Dervin, Baggio, and Clark Key Notes and Thoughts on how to Support my Driving Question
Dervin: I revisited Dervin and re-watched the video. After our class discussions, it was nice to revisit this again. I was caught up in the Sense Making vs. Meaning Making. This time I was able to take a step back and look at the bigger picture of the Situation, Use and Gap (see image above). What struck me this time was the space between the gap and the use, and that the gap may be effecting behavior, and communication is the way to overcome or support that. Also, Dervin states that people "see the world differently, and we can't change them", but that we can if they are willing to listening to change. Sooooo-this is all about communication. What tactics do we use, and how we know that they worked? How can this support my driving question? (Which is focused on working with ELLs (English Language Learners) and determining if they have more support with explicit academic language, will it increase their fluency and comprehension?) The GAP for ELLs is the lack of structured language support, which helps them access text and understand it. Their behavior and motivation is going to based on their confidence and ability to access the language. It all goes back to communication. What "bridges" can we put in place for them to be able to overcome that gap, but it is ongoing process, gap-bridge-gap-bridge, and then when do we let them start to create their own bridges without leading (with scaffolding and sentence frames)? This leads me to Bobbe Baggio, and The Visual Connection.
Baggio: The "Trilogy of the Mind" Approach to learning: Affective, Cognitive, and Conative, which uses the whole MIND gave me more context for this. She discusses the power of visual images, which "create energy" in the affective (how you feel) and Cognitive (how you think) domains. And she talks about the conative domain as being the one we can not be easily influenced, that being your instinct. She discusses the power of a visual and what impacts learning. She talks about background knowledge (NAPS), context (in and out) and expectations. As I think about this as it relates to how ELLs acquire language, it makes great sense. We have used visuals with ELLs and for that matter, all students, because they transcend communication. But how could we use visuals beyond just activating background knowledge, and creating context? She states "expectations are based on beliefs we have created in our imaginations", The imagination is one of our most powerful resources, how can we tap into that more? How can we take in one step further? This makes me think of two strategies that are used widely throughout our district, VTS (Visual Thinking Strategies), and QFT (Question Formulation Technique). VTS relies on 4 powerful questions that drive the students to make deeper connections, thus to me getting closer to shifting or building the expectations that students have. Similarly, but in a reverse manner, QFT has the students create a list of questions (both open and closed) about an image/video? Then they narrow those to focus questions, which they will use as a guide to construct their own learning. The action research I have done to date focused on using a 5 finger retell, and sentence frames to improve student's comprehension. After digging into both Dervin and Baggio more, it makes me think I need more visual reinforcement to support, in addition to an element that allows them to be more "active" in the process of learning. More to come on that...
Clark: In my current work I am focused on adult learners, so I took a lot away from this. I appreciated the background in Chapter 1 on effective training and what makes it so effective. Clark shares the "Instructional Systems Design" (p.11), which highlights the four ingredients of Instruction. Information, Performance Outcome, Instructional method, Instructional Media. This gives a frame to what Dervin and Baggio both discussed. WHAT do we want to teach (information, and outcomes), Active ingredients to promote the learning (Instructional methods), and HOW are we going to deliver it (Instructional Media). Feedback, which we know from Hattie is vital for student learning, to me falls in the Instructional methods. How do we know they learned it? What is the feedback? As I think about this in relationship to my driving question, it makes me think about the delivery (Instructional Media). This is where I am struggling with how to deliver it in a meaningful, engaging way. Beyond just the methods, but what tools can I use? This class has reframed that for me, how can I use technology as a tool meaningfully?
Bringing it all together
This work continues to make me think deeper about my driving question, and how to refine it even more. Specifically, some of my new "Need to Knows" based on this work are:
What technology can I use to bolster student's acquisition of academic language?
How can I bring together speaking/listening and reading together in a more succinct way?
How can I shift my Instructional Methods to imbed student feedback?
How can I use visuals more powerfully with ELLs?
