EDUC2201 Course Tools and Practices

8/13/2019 EDUC2201 Course Tools and Practices

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COURSE TOOLS

AND PRACTICESEDUC2201: TEACHING WITH DIGITAL MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY

https://educ2201.wikispaces.com/

It seems to me that that , finally, is what good teaching is all about....Somehow or another, skill and knowledge are integrated into somekind of a human connection. ~ Mike Rose

This document is a companion document to the syllabus to help you grow and succeed inthis course. I am here to help you to succeed in this course and in the teacher educationprogram. Success in this class involves organizing and understanding these sources ofinformation. This document in particular contains a number of useful practices and tools todraw on while working towards academic success in this course and beyond. As such, it isworthwhile to read through this document and revisit it over the course of the semester.Please feel free to come to my student drop-in hours or to schedule an appointment with

me if you have any questions about the information contained within this document.image credit: http://www.contemplativemind.org

Get To Know Your Professor

Dr. Jeremy PriceOffice: Education 315 | 304.333.3686Email: [email protected] Psst: email is the best way to contact me.

Visit me during my student drop-in hours:

Tuesday Wednesday Thursday2-3pm 10am-12pm 2-3pm

or schedule an appointment with me at:http://calendly.com/jeremyprice
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://calendly.com/jeremypricehttp://calendly.com/jeremypricehttp://calendly.com/jeremypricemailto:[email protected]


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Course Tools and Practices EDUC2201

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A Quick Note on LearningThis document contains a number of different resources, strategies, and suggestions for succeeding asa student in EDUC2201 and at Fairmont State University. You are encouraged to look through thesestrategies and think about them in terms of how you approach some of these activities and how youmight adopt these practices into your routines. This is the core of what is called learning, and it involvesunderstanding a number of different things:

Sometimes learning is fun, exciting, and even easy. You might lose track of timeas all of your attention is focused on the task at hand. When you are in this state of mind referred to as flow by the psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi GO WITH IT.

Sometimes learning is difficult and involves slogging through tasks thatyou may not want to do. KEEP AT IT, especially when you dont want to. You might wantto try finding a reason for doing this task, a reason that makes sense to you. If you are havingtrouble finding a meaningful purpose for accomplishing a task, please come and see me or send

me an email and we can work on finding a purpose together. Welsh miners, some of whomeventually settled in West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania, have a saying for times suchas these: Dyfal donc a dyr y garreg, tapping persistently breaks the stone.

Sometimes you have to unlearn what you have learned. It may be that practices,routines, and strategies that have been sufficient in other settings and classes are notsufficient or simply do not work in this class. You might have to work on breaking old habitsand learning new practices. This can be disorienting and disappointing. When you feel this way,JUST DO IT. Breaking these old (and not entirely good habits) is important to do in order tolearn, as Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, A fool ish consistency is the hobgoblin of littleminds (I know you all have big minds, so put aside some of those consistencies). You may notbe completely aware of what you are capable of doing until you get there and look back. I haveset up structures and activities to help you identify old habits and I will do my best to help you.

Learning requires that you approach your experiences with awareness. Byapproaching experiences aware of what is going on inside your head, inside your body, and allaround you, you will be better able to engage the practices, strategies, and practices necessaryto grow and learn. This is called metacognition by cognitive scientists and mindfulness bypsychologists and philosophers. This kind of awareness is not easy, so PRACTICE IT. One of myfavorite passages in any book is from Hat Full of Sky by Terry Pratchett: First Thoughts are theeveryday thoughts. Everyone has those. Second Thoughts are the thoughts you think about theway you think. People who enjoy thinking have those. Third Thoughts are thoughts that watchthe world and think all by themselves. Cultivating awareness means practicing the art of havingSecond and Third Thoughts.

You are not alone. Even though it may feel like you are the only one who is frustrated andconfused, you are not. Even though you may not feel like you need help or want help or gettinghelp is a sign of weakness, SEEK IT. As your professor, I am here to help you succeed. There areother resources on campus such as the Writing Center, the Tutoring Center, and DisabilityServices. Make use of these resources. Your peers are also excellent resources and buildingnetworks for learning will aid you at every step of your learning and teaching journey.


