Learning through Modeling and Visualization

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Learning throughModeling and Visualization
Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12 (GK-12)
Education 7/12/2003 Holiday Inn, Urbana IL

• Delwyn L. Harnisch
• (harnisch_at_unl.edu)
• University of Nebraska, Lincoln
• National Center for Information Technology in
  Education (NCITE)

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Welcome

• Introductions
• Goals for the Day
• Fellow/teacher teams
• Getting to know each other
• Brainstorming about the academic year ahead
• Planning objectives and activities for year
• Learning about GK12 community
• Sharing best practices to improve student
  learning
• Sharing GK12 resources in building professional
  learning community
• Develop a sense of being a part of a
  collaborative, collective inquiry oriented
  scholarly research team
• Have some fun think global and act local

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Introductions

• Principal Investigators Eric (past) and Richard
  (current) unable to join us send their warm
  welcome
• Umesh (in DC with NSF for year) sends his
  greetings for a great day and productive year
• Scott Lathrop (EOT)
• Dee Chapman (webmaster)
• Sharon Comstock Brent Palmer (GRAs)
• Guest presenters (Chip Bruce, Mike Novak, Lisa
  Bievenue)
• GK12 Fellow/Teacher teams Mike K, Amy, Katy,
  Anu, Mike M(please introduce your teacher,
  interests, and one interesting innovation/best
  practice to share)
• Other visitors share a word about interest and
  associations with GK12

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The Power of Stories

• Stories speak to both parts of the human mind -
  reason and emotion.Stories of identity-
  narratives that help individuals think about and
  feel who they are, where they come from, and
  where they are headed -constitute the single most
  powerful weapon in the leaders literary arsenal.
• John Gardner

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Overview

• Global Factors
• Instructional and Motivational Factors
• Technology Supported Learning
• Characteristics of Learning Community
• Curriculum Assessment Development
• Evaluation of Professional Development
• Our Task as Educators

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Global Factors

• Changing technology
• Changing global economy
• Changing global workplace

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Implications for Educators

• Technology training for children
• Use technology in student-centered learning
• Professional development of teachers to create
  learning communities
• To know and understand the principles and
  technologies to enhance opportunities for
  student-centered learning

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Instructional and Motivational Factors
Meaningful and Relevant
Student Centered Learning Environment
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Instructional and Motivational Factors
Meaningful and Relevant
Challenges and Standards
Student Centered Learning Environment
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Instructional and Motivational Factors
Meaningful and Relevant
Challenges and Standards
Student Centered Learning Environment
Critical Thinking and Learning Skills
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Instructional and Motivational Factors
Meaningful and Relevant
Challenges and Standards
Student Centered Learning Environment
Critical Thinking and Learning Skills
Climate and Context
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Instructional and Motivational Factors
Meaningful and Relevant
Challenges and Standards
Student Centered Learning Environment
Critical Thinking and Learning Skills
Climate and Context
Choice and Control
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Instructional and Motivational Factors
Meaningful and Relevant
Challenges and Standards
Student Centered Learning Environment
Critical Thinking and Learning Skills
Climate and Context
Interests and Creativity
Choice and Control
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Instructional and Motivational Factors
Meaningful and Relevant
Challenges and Standards
Student Centered Learning Environment
Critical Thinking and Learning Skills
Adapt to Individual Differences
Climate and Context
Interests and Creativity
Choice and Control
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Instructional and Motivational Factors
Meaningful and Relevant
Social Interactions And Personal Relationships
Challenges and Standards
Student Centered Learning Environment
Critical Thinking and Learning Skills
Adapt to Individual Differences
Climate and Context
Interests and Creativity
Choice and Control
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Technology Supported Instruction
Real World Context
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Technology Supported Instruction
Real World Context
Connections to Outside Experts
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Technology Supported Instruction
Wild Ride http//www.intel.com/education/
Real World Context
Connections to Outside Experts
Visualization and Analysis Tools
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Technology Supported Instruction
Online Resources http//www.esu3.org/interactive/o
nlinetutorials
Real World Context
Connections to Outside Experts
Visualization and Analysis Tools
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Technology Supported Instruction
Real World Context
Scaffolds for Problem Solving
Connections to Outside Experts
Visualization and Analysis Tools
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Technology Supported Instruction
Real World Context
Opportunities for Feedback, Reflection And
Revision
Scaffolds for Problem Solving
Connections to Outside Experts
Visualization and Analysis Tools
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Characteristics of a Learning Community
Shared Interest
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Characteristics of a Learning Community
Shared Interest
Shared Respect
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Characteristics of a Learning Community
Shared Interest
Shared Respect
Range of Skills
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Characteristics of a Learning Community
Shared Interest
Shared Respect
Range of Skills
Teamwork
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Characteristics of a Learning Community
Shared Interest
Shared Respect
Tools for Sharing Multiple Perspectives
Range of Skills
Teamwork
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Characteristics of a Learning Community
Shared Interest
Goal Knowledge Production
Shared Respect
Tools for Sharing Multiple Perspectives
Range of Skills
Teamwork
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Technology and Curriculum Development

