Learning Design Project
An ongoing project @ MacICT.
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http://www.macict.edu.au/index.php/projects/learning-design/student-centered-ld.html
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The Macquarie ICT Innovations Centre is a partnership between the Department of Education and Training and Macquarie University. MacICT has a project based approach to working with teachers and students investigating the use of innovative technology in schools. This blog reflects on the importance of students as designers of interaction. Click on the categories above to find out more about how we use interaction on our projects.Follow my tweet
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I think the relevance of students designing objects that require interaction is the opportunity for peer feedback. Hattie identified this as one of the major influences on student learning. While students are learning to design the sequence, they are sifting information and learning about processes from their own perspective. They operated in their own zone of proximal development or well within their comfort zone. It is difficult to ascertain the amount of time that this process takes for each student. Consequently, it is difficult to target teacher interventions that guide this process at the point of learning need. Also this type of thinking is likely to happen over a period of time in a number of ways – think about when you last had an “aha” moment, was it during your working day or when you were doing an activity outside of work.
The responses from other students are a type of peer assessment providing the designers have been guided to interpret those responses. Designers have to be encouraged to think clearly about what they wanted participants to gain from the sequence so they can evaluate if this occurred. This is where the jointly designed rubric is beneficial. This provides a clear focus for students when they need it throughout the project. Both of these strategies act as social constructs to guide the group’s learning.
The social competence of the students in this environment has improved enormously. Initially students used the site in the same way they may use other social networking sites. The communications were short, and were really based around the topic of “Hi I’m here, anyone else here too”. I was amazed how long that line of conversation could be continued for. Teachers guided students by asking them to respond to specific reflection questions. Initially students did this without really commenting on other responses. Once students researched information and were put into groups, the conversations began. The students needed a smaller structure to develop their social competence. Now I notice that the students are very supportive of each other in their comments. They have developed ways of showing positive support online with very short comments. This also allows the more profound comments to be made as the group works together. The risk takers in the class group were the first to post a deeper comment to the group about what they were really thinking. The groups have responded positively to this which has encouraged more of these types of comments. Kerryn Goldsworth (2008 pp50)in her article on blogging talks about how blogging shortens the distance of thought and feeling between the pre-verbal interiortity to the public realm. Now I have a sense that the students understand how to blog in their online world at home and an educational online world.
I have been thinking a lot about the value of the reflections being shared with the group. It certainly extends the range of learning for each individual and therefore the class as a whole. So rather than students learning in a series of ordered chunks you see this web of interaction develop as students encourage or extend each other’s thinking. I have watched more lateral thinkers “bunny-hop” from group to group with responses that has assisted them with their learning style. It’s quite exciting as you have a record of the interactions to reflect on afterwards too. So in my head rather than each student having a zone of proximal learning, it as if a group zone is created that is much vaster. Or put more simply, it’s a true learning community.