Electronic Dialoguing: A Peer Discussion Tool to Improve Instruction

1. Electronic Dialoguing: A Peer Discussion Tool to Improve Instruction Mary Swanson Engaging Learners in Literacy International Reading Association 53rd Annual Convention Atlanta, Georgia May 8, 2008

2. The Problems • What teaching strategies or procedures could effectively improve the quality of lesson planning for graduate reading specialist candidates? • What teaching strategies or procedures could positively affect the tutee’s performance?

3. Obstacles • One class of 18 graduate students on campus with no permanent place to tutor. • One class of 19 graduate students off campus (hybrid class). • The professor needed to be in each of the 37 graduate tutor/tutee pairings for each of the one hour of tutoring for ten sessions.

4. The Reasons: 74 of them

5. What I know: National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education : Standard 1 requires evidence that “Candidates preparing to work in schools as teachers or other professional school personnel know and demonstrate the content, pedagogical and professional knowledge, skill, and dispositions necessary to help all students learn”. (NCATE, 2006, 14.)

6. What I know: National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education : Standard 3 requires the unit and its school partners design, implement, and evaluate field experiences and clinical practice so that teacher candidates and other school professionals develop and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and professional disposition necessary to help all students learn. (NCATE, 2006, 14.)

7. What I know: The language teachers use in the classroom is a big deal. • Words help form children’s identity. • Words help build a sense of self-efficacy and motivation in children. • Words are real and should draw children to their successes. • Words emphasizes knowing and not knowledge. (Johnston, 2004)

8. What I know: • Teachers must engage in reflection to understand themselves and how children feel. (Bowman, 1989) • Technology is one methodology “not to prove whether or not teaching and learning have taken place, but to improve the quality of teaching and learning, and to increase the likelihood that all members of society will acquire a full and critical literacy.” (Strickland & Strickland, 1998)

9. What I know: • Teacher education programs should teach students critical-thinking skills using collaborative, interactive teaching methods and should invest in new classroom technologies and in faculty development. (McCollum, 1999) • Quality teacher education programs include characteristics such as monitoring, coaching, collaboration, and dialogue.(Anders, Hoffman & Duffy, 2000)

10. What I Know: Theorists and Others • Dewey’s Reflective Practice (1933) • Rosenblatt’s Reader Response Theory (1938) • Vygotsky’s Notion of “Mediational” Tools (1962) • Bruce (1997); Garton & Wellman (1995); Haas (1996)’s Transactional Stance • Egenberger’s Metacognitive Problem-solving Behaviors (2002) • Alvermann’s quote by Ferguson at CRA’s 2006 CRA Conference

11. What I Believe: Assessment • Formative assessment is a transformational PROCESS. • Formative assessment is a collaborative effort between instructors and students. • Formative assessment ideally is during instruction. • Formative assessment provides assessment-based and constructive feedback. • Formative assessment’s goal is to adjust to improve student’s achievement. (Poplin, 2006, FAST SCASS)

12. What I Believe • The solutions have to be inexpensive and portable. • Blackboard had options: MY COURSES > MIDDLE/HIGH SCH READ : READ5223 (MONDAY 4:30, SPRING 2008) : 1422 > COMMUNICATIONS > COLLABORATION • Lecture Hall Virtual Classroom       • Office Hours Chat    

13. Solution 1 • Blackboard and/or e-mail • A communication device to record, save, and retrieve information. • Strengths: • Availability, free to university students • Whole group and individual e-mails • Collaborative possibilities: synchronously and asychronously • Weaknesses • No audio possibilities • No video possibilities

14. What did I want to see? • Opportunities to affirm, probe, provide explicit instruction, and clarify. • Opportunities to share and appreciate ideas, experiences, and resources. • Opportunities to make meaningful connections and incorporate feedback into professional practice. • Opportunities for transformation from theory into practice. • Opportunities for informative and transformative assessment.

15. Most importantly, I wanted to see: • Opportunities for metacognition focusing on the importance of inquiry, or systematic investigation of a specific context, situation, or problem. • Evaluation of task • Evaluation of communication • Evaluation of performance • Evaluation of one’s current profile of strengths and weaknesses.

16. Solution 2 • School Based Blog • Podcast is a digital broadcast that anyone can produce using a computer, a microphone and audio editing device and/or software. It is uploaded on a blog. • Weaknesses • School server is unable to “save” most of the video because of space problems. • Must be secure • Difficult to transfer information from pod to blog. • Strengths • Free • Supervisor can “visit” each recording session. • Supervisor can “record” help sessions.

