By: Sanjay Pottinger & Susan Nassiripour
Context & Challenge
Sanjay is an Advisor at a college and Susan works as a teacher trainer at a language school. We are seeking to encourage new teachers, who are students in an orientation, to increase engagement, take intellectual risk, as well as have a sense of inclusion, through our respective online communities. When new instructors join our organizations, they attend a one-day orientation, receiving static information such as policies and procedures, as well as a list of departments and what they do. Some of the teachers are subject matter experts but new to teaching, while others are seasoned instructors. Once the orientation is over, teachers are expected to have enough information to carry out their duties.
Upon completion of orientation, teachers are dispersed throughout their respective schools/programs. This creates a situation where those new to teaching are left to tackle classroom challenges on their own or seek out experienced colleagues in their immediate proximity. Some teachers stick to what they have always done, while others try to be inventive. The challenge in our roles, is to establish how we can create a learning environment where new and existing teachers can leverage each other’s experiences and collaborate across schools/programs, while taking intellectual risk with one another.
Solution
After participating in Stanford’s d.School design thinking process, we decided to create a blended orientation, expanding on the existing orientation. We have intentionally designed the in-class curriculum so that new teachers will establish connections with not only each other, but also connect with teachers from different schools/programs, as well, experienced teachers will be a part of orientation, sharing experiences and best practices. This will shift the learning to a student-centered and constructivist approach, which is a better learning methodology to use when exploring complex topics (Ertmer P. A. & Newby T. J., 2013). An online portal with an accompanying app will be created for new and existing teachers to provide a safe space for learning and sharing, with intentional design that facilitates trust and community-building. These tools will be introduced to the group in orientation, with preloaded scenarios that will challenge the teachers to take intellectual risk to solve problems in the forums. These scenarios will be realistic and won’t have a single correct answer, capitalizing on problem-centered learning, that can increase learning and engagement (Merrill, 2002). A follow up synchronous session will occur two days later to further discuss scenarios. Upon completion, the full app will be open to teachers to continue using the collaboration tool.
Our proposed app will encourage intellectual risk-taking in an online environment through problem solving activities, while sharing existing and newly developing knowledge. The app will include news, FAQ’s, contacts, curriculum materials and events. Students may wish to join a conversation in a forum, perhaps for idea sharing, or requesting advice. Seasoned employees can assist coworkers by joining discussions in forums. Teachers will be encouraged to participate through a rewards and recognition digital badging system, that will allow one to move through a points-based kudos system, earned through how often and how helpful their responses are. Crichton and Carter (2017) state that teachers often don’t provide enough time for students to process and reflect on what they’ve learned, and that when given the right tools, there are no boundaries in continuing to attain knowledge. We feel that this app will bridge the gap between orientation and continual learning.
We Need Your Help!
Can you see yourself taking intellectual risk during orientation using the digital tools discussed? Would this be a resource you would find engaging beyond orientation?
References
Crichton, S. & Carter, D. (2017). Taking Making into Classrooms Toolkit. Open School/ITA. Retrieved from https://mytrainingbc.ca/maker/en/toolkit/Taking_Making_into_Classrooms.pdf
Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (2013). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 26(2), 43-71. doi: 10.1002/piq.21143
Merrill, M. D. (2002). First principles of instruction. Educational Technology Research and Development, 50(3), 43-59.
December 3, 2019 at 4:37 pm
Hi Sanjay and Susan,
I believe that your app would encourage intellectual risk-taking, particularly if it’s interface is safe and engaging. I think it hits Merrill’s five principles common to theories of instruction. In fact, you have created such an innovative tool, I propose that you can push it even further.
Perhaps your app could be expanded to be more than a tool that’s used to introduce and integrate teachers to their new work environment, but one that fosters ongoing support and engagement.
You could consider expanding the app so it’s used throughout the year. One possible strategy might be to add an ongoing weekly challenge to the app: one that corresponds to the appropriate point in the school year. Examples might be: mid-term challenges, engaging students before the holiday break, preparing for exams, etc.
This would hone in on number five in Merrill’s list of principles:
5. Learning is promoted when new knowledge is integrated into the learner’s world.
I have to say that I really like your app idea and I encourage you to keep building on it.
Jeff
Merrill, M. D. (2002). First principles of instruction. Educational Technology Research and Development, 50(3), 43-5
December 7, 2019 at 3:13 pm
Hi Jeff,
Thank you for your thoughtful and constructive feedback on our learning tool idea. Within our intended design, users would continue to find the app to be a useful knowledge acquisition and sharing tool beyond the orientation period.
