that excites, challenges and rewards us in so many ways… but only when we open our eyes to the inherent complexities and beauty associated with diversity. There would be few individuals who lack awareness of people with physical attributes different from their own, whether these be related to race, birth characteristics, sexual characteristics, age, diagnosed [dis]ability, injury and the like. What may be more difficult to ascertain are differences related to sexual orientation, gender, mental health, autism, socioeconomic status, family structure…and the list goes on. Underpinning all of these are also personality differences, religious differences, learning preferences, health issues and psychological attributes. So much diversity, yet so much that remains unseen, resulting in individuals who feel invisible and believe that those around them are blinded to their needs.
Figure1.2: Abawi, L. (2019). Photograph of street art: Feeling unseen. Stavanger Norway, USQ
The act of trying to list the types of differences that contribute to what the word ‘diversity’ seeks to express is inherently an ‘exclusionary’ process because invariably there will be a form of difference that is not mentioned and which may have personal importance and significance to an individual. For example geographical location can affect any and all of the above, as can levels of adversity, historical or circumstantial, which may have impacted an individual, a family, a community, a country or a people.
Whilst acknowledging the power of words to both include and exclude, the authors of this book are highly conscious of establishing from the very beginning, a willingness to ‘have-a-go’ regarding talking about issues that many find difficult to talk about because they are fearful of offending an individual or group of people without intending to do so. We have taken care to try and use terminology that will not offend others, but we acknowledge that even as we write we might inadvertently use words that might be considered offensive by some even though these same words are accepted by others as being respectful.
Ultimately, we believe that by talking about diversity we open avenues for sharing and knowledge acquisition that are essential in the fight to learn about, and to value diversity as a strength in our schools and our communities. If what we share challenges your understandings, triggers discussion or prompts debate, including the rightness or wrongness of what we say, then this book has achieved its purpose.
Hand in hand with any discussion about diversity goes the concept of inclusion and what that looks likes, sounds like and feel likes. In educational contexts many would accept that as Norwich (2013) suggests inclusivity is a principle whereby a general system is adapted to the diversity of learners. Norwich (2013), along with Allen and Slee (2008) see a weakness in current understandings of diversity and applications of inclusion as being bounded by politics and policy instead of emancipatory action based on sound theory and practice. We don’t believe that adaption is what is needed, rather it is a mindset of acceptance and planning for all right from the start, which of course is the essence of the Universal Design for Learning approach where planning takes into account multiple means of representation, multiple means of engagement and multiple means of action and expression (Rose & Meyer, 2006).
As educators, and as members of a diverse society, we need to be thinking about, negotiating and transforming the relationships that exist within our classrooms, the teaching that occurs, the production of knowledge that happens, the education setting structures, and the social relationships that exist within the wider community, society and nation-state (Nouri & Sajjadi, 2014). Without exception this requires a thorough understanding of individual strengths, challenges and needs.
Recent research into diversity and inclusion in varied Australian school contexts (Abawi, Carter, Andrews & Conway, 2018) acknowledged that inclusive educational contexts are not easily attained or sustained. Findings indicated a set of six principles underpinning the creation of an inclusive culture:
Principle 1 Informed shared social justice leadership at multiple levels – learning from and with others.
Principle 2 Moral commitment to a vision of inclusion – explicit expectations regarding inclusion embedded in school wide practice.
Principle 3 Collective commitment to whatever it takes – ensuring that the vision of inclusion is not compromised.
Principle 4 Getting it right from the start – wrapping students, families and staff with the support needed to succeed.
Principle 5 Professional targeted student-centred learning – professional learning for teachers and support staff informed by data identified need.
Principle 6 Open information and respectful communication – leaders, staff, students, community effectively working together.
As a reader, we ask you to reflect on the six principles and how they are demonstrated within these pages. We also ask you to consider your own learning, work or social context and to what extent these principles are applicable and evident, as well as what more could be done to embrace diversity and embed inclusion. Many of the authors are in the middle of this process themselves as they reflect on data from a more recent and ongoing research project, early findings of which have been woven into Chapter 3. The aforementioned research also raised a question about “how can an uncompromising social justice agenda that is inclusive of others and caters for diversity be anchored to the needs of a changing population within specific contexts?” We seek your assistance in developing a picture of what the answer to this question might be, to co-construct knowledge of ways of being inclusive and catering for diversity and intend to collate your responses and publish them in the next addition of this text as an epilogue of learning, a co-construction of knowledge in an on-going and reiterative process of collective learning. Please post your responses to www.usq.edu.au/open-practice . We will then utilise reader responses as a basis for further study and publication.
The themes and issues raised within this text vary starting with Chapter 2, Different Childhoods: Transgressing boundaries through thinking differently, by Charlotte Brownlow and Lindsay O’Dell, which considers the intersectional nature of individual identity drawing on key examples from domains of difference through exploring [dis]ability, gender and culture. It considers the narratives of [non] inclusion that frequently operate within educational environments, from early childhood through to lifelong learning, and implications for positive identity constructions for individuals are explored. Children who are in some ways ‘different’ can find interactions in education settings challenging due to negative assumptions held by others. Ability and socially approved identities must be carefully outlined and managed within systems, with clear benchmarks established concerning what is ‘appropriate’ and what is deemed ‘inappropriate’ when identifying and responding to difference. In conclusion the authors urge readers and educators to move beyond impairments to view differences through careful reflection on environments and the need to personally act in ways which maximise ability.
In Chapter 3, Celebrating diversity: Focusing on inclusion, Lindy-Anne Abawi, Melissa Fanshawe, Kathryn Gilbey, Cecily Andersen and Christina Rogers remind the reader of the increasing emphasis, in education settings, on understanding and catering for the diversity of learners in our classrooms. Education is acknowledged as being fundamental to shaping our future for it involves “the formation of each new generation into the citizens of tomorrow…In this age of ‘super-diversity’, it is difficult to categorise or place people into neat boxes. It is therefore all the more important for us to sharpen up our thinking and practice by developing a critical understanding of issues of difference” (Wrigley, Arshad & Pratt, 2012, p. 209). The starting point for understanding is knowledge and experience. These two lenses will be used throughout this chapter to develop critical thinking and reflection on pedagogical practices. You may be asked to challenge your own pre-conceived ways of thinking and engaging with others; you may be asked to reflect on personal and possibly confronting experiences; and, most of all you will be asked to bring an open mind to the concept of diversity and engage with the scenarios presented with respect, tact and integrity. Every individual is shaped and influenced by multiple factors: ethnicity (language, religion and cultural diversity); variable skills and capabilities; socioeconomic background; health and well-being; and, gender identity and sexual orientation. It is these variable and varied factors that contribute to each of us as individuals and are what we add to the rich tapestry of schools and community. Diversity is a celebration of the richness and strength that it brings to society and is a primary responsibility of all those who teach and of all those who support teachers (Peters, 2007).
Chapter 4
, Opening Eyes onto Inclusion and Diversity in Early Childhood Education, by Michelle Turner and Amanda Morgan, sees diversity as a celebratory characteristic of early childhood education in contemporary Australia. The education system in Queensland defines inclusion as the need to encompass individual differences such as culture, language, location, economics, learning, abilities and gender (Queensland Government Department of Education, 2018). The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child sets out the principle that all children have the right to feel accepted and respected. As a signatory of the convention Australia is committed to a policy of respect for diversity providing children with access to fair, just and non-discriminatory education and care (Queensland Government Department of Education, 2018). Regardless of the level of diversity evident in a setting it is important that all young children have the opportunity to develop an appreciation and respect for the diversity of their local and broader communities. Early childhood education offers the ideal setting for children to learn about diversity and the benefits it brings to their community. Through engagement in contexts that promote understanding of difference, children and families have the opportunity to develop their own understandings about diversity and build positive relationships with their local communities. Adopting a holistic approach to diversity is promoted as a strategy for educators working in contemporary early childhood settings.
Chapter 5
takes a slightly different tack and views diversity from a position of care. Entitled Fostering first year nurses’ inclusive practice: A key building block for patient centred care, Jill Lawrence and Natasha Reedy investigate how we can better understand and cater for the diversity of learners in our classrooms. The depth and breadth of the research enriches and stretches our preconceptions by not only encompassing a range of contexts (early childhood, primary, secondary, tertiary, community and ‘in between’ spaces) and but also by exploring issues emanating from ‘difference’ (language, religious and cultural diversity, skills and capabilities, socioeconomic background, health and well-being, and gender identity and sexual orientation). The chapter themes challenge our ways of knowing and thinking, and of engaging with others. They require us to reflect on others’ experiences in exploring our concepts of diversity and inclusion and to, in turn, apply this critical thinking to our own pedagogical practices. To achieve this, the chapter asks us to embrace the authenticity of inclusion: to confront how notions of power, voice and agency can shape ‘outcomes’ for those on the ‘margins’; to imagine the implications for society of positive identity constructions for individuals; and to highlight a way of working that facilitates the creation of shared cultures, a place where all can feel safe and included. There are also cautionary tales. For example, in this contemporary rationalised world we often fail to appreciate that the cost of caring always includes pragmatic considerations that educators must meet.
Renee Desmarchelier and Jon Austin, in Chapter 6, Positioning ourselves in multicultural education: Opening our eyes to culture, explores how Australian schools are increasingly providing education to very ethnically and culturally diverse student populations. In some schooling areas, the backgrounds of students attending both public and private schools have changed rapidly. So, the authors ask questions such as: What does it mean to be ‘multicultural’?; Is multicultural education just something we provide to students from backgrounds that are not white-Anglo Australian?; and, How do we as teachers position ourselves in relation to multiculturalism, multicultural policies and education system requirements and expectations?
They suggest that through recognising culture as something that everyone has, we start to unpack our own attitudes to culture and multicultural education. We engage in critical self-reflection so we can understand ourselves to better position us to understand others. The authors share a tool with which to do this – a physical cultural audit. This involves a process of collecting data in the form of observations and/or photographs of the physical spaces around us and analysing them for the messages they give about the culture/s present in a particular environment. Through turning the gaze on ourselves and our own cultures we can come to understand the ways in which we culturally construct our understanding of the world around us. This can assist us to be better educators in multicultural contexts through recognising that the students we are teaching are not the only ones to have ‘culture’ but that we ourselves are coming from a particular cultural position. Through such processes we can then work to unpack our own and the education system’s expectations of all students and recognise where we may need to change our approach in order to achieve more socially just outcomes for students from a diverse range of cultural backgrounds.
Chapter 7,
Creating an inclusive school for refugees and students with English as a Second Language or Dialect, is written by Susan Carter and Mark Creedon who argue that although inclusion is a basic need for humans, schools in Australia and internationally are still exploring what this really means in a rapidly changing global context. Challenges face educators as never before as the rate of migration has vastly increased with more people seeking asylum than at any time since World War II (Gurria, 2016). Schools face challenges in educating students who have little understanding of the official language or the school’s cultural context. This chapter seeks to bring into focus the need to include students new to Australia, with limited or no English speaking skills, to regular classrooms. The chapter specifically explores the inclusive practices of one highly diverse junior school and seeks to share the effectual ways that they support, engage, enculturate and educate students. Use of case study methodology, revealed a way of working that facilitates the creation of a shared inclusive culture, a place where individuals share that they feel safe and included. The cost of caring is however a realistic consideration confronting educators and this chapter outlines some strategies on how to engage community help and create a sense of hopefulness.
Chapter 8
, Opening Eyes onto Diversity and Inclusion for students with Vision Impairment, by Melissa Cain and Melissa Fanshawe shares the challenges that abound for students with vision impairments. Access and inclusion in education settings can be overlooked, as facilities are set up for those who can see. Many critical elements the school is trying to portray, such as the culture, behaviour management and curriculum, are displayed in visual format. Think about your journey into a school, through the office, into the classroom and around the school grounds and the incidental learning you acquire through visual means. The author looks at the educational, physical and social impact of vision impairment and a mindset of designing curriculum opportunities to consider students with vision impairment. It investigates the implications that visual impairment should have on the curriculum, assessment and pedagogy, as well as the need to show concern for a student’s ability to move independently within and between classrooms and throughout the school. It also looks at the social competence of students with vision impairment, who may find it difficult to interact with their peers due to missing the sighted cues to adhere to social norms (Wolffe, 2012). Through the use of modifications and a mindset of ability portrayed in this chapter, it is hoped educators can open their eyes to vision impairment, to find inclusion is just a different way of seeing.
Melissa Fanshawe, Lindy Abawi and Jillian Guy Chapter 9, The Importance of Australian Indigenous Cultural Perspectives in Education (The Danger of the Single Story), leaves the reader with additional insights into the need to acknowledge and specifically address the needs, beliefs and histories of Australia’s First Nation people, the oldest living culture in the world. We started this text with an acknowledgement of Country and have attempted to weave insights into Australian Indigenous perspectives throughout many of the chapters. Chapter 9 seeks to consolidate the narrative of survival, celebration, disadvantage, injustice, racism and generational distress that is part of Australian history. The authors investigate the conceptual understandings of race, colonisation and Western viewpoints proposing considerations to ensure all students receive a culturally sensitive education and ensuring that what is left with the reader is a realisation and an urgency that more needs to be done to ensure First Nation Peoples attain their rightful place in Australian society.
Finally, Opening Eyes onto Diversity and Inclusion, the concluding chapter by Jill Lawrence, investigates how we can better understand and cater for the diversity of learners in our classrooms. It touches on what has been explored throughout this text. At its heart, this text galvanises us by presenting strategies about how to engage community and to create inclusion and hopefulness for those marginalised by difference. It exalts us to celebrate the richness and strengths of diversity and to accept our responsibilities in motivating and supporting all educators, including ourselves, to appreciate and build on these strengths.
References
Abawi, L. Carter, S. Andrews, D. & Conway, J. (2018). Inclusive schoolwide pedagogical principles: Cultural indicators in action. In O. Bernad-Cavero (Ed.), New pedagogical challenges in the 21st Century – Contributions of research in education (pp. 33-55). doi: 10.5772/intehopen.70358.
Allan, J. & Slee, R. (2008). Doing inclusive education research. Rotterdam, The Netherlands: SENSE Publishers. ISBN: 978-90-8790-417-3
Arshad, R., Wrigley, T. & Pratt, L. (2012). Social justice re-examined: Dilemmas and solutions for the classroom teacher. London, England: Trentham Books Ltd.
Gurría, A. (2016). Remarks by Angel Gurría, Secretary-General, CEB-OECD High-Level Seminar, Paris, 17 May 2016, https://www.oecd.org/migrationinsigh...investment.htm (accessed 2016-06-30).
Norwich, B. (2013). Addressing tensions and dilemmas in inclusive education: Living with uncertainty.Abingdon, OK: Routledge. ISBN: 978-0-415-52847-4
Nouri, A. & Sajjadi, S. M. (2014). Emancipatory pedagogy in practice: Aims, principles and curriculum orientation.International Journey of Critical Pedagogy. 5(2),76- 87
Queensland Government Department of Education. (2018). Inclusive Education Policy. Retrieved from https://education.qld.gov.au/student...sive-education
Peters, S. (2007). Inclusion as a strategy for achieving education for all. In L. Florian (Ed.), The SAGE handbook of special education (pp. 118-132). London, England: Sage Publications Ltd. doi:10.4135/9781848607989.n10.
Rose, D. H. & Meyer, A. (2006). A Practical Reader in Universal Design for Learning.Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press. ISBN-13: 978-1-891792-30-4.
Wolffe (2012).[SC3] Critical Social Skills[Powerpoint]. University of Newcastle, RENWICK. Retrieved from https://uonline.newcastle.edu.au/bbc.../xid-5878056_1
Media Attributions
• Figure 1.1: Abawi, L. (2019). Photograph of street art: Giving diversity voice. Stavanger Norway, USQ. by Abawi, L. © All Rights Reserved
• Figure 1.2: Abawi, L. (2019). Photograph of street art: Feeling unseen. Stavanger Norway, USQ by Abawi, L. © All Rights Reserved | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Opening_Eyes_onto_Inclusion_and_Diversity_(Carter_et_al.)/1.01%3A_Introducing_the_key_ideas.txt |
What does it mean to be different? How does difference influence the way we see ourselves and others?
Key Learnings
• View differences in ways that affords opportunities.
• C reate environments that are supportive rather than challenging.
• P romote appropriate partnerships to enable successful learning and development.
introduction
These are important and complex questions to answer. Difference is evident in many settings and across the whole of the lifespan. At each developmental stage, individuals engage with systems, people, and broader environments, which allow varying degrees of agency on the part of the individual, from pre-school, school, higher education, and work.
Figure 2.1: Photograph by Benny Jackson on Unsplash
A history of identifying difference
The identification of individuals as in some way ‘different’, ‘deficient’, or ‘other’ is not a new phenomenon, and disciplines such as psychology have had a significant influence on the definition and identification of individuals who do not necessarily fit within the dominant developmental path. This section will explore some of the ways that understandings of what is considered to be ‘normal’, and what behaviours transgress this, have become shared understandings, and the impacts that these ideas may have for the shaping of positive individual identities.
The discipline of psychology has had a strong influence in defining boundaries of normality, and such ideas have been readily taken up in other disciplines such as education. Philosopher Nikolas Rose (1989a) has argued that disciplines such as psychology, individualise children, which enables abilities to be measured and quantified with children being placed in categories based on calibrated aptitudes. Any variability in individuals can therefore be identified and appropriately managed. This consequently places a high importance on the need to fit in with the identified norms and the power to identify and intervene is firmly placed with professionals, namely psychologists and psychiatrists. Rose (1989a) argues that with the advent of psychometrics and the focus on the individual, psychology could develop its position as the appropriate authority to govern the lives of the individual. This rise of psychology to a powerful position led to a normalising vision of childhood and development. Rose (1989a) argues that the newly developed scales were not just a means of assessing children’s abilities, they provided new ways of thinking about childhood with the development of milestones of achievement. Such milestones led to ideas about appropriate childhood activities and ‘normal development’ that regulated the behaviours and understanding of a variety of groups, including parents and health workers. Burman (2008) proposes that this new position adopted by psychology was so powerful in its impact on the everyday lives of people that its ideals became taken for granted expectations about children’s development. This had broad reaching implications concerning the role of parents and families in fostering the development of the ‘normal’ child.
With the goal of measuring and regulating behaviour while monitoring any deviations from prescribed norms, came the important marrying of the concepts of human variability and the statistical principle of the normal distribution. By employing the concept of normal distribution, human variability could be presented in a simple visual form, with the assumption that human attributes varied in a predictable manner. Such patterns of behaviour therefore became governed by the statistical laws of large numbers (Rose, 1989a). Intelligence for example could now be quantified and intellectual abilities could now be presented as a single dimension, with an individual’s aptitude plotted within the distribution (Burman, 2008; Rapley, 2004; Richards, 1996; Rose, 1989b). This then enabled the appropriate action to be taken by the expert psychologist. Intellect and its variations had therefore become manageable and the transformation of ability into a numerical form could be used in political and administrative debates (Rose, 1990) such as tests for selective schooling. Rose (1989a) further argues that such concepts of normality are not gleaned solely from our experiences with ‘normal’ children but are also developed by experts drawing on the study of ‘abnormality’ or cases deviating from the prescribed norms in a given situation. The relationship between normality and abnormality is therefore symbiotic: it is the normalisation of individual development that enables the ‘abnormal’ developmental patterns to become visible, and vice versa (Burman, 2008). Rose (1989a) concludes that normality is therefore not an observation of a group of individuals, but a valuation.
Figure 2.2: Normal distribution curve by M. W. Toewes
This move towards the quantification of normality and transgressions from this, led to some individuals being labelled as ‘other’ – as ‘abnormal’, ‘lacking’, and ‘impaired’. Due to the statistical laws of the normal distribution, the majority of individuals would fit within the average scores, while a proportion of individuals are assumed to fit at the extreme scores – either above or below the average. Such graded understandings therefore lead to negative constructions of those individuals who fall outside of the tolerance of the boundaries of ‘normal’ behaviour. Once identified and labelled, the opportunities for negative self and ‘other’ identity abound. Such negative connotations of labels have an implicit (and often explicit) narrative concerning the assumptions of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ behaviour, which impacts on individual interactions with others, who frequently consider us to be different or deficient based on acquired labels and observed differences.
One important challenge to this has been in the rise of self-advocacy movements, and while initially led by those with physical disabilities (Barnes & Mercer, 1996), these are now evident across other groups, such as autistic communities (Bertilsdotter Rosqvist, Brownlow, & O’Dell, 2015). These groups vary in action from political agitation to positive group identity on social media platforms such as Facebook, challenging members to question previously held assumptions by themselves and others. The call for action by such groups has been reflected in values such as ‘nothing about us without us’, challenging broader issues such as interventions and research.
This chapter will primarily focus on individuals who are different within the education system, particularly those who identify, or who are labelled by others, as being neurodiverse. The next section will therefore focus on the neurodiversity movement and some of the ways that this is challenging beliefs and action on diverse individuals.
A narrative of neurodiversity
The neurodiversity movement has been influential in challenging dominant ways of thinking about people who are in some way ‘different’. The term ‘neurodiversity’ was first coined by Australian researcher and activist Judy Singer in the late 1990s and has had widespread adoption within the autism community. The term however is not limited to autism and has been drawn on when considering difference across a range of labels including dyslexia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder [ADHD], and attention deficit disorder [ADD] (Armstrong, 2010). One of the core principles of the neurodiversity movement is the shift in positioning of neurodiverse individuals from those who have a deficit to those who are different. The narrative is therefore one that draws on an abilities framework rather than a disabling framework. While it has had several critiques concerning its reduction of individuals to their basic neurology rather than their social position (see for example Ortega, 2013), proponents of the framework of neurodiversity argue that what it enables is a shift in thinking from positioning an individual as ‘impaired’ or ‘deficient’ to one where difficulties are acknowledged but are constructed as alternative rather than lacking.
Reflection
Think about a child or student that you have taught who is autistic.
• How might they be described in ‘education language’ and how might they be described reflecting on the principles of neurodiversity?
Such re-framings of understandings have important implications for identity, where individuals have more opportunities to craft a positive identity due to the alternative constructions of their label in the broader community. This has had an impact on the ways that labels are used and by whom. Traditionally a person-first language has been adopted, which refers to a ‘person with autism’ or a ‘person with dyslexia’. However, self-advocacy movements have consistently called for an identity-first use of language, which acknowledges that a label is an intricate and positive part of an individual’s identity rather than an ‘add on’, and therefore references such as ‘autistic person’ or ‘dyslexic’ are common. Scholars such as Harmon (2004) argue that identity-first language is crucial in the crafting of positive identities, as it highlights the central role that labels such as autism play within an individual identity. Harmon provides the example that it would appear strange to refer to someone as ‘a person with femaleness’ rather than ‘female’, and labels such as autism and dyslexia could be considered similarly. However, while an increase in the influence of the principles of neurodiversity has been seen, there is still no concrete agreement as to the terminology and individual preferences should always be respected.
In addition to the proposal of framing autism within a language of neurodiversity, individuals who do not attract a label have also been reframed in the narrative of neurodiversity. The terms ‘neurotypical’, ‘neurologically typical’, or the abbreviation ‘NT’ have been traced back to a self-advocacy organisation called Autism Network International (Dekker, 2000). Dekker notes that in order to avoid having to use the word ‘normal’ to refer to those without autism, a new term of NT was coined. NT is now commonplace within the autism community and is widely recognised by parents and some professionals, particularly in Europe and the United Kingdom. Additionally, terms such as ‘predominant neurotype’ [PNT], and allistic are also being increasingly used as alternatives to neurotypical, reflecting the ongoing development and shifting of language.
A shift in thinking in line with that of a perspective of neurodiversity calls into question issues of educational and social inclusion and the need to create equitable environments for individuals with a variety of learning needs. In the current Australian educational context, autism, or Autism Spectrum Disorder [ASD] as it is now referred to, following restructuring of the DSM-5, remains a supported learning difference within the classroom, but other types of neurodiversity, such as dyslexia, are rightly or wrongly no longer officially recognised. The following section will examine the challenges of inclusion across the educational spectrum.
Inclusion across the educational spectrum
Challenges for neurodiverse students within education in Australia are consistently documented in both academic research and government statistics, across all levels of the education spectrum (Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS], 2017; Cai & Richdale, 2015; Parsons, 2015). The figures reported by the ABS for autism within education highlight that 96.7% of children with an autism diagnosis have had some form of educational restriction, with additional support being required for most within educational settings. Of individuals aged 5-20 years attending an educational institution, 83.7% reported the experience of some form of difficulty within their educational context, spanning challenges with social encounters, learning difficulties, and communication difficulties (ABS, 2017). However, formal support was accessed by just over half of this population (55.8%), with 20.7% not receiving any additional assistance (ABS, 2017). Unsurprisingly therefore the ABS also reports that this population are less likely to complete an educational qualification beyond school, and people with other disabilities were 2.3 times more likely to have a bachelor degree than neurodiverse individuals (ABS, 2017). The flow on effects for employment are obviously apparent, with a labour force participation rate of 40.8% for neurodiverse workers, compared with 53.4% for individuals with disability and 83.2% of individuals without disability (ABS, 2017). Unemployment rates are just as alarming, with unemployment for autistic workers three times the rate for people with a disability, and almost six times that of people without disability (ABS, 2017). Of those who are in employment, challenges are frequently reported from a lack of workplace accommodations by employers, the difficulties of managing social encounters with co-workers, and stigma concerning their diagnostic label – all issues that do not impact on an individual’s ability to perform a job well (Brownlow & Werth, 2018). Additionally, individuals will need to navigate systems that are not immediately connected with the workplace on a regular basis. The National Autistic Society in the UK have documented some of these challenges in the following film: Diverted – NAS
There are also neurodiverse labels that are not recognised within the Australian education system, yet still require supports within schools. One of these is dyslexia. Dyslexia is recognised in Australia under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and by the Human Right Commission, yet New South Wales is the only state or territory where it is legally recognised as a learning disability. This is in stark contrast to countries such as Canada and the UK, which explicitly recognise and support dyslexia, with routine screening and support for learning within schools and support for training teachers.
The definition provided by the Australian Dyslexia Association to characterise dyslexia is as follows:
Dyslexia is a specific learning difference that is neurobiological in origin. It is characterised by challenges with accurate and/or fluent single word decoding and word recognition. Difficulties with spelling may also be evident. These challenges typically result from a deficit in the phonological and/or orthographic component of language. These challenges are often unexpected in relation to other strengths, talents and abilities. The ADA do not relate dyslexia to IQ since reading and IQ are not correlated. Dyslexia can remain a challenge throughout life despite mastery of language and literacy concepts; even with the provision of effective evidence-based classroom instruction. Secondary issues may include challenges in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience and these can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge. Dyslexia, if left unidentified and or unassisted, can cause social and emotional troubles. (Australian Dyslexia Association [ADA], 2018).
However, understanding what it might actually feel like to be dyslexic is often difficult. In recent times technological simulations of challenges have been created following the descriptions of dyslexic individuals. Try this Online Dyslexia Simulation.
As you can see, things that most of us take for granted such as letters remaining stable and in one place are not necessarily the case for some dyslexic people. As well as navigating the appearance of words and letters, the English language is littered with homophones and ‘exception to the rules’ spelling conventions – all of which need to be navigated by the dyslexic child.
The (un)predictability of English…
The duck swam in the pool while I had to duck to the shop.
The flour was milled to make a beautiful flower cupcake.
Their shoes are just over there.
Given the challenges to negotiate and the need to separate dyslexia from reflections on intelligence, developing a positive identity as a dyslexic can be challenging, despite many famous individuals who also identify as dyslexic being very vocal, such as Sir Richard Branson and actor Tom Cruise. The animation below describes what one dyslexic child would like his teachers to know about what it means to be dyslexic. Click here to view.
However, as with autism, and other neurological diversities, dyslexia is not something to be grown out of, and the challenges evident in childhood remain into adulthood. In the video below, Dan explains how dyslexia continues to impact on all aspects of his life. Watch Dan on Dyslexia. As we can see from the video, dyslexia continues to have both an educational and social impact beyond school and the importance of fostering positive self-identities are therefore crucial.
Unlike dyslexia, autism has had much more of a focus within Australian educational contexts. However, the understandings of the experiential aspects of the challenges faced by autistic individuals are still not well understood. In 2016 the National Autistic Society in the UK launched their Too Much Information campaign, releasing a series of films depicting the sense of being overwhelmed that individuals may face across a range of situations. The first film featured 11 year old Alex and his experiences of being in a shopping centre:
Reflection
Think about a child that you have taught or know who is autistic, or an individual that you have worked with.
• How might they be experiencing some of the routines that are a part of everyday practice?
• What might be some of the major challenges throughout a typical day for them?
Nothing in isolation: the importance of intersectionality
So far, we have considered aspects of single points of difference, such as being autistic or dyslexic. However, we need to also consider issues of intersectionality and the impact of multiple influences on an individual. Two such influences are gender and socio-economic status, and an individual will always be influenced by factors such as these within their broader social context.
gender diversity
Increasingly, researchers and practitioners have moved away from binary understandings of gender, which categorise individuals as either ‘girl’ or ‘boy’, ‘man’ or ‘woman’, and instead have revised understandings to consider the complexities that influence an individual’s identification with a particular gender – or neither gender. In recent work Johnson (2018) explored the dominant understandings of gender evident in psychological theories and how a stable identification of oneself as either a girl or a boy has become evident of a key ‘normal’ developmental marker for individuals. Johnson critiques normative expectations for gender, particularly in childhood, and calls for a more critical reflection on what gender diverse childhoods might look like.
One area that has received increased attention within the research literature is that of the links between gender and autism. Traditionally research focusing on gender and autism has prioritised the higher prevalence of autism rates diagnosed in boys rather than girls, giving rise to the assumption of autism being traditionally considered a male condition (Taylor et al., 2016). However, in more recent years the under representation of females has been highlighted, with some researchers arguing that females may exhibit characteristics in different ways (Dworzynski et al., 2012). Lai et al. (2015) further propose that females may indeed present in more socially acceptable ways, and are therefore sometimes overlooked by clinicians for a diagnosis. This is often something anecdotally reported by educators, who typically describe the different behaviours of boys and girls with autism within classrooms, leading to boys more quickly attracting a label and therefore supports and interventions.
Reflection
Think about children in your classroom or other individuals who you believe to be autistic.
• Have any been ‘labelled’ as autistic, and if so did they identify as being male or female (or neither)?
• In what ways did they behave similarly or differently from each other?
While the research is providing some much needed reflection on the important impact that gender may have for an individual, this largely overlooks the intersectional nature of difference, and more attention needs to be given to the impacts on an individual of having two marginalised identities and how a person might negotiate these. What might it mean for an individual to be both autistic and gender diverse? Read the article from The Atlantic for an interesting perspective.
There are many children whose gender development does not align with traditional theories of gender development, and the term transgender is a broad term used to describe people who do not retain the gender identity that they were assigned at birth. Barker (2017) notes that these may mean quite different things for different people, with some identifying with the opposite sex, others may take steps to align their bodies with their identity, while some may retain a more fluid sense of gender identity. Cisgender is a term used to refer to people who retain their gender identity that they were given at birth. Though most people who the term cisgender describes would not label themselves, recognising this label may go some way to help de-marginalise people who do not conform to traditional gender identities (Barker, 2017).
Recent work by Kourti and MacLeod (2018) explored the experience of gender identity in a group of individuals who were raised as girls and identified as autistic but who did not necessarily identify with a specific gender. Kourti and MacLeod found that their participants did not identify with what could be considered ‘typical female presentations’, and resisted many gender-based social expectations and stereotypes. They therefore call for more complex understandings to be engaged in with respect to gender identity and autism, and focus on the importance of the intersectional influences on an individual of two or more powerful identity components.
It is therefore important to recognise that all of us will have more than one influence on our identity, and sometimes these may compete, while at other times they may be more complementary. Children therefore present with many influences, some of which are individual to them, and others which are shared socio-contextual issues.We need to be mindful of the complexities that can be associated with these intertwining challenges. While gender may be an example of an individual identity element, shaped by powerful social discourse, socio-economic status is something that we very much share with others, rather than ‘own’ as an individual.
The importance of socio-economic status
Socio-economic status is something that defines all of us, and reflects a spectrum of financial and social opportunities, and social positioning by self and others. For children in Australia who are neurodiverse, low socio-economic status may mean a delay in accessing professionals to effectively advocate for assessment and diagnosis due to the financial prevention of seeking this independently of supported healthcare systems. In 2016, the Autism CRC produced a report on diagnostic practices surrounding autism within Australia and found that there were stark differences between the public and private healthcare sectors in terms of the employment of multidisciplinary assessments and the frequency of diagnosis (Diagnostic Practices in Australia, CRC, 2016). The report found that while there was no cost associated with diagnosis within the public sector, there were long wait times. In contrast, a diagnosis could be more readily realised within the private sector, but with an average associated cost of \$2750. The intersections therefore between socio-economic status and diagnosis and supports received by individuals is inextricably bound, and frequently not well understood.
In addition to financial barriers such as those associated with diagnosis, Woolhouse (2018) also highlights the social stigma that is associated with socio-economic status, and the likelihood of ‘mother-blaming’ or ‘culture blaming’ for those deemed to be in the ‘lower end’ of social brackets. Woolhouse (2018) proposes that children who are positioned outside of the ‘ideal’ white, middle-class family norm are frequently stigmatised. Woolhouse’s (2018) work focuses on eating practices and highlights that working class mothers are particularly scrutinised for their failure to prevent childhood obesity for example, through making ‘bad choices’ and are therefore considered ‘high-risk’. Scrutiny of mothers is not limited to eating practices, and mothers of neurodiverse children are frequently the focus of research (e.g. Benson, 2018), with the invisible outward presentation of autism often allowing an element of social judgement of the mother from on-lookers (Neely-Barnes, Hall, Roberts, & Graff, 2011). Social judgement is therefore frequently synonymous with perceived social class, and therefore the complex nexus between social status and diagnostic label can add a dual marginalised facet to an individual’s identity.
Within the Australian context a further consideration is where a child lives. Access to services and support are scarce and more difficult to access for children and families who live in rural settings.
Reflection
Individuals will have many things contributing to the crafting of their identity. We have focused on gender and socio-economic status.
• Can you think of other things that might impact on an individual and their positive sense of self?
Thinking differently within educational spaces: Three key learnings
In this chapter we have introduced some alternative ways of thinking about differences, ones that focus on an abilities framework. However, what does this mean for us as individuals and particularly for educators? We propose three key learning points from the points raised in this chapter.
Moving beyond impairments to view differences
One crucial aspect in starting to think differently is the need to reconsider how we view differences and the potential that such differences might provide. For example, can we use an abilities approach to understand a neurodiverse individual’s exceptional focus on particular interests to develop understandings of other areas? Is it possible to acknowledge difficulty, such as that of an individual with dyslexia, but find ways to support their different learning styles to create a sense of positive identity and self esteem?
Reflecting on our environments
Can we create more inclusive and accommodating environments for individuals to learn in? We saw earlier, through the eyes of Alex, how unpredictable and scary situations can be. Can we put ourselves in the place of someone who thinks differently so as to try and understand what some of the challenges might be? By understanding what individual’s find difficult, can we understand their behaviours more accurately?
The importance of partnerships
Experts are found in a range of roles, and we need to think broadly about what expertise a particular individual is bringing to a situation. Parents can bring experiential expertise in terms of knowledge about their children, and neurodiverse adults can provide a wealth of expertise in reflecting back on their experiences as children – these are not challenges but opportunities for shared learning.
Being an educator is a challenging profession – one that requires a negotiation of many different roles and contexts. Creating an environment that is inclusive in respecting the different needs of all individuals is a key focus, and marginalising those who think differently creates a missed opportunity for both the individual and society more widely. Not fitting into a set educational context and the management of this in a positive way requires thinking differently for all, requiring us to open our eyes to a range of complex diversities.
references
Armstrong, T. (2010). Neurodiversity. Discovering the extraordinary gifts of autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and other brain differences. Philadelphia, PA: Da Capo Press.
University of Southern Queensland [USQ](Producer). (2015). Arthur’s story [Animation].
Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS]. (2017). Autism in Australia. Retrieved from: http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/Lookup/4430.0Main%20Features752015
Australian Human Rights Commission. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.humanrights.gov.au
Autism CRC. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.autismcrc.com.au
Barker, M-J. (2017). Gender, sexual, and relationship diversity [GSRD]. Good practice across the counselling professions 001. Lutterworth, England: British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy.
Barnes, C. & Mercer, G. (1996). Exploring the divide: Illness and disability. Leeds, England: The Disability Press.
BBC Sesh. (2018, Sep 26). I won’t let dyslexia beat me [Facebook post]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/bbcsesh/videos/2213681085563190/
Benson, P. R. (2018). The impact of child and family stressors on the self-rated health of mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder: Associations with depressed mood over a 12-year period. Autism, 22(4), 489-501.
Bertilsdotter Rosqvist, H., Brownlow, C., & O’Dell, L. (2015). “An association for all” – notions of the meaning of autistic self-advocacy politics within a parent-dominated autistic movement. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 25, 219-231.
Brownlow, C. & Werth, S. (2018). Autism Spectrum Disorder: Emotion work in the workplace. In S. Werth and C. Brownlow (eds.), Work and Identity: Contemporary Perspectives on Workplace Diversity. Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan.
Burman, E. (2008). Deconstructing developmental psychology (2nd ed.). London, England: Routledge.
Cai, R. Y., & Richdale, A. L. (2015). Educational experiences and needs of higher education students with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 46(1), 31-41.
Dekker, M. (2000). On our own terms: Emerging autistic culture. Retrieved 12th April 2007, from http://autisticculture.com/index.php?page=articles
Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Aus). Retrieved from https://www.legislation.gov.au/Series/C2004A04426
Dworzynski, K., Ronald, A., Bolton, P., & Happe, F. (2012). How different are girls and boys above and below the diagnostic threshold for autism spectrum disorders? Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 51(8), 788– 797.
Harmon, A. (2004). How about not ‘curing’ us, some autistics are pleading. Retrieved 23rdOctober 2018 from https://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/20/health/how-about-not-curing-us-some-autistics-are-pleading.html
Johnson, K. (2018). Beyond boy and girl: Gender variance in childhood and adolescence. In L. O’Dell, C. Brownlow, and H. Bertilsdotter Rosqvist (Eds.), Different childhoods: Non/normative development and transgressive trajectories,(pp.25-40). London, England: Routledge.
Kourti, M. & MacLeod, A. (2018). “I don’t feel like a gender, I feel like myself”: Autistic individuals raised as girls exploring gender identity. Autism in Adulthood, 1(1), doi: 10.1089/aut.2018.0001.
Lai, M. C., Lombardo, M. V., Auyeung, B., Chakrabarti, B., & BaronCohen, S. (2015). Sex/gender differences and autism: Setting the scene for future research. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 54(1), 11–24.
Neely-Barnes, S. L., Hall, H. R., Roberts, R. J., & Graff, J. C. (2011). Parenting a child with an autism spectrum disorder: Public perceptions and parental conceptualizations. Journal of Family Social Work,14(3), 208-225.
Ortega, F. (2013). Cerebralizing autism within the neurodiversity movememt. In J. Davidson and M. Orsini (eds.), Worlds of autism: Across the spectrum of neurological difference, (pp.73-96), Minneapolis OH: University of Minnesota Press.
Parsons, S. (2014). “Why are we an ignored group?” Mainstream educational experiences and current life satisfaction of adults on the autism spectrum from an online survey. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 1–25.
Rapley, M. (2004). The Social Construction of Intellectual Disability, Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Richards, G. (1996). Putting psychology in its place. An introduction from a critical perspective. London, England: Routledge.
Rose, N. (1989a). Individualizing psychology. In J. Shotter and K. J. Gergen (Eds.), Texts of Identity,(pp.119-132). London, England: Sage.
Rose, N. (1989b). Governing the soul. The shaping of the private self. London, England: Routledge.
Rose, N. (1990). Psychology as a ‘social’ science. In I. Parker and J. Shotter (Eds.), Deconstructing social psychology. London, England: Routledge.
Taylor, L., Brown, P., Eapen, V., Midford, S., Paynter, J., Quarmby, L., Smith, T., Maybery, M., Williams, K. and Whitehouse, A. (2016). Autism spectrum disorder diagnosis in Australia: Are we meeting best practice standards? Brisbane, Australia: Autism Co-operative Research Centre.
The National Autistic Society. (2016, Mar 31). Can you make it to the end? [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lr4_dOorquQ
The National Autistic Society. (2018, Mar 26). Diverted [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDXNmRo4CX0&feature=youtu.be
White, B. (2016). The link between autism and trans identity. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/11/the-link-between-autism-and-trans-identity/507509/
Widell, V. (2012). Dyslexia. R
Woolhouse, M. (2018). ‘The failed child of the failing mother’: Situating the development of child eating practices and the scrutiny of maternal foodwork. In L. O’Dell, C. Brownlow, and H. Bertilsdotter Rosqvist (Eds.), Different childhoods: Non/normative development and transgressive trajectories,(pp.57-71).London, England: Routledge. | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Opening_Eyes_onto_Inclusion_and_Diversity_(Carter_et_al.)/1.02%3A_Different_childhoods-_Transgressing_boundaries_through_thinking_differently.txt |
So, what can we do as teachers to prepare ourselves to be social justice advocates and teachers whose inclusive classrooms embrace and honour diversity?
Key Learnings
• The Australian demographic has been changing dramatically resulting in an increasingly diverse population.
• Every individual is shaped and influenced by multiple factors which add to the rich tapestry of a school and community.
• Inclusion involves acceptance and catering for the needs of all learners.
• At the heart of any inclusive school is the creation of a culture where each individual is accepted and embraced for who and what they bring to the learning space.
Introduction
As teachers, we are privileged to have the opportunity to work in diverse contexts and with diverse groups and individuals. The richness and opportunities within today’s classrooms provide a wealth of opportunities to learn from, and with our students, parents, community and colleagues. By sharing perspectives and histories that may be unfamiliar to us and to others, opportunities are created that must be embraced in order to break down the many social injustices that still exist, and which limit the opportunities of students to fulfil their full potential.
In 2013, then 16 year old Pakistani activist, Malala Yousafzai spoke at an international assembly and said “ thousands of people have been killed by the terrorists and millions have been injured. I am just one of them. So here I stand, one girl among many. I speak not for myself, but for those without a voice that can be heard. Those who have fought for their rights. Their right to live in peace. Their right to be treated with dignity. Their right to equality of opportunity. The right to be educated” (Malala Yousafzai Quote, 2013). As teachers it is our moral obligation to do no less.
Many of our most marginalised students and families find it difficult to be heard and we can be their voice and advocate for inclusion and equity. The Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians (2008) clearly states our moral and legal obligation to provide opportunities for all students to succeed, as do the various Australian state jurisdiction Anti-Discrimination Acts. As a consequence, teaching should, and can be an activist profession (Sachs, 2003) where we can seek to make a difference in the lives of the children and young people that we teach. To achieve this, educators must also be continual learners, seeking to know and understand their students and their education setting communities, in order to be able to provide targeted support, because “learning in schools occurs when meaning making takes place. A sociocultural approach to understanding how learning takes place is built on cognitively explicating the relationships between actions and understandings” (Abawi, 2013, p. 91).
In this chapter we seek to develop the reader’s understandings by exploring the concepts of diversity and inclusion in order to prepare ourselves for action, as teachers who are social justice advocates, and teachers whose inclusive classrooms embrace and honour diversity.
Understanding diversity
A snapshot of our nation
There is an increasing emphasis in schools, on understanding and catering for the diversity of learners in our classrooms, and rightly so. Consequently, let’s examine what diversity looks like within a contemporary Australian landscape.
The demography of Australia has been changing dramatically, with increasing evidence of a nation rich in diversity. According to statistics from the 2016 Australian National Census, 33.3% of Australians were born overseas, and a further 34.4% of people had both parents born overseas (Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), 2018). In 2016, 82% of the overseas-born population lived in capital cities (refer to Figure \(3\) ) (Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), 2018). Disturbingly, in 2012, 2.55 million people (13.9%) were living below the poverty line, after taking account of their housing costs, and 603, 000 children (17.7% of all children) were living below the poverty line (Australian Council of Social Service [ACOSS], 2012).
The 2016 National Census identified that the resident Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population of Australia was 649 171 people, 2.8% of the total Australian population counted, up from 2.5 per cent in 2011, and 2.3 per cent in 2006 (ABS, 2018). Of the Australian states and territories, the largest populations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians live in New South Wales and Queensland. However, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians comprised 30% of the population of the Northern Territory, the highest proportion of any state or territory.
Between 2001 and 2011, the number of people reporting a non-Christian faith increased considerably, from around 0.9 million to 1.5 million, accounting for 7.2% of the total population in 2011 (up from 4.9% in 2001). The most common non-Christian religions in 2011 were Buddhism (accounting for 2.5% of the population), Islam (2.2%) and Hinduism (1.3%). Of these, Hinduism had experienced the fastest growth since 2001, increasing by 189% to 275,500, followed by Islam (increased by 69% to 476,300) and Buddhism (increased by 48% to 529,000 people) (ABS, 2011). The 2015 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC) identified that almost one in five Australians reported living with disability (18.3% or 4.3 million people) (ABS, 2015).
As a result of the impact of the diversity on the Australian population, many educators struggle to meet the needs of learners within education settings composed of students from culturally, ethnically and linguistically diverse backgrounds, in addition to students with varying levels of ability, children raised in poverty and the dynamics of alternative family structures (Sands, Kozlwak & French, 2000).
Reflection
• What does an increased diversity of demographic mean for your classroom / education setting or organisation?
• What does this mean for your teaching practice?
• How well prepared are you for this level of diversity?
Reframing diversity
What does the term diversity mean?
Certainly, these statistics are significant in understanding the diversity of our nation, but it is important to understand diversity, not just in terms of groups or labels but rather in terms of individuality. As we know each and everyone of us is unique and different in many varied ways, with our difference from each other influenced by a collection of diverse genetic and environmental factors (Ashman, 2015).
As such, the term diversity then includes more than socio-economic, cultural, ethnic and linguistic differences. It also includes differences arising from gender and sexual orientation, and includes differences in tastes, preferences and communication styles. Appropriately, the term diversity also includes the differences in the skills and capacities that learners bring to education settings (Sands et al., 2000). Consider also the diverse learning styles and preferences of students, and the role that motivation, cognitive load, and mental ability have on students, and how they also add to the diversity of any learning group.
Often in education settings, we group students by labels. We talk about catering for gifted and talented learners or exceptional learners, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, students for whom English is an Additional Language or Dialect [EAL/D], autistic students, or even group a diverse range of disabilities and learning impairments into one group such as students with disabilities.
The danger with such groupings is that we may then think of each of these groups homogeneously with a ‘one size fits all’ mentality, and this impacts on how we plan the learning and cater for diversity in our classrooms. When individuals appear to have some similar characteristics, they tend to be labelled by others and themselves (Sands et al., 2000). For example, it is not uncommon to refer to the ‘nerds’ at school or the ‘sporty types’ as collective groups. Likewise, classifying is a common practice in health, education, and business. For example, in health, patients are categorised by conditions [heart, cancer etc.].
In education, and in life, we tend to label in multiple ways, and in doing so we sometimes risk assuming that individuals within a category have all the same needs and all learn the same way. This is not always the case. Such labelling can also result in deficit thinking, and in fact result in lower expectations and/or create stereotyping.
Watch
Consider the graphic representation in Figure \(5\).
It is these variables and varied factors that contribute to each of us as individuals, and are what we add to the rich tapestry of education setting and its community.
Watch
In our classrooms, we have young people who have similarities and differences in:
• Philosophy – points of view , perspective, religion and experiences.
• Physiology – genetics, cognitive and physical ability and mental, physical health and wellbeing.
• Identity- race, gender, ethnicity, nationality, age and family.
• Demographics – socio-economic, citizenship and location.
• Learning preferences – types of intelligences or visual, auditory or kinesthetic learning styles (VAK).
Family diversity
Figure 3.5: Photograph by Sebastián León Prado on Unsplash
One of the most powerful activities in getting to know your students is to ask them to draw a visual representation of their family. This will give you great insight into the diversity of family structures. These diverse structures challenge teachers to consider the fact that many children do not live in what is often described as the traditional family – Mum, Dad, children and the pets. Often in Western cultures, and portrayed this way in the media, this family is seen as the most desirable type of family. Given this, children who do not live in a family that fits this profile and promoted norm can grow up with a view that their family is not normal.
What is acceptable in one family and culture may not be in another. For example, in some cultures, polygamy is common. There are rules in some families, for example, where one member is considered the person in charge. In patriarchal families, the family is ruled by men – they make the important decisions – whereas the opposite is the case for matriarchal families. Families are also very fluid. Partners may change through death or divorce and be reconstituted with further marriage or relationships (Cohen et al., 2007).
So, let’s consider the types of diversity that can exist in learners’ lives.
Organisational Diversity
Different kinds of family compositions – single parent, blended, reconstituted or fostered.
Cultural Diversity
For example, the Kibbutz in Israel where families live together communally; arranged marriages in India; or stem families in China (three or more generations live together).
Social Class Diversity
Different access to material and economic resources.
Life Cycle Diversity
Different stages of development – a family in early stages of development would have young children (consider the fact that sleep may be interrupted on a regular basis).
Cohort Diversity
Each period is likely to impact on families in different ways: for example, the radical social change that occurs as a result of war.
(Adapted from Cohen et al., 2007).
The cultural interface in an inclusive school
Considering the diverse cultural backgrounds of the students in our education settings and the families who support them, it is worth reflecting on ways to see if we can bridge gaps in understanding and knowledge, in areas where we, as educators, may be lacking. Nakata (2006) suggests that educators conceptualise the cross cultural space, not in terms of perceived opposites and differences, but in terms of knowledge systems composed of sets of complex, layered concepts, theories and meanings. Nakata’s work has been central to bringing non-Indigenous Australians and Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people toward a closer understanding, respect and appreciation of the richness and value in diversity. Too often within education settings, a dominant ‘white’ perspective on the world is most evident, and this can have ongoing consequences for children and young people who find it difficult to see themselves as having a valued place within a ‘Western’ education system.It is important then as teachers, especially for those of us who are non-Indigenous teachers, to carefully consider how we can be a part of the struggle to address the lies and omissions that shape Australian history. We must proactively work against racism in any form. To help us in this mission we need to construct counter-discourses and utilise ways of thinking and pedagogical practices that engage and challenge learners to think differently and to dig deeper into their own consciousness and experiences and embrace the diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and peoples.
The following statistics from the Closing the Gap, Prime Minister’s Report, 2015 were based on standardised proportions and indicated that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were: twice as likely as non-Indigenous people to have asthma (rate ratio of 1.9); more likely than non-Indigenous people to have diseases of the ear and/or hearing problems (rate ratio of 1.3); more likely than non-Indigenous people to have heart or circulatory diseases (rate ratio of 1.2); and three times as likely as non-Indigenous people to have diabetes/high sugar levels (rate ratio of 3.3). Similar statistics portray an equally negative discourse about educational outcomes. However, this type of deficit discourse presents one view only and has been criticised for the language, cultural overtones and assumptions made.
Click and explore the concepts of knowledge, power and voice, and whose voices are often silenced.
Watch
A role play filmed in 2017, conceptualised by USQ’s Indigenous Curriculum and Pedagogy Consultant, Megan Cooper, and enacted by a number of academics and friends of USQ, including Megan herself who introduces the scenario.
Reflection
As you engage with each segment ask yourself the following the questions:
• Whose points of view resonate with yours?
• Which are the dominant voices? Why? Should they be?
• How is ‘knowledge’ positioned within the meeting? Whose knowledge counts?
How would you explain the power relationships between the groups presented in the video? Consider the concepts of ‘Power over’, ‘Power with’ and ‘Power to’ and how a deficit discourse creates ongoing inequity resulting in low expectations and the framing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as victims. What other sections of our society are being victimised? It is so simple to stereotype learners and make generalisations. Is there not also a similar deficit discourse about refugees and Muslims for example?
Australian Curriculum
Certainly there have been efforts made in recent times to ensure that Australian Indigenous peoples and their knowledge systems and beliefs are being valued within the Australian educational system. The most significant of these relates to the advent of the Australian Curriculum. The Australian Curriculum was introduced in 2008 with an aim to ensure an equal curriculum for all Australian students (Australian Government, 2008). A big plus for the curriculum is the inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures as a cross-curriculum priority, meaning that the Indigenous perspective is embedded throughout the eight learning areas of the Australian Curriculum. ‘Country/place’, ‘culture’ and ‘people’ and ‘identity within the living community’ are embedded in the curriculum, as well as the “development of knowledge about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ law, languages, dialects and literacies” (Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA], 2018). Themes of celebration of strength and resilience “against the historic and contemporary impacts of colonisation” (ACARA, 2018) are explored.
The Australian curriculum also acknowledges that Indigenous students’ first language may be Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander dialect and literacy will therefore be more complex to learn. It recognises the diversity of sociocultural, linguistic and cultural factors of all Indigenous learners and the personalised learning needs they may require to meet the curriculum. Continuing to be critical about the curriculum is important to ensure anti-racism curriculum is implemented. The inclusion of Indigenous perspective in the Australian Curriculum was not difficult (Nakata, 2011). The Australian Curriculum developers ensured coherence with policies and practices at a system level (Schleicher, 2017), there was content rigour (Morris & Burgess, 2018) and curricula were developed with Indigenous authors (Parkinson & Jones, 2018). However, the education setting administration needs to be committed to implementation of the curriculum and teachers need to deliver content with an understanding of the dispossession and struggle experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and the continuing effect of colonisation on their lives (Schleicher, 2017).
An Indigenous Pedagogical Framework originating from research with Australian Indigenous communities in Northern New South Wales, called the 8 Ways Pedagogy provides teachers, and others, with one set of culturally inclusive lenses with which to view the world and also to use when planning activities, the framework can be used to .
Leading a Culturally respectful school
Schleicher (2017) identified that in education settings where Indigenous students had high rates of achievement, the results of that success could be generally attributed to a highly effective and committed principal who exhibited a ‘do whatever it takes’ approach that ensured that Indigenous students attended school, engaged in learning and made good progress. Effective principals set high expectations for teachers and take responsibility for monitoring student performance.
Under such leadership, resources are provided to ensure culturally sensitive teaching. Extra support is provided to support individuals who require more help. Cultural competence training is delivered to assist educators to understand cultural perspectives of Indigenous peoples and to identify their own underlying bias (Riley & Pidgeon, 2018). Professional development to understand Aboriginal specific language development and cultural norms is provided to further assist educators’ understanding Indigenous learners (Schleicher, 2017). Approaches in such schools tend towards a ‘whole-of-child’ perspective that placed students’ overall wellbeing as a key priority, ensured indigenous students progressed academically, expected progress was met and that any necessary interventions were put in place in a timely manner (Schleicher, 2017).
Principals who are committed to developing best possible outcomes for Indigenous families, treat families with respect (Schleicher, 2017). They acknowledge and address the negative impact and trauma that Indigenous people will have experienced with education systems, which may cause Indigenous families to resist the traditional school culture. Culturally responsive content is addressed in a holistic manner and a sense of belonging is created so students want to attend school regularly (Bodkin-Andrews & Carlson, 2016).
Teacher perspectives
Many of the teachers who are delivering the Australian Curriculum, were exposed to only one side of the story in their own education (Gilbey, 2018). Teachers may be ignorant of the Indigenous perspective, have racist beliefs acquired from their own knowledge and upbringing or anti-racist and therefore struggle to support ideals striving to support all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders well-being and education (Gilbey, 2018). Teachers may not have had Indigenous perspective courses in their Higher Education courses, or may not have worked in schools with Indigenous students (Slee, 2011). Developing a culture of inclusion for Indigenous students will only occur when the curriculum addresses the indigenous perspective, teachers create respectful trusting relationships with Indigenous students and have high expectations about Indigenous students (Riley & Pidgeon, 2018). According to Schleicher (2017) Indigenous learners said they felt supported when:
• their teachers took an interest in them;
• cared about them and who they were as Indigenous people;
• expected them to succeed in their learning; and
• assisted them to learn about their cultures, histories and language/s.
The importance of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people working together to understand cultural bias in the curriculum has been espoused by Nakata (2011). Nakata argues non-indigenous people can never fully understand the dispossession, trauma and racism experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as a result of colonialism, but they can listen and understand the impact on their identity (Nakata, 2011). Using this knowledge, local community members can create partnerships with schools to ensure an anti-racist education is established and maintained.
Socio-economic diversity
There is a significant amount of literature, research and debate about the impact of socio-economic disadvantage on educational outcomes for children. The following factors are considered to contribute to socio-economic disadvantage and add to the diversity of individual, groups and communities.
1. Poverty
Measuring disadvantage in wealthy countries is calculated by considering the proportion of the population living below what is referred to as the ‘poverty line’. Poverty lines are mostly based on the after-tax income of households. According to the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) Report on Poverty (2012), single parents, females, adults born in countries where English is not the main language, people with a disability, the unemployed, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are at higher risk of poverty and at greater risk of social security being the main source of income.
2. Deprivation
Another measure of disadvantage is ‘deprivation’. Deprivation is measured by the proportion of households lacking items which the majority consider as essential. Saunders and Wong (2012) identified that there were six key categories of essential needs:
1. the need for basic materials;
2. the need for good health;
3. the need for accommodation;
4. the need for social interaction and functioning;
5. the need for safety and reduced risk; and
6. the need for children’s needs to be met.
3. Social Exclusion
There are many definitions of social exclusion.
1. Lack of connectedness.
2. An inability to participate in key activities in the local community because of a lack of access to resources required.
3. An inability to access institutions, services and social networks.
4. Negative impact on quality of life and wellbeing.
However, it is important to note that individuals may experience social exclusion without necessarily living below the poverty line. Similarly, individuals may experience levels of deprivation and be above the poverty line.
There have been a number of studies linking persistent socioeconomic disadvantage to negative impact on educational and life outcomes. Feruson, Bovaird and Mueller (2007) describe four factors that impact on education and life: 1) social functioning; 2) academic functioning; 3) chronic physical health problems; and 4) psychiatric disorders which can also significantly affect the school readiness of young children. Similarly, a longitudinal study by Duncan (1993) found that family income and poverty status correlated strongly with the cognitive development and behaviour of children. Having said this, there are also studies that question the strength of this correlation. Rothman (2003) refers to data from the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth which found a decrease in the relationships between socio economic status and academic achievement between 1975 and 1995, although this was less evident between 1995 and 1998. These surveys analysed reading comprehension and mathematics performance data.
Without a doubt though, students living with socioeconomic disadvantage can feel a sense of social exclusion in schools. The impact of not being able to afford equipment, attend excursions, buy school photos and more, contributes to disengagement and social exclusion. We should not, however, assume that all students who live in disadvantaged situations are disengaged and feel social exclusion in educational settings. If this is not understood then again stereo-typing occurs. Payne’s (1995), A Framework for Understanding Poverty, has been used in teacher training and professional development activities for years, particularly in the United States but also in other countries, such as Australia. Recently this work has come under intense academic scrutiny for exactly the reason mentioned above (Gorski, 2012). The reasons for this are that broader systemic issues are ignored and stereotyping and the deficit perspectives at play are in fact theoretically ungrounded.
According to Lee and Burkam (2003) as cited by Gorski (2012), students labelled ‘at-risk’ who attend schools that combine rigorous curricula with learner-centred teaching achieve at higher levels and are less likely to drop out than their peers who experience lower-order instruction. All learners, including those from low socio-economic backgrounds learn best in schools where there are very high academic expectations for all students. Standards should never be based on socioeconomic status, nor should they be lowered in response to the socio-economic background of learners (Gorski, 2012)which clearly resonates with Paulo Freiere’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed first published in 1968.
Factors adding to group diversity
Learning Styles
Learning styles describe how we approach different tasks as well as our different individual preferences and strengths in learning. We all process information and learn different skills in a variety of different ways as our brains are complex, and can make use of visual (seeing), auditory (hearing), kinesthetic (touching) and reflective (thinking) processes. As a consequence, learning styles also contribute to the diversity of a learning group, with a variety of preferences for learning evident in any one class group.
The Theory of Multiple Intelligences, developed by Howard Gardner (2006), proposed that individuals possess a number of autonomous intelligences, which individuals regularly draw on both individually and collectively, to create and solve problems that are relevant to the societies in which they live (Davis, Christodoulou, Seider & Gardner, 2011). The intelligences include: visual intelligence, linguistic (verbal) intelligence, logical-mathematical intelligence, spatial intelligence, interpersonal intelligence, intrapersonal intelligence, naturalistic intelligence, bodily-kinaesthetic intelligence, and musical intelligence. Over time Gardner built on these and added spiritual/existential and moral intelligences (refer to Figure 3.7).
Others question the validity of different learning styles theory and argue that the theory is a culturally biased way of understanding the varied ways in which learners learn (Peariso, 2008). Many critics describe the theory as being moralistic and overly focused on delivering a highly individualised child centred pedagogy rather than pedagogy that nurtures a broader, set of human attributes (Peariso, 2008).
Despite such criticisms, educators consider Howard Gardner’s (2006) Theory of Multiple Intelligences (Figure 3.7) and other learning styles theories to be useful ways of considering the diversity of learners in our classrooms. The important message to retain from any theory is that learners do learn differently and may well have very different learning preferences. Therefore, as teachers it is incumbent upon us to ensure that varied ways of learning and assessment of learning should be provided to students. Such activities need to be consciously chosen so as to cater to a student’s strengths whilst at other times building and consolidating areas that are challenging for them.
The Domains of Learning
Using labels, particularly for students with disabilities, does not always help teachers to plan effectively, make adjustments and select the most appropriate learning activities, and can sometimes result in, unintentionally, stereotyping a student. However, naming groups does serve a purpose when trying to pinpoint specialised needs. Anderson and Krathwohl’s (2001) revised work on Bloom’s Taxonomies devised four domains of learning that assist in understanding the needs of each learner: 1)the cognitive, 2) affective, 3) sensorimotor and 4)social domain.
In psychology, these concepts are often referred to as:
• the cognitive domain (knowledge);
• the psychomotor domain (skills);
• the affective domain (attitudes); and
• the psychosocial domain (social skills) (Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2016).
Sands et al., ( 2000) suggest that these domains do not stand alone, and instead are complex, interactive components of the whole person. Using the four domains of learning can assist in understanding the needs and characteristics of individuals and groups of learners.
Understanding the individual
If we then consider an individual in terms of the four domains and varied learner preferences, then layer that with a person’s culture, ethnicity, gender, and socio-economic status, we have a better understanding of diversity. Diversity is something that all children, young people and adults have in common, both within individuals and across groups. In response to such diversity, it then becomes an essential responsibility of all educators and all those who support educators, that each and every individual’s diversity is built upon, that a belief is held that all individuals have the capacity to learn, and that educators uphold all individuals’ right to learn (Peters, 2007).
