RSA 4: Promoting Collaborative Learning

RSA 4: Promoting Collaborative Learning

Elizabeth Meza

RSA 3: Promoting Collaborative Learning

EDT 6030 Using Technology to Build Learning Communities

Online Source: http://cucproxy.cuchicago.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=cookie,ip,cpid&custid=s8419239&db=aph&AN=9369406&site=ehost-live

            After reading this week’s text, I had the impression that although collaboration is expected in an online community it is not necessarily easy for students. Many factors can affect collaboration in an online community including resistance among team members because of previous experiences. Until the students learn how to collaborate and understand the concept, “when I succeed, we succeed”, only then will these students be able to collaborate among each other for personal growth and learning (Pallof & Pratt, 2007). 

Success in an online community begins by having those students develop collaborative skills.  They should have a chance to develop shared goals for their learning process. One way the authors believe share learning goals can be formed is by having the instructor make sure to explain expectation before starting collaboration. When everyone understands how collaboration contributes to the learning objectives there is less chances of having resistance among the team members.   Group members negotiate guidelines that everyone can accept.  It is also suggested that team members post introductions about themselves and their learning expectations. As these are posted, comments are encouraged by each one of team members so that everyone feels recognized (Pallof & Pratt, 2007).

Students should be given the opportunity to use prior life experiences to facilitate their learning and thus deepening their understanding of what they learn.  Students can be asked to respond to questions based on their experiences or reflect on their current learning as they see it in their course (Pallof & Pratt, 2007).

Finally, when students are given the opportunity to collaborate with others among their class instead of the instructor, they achieve a higher level of learning. Instructors are still required to facilitate discussions and redirect discussion if they go astray but overall the students are taking charge of their learning (Pallof & Pratt, 2007).

            In the article, “Building and supporting student team collaboration in the virtual classroom,” Hasler-Waters and Napier explain that although there has been an increase in online courses there are a lack of resources to train students to be  effective team members and support instructors to help students who are working in collaboratively group projects.  This article offers ways in which to help instructors support their students to work in teams effectively in an on-line setting (2002).

Waters and Napier indicated that online learners have a natural resistance to team projects for which outcomes rely on the input of others (as cited in Ko & Rossen, 2001; DeNigris & Witchel, 2000).  The article addresses how two individuals tried to change this type of situation by offering resources that will help support the learners to work collaboratively. They concentrated on an instructional module called “Virtual Teambuilding” that was tested on 24 graduate students at one university.  Before incorporating the module, the instructor created an introductory unit and five other units. The introduction, first, and fourth unit were worked on collaboratively.  The students were encouraged to work online or call each other if necessary to complete these projects. The objective of the module was to improve collaborative skills of the students while providing the instructors with training materials to support their students. By giving a grade to the collaborative projects, it provided an incentive to complete the projects. The students then had the opportunity to view a PowerPoint on successful virtual teams individually and then meet together as a team to participate on the online activities designed to help them practice using the concepts and strategies contained in the presentation (2002).  After several data gathering collection most students expressed their satisfaction with the teambuilding activities and reported they gained online collaboration skills. Much of their success was also due to the instructor’s support they received.

Finally, it states that effective collaboration can be compared to an onion with its many layers. These layers are interrelated and dependent upon each other. These layers can be said to be the “elements found in successful online teams”. To be successful, the members must go through each layer to productively complete the projects.  The sequence of how the elements are initiated is not important. These elements include receiving support and guidance from the facilitator, getting acquainted with teammates to develop a personal bond, establishing clear communication and encouraging open as well as respectful discussion. Other elements include building trust by working toward the same goal and getting organized. Getting organized helps teams to work on projects simultaneously without the unnecessary loss of time.  Establishing norms and protocol help all team members increase team efficiency. It also helps resolve conflict and take in account everyone’s schedules when having to meet with each other (2002).  