Your idea of sharing a weekly challenge in the app specifically aligned with key periods throughout the academic year, is an excellent idea that we believe would certainly enhance the user’s learning experience. By doing so, this would also provide reinforcements for learning, and a reason for users to continue coming back to the app. As Veletsianos (2016) argues, digital learning environments should strive to provide chances for transformative learning. Weekly challenges would provide more opportunities for teachers to engage in intellectual-risk taking as more challenging and diverse learning activities are posed which can allow the user to develop new and innovative solutions to issues, they may encounter within the teaching environment.
Sanjay & Susan
Veletsianos, G. (2016).Digital learning environments. In Rushby, N. & Surry D. (Eds) Handbook of Learning Technologies (pp. 242-260). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
December 3, 2019 at 8:25 pm
Hi Sanjay and Susan,
Your post resonated with me as I have worked extensively with new teachers in Instructional Skills Workshops. Just as you mentioned, all attendees are new to the organization and have varying amounts of teaching experience. Many are content experts only and new to teaching.
I think your prototype has great potential. I believe it would support community building and increase the comfort of teachers new to the school and new to teaching.
As a teacher and teacher trainer with over 15 years of experience, I would appreciate engaging with this resource. Being new to the place of employment, it would help if knowledgeable employees, such as management or teacher-support staff, could answer questions specific to the organization. However, this wider audience may make new teachers more hesitant to use it to ask for general teaching advice (i.e., engage in intellectual risk-taking).
I would also be likely to engage with this resource if the digital badge system conformed to the Open Badges standard (IMS Global Learning Consortium, 2019) or otherwise provided credit toward something, and the badges provided clear metadata about the achievement and how it was assessed. Dyjur and Lindstrom (2017) discuss a study in which “a sizable minority [of instructors] had lukewarm or negative impressions of [digital badges]” (p. 391). I wonder if experienced teachers would offer advice or otherwise contribute to the forum if they felt the badges were not credible.
Kathy and Sherry
Dyjur, P., & Lindstrom, G. (2017). Perceptions and uses of digital badges for professional learning development in higher education. TechTrends (2017), 61(4), 386-392.
IMS Global Learning Consortium (2019). Digital badges. Retrieved from https://www.imsglobal.org/activity/digital-badges
December 7, 2019 at 7:31 pm
Hi Kathy and Sherry,
Thank you for raising the point about the validity and perceived merit of the digital badging system. You are absolutely right in pointing out that in incentivizing learning, the incentive itself needs to be recognized as desirable, useful or otherwise of value to the user. There are two approaches we have considered with the digital badging system. One would be considered more of a community-building approach, where users receive what may be akin to a ‘kudo’ through awarded ‘stars’ or badges on a profile. A good example of this would be Trip Advisor or Yelp, where reviewers are tagged in specific ways when they have reached a certain number of ‘helpful’ tags and posted a certain number of reviews. This focuses more on the user being established as a valuable and trusted community member within the online space.
Another approach would be to pursue digital badging as a professional development or micro-credentialing system that has a well-developed methodology to how it is earned, assessed and achieved. Though we prefer the former, as the app progresses, motivational techniques may change. Jones, Hope and Adams (2018) in their digital badge as professional development research suggest overall favourable impression of digital badges, though more research is needed. However, with your feedback this is making us further reflect on how this tool we are proposing could potentially connect back to formalized recognition of achievement that may be of great value to teachers to support their professional growth.
Sanjay & Susan
Jones, M. W., Hope, S., & Adams, B. (2018). Teachers’ perceptions of digital badges as recognition of professional development. British Journal of Educational Technology, 49(3), 427–438. doi:10.1111/bjet.12557
December 6, 2019 at 10:38 am
Hi Susan and Sanjay,
I remember how incredibly overwhelming it was during my first semester teaching at a college and having a full course load. I had to actively seek out seasoned instructors to ask them questions and found out who the new instructors were so that we could chat and understand the landscape of our new classes, and potentially collaborate between ourselves. I would have loved to have access to a tool like this to help me during my transition!
It’s incredibility useful since instructors can have different schedules, so having a place for them to touch base, participate in activities, exchange resources, and collaborate would be a useful addition to the orientation process. Personally, part of risk taking is being able to build a connection/relationship with my colleagues. I’m willing to go out of my way to be more supportive and contribute when there is an emotional investment for me. I’m wondering besides using badges, how you would engage more seasoned employees to participate and collaborate with the newer instructors.
In addition, would each orientation cohort be considered a separate entity? Or would the orientation cohort eventually be amalgamated? Would there be a designated individual monitoring and facilitating the learning that is taking place via the portal/app? Thank you so much for sharing your prototype! Reading your blog brought back memories of being a new instructor and just being thrown into the deep end. I think it can be a fantastic resource to help instructors connect with one another and to foster a sense of community outside the classroom.