The Neurodiversity – each of us is special
The National Symposium on Neurodiversity (2011) proposed that Neurodiversity should be recognised and respected the same as any other human variation. Neurodiversity includes neurological difference such as Dyspraxia, Dyslexia, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Dyscalculia, Autistic Spectrum, Tourette Syndrome. Listen to this simple explanation of Neurodiversity and then watch this brilliant young man explain the same thing in pictures – in Ryan’s Book of Brains.
accountability
As you would be aware it is important that teachers have knowledge of the relevant legislation that impacts on their legal and professional accountabilities. Diverse learners are protected by a suite of federal and state Acts which focus predominantly on age, gender, human rights, race and disability an include the following:
Coupled with legislation, policy and procedure underpin the functioning of schools both state and non-state. For example, in Queensland’s Department of Education and Training (DET), there are a raft of policies/frameworks that relate to diversity and inclusion including:
• Inclusive Education Policy Statement
• Disability Policy
• Supporting Student Health and Wellbeing policy
• Students in Out-of-home Care Policy
• English as and Additional Language or Dialect Policy
• Capability Framework: Teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander EAL/D Learners
• Learning and Wellbeing Framework
things to remember about diversity
It is important to remember that even though the research might indicate, for example, that Aboriginal students often work best in group work, we should never stereotype an individual and assume a ‘one size fits all’ mentality – after all group work is best for many different learners. Above all, we need to know our learners. For example, it is important to understand the ways of learning that work best for gifted students but be very careful not to assume that every gifted learner will learn that way because we need to consider other factors in their life, such as ethnicity, gender, health and family. We must also not assume that skills in one area are automatically translated into another.
Understanding inclusion
Definitions of inclusion
The Melbourne Declaration on Education Goals for Young Australians (Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs [MCEETYA], 2008) declared that “all Australian governments and all school sectors must provide all students with access to high-quality schooling that is free from discrimination based on gender, language, sexual orientation, pregnancy, culture, ethnicity, religion, health or disability, socioeconomic background or geographic location” (MCEETYA, 2008, p.7). Inclusion is therefore not a choice but an obligation.
What does the word inclusion mean?
There are numerous definitions of inclusion and inclusive education. Let’s consider some of the definitions and considerations. Ashman (2015) defines inclusion in terms of ‘acceptance’ and catering for the needs of all learners by making appropriate adjustments. The term inclusion describes the act of accepting a student completely – regardless of any difference, their impairments or their disability, within a regular class, with adjustments made to the learning program to ensure that every learner is fully engaged in all class activities (Ashman, 2015).
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation [UNESCO] Policy Guidelines on Inclusion in Education (2009), describes inclusion holistically by referring to inclusive education as a ‘process’ where by it is the system that needs to be inclusive: “Inclusive education is a process of strengthening the capacity of the education system to reach out to all learners, and can thus be understood as a key strategy to achieve (education for all)” (UNESCO, 2009, p. 8). The UNESCO guidelines also consider inclusion not only in terms of the right to participate in learning but also in terms of social acceptance so that children actually feel included, as do their families, in every relevant aspect of school life.
According to Hyde (2010), inclusion is about learning, social participation and enduring well-being, and is directly influenced by an individual’s ability to successfully access and engage in quality educational and social experiences. Hyde (2010) also refers to the importance of engagement when considering inclusion where engagement is the degree to which the student is attached emotionally, socially, cognitively and academically to the school.
Carter and Abawi (2018) developed the following definition “inclusion is defined as successfully meeting student learning needs regardless of culture, language, cognition, gender, gifts and talents, ability, or background” (p.2). They go on to say that “within the literature, definitions are blurred and ‘special needs’ are often referred to when exploring inclusion. ‘Special needs’ has been linked to disadvantage and disability, but we define special needs more broadly as the individual requirements of a person, and the provision for these specific differences can be considered as catering for special needs” (p. 2). What does inclusion mean to you?
Segregation to inclusion – a brief history
Chronology of historical educational practice in Australia
The following chronology of education in Australia provides an outline of the major milestones and trends in the development of educational practices and the movement from segregation to inclusion.
1850’s
• During this period education few children from the working classes and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children engaged in education.
1860s and 70s
• Education Acts placed all primary education under one general and comprehensive system controlled by Boards of General Education.
1880s and 90s
• Free, secular and compulsory education in State schools .
• The ‘Blind, Deaf and Dumb’ became a focus with schools established to cater for vision and hearing impaired students.
1900s and 1910s
• Arguments proposed for universal secondary education.
1920s and 30s
• Rise of technical and domestic schools for the working class in order to meet the needs of a growing economy post World War 1.
• The first special classes were provided for ‘handicapped’ children.
• Classes for ‘backward’ children became ‘Opportunity Classes’.
• Education becomes compulsory for vision and hearing impaired children through the Blind, Deaf and Dumb Children Instruction Bill of 1924.
1950s
• The State Schools for ‘Spastic Children’ open.
• Separate schools were established for students with mild intellectual disabilities.
1960s
• Establishment of comprehensive high schools.
• Differentiation between government and non-government.
• Streaming between academic and vocational.
• Integration started to gain traction in some schools, although the prevalence of institutions and special schools continued.
• Opportunity schools contained large numbers of students with 2000 students placed in Queensland Opportunity schools in the 1960s.
1970s
• The Karmel Report had impact with a focus on educational inequality.
1980s
• Parental choice and diversity of schooling emerged.
• Compensatory funding for identified/targeted groups began to get traction.
• A growing culture of expectations of school and student performance.
1990s
• Education department policies began to focus on accommodating the diverse needs of students.
• A stronger focus on discrimination legislation emerged.
2000s –
• Schools viewed as corporate models with targets and performance indicators.
• Disability Standards for Education with a focus on inclusive school cultures.
What would you expect to see in an inclusive school?
• The student is part of the community.
• Schools make adjustments to fit the students.
• Acceptance.
• Fair treatment.
Unfortunately, some schools are less than inclusive. Right from the point when parents ask questions around enrolment and the first interview with the school Principal or Deputy takes place problems can start to arise. In the words of a District Support Officer:
Our schools [State Schools] can’t say no, but some make things seem very challenging … “oh … your child will be the only child like this in Year 3 so we don’t really have a structure where we could pull them out to do this, that or the other, so this is all we can do for them. (Abawi, 2015)
Although no student can be explicitly turned away from a school, it is certainly not unknown for the leadership team to suggest that a child with a particular need would be better catered for at another school. Parents feel that their child is unwelcome and rather than debate the issue they leave and try again. Not only is the child ‘excluded’ but so are the parents.
Characteristics of inclusive schools
At the heart of any inclusive school is the creation of a culture where each individual is accepted and embraced for who and what they bring to the learning space. It is also about social justice and about enabling each individual to reach their full potential. In order to do this, we may have to set aside our pre-conceived norms and assumptions about a student’s ability, and build learning opportunities to challenge and extend by enabling engagement at every level.
Inclusive practice can be described as any type of practice or efforts made by educational settings where students and their parents and care givers are made to feel welcomed and valued. Within this practice it is implied that if a student’s participation becomes as issue as a result of disability, gender, behaviour, poverty, culture, refugee status or any other reason, then ever effort will be made not to establish special programs for individuals or groups, but instead to expand mainstream thinking, structures and practices so that all students are accommodated within the setting (Shaddock, Giorcelli & Smith , 2007).
Inclusive school communities:
• Uphold the rights of students.
• Value diversity.
• Ensure access and participation.
• Match pedagogy to student need.
• Share responsibility.
• Share decision making.
• Value parents/carers as partners.
However, Sands et al. (2000) note that creating an inclusive culture is not a simple task. Building and sustaining an inclusive culture requires the development of a sense of belonging, opportunities for meaningful participation, the fostering of positive alliances and affiliations, opportunities for collaboration and the provision of emotional and technical support for all members of the community.
Quality relationships – belonging and participation
Human beings have a fundamental need to belong and be accepted. Loneliness and isolation deeply affect many people at some stage in their lives. It was not all that long ago that segregation of diverse learners was evident in schools. For example, for many years special education services were provided to identified students in a ‘special education unit’, often an isolated place with minimal social and academic interaction with other students in the school. Although no malice was intended, students with disabilities were often systematically excluded from many educational settings and from many interactions that their peers would have typically experienced (Sands et al., 2000).
Every student in every classroom wants to belong and be accepted by others. Relationships matter in the classroom, between students and between students and their teachers. Learners very quickly pick up whether their teacher cares about them as an individual. Glasser (1998) talks about the need to put emotional deposits into the relationship bank so that these can be drawn upon when needed. If a learner has gained respect and built a relationship with their teacher they are much more likely to develop the resilience to be able to cope with tough conversations and disciplinary measures.
Alliances and affiliations
There are many additional relationships within a education setting that support diverse learners. There are often well-established alliances and affiliations; support networks and varied collaborations. Classrooms are complex and challenging learning environments, and catering for the range of students is a challenging. yet rewarding part of teaching. Unfortunately, all too often the relationship between an education setting and its community can easily become unwelcoming and inaccessible (Groundwater-Smith, Ewing & Le Cornu, 2014).
It then becomes important that school community members form strong alliances to support learners. In schools, where professionals and families work in a strong alliance to support a student, an increased prevalence of inclusive practices is evident. For example, consider a year five teacher who has 25 students in the class, seven are refugee migrants classified as EALD [English as an Additional language or Dialect], and two have Down Syndrome. This teacher needs the support and advice of EALD specialists in the field and support from external advisory staff. Meaningful contributions by the parents/carers [with the support of an interpreter where needed], medical professionals, fellow staff and school leaders. A school wide approach is essential so that effective support is not only provided in the year 5 teacher’s classroom but also in the playground, and as these children move in and out of other classroom contexts.
Mutual emotional and technical support
Sometimes teachers are their own worst enemies. Too often, teachers operate behind closed doors with high levels of stress because of an overwhelming sense of inadequacy at the enormity of their task. Stress levels in teachers can be traced to professional isolation and increasing complex classroom environments associated with increased student diversity, expanding levels of intensity of students’ needs, and larger class sizes, all of which contribute to a progressively more challenging work environment (Sands, et al., 2000).
Teachers need to support each other, share their expertise and have frequent access to support personnel who have some expertise in particular fields. No one teacher can be expected to be an expert on the various needs of all the students in their classroom. An open sharing culture must be established where school basic norms and assumptions (Schein, 1992) include the belief that every child is every person’s responsibility and that there is no shame or blame attached to admitting difficulties in meeting student needs and asking for support and advice (Carter & Abawi, 2018).
Building professional teams is important and can work well even across-school contexts. Teachers need the support and advice from others in the field, experts, paraprofessionals, parents/carers. In schools there are a number of resident and visiting specialists (guidance officers, speech language therapists, psychologists, youth workers) who can support a classroom teacher. Sands et al., (2000) refer to the importance of ‘transdisciplinary teams’ that made up of a team of individuals who work together to support the needs of a student where expertise and ideas are shared in order to support a learner ‘s needs and build a sense of community, connectedness, belonging, affiliation and mutual support.
Characteristics of collaboration
For transdisciplinary teams to work effectively, there must be a spirit of collaboration. Collaborative individualism first conceptualised by Limerick and Cunnington (1993), is now becoming regular practice in many schools. When working collaboratively, members share responsibility, accountability and decision making, respect others’ opinions, and build trust and mutual support. Productive partnerships in schools enable inclusive school practices to thrive, and can be applied to partnerships in transdisciplinary teams and partnerships with families.
Characteristics of supportive and effective partnerships
• Opportunities are created for authentic dialogue and reflection.
• Trust of, and respect for each other is established.
• Each other’s knowledge is valued.
• Clear structures and focus are identified and used.
• Roles within the group within the group are identified and defined.
• Roles in observing and teaching are shared (Saggers, Macartney & Guerin, 2012).
Potential obstacles to effective partnerships
• Policies promoting partnership are not realized in practice.
• The school is a hostile environment where the physical and emotional environment and school practices become intimidating.
• Educators assume they alone know what is best for a child.
• The student is not respected, not included in decisions about their program and their input is not valued.
• Parents are directed as to what to do.
• Parents are treated as having a disability and seen as part of the problem rather than part of the solution(Saggers, Macartney & Guerin, 2012).
characteristics of inclusive classrooms
Ashman (2015) describes six enabling characteristics essential to the creation of inclusive classrooms.
1. Independent access
Learners are able to physically access facilities, venues and learning activities safely and independently.
2. Prerequisite skills required for a learning task
Learners are provided with opportunities to develop and perform the prerequisite functions and skills of the learning task.
3. Adequate social skill levels
Learners have appropriate social skills that enable them to participate effectively in the learning task.
4. The presence of social networks
Learners have the ability to develop personal friendships.
5. Valued membership
All learners are valued members of the education setting.
6. Active involvement
All learners are actively involved in the design and organisation of their own learning.
But how easy is this to achieve? Where do we start? We can begin with a change of mindset which is reflected in the language that is used within the classroom and across a school.
CHARACTERISTICS OF INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE
What is inclusive language?
Inclusive language is language that is free from words, phrases or tones that reflect prejudiced, stereotyped or discriminatory views of particular people or groups. It is also language that doesn’t deliberately or inadvertently exclude people from being seen as part of a group. Inclusive language is sometimes called non-discriminatory language. (Department of Education Tasmania, 2012, p. 2)
Because language is our main form of communication, using non-discriminatory language avoids false assumptions, stereotyping and exclusion and promotes respectful productive relationships. Indeed research has shown that there is a symbiotic relationship between language used within a education setting context and the characteristics of the education setting culture that exists (Abawi, 2013), so evidence of an inclusive education setting culture can be heard in classrooms, playgrounds, and staffrooms.
Throughout 2017 and 2018, a number of the authors of this textbook have been conducting a research project within 6 schools spread across one broad region of Queensland. As data has been analysed researchers have discussed the preliminary findings and concluded that in three of the six schools involved in the research, there is clear evidence that inclusive language and practice is embedded within every aspect of school life, whilst in the other schools although there is a willingness and a desire to be inclusive there is still work to be done. The extract below is taken from a transcript of the researchers’ conversation as they unpacked the recorded conversations with a range of school Principals, Deputy Principals, teachers, teacher aides, and Heads of Special Education Programs.
It’s that feeling of personal connection that comes through – at some of the other schools there just does not seem to be a true connection to the kids. It was more of an intellectual exercise with strategies rather than heart. There needs to be that moral imperative and a passion… Rhetoric and process cannot make up for passion to make a difference in a child’s/young person’s life… It’s the ‘how’ in the schools where inclusion is effective it’s not the fine grained ‘what’ but the how and the holistic view… It’s powerful the language that is used – they talk strategies broadly but then they talk about how they evidence that so that you can actually see that student has improved… Data use and the pedagogy of inclusion is differentiated for students and for teachers – they clearly acknowledge that. The way they talk about each other and the way they talk about staff is always positive – you don’t hear negativity… there is a shared language and meaning – so there is a repertoire of strategies being used and they know them (Abawi, Andersen, Brownlow, Carter, Desmarchelier, Leach, Lawrence & Turner [personal communication, 2018]).
Family partnerships in inclusive schools
In some schools, family involvement is sometimes limited to formalised parent/teacher interviews and attendance at key functions. In others, where there is an embedded culture of families as equal partners, families are respected as active decision makers about their child’s educational and co-curricular programs. They are also very involved with the strategic planning and direction of the school, actively participating in School Councils Boards, committees and taskforces.
The level of family involvement in education settings varies from family to family, teacher to parent and education setting to education setting. Yet as Bottrell and Goodwin (2011) noted, relationships between education settings, families and communities are recognised as important to children and young people’s wellbeing and learning, from early childhood through primary and secondary education. Although some parents have had negative experiences in their own lives of education, and do not always have the confidence or are sometimes less likely to want to be involved, it is important that educators and education settings reach out and try and remove these barriers. Establishing productive and positive partnerships with families is critical in creating inclusive classrooms and settings .
Recognizing and respecting diversity in families
In building productive partnerships with families, it is important that teachers consider the following:
• Accept of the composition of the family.
• Respect for the ways in which families function and make decisions.
• Shift away from thinking that the educator is the sole ‘expert’.
• Be mindful of one’s own beliefs and values that are shaped by personal history, life experience and education and how these influences the decisions.
• Be cautious of judgements that can be made about students and their families.
• Have an awareness of the cultural, ethnic and linguistic heritage of students.
• Avoid generalising or stereotyping.
• Learn about the cultures represented in the education setting.
• Be aware of the communication styles or level of context that families use.(Sands et al., 2000)
summary
Teachers can make a significant difference to the learning outcomes of students by:
• having high expectations as the norm;
• using a strength based approach to learning;
• using a rigorous curriculum that develops higher order thinking skills;
• using learning and assessment tailored for individual need;
• using sensitive ways to support students to not feel excluded (for whatever reason) from school events therefore ensure principle led decision-making regarding curricular and co-curricular activities;
• building quality relationships and partnerships with students and their families/carers built on trust, discretion, non-antagonist approaches to poor behaviour and disengagement;
• avoiding stereotyping or judgmental thinking regarding students and their families and/or carers;
• analysing materials for cultural bias;
• promoting literacy enjoyment and critical literacy skills; and
• forming broad support teams, interventions and programs.
Schools can make a significant difference in the educational outcomes of students by creating an inclusive school culture through the alignment of inclusive practices. [School culture is conceptualised in terms of the seminal work of Schein (1992) regarding organisational culture.] In the Openaccess book entitled New Pedagogical Challenges in the 21st Century, in Inclusive Schoolwide Pedagogical Principles: Cultural Indicators in Action, Abawi, Carter, Andrews and Conway (2018) highlight the following themes as being key indicators of an inclusive school.
• Organisation and structures that are strongly student centred and inclusive.
• Best fit choices are made for students, teachers, teacher aides, resources and environment.
• Explicit teaching of social skills and the valuing of diversity.
• Clear communication, shared language and shared expectations.
• Positive relationships building between staff, students, parents and community.
• A strong sense of safety, family and wrap around support.
• Transitions into and out of school are prioritised.
• Teachers use information and data to plan adjustments and engage learners.
• Differentiation and inclusive pedagogies are articulated negotiated and actioned.
• Professional learning and sharing occurs between staff members.
• Evidence of strong ethical and moral Principal leadership.
• Targeted informed leadership evident at all levels of the school.
These various factors are captured in Figure \(14\) below:
Consider your context – how inclusive is it? Is diversity truly celebrated and embraced for the richness it brings? If not what could you do to start the discussion?
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What can educators do to create inclusive early childhood contexts that provide children and families with the opportunity to develop understandings of difference and diversity?
Key Learnings
• Diversity is a characteristic of early childhood education in contemporary Australia.
• The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child sets out the principle that all children have the right to feel accepted and respected.
• It is important that all young children have the opportunity to develop an appreciation and respect for the diversity of their local and broader communities.
• Adopting a holistic approach to diversity is promoted as a strategy for educators working in contemporary early childhood settings.
Introduction
In early childhood education, diversity and inclusion go together like “roundabouts and swings, a pair of wings, fish and chips, hops and skips, socks and shoes, salt and pepper, strawberries and cream, pie and sauce, the oo in moo” (McKimmie, 2010, p. 1). Effective early childhood educators understand that creating an inclusive learning environment that is responsive to a diverse range of characteristics and needs, can be a challenging and overwhelming endeavour with sometimes limited or underwhelming results (Petriwskyj, Thorpe & Tayler, 2014). Traditionally, inclusive education in the mainstream early years classroom focussed on catering for children with special needs, such as physical impairment or autism, and for children considered ‘at risk’ or ‘disadvantaged’ in relation to issues such as socio-economic circumstances or geographical isolation (Petriwskyj, 2010). Petriwskyj’s (2010) research extends this notion of inclusive education to include many more considerations, such as the social, political, cultural, English as a second language, trauma-related and economic backgrounds of educational stakeholders.
This chapter is designed to reveal how early childhood educators could facilitate effective, inclusive pedagogies and programs in the mainstream classroom. Generally, when children have a diagnosed disability or a physical disability (such as needing a wheelchair or hearing aid), the general classroom teacher has access to support in the form of outside agencies or assisted technology (Forlin, Chambers, Loreman, Deppler & Sharma, 2013). However, when a teacher may think a child is ‘odd’, their learning progress is slow, or their behaviour is difficult to manage, then inclusive practices become difficult to seek, plan for and implement (Petriwskyj, 2010). The following information, ideas and activities are designed to be a general ‘teaching toolkit’ for new teachers to implement in a mainstream early childhood classroom to assist them to be more responsive and inclusive to its diverse clientele of students and families.
diversity
Diversity is a characteristic of early childhood education in contemporary Australia. Children engaging with early childhood contexts come from a range of social, economic, cultural and ability groups, and bring with them a considerable variation in life’s experiences. Diversity is defined by the Queensland Government Department of Education (2018) as encompassing individual differences such as culture, language, location, economics, learning, abilities and gender. Broader diversity constructs presented in the literature, such as diverse abilities (Ashman & Elkins, 2005), diverse learners (Coyne, Kame’enui & Carnine, 2007), diverse learning rights (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 2006) and learners in diverse classrooms (Dempsey & Arthur-Kelly, 2007), highlight the complex and multi-dimensional nature of difference and the associated power relations of inequality (Ng, 2003). The representation of these constructs in the literature suggests a movement away from categorising children through ideas of normativity, to supporting learners with varied characteristics through differentiating pedagogies (Graham, 2007).
Australian society has become increasingly diverse in terms of the cultural and ethnic backgrounds, composition and size of families (Moore, 2008). Children’s developmental pathways are also more diverse. Taken for granted approaches about parenting and child development and traditional early childhood practices are challenged by this changing diversity (Fleer, 2003). Bronfenbrenner’s social ecology approach assists in the conceptualisation of the developing child in this changing diverse landscape because the model enables the recognition of “the broad range of contextual factors that can affect human development and education” (Odam et al., 2004, p. 18).
In the model, the child is situated at the centre of a number of concentric layers. These surrounding layers move out from the centre to reflect the varying contexts associated with the child at any given time in their life’s journey. Relationships between the child and surrounding layers are seen as dynamic.
Figure 4.1: Bronfenbrenner’s social ecological model
Characteristics of the child such as age, health and personal traits, are embodied with the child in the centre of the model. The system closest to the child is called the microsystem and consists of the components in the child’s immediate surrounds such as family, extended family and early childhood setting. These components are seen to influence the child physically, socially, emotionally and cognitively. Emotional attachment with other people was viewed by Bronfenbrenner as a significant element in this layer (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). The next layer of the model is called the mesosystem and refers to the alignment between contexts in the microsystem (Grace, Hayes & Wise, 2017). It is desirable for the child to experience high levels of alignment between the differing contexts experienced within their microsystem. A child who encounters a misalignment between the early childhood centre they attend and their family life may not be able to experience the best opportunities for learning. A strong match, however, between the values of the centre and their home life is likely to lead to improved learning outcomes.
The next adjacent layer, the exosystem, represents those systems or contexts that the child is not directly involved in but will still be impacted by. Parental employment, for example, can impact the child through such things as lower levels of income, higher working hours and increased stress levels. The final layer, the macrosystem, refers to the broad cultural and societal attitudes and ideologies that may influence components in all of the other systems. This layer represents the overall values of the society in which the child lives and is impacted by across all aspects life. Grace, Hayes and Wise (2017) provide the example of a society in which females are treated as being inferior to males by being denied equal access to education and employment, which may result in the female child possibly having reduced opportunities in life.
A final important point the Bronfenbrenner model makes, is that the child is not viewed as a static participant. The child is a dynamic being and influences the environment in which they engage. For example, parents of a child with vision impairment may make decisions about support mechanisms that the child has access to and bring these with them to the early childhood centre. Children, according to Bronfenbrenner’s social ecological model, will be influenced by, and will influence, their environment and the people in them (Grace, Hayes & Wise, 2017). Considering the child in their social, ecological surrounds can therefore assist educators in developing clearer understandings of children and their individual, unique diverse contexts.
inclusion
Ideas around inclusion in the early childhood field have evolved steadily over the past few decades, and are continuing to progress. This has occurred in a context of ongoing social change, which has been accompanied by similar changes across a range of social values and ideas. Definitions of inclusion traditionally focussed on readiness for assimilation into a general class (mainstreaming) (Petriwskyj, 2010) and integration in general classes with English language instruction and support for disability (Cook, Klein, & Tessier, 2008). These views have shifted to those incorporating curricular and pedagogic differentiation to support children’s senses of belonging (Gillies & Carrington, 2004). Changing values and ideas about diversity and difference, ability and disability, and social inclusion and exclusion in early childhood have been influential in this shift (Moore, Morcos & Robinson, 2009).
thinking about diversity and difference
Global populations are becoming more mobile, generating multi-cultural societies and therefore ethnic and cultural diversity in many world nations including Australia (Arber, 2005). Emerging from this is a growing awareness that everyone has their own cultural framework, which shapes perceptions, values and ideas (Gonzalez-Mena, 2004). Over (2016) notes that to experience personal growth and wellbeing, positive social interactions and long lasting relationships are necessary. Current thinking acknowledges the importance of incorporating children’s unique identities and diversities to enable positive experiences for personal growth and lifelong learning. Developing effective contexts for inclusion that support children manage their own needs in diverse and different multicultural group settings is therefore an important goal in an inclusive approach to diversity in early childhood settings.
Thinking about ability and disability
Diversity exists in the way children develop. Development in children occurs at different rates across a population. However, when children fail to comply with the developmental pathways typically outlined and expected in the school culture, they are sometimes labelled as having a developmental disability. Disability is an overall term defined by the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (World Health Organisation [WHO], 2002) and incorporates three components:
1. Impairment, which refers to body functions (for example, sensory or cognitive functions) and body structures (for example, organ or limb functions)
2. Activity limitations, which refers to the challenges of carrying out daily activities such as self-care, mobility and learning.
3. Participation restrictions experienced as the child endeavours to participate within the family and community settings.
Reframed notions of the continuum of what is ‘normal’ have emerged in thinking around disability in recent years. . The impacts of social and environmental factors have come to be seen as additional components associated with disability and have led to challenging what is interpreted as normal. For example, the increased number of sites with wheel chair access has enabled wheel chair users to engage with a greater variety of facilities and therefore life experiences. Such inclusive actions works towards incorporating Article 23 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child which specifies that children with disabilities have the right to special care with assistance appropriate to their condition in order to promote the child’s social integration and individual development.
Thinking about social inclusion and exclusion
Developed nations have experienced social changes, which have not been beneficial for all members of society. Some people have failed to benefit from the changed social and economic conditions and instead have experienced social exclusion and therefore poorer outcomes (Hertzman, 2002). ). A report released by the Australian Early Development Census in 2015 revealed that one in five children who enter school in Australia are developmentally vulnerable in one or more domain, including cognitive skills and communication (Shahaeian & Wang, 2018). Social changes have resulted in the fragmentation of communities, greater demands on parents, and systems that are ill-equipped to cope with the needs of children and families (Moore & Fry, 2011). Social exclusion arises when children suffer from multiple factors that make it difficult for them to participate in society (Hertzman, 2002). These factors may include growing up in jobless households, being a member of a minority group or living with a sole parent. This may lead to the child being at risk of living in poverty and being socially isolated (Moore, Morcos & Robinson, 2009).
Whilst social inclusion may appear to be the opposite of social exclusion it incorporates much more. Social inclusion infers a proactive, mindful approach that requires action to facilitate conditions of inclusion (Caruana, & McDonald, 2018). Current understandings about child development and learning, as well as social justice and social inclusion, indicates that relationships, interactions and experiences in children’s early lives have a profound influence on early brain development and future life outcomes (Centre on the Developing Child, 2011; Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000). Reducing boundaries, barriers and social and economic distances between people are important when promoting a more inclusive society (Hayes, Gray & Edwards, 2008). To be inclusive it is vital that children and adults are able to participate as valued, respected and contributing members of society.
INCLUSION IN THE EARLY YEARS
According to Early Childhood Australia [ECA](2016), the peak early childhood advocacy body in Australia, “inclusion means that every child has access to, participates meaningfully in, and experiences positive outcomes from early childhood education and care programs” (p. 2). Inclusion is significant as: it incorporates current thinking around child development; implements the current mandated legal standards for early childhood education and care [ECEC]; supports children’s rights; and reflects quality professional practice (ECA, 2016). Additionally it needs to be recognised that acts of inclusion facilitate acceptance of diversity and the reduction of barriers that may preclude a child from achieving their fullest potential in an ECEC setting.
Inclusivity occurs when all children, regardless of their diversity, have equitable and genuine opportunities to participate in and learn from the everyday routines, interactions, play and learning experiences that occur in the early years (The State of Queensland [Department of Education and Training], 2017). A policy statement intended for all levels of schooling, including the early years, developed by the Queensland Government Department of Education (2018) states that:
Inclusive education means that students can access and fully participate in learning, alongside their similar-aged peers, supported by reasonable adjustments and teaching strategies tailored to meet their individual needs. Inclusion is embedded in all aspects of school life, and is supported by culture, policies and every day practices (p. 1).
Inclusive settings in the early years, according to the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority [QCAA] (2014) sees that “educators strive to improve all learners’ participation and learning, regardless of age, gender, religion, culture, socioeconomic status, sexual preferences, ability or language. Inclusion encourages everyone in the community to participate and achieve” (p. 1).
KU Children’s services who manage a range of inclusion support services for the Australian Governments Inclusion Support Programme created the following information sheet fact for educators and services about what Inclusion Is:
POLICY AND LEGAL REQUIREMENTS FOR INCLUSION IN THE EARLY YEARS
Early childhood contexts in prior to school settings in Australia are governed by the National Law and National Regulations which outline the legal obligations of approved providers and educators and explain the powers and functions of the state and territory regulatory authorities and the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority [ACECQA]. The Education and Care Services National Law (National Law) and the Education and Care Services National Regulations (National Regulations) detail the operational and legal requirements for an education and care service including most long day care, family day care, kindergarten/preschool and outside school hours care services in Australia.
The National Law and National Regulations are components of the National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education and Care [NQF] which aligns with the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child by aiming to ensure that all children have the opportunity to thrive, to be engaged in civics and citizenship and opportunities to take action and be accountable (ACECQA, 2017). The NQF also “recognises all children’s capacity and right to succeed regardless of diverse circumstances, cultural background and abilities” (ACECQA, 2017, p.10). Inclusion is acknowledged as an approach in the NQF where educators recognise, respect and work with each child’s unique abilities and learning pathways and where diversity is celebrated (ACECQA, 2017). This approach of inclusive service delivery and practice is embedded in the national approved learning framework for early childhood settings; the Early Years Learning Framework [EYLF].
Additionally, the rights of children with disability and from diverse backgrounds to access and participate in ECEC services are set out in national and state based legislation such as:
Additional information around the legal requirements associated with diversity and inclusion is available by at the following link: Inclusion of children with disability
School settings in the Queensland context are also required to comply with legal requirements, in particular, the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 (Qld) and state and commonwealth discrimination laws. To read further about these requirements click on the following link: Inclusive education
Additional Readings
To extend your understanding around policy and legal requirements in the early years access the following articles online through the USQ Library webpage:
• Miller, M. & Petriwskyj, A. (2013). New directions in intercultural Early Education in Australia. International Journal of Early Childhood, 45, 251-266. Doi: 10.1007/s13158-013-0091-4
• Petriwskyj, A., Thorpe, K., & Tayler, C. (2014). Towards inclusion: provision for diversity in the transition to school. International Journal of Early Years Education, 22(4), 359-379. doi: 10.1080/09669760.2014.911078
iNCLUSION BARRIERS AND MYTHS
Despite significant changes in thinking around diversity and inclusion, potential barriers to successful inclusion still exist. Barriers may serve to reduce the opportunities educators are prepared to take to design and create inclusive environments. The barriers can emerge from a range of issues including personal, attitudinal and organisational. From a personal perspective educators may be unwilling to engage with inclusion because of a perceived increase in workload or lack of confidence in their own skills to work with children with diversity. Personal bias and attitudes may impact upon the educator’s willingness to consider making adjustments to their program or to support children appropriately within their program. Organisational systems and structures can create barriers for educators through such things as lack of leadership supporting inclusive practices, professional development for staff or finances for resources. Early childhood is a unique period, which provides the blueprint for all future development and learning. Where barriers exist, opportunities for children’s learning and development can be greatly reduced.
Myths associated with inclusion may also serve to dissuade the development of inclusive environments for all children. Dispelling myths associated with implementing inclusive practices through sound reflective practice, educator commitment and teamwork have been identified as starting points for successful inclusion. Livingston (2018) summarised myths under the following headings; the view that inclusion is not about disability, the perceived effects of including a disabled child in a classroom and the differences between inclusion and early intervention. Following is a discussion around these myths.
Inclusion is not just about disability
Ashman and Elkins (2005) note “inclusion enables access, engagement and success for all learners” (p. 65). The NQF promotes the valuing of diversity, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, people with a disability and people from diverse family compositions. The definition of inclusion in the approved learning frameworks for ECE is broader than simply providing for children with a disability. Inclusion is about embracing diversity, including every child holistically and providing opportunities for all children to participate and benefit.
As indicated above when discussing relevant policy and legal requirements, inclusion is a basic human right. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child states that all children have the right to an education (Article 28) that develops their ability to their fullest potential, prepares children for life and respects their family, cultural and other identities and languages (Article 29). This is reflected in Regulation 155 of the National Regulations where it states that an approved provider must take reasonable steps to ensure that the education and care service provides education and care to children in a way that maintains at all times the dignity and rights of each child.
Including a child with additional needs
There has been a perception by some that inclusion of diverse children will be detrimental to other group or class members. There is now sufficient evidence to suggest that peers are not harmed or disadvantaged through inclusive classrooms; rather, they grow and develop as a result of the relationships they cultivate and sustain with their diverse counterparts (Odom et al., 2004). Typically, developing children learn a great deal from their classmates in inclusive settings. The inclusion of children with disabilities prompts classmates to become more understanding of, and to develop positive attitudes toward, their diverse counterparts (Odom & Bailey, 2001). Inclusive environments are characterised by repeated and impromptu interactions, which support all children in social, emotional and behavioural development (Odom et al., 2004). When children with disabilities or differing abilities attempt to engage their peers in social interaction, typically developing children with experience in inclusive environments respond to these initiations and progress relationships by initiating interactions, negotiating sharing and developing an understanding of other children (Odom et al., 2004). Additionally, children with experience of inclusive environments have been found to approach play with a stronger focus on fairness and equity and utilise more targeted ways to include diverse counterparts in their play (Diamond & Hong, 2010).
Research has found that children are most receptive to actions of inclusion at an early age. Evidence suggests that older children are less likely to be receptive of children with disabilities being included in academic settings (Siperstein, Parker, Bardon, & Widaman, 2007). Since inclusion is beneficial to all children, inclusion in early childhood settings is considered to be highly important (Gupta, Henninger & Vinh, 2014).
Inclusion and early intervention are not the same
Inclusion and early intervention for children with diversity are interrelated concepts but are viewed differently and have separate outcomes. As noted above the definition of inclusion in the EYLF refers to all children holistically. Early intervention relates to children who require additional support and involves the support of early childhood intervention specialists. The outcome of early intervention is to support children to develop the skills they need to take part in everyday activities and to be included in family and community life. This process is achieved in an inclusive environment where the important adults in the child’s life provide the experiences and opportunities necessary to help children participate meaningfully in their everyday lives.
Reflection
• Critically reflect upon these three myths.
• What can you add to the discussion?
• Have you experienced a change in your thinking?
INCLUSIVE PRACTICE
The image of the child
The starting point for successful inclusive practices is reflecting upon the image of the child. Loris Malaguzzi (1994) suggests that the educators’ image of the child directs them in how they talk, listen, observe and relate to children. The image of the child influences how the educator views the child and influences their expectations they have of them. Reflecting on the image of the child shifts the focus back to the child as they are, not just the way they are perceived or labelled.
The image of the child promoted by advocates of inclusive practices, presents the child as being so engaged in experiencing the world and developing a relationship with the world, that he or she develops a complex system of abilities, learning strategies and ways of organising relationships (Rinaldi, 2013). Children are the “bearer and constructors of their own intelligences”, expressing their leanings in a variety of ways; a process Reggio educators refers to as ‘the hundred languages’ (Rinaldi, 2013). Underlying the Early Years Learning Framework for Australia (2010) is the belief that children are competent and capable of actively constructing their own learning.
Figure 4.2: Comic strip of a child. (2019). Australia, USQ.
Reflection
• What is your image of the child?
• Do you see the child’s competencies and complexities?
• Is this a child who shares their thinking, theories and wonderings with you or do they censor themselves in adult child interactions?
Getting to know the children
It is important to get to know individual children so that the appropriate support can be offered to them. This is most successfully achieved through discussion with the family and the child and through observation and documentation. Discussions with the family will provide educators with vital information about the child. It is important to ask questions with sensitivity and understanding in talks with parents and to set a tone of welcome for the family that encourages communication and open discussion built on trust and respect.
Figure 4:3: Photograph of child with guinea pig (2018), Australia, USQ Photo Stock.
Conversing with the child about their abilities, needs, and interests empowers the child and increases their sense of agency. Conversations provide the opportunity for the child to verbalise their interests and needs. Observations are a vital tool for early childhood educators to build an understanding of children’s interests, abilities, learning, development and wellbeing (Colville, 2018). When observing an individual child, it is important to focus on the child’s abilities. Looking beyond a textbook definition of their possible diversity and noting their strengths and what they can do is also helpful. Documenting observations of children professionally and regularly, without labels or diagnoses is also a useful step. Interpreting these observations and applying this information when making decisions about programming and planning that relate to individual children and groups of children is also effective in building an inclusive culture.
Figure 4.4 Photograph of a mother and a baby on Unsplash
Early childhood educators are key in knowing and understanding child development. Understanding that children learn skills in a particular order will help the early childhood educator set realistic expectations for the child’s skill development. As an example a child needs to practice standing before practicing walking. A child with special needs may need to have a skill divided into smaller steps before the skill can be mastered.
The following e-Newsletter provides practical ideas for learning about children’s knowledge, ideas, culture and interests through observation. Click on the following link to access the information sheet: NQS PLP e-Newsletter No. 39 2012 – Observing children
Inclusive environments
The importance of high quality early years education and care has been well documented (Dahlberg, Moss, & Pence, 2007; Dearing, McCartney & Taylor, 2009; Peisner-Feinberg et al., 2014; Sylva, 2010, Torii, Fox & Cloney, 2017). Participation in inclusive high-quality early childhood settings is fundamental to supporting children to build positive identities, develop a sense of belonging and realise their full potential. Supporting children’s positive individual and group identity development in ECEC is fundamental to realising children’s rights. Inclusive environments provide the space for the recognition of gender, ability, culture, class, ethnicity, language, religion, sexuality and family structure as integral to society (Queensland Government Department of Education, 2018b).
Carefully planned environments engage and enable children to co-construct learning and build deeper understandings (Queensland Studies Authority, 2010). The educator’s image of a child and the environment they create are strongly connected. Creating an environment that supports the inclusion of every child means each child can be supported to thrive and build a respect and valuing of diversity. High quality education and care is characterised by thoughtfully designed environments that support intentional, structured interactions to scaffold children’s growth and learning. Quality child-care contributes to the emotional, social, and intellectual development of children.
A starting point in creating an inclusive environment is to pay close attention to the physical environment. Does the physical environment meet the needs of the children and support children to engage naturally with things that interest them? Physically inclusive spaces maximise each child’s opportunity to:
• access and explore indoor and outdoor areas as independently as possible;
• make choices about the resources they access and the experiences they participate in;
• interact meaningfully with other children and adults;
• care for themselves as independently as possible;
• experience challenge and take managed risks;
• engage with images, books and resources that reflect people with disabilities as active participants in and contributors to communities in a variety of ways (Owens, 2012, p. 2).
Figure 4.5: Photograph of child with cattle (n.d.). pxhere.
When adapting the physical environment to include a child with a disability, it is important to consider what needs to be altered or added to enable the child to manage daily routines and experiences as independently as possible. How accessible are the resources for the child? Do items need to be placed at a different height or level so that the child can reach them?
Considering issues of fairness and equity at the level of the individual child and the group and providing appropriate adaptations that allow diverse children to participate in the classroom curriculum is an effective strategy as well (Diamond & Hong 2010). Attention to the physical demands of daily classroom activities for example may support classroom wide intervention (Brown, Odom, McConnell, & Rathel, 2008). For example, moving a painting activity from an easel to a tabletop for all children may offer support for those who find it difficult to stand and paint for long periods (Sandall & Schwartz, 2008). Adaptations to the indoor and outdoor environments that increase children’s access to activities might be effective in supporting peer interaction (Diamond & Hong 2010). For example, a child with a communication difficulty may benefit from using visual resources such as pictorial flow charts to help them understand and participate in the day’s routines and activities (Owens, 2012). Inviting all children to become familiar with the visual resources and encouraging them to support those who are unsure is another useful strategy. A child who experiences high levels of anxiety or behavioural issues may need a safe, quiet area to go to when they feel overwhelmed or want time away from the group (Owens, 2012). Such additions to the environment often benefit all children.
It is beneficial to include strategies that support children’s independence as they access the class resources to undertake their learning. Educators in classrooms make use of a large variety of ideas and strategies to enable learner’s independence. Visit the resource below and make a note of the different ideas one teacher has used to create an inclusive prep classroom in a Queensland primary school. Use these ideas to begin your own collection of strategies and build upon the list as you continue to engage with ideas around creating inclusive classrooms.
Cultural competence
In creating an inclusive physical environment, a shared culture of inclusion can be modelled and supported. Children are naturally curious about the people around them as they attempt to develop a sense of their own identity. One way of achieving this is by defining what makes them different from everyone else. A child may ask questions about observable characteristics like skin colour, accent, or manner of dress. “Children are around two or three when they begin to notice physical differences among people” (Kupetz, 2012, p. 1). Questions about characteristics such as “Why is Kiah’s skin brown?” are not motivated by any intention to offend or hurt. Educators can use these opportunities to send a fair and accurate message about each diversity, so that children learn that these differences make a person unique. The educator can utilise these encounters with diversity to enrich all children’s learning.
In this podcast the educator took the opportunity to support children to become familiar with, understand and experience being different. Families NSW (2011) recommend simple examples to embrace diversity within an early childhood setting:
• Make a point of acknowledging where all the children in the group come from by simply hanging a map and tagging locations with the child’s name and country of origin.
• Showcase a country each week or month and take the opportunity to invite parents to share words or phrases from their language, songs, music, food, traditional dance and costumes.
• Celebrate culturally diverse calendar events throughout the year.
• Display and make accessible multicultural and multilingual resources.
However, it is not enough just to raise cultural awareness. It is a requirement of the NQF for educators to become culturally competent. Cultural competence is about thinking and actions that lead to:
• Building understanding between people;
• Being respectful and open to different cultural perspectives;
• Strengthening equality in opportunity (ACECQA Newsletter, 2014).
Read more about developing cultural competence through the We Hear You newsletter published by ACECQA.
Intentional teaching
In the Early Years Learning Framework, the term ‘intentional teaching’ is used to describe teaching that is purposeful, thoughtful and deliberate (Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. (2009). In this definition it is the word intentional that is important since it assumes that an intentional educator is someone whose actions stem from deep thoughtfulness where the potential effects have been considered (Epstein, 2007). Epstein goes on to point out that this means the educator understands why they are doing what they are doing (the intentional act) and what strategy is required for the teachable moment.
A number of effective intentional environmental strategies to support interactions among children with disabilities and their classmates without disabilities include limiting the size of groups and using materials that are familiar and likely to encourage social interactions. Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) 2017) have suggested the following strategies for applying intentional teaching practices within inclusive environments.
Model appropriate behaviours
Figure 4.6: Photograph of a teacher reading. (2011). Monkey business.
Children learn through observation and imitation (Meltzoff, 1999) and modelling by an educator becomes a powerful tool in intentional teaching. Children notice when adults are working and collaborating together and modelling positive behaviours. Children imitating this modelled adult behaviour will demonstrate considerate actions that support an understanding of inter-dependence both within and outside of an early childhood setting.
Using a range of communication strategies
Children cannot always find the appropriate words to use to express how they feel especially when they are faced with something outside of their normal experiences. Introduce and use a wide range of communication strategies with all children to equip them with a variety of approaches to use when they attempt to organise their own feelings, explain events and resolve conflict. A variety of communication strategies may include gestural, pictorial, oral and written components. It may be necessary at times to “give” the children the appropriate words to use. For example, in the following scenario the educator helped Sam express his thinking, using words:
Scenario
Sandpit play:
Sam is building a road in the sand using a spade and a trowel. He puts the spade down as he picks up the trowel. Peter turns around and takes the spade. Sam immediately pushes Peter over and takes the spade back. The educator checks that Peter is OK and then says to Sam. “I can see that you are still using the spade but Peter did not see that. Could you please say to Peter “I am still using the spade”? Sam repeated the words and Peter nodded his head turning back to his own sand construction.
Using self-talk
Using self-talk can be a powerful form of guidance for children. Educators can ‘self- talk’ through activities with which they are engaged, so that they are giving children a commentary on their actions. For example, ‘I am cutting around the picture. I am trying to be careful and make the scissors stay on the line’. Educators can also ‘parallel talk’ as they provide commentary on what the child is doing. Both strategies can be very helpful for short periods but should not be extended to the point where they become intrusive or inhibiting.
Be firm when necessary
Children need the security that comes with knowing that there are limits and that when they need help with their behaviour they will get it. Children need adults to set reasonable boundaries and help them to organise their feelings and responses. Educators can support children to focus on the outcomes of being considerate to others while searching for a fair and equitable resolution that supports children’s learning.
Acknowledge considerate behaviour
Let children know when they do things that you want to see more of. Try to support children to manage their own behaviour in a way that tells the child “I know this is hard for you, but I will help you”. Modelling empathy provides children with a repertoire of examples and strategies to use themselves.
The emphasis is on supporting children to manage their own behaviour in a ways that teach and show respect. When responding to a child’s behaviour it is important to make sure you are doing so in ways that maintains their dignity and rights. In order to do so, it is important to take a moment and reflect on the best way to respond, rather than simply react, however in some situations educators may need to respond quickly if safety is an issue.
High Expectations
Every child is unique. Children may share the same type of disability, but be completely different from each other in every other respect. While there are some exceptions many two year olds with special needs have, for example, they will also face the same challenges of being two that all children face. Setting high expectations for each individual child is vital to their overall success.
Figure: 4.7: Photograph of child bouncing. (2018). Australia, USQ Photo Stock.
Promoting inclusion and the participation of all children across the entire program involves working with each child’s unique qualities and abilities, strengths and interests, so that each child can reach his or her potential. Early childhood professionals are key in knowing that children with special needs are more like all children than different. Where and when possible setting similar expectations for children will help them to be accepted.
High expectations of all children can be delivered through flexible program approaches and curriculum decision making, focused on inclusive practice. Curriculum decision making for inclusion of children with a disability is about creating opportunities for all children to engage in daily experiences, rather than planning alternative or separate experiences for a particular child (Owens, 2012). Curriculum considerations includes all planned and unplanned “interactions, experiences, routines and events” that occur each day (ACECQA, 2011, p. 203). When undertaking inclusive curriculum decision making, educators intentionally extend each child’s learning by designing experiences that build on the child’s “strengths, interests and abilities in both planned and spontaneous learning experiences” (Owens. 2012, p. 2).
Involving families
Families of children with diversity have the same needs for ECEC as do other families. Inclusive ECEC environments offer all families the opportunity to engage in regular life patterns (Jansson & Olsson, 2006). Offering inclusive settings removes barriers and provides the opportunity for all children to engage in high quality ECEC that may enhance their learning and developmental success.
Be clear and transparent
At the outset inform all families about the setting’s philosophy in regard to inclusion and diversity. When educators and families have different views regarding this, the educator may need to seek support from colleagues and draw on the centre policies for guidance. A focus on the holistic, inclusive approach of the NQF will be of assistance here.
Pay attention to settling-in
Every family can face challenges when settling into a new ECEC setting, as each child must adjust from their home culture to the culture of the service. Children from different backgrounds, minority groups or a child with a disability may face an extra challenge as they undergo this transition from their home to the setting. The cultural and educational approach of the setting, which is generally based on the values and perspectives of the majority population, may be new to families. It is essential that such families feel confident that the settling-in process will support, and be appropriate to, their child’s needs.
Support families when asked
Educators play an important role in helping families support and guide their child’s learning and development in positive and effective ways. When families are well-supported by educators they may be better equipped to nurture their child’s learning and development (Hunter Institute of Mental Health, 2014). Families may need support, and educators need to respond in non-judgemental ways. As with so many areas of communication and relationships, it helps if the educator can put themselves in the shoes of the family and think about how they (the educators) may feel in the same situation. Developing collaborative partnerships that involve respectful communication about all aspects of a child’s learning and development helps both parties to adopt a holistic and consistent approach. Taking a professional approach supports educators in presenting a positive attitude to families, working collaboratively to identify options to solve problems.
Providing the family with professional advice about their child’s learning and development, including their strengths and their psychological, social and emotional development is important. Families do not always know where to go to for assistance to act on the information provided. Recommending reliable sources of information and support for families in their local community and beyond is vital. The early childhood educator regularly serves as the conduit between families in need and agencies structured to assist. Educators with a sound knowledge of the variety of support systems available for the community group associated with the ECEC setting is best equipped to be of assistance here.
Communicate with families
It is important that educators identify children’s learning needs and respond quickly to any concerns they may have. Communicating concerns about a child to the parents is often a difficult step. Success is more likely if this step is taken from an already-existing relationship that is built on trust and respect. Even when this relationship is in place, educators need to plan what they will say about concerns for the child. A discussion of this nature should take place in a private location, with adequate time allowed, and, if applicable, both parents in attendance.
The first step is to ask the family members how they see the child and then to share the positive qualities observed within the ECEC setting. At the outset, it is helpful for educators to let the family know that:
• They share concerns for the child.
• Their intent is to support the child’s development.
Figure 4.8: Photograph of a staff member and a parent and child. (2018). Australia, USQ Photo Stock.
In order to do this, educators need to get some ideas for how to best meet the child’s needs. If family members differ in their view of the child, be open to their perspective, ask questions, gather information, and invite them to be your partner in meeting the needs of their child. When done respectfully, this communication can lead to a fruitful exchange of ideas and ultimately help for the child.
The following document provides practical ideas for communicating with parents effectively in ECEC settings. Click on the following link to access the information sheet: Kids Matter – Effective Communication between families and staff members
Negotiate multiple agency involvement
While in an early childhood program, children with special needs may receive additional therapy from specialists. Early childhood professionals are key in partnering with the family and other professionals in the provision of support services for the child. Communication with those providing specialist support helps to coordinate the activities of the child. Educators play an important role in working with parents to support their children.
Successful engagement between educators, families, professionals, agencies and community members enable the sharing of information that ultimately support children’s learning and development. Strong partnerships between these sites also help vulnerable children feel more secure (Hunter Institute of Mental Health, 2014). By working with families, professionals and agencies, educators may have access to helpful information and strategies to manage or guide children’s learning and development.
Empowering Children
Educators who enact thoughtful and informed curriculum decisions and work in partnership with families and other professionals provide children with the greatest opportunity for success. Enabling child agency through considered curriculum and program design empowers children to engage confidently with their own learning and development. By purposefully planning experiences and engaging in nurturing, non-directive interactions with children, staff can optimise children’s learning. Supporting children’s agency enables them to make choices and decisions, and influence events and their world. Appropriate choices provide children with an opportunity to implement their emerging skills and develop a strong sense of identity. A practical strategy is to implement strategies, practice and programs that support every child to work with, learn from and help others through collaborative learning opportunities.
It is important to acknowledge children as individuals with a range of skills, emotions and experiences, both at home and at the setting, that may impact on how they cope being part of a group setting on any given day. Children’s learning is most effective when staff members are responsive and make the most of the spontaneous skill learning opportunities that arise in children’s everyday experiences. For children to learn to guide their own behaviour they need help to understand expectations and what is acceptable. For example, they may not understand why they have to wait to use the new equipment; why they cannot draw on the walls; why it is not appropriate to pull someone’s hair to get them to move. The answers to these questions are not always obvious to children. Empower children by acknowledging their understandings and supporting them as they develop new knowledge.
Play-based Pedagogy as a Tool for Inclusive Education and Diversity
ECEC settings serve a wide range of children with various needs, backgrounds, abilities, genders, cultures, languages, and interests. Play based learning experiences are at the heart of early education (Booth, Ainscow & Kingston, 2006). Children make sense of their world through their play and engage in the social world of their peers when they are playing. They benefit from the opportunities play offers to make decisions, predictions and solve problems. Where children are supported in play, they actively interact with others to create experiences to develop the skills and rewarding relationships that are fundamental to their personal growth and development across physical, social, emotional and cognitive domains (KidsMatter, n.d.). They create valuable learning opportunities for themselves through their interactions with their world and the people in it (Siraj-Blatchford & Sylva, 2004). Children learn to transfer their social and emotional skills and understandings to new situations through play and interactions with their peers.
Shipley (2013) suggests the following principles relating to learning through play. Children learn:
• when given plenty of opportunities for sensory involvement.
• through exploration and experimentation where they are free to move and pursue self-paced activities at their individual developmental level.
• by doing and interacting with real objects in a playful learning environment.
• most effectively if they are interested in what they are learning and free to choose to play in their own way.
• in an environment where they experience psychologically safety, a place where risk taking and mistake making are acceptable and where encouragement is offered in a timely manner that supports a learning moment.
• by uncovering concepts through open-ended exploratory play.
• most effectively when they progress from concrete to abstract concepts involving simple to more complex levels of knowledge, skill, and understanding, and where they can make sense of general concepts through to specific concepts.
• by revisiting prior knowledge, previously acquired skills, and concepts in manner that reinforces the transference of knowledge from a known context to application in a new context.
• most effectively when their experiences of play build on what they already know, and can take one step further, what is known as a zone of proximal development at a pace that is scaffolded to suit the
individual.
Figure 4.9: Photograph of child with spiral book. (2018). Australia, by USQ Photo Stock.
Play-based pedagogy is well suited to supporting diversity and inclusive education, as it incorporates the interests, insights and backgrounds of all the children (Siraj-Blatchford & Sylva, 2004). Educators who embrace a play-based pedagogy are responsive to the individual strengths and needs of children, which lead to a naturally inclusive environment (McLean, 2016). Within a play-based learning environment, educators have the opportunity to adapt the environment and resources routinely to promote optimal learning experiences for all students based on individual development, interests, strengths and needs. Educators are key in encouraging children to be independent. Children like to do things on their own and it is better for the development of children, to encourage them to do whatever they can for themselves. A play-based setting supports this approach.
The role of the educator is integral to supporting children’s learning and development. Educators provide support (i.e., scaffold) to extend the duration and complexity of children’s play as well as encourage children to incorporate language, literacy, and numeracy within their play (McLean, 2016). When teachers consider individual children’s abilities, interests and preferences, they create an environment that is engaging for all.
To support all children to learn and develop through play, Wood (2007) suggests educators:
• plan, resource and create challenging learning environments;
• support each child’s learning via intended play activity;
• extend and support play that is spontaneous;
• develop and extend each child’s communication in play;
• assess each child’s learning through play promoting continuity and facilitating progression;
• combine child-initiated play with adult-directed activities;
• accentuate well-planned, purposeful play in both outdoor and indoor settings;
• plan for connection between work and play activities;
• provide time for children to engage deeply in work activities; and
• scaffold opportunities for engagement connecting children and adults.
When enacting play-based pedagogies educators are able to recognise the discoveries being made by children as they construct their own knowledge, in their own ways (McLean, 2016). Curriculum objectives will be met in an integrated program, allowing for depth as well as breadth as children make meaning from the world around them. Play-based approaches open a setting to all learning possibilities in a way that inclusion happens as part of every-day life and diversity is welcomed and celebrated.
conclusion
It is the right of every child to be provided with the opportunity to learn and develop to the best of their ability. Early childhood educators are required to facilitate effective, inclusive pedagogies and programs in the both childcare and school settings to cater for the diverse children and families who may attend their site. Strategies and ideas for developing diverse classrooms have been suggested in this chapter.
Conclusion Activity
Managing inclusivity within your classroom will require flexible and creative approaches. Reflecting upon the information provided above prioritise 5 approaches you will utilise to create a more inclusive environment. Use resources such as those provided via the websites below to begin your list.
Resources for educators
Recommendations for best practice for early childhood educators in Queensland state schools (Prep teachers) are as follows:
1. Build relationships. The Early Years Learning Framework Practice Based Resources – Connecting with families: Bringing the Early Years Learning Framework to life in your community (for more information, refer to https://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/connecting-with-families_0.pdf) offers practical advice for early childhood practitioners. PACE attitude training, offered in Queensland by Evolve Therapeutic Services, is a valuable resource for teachers working with children who have experienced trauma or neglect (for more information refer to https://www.communities.qld.gov.au/childsafety/partners/our-government-partners/evolve-interagency-services).
2. Connect with culture. Non-indigenous teachers should seek access to safe, reliable cultural cues from other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff within their school or wider community (Dockett, Perry & Kearney, 2010; Lewig et al., 2010; Zon et al., 2004). Professional practice should also reflect other minority cultures represented in the school’s student population (Cortis et al., 2009; Gilligan & Akhtar, 2005; Hundeide & Armstrong, 2011; Libesman, 2004; Ryan, 2011). Refer to the Foundations for Success website for further information https://det.qld.gov.au/earlychildhood/service/Documents/pdf/foundations-for-success.pdf#search=crossing%20cultures%20training%20teachers. Also, Queensland state school teachers can access Crossing Cultures and Hidden History training – for more information, refer to http://indigenous.education.qld.gov.au/school/crossingcultures/Pages/default.aspx
3. Manage behaviour effectively. Use real and life-like examples to role-model socially-acceptable responses, reactions and reflections to everyday situations (Doyle, 2012; Howe, 2005). Establish and maintain routines, timetables and rewards systems (Gross et al, 2006; Karr-Morse & Wiley, 1997). The Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) behaviour management approach is currently being implemented in Queensland state schools (refer to http://behaviour.education.qld.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx) and is recommended for children with challenging behaviours (DET, 2015; Umbreit & Ferro, 2015).
4. Access help and support at a school level. Queensland state schools have access to specialists including speech/language pathologists, behaviour coaches, occupational therapists, guidance officers and learning support teachers (refer to https://education.qld.gov.au/students/students-with-disability/specialist-staff for more information). Contact the school’s Principal if there are extended absences or a suspected case of child abuse or neglect (refer to https://oneportal.deta.qld.gov.au/St...uidelines.aspx for further information). A wraparound approach to support is preferred (Cortis et al., 2009). This could include the school’s collaboration and cooperation with different community-based support agencies (Cortis et al., 2009 The HIPPY (for more information, refer to http://hippyaustralia.bsl.org.au/) and FAFT (Families as First Teachers) programs (for more information refer to http://www.earlyyearscount.earlychildhood.qld.gov.au/age-spaces/families-first-teachers/) assist families with young children to develop the language and interactions which best support parent-child relationships and a child’s transition to school (Dean & Leung, 2010). Working with families is viewed as best practice for educators, parents and ‘at risk’ children (DiLauro, 2004; Karr-Morse & Wiley, 1997).
5. Supporting children with additional needs. Early Years Connect is a website developed by the Queensland Government Early Childhood Education and Care section of the Department of Education. The purpose of the site is to help educators support children with complex additional needs to participate in early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings. The resources include information sheets, online modules and webinar recordings.
6. Complex and additional needs. The Early Years Health and Development website developed by the Queensland Government Department of Education provides to a number of links for supporting inclusive practice in early childhood settings along with links to information around health and development issues.
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What can we do as university teachers to enable first year nurses to embrace and honour diversity and to begin to develop their inclusive professional practices?
Key Learnings
• Communication and critical theories can draw our attention to the complexity of communication in Australian health care contexts
• Health care contexts are becoming increasingly diverse with differences in cultural, group and gender identities now being voiced
• A professional nursing identity involving the overarching concept of patient centred care encompasses inclusivity: the acceptance and capacity to cater for the needs of each individual patient
• Nursing students need to reflect on their self-awareness, as well as develop their professional identity, so that they can more effectively demonstrate patient centred care
COMMUNICATION AND CRITICAL THEORIES
Communication and critical perspectives can focus attention on the complexities of communication in a diverse, changing and complex context like health care. Understanding how communication perspectives have evolved helps us appreciate the implications of this diversity and complexity and may provide approaches to developing more inclusive practice.
Figure 5.1: Photograph by NeONBRAND on Unsplash
Models conceptualising communication theory have evolved from Shannon and Weaver’s (1948) rudimentary linear model. This model reflected the idea that there was a message as well as a sender and receiver who had little to do with the interpretation of the message so that the message was seen to be essentially independent from both the sender and receiver. While this model does not reflect the two-way nature of communication, nor the role that the sender and receiver both plays, we often communicate as if this were the case. Have you been in a classroom where the teacher transmits their lesson without acknowledgment of either verbal or nonverbal feedback and assumes that students receive the message in the way it was communicated with 100% accuracy? While the linear model did concede that sometimes the message was not effective, it only recognised one form of communication barrier, that related to physical noise [such as a computer falling].
A more sophisticated model of communication, the ‘interactive’ model of communication, updated the linear model by incorporating the sender’s and receiver’s perceptions into the model. Within this model, a communicator’s perceptions or fields of experience are identified as playing a decisive role in the effectiveness of communication. In addition, the concept of two-way feedback was also identified as being integral to effective communication processes. Without two-way feedback , communication could be interrupted or disrupted by barriers that can impede the process of communication. For example, semantic or language and word barriers can occur along with psychological or intrapersonal barriers. Intrapersonal barriers stem largely from our perceptions of ‘difference’ or diversity. They include the assumptions that we make about others and the differences between us. They also encompass our expectations, our fears and anxieties and prompt us to stereotype people which in turn can lead to bias, prejudice and labelling. Likewise, our cultural understandings / misunderstandings can also lead us to experience interpersonal barriers which can emerge largely from cultural or gender difference[s].
A third, more advanced ‘transactional’ model of communication also appreciates the simultaneous and continuous nature of communication, as well as the fact that communication occurs within a context (a time, place, situation or relationship). The transactional model also identifies communication strategies that can be employed to alleviate barriers: self-awareness, motivation, audience analysis, listening, empathy (Engleberg & Winn, 2015), assertiveness and feedback. Figure 5.2 demonstrates these ideas.
Figure 5.2: Transaction Model of Communication, adapted from Kossen, Kiernan & Lawrence, (2017).
This chapter will explore how these communication barriers, and the strategies to overcome them, underpin the themes of diversity and inclusion in the specific context of healthcare and as enacted by students learning to construct or develop their identities as professional nurses.
