Monthly Archives: April 2013

Reflection on Bruner

Leave a reply

Before even reading this entry, I have the feeling that Bruner is more the source of my ID philosophies than Vygotsky. Here is the blog by Clark on Bruner.

Quote: “His introduction to Vygotsky’s Thought and Language was written in in 1962 and, influenced by Vygotsky, he emphasizes the role of the teacher, language and instruction.”
Reflection: I always think that no matter the foundation of our personal philosophy we bring something unique that creates an iteration of importance.

Quote: “[Bruner] believes that…social interaction lay at the root of good learning.”
Reflection: It seems to me that social interaction needs to be defined or broadened. To be some type of intervention/interaction whether social or computer media in nature.

Quote:“…he [Bruner] sees learning as a dynamic process where learners construct or build knowledge, based on their existing knowledge.”
Reflection: One item that I continually come to is that learning is so difficult to define and control. It happens all around us. We should be glad when we can find a way to teach to promote learning and continue to think and reflect on the environment for the future.

Quote: “Bruner builds on the Socratic tradition of learning through dialogue, encouraging the learner to come to enlighten themselves through reflection.”
Reflection: I’m finding that reflection is key to any type of learning.

Quote: “His theory of instruction addresses four principles:

  1. Readiness. The learner must have a predisposition to learn and so their experiences and context must be considered.
  2. Structure. The content must be structured so that it can be grasped by the learner.
  3. Sequence. Material must be presented in the most effective sequences.
  4. Generation. Good learning should encourage extrapolation, manipulation and a filling in the gaps, just beyond the learners existing knowledge.“

Reflection: From my view, this means little in terms of creating a learning environment that spans all learners. It is important to observe and iterate in order to create an appropriate learning environment, based upon the needs of the students.

Quote: “Bruner…gave us this word (scaffolding) in educational theory and the recognition that learners need to be either self-aware or helped to build on existing knowledge is certainly a useful device,…”
Reflection: I have attributed this to Vygotsky and believe strongly in scaffolding for any type of learning. This is why I think that I am more of a follower of Bruner than Vygotsky. Bruner has influenced me and my approach to LD.

Quote: “His [Bruner’s] ‘spiral curriculum’ where one repeatedly revisits knowledge and skills, but at a higher level each time, has much to recommend, as it is compatible with other areas in the psychology of learning.”
Reflection: Definitely something to consider and reflect on as I move forward in the development of my own ID philosophy.

 

Reflection 4/22/13-4/26/13

Leave a reply

Accomplishments:

