Knowing and Learning

A UTeach Conference Course Overview

May 21, 2014

Cesar Delgadocesar_delgado@austin.utexas.edu

STEM EducationUniversity of Texas at Austin

Agenda

How K&L fits into the UTeach sequenceHow K&L is different than an Ed Psych

learning theories courseCourse goals and key activitiesLogistics and procedures

Semester flow Classroom practices and policies

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

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

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”

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

Analysis of classroom scenes

3: Mad-Eye Moody (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsl5fS7KGZc)

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)

ConstructivistFormative assessment

Maybe the teaching was outside the ZPDHe needs to provide scaffolding.

Conceptual-change constructivist: provokes disequilibrium in students (spellcasting isn’t always fun and games)

Course goals and key activities1. construct models of knowing and learning to guide classroom practice.

2. use the clinical interview method to make sense of someone's reasoning about a topic in STEM.

3. articulate various standards for knowing STEM and articulate the implications of these standards for assessment, especially standardized assessment.

4. articulate what it means to know and learn in terms of cognitive structures and describe how what people know changes and develops.

5. describe various paradigms for evaluating STEM understanding.

6. express informed opinions on current issues and tensions in education, especially as they relate to STEM instruction.

7. explore the affordances offered by various technologies in supporting knowing and learning in STEM.

8. explore the implications of deficit models of learning on issues of equitable instruction and learning environments.

Inventing learning theories before reading about them

Analyzed the LTs in the context of classroomsTracking, technology, etc.

Comparing experts and novices

1. construct models of knowing and learning to guide classroom practice.

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.

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

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

Build from students’ prior knowledge

MetacognitionCollaboratio

nConceptual/strategicActive

construction

Affective dimension of learning

Behaviorism

Teaching machines

http://www.ixl.com/math/algebra-1 (free online)

http://online.carnegielearning.com/ (password protected)

Reinventing Bloom’s taxonomyAnalzying items from standardized tests,

SAT, ACT, Exploring cultural bias in testsExploring Raven’s, meter-stick drop testTesting for Spearman’s g

2. articulate various standards for knowing STEM and discuss the implications of these standards for assessment, especially standardized assessment.

What do you know about the seasons?

Take 2 minutes to write down what you know about the seasons

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)

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

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

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!

Some “culture-free” “intelligence” tests

Raven’s progressive matricesReflexes

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

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

3. articulate what it means to know and learn in terms of cognitive structures and describe how what people know changes and develops.

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

Experts and novices

What do you see?

What does this video show us about learning and the other?

Write down your observations individually.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibEP4xBdJco

Developing learning theories from a stance on formative assessment

Readings on formative assessment

4. describe various paradigms for evaluating STEM understanding, and trace their relationships to learning theories.

Two interviews For Interview 2, students also researched the STEM

Education research literature to investigate student ideas about their topic

5. use the clinical interview method to make sense of a learner's reasoning about a topic in STEM.

SAT redesignGender and stereotype threatTrackingSingle-gender schools in Austin ISDTeaching for social justice (Tucson MAS)SCOTUS affirmative action banSBOE and evolution, textbooks

6. express informed opinions on current issues and tensions in education, especially as they relate to STEM instruction.

Cognitive tutors = Skinner’s teaching machines?

Clickers: behaviorist and constructivist uses (Judson & Sawada paper)

Online tests (Harvard implicit association)Computer simulations to confront

misconceptions

7. explore the affordances offered by various technologies in supporting knowing and learning in STEM, and trace their relationship to learning theories.

Harvard implicit association testDebate on tracking Readings on “acting White”Readings, activities on stereotype threat

8. explore the implications of deficit models of learning on issues of equitable instruction and learning environments.

K&L should be disequilibrating…

Please fill out survey for class

leaders

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

Assimilation or accommodation?

Traditional instruction: it’s about experts’ understanding of STEM

How can we get her fromhere… to … here?

Teacher mediates the rapprochement

KWSK : instruction is about students’ ideas/learning of STEM

Typical Semester Flow

1-5: Knowing, learning6-8: Assessing what students know9-10: Intelligence, nature-nurture11-15: Behaviorism, cognitive constructivism 16: Midterm17-19: Socioconstructivism20-22: How People Learn23: Tracking24-25: Collaborative learning, influence of peers26-27: Influence of teachers, parents28: Social Justice29: Generative design30-31: Wrap up

Red: includes segment led by students

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 BlackboardOnline discussion board for reading

accountability, input to discussion

Part A. Closed book, multiple choice and short answer, recall and comprehension.

Once you turn it in, you getPart B. Analysis of video & transcript of

classroom episodeYou can use your hard copy notes*

Midterm format

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

Part A sample questions

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

Part B description

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

Second interview

Guidelines posted under Assignments on BBSelect a middle or high school topic from the

TEKS (not AP-level)Based on your majorJustify 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

Final project

Your teaching philosophy, polished and uploaded to the UTeach portfolio – 100 pts

Due May 1See guidelines

athttp://uteach.utexas.edu/Students/Resources/Portfolio%20Requirements

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

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