Critical theory adds to communication perspectives by considering the ways in which perception shapes communication as a way of maintaining existing regimes of privilege and social control. Its role is so critical that it is defined as a threshold concept in a number of disciplines. In anthropology or ethnography it is defined as culture, and in critical theory as world view, way of knowing or discourses. In this chapter we define perception as culture and appreciate that all human beings, including ourselves, have and make culture and that culture is reflected in our everyday activities, relationships, social processes, our values, beliefs, norms, customs, possessions, rules, codes, and assumptions about life. Shor (1993) (as cited in Lankshear et al., 1997) argues that “culture is what ordinary people do every day, how they behave, speak, relate and make things. Everyone has and makes culture … culture is the speech and behaviour of everyday life”(p. 30).
Our often taken-for-granted cultural understandings instil ideologies and power structures with the purpose of reproducing conditions in ways which benefit the already-powerful (Giroux, 2007). Advocates of critical pedagogy view communication as inherently political and reject the neutrality of knowledge (Giroux, 2007). In this way, differences from the norm, or the understood, accepted or taken for granted ways of knowing or mainstream culture, are seen to be deficit. Many of us live in a homogenous or common culture that we take for granted and accept as ‘natural’ or ‘normal’. Some of us do not question this cultural understanding. We might not have been exposed to individuals with different perspectives, perceptions of backgrounds, to different groups or cultures or to different ways of understanding and knowing. Previous chapters have explored how we communicate using specific verbal practices and nonverbal behaviours. This helps us to understand that the same act can have different meanings in different cultures. This includes differences in the cultural understandings of individually and collectively orientated cultures, and the cultural differences in the way females and males and gender neutral or transgender individuals communicate.
If these understandings from communication and critical theories are merged, then elements of the communication process, for example the context of the communication, the role of culture and the barriers to communication, can be acknowledged as the means by which those in power, whether individuals, organisations or communities, can make judgements that can disempower or marginalise those who are assumed, labelled or stereotyped as being ‘different’. Alternatively, if other elements are prioritised or reimagined, then these communication elements can become agencies of empowerment and transformation. For example, empowering elements can encompass self-awareness and an understanding that our own perceptions, culture, world view or way of knowing is just one of many, and that other world views are as equally legitimate as our own.
The chapter will explore these understandings by applying them to the diversity present in the health care context – differences displayed by both patients and staff in the context – as well as to the ways in which student nurses can learn to be more inclusive of the differences they encounter in a health care context.
DIVERSITY IN NURSING
Diversity is ever-present in the health care context. Australia is a multicultural country. In addition, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have been in Australia continuously for 60,000 years (Hazelwood & Shakespeare-Finch, 2010). Everyone else is an immigrant of less than 250 years. Australia also has a high level of first-and second-generation immigrants. In 2016 the Australian National Census demonstrated that 33.3 % of Australians were born overseas, and a further 34.4% of people had both parents born overseas. However, numbers of migrants and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people vary across Australia. For example, only 1.6 per cent of the South Australian population identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people compared to 27.8 per cent of people in the Northern Territory (Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS], 2006).
Despite this diversity in the population, Western ideas of communication are the taken-for-granted way of communication in Australia. For example, English is used as the standard language, written communication is valued (in legal matters) and the accessibility of ideas (through the internet), is a taken-for-granted notion reflecting the individualised Western way of communicating.
Figure 5.3: Photograph by rawpixel on Unsplash
With increases in the numbers of graduating nurses born outside Australia, being part of a multicultural healthcare team is now standard in most workplaces. In 2011, 33 per cent of nurses, 56 per cent of General Practioners [GPs] and 47 per cent of specialists in Australian were born overseas (ABS, 2013). This is significant, as the continuing increase of medical professionals from other countries enriches the workplace. However, it can also present many communication challenges in the healthcare environment. The increase in English language proficiency requirements for a registered nurse in Australia (Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency [AHPRA], 2014) has reduced spoken-language errors in healthcare environments. However, given that less than 7–10 per cent of the meaning of communication is from verbal communication (or the words alone), there is still a high potential for miscommunication when there are cultural differences in team membership in healthcare settings.
Nurses work in these diverse contexts, with diverse groups and individuals and care for diverse patients or clients. Like educational institutions, health care is at the forefront of diversity. As Crawford, Candlin and Roger (2017) contend, with increasing cultural diversity among nurses and their clients in Australia, there are growing concerns relating to the potential for miscommunication, as differences in language and culture can cause misunderstandings which can have serious impacts on health outcomes and patient safety (Hamilton & Woodward-Kron, 2010). Grant and Luxford (2011) add that there is little research into the way health professionals approach working with difference or how these impact on their everyday practice. Furthermore, there has been minimal examination of intercultural nurse–patient communication from a linguistic perspective. Applying communication and critical models and strategies to nursing practice can help nurses understand what is happening in their communication with patients, particularly where people from different groups or cultures are interacting. Applying these approaches can help to raise awareness of underlying causes and potentially lead to more effective communication skills and therapeutic relationships, and therefore enhanced patient satisfaction and safety.
APPLYING COMMUNICATION PERSPECTIVES TO DIVERSITY IN THE HEALTHCARE CONTEXT
Semantic, language and words are barriers that emerge in health care contexts (Graham & Lawrence, 2015). When first entering any unfamiliar healthcare context or workplace, it is important to recognise there will be a new or unfamiliar language. Out of necessity, healthcare environments use healthcare jargon terms, which confuse not only new healthcare professionals but patients as well. This language use can lead to semantic barriers and generate difficulties in interactions with healthcare professionals (Graham & Lawrence, 2015). To complicate matters, there are many commonly used healthcare acronyms related to medication and treatment that are specific to specialised areas. Many are Latin, and their full meanings not intuitive – particularly for students whose first language is not Latin-based like English. Examples include mane (morning), nocté (night), prn (when required), stat (immediately), tds (three time a day) – there are many others.
The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC, 2011) has published a list of acceptable commonly used abbreviations /acronyms and identified abbreviations that have caused adverse patient events due to the acronym being mistaken for something different. For example, the abbreviation/acronym CA can be written to represent carbohydrate, (cancer) antigen, cancer, cardiac arrest or community-acquired. ACSQHC recommends writing the full medical term in patient charts, followed by its acronym, in the first instance to ensure patient safety. Despite these recommendations, it is common in healthcare settings to hear sentences constructed almost entirely of healthcare jargon and acronyms.
Intrapersonal and interpersonal communication barriers can be endemic in the health care context. From a cultural perspective, the power distance or hierarchical structure within healthcare settings are much more structured and more clearly defined than in the wider Australian communities. Similarly, the need for clear lines of authority and the call to minimise ambiguity in all communication to safeguard patient safety, mean communication within healthcare settings tends to be much more direct than it is in the broader population. Outside health care, such power differences are less clearly defined, and might even be able to be avoided completely. In a case such as this, where patient needs are paramount, healthcare staff need to develop strategies for communicating and effectively advocating for their patients.
Patients and healthcare staff who have grown up in a collectivist culture are likely to have a stronger sense of family commitment than is typical in the broader Australian community. Although Australian healthcare staff, patients and family members care deeply about family members, they are more likely to negotiate caring responsibilities with others. Being from a collective culture may mean healthcare staff are unavailable to work due to family commitments, or patients’ relatives may insist on staying with an ill family member in hospital during treatment. This strong sense of family duty, and the resulting obligations are amplified when accompanied by strong loyalty. It is important that this deep sense of duty is recognised and accommodated where possible.
The non-verbal element of personal space is another area of significant difference between broader Australian culture and healthcare culture. For example, when providing treatment, nurses need to be physically closer to patients than is usual outside a healthcare setting. Although healthcare professionals are accustomed to close physical and often intimate personal interactions, they still need to gain consent from patients and explain what is being undertaken and why it is important. The need for this consideration is even greater in cultural groups where higher levels of personal modesty are the cultural norm.
With such diversity and difference present in health care contexts, how do nursing students begin to develop an approach that assists them to understand the depth of diversity and its impact on their professional nursing practice? How do they develop an approach that is inclusive of the diversity they encounter in the health care context? In nursing an inclusive approach is synonymous with the concept of Patient Centred Care. The next section explains how student nurses can be encouraged to think about who they are and why they need to focus on developing their patient centred care, or an inclusive approach to their nursing practice.
PATIENT CENTRED CARE
Patient (person) Centred Care [PCC] is a care approach that considers the whole person and is important for nurses to be aware of in order to inform and foster inclusive care practice and ‘become ‘ a Registered Nurse. A PCC approach improves health outcomes of individuals and their families (Arbuthnott & Sharpe, 2009; Arnetz et al., 2010; Beach, et al., 2005; Boulding, Glickman, Manary, Schulman, & Staelin, 2011). It is a concept that consists of several constructs and as a consequence, a globally accepted definition of PCC is yet to be formed. The main widely accepted constructs of PCC include person, ‘personhood’ and effective communication.
The term ‘person’ acknowledges a human being has rights, especially in relation to decisions and choice (including being sensitive to nonmedical/spiritual aspects of care, patient needs and preferences), and being respected (Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, 2012; International Council of Nurses, 2012; United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, 1948; 1976). The term ‘person’ reflects that a person is a human being, who is made of several human dimensions. These dimensions include intellectual, environment, spiritual, socio-cultural, emotional, and physical, all of which operate together to form the whole person (Smith, 2014).
Personhood is the expression of being human, that is one’s humanity. A nurse can seek out an individual’s personhood by spending time communicating with them (the patient). In particular, communicating with them in order to find out what interests them, what is important to them, what concerns them and what threatens them (Dempsey, 2014). Importantly though, the element of PCC vital to improving health outcomes is presence of effective communication between the nurse and the patient and the patient’s family in order to facilitate information sharing (Dempsey, 2014; Kitson, Marshall, Bassett, & Zeitz, 2012).
For communication to be effective, it needs to be based on mutual trust and respect. Trust and respect are key enablers in the establishment of a therapeutic relationship with patients (Dempsey, 2014; Kitson, et al., 2012). Other core dimensions of PCC include: education, emotional and physical support, continuity, transition and coordination of care, involvement of family and friends and access to care (ACSQHC, 2011). When delivering PCC, it is important to consider all these constructs and dimensions as a whole unit, and how they work in unison to improve the health and wellbeing outcomes of a patient and their family. Therefore, as first year nurses, awareness of these PCC constructs and their benefits are essential in order to foster inclusive care practice.
The next step is to provide student nurses with several building block activities, designed to:
• Raise their self-awareness of the values they hold as ‘being’ human’ and their associated behaviours in a everyday way of being.
• Raise their awareness of the values the nursing profession holds.
• Identify ‘ways of being in every day practice’ in order to develop the values and behaviours that the nursing profession holds in promoting inclusive care practice.
Reflection
The following activity can help us to understand the implications of this way of thinking in our approach to the values we hold.
What do we value in ‘being’ human?
• Reflect on the values you place on being human. Write down your thoughts in the first column.
• What behaviours shows these values in action? Write down these behaviours in the second column.
Values I place on being human Behaviours that reflect my values in being human
The nursing profession holds specfic values in relation to ‘being’ human. There are, for example, multiple Codes of Practice that designate these values. These include the International Council of Nurses (2012) with the ICN Code of Ethics for Nurses, the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia’s (2018) Registered Nurse Standards for Practice and the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia, and the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia’s (2018) Code of Professional Conduct for Nurses in Australia. Today’s rapid changes in value systems in society are causing health care to encounter more ethical and philosophical challenges at providing care to its clients. These changes have created diverse and changing nursing environments that require professional nursing.
• What behaviours would you show to reflect these values in your inclusive professional practice?
• Write down these behaviours in the second column.
Values we placed on being human Behaviours that reflect our profession’s values in being human
Now we compare our personal values to the professional values towards ‘being’ human to help us develop inclusive practice?
1. Circle the values and corresponding behaviours that are a match.
2. Identify the values and the corresponding behaviours that do not match by highlighting these with a highlighter pen.
3. Write down three strategies you could begin to implement in your everyday ‘way of being’ (behaviour) towards other people, to address areas that were a mismatch to your professional codes of practice.
Strategies to implement to improve my way of being with others to ensure my behaviour reflects the nursing standards and codes of practice
1.
2.
3.
We can see how developing the concept of professional behaviours, or in the context of health care, Patient (person)-centred care, is a professional approach that considers the whole person and is important for first year nurses to be aware of in order to inform and foster their inclusive care practice in ‘becoming’ a Registered Nurse. By considering the patient as a person with their own values, beliefs, assumptions, expectations, student nurses are beginning to overcome some of the barriers that can arise when they communicate across difference. The following case study shows how one student is developing her person-centred care:
Case Study
I would like to show I care as a student nurse on my first clinical placement firstly by getting to know the people I will be working with, by understanding my scope of practice through a thorough orientation, not being too nervous and hopefully feeling relaxed and confident, this will certainly put me in better stead to show my caring nature. I will ask many questions (at appropriate times) to help me to understand conditions and diagnosis and this will assist me to understand about the people in my care. Building a rapport with patients and taking the time to get to know them will be top of the list for showing I care for patients, I would also build rapport with their families to help ease their worry, as I know it is awfully difficult leaving a loved one in hospital and uncertainty of the unknown and wishing there was more they could do. Through a transactional communication model, congruent body language, displaying genuine interest, being empathetic, positive, encouraging, honest and respectful and culturally aware, I will hopefully be off to a good start in showing my caring nature on my first student placement.
In this next section we link ideas derived from communication and critical perspectives and those of Patient Centred Care to the strategies or skills and competencies to enhance an inclusive approach in a health care context.
A CONCEPTUAL MODEL TO DEVELOP AN INCLUSIVE APPROACH
A conceptual model to develop an inclusive approach presents three practices that emerge from integrating communication and critical theories with Patient Centred Care (Lawrence,2015). The three practices include self-awareness and reflective practice, communicative practice and critical awareness of context (or critical practice). The practices underpin a conceptual model depicted below in Figure 5.4.
Figure 5.4: Model for Inclusive Practices, Lawrence, (2015).
SELF-AWARENESS AND REFLECTIVE PRACTICE
Developing self-awareness is more complex than most people imagine. It is difficult to change or shift our taken-for-granted assumptions and expectations and to accept others’ differences without judging them. Listen to this TED talk about cultural identity, how our lives, our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice — and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.
To encourage nursing students to make this shift they are asked to reflect on their self-awareness by using the Johari window. The activity below assists them to accomplish this.
Activity 1
Develop your self-awareness with the Johari Window
• Watch: The Johari Window in Model
• Complete the quadrants of the Johari window reflecting about your nonverbal communication as an example. Then, ask a peer, class or work colleague or friend, family member, etc. to add their reflections about your nonverbal communication.
• Reflect about what you might have discovered about your own self-awareness. How could you learn more about how others perceive you?
Figure 5.5 Johari Window, Public Domain image, Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johari...ari_Window.PNG
• Culturally safe and respectful practice requires having knowledge of how a nurse’s own culture, values, attitudes, assumptions and belief’s influence their interaction with people and families, community and colleagues.
• Refer to the Code of Conduct for nurses (NMBA, 2018). Which principle/s do you think aligns with this activity?
Activity 2
Interview someone who has worked in a health care context and ask them about their experiences and what helped them to be confident in the new context.
• Your task is to ask your interviewee about their nursing experiences / problem solving strategies they have developed; what worked for them; did they become more comfortable in a clinical situation; how did they balance life, study, children and work; something they found unexpected; one thing they wished they had known at the start.
Figure 5.6: Gibbs Reflective Cycle (1988)
Activity 3
Build your reflection skills by practicing Gibb’s reflective cycle (1988).
• Reflective practice is another important strategy you can engage in to develop your self-awareness, understanding of situations and interactions encountered in practice and your own responses to these. There are quite a few frameworks for reflective practice.
• Apply the stages of Gibbs Reflective Cycle to the interview you conducted in Activity 2. In the feelings stage outline one surprising thing that you discovered about nursing and patient-centred care that differed from the expectations you had about nursing and in the action plan stage put forward a strategy that we can use to become comfortable with an unfamiliar group or individual in a context is our ability to reflect on the behaviours, languages or jargon in the context.
In a practical sense this means that we need to observe, monitor, to watch, listen to and reflect on other’s or the group’s behaviours and practices and to learn from our observations. In a health care or clinical context for example, how do you address clients, colleagues and supervisors? What happens if you don’t do this well? Where do you need to go to find out about the accepted requirements for interaction? Is there a source of help and assistance? Lawrence (2015) suggests that one way to learn how to understand this is to watch how our colleagues and clinical supervisors communicate with us, analyse their practices, the kinds of information that are valued and begin to develop evidence-based practice. What do our studies inform us about? What does the research literature say? What exactly does this mean for our practice and our communication in that context? Good observation techniques can save us a lot of time as well as help to identify the group and/or individuals we need to communicate with in the new context. It is important to recognise too that if we do not know the practices in the new context, we are not deficient, we are unfamiliar.
COMMUNICATIVE PRACTICE
The second practice relates to communication. Communicating effectively helps gain and develop an understanding of an unfamiliar culture, group or person being engaged with as well as their specific behaviours and practices. The specific communication strategies discussed here include seeking help and information, participating in a group or team, and making social contact and conversation. In terms of communication theory, these practices signify ‘feedback’ and facilitate more effective communication between communicators.
Seeking help and information is an important communication strategy which cannot be underestimated. It is critical in understanding another’s’ beliefs, values and cultural practices. We cannot assume that we can understand another person or patient because they are a certain age, nationality or have a certain sexual preference. We have to seek their help in developing our understanding of them, and in a health care context our understanding of their needs and requirements.
In daily life the evidence is overwhelming. Kids Help Lines assist younger people cope with changes in their lives. Cancer Support groups are set up to help people diagnosed with cancer to develop sources of support and information. The following case study documents students’ clinical experiences of seeking help and information.
Case Study
I would admit it has been difficult to understand some of the strong ethnic accents when they talk. I don’t want to appear rude but I have to ask them to repeat what they have said.
One of our Indian CNs wasn’t able to communicate with an old digger who was being quite rude and abusive to her. She asked me if I would assist him as there was not going to be the opportunity for her to do so as he was not going to change his mind. She wasn’t upset or angry, she tried, she handed over and all was good, because I was able to culturally communicate with him, as I am Australian, from the bush with a military background. Nurses need to work with the understanding that no two persons are the same and communication and respect are important.
I found that working for Blue Care and in the hospital the problem with communication is either with the patient or client (most elderly) who is hard to understand as they are unable to speak clearly and unable to voice their concerns. Or that information was not handed over properly, as staff are usually flat out and understaffed. I find it’s better to go to the patient’s care plan or file and look at progress notes thus getting a basic detail of the history of the person. I feel if we just take a little bit of time and to listen to others we might hear something, others can’t hear.
Figure 5.6: Photograph by youssef naddam on Unsplash
It is important to reflect on our own attitudes to asking for help. Some people don’t find it easy to ask for help. Kossen, Kiernan and Lawrence (2017) suggest that some may believe asking for help is a sign of ‘weakness’ while others may feel that they lack the confidence to ask. Still others might be reluctant to ask because they are overconfident about their own abilities. Others may feel they do not have the ‘right’, or believe that they could be considered ‘stupid’, or they may equate help as ‘remedial’. Other groups’ cultural belief systems may not value asking for help or do not prioritise it.
Case Study
Again students reflect about why they felt unwillingness to ask for help and support.
Sometimes, my fear of conflict prevents me from communicating effectively because I tend to keep quiet rather than express my own point of view or speak up if I feel something is incorrect. Sometimes I cannot understand the supervisor what he means, so I must ask again. This is really uncomfortable for me. The biggest part of communication is to have to ask for help. Recently I asked for help from one of my colleagues and was nervous to see them as I may appear stupid for just not getting it.
Reflection
• Reflect about your approach to asking for help. For example, do you hesitate to ask because it is difficult for you?
• I sometimes hesitate because I sometimes feel that I do not like to bother people with my problems?
Asking for help is critical in building our learning capacities, so it is vital not to minimise the value of this skill. However it must be done appropriately and professionally. We need to prepare ourselves, for example asking ‘who to ask’ and ‘how to ask’. The question about ‘who to ask’ often requires research. The most appropriate one to use may need prior investigation, where we use sources of information gained by making social contact and conversation. It is also useful to reflect on how to seek help and information. This is because the way that we ask needs to be socially and culturally fine-tuned to the particular context. In relation to verbal communication, we may need to consider the actual words we will use. Will we use colloquial language or jargon, long sentences or short sentences? Will we prepare and practice how to ask? Will we ask directly or indirectly? How close will we stand?
Physically, how and where we will ask for help (in consultation times, on a forum, using email, through an appeal if it is about a grade)? In terms of nonverbal communication we would need to think about our gestures, facial expression, body language and whether we use direct or indirect eye contact. In terms of paralinguistics what tone of voice, what pace, volume and pitch will we use? We need to ensure our choices are appropriate to our context. The verbal and non-verbal ways we would seek help and information from a lecturer would, for example, differ from the ways we would ask our friends or our employer or a client in an aged care institution.
Participating in a group or team
The communication strategy used when participating in a group or team can help us develop our confidence as well as contribute to critical thinking and questioning. This is essential in both learning and professional contexts and is crucial in team-centred workplaces like nursing or healthcare contexts.
Case Study
Students reflect about their use of this strategy or practice using online tools:
Having things like blackboard collaborate was extremely beneficial. The feedback, the advice I received, and the fact that I saw that people were in a similar boat with study helped me stay focused and determined.
I had what I thought was a lot of experience when it came to acquiring information from digital resources. When it comes to developing my skills I realised I am not as knowledgeable as I thought. There are more ways to access information that I had no knowledge of or had access to. I found that participating in online forums was very helpful in learning due to giving and receiving advice from and to other students. I am gaining a lot of confidence and more digital literacy skills.
Reflection
• Observe your colleagues’ and peers’ use of team work.
• Write down one example of a strategy that contributes to effective teamwork and one strategy that negatively affects the team’s productivity.
Building team and group capacities not only helps gain confidence in performing in health care contexts, they can also help gain employment and/or promotion. Team and group capacities assist with accomplishing professional tasks more effectively and productively. However, the verbal and nonverbal behaviours and cultural beliefs underlying this skill also change from person to person, culture to culture, place to place, context to context. Some individuals may feel more comfortable with team work while others prefer to work independently. Some groups enjoy early getting-to-know-you humour before they progress to the actual work of the meeting, hand over or consultation? Some groups are more collectively orientated while others more individually orientated. Cross-cultural theory sees these differences in behaviours as cultural practices or cultural literacy. But the fact is that we often take our own behaviours and practices for granted while perceiving others’ ways as different or deficit. It is important to stress that one way is not better than the other – just different.
Making social contact and conversation
This practice not only increases our sources of support it also assists in brainstorming solutions or solving problems. Confidence in employing this practice will increase our capacity to develop networks, learning circles, mentors, friends and partners.
Case Study
Again students reflect on their capacities to make social contact.
When I came here in Australia five years ago, my communication skills were very limited. High school helped me a lot and talking to different people in English really built up my communication skills. I have a great support system around me including two great girls who I have met on clinical. It is great to have them to talk to and ask questions we also keep each other on track. I also have a friend who graduated last year so this is also a great avenue to receive information and get help. I will be working in the industry during my studies so I believe I will have plenty of help from experienced nurses when I need it.
I didn’t know anyone when I started, but I met a 2nd year undergraduate in the library who took me under her wing and showed me how to use the library, photocopier, Study Desk online and forums. She also added me to her study group on Facebook. I was very thankful that she took her time to show me these vital things.
Reflection
• Observe your colleagues and peers’ use of this strategy.
• Write down three approaches that you would feel comfortable in using to make social contact.
Again there can be differences in the ways that individuals and groups approach this strategy as its use needs to be socially and culturally fine-tuned to the specific context or situation. Its use depends on a very complex social and cultural interplay of factors. For example, do you need to be introduced before you are able to meet someone? Do you need to think of a suitable topic with which to start a conversation (for example the weather, a significant cultural event)? Are there ‘taboo’ subjects which could lead to a communication barrier or even offense? What kinds of personal information can you use to help authenticate your status and position which may be necessary for establishing relationships in particular cultural groups? Are there any unwritten social mores regarding this skill which would mean that if you were to ignore or overlook them would there be a risk offending someone?
Critical awareness of context
The third practice is the most difficult. Critical practice moves beyond our self-awareness of our own belief systems and cultural practices to include an awareness of the relationships in operation around us. This is called critical self-awareness or more generally critical practice. Critical practice involves a) the ability to seek and give feedback about specific practices and belief systems and b) an awareness of the power relationships operating in the context or culture.
Seeking and giving feedback is critical. For example, teachers give feedback all the time in assignments, in class and on forums. Students want feedback as feedback assists students to improve their skills and knowledge. In a nursing workplace there will be performance reviews and case conferences and seeking feedback allows you to learn more about your own practices and beliefs as well as those of your colleagues and peers. It also allows you to check whether your understandings and interpretations about these are accurate. Asking for and giving feedback is also an empowering strategy. When it is positive it can facilitate teamwork, improve interpersonal relationships and lead to greater productivity.
Providing constructive feedback or negative feedback, in socially and culturally appropriate ways, can be a difficult and risky strategy. It can be vital in being assertive, in putting forward your point of view, in developing flexibility, in time management, in preventing stress and in minimising conflict. For example, in keeping patients safe, sometimes nurses have to take their colleagues to one side and tell them that they are not doing something correctly or the way they communicate with others is not being well received. If you are inadvertently offending someone then it is much better if that person were to let you know.
Case Study
Student nurses reflect about situations where feedback became an important strategy in avoiding communication barriers and in enabling them to fulfil their study goals.
The communication error I witnessed was in my class. We were learning about long bones, and our practical involved dissecting a bone from a cow. Our lecturer completely forgot to mention that the bone was from a cow. We cut the bone, and one lady was standing back. It was lucky that she realised herself that it was a cow’s bone, as she followed a religion which meant that the cow was a sacred animal to her religion. It was an honest communication error in which the lecturer apologised profusely.
If someone is offending you then it is important for you, in a socially and culturally acceptable manner, to provide them with some constructive and careful feedback that would help to overcome this potential barrier between you and the other person. You could, for example, use the the following strategy:
• Prepare what you want to say, as well as when, where and how, beforehand.
• Start with something positive and/ or place yourself in their situation (be empathetic).
• Give your reasons and/or explanations for why you feel offended/disagree.
• Provide an alternative or state what specific action you would like them to do.
Reflection
Provide some examples of where you either sought or gave feedback about specific practices whether or not they achieved the solution you were aiming for.
• For example, you might want to give a lecturer feedback about how marks were distributed in an assignment.
• Your outcome might be to have your marks increased.
Power relationships
Power relationships operating in the culture or context can affect our effectiveness. If you were studying social science or politics you would be studying power relationships for the entire degree. Power is the ability to influence or control the behaviour of people. Sometimes power is seen as authority which is the power which is perceived as legitimate by the social structure surrounding the context. Examples would encompass a Federal or State or Local Government, a Hospital Board, the University Council. Sometimes power can be seen as evil or unjust and you might agree or disagree with the decisions made. However the exercise of power is accepted as pervasive to humans as social beings. In the business environment, power can be upward or downward. With downward power, a company’s superior influences subordinates. When an organisation exerts upward power, it is the subordinates who influence the decisions of the leader. In higher education academic staff can be seen as having more power than you as first year students? Health care workers or nurses will be witnesses to power relationships both in their studies and clinical experiences. Domestic violence, whether physical or verbal, is an expression of power.
Case Study
In thinking about my conversations about caring I engaged with the concept of putting on a new face for the next patient you see, I find this particularly difficult as I can be emotive at times and this is something that I will be working on for my future practice. I am also aware that body language has an important role in this interaction and my facial expressions can give me away at times also. Other strategies that I use to communication towards others is talking at the eye level of the person instead of standing over them, sitting beside their bed so there is no power play happening as I believe we already display a power imbalance through our knowledge, practice and skills we have developed so the patient who is unwell and in a vulnerable position, whether they are laying down, sitting, or with people standing over them can be at eye level. Ways in which I have shown care is by building a rapport with people and their families, asking about their interests, their concerns by actively listening, acknowledging, paraphrasing to understand and responding appropriately also giving space or silence when needed. I also like to follow up any with any questions that the person has that I may not have the answer to and respond back in a timely manner or refer the person to someone who may be able to explain, I like to be authentic and honest. In times that I have shown care towards others it has mostly been positive although there were times when the person was in pain or just fed up with their situation and they were short with me or just plain rude and abrupt and this was understandable considering their situation, so not taking everything on board is important when caring for people and usually an apology slips in down the track when they are feeling better, although I have explained sometimes to people I care for that “I am doing my very best and I understand you are not well, but let’s try and get through this together” that usually puts a different spin on the outcome of care and a genuine, honest understanding of each other.
I am of Aboriginal decent but due to my appearance am not recognised as such by the public. An example of discrimination was in a meeting group when one lady very openly pronounced some offensive things not only in front of me but also in front of another fellow Aboriginal student. We were all offended by the comments but chose to only discuss our feelings amongst ourselves afterwards. This was very unprofessional and in a patient/professional environment very inappropriate.
Reflection
• Reflect about when you may have experienced or witnessed discrimination
The three practices are lifelong learning skills that can assist us to be more inclusive and help nurses practice patient centred care. For example each will have particular ways of communicating and operating. The practices can instill in us a resilience that enables us to apply and re-apply these practices so that we are empowered to practice inclusivity whenever diversity emerges in the fast moving and complex world in which we live.
Conclusion
This chapter explored how our awareness of self shapes our capacities to adapt to develop a more inclusive approach to diversity by integrating the concept of Patient Cantered Care. Patient Centred Care was described as an inclusive practice that new student nurses need to understand and practice as they progress through their degrees. The twin concepts of awareness of self and awareness of context were used to inform a model of inclusion. The model emphasises the use of self-awareness and reflective practice, communicative practice and critical awareness of context. These practices can assist nurses to develop patient centred care, at its heart an approach that by its nature, is inclusive.
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How do we, as teachers, position ourselves in relation to multiculturalism, multicultural policies and education system requirements and expectations?
Key Learnings
• Australian schools are increasingly catering for ethnically and culturally diverse student populations.
• Through recognising that culture is something everyone has, we start to unpack our own attitudes to culture and multicultural education.
• A physical cultural audit collects data in the form of observations and/or photographs of the physical spaces around us and analyses them for the messages they give about the culture/s present in a particular environment.
• Recognising our own cultural postions assists unpacking our own and the education systems expectations and requirements of culturally diverse students.
Understanding ‘culture’ in ‘multicultural’
Culture as a slippery concept
In coming to a chapter considering multicultural education, participants may consider that they have a good understanding of the idea of what multicultural means. However, it is a term that is used extensively within the Australian context, across multiple formal educational settings and quite often in an unproblematic way. There are many policies connecting to the idea of multicultural, such as Queensland’s Multicultural Recognition Act 2016 (Figure 1). Interestingly, the definitions section of this act does not contain a definition of multicultural. Instead it seems to assume that a reader would understand what is implied by this term. It is worth noting that the term diversity in relation to the idea of being multicultural is defined as “cultural, linguistic and religious diversity” (Queensland Multicultural Recognition Act , 2016, p. 5). This chapter contends that in order to understand what is meant by a term such as multicultural, it is first necessary to consider what could be meant by the term culture. As you can see from Figure 6.1, official considerations of the idea of multiculturalism depend upon something termed cultural diversity.
Figure 6.1: Queensland Multicultural Recognition Act (2016). Retrieved from https://www.communities.qld.gov.au/m...ition-act-2016
While both the terms culture and multicultural are often presented as simple in their meaning, upon closer investigation, they are complex, slippery and hard to pin down. While ‘common sense’ understandings exist in the public consciousness, to critically engage with multicultural education we need to interrogate these ideas a little further.
Figure 6.2: Photograph by ACME Squares. (2011).
Often, particularly within the context of policy documents and ideas around multicultural education, the idea of culture depends on the original nationality or country of origin of a group of people. This might extend not only to where a person was born but also to where their parents and/or grandparents were born. It might refer to a whole national context or a regional area within a particular nation. The tie here is to ethnicity as a way of defining cultural diversity.
Figure 6.3: Photograph by Adiputra, M., (2010).
Linguistic diversity is also often considered to be part of multicultural considerations (as seen in the Queensland Multicultural Recognition Act, 2016). Language and culture exist in a complex relationship where they are both expressions of each other. If we consider culture to be related to shared values and beliefs of a given group, one way in which these are expressed and communicated is through language. Language development is influenced by culture and while two individuals from different communities may share a language, they may not necessarily share the same understanding of the use of particular word/phrases.
Figure 6.4: Photograph by Fæ, (2013). https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/F...city_1070).jpg
Sometimes, culture is represented through physical artefacts, clothing or symbols, as well as artistic representations such as painting (e.g., on the didgeridoo on the left) and music. Often these are linked to certain traditions, ceremonies or cultural activities with embedded implicit, as well as explicit, meanings. Superficial consideration of a particular culture through its physical representations can result if the intricacies of a particular tradition/representation are not well understood. There is danger in physical representations being misunderstood and feeding into stereotypical ideas/ideals of what a particular culture might be like, particularly if considered in isolation.
Figure 6.5: Photograph by S2art, (2005).
In many celebrations of diversity, food is central to displaying and sharing groups’ differing cultural backgrounds. Diverse communities come together to experience each other’s cultures through consuming dishes that are considered to be representative of traditional ways of eating. Food is related to the natural environment, local knowledges about cultivation and gathering, religious beliefs, methods of preparation, norms of how meals are shared and how/when specific foods might be able to be consumed. Again, the interconnectedness of food and culture is more complex than it may seem on the surface and perhaps difficult to grasp through one-off or limited experiences (particularly if isolated from a cultural context).
Underlying the markers of culture are less tangible aspects of culture that relate to how cultural groups relate to each other, develop societal expectations and norms. While food, flags, festivals, language and art might provide visible markers, they do not of themselves constitute a particular culture. Concepts such as peoples’ roles related to their age, notions of family and notions of self are influenced by culture as are approaches to social situations such as treatment of elders, raising of children and the importance of individuals and community.
So, what does ‘multicultural’ mean?
Figure 6.6: Photograph by DIAC images, (2010).
In the public consciousness, the meaning of being multicultural most often relates to peoples’ cultural backgrounds, largely defined by ethnicity (particularly in relation to being non-Anglo-Australian) and living together in a particular society. What this ‘looks like’ and how (or if) it is best achieved can differ substantially according to an individual’s position on issues such as who should/has the position of privilege; what is acceptable and not acceptable in terms of cultural expression; should sameness be the goal or should difference be celebrated; and do particular groups have the right to make decisions in their own best interests?
Steinberg and Kincheloe (2009, pp. 4-5) describe different manifestations of multiculturalism:
a) Conservative diversity practice and multiculturalism or monoculturalism:
• privileges Western patriarchal culture;
• promotes the Western canon as a universally civilising influence;
• has often targeted multiculturalism as an enemy of Western progress;
• sees the children of the poor and non-white as culturally deprived; and
• attempts to assimilate everyone capable of assimilation to a Western, middle-/upper-middle-class standard.
b) Liberal diversity practice and multiculturalism:
• emphasises the natural equality and common humanity of individuals from diverse race, class, and gender groups;
• focuses attention on the sameness of individuals from diverse groups;
• argues that inequality results from a lack of opportunity;
• maintains that the problems individuals from divergent backgrounds face are individual difficulties, not socially structured adversities;
• claims ideological neutrality on the basis that politics should be separated from education; and
• accepts the assimilationist goals of conservative multiculturalism.
c) Pluralist diversity practice and multiculturalism:
• shares many values of liberal multiculturalism but focuses more on race, class, and gender differences than similarities;
• exoticises difference and positions it as necessary knowledge for those who would compete in a globalised economy;
• contends that school curriculum should consist of studies of various divergent groups;
• promotes pride in group heritage; and
• avoids the use of the concept of oppression.
d) Left-essentialist diversity practice and multiculturalism:
• maintains that race, class and gender categories consist of a set of unchanging priorities (essences);
• defines groups and membership in groups around the barometer of authenticity (fidelity to the unchanging priorities of the historical group in question);
• romanticises the group, in the process erasing the complexity and diversity of its history;
• assumes that only authentically oppressed people can speak about particular issues concerning a specific group; and
• often is involved in struggles with other subjugated groups over whose oppression is most elemental (takes precedence over all other forms).
e) Critical diversity and multiculturalism:
• focuses on contextual issues of power and domination;
• promotes critical pedagogy as a way of understanding how educational institutions work in terms of power;
• makes no pretense of neutrality, as it honours the notion of egalitarianism and the elimination of human suffering;
• rejects the assumption that education provides consistent socioeconomic mobility for working-class and non-white students;
• identifies what gives rise to race, class and gender inequalities;
• formulates modes of resistance that help marginalised groups and individuals assert their self-determination and self-direction;
• is committed to social justice and the egalitarian democracy that accompanies it; and
• examines issues of privilege and how they shape social and educational reality.
Understanding our own culture to understand ‘Others’
One of the aspects of culture that has become increasingly important, and therefore far more intensely researched or investigated, is that of dominant and subordinate relationships between cultures. It is important to realise that whilst this material talks about cultures, as if it is possible to clearly identify and contain specific cultures, as if there are certain homogeneities or commonalities that allow distinctive cultures to be identified and named, each person experiences culture in their own idiosyncratic way. That is, despite the need for the purposes of this chapter to talk about cultures as if they are internally consistent, by no means is this the case in the lived experience of people. For example, to talk about Greek culture or Indigenous culture is to perpetuate a very serious error in understanding the fluid and relational aspect of what constitutes culture. However, for the purposes of this chapter, we will work with this sense of broadly monolithic or homogenous cultures.
To say that every person has ‘culture’ potentially casts the individual and their communities as passive recipients and carriers of culture. This perspective ignores the very important fact that we all also create (and re-create) or construct (and re-construct) culture through the very practices of everyday living. As Paulo Freire (2009) pointed out, culture is made by people, and can therefore be remade by people to better serve their emerging needs and purposes. In other words, being ‘cultured’ is a continuously active process, and forms the basis for what we might see as the ongoing development of identity, as well as social change.
Once we understand that everyone has ‘culture’ and that this is not just the province of those who would seem to be culturally different or Other to us, then the focus of areas of study such as anthropology, history, sociology and education in particular broaden considerably to include the culture of those undertaking the enquiry. This has not always been the case. By way of example, anthropology grew as a discipline that had, as its core purpose, to make the seemingly strange cultures of Others understandable to those of Western European backgrounds. In its early days, anthropologists undertook extensive fieldwork in ‘exotic’ locations, attempting to understand the strangeness that they found (or created) there.
The gaze
Because we live the large part of our lives within our own primary or home culture, because that culture is the one that we have been born into, educated regarding, and live on a daily basis, each of our own ways of living or being or knowing seem to us to be ‘the way things are’. That is, our own cultural perspective seems to be right or proper, and the way people should aspire and be helped to live. This is because we have grown up and been acculturated into a way of living that we see almost daily as universal or applicable to everyone. Our way is the best way. Those for whom a different cultural context is the norm similarly see the world from that different cultural perspective. The end result is that each of us sees, interprets, and labels cultures other than ours in a particular way whilst at the same time reinforcing views of the acceptability of our own culture. Figure 6.7 represents this:
Figure 6.7: The Gaze
This diagram attempts to represent a complex process in a graphical way. In it there are two cultures – blue and pink – that are in some relationship with each other. That is, each is aware of the other’s existence, has had some limited experience with that other culture, and each tries to make sense of the other relative to its own standards of right and wrong, normal and deviant, acceptable and unacceptable. The process whereby members of one culture come to observe or in some way try to determine the features of another culture is sometimes called the Gaze. Whilst this term suggests a purely visual process, clearly there are many other sense-based ways in which we come to know about or experience the culture of others – think music and speech (hearing and movement), food (taste and smell) and clothing (touch and sight).
In this diagram, neither of the cultures is clearly bounded or impenetrable. The dotted line boundary around each of the main cultural circles is meant to suggest the fact that no culture is unchanging or impenetrable. The location of the gazing arrows is also important to notice. Both the right-looking and the left-looking arrows start from deep within the blue and the pink circle, that is from deep within the culture doing the looking. However, each arrow only marginally pierces the current boundaries of the other culture, the culture being looked at. This is meant to suggest that the initial Gaze is often largely purely superficial or a first encounter with the other culture and thereby not a deeply experienced and understood encounter with that culture.
What is the impact of ‘the Gaze’? Not only do the formal and informal processes that constitute ‘gazing’ lead to the collection of knowledge about another culture, they also have important impacts upon the culture doing the looking. In the diagram, those cultural workers from within Pink culture will contribute to the ongoing process of developing ‘knowledge’ or ‘the truth’ (and this is a very contested term in this sense) about Blue culture. The promulgation of such information and purported understandings need to be made available to the broader membership of Pink culture. This was the role of the early anthropologists, as mentioned above, and remains a core purpose of ethnographic research today. This continual addition to knowledge about Blue culture is represented by the small blue circle flowing out of the Pink culture circle. In other words, as Pink culture’s understanding of Blue culture spreads through Pink culture, broader community understandings and perspectives on Blue culture become embedded and seen as ‘the truth’ about Blue culture.
At the same time, as members of Pink culture come to understand and ‘know’ other cultures in the world, Pink culture’s view of itself is also impacted upon. Comparisons between what is seen to be the essence of Pink culture are formally and subconsciously culturally compared with those of Blue culture, and typically those comparisons will favour the culture doing the comparison – in this case, Pink culture.
Such a constant comparative process, we would argue, is a continuous one engaged in by all cultural groups at all times. In many ways, this is what the so-called culture industry has as its central educative or public pedagogical purpose: to reflect back to the home culture images of its own essence and worth whilst at the same time presenting comparative ideas and images about those who are different.
In summary, the process of coming to understand Others is one that involves two very distinctly connected developmental characteristics – one, coming to know something about the Other and the second, a process of maintaining or challenging what the gazing culture understands of itself.
As you might imagine, this is also clearly the basis for a fairly universal facet of all cultures, racism (perhaps this term should be more appropriately called culturism). All cultures utilise forms of intellectual abstractions and cultural shorthand to try to capture the infinitely complex aspects of cultures other than their own. Invariably, such reductionisms lead to overly-simplistic, stereotypical attitudes and practices regarding other cultures that are frequently discriminatory and detrimental.
Turning the Gaze back onto Ourselves
For those from a White cultural background, this means looking at how that position privileges us – that is, turning the Gaze this time back upon ourselves (Figure 6.8) in order to try to understand how our cultural location(s) set us up for benefit or advantage, and how our particular ways of seeing and making sense of the world influences the way we see, position and treat Others.
Figure 6.8: Turning the Gaze on our own culture
The whole question of belonging to a particular cultural group revolves around two important aspects of identity. One of these is the identity and identification we claim for ourselves: we self-identify as white Australian, Anglo-Australian, Aboriginal Australian, and so forth. But, as the discussion about the operation of the Gaze above exposes, we are also identified BY others as well. Whilst we see ourselves in particular ways, others see us in ways that might sometimes fit with those ways or, at least as frequently, differ considerably from how we see ourselves. What is important here is that it is the power of the dominant group, through its direction of views of community members, to be able to formulate a view of Self and Others that is so powerful and embedded so deeply within the dominant culture that these views become universalised – they become ‘commonsensical’ ‘natural’ statements about the way people are.
Reflection
• Make a list of five words you would associate with the word ‘white’.
• Write a parallel list of words you associate with ‘black’.
• Compare your lists. Can you suggest the ways in which colours convey something about cultural preferences and senses of inadequacy or deficit?
So, what does this all mean for multicultural education?
In order to be able to approach the question of the appropriate ways to work with multiple cultures through education, we need to be genuinely determined to include the dominant culture as one of those cultures being investigated. In other words, a genuine multicultural education in contemporary Australian society must, of necessity, focus on white culture and its impact, as well as on non-white or marginalised cultures. Examples of the types of things such a focus might include in an education sense would be to look at the ways in which whiteness is normalised. This can be achieved through the interrogation of the everyday, such as asking why the tuckshop serves certain food, or where the knowledge base for a certain subject comes from. How whiteness is conflated with ‘human nature’ – and how this renders those who don’t share the characteristics of white culture as being deviant from a norm is unfortunately the most common outcome of much that passes as multicultural or cultural diversity education at present – the view of cultural difference as cultural deficit or cultural deviance (deviance here meaning deviating from the White norm). An interrogation of the ways in which white culture re-embeds and reasserts its superiority over other cultures and similarly the implied inferiority or subordination of other cultures to such superiority can be seen as a necessary starting point in the development of any genuinely culturally aware and respectful person. In other words, it is essential to understand Self in order to understand others.
The Physical cultural audit process
As Brazilian educator, Paulo Freire (2009), pointed out, culture is something that is made by people. He contrasted the cultural with the natural. The natural, he said, is virtually a given, with natural objects being largely unable to be modified in a significant way by people (clearly, his thoughts about this, written in the late 1960s and early 1970s, weren’t able to foresee the impact of human technologies such as genetic modification and the like). When we go looking for evidence of the ‘type’ of people living in a particular area or community or the dominant culture of that particular place, there are several sorts of evidence we draw upon to hazard some guesses about the nature of that community and those people within it. We could look at the ways in which people interact with each other in that community, or at particular images of that community that people create and display through more permanent recording methods (books, movies, music, and various things that would be generally accepted as cultural products or artefacts).
A starting point in trying to come to terms with what sort of community we are looking at could well be the physical or built environment, that is, the non-natural aspects of a landscape that are clearly the result of human activity. It is this approach to developing an initial feel for or understanding of a particular community that we investigate here.
What does the Physical Cultural Audit process involve?
Imagine coming across a landscape where you seem to be the only human being around, something like a Twilight Zone scenario where you’re the only human left in a place, or a Star Trek episode where you’ve been stranded in a place where you seem to be the only form of life similar to that of the human. What you see around you is all you have to work on in coming to understand and perhaps trying to predict what sort of community this was, and maybe still is. This is the essential mindset that needs to be taken into a physical cultural audit: whilst it would be largely impossible to empty space of all visible human presence, in conducting an audit of this type, we have to imagine the space and the place devoid or emptied of human beings. In other words, the audit – like a stock-take – is an attempt to look at what is present in the environment and try to then construct some possible ideas about the type of people who use this place or space. The audit process involves you in the role of a researcher, trying to piece together various ideas about the place so that you might then move into something of a science-fiction or fantasy writer mode by trying to create a possible, though imagined, understanding of what this particular place might be like were one to be living in it.
There is no one set way to conduct a physical cultural audit, but the following steps seem to cover everything for such a process.
Step 1: Work out the boundaries of your space
For many purposes of conducting a physical cultural audit, the place to be investigated is clearly bounded. For the purposes of this particular exercise, that space could be a school where the boundaries of that space will be clearly defined by fences, or your office space, or your living room. However, in a broader sense, places such as shopping centres, city blocks, and the like also present as sites for an audit.
Figure 6.9: Photograph by Google Earth. (2017). Ruthven Street, Toowoomba, Australia.
Step 2: Decide on who
Will you conduct the audit by yourself, or with others? There are benefits to both of these options, most of which are connected to the ideas of outsider and insider research. An insider, in this context, would be someone who is very familiar with the space or place to be audited. Consequently, an outsider is somebody for whom the space is new or very unfamiliar. This type of work conducted by insiders brings the benefit of being able to draw on local knowledge of the space such that the insider researcher or auditor will be in a good position to know where to find certain hidden aspects or at least less visible aspects of the environment that may have relevance to the project. The downside of insider research in this type of project is that sometimes being so familiar with the area or the space means that unnoticed or ‘taken-for-granted’ examples are potentially missed or overlooked. This is where the fresh eyes of an outsider bring a benefit – an outsider, whilst not being overly familiar with the hidden or less obvious parts of the site, will probably look at everything as new or novel, thereby picking up some aspects that a more familiar eye might miss.
Figure 6.10: Photograph by Jon Austin. ( 2017). Australia.
An advantage of having more than one person in the audit team is that of being able to engage with each other in on-site discussions about what the particular environment offers or the audit process. The shared experience of having moved around the site while discussing the value of certain parts of that site for the audit process will often lead to a stronger analysis of the particular evidence collected.
Overall – how you choose to conduct this type of audit is a decision you make. In some ways, the ‘ideal’ team might consist of two people, one an insider and one an outsider.
Step 3: Decide on how you will conduct your audit
There are a couple of things to consider here:
• If you’re conducting the audit as a team, will you all walk around the site together or individually at first and then collate your individual notes and impressions later?
• Will you use digital photographs to help record aspects of the site that you find of interest?
• Will you audio record any conversations you might have in your team regarding the initial impressions of the site?
• How many circuits of the site will you make? A useful design here is to make an initial walk around to get a feel for the site followed by a more focused investigation of the site (including photographic recording, etc.) and then a final circuit to confirm the ideas or interpretations you’ve made of the evidence you’ve collected on your second circuit.
Step 4: Conduct the walk-around and recording processes
Some things to perhaps consider regarding this stage:
Figure 6:11: Photograph by Jon Austin. (2017). Australia.
• Is there a particular day of the week and/or time of day that might provide the best opportunity to collect the type of material you need?
• It is important to bear in mind that you’re looking in this physical cultural audit to capture the physical environment, not the social or human environment. In your recording process, are you able to minimise the presence of people in order to focus on the physical?
• Will you have to arrange permission to enter and/or photograph some parts of the site?
• Will you need an acceptably accurate map of the site? If so, how will this be acquired or developed?
Step 5: Analyse the evidence or data you have collected
In this stage, the auditor or auditors try to draw out the impressions that aspects of the environment captured have made on them with regard to the type of community this site is a part of. The ways in which this type of analysis might be conducted vary, but essentially come down to arriving at answers to the question “What does this image tell me/us about this community?” It should be emphasised here that there are no right or wrong answers with regard to this question, you are looking to draw out a team consensus about the sorts of messages conveyed by each particular image of the site. It would be important to record – either in writing or in audio – the conclusions you or your team arrive at for each of the images, and then for an overall summation of what this site seems to reflect with regard to ‘culture’.
With regard to the physical cultural audit that has been developed as a part of the materials for this chapter, the auditing process was conducted by two insider auditors (we were both familiar with this particular street block), and consisted of an initial and a more focused team walk around the city block involved. The second walk also involved a more professional photographer who was able to make the most of what were sometimes poor lighting conditions. What the team considered to be illustrative examples of ‘culture’ in this area were initially discussed, selected and then photographed, with notes regarding the reasons for selecting the particular images recorded in writing. The team then selected from the total photographic collection a smaller number of images for use with the interactive map. The team analysed, through discussion, each of these images and arrived at a number of points regarding these. A spoken commentary was recorded for each of the images and mounted on the interactive map.
Once we recognise the multiple and nuanced ways in which culture manifests in society, we can start considering the assumptions and norms that underlay institutions such as schools and universities as well as the public spaces within our communities. Questions such as, what are the expectations of behaviour in this place? who do I expect to see here? and, what function does this place have? all have answers based in the assumed and sometimes unchallenged norms of a society.
To help us consider the ways in which dominant cultural norms inform actions, activities and identities, Dr Ann Milne suggests the analogy of a child’s colouring-in book:
If we look at a child’s colouring book, before it has any colour added to it, we think of the page as blank. It’s actually not blank, it’s white. That white background is just “there” and we don’t think much about it. Not only is the background uniformly white, the lines are already in place and they dictate where the colour is allowed to go. When children are young, they don’t care where they put the colours, but as they get older they colour in more and more cautiously. They learn about the place of colour and the importance of staying within the pre-determined boundaries and expectations. (Milne, 2013, p.v )
Figure 6:12: Photograph of Paint Kindergaten Tinker Coloring Pages Pens, CC0 1.0 by Max Pixel.
As Milne explains, our educational institutions (and other places in society as well) usually work from this unthinking background of white dominant culture. Recognising this background assists us to understand how the written and unwritten ‘rules’ of institutions and society might impact on people whose backgrounds do not align with this cultural norm. As Milne points out, this background is not neutral and this impacts upon the daily existence of people from culturally non-dominant backgrounds.
ways of considering intersecting cultures
There are several ways of considering how cultures intersect in order to be more culturally inclusive. The first we will explore comes from a Torres Strait Islander perspective through Martin Nakata’s idea of the cultural interface (Nakata, 2008b). Nakata’s work, being from his particular standpoint, can assist us to consider a very Australian context for intersecting cultures and speaks to the relationships between Indigenous and settler peoples and knowledges. Secondly, we can look at how people from dominant cultures might refocus their thinking in order to better consider perspectives from non-dominant cultures through the idea of multilogicality (Kincheloe & Steinberg, 2008).
Nakata’s cultural interface
As introduced in Chapter 3, the cultural interface, as the space where Western and Indigenous ways of knowing meet, can be a place of tension as well as of immense opportunity (Nakata, 2002, 2008a, 2010). From his standpoint as a Torres Strait Islander man, Nakata (2011) conceptualises the cultural interface as the contested space between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, knowledges and cultures. He describes the ways in which Indigenous peoples have not capitulated to the order of Western knowledge, but have taken up what has been necessary to meet practical needs in people’s life worlds (Nakata, 2010). Working from a cultural interface perspective accepts that knowledge systems are dynamic, evolving constantly in response to change, and embedded within culture. It involves a balance of ensuring continuity while simultaneously harnessing change and using the interaction in a way of working that assists Indigenous interests, upholding the unique distinctiveness as First Peoples (Nakata, 2002).
Nakata’s (2002) notion of the cultural interface becomes a useful way of conceptualising the interactions between Indigenous and Western ways of knowing. Clearly the cultural interface is a place where there is both constant tension and negotiation. To explore this space requires an understanding of different discourses and acknowledgment that conflicts that may arise when discourses compete with traditional ones. A cultural interface perspective requires examining and interrogating all knowledge and practices, reflecting upon conditions for convergence of all these and exploration of issues. The challenge is for people to assume a responsible course in relation to future practice where an Indigenous standpoint is embedded (Nakata, 2002).
Presenting differing ways of knowing and naming the world recognises the discontinuities and convergences of the cultural interface while showing an appreciation and acknowledgement of the presence of Indigenous and non-Indigenous standpoints (Nakata, 2011). Allowing the two knowledge systems to sit side by side without competition also connects with the multilogical epistemic stance described by Kincheloe and Steinberg (2008) as being necessary to non-Indigenous peoples’ understanding of Indigenous knowledges.
Multilogicality
The idea of multilogicality encourages people, particularly those of dominant cultural backgrounds, to look at issues, knowledges, concepts and situations from multiple logics in order to increase the complexity of their understandings. When we access a wide range of perspectives from different cultural backgrounds, there is potential to layer and nuance understanding to develop a critical and complex perceptions that takes into account ways of knowing that may not be our own. In effect, multilogicality offers the opportunity to move from a one-dimensional image like a single photograph to being able to see multiple perspectives like a holographic image (Kincheloe & Steinberg, 2008) adding richness and complexity to our cultural awareness.
Figure 6:13: Photographs by OpenClipart-Vector/27448 images, World Map, CC0 1.0 and Kevin Gill (2014), Holographic earth, CC BY 2.0 AU.
In order to work with diverse ways of understanding the world, it is first necessary to see the boundedness of culturally dominant knowledge systems and then embrace multiple cultural viewpoints (Austin, 2011). Here we see the necessity of understanding Milne’s colouring book analogy, without considering the background and lines as actively constructing our perceptions, actions and ideas, it is difficult to consider how different perspectives might come together to form new, multilogical spaces.
Conclusion
So, what does a cultural interface or multilogical approach mean for educators in Australia? How might a more culturally nuanced reading of our spaces contribute to better positioning ourselves as educators?
Reflection
• How can understanding your own cultural position help with how you engage with multiculturalism in the classroom?
• What could the concepts of cultural interface and multilogicality mean for implementing curriculum?
• How can you promote similar understandings of cultural contexts in your students?
In everyday classroom practice, multiple opportunities exist to promote a version of multiculturalism that is not exocitising, marginalising or oppressive. Recognising our own cultural position allows us to see/feel/experience from a more informed perspective opening the possibility for expanding our own and our students’ worldviews. Educators can start by asking questions such as, ‘How might my teaching material be experienced by those who are not from the same culture as me?’ Or, ‘What other cultural perspectives might assist me to provoke curiosity about this topic?’ or ‘How am I making this classroom an inclusive cultural experience for my students?’
The first step in enacting culturally appropriate pedagogies and practices is to recognise your own cultural position in order to not further perpetuate marginalising practices. This can be an incremental and continuing process. It can be a case of once we start opening our eyes with a different outlook, we never see the ‘everyday’ in the same way again. Likewise, bringing this new perspective into our practice can be an ongoing process. Critical reflection on our teaching is essential to continued improvement in practice. We may not get it ‘right’ or perfect every time but this is not a reason to stop reflecting and trying new approaches. To be committed to enabling all students to flourish means knowing yourself, knowing your students and being committed to making a difference.
references
Austin, J. (2011). Decentering the WWW (White Western Ways): enacting a pedagogy of multilogicality. In R. Brock, C. S. Malott, & L. E. Villaverde (Eds.), Teaching Joe L. Kincheloe (pp. 167-184). New York: NY: Peter Lang.
Freire, P. (2009). Pedagogy of the oppressed (30th Anniversary ed.). New York, NY: Continuum.
Kincheloe, J. L., & Steinberg, S. R. (2008). Indigenous knowledges in education complexities, dangers, and profound benefits. In N. K. Denzin, Y. S. Lincoln, & L. T. Smith (Eds.), Handbook of critical and indigenous methodologies (pp. 135-156). Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications.
Milne, B. A. (2013). Colouring in the white spaces: Reclaiming cultural identity in whitestream schools.(Doctoral dissertation, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand. Retrieved from https://researchcommons.waikato.ac.n...dle/10289/7868
Nakata, M. (2002). Indigenous knowledge and the cultural interface: Underlying issues at the intersection of knowledge and information systems. IFLA Journal, 28(5-6), 281-291. doi:10.1177/034003520202800513.
Nakata, M. (2008a). Disciplining the savages, savaging the disciplines. Canberra, Australia: Aboriginal Studies Press.
Nakata, M. (2008b). Introduction. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 37(Supplement), 1-4.
Nakata, M. (2010). The cultural interface of Islander and scientific knowledge. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 39, 53-57.
Nakata, M. (2011). Pathways for Indigenous education in the Australian Curriculum framework. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 40, 1-8. doi:10.1375/ajie.40.1.
Steinberg, S. R., & Kincheloe, J. L. (2009). Smoke and Mirrors: More than one way to be multicultural. In S. R. Steinberg (Ed.), Diversity and multiculturalism: A reader(pp. 3-22). New York: NY: Peter Lang. | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Opening_Eyes_onto_Inclusion_and_Diversity_(Carter_et_al.)/1.06%3A_Positioning_ourselves_in_multicultural_education-_Opening_our_eyes_to_culture.txt |
How can school communities create an inclusive school?
Key Learnings
• The Australian demographic is now a fast changing increasingly diverse population.
• Every individual is shaped and influenced by individual experiences, many of which remain unrevealed to others so the challenge is both in recognising diversity and accepting the diversity that we cannot see nor yet understand.
• Inclusion involves accepting difference and catering for the individual needs of learners.
• At the heart of any inclusive school is the creation of a culture where each individual is accepted and embraced for who and what they bring to the learning space.
INTRODUCTION
It could be argued that inclusion into society is a basic need for humans. Schools in Australia and internationally, are exploring what this really means in a fast changing global context. Challenges face our educators as never before as the rate of migration has vastly increased with more people seeking asylum than at any time since World War II (Gurria, 2016). Schools face challenges in educating students who have little understanding of the official language or the school’s cultural context. This chapter seeks to bring into focus inclusion for students new to Australia, with limited or no English speaking skills. It specifically explores the inclusive practices of one Australian school and seeks to share the effectual ways that they support, engage, enculturate and educate students. Through case study methodology, the data findings revealed in this chapter highlight a way of working that facilitates the creation of a shared culture, a place where individuals share that they feel safe and included. The cost of caring is however a pragmatic consideration that educators face and this chapter outlines some strategies on how to engage community help and create a sense of hopefulness.
Our schools are changing. Schools in Australia and indeed internationally are opening their community to refugees and migrants at a rate that has not been experienced before. Refugees are seeking safe places at rates higher than at any time since World War II (Gurria, 2016). In 2015, approximately 244 million people were living in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development {OECD} countries outside their country of birth (Gurria, 2016). Currently, the OECD is an assembly of 34 industrialised countries that design and advocate for economic and social policies. The 34 OECD member countries are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States (Hylén, Damme, Mulder, & D’Antoni, 2012). Many of the families residing in these countries arrive at state/publicly funded schools that are expected to provide equity of access and learning opportunities for all students. In reality this is an extremely complex process of catering for differing values, beliefs, ideas, and opinions on what this looks like and how it is enacted. School communities need to be encouraged to embrace a shared philosophy of inclusion and participate in practices that encourage equity, viewing changes in student population and diversity as an opportunity for learning (Carter & Abawi, 2018).
This chapter is based around the way of working that one Australian school with 52% of its student population with English as a second language or dialect {ESLD} has embraced to create an inclusive school community where there is an explicit focus on the positive learning achievements of every student. The school known as Darling Heights State School, is located in a large regional city near a university where researchers are welcomed in to help contribute to growing a learning culture. The school has been able to create an inclusive school culture and the school community wishes to share their learnings with others.
There are four specific sections to this chapter. Section one will begin by exploring the theoretical underpinning of inclusion. Section two is a scenario section that focuses on knowledge synthesis and application. Three specific animated characters in various scenarios are introduced and readers are expected to describe how they would create an inclusive environment for the character. Section three focuses on meaning making. Knowledge acquisition is challenged and deepened as readers can then explore the actual scenarios that the animated characters were based upon to see how the school created an inclusive environment for the real person. The last section encourages the reader to analytically reflect upon their knowledge and understandings of inclusion and consider how this can be applied into their real world context. The need to ensure our teachers have knowledge, skills and attitudes to create inclusive learning opportunities for students is clear but the how this is done is somewhat more complex. It is hoped that your engagement with this chapter will foster the development of new knowledge and understandings that prove useful in enacting inclusive practices.
Theoretical exploration
Inclusion is perceived differently within the literature and Maclean suggests that it is an “increasingly contentious term that challenges educators and education systems” (2017, p. 528). Within Australia the focus has been both at the whole-school and in-class support level (Forlin, Chambers, Loreman, Deppeler, & Sharma, 2013) with discussion centred on inclusion being about what is in the best interests of individual students based on the key features of participation, and integration together with the removal of elements that marginalise or exclude (Queensland Department of Education, 2018). Other researchers go further and suggest that inclusion must be a way of thinking, a philosophy held by educators that encompasses the recognition and removal of barriers to learning and values all members of a school community (McLeskey, Rosenberg, & Westling 2013). This chapter is based around the McLeskey, Rosenberg, and Westling (2013) definition where the school involved does not just try and educate the child but goes further to help the family engage in the community and access supports that enable the enrolled student/s to engage fully in all parts of school life. Carter and Abawi (2018, p. 2) aver that “inclusion is defined as successfully meeting student learning needs regardless of culture, language, cognition, gender, gifts and talents, ability, or background.” They go on to say that the needs, often considered as special needs should be appropriately supported. Within the literature ‘special needs’ have been linked to disadvantage and disability, but Carter and Abawi (2018) define special needs more broadly as “the individual requirements of a person, and the provision for these specific differences can be considered as catering for special needs” (p. 2).
