Here is a collection of my wonderings from week 1. I am planning on adding a new wonderings page each week. The pages will only include 'new' wonderings, however, I am sure many of the early wonderings will continue beyond the first weeks.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Wonderings - end of Week 1
Here is a collection of my wonderings from week 1. I am planning on adding a new wonderings page each week. The pages will only include 'new' wonderings, however, I am sure many of the early wonderings will continue beyond the first weeks.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Timetable....
I have created a timetable outline of where I would like to be at certain points along the way. However, I also realise that the nature of Inquiry is such that things will constantly change and no doubt my timetable will look very different by the end of the 5 weeks.
The Inquiry Process - beginnings.....
Immersion
In many ways the past year of study has been part of the immersion stage for me in this inquiry process. The immersion stage is characterised by grabbing attention and interest in an area for inquiry. My observations in the classroom while on placement, the curriculum classes I have taken, and the reading that I have done around different aspects of education have all contributed to my growing interest in the use of interactive technologies in the classroom.
In terms of immersion in this project, I have spent the past week trying to explore as many different avenues as possible in relation to the topic. I have spent a large part of the week looking at what is available online in terms of discussions relating to the use of blogs in the classroom. I have found using this medium very helpful as a large number of sites are different classroom teachers who are blogging about their own experiences. The other advantage of many of these sites is that other teachers post comments and feedback that develops an even richer source of information in terms of reflections/suggestions.
I am now moving into the brainstorming and ‘what do we want to know’ stages of the inquiry project. I am finding that there is a wealth of information that I have immersed myself in during this initial phase. But unless I move on I could be stuck in this stage forever, feeling increasingly overwhelmed by the amount of information and directionless in terms of my project.
Brainstorming
I have started thinking about what I want to find out.
What do I want my outcome to be? What are the questions that are going to guide my research? How am I going to use the information I have found? What ‘experts’ am I going to use? And how am I going to use them in my research? What is the relationship between my blog and the outcome of this project? Could my blog be part of the outcome or do I need something else as well? If there is so much information on using blogs in the classroom, how can my inquiry contribute to this area of research? What would be useful to share with my fellow colleagues in terms of an outcome? (this question is of vital importance, especially after reading the work of Dr Ross Todd (2003) who speaks about the process of “celebrating the understood”. We need to ask ourselves (and our students) “What are we being asked to do with the information we have found?” . Inquiry outcomes need to be meaningful and more than just a transmission of information “found”. I guess this has got me thinking about my ‘question(s)’. What is the problem or need that I am exploring in my inquiry project? And how can I create a meaningful outcome through my inquiry research?
I’m not really sure that I have answers to these questions – but they will form useful starting points for discussions in my mentor groups tomorrow. I would usually try and find my research questions very early in the research process. But I am learning that with an inquiry approach it is ok to spend more time exploring different possibilities and viewing research as a more fluid process which is guided and shaped by the process itself rather than by predetermined questions to answer that are set at the beginning of the project.
I have also been linking this to thinking about how inquiry would play out in the classroom. In the same way that I am allowing myself time to explore different avenues within my topic, I also need to be aware of giving students time to do this in the classroom. I think we were brought up in an environment where teachers needed to be in control of the direction of work at all times, and it is scary to think that during the inquiry project we are guides, but that we need to be willing to allow students to take their research in a direction that may be different from our own. As Trevor Bond emphasises, inquiry learning is about developing independent learners. Doing this requires something quite different of a teacher. In many ways we move away from needing to someone with content-knowledge, to someone with process-knowledge. With the ability to help scaffold students in their learning to meet the outcomes they wish to produce. For example, rather than knowing everything about dinosaurs we can possess the skills in library research or creating a Powerpoint or short movie to present their research findings.
What Do We Want to Know?
Once I have brainstormed all the different ideas of ways of undertaking this research, questions I would like to explore, people I would like to speak to, outcomes I would like to produce. Then I need to focus my research by developing a set of key questions to guide my research. I have been doing some reading on questioning within the Inquiry process and now realise how fundamental this stage is to the whole process. Questions need to be carefully structured so that they are:
- succinct
- focused (on the topic of inquiry)
- open-ended
- non-judgemental
- emotive
- intellectually rigorous
Although the questions guide the research process they are not so prescriptive that they restrict the direction that the inquiry can take. Students are still encouraged to approach the questions from different angles and see their topic in as many ways as possible.
