Accessing Prior Knowledge...
According to Bransford, Brown & Cocking (2000), students’ prior knowledge affects how they will interpret and learn new concepts. This is because learners construct new knowledge based on their preexisting knowledge (Bransford, et al., 2000). This is a constructivist view of learning and Bransford et al.(2000), references Cobbs (1994),when stating “Constructivists assume that all knowledge is constructed from previous knowledge…” (p. 11). This means that students will come to school with preexisting notions that may not be correct or based in fact and it important for teachers to be aware of this and investigate students background knowledge when introducing new concepts (Bransford, et al., 2000). Bransford et al. (2000), goes on to say that if preexisting knowledge isn’t accessed then the understanding that students take away maybe very different than what the teacher had intended. This means that it is imperative for me as teacher to find out what my students already know when teaching them new information.
For this reason, in part one of this Web Based Inquiry project I ask students, "What do you already know about Egyptian culture?" From an art perspective, I felt I needed to take this one step further and ask students, "Looking at images or Egyptian art/artifacts what observations can you make? By beginning with these questions it will give me an idea about students’ preconceptions about Egyptian art and help me to develop a framework for the rest of the project. Their responses will influence the topics that I will give students to help them develop their inquiry questions. Additionally, I will be able to address any misconceptions students have about Egyptian Art and students will not develop an incorrect understanding of Egyptian art and culture. By having students look at images of Egyptian art and then tell me what they see, I am able to access my students’ vocabulary of the concepts and see where they are at when it comes to looking critically art works of art. What I mean by this is, are they just telling me, “It looks cool” or are they using descriptive adjectives to describe what they see.
For this reason, in part one of this Web Based Inquiry project I ask students, "What do you already know about Egyptian culture?" From an art perspective, I felt I needed to take this one step further and ask students, "Looking at images or Egyptian art/artifacts what observations can you make? By beginning with these questions it will give me an idea about students’ preconceptions about Egyptian art and help me to develop a framework for the rest of the project. Their responses will influence the topics that I will give students to help them develop their inquiry questions. Additionally, I will be able to address any misconceptions students have about Egyptian Art and students will not develop an incorrect understanding of Egyptian art and culture. By having students look at images of Egyptian art and then tell me what they see, I am able to access my students’ vocabulary of the concepts and see where they are at when it comes to looking critically art works of art. What I mean by this is, are they just telling me, “It looks cool” or are they using descriptive adjectives to describe what they see.
Active Learning and Metacognition...
An important part of students being active in their own learning is them being able to recognize when they do not understand something. This metacognitve skill of "knowing when you do not know" is important for me to make my students aware of (Bransford, et al, 2000). “Teaching practices congruent with a metacognitve approach to learning include those that focus on sense making, self-assessment, and reflection…” (Bransford, et al, p. 12). With this in mind, I believe that I will develop my students’ metacognitive skills with this inquiry project in a few ways. First, I believe the collaborative aspects of students working in pairs will help students realize if their partner knows something they do not and could potentially encourage them to find out more. It is my hope students will work together to make sense of the information they find from their research. Secondly, I have included a reflective piece for this project where students will talk about what they knew before they started researching Egyptian culture, what they learned by the end, and their research processes. Finally, I have provided students with a checklist of my expectations. I have found through my own teaching that a checklist helps them be self-sufficient in their own learning. What I mean by this is I prefer to lead my students to where they can find the answers they are looking for rather than giving the answer to them. In this case, "What do we need to submit?" "What is the next step?" In this way they are able to assess what they have done and what they still need to do. Bransford et al. (2000) speaks to this when he discusses how metacognition is when we are able to monitor our levels of mastery and understanding. It is my hope that a check list will enable students to monitor their understanding and see their progress towards their learning goal.
New Literacy...
This project aims to help student construct their own knowledge about Egyptian art and culture through the inquiry process. It can be challenging for students to learn how to use the internet as a tool to support their own learning (Dwyer, 2012 in press). For this reason the framework for this project is centered around students learning New Literacy (Dwyer, 2012; Leu, Kinzer, Corio &Commack, 2004) skills through an inquiry process. Using inquiry to develop students online literacy skill is important because according to Dwyer (2012, inpress), “The online information inquiry process encompasses both the ability to generate and revise search strings and investigate search results in a critical manner” (p 8).
The New Literacy (Dwyer, 2012; et al, 2004) skills and strategies I focused on teaching my students with this web based inquiry project are developing search terms, scanning search results, and evaluating websites for authenticity and reliability. “The ability to investigate search results speedily and with a critical eye is an important internet skill” (Dwyer, 2012 in press, p. 8). For this reason, screencasts were created to teach students how to scan search results for key terms to and evaluate websites based on authenticity and reliability. The screencasts were based off of Dwyer’s handouts from her lecture. Teaching students to look for key terms in the search results and to think about their inquiry question before clicking on the link was as also a focus of the screencasts. This metacognitive strategy of “thinking before you click” is vital for students to learn if they are going to use the internet as a tool support their learning. Coiro (2003) supports this when quoting Tapscott (1998), “Never before has it been more necessary that children learn to read, write and think critically. It it’s not just point and click. It’s point, read, think, click” (p. 63).
