Payoff Day - Get Vaccinated, or Look Out!

I had a terrific day in terms of watching the infection spread. Let me explain. I have a very keen interest in attracting current students to academia. There is quite the shortage in health science educators, and it is more than a small problem that must be solved. I hope that I inspire as I work, and more explicitly, I even go so far as suggesting particular students consider academia.

Today I had two rewarding experiences that fuel that particular fire. First, I met with a very talented student who is taking my teaching elective course, and as part of that course has been doing some software training relative to the year-one course I teach, along with four other third year students. The elective course students designed and led nine individual sessions with small groups of first-year students to augment their training on a rather complex, discipline-specific software program. The need for this additional training came from reviewing the self-assessment reports I require in the course. There were numerous expressions of frustrations and confusion regarding the software in posts every week. I simply could not let this year be about how much they hated the program. When approached, there was a willing group of teaching elective students who were interested in trying their hand at leading a seminar, and off we went. The nine sessions concluded last night, so now I am leading the TAs through designing an appropriate seminar evaluation tool, so they can go full circle with the teaching experience. But first, I decided to show this particular student a few of the self-assessment blogs that have been posted since the trainings have been taking place. The difference is amazing. Instead of complaining about the program, there are numerous posts claiming a new command of the software, and some explicitly recognizing how helpful the student-led training was. I'll admit it, I was reveling in the obvious delight the student felt at seeing proof-positive that her work with the year-one students was making an enormous difference. I could absolutely tell her pleasure in this knowledge was genuine, and I felt so good to think that perhaps by working together she may someday decide to turn her considerable talent toward academia. As they say, the first one's free...

The second wonderful event occurred with another student whom I feel has enormous potential beyond his declared professional school goals. We had lunch to discuss a highly organized student-led training on a very complicated diagnostic tool that he has been developing with other faculty. In our conversation he asked me if I would consider co-authoring a paper with him as the "educational guru". Whoa. Who? Where do I begin? The student is clearly performing above expected levels to maintain his coursework and clinical activities while simultaneously creating and running this innovative training course. He is adding value to our curriculum while still being a student, and already understands how important it is to disseminate knowledge. One of his questions was how he could publish, but also share the information widely for the largest possible benefit to the profession. What can I say? I can't wait to count him as a colleague. I hope I get that opportunity.

Days like this one carry me far...

Metacognition shmognition

I produced a grade-level standards (CA DOE) checklist for each of my students. On the checklist each standard/substandard is printed along with a chart for each time we assess mastery of that standard. Students enter the results of each assessment in the chart to track strengths/opportunities for growth. This way, students can hold ME accountable for ensuring that they learn all they should in 8th grade English. Along with the checklist, we examined recent test scores and alternate assessments to chart our progress towards mastery. I got A LOT of groans and whining, but I hope that this will force/encourage students to become more aware of our objectives and moniter their own growth. I am struggling with helping students see the importance of the ritual, "Isn't this what progress reports are for?" but I'm not giving up! Any ideas?

Effectigogy?

One of the most popular reoccuring events in my class is "Coffee Shop". The idea came to me as an undergrad, when I used to hang out regularly at the Brickhouse, in Cedar City, UT, on Tuesday nights for open mic. Random people would get up and share personal writings, poems, essays, songs, etc. As I was studying to be an English teacher, I thought, "I bet students would LOVE this!" Now, in my seventh year as a middle school teacher, I finally got around to giving "Coffee Shop" a try. From our first experimental reading, it has been a hit. So much, that students have snuck cellphone video footage that I later discovered on Youtube! Since the, t has become a class ritual to celebrate the completion of each writing unit. I bring the hot chocolate, wear an apron, use the overhead projector as a spotlight, and provide the jazz accompaniment from my iPod. The students bring pastries and their own original writing (written in or out of class) to share with the group. Aside from a few 8th grade moments, the students take it very seriously. It has changed the culture of writing in my class. As I reflect on the success of this ritual, I don't think it has anything to do with the atmosphere, pastries, or the silly apron I wear when I serve the hot chocolate. The kids (can I even call them that?) love participating in real-world activities, even faux real-world activities. This has led me to analyze other successful practices in our classroom and at the top are the school newspaper we produce, our novel writing project in November (http://www.nanowrimo.com/), and in past years, a persuasive unit in which students choose an audience to call to action on a matter about which they feel passionately. All of these are authentic learning experiences during which they produce an actual product, and present it to an authentic audience. So much of teaching these days has to do with standards and assessments. That isn't a bad thing. It just requires teachers to get creative in their learning activities to make the instruction as authentic and student-centered as possible, and I think that is what I'm going to call "effectigogy", as I feel it is the most effective way to teach students of ALL ages.