In many ways the past year of study has been part of the immersion stage for me in this inquiry process. The immersion stage is characterised by grabbing attention and interest in an area for inquiry. My observations in the classroom while on placement, the curriculum classes I have taken, and the reading that I have done around different aspects of education have all contributed to my growing interest in the use of interactive technologies in the classroom.
In terms of immersion in this project, I have spent the past week trying to explore as many different avenues as possible in relation to the topic. I have spent a large part of the week looking at what is available online in terms of discussions relating to the use of blogs in the classroom. I have found using this medium very helpful as a large number of sites are different classroom teachers who are blogging about their own experiences. The other advantage of many of these sites is that other teachers post comments and feedback that develops an even richer source of information in terms of reflections/suggestions.
I am now moving into the brainstorming and ‘what do we want to know’ stages of the inquiry project. I am finding that there is a wealth of information that I have immersed myself in during this initial phase. But unless I move on I could be stuck in this stage forever, feeling increasingly overwhelmed by the amount of information and directionless in terms of my project.
Brainstorming
I have started thinking about what I want to find out.
What do I want my outcome to be? What are the questions that are going to guide my research? How am I going to use the information I have found? What ‘experts’ am I going to use? And how am I going to use them in my research? What is the relationship between my blog and the outcome of this project? Could my blog be part of the outcome or do I need something else as well? If there is so much information on using blogs in the classroom, how can my inquiry contribute to this area of research? What would be useful to share with my fellow colleagues in terms of an outcome? (this question is of vital importance, especially after reading the work of Dr Ross Todd (2003) who speaks about the process of “celebrating the understood”. We need to ask ourselves (and our students) “What are we being asked to do with the information we have found?” . Inquiry outcomes need to be meaningful and more than just a transmission of information “found”. I guess this has got me thinking about my ‘question(s)’. What is the problem or need that I am exploring in my inquiry project? And how can I create a meaningful outcome through my inquiry research?
I’m not really sure that I have answers to these questions – but they will form useful starting points for discussions in my mentor groups tomorrow. I would usually try and find my research questions very early in the research process. But I am learning that with an inquiry approach it is ok to spend more time exploring different possibilities and viewing research as a more fluid process which is guided and shaped by the process itself rather than by predetermined questions to answer that are set at the beginning of the project.
I have also been linking this to thinking about how inquiry would play out in the classroom. In the same way that I am allowing myself time to explore different avenues within my topic, I also need to be aware of giving students time to do this in the classroom. I think we were brought up in an environment where teachers needed to be in control of the direction of work at all times, and it is scary to think that during the inquiry project we are guides, but that we need to be willing to allow students to take their research in a direction that may be different from our own. As Trevor Bond emphasises, inquiry learning is about developing independent learners. Doing this requires something quite different of a teacher. In many ways we move away from needing to someone with content-knowledge, to someone with process-knowledge. With the ability to help scaffold students in their learning to meet the outcomes they wish to produce. For example, rather than knowing everything about dinosaurs we can possess the skills in library research or creating a Powerpoint or short movie to present their research findings.
What Do We Want to Know?
Once I have brainstormed all the different ideas of ways of undertaking this research, questions I would like to explore, people I would like to speak to, outcomes I would like to produce. Then I need to focus my research by developing a set of key questions to guide my research. I have been doing some reading on questioning within the Inquiry process and now realise how fundamental this stage is to the whole process. Questions need to be carefully structured so that they are:
- succinct
- focused (on the topic of inquiry)
- open-ended
- non-judgemental
- emotive
- intellectually rigorous
Although the questions guide the research process they are not so prescriptive that they restrict the direction that the inquiry can take. Students are still encouraged to approach the questions from different angles and see their topic in as many ways as possible.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Seeking 'experts'.....
Last week I started exploring avenues for finding 'experts' - primary classrooms that are using blogs as part of their teaching programme.
