How to Reach Out to Every Student by Personalizing the Online Learning Design

Benjamin L. StewartUniversidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes (Mexico)http://about.me/benjamin_stewart

November 4, 2014Build Your Teaching Business Online

What makes students come to you?

What makes students come to you?

Your learning design (LD)!

LD as your niche

LD to recruit

What makes students come to you?

It’s more about what your students

are doing than what you are

doing!

Essential Question

What learning designs that you create attract students to you?

Presumptions

Learning occurs synchronously and a asynchronously

Learning happens online and off Learning involves various learning theories Learning goals concerns (authentic)

performance tasks. Performance tasks go beyond a typical 5o-

minute class. Learning requires knowing students’

readiness levels, interests, and learning preferences

Learning is a result of formative assessment

Essential Question

Democratic education…

How can you give your students choices in what, how, where, why, and with whom they learn?

Dependency–independency–interdependency

GRASPS – Performance Tasks Goal

(McTighe & Wiggins, 2004) Your task is to…The goal is to…The problem is…

Role You are…You have been asked to…Your job is…

Audience Your clients…The target audience is…

Situation The context you find yourself in…The challenge involves

dealing with… Product, Performance, and Purpose

You will create a…in order to…; You need to develop…so that…

Standards and Criteria for Success Your performance needs to…Your product must meet the

following standards…A successful result will…

Essential Question

How can I reach out to each of my students by personalizing the online learning design around the following performance task?

You are a student and you find that the institution really doesn’t have a good lost-and-found system to help individuals retrieve their belongings. Your task is to persuade decision makers to fund and implement such a system.

Not an example of task-based learning

Performance Task

Learners make choices in…

Roles/audiences: advertiser, author, boss, businessperson, candidate, lawyer, neighbor, reporter, reviewer, travel agent, etc.

Products and performances: advertisement, article, brochure, collage, demonstration, drawing, game, interview, poem, PowerPoint presentation, story, etc.

Differentiation

ProcessProduct

How to differentiate content?

Performance task:

You are a student and you find that the institution really doesn’t have a good lost-and-found system to help students retrieve their belongings. Your task is to persuade decision makers to fund and implement such a system.

How to differentiate process?

Performance task:

You are a student and you find that the institution really doesn’t have a good lost-and-found system to help students retrieve their belongings. Your task is to persuade decision makers to fund and implement such a system.

Performance Task

Learners make choices in…

Roles/audiences: advertiser, author, boss, businessperson, candidate, lawyer, neighbor, reporter, reviewer, travel agent, etc.

Products and performances: advertisement, article, brochure, collage, demonstration, drawing, game, interview, poem, PowerPoint presentation, story, etc.

How to differentiate product?

Performance task:

You are a student and you find that the institution really doesn’t have a good lost-and-found system to help students retrieve their belongings. Your task is to persuade decision makers to fund and implement such a system.

Performance Task

Learners make choices in…

Roles/audiences: advertiser, author, boss, businessperson, candidate, lawyer, neighbor, reporter, reviewer, travel agent, etc.

Products and performances: advertisement, article, brochure, collage, demonstration, drawing, game, interview, poem, PowerPoint presentation, story, etc.

Essential Question

How can technology be used so that students have choices in how they interact throughout the performance task and I – the language educator – can best provide timely and appropriate feedback (formative assessment)?

You are a student and you find that the institution really doesn’t have a good lost-and-found system to help students retrieve their belongings. Your task is to persuade decision makers to fund and implement such a system.

Essential Questions

How can technology be used so that 1) students have choices in how they interact throughout the performance task and 2) the language educator can best provide timely and appropriate feedback (formative assessment)?

How can I assess both learner understandings and performance?

In Summation…

Essential Questions

What learning designs that you create attract students to you?

How can you give your students choices in what, how, where, why, and with whom they learn?

How can I facilitative dependent learners to become more independent, on to becoming more interdependent?

How can I reach out to each of my students by personalizing the online learning design around performance tasks?

How can technology be used so that students have choices in how they interact throughout the performance task and I – the language educator – can best provide timely and appropriate feedback (formative assessment)?

How can I assess both learner understandings and performance?

Comparing [Online] ClassroomsTraditional [online] classroom Differentiated [online]

classroom

Summative assessment is the norm.

Formative assessment is the norm.

A single definition of excellence exists.

Excellence is defined mainly by individual growth from a starting point.

Coverage of texts and curriculum drives instruction.

Student readiness, interest, and learning profile shape instruction.

Time is relatively inflexible. Time is used flexibly in accordance with student need.

The teacher directs student behavior.

The teacher facilitates students’ skills [and understandings] at becoming more self-reliant learners.

The teacher solves problems. Students help other students and the teacher solve problems.

The teacher provides standards for grading.

Students work with the teacher to establish both whole-class and individual learning goals (Tomlinson, 1999).

Final thoughts…

Find your niche, attract students, and employ appropriate technologies with the performance task in mind. The performance task is where differentiated instruction and assessment reside; the performance task design is a shared experience within your personal learning network!

Many of the online courses and materials that I’m seeing haven’t

moved on much from the behaviourist models of computer assisted language

learning of the 60s. – Nik Peacheyhttp://www.wiziq.com/teachblog/nik-peachey-talks-career-online-teaching-future-education

/

References

McTighe, J. & Wiggins, G. (2004). Understanding by Design: Professional development workbook. Alexandria, VA: ASCD

Tomlinson, C. (1999). The differentiated classroom. Responding to the needs of all learners. Alexandria, VA: ASCD

Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design. Alexandria, VA: ASCD

Photo Attribution

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Thank you!

Thank you for your kind attention!

Seeking EFL/ESL educators/trainers to participate in PhD study: http://plnefl.wikispaces.com/Personal+Learning+Networks+of+EFL+

Educators

Benjamin L. Stewart Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes http://about.me/benjamin_stewart