  • Prof Dev
    • Reflection on Vygotsky
    • Had my SRDP, and it went extremely well
    • I also may have an opportunity to teach IST 110 or 230 for Fall ’13
  • Spring ’13 revisions/developments
    • Personal Security MOOC
      • MOOC progress
        • Finished 1st Topic’s Assessment
    • IST 220 (Friedenberg)
      • Meeting set up for 5/2 from 11:00-12:00 to discuss
    • IST 230 (Newcomer)
      • The truth tables are completed
        • Feedback from Kent about video on the page (& in the rest of the course)
          • Would be nice to point students more clearly on where to start the tables
          • Can make the video accessible by ios devices. Here is an evernote on how.
      • Email sent to Larry on 4/9
        • Reply from Toni D; positive about the final product
      • Amy G pointed me to some resources that were available from the past.
        • I plan to take a closer look and share with Larry for possible inclusion in later semesters
    • IST 240 (Fonseca)
      • Talked to Lisa and she was going to touchbase with Mary Beth about reforming committee
      • Met on 4/24 about the course with Fred
        • Received a syllabus and put together an email of what we accomplished along with action items for our meeting next week
    • IST 250 (Bixler)
      • Met with Brett on 1/30 to discuss adjustments
        • Mostly items that Brett will fix
        • He will send me changes to the curriculum as Word docs for me to update
    • IST 302 (Clark)
      • Sent note to Shawn about new text
        • He replied that if the book changed significantly we would have to do a revision
          • I sent a reply back to let him know that it didn’t change much and to see if he needed a copy
          • He said yes, and I sent a request to Kathy W on 4/8
          • Checked in with Amy S about the possibility of revision
          • I don’t think it’s necessary
    • IST 420 (Ocker)
  • Spring ’13 Courses
    • IST 110 Sec 001 (Jan)
      • Note demand that I make a change to the student orientation about grading
      • Made an adjustment to the wording and
    • IST 210
      • All Sec
        • Fred sent a note about a student being confused about the assessment.
        • I added a quick blurb to make things clearer.
        • Fred sent out a note about having an after-the-semester meeting about 210 on Th May 9 or Friday May 10
          • I responded with a yes to either day
          • Gary voted for Friday
    • IST 240
      • Sec 001 (Fred F)
        • Fred checked in about the assessment to make sure that it would be open longer than the 26th
      • Sec 002 (Hal)
        • Let Hal know about publishing assessment
        • He clarified that he wanted it open until 4/29 at least.
    • IST 250
  • Summer ’13 Courses
    • IST 110
      • Sec 001 (Farugia)
        • Emailed Farugia and got the okay to set up the course based upon Spring ’13 version
        • Completed 2/13/13
      • Sec 002 (Newcomer Folkers)
        • Emailed Deirdre on 2/26/13 about course since she will be teaching it.
          • Couldn’t find this email that I thought I sent, probably just forgot 🙁
        • Sent a follow up on 3/20 and got a reply right away to go ahead
        • Completed setting up the course and emailed Deidre of the changes on 3/21
        • Added video from Summer ’12 upon request
      • Sec 003 (Heberling)
        • Got a note from Gary that his section was available
        • Set up his space on 4/3/13
        • Note from Gary about a font issue in one of the course project pdfs.
        • I updated his section, Deirdre’s section, & dev section
    • IST 111S
      • Sec 001 (Folkers)
        • Set up the course based upon SP 13 version
        • Follow up email with Deirdre to let her know that it is done on 2/12/13
    • IST 210
      • Sec 001 (Gary H)
        • Sent Gary an email n 2/21 about what he would like done to populate his section
        • Copied and completed setting up for Summer ’13 on 2/21/13
        • Sent roster on 4/10
      • Sec 002 (Fred A)
        • Sent Fred an email n 2/21 about what he would like done to populate his section
        • Follow up sent on 3/14
        • Fred said that it would be fine, so I set it up on 3/14 and let Fred know
        • Sent roster on 4/10
    • IST 220
      • All Sec
        • Sent note to IT about roster 1 month out on 4/10
      • Sec 001 (Nick G)
        • Talked to Nick on 2/21 & agreed that moving his section from Spring ’13 and making adjustments to fit the summer makes the most sense. I plan to wait until the end of April to move items
        • Talked to Nick on 4/10, & he requested that I move a fresh version into the Summer ’13 space & adjust the schedule.
        • Spent much of 4/11 trying to fix the course for this summer
        • Took more than half of 4/12 also
        • Emailed Nick on 4/12
        • Added quizzes from Hyunjeong’s section after received from Hyunjeong to do so and emailed Nick
      • Sec 002 (Mike M)
        • Emailed Mike on 2/21 about plan. He was fine with it.
        • Exported/Imported from Section 001 to fill 002 on 4/23
      • Sec 003 (Hyunjeong)
        • Contacted Hyunjeong about when she would like me to move her materials over to Summer ’13 section
        • Got the okay, but asked whether she would be okay moving to VHOL
          • She’s meeting with Nick to get acclimated – Never happened
        • She also requested adding the course schedule which I did on 4/12
        • Got a note on 4/23 that she was not interested in teaching a low-enrolled class (7 currently in the roster), so if it doesn’t fill these students will be added to section 002
        • Asked Hyunjeong if we could use the quizzes which she agreed to
    • IST 230
      • Sec 001 & 002 (Larry)
        • Will need to merge the sections for Larry to populate
        • Checked with WC on 3/12 about 2nd section being on my profile
        • Checked on 3/14 and had both sections on my profile
        • Thanked WC for the help
        • Called Larry about merging sections
        • I merged the sections on 3/14
        • He will populate the space from there
        • Asked Larry if it was okay for me to assist this summer to prep myself to teach this fall
    • IST 240
      • Sec 001 (Hal)
        • Contacted Hal on April 8 about populating Summer ’13 section
        • Note from Anita C-G on 3/26 that we will have a student with impaired hearing. Glad we took this into account when we last revised the course.
        • Contacted Hal on 4/8 and got the go ahead to populate the course next week
        • Populated on 4/15 and set for the summer
        • Sent Hal a note
        • He responded with request to move items into ANGEL to avoid problems with keeping everything current
        • I checked the course and sent him a list of items to unpublish and add to ANGEL
    • IST 250
      • Sec 001 (John O)
        • Copied over Spring ’13 materials to Summer ’13 space for John
    • IST 295B
      • Sec 001 (Kari)
        • Contacted Madhavi on 2/20/13 about populating the Summer ’13 section
    • IST 301
      • Sec 001 (Ocker)
        • Spoke with Rosalie
          • Sounded like she would populate her own section
    • IST 302
      • Sec 001 (Clark)
        • emailed on 3/8 that will copy over SP ’13 materials
        • he replied that it sounded good on 3/11
        • set up the section on 3/12 and emailed him
      • Sec 002 (Jesse Bill C if needed)
        • emailed on 3/8 that will copy over dev space materials
        • This section is not showing on my profile since 1st section is not full
    • IST 331
      • Sec 001 (Cantor)
        • Emailed to set up a meeting to discuss changes that need to be made before Summer ’13
        • Bill responded that he would be at UP on 4/8 & 4/9, so we will meet f2f on 4/9 at 3:30
        • Bill followed up on 4/8
          • I mentioned that I need to leave earlier than I originally anticipated
          • We discussed next steps
          • I completed the following in the Summer ’13 section
            • I copied the materials into the Summer ’13 space from your Spring ’13 section. Here are a few highlights:
              • I made the course announcement the same as last semester and have it visible until June 1. Feel free to adjust that as you deem fit.
              • I adjusted the textbook name based upon our discussion yesterday.
              • We haven’t run this course in Summer since the revision, so I took a shot at the adjustment.
    • IST 402
      • Sec 001 (Cameron)
        • Melissa will do this
    • IST 420
      • Sec 001 & 002 (Ocker)
        • Merged on 3/27
        • Rosalie still needs to finish a few things reminder for mid-April to check back in
        • Found out I needed to unmerge. Here is an excerpt from ANGEL help about how to do this: unmerge.png
          • One thing it doesn’t say is that you should copy what is in the section if you have already populated or are in the process of populating the merged section. Luckily, we weren’t doing that
          • It was decided to have Rosalie teach the 2nd section so had to remerge it on 4/12
    • IST 440W
      • Sec 001 & 002 – Merged (JW)
        • merged and populated the course on 3/12
        • had to update the course announcement with BB Collaborate info
        • updated the communicate tab to remove live chat
        • sent email on 3/12 that the process was completed
          • Jim said he’d check when he has time
    • IST 495
      • Sec 001 (Kari)
        • Contacted Madhavi on 2/20/13 about populating the Summer ’13 section

Ongoing Projects:

    • Updated google spreadsheet for Summer ’13
    • Started a Fall ’13 google schreadsheet 

Immediate Decisions / Issues:

    • Need LMS that better integrates and includes tools that we use in our classes.