• Technology integrated into curriculum
• Elements of curricular planning
• Teachers vision for technology in the classroom
• Schools vision for technology
• Key to integration available technology
  resources and experiences

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Technology Integration Questions for Classroom
Teachers

• What are the student learning standards?
• Are students prepared to use technology to meet
  information literacy and content learning
  standards?
• Are there students who could benefit from
  additional uses of technology tools for
  remediation, acceleration, or special help?

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GK12 Visualization

• Problem-based learning approach
• Essential skills determined
• Curriculum planning addressed
• Learner centered environment
• Technology supported

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GK-12 Fellows Program

• Partnerships for Success
• Focus on Science, Mathematics, Engineering and
  Technology Education
• Teams of fellow/teacher/mentor formed
• Evaluation of Program Goals
• Study of Interactions
• Observations/surveys/focus groups/reflection team
  meetings

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Evaluating Professional Development

• Systemic Change
• A highly complex process
• Professional development is essential
• Change is a Prerequisite for Improvement!

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Five Levels of Professional Development Evaluation

• Participants Reactions to the Experience
• Participants Learning from the Experience
• Organization Support and Change
• Participant Use of New Knowledge and Skill
• Result Student Learning Outcomes

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Effective Professional Development

• Begins with a clear focus on
• Learning and Learners
• There must be Clear Goals along with Assessment
  Procedures to document progress
• Clear goals help mobilize Everyone and keep
  efforts On Task
• Goals prevent distraction by peripheral issues
  that Waste Crucial Time and Divert Energy

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Effective Professional Development

• Engage in rigorous self-analysis
• Self-analysis requires (1) the courage to ask
  tough questions and (2) the skill to find honest
  answers
• Reaching your Goals requires a clear sense of
  Where You Are
• We must continually ask (1) Who is not learning?
  (2) Why? And (3) What can we do about it?

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Effective Professional Development

• Recognize change is an Individual and
  Organizational process
• Remember the stages of concern
• Personal
• Management
• Impact
• Consider the order of change
• Teacher Attitude and Beliefs
• Teaching Practices
• Student Learning

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Effective Professional Development

• Think BIG but start Small
• Change is Dynamic and Large Scale, but
  implemented through a series of Smaller Steps
• We must balance the Urgency for Improvement with
  the Need to Validate Effectiveness

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Effective Professional Development

• Ensure procedures are Ongoing and Professionally
  Embedded
• Change is a Natural and Recurring Process that is
  essential to All Learning Environments

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Effective Professional Development

• Work in Teams to maintain support
• Use Available Resources
• Include procedures for Feedback on results
• Provide continued Follow-up, Support and Pressure
• Integrate Programs

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Our Task as Educators

• Rethink the concept of school
• Add learner-centered collaborative activities
• Develop technology supported inquiry-based
  learning
• (Inquiry Page http//inquiry.uiuc.edu/)
• Share the vision of learning through modeling and
  visualization

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Real Change is Real Hard

• Life is not neat, parsimonious, logical, nor
  elegant. Life uses processes we find hard to
  tolerate and difficult to believe in --- mess
  upon mess until something workable emerges. It
  takes a lot of repeated mess to get it right.
• Wheatley and Kellner-Rogers

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Learning throughModeling and Visualization
Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12 (GK-12)
Education 7/12/2003 Holiday Inn, Urbana IL

• Delwyn L. Harnisch
• (harnisch_at_unl.edu)
• University of Nebraska, Lincoln
• National Center for Information Technology in
  Education (NCITE)

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What is Evaluation?

