Hectic Means
Showing posts with label education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label education. Show all posts

7/31/17

RE: Wondering What Happened to Your Class Valedictorian?

21:12  
There is a growing trend among teachers that I have noticed lately. If an author writes a book on education or someone makes a well-produced video, some teachers are more apt to think that they are hearing or listening to is truth. With little research done on the information they are consuming, teachers are blindly following ideas that do not hold much water in terms of truth. I have seen this time and time again with articles being shared on Twitter.
This post focuses on one instance of this in particular. Namely, this recent Time article on high school valedictorians.
There are other variants such as:
As a person who comes from a family of valedictorians and salutatorians, I was intrigued. However, my “baloney-meter” was off the charts with some of the info that was being expressed in the article and partnering video. This post will be breaking down the video and article’s assertions. I welcome any comments, questions, etc. when doing so. I believe that skepticism should be all-encompassing (especially to the skeptics themselves).
The videos starts with a simple question about what ever happened to the high school valedictorian.
Then, proceeds to cite research from Karen Arnold from Boston College.
I looked up Karen Arnold from Boston College to find her original research... from 1993 (http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED368304.pdf). Although her research was published in 1993, the students involved were from over ten years earlier in 1981. I wasn’t even born when this study started.
I am not trying to degrade her research because it is over 20 years old, but the world has seemed to change since way back then. I am not just speaking technologically, but also socially. Many more women (but not enough) are going to college, entering STEM fields, and becoming working mothers than in decades past. This can skew some of the numbers a bit on what valedictorians are up to after high school. A large percentage of the female "valedictorians" (67%) left careers for child-rearing (again this study is over 26 years old and times have changed).
Surely, this phenomenon has created other such research over the years. However, I have yet to find any other such research related to valedictorians. Although, I do admittedly need to look more.
As mentioned in the video, Arnold “followed 81 valedictorians and salutatorians from graduation onward”. Not only were the supposed valedictorians NOT actually valedictorians, only a small number (51) held that “honor” and the rest were salutatorians or "top honors students". This is odd given that the title of the article strictly mentions valedictorians.
To add more fuel to fire, Arnold’s research states that all 81 students were selected from Illinois (not the most progressive state in education especially in many rural areas). The 81 students were also only being pulled from only 33 schools. There was no mention of anything standardized in terms of grades. Given that grades are arbitrary for each school (some schools don't have weighted grades and others weight grades differently), not all "valedictorians" were created equal.
Furthermore, there was no mention of the graduating class sizes for each valedictorian in the video or accompanying article. There are schools with less than 100 students and others with almost 4,000. Being a valedictorian from a smaller school is not the same as from a larger school. With fewer students, there is less competition. This is a result of the “big fish in a small pond effect”. Arnold’s research states that the study members graduated at the top of class that ranged from 25 students to 650 students. There is no specification to how many of each especially to make sure a grand assertion that valedictorians do not amount to much after high school.
In addition, there is no mention of socioeconomic status of each valedictorian’s school. Some school’s tend to be more rigorous as socioeconomic status increases.



The video states “but, when it comes to changing, running or making an impact on the world, none of these high achievers took on those feats”.

How is "changing, running, or making an impact on the world" even judged? Based on the data from Arnold’s research (see below), most of those careers (if not ALL) have an impact on the world in my opinion.
Sure, they might not be “rich and famous”, but is this something that schools are striving to do? Is that the only measure of success? A snippet from the study shows a more human side to the students.
The conclusion that valedictorians are well-rounded but "lack devotion to a single area where their passions lie" is based on no evidence and is even contradicted within the study that is cited.
The researcher that the Time article was based on noted that the "valedictorian" received insufficient mentoring from faculty on choosing a career properly. Yet, the video or related article make no mention of this. "People feel like valedictorians can take care of themselves," Arnold said, "but just because they could get 'A's doesn't mean they can translate academic achievement into career achievement." This being conveniently left out spins the story a different way.
The video then shows the following statistic.