Important Dates:

  • April 1 Vacation Day – 8h
  • April 2 Vaction Time AM – 4h
  • April 3 Family Sick – 8h
  • April 4 Family Sick – 8h
  • April 19 Morning Family Medical 4h AM
  • April 19 Vacation time – 4h PM
  • May 3 Vacation Day – 8h
  • May 6 Vacation Day – 8h
  • May 27 Memorial Day – Holiday
  • June 14 Vacation Day – 8h
  • June 21 Vacation Day – 8h
  • July 4 Holiday
  • July 5 Vacation Day – 8h
  • July 11 Vacation Day – 8h
  • July 12 Vacation Day – 8h
  • August 19 Vacation Day – 8h
  • August 20 Vacation Day – 8h

Reflection on Vygotsky

Leave a reply

Vygotsky is one of my favorite learning theorist. His philosophies are at the core of my beliefs about teaching and learning. I remember when we talked about Vygotsky during my time in the Master’s Program at Philadelphia University that Prof Tim McGee mentioned that they had some visitors at Cal Berkley from Russia who weren’t so enamored by Vygotsky’s theories about teaching and learning. Just a reminder to me of how we all have opinions about which we are entitled. Often, it takes distance and time for the ideas to develop.

Here is the link to Clark’s blog on Vygotsky.

Quote: “…he presents a psychology rooted in Marxist social theory…”
Reflection: I guess I should have known this. No wonder I have such a problem with many of the capitalist philosophies that are shoved down our throats all of the time. Not saying that capitalism is bad or wrong, just that we need to balance our view to include people in the equation instead of so much ROI.

Quote: “…the idea that learning is fundamentally a socially mediated and constructed activity.”
Reflection: On a personal level, I have always appreciated learning when it involves more than just me. I think that’s why I am so into teaching. Students need to be a part of the equation. When an instructor includes my needs and ideas in a course. I am always more engaged than if I’m just being lectured. Also, it’s so great to have a product to share with others that shows what you are learning. It makes an impact to take materials from a learning experience and share with others. The cycle of learning is enable to continue on and on. That sounds like human capitalism to me.

Quote: “…the cardinal idea in his psychology of education, that knowledge is constructed through mediation, yet it is not entirely clear what mediation entails and what he means by the ‘tools’ that we use in mediation.“
Reflection: My definition of mediation is scaffolding. The learner is placed in an environment where they have to construct something to demonstrate mastery. During the process of construction they will need to rely on more than their own current knowledge. They will need other members within the learning environment and “scaffolded knowledge” to complete the construction. To me this works brilliantly in the online context since we can use many different resources to assist students when they encounter obstacles.

Quote: “…[Constructivism] changes the focus of teaching towards guidance and facilitation“
Reflection: Changing this paradigm can be difficult. Because of the model that I grew up with and encountered as a student, it is easy to fall back into the “sage on the stage” mode and just dump and require regurgitation on exams. This does not produce real, long-term learning.

Quote: “He [Vygotsky] prescribes a method of instruction that keeps the learner in the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD),… The ZPD is the difference between what the learner knows and what the learner is capable of knowing or doing with mediated assistance.“
Reflection: In this statement, I see observation by the teacher. I see analysis by the teacher. And I see challenge from the teacher to the student. All of these stages are important in helping a student reach learning goals.

Quote: “To progress, one must interact with peers who are ahead of the game through social interaction…“
Reflection: I don’t see it this way. I see students as in different levels of development within a large continuum. For instance, within a project, you may have reading, writing, mathematics, computer programming. To say that one individual is ahead in all areas of the project may not and probably will not be true. So students need to assess where they are and what skills they have in order to truly develop a good project. During this process they will fall within the learner and teacher rolls as appropriate.

Quote: “At around 3, when the faculty of imagination develops, children use imaginative play to deal with acts they cannot physically perform. “
Reflection: I see this all the time in my kids. I’m not sure if this is something that is based on age. To me, there is a range of ages from 2-100 where you see this in practice.

Quote: “One could conclude by saying that Vygostsky has become ‘fashionable’ but not as relevant as his reputation would suggest.“
Reflection: I tend to agree with Clark here. But at least we have moved away from identify effective education as being rooted in learning theorists like Skinner.

Reflection 4/15/13-4/19/13

Leave a reply

Accomplishments:

    • Personal Security MOOC
      • MOOC meeting scheduled for 4/17
        • Worked on quizzes for the course on 4/17 through Module 1
        • Checked in with Nick about badges (Greg and Will can provide some things here as well.)
        • Sounds like this is something that will fall within the scope of his check for understanding project with Peggy
        • Met with Kate M and Trey about MOOCs through Coursera
    • IST 220 (Friedenberg)
      • Meeting set up for 5/2 from 11:00-12:00 to discuss
    • IST 230 (Newcomer)
      • The truth tables are completed
        • Feedback from Kent about video on the page (& in the rest of the course)
          • Would be nice to point students more clearly on where to start the tables
          • Can make the video accessible by ios devices. Here is an evernote on how.
      • Email sent to Larry on 4/9
        • Reply from Toni D; positive about the final product
      • Amy G pointed me to some resources that were available from the past.
        • I plan to take a closer look and share with Larry for possible inclusion in later semesters
    • IST 240 (Fonseca)
      • Looks like Fred will be speaking with Lisa about the course committee and getting things moving toward a revision
      • My understanding is that the curriculum will eventually have 140 leading to 242 for the design & development option
      • 240 will be for everyone else
      • Fred would like to tie activities together a bit more for this course
      • Met on 4/17 about the course with Fred
        • 1st 7 weeks include
          • Minilecture
          • HW
          • Quiz the next week
        • Last 7 weeks are for creating a game in java
        • He would like to have a way for students to self assess during the 1st 7 weeks
        • I introduced the idea of peer assessment as well
    • IST 250 (Bixler)
      • Met with Brett on 1/30 to discuss adjustments
        • Mostly items that Brett will fix
        • He will send me changes to the curriculum as Word docs for me to update
    • IST 302 (Clark)
      • Sent note to Shawn about new text
        • He replied that if the book changed significantly we would have to do a revision
          • I sent a reply back to let him know that it didn’t change much and to see if he needed a copy
          • He said yes, and I sent a request to Kathy W on 4/8
          • Checked in with Amy S about the possibility of revision
          • I don’t think it’s necessary
    • IST 420 (Ocker)
        • Spoke with Rosalie about both 420 and 301 for Summer ’13. I moved the reminder to mid-April to allow time for her to finish up a few items
        • Got the okay to merge sections
        • Then got a note to unmerge.
        • Then told to merge.
  • Spring ’13 Courses
    • IST 210
      • Middaugh Sec
        • Jesse sent me a note about the eval
        • Created one for him and his section
        • After several emails, got him access and asked for feedback after implementation
      • All Sec
        • Fred sent a note about a student being confused about the assessment.
        • I’m going to add a quick blurb to make things clearer.
    • IST 240
      • Sec 001 (Fred F)
        • Received info on 4/15 & adjusted Fred’s course accordingly on 4/16
    • IST 302
      • Sec 001 (Clark)
        • Received a note about adjusting the settings to allow for students to do the assessment early
        • Fixed the settings for the needs of the instructor and students
        • I sent him a short video to show him what I did for future reference.
  • Summer ’13 Courses
    • Sent note to Sonya L on 4/17 about courses that have been merged and info that WC needed
    • IST 110
      • Sec 001 (Farugia)
        • Emailed Farugia and got the okay to set up the course based upon Spring ’13 version
        • Completed 2/13/13
      • Sec 002 (Newcomer Folkers)
        • Emailed Deirdre on 2/26/13 about course since she will be teaching it.
          • Couldn’t find this email that I thought I sent, probably just forgot 🙁
        • Sent a follow up on 3/20 and got a reply right away to go ahead
        • Completed setting up the course and emailed Deidre of the changes on 3/21
        • Added video from Summer ’12 upon request
      • Sec 003 (Heberling)
        • Got a note from Gary that his section was available
        • Set up his space on 4/3/13
        • Note from Gary about a font issue in one of the course project pdfs.
        • I updated his section, Deirdre’s section, & dev section
    • IST 111S
      • Sec 001 (Folkers)
        • Set up the course based upon SP 13 version
        • Follow up email with Deirdre to let her know that it is done on 2/12/13
    • IST 210
      • Sec 001 (Gary H)
        • Sent Gary an email n 2/21 about what he would like done to populate his section
        • Copied and completed setting up for Summer ’13 on 2/21/13
        • Sent roster on 4/10
      • Sec 002 (Fred A)
        • Sent Fred an email n 2/21 about what he would like done to populate his section
        • Follow up sent on 3/14
        • Fred said that it would be fine, so I set it up on 3/14 and let Fred know
        • Sent roster on 4/10
    • IST 220
      • All Sec
        • Sent note to IT about roster 1 month out on 4/10
      • Sec 001 (Nick G)
        • Talked to Nick on 2/21 & agreed that moving his section from Spring ’13 and making adjustments to fit the summer makes the most sense. I plan to wait until the end of April to move items
        • Talked to Nick on 4/10, & he requested that I move a fresh version into the Summer ’13 space & adjust the schedule.
        • Spent much of 4/11 trying to fix the course for this summer
        • Took more than half of 4/12 also
        • Emailed Nick on 4/12
      • Sec 002 (Mike M)
        • Emailed Mike on 2/21 about plan. He was fine with it.
      • Sec 003 (Hyunjeong)
        • Contacted Hyunjeong about when she would like me to move her materials over to Summer ’13 section
        • Got the okay, but asked whether she would be okay moving to VHOL
          • She’s meeting with Nick to get acclimated
        • She also requested adding the course schedule which I did on 4/12
    • IST 230
      • Sec 001 & 002 (Larry)
        • Will need to merge the sections for Larry to populate
        • Checked with WC on 3/12 about 2nd section being on my profile
        • Checked on 3/14 and had both sections on my profile
        • Thanked WC for the help
        • Called Larry about merging sections
        • I merged the sections on 3/14
        • He will populate the space from there
    • IST 240
      • Sec 001 (Hal)
        • Contacted Hal on April 8 about populating Summer ’13 section
        • Note from Anita C-G on 3/26 that we will have a student with impaired hearing. Glad we took this into account when we last revised the course.
        • Contacted Hal on 4/8 and got the go ahead to populate the course next week
        • Populated on 4/15 and set for the summer
        • Sent Hal a note
        • He responded with request to move items into ANGEL to avoid problems with keeping everything current
        • I checked the course and sent him a list of items to unpublish and add to ANGEL
    • IST 250
      • Sec 001 (John O)
        • Copied over Spring ’13 materials to Summer ’13 space for John
    • IST 295B
      • Sec 001 (Kari)
        • Contacted Madhavi on 2/20/13 about populating the Summer ’13 section
    • IST 301
      • Sec 001 (Ocker)
        • Spoke with Rosalie
          • Sounded like she would populate her own section
    • IST 302
      • Sec 001 (Clark)
        • emailed on 3/8 that will copy over SP ’13 materials
        • he replied that it sounded good on 3/11
        • set up the section on 3/12 and emailed him
      • Sec 002 (Jesse Bill C if needed)
        • emailed on 3/8 that will copy over dev space materials
        • This section is not showing on my profile since 1st section is not full
    • IST 331
      • Sec 001 (Cantor)
        • Emailed to set up a meeting to discuss changes that need to be made before Summer ’13
        • Bill responded that he would be at UP on 4/8 & 4/9, so we will meet f2f on 4/9 at 3:30
        • Bill followed up on 4/8
          • I mentioned that I need to leave earlier than I originally anticipated
          • We discussed next steps
          • I completed the following in the Summer ’13 section
            • I copied the materials into the Summer ’13 space from your Spring ’13 section. Here are a few highlights:
              • I made the course announcement the same as last semester and have it visible until June 1. Feel free to adjust that as you deem fit.
              • I adjusted the textbook name based upon our discussion yesterday.
              • We haven’t run this course in Summer since the revision, so I took a shot at the adjustment.
    • IST 402
      • Sec 001 (Cameron)
        • Melissa will do this
    • IST 420
      • Sec 001 & 002 (Ocker)
        • Merged on 3/27
        • Rosalie still needs to finish a few things reminder for mid-April to check back in
        • Found out I needed to unmerge. Here is an excerpt from ANGEL help about how to do this: unmerge.png
          • One thing it doesn’t say is that you should copy what is in the section if you have already populated or are in the process of populating the merged section. Luckily, we weren’t doing that
          • It was decided to have Rosalie teach the 2nd section so had to remerge it on 4/12
    • IST 440W
      • Sec 001 & 002 – Merged (JW)
        • merged and populated the course on 3/12
        • had to update the course announcement with BB Collaborate info
        • updated the communicate tab to remove live chat
        • sent email on 3/12 that the process was completed
          • Jim said he’d check when he has time
    • IST 495
      • Sec 001 (Kari)
        • Contacted Madhavi on 2/20/13 about populating the Summer ’13 section