Cheers,
Eunice
December 7, 2019 at 6:17 pm
Hi Eunice,
We appreciate hearing your perspective as someone who once experienced the very struggles, we are hoping this app can begin to alleviate. To encourage seasoned employees to engage beyond the badging system, developing comradery and seeking support from academic leaders to build a culture of mentorship is key. Moreover, participation would feed directly into existing initiatives such as teaching and learning awards, employee leadership and excellence recognition, so that those that participate have their participation recognized towards award criteria.
To your point, building a sense of community is imperative for the tool to function effectively. The tool certainly is not intended to replace face-to-face collaboration, which will be inevitable within a school environment. As well, your feedback highlights the importance of ensuring a seamless functionality of the tool, which would include ensuring that the other features, such as events, policy and procedures etc. are integrated into the daily functions of the teachers. This tool would ideally become a go-to hub for multiple practical uses beyond training purposes. These interactions would in tern strengthen the social presence of the teachers online within the app, which is important to in maintaining a community of learners (Garrison, Anderson & Archer, 1999).
Each employee cohort will be considered a separate entity initially. Once orientation is completed, they would be integrated into the full app, with all teachers. We intend to have resources dedicated to the app, such as an Administrator responsible for supporting teachers in their learning and professional development and technical services.
Sanjay & Susan
Garrison, D., Anderson, T., & Archer, W. (1999). Critical inquiry in a text-based environment: Computer conferencing in higher education. The Internet and Higher Education, 2(2), 87-105. doi:10.1016/S1096-7516(00)00016-6
December 7, 2019 at 5:24 pm
Hi Susan and Sanjay,
Thanks so much for a really interesting post! The process of onboarding and looking at more progressive means to do that has been an ongoing discussion at my organization for the past 12 months. We originally started working with a really great organization called Trajectory IQ to look at onboarding staff in our corporate environment using gamification. I think we really didn’t have a clear idea at that point about what it is we wanted to educate new employees on so the project kind of came to a bit of a halt. But it’s moving ahead again and in fact I have a meeting next week to talk about steps moving forward.
One of the things that emerged during our initial work on the project was looking into the average age of employees that we hire and we were all surprised to find out that it’s about 44. We had made assumptions that it would be quite a bit younger than that. As a result, we questioned whether or not our average new employee would be interested in gamification and being awarded badges for various levels within that program. I’m curious if you have any data about your audience and whether or not this would motivate them to engage in the activities? Also, I wondered how you might enlist the aid of existing employees to take part in the process? I would love to hear if you have thoughts on either of those questions.
Thank you!
Sue
December 7, 2019 at 8:22 pm
Hi Sue,
Thank you for sharing the Trajectory IQ software. It provides a very interesting solution to many online training challenges, through an innovative and engaging user interface. You bring up a very interesting point about considering the demographics of the user. Although we do not have direct data of age of users, we would suggest that creating a more engaging learning process would universally improve onboarding. As an example, currently, online training components are required in our respective organizations (as an example, online module on health and safety, WHMIS etc.). These are presented as quite procedural and static interfaces for learning. Regardless of demographics of the teachers, with kudos/badging as motivation for participation, using such technology may enhance the experience of learning (Dyjur & Lindstrom, 2017). Of even greater influence would be the elements of problem-based learning and sharing of experience to community build (Merrill, 2002), since these experiences promote trust and engagement as well.
We believe enlisting the aid of existing employees will be an integral component of the tool. We intend to have them join the online community, be core knowledge producers and reaffirm learning through information sharing. Their role is essential to facilitating relationships between new teachers and experienced ones, in order to collaborate and pass forward best practices. The proposed community kudos system/badging, as well as institutional support for participation, would ideally encourage the participation of more seasoned employees.
Sanjay & Susan
Dyjur, P., & Lindstrom, G. (2017). Perceptions and uses of digital badges for professional learning development in higher education. TechTrends, 61(4), 386-392.
Merrill, M. D. (2002). First principles of instruction. Educational Technology Research and Development, 50(3), 43-59.
December 9, 2019 at 2:03 am
Hi Sanjay and Susan,
This post was great and really resonated with Leigha, as she just started as a professor at a local university. After orientation, Leigha remembered feeling like she was just dropped into it and had to sink or swim. Finding resources to help was easy, as she was familiar with many of the other staff members. However, if she wasn’t, finding her way would have been very difficult.
Having digital tools to assist instructors would be advantageous at any stage. During orientation, this would eliminate that lonely/lost type of feeling. Having an open forum of communication where the point is to not be anonymous, would be tough. It’s almost like admitting you are having a tough time, which can be very difficult for some to admit. You also wouldn’t want it held against you at some point. Having a place where information is posted and everyone shares learning tools, would be great. Something digital and accessible, that then comments and communication can occur, would be so beneficial for after orientation. This way, new instructors could have resources, almost like templates to use for designing their courses.
Thanks so much for sharing your idea! Starting a new job can create such anxiety and having an outlet yo share with others and not be alone in the process, would be so beneficial.
Christina and Leigha