Refugees and migrants are identified in this paper as having English as a Second Language or Dialect {ESLD} or what some literature terms as English as a Foreign Language {EFL} learners (Roberts, 2016). Migrants and Refugees are however very different groups. It is acknowledged that some refugee children may have increased exposure to experiences of violence, persecution, rape, torture, and abrupt dislocation (Lusk, McCallister, & Villalobos, 2013) while some migrants may have had more opportunity to move with differing levels of financial security (Black, Adger, Arnell, Dercon, Geddes, & Thomas, 2011). This paper does not explore the specifics of the groups but rather it explores the individual needs of students and families and their inclusion in a specific school. Inclusive schools move beyond what Mathews (2008) termed as piecemeal interventions to creating welcoming learning environments and spaces for participation, providing communication supports, developing positive relationships, encouraging friendships, developing a sense of belonging, and fostering learning about oneself and others. Schools that have a whole school focus on inclusion reduce the vulnerability and build resilience for refugee students (West 2004) and provide hope for the future (Rutter, 2006).
Scenario exploration
Kirk, Gallagher, Coleman, and Anastasiow (2012, p. xxix) assert that “one of the major challenges that teachers face in schools today is meeting the wide range of student needs”. They point out that the majority of classes will most likely have students that have been diagnosed with disabilities and other students who require more scaffolded support in order to achieve success. Some students will have behaviour problems, social emotional adjustments difficulties and /or emotional difficulties. Such a wide range of student needs can feel overwhelming to a teacher (Kirk, Gallagher, Coleman, and Anastasiow, 2012, p. xxix) amid all of the complexities in a school and the challenges of knowing and catering for the individual needs of all children. Given the information that you have read on inclusion I hope you feel ready to engage in exploring your understanding of inclusion through some animated scenarios. Below are three scenarios that allow exploration of inclusion from differing perspectives.
Understanding diversity: A snapshot
Statistics from the 2016 Australian National Census, depict that 33.3 % of Australians were born overseas, and a further 34.4% of people had both parents born overseas. Analysis highlighted that in 2016 nearly half (49%) of all Australians were either born overseas or had at least one parent who was born overseas. This State School’s statistics for being born in an overseas country, are even higher with 52% of students born overseas. Given this information consider how diverse that makes the Australian population and the inherent complexity in not only recognising diversity but catering for it in schools and embracing it as a part of our national culture.
Darling Heights State School has a current enrolment of 690 students and the ten most commonly reported countries of birth for students born overseas are depicted in the table below:
Table 7.1 Student enrollment by country
Country Number of students % of students
Iraq 61 8.8 %
Kenya 15 2.1%
Congo, Democratic Republic 12 1.7%
Libya 12 1.7%
Sudan 9 1.3%
Afghanistan 8 1.1%
Uganda 8 1.1%
India 7 1%
Malawi 7 1%
Zambia 7 1%
Watch and respond: Activity one
• Please engage in thinking about what it means to be inclusive by engaging with the animations and the videos. Instructions for activity one which consists of three separate scenarios – please carefully read:
• Do NOT refresh – If you refresh your responses are deleted.
• You must complete a response to each question in order to move to the next section. All responses to the three scenarios need to be completed and then you can save as a PDF or print. If you quit out mid way through your responses are lost.
• I strongly recommend you copy your responses and save into a word document as you go so that you can edit these later. It also means that you can stop and return to the activity later and still have your previous answers.
• This activity takes approximately an hour and a half, allowing 45 minutes to view the three animations and videos, and 45 minutes to respond to the questions. You can chose to break it into shorter segments and return to it but you must save your responses into a separate word document.
Engage here with activity one (it will open in a new tab).
MEANING MAKING
At the heart of any inclusive school is a culture of individual acceptance where diversity is respected, perhaps even considered the norm and individuals are valued for what they bring to the learning journey. Inclusion is based upon social justice where individuals are perceived as having rights to a quality education. Such an understanding of inclusion raises questions:
• What does respect for diversity mean?
• How is inclusion enacted?
• What are the possible challenges and rewards of creating an inclusive learning environment?
Darling Heights State School has embraced inclusion at a whole school level where the needs of individual students are a focus, the student’s well-being is fore-fronted, and a school team of experts support the individual needs of students and families. The school has several classrooms where intensive English lessons are run and these classrooms are known as the Intensive English Centre {IEC} and the teachers and teacher aides that work at the IEC are expert in their knowledge of supporting and engaging families with EALD and providing quality learning outcomes for students and outreach supports to classroom teachers.
In the Scenario 1- The Student video, did you notice:
• The depth of understanding participants had about this child and the expansive opportunities in place to support this child?
• The engagement all participants had in the discussion and willingness to share experiences and ideas to support the teaching and learning of this child?
• The shared understanding all participants had in ensuring the parents were involved in the learning program for this child?
• The excitement shown when the smallest of improvements or achievements were registered?
• What factors were taken into account in accepting diversity and engaging a student through inclusive practices?
In Scenario 2 – The Teacher, did you notice:
• How critical it was that all school staff acknowledge the importance of working in teams to support children?
• That ensuring the vision for the school is critical in establishing and maintaining culture?
• References that were made to particular principles for the School’s Pedagogical Framework?
• Which of the 5 principles: Community, Relationship, Diversity, Learning, Achievement, were evident for you?
• Would you have felt supported in this new or unknown setting?
• What factors were taken into account in supporting this teacher and how this teacher is included in the school community:
This video for Scenario 2 – The Teacher, outlined several programs that the school had in place to support students. The programs focuses on the primary goals:
• to support parents to engage with the school as a learning community
• to support and guide parents to establish positive learning environments at home that support their children’s learning needs; and
• to foster in parents a deeper understanding of the school and the Australian educational system while promoting active engagement in school processes and increased student academic success.
After engaging with Scenario 3 – The Parent did you notice:
• What efforts the school had made to support the parent?
• What this parent values and appreciates within the school and community?
• The depth of support that can be provided by a Parent Engagement Officer?
• What factors were taken into account in supporting this family and how is the family included in the school community?
In our schools, consider the diversity of our families, and the diversity of experiences between refugees and migrants, no one person’s journey is the same. Research depicts that migrant children are faced with hostility and segregation at school (Devine, 2009); challenges with identity and a sense of belonging (NiLaoire, Carpena-Mendez, Tyrell, White, 2011) and coping with changed family structures post migration (White, 2011). Sime and Fox (2015) suggest that moving to a new country is marked by anxiety, excitement and practical challenges. Such challenges can involve:
• Philosophy: attitudes, values, beliefs and perspectives; religion; life experiences
• Socioeconomic background and access to services such as health
• Variable skills and capabilities and value placed upon education
• Ethnicity – language, religion and cultural diversity
• Demographics: socio-economic, citizenship, location.
• Interests: music, sport etc.
Key Principles and ways of working of this inclusive school
This school community evidences six principles that recent research has highlighted as underpinning the creation of an inclusive culture (Abawi, Carter, Andrews & Conway, 2018):
• Principle 1 Informed shared social justice leadership at multiple levels – learning from and with others
• Principle 2 Moral commitment to a vision of inclusion – explicit expectations regarding inclusion embedded in school wide practice
• Principle 3 Collective commitment to whatever it takes – ensuring that the vision of inclusion is not compromised
• Principle 4 Getting it right from the start – wrapping students, families and staff with the support needed to succeed
• Principle 5 Professional targeted student-centred learning – professional learning for teachers and support staff informed by data identified need
• Principle 6 Open information and respectful communication – leaders, staff, students, community effectively working together
These six principles are intertwined in the schools way of working. In establishing an inclusive school culture the principal has spent time in visioning what the school community could look like, working with the community to capture the context and the people in a way that has grown a lived shared vision of inclusive practice where all students are expected to achieve. The purpose of this action was to create a collective commitment to a philosophy of ‘whatever it takes’ to ensure that the school put in place all possible resources and strategies to cater for the needs of students, expecting and catering for diversity in an inclusive way. When visiting the school and observing practices it was evidenced that the Principal clearly articulates, displays and models the school vision of inclusivity. In an interview he outlined the key characteristics as:
• Setting a clear direction where values and beliefs are aligned with practices
• Embedding a culture of care where diversity is accepted, expected, and appreciated
• Ensuring quality curriculum and pedagogy
• Promoting professional learning
• Ensuring safe and orderly environments
• Supporting the strengths of teachers (Principal, 2017)
Figure 7.1 highlights one example of how the clear direction of the school is made explicit in the School Wide
Figure 7.1 Photograph of a table displaying the core school-wide pedagogical principles. (2018), Australia, USQ.
Pedagogical Framework. The visual representation that staff see on a daily basis where values and beliefs are fore fronted and expected to align with practices. These core principles are promoted within the school community (as displayed on the table) and these principles are embedded in the School Wide Pedagogical Framework {SWPF}, which seeks to capture how those within the school operate. By having the SWPF on the table, it means it is within view, deliberately fore fronted in the eyes of everyone who works, meets or eats at the table.
Figure 7.2: Adapted from Holard, J. (n.d.). A photograph of a poster: The culture of care. (2018). Australia, USQ.
Within the same room, and throughout the school the visual representation of care is captured as shown Figure 7.2. The culture of care was verbally evidenced in classrooms, on parade, and it could be seen in the way that staff, students and parents interacted with each other.
The school focuses on creating a caring and inclusive culture and uses visual representation in a colourful way to illustrate their vision, values and beliefs as shown below in the Mural of a Harmony Tree, in Figure 7.3.
Figure 7.3: A photograph of a wall : Mural of the core values of the school community. (2018). Australia, USQ.
The mural captures the living, breathing and growing of a school community and the visual representation of the tree in harmony with its surroundings, aligns with the tree depicted in the SWPF. This image of the Jacaranda tree is a derivative of the schools Motto “Grow with Knowledge, Many Paths Many Futures”.
The table graphic, the posters and the mural are visual representations of the core values of the school that underpin the way the school works. These visual representations act as a key daily reminder that the school is focused on diversity and inclusion to staff who work in the meeting room, to students, and to the school community who see the mural on the main wall in the school, that the school is focused on diversity and inclusion.
The principal invested time and knowledge in building professional learning networks with the neighbouring university, inviting researchers in to work with the school on a variety of projects. The purpose of this action was the establishment of shared social justice leadership at multiple levels where staff, parents, students and the broader community were engaged in learning from and with others so they felt included and empowered to learn. The focus was and continues to be on connecting credible theory to practice. This occurs in many ways such as providing mentors for new or beginning teachers, on-going expert professional development, informed data collection, analysis together with deep pedagogical discussion, on-going feedback cycles, and specifically engaging teachers and staff members to buy-in to the development of collaborative relationships that further enhance teachers’ knowledge and understanding of inclusive practice and ways to enhance the learning environment for all students.
A synthesis of research on parental involvement in education compiled by Henderson and Mapp (2002), depicts the importance of parental involvement, an element of schooling clearly acknowledged by the school where they have invested in the employment of a family liaison officer. The purpose in creating this role involved ‘getting it right from the start’, wrapping students, families and staff with the support needed to succeed. “When families of all backgrounds are engaged in their children’s learning, their children tend to do better in school, stay in school longer, and pursue higher education” (Henderson & Mapp, 2002, p. 73). The role of the school appointed family liaison officer is featured as pivotal. Matthews (2008) suggests that the role of a school liaison worker is a key in brokering intercultural knowledge and enculturating both the school and families into a way of proactively appreciating difference that should be embedded in school culture. Hek (2005) suggests that they develop a sophisticated repertoire of understandings about everyday issues and questions, and that this knowledge serves to mitigate social exclusion and help develop cultural understandings and build self-worth through whole-school interventions.
For families being included into the school community, the focus was on providing the initial support to mitigate barriers, upskilling people and scaffolding their learning together with the expectation that they needed to learn so that they could meaningfully engage in community life. The school did not enable a deficit model of learned helplessness but deliberately scaffolded for positive learning experiences with a strong moral commitment to a vision of inclusion. A community of care was also inbuilt into this learning relationship where people (such as the school community liaison officer, and the deputy principal) routinely checked to ensure that families were doing well and supports were either added or withdrawn based upon need. Families were helped to see themselves as learners, developing English speaking skills and having opportunities for employment.
The school has over time, developed an understanding of ethnic and cultural differences, sought to determine reasons for forced migration and refugee fleeing conflict so that they were better placed to appreciate the diversity and the complexities of creating an inclusive environment. Engaging teacher aides who are fluent in students’ home language and in English has also been a focus. This enables discussions and questions in both languages and responses that are culturally sensitive and appropriate (Janinski, 2012) and the sharing of this knowledge helps to build the school community’s cultural sensitivity. Matthews (2008) highlights the importance of developing an understanding of people’s differing situations and the importance of identifying specific individual issues and needs, averring that schools are in a position to advocate for the rights of all individuals to non-discriminatory education. The suggestion is for an education that can influence the world towards inclusive peaceful possibilities where everyone is seen as having potential. While this may seem a lofty ideal, Adlous Huxley suggested that “there is only one corner of the universe you can be sure of improving and that is your own self” (Guide, A. S. A. R., 2013, p. 17). This quote has been embraced by the Principal where he has actively sought to champion social justice and has influenced his staff and students to do the same, and in so doing improve a corner of the universe.
The school also had spent a decade supporting teachers to upskill in how best to teach students with ESLD and engage their families. An important aspect of this has been acquiring an understanding of identity formation. Miller, Mitchell, and Brown (2005) suggest the importance of developing a deep understanding of how background factors can disrupt identity formation as students seek ways to balance conflicting demands and to reconcile their present and past lives.
Schools focusing on inclusion can be stabilising elements in the uncertain lives of refugee students (Matthews, 2008) and migrant students, providing safe places for new learning and interactions (Alexander, 2017). Alexander (2017) suggests that migrant children are often disadvantaged post migration and develop their own mechanisms to mitigate the impact of migration because they already have a developed set of skills, such as resilience. Orellana, (2009) suggests they are looking to a better future where educational opportunity is valued. Education is often perceived by migrant families as a way to facilitate intellectual and personal development; grow income, obtain an occupation and engage in the community (Alexander, 2017).
Being inclusive at Darling Heights State School involves thinking deeply and broadly about what the educational experience might be from someone else’s perspective and actively obtaining information from diverse sources to build an accurate picture of the student and their needs, including family needs that might impact the student’s educational outcomes. It involves understanding diversity. The school offers what Rutter (2006) suggested should be a requirement: a whole school focus on ensuring literate futures, informed by knowledge and understandings of post and pre displacement concerns. From a whole school perspective the team involved in taking the enrolment (initially office staff and then Principal, or a Deputy Principal) develop an understanding of the context and put in place supports to ensure that the initial interview meeting has positive outcomes.
In practice the policy of inclusion involves removing communication barriers. Initially this involves organising another person who speaks the same language to attend the initial enrolment interview so that communication can be effectual, and the immediate needs of the students and family can be ascertained. The school promotes engaging in open information where supports, processes, ways of working are clearly espoused, enacted and consistently modelled. There is also a clear expectation of the utilisation of respectful communication that enables the community to effectively work together. The focus is on developing a positive and supportive relationship based on establishing, up front, the clear perception that the school is here to work with families and families are expected to work together with the school. The parent and student engagement officer is involved in ensuring community linkage for necessary family supports and providing on-going connection and supports when needed. The focus is on helping families to be enculturated in the community but also to learn to how to support themselves. Parents are valued as having an important role in the education of the student and their viewpoint is both invited and listened to so that the parents’ perception of the individual skills and needs of their child, is heard.
Within the classroom context the teacher is recognised as a key link to enabling positive and engaged learning. As such the school ensures that supports are put in place to help the teacher be the best teacher they can be, enabling the learning journey for both teacher and student. Research suggests that teachers are key to producing literacy outcomes needed for educational success, post school options, life choices, and social participation (Mathews, 2008). Language Policy and Planning {LPP} research highlights the connection between official and local policy interpretation and appropriation for students with EALD (Alexander, 2017). Meken and Garcia (2010) aver that classroom teachers are key agents in supporting EALD students and in implementing policy. The school featured in this chapter did not expect teachers to cope, they challenged and supported teachers to competently engage, support and provide a quality educational experience for all learners.
There was consistent evidence of an inclusive environment that was resourced, mindful, supportive, colourful, inviting, safe, stimulating and purposeful, as highlighted in Figure 7.4.
Figure 7.4: An image of an inclusive environment. (2018). Australia, USQ.
Characteristics of inclusive classrooms
Shared attitudes and expectations are evidenced across the school in relation to diversity and inclusion. Attitudes, and expectations were evidenced that focused on acknowledging diversity and accepting the professional responsibility of understanding, planning and catering for diversity. There was also a shared commitment to inclusive practices with an explicit focus on providing a quality education for all students. The professional development of teachers and teacher aides regularly linked to legislative reminders as well as moral and ethical obligations that fore fronted the valuing of inclusion as more than an obligation. The school community focused on ensuring professional targeted student-centred learning where professional learning for teachers and support staff was informed by data where identified needs were explicitly addressed. Inclusion was and still is portrayed as the way of accepted working in the school. Staff were explicitly aware that “all school sectors must provide all students with access to high-quality schooling that is free from discrimination based on gender, language, sexual orientation, pregnancy, culture, ethnicity, religion, health or disability, socioeconomic background or geographic location” (MCEETYA, 2008, p.7).
Teachers with expert knowledge coached and mentored other teachers supporting them within the classroom, facilitating their opportunities to increase their knowledge, understanding, and implementation of inclusive practices. This involved coordinated and administratively supported planning times; collaborative group, team and school processes; and in-class strategies and resource supports. Such support necessitates significant adjustments to school organisation and pedagogical practice that meets the needs of a highly diverse population of students with a broad range of skills, knowledge, and understandings (McLeskey & Waldron, 2002; Smith & Tyler, 2011).
At a classroom level the instructional practices and accommodations used by teachers for ESLD learners were modelled and teachers were supported by experienced and knowledgeable educators in best practice. Instructional practices were centred on what worked best with an individual student and how best to teach to fill the gap in their learning ensuring that they could demonstrate this learning. For some students this involved intensive on-arrival English-language programs delivered in a specific classroom, with English lessons also provided out of work hours for parents. The instructional practices often targeted a group of students who appeared to have similar learning needs with individual students taught in differing ways and with different resources. The intervention was clearly targeted, based on the specific needs of individual learners. Educators acknowledged that refugee students with interrupted schooling face the daunting task of acquiring English and may also have other additional learning needs. For this reason, a team of educators were used to support and monitor the progress of individual students so that positive education outcomes were set based on individual targets. If individual targets were not achieved, then exploratory questions were asked, such as ‘why has this occurred’ and ‘what needs to be done differently to support this learner’?
The decisions made regarding the provision of accommodations for students with special needs were complex, informed by data, collaborative, and involved three levels of decision making. Firstly, the decisions were made from a whole school perspective in alignment with the school vision and policy (principal led process); secondly they were collaboratively refined by teaching staff who engaged in on-going professional dialogue where the needs of the individual child were fore-fronted and then the clustering of student needs were aligned with resources; and thirdly by the individual class teacher.
Individual teachers were supported by colleagues and their own embracement of learning to ensure that needs such as those identified by Miller, Mitchell, and Brown (2005) were catered for: the topic-specific vocabularies of academic subjects, understandings of register and genre, cultural backgrounds to scaffold their understanding, social understandings of how to ‘be’ in the classroom, and learning strategies to process content were imparted competently. Data was utilised extensively in all three levels of the decision making to inform judgments regarding teaching and learning, ensuring that individual learning goals, instructional practices and accommodations were appropriately aligned to individual students. The decision making also seemed to be based on maximising resources to support the needs of all students. Intervention for students was enacted as soon as needs were perceived, discussed and planned for and this enactment could be triggered at the individual class level, in group teacher discussions, such as year level meetings, or at the whole school level. Support was provided at multiple points for both the learner and the teacher and this support was collaboratively developed as depicted in Figure 7.5.
Figure 7.5: A Photograph of a group of professionals working together: The process of collaborative decision making. (2018). Australia, USQ.
The unrelenting focus on the development of teams and ways of productively working in teams ensures the effectiveness of these collective decision-making processes within the school. The school had a way of working where collaborative decision making was embedded. A team of informed experts considers the specific needs of each student and this team collaborates on how best to meet the needs of the students with the current available resources.
Critical reflection
There is an acknowledged challenge: barriers need to be removed so all students are given the chance to engage with high quality education (Carter & Abawi, 2018). The inclusive practices enacted at the school featured in this chapter highlight the importance of cultural learning, not just language learning. The knowledge of how to ‘be a student’, and indeed look like one, entails many skills, behaviours, formative experiences and a great deal of knowledge (Miller, Mitchell, & Brown, 2005). Educators at Darling Heights State Primary School acknowledged that students with ESLD have much to learn but they also embraced their whole community as being capable and indeed important is this educative role. It was not merely the teacher teaching but the whole school community working as a fluid organism, operating with a way of working that embodied inclusive practices. “Education has the capacity to stimulate knowledge and understanding of the conditions and circumstances of those most vulnerable to marginalization and exclusion” (Matthews, 2008, p.35).
After watching the animations and the three scenario videos, and then reading about the process of inclusion, it is time to critically reflect and think about your thinking – engage the process of metacognition.
Watch and respond: Activity two
• Please engage in thinking about what it means to be inclusive by engaging with the critical reflection. Instructions for activity one which consists of three separate scenarios – please carefully read:
• Do NOT refresh – If you refresh your response is deleted.
• Once you complete your response you can then save as a PDF or print. If you quit out mid way through your response is lost.
• I strongly recommend you copy your response and save into a word document as you go so that you can edit this later. It also means that you can stop and return to the activity later and still have your previous response.
• This activity takes approximately 15 to 20 minutes.
• Engage here with activity two (it will open in a new tab).
In transferring your learning about inclusion into pedagogical practices in the workplace, outline what would it look like, sound like, and feel like to a new student; a new teacher; a parent; and how you would evidence inclusive practice?
Conclusion
School leaders and teachers play a vital role in supporting students, acknowledging their diversity, creating a culture where diversity is accepted within moral parameters and engaging in inclusive practices to foster optimal learning outcomes for all students. It involves advocacy and social justice where barriers to learning are recognised and where possible removed. To create an inclusive and caring culture takes time and commitment from the school community to embrace their strengths and weaknesses, and is underpinned by a willingness to learn new skills, acquire knowledge where mindsets are challenged, and develop, refine, and review processes that enable uses to make a positive difference. It was our hope in writing this chapter that your knowledge and understanding of inclusion has deepened and your passion for engaging in inclusive, socially just practices has been ignited. We leave you to ponder how an uncompromising social justice agenda can be maintained and anchored to the needs of a changing student cohort within a specific school context.
REFERENCES
Abawi, L. Carter, S. Andrews, D. & Conway, J. (2018). Inclusive schoolwide pedagogical principles: Cultural indicators in action. In O. Bernad-Cavero (Ed.), New pedagogical challenges in the 21st Century – Contributions of research in education. (pp. 33-55). DOI: 10.5772/intehopen.70358
Alexander, M. M. (2017). Transnational English language learners fighting on an unlevel playing field: high school exit exams, accommodations, and ESL status. Language policy, 16(2), 115-133.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2018). 2016 Census findings. Retrieved from http://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/D3310114.nsf/home/Home
Black, R., Adger, W. N., Arnell, N. W., Dercon, S., Geddes, A., & Thomas, D. (2011). The effect of environmental change on human migration. Global environmental change21, S3-S11.
Carter, S. & Abawi, L. (2018). Leadership, inclusion, and quality education for all. Australasian Journal of Special and Inclusive Education. doi 10.5772/66552
Forlin, C., Chambers, D., Loreman, T., Deppeler, J., & Sharma, U. (2013). Inclusive education for students with disability: A review of the best evidence in relation to theory and practice. Australia: Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth [ARACY]. Retrieved from https://www.aracy.org.au/publications-resources/command/download_file/id/246/filename/Inclusive_education_for_students_with_disability_-_A_review_of_the_best_evidence_in_relation_to_theory_and_practice.pdf
Guide, A. S. A. R. (2013). Pathways to Self-Discovery. Retrieved from https://www.google.com/search?q=Guid...w=1600&bih=764
Gurría, A. (2016). Remarks by Angel Gurría, Secretary-General, CEB-OECD High-Level Seminar, Paris, 17 May 2016, https://www.oecd.org/migrationinsigh...investment.htm (accessed 2016-06-30).
Hek, R. (2005). The experiences and needs of refugee and asylum seeking children in the UK: A literature review. Birmingham: National Evaluation of the Children’s Fund, University of Birmingham.
Henderson, A.T., & Mapp, K.L. (2002). A new wave of evidence: The impact of school, family, and community connections on student achievement. Austin, TX: Southwest Educational Development Laboratory.
Hylen, J., Van Damme, D., Mulder, F., & D’Antoni, S. (2012). Open Educational Resources: Analysis of Responses to the OECD Country Questionnaire. OECD Education Working Papers, No. 76. OECD Publishing (NJ1).
Jasinski, M. A. (2012). Helping Children to Learn at Home: A Family Project to Support Young English-Language Learners. TESL Canada Journal29, 224-230.
Kirk, S., Gallagher, J. Coleman, M. R., & Anastasiow, N. (2012). Educating Exceptional
Children. (13th ed.). Wadsworth, Canada: Cengage Learning.
Lusk, M., McCallister, J., & Villalobos, G. (2013). Mental health among Mexican refugees fleeing violence and trauma. Social Development Issues, 35(3), 1-17.
Maclean, R. (2017). (Ed). Life in schools and classrooms: Past present and future. Gateway East, Singapore: Springer Nature.
Matthews, J. (2008). Schooling and settlement: Refugee education in Australia. International studies in sociology of education18(1), 31-45.
McLeskey, J., Rosenberg, M., & Westling, D. (2013). Inclusion effective practices for all students. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
McLeskey, J., & Waldron, N. L. (2002). School change and inclusive schools: Lessons learned from practice [Electronic version]. Phi Delta Kappan, 84(1), 65-72.
Menken, K., & García, O. (Eds.). (2010). Negotiating language policies in schools: Educators as policymakers. New York: Routledge.
Miller, J., Mitchell, J., & Brown, J. (2005). African refugees with interrupted schooling in the high school mainstream: Dilemmas for teachers.
Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) (2008). Melbourne declaration on educational goals for young Australians. Retrieved from http://www.curriculum.edu.au/verve/_resources/National_Declaration_on_the_Educational_Goals_for_Young_Australians.pdf
Ni Laoire, C., Carpena-Mendez, F., Tyrell, N., White, A. (2011). Childhood and Migration in Europe: Portraits of Mobility, Identity and Belonging in Contemporary Ireland. Ashgate Publishing: Surrey, UK.
Orellana, M. (2009). Translating Childhoods: Immigrant Youth, Language an345d Culture. Rutgers University Press: New Brumswick, NJ.
Principal, (2017). Interview data, unpublished.
Queensland Department of Education, (2018). Inclusive education policy and statement booklet. Queensland Department of Education. Retrieved 8th of October, 2018 from https://education.qld.gov.au/student/inclusive-education/Documents/policy-statement-booklet.pdf#search=Inclusion
Roberts, J. (2016). Language teacher education. Routledge.
Rutter, J. (2006). Refugee children in the UK. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Sime, D., & Fox, R. (2015). Migrant children, social capital and access to services post‐migration: Transitions, negotiations and complex agencies. Children & Society, 29(6), 524-534.
Smith, D.D. & Tyler, N.C. (2011). Effective inclusive education: Equipping education professionals with necessary skills and knowledge. Prospects, 41(3), 323-339.
West, S. (2004). School’s in for Australia’s refugee students. Principal Matters 61: 30–2.
White, A. (2011). Polish Families and Migration Since EU Accession. Polity Press: Bristol.
Media Resource Title: Activity one – Inclusive teaching Practices. (2018). Australia, University of Southern Queensland (USQ). Retrieved from
Media Resource Title: Activity two – Critical Reflection. (2018). Australia, University of Southern Queensland (USQ). Retrieved from https://lor.usq.edu.au/usq/file/f27deb3c-b0c5-4381-8c82-58b20371cfaf/1/html.zip/html/index.html?activity=2
Media Attributions
• Figure 7.1 Photograph of a table displaying the core school-wide pedagogical principles. (2018), Australia, USQ. by Photo supplied by University of Southern Queensland Photography © All Rights Reserved
• Figure 7.2: Adapted from Holard, J. (n.d.). A photograph of a poster: The culture of care. (2018). Australia, USQ. by Photo supplied by University of Southern Queensland Photography © All Rights Reserved
• Figure 7.3: A photograph of a wall : Mural of the core values of the school community. (2018). Australia, USQ. by Photo supplied by University of Southern Queensland Photography © All Rights Reserved
• Figure 7.4: An image of an inclusive environment. (2018). Australia, USQ. by Photo supplied by University of Southern Queensland Photography © All Rights Reserved
• Figure 7.5: A Photograph of a group of professionals working together: The process of collaborative decision making. (2018). Australia, USQ. by Photo supplied by University of Southern Queensland Photography © All Rights Reserved | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Opening_Eyes_onto_Inclusion_and_Diversity_(Carter_et_al.)/1.07%3A_Creating_an_inclusive_school_for_refugees_and_students_with_English_as_a_second_language_or_diale.txt |
Figure 8.1: Image of a Colourful Eye
How can teachers best support students who can’t access the curriculum and content through their vision?
Key Learnings
• Vision impairment can be classified as damage or disease to the eye or visual system and is considered a disability when it cannot be corrected with the use of glasses or medication.
• There are visual behaviours that may alert teachers to undiagnosed vision impairment.
• Students with vision impairment should have the same access to quality education as their peers, but may experience physical, social, emotional, and academic barriers to education.
• Positive teacher attitudes and perceptions about disabilities are important in creating an inclusive culture.
• There are many visual images and representations used in the curriculum, therefore, students with vision impairment require adaptions or alternative technologies to access information.
• Students with severe vision impairments or who are blind need an Expanded Core Curriculum to teach compensatory skills, including working with the latest digital technologies and developing social skills.
INTRODUCTION
For students with vision impairments, access and inclusion in education settings can be overlooked as facilities are generally set up for those who can see. Many elements that help to create an inclusive and safe learning environment such as the school culture, behaviour management, and curriculum are displayed in visual format. Think about your journey into a school, through the office, into the classroom and around the school grounds, and the incidental learning you acquire through visual means.
This chapter examines the educational, physical, and social impact of vision impairment and the development of a mindset supportive of designing curriculum opportunities to overcome barriers encountered by students with vision impairment. It investigates the implications of adjustments to curriculum, assessment, and pedagogy, as well as a student’s ability to move independently and confidently within and between classrooms and throughout the school. This chapter suggests ways for enhancing the social competence of students with vision impairment who may find it difficult to interact with their peers due to missing the sighted cues implicit in social norms which are most often shared through non-verbal communication (Wolffe, 2012). It also addresses ways to raise the awareness of those without vision impairment to the realities and complexities for those whose eyesight is impaired.
An important part of learning about the realities of teaching students with vision impairments is hearing the voices of those who appreciate the complexities, or have experienced vision impairment in their lives. In this chapter, we present three narratives which provide points of view or ‘lenses’ through which you can experience what schooling might be like for a student with a vision impairment. The student lens serves to demonstrate the importance of resilience, advocacy, and access. The parent lens highlights the importance of physical and social inclusion for students with vision impairment and the role of support services in assisting the family, and the educator lens highlights the necessity of modifications to ensure students have equitable access to the curriculum. You will be asked to make links between the theoretical content presented and these stories to gain a holistic understanding of the impacts of vision impairment in schools and to discover that inclusion is just a different way of seeing.
UNDERSTANDING VISION IMPAIRMENT
Vision is a sense that allows students to learn incidentally, synthesise information, and respond to the environment. Vision motivates movement by providing information and stimulation, integrates and organises information in the brain, and encourages social interaction (Gentle, Silveira, & Gallimore, 2016). In classrooms, barriers can exist for students with vision impairment as the curriculum, the way it is delivered, and common assessment methods in the mainstream classroom are designed for those who can see (Morris & Sharma, 2011).
Students with vision impairment may have difficulty understanding where objects are in the environment and may need to use a white cane to travel independently. In addition, students with vision impairment are often unable to collect information from visual cues. Being able to interact confidently and in culturally appropriate ways is important for social inclusion and a sense of belonging, however, the vast majority of communication occurs through non-verbal means such as body posture, arm and hand gestures, and facial expressions , all of which students with a vision impairment may not be aware.
Learning Objectives
It is anticipated that upon completion of the chapter you will have:
• An understanding of vision impairment and how vision impairment impacts students socially, physically, emotionally and academically in education.
• An understanding of the legal and ethical requirements for educators to demonstrate the core tenets of the inclusive education agenda, and the difference that can be made by creating a culture of inclusion.
• A range of strategies to assist students with vision impairment or blindness including Universal Design and the Expanded Core Curriculum.
DEFINING VISION IMPAIRMENT
We define vision impairment as a limitation in the eye or visual system which results in vision loss.
Figure 8.2: Photographs comparing near and clear vision
One image shows a blurred image as seen by a person with a moderate near vision impairment. The faces are blurred, which means the person with vision impairment, would not be able to see any details such as eye colour, or facial expressions.
The International Classification of Diseases 11 (World Health Organisation [WHO], 2018) defines vision impairment as:
• Mild –visual acuity worse than 6/12
• Moderate –visual acuity worse than 6/18
• Severe –visual acuity worse than 6/60
• Blindness –visual acuity worse than 3/60
For school aged children, visual acuity is usually measured on a Snellen Vision Chart (Sue, 2007) (Figure 3). A person with perfect vision should be able to read the bottom line of the Snellan Vision Chart at six metres. This is recorded as 6/6 or 20/20 vision, which refers to the imperial measurement in feet. A child with a visual acuity of 6/12 has a mild vision loss, meaning they can see at six metres what a person with perfect vision could see at 12 metres. A severe vision impairment of 6/60 or more is considered legally blind (Vision Australia, 2018).
Figure 8.3: Example of a Snellen Vision Chart
The image shows a Snellen Vision Chart which has the letters starting large at the top and small at the bottom.
Causes of vision impairment
Damage or disease to any part of eye or the structure can cause impaired vision. The visual system is very vulnerable (Deloitte, 2016) and if left untreated, abnormalities in vision can become permanent. Vision impairment is heterogeneous due to the complex nature of the visual system (Kelley, Gale & Blatch, 1998). The vast array of causes of vision impairment means that each child has their own particular educational needs and adjustments.
Childhood severe vision impairment or blindness can be caused by:
• Hereditary conditions such as genetic disorders;
• Intrauterine trauma such as Rubella or Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder [FASD];
• Perinatal conditions from prematurity or brain injury; and
• Acquired impairment due to untreated conditions and accidents, trauma, or cancers.
(Gilbert & Foster, 2011)
Incidence of Vision Impairment
Although some children with vision impairment may have other disabilities and attend special education units, the majority of students with vision impairment attend mainstream schools throughout all geographical areas of Australia (Media Access Australia, 2013). In Australia, it is estimated that there are 3,000 children with a vision impairment (Morris & Sharma, 2011). Indigenous Australians are three times more likely to have a vision impairment due to the high incidence of uncorrected or undiagnosed refractive errors (Foreman et.al., 2016), and children in low socio-economic areas are more likely to have vision impairments due to undiagnosed refractive errors, low take up or follow up of infant eye screening, intrauterine malformations, or decreased perinatal health (Deloitte, 2016). Due to the low incidence of severe vision impairment and blindness, it may be unlikely for you to come across a student with very low vision. In fact, less than 320 students in Australia have been identified as having a severe vision impairment or blindness (Deloitte, 2016).
Effect of Vision on Development
Vision is known as the co-ordinating sense which combines information gathered from all the senses to construct concepts about the environment. For sighted people, most learning opportunities are obtained incidentally from visual information (Ferrell, 2016). Vision provides incentive to the child to interact with their environment and engage with others.
A vision impairment impacts:
• Motor development (reaching, crawling, walking);
• Cognitive development (incidental learning of the world through sight);
• Social development (visual cues and facial expression, as well as social interactions).
Although babies with vision impairment develop through similar stages (Geld, 2014), they require direct, planned, and repetitive contextual experiences, providing auditory information to assist concept development (Ferrell, 2011). Early intervention is important to be able to access support and services and achieve full developmental potential (Lueck, Erin, Corn & Sacks, 2010).
Individual Characteristics
The cause and severity of vision impairment will be different and unique for every child. How a vision impairment impacts on a child’s development, will depend on:
• the degree and type of impairment;
• the age at the time of impairment;
• the presence of other developmental or learning needs;
• the child’s personality and abilities;
• fluctuations in time of day or eye fatigue;
• family environment and support; and
• access to early diagnosis intervention, support, and engagement.
(Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children [RIDBC], 2016).
Functional vision is the term given to how students use their vision and other sensory information to interact in the environment (Telec, Boyd & King, 1997) ). Functional vision can be increased by teaching students multiple ways to access information and through a positive mindset.
It has been well documented that certain personality traits, such as self-determination, creative and divergent thinking, being goal directed, and striving for accuracy create successful learners (Australian Council on Education Employment Training and Youth Affairs, 2008; Mindful by Design, 2013). In the article The Skills of Blindness: What Should Students Know and When Should They Know It, Wright (2007) argues that advocating for one’s own learning is also a useful tool for students and helps them develop skills for advocating for themselves in the workforce. Self-advocacy is reliant on the child’s personality and the classroom culture. Providing a safe and encouraging learning environment will encourage students with vision impairment to speak out when they cannot see information or when need additional assistance.
Bishop and Rhind’s (2011) research of students in tertiary education with vision impairment highlights that the success of a student is socially determined by the student’s self-identity. They also found that the attitudes of the child’s parents, as the first teachers, and their peers through acceptance and social interaction, assist students with vision impairment to develop a positive self-concept.
Watch this video of Kirsten to see how vision impairment affects her everyday life and how she has found ways to negotiate her environment, be successful in school, and advocate for her own wellbeing. Getting to know all your students, their learning preferences, and finding ways for them to participate and best demonstrate their understanding is key for good teaching practice (Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership [AITSL], 2018).
Watch
Undiagnosed Vision Impairments
In Australia, developmental checks are performed at certain times throughout a child’s development and if there are any concerns, children are referred for specialist assistance (Deloitte, 2016). According to the Australian Register of Vision Impairment, (RIDBC, 2014) only 72% of vision impairments are diagnosed in the child’s first year. Therefore, it is possible that teachers may be the first one to notice the effects of vision loss and recommend that the child sees a specialist for an assessment.
Thurston (2014) notes there could be up to one in five students in early years classrooms with undiagnosed and correctable vision impairments. Refractive errors causing difficulty in reading and attaining satisfactory literacy levels have a major impact on academic achievement. Such vision problems could usually be addressed with corrective glasses and/or minor modifications in the classroom.
There have also been concerns that as access to digital technologies and screen time increases, so does the potential for vision problems (Rosenfield, 2016). Visual fatigue occurs when eye muscles tighten during visually intense tasks which causes the muscles to become uncomfortable, dry, and irritated (Sheppard & Wolffsohn, 2018). In the last four decades, the time spent on laptops, mobile phones, tablets, and other devices has increased rapidly, with children now spending more than two hours of screen time a day (Vision Council, 2016). Smaller, portable screens mean closer viewing distances, which increases the demand on the eye to accommodate the image (Sheppard & Wolffsohn, 2018). Studies have shown an increased risk of dry eye disease in children, affecting the long-term health of their eyes (Moon, Lee, & Moon, 2014). Ocular migraines have also been associated with digital screen time, due to glaring or flickering lights and/or strain on the eyes (Sheppard & Wolffsohn, 2018).
As a teacher there are certain behaviours or characteristics that might alert you to the fact that a student may have vision impairment. Telec, (2009) suggest these may include:
• appearance of eyes – turned, red, teary, or student blinks excessively;
• complaints – headaches, dizziness, blurry, watery eyes, or light sensitivity;
• behavioural – head turning across the page, head tilted to one side, holds books very close to the face, rubs eyes frequently, becomes irritated when completing written work;
• eye movement – loses place when reading, uses finger to track the words, omits small words, writes up or down on the paper;
• eye teaming abilities – seeing double, repeats letters, misaligns digits, squints, tilts head, postural deviations, eyes shake;
• eye-hand coordination – feels objects, poor hand–eye coordination; and
• refractive – difficulty copying from board to paper.
A timely diagnosis by medical experts and referral to intervention is essential to allow children with vision impairment access to services to support physical, academic and social requirements of school (Anthony, 2014; Janus, 2011). In some states in Australia such as Queensland, important support is provided for classroom teachers by specialist Advisory Visiting Teachers [AVTs] who visit the school and make recommendations for modifications in the classroom. The work of AVTs is to “support the access, participation, and achievement of students with a disability” (Queensland Government, 2018).
In the following video, Dr Michelle Turner interviews Melissa Fanshawe on how to recognise and support vision impairment in the classroom.
Reflection
• Have you met a person with a vision impairment?
• If so, what did you notice about the way they negotiated their environment and written information?
• How might you feel if one day you began losing your vision?
• What services in your local community might you access to assist you in teaching a student with vision impairment?
attitudes and teacher perceptions
the role of teacher perception AND ATTITUDES
Helen Keller said “not blindness, but the attitude of the seeing to the blind is the hardest burden to bear”. People have been known to speak louder to someone with vision impairment and change conversational words to avoid using ‘seeing’ or ‘looking’.
As vision impairment is a low incidence disability, many teachers may not have interacted with a person with severe vision impairment or blindness and feel underprepared and nervous about catering for their needs in the classroom (Brown, Packer, & Passmore, 2012). ‘Lack-of-knowledge’ theory purports that the lack of information about a topic or proposition confirms that the proposition is false. Hollins (1989) notes that lack-of-knowledge theory can be applied to issues of vision impairment, and asserts that many people have not had any prior experience with people who are blind and therefore don’t have prior knowledge to base their opinions. They therefore rely on their own assumptions, which results in a misalignment between expectations and solutions. This can also lead to a deficit view (seeing the disability as a hindrance and that students lack the ability to achieve) rather than focusing on the many abilities and strengths of the student. Making connections a person with a vision impairment or blindness is the most effective way to gain insight into, and a foundation of knowledge about the range of challenges, abilities, and successes.
Watch the video Don’t Dis my ABILITY which shows the daily activities of Graham Hinds, a person who is blind. In this video, Graham demonstrates how people with vision impairment are independent and capable and provides some tips on interacting with people who are blind. The video is ‘Audio Described’ so that it is accessible to people with low vision.
High Expectations: academically, socially, and behaviourally
It is well argued that students who have a vision impairment should be held to the same academic, social, and behavioural standards as students who are sighted (Rosenblum, 2006; Tuttle & Tuttle, 2004; Wolffe, 2012). Holbrook and Koenig (2000) believe that students who have a vision impairment need to be given the same accessible content to ensure that (i) students acquire what is needed in that subject, (ii) do not have diminished expectations from their peers, and (iii) are prepared for adulthood when they will be judged equally in competitive employment markets. Social skills are equally important as behavior influences the attitudes of others as the basis for employment, social participation, and community and reflects on their self-concept and self-esteem (DeCarlo, McGwin, Bixler, Wallander & Owsley, 2012; Wolffe, 1999).
Developing a Culture of Inclusion
Opportunity, participation, and a sense of belonging in the school setting are paramount to positive social and cognitive development for students with vision impairment (DeCarlo, et al., 2012). It is important to create learning environments that allow for independence and provide age appropriate activities in a manner that can be achieved successfully (Beardslee, Watson Avery, Ayoub, Watts & Lester, 2010). Olmstead (2005) believes that success for students with disabilities comes in part from the “schools’ commitment to inclusion” in practice (Olmstead, 2005 p. 65) Abawi, Fanshawe, Gilbey, Andersen and Rogers share more information in Chapter 3 of this text, Celebrating Diversity: Focusing on Inclusion.
Our legal responsibilities as teachers
Creating a culture of inclusive, safe, and supportive environments is not just best practice, it is an ethical and legal requirement for all educational contexts in Australia. Australia hasn’t always supported inclusive education in mainstream schools for students with a disability, and for many years exclusion or integration was the norm. The 1990s saw a strong push towards inclusive education for all students with several key policies and statements being instituted (Foreman & Arthur-Kelly, 2014). Perhaps most importantly, Australia became a signatory to the Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education in 1994 (The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization [UNESCO], 1994). Other documents that will guide your work as educators and with which you should become familiar include the Disability Discrimination Act (1992), the Disability Standards for Education (2005), the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians (2008), and the Professional Standards for Teachers (AITSL, 2012). The Disability Standards for Education (2005) mandate that we as educators “make reasonable adjustments to assist a student with disability to participate in learning, and to demonstrate knowledge and understanding” (Department of Education, Training and Employment, n.d., p. 1). Refer to chapter 3 for further information about teachers’ legal and ethical responsibilities regarding diversity and inclusion.
THE IMPACTS OF VISION IMPAIRMENT ON EDUCATION
Vision impairment can impact physical, social, emotional, and academic participation in education.
Physical impacts of vision impairment on education
Motor skills, development, speech and vestibular development can be delayed with congenital vision loss (Telec, Boyd, & King, 1997). Neck posture and gait may also be affected by students as they accommodate their body to visual field loss. For students with decreased vision in one eye, lack of depth perception creates greater perceptual uncertainty, affects hand-eye coordination and balance required for daily routines, sports, and hobbies (Ekberg, Rosander, von Hofsten, Olsson, Soska, & Adolph, 2013).
For students with vision impairment, moving through the school can be difficult due to reduced sight to navigate through spaces. The general layout of the school will impact mobility as gauging the depth of steps, positioning of playground equipment, and changes in gradient are difficult. As you heard in Kirsten’s story, the time of day, glare, and number of people around can impact on accessibility. Effective mobility skills and spatial awareness are important to confidently navigate the school environment.
Depending on their level of vision and their location within the classroom, students with vision impairments may find it difficult to see the whiteboard, or continuously copy from the board to their books. Glare from the windows may impact their viewing of books, computers, or the whiteboard. Trip hazards may exist with chairs and bags that are in pathways and can’t be seen.
In a study of students with vision impairments aged 10-12, Stuart and Lieberman (2006) found that physical activity of children with a vision impairment was significantly less than their fully sighted peers, and levels for physical activity decreased relative to the levels of vision. Physical education classes may be difficult to access due to equipment, programming and instruction, however, the many benefits of physical activity and social inclusion in sport, particularly team sports, means it is essential for teachers to find ways to overcome these barriers for full participation (Lieberman, Haegele, Columna & Conroy, 2014).
Watch this video about Goalball, a Paralympic team sport and the only one designed specifically for people with a vison impairment or blindness. Goalball is fast paced, requiring excellent aural attention and spatial awareness.
Watch
‘Goalball’ 01:13 min
Social impacts of vision impairment on education
Acceptance by peers is important to develop a sense of belonging and positive self-concept. Self-concept is developed by feelings of acceptance and a person’s perception of how others view them (Rosenblum, 2006). Students who are blind or have severe vision impairment often lack social competence which can affect their ability to bond with other students (Rosenblum, 2006). They may lack the ability to recognise faces or to initiate conversations, and may not gather intricate social cues such as facial expressions and body gestures (Fanshawe, 2015). Many students with low vision may have socially inappropriate behaviours, such as not respecting personal space, as they are unable to see correct behaviours modelled.
Emotional impacts of vision impairment on education
A student’s personality and a positive mindset to overcome challenges will also impact their ability to cope with vision impairment (Fanshawe, 2015). Research in several Western countries has revealed that students with vision impairments often feel lonely and isolated from their peers (George & Duquette, 2006). Students do not like to perceive themselves as different, particularly in the teenage years (Ihrig, 2013), and using white canes or reading Braille highlights such differences. Feelings of, and inadequacy and anxiety about their ability to cope with the academic workload have also been reported (Ihrig, 2013).
Whether the vision impairment was congenital or acquired will impact psychosocial adjustment (Tuttle & Tuttle, 2004; Welsh, 2010). An acquired loss of vision will be more difficult to adjust to, particularly if students have lost the ability to work or participate in sports and hobbies they once enjoyed (Ihrig, 2013).
Academic impacts of vision impairment
Vision impairments create a particular challenge in the Australian mainstream classroom, as the content and the assessment of the curriculum is designed for those who can see (Telec, 2009). Visual images are throughout classrooms and schools in the form of posters, signs, and displays. Multimedia is embedded throughout the national curriculum with many visual images and videos, models, and symbols for students to decode. Subjects such as Science, Mathematics, Geography, History, and Visual Art have proved infinitely more difficult to access by students with low vision (Rule et.al., 2011). These subjects contain a high number of graphical representations, diagrams, graphs, tables, and pictorial representation of data. Students with vision impairments studying these subjects cannot see important information and often rely on working memory to access this information (Rokem & Ahissar, 2009) which can result in increased cognitive load.
Reflection
Take time now to read the three lenses of vision impairment; a child, a parent, and a teacher
• Are there any common themes?
• How does seeing the different viewpoints help you to understand the impact of vision impairment?
• What physical, social, emotional, and academic impacts can you identify in these narratives?
• How might you respond if you were Oska’s teacher?
• How does reading the parent’s story help you to understand the emotional impact on the parent?
three lenses of perspective: child, parent and teacher
The following three narratives provide authentic perspectives on how vision impairment effects education. We hear firstly from Oska, a primary student about what he encounters on a day-to-day basis in his school. Next, we hear from a parent of another child with vision impairment and the effects on family, accessing services, and expectations for inclusive education for her son Mika. Finally, we hear from a teacher who without experience or training managed to successfully negotiate teaching a student with vison impairment, Katie, and the wealth of learning opportunities that presented.
Child’s lens: Oska’s story. Listen to the audio of Oska 05:03 min (Transcript – Appendix 1).
Child’s lens
An audio element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can listen to it online here: https://usq.pressbooks.pub/openingeyes/?p=104
Parent’s lens: Mika’s story. Listen to the audio of Mika’s mother 08:21 min (Transcript – Appendix 2).
Parent’s lens
An audio element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can listen to it online here: https://usq.pressbooks.pub/openingeyes/?p=104
Teacher’s lens: Katie’s story. Listen to the audio of Katie’s teacher 04:43 min (Transcript – Appendix 3).
Teacher’s lens
An audio element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can listen to it online here: https://usq.pressbooks.pub/openingeyes/?p=104
SUPPORTING INCLUSION OF STUDENTS WITH VISION IMPAIRMENT IN MAINSTREAM CLASSROOMS
Family, Culture and Community
Long before a student enters your classroom, their parents, carers, family and early intervention specialists have been developing the child’s skills to orientate themselves in space and move safely around their environment. It is important for you to be aware that having a child with a disability is a major emotional journey for parents (Davis & Day, 2010; Tanni, 2014). Prior knowledge, cultural, and religious beliefs towards disabilities will impact how a family provides support for their child (Chen, 2009, Waldron, 2006). It is important that educators are respectful of the decisions and choices parents have made in the child’s interests and work together to ensure maximum participation in the educational settings. If it is recommended that a student has an Individual Education Plan [IEP], this must be completed with the knowledge of the teacher and the approval of the parent or carer. In most States students with a vision impairment will have their disability verified attracting government funding. This will assist the teacher and school to apply the recommended adjustments in the IEP possible.
Universal Design: Considerations of vision in the learning environment for all students
As mentioned in Chapter 3, a culture of inclusion needs to be created throughout the school to ensure students have a sense of belonging (Abawi, Fanshawe, Gilbey, Andersen, & Rogers, 2018). This includes not just school staff and students but also the school community in a systemic manner. Inclusive culture aims to create a school environment that is designed for the universal needs of all the students within the school so that low vision does not impair a person’s participation. Adjustments, accommodations, and differentiation are all used interchangeably throughout this chapter to refer to any “measure or action taken to assist a student with disability to participate in education on the same basis as other students” (Australian Government Attorney General’s Department, 2005, p. 10). Universal design for learning means creating a learning environment which promotes access to the curriculum, learning and teaching for all learners.
Access to information
Writing
• Ensure contrast, font, size, clutter, and line spacing is legible.
• Minimise unnecessary copying of tasks.
• Use 2B pencils or black marker pens for recording.
• Use large font on the board or interactive whiteboard.
• Place posters and other visual prompts around room within visual fields.
Technology
• Allow activities and testing to be completed on a computer.
• Promote inbuilt accessibility options or preferred settings to enlarge font.
• Train students in ‘shortcuts’ for quick access to system commands.
• Develop keyboarding skills and touch typing to allow for typed responses.
Textbooks
The Marrakesh Treaty set in June 2013 (World Intellectual Property Organisation 2013), allows a relaxation on copyright laws for people with a print disability, which allows all materials from textbooks to be provided by the publisher in electronic format, allowing them to be enlarged.
Digital media
• Ensure font is large, use a contrasting colour and avoid clutter.
Auditory skills
• Provide different ways for students to accurately express their knowledge.
• Provide timely and constructive feedback in a students preferred style: written, typed, auditory.
Visual fatigue
• The 20-20-20 rule is suggested to maintain eye health; after 20 minutes of screen time, you should look for 20 seconds at something 20 feet away (6 metres) (Rosenfield, 2016).
• Provide ways to reduce cognitive load and assign realistic workloads and homework tasks.
Organisation
• Plan ahead to have materials prepared or emailed for accessibility.
• Teach students how to organise materials within their ‘tidy tray’ for quick access.
• Teach students how to use files on the computer to store information.
Environment
School Culture
• Ensure achievable expectations of academic curriculum.
• Foster a safe, supportive and inclusive environment and promote independence.
• Encourage students to advocate for the ways they learn best.;
• Support students to develop social inclusion through positive friendships and a sense of belonging.
School grounds
• Highlight any hazards in the environment such as steps by using yellow strips.
• Cover drains and other trip hazards.
Classroom Organisation
• Organise the classroom to allow sufficient space for ease of access.
• Consider lighting that is bright enough but does not produce glare.
• Plan the layout of desks to ensure all students have good access to the board.
Pedagogy
• Use explicit verbal instructions so students are aware of what is happening and when.
• Verbalise writing as you put it on the board.
• Ensure examples are modelled and scaffolded.
• Equitable learning experiences for all students.
Modifications for Severe Vision Impairment
Holbrook and Koenig (2000) believe students should have a variety of tools that they can use to access the curriculum as independently as possible. Students with severe vision impairment can use a combination of auditory and tactile technologies to assist them accessing the curriculum such as screen readers, touch typing, Braille, and auditory recordings. This toolbox of different technologies allows students to participate in the classroom through the independence to choose which tool will assist them to access the curriculum and engage in the learning environment.
Stratton’s (1990) Principles of Adaption, proposes a hierarchy to assist educators when making adjustments to the core curriculum. The model recognises the importance of modifying the curriculum based on the student’s individual set of needs. It proposes the use of the least restrictive methods at all times, so the students can connect and interact with their environment as much as possible (Stratton, 1990). Stratton proposes four levels of adjustments in his model (Figure 8.5).
Figure 8.4: The Principle of Least Restrictive Materials (Stratton, 1990).
The least restrictive method (bottom layer of Figure 8.5) is when the theory of Universal Design for Learning (Rose, 2000) is used, in which, curriculum design provides multiple means of representation, expression, and engagement to suit the needs of all learners. The second level, is the teacher providing modifications so the student can learn in the classroom. This may be in terms of larger print, enlarged diagrams, or printed Braille. The third level requires some modifications to be made to curriculum and assessment to meet academic demands. This may be necessary when the materials contain complex visual images, such as cartoons, videos, learning objects, diagrams, and maps. If this still does not allow access to the learning activity at the same level as their peers, educators need to look at entirely different ways to ensure the student is able to participate in the learning.
Expanded Core Curriculum
Inclusion in the classroom is facilitated by allowing students to independently access the academic and social curriculum in the classroom. To fully participate in education The South Pacific Educators of Students with Vision Impairment (2004), believe that students need to be exposed to an Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC). The ECC comprises of nine areas that require explicit teaching to students with vision impairment to compensate for skills sighted peers gain incidentally by observing others.
Assistive Technology
Assistive technology includes specific tools that enable students to access information. It can include Braille machines, screen reading software, mobile phones, iPads, and magnifiers.
Career Education
Career education provides students with vision impairment an opportunity to be exposed to the jobs that they may not be aware of without the ability to observe people working. It includes understanding the student’s strengths to make decisions about suitable careers.
Compensatory Skills
Compensatory skills are the skills necessary for accessing the core curriculum. This can include study skills, access to enlarged print, tactile graphics, and Braille.
Independent Living Skills
Independent living skills include the tasks required in everyday life, hygiene, dressing, cooking, eating, and chores to increase independence.
Orientation and Mobility
Orientation and mobility (O & M) instruction helps students to become aware of where their body is in space and how to travel safely. It may include cane training, travelling in the school of community, and using public transport.
Recreation and Leisure
Recreation and leisure is important for belonging and participation. Assistance in becoming aware of many physical and leisure activities allows social interaction and is good for well-being.
Self-Determination
Self-determination includes making decisions, solving problems, and advocating for oneself. Students who know about themselves as learners and advocate for what they need will be able to be more successful.
Sensory Efficiency
Sensory efficiency incudes using other senses and systems (proprioceptive, kinaesthetic, and vestibular systems) to be able to access and participate in their environments.
Social Interaction Skills
Social interaction skills explicitly teach social skills and promote awareness about facial expressions, body language, and interpersonal relationships that cannot be learned by visually observing people.
conclusion
Vision is the sense that provides information about the environment and as such, students with severe vision impairment may miss incidental information and important social cues. Vision impairment is a low incidence disability that can impact physical, social, emotional, and academic engagement within a school if modifications are not made to promote inclusion.
Academic and social inclusion in schools is important to model the diversity of the community. Being inclusive of students with disabilities in the classroom, helps all students develop empathy and understanding for their peers (Rosenblum, 2006). It is important to note that designing learning activities for all students does not mean designing for the average student. In fact, studies demonstrate that when you design for the average, the outcomes usually suits no-one (Rose, 2016). Classrooms can be designed to suit the individual needs of all students which will encourage active participation for students with vision impairment. Students should be provided a toolbox of technologies both digital and traditional, which can help then access the curriculum. The Expanded Core Curriculum is therefore important for students with severe vision impairment and blindness to access knowledge and skills that will help compensate for their vision loss. It is likely that you will have children with mild or moderate vision impairments in your classroom. It is also possible that you may identify issues with students’ vision within your classroom. Armed with the knowledge from this chapter, it is hoped that you can modify content in the least restrictive manner and use pedagogies that create an inclusive culture and promote active participation of all students in the classroom.
Meaning Making
• How would access to information be different for student with vision impairment?
• Why is it important to promote social inclusion in the classroom?
• What behaviors could be evident if a child could not access information easily or effectively?
Reflection
• How can you provide information home to parents that may have vision impairments?
• How can parents/ grandparents with vision impairment be included in parent/teacher/student school activities?
• What else can cause problems for an individual with vision impairment in a school? (e.g. people walking around on iPhone not looking).
• How can teachers manage their own visual fatigue?
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Appendix 1: child Perspective (transcript of audio)
My name is Oska, and I love sport, playing with my friends and lasagne. I also have a vision impairment. This is what my day looks like. When I wake up, I can’t see out the window to know if it is day or night. I ask Siri for the time. If it is time to wake up, I make my way to the bathroom. It’s three metres from my room to the bathroom door. I go to wash my hands, but my brothers always move the soap, so I have to find it first. The cupboard door was left open in the hall and I collide with it on my way to the kitchen to get my breakfast. It doesn’t hurt as I run into things all the time. My breakfast consists of cereal and milk. I know the containers even though I can’t read what is on the label. Once my mum bought juice in the same container as milk and I accidently poured it on my cereal, until I realised it didn’t smell like milk.After breakfast, my job is to unpack the dishwasher. Apparently, I sometimes leave things in there, even though I do my best. Everyone has to remember to pack sharp knives in the same place so I don’t cut myself.
I have a shower, I squirt out a bit of the container. It is thick and moisturising, so I know that it the conditioner. I get the other bottle and wash my hair. To get dressed, my school shirt is in a certain place in my drawers and has a different texture. They have tags on them to make sure they are the right way around. My socks are already paired for me and my shoes are in the cupboard. I pack my lunch, computer and my focus 40 Braille machine into my school bag. I play the trumpet, but even if you know Braille music, you have to remember the notes off by heart, so it makes it harder to play. I am band captain and I help set up for band. When I get to school, I walk with my brother up to class. I can hear all my friends say ‘hi’. I know them all by their voice. My friends and I go the classroom to line up.
It takes me a while to get my focus 40 paired with the computer. I’m really good at technology, but some days it won’t pair, which means I need to type everything and listen to screen readers. When this happens, it is frustrating as Braille helps me spell and punctuate and means I can easily go back and forth within a document. I seem to take longer than others to do my tasks, but my teacher gives me extra time, or if there isn’t he tells me which part to do. Last week at school I had to do two assessments. I’m pretty sure I got an A. Using Braille or listening to the words, is just a different way of getting the information. It’s the only way I know, so it is no problem for me. I can’t see the posters on the wall, but my teacher reads them all out to me at the beginning of the year and emailed them to me, so I have a copy if I need to.
The bell rings, I get my lunchbox and follow everyone down the stairs. Usually my lunch is in containers. One day mum gave me a sandwich in glad wrap and it took me half the break to open the thing. My friends offered to help but I ended up ripping the gladwrap. At playtime, we all run together to the oval to play tiggy. One of my friends run with me and tells me which direction to run, and the location of the person who is ‘it’. I can hear other people running around me and love the feeling of the air on my face. The bell goes and it is time to go back in. I move around the school easily as I have mapped where everything is. Usually all my friends are with me anyway. If my teacher is writing on the whiteboard, he reads it out as he writes it. If we need to copy it, he will send add it to my One Note, so I can access it electronically. Maths, Science, or HASS can be difficult if there is a graph or diagram. However, I have a PIAF machine, which raises the lines on a diagram by putting it through a laminator type machine. That was I can feel it in the same way as my friends see their diagrams.
