Yeah, that’s right, Ms. Frawley’s Got Design Superpowers…
Middle school teachers often receive comments about how it takes a certain type of special to teach the 12 to 14-year-old age group. I like to think of this “special” as more of a list of attributes, or superpowers, consisting of traits like leadership, empathy, compassion, intuition, decisiveness, and flexibility. In Week 4, Activity 1 of Unit 2 of LRNT524, I found out that I could add a few more superpowers to my list, a revelation worth investigating!
In their summary on ID tools, Lachheb & Boling (2018) explain that choosing tools is like solving a puzzle and that the strategies used will differ based on the designer. In my design tools list, I am grounded by the theoretical and methodological based on Table 2 in Lachheb & Boling (2018, p.39). From these theoretical underpinnings, I have concluded on the following key terms, used to create the visual representation above.
Conceptual: negotiating ideas and making decisions
There are no small tasks or activities, every task is calculated for intersections. Specifically, these intersections include cross-curricular considerations that branch into contemporary social issues.
Social and Cognitive skills:
Building a community of inquiry through ongoing teacher reflections, student journaling and reflecting; goal setting, and social-emotional learning (SEL) check-ins.
Modeling and the use of Artefacts:
Teacher risk-taking with new tech and digital tools in the classroom; modeling failure and accepting growth from mistakes. Setting expectations and scaffolding through the use of examples throughout the assessment for, assessment as, and assessment of learning phases (which are recursive within their respective timelines).
The use of superpowers for design is an interesting take. It fits with a “what if” speculative narrative that acknowledges the variations in instructional design methods. In my visual representation, I recognize the multiple judgments that I must make in order to accomplish my design goals (Boling et al., 2017). In my day-to-day work, I exercise many traits in order to maintain an environment where my students want to come to school, are curious about learning, ask deep and difficult questions, and come back for more. This is what matters to me and maybe that’s a superpower in and of itself.
References
Boling, E., Alangari, H., Hajdu, I. M., Guo, M., Gyabak, K., Khlaif, Z., Kizilboga, R., Tomita, K., Alsaif, M., Lachheb, A., Bae, H., Ergulec, F., Zhu, M., Basdogan, M., Buggs, C., Sari, A., & Techawitthayachinda, R. “I”. (2017). Core judgments of instructional designers in practice. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 30(3), 199–219. https://doi.org/10.1002/piq.21250
Lachheb, A., & Boling, E. (2018). Design tools in practice: instructional designers report which tools they use and why. Journal of Computing in Higher Education, 30(1), 34-54.
December 6, 2021 at 12:51 pm
Hi Angela,
Thank you so much for your post. I think the readings have been interesting, because as you mention, we all possess attributes that are specific to our work environments which we often overlook. I know that I could certainly not be a middle school teacher, because I do not have the type of “special” that you do – AKA the same superpowers.
A question I do have about your use of tools and superpowers, is how you divert or apply appropriately in you classroom. Having a ‘unique needs’ child, I know that what works for most children in her classroom likely does not work for her as well. How do you go “off plan” when you are designing or creating learning experiences, to cater to those who require more, or different approaches? This is something that I am curious if in person facilitators/teachers have more flexibility with than those who design strictly online.
Paula.
December 6, 2021 at 6:16 pm
Hi Paula,
Great questions! After reading Alisha’s post, I realized I had excluded this very aspect from my design process. In K-12, we have Individual Education Plans (IEPs), which are legal documents that can range in need and supports from academic to behavioural. Teachers work with Special Education staff and specialists such as psychologists and social workers, to determine best practices for students who require further support outside of the “mainstream” classroom (I dislike this word choice, but will use it for context). Let’s hypothesize on a possible scenario. Grade 8 Math: Two students on academic IEPs, one at the 5th-grade level, another at the 6th-grade level; and one student on a behavioural IEP for social-emotional and self-regulation. These students attend my classes every day, and the academic IEPs receive additional supports for a specified amount of time throughout the week. Each has modifications to the Grade 8 curriculum which I must plan for, modifications that are specific to the language in the IEP. Often, this means extra one-on-ones, scaffolding on top of scaffolding, multiple variations on practice, and assessments that adhere to the grade-level curriculum expectations.
I kid when I say that I have superpowers just for being a teacher! But the juggling of all of these variables is difficult and very time-consuming. The work it takes to keep everyone challenged and happy while not excluding or ostracizing students who are on IEPs, or the seemingly endless parent/guardian phone calls and emails, can at times require a superhero…
Thanks,
Angela
December 11, 2021 at 11:23 am
Hi Angela,
After the privilege of working with you on a project, I can honestly say that you do indeed have all these super-powers. It does take a certain set of skills, knowledge, personality, and indeed, super-powers, to work with middle-schoolers, and I held that role for many years. I would have loved to be in your class as a middle-school student! I am also so impressed by your confidence and energy as you take risks innovatively to the benefit of your students and colleagues. I’m not sure if you’ve had a look through many of the Unit 3 readings in our current course, but there are some amazing design thinking and maker resources in there that will hopefully feed your innovative spirit and contribute to your practice. A couple of my favourites for practical application:
Crichton, S. & Carter, D. (2017). Taking Making into Classrooms Toolkit. Open School/ITA.
d.School. (2018). Design Thinking Bootleg. Standford d.School.
Thanks for sharing this wonderful post!
Alisha