These two readings establish the importance of teaching students how to collaborate online with other team members.  The authors Palloff and Pratt (2002) state, “The skills of interdependence must be developed and taught through process of active learning”.  This means that although expected to collaborate it does not essentially mean that it will be successful.  It can be successful when the process is taught and developed.  As well believed, the article by Hasler-Waters and Napier (2002) express the same notion, “Students do not become collaborators merely by being grouped into teams. Effective collaboration involves a set of skills that need to be learned and cultivated”.   Each establishes the need for shared goals and the power of introductions among team members.  It also considers the opportunity to discuss with other team members and reflect on what they learned. Although each reading presented the ideas differently, the main ideas are very similar to each other. I personally think the onion analogy will be the best way to visualize what collaboration means in an online community of learners.

References

DeNigris, J., & Witchel,A.(2000). How to teach and train online. Needham Heights. MA: Pearson Custom Publishing.

Hasler-Waters, L., & Napier, W. (2002). Building and supporting student team collaboration in the virtual classroom. Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 3(3), 345.

Ko. S., & Rossen, S (2001) Teaching online: A Practical guide. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.

Palloff, R. & Pratt, K. (2007) Building online learning communities.  San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass

RSA 3: Professional Development

RSA 3: Teacher Professional Development

Elizabeth Meza

RSA 3:  Teacher Professional Development

EDT 6030 Using Technology to Build Learning Communities

Online Source: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19415250903396034

In, Teacher Professional Development: Its Not an Event, It’s a Process; it explains the importance of focusing professional development on the impact within the classroom. It states that professional development should change teachers’ classroom behaviors in ways that lead to students’ improvement in student performance. It describes the context, content, and process of high quality teacher professional development.  It states that it is a process of change and does not occur in one sitting.   This paper also demonstrates the importance of using online professional development as well as face to face to make professional development successful. Using both ways helps the participants to practice what they learned and to collaborate with other participants.  Using online professional development allows teachers with different schedules to still be able to access the content at their convenience. 

One idea that is very important to note is that professional development can only be successful when the setting has been set to succeed with both the leaders and participants on board to create an atmosphere of change.  Before providing professional development there must be a sense of urgency in changing teacher behaviors in ways that lead to improvements in students performances. The administration must support the professional development provided for it to succeed.  It also shows that there must be a buy in from all participants before the professional development can ever show any significant change.  The teachers must themselves feel the urgency that change must happen and that the professional development will very likely help them create that change.  If within the group there are people who disagree about the urgency of change then there is a limited chance of change.  Another factor for the success of professional development is the setting in which it occurs. If teachers consider learning a communal activity and involve themselves in discussions, take time to interact with other participants, and help one another practice the new skills the professional development becomes even more powerful. (Harwell,2003)

In the next reading, Planning teacher professional development: the struggles and successes of an inter‐organizational collaboration,   it mentions the fact that although collaboration shows benefits in teacher instruction and students outcome, it can also bring about collaborative inertia. Teachers who for many years have been isolated in their teaching practices might not want to join in reflective practices and discussions.  Groups might enforce rules allowing for little flexibility and reflection. If there is no common purpose within the overall goal of the school or organization then most teachers will not take to the professional development. Although it might seem there is a common concern there might be tension which then in turn changes the sense of community.  Once the differences and tensions are sorted and worked out in the group then there grows new perspectives and understanding. In this study it mentions the struggles a professional development group had to go through in their first year of working together.

The study involves a group of high school and college teacher that came together to create professional development. Some teachers were assigned to this professional development group and so they had a difficult time becoming an active participant.  It explains the difficulties they had to create professional development plan within this group.  In this study it states, “Collaboration is often promoted as a means of providing effective and sustainable teacher professional development.”  With this idea in mind most people believe the more collaboration within a group in a professional development the better the quality of its content.

One of the issues presented in this study is the fact the team members did not know their role in the group. Each member took on a role they felt they should be doing. Thus each person felt that they were not participating as they felt they should be.