Now, a brain break--thinking I am need of some visuals!
Dervin: I revisited Dervin and re-watched the video. After our class discussions, it was nice to revisit this again. I was caught up in the Sense Making vs. Meaning Making. This time I was able to take a step back and look at the bigger picture of the Situation, Use and Gap (see image above). What struck me this time was the space between the gap and the use, and that the gap may be effecting behavior, and communication is the way to overcome or support that. Also, Dervin states that people "see the world differently, and we can't change them", but that we can if they are willing to listening to change. Sooooo-this is all about communication. What tactics do we use, and how we know that they worked? How can this support my driving question? (Which is focused on working with ELLs (English Language Learners) and determining if they have more support with explicit academic language, will it increase their fluency and comprehension?) The GAP for ELLs is the lack of structured language support, which helps them access text and understand it. Their behavior and motivation is going to based on their confidence and ability to access the language. It all goes back to communication. What "bridges" can we put in place for them to be able to overcome that gap, but it is ongoing process, gap-bridge-gap-bridge, and then when do we let them start to create their own bridges without leading (with scaffolding and sentence frames)? This leads me to Bobbe Baggio, and The Visual Connection.
Baggio: The "Trilogy of the Mind" Approach to learning: Affective, Cognitive, and Conative, which uses the whole MIND gave me more context for this. She discusses the power of visual images, which "create energy" in the affective (how you feel) and Cognitive (how you think) domains. And she talks about the conative domain as being the one we can not be easily influenced, that being your instinct. She discusses the power of a visual and what impacts learning. She talks about background knowledge (NAPS), context (in and out) and expectations. As I think about this as it relates to how ELLs acquire language, it makes great sense. We have used visuals with ELLs and for that matter, all students, because they transcend communication. But how could we use visuals beyond just activating background knowledge, and creating context? She states "expectations are based on beliefs we have created in our imaginations", The imagination is one of our most powerful resources, how can we tap into that more? How can we take in one step further? This makes me think of two strategies that are used widely throughout our district, VTS (Visual Thinking Strategies), and QFT (Question Formulation Technique). VTS relies on 4 powerful questions that drive the students to make deeper connections, thus to me getting closer to shifting or building the expectations that students have. Similarly, but in a reverse manner, QFT has the students create a list of questions (both open and closed) about an image/video? Then they narrow those to focus questions, which they will use as a guide to construct their own learning. The action research I have done to date focused on using a 5 finger retell, and sentence frames to improve student's comprehension. After digging into both Dervin and Baggio more, it makes me think I need more visual reinforcement to support, in addition to an element that allows them to be more "active" in the process of learning. More to come on that...
Clark: In my current work I am focused on adult learners, so I took a lot away from this. I appreciated the background in Chapter 1 on effective training and what makes it so effective. Clark shares the "Instructional Systems Design" (p.11), which highlights the four ingredients of Instruction. Information, Performance Outcome, Instructional method, Instructional Media. This gives a frame to what Dervin and Baggio both discussed. WHAT do we want to teach (information, and outcomes), Active ingredients to promote the learning (Instructional methods), and HOW are we going to deliver it (Instructional Media). Feedback, which we know from Hattie is vital for student learning, to me falls in the Instructional methods. How do we know they learned it? What is the feedback? As I think about this in relationship to my driving question, it makes me think about the delivery (Instructional Media). This is where I am struggling with how to deliver it in a meaningful, engaging way. Beyond just the methods, but what tools can I use? This class has reframed that for me, how can I use technology as a tool meaningfully?
Bringing it all together
This work continues to make me think deeper about my driving question, and how to refine it even more. Specifically, some of my new "Need to Knows" based on this work are:
What technology can I use to bolster student's acquisition of academic language?
How can I bring together speaking/listening and reading together in a more succinct way?
How can I shift my Instructional Methods to imbed student feedback?
How can I use visuals more powerfully with ELLs?
Now, a brain break--thinking I am need of some visuals!