Assessments that Support Andragogy

I've been asked to explore the assessment end of andragogy a bit, something I am happy to wrestle with, as I'm been experimenting rather heavily this academic year with my students. Before I launch into my thoughts though, I'd like to capture Karen's comments that include her middle school perspective, as I believe they lay a nice foundation. Below was posted by Karen earlier in the week:

Karen said...

I kid you not, guess what we are doing in 8th grade English this week? Students are presenting SELF-designed projects demonstrating mastery of four content standards. Guess what their peers are doing? Using a CLASS-created rubric to assess their peers. After each presentation we debrief the rubric and share our thoughts on the content/presentation. Is it great and engaging? YES! Are the 13/14 year olds using critical thinking skills and metacognition? YES! Can they ALWAYS fairly grade the girl that is now "going out" with their ex? Not really. As a middle school teacher, I have the rare delight to interact with young adults. It is such a treat to see them take on adult skills and roles, and then cry because, "If I did exactly what was asked, why didn't I get a 4 (exceeds standard)?" More and more, teacher training programs and professional development for young people are leaning more towards what you are defining as "andragogy": prior knowledge, existing skills, metacognition, connection to schema. It is interesting to read the responses of those arguing that mature high school students qualify. You are right, but are underestimating the abilities of your middle-schoolers. The challenge comes with the fact that all of them are at different points on the spectrum of maturity and the ability to think critically. Some need to be coddled, others take your instruction and develop their own knowledge into something far more advanced than you had hoped. While it is exciting and satisfying, it is also "pull your hair out" frustrating! I have to remind myself 20 times a day that they are really just kids, and that just because some of them are capable of advanced thinking and social skills, we are working together for them ALL to attain those abilities. What if we teamed up some kids from middle school with college students? How would that turn out?

So, if 8th graders can successfully, collaboratively create a rubric and evaluate the work of their peers, why is it so odd to bring that into the realm of adults? It shouldn't be. As Karen points out, the ability to manage these assessments phases in and out with her learners, but they can do the task. I have no reason to expect that I can't bring my professional students to the level of middle schoolers, even if they don't all necessarily like being more directly responsible.

To give a bit of reference, my professional students are studying dentistry, and I am the course director for their first clinical experiences with one another. In years past, I was not the director, but served as an attending during the clinical exercises that accompany the didactic material. In this course they cover introductory basics, things such as infection control, ergonomics, patient interviewing, and begin their very early clinical examination experiences. In past years the "what are we doing today" as they would enter clinic would make me crazy, as we lost at least 30 minutes to organization that I felt they should be responsible for BEFORE coming into the clinic. This year having the latitude of course director for the first time, I decided to apply andragogical assessment principles to address what I saw as weaknesses in the course structure.
Specifically, my students are being asked to blog individual learning plans (ILP) and self-assessment reports (unfortunately abbreviated to "SAR") before and after each clinical exercise. The ILP requires each student to blog a plan before entering the clinic based on the outline of the clinical assignment I provide, and the SAR requirement includes blogging a self-assessment within 48 hours after the clinic. Both ILPs and SARs use a template I have provided that guide the student through the process of planning or self-assessing. Part of why I felt this was an appropriate approach is that each individual student only has clinic rotation every other week. In the intervening week they have other rotation activities, as well as the remainder of their courses, and I know from experience, that novice clinicians do not retain clinical behaviors well over a two-week span. In the past, I often felt that each clinic was the first clinic, as very little transferred from exercise to exercise. By instituting the blogging requirement I hoped to solve clinic inefficiencies on both ends. I want my class to come in prepared and knowing exactly what they need to accomplish, and I don't want them to have to learn the same things over and over again. I want the act of planning their own approach to the clinical exercise to guide them in becoming self-directed clinicians. I want their self-assessment reports to allow them to remember what they learned each time they were in the clinic and enable them to build upon those skills rather than simply re-learning them, as well as prepare them for a career of self-assessment as is necessary for any professional.