Member of this study also felt they did not share the same vision although each of them said they did in the beginning of the professional development group. One member mentioned that although his personality is of a “go getter and finish the job”, he recognized the fact that they must build the community before ever accomplishing anything else.

These varying and evolving expectations reflect the issues that often lead to collaborative

inertia.  This group had to work through determining a common goal, figuring out the needs of the group and their particular role in the professional develops planning.  They began establishing a common language and protocol, and establishing trust among its members. They also had to figure out issues of lack of commitment to the team’s overall goal and the shared responsibility of workload.  Finally, the group members worked out their issues on trust and began to collaborate more freely among each other. They learned to accept each other differences, respect each others ideas. The study states, “Through the process of working together, they have to integrate the perspectives into a new collaborative perspective.”

In the group, they assumed that because they worked together before in other types of situations and they had common ideas of what direction they wanted to go all of the difficult issues would be easily handle.  After working within the group they realized that this was not so and that it could have been avoided if they took the time to create a community of learners where there would be a specified protocol in acknowledging each other strengths and differences. The time spent in the beginning establishing this process would have transitioned the work of creating a professional development plan far easier. (Frost, Janet Hart, Akmal, Tariq T. &. Kingrey, Joan U., 2010)

After reading each of these studies, I realized a connection in the idea that professional development is not an easy concept developed in just one day. Professional development is a process and it takes each member to create a successful professional development that show overall students increase in performance. I notice the importance of creating and environment that is safe and respectful for each team member.  I also believe that there is a commonality in each idea that the participant must each believe there is a goal that has to be accomplished to create a professional development that is successful.

Setting the stage for it to succeed occurs when all participants are actively involved and the belief that there is a urgency to the change needed in teachers’ behaviors.

References

Harwell, Sandra Ph.D.. (2003). Teacher professional development: It’s not an event, it’s a process. Waco:Texas.CORD

Frost, Janet Hart, Akmal, Tariq T. &. Kingrey, Joan U (2010): Planning teacher

professional development: The struggles and successes of an inter‐organizational collaboration, Professional Development in Education, 36(4), 581-595

RSA 2: Learning as Our Fundamental Purpose

RSA 2: Learning as Our Fundamental Purpose

Elizabeth Meza

RSA 2:  Learning as Our Fundamental Purpose

EDT 6030 Using Technology to Build Learning Communities

Online Source : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEoJ6DLrBtQ

http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/teaching_now/2010/12/plcs_for_analyzing_student_work.html?qs=PLC

           

            In Learning by doing p. 182, the authors’ state, “The very reason to engage in the PLC process is to improve results…”   One very important step is to collaborate in creating common formative assessments and to get feedback from each other.  Working periodically to evaluate each other’s teaching practices using data is essential in a effective PLC.  Without doing this type of reflection a teacher can not determine the strengths and weakness in their teaching or determine the areas that a student might be struggling with in the curriculum (p.184).

In the blog excerpt, PLC for analyzing student work, by Heitin, it supports this idea.  She presents the idea of using protocol to help ease the transition from looking at work to analyzing it. She presented the ideas of a session she went to that was called “Teacher-Led Collaboration: Using Protocol to Facilitate Conversation.” She seemed impressed with the idea of using student work to reflect on their teaching practices. This protocol that was demonstrated showed how a protocol can be used effectively. By using clarified questions, giving “warm and cool” comments, and having the presenting teacher reflect on what they learned from the process the teacher can positively go back to the classroom to change they teaching.  