17. What I Know: Digital Portfolios • Portfolios in teacher education offer many potential benefits for self-reflective teacher practice through experiences that develop understanding of process learning and holistic assessment. (Zemelman, Daniels & Hyde, 1998) • Portfolios can demonstrate competencies with multiple examples in different digital format that can be transmitted and viewed by different audiences in different locations, at different times, and for different purpose. (Wilson, Wright & Stallworth, 2003)

18. What I Know:Vodcasts/Podcasts • Virtual Field Trips and Oral History Interviews • Absences of Student or Instructor • Instructional Procedures • How to Write a Lesson Plan / Teaching Unit • Introduction to the New Semester • Instructional Strategies • Field Experiences

19. PODCASTS Decisions • Pod recorders: • Olympus Digital Voice Recorder WS-100 • Olympus Digital Voice Recorder VN-4100 • Server space on the Center for Teaching and Learning, Northeastern State University • Blackboard Link • Assessment Guide

20. I wanted to GUIDE Metacognition in e-DOL (electronic documentation): • Essential thinking skills and habits • Deep understanding and insights • In-depth analytical analysis and interpretation • Richness of interpretation • Improved instruction by focusing primarily on the positive, not negative experiences. • Authentic rigorous assessment • Knowledge of self in application and leadership. • Two levels of reflection: • Asynchronous chats to allow threaded discussion that encourage quality work, critical thinking and reflection. • Synchronous, or “real time” chats take place online providing for spontaneity in interactive discussions. • Connecting theory to practice.

21. Strategic Tutoring Checklist • Lesson Objectives and Purpose • DRTA Lesson • Word Study Lesson • Writing • Dispositions

22. Amanda’s Thoughts The voice recorder was great for helping us watch our time. It was also very useful for writing my reflections over the lesson. I liked the idea of being able to listen and evaluate myself and the things I said to Katelyn as we were reading or doing various activities. I truly enjoyed hearing the laughing and the joking that took place during the sessions. When I first listening to the podcast I heard how confident my voice felt and I liked the idea that even though I may be nervous, I do not come across that way. Katelyn was a little shy toward the idea of being taped but she quickly forgot about the recorder as we started each lesson.

23. PODCAST EXAMPLES • Introductory Session - 1 • Introductory Session – 2 • Introductory Session – 3

24. Susan’s Comments I was very intimidated about recording myself. I remained nervous about it for the first few sessions. Finally it just became part of the lesson and didn’t bother me anymore. I felt like I was saying OK all the time and when I listened to myself I found out I was. By listening to myself, I realized that I was not giving Valarie enough “wait time”; I often answered for her. The strategic evaluation helped me a lot in the beginning and then it things became more routine. I think the pod is a great idea for any teacher. You think you are effective but you never know unless you listen to yourself. I want to thank Valarie, Dr. Swanson, and NSU for giving me this opportunity to learn about myself as an educator.

25. PODCAST EXAMPLES • Tutoring Session - 1

26. Steve’s Thoughts • I feel that by using these podcasting techniques it has opened my eyes to technology. Downloading these was an experience in itself. I believe that these are good for evaluations and reading assessments and would be great for assessing in the classroom. It makes available the opportunity for portable assessing. I learned that I do not have as much transition as other tutors while listening to their sessions. I have known this through talk tools and coaching in other classes as well, but I feel that this is a positive thing. One of the ideas that I will implement into future tutoring sessions is more six trait writing. There are a lot of motivational exercises in this program.

27. PODCAST EXAMPLES • Final Session

28. Dawn’s Reflection • I liked the podcasting. It made reflection so much easier than relying on memory. I think this would be a great tool to use in classrooms for teachers to reflect over their own lessons, successes and failures. You can catch things that you missed when you were in the moment and they give us much more information than we could retain on our own.

29. Problems to Solve • Students’ attitude toward technology • 370 hours of Podcasting • Turn-around time and quality of recording • Support of technology for faculty and students. • Access to the materials, equipment and servers

30. Best Solution • The Reading Clinic is an area with 27 individual recording rooms where each session can be digitally (A-V) recorded and saved on a DVD. Each recording can be saved into a tutoring folder for easy access for both the supervisor and the teacher specialist candidate.

32. To truly empower teacher candidates, we must move the responsibility for professional growth from our desks to their desks.

33. Questions?

34. Bibliography • Anders, P., Hoffman, J., & Duffy, G. (2000). Teaching teachers to teach reading: Paradigm shifts, persistent problems, and challenges. In M.L. Kamil, P.B. Mosenthal, P.D. Pearson, & R. Barr (Eds.), Handbook of reading research (vol.3, pp. 719-742). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum • Bowman. B.T. 1989. Self-reflection as an element of professionalism. Teacher College Record 90 (3), 444-51 • Johnston, P.H. (2004). Choice words: How our language affects children’s learning. York, ME: Stenhouse. • McCollum, K. (1999). Colleges urged to use technology to promote lifelong learning. Chronicle of Higher Education, 46 (5), A-39. • NCATE (National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education). 2006.Standards, procedures and policies for the accreditation of professional educational units. Washington, DC: Author. • Poplin, W.J. (2008). Transformative Assessment. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development • Strickland, K. & Stickland, J. (1998). Reflections on assessment, its purposes, methods, and effects on learning. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. • Vygotsky. L.S. (1986). Thought and language (A. Kozalin, Trans.). Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. (Original work published 1962)

35. Mary F. Swanson Assistant Professor of Reading Northeastern State University 3100 E. New Orleans Street Broken Arrow, Oklahoma 74014 swansomf@nsuok.edu