Top 10 Learning Theories for Digital and Collaborative Learning

This presentation was all about learning theories that align with collaborative practice and digital learning. Each theory had key points that I see valuable for 21C learning. I have summarised some of these theories and linked to my own current practice and what I value as a teacher.






Progressive Education- John Dewey

Dewey identifies hands on learning as a key element which improves learning. Many of the children I have taught thrive in their learning when they are given the opportunity to be actively involved. We aim to provide children with as many of these opportunities as possible. What surprises me is how long this research has been around! Reflecting on my own schooling experiences in the last 20 years I feel like this was not valued by many of the teachers that I had. There were not the opportunities to be actively involved in my own learning!

Dewey also refers to the home school partnerships. This is something that I value highly and aim to develop these connections and relationships early on in the year. It is something that I continue to build throughout the year through parent helpers and 3 way conferences. I also have an 'open door' policy and welcome parents to contact me at any time with any celebrations they want to share or concerns they have.








Constructivism: Social Development Theory- Les Vygotsky

Vygotsky's research focuses on the ZPD (Zone of Proximal Development) which indicates the difference between what the child can do independently compared to what they can do with the help or expertise of others. He also talks about the reciprocal relationships between teachers and learners. I align this to the Maori concept of 'Tuakana, Teina' which stands for the teacher and the learner. This is an approach that I use in my classroom all the time. The children gain so much by learning from their peers and in return being able to teach a skill to someone else. In my experience I have also found that the children enjoy teaching me something! I make it very transparent to children that I don't know all the answers and that together we need to discover the answers together.

This links to Vygotsky's thoughts on the role of the teacher.

"The teacher must adopt the role of the facilitator, not content provider."





Situated Cognition/Learning- John Seely-Brown, Alan Collins and Paul Duguid

I feel like this ties in with Vygotsky's thinking when he discusses the teacher as the facilitator and is not in the role of being the knower of all knowledge. They refer to the application of knowledge as opposed to the ability to be able to recite knowledge. This is where inquiry learning differs from the traditional 'topic teaching' where children are taught to apply knowledge to situations.




Piaget on Education

I feel like some teachers may struggle with some of the ideas above. I was drawn to this quote by Piaget because it highlights our purpose as teachers. It's not about recreating the experiences we had at school but continues to explore the notion of allowing children to develop 21C skills through their own and shared exploration.

Conditions for Classroom Technology Innovations

This article tracks a study that was completed in America based on the question 'Why don't teachers innovate when they are given computers?' Teachers had to apply for grants with a proposal and go through an interview process to be selected. There were several insights into particular teachers journeys over the year the research was carried out.

The main points I am taking away are:

• Zhao, Pugh, Sheldon and Byers came up with this diagram that summarised their findings.

• Teachers need to be aware of specific types of technology including advantages and disadvantages for each.
• Teachers need to have a certain level of confidence using the particular technology available in their school.
• Technology integration requires support from others- more skilled staff, technology support people.
• Teachers need to be passionate about technology integration which must align with their values and beliefs.
• Teachers need to develop knowledge of the social and organisational contexts within their school setting. 
• Teachers need to be highly reflective in their practice.
• Take small but progressive steps towards change.
• The flow on effect from more confident users can be very powerful on other staff members. 
• It is most helpful when teachers have 'easy access' to technologies- no booking systems needed!

21C Skills- Problem Solving

The following video was a group task that was completed in week 2. We were given the 21 Century skill of problem solving. Here is our narrative that shows active problem solving.

https://app.themindlab.com/media/29583/view

What is the Purpose of Education and What is Knowledge?- Group video task

This is the completed video task that our group completed based on our shared understandings. Refer to previous posts called 'What is knowledge?' and "How did I lead and follow in the collaborative task?'

"Towards Reconceptualising Leadership: The Implications of the Revised New Zealand Curriculum for School Leaders".

This article discusses the New Zealand Curriculum and the opportunities that arise from having such an open curriculum. When I trained as a teacher it was the first year that the new curriculum was implemented. Because of this it is all I know! I have seen parts of the old curriculum books and see how prescriptive it used to be. I understand how some more experienced teachers may struggle with the freedom of the new curriculum. Some want to know exactly what to teach and when as opposed to designing learning opportunities for children. it also states that schools should be sharing leadership opportunities amongst staff as opposed to a top down hierarchy approach. In our school we are very lucky to have leadership opportunities that are shared around.