When it is time to go home, I meet my younger brother outside our classroom. Sometimes he runs off and I have to call out or ask someone if they have seen my brother. After school I usually have homework, I do it quickly because I really love to ride my bike. My brother and I ride all afternoon. My brother rides in front of me, so I know where is safe to go. I still run into things a lot, but my bike and I are tough, and our backyard has been made quite safe for me. I probably should go on a tandem, but it is way more fun on my own bike. At dinner time, I can usually smell what we are eating. I get my knife and fork and just cut and put it in my mouth and hope for good flavours. Mum reads us a story. I lay with my eyes closed an imagine myself in the story. Sometimes after I go to bed and everyone thinks I’m asleep, I stay up late and read a Braille book. I usually dream about cars and about how I will get a good job, so that I can buy a fancy car and a driver, or maybe by then I will have a driverless car.
Appendix 2 : Parent Perspective (transcript of audio)
By the time my son Mika was born we had been living overseas for many years. After an emergency caesarean Mika was given a positive Apgar result and all seemed well. His sisters’ births were fairly routine with minor complications, and as Mika’s pre-natal scans showed nothing untoward, we assumed it was third time lucky. My son didn’t open his eyes until just before we were due to leave the hospital. It was only momentary glance but enough for me to notice the white cloudiness covering both eyes. I thought I should mention this to the nurse but didn’t feel particularly concerned. The next hour was quite confusing as a specialist was brought into investigate. “He can’t see” was the specialist’s delicate summary. “Are you sure, are you sure?” I questioned, still somewhat in a blur from the medication. “You don’t believe me? Then get another opinion!” That was the last we saw of the specialist and the start of our journey.
The first six months of Mika’s life was spent researching a very rare condition–-bilateral Peters Anomaly—and finding out that if there was to be any chance of sight, Mika would need a transplant or alternative operation as soon as possible; a narrow window of opportunity to activate the visual system to prevent amblyopia or permanent blindness. The country we were living in had no donated corneal tissue appropriate for a baby, and Australia did not send tissue to this country, so we were placed on the waiting list for a cornea from the US. Over time it became apparent that it would be a long wait to be at the top of the donation list, so we opted for an older and rarely used surgical alternative back in Australia. Four operations later and Mika had some peripheral vision at the top of one eye. A miracle it seemed.
And soon it was time for Mika to start pre-school. I wasn’t sure what to expect or whether he would be allowed into a ‘regular’ school. The country we were living in did not fully include students with a disability into mainstream schools and when I had left Australia in 1991, Australia had not subscribed to the inclusive education agenda, with the Salamanca Statement on Special Needs Education only signed in 1994. As an educator, I rarely had the opportunity to teach students with a disability. An international school said they would admit Mika with the only preparation being that we would ‘just see how we go’. The school had very limited experience with children with a disability and had not taught a student with vision impairment previously. Teachers, teacher assistants, and Mika figured it out as they went along. Mika had many, many falls as he could not see steps, changes in levels, and much of the playground equipment, so it seemed like he was at the nurse’s office every day. But despite his bruises, Mika was particularly resilient and determined to learn and play alongside his peers.
We moved back to Australia when Mika was in kindergarten and in year one he attended the local primary school his sisters had attended. Once again, the school had limited experience working with students with a disability, but from day one our experience was mostly very positive. I was very nervous about Mika learning the layout of the school as it was much bigger than his kindergarten and, as expected, Mika had daily trips to the nurse after running into poles or falling down stairs. After we learnt about the verification process, Mika’s disability was substantiated which meant that support agencies could be contacted, and some government funding would be received for additional help. An orientation and mobility expert from Vision Australia helped Mika to navigate the school. They made suggestions for adjustments such as reducing glare, the purchasing of a tablet on which words could be enlarged, and the use of contrasting colours in the classroom and on the playground (in particular, yellow-on-black). Vision Australia have been an amazing resource and Mika wouldn’t have had the success he had a primary school without their input. It wasn’t until the end of year five that Mika learnt to use a white cane which further increased his confidence. A distinct advantage was that the school has a Student Services Coordinator well versed in the legal requirements for teachers to adhere to the principles of inclusive education, as well as having extensive knowledge of practical adjustments.
Without exception Mika’s classroom teachers were accepting of the advice and assistance provided and embraced the suggestions for differentiation. There did not appear to be any limitations on his inclusion in everyday activities except for those suggested by his ophthalmologist, such as a ban on contact sports. Over the years Mika has taken part in dance, drama, softball, fencing, handball, choir and band. He attended school camps in years 4-6 including the year 6 adventure to Sydney and Canberra. Mika very much benefited from having an additional parent accompany him on this trip; someone to describe things he could not see, as well as the use of an Ipad to photograph and expand images at Australia’s Parliament House. Of course it has not always been smooth sailing for Mika, but these are points for learning. With an additional diagnosis of Rieger Syndrome and an action tremor, Mika has always struggled with fine motor skills and his hand writing is still almost illegible. Whilst he has had many sessions with an occupational therapist and was provided a scribe for activities that required lengthy written work, adjustments did not flow into other specialist subject areas such as visual art and Asian languages that use characters. Few alternatives were forthcoming in these areas. Whilst Mika had played the trombone for several years following the footsteps of his sisters, he struggled with seeing the music even when enlarged as much as possible. A significant dip in his eyesight at the end of year five coincided with a significant dip in his confidence in several areas. Although the purchase of a music reading app and wireless pedal looked promising, Mika became depressed at the thought of not succeeding in music and eventually gave up playing. Mika is to start learning Braille soon, but in hindsight it may have been best to begin this a lot earlier, so he could move to Braille music when the printed music became impossible to read.
I am reflecting on Mika’s journey whilst on holiday and Mika sets off for the beach again. Yesterday he learnt to snorkel and kayak for the first time, loving every minute. He is confident (fearless), resilient, and positive and is very much looking forward to starting high school next year. I have many reservations of course, especially Mika negotiating a new and much bigger school landscape and in time, public transport. Knowing that early visual loss can have profound effects on a child’s motor, social, emotional, and psychological development, Mika could be a very different child today had his journey not included open-minded, supportive, and caring teachers and specialists who believed he should have the same educational opportunities as his peers. His friends share the same qualities and are a fabulous support. Being surrounded by strong role models such as his fellow Goalball and blind golf players who have competed at international and Paralympic competitions gives Mika even more to strive towards. Inclusive education is not always this way, but it can be, and should be.
Appendix 3 : Teacher Perspective (transcript of audio)
I first met Katie in a rural school in Central Queensland. Having just entered Year 4 she was happy, well-spoken, and had been blind from birth.
As a relatively new teacher, I will be honest; I did panic the week before school started, when I found out Katie was going to be in my class. I had never met anyone who was blind and had no experience at all with working with people with no vision, and the thought of learning Braille was overwhelming! Katie was transferring from a different school so I was not able to meet with her previous teachers to hear about how they adapted the curriculum. Fortunately, our district had an Advisory Visiting Teacher (AVT) for vision impairment, who met with me and went through her case notes, to help me get a sense of who Katie was as a learner. With assistance, I worked out ways I would need to adapt the way I presented information, my teaching pedagogy as well as how I set up my classroom and group interactions.
When I first met Katie I was impressed with her persistence, resilience, and friendly nature. She quickly became a popular member of our classroom. I found Braille really intriguing, the coding element was really exciting and so did many other students. I did an online course, but to be honest Katie’s devices all translated into print on the computer, and she had support from the AVT for Braille, so the students and I learnt basic Braille and would use it to send messages of confirmation to each other throughout the week. We also used it for spelling activities, which became the favourite part of our week (and my students had the best spelling scores in the district). I had to be organised and know what I was teaching each week, so that it was available in Braille. A number of other students responded really well to my change of teaching pedagogy, which involved speaking as I wrote on the board, explaining everything verbally and describing illustrations in books, maps and diagrams in science. Brailling took longer than reading or writing, so although I did ensure Katie had work of the same academic integrity, I gave her only one or two examples (as long as she got them correct). Of course, there were occasions when something changed, or altered at the last minute and Kayla would become frustrated. I taught Katie to advocate for herself and tell me if something was inaccessible and we soon became good at thinking on our feet, having a student read something out, or I read everything to the class. However, through our preparations, on most occasions Katie was able to independently access what everyone was doing.
My classroom was the best laid out it had been in years. I had set up wide spaces between desks and put required items in accessible areas. Of course Katie bumped into chairs left out by the students every now and then, but I found that it gave the students a reason to tidy up after themselves, tuck their chairs in and walk slowly through the classroom. Katie was involved in lunchtime activities with her friends, who ate with her and then showed her where everything was in the playground. She particularly loved the monkey bars and could get there even without her cane, as she appeared to have mapped out the school.
When I started the year, I admit I felt sorry for Katie. I wondered how she would interact with others and how she would complete her work. By the end of the year, I was nothing short of inspired. With a few modifications Katie was doing what all her peers were doing, just accessing the content in a different way. I was impressed with her perseverance and resilient disposition. I also noted wonderful qualities of empathy and awe from the other students. Working together to help everyone, including Katie, to achieve goals was their priority and I am sure that having Katie in their class, meant they were more equipped to work with diversity and tolerance in their futures.
Teaching Katie had a profound impact on me. I decided to retrain as a teacher of the vision impaired and have since met many children who are blind. Just like the rest of our children, they are diverse in personality, ability, and confidence. Adaptive technology has improved greatly, with inbuilt screen readers on computers and iPads, electronic Braille devices, 3D printers and many general technology tools, such as the iPhone, that makes information so accessible.
Teaching is a career that makes a difference. Teaching a child with a vision impairment just requires rethinking your curriculum and pedagogy and a desire to see all children access education to reach their potential. I encourage anyone who has the honour of teaching a child with a vision impairment to use it as an opportunity to improve your own teaching and the minds of all the students in your class. | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Opening_Eyes_onto_Inclusion_and_Diversity_(Carter_et_al.)/1.08%3A_Opening_eyes_to_vision_impairment-_Inclusion_is_just_another_way_of_seeing.txt |
Why teachers must embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ perspectives in all educational contexts as the first step in acknowledging and catering for diversity in the classroom?
Key Learnings
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have experienced dispossession and trauma through historical and modern colonisation.
• Educators can be agents of change, by ensuring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives are embedded in the curriculum and implementing an inclusive pedagogy.
USQ acknowledges the Giabal and Jarowair peoples of the Toowoomba area, the Jagera, Yuggera and Ugarapul peoples of Ipswich and Springfield, the Kambuwal peoples of Stanthorpe and the Gadigal peoples of the Eora nation, Sydney as the keepers of ancient knowledge where USQ campuses and hubs have been built and whose cultures and customs continue to nurture this land. USQ also pays respect to Elders – past, present and future.
Further, we acknowledge the cultural diversity of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and pay respect to Elders past, present and future.
Finally, we celebrate the continuous living cultures of First Australians and acknowledge the important contributions Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have and continue to make in Australian society.
Take a moment to listen to why all those who do not come from the land on which they are living, learning and working need to acknowledge its traditional custodians.
introduction
The danger of viewing a narrative from a single lens is that a story is painted from one viewpoint and therefore conclusions are drawn from one perspective. Kathryn Gilbey (2018) gave a talk that inspired chapter 9 and she said “when we continue as an institution to teach courses and only ever present one perspective or world view, we remain complicit in the staggering statistics that surround Aboriginal people in out of home care and detention” . In Australia, statistics alone, show that Western Colonisation has led to dispossession, trauma, high numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children being taken from their homes into foster care, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in prison without legal cause, and laws inflicted in communities that pertain to only to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. However, there are personal stories that lie behind these statistics.
This chapter examines the history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and the impact of attitudes of Australian society. It looks at the impact of these attitudes within the Education system and the importance of pedagogy in establishing a critical anti-racism approach to cultural diversity within all educational contexts. It investigates the conceptual understandings of race, colonisation and Western viewpoints and proposes considerations to ensure all students receive a culturally sensitive education.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education literature discusses the importance of not characterising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the problem or having the problem. Issues are created by systemic racism inherent within the systems that interact with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The issues (e.g., child removals) may arise because of the different understandings around concepts such as parenting. It is when these issues are used to frame Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities as being the problem that the contentions arise. In looking at what could be termed as problems or issues, it is clear that there are differing perspectives as to how events, actions and lives are viewed. The challenge in reading this chapter is to consider a strength-based approach to working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people rather than a deficit discourse.
Learning Objectives
It is anticipated that upon completion of the chapter you will have:
• An overview of the impact of cultural subjectivity in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
• An understanding of the effects of historical and contemporary colonialism for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
• A range of considerations to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ perspectives are embedded within Australian educational contexts.
background
Life histories continually shape who we are and how we view and interact with the world. Our life histories, and futures, are partly shaped by our interactions with others and experiences shared with us, particularly when they are shared by significant others such as family and close friends. When events are particularly traumatic and far reaching, and touch whole families and indeed peoples, then ongoing repercussions last for generations. If not acknowledged and addressed the trauma continues unabated (Fossey, Holborn, Abawi & Cooper, 2017).
The lives of Indigenous Australians today are affected by what has happened to us and our ancestors over the past 230 years since Europeans arrived. This can be hard for non-Indigenous people to understand, particularly if you haven’t learned much about Australian history at school. When people have some knowledge of Aboriginal… culture and the history of our contact with non-Indigenous Australians since 1788, they have a much better feel for our achievements and our persistent problems. They are more likely to share our pride and to want to improve relationships between us as fellow Australians. Professor M. Dodson AM, Australian of the Year 2009. (Reconciliation Australia, 2015)
Australian society is tainted by a history of longstanding colonial occupation imposed on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (Samson & Gigoux, 2016). Australians have been taught in many classrooms, that Australia was ‘discovered’ by Captain James Cook in 1770. This European perspective of ‘history’ erases Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, who had previously inhabited Australia for close to 70,000 years (Roberts, 1994), from Australian history and identity . The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples had been living with sustainable use of land and resources, hunting and gathering for food, building shelter and creating culture within expanding communities (Clark, 1994) and this is still occurring in places today.
Upon European settlement, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were immediately regarded as ‘Natives’. The land upon which they had been living was claimed by settlers (Tuhiwai Smith, 2012), and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who resisted dispossession were ‘controlled’ through Martial Law, with tens of thousands of men, women and children killed between 1770 and 1837. In addition to this, many others were forcibly settled in managed ‘reserves’ in appalling conditions. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were also believed incapable of citizenship and legally banned from giving evidence in court, serving in the armed forces, receiving pensions or having a right to vote. Worse still, was presence of a Western Supremacy view that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were unfit and incapable of caring for their own children. From 1893 – 1971 many children of Aboriginal descent were removed from their parents and the Director of Native Welfare became their legal guardian (MacFarlane & Hannah, 2007). The children lived in mass dormitories or were assigned to white Australian parents in order to attend educational institutions for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.
It was not until the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were given the same status of citizenship and entitlements as other Australians. However many of these rights were still in limited, with many capabilities and laws taking up to ten years to process (MacFarlane & Hannah, 2007), with voting for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples first legalised in 1962. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were advised that they needed to assimilate to the “same responsibilities, observing the same customs and be influenced by the same beliefs, hopes and loyalties as other Australians” (Commonwealth of Australia, 1961). It wasn’t until 1972 that the Government removed the ‘White Australian Policy’ and introduced self-determination policies. This meant Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were granted equal status and children were no longer removed from their parents (though many would argue that this is still taking place due to the way our social welfare system I operates [removing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families at 10 times the rate of white children]. As a consequence, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were able to attend Government schools and able to acquire land. However, it was not until 1992, that Native Title was acknowledged through the ‘Mabo’ decision and precedents for reclaiming land by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples was established. It was also in this year that the Government acknowledged the wrongs to the people of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage.
The trauma, devastation, struggle and loss that was suffered through colonisation largely remains a hidden history from children in schools. The use of Western imperialistic language in the history curriculum, such as Captain Cook ‘discovered’ Australia, further serves to marginalise generations of Indigenous people, and does not acknowledge the dispossession of land and culture, and the removal of children enforced on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (Grant, 2018). Language reinforced in the recorded history of Australia, perpetuates the hierarchical structure established by Western colonists and portrays Europeans as ‘superior’ and ‘civilised’ and Indigenous people as ‘natives’, a ‘dying breed’, ‘savages’, and ‘primitives’. Derogatory names are still used as a tool of insult which can mean that the colour of skin can attribute identity (Carlson, 2016). Further negative connotations are attributed to people who identify as part Indigenous, with words such as ‘half caste’ being used. This can add further confusion to identity as expressed by Carlson (2016, p. 6) “not being recognisably black meant I was not Aboriginal. This was an early source of anxiety about who I was and how I was to represent myself”.
Current CHALLENGES FACING Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
Despite legislation now stating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples theoretically have equal access to health care, education, employment and to participate in society, in reality there is still only one side of the story being told. The “compounding effects of low income, poor education, poor health, unemployment, poor housing and a lack of essential services” (Guthridge et al. 2016, p.125) means that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples do not have equitable access to land, education, health and welfare. Harrison et al., (2017, p. 189) believes this is a direct “legacy of their dispossession [causing] ongoing socio-economic disadvantage and racial discrimination within the dominant non-Indigenous culture”.
Furthermore, as noted earlier, institutional racism is apparent through the continuing high levels of welfare intrusion in the lives of many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the disproportionate numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. In order to move forward together toward a respectful and strong future it is important to understand the urgency of the current situation for many Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families.
This chapter challenges you to consider the strengths of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and then to also consider the complexities faced such as high numbers of children in out of home care, alcohol consumption, incarceration rates of Indigenous people, health concerns, educational inequities and raises hope in strengthening strengthen pride in Australian Indigeneity the oldest surviving culture in the world.
out of home care
Unresolved trauma and grief from marginalisation, dispossession and racism can account for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children being over represented in out of home care (AIFS, 2017). In 2015-2016, 43.6 per 1000 Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander children were in out of home care (AIFS, 2017). In June 2016 36% (n=16,846) of children in care were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (AIFS, 2017). Bailey, Powell & Brichacher (2017) argue these figures can be incorrect and there is a fear and mistrust of the justice system by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Neglect is attributed for 40% of children in out of home care (AIFS, 2017). If a social worker, according to their own subjective view, determines parenting as not sufficient, an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child can be removed from their family. D’Souza et.al (1995) believed that this is a result of the paternalism of the white establishment that did not believe Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were capable of making suitable decisions and carrying them out in their way.
The unnecessary removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their kinship groups, causing excessive, and often multiple, trauma for families, is therefore often based on assumptions that are uncontested. If a critical lens is used, as Lohoar, Butera & Kennedy (2014) contend, these assumptions fail to take into account the concept that the structure of the child rearing is culturally different to European expectations, and many wonderful benefits stem from the family structure and kinship system of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kinships. With these understandings, many agencies are working towards a better understanding of the culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to ensure children are kept with their families (SNAAIC, 2016).
alcohol
The Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory (AMSANT) is the peak body overseeing primary health services in the Northern Territory and their work has been instrumental in advocating for the right of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to have adequate funding for health care services. In their Submission to the Alcohol Policies and Legislation Review in the NT it was highlighted that:
In the Northern Territory, 38.6% of people aged 12 years and older consume alcohol at rates that place them at risk of short-term harm, and 28.8% consume alcohol at levels that place them at risk of long-term harm, including chronic disease and illness. This is significantly more than the reported national consumption rates … While most Aboriginal people in the NT experience positive wellbeing and engagement with their families, communities and culture, it is also the case that many people’s lives are marked by profound disadvantage, including experience of intergenerational poverty and trauma, overcrowded housing, poor educational attainment and unemployment (AMSANT, 2017, p5).
The submission also acknowledged that
Aboriginal communities carry a high burden of intergenerational and ongoing trauma resulting from colonisation and historic and ongoing government policies, institutional racism, discrimination and the effects of entrenched disadvantage and disconnection from traditional lands, languages and cultural practices. Trauma has profound impacts on the physical and mental health and wellbeing of individuals as well as broader community wellbeing. Alcohol and substance misuse has been associated with intergenerational and other types of trauma, including childhood trauma. (AMSANT, 2017, p7).
In an attempt to minimise alcohol related misuse and harm, Governments have implemented Alcohol Management Plans (AMPs) in some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. AMPs provide special policing powers for designated ‘alcohol-protected areas’ which mostly cover Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Many people argue that this violates the Commonwealth Racial Discrimination Act (1975) which protects people from being unfairly victimised due to race. This was tested in Maloney versus The Queen 2012 when an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander woman appealed a sentence for possessing two bottles of alcohol in an AMP area (Gear, 2013). Her lawyers argued that alcohol was only being criminalised for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples but not other Australians and therefore violated the Discrimination Act and marginalised her for being Aboriginal. Maloney’s sentence was upheld as it was deemed that under Section 8(1) of the Racial Discrimination Act (1975) that ‘Special Measures’ can be cited to redress historical disadvantage. Activists were angry that the legislation created a lawful context for discriminatory treatment in the policing and sentencing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in regard to criminalised alcohol consumption. Governments are called to address the cause of alcoholism in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities “including poverty, racism and discrimination, access to health care, housing, education and employment” (AMSANT, 2017, p.3) rather than create and enforce laws to again, deliberately dispossess Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
What needs to be done differently?
As a society we need to have aspirations and enable children, youth, and older generations to be able to enact their aspirations. Consider then the disproportionately high level of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander juveniles {10-17} and young adults {18-24} who are incarcerated (Parliament of Australia, 2018). “The detention rate for Indigenous juveniles is 397 per 100,000, which is 28 times higher than the rate for non-Indigenous juveniles (14 per 100,000)… Indigenous juveniles accounted for 59 percent of the total juvenile detention population” (Parliament of Australia, 2018, p.1) while representing only 2.5% of the total Australian population. 22% of juveniles in detention were aged 14 years or younger (Parliament of Australia, 2018). Why has this occurred and what are we doing differently to change this story?
The Don Dale facility in Northern Territory; a former maximum security prison, is a juvenile detention centre in which 100% of occupants are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children under 18 years. In 2014 Four Corners aired a program “Australia’s Shame” which found children subject to verbal, physical and sexual abuse, being forced to commit acts of violence and denied, food, water and toilets. It was also alleged that 80% of the children in detention were remanded in custody without sentencing. The program launched an investigation by the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory. Despite the report finding the conditions of the jail not suitable for the custody or rehabilitation of children and recommending closure, the facility is still being used, putting the safety of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people at risk (The Australian Human Rights Commission, 2018). Why has this occurred and what are we doing differently to change this story?
Also concerning, is the high number of women in custody with the rate rapidly rising. Between 2000 and 2010, there was a 45% increase in the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women incarcerated (Parliament of Australia, 2018). Women in jail account for 2% of Australia’s population yet 34% of the women behind bars. Most Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are incarcerated as they are unable to pay the set bail or fines (Whitburn, 2014). 80% of these women are mothers, which creates a disequilibrium in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, intergenerational disconnection and increases the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in care (Human rights Law Centre, 2017).
Many of these women in jail are survivors of the Stolen Generations, victims of violence, suffer from poverty, low education and low income (Human Rights Law Centre, 2017). Weatherburn (2014) found that poverty, poor school performance, unemployment and drug and alcohol abuse were the most common risk factors for incarceration. As authors we repeat the question, why has this occurred and what are we doing differently to change this story?
A strength-based approach to health
In looking at the health of our Australian population analysis of data revealed that systemic change needs to occur in ensuring the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. While the poor state of health can be attributed to the colonial occupation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, ongoing racism, discrimination, forced removal of children and loss of identity, language, culture and land (Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision, 2016), our challenge as a society is what do we do to improve it.
Reflection
How might the devastating result of colonisation on Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples be raised and discussed within your educational context in a manner that builds on strengths and focuses on improvements? One way is to explore the messages presented by John Marsden and Shaun Tan in the book The Rabbits: An allegory of colonisation. Ideas of how to unpack the messages within are available from the 3Rs website.
For many years Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples enjoyed a semi-nomadic lifestyle, living in community groups and eating food that was hunted and gathered (Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet, 2018). Upon arrival of European colonisation, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were subject to the introduction of many new diseases and illnesses. Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples died from disease, or dispossession of land, were killed or kept in managed reserves, or schools for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples lost the ability to use traditional medical practices as white Colonisers made decisions about the health and public policy of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (www.naccho.org.au). It wasn’t until 1967, that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples ‘were granted’ access to Commonwealth Health care services, but by then poor health was widespread due to lack of education, lack of adequate nutrition, poor sanitation and inadequate housing.
Health, especially mental health is a world-wide concern. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, health is a holistic term, consisting of the mental, physical, cultural and spiritual wellness of a person (Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet, 2017). According to the 2016 census (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2017) there are 649,171 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Australian population. In 2016, there is an estimated 8 year gap in life expectancy between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous Australians in metropolitan areas and a 13 year gap in life expectancy in rural and remote areas (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2017). Infant mortality rates are twice as high for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander babies, with 6.2 per 1000 compared to 3.2 per 1000 for non-Indigenous babies (Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet, 2018). 15% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples mothers are teenagers, compared to 2.4% in total population (Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet, 2018). The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ death rate is 9.6 deaths per 1000 people as opposed to 5.7 deaths per 1000 non Indigenous people. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples people are 3.3 times more likely to die of avoidable diseases. The median age of death is 58.8, compared with the non-Indigenous rate of 70+, and the top three causes of death are heart disease, diabetes and suicide (Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet, 2018). A pressing concern is the high mortality rates in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adolescents, with about 60% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth deaths due to suicide and road traffic injury (Cunningham, 2018).
The effect of the physical environment also influences health and wellbeing; housing issues, sewerage, water and electricity and sanitation (Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet, 2018). The introduction of Western food and a mostly inactive lifestyle has impacted health (Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet, 2018). Smoking is the leading preventative risk factor for illness, causes early death and ongoing medical concerns in the next generation (Boulton, 2016).
According to Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet, (2018, p.20) the factors that have a positive impact on the (health of) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples include:
• connection to country, spirituality and ancestry
• kinship (connection to family)
• self-rule, community authority and cultural continuity
Many factors have been identified as having a negative impact on a person’s (health) such as
• discrimination and racism
• grief and loss
• economic and social disadvantage
• child removal by care and protection orders
• violence, and
• substance use.
educationAL CHALLENGES
Education plays a significant role in reinforcing the positive factors listed above. Education is recognised as having a profound impact on quality of life standards in Western countries and plays in integral role in influencing the viewpoint of further generations (Bodkin-Andrews & Carlson, 2016). As educators we must challenge ourselves to go beyond trying to counteract the many inequities faced by people and begin looking at how we can support individuals building upon their strengths so they are a valued and recognised part of the community. We need to engage in changing community attitudes and reducing both personal and systematic racism. What role has past education policy and practice played in producing the following statistics?
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students have the highest non-attendance rates and the lowest literacy and numeracy levels of all student groups in Australia (Quicke & Biddle, 2016). Approximately 20% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students are not enrolled in schools and a further 25% are not attending school regularly. According to Australian Government Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (2018), the overall attendance rate in the Northern Territory declined from 70.2% (2014) to 66.2% (2017). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander school attendance rates are lower in more remote areas and as the year level progresses (Australian Government, 2018). In 2014, 47% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students achieved Year 12 or equivalent (Bodkin-Andrews & Carlson, 2016).
In terms of literacy and numeracy attainment, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the most educationally disadvantaged student group within Australia (Mackie & MacLennan, 2015). Despite numerous State and Commonwealth Government initiatives, intergenerational educational disadvantage is proving difficult to curtail (Beresford, 2012). In some schools, up to 85% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students are below the National Minimum Benchmarks in Reading set by the Australian Government (Slee, 2012). According to Slee (2012), educational disadvantage for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples can be linked to the lifelong inequalities that have been perpetuated through colonialism such as attendance, lack of fixed housing, poverty, home factors, and poor health, along with the Education system not supporting the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ ways of learning.
Educational systems and targets to measure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students’ educational performance have been created from a Western perspective (Bodkin-Andrews & Carlson, 2016). Further, tests of literacy and numeracy may not be culturally sensitive, or take into account Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s unique dialects. Attendance may not consider high geographic mobility of some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tribes (Quicke & Biddle, 2015).
Quicke and Biddle (2016), suggest that from an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples perspective of “formal education has been a tool of colonialism: employed initially to physically exclude Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from schools, and later to attempt to remake them culturally and socio-economically into closer replications of their colonising counterparts” (p.58). “Generations of racist-inspired policies produced intergenerational underachievement and alienation” (Beresford 2012, p.119) which perpetuates poverty. As educators it is up to us to ensure culturally safe and supportive learning environments. A number of the chapters within this book will expand on this concept because inclusion and the celebration of diversity in all its guises, is fundamental to improving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s outcomes, as it is for other minority groups within Australian society.
Figure 9.1: Photograph of Banner by Takver on flickr
Education curriculum and practice often through the busyness of daily agendas fail to adequately address the hidden curriculum of racism. This ‘hidden’ curriculum becomes part of the learning process, the practices conducted in the classroom and the wider school community can reflect subtle values and beliefs, like an informal code. These values and beliefs are pervasive and can exclude, rather than include students (Fossey, Holborn, Abawi & Cooper, 2017).
Figure 9.2: Photograph of Priscilla by USQ Photography, (2018).
Listen
Listen to Priscilla who shares her educational journey. How does Priscilla’s story challenge your understandings of the role of educator in the fight to end racism?
strength in cultural identity
Identity lies at the heart of understanding the impacts of colonisation and marginalisation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island peoples. An individual’s identity is impacted by the attitudes and perceptions of society (Boulton, 2016). Identity and belief about oneself is “formed and transformed continuously in relation to the ways we are represented or addressed in the cultural systems around us” (Hall, 1992, 277).
Despite policies stating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples can continue with their own cultures with pride, the contrasting reality is that practices are still judged by Western standards (Boulton, 2016). Many Government policies, school and health systems, criminal systems, still want to assimilate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples into one western-centric society. Programs such as ‘Closing the Gap’ (Australian Government, 2018), a ten year program aimed to ‘increase standards’ for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to ‘meet’ non –Indigenous Australians in education, employment, economic development, health and community living, are based in a deficit discourse that frames Aboriginal and Torres Strait peoples and communities as ‘the problem’ that needs fixing instead of examining the assumptions the policy operates from.
It is a misconception to believe that this approach will work (Mankiller, 2009). This structural inequality fails to listen to the voices of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and adequately reflect peoples’ identity and culture. “Aboriginal identity is a dynamic and interactive process of self-recognition firmly rooted in tradition, culture and community values” (Samson & Gigoux, 2016. p18).
Along with globalisation, new technologies and ways of living, such as iPhones, gaming, computers, internet and drugs, as well as housing and transport have been introduced, all of which were not originally a part of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people’s culture. In some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities it has become more difficult to pass on traditional elements of culture, language and ceremonies to the next generations (Mankiller, 2009), resulting in, “a loss of cultural knowledge in many Indigenous communities … being transferred from one generation to the next” (Parliament of Australia, 2018, p1). The dichotomy between traditional culture and globalised society has resulted in great tension within multiple Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural groups, and is a major cause for concern in the identity of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (Boulton, 2016; Mankiller, 2009).
Moreton-Robinson (2015) believes that within the current socio-political climate, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are being represented as needing saving. Articles in the media, Government reports and systemic priorities, such as ‘Closing the Gap’ are portraying Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as drunk, uneducated, criminals (Moreton-Robinson, 2015). This colonialist view paints the picture to other Australians and indeed the world, that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are inferior.
There is a need for every Australian to develop an understanding and pride for the cultures, traditions, connections and kinships of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and recognise these identities as legitimate, equal and powerful. “We should have pride in our culture, our families, our ancestors and knowledge systems. In knowing the land and the sky and the waterways in beautiful innate detail. In knowing how to go slow and silent” (Gilbey, 2018).
Presenting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ Perspectives in Education
Education is recognised as having a profound impact on quality of life standards in Western countries and plays an integral role in influencing the viewpoint of future generations (Bodkin-Andrew, & Carlson, 2016, p.785). However, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s perspectives have not been valued or fore fronted in Australian education. Best practice to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives are ingrained systemically in Education, is still being debated between theorists. Whilst some argue that studies about the history and culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples should be included as subjects in all schools to ensure there is an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspective and understanding, others believe the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives need to be embedded throughout the Australian Curriculum. This chapter portrays the need for explicit teaching of subjects containing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history and embedding culturally specific perspectives throughout the curriculum to ensure that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are given a “fair go” (Moreton-Robinson, 2015).
Reflection
“If you have come to help me you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together” (n.d., retrieved from https://happyuniverseman.wordpress.com/2014/10/19/if-you-have-come-to-help-me/).
This quote is often attributed to an Indigenous Australian visual artist, Lilla Watson, who was a founding member in the Aboriginal activists group in Queensland in the 1970s. What does this quote mean to you, in terms of ensuring Indigenous perspectives within the curriculum?
conclusion
The authors agree with Bodkin-Andrews and Carlson (2016, p. 786) who stated that “as a multicultural country the future of Indigenous students are tied to the future of all Australians and their acceptance of the importance of Indigenous cultures”. The perspective inherently in education systems up until recently, and still in existence in many schools, has been based on a white colonised viewpoint of Captain Cook ‘discovering’ Australia. It is therefore follows that many Australians are not aware of the dispossession of land, livelihood and family that occurred upon colonisation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. However Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are still experiencing modern systemic colonisation defining experiences with education, health and well-being. As educators, we need to rise to the challenge of understanding our own cultural bias and exposing deficit ways of working, to conscientiously and collaboratively explore and proactively enact ways of ensuring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are valued as active and informed citizens.
The most effective approach we can use is to remove the systematic barriers institutional racism places in peoples’ paths. When we embrace the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspective within Education systems, we become change agents. We paint the whole picture for future generations to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture is respected and celebrated with the pride it deserves within the Australian community.
Reflection
• What were you taught about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture in your schooling?
• Have the views taught then informed your current attitudes about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples?
• How will you approach these issues introduced in this chapter in your own teaching?
references
Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory [AMSANT]. (2017). Submission to the alcohol policies and legislation review in the NT. Australia: Australian GovernmentRetrieved from http://www.amsant.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/170719_AMSANT-Submission-to-the-Alcohol-Policies-and-Legislation-Review-in-the-NT.pdf
Australian Bureau of Statistics[ABS]. (2018). Life Tables for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, 2015-2017. Australia: Australian Government. Retrieved from http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/mf/3302.0.55.003
Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS]. (2017). Census of population and housing: reflecting Australia – stories from the census, 2016: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population. Australia: Australian Government. Retrieved from http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/[email protected]/DetailsPage/2071.02016?OpenDocument
Australian Government, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. (2018). Closing the gap. Australia: Australian Government. Retrieved from https://closingthegap.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/ctg-report-2018.pdf?a=1
Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet. (2018). Summary of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health status 2017. Retrieved from https://healthinfonet.ecu.edu.au/learn/health-facts/summary-aboriginal-torres-strait-islander-health/
Australian Institute of Family Studies [AIFS]. (2017). Child protection and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. CFCA Resource Sheet. Retrieved from https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/child-protection-and-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-children
Aveling, N. (2006). ‘Hacking at our very roots’: Rearticulating white racial identity within the context of teacher education, Race Ethnicity and Education, 9(3),261-274. doi: 10.1080/13613320600807576
Bennett, B., Zubrycki, J., & Bacon, V. (2011). What do we know? The experiences of social workers working alongside Aboriginal people. Australian Social Work. 64(1), 20-37.
Beresford, Q. (2012). Separate and equal: An outline of Aboriginal education. In Q. Beresford, G. Partington, G. Gower (Eds.), Reform and resistance in Aboriginal education (pp 85–119). Perth, Western Australia: UWA.
Bodkin-Andrews, G., & Carlson, B. (2016). The legacy of racism and Indigenous Australian identity within education, Race Ethnicity and Education, 19(4), 784-807. doi: 10.1080/13613324.2014.969224
Boulton, J. (2016). Aboriginal children, history, health: Beyond social determinants. New York, NY:Routledge. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.usq.edu.au/lib/usq/detail.action?docID=4516508
Carlson, B. (2016). Politics of identity: who counts as Aboriginal today? Canberra, ACT: Aboriginal Studies Press. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.usq.edu.au/lib/usq/reader.action?docID=4547281&ppg=1
Clark., M. (1994). History of Australia. Melbourne, Australia: Melbourne University Press. Retrieved from https://books.google.com.au/books/about/History_of_Australia.html?id=PYpNYjr_xQEC
Commonwealth of Australia. (1961). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard), House of Representatives, 20 April 1961, p.1051
Cunningham, C., (2018). Health and wellbeing of Indigenous adolescents in Australia. The Lancet, 391(10122), 720 – 721. Retrieved from https://www-clinicalkey-com-au.ezproxy.usq.edu.au/#!/content/playContent/1-s2.0-S0140673618304707?returnurl=null&referrer=null
Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. (2007). National Emergency Response to Protect Aboriginal Children in the NT. Canberra, Australia: Australian Government 21 June. Retrieved http://www.facsia.gov.au/internet/Minister3.nsf/print/emergency_21june07.htm [29June 2009].
D’Souva, N., Walker, Y., & Office of the International Year of the Family (1995). The families of Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders. Canberra, A.C.T: Office of the International Year of the Family .
Fossey, W. Welcome to Country [presentation]. (2017). Toowoomba, Australia: University of Southern Queensland. Retrieved from https://player.vimeo.com/video/236851535
Fossey, W., Holborn, P., Abawi, L., & Cooper, M. (2017). Understanding Australian Aboriginal Educational Contexts. Toowoomba, Australia: University of Southern QueenslandRetrieved from https://open.usq.edu.au/course/view.php?id=289
Gear, R. (2013). Commentary: Alcohol restrictions and Indigenous Australians: The social and policy implications of Maloney v The Queen. Retrieved from http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/JCULawRw/2014/4.pdf
Gilbey, K., (2018). StaffEd [Presentation]. Springfield, Australia: University of Southern Queensland.
Grant, S. (2016). Talking to my country. Sydney,Australia: Harper Collins.
Guthridge, S.,Silburn, S.,Li, S., McKenzie,J., & Lynch, J. (2016). Early influences on developmental outcomes among children, at age 5, in Australia’s Northern Territory. Early Childhood Research Quarterly 35, 124–134. doi: 10.1016/j.ecresq.2015.12.008
Hall, S. (1992). The question of cultural identity. Modernity and its futures. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press. Retrieved from https://is.muni.cz/el/1421/jaro2006/PH1215/um/Hall_Concepts_of_identity.pdf
Happy Universe Man. (2014). If you have come to help me. Retrieved from https://happyuniverseman.wordpress.com/2014/10/19/if-you-have-come-to-help-me/
Harrison, L., Sumsion, J., Bradley,B., Letsch, B., & Salamon, A. (2017). Flourishing on the margins: a study of babies and belonging in an Australian Aboriginal community childcare centre, European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 25(2), 189-205. doi: 10.1080/1350293X.2017.1288015
Human Rights Commission (2018). Urgent action needed over Don Dale youth detention centre. Retrieved from https://www.humanrights.gov.au/news/stories/urgent-action-needed-over-don-dale-youth-detention-centre
Human Rights Law Centre, (2017). Over-represented and overlooked: the crisis of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women’s growing over-imprisonment. Australia: Human rights Centre. Retrieved from https://static1.squarespace.com/static/580025f66b8f5b2dabbe4291/t/59378aa91e5b6cbaaa281d22/1496812234196/OverRepresented_online.pdf
Lohoar, S., Butera, N., & Kennedy, E. (2014). Strengths of Australian Aboriginal cultural practices in family life and child rearing. Retrieved from https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/strengths-australian-aboriginal-cultural-practices-fam
MacFarlane, I., & Hannah, M. (2007). Transgressions: Critical Australian Indigenous histories. Canberra, ACT: ANU Press.
McFarlane, C. (2017). Anti-racism and decolonization in education from an indigenous perspective. New Framings on Anti-Racism and Resistance, 2, 119-127. doi:10.1007/978-94-6351-131-5_9.
Mackie, I., & MacLennan, G. (2015). The crisis in Indigenous school attendance in Australia: Towards a materialist solution. Journal of Critical Realism, 14(4), 366-380.
Moreton-Robinson, A. (2015). The white possessive: Property, power and indigenous sovereignty. Canberra, Australia: Aboriginal Studies Press.
NACCHO. (2018). Retrieved from www.naccho.org.au
OECD. (2017). Promising practices in supporting success for Indigenous students. Paris, France: OECD Publishing, doi: 10.1787/9789264279421-en.
Overington, C. (2008, Nov 24). Aboriginal foster generation exceeds stolen generations. Retrieved from https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/more-aboriginal-children-in-care/news-story/4e756be25326edada4f3aff49bc7f8ac
Respect, Relationships, Reconciliation. (n.d.). The rabbits: An allegory of colonisation. Retrieved from https://rrr.edu.au/unit/module-3/topic-2/the-rabbits/
Samson, C., & Gigoux, C. (2016). Indigenous peoples and colonialism: Global perspectives. Malden, MA: Polity Press.
Slee, J. (2012). Addressing systemic neglect of young indigenous children’s right to attend school in the Northern Territory, Australia. Child Abuse Review, 21(2), 99-113.
Tuhiwai Smith, L. (2012). Decolonizing methodologies: Research and Indigenous peoples. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.usq.edu.au/lib/usq/detail.action?docID=3563227&query=tuhiwai+smith
McGregor, R. (2011). Indifferent inclusion: Aboriginal people and the Australian nation. Canberra, Australia: Aboriginal Studies Press. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.usq.edu.au/lib/usq/detail.action?docID=1011430&query=australian+history+indigenous+australia
Mankiller, W. (2009). Being Indigenous in the 21st century. Cultural Survival Quarterly Magazine. Retrieved from https://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/being-indigenous-21st-century
Parliament of Australia. (2018). Indigenous youth and the criminal justice system: An overview. Retrieved from https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Committees_Exposed/atsia/sentencing/report/chapter2
Quicke, S & Biddle, N. (2017) School (non-)attendance and ‘mobile cultures’: theoretical and empirical insights from Indigenous AustraliaRace Ethnicity and Education, 20(1), 57-71.
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The Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved January 30, 2019 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Commission_into_the_Protection_and_Detention_of_Children_in_the_Northern_Territory
Slee, J., (2011) Addressing systemic neglect of young indigenous children’s rights to attend school in the Northern Territory, Australia. Child Abuse Review. 21(2), 99-113. Retrieved from https://doi-org.ezproxy.usq.edu.au/10.1002/car.1166
Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision (2016) Overcoming Indigenous disadvantage: key indicators 2016 report. Retrieved from https://www.pc.gov.au/research/ongoing/overcoming-indigenous-disadvantage/2016
Stokes, P. (2015). This isn’t a lifestyle, it’s a way of life. The Drum, 11 Mar 2015. Retrieved from https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-11/stokes-remote-indigenous-living-isnt-a-lifestyle-choice/6303234
United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (2005). Concluding observations – Australia, Unedited version, UN Doc: CRC/C/15/Add.268; United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Retrieved from http://docstore.ohchr.org/SelfServices/FilesHandler.ashx?enc=6QkG1d%2FPPRiCAqhKb7yhsgnXZ0ChBsrwmcy8%2F%2BFNoDGE9kezfu6QQVHcPsu5ODnholmUW11ikkcmdS4vIFnPoND%2BPodjbTyzuRqtYMXTVpT0JzXW8fLUQG%2BC2XatsTc4
Weatherburn, D. (2014). Arresting incarceration: pathways out of indigenous imprisonment. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.usq.edu.au | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Opening_Eyes_onto_Inclusion_and_Diversity_(Carter_et_al.)/1.09%3A_The_importance_of_Indigenous_cultural_perspectives_in_education_%28The_danger_of_the_single_story.txt |
Figure 10.1: Photograph by Oliver Cole on Unsplash
This text has explored the rich tapestry of learners and individuals in a range of different contexts. The authors’ experiences connecting with diversity underpinned the perspectives they presented as they interrogated the meanings of diversity, especially for those marginalised by difference, thus expanding our ways of seeing, knowing and understanding, and exploring new ways of embedding inclusion and hopefulness in these contexts. At its heart, this text galvanises us to celebrate the richness and strengths of diversity and to accept our responsibilities in motivating and supporting all educators, including ourselves, to appreciate and build on these strengths in developing inclusive environments and approaches.
The chapters explored a range of theoretical and contextual perspectives. Chapter 1: Introducing the key ideas by Lindy Abawi applied a critical orientation to reflect about the meanings of diversity and inclusion. Chapter 2, Different Childhoods: Transgressing boundaries through thinking differently by Charlotte Brownlow and Lindsay O’Dell, used the intersectional nature of individual identity and domains of difference to draw out the implications for positive identity constructions for individuals. In Chapter 3, Celebrating diversity: Focusing on inclusion, Lindy-Anne Abawi, Melissa Fanshawe, Cecily Andersen and Christina Rogers explored the Australian context to understand contemporary issues of difference and how education is not only fundamental in shaping the future but also critical in facilitating these processes. Chapter 4, Opening eyes onto inclusion and diversity in early childhood education, by Michelle Turner and Amanda Morgan, adopted a holistic approach to diversity and advocated that it be promoted as a strategy for educators working in contemporary early childhood settings. Chapter 5, Fostering first year nurses’ inclusive practice: a key building block for patient centred care by Jill Lawrence and Natasha Reedy advanced the concept of patient centred care, a theoretical perspective advocating a care approach that considers the whole person and guides nurses to cultivate an inclusive care practice in ‘becoming’ a Registered Nurse. In Chapter 6 Positioning ourselves in multicultural education: Opening our eyes to culture Renee Desmarchelier and Jon Austin exercise critical theory to unpack our own physical landscapes and the education system’s expectations of all students. They highlight areas where we may need to change our approaches in order to achieve more socially just outcomes for students from a diverse range of cultural backgrounds. Meanwhile Chapter 7 Creating an inclusive school for refugees and students with English as a Second Language or Dialect written by Susan Carter and Mark Creedon, applied inclusive practices to regular classrooms to support students with limited or no English speaking skills. Finally Chapter 8, Opening eyes onto diversity and inclusion for students with vision impairment by Melissa Cain and Melissa Fanshawe, used critical pedagogy to reimagine the educational, physical and social impacts of vision impairment and to design curriculum opportunities for students with vision impairment.
From the very beginning it is acknowledged that culture and cultural experiences impact our lives and also, insidiously colour our experiences of others with cultural biases, many of which we are not consciously aware. With the authors being critically conscious of their own ‘whiteness’ and middle-class backgrounds, they embraced the oral presentation of Kathryn Gilbey, an Alyawarr woman and colleague, to provide the basis of chapter 9, sharing cultural understandings from an Australian Indigenous perspective.
Woven together, these different perspectives disclosed six key themes to help us understand and reconceptualise the ways we see diversity and embed inclusive practice. The first theme to emerge related to intrinsic complexity and multifaceted nature of diversity. The ‘big’ picture of diversity materialised from the chapters, acknowledging that concepts of difference are constantly evolving. Lindy Abawi began by challenging readers to think through what it means to be inclusive of diverse individuals, both within educational contexts and beyond, and however we meet them – in our workplaces, in educational and health facilities, though social media, in online environments and through our friends and families. Chapter 1 expanded our views of diversity, introducing us to the importance of understanding the lived experiences of people with physical attributes different from our own, for example those related to race, birth characteristics, sexual characteristics, age, diagnosed (dis)ability, injury as well as differences related to sexual orientation, gender, mental health, autism, socioeconomic status, family structure and cultural affiliation. Underpinning all of these, Chapter 1 argued and expanded our understandings of personality differences, religious differences, learning preferences, health issues and psychological attributes. It is also important to recognise that each one of us embodies a complex mix of culture and abilities.
These understandings challenge us by introducing new ways of conceptualising diversity and how inclusive approaches and strategies might function in the contexts explored in the chapters that followed. Charlotte Brownlow and Lindsay O’Dell introduced new ways of seeing (dis)ability, gender and culture in order to explain how narratives of (non) inclusion frequently operate from early childhood through to lifelong world contexts. Lindy Abawi, Cecily Andersen and Christina Rogers then called on us to sharpen our thinking and practice by rebuffing our inclinations to place people into neat boxes and to instead develop a critical understanding of issues of difference. Melissa Cain and Melissa Fanshawe illuminated these challenges from the perspective of students with vision impairments, who need to navigate environments often not designed for students with vision impairments.
Figure 10.2: Photograph of We welcome, by Brittani Burns on Unsplash.
A second theme acquainted us with the concept of ‘super-diversity’, which results from an era of rapidly changing conceptions of diversity arising from the increasing change, dislocation and disruption occurring in contemporary spaces and places. The pace of change in political, social, cultural, scientific, technological and digital contexts is unrelenting, so much so that concepts of diversity are constantly changing form and shape, often as a result of emerging collisions between cultures; increased understandings generated by changing scientific and technological advancements; and the need to respond to shifts in power and politics. In Chapter 6, Renee Desmarchelier and Jon Austin explored the rapidly changing and very ethnically and culturally diverse student populations now entering communities and schools. This prompted them to ask: ‘What does it mean to be ‘multicultural’?; ‘Is multicultural education just something we provide to students from backgrounds that are not white-Anglo Australian?’; and ” How do we as teachers position ourselves in relation to multiculturalism, multicultural policies and education system requirements and expectations?’ In Chapter 7 Susan Carter and Mark Creedon argued that schools in Australia and internationally need to continually probe what inclusion really means in a rapidly changing global context, where the rate of migration is exponentially increasing as more people with limited or no English speaking skills seek asylum. The authors also made suggestions on ways of being inclusive to a child and the child’s family.
A third theme emerged from the need to make a shift from that of certainty to one of uncertainty. Many authors, for example, not only provided ways we might consciously or unconsciously ignore diversity but also ways to unpack, and then adapt, our own attitudes to culture and multicultural education. Lindy-Anne Abawi, Melissa Fanshawe, Kathryn Gilbey, Cecily Andersen and Christina Rogers roused us to understand that the act of listing the types of differences that contribute to the word ‘diversity’ is, at its core, an ‘exclusionary’ process and that invariably there will be differences that are not mentioned but which have personal importance and significance to specific individuals or groups. For example geographical location can affect any and all of the above, as can levels of adversity, historical or circumstantial, which may have impact on an individual, a family, a community, a country or a people. Jill Lawrence and Natasha Reedy applauded us to see that patient centred care intrinsically involves perceiving, communicating and caring for patients as individuals rather than as the end products of health systems where patients are treated with a ‘one size fits all’ mentality. Renee Desmarchelier and Jon Austin argued that engaging in critical self-reflection helps us understand ourselves and places us in a better position us to understand others. Melissa Cain and Melissa Fanshawe shared the challenges of limited access and inclusion for students with vision impairments with many critical elements of schooling, culture, behaviour management and curriculum displayed in visual format. A shift in thinking is needed before educators can think beyond the visual elements and incidental learning students with vision ‘naturally’ acquire through visual means.
Figure 10.3: Photograph of Bridging the distance, by Marija Zaric on Unsplash.
A fourth, powerful theme emerging from the theoretical perspectives is the power of silencing. This theme reverberated from the recognition that many differences continue to remain unseen and unheard, resulting in individuals and groups who feel invisible and believe that those around them are blinded to their needs. In Chapter 9 Melissa Fanshawe, Lindy-Anne Abawi, and Jillian Guy reinforced how we need to acknowledge and purposely address the needs, beliefs and histories of Australia’s First Nation people. Probing questions challenged us to ‘see’ what we are missing; to ‘hear’ what we are currently not attuned to; and to ‘feel’ or empathise with those from an Australian Indigenous background who often feel unseen and disregarded. No matter the reason there are many individuals in society and in our education settings who are unable to voice their diverse ways of knowing and thinking, as they are often marginalised from mainstream views and approaches.
Before reading these chapters it may have seemed straightforward or natural to ‘write off’ differences, to ignore them and perhaps even to stereotype or actively discriminate against difference from a dominant, privileged or mainstream position. Recognising diversity in all its guises and forms requires shifts in our thinking .It also requires us to move from a position of certainty about our view of the world (that our way is the right, the natural or normal way) to one of uncertainty where we can no longer make assumptions or have expectations about difference. Chapter 2, for example explained, how negative assumptions held by others can exacerbate the interaction challenges for children who are ‘different’ in some way. Chapter 3 challenged our pre-conceived ways of thinking and engaging with others by reflecting on personal and possibly confronting experiences; by bringing an open mind to the concept of diversity; and by engaging with scenarios with respect, tact and integrity. A corollary of the theme of silencing was the authors’ recognition that, whilst acknowledging the power of words to both include and exclude, they were highly conscious of being explicit about readers’ willingness to ‘have-a-go’ regarding issues that many find difficult to talk about because they are fearful of offending an individual or group of people without intending to do so. Thus the authors took care to use terminology that would not offend others, but acknowledged that even as they wrote, they might have inadvertently used words that could be considered offensive by some even though these same words are accepted by others as respectful. Inclusion can therefore be a tricky mindset!
Another predominant theme arising from the chapters was the concept of inclusion and what it looks like, sounds like and feels like. Chapter 4 for example, viewed inclusion as a celebratory characteristic of early childhood education encompassing individual differences such as culture, language, location, economics, learning, abilities and gender. The chapter referred to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and its principle that all children have the right to feel accepted and respected through the provision of fair, just and non-discriminatory education and care for children. Chapter 1 defined inclusion as a mindset of acceptance and planning for all. In essence the chapter affirmed that inclusion encompasses the Universal Design for Learning approach where planning takes into account multiple means of representation, multiple means of engagement and multiple means of action and expression. Chapter 1 confirmed that as both educators and as members of diverse communities, we need to be thinking about, negotiating and transforming the relationships we forge as teachers with our students. Inclusion also means having a thorough understanding of individual strengths, challenges and needs that are directly connected to knowledge production, institutional structures, and to the social and relationships within the wider community, society and nation-state. Chapter 1 outlined a set of six principles that underpin the creation of an inclusive culture (Abawi, Carter, Andrews & Conway, 2018) with each being embodied throughout the text.
• Principle 1 Informed shared social justice leadership at multiple levels – learning from and with others.
• Principle 2 Moral commitment to a vision of inclusion – explicit expectations regarding inclusion embedded in institution wide practice.
• Principle 3 Collective commitment to whatever it takes – ensuring that the vision of inclusion is not compromised.
• Principle 4 Getting it right from the start – wrapping students, families and staff with the support needed to succeed.
• Principle 5 Professional targeted student-centred learning – professional learning for teachers and support staff informed by data identified need.
• Principle 6 Open information and respectful communication – leaders, staff, students, community effectively working together.
The final theme built on the theme of inclusion by introducing specific inclusive strategies can be used to become more inclusive in our personal and professional lives. Chapter 2 advised that ability and socially approved identities must be carefully outlined and managed within systems, with clear benchmarks established about what is ‘appropriate’ and deemed ‘inappropriate’ when identifying and responding to difference. This chapter urged readers and educators view differences through careful reflection on environments and the need to personally act in ways that maximise ability. Chapter 4 shared a physical cultural audit which involved a process of collecting data in the form of observations and/or photographs of the physical spaces and analysing them for the messages that they give about the culture[s] present in an environment. Chapter 4 contended that by turning the gaze on ourselves and our own cultures, we forefront self-awareness and become conscious that we view the world from a particular cultural position. Thus we can better understand the ways in which we culturally construct our understanding of the world around us. These processes assist us to unpack our own and the education system’s expectations of all students and recognize where we may need to change our approach in order to achieve more socially just outcomes for students from a diverse range of cultural backgrounds. Chapter 5 advanced the concept of patient centred care to confront notions of power, voice and agency which has potential to shape ‘outcomes’ for those on the ‘margins’; to imagine the implications for society of positive identity constructions for individuals; and to highlight a way of working that facilitates the creation of shared cultures and a place where all can feel safe and included. There are implications from this chapter that resonate within educational contexts. Chapter 7 outlined the inclusive practices of one highly diverse junior school to share the ways that they support, engage, enculturate and educate students. The case study methodology used revealed a way of working that facilitates the creation of a shared inclusive culture, a place where individuals share that they feel safe and included. The chapter cautioned however that the cost of caring was a pragmatic consideration that educators face, and that strategies need to be consciously actioned in order to engage community help and create a sense of hopefulness.
At its heart, this text requested you to consider your own learning, work or social context and the extent to which the principles explored in each of the chapters are applicable and evident. The text also asked you to reflect on what more could be done to embrace diversity and embed inclusion. A key question was posed: how could an uncompromising social justice agenda anchored to the needs of a changing student cohort within a specific school context be maintained? The text then requested readers’ assistance to develop a picture of what the answer might be. As an epilogue of learning, your responses will be collated and published in the next addition of this text. Your responses can be uploaded at the website: This outcome personifies and exemplifies a co-construction of knowledge in an on-going and reiterative process of collective learning.
This text was based on the assumption that by talking about diversity and inclusion avenues for sharing and knowledge acquisition are opened up. This in turn then values diversity as a strength and validates the need to embody inclusive practices in our educational institutions and communities. If what we have shared here has challenged your understandings, generated discussion or provoked debate, including the rightness or wrongness of what we have written, then this book has achieved its purpose.
Figure 10.4: Photograph of Community, by William White on unsplash
We seek your assistance to co-construct knowledge of ways of being inclusive and catering for diversity . We intend to collate your responses and publish them in the next addition of this text as an epilogue of learning, a co-construction of knowledge in an on-going and as a reiterative process of collective learning. Please post your responses to www.usq.edu.au/open-practice . We will then utilise reader responses as a basis for further study and publication.
references
Abawi, L. Carter, S. Andrews, D. & Conway, J. (2018). Inclusive schoolwide pedagogical principles: Cultural indicators in action. In O. Bernad-Cavero (Ed.), New pedagogical challenges in the 21st Century – Contributions of research in education (pp. 33-55). doi: 10.5772/intehopen.70358 | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Opening_Eyes_onto_Inclusion_and_Diversity_(Carter_et_al.)/1.10%3A_Conclusion.txt |
Emily Willard, Emma Macdonald-Scott, and Jake Lally
How do we know what we know, and how is that knowledge valued? Why is some knowledge deemed more valuable or valid than others? What if a person has multiple degrees, or even a university education? Is their knowledge more valuable? What if a person has not been formally trained on research methodologies? Do the person’s personal lived experiences still have value in their own academic research?
These were questions that arose in class discussions among undergraduates and a graduate student instructor in the context of learning about international justice mechanisms and the admissibility of evidence in international court proceedings, where we discussed hierarchies of truth and knowledge. We were wrestling with questions about the possibility of an objective truth, reliability of eyewitness and survivor testimony, and what justice means and to whom.
Out of these discussions, we realized how limited conventional citation guidelines were in recognizing and validating the full range of knowledge and experience students wanted and needed to bring to their research papers for the class. While academia has a strong tradition of in-depth interviews with “research subjects” in ethnographic research and autoethnography as an autobiographical form of writing and research, we wanted to acknowledge and address the power imbalance in these accepted forms of research. Ethnographic (or qualitative), interpretivist research is often seen as less objective or “valid” in disciplinary debates, whereas quantitative, positivist work is often seen as more objective and “pure.”[1] This hierarchy of knowledge production reinforces colonial practices, and western, white epistemologies.
We wanted to raise up the value and validity of personal interviews which we define as more informal conversations with friends, family, and neighbors, for example: the story that has been told around your dinner table for generations, or stories neighbors and family friends have shared for as long as you can remember. This type of “interview” is really more of a conversation and can be rich with context and cultural meaning, and deeply personal. These interviews are closely aligned with lived experience. The “interviewer” is in a unique position to be able to speak to this rich context in ways that more traditional ethnographic interviews by outsiders are not able to.
Similarly, we wanted to uplift and validate personal experiences beyond the traditional uses in autoethnographic research. This was motivated by Emily’s experience as a teaching assistant. She was grading a student’s paper about Latin America and the student failed to provide a citation for a historical event that was described in the paper. According to the grading rubric and conventional expectations, the student was supposed to lose points on the assignment. However, after speaking with the student, Emily learned that the student had lived through the event themselves. The expectation was that the student find a secondary or other primary source to cite, other than their own lived experience or those of their community. There was no convention for them to cite their own personal knowledge even though they lived through it. External sources were valued higher than the student’s own lived, embodied knowledge.
In order to address these concerns, we the authors created a set of guidelines for students to cite their own personal experience and personal interviews in academic research papers that allows for the inclusions of more diverse forms of knowledge production. While there are still arguably some concerns with the convention of citations in general, we wanted to give students and educators practical tools to adapting existing academic practices and expectations to include these traditionally less-valued forms of knowledge production and acknowledge the value of the lived experiences of students and their communities. We wanted to give students the opportunity to center their own knowledge and experience, as well as that of their community.
The first set of guidelines were used in 2018, created in direct response to student’s needs to cite personal experience and family interviews in their research papers. After the course, Emily, the instructor, interviewed several of the students who used the citation guidelines for feedback and recruited 2 students (Emma and Jake) who had an interest in continuing to develop the guidelines, forming the team that continued to work for the next 4 years to create additional iterations of the guidelines, conduct interviews with students and professors, and search for additional research on development of citation guidelines. Through encouragement of several professors and research librarians, we decided to create this e-book to share the guidelines open source, providing an important tool for students, as well as a starting point for others to continue building, improving, and drawing from our work through a Creative Commons license. More traditional publishing platforms proved to be too limited, closed, and inflexible to meet our needs.
Our hope is that this guide to citing personal experience and interviews meets our goal of supporting students to produce their own knowledge, as well as honoring the academic value of their lived experience and the experiences of their families and communities. Through the use of a set of guidelines we created for students to cite personal experience and interviews, we found students self-reported increase in engagement and success in academic assignments. We propose this set of guidelines as an important practical tool for critical, feminist, and anti-racist pedagogy, as well as a method for teaching ethical research.
Scholars across disciplines are moving toward challenging the status quo in classrooms, and in research. In recent years, the movement to engage in anti-racist pedagogy has strengthened as the United States wrestles with legacies of colonization and racism which continue to permeate our ways of life in this country. Kyoko Kishimoto writes of the need for the practical application of critical race theory, not simply about what is taught in the classroom, but how it is taught. Kishimoto argues that anti-racist, feminist, and critical pedagogy “critique positivist assumptions of knowledge, of an objective universal truth which fails to acknowledge embedded Eurocentrism and male privilege.”[2]
Alongside the movement for anti-racist pedagogy, Indigenous ways of knowing have always challenged these ideas. It is inherent in Indigenous cultural practices like oral and embodied histories. The Indigenous Studies discipline challenges the traditional, rigid separation of “the researcher” and “research subjects.” Instead of the strict boundaries in research, scholars call for collaborative research that values diverse forms of knowledge production, and partnership. Kimberly TallBear writes about this approach as “standing with.” As TallBear argues, “standing with” seeks to build relationship based out of mutual care and concern.[3]
Broader discussion of citations guidelines for scholars has been actively developing. There are more tools now in 2022 than when we originally started this project back in 2018. Most disciplines encourage and value boundaries and distance between the researcher and the researched.[4] Further, researchers are discouraged from studying issues related to their own community.[5] However, there is a movement within Indigenous Studies and critical theory that values diverse forms of knowledge production.[6] There is a movement in various disciplines to value connections between researchers and communities, and collaborative projects.[7] There is an extensive body of literature that argues for a breakdown of this barrier as a way to decolonize research.[8] Some scholars write about the politics of citation, encouraging more inclusive and diverse conversations in the academe.[9] Scholars in education studies and critical pedagogy write about rethinking-knowledge production and citations as a way to address equity and racism.[10]
These guidelines explain and provide examples of how to cite personal experience, the proper structure of the citation, adapted from Chicago, APA, and MLA citation formats, and additional reading suggestions. This guide also provides information about how to cite personal interviews and conversations, including the importance of obtaining consent from the person you are interviewing. These guidelines are proposed in an effort to move toward decolonizing the classroom in a practical way by making space for diverse forms of knowledge production by people who have lived experiences in the contexts we study, but also to make space for the forms of knowledge production that students–along with their communities and families–create as valuable parts of their research.