There are other things that are a bit outside the norm that I am having them do, but I think these required reflections are the meat of the alternative assessments I've employed thus far. So, how's it working? Better than I'd hoped is the short answer. I received my course evaluations from fall this week, and only one student commented on "busy work" relative to the blogging. I expected much worse (don't we all get a little queasy when the evals come out?). Further, the blogs themselves, yes I am reading 88 blogs a week, give the best indication of their success. Over the 12 weeks of instruction this class has had thus far, I can already clearly see indications of increased self-awareness in the class. I do give them an outline for each, and they answer the questions I pose, but it is clear that they are able to correct themselves when they recognize their weaknesses. Example: I ask in the SAR outline, "Where did you feel weak in clinic today and how can you approach remedying this identified weakness?", many students have blogged that they have trouble obtaining vital signs, and plan to take their equipment home and take blood pressure on their roommates over the weekend. A perfect example of an adult directing their specific learning needs! I get very happy to read such posts.

Do all the posts contain outstanding reflection? No. Clearly a minority of the class is doing what they are told and no more, but even then, I occasionally see evidence of self-correction and over time I see that the value of these exercises is becoming more apparent to a larger group.

I feel I have a long way to go, but I also feel I've made significant progress in highlighting the need to my students to continue to develop meta cognitively. To rely more on their OWN opinions of their work and hone their ability to assess themselves and remediate their self-identified weaknesses. Do I have a role in all that? Of course. I'm the net. I'm the place they come when they are lost and need more specific guidance. I'm the voice that replies to their posts and congratulates great ideas and affirms correct approaches when it's clear that the need for validation is present. They are not alone. I am right beside them, where I think I should be. Instead of following my every step, I feel more authentic to what I know they will need in practice by guiding and not directing their progress.

That is the state of andragogical assessment in my course at the moment. Are there others working with this type of guided self-assessment?

What Constitutes an "Adult"?

Now, granted those who know me well may think by the title of this post that I am kidding, but truly I pose this as a real question for education. I deeply appreciate the comments to previous posts around that point in particular, as it is lovely to engage around a great question.

I have to preface my remarks with the disclaimer that I am about to share my opinion - gasp! I will not have references, and can't do much name-dropping (well, I'll try a little on this one), but I do have a strong personal sense of this idea of when is a learner a "child" and when is a learner an "adult".

To begin, I think that perhaps the discussion is better served by substituting the term "adult" with "independent learner". I personally believe that the academics that began struggling with the differences in learning approaches between children and adults got a bit too stuck on the Latin roots when they went with "andra" to counter "peda" as a means of differentiating their ideas. To me the core idea lies not in the age of the learner but in the approach the learner takes to their learning. I also believe that some learners reach levels of independence far before their peers, just as some lag far behind. In short, once again, individual differences in learners is the key.

To follow this idea I would propose that independent learning does not occur all at once, like a switch. I think that learners phase in and out of this orientation around subject matter, or even mood, over time until they hopefully, arrive at independence, at which point the tenets of andragogy are more appropriate guides than those of pedagogy. As I mentioned in a reply to a comment to an earlier post, I believe that for some, this transition occurs in middle school, and sadly, for some it hasn't yet occurred and they are somehow in professional school!

I believe my strongest connection to these ideas is that at some point my job as a "teacher" is to give that job to the "student". I don't follow my learners throughout their professional lives, yet they must continue to learn. How can I expect them to be successful if at somewhere along the journey they were not scaffolded and guided into evaluating and assessing their own learning needs and strategies? Yet, sadly, I see that there is very little obvious work in the direction of taking explicit steps to that end. Yes, in every professional program there is the salute to "critical thinking" and "life-long learning", but I don't always see the HOW that will accomplish those goals. I believe the how lies primarily in the informal curriculum. While that has worked, obviously, as we have compete professionals all around us, I would like to see this important aspect of learning moved to a more obvious place in the formal curriculum.