The New Literacy (Dwyer, 2012; et al, 2004) skills and strategies I focused on teaching my students with this web based inquiry project are developing search terms, scanning search results, and evaluating websites for authenticity and reliability. “The ability to investigate search results speedily and with a critical eye is an important internet skill” (Dwyer, 2012 in press, p. 8). For this reason, screencasts were created to teach students how to scan search results for key terms to and evaluate websites based on authenticity and reliability. The screencasts were based off of Dwyer’s handouts from her lecture. Teaching students to look for key terms in the search results and to think about their inquiry question before clicking on the link was as also a focus of the screencasts. This metacognitive strategy of “thinking before you click” is vital for students to learn if they are going to use the internet as a tool support their learning. Coiro (2003) supports this when quoting Tapscott (1998), “Never before has it been more necessary that children learn to read, write and think critically. It it’s not just point and click. It’s point, read, think, click” (p. 63).
Technology Affordances and Constraints...
I chose to create a Weebly site for this project. I chose this site because firstly, I have used it before with students and they found it easy to navigate. Secondly, since I have experience using Weebly I knew that I would not have to put time into learning how to use it and would have more time to focus on the content. This is the first time however, that I have used Weebly for Education. Being able to create assignment forms is a great feature for formative assessment. Student responses are sent to my email and I can see it on spreadsheet on the Weebly site. This way I am to quickly assess where students are at all in one place.
In my plan I had said that I would have students use bubble.us for them to think about what they already know (Part I). I thought bubble.us would work well because you do not need a long in to create. After exploring the site further I found that you need an account to save and having students students use their personal emails to create accounts is against our district's Responsible Use Policy. While they could export it, my school computers would block this feature. I did not want to have the students print them because then there is a line up at the printer and that wastes class time. So, I decided to use the assignment form feature instead. This feature will be much more efficient. I will receive all their responses in spread sheet and it will be easy for me to read through them all.
I had planned on students using Prezi.com or Voicethread to create their presentations but again after further exploration I found that students need to create and account and this violates my students Responsible Use Policy. Another reason I decided against using Prezi or Voicethread was because even if I had students use dummy emails (which I learned about at the GREAT 2012 conference) to create accounts, it it would add at least another day to the project. This is because students would need time to learn and explore all of the features. I think exploration is important and I would not want to rush this opportunity for play. Unfortunately, this would take take away from actual art making time, and since their art pieces will be clay, this extra time would back up the kiln firing schedule.
In my plan I had said that I would have students use bubble.us for them to think about what they already know (Part I). I thought bubble.us would work well because you do not need a long in to create. After exploring the site further I found that you need an account to save and having students students use their personal emails to create accounts is against our district's Responsible Use Policy. While they could export it, my school computers would block this feature. I did not want to have the students print them because then there is a line up at the printer and that wastes class time. So, I decided to use the assignment form feature instead. This feature will be much more efficient. I will receive all their responses in spread sheet and it will be easy for me to read through them all.
I had planned on students using Prezi.com or Voicethread to create their presentations but again after further exploration I found that students need to create and account and this violates my students Responsible Use Policy. Another reason I decided against using Prezi or Voicethread was because even if I had students use dummy emails (which I learned about at the GREAT 2012 conference) to create accounts, it it would add at least another day to the project. This is because students would need time to learn and explore all of the features. I think exploration is important and I would not want to rush this opportunity for play. Unfortunately, this would take take away from actual art making time, and since their art pieces will be clay, this extra time would back up the kiln firing schedule.
References
Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L. & Cocking, R.R. (2000). Learning: From speculation to science. In J.D. Bransford, A.L.,
Brown & R.R. Cocking (Eds.), How people learn: Brain, mind, experience and school (pp. 3-27). Washington, D.C.:
National Academy Press. Retrieved from http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=0309070368
Coiro, J. (2003). Reading comprehension on the Internet : Expanding our understanding of reading comprehension to
encompass new literacies.The Reading Teacher, 56(5), 458-464.
Dwyer, B. (2012, in press ). Developing online reading comprehension: Changes, challenges and consequences. In K. Hall, T.
Cremin, B. Comber & L. Moll (Eds.), International handbook of research in children’s literacy, learning and culture. UK:
Wiley-Blackwell.
Dwyer, B. (July 4, 2012) In pursuit of equity and excellence: Creating deep learning opportunities for our students on the
Web [PDF document].
Leu, D.J, Kinzer, C.K., Coiro, J. & Cammach, D. (2004). Toward a theory of new literacies emerging from the Internet and
other information communication technologies. In R.B. Ruddle &N.J. Unrau (Eds.) Theoretical models and processes of
reading (5th Ed. Pp. 1570-1613) Newark, DE: International reading association.
Brown & R.R. Cocking (Eds.), How people learn: Brain, mind, experience and school (pp. 3-27). Washington, D.C.:
National Academy Press. Retrieved from http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=0309070368
Coiro, J. (2003). Reading comprehension on the Internet : Expanding our understanding of reading comprehension to
encompass new literacies.The Reading Teacher, 56(5), 458-464.
Dwyer, B. (2012, in press ). Developing online reading comprehension: Changes, challenges and consequences. In K. Hall, T.
Cremin, B. Comber & L. Moll (Eds.), International handbook of research in children’s literacy, learning and culture. UK:
Wiley-Blackwell.
Dwyer, B. (July 4, 2012) In pursuit of equity and excellence: Creating deep learning opportunities for our students on the
Web [PDF document].
Leu, D.J, Kinzer, C.K., Coiro, J. & Cammach, D. (2004). Toward a theory of new literacies emerging from the Internet and
other information communication technologies. In R.B. Ruddle &N.J. Unrau (Eds.) Theoretical models and processes of
reading (5th Ed. Pp. 1570-1613) Newark, DE: International reading association.