Week 2 Learning Theories

Specific learning goal with 2 learning theories
   As a former English/Reading teacher turned librarian (hopefully), I took my specific learning goal of increasing an individual's reading habits and reading level from TEA's School Library Programs: Standards and Guidelines for Texas Title 13, Part1, Chapter 4, Sub chapter A, Section 4.1, Standard VI, Principle 5.

The librarian:

E. Inspires a love of reading by relating reading to students’ interest, background, culture, and enjoyment and by introducing students to literary forms such as stories,

poems, and information books through practices such as individual dialogue, book talks, reading motivation programs, book clubs, and large and small group

instruction.

<>   I would incorporate Gagne's Theory of Instruction to promote good reading habits and thereby increase reading level and comprehension. The way a student initially approaches the task of reading can significantly affect enjoyment and overall comprehension. A media specialist can foster a love of reading by showing students an enthusiasm for reading and gaining their attention, stating the objective in clear and simple terms, and collaborating with student's teachers to make reading worthwhile and meaningful for the student. Media specialists should also connect the reading material to the student's current knowledge, provide strategies for making the most of reading, provide a time and place for reading, assess performance and provide feedback through book reports and book talks, and enrich the experience by using available library media center technology like DVDs and online activities. <><>

To increase reading habits and reading level, I also would try to incorporate the Cognitive Information Processing Theory and the idea of three memory systems: sensory, short-term, and long-term memory. To stimulate the sensory memory system I would make use of plot diagrams and imagery strategies. To aid with short-term memory, I would divide the material into usable 'chunks' which makes information more recognizable and useful to students. For example, a student struggling with reading may benefit from finding the main idea of each paragraph or page, use that info to help build an idea of the main idea of a chapter, and then use that information to determine the main concept of an entire book. Using many bits of information to build one main idea allows reader to then shed the excess information and retain the most important main points of a reading passage to store in long-term memory.

<>

Gagne's Nine Events of Instruction

http://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/conditions-learning.html
http://academics.georgiasouthern.edu/col/id/gagne_9_events.php

I used information from the above websites.

   For my goal of increasing reading habits and reading level, I would first use a PowerPoint slide show with pictures of book jackets and alluring snippets about the plot of some very interesting books.  Given the problem of low reading level, the learner should be instrumental in deciding which reading strategies to incorporate and decide what his/her goal is (ex. raise reading level by a grade level in a certain amount of time).  Next I would review selected strategies to make sure the student utilizes them correctly.  This example really does not have new knowledge like learning to make a weather center (example from our book), but it does incorporate the learning of new vocabulary and familiarization with more complex literary elements and sentence structures.  As I am in a school setting, I would have to have some quantifiable measurement of progress like AR tests or book quizzes, but I would truly base my assessment and feel like the student succeeded when I observe that the student can apply the increased reading level and comprehension into other classes/subjects.

Whole-Task Approach, Scaffolding, and Mathemagenic
  
   Using the whole-task approach is necessary in raising reading level.  There is no one single component or reading strategy more important than the act of reading taken as a whole.  While vocabulary, sentence structure familiarity, knowledge of literary techniques, and comprehension are all necessary, they are so intertwined that they cannot stand alone.  It definitely fits the idea that the sum of the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.  I would have students read books that are increasingly more difficult as their ability level increases.  I am not going to deny that I would refrain from reviewing several reading components with the student, but to really increase reading level, a student must read books, passages, etc. as a whole, not just for specific parts.
  Scaffolding follows this same sort of idea.  I believe that a learner needs to form a base of all reading skills necessary and build evenly by reading increasingly more complex materials.  A teacher would be making a huge mistake by teaching a basic understanding main idea and perfecting that concept to a high competency level all the while leaving other concepts for a later date.  Reading is not a linear progression nor does it require a large input of teacher guidance once the foundation has been laid.  To me, it does resemble a  bricklayer's scaffold.  You don't build one side of a platform to reach the highest working area without building the other side and connections as the same time.
   Following the bricklayer analogy, I envision mathemagenics as building a brick wall a layer at a time, but NOT putting the bricks in side by side.  A brick here on the right, a brick on the left, one or two somewhere in the middle...eventually the whole layer or level gets filled in just not in a linear fashion.  This is somewhat harder for me to relate to my goal of increasing reading level.  I imagine using this model to help teach components of reading, like vocabulary, in different ways.  I could use definition, matching, context clues, etc. so that when a learner comes upon that particular vocab word, they would have many different ideas of uses of the vocab word in their knowledge.

Motivating Learners

    Benefits of Design Research
   As I understand design research, I believe the major benefit in engaging in design research is the continual assessment of data while completing instruction.  This ensures that not only will valid measurable instruction take place, but that the process of learning is valid as well.  This design lends itself to be modified any number of times to improve the outcome as well as the process and ability of data collection.  It allows for a "revisable learning trajectory" that can be adapted to real classroom settings.

