Knowing and Learning

1. Knowing and Learning A UTeach Conference Course Overview May 21, 2014 Cesar Delgado cesar_delgado@austin.utexas.edu STEM Education University of Texas at Austin

2. Agenda • How K&L fits into the UTeach sequence • How K&L is different than an Ed Psych learning theories course • Course goals and key activities • Logistics and procedures • Semester flow • Classroom practices and policies

3. K&L in the UTeach sequence • Comes after Step 1 and 2 • 1-credit recruiting courses with field experience in elementary, middle school • Comes before CI, PBI • Field experiences in high schools • Focus on student ideas, learning • Clinical interview

4. K&L vs. Learning Theories course • K&L covers major theories of learning • Skinnerian behaviorism • Piagetian constructivism • Vygotskian socioconstructivism • K&L also pays attention to STEM-specific research and theories • Conceptual change constructivism, knowledge in pieces constructivism • Contextualized, situated in STEM, learning sciences perspective, social aspects, social justice

5. Analysis of classroom scenes • 1: Dolores Umbridge (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMHqxkRYt64) • Not inquiry-based • Dichotomy theory/practice – dangerous • Students may fail in new situations • Piaget wouldn’t like it – not how children learn – need to change… • Traditional • Emphasis on control • Our current emphasis on high-staked tests means this kind of classroom “makes sense”

6. K&L students’ analysis • Behaviorist • Growth mindset: “if you study, you will succeed” • Test-driven class: goal is to pass the OWLs • Focus on remembering, understanding – lower levels on Bloom’s taxonomy • To do well, memorize what teacher/textbook says • Real-life application: not important • No discussion; student ideas not viewed as important

7. Analysis of classroom scenes • 3: Mad-Eye Moody (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsl5fS7KGZc)

8. K&L students’ analysis • Mastery, applied knowledge as goal, not just theory • Higher levels on Bloom’s • Engage, then exploration, explanation (5E) • Built on student ideas (Ron’s) • Constructivist • Formative assessment • Maybe the teaching was outside the ZPD • He needs to provide scaffolding. • Conceptual-change constructivist: provokes disequilibrium in students (spellcasting isn’t always fun and games)

9. Course goals and key activities • construct models of knowing and learning to guide classroom practice. • use the clinical interview method to make sense of someone's reasoning about a topic in STEM. • articulate various standards for knowing STEM and articulate the implications of these standards for assessment, especially standardized assessment. • articulate what it means to know and learn in terms of cognitive structures and describe how what people know changes and develops. • describe various paradigms for evaluating STEM understanding. • express informed opinions on current issues and tensions in education, especially as they relate to STEM instruction. • explore the affordances offered by various technologies in supporting knowing and learning in STEM. • explore the implications of deficit models of learning on issues of equitable instruction and learning environments.

10. 1. construct models of knowing and learning to guide classroom practice. • Inventing learning theories before reading about them • Analyzed the LTs in the context of classrooms • Tracking, technology, etc. • Comparing experts and novices

11. Learning theory 1 • What assumptions about knowing and learning are behind an approach to education that uses frequent formative assessment? • i.e., let’s reverse engineer the learning theory that led to the concept of formative assessment in the first place • Take 10 minutes at your table of ~4 to seriously, deeply reverse engineer this.

12. Learning theory 1 • Teachers don’t initially know what Ss are thinking; they need to know Ss’ thinking to help them learn • Every student is different, Ts need various methods; Ts should be critical of their own methods • Ss need to learn to self-assess and self-learn • Teaching goes both ways, not just Ss learning from Ts • Assume that people can self-evaluate, know HOW they solve problems • There is variety in achievement, need to address through your teaching • Focus changes from grades to understanding • Frequent formative assessment helps students meet milestones, build self-esteem. • Rooted in cognitive psychology, NOT behaviorism (stimulus-outputs) • Motivation varies by student; motivation to learn is important

13. Learning theory 1 Build from students’ prior knowledge • Teachers don’t initially know what Ss are thinking; they need to know Ss’ thinking to help them learn • Every student is different, Ts need various methods; Ts should be critical of their own methods • Ss need to learn to self-assess and self-learn • Teaching goes both ways, not just Ss learning from Ts • Assume that people can self-evaluate, know HOW they solve problems • There is variety in achievement, need to address through your teaching • Focus changes from grades to understanding • Frequent formative assessment helps students meet milestones, build self-esteem. • Rooted in cognitive psychology, NOT behaviorism (stimulus-outputs) • Motivation varies by student; motivation to learn is important Metacognition Collaboration Active construction Conceptual/strategic Affective dimension of learning

14. Behaviorism

15. Teaching machines • http://www.ixl.com/math/algebra-1 (free online) • http://online.carnegielearning.com/ (password protected)

16. 2. articulate various standards for knowing STEM and discuss the implications of these standards for assessment, especially standardized assessment. • Reinventing Bloom’s taxonomy • Analzying items from standardized tests, SAT, ACT, • Exploring cultural bias in tests • Exploring Raven’s, meter-stick drop test • Testing for Spearman’s g

17. What do you know about the seasons? • Take 2 minutes to write down what you know about the seasons

18. Look at your notes on seasons • Identify types of knowledge about seasons • Is knowing that there are four seasons named winter, spring, summer, and autumn the same type of knowledge as knowing what causes the seasons? • Think about general types of knowledge individually for 3 minutes (label each bit of knowledge you wrote)

19. Types of knowledge • Pair up and arrive at a consensus set of types of knowledge • Now team up with another pair and create a master list. • [After this, compared types of knowledge to Bloom’s Taxonomy (revised) and Adding it up’s strands of mathematical proficiency] • Another Explore-Explain cycle

20. Assessment and type of knowledge tested • Task: classify around 10-20 items (questions) by cognitive process and knowledge dimension • You will present one item and justify your classification • You will present an overview of the types of knowledge assessed most frequently • Links to tests are posted on BB under Course Docs • If they are slow opening, let me know

21. Time to take some tests! • What season goes between spring and autumn? (From standard Western test. A=summer) • What season goes between Mirdawarr and Rarranhdharr? (From Edwards River community test. A=Dhaarratharramirri) • SEE http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_Australian_seasons • Even tykes know that one!