While that might be true, what is the socioeconomic status of those students before becoming millionaires? Did those students already have money?
Simply put, students coming from money have a leg up on students that do better than they do in school. The following articles showcase this point quite well:

Finally, the video ends with this great “fact”. This statement flies in the fact of any actual data. A related and recent study shows that GPA is actually linked to future salary rather than IQ or other metrics.



Please note: I don't think there should be class rank or valedictorians and the traditional grading system is entirely archaic, but cherry-picked data is not data. The author of the article reminds me a lot of Malcolm Gladwell. He's a great writer that chooses specific data to tell his overly simplistic and easily digestible story rather than being anything remotely scientific.
Reading research (educational or otherwise) gathered by a writer rather than a researcher is the equivalent of watching a movie that’s based on a true story. Most movies based on a true story tend to be dazzled up and made more Hollywood for the sake of the plot and the audience. This analogy can be harmful if used with educational practices unlike the purely entertainment value of a movie.
A healthy dose of skepticism and following the old adage of “if it sounds too good to be true...” can go a long way for our students and teachers. We just need to be able to see through it no matter how much it matches our worldview. Continue Reading

10/10/15

Presenting a Conversation on Paradigm Shifts

17:56  
Does anyone like presentations?
With all of the changes that are taking place in education, it can get rather exciting for some and scary for others. If an educational leader is trying to create a paradigm shift in instruction, grading, curriculum, etc., oftentimes the shift is made “the leader’s” to present to others. The main thing that is ignored is the fact that each team member needs to find a way to arrive at the intended conclusions independently to understand the change, believe in the change, and be onboard to fully implement the change.

This is not accomplished with a simple presentation. I have yet to hear of someone that enjoyed sitting and listening to someone present and it changed their teaching. Motivated coworkers want to question implications and provide their own insights and find ways to make it work and most importantly, debate.

The natural tendency for speakers and change agents is to have a presentation with the big unveiling idea at the end. This type of presentation offers little in terms of collaboration and conversation.

The easiest way to get members of the team on-board with change is to partner with the important members of said team to get them involved in making sure the presentation will be well-received.

To start making positive change, a great place to start is with a discussion in which everyone is involved. This is simply a thought collecting session where the thoughts of all members are included. This is best done by breaking the team into small groups of about 3-4 which careful thought into who will be working together. Obviously, more timid members’ thoughts might be stymied by the overzealous, talkative members, so pre-grouping members will be paramount. Breaking up into groups like this and have each group summarize and share their group’s findings goes a long way with making sure everyone feels heard and valued.

After this, a presentation should be used that promotes discussion and debate among team members. When any communication is coming from the presenter, it needs to communicate punchline first. Put the punchline first: When I presented as an edtech specialist, I focused on starting with the end in mind. I am sure you have been in a meeting where it was not making much sense throughout the presentation so you stopped paying attention midway through. Then, at the end, things started to make more sense. That works for comedy and telling a joke, but presentations on paradigm shifting need to be given with the punchline first. You do not want to keep your audience waiting. If you tell them right away, they can start to develop questions, rebuttals, and topics of debate over the main topic.

On that note, it is also important to give all pre-meeting materials to the audience before meeting. The power of introverts is that they have these deep insightful thoughts, however the negative is that it can take them a while to fully absorb all of the information and draw their own conclusions. Introverts who are self-aware of this will be sure read the pre-meeting materials while others may elect to skip any pre-meeting actions.

Having a team member on your side is imperative. You might be missing full participation and interaction with the crowd. A good “sidekick” can help keep you focused and aware of the audience.

Big change is possible and well-structured presentation/conversation can be what starts setting the ball in motion toward a paradigm shift. Continue Reading

9/29/15

How to Watch Educational Videos - WNQ ('wink') Method

11:18  
It might seem obvious, but what is the best way to watch and learn from educational videos? When I first started, I honestly did not know how to answer that question. I would say something along the lines of "watch the video and take notes on it". It was not exactly very formalized. While that worked to some extent, there needed to be a more refined process that was based on best practices.

I have been making educational videos for over 5 years now and I have found that many students simply do not know how to use them effectively. This is, of course, no fault of their own. To many students, it is a brand new process of learning and takes time to sink in and create a new habit.

