As my course comes to a close, I was able to thoughtfully reflect on my personal intersectionality as well as reflect on my individual making and innovating. Throughout the course, I documented images and videos that personally reflect my life and the making and innovating that I have done. I have compiled my personal reflections in a remix video to demonstrate my understanding and learning of innovating and making.
You will find that the video takes you on a journey describing my identity and the making and innovating that define me as an individual. I realized that many of my making involves the outdoors. Whether I am making a garden, planting succulents, painting pots for my plants, or making fires at the beach, I often find myself making in nature. When reflecting on myself as an innovator, I learned that many of my innovations are to improve situations. For example, innovating new games during quarantine or innovating and making use of different spaces throughout my apartment. As I looked throughout my images and videos, I also realized that I was dependent on others when making food or making a desk. Although independence is important when making and innovating, it is important to learn to collaborate with others throughout the different processes. My personal reflective project has inspired me to continue to make and innovate and share the same passion with my learners to incorporate an innovative and making mindset.
References:
DeVoursney J. (2020). Personal Reflection. [video]. Youtube. https://youtu.be/m_eD6VeUV_k This week I explored experience design, redesign, and design theories when designing experiences in the classroom and other learning spaces. From a young age, teachers dream of setting up their own classroom and spend endless hours making sure the color coded sanctuary is “perfect”. Although it may seem “perfect” in the teachers mind, do the learning spaces we create foster learning opportunities for our students to be successful? As I explored experience design this week, I questioned my own learning space and the different ways to improve the learning space for my students. Below, I created an image that generally depicts the current learning environment of our classroom. My classroom consists of cool colors, flexible seating chairs, stools, plants, pillows, rugs, and many of bookshelves with many books! As the reading teacher, I like to provide ample space for students to get cozy and read! I also like to make our learning space collaborative. Therefore, I have different tables throughout the room where students can collaborate with one another. Students are also 1:1 with Chromebooks and often prefer to work on the rugs with a pillow. Chromebooks allow students to be mobile and move around to different spaces when working. Students work together all over the room and even create their own working spaces. Although, I may have thought that I created the “perfect” space, after diving into experience design for innovating learning spaces, I realized that some changes needed to be made. After researching learning theories and maker education, I had an opportunity to redesign my learning space. Check out my redesigned learning space below! I was very deliberate in many of my redesign changes which brought in specific elements. Overall, I want to provide students with collaborative innovative learning spaces. For example, according to The Third Teacher+, providing students with places to test new skills sparks cognitive development. Therefore, I created a variety of spaces for students to collaborate or work individually so students can be exposed to new learning spaces. In addition, Third Teacher also states that giving students furniture that allows them to turn and twist will increase their ability to concentrate, which is why I have incorporated a variety of chairs. Lastly, learners need a comfortable, soft, and cozy area which is why I brought in more rugs and pillows. According to Vanhermert (2013), researchers found that complexity and color both relate to providing visual stimulation for students in the classroom. I choose different shades of blue because cool colors support younger students, and I aim to keep the space clutter free so it is visually appealing and not overstimulating. You will also notice the redesign includes two pods blocked off by bookcases. My intention is to create spaces for students to innovate collaboratively as well as individually or in small groups. I believe the redesign supports both Constructivism and Constructionism in a variety of ways. For example, collaborating with one another supports Piaget’s Constructivism because students are constructing meaningful connections through collaboration and building relationships with old and new knowledge as they innovate. The tables, rugs, and pods will allow students to do so. On the other hand, Constructionism is also supported because students have the spaces to learn by doing. Papert advocated that learning is most effective when the learner designs or constructs a tangible or meaningful product as part of an educational activity (Akerman, 2011). Therefore, construction of knowledge occurs when students build, make, and publicly share objects and students have the learning spaces to do so (Cohen et al., 2018). The redesign provides students with spaces to both innovate and construct new knowledge as well as construct meaningful connections for new learning through collaboration. Learners will use this space to experience learning through making and collaborating in order to gain 21st century skills to be prepared for our global society. References:
Ackermann E. (2001). Piaget's constructivism, Papert's constructionism: What's the difference. Future of Learning Group Publication. http://www.sylviastipich.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Coursera-Piaget-_-Papert.pdf Cohen J. D., Jones W. M., & Smith, S. (2018). Preservice and early career teachers' preconceptions and misconceptions about making in education. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education. https://www-tandfonline-com.proxy2.cl.msu.edu/doi/pdf/ DeVoursney J. (2020). Learning Space. [image]. Screenshot. DeVoursney J. (2020). Redesign.[image]. Screenshot. Sheridan K. Halverson, E.R., Litts, B.K., Brahms L, Jacobs-Priebe, L., & Owens, T. (2014). Harvard Educational Review, 84(4), 505-531. Learning in the making: A comparative case-study of three maker spaces Vanhemert K. (2013). Study Shows How Classroom Design Affects Student Learning. https://www.fastcompany.com/1671627/study-shows-how-classroom-design-affects-student-learning Although receiving feedback may be difficult for some, as a lifelong learner I value feedback from colleagues and peers within my professional practice. This week I explored my innovative learning experience and reviewed feedback from my peers from multiple perspectives. I also provided feedback from multiple lenses including UDL and intersectionality. Looking at learning experiences from two lenses was a valuable experience because it allowed me to consider components that I most likely would not have considered. For example, UDL and intersectionality lenses allowed me to provide feedback when considering multiple forms of inequality and representing and meeting the needs of all learners when designing a learning experience. On the other hand, receiving feedback regarding UDL and intersectionality allowed me to analyze my own learning experience to ensure all learners are represented with their learning needs in mind. Without the valuable feedback from my peers, I would not have made necessary changes to create a meaningful learning experience. My learning experience includes learners creating and recording a song using Makey Makey. Students are creating to LEARN! I want my innovative technology to provide students with STEAM learning experiences. Therefore, students have the freedom to create and design a unique guitar to create and record their song. I want to engage students with the content, each other, and the outside world, which provides students with opportunities to share their learning by recording their end product. My UDL reviewer, complimented the fact that students will be collaborating to create and design their own learning. To strengthen my learning plan, I changed the grouping to smaller groups and incorporated stations. My intersectionality reviewer gave feedback from an Emergent Bilingual Students (EBS) lens and suggested vocabulary as a learning goal, which I also implemented. When considering Emergent Bilingual Students, vocabulary is critical for learning and understanding. Key vocabulary terms include USB cables, Alligator clips, wires, guitar, pitch, melody, and collaboration. I also added a rubric to make scoring easier as well as providing student's guidance on how they will be accessed. Check out my drafted version below with feedback from a UDL and intersectionality perspective! One suggestion that I did not change was the type of instrument students would be creating. Although Makey Makey does provide options to create other musical instruments and giving freedom to have choice would align with UDL, I want students to create a guitar for a few reasons. In my experiences, the other instruments involve attaching clips to objects which produce a sound and it is fairly simple. When creating a guitar students have to physically take the time to create and design a guitar and cut it out of cardboard. Students will still be provided with choice when creating the guitar and it will allow students the freedom to express their creativity. Kelman (2020) mentions how living in a digital world has transformed how students learn and acquire music skills, which is why she has been motivated to change her music lessons as a music teacher. I agree with Kelman that music class can be transformed to fit the needs of students living in this digital world. Therefore, providing students with STEAM activities that fosters collaboration and making will prepare our students for the future. Yelon (2010) argues that the goal is to provide learners with real-world performance tasks and how learning objectives can fit into a real world activity. This innovative learning experience allows students to use real world problems-solving skills and collaboration to create a guitar and use innovative technology to create an end product of a song. I hope my Innovative Learning Plan can inspire educators to incorporate innovative technology to prepare our students for the ever changing digital world in which we live. Check out my final revised version below! References:
DeVoursney J. (2020). Makey Makey Guitar. [image]. DeVoursney J. (2020). Innovative Learning Plan. [image]. Screenshot. Kelman K. (2020). Entrepreneurial Music Education: Professional Learning in Schools and the Industry. Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://link-springer-com.proxy2.cl.msu.edu/content/pdf/10.1007%2F978-3-030-37129-6.pdf Labez J. (2020). Makey Makey. [image].ETC Educational Technology Connection. https://www.etchkshop.com/products/makey-makey Martinez M. & McGrath D. (2014). Deeper learning : How eight innovative public schools are transforming education in the twenty-first century. https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.proxy2.cl.msu.edu Yelon S. L. (2001). Goal-directed instructional design: A practical guide to instructional planning for teachers and trainers [Video]. Michigan State University Media Space. https://mediaspace.msu.edu/media/Secret+of+Instructional+design/1_0cbt3v51
This week I explored Intersectionality and Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Kimberlé Crenshaw (2018), states that Intersectionality is a metaphor for understanding the ways that multiple forms of inequality can compound together, creating disadvantages. As an educator, it is important to be aware of Intersectionality and planning through UDL is critical to represent and meet the needs of all learners. UDL is a framework to design high quality learning experiences while also considering the needs of diverse learners. Check out my graphic below, which illustrates the life of a learner when reflecting on Intersectionality and how inequalities can be on the minds of all learners at school.
In the Life of a Learner by Jenna DeVoursney
I created the graphic, In the Life of a Leaner, because I wanted to illustrate the many different forms of inequality students face on a daily basis. While the student shown above represents varying components of identity including gender, race, socioeconomic status, religion, Emergent Bilingual, and a learning disability, students can face many components of inequality compounded together. Unfortunately, inequalities can be distracting to learners and take away from their learning, which is why UDL is essential for planning. As an educator, UDL provides teachers with a framework for planning lessons that provide a variety of learning options for all learners to create high quality learning experiences. I want educators to be reflective of this graphic because the students in front of us face inequalities everyday. Therefore, it is our job to be aware of Intersectionality and provide high quality learning experiences by planning with UDL in mind at all times. Interested in learning more about Intersectionality? Check out Kimberlé Crenshaw’s TED Talk, Kimberle Crenshaw: The Urgency of Intersectionality.
References:
Crenshaw K. (2018). What is Intersectionality?. [video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViDtnfQ9FHc DeVoursney J. (2020). In the Life of a Learner. [image]. Canva. TED. (2016). Kimberlé Crenshaw: The urgency of intersectionality [Video]. TED Talk. https://www.ted.com/talks/kimberle_crenshaw_the_urgency_of_intersectionality?language=en This week I reflected on media consumption including the spaces I get my media from and who I follow as well as who I don’t get media from and who I don't follow. In CEP 810, I was introduced to the term, Personal Learning Network (PLN), which relates to the different spaces I seek content. I realized that I only seeked spaces within my comfort zone, resulting in rejoining Twitter. Gee (2013) states that diversity expands possibilities for new discoveries. Therefore, when looking at who I follow, I needed to expand my possibilities of learning by exploring a variety of Twitter accounts. After watching Pariser’s TED2011 talk I was introduced to the term “filter bubble.” According to Praiser (2011), filter bubbles are the way in which digital platforms control what we see and watch online. He recalls a time when he no longer saw opposing viewpoints online due to “filter bubbles.” Both Gee and Praiser argue that online platforms reinforce perspectives in our favor and eliminate diverse perspectives. I too, realized that I was never engaging or reflecting on opposing viewpoints on Twitter. As I was exploring Twitter, I followed @BetsyDeVosED because her account will diversify viewpoints on my feed. She is very adamant on returning to school in the fall, and without reading her tweets, I would not be exposed to opposing viewpoints. I also came across parody accounts including @BetsyDeVos. This brings up the topic of educating learners on evaluating the quality of online information when seeking new spaces for learning. As educators, it is essential that we teach strategies to identify relevant, accurate, bias, and reliability when exploring online information (Corio, 2017). After exploring media consumption, I now realize how important diversifying networks is in order to engage and reflect on viewpoints relating to my professional practice. References:
Coiro J. (2017). Teaching adolescents how to evaluate the quality of online information. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/evaluating-quality-of-online-info-julie-coiro Gee J. P. (2013). The anti-education era: Creating smarter students through digital learning. Palgrave/MacMillan. DeVos B. (2020). Tweet Screenshot. [image]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/BetsyDeVosED/status/1281362496654196736 Knol M. Twitter. [image]. Creative Commons. Licensed under a CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 https://search.creativecommons.org/photos/6a55f372-fb2b-4b7a-a93c-9ef3cbf44325 Leetaru K.(2017). Why 2017 was the year of the filter bubble?. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kalevleetaru/2017/12/18/why-was-2017-the-year-of-the-filter-bubble/#18f2926f746b TED. (2011, February). Beware online "filter bubbles Elia Pariser. [Video]. Youtube. https://www.ted.com/talks/eli_pariser_beware_online_filter_bubbles/transcript Terra E. Twitter Log. [image]. Creative Commons. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. https://search.creativecommons.org/photos/c5df9c14-3969-4e3e-b0d2-eb8edc7b2a25
Before this week, I had never even heard of Creative Commons and the free licenses they provide. Creative Commons provides users with free, simple, and available licensed material that allows others to use within their work. I also gained more knowledge regarding the term Remix and the role it plays in our culture today. According to Lessig (2008), Remix encourages the act of combining various works and it can even be applied to video arts. Therefore, this week I created my first remix video on what I learned regarding media use and copyright.
Because creative commons provides and shares free licensed material, I was able to explore a variety of media including videos, audio, and images to include in my video. One unique constraint of creating the remix video includes difficulty finding videos that were applicable and available for download. As noted in the video, copyright is a type of property that protects creative works. However, according to Common Sense Education there are guidelines provided in the video to follow when taking things from the internet.
Hobbs (2010) states that oftentimes teachers' fears or worries about copyright infringement get in the way of creation -- and the types of learning activities that would support precisely the kinds of fundamental skills and dispositions that we emphasize. Not using copyrighted materials because of concerns about what is legal or not legal could mean lost opportunities to gain valuable media literacies skills and insights. This video can be used to educate students on Remix and how remix involves combining various works under Creative Commons. Lastly, others can use this video to inform teachers and students about Copyright and using resources from the internet because nobody likes a copycat without giving credit to the owner. References: Common Sense Education. Copyright and Fair Use Animation. [Video]. https://www.commonsense.org/education/videos/copyright-and-fair-use-animation Dialogue. (2017). Workplace Going Digital. [video]. Vimeo. https://vimeo.com/233517400 DeVoursney J. (2020). Remix Video. [video]. Youtube. https://youtu.be/cGoCgZUxeLk Ella. (2008). Ella Typing. [video]. Vimeo. https://vimeo.com/1291040 Herrero D. Copyright. [image]. Creative Commons. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. https://search.creativecommons.org/photos/0a88047a-ae13-41cc-bcb8-40ad4ef33d4e Hobbs R. (2010). Copyright clarity: How fair use supports digital learning. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Corwin. http://sk.sagepub.com/books/copyright-clarity Lessig L. (2008). Remix: Making art and commerce thrive in the hybrid economy. Penguin. Makesounds. Ambient Chill. [audio]. Jamendo. Remy. (2006). Basic Typing. [video]. Vimeo. https://vimeo.com/92967
This week I explored learning, failing, and making in education as well as within my own professional context. After exploring readings, different perspectives, and research I have considered different approaches to learning in the context of schooling. As an educator and student, I have made reflections and connections to how maker education relates to my own teaching practices and personal experiences.
21st Century Learning emphasizes creativity and our students must be provided with opportunities to create. This week, I realized that as a classroom teacher I struggle to give up control when allowing students to create. While I do allow opportunities for students to create, I need to foster an environment that provides students with more opportunities to express their knowledge through making and innovating. Resnick (2017), argues that if we want children to develop as creative thinkers, we need to provide them with more opportunities to create and digital technologies can play a transformational role in learning and education. At my first school, we had a makerspace which involved classes attending the maker space twice a month. The space was filled with resources and technology for students to explore and innovate including cardboard, styrofoam, craft supplies, Spheros, Ozobots, Osmos, coding, magnetic sand and MUCH MORE!
