Unit 2 Activity 1 My Superpower.
In my learning design practice, I use several tools:
- Google Drive, YouTube and Frame IO are ways to for students to submit their work. They email me a link to their google drive (no permissions) or YouTube video. They also upload to Frame IO. Having a variety of tools on the back end does not impact me because students send me a link. Giving them options helps students choose a workflow that works for them.
- YouTube is also a platform I use to host tutorial videos or links to examples of submissions. The latter gives those who need a solid reference, the information they require to move forward. In my early years of eteaching, I discovered uploading videos that are 2 – 5 minutes long are best. Anything longer, students lose focus and I my content is not tight enough. Break the information down into small digestible pieces ie microlearning.
- Keynote and Pages to create documents. Through COVID, I have learned that this type of delivery is made stronger with a video component supporting the written information. Usually, I am in the classroom with students, breaking out into discussion groups, monitoring debates, posing questions, challenging positions et al. That lack of in person animated interaction means coming up with ways to make videos more ‘entertaining’ yet skills based.
- The Adobe Suite for editing and graphics; primarily Adobe Illustrator, After Effects and Premiere. Technical software the students are required to know for the industry. Other tools in this area including AVID Media Composer and Final Cut.
- Zoom is used for synchronous classes. I also use Zoom for 1:1 tutoring sessions or individual meetings during office hours or as required. Having other design tools helps here as well. The student and I are able to reference outlines, quizzes, examples or other resources they require for clarification or development work.
I use these tools to support my personal teaching style which revolves around the whole student; being mindful of how outside classroom, the classroom and many other factors impact a students’ ability to learn and to move forward. Because of that, I tend to try and have as many options as possible for students to learn, retain, progress, and participate, thereby giving me plenty of options for evaluation. The more options students have to submit items for the grading, the better I am able to offer feedback which will lead to the successful completion of the course I am teaching.
For Assignment 1, I looked at microlearning and agile learning. Microlearning is about delivering short, concise, focused bytes of information while agile learning is about being quick, flexible, and working with the student through course content. I can see a correlation between my superpowers, how I teach to the whole student and how short quick bytes of information may stick more than two hours of me giving an online lecture. And how being mindful allows me to do as many 45, 90, 180 and 360 degree turns, adapting content for students, as required.
Being mindful of the whole student has allowed my superpowers to develop. I do not judge. I do not play the heavy handed- submit or die role. I understand and experience some of the challenges around learning, memory, and success. If I am mentally well and managing well, I perform much better regarding MALAT. If I am struggling with depression, anxiety, fatigue or just feeling completely discombobulated, my work lives suffer, my teaching and learning lives suffer and so does my home life; dishes, laundry, cooking et al. Skip-the-Dishes and I have a love hate relationship.
In their article The Influences of Emotion on Learning and Memory, Tyng, Amin, Saad & Malik find support that indicates emotions have a direct impact on retention and learning; and from there, we can safely extrapolate being emotionally and mentally well equals being successful and passing courses. As we move toward more online learning designs, the lack of in person, live face to face interaction and the lack of that in person stimuli or emotional experience should be concerning.
The usage of computer-based multimedia educational technologies, such as intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs) and massive open online courses (MOOCs), which are gradually replacing traditional face-to-face learning environments, is increasing. This may induce various emotional experiences in learners. (2017, Introduction para 1)
In 2009 Liping Shen, Minjuan Wang and Ruimin Shen conducted a study regarding emotional data and improved learning. Shen & al. were looking at what happens when affective e-Learning platforms consider student emotions. The study looked 17 000 post-secondary students who were studying online. The study also followed one student very closely over a course of two weeks. The study ended up with 42 000 samples of data which suggest emotions play a significant role in learning and long-term retention.
Our experiments indicated the superiority of emotionaware system over non-emotion-aware system with an increase of 91%, which suggested that using emotional data could greatly improve the performance of e-Learning system, particularly in the categories involving user-centered learning. (Shen et al 2009 p 187)
The study encourages teachers to be aware of and to use student emotional responses to curb teaching methods; as a student becomes confused, offer examples to support learning as the student becomes bored try music or videos that the student will enjoy to get them back on track.
The models and influences I have been drawn to support my teaching pedagogy; treat the whole student, be mindful of what they are going through, delivery quick digestible pieces of information, repeat, give examples and have them demonstrate the skills being taught. All of this is aimed at having students retain the information being taught, produce strong work, and end up successfully finishing my courses having had a healthy, informative and robust learning experience.