Ongoing Projects:

    • Updated google spreadsheet for Summer ’13
    • Started a Fall ’13 google schreadsheet 

Immediate Decisions / Issues:

    • Need LMS that better integrates and includes tools that we use in our classes.

Important Dates:

  • April 1 Vacation Day – 8h
  • April 2 Vaction Time AM – 4h
  • April 3 Family Sick – 8h
  • April 4 Family Sick – 8h
  • April 19 Morning Family Medical 4h AM
  • April 19 Vacation time – 4h PM
  • May 3 Vacation Day – 8h
  • May 6 Vacation Day – 8h
  • May 27 Memorial Day – Holiday
  • June 14 Vacation Day – 8h
  • June 21 Vacation Day – 8h
  • July 4 Holiday
  • July 5 Vacation Day – 8h
  • July 11 Vacation Day – 8h
  • July 12 Vacation Day – 8h
  • August 19 Vacation Day – 8h
  • August 20 Vacation Day – 8h

Reflection on Piaget

1 Reply

Here is the blog by Clark on Piaget and my thoughts.

Quote: “….‘genetic epistemology’, and it saw the minds of children as very different from those of adults….Big problem – he got it mostly wrong.“

Reflection: It has been interesting to me moving from teaching K-12 to higher ed how that there are many who want to study the adult learner. While I agree that there are many characteristics of adult learners that differ from those who are “traditional learners,” I have found in practice that they share many characteristics. For instance, I have heard many say that adult learners need to understand why they are learning what they are learning. I found that “traditional learners” did as well. 

Quote: “…Piaget simply focused too much on motor actions when the real development is perceptual.“

Reflection: I’m guessing that the advent of advanced technology is the reason for the demolition of this idea.

Quote: “…kids develop, not in a predictable, linear fashion, but in fits and starts, and in many different ways.“

Reflection: I have found this to be true for adult learners as well. This is the interesting thing about teaching and learning. It’s hard to completely replicate the educational environment. It’s important to develop many skills to target the needs of the learner.

Quote: “What’s worrying is the fact that this Piagean view of child development, based on ‘ages and stages’ is still widely believed, despite being quite wrong.“

Reflection: Have to admit that I have fallen into this line of thinking. While studying group is important, it equally important to continue to develop new ideas and approaches to be truly effective.

Reflection 4/08/13-4/12/13

Leave a reply

Accomplishments:

    • Personal Security MOOC
      • Didn’t get a chance to meet with students b/c of my abscences, so I’m going to touch base with Greg and Will next week.
    • IST 220 (Friedenberg)
      • Meeting set up for 5/2 from 11:00-12:00 to discuss
    • IST 230 (Newcomer)
      • The truth tables are completed
        • Feedback from Kent about video on the page (& in the rest of the course)
          • Would be nice to point students more clearly on where to start the tables
          • Can make the video accessible by ios devices. Here is an evernote on how.
      • Email sent to Larry on 4/9
        • Reply from Toni D; positive about the final product
      • Amy G pointed me to some resources that were available from the past.
        • I plan to take a closer look and share with Larry for possible inclusion in later semesters
    • IST 240 (Fonseca)
      • Looks like Fred will be speaking with Lisa about the course committee and getting things moving toward a revision
      • My understanding is that the curriculum will eventually have 140 leading to 242 for the design & development option
      • 240 will be for everyone else
      • Fred would like to tie activities together a bit more for this course
    • IST 250 (Bixler)
      • Met with Brett on 1/30 to discuss adjustments
        • Mostly items that Brett will fix
        • He will send me changes to the curriculum as Word doc for me to update
    • IST 302 (Clark)
      • Sent note to Shawn about new text
        • He replied that if the book changed significantly we would have to do a revision
          • I sent a reply back to let him know that it didn’t change much and to see if he needed a copy
          • He said yes, and I sent a request to Kathy W on 4/8
          • Checked in with Amy S about the possibility of revision
          • I don’t think it’s necessary
    • IST 420 (Ocker)
        • Spoke with Rosalie about both 420 and 301 for Summer ’13. I moved the reminder to mid-April to allow time for her to finish up a few items
        • Got the okay to merge sections
        • Then got a note to unmerge.
        • Then told to merge.
  • Spring ’13 Courses
    • IST 110
      • Sec 001 (Jan M)
        • Note from helpdesk on 4/9
        • Met with Janon 4/9 to clear up
      • Sec 007 (Jim F)
        • Replies from Jim
        • Still need to look over the docs he sent
    • IST 240
      • Sec 001 (Fred F)
        • Checked in about using ANGEL Chat; he didn’t have time to implement the ANGEL Chat b/c of his schedule
        • Reminded Fred on 4/12 that the final will be published on Friday 4/19
          • He will think about what he would like to do and we will finalize on Monday
      • Sec 002 (Hal S)
        • Made several adjustments to the course that will be reflected in the next semeser
        • I missed that he wanted several docs updated when he sent solutions
        • Need to figure out a way to make this a better process
    • IST 250
      • Sec 001 (O’Hara)
        • John updated us by letting us know that he notified blogs@psu.edu
  • Summer ’13 Courses
    • IST 110
      • Sec 001 (Farugia)
        • Emailed Farugia and got the okay to set up the course based upon Spring ’13 version
        • Completed 2/13/13
      • Sec 002 (Newcomer Folkers)
        • Emailed Deirdre on 2/26/13 about course since she will be teaching it.
          • Couldn’t find this email that I thought I sent, probably just forgot 🙁
        • Sent a follow up on 3/20 and got a reply right away to go ahead
        • Completed setting up the course and emailed Deidre of the changes on 3/21
        • Added video from Summer ’12 upon request
      • Sec 003 (Heberling)
        • Got a note from Gary that his section was available
        • Set up his space on 4/3/13
    • IST 111S
      • Sec 001 (Folkers)
        • Set up the course based upon SP 13 version
        • Follow up email with Deirdre to let her know that it is done on 2/12/13
    • IST 210
      • Sec 001 (Gary H)
        • Sent Gary an email n 2/21 about what he would like done to populate his section
        • Copied and completed setting up for Summer ’13 on 2/21/13
        • Sent roster on 4/10
      • Sec 002 (Fred A)
        • Sent Fred an email n 2/21 about what he would like done to populate his section
        • Follow up sent on 3/14
        • Fred said that it would be fine, so I set it up on 3/14 and let Fred know
        • Sent roster on 4/10
    • IST 220
      • All Sec
        • Sent note to IT about roster 1 month out on 4/10
      • Sec 001 (Nick G)
        • Talked to Nick on 2/21 & agreed that moving his section from Spring ’13 and making adjustments to fit the summer makes the most sense. I plan to wait until the end of April to move items
        • Talked to Nick on 4/10, & he requested that I move a fresh version into the Summer ’13 space & adjust the schedule.
        • Spent much of 4/11 trying to fix the course for this summer
        • Took more than half of 4/12 also
        • Emailed Nick on 4/12
      • Sec 002 (Mike M)
        • Emailed Mike on 2/21 about plan. He was fine with it.
      • Sec 003 (Hyunjeong)
        • Contacted Hyunjeong about when she would like me to move her materials over to Summer ’13 section
        • Got the okay, but asked whether she would be okay moving to VHOL
          • She’s meeting with Nick to get acclimated
        • She also requested adding the course schedule which I did on 4/12
    • IST 230
      • Sec 001 & 002 (Larry)
        • Will need to merge the sections for Larry to populate
        • Checked with WC on 3/12 about 2nd section being on my profile
        • Checked on 3/14 and had both sections on my profile
        • Thanked WC for the help
        • Called Larry about merging sections
        • I merged the sections on 3/14
        • He will populate the space from there
    • IST 240
      • Sec 001 (Hal)
        • Contacted Hal on April 8 about populating Summer ’13 section
        • Note from Anita C-G on 3/26 that we will have a student with impaired hearing. Glad we took this into account when we last revised the course.
        • Contacted Hal on 4/8 and got the go ahead to populate the course next week
    • IST 250
      • Sec 001 (John O)
        • Copied over Spring ’13 materials to Summer ’13 space for John
    • IST 295B
      • Sec 001 (Kari)
        • Contacted Madhavi on 2/20/13 about populating the Summer ’13 section
    • IST 301
      • Sec 001 (Ocker)
        • Spoke with Rosalie
          • Sounded like she would populate her own section
    • IST 302
      • Sec 001 (Clark)
        • emailed on 3/8 that will copy over SP ’13 materials
        • he replied that it sounded good on 3/11
        • set up the section on 3/12 and emailed him
      • Sec 002 (Jesse Bill C if needed)
        • emailed on 3/8 that will copy over dev space materials
        • This section is not showing on my profile since 1st section is not full
    • IST 331
      • Sec 001 (Cantor)
        • Emailed to set up a meeting to discuss changes that need to be made before Summer ’13
        • Bill responded that he would be at UP on 4/8 & 4/9, so we will meet f2f on 4/9 at 3:30
        • Bill followed up on 4/8
          • I mentioned that I need to leave earlier than I originally anticipated
          • We discussed next steps
          • I completed the following in the Summer ’13 section
            • I copied the materials into the Summer ’13 space from your Spring ’13 section. Here are a few highlights:
              • I made the course announcement the same as last semester and have it visible until June 1. Feel free to adjust that as you deem fit.
              • I adjusted the textbook name based upon our discussion yesterday.
              • We haven’t run this course in Summer since the revision, so I took a shot at the adjustment.
    • IST 402
      • Sec 001 (Cameron)
        • Melissa will do this
    • IST 420
      • Sec 001 & 002 (Ocker)
        • Merged on 3/27
        • Rosalie still needs to finish a few things reminder for mid-April to check back in
        • Found out I needed to unmerge. Here is an excerpt from ANGEL help about how to do this: unmerge.png
          • One thing it doesn’t say is that you should copy what is in the section if you have already populated or are in the process of populating the merged section. Luckily, we weren’t doing that
          • It was decided to have Rosalie teach the 2nd section so had to remerge it on 4/12
    • IST 440W
      • Sec 001 & 002 – Merged (JW)
        • merged and populated the course on 3/12
        • had to update the course announcement with BB Collaborate info
        • updated the communicate tab to remove live chat
        • sent email on 3/12 that the process was completed
          • Jim said he’d check when he has time
    • IST 495
      • Sec 001 (Kari)
        • Contacted Madhavi on 2/20/13 about populating the Summer ’13 section

Ongoing Projects:

    • Updated google spreadsheet for Summer ’13
    • Started a Fall ’13 google schreadsheet 

Immediate Decisions / Issues:

    • Need LMS that better integrates and includes tools that we use in our classes.