Through a collaborative process of implementation and evaluation of the use of the guidelines, four outcomes emerged: students consider their own relationship to their research whether or not they use the guidelines; students think critically about all sources, not just those they cite; students bring their own passion and knowledge into the classroom; and students report increased engagement and success in class. As a result, we hope that the use of these guidelines, which foster student knowledge production and deep engagement with course material, can be an important way to decolonize the classroom, bring a diversity of voices into the classroom, and serve as an important tool for critical, feminist, and anti-racist pedagogy.
In the following sections, we will explain how we developed the guidelines and evaluated their impact on students’ academic research and assignments. We will also discuss our suggestions for using the guidelines based on student feedback, as well as areas for further research.
1. Willard, Emily, doctoral dissertation program, class discussions, conversations with professors and classmates. University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 2015-2020.
2. Kishimoto (2018), p. 541
3. TallBear (2014)
4. Emerson, Fretz, and Shaw (1995); Gerring (2012)
5. Willard, Emily, doctoral dissertation program, class discussions, conversations with professors and classmates. University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 2015-2020
6. Kovach (2009); Tuhiwai-Smith (2012); Stoler (2006); Thomas (2015); Strega and Brown (2015)
7. Bishop (1998); Moses et al (1984); Baumann (2019).
8. Audra Simpson (2007), Stuart Hall (1996)
9. Mott and Cockyane (2017); Tuck, Yang, and Gaztambide-Fernández (2015)
10. Kindon and Ellwood (2009); Kishimoto (2018); Trott, McMeeking, and Weinberg (2019); Cammarota and Romero (2009) | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Our_Voices%3A_A_Guide_to_Citing_Personal_Experience_and_Interviews_in_Research_(Willard_Macdonald-Scott_and_Lally)/01%3A_The_Guidelines/1.01%3A_Introduction.txt |
Emily Willard, Emma Macdonald-Scott, and Jake Lally
Incorporating personal experience into academic research is taboo. These concerns have been framed in terms of credibility and objectivity but there are also significant power structures underlying this practice. We do not dispute the importance of credibility and objectivity in academic research which are necessary elements of reliable knowledge production. Rather, we argue that there is room for the inclusion of personal experience citation in existing practices. It would not necessarily constitute the central evidence of an argument but would rather be incorporated to add context and in-depth knowledge which adds value to the research. As student bodies diversify, they bring new perspectives and new areas of focus for research but are confined to using sources that reflect the older white perspective, or the sources may not exist at all. The model developed in this project invites students to critically examine knowledge production practices and appropriately incorporate personal experience into their work.
We respect the need for credible knowledge production and the role of academia as a source of truth. We have developed our guidelines to decolonize knowledge production without degrading the quality of academic work. Our argument is not that knowledge should be constructed primarily on personal experience which would open the door to fabrication and erosion of truth. Rather, personal experience should be used to challenge or support new or existing explanations or knowledge. It can also reintroduce valuable context to data that may have been lost in the pursuit of objectivity. It is time to recognize the value that direct personal experience can bring to academic understanding. While our focus for this project is on undergraduate students, we believe our argument extends to mainstream academia as well.
It is important to first examine why academia holds the power that it does. Academia originated as an exclusive institution whose membership was restricted to white men of means. By extension, it excluded the perspectives and knowledge of anyone who did not fit that status. As its power grew, academia monopolized knowledge production by establishing itself as the only credible source of information. This meant that any work examining the world was done exclusively from a privileged perspective. The practice continues to this day, primarily in the form of requiring an institutional degree that acts as a “license” to produce knowledge. Because of the high resource barrier to entry, this license continues to be extended to people of privileged identities.
This results in the exclusion of an entire class of people from contributing to knowledge production and the exclusion of underprivileged voices. A striking example of this occurred when a coauthor of this paper was asked to give written testimony in support of an asylum application. We found this odd because there was no way for an academic thousands of miles away to verify a firsthand report, only make an informed guess that the asylum seeker was telling the truth. This example illustrates the paradox we identified where a person’s lived experience is less credible than another individual’s expertise, even though that expertise may not come from anything concrete. This is frequently the case in academia where knowledge often comes from the classroom and readings. By requiring that students only use sources that have been generated under this structure, it excludes new areas of research that are equally as valuable. Hence, we seek to challenge this hierarchy of knowledge production by expanding the sources of knowledge primarily by privileging students to include marginalized identities by sharing their lived experiences.
A problem central to the issue of citing personal experience is the requirement of a mediator which typically takes the form of an interviewer. Incorporating personal experience into a research project or study is a core element of conducting academic work. Yet, for this information to be considered credible, it must pass through a mediator. It is an effort to preserve credibility but is nonsensical. An experience does not change whether it is cited directly from an author or passes through an interviewer first. In fact, requiring the experience to pass through a mediator first may distort the message as it is then subject to the mediator’s biases and positionality that may not provide as rich an outcome. Passing information through a mediator is an accepted practice that aims to preserve credibility by ensuring an author does not make up false information and claim it as truth. However, the presence of a mediator does not guarantee accurate or truthful responses. If one is to argue that it does improve the truthfulness of the information, that turns the mediator into an arbiter of truth, an impossible task as well as one that reinforces the academic’s position of power. Who is a mediator to say that an experience is legitimate or not? Requiring a mediator acts as a barrier to the entry of diverse perspectives into academia. Direct use of personal experience challenges this power structure by directly empowering an author.
We address the potential complication that appears to arise from this system of author-based knowledge production: its abuse by authors seeking to spread misinformation. To illustrate the difference between legitimate and illegitimate use of personal knowledge, the example of a Holocaust denier is potent. Claiming that the Holocaust did not happen is an illegitimate use of personal experience citation because 1) it forms the basis for a piece of knowledge instead of supporting it, 2) it is not possible to live a negative experience, and 3) it is not an experience but a claim. However, the personal experience of an author who has interacted with Holocaust deniers and wishes to leverage their personal experience alongside other sources would constitute a valid use of the guidelines. Our framework does not invite opinion, it only considers real lived experience.
Our goal is to bring a working understanding of knowledge production to the classroom and explore the ways it can be incorporated into student work. It will challenge problematic citation practices and gives life to new voices and perspectives. Students will be encouraged to think about their own role in research and future knowledge production which benefits all research, even quantitative work. We also found that student engagement increased when they could bring their own experiences into the work they did. Finally, it is an important tool for critical, feminist, and anti-racist pedagogy because of the challenge to existing power structures that it poses. | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Our_Voices%3A_A_Guide_to_Citing_Personal_Experience_and_Interviews_in_Research_(Willard_Macdonald-Scott_and_Lally)/01%3A_The_Guidelines/1.02%3A_Framing.txt |
Emily Willard, Emma Macdonald-Scott, and Jake Lally
These guidelines were developed out of a need to allow students to use their own life experience, and the lived experience of their families and communities in their course assignments and research. When assignments require evidence to support arguments, students need a way to cite their own experiences as evidence. We needed a structure to guide students to think about their research critically, and also ensure accountability.
The development of these citation guidelines was developed in class discussions for the course International Justice on Trial in Autumn 2018 in the University of Washington’s Law, Society, and Justice (LSJ) Department. Emily was instructor for the course, Emma and Jake were students in the course. Development of the need of the citations arose out of discussions about fourth person testimony, a form of Indigenous testimony and knowledge production as presented in Gerald Vizenor’s Native Liberty.[1] Discussions diverse forms of knowledge production[2] and the existence of multiple truths[3] highlighted the need for the guidelines. In addition, Emily’s own research into knowledge production and the colonization of knowledge helped develop the guidelines and highlighted the need for them.[4]
Emily presented the first draft of the guidelines to the course, International Justice on Trial in Autumn 2018. The main course assignment was for students to research a conflict and evaluate justice efforts and propose alternative approaches to justice. Student chose their own research topic and were encouraged to pick a topic that interested them. Six students used the citation guide, and Emily interviewed 10 students, five who used the guidelines, and five who did not. Out of these students who participated in interviews, three students expressed interested in participating in the further development of these guidelines and two of which are the co-authors of this article: Emma and Jake.
We used the feedback from the interviews and edited the guidelines to include examples of how to incorporate the citations into the text of the assignment. The citations were used in another course, Human Rights in Latin America for the Jackson School of International Studies department in the summer of 2019, and again for the International Justice on Trial course in autumn 2019. For each course, we solicited feedback from students through the anonymous course evaluation survey, resulting in a total of 60 responses out of 69 students in the three courses. With student permission, we analyzed samples of how the students incorporate the citations into their research papers.
In addition to soliciting feedback from students who used the guidelines, we also spoke with university faculty, and student workers at the university writing center. We conducted the interviews and developed the survey. In an effort to consider the use of the guidelines for a broader audience, a group of graduate students in the University of Washington School of Social Work used the guidelines to cite personal experience in a group project. We conducted interviews with a total of 13 undergraduate students and 1 graduate student who used the guidelines. Unfortunately, Emily was not able to conduct interviews with the 2019 group of students who had access to the guidelines in the “International Justice on Trial” course that year.
In response to this feedback, we continued to edit the guidelines to provide additional instruction about how to use them, we created an interview consent form as an instructional tool, as well as a form of accountability. Throughout this process we wanted to ensure ethical research practices, and also find a way to support students to produce their best work and see their own value as knowledge producers. We hope that these guidelines can continue to be updated and improved through a collaborative process with other instructors, students, and in other fields, departments, and institutions.
1. Vizenor, 2009.
2. Kirsten Anker, 2005
3. Mark Rifkin, 2017
4. Tuck 2009, Thomas 2015, Tuhwai-Smith, 2012, Baumann 2019. | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Our_Voices%3A_A_Guide_to_Citing_Personal_Experience_and_Interviews_in_Research_(Willard_Macdonald-Scott_and_Lally)/01%3A_The_Guidelines/1.03%3A_Collaborative_Design.txt |
Emily Willard, Emma Macdonald-Scott, and Jake Lally
In the course, International Justice on Trial, developed by Emily, students explored international justice systems and evaluated the effectiveness of different approaches to achieving justice through class discussion, assigned readings, individual research, and writing assignments.[1] Students considered alternative approaches to justice using case studies from Guatemala, El Salvador, Rwanda, and Bosnia. The overarching question for was “What is Justice?” For the research assignment, students were asked to choose an issue area, region, or country with context of human rights violations. They were also asked to provide a definition of what they think justice is. Then, they were asked to evaluate the effectiveness of judicial trials to achieve justice, by identifying those trials that worked and did not work according to their own definition of justice. Finally, they were asked to propose alternative approaches to justice that would address shortcomings of existing efforts. Students were required to submit a research topic proposal early in the course, then submit a rough draft mid-way through the course, and a final paper at the end. The instructor provided extensive written feedback at the draft stage.
For the first course in autumn 2018, the guidelines were developed during the second half of the class, a product of class discussions and presented to the class.[2] A total of five students out of 23 used the guidelines in their papers. Two students used the guidelines to cite personal or family experience, three students cited personal interviews. Through interviews and anonymous course evaluations,[3] we found that even students who didn’t cite personal interviews or personal experience in their papers, still found that the guidelines made them think about their relationship to their research and encouraged them to think critically about all of their sources. Through interviews, students explained why they used the citation guidelines, and any challenges they had. In response to student feedback, we edited the guidelines to make the examples of how to use them and not use them clearer, and to add the information about informed consent. Subsequent edits created examples for how students can incorporate the quotations and citations into their papers, and an informed consent form to increase transparency among students, the instructor, and the interviewee.
We found through the interviews with students, and reviewing student use of the citations, that these guidelines can be an important tool for anti-racist pedagogy. Kyoko Kishimoto writes that the following are goals of anti-racist pedagogy: promotes critical analysis skills and awareness of social position; decenters authority in the classroom, and encourages students to take responsibility for their own learning; empowers students and applies theory to practice; and creates a sense of community.[4] We argue that the citation guidelines that we developed meet the majority, if not all, of these goals, and can easily be used along methods of anti-racist pedagogy.
As an example,[5] one student used the guidelines to cite personal family experience as Mexican Americans, and her own experiences on a research trip to the U.S.-Mexico Border for her research paper assignment. In her research on U.S. immigration detention centers, she found that she needed evidence to counter sources and information on the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) website. In order to make a convincing argument, she wanted first-hand information about the effects of immigration detention. She explained:
“People don’t have personal experience in the articles we read. I can reference how I see it through my eyes, and how I interpret it. I can use it to make the case in my paper. The stuff I cite through family experience is not what you would find in academic papers… It’s important to represent how I experience the world because of my background.”[6]
The student was able to analyze the existing sources and based on her own life experience and the experiences of her family, she was able to identify the lack of representation of a key viewpoint in her research. From her own sources of knowledge, she was able to provide the alternative viewpoint that was missing from the sources she was found in her research and incorporate it as evidence in her own paper. She was able to find the value in her own voice in her paper, and the presentation she gave to her classmates.
In another example,[7] a student used the citation guidelines to interview a family friend from Turkey about the Kurdish Genocide in Turkish Kurdistan. In her outside research process, the student noted that she was having trouble finding much in the way of non-Western literature on the genocide, and none of the Turkish and other Middle Eastern authors who had written about it had explicitly identified as Kurdish themselves. When she was able to connect with her Kurdish interviewee, she asked him about this disconnect and he believed it was attributed to the fact that the Turkish government is so intent on squashing Kurdish voices that much of the truth is confined to word of mouth. Further, he indicated that the systemic oppression of Kurdish Turks has led to less educational opportunities and thus less exposure to the academic media. Because of this, the student made more fruitful and nuanced discoveries about the situation from her interview with her subject who experienced the genocide firsthand than any of the secondary-experience literature she read. Oftentimes, the student noted, higher academia likes to take credit for deconstructing colonial barriers in education despite historically being a major institution upholding it. By privileging indigenous and minority truths, we can not only work to erase inequalities in academia but harness a powerful body of knowledge that is essential to mitigating and preventing atrocities like the Kurdish Genocide.
Even if students do not use the guidelines in their research projects, the goals of anti-racist pedagogy outlined by Kishimoto were still met. In cases where students did not use the guidelines, they reported that they nevertheless critically analyzed their sources and their own relationship to their research. One student reflected on her own experience as a white exchange student studying in South Africa. She said that when deciding whether or not she would cite her own personal experience studying the criminal justice system there, she decided that she would not due to her limited close relationships, and inability, due to time and access, to fully understand the situation. Upon reflection, she felt that she could have made more conscious observations as an outsider and would have felt more comfortable writing about her own experience as an outsider, but still hesitant about centering her experience as a white person.
1. Syllabus of “International Justice on Trial” course is provided in the supplemental materials.
2. In future iterations, the guidelines were presented along with the research paper assignment at the beginning of the course.
3. 21 out of 23 students participated in the anonymous course evaluation.
4. Kishimoto, p. 546.
5. We obtained informed consent from each student to use examples from their research papers, and to share quotations from their interviews. Student names are not used in order to protect personal privacy.
6. Interview with Student #1, conducted via telephone by Emily in January 2019.
7. Interview with Student #4, from autumn 2018 course. Interview via telephone in January 2019 by Emily. | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Our_Voices%3A_A_Guide_to_Citing_Personal_Experience_and_Interviews_in_Research_(Willard_Macdonald-Scott_and_Lally)/01%3A_The_Guidelines/1.04%3A_Bringing_Theory_into_Practice.txt |
Emily Willard, Emma Macdonald-Scott, and Jake Lally
Many scholars have acknowledged the structural limitations that created an academic sphere lacking in minority voices, yet few have presented ways to combat that lack of representation. Our guidelines actively work to integrate more diverse voices into academic research, and revere varied experiences and knowledge forms as essential parts of fully understanding any subject. Knowledge is richer when it is more inclusive and accessible. Particularly in education, the very business of knowledge production, academics should be concerned with giving students as many tools as possible to bring in more diverse voices, and to connect students more deeply with their subject matter. Our team created a set of guidelines to allow students to cite their personal experience, or interviews they conducted; as well as an accompanying set of teaching tools, to help instructors easily integrate discussions about knowledge production and valuation into their classes. We created this tool because we wanted to make integrating underrepresented perspectives easier, to create personal connections between students and their work, and because our research has shown that self-citation has a positive impact on students who use it.
In assessing and improving the self-citation guidelines, our team tried to stay true to the ideals of the guidelines themselves, drawing from a wide pool for feedback. We interviewed or surveyed undergraduate and graduate students, as well as instructors, librarians, and education scholars. The main goals in our assessment were to discern whether there was a demand for expanded citation methods, and whether students and instructors saw a benefit in introducing them. We also sought out concerns and suggestions for improvement as a way to integrate more voices into the actual formation of the guidelines, and to make them easier to use and understand.
Understanding the demand for expanded guidelines consists of understanding the limits of existing citation methods, and determining if there are students and instructors seeking what self-citation adds to those existing methods. There is currently no way to cite an informal interview or a student’s own experience in a piece of writing.[1] Existing methods cover published, or recorded oral histories, and formal interviews, but see personal experience and student conducted interviews as information to be, “referenced in text or a note”[2], not worthy of citation. This creates an exclusivity around whose experiences are represented and valued in academia. The lack of representation in social science citation has been well documented in philosophy[3], Communication[4], Anthropology[5], and legal studies[6]. While social science is becoming a more diverse field, its diversity is often concentrated in students or early career professionals who are less frequently cited.[7] Even when there are more diverse options to cite from, the politics of citation are such that older articles and authors who have been cited more, are seen as more credible and better sources to use. Even those within academia often see citations narrowly, as protections against plagiarism and as a reference to evidentiary support, but such a framework misses the power of citation.
Citation serves three main purposes: it proves the source of information so that interested parties may seek out further information, it shows credence and respect for the source of the information, and it works as a barrier to plagiarism. Self citation is an important practice beyond existing methods, because simply stating information an author created in the text, fails to provide the same respect and traceability that a citation provides. This is significant because the respect and traceability aspects of a citation have the greatest impact on how much visibility and value an author or piece of research can gain in their field of study. When we work within the existing framework, we are valuing knowledge by how well it adheres to rules and conventions, how it re-affirms and fits with existing research. When we expand that framework, we create new opportunities for out of the box thinking, to boost voices, and careers of those who deserve recognition regardless of their credentials, and we adopt rules and rhetoric which counteract racism and sexism within education.
Interviews and surveys with students and instructors fulfilled the practical side of understanding demand, in proving that there was a desire for self-citation among its target audience. A majority of instructors polled said they had encountered students interested in citing their own experience and more than three quarters had encountered students interested in citing interviews they had conducted themselves.[8] In course evaluations from students who had been part of classes which taught using our guidelines, no student respondent thought that the guidelines were not helpful. 66% of students polled explicitly stated that the guidelines were a helpful tool, and all the remaining students noted that they had not used the guidelines and didn’t feel the question applied to them. Even still, of those who stated they did not use the guidelines, 60% specified that they nonetheless thought the guidelines were a good idea, even if they hadn’t been able to use them. Instructors were, however, more hesitant about whether or not the guidelines would be helpful. Half of the instructors polled thought the guidelines would be helpful, and the rest primarily expressed a desire to review the guidelines more comprehensively before making a determination or voiced concerns which will be delved into in the latter part of this discussion. Beyond the aggregate, each instructor who participated in a longform interview and was able to thoroughly review and discuss the guidelines, requested they be able to use our guidelines once finished and share them with their departments in Ethnic, international, sociology, and education studies. All of this makes a strong case that there is a demand for self-citation guidelines from their target audience.
Establishing demand is a reasonably low burden of proof, but our team was able to establish that both students and teachers who used self-citation practices found them to be beneficial in fulfilling many different educational goals. “ Students frequently mention what they remember most from a course […] is not any particular reading, but the analytical tools they learn to apply to their own lives.”[9] First and foremost, we believe that our guidelines are an essential addition to existing options because they are a tool which can be used in academia, and in daily life. It is no secret that what we are taught influences what we think, which in turn shapes the way we speak, act, and treat others. Our tool goes to the heart of that process in order to change the way we think about representation at each level. Without the integration of diverse lived experiences, we miss something. Rhetorical disconnection from subjects can, and has, led to dehumanization in policy and in greater society.[10]Our guidelines offer a way to break down hierarchical constructs of expertise and deservingness to value knowledge beyond the credentials or job title attached to it. The archetype of the unbiased academic observer is a ruse. All people, scholars or otherwise, bring unconscious biases into any observation. Therefore it is important for students to practice acknowledging the way their experiences inform their work, and to allow subjects with lived experiences to speak for themselves. In this way, self-citation gives students the, “power to disrupt master narratives, and […] exercise agency over their stories”[11]
One student’s use of the guidelines illustrates this ability particularly well. Julia[12], a mexican-american student cited her personal experiences, and the experiences of her family members in a paper about the U.S.-Mexico border. The experiences she cited stood as a counterpoint to the Immigration, Customs, and Enforcement website. She said,
“ People don’t have personal experience in the articles we read. But I can use [my personal experience] to make the case in my paper. The stuff I cite[ed, my] family experience is not what you would find in academic papers… It’s important to represent how I experience the world because of my background.”
This student was able to subvert master narratives about the experiences of immigrants to broaden the scope of knowledge in balancing and humanizing ways that are essential to, and often lost in academic writings about immigration.
Instructors who had practiced allowing self-citation said that not only did students who used them come to respect the viewpoints of others more, but they often gained confidence in their own perspectives. This could indicate that as one shifts away from rigid, meritocratic conceptions of expertise in others, they may also become more open to the value of their own point of view. In this way self-citation accomplishes one of the most difficult challenges of education, particularly in social sciences: to not only change the way students think, but also the way they feel.[13]
Our guidelines also align with more standard learning goals like student performance. Every single self-citation user interviewed noted the value of connecting subject matter to personal, or real life examples. One education scholar expressed that this connection runs deeper, and affects student performance as well stating that, “it is a truism in writing that students do better when connected to their work. […] it’s an evidence based teaching strategy [used] in many subjects.”[14] The power of personal connection was further bolstered by the input of other professors, and students, as well as outside sources.[15] Several students felt that integrating their own, or someone else’s experiences motivated them to work harder, while other students described being more interested in the subject matter and driven to do more projects centering on the knowledge they created.[16] One professor noted that students who use knowledge they created, “develop a stronger voice in their work and […are] able to more deeply connect abstract theory, or aggregate-level characteristics to the micro-level”. Outside of our own research, a recent study surveyed undergraduate students, from several institutions asking students about what makes a writing assignment meaningful. The authors found that the existence of a personal connection between author and subject, or a connection to peers, family, or community were the most likely to have a meaningful impact on students.[17] When students find work meaningful and engaging, they are more likely to retain the information and perform better.
Addressing the concerns of our target audience was the most important part of assessing our guidelines, and creating a living document that could be widely and easily used. Three broad concerns coalesced out of all those posed to our research team by interviewees. First, students and instructors wondered why these guidelines were necessary, second, many expressed concerns about how to balance the risks of self-citation, Finally, students and instructors were both challenged by how to encourage students and instructors to use personal citation in the face of decades of classical western education which teaches students, “not to use I statements, because [they] detract from [an] argument.”[18] We found that in reviewing feedback, those who had never considered allowing students to create their own knowledge, understandably raised the most questions about its viability, while students and professors who had used them bore insightful takeaways, and all expressed that they found the experience beneficial. One student stated that the guidelines allowed for the creation of a, “dialogue of people’s experiences”[19] which we will attempt to create here as well.
The most prevalent concern of students and instructors was about how to balance the risks of self-citation. From one instructor who, “worr[ied] about the cooption of our guidelines by white supremacists […and] holocaust deniers”[20], to a student who said they might never use the guidelines because they feared unintentionally misrepresenting an interview subject, or over representing their own experience;[21] Students were often challenged by the question of how to maintain credibility when integrating non-academic sources, and curtail bias in using personal data. These fears were most simply addressed by one professor who said that, “credibility is not an issue when it comes to self citation, because it is always a piece of evidence which requires further support.” It is essential for self-citation to be part of a discussion, to bring a greater variety of voices into conversation with one another, in order to enrich the research being done, rather than using it as the crux of an argument. Encouraging students to be conscious of their sources through source counting, or auditing for diversity of source type; or author gender, race, and educational attainment, are concrete ways to help students create balance in their use of sources.[22] These skills are crucial when integrating any source into research, whether or not a source is self-cited. It is also important that the practice of self-citation be integrated into a course along with education about theory, knowledge production and the politics of citation so that students understand the necessity of creating balance among sources, and acknowledging biases in their writing. The course outline we created to accompany the guidelines provides instructors with some ideas and guidance on how to introduce self-citation responsibly.[23] We also created consent forms in which students record the contact information of interviewees as another way to quell some fears about falsified data.[24] At the same time, it is essential to note that many of the credibility risks one might attribute to self-citation already pervade the existing citation guidelines. Falsified data, misinterpreted data, skewed data, and bias are all issues which occur within the existing parameters.[25]
Another major source of apprehension in using our guidelines was that many students have been conditioned against self-citation throughout their schooling. One student stated, “ It is so ingrained in my writing that I’m not supposed to use I statements, because it detracts from an argument, or isn’t considered as credible”.[26] One instructor who uses self-citation in their classes offered an apt response, “ Students are often skeptical when […] encourage[ed to] include such info[rmation], which I attribute to socialization into a very western-centric, classical education system that defines scientific knowledge and evidence in very narrow ways. I find that many students are interested in using this kind of data, but it is so far outside of their comfort zone that many don’t end up including it in their papers […] but that is easily cleared up by providing guidelines.”[27] The challenge of what students have been conditioned to believe through years of schooling is another reason why combining the introduction of the guidelines with education about the politics of citation, and knowledge production is essential. We encourage instructors to use suggested reading assignments, or conduct an in class discussion to take students where they are in understanding citation practices, and move towards less restrictive definitions of knowledge and expertise. Students are likely to feel some discomfort with such a change, so providing opportunities to ask questions and practice in class are important to give students the confidence and understanding to properly cite themselves. Using in-class writing workshops throughout the writing process, can also provide more apprehensive students with an opportunity to check in with one another and see how others are integrating knowledge they created. A more subtle side of students’ apprehension in using self-citation, is that many struggle to see the value in their own voices. Much of primary, secondary, and post-secondary education teaches students subjugation. The student is often situated as the object of information, and never a subject in communication.[28] Encouraging students to go beyond their roles as the receivers of knowledge to its creators, requires actively engaging with and challenging student perceptions about the value of their experiences and communities. This work can yield students more confident in themselves, and prepare them to do independent, qualitative research work as their schooling progresses, and beyond.
The work we have done here creates a compelling argument for integrating self-citation practices into undergraduate education as well as lessons on knowledge production, and citation politics. However, our study was limited by a fairly small data pool, with feedback limited to instructors from only two universities, and students from one university. Moreover, the student feedback we received came from several courses with reasonably similar subject matter. To better understand the value of the practices we espouse in this article, we encourage our colleagues to pursue further research with larger and more diverse data sets. We are confident that there are many opportunities to expand upon and further support the claims we have made.
One potentially interesting and enriching avenue for further research in this area would be to explore some of the neuroscience behind what makes interviews and personal narratives powerful catalysts for learning and motivating people to act. Some research has been done on the power of personal narratives to change the brain. These studies focused on making effective public service announcements, or charitable campaigns, but researchers have yet to bring these ideas into academia. In one study of storytelling and brain chemistry, emotional stories caused the release of oxytocin in the brain which elicited an empathetic response in listeners. After the stories were told, listeners with higher levels of oxytocin were significantly more likely to make a charitable donation. Not only that, but those who had a neurochemical reaction to a personal story noted feeling more motivated, uplifted, and connected to those around them. If these outcomes hold true in an academic setting, then they form a strong argument for the integration of more educational practices that connect students to personal narratives for learning purposes.[29]
1. Purdue Writing Lab. "Interviews, Personal Communication // Purdue Writing Lab." Purdue Writing Lab. Accessed June 28, 2021.
2. Purdue Writing Lab. "Interviews, Personal Communication // Purdue Writing Lab." Purdue Writing Lab. Accessed June 28, 2021.
3. Van Norden, Bryan W. Taking Back Philosophy: A Multicultural Manifesto. New York: Columbia University Press, 2017.
4. Chakravartty, Paula, Rachel Kuo, Victoria Grubbs, and Charlton Mcilwain. "#CommunicationSoWhite." Journal of Communication68, no. 2 (April 2, 2018): 254-66. Accessed June 29, 2021. Oxford Academic.
5. Baker, Lee D. From Savage to Negro: Anthropology and the Construction of Race, 1896-1954. Berkeley, Calif: University of California Press, 2007.
6. Delgado, Richard. "The Imperial Scholar: Reflections on a Review of Civil Rights Literature." University of Pennsylvania Law Review132, no. 3 (March 1984): 561. Accessed June 20, 2021. doi:10.2307/3311882.
7. Mott, Carrie, and Daniel Cockayne. "Citation Matters: Mobilizing the Politics of Citation toward a Practice of ‘conscientious Engagement’." Gender, Place & Culture24, no. 7 (2017): 954-73. doi:10.1080/0966369x.2017.1339022.
8. Macdonald-Scott, Emma. WWU Instructor Survey on Students Citing Personal Experience(Google Form). April 2021.https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Y09sCn7pizHwPWtxeIzrsTMdTDuh7vPIpJMcsFkA4lw., & Macdonald-Scott, Emma. UW Instructor Survey on Students Citing Personal Experience(Google Form). January 2021. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfWtLqXac_LQlwOZ9sLUVwYIHPZV4yu8ZA3NGt-ZXl7Hf0yxw/viewform?usp=share_link.
9. Friedman, Kathie, and Karen Rosenberg. “Performing Identities in the Classroom: Teaching Jewish Women’s Studies.” Teaching Sociology 35, no. 4 (2007): 315–33. doi:10.1177/0092055X0703500402.
10. ibid
11. Pinedo-Turnovsky, Caroline (Professor at UW) interviewed by Macdonald-Scott, University of Washington, July 16, 2019
12. Pseudonym
13. Friedman, Kathie (Professor at UW) interviewed by Macdonald-Scott, University of Washington, July 16, 2019
14. Kalikoff, Beth (Professor at UW) interviewed by Macdonald-Scott, University of Washington, July 16, 2019
15. Lerner, Neil, Michele Eodice, and Anne Ellen Geller. "The Power of Personal Connection for Undergraduate Student WritersThe Power of Personal Connection for Undergraduate Student Writers." Research in the Teaching of English53, no. 4 (May 2019). Accessed June 2, 2021. ProQuest.
16. International Justice on Trial Students #5,6, & 10, Interviewed by Willard, University of Washington, 2019., Grad Student 1 (Graduate student Instructor using Citation Guidelines) Interviewed by Willard, University of Washington, 2019.
17. Lerner, Neil, Michele Eodice, and Anne Ellen Geller. "The Power of Personal Connection for Undergraduate Student WritersThe Power of Personal Connection for Undergraduate Student Writers." Research in the Teaching of English53, no. 4 (May 2019). Accessed June 2, 2021. ProQuest.
18. International Justice on Trial Student #7, Interviewed by Willard, University of Washington, 2019.
19. International Justice on Trial Student #5, Interviewed by Willard, University of Washington, 2019.
20. Macdonald-Scott, Emma. UW Instructor Survey on Students Citing Personal Experience(Google Form). January 2021. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfWtLqXac_LQlwOZ9sLUVwYIHPZV4yu8ZA3NGt-ZXl7Hf0yxw/viewform?usp=share_link.
21. International Justice on Trial Student #6, Interviewed by Willard, University of Washington, 2019., International Justice on Trial Student #1, Interviewed by Willard, University of Washington, 2019.
22. Mott, Carrie, and Daniel Cockayne. "Citation Matters: Mobilizing the Politics of Citation toward a Practice of ‘conscientious Engagement’." Gender, Place & Culture24, no. 7 (2017): 954-73. doi:10.1080/0966369x.2017.1339022.
23. See course design
24. Thanks to Professor Kathie Friedman for the inspiration and for providing examples of her consent forms.
25. Stern, Mark Joseph. "Groundbreaking Study on Shifting Attitudes Toward Gays Used Faked Data." Slate Magazine. May 20, 2015. Accessed June 28, 2021. https://slate.com/human-interest/2015/05/science-study-that-showed-shifting-attitude-toward-gays-used-faked-data.html.
26. International Justice on Trial Student #7, Interviewed by Willard, University of Washington, 2019.
27. Macdonald-Scott, Emma. UW Instructor Survey on Students Citing Personal Experience(Google Form). January 2021. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfWtLqXac_LQlwOZ9sLUVwYIHPZV4yu8ZA3NGt-ZXl7Hf0yxw/viewform?usp=share_link.
28. Foucault, Michel. Discipline and Punish : the Birth of the Prison. First Vintage books edition. New York: Vintage Books, a division of Random House, 1979.
29. Zak, Paul J. Paul J. "How Stories Change the Brain." Greater Good. December 13, 2017. Accessed February 28, 2021. https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_stories_change_brain. | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Our_Voices%3A_A_Guide_to_Citing_Personal_Experience_and_Interviews_in_Research_(Willard_Macdonald-Scott_and_Lally)/01%3A_The_Guidelines/1.05%3A_Discussion_and_Reflections.txt |
Emily Willard, Emma Macdonald-Scott, and Jake Lally
Our hope is that this idea will continue to be improved upon by other groups and individuals. We recognize that in the last five years of working on the project that new work and interest in this type of work is advancing rapidly. The movement to make education and knowledge production more equitable and accessible to all people is ongoing and the hope is that this is a very small contribution.
The hope is that others will repurpose, reuse, copy and improve these guidelines, or even use the ideas discussed here to create entirely new guidelines.
These were developed and mainly used with undergraduate university students, however it would be important to explore the use of of these guidelines or similar ones for high school students, and graduate students. We provided the guidelines to a small group of graduate students and received feedback from one of the students who used it. Future work could collaborate with graduate students who want to use these guidelines or something similar in their own research and work.
1.07: The Guidelines
Emily Willard, Emma Macdonald-Scott, and Jake Lally
PDF version of guidelines here: Revised Guidelines 5-15-2023
Guidelines to Citing Personal Experience and Interviews in Research
(Updated May 2023)
Purpose: The purpose of this document is to provide students with guidelines on how to cite personal and family experiences in their academic research to allow for the inclusion of more diverse forms of knowledge production.
Scholars are able to include data from participant-observation and ethnographic research methodologies in peer-reviewed publications. The credentials and academic training of the scholar is often what gives this personal, lived experience academic weight and authority. However, what if you don’t have multiple degrees or even a university education? What if you have not been formally trained on research methodologies? Do your personal, lived experiences still have value in academic research?
These guidelines are proposed in an effort to move toward decolonizing the classroom in a practical way by making space for diverse forms of knowledge production by people who have lived experiences in the contexts we study, but also to make space for the forms of knowledge production that students–along with their communities and families–create as valuable parts of their research. Whether or not we have direct experience in a context we study, we all approach our research and study from a specific position or viewpoint. No matter what it is, it’s important to consider who we are and be thoughtful about what lenses we bring with us.
These guidelines explain and provide examples of how to cite personal experience, and the proper structure of the citation, adapted from Chicago, APA, and MLA citation formats. This guide also provides information about how to cite personal interviews/conversations, including the importance of obtaining consent from the person you are interviewing.
Acknowledgements: These guidelines are inspired by Native scholars, and scholars of feminist, critical race, and post-colonial theory…all who in their own way argue for acknowledgement and inclusion of diverse forms of knowledge production, working to dismantle current power structures regarding who gets to produce knowledge and claim it as valuable or not. [See “Additional Reading Suggestions” section for more information.] These guidelines were originally developed for University of Washington LSJ 491 course and have been edited according to feedback from students who utilized them and is a part of an ongoing project with students to further develop these guidelines. Feedback welcome. Contact: Emily Willard, [email protected]
How to Cite Personal Experience
In order to provide a space for more diverse forms of knowledge production, you are able to use your own personal experience as evidence for this assignment, as long as it is properly cited (see format below) and follows certain guidelines. The idea is that information you get from personal interviews, or what you know from personal experience is valid and can be used as evidence to support your argument. Using citations for personal experience and interviews should be a piece of the wider puzzle constituting your argument.
Guidelines: The personal experience you cite should serve as evidence to support your argument or provide background information that adds substance to your paper and is a unique perspective that would not be easily found through other sources. In other words, it is not ok to use personal experience as a “shortcut” to avoid doing research or citing other sources. It is important to avoid sweeping generalizations, and students should only use the citation to speak to the specific experiences. The main idea is that you need to explain your relationship to the information you are using in your paper. You need to explain to your reader how you know what you know.
Examples of not acceptable uses of citing personal experience:
Example 1:
“Poverty is a human rights issue in Latin America.” (Personal Experience mission trip to Dominican Republic, June 2018)
Example 2:
“Transitional justice efforts in Cambodia have been unsuccessful in addressing human rights violations during the genocide.” (Personal experience of visits to Killing Fields Museum in Phnom Penh, and Angkor Wat Temple, Cambodia, June 2018).
Example 3:
“Drug violence is a severe, ongoing problem in Mexico, and is amplified by police corruption and lack of rule of law.” (Personal experience of visit to Cancun, Mexico and reading local Mexican newspapers, March 2018).
These are not acceptable uses of personal experience because:
1) They are overly generalized statements about complex issues, and the student provides no evidence of extensive conversations with people who are directly affected by these issues (for example personal interviews), a deep engagement with the issues at hand, or a close personal relationship to the issues discussed.
2) Their own viewpoints, as they are written, seem to come from disengaged, outside observer, and the way they describe their experience seems to come from a place of relative lack of understanding or knowledge of potentially complex issues. The student does not seem to consider their own viewpoint or position relative to what they are observing.
3) The information cited is widely available in other sources that can better illuminate complexities and details in each context.
Example of proper citation of personal experience:
Example 1:
“Even though many academics and practitioners argue that Guatemala is “post-conflict,” communities continue to suffer from on-going violence and unresolved conflict. Some civil society members argue that the violence is worse now than during the conflict because the perpetrator is not as clearly defined as a result of increasing influence of clandestine, organized criminal groups, and a lack of rule of law.” (Personal Experience human rights monitoring delegation with the Guatemala Human Rights Commission-USA, including meetings with civil society members, government officials, and informal interviews and conversations with people in Guatemala, in June 2018.)
Example 2:
“The emotional and psychological effects of forced disappearance contribute to intergenerational trauma in which generations of family members struggle with the lack of closure and lack of information about what happened to loved ones. When information is released, it can have a profound impact on healing this intergenerational trauma.” (Personal experience as family member of the disappeared in Paraguay, 1980s to present).
Example 3:
“Even 20 years after the end of the dictatorship and the inquiry by the truth and reconciliation commission, Chile remains divided politically between those who supported Pinochet, and those who don’t. For example, some families continue to support Pinochet’s dictatorship, arguing that the human rights violations were worth committing to save the country from economic ruin. Other people continue to mourn the loss of their friends and family, calling for more trials to hold perpetrators accountable for the human rights violations committed by the Pinochet regime.” (Personal Experience, study abroad living with a pro-Pinochet family, and conversations with friends who had family members disappeared, Santiago, Chile, August-December 2017.)
Example 4:
“In the 1960s-70s in the United States, women often had difficulties opening bank accounts, leading to increased vulnerability in domestic violence situations. This was the case because banks required a man, usually either a husband or father, to cosign a bank account in order for women to open one. This challenge was exacerbated for women of color and women who had recently immigrated due to racial discrimination. In some cases, this led to women’s inability to leave abusive relationships and support themselves and their children independently.” (Personal experience of family history in Charleston, South Carolina, USA, 1960s-1970s.)
Example 5:
“During the current political unrest in Nicaragua, people are suffering from a lack of access to food, medicine, and clean water due to roadblocks placed by dissident groups, and also by government rationing.” (Personal experience of visit to Nicaragua in June 2018 and conversations with family and friends in Managua, Nicaragua January – August 2018). [You could also supplement this with quotations from an interview with a specific family member or friend and cite it as a personal interview.]
These are acceptable uses of the citation guidelines because:
1) They are about specific experiences, anecdotes, or pieces of evidence to support an argument, not sweeping generalizations;
2) The specific information shared in the citation is not necessarily easily accessible in other sources;
3) In the cases where the student is a participant/observer, they explain the information presented is based on series of conversations with people directly affected and show their own understanding of some of the complexities of the situation, and their relationship to the information/topic.
Citation format (can be used of Chicago, APA, and MLA)
Use the following structure as footnotes or in-text citation. This should also appear as an entry in your bibliography. You may also be asked to include an annotation to the bibliography entry, explaining in more detail your relationship to the information you cite.
Structure: Personal Experience, [explain briefly what the experience was, how you gained the knowledge]. [Location], [if applicable, date/time-period].
Example: Personal Experience. Study abroad in the Netherlands attended meetings with civil society members and ICC officials, observed ICTY tribunal. The Hague, Netherlands, June-July 2018.
Example: Personal Experience. Growing up with parents who were undocumented immigrants from Somalia. Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1990s-present day.
How to Cite Personal Interviews
You can use the information gained through personal conversations or informal/formal interviews with friends, family, neighbors, etc. However, similar to citing personal experience, the information you choose to use should provide a unique perspective that would not be easily found through other sources and should not be used as a “short cut” to avoid doing other research. If you have a conversation at the dinner table with a family member/family member, cite it as an unpublished interview, using the structures below. If you recall stories over time from multiple family members, or a sort of family history, you may cite that as personal experience of conversations you had with family members over a period of time (see example 4 of how to cite personal experience).
When doing interviews with people who have experienced trauma, ensure that you let them lead the conversation regarding their experiences of trauma, and be sure to use active listening skills and respect their boundaries around what they feel comfortable talking about.
A note about consent: As with all research, it is important to get consent from the people that you interview in order to protect personal privacy, confidentiality, and identity as needed/requested. You should be clear with your interviewee about how you will use the interview material, and if you have permission to use their name. Always remember that the person you are interviewing can change their mind during the interview, and ultimately you need to honor their requests about what you do with their personal information. Use this consent form, and turn a copy of it in with your paper – if appropriate. This may be too formal and legalistic in many cultures or communities, so use your best judgement and whatever is appropriate culturally in the community for obtaining free and informed consent.
If the person is no longer living and you would like to include the information, consider whether or not it would be appropriate to keep their identity confidential. If you are planning to do an interview, please speak to the class instructor first to get more detailed guidance about consent.
How to Cite an Unpublished Interview in Chicago/Turabian
Unpublished interviews are normally only cited in text or in notes, but if you include it an unpublished interview in a bibliography, the citation should include the name of the interviewee, the interviewer, some identifying information if necessary or appropriate, the place and date of the interview, and where a transcript or recording is available if it is.
Structure:
First name Last name of interviewee (identifying information), interviewed by First name Last name of interviewer at Location, Date.
Example: Prudence Bushnell (Former ambassador to Guatemala and Kenya), interviewed by Allison Henderson, New York, NY, July 2014.
Example:
Samprity and Arnab Pal (my great aunt and great uncle who lived in India during the partition and resettlement period of the late 1940s to early 1950s), interviewed by Allison Pal, New York, NY, July 2014.
How to Cite an Interview in APA
APA reference lists only include works that can be found by the reader. As a personal interview is not published or “findable,” it should not be included in an APA reference list. Instead, a personal interview should be referenced as a parenthetical citation. For example: (J. Smith, personal communication, May 17, 2008). If you would like to include a personal interview as part of your APA reference list, then include the interviewee, the date of the interview, and the type of interview. In your bibliography, you would need to include an approximately 75 to 100-word annotation explaining how this person knows the information they shared with you.
Structure:
Interviewee Last name, FI., interviewed by FI. Last name of interviewer(Year, Month date). Interview type .
Example:
López, A. interviewed by E. Willard(2014, July 29). Personal interview
Annotation: Aníbal López is my neighbor who moved to the United States from El Salvador during the 1980s in order to flee from violence during the Civil War. He was a union organizer and involved in public education campaigns in his hometown. Due to the violence against leftist organizers at the time, he feared for his life and the life of his family, so they fled El Salvador and have lived in the U.S. without documentation since that time. Aníbal is a leader in local immigrant rights groups, and owns his own business in Hyattsville, Maryland.
Citing a personal interview in MLA
Personal interviews refer to those interviews that you conduct yourself. List the interview by the name of the interviewee. Include the descriptor Personal interview and the date of the interview. In your bibliography, you would need to include an approximately 75 to 100-word annotation explaining how this person knows the information they shared with you.
Structure:
Last Name of Interviewee, First Name M., interviewed by FI. Last name of interviewer. Type of Interview [Personal Interview, Phone Interview, Skype Interview, etc.]. Date.
Example:
Henderson, Allison interviewed by E. Willard. Personal interview. 24 July 2014.
Annotation: Allison Henderson is an attorney who has worked as a federal public defender for the past 20 years, mainly representing children. She has represented several children who face immigration criminal charges, and frequently visits children being held in detention. Most of the clients she represents are located in the Pacific Northwest, and she has taken detailed notes about her observations of conditions inside the prison. She has worked with local and national human rights organizations to document human rights violations she has observed.
How to Incorporate into Your Paper
For the most part integrating self-conducted interviews should look the same as other pieces of evidence.
Avoid using “I statements” or breaking from the voice of the paper to insert interview information. Instead, draw out specific information from interviews that is relevant to the paper topic and argument you are making. This might also depend on the style of your writing – the main point is to keep it consistent throughout your paper
Avoid over-generalizing the experience of your interviewee or representing their experience as the norm unless you have established that this is true through the support of other sources. Additionally, stay as true as possible to the actual words and intent of interview responses. If you are unsure, it is always better to follow up with your interviewee than to make your own interpretations. Providing a small introduction to your interviewee before discussing the information they imparted can help more seamlessly integrate their contributions.
Example:
“Whenever the perpetrator of mass atrocity is the state, the integrity of that nation’s justice system is compromised, and trials can be used as a tool for perpetrating further injustice instead of alleviating it. This is the case in Turkey, as all trials regarding the conflict have been prosecuting Kurds for breaking extreme nationalism laws. Adar recalls a local bus driver in his hometown being sent to jail for simply playing a Kurdish song (Adar). However, there are more prominent cases of this, perhaps the most famous being Leyla Zana, the first Kurdish woman to be elected to Turkey’s parliament. During her oath to parliament in 1991, she said the required parts in Turkish and then added a….”
Additional Reading Suggestions
• Kishimoto, Kyoko. “Anti-Racist Pedagogy: From Faculty’s Self-Reflection to Organizing within and beyond the Classroom.” Race Ethnicity and Education 21, no. 4 (2018): 540–54.
• Million, Dian. “Felt Theory.” American Quarterly 60, no. 2 (June 2008): 267–72.
• Mott, Carrie, and Daniel Cockayne. “Citation Matters: Mobilizing the Politics of Citation toward a Practice of ‘Conscientious Engagement.’” Gender, Place & Culture 24, no. 7 (2017): 954–73.
• Smith, Linda Tuhiwai. Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples. 2nd ed. London and Dunedin, N.Z.: Zed Books and University of Otago Press, 2012.
• Thomas, Robina Anne. “Honoring the Oral Traditions of the Ta’t Mustimuxw (Ancestors) through Storytelling.” In Research as Resistance: Revisiting Critical, Indigenous, and Anti-Oppressive Approaches, 177–98. Toronto: Canadian Scholars’ Press, 2015.
• Tuck, Eve. “Suspending Damage: A Letter to Communities.” Harvard Educational Review 79, no. 3 (2009): 409–428.
• Vizenor, Gerald. Native Liberty: Natural Reason and Cultural Survivance. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2009. | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Our_Voices%3A_A_Guide_to_Citing_Personal_Experience_and_Interviews_in_Research_(Willard_Macdonald-Scott_and_Lally)/01%3A_The_Guidelines/1.06%3A_Conclusion.txt |
Emily Willard, Emma Macdonald-Scott, and Jake Lally
Anker, Kirsten. “The Truth in Painting: Cultural Artefacts as Proof of Native Title.” Law Text Culture 9 (2005): [v]-124.
Anonymous. (Graduate student Instructor using Citation Guidelines) Interviewed by Emily Willard, University of Washington, 2019.
Baumann, Dianne. “Blackfeet Men, ‘Toxic Masculinity’, and Gender Entanglement.” Doctoral Dissertation, University of Washington, 2019. https://alliance-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/lvbsh/TN_proquest2309529017.
Baker, Lee D. From Savage to Negro: Anthropology and the Construction of Race, 1896-1954. Berkeley, Calif: University of California Press, 2007.
Bishop, Russell. “Freeing Ourselves from Neo-Colonial Domination in Research: A Maori Approach to Creating Knowledge.” International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education 11, no. 2 (1998): 199–219. https://doi.org/10.1080/095183998236674.
Cammarota, Julio, and Augustine F. Romero. “A Social Justice Epistemology and Pedagogy for Latina/o Students: Transforming Public Education with Participatory Action Research.” New Directions for Youth Development 2009, no. 123 (2009): 53–65. https://doi.org/10.1002/yd.314.
Carlie D. Trott, Laura B. Sample McMeeking & Andrea E. Weinberg (2019) Participatory action research experiences for undergraduates: forging critical connections through community engagement, Studies in Higher Education, DOI: 10.1080/03075079.2019.1602759
Chakravartty, Paula, Rachel Kuo, Victoria Grubbs, and Charlton Mcilwain. “#CommunicationSoWhite.” Journal of Communication68, no. 2 (April 2, 2018): 254-66. Accessed June 29, 2021. Oxford Academic
Delgado, Richard. “The Imperial Scholar: Reflections on a Review of Civil Rights Literature.” University of Pennsylvania Law Review132, no. 3 (March 1984): 561. Accessed June 20, 2021. doi:10.2307/3311882.
Emerson, Robert M. “Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes.” Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2011.
Friedman, Kathie, and Karen Rosenberg. “Performing Identities in the Classroom: Teaching Jewish Women’s Studies.” Teaching Sociology 35, no. 4 (2007): 315–33. doi:10.1177/0092055X0703500402.
Foucault, Michel. Discipline and Punish : the Birth of the Prison. First Vintage books edition. New York: Vintage Books, a division of Random House, 1979.
Gerring, John. “Social Science Methodology: A Unified Framework.” Strategies for Social Inquiry. Cambridge ; Cambridge University Press, 2012.
Hall, Stuart. “When Was the ‘Post-Colonial’? Thinking at the Limit.” In The Post-Colonial Question: Common Skies, Divided Horizons, edited by I. Chambers and L. Curti, 242–60. New York: Routledge, 1996.
International Justice on Trial Students #1, Interviewed by Emily Willard University of Washington, 2019.
International Justice on Trial Student #5, Interviewed by Emily Willard, University of Washington, 2019.
International Justice on Trial Student #6, Interviewed by Emily Willard, University of Washington, 2019.
International Justice on Trial Student #7, Interviewed by Emily Willard, University of Washington, 2019.
International Justice on Trial Student #10, Interviewed by Emily Willard, University of Washington, 2019.
Kalikoff, Beth (Professor at UW) interviewed by Macdonald-Scott, University of Washington, July 16, 2019
Kindon, Sara, and Sarah Elwood. “Introduction: More than Methods-Reflections on Participatory Action Research in Geographic Teaching, Learning and Research: Participatory Action Research in Geographic Teaching, Learning and Research.” Journal of Geography in Higher Education 33, no. 1 (2009): 19–32. https://doi.org/10.1080/03098260802276474.
Kishimoto, Kyoko. “Anti-Racist Pedagogy: From Faculty’s Self-Reflection to Organizing within and beyond the Classroom.” Race Ethnicity and Education 21, no. 4 (2018): 540–54.
Kovach, Margaret. Indigenous Methodologies: Characteristics, Conversations and Contexts. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2009.
Lerner, Neil, Michele Eodice, and Anne Ellen Geller. “The Power of Personal Connection for Undergraduate Student Writers The Power of Personal Connection for Undergraduate Student Writers.” Research in the Teaching of English53, no. 4 (May 2019). Accessed June 2, 2021. ProQuest.
Macdonald-Scott, Emma. WWU Instructor Survey on Students Citing Personal Experience(Google Form). April 2021.https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Y09...vPIpJMcsFkA4lw., & Macdonald-Scott, Emma. UW Instructor Survey on Students Citing Personal Experience(Google Form). January 2021. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfWtLqXac_LQlwOZ9sLUVwYIHPZV4yu8ZA3NGt-ZXl7Hf0yxw/viewform?usp=share_link.
Million, Dian. “Felt Theory.” American Quarterly 60, no. 2 (June 2008): 267–72.
Moses, Robert, Mieko Kamii, Susan McAllister, and Jeffrey Howard. “The Algebra Project: Organizing in the Spirit of Ella.” In Critical Studies in Organization and Bureaucracy, edited by Frank Fischer and Carmen Sirianni. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1984.
Mott, Carrie, and Daniel Cockayne. “Citation Matters: Mobilizing the Politics of Citation toward a Practice of ‘Conscientious Engagement.’” Gender, Place & Culture 24, no. 7 (2017): 954–73.
Pinedo-Turnovsky, Caroline (Professor at UW) interviewed by Macdonald-Scott, University of Washington, July 16, 2019
Purdue Writing Lab. “Interviews, Personal Communication // Purdue Writing Lab.” Purdue Writing Lab. Accessed June 28, 2021.
Rifkin, Mark. Beyond Settler Time: Temporal Sovereignty and Indigenous Self-Determination. Durham: Duke University Press, 2017. http://site.ebrary.com/id/11333890.
Simpson, Audra. “On Ethnographic Refusal: Indigeneity, ‘voice’ and Colonial Citizenship.” Junctures: The Journal for Thematic Dialogue, no. 9 (2007): 67.
Smith, Linda Tuhiwai. Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples. 2nd ed. London and Dunedin, N.Z.: Zed Books and University of Otago Press, 2012.
Stern, Mark Joseph. “Groundbreaking Study on Shifting Attitudes Toward Gays Used Faked Data.” Slate Magazine. May 20, 2015. Accessed June 28, 2021. https://slate.com/human-interest/2015/05/science-study-that-showed-shifting-attitude-toward-gays-used-faked-data.html.
Stoler, Ann Laura. “Colonial Archives and the Arts of Governance: On the Content in the Form.” In Archives, Documentation, and Institutions of Social Memory: Essays from the Sawyer Seminar, edited by Francis X. Blouin and William G. Rosenberg. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2006.
Strega, Susan, and Leslie Brown, eds. Research as Resistance: Critical, Indigenous and Anti-Oppressive Approaches. Toronto, ON: Canadian Scholars’ Press, 2005.
TallBear, Kim. “Standing with and Speaking as Faith: A Feminist-Indigenous Approach to Inquiry.” Journal of Research Practice 10, no. 2 (2014).
Thomas, Robina Anne. “Honoring the Oral Traditions of the Ta’t Mustimuxw (Ancestors) through Storytelling.” In Research as Resistance: Revisiting Critical, Indigenous, and Anti-Oppressive Approaches, 177–98. Toronto: Canadian Scholars’ Press, 2015.
Tuck, Eve. “Suspending Damage: A Letter to Communities.” Harvard Educational Review 79, no. 3 (2009): 409–28. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.79.3.n0016675661t3n15.
Tuck, Eve, K. Wayne Yang, and Rubén Gaztambide-Fernández. “Citation Practice Challenge.” Critical Ethnic Studies, April 2015. http://www.criticalethnicstudiesjournal.org/citation-practices.
Van Norden, Bryan W. Taking Back Philosophy: A Multicultural Manifesto. New York: Columbia University Press, 2017.
Vizenor, Gerald. Native Liberty: Natural Reason and Cultural Survivance. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2009.
Zak, Paul J. Paul J. “How Stories Change the Brain.” Greater Good. December 13, 2017. Accessed February 28, 2021. https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/art...s_change_brain | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Our_Voices%3A_A_Guide_to_Citing_Personal_Experience_and_Interviews_in_Research_(Willard_Macdonald-Scott_and_Lally)/01%3A_The_Guidelines/1.08%3A_Bibliography.txt |
Emily Willard, Emma Macdonald-Scott, and Jake Lally
Important Notes:
• Some of the hyperlinks in syllabus may not work because they are linked to private webpages for class discussion.
• The original syllabus from the year prior when the course conversations highlighted the need to create this citation guide. During this year, the citation guide was created and introduced mid-course for students to use in their final papers. See this original syllabus here: SYLLABUS – LSJ 491 International Justice on Trial – Autumn 2018 FINAL
PDF version of sample syllabus here: Syllabus LSJ 491 International Justice on Trial 2019 FINAL
Full text version of sample syllabus below:
LSJ 491: International Justice on Trial
Autumn 2019
Course Introduction
This class will examine human rights civil and criminal trials at the domestic, transnational, and international levels, focusing specifically on how trials can be used as a tool of transitional justice and advance human rights, as well as the limits of trials in achieving justice. Topics explored will include the principle of universal jurisdiction, the right to information, immigration fraud cases, and what types of evidence present the strongest cases, among other topics. We will also consider alternative approaches to justice, drawing on Indigenous studies, and other non-Western ideas of what justice is and how to achieve it. Students will gain an understanding of these issues through various case studies of disappearances and massacres in Latin America, and genocide in Rwanda and Bosnia, and immigration fraud trials in the United States. This course meets the LSJ seminar and “rights” subfield requirement and serves as a writing credit.
The goal of the class is expose students to the variety of ways that judicial proceedings can be used to address human rights violations in attempt to achieve a sense of justice. Students will also be able to deeply interrogate the concept of justice itself, considering a multitude of ideas about what justice even is, and the strengths and limitations to using civil and criminal judicial proceedings to achieve these forms of justice.
Students are encouraged to think through the concept of justice, what justice means, and to whom. Students will analyze strengths and weaknesses of the international and state-level judicial systems, as well as explore alternative approaches to justice. This course is not designed to point you to any one “right” answer, but to provide you with tools to engage critically in the world around you, and to develop your own ideas and opinions.
Regardless of your political orientation, class background, profession, religious or ethnic identity, or citizenship status, you are welcome in this class. Please let me know how I can best foster an environment in which you feel comfortable participating as much as possible. Ideas of justice and how to address mass atrocity, human rights violations, and genocide are some of the most difficult questions our society faces, and I do not believe any singular (political, cultural, ethnic, or occupational) group holds the answers for how to solve them. We need a variety of voices and perspectives to join the conversation, and I will do my best to facilitate an open discussion, though I need your participation to help make this happen.
Requirements and Grading Policy
All students are expected to attend class meetings, complete all assigned readings, complete weekly online prompts, write a final paper, and participate actively in discussions in class.
Required readings
All readings are available through the class Canvas site in the “files” section. You do not need to purchase any materials for class. There is a reading guide nearly every week to help you practice your comprehensive reading skills. The idea is that you don’t need to read every word of every reading – the most important thing is that you understand the main arguments and concepts in each reading. If you can answer the questions on the reading guide, you will likely have gotten the main points. Developing smart readings strategies is an important skill to learn that you can take into your future, especially as you take more advanced undergraduate courses, and especially if you go to grad school.
Grading
Your course grade will be assessed as follows: 10% participation in class discussions, 20% for weekly writing prompts based on course readings; and three written assignments for a total of 70%: role play essay 15%; a first draft of research paper 25%, and final draft of research paper 30%.
Each of the written assignments are out of 100 points and will follow a rubric provided with the prompt. The discussion sessions (one each class period) and weekly prompts are out of 10 points each.
For each of the three major written assignments, you will be graded based on the rubric, according to accuracy of content, and quality of content in your writing. We will review the rubric for each written assignment in class before it is due, and you will receive a copy of the rubric when you get your assignment back so you know how you earned the grade you got, and how you can make improvements.
10% of Grade: In-Class Discussion
To get full credit, you must participate in class discussion. Aim to share at least one thoughtful comment per class period. This is a discussion seminar! It is understood that people have different communication skills, so I will offer a variety of ways to participate, including large group and small group discussion and quick writes, but it is your responsibility to speak up. If you have concerns about this, please speak to me. I will post grades on canvas at the end of every week so you can track your grade.
20% of Grade: Weekly Reading Responses
Each week, students will be required to respond to a prompt about course readings on the canvas discussion page and include a question they had about the readings. Students must submit the reflection and question(s) by10am the day of class, unless otherwise noted. Please pay attention to word count requirements for each prompt, they vary. To get full credit, you must include a word count at the end of each prompt.
These are relatively short and informal papers (500 words) in which you are invited to reflect on the readings and course themes. You should NOT summarize the readings, unless the question asks you to; it’s safe to assume your reader will also have read them. What I want to know is what you make of them. Late response papers will not be accepted.
When a prompt refers to the “How to read an academic paper” Schema, it is referencing THIS which we review the first day of class. If you don’t understand or are unclear about how to fill this out, see me BEFORE it is due. If you cannot access canvas for whatever reason, email me your response to the weekly prompt. “Canvas was not working” is not an excuse to turn weekly assignments in late. “I didn’t understand” is also not an excuse. Do your best and we will review everything in class. Copying each other’s work is not tolerated. If you copy each other’s reflection assignments, you are cheating yourself out of a learning opportunity.
15% of Grade: Role Play Essay Assignment
This is a role play activity in which you take on a persona from a Latin American country that we have discussed and answer a series of questions in 1000-1200 words. The entire prompt will be posted in canvas at the start of the course. You will do a very short (3 minute) group presentation summarizing the variety of perspectives discussed in your group (you will be grouped with other people assigned your same persona). You don’t all have to agree, no audio visual, and very informal! The idea is just to give the rest of the class what you wrote about and discussed.
• On Wednesday, October 9th, you will be assigned a persona in class.
• Monday, October 21st, you will have time in class to prepare your group presentation, and work on your written assignment.
• Wednesday, October 23rd, the written assignment is due in hard copy, and you will present (with your group) to the class for 3 minutes (this goes toward your in-class participation for the day).
25% of Grade: Rough Draft/Plan for Final Paper Assignment
Due Monday, November 11th at 11:59pm via canvas You must have your topic approved ahead of time, due via canvas by 10/29. You should not wait until this time to begin. You should be thinking about your topic and researching from the beginning of class.
