Instructional Challenge # 2

the scenario

your school has just been notified that you have $150,000 to spend on creating a classroom of tomorrow in which teachers in your school will rotate through this space so that everyone has the opportunity to experience teaching in this environment. you are the lead educator responsibility for creating the "blueprint" of what this classroom would look like and how you would spend the money. the money may be used for equipment, professional development, furniture -- anything that you believe will make this the best learning environment for your students. your learning space has to reflect both high and low end technological resources, keeping in mind that the teachers who rotate through this space will need to be able to replicate some of what they do in this learning space into their own classroom.

the instructional challenge

your instructional challenge is to draft a plan in which you describe what this environment will look like, how you would spend the money, and how you will create a space that includes both high and low end technological solutions, keeping in mind that this classroom will be a model for other learning spaces in which the schools may not have the money or resources to go completely high end.

Resolution:

“Learners in supportive environments have high levels of self-efficacy and self-motivation and use learning as a primary transformative force.”

                                             — Bereiter & Scardamalia, 1989

In today’s world the abundance and fleeting nature of knowledge has made it necessary that we need to teach our students something beyond the acquisition of knowledge. They must be taught how to become problem solver, how to think, operate and create with or without ample resources. In order to teach the students in new ways, teachers have to pay attention not only to what they teach and how they teach but also creating the conducive environment to teach all these skills. To understand the importance of the ‘space’ in the process of learning please take some time to watch this video of a case study of Stanford d.school:

 

 In order to design a classroom of tomorrow, as a lead teacher I would consider this fact that the classrooms of tomorrow should provide opportunities for enhanced collaboration amongst learners, should have appropriate furniture and technological gadgets because future classrooms will revolve around one concept – Student Engagement. A growing body of research on collaborative or cooperative learning  has demonstrated the benefits of children working with other children in collective learning efforts (Johnson, Maruyama, Johnson, Nelson & Skon,1981; Rysavy & Sales,1991). As collective intelligence will be harnessed in the future classrooms for problem-solving and project based learning, therefore learning space must have the following:

1. Technologies:

a. Smart Board: Interactive white board is a must for future classroom. It can be used for simulations, online textbooks, interactive websites, virtual labs etc.  Approximate cost of a 64 inches Smart Board, projector and its mobile floor stand would be around $ 5500

b. SMART response system: This is a great device for assessing the understanding level of students. The remotes are used by the students to answer the questions displayed on the Smart Board and  the result is obtained in a second. This data can be transported to electronic Grade book in a jiffy. It is also a great way to review the content with the students because the result of assessment is very explicit. Approximate cost of one Smart response system with receiver and 32 remotes is $3000

c.  Airliner Wireless Tablet by Smart Technologies: To provide flexibility and mobility to the teacher while instructing the class, this is an amazing gadget. Cost of one airliner is $ 439

d. SMART Table 230i interactive learning center: This is a multitouch, multiuser interactive learning center. It is very useful for young students working collaboratively in the class. Cost of one learning center is $ 8000.

e. Amplifiers: SMART Classroom Amplification system (with four ceiling speakers) will be required for watching videos. Cost $ 1,399

        f. iPads: 25 Apple 'iPad 2' (32 GB, black color, with Wi-Fi)  would cost     around $ 20,000.

        g. Video camera: To shoot a movie or to record the interesting experiments conducted in the classroom , a camera would be necessary. Approximate cost  $500. 

        h. iPods: 25 Apple iPod touch will cost around $ 5,000.

         i. LCD projector: One projector will cost around $700

         j. Printer and scanner : Approximate cost for both of them would be around $ 600

All of these technologies help in creating an engaging learning experience. However regular inflexible furniture will reduce their impact, therefore the next thing to take into consideration is the furniture.

2.       Mobile furniture: The layout of the classroom is very critical in deciding the attention span of a learner. If the hard desks or chair and tables are removed to give way to bean bags, stability balls, fabric cubes; it will aid in the concentration of the students by providing them required flexibility. Furniture and accessories should also enable the learners to power up their devices. Apart from this, there should be some tables for small-group work.