In the YouTube video, Visitation School provides the definition of a PLC and spotlighted the 4 questions used to create their PLC. In the video, they also note the success of their nonfiction writing program due to the process of evaluating their common assessments. Part of this success was creating a common assessment throughout the grade levels and following up with the evaluation of each these assessments. A part of evaluation process, they used these assessments to see what students learned and what they did not learn. They used the assessments to evaluate at the beginning of the school year what the students know and during the middle of the year to see what they have learned.  By looking at the trend they can then look at their way of teaching and improve each time they do this process (March, 2010)

References

Dufour, R. Dufour, R., Eaker R., Many T. (2010). Learning by doing. Bloomington. IN:Solution Tree Press

Heitin, L. (2010, December 6) PLC for analyzing student work

Visitationtv (2010, March 6)  PLC (Professional learning communities) [Video] Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEoJ6DLrBtQ

RSA 2: Laying Foundation for a PLC

Elizabeth Meza

RSA 2: Laying the Foundation for a PLC

EDT 6030 Using Technology to Build Learning Communities

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJDhPXQY318

http://www.edweek.org/ew/index.html

            In this week’s reading the focus was on establish the foundation for creating a Professional Learning Community. It included some downfalls a PLC can go through when that learning community is not well developed.  One of such downfalls is the idea of collaboration among teachers.  In Learning By Doing p.117, Principal McDonald shows his frustration when he notices that although time and training was given to collaborate among teachers there was little improvement of student achievement. He made every effort to find out how the staff felt regarding these meetings. After several observations in these team meetings he noted that many meeting were not focused on the students learning or data. Mainly team meetings focused on topics that had little to do with student learning. Team meetings were supposed to be focused on curriculum, assessment, and instruction, but how do you express this to a faculty without objection?

            In contrast, the video posted on YouTube, Professional Learning Teams: The School Connection, (December 2008), shows how Professional Learning Teams can work collaboratively to improve student learning. The principal noted that his school has shown remarkable improvements in student achievement. One fact that helped accomplish this is the sense of direction for each of the meetings. The teachers are given time to collaborate after school. This allows the teachers to work amongst themselves with little distractions. The teachers meet within their grade levels and discuss student data. They also dialogue over instruction and how they could improve it through the feedback given to them from other teachers. This helps assure the teachers that all students understand the concepts being presented to them. It continues by mentioning that if students are not learning, what are the actions a teacher must take to make each child succeed before it’s too late.

 

                In Working Smarter by Working Together (2008), it tells of Stevenson High School and their journey through the development and successful implementation of a professional learning community. It states that teachers meet each week in course specific and sometimes interdisciplinary teams. They are called to analyze data, discuss strategies for improvement of instruction, and to develop assessments and lesson plans. Everything they are doing is targeted to the groups, including professional development and hiring of new staff.  Mirroring what our text states, it mentions the challenges of a school might go through in implementation of a PLC. It states that, to create a PLC you must change the whole culture of the school. I think what is important to mention is that it requires a lot of sensitivity and dialogue before the culture change can happen. That said, a principal cannot just say one day, “We are going to create a PLC in our school” and expect the change to happen automatically.

The article gives four essential points that will help enhance the effectiveness of teacher teams. These are;

1.      Build time for collaboration into the school day and year.

2.      Clarify the purpose and products of collaboration.  This might include developing common assessments or objectives.

3.      Ask team to clarify their operating procedures and protocols that will guide their working together.  Asking questions like what are our expectations for how our team will operate? How will the team resolve conflict?

4.      As a team identify specific, measureable performance goals that will eventually show that more students are learning at high levels.

            One of the most important steps mentioned here is asking others, “What do we do when students don’t learn?” (Honawar, 2008)

References

Dufour, R.,Dufour, R., Eaker R., Many T. (2010). Learning by Doing. Bloomington. IN:Solution Tree Press.

Honawar, Vaishali (2008). Working Smarter By Working Together. Lincolnshire, IL: Education Week.

Retrieved from http://www.edweek.org/ew/index.html

Wake County Schools (2009, December 7) Professional Learning Teams: The School Connection [Video]. YouTube.

Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJDhPXQY318

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog and I hope you'll enjoy the new technology galaxy you are exploring!
My blog's address is http://liztechnologygalaxy.blogspot.com/