After looking at research on education and neuroscience on how the brain best learns, I created a system that I teach my students to use to best utilize the videos. I use this method for math and science courses, but it should work well with any subject. Basically, the system involves students watching the videos, taking notes on the videos, and developing questions on the video. Seems simple enough for the students, but there also needs to some action on the teacher's part. This post will detail what both students and teachers need to consider when flipping lessons.

Let's start with the students first:
  1. Watch the Video!
    • This seems straightforward, but sometimes the most overlooked part by students.
    • Another important point is the re-watching of videos to understand how the content is all related. Actively looking for connections is among one of the best Habits of Mind that students need to focus on when it comes to their learning. The brain understands concepts when they are understood in a linear way. Students need to make sure they are connecting the dots when it comes to concept relationships. If they are not, they had better come up with some great questions in order to make those connections.
    • The videos are meant to be paused, re-watched, and analyzed by the viewer. If you do not understand the video the first time around, that’s normal. Try re-watching, pausing certain parts, and writing down any questions you may have.
  2. Note-taking
    • Notes should be taken completely based on how the students feel would help them the most. This student choice piece is crucial for students creating their understanding of the concepts. Rather than aimlessly copying notes, students need to think about what is important, what needs to be written down, what can be excluded, and what needs to be focused on more. This is a skill that will follow them the rest of their life in any job setting. This means that not all student notes will look the same.
    • However, you will probably find that most students will copy down what you wrote in the video. This sort of thing is okay and also leads to great conversation starters for how effective that is to do.
    • Because the concept is novel to the students upon watching the video, I allow them to use the notes they take in during the warm-up formative assessment that occurs in the beginning of my class (“bell work”).
    • This also helps create an immediate purpose for taking notes as it is in their best interest to take notes.
    • Students are allowed to make corrections on their “bell work” for full credit. The requirements for full credit are as follows:
      • All mistakes must be corrected.
      • An explanation must be included on why they missed the problem the first time around. 
      • The explanation must be in complete sentences with the correct math terminology.
    • I do not grade the notes, but they are checked and used as conversation starters if I meet with students.
    • Students are encouraged to take pictures of their notes in case they lose them or need to reference them in a quick way.
  3. Question Formulation
    • As a general rule in my class, students are only allowed to ask questions that can be answered with a “yes” or “no”. 
    • The reasoning behind the questions being formatted this way is that it:
      • forces students to watch the video 
      • discourages questions like “how do you do this?”
      • helps students to think about what they do know
      • encourages students to answer the questions themselves
      • shifts the focus from the answerer to the questioner - “yes” or “no” is easy to answer rather than a lengthy explanation that oftentimes mirrors the video 
    • Please note: I do not simply answer the questions with a “yes” or “no”.
      • Further responses are differentiated based on the knowledge of the student’s skills, curiosity, math ability, etc.
      • I do give further explanations after the initial answer.
      • Students are never left out in the cold with a simple “yes” or “no”
    • These questions can be posted by students on a Google Form or on a Padlet. The questions are gone over in the beginning of class before the “bell work”. No names are attached to the questions to preserve anonymity.
Now for the teacher's part:
  1. Make sure that the students are watching the videos. How can this be accomplished?
    • Many teachers think to quiz or question the students on the material from the videos and that will force them to watch the videos and learn. The problem with this is that educational research has found that points and grades are some of the worst motivators of learning for students. When grades and points are the focus of the lesson, less learning takes place because students end up chasing their grade rather than an understanding.
    • Give students a chance to watch the videos in class. While it is preferable for students to watch outside of class, it simply is not an option for many students. Sometimes students need help managing their time (even seniors). With a flipped classroom, there is time to work with students individually on things such as this.
    • Keep things short and to the point in the videos. The videos that I create are all less than 5 minutes. I do this to keep the content concise and take away any excuses that students use to not watch them.
    • Furthermore, I try to focus videos on concept rather than the solving of a problem. The problem solving is generally completed the next day in class as a warm-up activity (“bell work”). This is a collaborative endeavor in which students can work in pairs or their 4-person pod.
    • Using their understanding from the video, students are trying to solve the bell work problems. Mistakes are encouraged and are built in as something that is meant to happen. This is communicated extensively to the students as is research that shows that this is the best way to learn. I continually say (especially in the beginning of the course) that students are "meant to be partially confused" and that "it's okay to make mistakes since this is the first the time you have seen problems like these". It makes it that much more rewarding when students get the problems correct the first time just from their simple understanding from a sub-five minute video.
    • This also provides an opportunity to figure things out on their own rather than just mimicking what I did to solve a similar problem. One of the main ideas behind control theory and learning is that learning students prefer to construct their own understanding of their learning. Although it is easier sometimes to just mimic steps to solve a problem, students are more apt to focus on deeper understanding of concepts when they are constructing their own understanding.
    • Hints are given by me as a way of differentiating instruction and helping students along so that they do not feel as if they are left to fend for themselves.
  2. Make sure students are taking notes on the videos.
    • Students need to understand that the videos are meant to be paused, re-watched, and analyzed by the viewer. If you do not understand the video the first time around, that’s normal. Try re-watching, pausing certain parts, and writing down any questions you may have.
    • Because the concept is novel to the students upon watching the video, I allow them to use the notes they take in during the warm-up formative assessment that occurs in the beginning of my class (“bell work”).
  3. Make sure students are formulating questions.