ETEC 561- Section 1 Blog

Definition Reflection (book quotes are taken from Reiser and Dempsey, 2007)
   I found the first sentence of the Section 1 Overview to be a little misleading..."This section of the book is designed to give you a clear picture...of the field...{of} instructional design and technology".  For someone from a non-technology background, the first time I read chapter one I became nothing but more overwhelmed with the fairly unfamiliar terminology and complicated definitions that at first glance seem to all mean basically the same thing. 
   Another closer look at the chapter allowed me to see that as time passed and technology and society have progressed, the definition of instructional design and technology has evolved from one that simply addressed the physical aspects of technology into one that encompasses everything from the physical instructional media which provide the student with a multitude of resources to the application of "instructional and non- instructional processes and resources intended to improve learning".
   As I reread I believe that I understand more clearly that with each successive definition, the defining process has been continually refined by adopting bits and pieces from earlier definitions and merging them with new, ever changing ideas and progressions of technology.
   Having said this, as an 'old school' English teacher that is now a Library Science student, I prefer the term educational technology as opposed to instructional design and technology.  My own definition is something more like this.
             Educational technology is the practice of incorporating current technology into the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of meaningful individualized learning enriched by promoting the vast resources of the school library. 
   Since beginning my graduate work for library certification, I have learned that a librarian is no longer a librarian.  One is now known as a media specialist.  The media center (or library) has, from its first days, been a center for enriching the standard curriculum through educational technology.  Media specialists (librarians) have always dealt with educational media like reel-to-reel films, audiobooks, DVD's, and now ebooks.  Many libraries are becoming less book oriented and more electronic or technology centered.  Media specialists are charged with the task of continually updating the latest information as well as its delivery method to the patron while fighting ever shrinking budgets.

Model for Instructional Design
   Even though I haven't been in the classroom in several years, I have assisted some of the Anna ISD faculty in assessing student performance on the TAKS test and designing tutorials for students who are in need of improvement.  In doing this, I have used an instructional model very similar to the Dick, Carey, and Carey model.  The one I am familiar with looks more like this.

(My picture is much smaller than I anticipated so my model is also listed below)

Assess --Initial Evaluation--Analyze Data--Design Goals--Develop Tutorial--Implement Tutorial--Second Evaluation==
                                                                                                                                    Summative Evaluation

   If you can make it out on my picture, there is a repetitive revision involving the analyze, design, develop, implement, and second evaluation phases.  The model as I use it is learner centered in that each individual student is given his/her own goal depending on performance on the initial evaluation.  Whether it is with the individual student's use of Study Island, TAKS Prep, or personalized tutorial work, the student is his/her own instructional leader while the tutorial teacher is merely a facilitator/monitor.  It is a goal oriented model in that specific and general goals are designated for each student.  This may begin to sound like a boring tutorial, but with the use of several different software programs, students do not simply regurgitate information they have learned.  Instead, they apply their knowledge to 'game' problems/situations which makes studying much more meaningful and engaging.  In my tutorial example, rising benchmark scores and a final TAKS test score are definitely measurable.   I believe my model is self-correcting in that there is continual revision during the entire process.  The work I have done using my model typically involves an assistant principal, teacher, student and often a counselor and parents.

Technology in Education

   Technology in education is steadily growing and evolving.  I cringe to admit that my experience with technology in my education amounted to watching educational VHS tapes played on a TV or learning to type and do simple word processing on a computer. Now however, I routinely witness students designing software or applying business skills in an interactive mock business.  My elementary age children are learning to navigate the Internet and do research or find answers to their never ending questions all by themselves.  Whenever I asked a question of my parents, the answer was always, "Go look it up in the encyclopedia."  And yes, the set took up the whole shelf.  Now students have instant access to science dictionaries, detailed encyclopedias, and  high quality informative websites over every imaginable topic right at their finger tips.  The Promethean Boards in every classroom at Anna ISD allows teachers to share interactive software with the entire class at once.   Parent Portal is a wonderful new resource for parents to access the student's grades and progress.

   I see an increase of interactive cyber classrooms for K12 learners.  Imagine learning about space from an astronaut who is circling the earth while teaching or learning about the Civil War from guide walking around at Gettysburg.  With wildly different schedules, some parents just cannot physically make it to the school for a meeting during school hours.  Some parents that want to be involved in their child's education do not even live near Texas.   So, I see a future with more communication between school personnel and parents and dissemination of information using features like Skype, Facebook, and Twitter.

  Higher education and adult education can be accessed by a wider array of people with the use of online courses.  Those that would not be able to pursue degrees and training at colleges and vocational technology schools because of distance, time, and monetary restrictions are now able to continue their education from home or nearby public internet access points.  I am a prime example of this scenario.  With three young children and other responsibilities, there is no way I could come to Commerce to take classes even once a week.  Also, with the use of a webcam, online forums and interactive sites dedicated to a particular subject are indispensable when learning things like new languages and computer skills or homeschooling children.

   I really like the idea of having blogs be a part of a library book club.  At the moment , Anna High School's book club meets on Wednesday mornings before school.  Several students want to come, but cannot get there because their bus doesn't arrive in time or they have athletic/band/cheer practice at that  specific time. There would not be any conflicts in scheduling if readers just had to blog about the book they are reading and everyone followed the blog.  Also students who are normally quite shy in a group setting might be able to open up and contribute their thoughts and insights in a blog.  One drawback to this is that it would be hard to monitor every post as it was posted to ensure it stayed within school guidelines.