You must write an at least 1000-word plan (either draft or substantive outline) for your final paper assignment that includes the following (consider this a grading rubric, it must have each of these components):
• Identification and brief summary of selected case (ideally this would be the introduction to your paper).
• What is your main argument? (What is your answer to the central prompt question?)
• What pieces of evidence do you anticipate using to make this argument? (Provide at least 5 pieces of evidence.)
• What are your preliminary (brainstorming) ideas for alternative approaches to justice?
• What additional sources will you use, specific to your case? (Provide at least 5 annotated bibliography entries.*)
This rough draft can be in the form of an extended/detailed outline or an actual draft of your paper. For the outline, it needs to include all of the parts mentioned above. If you are doing the actual draft option, it should have the points mentioned above, but incorporated into the draft. This is supposed to be helpful for you. If you are having trouble figuring this out, or have questions ask me. There is room for flexibility depending on your writing process. Let’s talk.
You may also use the “how to read an academic paper” schema or an “outline” format to help you plan out your paper.
*An annotated bibliography summarizes the main points, research question, and conclusion of the source, and explains how it relates to your own argument. If you have more than five sources in your bibliography that’s great! You only have to do annotations for five of them.
30% of Grade: Research Paper
DUE 12/10 at 4pm in LSJ office in hard copy, Smith Hall M253 ( You may turn your final paper in earlier if you would like, please just make arrangements with me ahead of time.)
Final Paper Assignment 3,500 words (approximately 10-12 pages double spaced) answering the following two-part question:
1. To what extent do the use of criminal and/or civil trials in achieve “justice” in human rights cases?To answer this question, you must choose one case study* and explore the strengths AND weaknesses of the use of criminal and/or civil trials in this case. You must make a solid argument about the effectiveness in using criminal and/or civil trials in order to achieve justice in this case. In order to make a solid argument, you need to define what you think justice is, you need to argue your viewpoints, but you also need to identify and refute the arguments of the other side will use in making its own case.
2. Secondly, Are there approaches to achieving justice beyond criminal and civil trials that you believe could be effective? What recommendations do you make? This should address the weaknesses you identified in use of criminal and/or civil trials. You should identify alternatives discussed in class and think creatively about other ideas. You should use primary sources and secondary sources as evidence to make your case.
Do not count your footnotes or bibliography in the word count. For the final draft of your paper, your bibliography does not need to be annotated.
*You cannot choose Rwanda, Guatemala, El Salvador or Bosnia as your case study as we’ve discussed them in class, unless you want to deeply explore an aspect we have not discussed in class and conduct additional research on this other aspect – see me for approval of your final paper topic. Possible topics include: Cambodia, Sudan, Syria, United States, Argentina, Chile, Honduras, Northern Ireland, Iraq (see Samantha Power’s book “A Problem from Hell: America in the Age of Genocide.” for other ideas). You must submit your topic for approval no later than October 29th. You may submit it earlier.
You may select a topic that you have personal or family connection to, and you may use personal experience and/or personal interviews in the assignment. If you chose to do this, you need to follow the Personal Experience and Interviews Citation Guidelines HERE. Please let me know if you have questions or want to discuss this further.
SUMMARY OF IMPORTANT ASSIGNMENT DATES:
• – Wednesday, October 9th – persona assigned in class (for role play assignment)
• – Monday, October 21st – in-class workshop for role play assignment
• – Wednesday, October 23rd – role play assignment due in class & informal group presentation
• – Tuesday, October 29th – Paper topic due via canvas by 11:59pm
• – Monday, November 11th – Rough Draft/Plan of final paper due via canvas by 11:59pm
• – Wednesday, December 4th – In-class paper workshop
• – Tuesday, December 10th – Final Paper due in hard copy in LSJ office, Smith Hall M253
Additional Notes
Course Material: Some of the material presented in this class may be disturbing. It is impossible to come to grips with the human rights history of the Americas without delving into accounts of torture, rape, and other violent acts. I understand that this can be particularly difficult for survivors of trauma. If you have been diagnosed with PTSD, you may want to consult an instructor for advance warning as to which readings, lectures, and films might include material you may find triggering. Please feel free to approach me about these concerns.
Class Bulletin Board: On canvas, there is a general posting board for you to share interesting, course-related information with your classmates. You can share events, news articles, resources, inspiring stories, links to movies or questions for your fellow classmates, for example.
Getting in contact with me: while Canvas may have a feature to send messages, I don’t always get a notice if you send me a message, so the best way to contact me is by email: [email protected], or to come see me in office hours
Word counts: Assignments are given in word count requirements; you must include a word count at the end of each assignment and try to stay within the general vicinity of the range. Points will be taken off if you do not include a word count. It is important for academic and general life skills to be able to write concisely and clearly and follow instructions.
Citations: You must always provide citations for information and words that are not your own ideas, including primary and secondary sources, as well as class discussions. You must choose a citation format and use it consistently, including page numbers. If you do not know how to cite a particular source, please consult me, or a reference librarian. You can use footnotes OR in-text citations with a bibliography.
If the assignment/information is related to your own personal experience, or the experience of your family or close friends or neighbors and you would like to use that information in your writing, please see the detailed guidelines for citing personal experience and interviews HERE. If you are unsure about how to use these, or would like to discuss this further, please come talk to me.
Missing Class and Assignments: I do not take attendance (it is against UW policy), but there will be an in-class participation grade for each class session. In the event that I do use slide presentations, they will not be to the detail that I speak about in person, so you should make sure you talk to a classmate about getting their notes. This is a discussion seminar so most of the content of the class will be discussion-based and not a lecture. I may however provide short lectures at times.
As stated above, you cannot make up in-class participation except for extremely extenuating circumstances like personal or family emergency. If you miss class, you are responsible for knowing the material that was discussed. It is strongly encouraged that for whatever reason you plan (or don’t plan) to miss a class or assignment, you email me (or any professor) prior to the class or deadline, let them know and ask if there is a way to make alternative arrangements – this is an important way that you can advocate for yourself, especially if you and/or your family are experiencing a crisis or emergency.
If you need an extension on an assignment, please let me know as in advance as possible. I will try to work with you, but please do not take advantage of my good faith attempt to be accommodating and giving you the benefit of the doubt. That’s disrespectful to me, and to your classmates who work hard to make deadlines. If you need an extension due to personal or family emergency, please speak to me as soon as possible so we can work something out. If there are ongoing health issues, it is recommended that you consult Disability Resources for Students (DRS) to make formal arrangements.
Outside help: While each student must turn in unique assignments, representing only their own work, and plagiarism will not be tolerated, talking to a classmate about their ideas is encouraged, as is seeking guidance from the writing center to ensure you are expressing your ideas as clearly and strategically as possible.
Extra Credit Opportunities: You can sign up to give an Inspiration Presentation (IP) see guidelines HERE. You will get an added 10 points to your participation grade for completing this (counts as one class period of discussion).
OR you may also sign up to give a current events presentation. They are the same as the IP guidelines, but need to be on a current event item that related directly to class material (international human rights trials or other non-trial pursuits of justice). Please get this topic approved before presenting.
You must email me to sign up for your presentation, available slots are first-come-first-serve. You can see the signup sheet and which slots are available on the designated discussion board HERE on Canvas.
There may also be other opportunities to attend events on campus throughout the quarter, announced by email and in class.
Resources
For help researching your long paper, please visit Emily Keller the Human Rights librarian at the UW library. For more information and to make an appointment with her, see: http://guides.lib.uw.edu/research/emkeller
Any student who has a need for special accommodation(s) in this class should contact the Disability Resource Center http://depts.washington.edu/uwdrs/ and/or speak with me privately to discuss the specific situation.
The UW Counseling Center offers free and confidential short-term, problem-focused counseling to UW Students who may feel overwhelmed by the responsibilities of college, work, family and relationships. Counselors are available to help students cope with stresses and personal issues that may interfere with their ability to perform in school. To schedule an appointment, please call 206-543-1240 or stop by 401 Schmitz Hall. More information, including information about additional low-cost resources, is available at: http://www.washington.edu/counseling/
If you are concerned about yourself or others, contact SafeCampus: “The SafeCampus team is here for you. Tell us what’s going on and we’ll figure out how to best address your concerns. We work with campus partners to keep our community safe. If you’re scared or unsure what to do, call us.” Phone number: 206-685-7233. Online: https://depts.washington.edu/safecamp/
Course Outline: Assignments and Readings
All readings are available on Canvas under course files, and via links on the syllabus. All audio visual materials are provided as links on the syllabus. Students are not required to purchase any texts for this class. You should bring a copy of the readings to class to reference during discussion. Paper copy is ideal, but electronic is also permitted, though if it appears that people are doing other things with their electronic devices, they will be prohibited during class time.
*Weekly assignments and readings subject to change. You will be notified of any changes through canvas, email, and/or announcement in class.*
WEEK Zero: Course Introduction
9/25: Introduction & Discussion Activity
Readings: none
Weekly Learning objectives: Meet classmates and instructor, learn how to read academic texts, prepare for course requirements and expectations, understand syllabus, and “citing personal experience and interviews” for final paper.
WEEK 1: What is justice and why are trials important?
10/2: What is justice?
Assignment: Reflect on weekly readings and discussion. See canvas for prompt. Due 10/2 by 10am on canvas discussion board.
Weekly Learning objectives: critical analysis, demonstrate understanding of basics of concept of justice, and trials as a mechanism of justice.
WEEK 2: Civil versus Criminal– How to Achieve Justice?
Readings:
10/9: Criminal Trials
Assignment: “How to read an academic paper” Schema, fill out for Sikkink and Taylor readings. Due 10/9 by 10am on canvas discussion board.
Weekly Learning Objectives: Understand the difference between civil and criminal approaches to human rights issues; think critically about concept of justice and how criminal and civil cases address it differently. Demonstrate understanding of concept of “justice cascade.”
WEEK 3: Domestic Trials
10/14: Guatemala Genocide Case
Readings:
Recommended Reading: Center for Justice and Accountability “Justice in Guatemala”
10/16: United States – Immigration Fraud
Readings: News media on immigration fraud cases
Recommended reading: United States vs. Muyenyezi court decision (2015)
Assignment: Assign Role Play persona on 10/14 in class. See reading response prompt on canvas.
Weekly Learning Objectives: critical thinking about what justice is, and from perspectives of perpetrators, family members, victims, international community, and bystanders.
WEEK 4: Transnational Human Rights Cases – Trials in a Global Political Context
10/21: Case study of the Jesuit Case – Universal jurisdiction
Reading: Roht-Arriaza (2005) The Pinochet Effect, preface and Chapter 1
10/23: Are Perpetrators Savages?
Reading:
Assignments: Role Play activity workshop in class on 10/21.
Role play essay due on 10/23 in class, and short, informal group presentation on assignment.
See brief reading response prompt on canvas, due 10/23 at 10am.
Weekly Learning Objectives: critical thinking about what justice is, and from different perspectives, reinforce justice cascade
WEEK 5. Genocide Tribunals: International Courts of Justice or Injustice?
10/28: ICTR, ICTY, ICC and their limitations
Reading: Watch the following Tribunal Voices interview excerpts and pick at least 5 additional ones to watch. (They are short, almost all are 2 minutes or less.) Available from: http://www.tribunalvoices.org/voices/
Read the following, short article: Humphrey (2003) “International intervention justice and national reconciliation the role of the ICTY and ICTR in Bosnia and Rwanda”
Submit final paper topic for approval, via canvas on 10/28. Start working on the rough draft of your paper now!
10/30: Genocide Trial in the U.S.A?
Reading:
Recommended Reading: Review the Interior Salish curricula website here: http://www.interiorsalish.com/home.html
EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITY: Attend the talk by Philip Deloria at 7:30pm in Kane Hall (prior registration required) See more info. HERE.
Assignment: See short reading reflection prompt on canvas.
Weekly Learning Objectives: Gain an understanding of international criminal court and tribunals, think critically about what justice is and how these international mechanisms achieve justice or not, and for whom. Consider the role of the United States government as perpetrator of Genocide and what justice might look like in this case.
WEEK 6: Access to information – The FOIA, Declassified Documents, and evidence in cases of forced disappearance
11/4: Cases of forced disappearance
Reading: Kovras (2017) Grassroots Activism and the Evolution of Transitional Justice, Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 (pgs. 84-126)
Recommended Reading: Kovras (2017) Grassroots Activism and the Evolution of Transitional Justice, Chapter 3
11/6: Access to Information & Justice in Guatemala
Readings:
Assignment: Reading Response, see prompt on canvas. Due 10am 11/6.
Weekly Learning Objective: Gain an understanding of the relationship between the crime of forced disappearances and access to information. Opportunity to speak with the film-maker Ana Lucia Cuevas via video chat.
Rough Draft/Plan for Final Research Paper Assignment DUE Monday 11/11 at 11:59pm on canvas.
WEEK 7: Evidence – Documents and Eyewitness Testimony
11/13: Eyewitness Testimony & Knowledge Production
Reading:
Assignment: See prompt on canvas. Please bring the assignments to class for further discussion, in hard copy. Turned in for credit at the end of class.
Weekly Learning Objective: Able to critically engage declassified government documents, and understand how both documents and eyewitness testimony can serve as evidence in human rights trials.
WEEK 8: Evidence – Satellite Images & Maps
11/18: Satellite Images
Readings:
Recommended Reading: Hamilton (2011) “U.S. Opposition to International Criminal Court in 2004-2005 Held Up Peacekeeping, Slowed Justice for Genocide Perpetrators”
11/20: Maps
Reading: Anker (2005) “The Truth in Painting: Cultural Artifacts as Proof of Native Title” – excerpt (pgs 145-166) (full article HERE optional)
Assignment: See prompt on canvas – bring hard copy to share with class.
Weekly Learning Objective: Understand the role that satellite images and maps can serve as evidence in human rights trials. Challenge ideas of what kinds of evidence are “more true” than others.
WEEK 9: Evidence – DNA
11/27: Thanksgiving Holiday – No Class!
Assignment: Work on final paper. No reading response this week.
WEEK 10: Returning Archives & Land
12/2:Returning Archives and Land
Recommended Reading: Tuck and Yang (2012) “Decolonization is not a metaphor”
Extra Credit: Write a reflection on the Tuck and Yang reading of approximately 250 words. Do you agree with them about returning land? Why or Why not? Turn in via canvas – see prompt. You will get an extra 10 points toward your reading response grade. If you have a perfect score, it will get added on top, helping your overall grade.
12/4:In-class paper workshop
(see canvas for more information)
Assignments: No reading response this week.
Final Paper: DUE Tuesday 12/10 at 4pm in LSJ office IN HARD COPY, Smith Hall M253. | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Our_Voices%3A_A_Guide_to_Citing_Personal_Experience_and_Interviews_in_Research_(Willard_Macdonald-Scott_and_Lally)/02%3A_Classroom_Tools/2.01%3A_Sample_Syllabus.txt |
Emily Willard, Emma Macdonald-Scott, and Jake Lally
Note: Usage of this consent form is not necessarily appropriate in all contexts and situations and my vary by culture. Use your own best judgement, knowledge, and experience about what is the most appropriate and ethical way to gain consent from the person you are speaking with. The main goals of consent are that: 1) the person understands that you may or may not be doing an audio recording, or taking notes during the conversation; 2) how you plan to use the information the person shares; and 3) if the person wishes to be identified, and if so, how, as well as if they wish to remain unidentified/anonymous. It is also a good idea to make sure the person has your contact information or a way to get in touch with you if they have any questions post-interview.
PDF version of consent form available here: Interview Consent Form (September 2019)
INTERVIEW CONSENT FORM
My name is ________________________________________ and I am a student at the University of Washington. I am participating in a course where we are studying international human rights and justice. Students in the class are given the option of interviewing people that have personal experience related to their research topics as a part of our learning experience.
Your name and other identifying information will be kept confidential—only my professor and I will know it. You may hear in advance the list of questions I will ask you, and you may choose not to answer any question you wish. I would like to record the interview because it is easier to follow your story and get it down right if I don’t have to take notes and ask questions at the same time. However, if you prefer, I will not record. Do I have your permission to proceed?
Yes, you may proceed and record the interview__________________
No, you may not record the interview__________________________
If you agree to this interview, please fill out this form so that I may provide verifying information to the professor who is teaching the class.
Respondent’s Name_____________________________________
Email Address _______________________________________
If you need more information about this project, you may contact my instructor, Emily Willard at the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington. You can reach her at [phone number] and [email protected].
Thank you very much for agreeing to participate!
2.03: Course Design
Emily Willard, Emma Macdonald-Scott, and Jake Lally
The importance of the guidelines is, in part, rooted in the lesson of the guidelines, so the way that they are introduced is impactful. Feel free to take or leave any parts of this outline to fit your class. Keep in mind during discussion that the two primary goals of the guidelines are to integrate a wider variety of perspectives into academic writing/research, and to connect students personally and actively to their work/subject matter. Try to make clear connections to specific course subject matter, and introduce the guidelines early on in the class calendar to provide time to find interviewees.
Reorient the classroom: if possible arrange desks in a discussion circle, or find a way for students to be able to see each other rather than only the instructor
Name the dynamic: It may help some students feel more comfortable participating to explicitly state that the goal of the discussion will be for students to learn from each other. The instructor will guide the discussion rather than lead it.
Begin the discussion by meeting students where they are. These questions should help students understand the value of expanding citation practices before learning how to implement them.
1. What have you learned through your schooling about what gives a source value or makes it credible in academia?
2. What is the purpose of citing, and what does formally citing a source say about that source?
3. What is “truth”? Who determines what “the truth” is? Is it possible to have more than one truth?
4. When writing research papers how much value do you think your personal experience has?
5. If you have personal experience with a topic or know someone who does, how comfortable would you feel integrating that information into an assignment/project?
6. Do you think scholarly standards limit the number or variety of voices which can be heard on X topic we are discussing in class?
7. How do you think X topic could benefit from the voices of those who potentially lack formal or official credentials, but which might otherwise give their voices scholarly value?
8. What hierarchies can you observe within citation practices?
Introduce the guidelines to the class. Read through the ‘How to’ section together and take time to show examples of appropriate and inappropriate use, ask students, and discuss: what distinguishes them?
Check in: Ask students about their interest in using, and initial reactions to the guidelines.
Get critical:dive into questions and criticisms (understanding potential problems is crucial to understanding proper use).
• What problems could potentially arise from expanding citation?
• How is information from non-traditional sources integrated into assignments?
• How are non-traditional sources introduced and identified? Are they treated differently than peer-reviewed sources? Why or why not?
Talk about Positionality:
1. Example: What potential problems might arise if a white student were to study abroad in S. Africa and write a paper discussing apartheid?
2. If a white student did want to write about a study abroad trip to South Africa, how could they incorporate their own experience into a paper about aparthied that takes into consideration their own positionality?
3. What questions can we ask ourselves in order to ensure we are staying critical of our position as researchers if we are discussing the experiences of a community that is not our own?
1. How does my identity affect the way I experienced a situation or how an interviewee responds to my questions?
2. How might my past experiences impact the way that I am interpreting a situation?
3. Imagine a third person perspective, and question where you might be over-extrapolating/reading into things versus communicating the actual concrete words of your interviewee.
4. STAY CRITICAL – and ask for second opinions
4. If we are basing evidence off of our own experience how can we ensure that we are not over generalizing or speaking for an entire community based on individual or narrow experience?
1. discuss the role of supporting data/evidence – personal citation is meant to enrich your argument, make the information personal and nuanced, but to complement other sources – this does not however mean that they have to agree with one another.
Review interview best practices sheet and consent forms
Activity:
1. Have students break into small groups (4-6 people)
2. Brainstorm – get everybody on the same page- What are some topics in which you could use your own experience or know of someone whom you could interview to enrich discussion of that topic? Write down an idea or a few then share with group.
3. Each group shares one idea with the class – poll the other groups: Does this work?
4. Each group chooses an idea to flesh out further:
1. come up with a quote, real or made-up that could be used as evidence for your idea
2. Write a single paragraph embedding the quote or the sentiment of the quote
3. Properly cite the quote using the guidelines
5. Groups can share their work with the class again for feedback
Summarize today’s lesson, ask the class for feedback, and ask if there are questions
2.04: Interview Best Practices
Emily Willard, Emma Macdonald-Scott, and Jake Lally
PDF version available here: Interview Best Practices.
Interview Checklist
❏ Introduce yourself, explain why you chose your interviewee (a little flattery always helps break the ice), and your overall goal in interviewing
❏ Provide an estimate of interview duration and ask if there is a hard cut off time
❏ Explain who will have access to the information obtained in the interview.
❏ Review and provide consent form for signature
❏ Ask if it’s ok to record the interview
❏ Let your interviewee know they can break or stop at any time, and there are no wrong answers.
❏ Ask how they feel about everything and if there are any questions before beginning
Interview Best Practices/ Helpful Hints
➢ Ask for show and tell or bring photographs/objects that can aid the conversation
➢ Come prepared with questions, but listen to your interviewee – engage their responses, and try to make the discussion conversational whenever possible
➢ Take Notes!
➢ If a response is abrupt or unclear, inquire: “Can you tell me more about that?”
➢ Show interest
➢ Gain context with questions like: ‘How typical do you think that was? | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Our_Voices%3A_A_Guide_to_Citing_Personal_Experience_and_Interviews_in_Research_(Willard_Macdonald-Scott_and_Lally)/02%3A_Classroom_Tools/2.02%3A_Consent_Form.txt |
Emily Willard, Emma Macdonald-Scott, and Jake Lally
The following are notes written by Emily from course evaluations from the three courses where the guidelines were used. They were used in the two years Emily taught “International Justice on Trial” and the one summer she taught “Human Rights in America.”
Below are excerpted quotes from responses to questions Emily put on the evaluations. The course evaluations were required for each course and the instructor had the option to add questions in addition to the required questions about the course. This question was added to evaluate the use of the citation guidelines in each of the three course evaluations:
Was it helpful to allow for citing personal experience and interviews in your assignments? Are there ways to improve this?
See responses below.
__________________________
Notes from Evaluations
Course: LSJ 2018
N = 21 Students out of 23 participated in evaluation
This is the first time the guidelines were used, emerged organically mid-course during discussions particularly when talking about eye-witness testimony, the challenges of what is presented in declassified documents, and Gerald Vizenor’s reading on 4th person.
Suggested Improvements:
1. Preface/warning about interviewing people who have experienced trauma.
Quotations:
“I think this form of citing allows individuals who have partaken in certain forms of justice, or have experienced the injustice first hand a platform for sharing their information. I think this type of citation is helpful for making the paper even more meaningful for some people, which may lead to overall better quality of papers.”
“It was helpful because it allowed me to expand my idea of what qualifies as evidence and it tied directly into the conversations we were having in class. I really appreciated that the professor noted how it would be hypocritical to discuss this and not allow us to cite our own experiences because it really legitimized her arguments and the discussions we had in class.”
“I appreciate the fact that the professor is trying to disrupt our traditional understandings of what evidence looks like.”
“I thought it was a really profound idea, and just having it as an option felt right and follows a theme of this class about exploring more open-minded ways to understand truth and evidence.”
“I think the best way to learn is by doing and tying in one’s own experiences with the course content is crucial for maintaining knowledge.”
“It wasn’t personally helpful, but I’m sure it could be for someone with experience that relates. I also think it was very forward thinking after learning about knowledge production.”
“Personally, I do not have life experiences that are very applicable for my paper or are more valid than opinions from scholarly sources. I think this form of citing allows individuals who have partaken in certain forms of justice, or have experienced the injustice first hand a platform for sharing their information. I think this type of citation is helpful for making the paper even more meaningful for some people, which may lead to overall better quality of papers.”
“Yes, especially the interviews were helpful to be able to cite since we did them in class. I will not be using personal experience in my paper but I think it is a really cool thing to be able to include given the topics in class.”
“Yes it was. I feel like not a lot of us have had personal connections to people effected by the topics we chose to right about.”
“I personally won’t be using personal experience on the final paper, mostly because I am unfamiliar with doing so. However, I appreciate the fact that the professor is trying to disrupt our traditional understandings of what evidence looks like.”
“Even though I may not cite personal experiences, it is helpful because it allows for the writer to be more entrenched in what they are writing. It is hard because a lot of this is based on trust; however, the professor built up a great reputation with her class and I feel as though we all respect her too much to take advantage of her trust.”
“yes! I think its great to be able to include personal experience, those are some of the best conversations!”
“I didn’t site personal experience or interviews in the final paper.”
“This didn’t personally apply to my paper, but I thought it was a really profound idea, and just having it as an option felt right and follows a theme of this class about exploring more open-minded ways to understand truth and evidence.”
“Yes it is, I think the best way to learn is by doing and tying in one’s own experiences with the course content is crucial for maintaining knowledge”
OWN [Emily’s] REFLECTIONS:
Talk about neighbors, (examples?) encourage people to realize the value of voices of people are in our communities. (people talk about this: “feel like not a lot of us have had personal connections to people effected [sic] by the topics we chose to right [sic] about.”
__________________________
Notes from Evaluations
Course: LSJ 2019
N = 19 Students out of 25 participated in evaluation
This was the second time that the guidelines were used in the course, after considerable editing of the guidelines, and were introduced from the beginning.
Suggested improvements:
• Make expectations more clear
• Need to work more on how this is applicable to everyone in the class
Quotations:
“Yes, I think that is a valuable thing. It is important to watch out and ensure that people don’t use it as an opportunity to do no work however. Just make expectations of how citing personal experience should be clear.”
“I think it was helpful and allows for the class to learn from different peoples experiences as well as expand their own perspectives on subjects.”
“Didn’t affect me”
“Yes, however, while they provided a clear place to consider the opinions and interpretations of those around us, they were not always very practically applied to the assignments.”
“I don’t really have any relevant personal experience or interviews so I have no opinion on this”
__________________________
Notes from Evaluations
Course: HRLA (Human Rights in Latin America) Summer 2018
N = 20 Students out of 21 participated in evaluation
This is the first time the guidelines were used in this course, Human Rights in Latin America. This class was taught by Emily during the summer. The course was developed by Dr. Angelina Godoy and Emily adapted the course and introduced the guidelines for students to use in course assignments, but they were considerably different than the LSJ assignments and course. There were not as deliberate conversations about knowledge production. .
Quotations:
“Although I did not do this I think it could add a lot of value to a person’s work if they wanted to do this”
“Yes, this was, it allowed for deeper meaning and connection especially when talking about real-life events.”
“Yes it was. It made the concepts very palatable, and easier to remember when we could apply them to our own lives, or find personal examples, or hear personal examples from classmates.”
“Yes it was super helpful and insightful because we were able to learn more about the experiences that other went through.”
“ Yes, I think when you are allowed to make personal connections, the assignment itself has a greater meaning”
“ It did not matter to me because I do not really have any personal experience about the content” | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Our_Voices%3A_A_Guide_to_Citing_Personal_Experience_and_Interviews_in_Research_(Willard_Macdonald-Scott_and_Lally)/03%3A_Open_Data/3.01%3A_Course_Evaluation_Notes.txt |
Emily Willard, Emma Macdonald-Scott, and Jake Lally
The following are notes taken when Emily interviewed students following the first use of the citations guidelines in the class “International Justice on Trial” taught in Autumn Quarter of 2018. The interviews were conducted via telephone in January of 2019 after the end of the quarter and after grades had been turned in and distributed to students. Emily obtained informed consent from all of the participants for her to take notes and use the information shared in this ongoing project to improve the guidelines. Emily also obtained consent to anonymously use excerpts of the students’ papers in future publications or presentations. The notes have been anonymized to protect student privacy. These notes include both questions asked and responses.
___________________
Interview Questions with Selected Students
Summary:
Number of students Interviewed: 10
Number of students who used personal or family experience: 2
Number of students who used personal interviews: 3
Students who used neither: 5
I spoke to all of the students who used personal interviews/experiences. I selected the students who did not use the guidelines by those with whom I had more of personal relationship, i.e. those that came to officer hours, that spoke to me at length about their papers during the course, and engaged readily in class discussion. A limitation of this is that it would also be important to talk to the students who were less engaged to try to better understand why.
Who used the citation:
Student #1 (personal experience)
• What was your family experience, why did you choose to cite it? Why did you not cite it more specifically? How did (?) this affect how and why you wrote your paper?
Student #2 (personal family experience)
• Why did you choose to cite your family experience? How did this affect how you felt about your work on your paper? How did (?) this affect how and why you wrote your paper?
Student #3 (personal interview)
• Why did you choose to do the interview? (had you already done it or did you do it for the paper?) How did this affect how you felt about your work on your paper? How did (?) this affect how and why you wrote your paper?
Student #4 (personal interview)
• Why did you choose to do the interview? (had you already done it or did you do it for the paper?) How did this affect how you felt about your work on your paper? How did (?) this affect how and why you wrote your paper?
Student #5 (personal interview)
• Why did you choose to do the interview? (had you already done it or did you do it for the paper?) How did this affect how you felt about your work on your paper? How did (?) this affect how and why you wrote your paper?
Who didn’t use the citation but could have (known personal experience based on student sharing):
Student #6
• Why did you not cite your personal experience/interviews for this paper?
• Do you have any suggestions for improvements to the guidelines?
Who did not use the citation and didn’t (to my knowledge) have personal experience related to their paper topic:
Student #7
Student #8
Student #9
Student #10
• Did you know you could cite personal interviews for your paper?
• Why did you not cite your personal experience/interviews for this paper?
• Can you imagine a situation in which you would cite your personal experience/interviews? What would it look like?
• Is there a way to make you more likely to do it?
• If you had the opportunity again in the future would you consider doing it?
• Do you have any suggestions for improvements to the guidelines?
Interview notes with the students:
Student #2
Why did you choose to cite your family experience?: “don’t want to make broad statements without evidence unless you back it up. People don’t have personal experience in the articles we read – reference through my eyes, and how i interpret it, i can make the case in my paper.” The stuff I did cite through family experience is not what you would find in academic papers, important to represent how I experience the world because of my background.”
It was really helpful – creating a dialogue, but then this is my own voice if I didn’t have source. Would have had to cut out a lot of my paper because I didn’t have source. Went on trip and family told me thinks
Times in life you learn a lot of things, some of the best perspectives you’ve ever heard, you don’t always remember, not always learn through academia.
How did this affect how you felt about your work on your paper? Made my work more my own. Instead of reiterating everything I’m reading in the articles. Instead of just retelling, making my own point. No one else could be credited with portions of my paper because it came from me. Could use own voice. Not worried about personal – seeing the world.
How did (?) this affect how and why you wrote your paper? Yes- the topic I chose is related to what I care about
If i couldn’t use my own personal experience I could have chosen any topic and it didn’t make any difference.
Did you research differently? – no still had to find unbiased research to make my points, in discussion I was able to look at the research I had found, but then in discussion I was able to use my own points.
How to make better? Sheet was helpful, between confused own personal interpretation versus event that occurred. Directly cite I had gone somewhere, learned info from people on a trip. How interpreted world because of who I am and my experiences – broad how interpreted the world through my own personal experience. Because of my family – should have shortened it – personal experience. In-text citations – confusing?? Event vs. outlook on the world.
Student #1
Why did you choose to cite your family experience?
I chose to cite it because I could convey – it felt better that i could cite what I know and personally instead of someone else’s source to back it up. Validation for own experience. Liberating to cite something and be your own.
How I know about it – more my family exprience not personal experience, didnt feel comfortable going into detail about something I didnt know as well. Part of who I am and how i grew up but didnt feel comfrotable sharing details.
How did this affect how you felt about your work on your paper?
It felt really weird at first because you’re not supposed to do that. It was satisfying to be able to use that. Not just “oh you made that up.” valid in using it.
How did (?) this affect how and why you wrote your paper?
No – if i didnt have that option, I would have gone and looked for another source – a good example that I understood well. Easier and nice to use my own rather than have someone else validate it.
Did you research differently?
I still wanted to keep my research as much as possible by using academic sources, and original people’s experience, and outside sources, it helped balance things out by being purely academic versus purely bibliography (own experience). I read a book a book about a guy who was there who lived it. Way to bring the two together.
How to make better?
It felt a little weird ethically to cite something that I had no way to backup – since high school and middle school, you are taught to always have a source for something. I feel like I have to be really careful – it could be something very easily abused – Why I chose to not use too much.
Did you think about doing interviews with family members? No – Sensitive subject. If you can’t interview, because people have passed away or sensitive. Events – intergenerational impact, not just the generation who directly experienced it, but generations after. Physical impact research [family experience can be good way to represent if people passed away or you can’t do interviews]
Suggestions: addressing ethical dilemma (too strong) recognizing fine line between legitimate personal experience and pushing the envelope
I’m a big believer in citations, and backing it up, it was difficult. Just knowing how much we can push and where to stop. Chose to be more conservative, concern about pushing too far.
At this point people are here because they care and they understand – we need a good foundation for it, it could be really productive.
Student #3
Why did you choose to do the interview? (had you already done it or did you do it for the paper?)
Had done the interview for a previous class, revisited the relationship, in put on paper. Original assignment for immigration class, interview someone and write report. Wanted to use it in this paper, doing that first interview really sparked interest, done a few things related, wanted to incorporate it again. Picked paper topic based on interest sparked by interview.
How did this affect how you felt about your work on your paper?
Made it more personal, made me more interested in the subject matter because I knew someone who it was directly affecting.
How know – dad worked with him, coworker, Dad had told me stories of this person. I was talking my project, then you have to – larger network of community.
[maintain relationship over time] – He was a leader in co-ethnic community in seattle community – he put me into contact with larger seattle community, introduced to whole other world with one project.
How did (?) this affect how and why you wrote your paper?
It made me feel like i needed to be more careful, didn’t want to misrepresent the person and the situation. Because i decided my paper topic on this previous interview. Wrote my paper around his input, based it off on his opinion and viewpoints – using interview as foundation for paper and developing arguments out of it.
Did you research differently?
No – only maybe driven by interview, as opposed by a research question. Topic or a region – broadly all kinds of things about that topic and region, see how project question fits in with the research I do.
Family: Don’t have interesting story – lots of travel interested in history and culture – interact with lots of culture and people from different places, I could integrate experience or interactions. In order to make research more full.
Internship class for LSJ we had to write issue topic paper about our internship, I picked writing about domestic violence advocate. People who I worked with. Cited the same way – not something they said explicitly, but cited in the same way.
Suggestions/improvements:
Required thing for another class. – some problems of accessibility – more guidance, provide people.
It made the project more personal, more interested, taking the original class – really sparked my interest, developing relationships with other people. Opened me up.
If not able to use? – I wouldn’t have selected South Sudan as the topic. But would have found a way to make it personal.
Student #4
Why did you choose to do the interview? (had you already done it or did you do it for the paper?)
At some point I could write about the Kurdish, excited to have the opportunity to do interview. Grew up with Kurdish friends from where I grew up.
Academia likes to take responsibility – deconstruct colonial inequalities, historically done a big part of upholding it – diminish people who experienced it – doesn’t value the voices of people who lived it, puts more value
Interviews by western authors, studied extensively – got most fruitful and well-round opinions from the people who lived it, versus
First hand experience most biased = least biased – turkey is a group a variety of different peoples, complex and nuanced problems – why Turkish government would have done these things
Dismissing country as nationalist, Orientalizing “they are just backwards”, flattened this whole huge country – really is much more nuanced and historical. genocide, Armenian genocide. Far enough removed – 40 years ago, degree from country halfway around the world. If scholars are serious about breaking down colonial barriers, include, uplift, and trust the voices of people who have experienced this first hand.
Had a hard time writing this until I had a second more in-depth interview
How did this affect how you felt about your work on your paper?
I felt like it made my paper stronger, it pushed me past the point of being far removed, got me closer to the subject.
How did (?) this affect how and why you wrote your paper?
Would have been less interested. Not as strong. He did say something crazy, not sure if take it as a fact. International business collude with Turkish government – profit off of this conflict. Everyone else is suffering, actual Turkish government is suffering. Outsourcing labor, drives down dollar – I couldn’t find that anywhere online.
Looked for other Kurdish authors – kurdishproject.org, found similar things – scholarly articles from Kurdish Turkish articles, people are still being marginalized, not access to higher education, can’t share their voices.
This one woman took the oath for parliament, added sentence in Kurdish, and almost put her in jail. Esteemed politicians cant actively engage in culture – why can’t find good scholarly articles, why didn’t find academic articles because people are afraid to write about it.
Pretty sure he was saying what was true, hard to corroborate, could have done more interviews. How do you credit it? What is credible.
In college assigned a topic – grown up with family friends, having conversations, ever since high school – started to get a more academic view – helped choose what kinds of questions to ask. Build on existing community relationships.
Did you research differently?
Would have talked more about nationalism and more about the historical implications falling of ottoman empire. After interview more modern, global economy. Shifted how wrote paper.
Learned a lot of interesting things how conflict with ISIS is affecting Turkey problem. ISIS only cohesive group in the ISIS area were Kurds – US general admiring Kurds in fighting ISIS, were able to collect as an adhesive group across this region. Turkey then bombed Kurds – cared more about Kurds gaining support instead of ISIS.
Would have only done Turkish nationalism.
Good using grassroots website, leader of PKK, writing from prison for 50 years, head of the movement.
I could write 10 more papers – there is so much! International relations, global economy. Undergraduate research symposium ?? could keep using this topic in future papers.
If not able to use? What would you have done?
Own personal or family experience? What would that be like?
I would write about my family or community. What should write recommendation about for study abroad – women’s rights, eastern Europe – can relate more to that regional area. Think about how I want to bring this into my career, see if I want to live abroad, international legal education. All of college, human rights issues.
Suggestions/improvements:
Problem – imposter syndrome – how to do it. Never done before nervous. Favorite examples of good interviews. Documentaries, read essays with personal interviews, how to incorporate into paper – how someone wrote it into the paper. Writing examples – more from college people.
Student #6
Why did you not cite your personal experience/interviews for this paper?
I felt like after researching a lot and knowing a lot more about the entirety of South Africa in the Western Cape was not legitimate enough, not feel confident. Even the time I spent there, it was immersive but I didn’t travel outside.
Didn’t want to make sweeping generalizations,
Specific conversations? Spent time in prisons and communities – very impactful – would have wanted when data is coming up about townships – doesn’t represent what is going on in townships.
Conversations that I had were so specific, would be hard to weave in – had a problem being a white woman going in the places, didn’t have peoples’ words in my mind – way i was treated was different.
Own experience? – one thing now I’m thinking about – one on one with strangers – they were acting a different way around me, even strangers from with a different country.
People I was friends with – could actually explain how people would view you. Some way could give experience.
Don’t want to make this about me – or misrepresent people’s ideas.
Different in upcoming visit to prepare for future papers?
Makes me hesitant, here is “truth” report back – South Africa was a land of complete contrasts, 5 min drive and experience totally different land, – so many different worlds in this tiny place, I would like to go and notice, more geographically aware. More observant, would be more confident of visual contrasts, further travels, geographical lines, racial segregation, know where I am better observe.
Now that I have pretty substantial relationships, solidify relationships, deeper, more comfortable around me, more honest. Cool to have this more of a foundation – I know these people. Talking in prisons. Importance of building relationships.
How to address own authority – more examples of possible ways that experience could be cited – initially thought one-on-one, at events, in rooms, uncomfortable, making it about me – other ways examples, alternative observations. And that people want to hear – where people from that country could read it – glad that the person said this, as opposed to people being like – what’s this person making a commentary about this land.
I genuinely – with it could be a 30 page paper – so much research so much knowledge and so much to say – to best represent I wanted it to be all encompassing – I would feel more comfortable adding own personal experience – ton of scholarly research, court cases, after doing all of that, then weave in interview and personal experience.
Place them pretty well in the paper – would have to make sense with whatever scholarly pieces either supplement academic or counter it.
Frustrations I had – searching very specific places – if this was happening in the US, there would be an activist pursuing this area and bringing attention – still there is a clear division of people, not a lot of mixing. Researching prisons -largest cases attention is given to crazy white people, but white people make up 3% of the prison – 6 murders, nothing to sensationalize 10 murders, not newsworthy.
Lack of access to information of alternative narratives because of ongoing systemic oppression.
Never wanted to research before, but this quarter was the first time – there isn’t enough – wrote three papers.
Suggestions/Improvements:
Examples, on how to give your information but be able to frame things in a way that is most sensitive, as a white person from US, I would always from refrain from saying “in my experience” – my experience is not worth talking about over someone’s experience who lived it – if I did have something, what it looks like adding into a paper, wording it – let the reader know, I had this experience, also, it is different.
I think this is really cool, for people who have come from historically oppressed or disenfranchised, reclaim knowledge production, ability that maybe haven’t always been the leading voice, in own people’s history or history in general, for them to be able to talk about their experience and validated in a really legitimate way, really cool for production of knowledge. Changing power dynamics.
Student #10
Did you know you could cite personal interviews for your paper?
FaceTime we used in class call – check – yes – didn’t think – was using documentaries, you hear people’s personal stories, I’m not interviewing, rather than personal interviews. Access to resources, reaching out to people, I didn’t think of reaching out. Besides the class, the only time you are encouraged to use personal experience is in a personal reflection paper. Discouraged from using it, depends on course and what professor requires. General experience – writing papers within argumentative and research – you say “I” – factual evidence (personal experience) versus personal opinion – if you are using your own personal experience it can be factual, can be impacted own opinion/perspective. How i am interpreting it – can make that fact. Depends in academia, if we lose sight of personal stories because you want things that are factual based – you are weary of what you are using – good sources of evidence – personal stories are so powerful, I’ve never thought i should interview a person. What makes the guidelines important, never had someone cite personal interviews and experience – it depends who you’re writing to. Makes a paper much more powerful. More passionate.
Context of perspective. Important to ground
Access to documentaries are much easier, lack of efforts.
Apartheid – been to South Africa – effects if you have directly have a personal understanding. I’ve been there. Spoken about after effects – how the public feels about the effects of apartheid. Talked to a lot of people.
With family – topic – my grandparents – fought in WW2 – their experience, a subject – happening in the US. generational perspective from a bystander who doesn’t have background information, if you could interview different generations. Are all they all seeing it the same way or differently.
Why did you not cite your personal experience/interviews for this paper?
Can you imagine a situation in which you would cite your personal experience/interviews? What would it look like?
Is there a way to make you more likely to do it?
If you had the opportunity again in the future would you consider doing it?
Do you have any suggestions for improvements to the guidelines?
Acceptable versus not acceptable – where knowledge production is coming from – giving context
How you can do it, what makes it not acceptable – clarify what this is more – could be deterred if not clear. This is not acceptable (include why it’s not) even with just one. ….. What to know why each one is not acceptable to be more clear.
Lots of examples are good.
Student #5
Why did you choose to do the interview? (had you already done it or did you do it for the paper?)
Conversation, not as much an interview. Interview did – with roommate, a year and a half – told life experiences, really interested. Would just tell anecdotes, roommate knew about paper, roommate offered, thought it was cool chose paper topic. Had some questions, asked roommate for permission, became into conversation.
What made you pick paper topic?
Personally have taken classes in HR, didnt know much of what was going on in middle east, why, why had never heard about it, wanted to learn academically. Easier for me personally to understand, we just read harvard articles, scholarship so impersonal. Saw that i had a personal connection. In media, hear about seria and yemen, dont hear about region.
When asked to use scholarly sources, asked to focus on is the abstract, the author’s thesis, they are trying to answer some question about some particular topic. When i was thinking about researching looking at articles in library databases, why are we focusing on one specific argument when there are so many other factors going on in the situation. When focus on question or answer, hard to find useful information. A lot of classes, forced to sift through all these questions and theories, very specific to authors own field of study – difficult for me, didn’t really find academic articles useful, not focused on broader context including personal experiences.
Really stuck with me admittance of testimonies in court, personal experiences typically taken with a grain of salt, instead of “expert witness” – great some of the time, but a dynamic of expert testimony taken much more heavily, more significance from people who
Why reading all of these articles while someone is personally willing to talk about these experiences, more qualified.
Another problem doing scholarly articles, they weren’t focused on specific group – tried to lump Yazidis compared with Syria, not individual experiences of people who had faced that type of oppression. Different political interests, layers, – but roommate just talked about her experience, wasn’t aware of different groups, we needed to get out.
Scholarly articles too analytical, more impersonal. Missing human impact. It is exclusive, articles had never done interviews with people. Had zero connection with people, never travelled.
How did this affect how you felt about your work on your paper?
By using the guidelines made me feel compelled to do a better job. It made me feel bad reading about it, after i finished interview, who am i to write about this – own positionality. Made me feel weird to write about someone else’s experiences. If i had never done the interview, i would have taken political analytical take. After interview, made me feel a little lost, what am I actually write about. If i wasn’t able to use interview, i wouldn’t have had a deeper understanding. I wouldn’t have sought out for other sources.
Gave you an opportunity to push yourself – crazy after paper – reflected back on other papers, wait a second, why did i never seek out a interview source before. Annoyed at self, why did other professors not consider this? If included a personal account, would not have been accepted, would have asked for an academic source. Made me feel bad. What other papers could I have use this sources.
I never thought I would think about this – it is hard to talk about in class. We talked a lot in class about debriefing struggling with understanding why you are doing human rights work, why studying. Personal interviews, gave the option. One hard for me to deal with personally, but a better understanding of what is happening in the world. Not just purely academic sterile stuff.
How did (?) this affect how and why you wrote your paper?
Own history/community/family?
Just applied to LSJ major, used in my application, a personal experience. Worried about admissions committee, they are going to think I’m being dramatic. But i used personal experience to classwork. Thought about applying in the fall, looking back at old draft, I didn’t use personal experience in fall application. I felt more comfortable, generally, comfortable in personal experiences in formal academic settings. Subconsciously a thing, in applications now, more able to cite personal experience, i know about this because x, y, z.
You have something of value to add. Yes I do have authority to speak on this. Personal experience to talk about other things. Who is to say this isn’t valid. Scared, if I use this does it invalidate other personal experiences.
Gets you to think about your own position. Does have validity, plays into education.
Evaluated on GPA, but what we learn purely in course. If you have something that has changed your life and you learned a lot, don’t think this can be dismissed. Education beyond GPA. Decolonizing, respecting different forms of information.
Suggestions to improve:
Unsure how much to cite. Academic sources you’re supposed to paraphrase or use direct quotations. Not sure how to write this in a paper. How to incorporate direct quotes – examples. Even people we skyped in classes. Giving examples. How literally write that out. We’re not used to writing about personal experiences. Actual writing part. Especially citing, like with last names, how to incorporate interviews. Awkward to write. Formal vs informal citing personal interview.
Really excited because the conversation we had in class, in courtrooms, how different people’s voices are respected, the formal place of a classroom – dialogue of people’s experiences.
Student #7
Did you know you could cite personal interviews for your paper?
No – didn’t occur to me but when introduced. Didn’t occur to me because it is ingrained in my writing not supposed to use I statements, because it detracts from your argument. First person talk takes away from what you are trying to argue. If i used my own experience would detract from my argument, or not be considered as credible. Academic writing. Feels unnatural. Haven’t done in other classes. Or flat out written to talk about your experience. Never for a research paper.
Why did you not cite your personal experience/interviews for this paper?
It was a topic i felt invested in because I had been reading in the news. The severity of the situation that I felt i could add to my argument. Not being Filipina, doesn’t touch on people and community you know. Personal experiences in class – felt like I couldn’t add. Too disconnected. No neighbors or friends.
Even if I did have something I could connect to, something Seattle based, would be hard to want to include personal experience. Emotional that makes it hard to = easier that I care about, instead of super connected, it would be hard for me to write objective. Sometimes you do want a bit of distance.
For me personally, I would have a hard time interviewing people. Even though that’s not = I also don’t really have anything in my life that I could brought into life. Something that people could bring it in personally – there are few avenues where you can use experience to educate people, allowing students to use personal experiences as an opportunity that can rationalize circumstances, way of coping, processing further understanding your own life.
Can you imagine a situation in which you would cite your personal experience/interviews? What would it look like?
My mom is the one in my family who is the breadwinner – my dad has been the stay at home dad, cooks etc. could see myself talk about this.
Mental health – being in Seattle experiences – people otherwise not having the outlet – talk about it in an analytical academic way. Interesting outlooks. Full time student. Entering the real world. Value in having an actual experience. More credibility sharing story, connects to narrative of who someone is. When you are trying to make a point. This helped shape my way of viewing the world. Making the point more clear because it is my experience. Own positionality to what you’re writing about.
Is there a way to make you more likely to do it?
Would you have changed paper topic – may have changed, but it’s hard to say. Would have done research to see what I could relate to. Sister was in peace corps in Tonga. Had been reading a lot
If you had the opportunity again in the future would you consider doing it?
Do you have any suggestions for improvements to the guidelines?
Intimidation – going back to the beginning of the conversation – knowing how its not common place for me as a writer to bring in personal experiences, to know its an option, unchartered territory, incorporating into other readings, show examples, make a point of showing examples of how a person brought in personal experience. Some books, media and articles, but more explicit connection of how you can do this effectively.
From the get-go, that we can do at the beginning
Struggling with how we are taught to write. If you have something that will benefit your writing that will support your argument.
Start earlier from earlier education
Especially when not comfortable, need a template. Hard because you need to know what to share what not to share. How to connect, cohesive – could be intimidating – how to actually structure it in a way that’s effective.
Student #9
Did you know you could cite personal interviews for your paper?
Irma Alicia – what motivated to use in paper – find another source to support the point I was trying to make. A person who has gone through a direct experience of loss of justice and their own path, it was validating more so than a secondary.
In secondary sources, we put pressure to be void without feelings because we don’t to have bias, but then when you are talking about such as a human rights violation and genocide, how cannot have feelings and not incorporate individual emotions. The paper becomes more biased, it loses a quality that doesn’t seem right.
How did this affect how you felt about your work on your paper?
I was trying to find a good source of evidence – it goes back to who gets to tell the story. I am the one with the pen and the paper, how do represent the marginalized voices and population. Makes you more conscious and aware of your contribution but also the experience people have gone through are real, strips all vulnerability and don’t see human element.
In order for human rights, in order for people to recognize its important, you have to make it relevant, and meaningful, or otherwise its just another UN treaty that people wouldn’t bother to research or make critical evaluations.
Why did you not cite your personal experience/interviews for this paper?
Don’t know anyone, if I did would be about Thai people perspective. Didn’t know where to reach out.
Can you imagine a situation in which you would cite your personal experience/interviews? What would it look like?
Why not do research topic in Thailand. – war on drugs relevant to me at that time, other paper the year before on war on drugs, have conversation with family. This was way of saying what I think.
News watch and conversations you are having.
It would depend on the topic, if I felt I had something to say. I would be more weary about putting myself in than other people. When we write formal and critical papers, it is taboo to write about ourselves. I would try to incorporate more personal voices. More comfortable with neighbors, other people’s voices.
Is there a way to make you more likely to do it?
If you had the opportunity again in the future would you consider doing it?
Do you have any suggestions for improvements to the guidelines?
Everything was very straightforward and clear
Is it important, it is so lost, something we are not taught at all. We don’t know how. When you are not encouraged to do so, not told the option, you are not given guidelines, it is deterring.
You have to be careful. When it is a mix of secondary and primary. Doesn’t detract from credibility. Important that you are just as critical when choosing the primary sources, looking at the motivations behind the arguments, what institution is representing. Even if a personal experience, you should be weary of same thing. Deep context.
Student #8
Did you know you could cite interviews in your paper?
yes
Why did you not cite your personal experience/interviews for this paper?
Topic I was writing about did not have personal experience, a country that was in Africa, I’ve never been there, or the continent, didn’t come from a place of having personal knowledge. Was going off of testimony that people had formed, didn’t know anyone in immediate surroundings, may have been but none that i knew of.
Also when it comes to interviews, i am going to be conducting a lot of interviews, comfortable with the idea, school system, i came from a high school that was very into writing, all types of formats and properly cite the sources. The opportunity to talk to people about personal experiences was never really an option. We were never assigned something that made us something that made us use those personal connections. Even though i knew i could have, it was a foreign concept because I’ve never done it.
If you had known someone would you have done an interview.
I want to say yes, but I would probably have not done it. If there is a power-play when it comes to interview. You asking someone for their time, you have this power, but I am someone who depending on the situation, if i am in a place of power, I will ask. When it comes to school assignments, who am i to conduct this interview, answer this questions, take time out of their day, when they are doing me a favor. If a neighbor, someone who was a friend or an acquaintance – but during the time doing the paper, I would have reached out and I didn’t have the personal connection feeling comfortable enough to ask, and not in a position of an authority.
In terms of this interview you’re my professor – terms of power. Not a huge deal. Or not my professor. Could have been different. Had I not known you, not feel comfortable.
Example of this interview, since you were professor, you have a position of authority, professor/student. If it had happened during class time, either way wouldn’t have been an issue. If i was conducting an interview and I did not have power, less incentive of the person on the other side for not wanting to do the interview. Student versus student – someone who holds power, professor, legislator, i would feel at their will beck and call, would make me opposed the interview. Even though i am conducting, i feel i am below them, i am a “nuisance.” I dont have the right to conduct, i don’t have power over them. Not legitimate request because of the power differential, a low priority. Or ask about someone’s personal experience and then using them. Don’t have the power to leverage not worth my time, don’t want to impose your power, not obligated, other side of the spectrum, you have no power so you don’t want to even ask.
Personal relationships are key – if interviews were more accepted, that could potentially helped. If they were more common in the education system, if it was common practice, maybe we as a society would feel and understand. It is common. This makes sense as to why you would want to interview.
Personal experiences aren’t always seen as valid as they should be not seen as reliable sources in current societies – catches you off guard, why asking for an interview. Is it worth your time or my time – common practice more acceptable, oh yes, makes sense why you would want to interview me. Worth time and energy.
Research is not based on people, based on scientific reasoning when its face to face contact, so used to getting information from scholarly source, all the stories started with a person. No ones used to. Culture of what is valid knowledge.
Not know how to go about, and not having anyone to interview.
Can you imagine a situation in which you would cite your personal experience/interviews? What would it look like?
Yes – as I briefly glanced over – I have to write a paper for the internship about legislation – I didn’t have to choose a topic of interviewing.
I can see using my experience and those of other peoples. I have to do it, but i want to because will add a depth to the assignment, will give it a more personal touch. If i were to write a paper on topics that is impersonal it is attached, it is important to.
Is there a way to make you more likely to do it?
If you had the opportunity again in the future would you consider doing it?
Do you have any suggestions for improvements to the guidelines?
Our class did a good job, others might now – you came in with the idea of other people’s experiences main graded aspect, paper was assigned well in advance, if we were able to choose a topic and take into account our personal experiences, and who we might be able to interview, who use as an academic source, similar assignments, dive deep and get passionate, encompasses it full, and then spring it on you and then you have two weeks.
Would be difficult to get a source to interview. Putting a time restraint would be difficult. They are doing you a favor by doing an interview, and they cant do it for three weeks, you have to turn in the paper missing a really good experience. Interviews highly sought after, professors love when you can get interviews, but they don’t assist you in the process. They don’t tell you how to do conduct an interview, or how to give one, or give you time to do so. No one can utilize.
Knowledge production – talked a lot in class how research starts as a story, all articles books scholarly sources and peer reviewed articles started out as a story somehow, how they are often viewed in a better light than personal experiences because we value what is on paper than what is currently happening or has happened in someone’s life. A teacher might say it doesn’t count as a scholarly source. What we find a lot in universities, we started moving out of using any source, into you have to have 10 source, 7 of them must be be peer reviewed. Odd because there is this gap in people’s minds that an article stems from someone personal experience, but it’s different. How personal experiences don’t count
Creating this power dynamic where students feel like they can’t use certain research because its not valid and it deters them from utilizing other forms of research when a university doesn’t really allow it. Weird because universities will train you to write a certain way that is very impersonal, and detached from reality because it is so based in writing we aren’t taking into account personal aspect. All this big idea that is hard to pinpoint.
Presenting with me – whose project is it? – shared experience – people be part of the project, a very interesting aspect – more personal experience.
See how people at the universities react to it. I do wonder if teachers/professors would think that verbal testimony is that important. Someone lied during an interview. Or student potentially taking advantage, making up an interview, was midnight and had to turn something in. students would be interested. What people think at national level, certain kind of writing is correct. We write a paper because it’s not how someone else would have written it or gone about researching it, not fair, it is devaluing work we put into it. Asking people how you think about – we don’t think about it, how certain information is prioritized more than others, do studies more on the national studies at the national level, personal experiences in writing and research- acceptability, not peer reviewed if not valid, harming how we see things, there is so much emphasis on checking your sources that is correct, the point that we have lost connection to making sure that what we include, not the whole story. It is off putting from a very statistical point of view, not personal – all research has to be detached, and more important than research that is deeply involved.
Scary and important, takes a lot more work to do an interview, and to tell you story or have someone tell their story.
Prioritizing hierarchy – Harvard, vs local community college – who put more effort into their study, Harvard study was more legitimate, the name of the university, the aspect and prioritize – | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Our_Voices%3A_A_Guide_to_Citing_Personal_Experience_and_Interviews_in_Research_(Willard_Macdonald-Scott_and_Lally)/03%3A_Open_Data/3.02%3A_Notes_from_Interviews_with_Students_%28.txt |
Emily Willard, Emma Macdonald-Scott, and Jake Lally
The following are notes taken when Emily interviewed students following the second use of the citations guidelines. They were used in the course “Human Rights in Latin America” taught in Summer Quarter of 2019. The course was designed by Dr. Angelina Godoy, and adapted by Emily for this Summer Quarter. While the “International Justice on Trial” had a single large research paper, this course had three smaller assignments.
The interviews were conducted via telephone in the summer of 2019 after the end of the quarter and after grades had been turned in and distributed to students. Emily obtained informed consent from all of the participants for her to take notes and use the information shared in this ongoing project to improve the guidelines. Emily also obtained consent to anonymously use excerpts of the students’ papers in future publications or presentations. The notes have been anonymized to protect student privacy. These notes include both questions asked and responses.
Summary:
Spoke to 3 students. Student #1 used the guidelines, students #2 and #3 did not use it.
Interview with (student #1) – HRLA Summer 2019
Could you remind me of how and for what assignments you used it?
Last one, and second one. Roommate was going to the store we were speaking Spanish and getting looks at Target. Flight or fight – do you want to argue. If someone did say something, would have said something back. Evidence for argument or counter argument. Other – person from Yakima, valid point of view. Where she lives next to a big lot where people park RVs, where ICE was with trucks and uniforms, could see from her doorway.
Why did you choose to do the interview/personal experience? (had you already done it or did you do it for the paper?)
Strengthen the argument – to give a real-life perspective. Not happening anonymously, we can read about something happening in Europe but if there is no real live examples. I am going to take it as the news, but I won’t have the connection – empathy and sympathy to give more attention. Pathos aspect – emotional aspect of argument. Give some humanity.
How did this affect how you felt about your work on your paper?
It felt better because I had more substance to the paper. Humanity to it. Helped make connections between what I was reading and real life – connect different aspects that wasn’t straight up saying. Come up with your ideas.
How did (?) this affect how and why you wrote your paper?
The articles for Yakima said ICE was using Yakima resources – are your parents paying taxes? Undocumented – the people are paying for your own deportation. Made own connections and confirmed them. She was my roommate – as I was doing the research, if I had questions I asked her – what do you think of it. Do you have any connections. If something comes up you could ask her. Had talked about it before – yes. Related to similar backgrounds. Small populations – we stuck together. Ironies in the news. On going relationship.
Do you have any suggestions for improvements to the guidelines?
Yes they were helpful – examples. Second assignment – said give it credibility even if it was anonymous – put who and where she is mini description. Examples were helpful, knew how to cite it. Adding the section about anonymous – what to do?
Have you used something similar to this before in other classes?
NO haven’t – first time given me
Would you like the opportunity to use this in other classes?
Yes because I am taking a class right now and international human rights and I want to do a paper on Guatemala.
Final reflections:
Seems straight forward – APA citations and MLA – how to use about anonymous. Good having different citation styles. Examples were helpful.
Interview with (student #2) – HRLA Summer 2019
Could you remind me of how and for what assignments you used it?
No, you didn’t use it – no time I needed to use it. – research paper was more closely related to my own experience conversations and work that you do. Didn’t get to choose the paper/assignment topics. Class assignments were more about stuff wasn’t as familiar.
How did this affect how you felt about your work on your paper?
For research paper – more closely related more passionate because more personally invested. I cared about this past summer, but I was using other peoples’ information to form my opinion. In the other paper it was more my own experience and personal input which made me feel more closely tied to it.
Interviews?
Didn’t think about it – wouldn’t know who to interview. If someone was close to in my life. Wasn’t worth the extra effort to go find someone to interview.
Do you have any suggestions for improvements to the guidelines?
Citing the timeline – lived experience of my life – I wouldn’t know how to cite life-time – course of own life-time experience. How to say it more concisely. Wrote a long explanation for intext.
More personal details about personal life experience. In footnotes, or if optional don’t use them, don’t know. In-text citation – an annotation in the bibliography explaining life experience. Help to add prior context. Between these years estimate. General timeline – racial biases – labeling people. Context of life experiences.
Have you used something similar to this before in other classes?
When abroad – we didn’t cite it. In reflective papers we didn’t have to cite it – make a note – no citation because an opinion. If I say anything – professors just assume its your own take – personal experience.
Interviews no.
Would you like the opportunity to use this in other classes?
It is helpful – you have to cite everything you say, but I don’t have a textbook and page number, it’s my lived experience, and then you have to leave it.
Final reflections:
I liked it nice to be able to use it. It makes anything you write more personal. A lot of times you are asked to pick a topic that you feel passionate about, but cant put in your own knowledge.
Interview with (student #3) – HRLA Summer 2019
Could you remind me of how and for what assignments you used it?
Did not use
Why did you not use?
Didn’t have personal experience in this HRLA class – but for other classes – ask grandpa about Korean war, mom encourages. Never been a way to implement in a real way. Have thought about before but hasn’t been a mechanism. Grandpa growing up in the great depression, Dad grew up in Sweden – parents and grandparents experiences inside and outside the US = have been able to mentally connect information, but not directly use it in class. No chance to analyze, further research, or more deeply engage.
Own experiences?
Availability would be really important. Being able to use current experiences or an internship. Volunteering at the municipal court – so much I see – relates to so many different topics, would be interesting to have the possibility to actually engage that in a formal/academic setting.
Would this affect how you felt about your work on your paper?
Not only add unique component to a paper – I think that would enhance the process to make it easier to get excited about it – talk to someone that had specific experience. Make paper more interesting and engaging. Fun and unique in a different way – instead of googling academic journals.
Its unique, its not some super academic scholar, a unique perspective, more people could relate with.
Do you have any suggestions for improvements to the guidelines?
Haven’t looked at them closely.
Have you used something similar to this before in other classes?
No other classes – Poli Sci and LSJ
She brought it up – publish a paper she liked the idea, really useful.