 Continue Reading

4/4/15

My Response to "Why Are We Learning This?"

12:50  
I love this quote:


When students ask "why are we learning this?", I make an extremely strong effort to explain it to them. When I was a kid, I was one of those students that always, always had to know why something is the way it is. I wanted everything analyzed to its very nature so that I can understand. Learning this way takes much more time in the beginning. However, helping a student become more inquisitive and want to know why, will end up saving more time in the long run as the students will understand what they are doing and why.

I'm sharing this quote I found on Twitter from an author describing the very thing that I am talking about. One issue that I find with non-teacher opinions on education is that they never tell the whole picture. Namely, what I feel is being lost in this quote is the fact that many students may ask "why are we learning this?", but I would say that many of them do not care about whatever answer you tell them. They are simply seeking a way to complain about what they are learning and could care less about why.

So what do I do to try to counteract this? Before answering the question, I simply ask the student if they are open-minded enough to accept my answer (in a nice way of course) or if they are just looking to complain. If they choose the former, then I try to reiterate the concepts of my teaching that are introduced to students in the beginning of the year. I also may advise them to check my website which has all of those same reasons and ideas behind my teaching and why I teach what I do.

Being that I teach math, many students feel as though they will NEVER use what they learn in my class. Now, rather than disagree with them, I partially agree. They will most likely never directly use any of the content that I teach them, however, they will use the 21st century skills that are practiced each and everyday while learning the content. Things such as the Habits of Mind:
  1. Persisting
  2. Managing Impulsivity
  3. Listening with Understanding and Empathy
  4. Thinking Flexibly
  5. Thinking about Thinking (Metacognition)
  6. Striving for Accuracy
  7. Questioning and Posing Problems
  8. Applying Past Knowledge to New Situations
  9. Thinking and Communicating with Clarity and Precision
  10. Gathering Data through All Senses
  11. Creating, Imagining, Innovating
  12. Responding with Wonderment and Awe
  13. Taking Responsible Risks
  14. Finding Humor
  15. Thinking Interdependently
  16. Remaining Open to Continuous Learning
Here is a list breakdown of those skills based on The Partnership for 21st Century Skills:

  1. Learning Skills
    • Critical Thinking
    • Creative Thinking
    • Collaborating
    • Communicating
  2. Literacy Skills
    • Information Literacy
    • Media Literacy
    • Technology Literacy
  3. Life Skills
    • Flexibility
    • Initiative
    • Social Skills
    • Productivity
    • Leadership
Long story short, why are we learning this?

To help foster 21st century skills. Thankfully, these skills can be taught with any subject regardless of its apparent lack of future use.


 Continue Reading
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)
Designed By Blogger Templates | Templatelib & Distributed By Blogspot Templates