Ideally, in my view, aspects of the tenets of "adult" learning would be introduced very early, so as to ease the transition from depending on an expert to becoming one's own expert. I'd love to hear what Karen has to say on this, being in the middle school trenches as she is. I believe that she could confirm that some of her students are capable of evaluation and planning at the level andragogy expects. Regardless, I would believe there would be value in bringing these concepts to the learner as early as is feasible.

I'll admit that perhaps that last bit is highly selfish, as I will confirm that there are times when I am sick to death of prying the spoon from the lips of my "adult learners", especially when they scream and cry when I attempt to give them their own control. I can't blame the students though. They have been conditioned to need my approval to confirm that they have learned. They have been taught over and over to ask what is on the test as a means of determining what I think is important. I have to practice patience as I hope to work towards putting more weight on the students' own beliefs of importance, which if I've done my job right, will have direct relevance to their current and future learning needs.

So, not entirely sure if I've answered what is an adult, or where should andragogy appear in education. But I am rather sure I've given a clearer picture on my own thoughts on the topics. What are yours???

Andragogy & Assessments

I'm beginning to try to tie down my view of adult learners and how they interact with their academic assessments. Below is a short essay I wrote primarily for myself to get the thoughts moving in the direction they seem to be pushing me...

If this makes sense to anyone else at all, I'd love to hear that news.

Brief outline of Andragogy and Alternative Assessments

Andragogy, or principles of adult education, is primarily concerned with bringing the unique aspects of adult learners into the planning and execution of the teaching. Adult learners bring with them skills, experiences, successes and failures that play a role in their future learning, things that are not accounted for in pedagogy.
Another way of viewing this idea is that pedagogy centers on the teacher as the content expert and the student as the novice that needs to be directed through content in a prescribed manner. Andragogy places a different role upon the teacher. The teacher becomes a content-facilitator, serving more to guide the learner through experiences designed to make the content accessible to the learner.
Principles of Andragogy that underline this approach are widely recognized to be the following:
• Adults are not a blank slate and do best when participating in planning and evaluating their learning
• Experience is a valuable teacher for adults, including mistakes
• Adults need connections to the immediate relevance of the subject matter to their learning goals
• Learning to learn, or problem-centered approaches vs content-centered approaches, is more inline with the innate approach to learning of adults
Looking at these basic tenets, it is easy to see that professional schools do some of these very well, for example the experiential learning that takes place in lab or clinic, but it is also clear that there are areas within which we have yet to recognize the differences between child and adult learners.
Academic assessments in particular are an area where capitalizing on an adult’s ability to self-assess and evaluate their own work is underutilized. Assessments such as peer and self-evaluations using a rubric, or reflective blogging fall right into the arena of adult learners. Yet far too often assessments are limited to lengthy multiple choice examinations, which sadly fall at the very bottom of Bloom’s taxonomy, meaning they do not lead to transfer or synthesis of knowledge and sit squarely on recall alone. Recall of information is not necessarily the type of learning that needs to take place in professional school as much as learning how to navigate the field of study should be.
Perhaps by trusting in our learners more and trusting in our ability to guide them through their own discovery of their abilities and weakness we can build upon an andragogical foundation in professional schools instead of hoping to inspire the type of knowledge gain we would like while testing for simple recall.

Good vs. Bad II

As a middle school teacher, this "bad with the good" has always been a challenge for me. There is always the question, how involved is "too involved"? From my first year of teaching in San Antonio, I would cry daily because my students' life stories were so tragic, until now, in Oakland, when I have my students over to my house to babysit, I have walked the tight-rope of a personal-yet-professional relationship with my kids. I can't help but get involved with them. I care about them beyond the hour to hour and a half that I spend with them each day. If I am going to affect them academically, I have to affect them personally, and year after year, they creep into my heart before Halloween has even arrived.
Like Gwen, this is where a great deal of from where I derive my job satisfaction. At the same time, it can be heartbreaking, especially with young teenagers. They are so unpredictable and can be calling you "mom" during one class and the next, the are cussing you out. It has taken years for me to separate myself to the point that I love them, but don't care if they love me. At least fifty times a day I tell myself, "They are just kids."
I think that my emotional attachment and my true love for my students is what makes me a successful teacher, and regardless of my success in the classroom, it is what makes me happy. except when it doesn't. Every time you put your heart out there, you give away permission to step on it. It's a true balancing act, but it's really what makes me love my job.