Approximate Cost of tables, chairs/bean bags: 25 'Node chairs' by IDEO for $15000+ 10 bean bags for $ 1000+5 stability balls for $ 100+5 soft fabric cubes for $ 60 + 5 folding tables for doing project work $ 750. Total approximate cost: $16,910

3.       Movable partitions: These will help not only in creating partitions to provide the privacy but also a surface to write and share the ideas.

Approximate Cost of three reversible rolling portable dry erase maker boards $1,950.

4.       Lighting: Due to abundance of technological devices, the need for lighting to be dimmed or enhanced is very important. Lights need to be dimmed  and the application of shades and blinds will be a good idea to eliminate the glare on computer screens. Approximate cost for change of lights and windows' treatment $ 2,000.

5.       Wall Color: The wall color also plays an important role in creating vibrant atmosphere in the classroom. Approximate cost of painting the walls and ceiling would be $ 250.

6.       Flooring: VCT (Vinyl composition tile) flooring will be a good idea for this classroom because of its low cost, durability and ease of maintenance in high traffic areas. Approximate cost would be around $1200.

7.  Apps for iPads and subscriptions of Brainpop, Ignite Learning and unitedstreaming (by Discovery Education). Approximate cost $  12,000

8.  Common supplies: Index cards, post-it notes, white printing paper, construction paper, white poster sheets, markers, pens, dry erase markers etc. Approximate cost $ 400

9. Mobile storage cabinets: Four big storage cabinets (one for each department: Science, Math, ELA and Social Sciences) would cost around $ 3,500

10. Indoor plants: In addition to their aesthetic beauty, they help in cleaning the air of the classroom. Though it is yet to be proved scientifically, some people claim indoor plants have positive psychological effect on learners. Approximate cost  $ 250.


11. Money for different departments: Science department will get $ 12,000 to buy the glassware, chemicals, balances, models, safety goggles etc. Similarly Math, Social Science and English department would get $30,000 ($10,000 each) on any purchases they need.

12.Professional Development of teachers for integrating all these technologies: For successful integration of technology in the classroom, there is strong need for professional development of the teachers. They must be trained how to integrate technologies with their pedagogical style. They need sufficient training and time to incorporate various technologies in their own classrooms because appropriate use of technology is necessary for true learning to happen in a classroom. Approximate cost  $ 15,000.

Remaining $ 9,402 is kept aside for incidentals.

Models of future classrooms:

All of the above mentioned supplies will help in creating a 'classroom of tomorrow' just like the following schools. Observe the exuberant nature of students as well as educators in these learning spaces!

1.       The Denver School of Science and Technology:

2.       Eden Prairie Schools Using Technology In Class

I've tried to create a classroom of future that can be used by all the content-area teachers of the school. Variety of technologies will make this model flexible enough to be adopted at any grade level and for teaching any core content. Mobile furniture will provide lot of options to the teachers to use it according to their requirement. To create a nice reading zone; the use of bean bags, stability balls, soft fabric cubes and partitions with the help of white movable boards will be a good idea. These reversible mobile white boards are also very apt for writing down the ideas if the teacher and learners want to hold brain-storming sessions. For conducting hands-on activities, small projects and labs the mobile folding tables will be very suitable and to teach young students, there will be an interactive learning center. High school and middle school learners will find the 'node chairs' very comfortable. These chairs have a rolling base to let the users to shift around quickly and adapt their posture to the activities going on in the classroom as well as enough storage space underneath to place backpacks and books. Their desktop is broad enough to place the required learning materials.

In the end I would like to say that school can provide the perfect learning environment and knowledgeable educators to its students, but ultimately it's the passion of the learners which is the deciding factor for true learning to take place.