I have a few people that I have made initial contact with (and am still waiting to hear back from) - I'm unsure how many classrooms I would like to visit as part of this project, I guess I'll just have to see what is feasible in the time that I have.
But one certainty is a classroom at Fendalton Open Air school. Fendalton has a reputation as a school which values ICT integration in pedagogical practice. Here is a link to an article that was published in March this year on their innovative approach to the use of technology:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/1756615
I am excited to have the opportunity to see the way this school is integrating the technology into their classrooms.
I have been looking at a few lists of NZ classroom blog sites. One thing that has interested me has been the high number of rural schools that are listed. I was starting to wonder about the ways in which technology like blogs creates a new connectedness for these schools - and the possibilities for online partnerships and collaboration between schools. I guess when I was growing up you had things like pen-pals and school exchanges; these possibilities seem only to increase exponentially through online communication.
Another interesting area to explore (which is also beyond the scope of this project - but something to think about and be aware of while doing my research) - is the way in which blog sites allow for a high level of reflexivity about who we are 'as a person, as a classroom, as a school, as a community?' - what do the blogs that we create say about who we are? How can blogs be used to create a sense of identity, a sense of place? Maybe it's just that I am a cultural geographer and therefore questions about place and identity fascinate me, but it is something interesting to think about. We are active creators in the process of blogging? How do we decide what to include/what to exclude? How are we present in our blog? How do we interact with the world around us through the blog? What to we want people to think of us in our blog? So many questions........I'm not really wanting to answer these - but will try and provide a space in which to continue developing my thinking around these ideas over the next few weeks.
I have a few people that I have made initial contact with (and am still waiting to hear back from) - I'm unsure how many classrooms I would like to visit as part of this project, I guess I'll just have to see what is feasible in the time that I have.
But one certainty is a classroom at Fendalton Open Air school. Fendalton has a reputation as a school which values ICT integration in pedagogical practice. Here is a link to an article that was published in March this year on their innovative approach to the use of technology:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/1756615
I am excited to have the opportunity to see the way this school is integrating the technology into their classrooms.
I have been looking at a few lists of NZ classroom blog sites. One thing that has interested me has been the high number of rural schools that are listed. I was starting to wonder about the ways in which technology like blogs creates a new connectedness for these schools - and the possibilities for online partnerships and collaboration between schools. I guess when I was growing up you had things like pen-pals and school exchanges; these possibilities seem only to increase exponentially through online communication.
Another interesting area to explore (which is also beyond the scope of this project - but something to think about and be aware of while doing my research) - is the way in which blog sites allow for a high level of reflexivity about who we are 'as a person, as a classroom, as a school, as a community?' - what do the blogs that we create say about who we are? How can blogs be used to create a sense of identity, a sense of place? Maybe it's just that I am a cultural geographer and therefore questions about place and identity fascinate me, but it is something interesting to think about. We are active creators in the process of blogging? How do we decide what to include/what to exclude? How are we present in our blog? How do we interact with the world around us through the blog? What to we want people to think of us in our blog? So many questions........I'm not really wanting to answer these - but will try and provide a space in which to continue developing my thinking around these ideas over the next few weeks.
Learning is messy......
I came across this quote........
"learning is messy....but Digital Texts change things.
Students will edit more, link more,
seek more sources, be reflective,
read each others work, comment more,
question more, and challenge each other."
This is one of the main reasons why I am excited by the possibilities that interactive technologies like blogs give us in terms of teaching pedagogy. My developing philosophy is one in which collaboration and communities of learning are of central importance; as is seeing students as 'global citizens' who critically engage with the world around them.
Blogs offer this - they also offer it in a space where students can interact in a way which means that they can add/delete/edit/move around/modify their work. From what I have observed in my two teaching placements, when there is less permanency in what students are creating (or perhaps more than this, the ability to 'modify' what they are creating) - there appears to be a greater level of risk-taking and creativity present in their work. They learn through the process of creating, without a fear that each mark they make along the way will remain visible and unable to be erased.