Important Dates:

  • April 1 Vacation Day – 8h
  • April 2 Vaction Time AM – 4h
  • April 3 Family Sick – 8h
  • April 4 Family Sick – 8h
  • April 19 Vacation day – 4h – AM
  • May 3 Vacation Day – 8h
  • May 6 Vacation Day – 8h
  • May 27 Memorial Day – Holiday
  • June 14 Vacation Day – 8h
  • June 21 Vacation Day – 8h
  • July 4 Holiday
  • July 5 Vacation Day – 8h
  • July 11 Vacation Day – 8h
  • July 12 Vacation Day – 8h
  • August 19 Vacation Day – 8h
  • August 20 Vacation Day – 8h

Reflection on Habermas

Leave a reply

Another socialist… Looks like this guy is still alive. Here is the Clark blog on Habermas.

Quote: “As a philosophy of change he also recommends action.”
Reflection: I’ve been thinking about how much I often think and reflect but often fall short of action for many reasons. It seems the source of action for Habermas is the empowerment of the powerless.
Quote: “…all knowledge has a ‘social’ context or is socially constructed, so that all taught knowledge is inherently ideological and never neutral.“
Reflection: This thought from Marx is the basis upon which Habermas reacts. I’m wondering what the basis is for how I act and decide. I have many theories but ultimately this is an important question for all of us to ask and answer.
Quote: “The direct effect of the Habermas theory is to change the curriculum towards inclusive activity that critiques ideology through cultural studies, political discussion, citizenship, media studies, humanities and subjects that reflect on the process of education itself. “
Reflection: All of these areas of the curriculum are giving way to math and writing based upon the “Common Core.” I can see little that is being done in today’s educational climate to fix this. 
Quote: “In practice, teaching needs to accommodate discussion, problem solving, collaboration, and community-related learning. “
Reflection: This ties into Bloom’s Taxonomy and higher-order thinking. It’s not just a political and cultural decision to move toward this type of education. Unfortunately, we have become more interested in ROI.
Quote: “There is much to be gained by listening to calls for inclusion, student participation and the student voice in education.  “
Reflection: Especially in regards to adult learners this is true. But from experience with younger learners, I think that the understanding the student and allowing for the student voice to be heard and acted upon is a key to educational success.
Quote: “To be frank he’s been overtaken by events and public statements show he neither understands new media nor its consequences. “
Reflection:Clark goes on to say that Habermas seems to miss the role that media could have on the student voice. It’s interesting to me how so many really knowledgeable people can so focus on their own ideas that they miss the obvious. That a big reason why I blog and reflect. I don’t want to miss the obvious because of the business of what I am doing. 

Reflection 4/01/13-4/05/13

Leave a reply

Accomplishments:

    • Personal Security MOOC
      • Didn’t get a chance to meet with students b/c of my abscences, so I’m going to touch base with Greg and Will next week.
    • IST 220 (Friedenberg)
      • Meeting set up for 5/2 from 11:00-12:00 to discuss
    • IST 230 (Newcomer)
      • The truth tables are completed
      • Need to let Larry know next week
    • IST 240 (Fonseca)
      • Looks like Fred will be speaking with Lisa about the course committee and getting things moving toward a revision
      • My understanding is that the curriculum will eventually have 140 leading to 242 for the design & development option
      • 240 will be for everyone else
      • Fred would like to tie activities together a bit more for this course
    • IST 250 (Bixler)
      • Met with Brett on 1/30 to discuss adjustments
        • Mostly items that Brett will fix
        • He will send me changes to the curriculum as Word doc for me to update
    • IST 302 (Clark)
      • Sent note to Shawn about new text
        • He replied that if the book changed significantly we would have to do a revision
          • I sent a reply back to let him know that it didn’t change much and to see if he needed a copy
    • IST 420 (Ocker)
        • Spoke with Rosalie about both 420 and 301 for Summer ’13. I moved the reminder to mid-April to allow time for her to finish up a few items
        • Got the okay to merge sections
  • Spring ’13 Courses
    • IST 110
      • Sec 007 (Jim F)
        • Answered question about email in ANGEL
        • Let him know that I’d check out his files about the 1st activity next week
    • IST 240
      • Sec 001 (Fred F)
        • Set up Fred’s course for live chat in ANGEL
    • IST 250
      • Sec 001 (O’Hara)
        • Note from John about usual student use of PSU personal space
  • Summer ’13 Courses
    • IST 110
      • Sec 001 (Farugia)
        • Emailed Farugia and got the okay to set up the course based upon Spring ’13 version
        • Completed 2/13/13
      • Sec 002 (Newcomer Folkers)
        • Emailed Deirdre on 2/26/13 about course since she will be teaching it.
          • Couldn’t find this email that I thought I sent, probably just forgot 🙁
        • Sent a follow up on 3/20 and got a reply right away to go ahead
        • Completed setting up the course and emailed Deidre of the changes on 3/21
        • Added video from Summer ’12 upon request
      • Sec 003 (Heberling)
        • Got a note from Gary that his section was available
        • Set up his space on 4/3/13
    • IST 111S
      • Sec 001 (Folkers)
        • Set up the course based upon SP 13 version
        • Follow up email with Deirdre to let her know that it is done on 2/12/13
    • IST 210
      • Sec 001 (Gary H)
        • Sent Gary an email n 2/21 about what he would like done to populate his section
        • Copied and completed setting up for Summer ’13 on 2/21/13
      • Sec 002 (Fred A)
        • Sent Fred an email n 2/21 about what he would like done to populate his section
        • Follow up sent on 3/14
        • Fred said that it would be fine, so I set it up on 3/14 and let Fred know
    • IST 220
      • Sec 001 (Nick G)
        • Talked to Nick on 2/21 & agreed that moving his section from Spring ’13 and making adjustments to fit the summer makes the most sense. I plan to wait until the end of April to move items
      • Sec 002 (Mike M)
        • Emailed Mike on 2/21 about plan. He was fine with it.
      • Sec 003 (Hyunjeong)
        • Contacted Hyunjeong about when she would like me to move her materials over to Summer ’13 section
    • IST 230
      • Sec 001 & 002 (Larry)
        • Will need to merge the sections for Larry to populate
        • Checked with WC on 3/12 about 2nd section being on my profile
        • Checked on 3/14 and had both sections on my profile
        • Thanked WC for the help
        • Called Larry about merging sections
        • I merged the sections on 3/14
        • He will populate the space from there
    • IST 240
      • Sec 001 (Hal)
        • Will contact Hal in mid-April about populating Summer ’13 section since he has a few items to update
        • Note from Anita C-G on 3/26 that we will have a student with impaired hearing. Glad we took this into account when we last revised the course.
    • IST 250
      • Sec 001 (John O)
        • Copied over Spring ’13 materials to Summer ’13 space for John
    • IST 295B
      • Sec 001 (Kari)
        • Contacted Madhavi on 2/20/13 about populating the Summer ’13 section
    • IST 301
      • Sec 001 (Ocker)
        • Spoke with Rosalie
          • Sounded like she would populate her own section
    • IST 302
      • Sec 001 (Clark)
        • emailed on 3/8 that will copy over SP ’13 materials
        • he replied that it sounded good on 3/11
        • set up the section on 3/12 and emailed him
      • Sec 002 (Jesse Bill C if needed)
        • emailed on 3/8 that will copy over dev space materials
        • This section is not showing on my profile since 1st section is not full
    • IST 331
      • Sec 001 (Cantor)
        • Emailed to set up a meeting to discuss changes that need to be made before Summer ’13
        • Bill responded that he would be at UP on 4/8 & 4/9, so we will meet f2f on 4/9 at 3:30
    • IST 402
      • Sec 001 (Cameron)
        • Melissa will do this
    • IST 420
      • Sec 001 & 002 (Ocker)
        • Looks like a merge
        • Rosalie still needs to finish a few things reminder for mid-April to check back in
        • Got the okay to merge
          • Completed on 3/27
    • IST 440W
      • Sec 001 & 002 – Merged (JW)
        • merged and populated the course on 3/12
        • had to update the course announcement with BB Collaborate info
        • updated the communicate tab to remove live chat
        • sent email on 3/12 that the process was completed
          • Jim said he’d check when he has time
    • IST 495
      • Sec 001 (Kari)
        • Contacted Madhavi on 2/20/13 about populating the Summer ’13 section

Ongoing Projects:

    • Updated google spreadsheet for Summer ’13 

Immediate Decisions / Issues:

    • Need LMS that better integrates and includes tools that we use in our classes.

Important Dates:

  • April 1 Vacation Day
  • April 2 Vaction Time AM – 4h
  • April 3 Family Sick
  • April 4 Family Sick
  • April 19 Vacation 1/2 day
  • May 3 Vacation Day
  • May 6 Vacation Day
  • May 27 Memorial Day – Holiday
  • June 14 Vacation Day
  • June 21 Vacation Day
  • July 4 Holiday
  • July 5 Vacation Day
  • July 11 Vacation Day
  • July 12 Vacation Day
  • August 19 Vacation Day
  • August 20 Vacation Day

Reflection on Althusser

Leave a reply

It’s been a crazy week, so I’m only finally getting to this now. Here is Clarke’s blog on Althusser.

Quote: “The appearance of a meritocracy in schools, he thinks, masks the reality of ideological control.”
Reflection: Interesting to think about how we use praise to accomplish our goals. Definitely something to think about from an individual perspective.

Quote: “…that (education) controls rather than enlightens.“
Reflection: There are many times when this seems the case. Banning of cell phone use in schools is a great example. While there are many students who would abuse the privilege of cell phone use, is it worth banning a great tool for teaching and learning because of that abuse by a few?

Quote: “ It (education) does this through grading and assessment, so that the individual strives to achieve what is set as standards of achievement, yet in reality are merely state sponsored selection devices for work and class roles.“
Reflection: I see this when individuals choose to teach as gatekeepers. There are too many who would prevent the masses from learning by putting up artificial barriers for entrance.

Quote: “Education was not the only ISA for Althusser, religion was another and this has turned out to be just as powerful a force in terms of the reinforcement of power through education.“
Reflection: There are many who would choose to place their children in environments where this would happen purposely. I have always been a bit against the notion of private schools, though I went to a college that was affiliated with my church at the time. One thing that happened during my time in college is that I was exposed to different perspectives. I think that to avoid organization which choose to polarize is many times the wrong direction. Working within organizations to affect change often proves to be more efficacious.

Quote: “education is not a neutral activity. It is often loaded with politics, religion and other underlying belief systems.“
Reflection: To me, it’s important for educators to be self reflective to make sure that they are not clouding their message with their own biases.