On Sunday I participated in the Shenandoah Mountain
100. It is a 100 mile mountain bike race
that summits 6 mountains, including Reddish Knob, through the George Washington
National Forest. To keep my mind off of
some of the grueling pain I spent several hours of my 12 hour ride reflecting
on our first class meeting. The concept
that has been rolling around in my head the most from Thursday is “design is
not planning”. We read and discussed two
different teachers who managed their learning much different. One teacher who had scripted lessons using
iPads and another who had a student driven design where students created a
podcast to display their knowledge. When
I take an honest assessment of where my teaching is right now I discover that I
primarily a planner. I fall into a
creative rut of scripting a day rather than designing a learning outcome.
In “Saber-Tooth Curriculum” the doer called “New-Fist”
designed his first curriculum with a real world objective that would help his
tribe. Fish grabbing, horse clubbing and tiger scarring all had very positive
and important benefits to society. The same can be said for the Podcast. Students had to learn Google Classroom,
Google Docs, how to blog, and use sound apps to complete the assignment. Their finished product was a more relevant
display of knowledge than taking a multi choice exam. It showed depth of knowledge and students
learned many valuable skills along the way.
I need to design my learning outcomes using relatable real
world scenarios with possible design problems and solutions to those problems
in mind. I currently teach Student
Enrichment Clusters (SEM) along with general music at my school. In SEM I have been able to use design to help
student driven learning and create learning outcomes that effect the
community. The students decide at a
certain point where they want to take their learning and what their role is in
the group. I have trouble designing
these types of lessons in my general music class. SOLs drive learning and I have a hard time
designing lessons that expose my students to the many SOLs I have to teach per
class and not make it seem like a scripted schedule rather than designed
learning.
"The students decide at a certain point where they want to take their learning and what their role is in the group." is a powerful statement. It is so natural for you to do this with SEM but the restraints of the SOLs hinder this in your music class. I love that our 2nd class spoke to this. Our SOLs are the means to the outcome when we design.
ReplyDeleteI also think it's important to mention, as Dr. Norton stated in our second class, that "the SOL's are a means to get to where you want to go." Of course, if students are creating their own music video with GarageBand and iMovie, and incorporating knowledge of academic standards with knowledge of beats, rhythm, notes, pitches, etc... you're blending everything into one project that allows students to process content and make it more understandable (and engaging!).
ReplyDeleteIt's funny that you mentioned the music video because I started planning a project to make music videos using those same apps on IPads. I found some inexpensive IPad Tripods and a green screen on Amazon. I decided to have the students create choreography to existing music or student made percussion.
DeleteYour post made me think about the student at the end of designed instruction vs. a student at the end of planned instruction. In New Fist's day, the students left as contributing members of society. Isn't that what we are posing here - to develop 21st century, contributing members of society?
ReplyDeleteI believe that the statement that you make about designing lessons using relatable real world scenarios is an essential component of designing for learning. After the discussion we have had in the past two classes, I have realized that a good design needs to be based on real world needs. This will lead the students to think about current problems and possible solutions and to develop strategies they will actually need once they leave school.
ReplyDeleteI think that your blog post has touched on a very important point for many educators. How does one reconcile the need to “cover the standards” with the desire to design. From previous comments, it would appear that there is agreement on the fact that the standards are the means to the end, not the ultimate end. The question is, how can the expectations of employers fit nicely with a designed classroom? In the Serial Podcast example from class #1, the teacher had some time to work with, as well as backing from an administrator so that she could give an alternative assessment. What happens when time and support do not exist in your environment? I am fortunate in that I work in an environment where teachers can make these decisions themselves, but I know what it is like to work in an environment where this is not the case.
ReplyDelete