22. Some “culture-free”“intelligence” tests • Raven’s progressive matrices • Reflexes

23. SAT: “positive manifold”?(i.e., positive correlation among many tests)

24. 3. articulate what it means to know and learn in terms of cognitive structures and describe how what people know changes and develops. • Piaget’s mechanisms of assimilation and accommodation • Behaviorism: observed behavior, conditioning, reinforcement, S-R • Vygotsky: Interpersonal gets internalized (intrapersonal); ZPD • Expert-novice: chunking and organization of knowledge around principles, big ideas

25. Operant conditioning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mt4N9GSBoMI

26. Experts and novices • What do you see?

27. What does this video show us about learning and the other? • Write down your observations individually. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibEP4xBdJco

28. 4. describe various paradigms for evaluating STEM understanding, and trace their relationships to learning theories. • Developing learning theories from a stance on formative assessment • Readings on formative assessment

29. 5. use the clinical interview method to make sense of a learner's reasoning about a topic in STEM. • Two interviews • For Interview 2, students also researched the STEM Education research literature to investigate student ideas about their topic

30. 6. express informed opinions on current issues and tensions in education, especially as they relate to STEM instruction. • SAT redesign • Gender and stereotype threat • Tracking • Single-gender schools in Austin ISD • Teaching for social justice (Tucson MAS) • SCOTUS affirmative action ban • SBOE and evolution, textbooks

31. 7. explore the affordances offered by various technologies in supporting knowing and learning in STEM, and trace their relationship to learning theories. • Cognitive tutors = Skinner’s teaching machines? • Clickers: behaviorist and constructivist uses (Judson & Sawada paper) • Online tests (Harvard implicit association) • Computer simulations to confront misconceptions

32. 8. explore the implications of deficit models of learning on issues of equitable instruction and learning environments. • Harvard implicit association test • Debate on tracking • Readings on “acting White” • Readings, activities on stereotype threat

33. K&L should be disequilibrating… Please fill out survey for class leaders

34. Happy belated Valentine’s Day! “What is love except another name for the use of positive reinforcement? Or vice versa.” ― B.F. Skinner, Walden Two

35. Assimilation or accommodation?

36. Traditional instruction: it’s about experts’ understanding of STEM How can we get her from here… to … here?

37. KWSK : instruction is about students’ ideas/learning of STEM • Teacher mediates the rapprochement

38. Typical Semester Flow 1-5: Knowing, learning 6-8: Assessing what students know 9-10: Intelligence, nature-nurture 11-15: Behaviorism, cognitive constructivism 16: Midterm 17-19: Socioconstructivism 20-22: How People Learn 23: Tracking 24-25: Collaborative learning, influence of peers 26-27: Influence of teachers, parents 28: Social Justice 29: Generative design 30-31: Wrap up Red: includes segment led by students

39. Logistics and Classroom Practices & Policies • Class meetings 3 hours weekly • Outside preparation (7-10 hours, some during class) • Class Agenda and Activities displayed in PowerPoint and archived on Blackboard • Course assignments (guidelines, rubrics), resources posted on Blackboard • Online discussion board for reading accountability, input to discussion

40. Midterm format • Part A. Closed book, multiple choice and short answer, recall and comprehension. Once you turn it in, you get • Part B. Analysis of video & transcript of classroom episode • You can use your hard copy notes*

41. Part A sample questions • Rank these theorists’ views on the nature-nurture spectrum: Binet, Galton, Piaget, Skinner • 1. Mainly nature • 2. Both nature and nurture, about the same • 3. Mainly nurture • Define formative and summative assessment. • What would a behaviorist think about formative assessment? • Is accommodation or assimilation inherently harder? Why? • What is behaviorism’s take on motivation for learning? • Compare and contrast fine-grained and misconceptions constructivism

42. Part B description • View 5-min segment of class, then analyze it. Verbatim transcript, contextualization also provided • Analyze along these dimensions: curriculum, instruction, assessment, learning theories, assimilation and accommodation

43. Student-led classes (40 mins) • Meet with instructor or TA 2 days before class • Already having read papers • With a draft plan • Include activities that will: • Use/Review main concepts • Make connections • Illustrate implications for classroom

44. Second interview • Guidelines posted under Assignments on BB • Select a middle or high school topic from the TEKS (not AP-level) • Based on your major • Justify its selection (must be in part conceptual) • Research student ideas for that topic • Peer-reviewed literature (1+ paper) • Other sources possible, in addition: experienced teachers, college courses, your experience tutoring… • Summarize the paper, use it in your analysis • Cite paper following APA format

45. Final project • Your teaching philosophy, polished and uploaded to the UTeach portfolio – 100 pts • Due May 1 • See guidelines athttp://uteach.utexas.edu/Students/Resources/Portfolio%20Requirements

46. Final presentations • Round table session/jigsaw on student ideas • Draw from your clinical interviews, the paper(s) you read for 2nd interview, your experiences tutoring/teaching, etc. • Guidelines are posted under Assignments

47. Resources • http://www.ted.com/talks/ron_eglash_on_african_fractals#t-208970 • Gutstein. Rethinking Mathematics: Teaching social justice by the numbers (2006) • Deborah Ball: http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/65013 • Classroom video various countries: http://timssvideo.com • Fish is Fish, by Leo Lionni