References:

Archfoundation.(2006). AAF:Schools Designed for Learning-DSST. Retrieved Feb. 16,2012 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLvoNrjryeg

Innovation enters the classroom (2012). Retrieved Feb. 16,2012 from  http://360.steelcase.com/articles/innovation-enters-the-classroom-2/

 

McCrea, B. (Jan.2012). Designing the 21st century K-12 Classroom. Retrieved Feb.15,2012  from http://thejournal.com/Articles/2012/01/18/Designing-the-21st-Century-K12-Classroom.aspx?admgarea=pro.development&Page=1

Node chairs [Image]. Node chairs boost up learning in contemporary schools. Retrieved Feb.17,2012 from  http://design.fr/news/node-chair-boosts-up-learning-in-contemporary-schools/

Ochsner, K. (Feb. 2012). Building the 'Classroom of the Future'. Retrieved Feb.16,2012 from  http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/teaching_ahead/?cmp=ENL-TU-NEWS1

Six Cost-Effective Trends for Educational Facilities (2011). Retrieved Feb. 15,2012 from http://www.buildings.com/Default.aspx?TabId=3334&ArticleID=12370#top

Some schools giving desks the boots (Jan.,2011). Retrieved Feb. 16,2012 from http://www.jsonline.com/news/education/114430984.html

Steelcasetv (2010). Stanford d. school-case study. Retrieved Feb. 16,2012 from  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSjezj7_6mc

Storytellermn (2011). Eden prairie Schools Using Technology in Class. Retrieved Feb. 16, 2012 from  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fwZEMbBCbU

Strommen, E.F.,Lincoln,B (1992). Constructivism, Technology, and the Future of Classroom Learning. Retrieved Feb.16,2012 from http://alicechristie.com/classes/530/constructivism.pdf

Instructional Challenge # 1

the scenario

Each morning as you walk the hallways prior to first bell, you see your students' plugged in to their iPods, you hear them discussing the latest "castle craft conquest", you see cell phones put away in lockers, you overhear discussions using terms like L O L, O.M.G., your school's hallways are buzzing with energy. First bell rings. Students file into their seats. It's quiet. Books are pulled out. You realize the students have already tuned out.

the instructional challenge

Your instructional challenge is convincing your administration that you can recreate the hallway energy and students will still be learning.

My Proposal:

By using Discovery Learning instructional strategies and one of the computer labs of the school I can recreate the hallway energy in my class and my students will still be learning.

Introduction:

Globalization & exponential growth of technology has changed the way world used to exist. Fierce competition is prevalent in the businesses and recession has impacted the way the companies work. They prefer to hire the people who are creative, flexible, work collaboratively and are highly adaptable to the changing situations. If this is current situation of the job market, then what kind of job scenario will exist few years from now?

We prepare the future citizens and employees of this world. But we cannot use old ways to prepare them for new situations. So, how can all of the above mentioned skills be instilled in the learners of 21st century? I propose the idea of using Discovery Learning method to a large extent because it instills all the necessary skills that can be required to survive in an unpredictable environment. To find out what is Discovery Learning and its attributes, please take a look at a short presentation prepared by me on prezi:

Discovery Learning on Prezi

Discovery Learning in a classroom:

In a class, the teacher can initiate the guided discovery learning by questioning. The prompt stimulates the curiosity of the learners, it  motivates them to explore. But answers are not provided to them by the teacher as Mosston  (1972:122) cautions that discovery learning cannot take place if the answers are given.

Initially the teacher should support the formation of hypothesis and designing of experiment because learners may not know what a hypothesis should look like or may try to design the experiment to conform to their hypothesis rather than negate it. (Later on they should be allowed to formulate and design on their own). Then the learners explore and investigate by experimenting. The data collected from the experiment is used to draw a conclusion. When it comes to presentation of their result, technology comes to the aid of students. There are variety of ways they can present their learning. They can use the web 2.0 tools like blogs, wiki spaces, prezi, slideshare, animoto.... to present their understanding of a concept.