Failure was constant and I often participated alongside my students exploring, failing, and succeeding at times. However, looking back as a first year teacher, I was not aware of the maker movement and I failed to take advantage of the provided resources to incorporate this style of learning. At my current school, students struggle with basic technology skills and I am guilty of relating to many of the preconceptions and misconceptions Cohen et al., (2018) includes in Preservice and Early Career Teachers' Preconceptions and Misconceptions About Making in Education. However, personally understanding preconceptions is a necessary first step for effecting conceptual change and I am determined to shift my teaching practices because I agree with many of the findings I researched this week. For example, making is critical to the learning process because it is a representation of ideas in an individual's head. Therefore it allows learners to play with ideas and to gain a better understanding of the possibilities and limitations of ideas (Resnick, 2017). My learners are fortunate to have 1:1 technology and I agree “technology creates creators” (Culatta, 2013). Therefore, as an educator I will provide my students with more meaningful digital technologies to transform individual learning.
As I was grappling with maker education, and how I can implement this learning into my own classroom and school, I also learned more about Constructivism and Constructionism. For example, I learned that Piaget’s Constructivism views learning as an active process in which learners construct new ideas or concepts based upon their current and past knowledge (Akerman, 2011). As the English Language Arts teacher, my readers are always activating background knowledge when making inferences. With a large population of English Language Learners, I see how students construct new knowledge and meaning from an interaction between their experiences and building upon old and new knowledge while interacting with each other. On the other hand, I also gained more knowledge regarding Papert’s Constructionism. Papert advocated that learning is most effective when the learner designs or constructs a tangible or meaningful product as part of an educational activity (Akerman, 2011). Therefore, construction of knowledge occurs when students build, make, and publicly share objects (Cohen et al., 2018). I believe Constructionism is more prevalent in our school because students are constantly engaged in learning by doing with tools to build their understanding. For example, students participate in a variety of hands-on and inquiry based projects in all content areas across grade levels.
Fifth Grade students create personal African Musical Instrument to participate in song for Social Studies
This week has given me the opportunity to connect and reflect on my own teaching practices and personal experiences. Although I am guilty of misconceptions like many other teachers, I am determined to change my practice to incorporate tools that get students thinking in different ways to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding. Check out my self-reflection infographic below!
Self-Reflection Inforgraphic by Jenna DeVoursney
References:
Ackermann E. (2001). Piaget's constructivism, Papert's constructionism: What's the difference. Future of Learning Group Publication. http://www.sylviastipich.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Coursera-Piaget-_-Papert.pdf Bransford, J., Brown, A.L. & Cocking, R. R. (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience and school. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press. http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=0309070368. Cohen, J. D., Jones, W. M., & Smith, S. (2018). Preservice and early career teachers' preconceptions and misconceptions about making in education. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education. https://www-tandfonline-com.proxy2.cl.msu.edu/doi/pdf/ Culatta R. (2013). Reimagining Learning. [video]. Youtube. https://youtu.be/Z0uAuonMXrg DeVoursney J. (2018). Maker Space. [video]. Youtube. https://youtu.be/ojy5Ch2lm3U DeVoursney J. (2018). Spheros. [video]. Youtube. https://youtu.be/c6D9wb6TZHs DeVoursney J. (2018). African Musical Instrument. [video]. Youtube. https://youtu.be/lnkLThBkE6w DeVoursney J. (2020). Amelia Earhart. [image]. DeVoursney J. (2020). Self-Reflection. [image]. Canva. Resnick M. (2017). Lifelong kindergarten: Cultivating creativity through projects, passion, peers, and play. The MIT Press. http://web.media.mit.edu/~mres/papers/CulturesCreativityEssay.pdf |