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Quick Tips for (Re-)LearningHere are some quick suggestions for getting you started. Notice how much is involved in the learningprocess its not just your brain.

source : http://learnstreaming.com/improve-your-learning-from-a-to-z/

More on Learning about LearningThe photo on the right is a statue of Manjusri, the Bhuddist god of wisdom, asimagined by practitioners of Mahyna Bhuddism in Nepal. Manjusri is wielding thesword of wisdom in his right hand and he seems to be pushing back againstsomething with his left hand. I interpret these visual cues as indicating that attaining

wisdom (or learning) is an active process, rather than a passive one where you justabsorb things. Attaining wisdom, when reading this statue, means that you have tobe an active participant and cut out and push back on any distractors that may come

your way. While it need not necessarily be a violent activity, you do need to be aware of whats coming inand an active participant in making connections and meanings.
http://learnstreaming.com/improve-your-learning-from-a-to-z/http://learnstreaming.com/improve-your-learning-from-a-to-z/http://learnstreaming.com/improve-your-learning-from-a-to-z/


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Active Reading PracticesPretty much everyone knows how to read, right? Pick up the book or article, point your eyes at thewords, and occasionally flip the page or scroll down on the screen.

Countless research studies have shown that successful academic reading, however, requires activereading. In a sense, you must engage in dialogue with the text. (If anyone tells you otherwise, they wereprobably in a state of flow and did not recognize that they were tacitly engaging in dialogue with thetext.) There are a number of strategies for actively engaging with text, but the SQ3R method, firstpublished in 1943, is pretty much as good as any for reading academic texts.

SQ3R involves five steps: (1) Survey, (2) Question, (3) Read [notice that read is the middle step!],(4) Recite, and (5) Review. The graphic representation below is an excellent visualization of the strategyin a good amount of detail.

source : http://sachachua.com/blog/2013/12/read-effectively-asking-questions-read/
http://sachachua.com/blog/2013/12/read-effectively-asking-questions-read/http://sachachua.com/blog/2013/12/read-effectively-asking-questions-read/http://sachachua.com/blog/2013/12/read-effectively-asking-questions-read/http://sachachua.com/blog/2013/12/read-effectively-asking-questions-read/


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Academic Writing PracticesWriting for academic assignments and your writing assignments for this class are consideredacademic even if they draw on your own experiences can be difficult. In order to succeed as anacademic writer, you need to adopt a certain way of writing even if it doesnt sound like you (or soundlike what you think you sound like). The important thing to remember is that you can inject your voiceyour ideas, sensibilities, and approaches into your writing even while making use of the style that isappropriate for an academic assignment.

There are two academic writing practices I have found many students find challenging: showing (nottelling) your ideas and adopting the appropriate academic tone. We will be working on these practicesover the course of the semester, but here are some brief guidelines to get you started.

Showing What You Mean With Detail

It isnt enough just to tell your reader your idea, you have to show them what you mean. In your writing,you should be showing your reader what your ideas look like.

For example, in Part I of your Living Document, I am asking you to define the terms learning,understanding, and creativity. I am also asking you to provide examples of what these terms look likebased on your own experiences or based on a picture that you construct in your minds ey e.

I have found it useful to think of it as Remembering and Reporting or Imagining and Reporting. Reallyget a clear picture in your head of the event by asking yourself the questions:

Whos involved? Where is it happening? How is it unfolding? What impact does it have on my thinking?

Once that picture is in your head, report on it: write down the details in a concise and compelling

manner. Make sure you include details to provide a sense of the full picture of your ideas. This issomething we will be working on over the course of the semester, so do not get too discouraged if it isdifficult at first. I will work to provide useful feedback to help you with this.

Resources

Here are some resources to provide more details, examples, and models:

Show, Don't Tell Explained In Language Grownups Can Understand (http://bit.ly/1g8iHbB ) More on Replacing Show, Don't Tell With Observe and Report + Examples

(http://bit.ly/1lgyWas ) Showing vs Telling in Writing Video (http://bit.ly/1bGHyyE )

