Category: edci335

Learning Pod Being Reviewed: # 2

Peers’ Names: Caitlin, Sujean, Sarah, Alyssa, and Amelie

Interactive Learning Resource Topic: Growth Mindset

• Identify components of the Interactive Learning Resource that might be missing (e.g., appropriate outcomes, alignment, interactivity, inclusivity, technology use and rationale, presentation, grammar, spelling, citations, etc.).

First Impressions : I really enjoyed reading through your Interactive Learning Resource draft, the topic about developing strategies for acheiving a healthy growth mindset rather than a fixed mindset intrigues me a lot and I wish I knew more about it before. The fact that your target audience is fourth graders is wonderful because learning this type of skill and knowledge early on in your educational journey will set you up for a brighter future as you experience the highs and lows of school.

Outcomes: The learning outcomes that you listed made sense and work really well, and flow with each concept/lesson activities and videos nicely.

Alignment: The alignment of your ILR is very nice and organized, and demonstrates universal design in a great way.

Interactivity: You have multiple examples of interactivity with your ILR, which includes interactive spaces for students to connect with others, by responding to zoom and podcasts, and having conversations within breakout rooms.

Inclusivity: I appreciate the way you include Universal design for learning in order to support ELL students and students that are hard of hearing.

Technology use and rationale: You have many different types of technology that is used throughout each lesson and they all fit together really well. I like how you are using zoom to your advantage for involving learners with diverse needs, by using the closed captioning options while students are communicating with eachother. I also llike how padlet provides 42 different languages.

Presentation: I think you have an organized draft/plan for your ILR, I wish I could see some aspects of the finished project and how students will navigate everything.

Grammar/spelling/Citations:

Perhaps you might consider including easy to follow and understand vocabulary because your learners are aged 10-11, so they might not know all the words and concepts you know. Citations look good, maybe add a bit more on certain concepts and terms that might need further explanation.

Interaction in the classroom is so important for a students learning, and being forced to go online during the COVID-19 pandemic was challenging, atleast for some people. I like being in a physical classroom where I can talk in small groups with peers and complete creative activities together. Being alone in a room, just having a computer in front of me and trying to follow along online discussions and watching recorded lectures were just not the same. An example of interaction from my highschool days would be an activity from a psychology class. The room was divided into four sections (Agree, somewhat agree, disagree, somewhat disagree) and the whole class would break out in to each section depending on the controversial statement they would provide on the board. We would then have a debate/discussion about why we choose the section we were in. It was interesting to hear different opinions and views.

For my groups project, we are teaching first year University students the functions of the four brain lobes. I found this video on Youtube that gives a great explanation and visual to teach people where each part of the brain is located and what they do by using your hands as a model.

What kind of interaction would the video require from your students? Does it force them to respond in some way (inherent)?

This video does a great job at getting people to follow along and use their hands to represent a brain, I especially liked how it explains/ demonstrates that the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body and vice versa. I like how the only tools you need to follow the video are your hands. “Some media are inherently ‘active’ in that they ‘push’ learners to respond” (Bates, 2019).

What activity could you suggest that they do, after they have watched the video (designed)? What type of knowledge or skill would that activity help develop? What medium or technology would students use to do the activity?

If we were to use this in our lesson I would encourage students to follow along, and after learning each part of the brain, they would have to turn to a peer/ or find a family member/friend if they are taking the class online, and show them what they have learnt while explaining the functions of the lobes. Students could also make a short video of themselves recreating the video, forming a brain with there hands and explaining each function of the four lobes.

How much work for you would that activity cause? Would the work be both manageable and worthwhile? Could the activity be scaled for larger numbers of students?

I think the activity I suggested would be easy enough to complete/manage for small or large groups. Learners could find a partner to share their new knowledge with or the class could be split in to small groups of 3-5 and each student would demonstate what they learnt from the video, or what stood out to them most. I also feel like the activity would be something a student could do anywhere, and show to anyone to further their understanding. I also think do a phydical activity like this is would be more interesting and fun then just doing something like “fill in the blanks” on a diagram, or just writing it down.

How could the video have been designed to generate more or better activity from viewers or students?

I think the video does a great job at engaging people to follow along. A suggestion would be to have a count down, or a short timer for people to have time to form their hands in the right position, or even have a timer to explain the functions of the lobes to the student next to them. Or perhaps have a small quiz at the end of the video or throughout. The person speaking could ask the viewers/students to show the “Temporal lobe” with their hands, suring a 5 second timer, and then the speaker would reveal the correct answer/form.