• evaluation addresses a range of questions about
  quality and effectiveness --both implementation
  and outcome
• uses a range of methods --qualitative and
  quantitative--to gather and analyze data.
• evaluation explicitly uses a range of criteria
  upon which to judge program success, e.g.,
  student interest and motivation, parent
  satisfaction, teacher enthusiasm, standards of 
  the profession,and student learning as measured
  in multiple ways.
• Handbook for Mixed Method Evaluations

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Evaluation of Inquiry Units Requires

• Reasoning Strategies
• Problem-Based Approach
• Real-Life Connections

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Reasoning in areas of academic work
Inquiries
Where Students pose questions or identify issues
and through research, search for answers
Where students Search for ways to reach goals
and Overcome obstacles
Where students interpret Texts and data
Where students use imagination and discipline to
design novel and expressive products
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Types of Evaluations Planning

• Assesses understanding of project goals,
  objectives, timelines and strategies
• Key questions
• Who are the people involved?
• Who are the students?
• What are the activities that will involve the
  students?
• What is the cost?
• What are the measurable outcomes?
• How will the data be collected?
• How long is the program?

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Types of Evaluations Formative

• Assesses ongoing project activities
• Implementation evaluation
• Progress Evaluation

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Formative Implementation Evaluation

• Assesses whether project is being conducted as
  planned.
• Key questions
• Were appropriate participants selected?
• Do activities and strategies match those in the
  plan?
• Were appropriate staff members hired and trained
  and working according to the plan?
• Were activities conducted according to plan?
• Was management plan followed?

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Formative Progress Evaluation

• Assesses the progress made by the participants in
  meeting goals
• Key questions
• Are participants moving toward the anticipated
  project goals?
• Which activities and strategies are aiding the
  participants toward the goal?
• Mid-year GK12 Evaluation Form
• End of Year GK12 Evaluation Forms

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Summative Evaluation

• Assesses extent to which project is successful in
  meeting goals
• Key questions
• Was the project successful?
• Did the project meet overall goals?
• Did participants benefit from the project?
• What components were most effective?
• Were the results worth the projects cost?
• Is the project replicable and transportable?

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Stages in Conducting an Evaluation

• Develop evaluation questions
• Match questions with appropriate data collection
  methods
• Collect data
• Analyze data
• Report information to interested audiences

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Developing Evaluation Questions

• Clarify goals of the evaluation
• Identify and involve key stakeholders
• Describe activity or intervention to be evaluated
• Formulate potential relevant evaluation questions
• Determine available resources
• Prioritize and eliminate questions if necessary

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Evaluation Questions

• How is technology perceived by individual,
  learners and teachers relative to its
  teaching-learning support?
• What changes in learning and performance outcomes
  can be observed with different technology uses
  and with different learners?

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Evaluation Questions

• What changes in teaching processes can be
  observed that enhance learning outcomes?
• What changes in the learning context can be
  observed that create new partnerships and
  climates for learning?

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Match Questions with Data Collection Methods

• Select appropriate methodological approach
• Quantitative
• Qualitative
• Mixed Method
• Determine data sources
• Select appropriate data collection method to
  collect data and build data base.

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Collecting Data

• Obtain necessary clearances
• Consider needs and sensitivities of respondents
• Train data collectors
• Avoid causing disruption to data collection site

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Data Sources for Evaluation

• Self assessments of technology practices and
  strategies
• Attitudes toward technology and specific uses
• Student motivation measures
• Student achievement measures
• Observations
• Portfolios

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Analyze Data

• Inspect raw data and clean if necessary
• Conduct initial evaluation based on evaluation
  plan
• Conduct additional analyses based on initial
  results
• Integrate and synthesize findings

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Reporting Information

• Report information to targeted audiences
• Deliver reports in a timely manner
• Customize reports and presentations