Writing with Appropriate Academic Tone

When you write with appropriate tone, you are indicating that you understand two basic things: what youare writing and who you are writing to. Adopting the appropriate tone builds your credibility as a seriousstudent and as a professional teacher-in-the-making. As such, you should not write in a conversationalmanner or as you might write a note to a friend or classmate. In all of your assignments (with theexception of the weekly exit tweets) you should be writing as if you are writing to your professor or to afuture employer.
http://bit.ly/1g8iHbBhttp://bit.ly/1g8iHbBhttp://bit.ly/1g8iHbBhttp://bit.ly/1lgyWashttp://bit.ly/1lgyWashttp://bit.ly/1lgyWashttp://bit.ly/1bGHyyEhttp://bit.ly/1bGHyyEhttp://bit.ly/1bGHyyEhttp://bit.ly/1bGHyyEhttp://bit.ly/1lgyWashttp://bit.ly/1g8iHbB


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Thats not to say that there is anything wrong with the way you speak. In fact, if you find i t easier, youare welcome to write a first draft in a conversational tone and then translate it into an academic tone.This is a generalizable practice referred to as learning to be pragmatic in linguistics. Learning tocommunicate differently according to the context and the audience (called code switching inlinguistics) will help you succeed in many settings. Again, this does not mean that there is anythingwrong with the way you speak, who you are, or where you come from; it simply indicates that youunderstand how to communicate in different settings.

In order to adopt an academic tone in your writing, here a few things to be mindful of:

Use of exclamation points (!): Typically exclamation points tell the reader that the author isenthusiastic about something, which is great! Remember that your task in academic writing isto show, not tell. So leave out the exclamation points and show your reader your enthusiasm.

Slang and sayings: We often intersperse some wonderful witty and folksy sayings, slang, andwords when we talk. These make for engaging and lively conversations. While a well-considered and well-placed witty or folksy saying can really highlight your creativity and sense of identity(your voice), you want the focus to be on your ideas. Use slang and sayings sparingly.

Clear, concise, and smooth: Essays written for academic purposes are typically written in a way

that is clear and gets your point across. Being concise in your writing is also valued, but makesure that you include sufficient detail to report and show your ideas. Lastly, your writing shouldflow smoothly from one idea to the next.

Your professor is absent-minded: Remember those three- and five-paragraph essayassignments you had in elementary school? While a bit reductionist, there was a reason fordoing them. Its a great practice in academic writing to let your reader know what youre going totalk about and then summarize what you talked about. This is roughly your introduction andyour conclusion from those essay assignmen ts. This helps keep the focus on your ideas.

Getting the right read-aloud: If you read your writing out loud and it sounds like you are having aconversation with a friend, then your essay is probably not written with an academic tone. In away, you want your writing to sound pretty serious and somber when you read it out loud (butnot boring). This allows your fascinating ideas to pop and come to the forefront.

This is something we will be working on over the course of the semester, and I will work to provide youwith helpful and useful feedback to help you adapt the appropriate academic tone. Do not get toodiscouraged if it is difficult at first; adopting the appropriate academic tone is something you grow into.

Resources

Here are some resources to provide more details, examples, and models:

Style, Diction, Tone and Voice from Wheaton College (http://bit.ly/1f3Ed4N ) Language, Tone, and Audience from St. Joseph College (http://bit.ly/JRZgJ4 ) Using Appropriate Tone and Style from Dartmouth College (http://bit.ly/1dkGZM5 ) The Importance of Tone Video (http://bit.ly/1cxf8re ) SOAPS-Tone Video (http://bit.ly/1lgBVj3 )
http://bit.ly/1f3Ed4Nhttp://bit.ly/1f3Ed4Nhttp://bit.ly/1f3Ed4Nhttp://bit.ly/JRZgJ4http://bit.ly/JRZgJ4http://bit.ly/JRZgJ4http://bit.ly/1dkGZM5http://bit.ly/1dkGZM5http://bit.ly/1dkGZM5http://bit.ly/1cxf8rehttp://bit.ly/1cxf8rehttp://bit.ly/1cxf8rehttp://bit.ly/1lgBVj3http://bit.ly/1lgBVj3http://bit.ly/1lgBVj3http://bit.ly/1lgBVj3http://bit.ly/1cxf8rehttp://bit.ly/1dkGZM5http://bit.ly/JRZgJ4http://bit.ly/1f3Ed4N


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Using Tools of the (Learner) TradeReading a Rubric

I will be evaluating your performances of understanding using rubrics, which are available to you

through the performances packages I will distrib ute with each project, as well as on TaskStream.Learning to translate what is in the rubric to an artifact (project, essay, etc.) is an important skill.