According to Wynne (2001) the literature on teacher leadership offers a profile that defines teacher leaders as those who:

 • demonstrate expertise in their instruction and share that knowledge with other professionals

 • are consistently on a professional learning curve

 • frequently reflect on their work to stay on the cutting edge of what is best for children

• engage in continuous action research projects that examine their effectiveness

• collaborate with their peers, parents, and communities, engaging them in dialogues of open inquiry/action/ assessment models of change Towards Reconceptualising Leadership: The Implications of the Revised New Zealand Curriculum for School Leaders Case Study 3

 • become socially conscious and politically involved

 • mentor new teachers

 • become more involved at universities in the preparation of pre-service teachers

 • are risk-takers who participate in school decisions. (Wynne, 2001, pp. 2–3)

This has caused me to reflect on my own leadership qualities. Currently I do not really recognise myself as a leader as I am a teacher with only 5 years of experience working alongside people who have been in the industry for many years. If I compare myself to the list above I see some similarities.

• I have been given the opportunity to participate in the Digital Leaders cluster and attend meetings and PD sessions. I have reported and shared this learning with others in the school and presented back to staff.
• I constantly reflect on teaching and learning and seek ways to improve and refine my practice. As part of this I complete a teacher inquiry which consists of reflection, research, action plans and implementation.
• I have had the opportunity to mentor a beginning teacher for a short period of time.

One thing I can saw is currently a weakness of mine is engaging in political decision making. 

What is knoweldge?

We were given a group task to brainstorm and define what knowledge is. Here is some of the ideas we came up with. We thought that knowledge is something that needs to be acquired through wonderings, social and cultural experiences and can be intentional or unintentional learning. Here is a photo of our thoughts.

"What 60 Schools Can Tell Us About Teaching 21st Century Skill" and reflecting how 20th century and 21st century skills differ? Do we need both?

I found this clip really interesting as it had a very clear message, a message that we have spent a lot of time unpacking and understanding as a school. The following points stood out to me.

Lichtman made a solid point about schools sharing their challenges, failures and successes. His research showed that many schools face the same problems and that schools are individually trying to solve these. He highlighted that schools should be communicating more openly about these in order to help each other. I feel that our education system in New Zealand is trying to rectify this problem through the development of clusters. The idea of sharing strategies and working alongside other schools will increase the depth of our practice and strengthen collaboration. This networking can only be a positive change!

What is hard about changing the way we do things in our class? Lichtman states that change is uncomfortable, complicated and messy. As we have approached these changes as school some have seen this change as hard and tried to avoid it. Carol Dweck defines this as having a fixed mindset. Those who saw change as a challenge and a learning journey demonstrated more of a growth mindset. We expect our children to be able to challenge themselves and step outside of their comfort zones but how are we modeling this to our children by only doing what we know and what we know is safe? Change in my classroom practice has occurred through deep self reflection, research and exposing my practice to others. A very uncomfortable time at the beginning!

Lichtman discusses the difference between Ecosystem and Industrial structures.

Lichtman talks about how schools that are catering for student led learning are becoming more dynamic, messy and noisy. I know this has been confronting for parents as their perception is that children only learn in a quiet space and at a desk. We have quiet spaces in our class that cater for these types of learners and also noisier areas for children that learn through active discussion. We attempt to cater for a range of learning styles. This concept has been very challenging for many parents. This probably reflects how they were taught as a child therefore shaped and formed beliefs about what current education should look like. Our parents are apprehensive that as a school we are not valuing the importance of teaching and developing the fundamental skills e.g. reading, writing and maths. At our school we have used the phrase “We are not throwing the baby out with the bathwater” to reinforce that we still value these basic skills that will allow our children to participate in society.

“Fail forward fail back” This year we have spent a lot of time learning about fixed and growth mindset. Our children really responded to FAIL (First Attempt In Learning). We have lots of ongoing discussions about failures, learning journeys, getting caught in the pit and perseverance.

“We don’t know the skills that our children will need so we need to teach them to be self evolving learners.” The ability to embrace constant change, develop problem solving skills, creativity and advanced communication are some of the skills that will prepare our children for whatever lies in the future.

We know what we should be doing! Many years of research tells us so we need to do something about it!

How did I lead and follow in the collaborative task?

Week 1

Group task reflection- Leader vs follower

I began the task as an active co leader while we were making decisions on how to construct the movie. I took on this role as some of the other group members had limited knowledge about apps that could be used. We began to lead the task while having conversations with all group members. At this stage they were happy to follow our lead. As the task progressed the group dynamics altered and the followers became more engaged as they became more familiar with the app. I then took on more of a follower approach so all members had a chance to experiment themselves. What made our team task successful was the fact that we all had a common goal, we had some expert knowledge and we had people willing to trust each other's decisions. I felt I contributed to our team in several ways. Being able to help make executive decisions so we could get underway promptly was an advantage. I also gained satisfaction from being able to teach others how to use the app. They gave trust to me at the beginning of the task so it was great being able to take a step back and allow them to learn the skills and be more actively involved in the task. There is a dynamic relationship between leaders and followers and each of these require certain qualities in order to allow a group to function appropriately and achieve a task. It is important that we give children in our classes opportunities to develop both leadership and follower roles and strategies to deal and cope with each of these roles. Also allowing children to reflect on group task dynamics as well as task completion.