Benefits:  Discovery Learning ensures that students play an active role to learn at their own pace. It helps in building up the motivation of the learners and they take up the ownership of their learning. Since Discovery Learning is process oriented, learning takes place even through failure. When any student fails to get the desired result, learning still occurs because it motivates the learner to find out the reason for getting anomalous results. This is very much different from the traditional classroom where failure is looked down upon and penalized. Discovery Learning teaches them not to be afraid of being wrong. Sir Ken Robinson in one of his TED talks (Schools kill creativity) said, if we are not prepared to be wrong then we cannot expect to come up with something original. He also said, we stigmatize mistakes. I think, stigmatizing the mistakes leads to the slow death of creativity. But Discovery Learning provides the learners the room to be wrong. Hence the students learn to retain their creativity. Apart from this, since failure is acceptable in the Discovery Learning process, the learners learn to take the reasonable risks.  They also internalize the concepts because emphasis is on mastery of problem-solving skills.

Successful Models of Discovery Learning:

Watch this video to see how deeply engaged the learners of Ben Porat Yosef school of New Jersey are and the skills they learn by doing these activities. Had these concepts been taught to them as mere facts, they would have forgotten them in few days.

Another model of Discovery Learning:

Here is another video showing 3rd grade learners of Tim Bedly, totally engrossed in their learning of Saxon math in an elementary school of California.

Some critics give the following reasons as to why Discovery Learning is not adopted by most of the teachers:

1. It requires too much preparation time.

2. It requires too much learning time.

3. Class size is a constraint.

Resolution: Technology makes Discovery Learning much easier to adopt. Availability of variety of resources on web has made planning the discovery based lessons much easier. Teachers of same grade level can pool their resources and research findings to plan their lessons. By this collaboration and use of technology, less time will be spent on the planning. An efficient lesson plan will allow the learners to have maximum time for their experimentation and data collection. Learners can then go to the computer lab to prepare their presentations. To sort out the problem of class size, teachers can form the groups of learners if the class size is very large and if the class size is small then collaboration with other small classes of the same grade will solve this problem.

Support and Input from department teachers and administrators:

Designing the lesson plan to incorporate this instructional methodology will require the collaboration on the part of same grade level teachers. Their planning periods should synchronize in order to let them plan the lessons together. They can also conduct some of the activities jointly. Apart from this, it also has to be ensured that the computer labs are free for the learners to use when they are done with their discovery learning. Sometimes the space requirement for the activities is very large and for that gym and playground can be used with the prior permission of the coaches and administrators.

Discovery Learning in my learning environment:


I advocate the use of Discovery Learning because in my previous school, under a 'Fellows program' initiated by the University of that state, the graduate students from different streams of science brought their content expertise into the classrooms. They planned along with the teachers to design the hands-on activities for all the lessons taught in the class. This partnership brought a tremendous change in the learning, motivation, enthusiasm and academic performance of the students. The classroom buzzed with learners' enthusiasm, who were discovering that learning is fun!

References:

• Akinbobola, A. O. (2009). Constructivist practices through guided discovery approach: The effect on students' cognitive achievements in Nigerian Senior Secondary School Physics. Retrieved Jan. 27,2012 from http://bjsep.org/getfile.php?id=61

 

• BPY Discovery Learning Day [Video] Retrieved Jan.31,2012 from  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naQ7AjggwIM

• Castronova, Joyce A. (2002) Discovery Learning for the 21st century: What is it and how does it compare to traditional learning in effectiveness in the 21st century? Retrieved Jan. 26,2012 from http://teach.valdosta.edu/are/Litreviews/vol1no1/castronova_litr.pdf

• Discovery Learning: Math Consensus with 3rd graders [Video] Retrieved Jan. 31,2012 from  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rp38JjygZH8

• Inquiry based learning. Retrieved Feb. 2,2012 from http://www.neiu.edu/~middle/Modules/science%20mods/amazon%20components/AmazonComponents2.html

• Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity (June 2006). Retrieved Feb. 1,2012 from http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html

• Schneider,Daniel K. (Sep,2006). Guided discovery learning. Retrieved Feb. 2,2012 from http://edutechwiki.unige.ch/en/Guided_discovery_learning

• Teaching and learning strategies (2002). Inquiry based learning. Retrieved Feb. 2,2012 from  http://www.ndtwt.org/Blackboard/P2SST2/inqu.htm