According to Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubric_(academic) ):A scoring rubric is an attempt to communicate expectations of quality around a task. In many cases, scoring rubrics areused to delineate consistent criteria for grading. Because the criteria are public, a scoring rubric allows teachers andstudents alike to evaluate criteria, which can be complex and subjective. A scoring rubric can also provide a basis forself-evaluation, reflection, and peer review. It is aimed at accurate and fair assessment, fostering understanding, andindicating a way to proceed with subsequent learning/teaching. This integration of performance and feedback is calledongoing assessment...

Rubrics are composed of three main parts: criteria, scale, and descriptors (see the image below, ascreen shot of the rubric for Part I of the Living Document). The criteria are those things I will be looking

for when reading your essays or going through your projects. The scale is the range of levels that I willuse to guide my evaluation. Most rubrics (if not all) in this course will use a three-point scale: Beginning,Developing, and Succeeding. I have chosen this scale because I believe that coursework is an ongoingprocess over time. Lastly, the descriptors are the kinds of evidence I will be looking for in your work.

In order to make the translation from rubric to figuring out how to structure your work, lets take the firstcriterion from the example rubric, Definitions of Terms:

Read through the descriptors for each level on the scale. Notice that for Beginning, the descriptorsindicate two possibilities: the definitions are vaguely defined or they look like theyve been copied from adictionary or encyclopedia. You may use these definitions as a starting point to help you come up withyour own definitions, but copying and pasting these definitions indicates that you are just beginning onyour quest to define learning, understanding, and creativity in a personally meaningful way that you canuse in your own educational practice.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubric_(academic)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubric_(academic)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubric_(academic)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubric_(academic)


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Now note that there is s omething in common between Developing and Succeeding, that the termsare defined in the authors own words. You now know that an important task to accomplish in youressay is to use your own words in the definition, and to be clear in your words. Moving forward, noticethat for Succeeding, your writing is expected to draw on references to course readings or courseactivities, and you are welcome to use resources from outside the course (although its not necessary,and it should be something other than a dictionary or encyclopedia). To demonstrate that you are reallysucceeding, bring in a reference from the readings or something weve done or discussed in class.

There is logic to the trajectory from Beginning to Developing to Succeeding. A beginning-levelperformance would not involve high levels of critical thinking and synthesis, so the definitions might bevaguely defined or copied from a source such as a dictionary. A developing performance would involvemore critical thinking, so that the defini tions are more clearly defined and in the authors own words; theauthor owns those definitions. Lastly, full success would involve not only critical thinking, but alsosynthesis: bring together different sources such as course readings, course discussions and activities,or outside resources. This is real success in developing meaningful definitions: writing them up in yourown words while connecting your definitions with others ideas, perspectives, and approaches.

Move through each of the criteria and then sit down and complete the performance. When you have

finished creating and writing , run through the criteria again to make sure that youve hit all the criteria. Making Sense of Models

In addition to the rubrics, I will be giving you models of successful work. These models will be drawnfrom previous student work, my own creations, and examples found online. Learning to read and usemodels for success is an important practice to cultivate. Here are some steps you can follow to helpyou with this:

Look over the Project Package and rubric and make sure you have a sense of what is expectedof you.

Look at each model and ask yourself the following questions:o How does this model fulfill the requirements for the project?o

How does this model not fulfill the requirements for the project?o How would I score this model based on the rubric?o What are some things that I like about this model?o What are some things that I don t like about this model and feel I could do better?

Start thinking about how you want to adapt what you have seen into your own project. Create your own project and compare and contrast with the models, the Project Package, and

the rubric; revise your own project as you see fit.

You should not be seeking to copy what someone has done, but instead using the models as guidelinesto work within and ideas to adapt and make your own. Providing examples of work as models ofsuccess has a long and proven track record in educational research. This is something you shouldconsider doing when you become an educator.


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How Did It Get So Late So Soon? The title for this section is a quote from the inestimable Dr. Seuss. College can be challenging in termsof organizing your time to get everything done. You may be on your own for the first (or second or third)time, and you are still getting used to the lack of structure that academic life brings. You might beinvolved on campus with clubs, activities, and leadership opportunities that demand your attention andtime (good for you!). You may work part- or full-time (or more) in addition to going to classes. You mighthave parenting for family obligations that you have to fit your school work around.