Would you like the opportunity to use this in other classes?
Final Reflections | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Our_Voices%3A_A_Guide_to_Citing_Personal_Experience_and_Interviews_in_Research_(Willard_Macdonald-Scott_and_Lally)/03%3A_Open_Data/3.03%3A_Notes_from_Interviews_with_Students_%28.txt |
Emily Willard, Emma Macdonald-Scott, and Jake Lally
Emily shared the guidelines with a friend who shared them with her classmates for use in a group project, with the professor’s permission. Emily conducted an interview via Zoom in 2020 about the student’s use of the guidelines. Emily obtained informed consent from the student for her to take notes and use the information shared in this ongoing project to improve the guidelines. Emily also obtained consent to anonymously use excerpts of the student’s paper in future publications or presentations. The notes have been anonymized to protect student privacy. These notes include both questions asked and responses.
Conversation with Student – MSW Program at UW
Interview conducted by Emily via Zoom on 10/23/2020
Did you use the citation guidelines?
What was the assignment/project?
How did you use them (interview or personal experience)?
How did the guidelines work for you?
Do you think using them affect how you approached the assignment?
Do you have feedback/thoughts about them?
Do you have suggestions about how to make them better?
Indigenous student used personal experience/interview with friend in group paper assignment about suicide among Indigenous youth.
Used personal experience
Provided background and historical context, historical context.
Provide more depth to what I said, allows connection to research
-looking at research around the topic, in the media and suicide rates, what i had to say was not represented
providing native people justice doesn’t happen, its a public health crisis and is ignored by officials so there wouldn’t be much “official” information anyway. why personal experience is important “there are no amber alerts for us” children too
being native is – the US goal is to wipe us out, genocide is still ongoing
rates of COVID were highest on reservations – no tests PPE
lots of violence is done by white men from the outside, they can’t be tracked and operate anonymously
genocide and suicide- mental health is a huge issues – some places have resources, other help, are more accessible. white middle class areas or institutions that serve, lacking in native community – ignored pushed aside, prioritize other people
media and suicide – Pocahontas native characters in movies are incorrect most of the time. perpetuates ideas of “savages” is given to kids. they grow up with that idea of themselves, they are not worthy, not deserving – anyone can just take up their identity in native costumes, like blonde with headdress, erases and dehumanizes. erases the kids____
improvements on the guidelines – yes useful. professors response was that they thought it was cool. the grad students thought it was a cool way to cite.
this is important in grad work “I could write about stuff I relate to”
“if it’s not something I’m in, I get bored, its how I relate”
“one of the best tools to use, another level of depth to the paper that couldn’t be produced another way”
“In my paper I quote a friend. if we can quote other people, we can quote ourselves.”
3.05: Notes from Interviews with Professors a
Emily Willard, Emma Macdonald-Scott, and Jake Lally
These interviews were conducted by Emma of professors and instructors, as well as a person from the Center for Teaching and Learning. Emma obtained informed consent from the participants for the following interviews.
___________________________
Professor of Social Sciences
Interview Conducted by Emma in 2019
Note: This professor gives students an assignment to conduct interviews as a part of the coursework
Why do you assign Student conducted interviews?
• Master narratives and the power dynamics that shape them
• The essential role of other stories from those with “lesser” power
• To help students exercise agency/power
• The role of language (how we say it as important as what we say)
• Also the power of everyday interactions to disrupt master narratives
• Consider the power of “illegal” to describe undoc immigrants: language impacts thoughts and actions
Student Response:
• Positive
• Intimate connection
• Personal experience can teach!
• Improves confidence in ones own knowledge/ exp or in their abilities to make connections and create/seek new knowledge
• Negative
• Trauma/violence can come up – space of vulnerability- delicate situations
• Some people cannot share their stories
• Learning something you are not prepared to and cannot unlearn- particularly with family interviews
Any Problems that have arisen?
• Provide options other than interview
___________________________
Center for Teaching and Learning (July 2019)
1. Have you seen any paper(s) like ours before? Are we bringing something new to the scholarship?
1. Has not seen a project like ours and definitely sees it as a very original idea.
2. People doing related work who I have now been connected with via email.
1. Mike Honey – works with oral histories and anti-racist pedagogy, Prof. of civil and labor rights history at UW Tacoma — May not be able to meet due to a busy schedule and some recent hardships.
2. Tikka Sears – Director of Theater for Change which works to advance community dialogue through personal narrative sharing and preformace (tackles issues like classroom heirarchies, bias, discrimination, etc.)
3. Elba Moise – Works in the Center for Teaching and Learning with a focus on multicultural education. — Works with Tikka on Theater for Change
3. Do you know of any studies/ research that connects this type of personal engagement with student work to better success or engagement?
1. No specifics but…
2. “ It is a truism in writing that students do better when connected with their work. You have probably seen this before that in writing many instructors begin with a personal writing piece of some sort, you write about yourself, your experience, something you’re an expert in and then you go from there. And it’s not just writing, it’s an evidence based teaching strategy. I don’t know of a specific study or theory, but yes, you’re right, students do better.”
2. Do you have any recommended readings related to our topic? What about examples of similar work we could draw formatting inspiration from?
1. No recommendations for readings BUT highly recommended going to the ode writing and research center to further explore.
2. Ode writing and research currently between directors until mid August, check in then.
3. Connected me with Olivia Kenney to survey writing center tutors to see if this is a question that comes up often and how the writing center responds.
3. Do you have any suggestions for journals that our project would fit in for publishing?
1. Thinks we probably want to look for journals in the realm of scholarship of teaching as opposed to disciplinary education OR
1. Human rights ed
2. Pol S ed
3. LA studies ed
4. Assessment scholars – education or writing
2. Find journals w general connections and then read their table of contents and see how your work fits w the other articles
3. Recommended that we come back to talk to her when we’re further along. Hone in on our:
1. Goals
2. audience
4. Do you have any recommended readings for creating a curriculum/ adaptable framework around this project?
1. Course design not curriculum – outline + implementation
2. Katie Malcom – met with Katie briefly after my meeting with Beth. She recommended and send me the PDF version of a book (Aligning for Learning – Wulff et. al) about course design that might fit our project and the broad applicability we’re looking for.
___________________________
Professor of Social Sciences (June 2019)
Why did you choose to integrate student produced knowledge into your class?
• Teaching with the goal of changing the way that people think and changing the way people feel, the latter being a more difficult challenge
• Especially important in the study of immigration because we tend to speak about the human beings who migrate in disconnected ways which discount their humanity
• But more generally in social sciences researchers/students are often disconnected from their subjects
• This can also mean you miss some things in research
What has the student response been like?
• Used to have a rule about not letting students interview family because of a desire to take students beyond their existing ideas/networks
• For the student and the subject – make new connections/ expand thought
• Changed policy because it allowed students to connect to their family stories
• Overwhelmingly positive responses
• Addressing family secrets – many students knew little about migration stories of their family, sometimes tied to shame or negative experiences in home country
• Connecting people with where their families are from
• Hearing stories they may have never otherwise heard → starting a dialogue which can last
• Trinh Mai – connecting through photographs
• Gaining the ability to understand each other through stories – especially with older generations
Have you run into any problems with its use?
• None because interviews were never required, always given the option
• Alternatives:
• Service learning + a short response essay – still getting people to connect with others – changing feelings and thoughts
• Writing fiction story – making up characters so that you’re still obligated to empathize and understand people as complex beings.
• Initially it was difficult for people to find someone to interview but times have changed, social media makes connections easier +
• Credibility not an issue – always requires further support
• A piece of evidence not the entirety of the project
Do you have any recommendations for our project in terms of curriculum development?
• Speak with Beth Kalikoff
• Trinh Mai – integrating Art
• If you want people to connect with their subjects give them something to engage with. – conveying individual experience and sometimes collective experience
Recommended Reading:
Friedman, Kathie, and Karen Rosenberg. “Performing Identities in the Classroom: Teaching Jewish Women’s Studies.” Teaching Sociology 35, no. 4 (2007): 315-33.
• Written by Prof. Friedman with a grad student who was taking this class on Jewish women’s studies with mostly undergrads.
• Classroom dynamic was so weird and problematic → grad student wanted to drop course → turn it into a research project, take extensive notes on what it is that makes the dynamic weird
• Main conclusions:
• In classes analyzing identities and intersectionality the relationship between theory and experience must constantly be interrogated by students and instructors
• “ Women’s studies students frequently mention what they remember most from a course in terms of importance in their lives is not any particular reading, but the analytical tools they learn to apply to their own lives”
• focus on the importance of:
• Sharing authority in the classroom
• Power and importance of personal experience in the classroom
• BUT also must be challenged and problematized | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Our_Voices%3A_A_Guide_to_Citing_Personal_Experience_and_Interviews_in_Research_(Willard_Macdonald-Scott_and_Lally)/03%3A_Open_Data/3.04%3A_Notes_from_Interview_with_Graduate_Stud.txt |
Emily Willard, Emma Macdonald-Scott, and Jake Lally
In February 2019, Emily presented the project at the University of Washington Department of English Praxis conference titled “Anti-Racist Pedagogy: Visions and Practices for Institutional Change.”
At the conference, Emily presented the guidelines and provided examples of how students used it in the classroom.
See the PDF version of the presentation slides here: Students Produce Knowledge Presentation Slides
See the PDF version of the presentation outline and notes here: Praxis 2019 – Presentation Outline 2-21-19
See a full text copy of the presentation outline and notes below.
____________________________
Introduce Self – Emily Willard, she/her pronouns – PhD Candidate in JSIS, also a graduate fellow in the CLASS – Comparative Law & Societies. I was an instructor for the LSJ department, and am a TA in JSIS & LSJ.
What I’m presenting – In LSJ seminar class last fall, I developed Guidelines for students to cite their personal experiences and interviews as evidence in their final research papers. The main idea is to challenge traditional concepts of who is allowed to produce knowledge, whose knowledge gets valued, and why it is valued. I made copies of the guidelines. You can take them with you, but please don’t publish, copy, or circulate before we get a chance to talk about it more. It would be great if we could get more people to be using them, but it would be nice for me to know if you are interested. Acknowledge students in the room who used them, and participated in this work. After talking with them I realize that to take this a step further in challenging traditional ideas about knowledge production and putting it into practice, that we are now beginning to make this a shared project. IF SO – some of the students are here IF SO – they are happy to answer any questions during Q and A. We are in the process of discussing what a more shared project between us would look like. Happy to discuss and work on this more.
OUTLINE OF TALK: First will share my goals for this presentation, explain how my creation of these guidelines came about, and then the results of putting it into action, including feedback from students in my class.
[SLIDE] Say Purpose of presentation – Three Goals
1. Share what I did and what I learned
2. Get feedback on the guidelines
3. Connect with other people – imagine that many people are also working on this – would like feedback about who else is doing this kind of work to connect with them. Literature, departments, disciplines on campus.
How this came about –
• INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE ON TRIAL Describe class – International Human Rights trials, with the goal for students to critically engage the concept of justice, how it means different things to different people. Consider the ways that human rights trials do and do not achieve justice and for whom. And then think of alternative approaches to justice, beyond trials.
• As a part of the class, we had a several-week discussion about evidence that is used human rights trials, and the ideas of knowledge production. We discussed the ways in which certain knowledge is valued over other in the western court systems, particularly in the U.S., Latin America, the United Nations, and Europe. We looked at particular examples of the exclusion of fourth-person, or what U.S. courts consider “hearsay” as eyewitness testimony in trials. We discussed what kind of human rights evidence would hold up and be accepted in courts. We discussed the example of valuing of textual records over first-hand eye-witness testimony, particularly government records, for example in genocide trials.
• THEORY INTO PRACTICE – Throughout this discussion of knowledge production, it occurred to me quite hypocritical to be discussing this theoretically, without putting it into action in our class. So I created a set of guidelines for students to cite knowledge they produce as evidence for their final research paper.
• THE RESEARCH PAPER was to pick a conflict/issue area that has/is experiencing human rights violations, and determine whether or not trials could achieve “justice” however they chose to define justice. Then they had to propose alternative approaches to seeking justice that would address some of the shortcomings of the trials.
• Came back to the question, if a student was doing research on a topic they were familiar with from personal experience, family or community history, or personally knows people who have personal experience, how could I not allow them to use that as evidence in their paper? This would be going against our entire conversation of knowledge production.
• I also wanted to give them an opportunity to see that they can make a valuable contribution, and that they have something important to say.
• Practical issue when it came to grading. I was reminded of an anecdote that planned the seed of this whole idea. Several years ago there was a student in a Human Rights in Latin America class. In her midterm exam, she made several statements to support her argument about conditions in Latin America, but didn’t cite her sources. She came to me in office hours and she explained that she didn’t cite sources because it was her own lived experience. How could I take points off? Yet there didn’t seem to be a way to guide her into doing some sort of citation so I knew she was speaking from her own knowledge. How would I have known if she didn’t tell me? That is why I created these guidelines.
THE GUIDELINES –
• Contains: Introduction which describes the purpose of the guidelines, and the background discussion of knowledge production. Why this is important
• Then it contains to main sections on citing Personal Experiences and Personal Interviews
• Was important to me to include their own personal experiences, but also the experiences of their families and communities, as well as personal interviews that they conduct. A variety of ways for students to produce knowledge
• I also wanted to give them examples, and help them think through their own positionality, think about where they are coming from, and how to contextualize their voice, and the knowledge that they produce, either through personal experience or the interview. Might be the first time, so help guide students to figure out if and how to incorporate.
• The key part, I found, was also creating clear expectations/boundaries. I did this by having them give context to their citation, and focusing on using it to cite specific examples, concepts or details. Discouraging them from using the citations for more general ideas or conclusions
Based on feedback from the students, in this updated version, I have included a note about interviewing survivors of trauma and additional reading suggestions for more information.
RESULTS:
• Did survey of all of the students, questions which were included in the course evaluations, and then I did 30 min interviews with 10 students. 5 of the students did not use personal experience or interviews in their research papers, 2 used personal/family experience, and 3 used personal interviews. I spoke to every student in the class who utilized the guidelines.
Show Examples:
EXAMPLE #1- Turkish Kurds (two other similar examples Amber and Emma)
How she cited it
Then how she used it for specific example, adding additional evidence, then when making recommendations, able to ask directly what a person wants, grounded in what people on the ground think.
Reflections: found similar stories on kurdishproject.org, but not in scholarly articles. -Scholarly articles are written by westerners focus on general themes like nationalism -Scholarly Articles written by kurds – are afraid to write about it because of laws.
If didn’t have it, would have written a different paper about nationalism more broadly without these details.
10 more papers – excited bubbling with ideas – said she was actually really glad for the opportunity to talk to me about her paper writing experience during the interview
EXAMPLE #2 – US Immigration Detention Centers – used her personal and family experience – as a mexican-american family, and a research trip she went on to the U.S. southern border to investigate human rights issues and immigration. She used it to:
1) discuss how people are often uninformed about the realities on the ground, and how lack of knowledge allows for the atrocities to continue – based on her experience and conversations in the border region.
2) How racist ideas of immigrants, particularly from mexico, and criminality create an environment that allow atrocities to continue based on her own personal family experience and interactions with her peers.
Reflections:
• Was looking at the ICE website, felt very strongly about it, if she can use this as a source, why not from the perspective of the people who are suffering
• Was able to use her own voice, felt personally invested in the paper. If she couldnt have used the personal experience, could have chosen any paper topic and it wouldnt have mattered as much. Not just repeating back other people’s ideas.
BASED ON CONVERSATIONS WITH STUDENTS:
Positive Impact (whether or not they used the guidelines)
• Considering own position in relation to research
• Everyone was thinking about credibility of sources, how to corroborate information, and the biases in certain sources.
• Enabled students to ground their analysis and consider the policy impact on every-day lives, see how policy and theory plays out in reality, in people’s lives. Helps ground their work.
Challenges to address going forward
• Goes against training from Middle School to University – if this is not a larger, bigger institutional change, how useful is it really – not accepted widely, and it is intimidating because we don’t know how to do it and we’ve been taught to NOT do it.
• How to incorporate into writing – better examples, and more coaching during whole class, how to incorporate into writing, ideas of when it is ok and when not. Connect to course readings that have examples, more examples
• Goes against training from middle school through University – how you are taught to write
• Struggle to see value in own viewpoint – how even as an outsider say, on a study abroad trip, you may not be able to speak from the perspective of the people you meet, but you can speak to your own perspective and that has value too. See value in the stories and experiences of their everyday lives, even in middle class U.S., about gender & race, for example. Students are also concerned about “Dont want to make it all about me.” We can improve by Guiding students how to reflect and understand their own place in the world, and the value they bring.
• What are the Boundaries? How do you know how far you can take it – when is it your own opinion versus “fact” of what happened? “How much to push and where to stop?” “confused own personal interpretation versus event that occurred”
THANK YOU!
WOULD LIKE TO BE IN CONTACT
I would like to hear your reactions, ideas to improve…who else is doing this kind of work, who should I talk to. | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Our_Voices%3A_A_Guide_to_Citing_Personal_Experience_and_Interviews_in_Research_(Willard_Macdonald-Scott_and_Lally)/03%3A_Open_Data/3.06%3A_2019_Praxis_Presentation.txt |
This is the first chapter in the main body of the text. You can change the text, rename the chapter, add new chapters, and add new parts.
1.02: 1 Introduction to Project Management -- Project Managem
1.0 Overview
Visit Audio Recordings for the audio version of this section.
Welcome to Project Management for Instructional Designers. The book you are now reading is a work in progress. If you are interested in contributing to the book, please contact David Wiley at Brigham Young University. As many of those reading this book may be pursuing a career or further expertise in project management, it is important to outline how this book fits with other texts or certification requirements of the field. This book is designed to provide an overview of project management principles in instructional design, not as preparation for certification exams. However, in an effort to bridge the practical application principles with the knowledge needed for certification, each chapter of this text will begin with a reference to the foundational text from the Project Management Institute (PMI) entitled A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK),1 as well as two of the main certification exams – the Project Manager Professional Certification (PMP) and the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM). These references are meant to aide any reader who may be using this text to supplement their pursuit of other professional goals. The PMI, PMBOK, PMP, and CAPM are explained below.
Project Management Institute (PMI)
“PMI is one of the world’s largest not-for-profit membership associations for the project management profession, with more than 650,000 members and credential holders in more than 185 countries.” They advocate project management as a profession and have created “globally-recognized standards and credentials, [an] extensive research program, and . . . professional development opportunities. These products and services are the basis of greater recognition and acceptance of project management’s successful role in governments, organizations, academia and industries.” 2
A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK)
The PMBOK is the recognized standard from PMI that shares established norms, methods, and processes that constitute good practices of project managers. It is a document that has evolved through contributions of high-quality practitioners. This text defines project management as well as other important concepts, and describes the relevant processes for managing a project. It is this text that defines the content for which project managers will be held accountable in certification exams.
Project Manager Professional Certification (PMP)
The Project Manager Professional (PMP) certification is one of the most well-recognized certifications for project management. Companies increasingly require project manager applicants to have a PMP certification, thus making this certification important in applying for jobs and setting yourself apart. Those who certify as a PMP show they are educated, competent and experienced project managers. Certifying as a PMP can be done in two different ways.
Method 1
1. A bachelor’s degree
2. 3 years of project management experience
3. 4500 hours of leading projects
4. 35 hours of project management education
5. Pass the Test
Method 2
1. High school degree
2. 5 years of project management experience
3. 7500 hours of leading projects
4. 35 hours of project management education
5. Pass the Test
The PMP test has 200 multiple-choice questions, 25 of the questions are experimental questions for future exams and will not count toward your final score. A passing rate is usually around 106/175 (about 61%). The PMP test is very specific and will require more effort than just reading the PMBOK book to pass the exam.3 Questions on the exam assume that the project is being managed using the principles in the PMBOK. The test further assumes that projects would operate perfectly within the parameters the book describes. Many questions will have good answers but you must be able to select the best answer. The test is focused around the Project Management Process, as described in the PMBOK. The following table breaks up the Project Management Process and shows the number of questions that are generally affiliated with that topic on the exam.
Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)
The PMI provides an introductory certification for project managers called the Certified Associate in Project Management or CAPM. The requirements for the CAPM are much less stringent than those for the PMP. The prerequisites can be met in two different ways: (1) obtain 1,500 hours of project management experience, or (2) complete 23 hours of project management instruction. Many post-secondary project management courses include more than 23 instructional hours.4 In fact, if you are reading this book for a project management course, you will probably meet the prerequisites for the exam through your class experience. The questions for the CAPM are organized differently than those for the PMP. The exam blueprint provided by PMI is based on percentages of test questions coming from each chapter of the PMBOK.
Because the examination blueprint comes directly from the PMBOK, effective exam preparation will include a detailed study of the PMBOK and possibly another exam-preparation book.5
The format of this book is as follows:
• The content is organized in a roughly chronological pattern, corresponding to the order in which you will likely be called on to use the principles in this book. However, all of the information can be applied in any stage of a project.
• Each chapter has an Overview section which introduces the chapter topic and references the PMP and CAPM exam areas that correlate.
• This chapter aligns with Chapter 1 of the PMBOK and 4% of the CAPM questions come from this knowledge area. The content connects to the Initiating and Planning category of the PMP questions.
• The Overview sections also contain videos of three instructional design project managers who relate how the chapter’s principles applied to their individual projects.
• The chapter sections will each contain:
• Learning Objectives – to help guide your reading in identifying key points.
• Glossary words – the first instance of key terms will be in bold and give their definition within the text. There is also a glossary section on the side for easy reference.
• Example scenarios – will be highlighted in tan boxes.
• Key Takeaways – will summarize the learning objective information.
We hope you find the book useful and informative.
Designers Share Their Experiences
Dr. Andy Gibbons – Instructional Psychology and Technology – BYU
My name is Andy Gibbons. I’m an instructional designer. I have been since about 1974. I worked eighteen years in industry, and the project that I’d like to talk about was for the U.S Navy, teaching helicopter pilots how to fly a particular anti-submarine warfare helicopter. And teaching operators called center operators who sit in the back of the aircraft looking for squiggles on a piece of paper that would indicate that they have found a submarine. The project was actually just about a year long, and it was full of interesting experiences.
Heather Bryce – Independent Studies – BYU
My name is Heather Bryce, and I am the project manager for Brigham Young University Independent Study and I have been working here for three years. The project I will be discussing today is Art 45.
Dr. Larry Seawright – Center for Teaching and Learning – BYU
I’m Doctor Larry Seawright. I’m Associate Director at the BYU Center for Teaching and Learning. I’m also project manager for a project we call the BYU Learning Suite, which is what I’m going to be talking about today.
[1] Project Management Institute (2008). A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK guide, fourth edition). United States of America: Project Management Institute.
[2] http://www.pmi.org/About-Us.aspx
[3] Mulchay, R. (2011). PMP Exam Prep. United States of America: RMC Publications.
[4] Project Management Institute (2012). CAPM certification handbook. Available from http://www.pmi.org/certification/~/m...mhandbook.ashx
[5] Mulcahy, R. (2009). CAPM Exam Prep. United States of America: RMC Publications. | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Project_Management_for_Instructional_Designers_(Wiley_et_al.)/01%3A_Project_Management_for_Instructional_Designers/1.01%3A_Chapter_1.txt |
1.4 Introduction to the Project Management Knowledge Areas
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Identify the tasks performed in a project start-up.
2. Describe the areas of project management knowledge as defined by the Project Management Institute.
Projects are divided into components, and a project manager must be knowledgeable in each area. This section provides an overview of these knowledge areas, each of which will be explored in more depth in subsequent chapters.
PROJECT START-UP AND INTEGRATION
The start-up of a project is similar to the start-up of a new organization. The project leader develops the project infrastructure used to design and execute the project. The project management team must develop alignment among the major stakeholders on the project during the early phases or definition phases of the project. The project manager will conduct one or more kickoff meetings or alignment sessions to bring the various parties of the project together and begin the project team-building required to operate efficiently during the project.
During project start-up, the project management team refines the scope of work and develops a preliminary schedule and conceptual budget. The project team builds a plan for executing the project based on the project profile (project profiles are defined more fully in chapter 2). The plan for developing and tracking the detailed schedule, the procurement plan, and the plan for building the budget and estimating and tracking costs are developed during the start-up. The plans for information technology, communication, and tracking client satisfaction are all developed during the start-up phase of the project.
Flowcharts, diagrams, and responsibility matrices are tools to capture the work processes associated with executing the project plan. The first draft of the project procedures manual captures the historic and intuitional knowledge that team members bring to the project. The development and review of these procedures and work processes contribute to the development of the organizational structure of the project.
This is typically an exciting time on a project where all things are possible. The project management team is working many hours developing the initial plan, staffing the project, and building relationships with the client. The project manager sets the tone of the project and sets expectations for each of the project team members. The project start-up phase on complex projects can be chaotic, and until plans are developed, the project manager becomes the source of information and direction. The project manager creates an environment that encourages team members to fully engage in the project and encourages innovative approaches to developing the project plan.
Project Scope
The project scope is expressed in a document that defines the parameters—factors that define the project and determine its behavior—what work is done within the boundaries of the project, and the work that is outside the project boundaries. The scope of work (SOW) is typically a written document that defines what work will be accomplished by the end of the project—the deliverables of the project. The project scope defines what will be done, and the project execution plan defines how the work will be accomplished.
No template works for all projects. Some projects have a very detailed scope of work, and some have a short summary document. The quality of the scope is measured by the ability of the project manager and project stakeholders to develop and maintain a common understanding of what products or services the project will deliver. The size and detail of the project scope is related to the complexity profile of the project. A more complex project often requires a more detailed and comprehensive scope document.
According to the Project Management Institute, a complete statement of the scope should include the following: 1
Description of the scope
• Product acceptance criteria
• Project deliverables
• Project exclusions
• Project constraints
• Project assumptions
The scope of work is the basis for agreement by all parties. A clear project scope document is also critical to managing change on a project. Since the project scope reflects what work will be accomplished on the project, any change in expectations that is not captured and documented creates the opportunity for confusion. One of the most common trends in projects is the incremental expansion in the project scope, which is called scope creep. Scope creep threatens the success of a project because the small increases in scope require additional resources that were not in the plan. Increasing the scope of the project is a common occurrence, and adjustments are made to the project budget and schedule to account for these changes. Scope creep occurs when these changes are not recognized or not managed. The ability of a project manager to identify potential changes is often related to the quality of the scope documents.
Events occur that require the scope of the project to change. Changes in the marketplace may require change in a product design or the timing of the product delivery. Changes in the client’s management team or the financial health of the client may also result in changes in the project scope. Changes in the project schedule, budget, or product quality will have an effect on the project plan. Generally, the later in the project the change occurs, the greater the increase to the project costs. Establishing a system for managing change during the project that captures changes to the project scope and assures that these changes are authorized by the appropriate level of management in the client’s organization is the responsibility of the project manager. The project manager also analyzes the cost and schedule impacts of these changes and adjusts the project plan to reflect the changes authorized by the client. Changes to the scope can cause costs to increase or decrease.
Project Schedule and Time Management
The definition of project success often includes completing the project on time. The development and management of a project schedule that will complete the project on time is a primary responsibility of the project manager, and completing the project on time requires the development of a realistic plan and the effective management of the plan. On smaller projects, project managers may lead the development of the project plan and build a schedule to meet that plan. On larger and more complex projects, a project controls team that focuses on both costs and schedule planning and controlling functions will assist the project management team in developing the plan and tracking progress against the plan.
To develop the project schedule, the project team does an analysis of the project scope, which is incorporated into the contract, and other information that helps the team define the project deliverables. Based on this information, the project team develops a milestone schedule. The milestone schedule establishes key dates throughout the life of a project that must be met for the project to finish on time. The key dates are often established to meet contractual obligations or established intervals that will reflect appropriate progress for the project. For less complex projects, a milestone schedule may be sufficient for tracking the progress of the project. For more complex projects, a more detailed schedule is required.
To develop a more detailed schedule, the project team first develops a work breakdown structure (WBS)—a description of tasks arranged in layers of detail. Although the project scope is the primary document for developing the WBS, the WBS incorporates all project deliverables and reflects any documents or information that clarifies the project deliverables. From the WBS, a project plan is developed. The project plan lists the activities that are needed to accomplish the work identified in the WBS. The more detailed the WBS, the more activities that are identified to accomplish the work.
After the project team identifies the activities, the team then sequences the activities according to the order in which the activities are to be accomplished. An outcome from the work process is the project logic diagram. The logic diagram represents the logical sequence of the activities needed to complete the project. The next step in the planning process is to develop an estimation of the time it will take to accomplish each activity or the activity duration. Some activities must be done sequentially, and some activities can be done concurrently. The planning process creates a project schedule by scheduling activities in a way that effectively and efficiently uses project resources and completes the project in the shortest time.
On larger projects, several paths are created that represent a sequence of activities from the beginning to the end of the project. The longest path to the completion of the project is the critical path. If the critical path takes less time than is allowed by the client to complete the project, the project has a positive total float or project slack. If the client’s project completion date precedes the calculated critical path end date, the project has negative float. Understanding and managing activities on the critical path is an important project management skill.
To successfully manage a project, the project manager must also know how to accelerate a schedule to compensate for unanticipated events that delay critical activities. Compressing – crashing – the schedule is a term used to describe the techniques used to shorten the project schedule. During the life of the project, scheduling conflicts often occur, and the project manager is responsible for reducing these conflicts while maintaining project quality and meeting cost goals.
Project Costs
The definition of project success often includes completing the project within budget. Developing and controlling a project budget that will accomplish the project objectives is a critical project management skill. Although clients expect the project to be executed efficiently, cost pressures vary on projects. On some projects, the project completion or end date is the largest contributor to the project complexity. The development of a new drug to address a critical health issue, the production of a new product that will generate critical cash flow for a company, and the competitive advantage for a company to be first in the marketplace with a new technology are examples of projects with schedule pressures that override project costs.
The accuracy of the project budget is related to the amount of information known by the project team. In the early stages of the project, the amount of information needed to develop a detailed budget is often missing. To address the lack of information, the project team develops different levels of project budget estimates. The conceptual estimate (or “ballpark estimate”) is developed with the least amount of knowledge. The major input into the conceptual estimate is expert knowledge or past experience. A project manager who has executed a similar project in the past can use those costs to estimate the costs of the current project.
When more information is known, the project team can develop a rough order of magnitude (ROM) estimate. Additional information such as the approximate square feet of a building, the production capacity of a plant, and the approximate number of hours needed to develop a software program can provide a basis for providing an ROM estimate. After a project design is more complete, a project detailed estimate can be developed. When the project team knows the number of rooms, the type of materials, and the building location of a home, the project team can provide a detailed estimate. A detailed estimate is not a bid.
The cost of the project is tracked relative to the progress of the work and the estimate for accomplishing that work. Based on the cost estimates, the cost of the work performed is compared against the cost budgeted for that work. If the cost is significantly higher or lower, the project team explores reasons for the difference between expected costs and actual costs.
Project costs may deviate from the budget because the prices in the marketplace were different from what was expected. For example, the estimated costs for lumber on a housing project may be higher than budgeted or the hourly cost for labor may be lower than budgeted. Project costs may also deviate based on project performance. For example, the project team estimated that the steel design for a bridge over the Hudson River would take 800 labor hours, but 846 hours were actually expended. The project team captures the deviation between costs budgeted for work and the actual cost for work, revises the estimate as needed, and takes corrective action if the deviation appears to reflect a trend.
The project manager is responsible for assuring that the project team develops cost estimates based on the best information available and revises those estimates as new or better information becomes available. The project manager is also responsible for tracking costs against the budget and conducting an analysis when project costs deviate significantly from the project estimate. The project manager then takes appropriate corrective action to assure that project performance matches the revised project plan.
Procurement
The procurement effort on projects varies widely and depends on the type of project. It can range from less complex projects where the project team identifies the materials, product specifications and a detailed delivery schedule to the client; to the parent company providing procurement services via a liaison; to a procurement team being hired.
At the end of the project, equipment bought or rented for the execution of the work of the project are sold, returned to rental organizations, or disposed of some other way.
The procurement process may involve commodities, vendors, suppliers, and partners. The awarding of a contract can include price, ability to meet the project schedule, the fit for purpose of the product, and other considerations important to the project.
Project Quality
Project quality focuses on the end product or service deliverables that reflect the purpose of the project. The project manager is responsible for developing a project execution approach that provides for a clear understanding of the expected project deliverables and the quality specifications. The project manager of a housing construction project not only needs to understand which rooms in the house will be carpeted but also what grade of carpet is needed. A room with a high volume of traffic will need a high-grade carpet.
The project manager is responsible for developing a project quality plan that defines the quality expectations and assures that the specifications and expectations are met. Developing a good understanding of the project deliverables through documenting specifications and expectations is critical to a good quality plan. The processes for assuring that the specifications and expectations are met are integrated into the project execution plan. Just as the project budget and completion dates may change over the life of a project, the project specifications may also change. Changes in quality specifications are typically managed in the same process as cost or schedule changes. The impact of the changes is analyzed for impact on cost and schedule, and with appropriate approvals, changes are made to the project execution plan.
The PMBOK has an extensive chapter on project quality management. The material found in this chapter would be similar to material found in a good operational management text. Although any of the quality management techniques designed to make incremental improvement to work processes can be applied to a project work process, the character of a project (unique and relatively short in duration) makes small improvements less attractive on projects.
Rework on projects, as with manufacturing operations, increases the cost of the product or service and often increases the time needed to complete the reworked activities. Because of the duration constraints of a project, the development of the appropriate skills, materials, and work process early in the project is critical to project success. On more complex projects, time is allocated to developing a plan to understand and develop the appropriate levels of skills and work processes.
Project management organizations that execute several similar types of projects may find the process improvement tools useful in identifying and improving the baseline processes used on their projects. Process improvement tools may also be helpful in identifying cost and schedule improvement opportunities. Opportunities for improvement must be found quickly to influence project performance. The investment in time and resources to find improvements is greatest during the early planning stages of the project. During later project stages, as pressures to meet project schedule goals increase, the culture of the project is less conducive to making changes in work processes.
Another opportunity for applying process improvement tools is on projects that have repetitive processes. A housing contractor that is building several identical houses may benefit from evaluating work processes in the first few houses to explore the opportunities available to improve the work processes. The investment of \$1,000 in a work process that saves \$200 per house is a good investment as long as the contractor is building more than five houses.
Project Team
Staffing the project with the right skills, at the right place, and at the right time is an important responsibility of the project management team. The project usually has two types of team members: functional managers and process managers. The functional managers and team focus on the technology of the project. On a training project, the functional manager would include the professional trainers; on an information technology project, the software development managers would be functional managers. The project management team also includes project process managers. The project controls team would include process managers who have expertise in estimating, cost tracking, planning, and scheduling. The project manager needs functional and process expertise to plan and execute a successful project.
Because projects are temporary, the staffing plan for a project typically reflects both the long-term goals of skilled team members needed for the project and short-term commitment that reflects the nature of the project. Exact start and end dates for team members are often negotiated to best meet the needs of individuals and the project. The staffing plan is also determined by the different phases of the project. Team members needed in the early or conceptual phases of the project are often not needed during the later phases or project closeout phases. Team members needed during the execution phase are often not needed during the conceptual or closeout phases. Each phase has staffing requirements, and the staffing of a complex project requires detailed planning.
Typically a core project management team is dedicated to the project from start-up to closeout. This core team would include the following members: project manager, project controls, project procurement, and key members of the function management or experts in the technology of the project. Although longer projects may experience more team turnover than shorter projects, it is important on all projects to have team members who can provide continuity through the project phases.
Project team members can be assigned to the project from a number of different sources. The organization that charters the project can use any number of staffing options, such as assigning managers and staff from functional units within the organization, contracting with individuals or agencies to staff positions, temporarily hiring staff for the project, or a combination of these. This staffing approach allows the project manager to create the project organizational culture. Some project cultures are more structured and detail oriented, and some are less structured with less formal roles and communication requirements. The type of culture the project manager creates depends greatly on the type of project.
Communications
Completing a complex project successfully requires teamwork, and teamwork requires good communication among team members. If those team members work in the same building, they can arrange regular meetings, simply stop by each other’s office space to get a quick answer, or even discuss a project informally at other office functions. Many complex projects in today’s global economy involve team members from widely separated locations, and the types of meetings that work within the same building are not possible. Teams that use electronic methods of communicating without face-to-face meetings are called virtual teams.
Communications technologies require a variety of compatible devices, software, and service providers, and communication with a global virtual team can involve many different time zones. Establishing effective communications requires a communications plan.
Project Risk
Risk exists on all projects. The role of the project management team is to understand the kinds and levels of risks on the project and then to develop and implement plans to mitigate these risks. Risk represents the likelihood that an event will happen during the life of the project that will negatively affect the achievement of project goals. The type and amount of risk varies by industry type, complexity, and phase of the project. The project risk plan will also reflect the risk profile of the project manager and key stakeholders. People have different comfort levels with risk, and some members of the project team will be more risk adverse than others.
The first step in developing a risk management plan involves identifying potential project risks. Some risks are easy to identify, while others are less obvious. Many industries or companies have risk checklists developed from past experience. However, no risk checklist will include all potential risks. The value of a checklist is the stimulation of discussion and thought about the potential risks on a project.
The project team then analyzes the identified risks and estimates the likelihood of the risks occurring. The team then estimates the potential impact of project goals if the event does occur. The outcome from this process is a prioritized list of estimated project risks with a value that represents the likelihood of occurrence and the potential impact on the project.
The project team then develops a risk mitigation plan that reduces the likelihood of an event occurring or reduces the impact on the project if the event does occur. The risk management plan is integrated into the project execution plan, and mitigation activities are assigned to the appropriate project team member. The likelihood that all the potential events identified in the risk analysis would occur is extremely rare. The likelihood that one or more events will happen is high.
The project risk plan reflects the risk profile of the project and balances the investment of the mitigation against the benefit for the project. The plan includes periodic risk plan reviews during the life of the project. The risk review evaluates the effectiveness of the current plan and explores for possible risks not identified in earlier sessions.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• During the start-up phase, the project leader develops the project infrastructure used to design and execute the project. A team is formed to create agreement among project stakeholders on the goals, cost, and completion date. Plans for executing the project by managing the schedule, quality, and budget are created.
• The SOW establishes project parameters that define what will be done.
• The project schedule begins with a milestone schedule followed by a WBS and a project diagram. The longest path through the project diagram is the critical path, and the difference between the completion of the critical path and the project finish date is the float. Shortening the critical path is called crashing the project.
• Cost estimating begins with a conceptual or ballpark estimate that is followed by a ROM estimate. A project budget is determined from the cost of the tasks in the WBS. Costs are monitored during the project and estimates updated if the costs vary from expectations.
• The provider of procurement management depends on the size of the project and the organization. Commodities are purchased through vendors, suppliers or partners.
• Project quality begins with the specifications of materials and labor. A quality plan creates a process for assuring the requirements and specifications of the project are met. Quality improvement tools can be applied to projects if the company has several similar projects.
• Team members are selected to manage functions and processes. The staffing plan assigns people as needed. Sources of team members are company employees, contractors, new hires, and partners.
• The risk on a project reflects the number of things that can possibly happen that will have a negative effect on the project and the probability of those events happening.
[1] Project Management Institute, Inc., A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide), 4th ed. (Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute, Inc., 2008), 115–16. | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Project_Management_for_Instructional_Designers_(Wiley_et_al.)/01%3A_Project_Management_for_Instructional_Designers/1.03%3A_1.4_Introduction_to_the_Project_Management_Knowledge_Ar.txt |
1.3 Key Skills of the Project Manager
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LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Compare project management and operations management.
2. Identify necessary leadership skills required of a project manager.
Often the difference between the project that succeeds and the project that fails is the leadership of the project manager. Each project team is a group of individuals who needs motivation and coordination. Planning is vital, but the ability to adapt to changes and work with people to overcome challenges is just as necessary. A project manager must master the skills that are necessary to be successful in this environment. The unique and temporary nature of projects creates a work environment that mandates a different management approach from that used by an operations manager.
Operations Managers
One way to improve understanding of project management is to contrast project management with operations management. All operations managers are charged with efficiently and effectively achieving the purpose of the organization. Typically, managers of economic organizations focus on maximizing profits and stockholder value; leaders of socio-religious organizations focus on effective and efficient delivery of a service to a community or constituency; and governmental managers are focused on meeting goals established by government leaders. For our purposes, each of these managers would be deemed the “operations manager”.
More effective work processes will produce a better product or service, and a more efficient work process will reduce costs. Operations managers analyze work processes and explore opportunities to make improvements. Operations managers are process focused, oriented toward capturing and standardizing improvement to work processes and creating an organizational culture focused on the long-term goals of the organization. Often, specific projects are undertaken to improve their overall operational processes.
Operations managers create a culture which focuses on the long-term health of the organization and build teams over time to standardize and improve work processes. They search for and nurture team members who will “fit in” and that contribute to both the effectiveness of the team and the team culture. Operations managers are long-term focused and oriented toward continuous improvement of existing processes over longer periods of time.
An operations manager may invest \$10,000 to improve a work process that saves \$3,000 a year. Over a five-year period, the operations manager improved the profitability of the operations by \$5,000 and will continue to save \$3,000 every year. The project manager of a one-year project could not generate the savings to justify this kind of process improvement and would not invest resources to explore this type of savings. However, the project manager might head the \$10,000 project that the operations manager solicited to improve the work process of the organization.
Project Managers
Project managers focus on the goals of the project. Project success is connected to achieving the project goals within the project timeline. Project managers apply project management tools and techniques to clearly define the project goals, develop an execution plan to meet those goals, and meet the milestones and end date of the project. A project manager needs a different set of skills to both define and successfully execute projects. Because projects are temporary, they have a defined beginning and end. Project managers must manage start-up activities and project closeout activities. The processes for developing teams, organizing work, and establishing priorities require a different set of knowledge and skills because members of the project management team recognize that it is temporary.
Project managers create a team that is goal focused and energized around the success of the project. Project team members know that the project assignment is temporary because the project, by definition, is temporary. Project team members are often members of organizational teams that have a larger potential to affect long-term advancement potential. They seldom report directly to the project manager and the effect of success or failure of the project might not affect their reputations or careers the same way that the success or failure of one of their other job responsibilities would. Therefore, project managers create clear goals and clear expectations for team members and tie project success to the overall success of the organization. Project managers are goal directed and milestone oriented.
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While there are many skills needed by a project manager that are the same as an operations manager, because project managers generally operate in an environment that is more time sensitive and goal driven, the successful project manager requires additional knowledge, skills, and abilities.
Albert Einsiedel1 discussed leader-sensitive projects and defined five characteristics of an effective project leader. These characteristics were chosen based on some assumptions about projects. These characteristics include the project environment, which is often a matrix organization that results in role ambiguity, role conflict, and role erosion. The project environment is often a fluid environment where decisions are made with little information. In this environment, the five characteristics of an effective project leader include the following:
• Credibility – the project manager is coming into an established organization and must have a reputation or presence of credibility to receive the respect and support of the client and team.
• Creativity as a problem solver – projects are never “business as usual”.
• Tolerance for ambiguity – a project manager can often be unfamiliar with the kind of work the client does and needs to be able to adapt and move the project forward, even if all aspects of the company aren’t understood perfectly.
• Flexible management style – a project manager is constantly dealing with new people and environments and must adjust accordingly. They do not have the luxury of an established rapport with their project associates.
• Effective communicating – because of the ambiguous nature of projects, good communication skills are crucial in understanding what is expected by the client and being able to convey that vision to the project team.
Hans Thamhain2 researched the training of project managers and, based on the finding, created a taxonomy wherein the qualities of a project manager are categorized into the following three areas:
• Interpersonal skills. These skills include providing direction, communicating, assisting with problem solving, and dealing effectively with people without having authority.
• Technical expertise. Technical knowledge gives the project manager the creditability to provide leadership on a technically based project, the ability to understand important aspects of the project, and the ability to communicate in the language of the technicians.
• Administrative skills. These skills include planning, organizing, and /managing/ overseeing/coordinating the work.
Traditionally, the project manager has been trained in skills such as developing and managing the project scope, estimating, scheduling, decision making, and team building. Although the level of skills needed by the project manager depends largely on the complexity of the project, the people skills of the project manager are increasingly more important. The skills to build a high-performing team, manage client expectations, and develop a clear vision of project success are the type of skills needed by project managers on more complex projects. “To say Joe is a good project manager except he lacks good people skills is like saying he’s a good electrical engineer but doesn’t really understand electricity.”3
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• Operations managers are long-term focused and process oriented. Project managers are goal directed and milestone oriented.
• Project managers need the same skills as an operations manager, such as good communication, team building, planning, expediting, and political sensitivity.
• Project managers need additional skills in establishing credibility, creative problem solving, tolerance for ambiguity, flexible management, and very good people skills.
[1] Albert A. Einsiedel, “Profile of Effective Project Managers,” Project Management Journal 18 (1987): 5.
[2] Hans J. Thamhain, “Developing Project Management Skills,” Project Management Journal 22 (1991): 3.
[3] Russell W. Darnall, “The Emerging Role of the Project Manager,” PMI Journal (1997): 64. | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Project_Management_for_Instructional_Designers_(Wiley_et_al.)/01%3A_Project_Management_for_Instructional_Designers/1.04%3A_1.3_Key_Skills_of_the_Project_Manager_--_Project_Manage.txt |
1.2 Project Definition and Context
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LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Describe two defining characteristics of a project.
2. Understand project levels and organization priorities.
3. Describe the organizational options for managing projects.
Before elaborating further on project management, let’s first identify what a project is and how projects come about. PMI defines a project by its two key characteristics: it is temporary and undertaken to create a product, service, or result that is unique.1 Projects are undertaken by various organizations to better fulfill their purposes.
Organizational Priorities
Organizations fulfill societal functions (e.g. economic, religious, community support, government, etc.) Local factories, churches, and hospitals are all organizations that provide some social or community need. Factories create wealth and jobs, churches provide spiritual and common social needs for communities, and government organizations provide regulations and services that allow for an orderly society. These organizations have different views of time and each organization develops an operational approach to accomplishing the purpose of the organization over that time horizon. For example, a religious group might begin construction of a cathedral that would take several lifetimes to complete, government performance is reviewed at election time, and a publicly owned company must justify its use of money each year in the annual report.
Organizations operate to effectively and efficiently produce the product or service that achieves the organization’s purpose and goals as defined by the key stakeholders—those who have a share or interest in the organization. An organization seeks to develop stable and predictable work processes and then improve those work processes over time through increased quality, reduced costs, and shorter delivery times. Total quality management, lean manufacturing, and several other management philosophies and methodologies have focused on providing the tools and processes for increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of the organization. Historically, these methodologies focused on creating incremental and continuous improvement in work processes. More recently, organizations are increasingly focused on step changes that take advantage of new technologies to create a significant improvement in the effectiveness or efficiency of the organization.
Often, these initiatives to increase organizational effectiveness or efficiency are identified as projects. Economic organizations might initiate a project to produce a new product, to introduce or revamp work processes to significantly reduce product costs, or to merge with other organizations to reduce competition or lower costs and generate additional profits. A social organization, such as a hospital, may build a new wing, introduce a new service, or design new work processes to reduce costs. A government organization may introduce a new software program that handles public records more efficiently, build a new road to reduce congestion, or combine departments to reduce costs.
Each of the initiatives meets our definition of a project. Each is a temporary endeavor and produces a unique product or service. Projects are also defined within the context of larger projects as the following example illustrates.
National Energy Saving Education Plan
The National Energy Technology Laboratory laid out a plan for a national energy saving education plan that had a clear and identifiable outcome—helping consumers efficiently find and use reliable, affordable, and environmentally sound energy.2 The details of this plan will be revised and updated, but the general goals are likely to remain unchanged. To accomplish these goals, the project requires the development of educational materials related to new technologies, coordination of a large number of instructional designers, and skillful stakeholder management. Development of each of the major components became a project for the instructional design teams within the larger project of providing educational materials to consumers related to finding and using reliable, affordable, and environmentally sound energy. Each project has to develop materials related to new technologies, and manage the stakeholders at the Department of Energy.Each instructional design team becomes a project for that organization. The project is defined by the scope of work. In the energy materials area, the scope of work included all activities associated with educating consumers on ways to reduce use of fossil fuels and reliance on imported energy. Using our definition that a project is a temporary endeavor that creates a unique product or service, implementation of the energy education materials would be a project that consisted of other projects. These projects could develop into creating education materials related to wind power, solar power, electricity transmission, biofuels, environmental protection, etc.
Organizing to Manage Projects
Because project management is different from operations (organizational) management, projects are handled best by people who are trained in project management. This expertise can be obtained by hiring an outside consulting firm that specializes in project management or by developing an in-house group.
Some organizations are designed to execute specific projects. Often entities contract with engineering and construction companies to design and build their facilities, or hire software companies to develop a software solution. The major work processes within these organizations are designed to support the acquisition and execution of those projects. Similarly, there are instructional design firms who have the specialized skills to effectively and efficiently design valuable instruction for their clients. The ability of these types of organizations to successfully manage projects in house becomes a competitive advantage for them in the marketplace.
Organizations designed to produce products or services also use projects. Major activities outside the normal work of the organization’s department or functional units or major activities that cross functional boundaries become a project. As economic pressures increase the speed in which organizations must change and adapt to new environmental conditions, leaders are increasingly chartering projects to enable the organization to adapt more quickly. The application of a project management approach increases the likelihood of success as organizations charter a project to facilitate organizational change, to increase the development and introduction of new products or support the merger or divesture of organizational units.
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Project management offices (PMOs) have emerged within organizations to facilitate development of organizational knowledge, skills, and tools to internally charter and manage projects. The PMO varies in structure and responsibility depending on the project management approach of the parent organization. On one end of the spectrum, the PMO has complete responsibility for projects within an organization from the criteria and selection of appropriate projects to accountability for project performance. In organizations that make a large investment in the PMO, a large number of new product or process improvement projects are submitted, and the project office develops a portfolio of projects to manage over a given period that maximizes the use of organizational resources and provides the greatest return to the organization.
PMOs can provide various functions for an organization. Some possible functions include the following:
• Project management. Some organizations maintain the project manager within the PMO, assign project managers from other departments, procure contract project managers, or practice a combination of all three.
• Center of excellence. The project office can maintain the organization’s project management policies and procedures, maintain a historical database, maintain best practices, and provide training and specialized expertise when needed.
• Portfolio management. The project office actually supervises the project managers and monitors project performance. Portfolio management also includes prioritizing projects on the basis of value to the organization and maintains an inventory of projects. Portfolio management balances the number and type of projects to create the greatest return from the entire portfolio of projects.
• Functional support. The project office maintains project management expertise to support the project. Estimating, project scheduling, and project cost analysis are examples of functional support.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• All projects are temporary and undertaken to create a product, service, or result that is unique.
• In an organization, project management can be used to make step changes to take advantage of new technologies or make significant improvements in effectiveness or efficiency.
• Projects can be handled by outside contractors or by an internal group in a PMO.
[1] Project Management Institute, Inc., A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide), 4th ed. (Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute, Inc., 2008), 5.
[2] National Energy Technology Laboratory, “Reliable, Affordable, and Environmentally Sound Energy for America’s Future,” The Energy Lab, 2001,http://www.netl.doe.gov/publications/press/2001/nep/nep.html(accessed June 18, 2009). | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Project_Management_for_Instructional_Designers_(Wiley_et_al.)/01%3A_Project_Management_for_Instructional_Designers/1.05%3A_1.2_Project_Definition_and_Context_--_Project_Managemen.txt |
1.1 Project Management Defined
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LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Identify the Project Management Institute’s definition of project management.
2. Analyze and evaluate the role of client expectations in a project.
3. Define project scope.
One of the priorities of the Project Management Institute (PMI) during the 1980s was to define project management and develop it as a profession. Debate continues on whether project management is a profession with an enforceable code of conduct and other traditional criteria for recognition as a profession. However, PMI’s development of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), and the project management certifications that derived from these efforts, helped promote the understanding and development of the project management field. Defining project management, and substantiating it as a profession, brought about the question of its purpose. Intense discussions resulted in a compromise to define project management as “the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements.”1
Be aware that PMI’s definition is not the only view of what project management entails. Jack Meredith and Samuel Mantel2 discussed project management in terms of producing project outcomes within the three objectives of cost, schedule, and specifications. According to this view, project management is the application of everything a project manager does to meet these parameters. This approach to defining project management shares PMI’s focus on the project outcomes in terms of requirements, but Meredith and Mantel also added a fourth aspect of project management—the expectations of the client.
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If it is assumed that the client is the one who defines project requirements, then maybe project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to meet client requirements. This definition focuses on expectations rather than project specifications. It is possible to meet all project specifications and not meet client expectations. It is also possible to only accomplish one or more of the specifications, yet still meet or exceed a client’s expectations.3
PMI’s definition of project management provides a good understanding of project management, but it does not help us understand project success. For that, we must include the client.
District Curriculum Alignment Project
A school district in Colorado invested a substantial portion of the budget toward switching to a professional learning community (PLC) model for faculty development. The district requested a project that would align the curriculum with each subject and grade level and be used as benchmarks for to evaluate the PLC’s work with students. The project brought together teachers from across the district to design essential learning objectives, which would be taken back to schools and PLCs. The project team created the essential learning objectives within the budget and time constraints that were approved by the district, but teachers at the individual schools were unhappy that the learning objectives were decided at the district level rather than at the school level. Even though this project met all of the original goals, the district was still disappointed.
Meredith and Mantel discussed a tendency noted by Russ Darnall4 that expectations often increase during the life of a project. Meredith and Mantel suggest that this is a form of scope increase. Project scope is reflected in a carefully crafted document that reflects the performance specifications of the project deliverables. Defining the project scope and managing scope change is a very different process from developing an understanding of a client’s expectations and managing those expectations. Darnall focused on defining and managing client expectations as a critical project management skill that is distinct from scope development and management.
Client expectations encompass an emotional component that includes many client desires that are not easily captured within a specification document. Although closely correlated with project specifications, client expectations are driven by different needs. It is possible for a project team to exceed every project specification and end up with an unsatisfied client.
The reverse is also true. A project can be late and over budget and the client can be satisfied. Although this may be counterintuitive, the response of a client to the events of a project is complex and goes beyond the data related in project specifications.
Volunteer Training Program
A museum planned to use volunteers as gallery interpreters to facilitate a more engaging guest experience. The museum hired instructional designers to manage a project to plan, develop, and implement training for prospective volunteers. The original project specifications called for the training to last four hours. Throughout the project, it became clear to the project manager that the complexity of the learning objectives required more than four hours of training. The change in scope was approved by the museum, resulting in a significant increase in the total cost of the project. The museum, however, was satisfied with the project because it produced an effective training for volunteers. Client satisfaction is often tied to expectations about project performance. Identifying and managing those expectations is a primary responsibility of the project manager.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• According to PMI, project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to meet project requirements.
• The role of the client is crucial. Some experts include meeting or exceeding client expectations as a definitive element of project management.
• Project scope is a document that defines the work required to complete the project successfully.
[1] Project Management Institute, Inc., A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide), 4th ed. (Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute, Inc., 2008), 6.
[2] Jack R. Meredith and Samuel J. Mantel, Jr., Project Management: A Managerial Approach(Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2006), 8.
[3] Russell W. Darnall, The World’s Greatest Project (Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute, Inc., 1996), 48–54.
[4] Russell W. Darnall, The World’s Greatest Project (Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute, Inc., 1996), 48–54. | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Project_Management_for_Instructional_Designers_(Wiley_et_al.)/01%3A_Project_Management_for_Instructional_Designers/1.06%3A_1.1_Project_Management_Defined_--_Project_Management_fo.txt |
2.0 Overview
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This chapter aligns with beginning sections of most of the chapters in the PMBOK, where attributes are identified in specific ways. It is therefore difficult to quantify a proportion of the CAPM questions that come from this knowledge area. The content connects to the Initiation and Planning category of the PMP questions.
A project profile attempts to provide a snapshot look at the project scope and requirements before work actually begins. A well-crafted project profile can help when designing the project execution plan at a later stage, as well as in determining the assignment of resources to the project.
A project profile usually contains some or all of the following:
• Projections on project size and cost
• Analysis of project complexity
• Analysis of required technology and resources
By the end of this chapter you should be equipped with the skills necessary to successfully gauge the difficulty of a potential project as well as to forecast the required resources and time necessary through project completion.
Designers Share Their Experiences
Dr. Andy Gibbons – Instructional Psychology and Technology – BYU
This project was to train helicopter pilots and sensor operators. The contract came to us as a signed contract with the Navy. It came with a certain number of resources promised to us. We had a lot of subject matter expert support on the project. On other projects that wasn’t the case, but on this one we really had plenty. The thing that was interesting is as we looked at the constraints on the project there was a constraint we didn’t notice that later turned out to be a big factor. Turns out that there…in the…we didn’t have a lot of access to people who were actually using it on a day-to-day basis…the training….would be using the training in daily operations. And so we….our subject matter experts were off in the west coast, and it turns out that the water is different on the west coast from on the east coast. And of course quality of the water, when you’re flying a helicopter and looking for submarines is a very important factor. We developed the course as if it was for the West coast. When the training was shipped to the East Coast, it was different. They couldn’t use it in the same way. Actually it took some revisions of the training to adjust for that problem. We didn’t know at the beginning that that was a resource problem. And so it came up and bit us later.
Heather Bryce – Independent Studies – BYU
At the beginning of Art 45, we met to discuss the major requirements which would be editing, how long the course is, how well written the course was–that will determine our editing time, video requirements, flash requirements and art requirements. Obviously, Art 45 is an art class, drawing actually.
Dr. Larry Seawright – Center for Teaching and Learning – BYU
The BYU Learning Suite is a learning management system that’s going to replace the current system at the University. As such we have lots of stakeholders, so we had to do a lot of profiling. We had to check with all of the stake holders, faculty members, students, the University administration, and find out what all the various constituents needs were, and factor those in as we decided the scope of the project. How much could we do? How little could we do? We took a look at the existing product and the primary utilization of it. And decided that their mostly using this much, so this is how much we are going to start with. And then we verified that with all of the different stake holders. | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Project_Management_for_Instructional_Designers_(Wiley_et_al.)/02%3A__Project_Management_for_Instructional_Designers/2.01%3A_2_Project_Profiling_--_Project_Management_for_Instruct.txt |
2.5 Using the Darnall-Preston Complexity Index to Measure Organizational Complexity
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LEARNING OBJECTIVE
1. Analyze a project function for size, organizational complexity, technological newness, and technological familiarity and assign a complexity score.
Recall that the Darnall-Preston Complexity Index (DPCI™) ranks complexity in four categories: external, internal, technological, and environmental. The information provided in this chapter can be used to rate a project’s complexity in the areas of size, organizational complexity, technological newness, and technology familiarity. Scores range from 1 (least complex) to 5 (most complex).
Image by Doblin/Monitor
Size
Recall that size is relative to the organization’s comfort zone for projects. Refer to the following descriptions for tips on arriving at a DPCI score for size:
1. The project size is the most common size the organization does. The project manager and team members have done many similarly sized projects, and the tools they use to manage this size project are well tested and reliable.
2. The project size is at the high or low end of the range of project sizes that the organization or team members have done before.
3. The project size is about 20% higher or lower than projects the organization or some of the team members have done before. The project leader and a few key team leaders are familiar with this size project from work they have done elsewhere. Project management tools and processes will have to be adjusted but will probably work.
4. The project size is about 50% higher or lower than projects the organization or most of the team members have done before. Project management tools and processes will have to be adjusted, and it is not certain that they will work well. New tools and procedures may be needed.
5. Neither the organization nor the team members are experienced working on a project this size. It is several times larger or smaller than previous projects. It is too small or too large for the tools and techniques with which the team is familiar.
Organizational Complexity
Recall that system complexity is determined by the variety of types of elements and the number of connections there are between elements. Review a chart of the organizational structure that depicts the reporting relationships, the number of people involved, their familiarity with each other, and the amount of cross connections between reporting relationships and functions. Refer to the following descriptions for tips on arriving at a DPCI score for size:
1. The organizational structure is simple and involves few people. No new relationships need to be formed, and the people have worked together in these relationships before.
2. The team includes people who report to operations managers instead of the project manager, and more people are involved.
3. The organization chart has numerous segments, but most people are familiar with their roles and have worked in this type of role before.
4. The number of people involved is large, and the functions are handled by many different people. There are several levels of reporting in the organization chart.
5. The number of people is very large, and many of them do not know each other or have never met. Each major function requires a full-time person, and coordinating between functions requires frequent meetings among mid- and top-level managers.
Technology Newness
Recall that this category refers to the technology that is part of the project. It might be new technology that is being implemented to make a step change in the efficiency of an operation. Refer to the following descriptions for tips on arriving at a DPCI score for size:
1. The technology is not new. It has been around for years and is reliable.
2. The technology is only a few years old. Most of the initial bugs are out of it, but the fixes have not been thoroughly tested.
3. The technology is recent, and only a few other organizations have experience with it. The providers promise that the next release or version will have the problems resolved.
4. The technology is new and has just been released for general use. Problems are likely.
5. The technology is in an early testing phase, and your organization is one of the test sites. Problems are expected.
Technology Familiarity
Recall that this category refers to the familiarity of the project team with the technology that is part of the project. Refer to the following descriptions for tips on arriving at a DPCI score for size:
1. The team members have all used the technology or have been involved with projects that used this technology. They are confident that they understand it and can handle problems related to it.
2. The technology is new to some of the team members who are not in key positions. Standardized training is available, if necessary, to teach them what they need to know about it to do their jobs.
3. Several team members have not worked with this technology, including some of the key team members. Standardized training is not available, and consultants might be needed.
4. The technology is new but is similar to previous technologies with which the team leaders are familiar. An advisor from the product’s development team may serve as a technology advisor.
5. The technology is new, and no one has worked with it before. A specialist might be needed to avoid serious errors.
Assigning a Score
Assigning a score is not an absolutely accurate process. Your objective is to be approximately correct, and some people are not comfortable with this type of estimate. Recall that one of the attributes of a successful project manager is the ability to live with ambiguity. One method that will help when assigning a score is to consider the two extremes. For each factor in the DPCI, consider what the simplest—least complex—scenario would look like, to which you would assign a 1 on the DPCI scale. Next consider what the most complex scenario would be, which would describe a 5. Then, compare actual projects to those two extremes. Accordingly, if it is about in the middle it rates a 3, and a 2 and a 4 are moderately simple and moderately complex, respectively.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• Scores range from 1 to 5, where 1 is the lowest level of complexity and 5 is the highest. In each situation, consider what the two extremes would look like and then judge where the current situation lies between those extremes. | textbooks/socialsci/Education_and_Professional_Development/Project_Management_for_Instructional_Designers_(Wiley_et_al.)/02%3A__Project_Management_for_Instructional_Designers/2.02%3A_2.5_Using_the_Darnall-Preston_Complexity_Index_to_Meas.txt |
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