When designing a training
session, it is important for designers to determine the type of learning that needs
to take place. According to Ritzhaupt et al. (2017), “Many instructional
designers refer to Gagne’s taxonomy of learning (1985) as a theory that
identifies the major domains of learning: cognitive strategies, psychomotor
skills, attitude, intellectual skills and verbal information. These
classifications indicate the differences between these learning domains that
must be accommodated in order to design effective instruction”. Once the type
of learning is determined, designers must then establish learning objectives
that could fall in one of the following categories: cognitive, psychomotor, and
affective. “Cognitive objectives are the most common in an academic setting;
these objectives exist to determine how the learners can demonstrate they have
gained new knowledge. Psychomotor objectives can be used to define the ideal
execution of a physical skill set. Affective objectives are the last major
category of instructional objectives. These objectives pertain to attitudes
and values” Ritzhaupt et al. (2017). Now that the learning domain and learning
objectives are established, designers can write all objectives for the
learners.
When objectives are properly written, designers are then tasked with selecting the instructional strategies and activities that will motivate, empower, and provide meaningful practice opportunities for learners. One strategy I have used is called Socratic Seminar (a combination of the fishbowl and Socratic discussion). During a Socratic Seminar, students respond to an open-ended statement by providing supporting evidence from the text that they have read, while making meaningful real-world connections. Students (the outer circle from the fishbowl) use a rubric to assess the group as they participate in the Socratic Seminar and provide evidence for their ratings. This strategy always challenged my students and pushed so many out of their comfort zone because they had to speak in front of others. The first thing I had to do before starting a Socratic Seminar was have my students to set their norms to gain buy-in and set up accountability. Three objectives would be covered each time my students completed a seminar: a speaking and listening objective, reading objective. My students gained a love for Socratic Seminars and began creating questions and statements for me, based on the text they had read, and I must say, they did a great job creating them.
When objectives are properly written, designers are then tasked with selecting the instructional strategies and activities that will motivate, empower, and provide meaningful practice opportunities for learners. One strategy I have used is called Socratic Seminar (a combination of the fishbowl and Socratic discussion). During a Socratic Seminar, students respond to an open-ended statement by providing supporting evidence from the text that they have read, while making meaningful real-world connections. Students (the outer circle from the fishbowl) use a rubric to assess the group as they participate in the Socratic Seminar and provide evidence for their ratings. This strategy always challenged my students and pushed so many out of their comfort zone because they had to speak in front of others. The first thing I had to do before starting a Socratic Seminar was have my students to set their norms to gain buy-in and set up accountability. Three objectives would be covered each time my students completed a seminar: a speaking and listening objective, reading objective. My students gained a love for Socratic Seminars and began creating questions and statements for me, based on the text they had read, and I must say, they did a great job creating them.
Another strategy I have
used with students and teachers is “Stories with Holes” by Nathan Levy. These
are short stories/ scenarios that omit information (holes) and learners can
only acquire information by asking questions that warrant a yes or no response.
Critical and creative thinking are nurtured, and great listening skills are a
must. These stories work well with motivating and engaging learners. According
to Education World (2013), “Community Toolbox contributor Phil Rabinowitz explains
that critical thinking is an essential skill for 21st-century citizens, since
it involves analyzing, questioning and challenging situations, issues and
information of all kinds. We use critical thinking when we raise questions
about survey results, theories, media stories, scientific research, political
statements and conventional wisdom". Creating objectives and selecting the
instructional strategies and learning activities are extremely important to student
success.
References
Education World (2013). Top 10 strategies for
building students’ critical thinking. Retrieved from https://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/critical-thinking-higher-level-instructional-strategies.shtml.
[Fairfax
Network]. [2014, Aug. 27]. Best Practices: Socratic Seminar for Critical
Thinking [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-PBzjeYdp0
[J.
Clark Gardner]. [2011, Sept. 25]. The ADDIE Design phase [Video File].
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhLIiF9QyTo&t=244s.
Rithzaupt,
A., Lee, B., Eichler., Calhoun, C., Salama, C., Nichols, J., Wilson, M.,
Hafizah, N., Davis, A., Beatty, O., Yaylaci, S., Sahau, S. & Wildberger, W.
(2017, December 12). ADDIE Explained [text]. Retrieved from
http://www.aritzhaupt.com/addie_explained/# CC BY license 4.0.
You mentioned strategies that I have never used before. It is very interesting to learn about new strategies and hear how they worked when implemented in other classrooms. I want to research these farther and hopefully try to incorporate some into my future lessons and training. The text talks about developing a generative strategy and using that strategy to "encourage engagement with the material as the learners process the content and respond actively" (Ritzhaupt, 2017). I think the "stories with holes" activity you described definitely shows how a generative strategy was implemented. This gets the students involved and also encourages responses.
ReplyDeleteResources:
Rithzaupt, A., Lee, B., Eichler., Calhoun, C., Salama, C., Nichols, J., Wilson, M., Hafizah,
N., Davis, A., Beatty, O., Yaylaci, S., Sahau, S. & Wildberger, W. (2017,
December 12). ADDIE Explained [text]. Retrieved from
http://www.aritzhaupt.com/addie_explained/# CC BY license 4.0.
Teneal Smith
Your examples were great ways to use well-designed lessons with students! I want to learn more about Socratic Seminar to use with my students in the future. I strongly believe the more kids “buy in” to the topic at hand, the more knowledge they gain and the more confident they feel about what they have learned during that time. The seminar utilizes the elaboration aspect of a generative strategy mentioned in the text by Rithzaupt et al. (2017) where students “must also incorporate their own ideas into what they are learning” (n.p.).
ReplyDeleteReference
Rithzaupt, A., Lee, B., Eichler., Calhoun, C., Salama, C., Nichols, J., Wilson, M., Hafizah, N., Davis, A., Beatty, O., Yaylaci, S., Sahau, S. & Wildberger, W. (2017). ADDIE Explained [text]. Retrieved from http://www.aritzhaupt.com/addie_explained/# CC BY license 4.0
I am interested in learning more about "Stories with Holes" because I haven't experienced or used that learning strategy. I looked up the author and found that he has published over 20 books that use this specific strategy. "The generative strategy should encourage the learner to really engage in the learning process" (Ritzhaupt et al., 2017). The generative strategy is to engage students in the learning. This instructional strategy, as you stated, does exactly that with students.
ReplyDeleteReference:
Ritzhaupt, A., Lee, B., Eichler., Calhoun, C., Salama, C., Nichols, J., Wilson, M., Hafizah,
N., Davis, A., Beatty, O., Yaylaci, S., Sahau, S. & Wildberger, W. (2017, December 12). ADDIE Explained [text]. Retrieved from http://www.aritzhaupt.com/addie_explained/# CC BY license 4.0.