Depth Perception: Identifying quality posts in online discussions

Depth Perception: Identifying quality posts in online discussionsCarrie L SaarinenInstructional Designer, Brown UniversityLecturer, Salem State UniversitySocial Media Strategist, NERCOMPHuge Fan, Of Awesome@clsaarinen

A little background....

Comparison of blogged and written reflections in two medicine clerkshipsFischer, M. A., Haley, H.-L., Saarinen, C. L. and Chretien, K. C. (2011), Medical Education, 45: 166–175DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2923.2010.03814.x

Methods for Assessment of Student Writing

Non-reflective Reporting only

Reflection on experience

Becoming aware of a specific perception, meaning or behavior of one’s own or of ways one has of seeing, thinking or actingBecoming aware of how one feels about the way one is perceiving, thinking or actingBecoming aware of one’s value judgments about one’s perceptions, thoughts, actions and habits as positive or negative, good or bad, liked or disliked

Reflection on awareness

Questioning whether one’s own concepts of understanding are adequateRecognizing that one is making judgments about people prematurely, based on limited information Developing awareness of underlying assumptions that lead to the aboveCritically questioning one’s underlying beliefs

Mezirow J. A critical theory of adult learning and education. Adult Educ 1981;32 (1):3–24.Levels of Reflection

Examples of Student Writing

Non-reflective

The CT [computed tomography scan] showed a partially obstructing lesion in the patient’s colon, with irregular borders, that looked highly suspicious for malignancy. A colonoscopy that had been already scheduled for that morning confirmed a mass in the patient’s colon that would need to be resected. The intern that I was working with discussed this information with me and told me that the patient’s attending wanted to break the news to this patient.


Still, it was surprising to me because I was not expecting to like being in the hospital so much more. I really liked being with my patients in the acute crisis and being able to help them through some huge decisions. It just seems like there isn’t always enough time for that on the out-patient side’


This experience [of] interacting [with] and caring for this patient changed my view on the outlook of those with significant disease. I began to view these patients not as individuals who possess a decreased ability to appreciate the variety of life’sexperiences, but as individuals with changing competencies. Through the care of cancer patients and others with end-of-life issues, I came to appreciate the complexities of this aspect of medicine. Certainly medicine is more than simply miraculous recoveries and complete cures, as these are few and far between. To care for a patient then, requires an understanding of the realities of modern medicine and a willingness to devote oneself to caring for the entire person despite such realities. In this approach, we must not only convince patients that we are navigating them through an arduous journey, but to, in fact, embark on their journey ourselves’

flash forward

Excerpt from lead-in to an online discussion:

“This cartoon was drawn in 1969 - the era of Nixon, Woodstock, Vietnam. It was also the year the first ATM machines were available

and ARPANET, the predecessor of the internet, was developed. It's amazing to

think that 43 years ago people were already speculating that classrooms would be

equipped with massive computer technology and students would be interacting with them

individually.”

Image source: MAKE Magazine http://blog.makezine.com/2009/10/22/retro-futuristic-classroom-enforcer/.

While teaching a class called

“Technology in the 21st Century

Classroom” I found that my students were displaying the

various levels of reflection in the

online discussions.

http://blog.makezine.com/2009/10/22/retro-futuristic-classroom-enforcer/

http://blog.makezine.com/2009/10/22/retro-futuristic-classroom-enforcer/

“Your reflection this week is amazing. Very deep and insightful. There is evidence that this topic and the discussion has resonated with you. And that you got something out of the group conference. You recognize this and have taken the time to really think about it, to process it, to apply this new perspective.Excellent work this week, in the live chat and discussion forum. BRAVO!”

In this fully online class (grad students, MEd program) I realized that my comments to their online discussions were connected to what I learned while examining levels of reflection.

Hey, cool.

Levels of Reflection Applied to Online Discussions

Note: Be sure to document and share the levels along with general discussion expectations for the course in the syllabus or course overview materials.

Non-reflective Student summarizes information, course content.


Student connects information, course content with personal experience and demonstrates awareness that what has been learned is meaningful. Becomes aware of thought processes and reasoning in relation to new information.


Student identifies ways in which new knowledge may impact behavior, decisions, or performance in the future. Student is aware of his/her own learning and concludes the new knowledge can be used in a meaningful way. May question methods because of new knowledge and begin to develop new ideas.

Can the levels concept be tweaked to fit this learning experience? this learning environment?

Levels of Reflection Applied to Online Discussions in Canvas

Standard Rubric:Meets, exceeds, below expected

Add the levels of reflection on

learning

class engagement

class engagement

learninglearning

Discussion guidelines - example

• Recognize the purpose of and expectations for discussions.• Read the instructions, prepare for the discussion by completing the work

assigned.• Be concise, be clear.• Gather and use references to materials. Don’t copy and paste text from

source - use inline citations to course materials and/or links to non-course materials.

• Follow instructions (ie post once, comment twice) and contribute as instructed (on time)

• Include respectful point/counter point arguments with your opinion stated but open to argument

• Provide examples of experiences that relate to the discussion and support your argument

Standard Rubric:Meets, exceeds, below

expected

Add the levels of reflection on learning

class engagement

class engagement

learninglearning

Levels...with sample posts

Non-reflectiveDigital citizenship needs to be taught in conjunction with exposing children to technology. It is important that our students see the importance of being digitally smart and safe.


