RSA #4 Facilitating Collaboration in Online Learning

RSA #4  Facilitating Collaboration in Online Learning

 http://sloanconsortium.org/jaln/v10n1/facilitating-collaboration-online-learning

“Facilitating Collaboration in Online Learning” is a fantastic article by Caroline Haythornthwaite.  She examines why collaboration is important and what outcomes we expect.  She also discusses how online communication is different that face-to-face learning and the challenges that it poses. 

One of the most important parts of online collaboration is figuring out how people will communicate with each other.  The group should have common goals and communication practices.  Haythornthwaite makes a distinction between collaboration and coordination.  When people coordinate online, they may be working independently and then creating an end product together by piecing it together. (p. 12)  This reminded me of the challenge of writing common assessments as a department.  Oftentimes, we are just trying to coordinate but not actually collaborate.  But common assessments are a prime example of when collaboration is really necessary. 

There are challenges to collaboration though.  Haythornthwaite says “…peer-to-peer exchange depends on time, effort, and trust among peers. Sharing may not occur when there is competition for scarce resources, where knowledge is power, or where time is so short that engagement with peers is outside the bounds of possibility” (p. 11). 

Online communication can be fraught with barriers to building a community. Although people can sometimes express themselves more freely; they miss out on the social cues that come from face-to-face communication.  (Haythornthwaite, p. 15)

        I think this piece does a great job exploring some of the benefits to online collaboration but also some of the pitfalls.  When planning a professional learning community, it is important to figure out what the goals are before you commit to one model or resource.  For example, Edmodo may work well in some cases because teachers will be passing along their completed lessons, websites or assessments.  However, if a PLC is designed for more in-depth collaboration online, a format like Google Docs would be better so that members could work together on something without having to be in the same place.  

Haythornthwaite, C.  (Feb 2006).  Facilitating Collaboration in Online Learning. The Sloan Consortium, volume 10.   Retrieved June 23rd from http://sloanconsortium.org/jaln/v10n1/facilitating-collaboration-online-learning

RSA #3--Online Learning--Great Option for Credit Recovery

http://thejournal.com/articles/2012/03/08/online-credit-recovery.aspx?sc_lang=en

This is my first time taking an online class and although I find it challenging, there are definitely some advantages to online learning.  I found an article called “Credit Recovery Programs Combine the Best of Online and In-Class Instruction”.  It is by Lisa Plummer from THE Journal from March of this year.   Plummer describes the advantages of online programs designed to help students make up credits so that they are able to graduate high school. 

Until recently, schools have provided summer school, Saturday school or evening lessons for credit recovery.  There are logistical challenges such as providing staff and security during odd hours that are not needed for online programs.  From a budget standpoint, it is an appealing option. 

Keisha Kidan is the virtual learning program coordinator for the Chicago Public Schools.   She says in the article, "We wouldn't be able to offer enough courses for every student who needs to recover a credit without an online program."  CPS now uses this type of program at half of their 122 high schools. 

The programs usually include pretests and posttests and students progress through their own pace.   The best programs offer interactive multimedia content to keep students engaged.  They also use mentors to make sure the students have support. 

At this point, data is anecdotal but many districts are enthusiastic about these types of programs. 

I think that this type of learning would work well for someone that doesn’t feel comfortable having to “put themselves out there” by speaking up in class or by posting to an online forum.  Although our textbook reading talked about how students may feel more comfortable discussing online than in person, there is also the fear of being judged when you post something online.  Say something briefly in class and many people will forget it. Post it online and it is permanent.  This may cause certain students to feel anxiety about posting in a group online class. 

Plummer, L.  (March 2012)  Credit Recovery Programs Combine the Best of Online and In-Class Instruction.  THE Journal.  Retrieved June 8, 2012 from

http://thejournal.com/articles/2012/03/08/online-credit-recovery.aspx?sc_lang=en

RSA #2: STEM Teachers in Professional Learning Communities: From Good Teachers to Great Teaching

http://nctaf.org/wp-content/uploads/NCTAFreportSTEMTeachersinPLCsFromGoodTeacherstoGreatTeaching.pdf

This week I used the ERIC database to find an article and it worked out extremely well.  I found a great summary by Kathleen Fulton and Ted Britton called STEM Teachers in Professional Learning Communities:  From Good Teachers to Great Teaching.  It is very much in line with what the authors of Learning By Doing preach about the effectiveness of PLCs.  In this case, it is focused on STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, math).  This is the summary of a report that used 2 years worth of research to examine the effects of PLC’s. 