References:

Bates, T. (2019). Teaching in a Digital Age-Second Edition. Chapter 9: Choosing and using media in education: the SECTIONS model. Retrieved from: https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/teachinginadigitalagev2/chapter/pedagogical-roles-for-text-audio-and-video/ 

Blog Post #3:

This week, we learned about universal design for learning and inclusive learning design. I was interested in the readings’ contents since I’ve always believed that the educational system, especially high school, is catered to a particular personality and learning style. Not having adequate pictures to aid my understanding, I tried to follow instructions that made no sense to me. I always felt like a failure and insufficient if I was unable to study a new subject using the materials that were made available to me.

There was a video of the “selective attention test” that I watched as I read the inclusive design part. A gorilla walked through this crowd of people while I was ordered to observe and count how many times the individuals wearing white t-shirts passed the ball. It was interesting to observe that I was quickly sidetracked from the subject at hand, and this has frequently happened to me throughout my academic career. This part of the reading helped me understand the value of attention and engagement when creating a learning design and the need to support realistic work durations for people who are easily distracted.

The contrast between equity and equality really stood out to me. Even though I’d seen it before a long time ago, when I started to think about the educational system, it made more sense to me today. It demonstrates to us that because each person is unique and has distinct requirements, we cannot all be given the same things. UDL aims to do away with obstacles to learning right away. A sort of support for developing the abilities and knowledge a learner may already possess or is attempting to acquire is scaffolding. It is applied till the student is more assured. A clear vocabulary and definition list or step-by-step instructions are two examples of a scaffold.

Video for better understanding:

The interactive learning resource for my group will be delivered through a website and will be centred on the four distinct lobes of the human brain. We selected a website because it is accessible from a variety of electronic devices. We will strive to include several pictures, videos, and clear definitions throughout the learning activities we plan to provide in order to guarantee that it is inclusive for all learners. We’ll make sure the content and all the exercises are simple to understand. The student may complete the readings and exercises in any sequence and at any time. Along the process, there will be brief tests to keep the learner interested and inspired to put their new skills to use. The content we produce will be a combination of written, audio, and visual elements that may be accessed using a screen reader if they wish. Since we’ve chosen that our learners won’t have any prior understanding of our subject, we’ll give straightforward introductions to each of the four lobes.

References:

Universal design. (2022). https://edtechuvic.ca/edci335/universal-design/

Inclusive design. (2022). https://edtechuvic.ca/edci335/inclusive-learning-design/

AHEAD. What is Universal Design for Learning (UDL)? (2022). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGQ_7K35ysA

Share a story about your best learning experience (could be a formal course or something more personal). Why did you enjoy it?

I grew up in a English speaking household, so I was never exposed to a second language naturally. Throughout middle school and highschool I took a couple French and Spanish classes, but I was not very consistant with practicing and forgot them very easily. It wasnt until I had the oportunity to go visit my friend in Spain for the whole summer, during the prior months to going there I was serious about learning the language.

While I was in Spain, I was constantly exposed to the language and I quickly picked up a few basic words and small sentences. Not only was I motivated to learn, but I was very lucky to stay with my friend and her family because they would translate conversations to me, and also teach me something new everyday. A few years later I decided to take a Spanish course at Camosun College, even though it had been a few years since I went to Spain I could still remember a few words and sentences because I had the experiences to look back on to jog my memory.

I want to continue to learn Spanish, because I would love to return back to Spain after I graduate this year and hopefully live there and get a job teaching English as a second language. Learning a language is more difficult as an adult, compared to being a child because our brains do not absord information the same way it used to. I have learnt that being in the country, and surrounded by the culture, makes learning Spanish easier then just reading a textbook, or relying on a digital translator.

Behaviorism is when the learners’ responses and feedback are reinforced and returned and ensuring that learners develop good habits. (Ertmer and Newby, 2018). When I was learning Spanish in class at Camosun, we would have to listen carefully to the professor, memorize responses, and learn the correct form for each feminine/masculine word or formal/informal word. “Learning is accomplished when a proper response is demonstrated following the presentation of a specific environmental stimulus” (Ertmer and Newby, 2018).

Cognitivism is when a learner develops a learning strategy and makes connections to prior experiences (Ertmer and Newby, 2018).  After going to Spain and learning a little bit more of Spanish, coming back and being in class, I was able to make connections to my past experiences which helped me learn better.

Constructivism is when Learning takes into account the experiences and interactions of each learner while making meanings and interpretations of what they have heard (Ertmer and Newby, 2018). In the real world, we try new things and are constantly changing. If I ever achieve my goal of living in Spain and being fully immersed into the language and culture, I will develop a constructivist strategy. 

References

Ertmer, P. A. & Newby, T. (2018). Behaviorism, Cognitivism, Constructivism: Comparing Critical Features From an Instructional Design Perspective. In R. E. West, Foundations of Learning and Instructional Design Technology: The Past, Present, and Future of Learning and Instructional Design Technology. EdTech Books. Retrieved from https://edtechuvic.ca/edci335/learning-theories/#respond