Working with students (and having experienced a busy and obligation-filled academic career myself), Ihave learned that communication, attendance, and sustained effort (that means you, procrastinatorsand last-minuters!) are the most effective ways to get everything done well and on time. This is therationale behind many of the policies that are a part of this course as outlined in the syllabus.

In order to help you keep track of upcoming classes and assignments, in addition to the detailedschedule in the syllabus (which includes the generative topics and understanding goals as well), I haveput the course calendar in a Google calendar. You can view it on the course website at

https://educ2201.wikispaces.com/Course+Calendar , where you can add it to your own personal Googlecalendar if you have a Google or Gmail account. You can also add the course calendar to your personalcalen dar by starting up a QR code reader app (such as QR Droid for Android, QR Reader for iPhone,and QR Code Reader for Windows phones) and pointing it at the image below:

Once you have added the course calendar to your own, you can use Google calendar to set remindersfor yourself, to remind you of upcoming assignments and class sessions. See How To CreateReminders for Events in Google Calendar (http://bit.ly/JABrpq ) on the FreeTech4Teachers blog.

Setting Up a Master ScheduleOne thing to remember is that you have pockets of time during the day. You do not have to wait until theevening to work on projects or get some reading done. Grabbing an hour or two during the day betweenclasses or between class and work can sometimes make all the difference.

One way to find these times is to adopt the practice of creating a weekly master schedule . Sit down witha weekly calendar set up at half-hour intervals (such as the one on the following pages) and write in allof your responsibilities, such as class time, eating time, work time, family time, activity time, and dontforget about exercise time. You should see open blocks of time in between these obligations. In theseblocks of time, write down tasks for classes that you need to accomplish, such as reading, writing,editing, creating, etc. And hold yourself accountable to doing these tasks during these times.

I am more than happy to sit down with you to help you set up your first master schedule. Just send mean email to set up an appointment or come to my office during Student Drop-In Hours. If you areconsistently late with your assignments or if you miss some assignments, I will ask you to visit me andwe will construct a master schedule together.
https://educ2201.wikispaces.com/Course+Calendarhttps://educ2201.wikispaces.com/Course+Calendarhttp://bit.ly/JABrpqhttp://bit.ly/JABrpqhttp://bit.ly/JABrpqhttp://bit.ly/JABrpqhttps://educ2201.wikispaces.com/Course+Calendar


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Master Weekly Schedule

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

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For more Schedule Calendar Templates from WinCalendar see: http:/ /WinCalendar.com/Schedule-Calendar-Templ
http://www.wincalendar.com/Schedule-Calendar-Templateshttp://www.wincalendar.com/Schedule-Calendar-Templates


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Mind Like Water: Workflows and To-Do Lists There are three things that you should be doing on a regular basis: writing things down, reviewing whatyouve written down, doing what youve written down.

One of the simplest ways to accomplish this is to keep a to- do list. How To Write To-Do Lists from FastCompany (http://bit.ly/194pWlG ) is an excellent overview of writing effective to- do lists. Heres whatthey recommend in a nutshell:

1. Break projects into tasks, dont succumb to the Zeiga rnik effect

2. Prioritize ruthlessly3. Plan aheadadvice for which Charles Schwab paid $25,0004. Be realistic in your planning

A more involved process of capturing, reviewing, and doing is the Getting Things Done (GTD) method.This method advocates for writing everything down and engaging in a series of daily and weekly reviewsto putting things into different categories. This is a graphic representation of how it works:

For more information on the idea of the review (and a more simplified version of it) see WeeklyReview: Key to GTD and achieving goals at http://bit.ly/1ho3czW .

The key is to be flexible and adapt what you need to accomplish what is important to you.
http://bit.ly/194pWlGhttp://bit.ly/194pWlGhttp://bit.ly/194pWlGhttp://bit.ly/1ho3czWhttp://bit.ly/1ho3czWhttp://bit.ly/1ho3czWhttp://bit.ly/1ho3czWhttp://bit.ly/194pWlG

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EDUC2201 Course Tools and Practices