Check out this powerpoint presentation which explores some of these ideas about ICT integration in classroom as part of teaching in the 21st century:
"learning is messy....but Digital Texts change things.
Students will edit more, link more,
seek more sources, be reflective,
read each others work, comment more,
question more, and challenge each other."
This is one of the main reasons why I am excited by the possibilities that interactive technologies like blogs give us in terms of teaching pedagogy. My developing philosophy is one in which collaboration and communities of learning are of central importance; as is seeing students as 'global citizens' who critically engage with the world around them.
Blogs offer this - they also offer it in a space where students can interact in a way which means that they can add/delete/edit/move around/modify their work. From what I have observed in my two teaching placements, when there is less permanency in what students are creating (or perhaps more than this, the ability to 'modify' what they are creating) - there appears to be a greater level of risk-taking and creativity present in their work. They learn through the process of creating, without a fear that each mark they make along the way will remain visible and unable to be erased.
Check out this powerpoint presentation which explores some of these ideas about ICT integration in classroom as part of teaching in the 21st century:
Brave New World-Wide-Web
View more OpenOffice presentations from David Truss.
“the use of blogs to learn not just to teach”
I came across this and thought that I would post it because it seemed to be exploring a lot of the questions that I am also wanting to explore through my inquiry project. I am hoping that it will help me in my research focus......
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Will Richardson’s post Teacher Bloggers Not Blogging (Says Me) looks at the David Warlick article in EDTECH titled Blog Rules.
Will says:
“Blogs are powerful communication tools. Blogs are powerful publishing tools. But blogging (the verb) is still much more than that to me. Blogging, as in reading and thinking and reflecting and then writing, is connecting and learning, neither of which are discussed in the article. (And maybe they weren’t meant to be, I know) I’m not knocking what Tim or his teachers are doing, I think it’s great. But I’m just asking the question: how are his teachers modeling the use of blogs to learn not just to teach?”
I have been looking beyond just blogs and considering the use of technology ‘to learn not just to teach’ quite a bit recently. Is it a natural progression to use technology to teach first then to learn, as we integrate new technology? Or is this just a lack of training and professional development? I’ve heard more than a few people call the new Smart Boards nothing more than glorified blackboards recently, (I have yet to actually even see one of these, much less know how teachers/students are using them, so I am really just making note of what others have told me). The fact is that technology such as this needs the user to be trained. How can we implement new things in new ways if we lack the knowledge or training to do so? Also, I think teachers must model what they expect, or at least find appropriate models for students to follow. A blog that replaces a daily diary may be useful, but does it expose a student to the potential a blog has as a reflective, synthesizing, learning space?
On the topic of blogs, I have been thinking about what this blog means to me. I write it as if I have an audience, but I write it for me, not the audience. It is sort of a cathartic expression of my thoughts on education; A place to synthesize ideas and reflect on new areas of exploration. I am surprised just how often I look back at my entries, reread them and follow the links. It has also been an experimental playground where I have learned a bit about html, and figured out how to add tools, such as the meebo messenger, the ClustrMap, as well as the flikr and bubbleshare photo windows. This blog isn’t about my practice as an educator but it certainly affects my practice. It is a learning tool.
I am developing some ideas about using wikis and blogs in my Science class next month. As I develop the plan, I need to ask myself:
‘Am I adding technology to my teaching or providing students with new learning and new ways to learn?’
‘Am I creating an environment where students will express, synthesize, and reflect on their (and each other’s) learning, or am I creating a new way to report out?’ (A glorified poster board).
‘Am I encouraging students to be lifelong learners?’
What else should I be asking myself?
|
Will Richardson’s post Teacher Bloggers Not Blogging (Says Me) looks at the David Warlick article in EDTECH titled Blog Rules.
Will says:
“Blogs are powerful communication tools. Blogs are powerful publishing tools. But blogging (the verb) is still much more than that to me. Blogging, as in reading and thinking and reflecting and then writing, is connecting and learning, neither of which are discussed in the article. (And maybe they weren’t meant to be, I know) I’m not knocking what Tim or his teachers are doing, I think it’s great. But I’m just asking the question: how are his teachers modeling the use of blogs to learn not just to teach?”