References
Shen, L., Wang, M., & Shen, R. (2009). Affective e-Learning: Using “Emotional” Data to Improve Learning in Pervasive Learning Environment. Educational Technology & Society, 12 (2), 176–189. Retrieved December 5, 2021 https://www.jstor.org/stable/jeductechsoci.12.2.176
Tyng, C. M., Amin, H. U., Saad, M., & Malik, A. S. (2017). The Influences of Emotion on Learning and Memory. Frontiers in psychology, 8, 1454. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01454
Zhoc, K.C.H., King, R.B., Chung, T.S.H. et al. Emotionally intelligent students are more engaged and successful: examining the role of emotional intelligence in higher education. Eur J Psychol Educ 35, 839–863 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-019-00458-0
Hi Katia,
This is a great post, and you raise so many important points here. One of my reasons for choosing RRU and the MALAT program was because I saw a huge need for intentional design in digital learning environments that really and truly put the emotional and mental well-being of students (and teachers!) first and foremost. One of my goals is to figure out how to replicate the real, human connection that occurs in physical classrooms in digital spaces. Regardless of the context, the age of students, and the reasons for learning, people are central to learning. The lived experiences, the opinions, the good and the bad – all of those things are what makes learning rich and valuable! I mentioned in my blog post (https://malat-webspace.royalroads.ca/rru0213/unit-2-activity-1-examining-my-design-practice-what-are-my-super-powers/) that learning is an inherently vulnerable experience, and it is so important that we, as teachers, make connections and develop relationships so our students feel they can engage and be vulnerable as learners.
Your post also made me reflect on the connections that have formed between the members of our cohort. I really was not sure what to expect. Would this be a very lonely journey? Would I connect with anyone? Were the testimonials of former students actually accurate???? We are a little over a quarter of our MALAT journey, and our cohort has connected and developed real friendships beyond my expectations. Most of us have never met in person, but I can say with sincerity that the day our cohort finally meets face-to-face is going to be a very exciting day. If that is not a testament to the power of putting the human element at the centre of learning design, what is?
Thanks again for your post, and I am really looking forward to working with you!
Amber
Hi Katia, Thank you for your insightful and profound post. Much of what you have written resonates with me as an educator of students who are often overlooked, or underrepresented, or for which the system underfunds. Your note to “treat the whole student” (Maxwell, 2021), is a maxim for education. If you don’t mind, I would like to offer you a superpower: Super Strength. Strength can be interpreted in many ways. Merriam-Webster defines strength as “the quality or state of being physically strong; the ability to resist being moved or broken by a force; [and] the quality that allows someone to deal with problems in a determined and effective way” (n.d.). Your super strength resonates in the work you do for your students and reveals your reflective capacity and growth mindset.
Thank you for sharing,
Angela
Merriam-Webster. (n.d). Strength. In Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Retrieved December 7th, 2021, from
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/strength
Hey, Katia!
Great post! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and could relate to what you shared regarding mental health. I also struggle with depression, anxiety, and fatigue. I initially noticed a change in myself after giving birth to my son. Ever since that point, my brain has felt, for lack of a better word, “rewired.” But, that’s a talk for another time.
I agree that as educators, it is our responsibility to create learning environments that are warm, inviting, and friendly to support students emotionally and intellectually. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs would be an excellent blueprint for this kind of classroom design. But, what constitutes a good education, then? Test scores or the needs of our students? I can certainly appreciate that from an educator’s perspective: when we “treat the whole student, be mindful of what they are going through, deliver quick, digestible pieces of information, repeat, give examples and have them demonstrate the skills being taught.” we are extending empathy to our students. And this act of compassion extends many benefits, for example, it strengthens teacher-student relationships and builds trust, which are fundamental elements of any great classroom culture. In addition, as a central component of classroom instruction, an exciting study from 2013 found that empathy increases academic achievement, too (Kidd & Castano, 2013). So, it’s really a win, win for everybody! All educators should incorporate and increase empathy in the classroom.
After reading your post, I went digging around and found some interesting websites that provide strategies for teachers to bring empathy into their context:
Ashoka – a website full of strategies to incorporate empathy across different educational contexts, as well as a toolkit to increase empathy within schools. https://www.ashoka.org/en/focus/every-child-practicing-empathy
Learning for Justice – a website with a variety of strategies for helping to build a positive classroom culture that involves empathy. https://www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/publications/critical-practices-for-antibias-education/classroom-culture
Thanks again for sharing more of yourself with us, Katia! And I look forward to diving into the articles you cited in your references.
Ash
References:
Kidd, D., & Castano, E. (2013). Reading literary fiction improves theory of mind. Science. DOI: 10.1126/science.1239918.
Katia, what an incredible post-I have copied and mailed this to myself so I don’t lose this when the course ends. “The whole student” That nailed it for me! Emotions playing a key role in learning resonates so deeply as well..
Its so good to have you in the course and read this meaningful post.
Beautiful visual and detailed post, Katia!
I had to google some of the tools you mentioned. Thank you for sharing. I really appreciate that you verbalized how emotion impacts learning and spoke of your own personal struggles. The MALAT has helped me to be more aware of emotions and learning. I always knew emotions played a part but I think Covid-19 and students struggles made it even more clear its importance. Thank you so much for sharing. Here is to a new year, hope and continued learning!
Sam