I think that teachers should provide examples of giving credit to an author to show students how they should properly cite. I particularly remember being in high school and being confused on how to properly do a works cited page because some teachers called it "Works Cited" and others "Bibliography," so I think in that particular instance that students would greatly benefit from having an example to work with.


I try to model appropriate Internet skills. When I make powerpoint presentations I show the students my reference page and we talk about how I got my information from different sources. I could expand this into an activity and allow the students to create a slide of what they have learned about each topic at the end of each unit.

These selections are from a discussion about Digital Citizenship in relation to building 21st century skills. The discussion was part of a master’s program in education.

Levels...with more sample posts

Non-reflective

I feel strongly in agreement toward this article. It is good to be offered the wide variety of viewpoints on 21st Century technology and learning through all of these different discussion articles. It goes to show that there are an infinite array of viewpoints, which can all be argued (for the most part) equally well.


I thought that I would be totally against what McLeod would claim, but after I did the reading, I feel rather torn about a few points. I can definitely see how the Wireless Response System can be compared to multiple choice formative assessments, or how smartboards are comparable to white boards. I do not agree with him about YouTube videos being the same as VHS tapes or DVD's. .... I understand where he is coming from when he lists these issues, but I would have to say that the glaring difference is the use of technology.


I also think that this article was so interesting for me because I am currently struggling with a group of students who are extremely reticent to read and discuss books. I have been brainstorming ways to engage them more and I realize that traditional approaches wont work for them. I was considering something like edmodo and having them share and create things on that but I wonder if the wiki would be even more efficient. I especially like the ability to connect to new information and would love for my kids who are reading a book filled with allusions and dated pop culture references to have a way to clear them up and research them right away.

Remember - we’d be grading these in SpeedGradertm in Canvas so the criteria would be right there as we read the student work.

Let’s look at a few postsHow would you assess the level of reflection in these samples?

This is example of a course module with topic introduction (the Instruction page includes learning objectives and the ‘didactic’ or instruction as if I was giving a lecture) plus the links to selected articles, the discussion and that week’s assignment.






1. DB from 21st Century Teaching and Learning“It was that personalization for teaching a lesson that I will always be grateful for. He taught me that there is more to teaching than becoming, like I have said before, Jeopardy Monkeys. Just as a rubric is a guide to grading but not the be all and end all, I think MCAS is the same thing. It can be a powerful assessment tool, but it is still a tool. When standardized testing does not take into consideration multiple learning styles and the fact that due to our varying life experience and diverse cultural history, how can it possibly hope to accurately assess whether or not true learning has taken place!? It just boggles my mind.”






“I know that adding videos of students might have some legal entanglements but adding videos on a blog for kids to discuss, like how we use the lecture from TED, would be a similar way to engage students. I think that is also why I enjoyed his blog and his story so much because I really believe that engagement is the first step and once they are in to it you can ask them to learn and try more and more challenging things. It made me excited to think about the different possibilities and I am kind of kicking myself for not initiating something like this earlier.”

2. MT from 21st Century Teaching and Learning

This is an example of the ‘open ended’ Discussion topics posed in the class.Topics varied week to week, and varied in format depending on what was happening in the class (module).This was a fully online semester-long course.






“When I use technology in my own classroom I am always weary that I am not using technology appropriately. I often look back and ask myself could I have done that lesson without using technology? I don’t want to fall into the current trend of using technology just to add bells and whistles to my lessons. Teachers need more professional development on programs to help them create lessons that technology adds to student learning. I have recently stumbled on RmEasiteach.... ”

3. BN from Are we just replicating classroom basics?






“I think partly because (when I have been able to incorporate technology in my classroom) I have wondered if it is enough. Am I really taking full advantage of this resource? Am I just claiming to use a Smart Board, but really I'm just using the white board feature? Am I pretending to use the various capabilities, but really I'm just using a calculator that happens to be projected up on a screen? Yes. Sometimes the answer is yes.”

4. LH from Are we just replicating classroom basics?

“If our students are hungry for new

methods of teaching and relevant

materials to help them in this ever-

changing world, then we, as their

educators are simply starving for the

means to relay that information. I

would see my colleagues trying to

incorporate the tech we had, but

were not doing anything to change

the dynamic of the information we

were doling out. Luckily there are

sites like Canvas K12…

http://www.instructure.com/k12 to

help educate us on what is possible.

The children can access it as well.”






5. BD from Are we just replicating classroom basics?

http://www.instructure.com/k12

Canvas makes this type of assessment easy - use the Rubric and Outcomes and the Speedgradertm. Provide feedback right there - in a place where the student can also see the rubric!

save the date!September 13, 2012Canvas User Group

(a NERCOMP event)

Norwood MA

Registration is OPENnercomp.org > Events

The NERCOMP Canvas User Group will provide a forum for community members to share, learn and inquire about Canvas tools, services and support. Attendees will have an opportunity to learn about different approaches to using Canvas in online, hybrid and traditional teaching and learning models. Attendees will have the opportunity to network with other Canvas school representatives. Non-Canvas schools may wish to register participants to learn about Canvas or to network with others interested in doing more with learning management systems. A representative from Instructure will present news and information from the engineering and development team behind this groundbreaking LMS.

carrie l [email protected]@clsaarinen