I have been looking beyond just blogs and considering the use of technology ‘to learn not just to teach’ quite a bit recently. Is it a natural progression to use technology to teach first then to learn, as we integrate new technology? Or is this just a lack of training and professional development? I’ve heard more than a few people call the new Smart Boards nothing more than glorified blackboards recently, (I have yet to actually even see one of these, much less know how teachers/students are using them, so I am really just making note of what others have told me). The fact is that technology such as this needs the user to be trained. How can we implement new things in new ways if we lack the knowledge or training to do so? Also, I think teachers must model what they expect, or at least find appropriate models for students to follow. A blog that replaces a daily diary may be useful, but does it expose a student to the potential a blog has as a reflective, synthesizing, learning space?
On the topic of blogs, I have been thinking about what this blog means to me. I write it as if I have an audience, but I write it for me, not the audience. It is sort of a cathartic expression of my thoughts on education; A place to synthesize ideas and reflect on new areas of exploration. I am surprised just how often I look back at my entries, reread them and follow the links. It has also been an experimental playground where I have learned a bit about html, and figured out how to add tools, such as the meebo messenger, the ClustrMap, as well as the flikr and bubbleshare photo windows. This blog isn’t about my practice as an educator but it certainly affects my practice. It is a learning tool.
I am developing some ideas about using wikis and blogs in my Science class next month. As I develop the plan, I need to ask myself:
‘Am I adding technology to my teaching or providing students with new learning and new ways to learn?’
‘Am I creating an environment where students will express, synthesize, and reflect on their (and each other’s) learning, or am I creating a new way to report out?’ (A glorified poster board).
‘Am I encouraging students to be lifelong learners?’
What else should I be asking myself?
Blogs on Educational blogging
I have been exploring different websites and blogs online that relate to my topic and may provide me with useful examples of ways teachers are using blogs in the classroom/or broader academic research on the value of blogs in the classroom.
I have listed some of them here:
http://www.serendipity35.net/index.php?/archives/1337-Blogging-as-Pedagogic-Practice-Across-the-Curriculum.html
http://digitalwriting.pbworks.com/Using+Blogs+in+the+Classroom - this is a site which has a large list of sites on using blogs in the classroom
http://pedagogy.cwrl.utexas.edu/ - blogging pedagogy
http://adavis.pbworks.com/ - improving education through the use of blogs
http://blogmeister.pbworks.com/ - learn to blog, blog to learn
http://lttf.ieee.org/learn_tech/issues/october2006/index.html#_Toc148658493 - using blogs in the classroom
http://theedublogger.edublogs.org/2008/06/17/share-your-blogging-experience-and-tips-for-educators-new-to-blogging/ - a blog where teachers are sharing the way they are using them in their classes.
I am starting to realise that there is a vast amount of information on the web about classroom blogging. What is now important is to start developing questions that will help focus my research so that I don't get overwhelmed with all the information that is out there. I will also start using these websites/blogs to focus my questions for going into the classroom to speak with teachers and students who are using blogs.
I have listed some of them here:
http://www.serendipity35.net/index.php?/archives/1337-Blogging-as-Pedagogic-Practice-Across-the-Curriculum.html
http://digitalwriting.pbworks.com/Using+Blogs+in+the+Classroom - this is a site which has a large list of sites on using blogs in the classroom
http://pedagogy.cwrl.utexas.edu/ - blogging pedagogy
http://adavis.pbworks.com/ - improving education through the use of blogs
http://blogmeister.pbworks.com/ - learn to blog, blog to learn
http://lttf.ieee.org/learn_tech/issues/october2006/index.html#_Toc148658493 - using blogs in the classroom
http://theedublogger.edublogs.org/2008/06/17/share-your-blogging-experience-and-tips-for-educators-new-to-blogging/ - a blog where teachers are sharing the way they are using them in their classes.
I am starting to realise that there is a vast amount of information on the web about classroom blogging. What is now important is to start developing questions that will help focus my research so that I don't get overwhelmed with all the information that is out there. I will also start using these websites/blogs to focus my questions for going into the classroom to speak with teachers and students who are using blogs.
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