There were many things that struck a chord with me in this summary.  It talked about how the US has fallen behind the rest of the world in technology and math.  And it also discussed how education has to adjust to the changes in our economy.   

“Learning is no longer preparation for the job.  It is the job.  Today’s students are preparing for a future in which they will invent and reinvent their work, team up to solve problems, develop new knowledge, and continuously acquire new skills.”  (Fulton and Britton,  2011 pg.4)

            According to the authors, teachers should no longer work in isolation and they have the research to back it up.  Better collaboration leads to better learning.  This is exactly the same stance that Dufour and company take in Learning by Doing. 

It is not surprising that these educators would have the same ideas as DuFour.  But what is significant is that there is more data to back it up.  Someone could criticize the Dufour’s claims and say they are just interested in selling their books.  However, here is an outside group who researched these same ideals and came to the same conclusions.

            I highly recommend this reading, especially for STEM teachers. 

DuFour, R., Dufour, R., Eaker R., Many, T.  (2006)  Learning By Doing:  A Handbook for Professional Learning Communities at Work.   Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

Fulton, K. and Britton, T.  (June 2011) STEM Teachers in Professional Learning Communities:  From Good Teachers to Great Teaching.  National Committee on Teaching and America’s Future.  Retrieved May 27, 2012 from   http://nctaf.org/wp-content/uploads/NCTAFreportSTEMTeachersinPLCsFromGoodTeacherstoGreatTeaching.pdf

RSA #1—The Missing Link in School Reform    

http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/the_missing_link_in_school_reform/

I read quite a few articles online regarding student achievement and the role of teachers in preparation for this blog entry.  I came across an article called The Missing Link in School Reform.  In it the author, Carrie R. Lena, discusses research that was done in New York City public schools to examine what factors make a difference in student achievement. A lot of emphasis is placed on teacher performance but she discovered in her research what many teachers already know, and what DuFour advocates.  Teachers working alone are not only inefficient but also wasteful. (DuFour, DuFour, Eaker & Many, 2006)

                 

                  Lena states that, “In the context of schools, human capital is a teacher’s cumulative abilities, knowledge, and skills developed through formal education and on-the-job experience.”  (Lena, 2011)  Lena argues that there is another factor at work; social capital.  Social capital refers to the relationships built between teachers that lead to more collaboration, sharing and higher student achievement.  When teachers need assistance, they are more likely to ask a colleague rather than an outside “expert” or the principal. 

            Another interesting argument she makes that I wholeheartedly agree with is  for stability.  She argues that teachers become more confident and experienced if they continue to teach the same grade and subject area.  Some would argue that teachers become stagnant and “set in their ways” if they teach the same thing year after year.  I wholeheartedly disagree.   This is my third year teaching 6^th grade Geography and I am still coming up with new activities and figuring out better ways to teach it.  If I switched to 7^th or 8^th grade, I would feel like I had to reinvent the wheel.  I would hope that my colleagues that teach those grades would be happy to share.  But I still would not be ask prepared as I am now. 

On another note which may be best left for another blog post-- how many of our students at the middle school level are taught social studies or science by math teachers that just happen to have one or two SS classes in their schedule?  They are “highly qualified” because they have the university credits but they do not want to be teaching it and so they are not motivated to collaborate.  This is an issue at my school and yet again, it is because we have grade level based teams and very few teachers work with multiple grades which mean that the teachers have classes outside their comfort zone.  I will save my complaints about that for when I have a little more job security. 

DuFour, R., DuFour, R., Eaker, R., & Many, T. (2006). Learning by Doing: A Handbook for Professional Learning Communities at Work. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

Lena, C. R. (Fall 2011). The Missing Link in School Reform, Stanford Social Innovation Review.  Retrieved May 19, 2012 from http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/the_missing_link_in_school_reform/

Welcome!  I started this blog for a master's class.  Using Technology to Build Learning Communities.  It should be very interesting.  I am hoping to catch up on the latest tech and bring it into my teaching.  I'm also hoping it will lead to more collaboration between the teachers in my district.