Topic 3 Learning in Communities

Reflections:
Overall: Time is running and I feel a bit overwhelmed at the moment. I guess I am a bit slow when it comes to learning. It takes me time to sift through all the content and begin to digest things. I wish we had more time...Too, I am a quiet learner. One who likes to go to a quiet space and sit for hours dissecting the information and process what I am reading or watching. I find it very hard during our group chats to process or concentrate on what is being said. Then when it is my turn to share I usually have very little to share that is worth anything! Some in our group, are very good at thinking on their feet and verbalizing on the spot. It can feel embarrassing at times. Good thing I am use to eating humble pie :) I hope I can access the content for this course even after it has ended. I believe my learning journey will continue for many months to come and look forward to the summer when I am on teacher leave to revisit each topic and look at things afresh.

Topic 3: For this topic our group is looking at ways to increase our collaboration/cooperation. We are trying to create an avenue where we could all contribute/collaborate in real-time instead of what we have been doing where we write and share...lets see how we do :)

Some of the other groups seem to be concentrating heavily on digital tools that can be used for teaching and learning. We seem to be gravitating to more toward pedagogy development. Specifically, we all seem to be concerned about assessment. (Me too if we look at my last blog).

This week I received an invitation from the Council for Creative Education in Finland. I put the link here:
http://www.ccefinland.org/so/6LhmMRK_?cid=4b51960e-2444-45b3-aa63-7970e0573ec5#/main

The topic is: Global Views on Finnish Education and Evaluation. The guest speakers are experts in pedagogy and digital development....I am thinking to attend this seminar and share what I learn with our group because it might shed some light on the idea of assessment and online teaching & learning. Will get back to this issue then after the seminar the beginning of April. Exciting!
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Reflections concerning collaboration/cooperation

Challenge:
From my experience as a teacher working with students from different backgrounds the main challenges stem not from poor motivation on behalf of students but rather frustration due to group dynamics. I think teachers spend time creating content and looking at learning pathways but don't consider that we also have to provide students with concrete tools that are needed while working in groups. It happens so many times that teachers stack the deck so to speak and then label learners  as lazy or not motivated or worse when the real problem is they simply do not know yet how to work and learn in groups. So we give them a task and turn them loose and say, good luck! All the while scratching our heads and wonder why things are not going well...(drop-out rates, disgruntled students, poor performance etc...) If mistakes are made early on when forming groups, the entire study process can be effected.

Solution:
Because of this I created a game for students to play during the first days on campus. The game allows the students who have formed a group to come together and get to know one another through playing this game. The questions target cultural awareness, sensitivity and help to develop competence when working with others from different backgrounds. We have noticed a big change in how students engage and the harmony and good feeling in the groups since introducing this game. Now the game is played by about 350 students from all different degree programs at Arcada, hurrray! Each year we improve and add to the questions by asking students what question or component was missing from the game. What did they want to know or share but were not given a chance. It is amazing what they share :)
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Also, in our group for this course, we have been talking about building frameworks that support students. I feel it is our responsibility to include frameworks or scaffolding that help students truly collaborate and not just tolerate each other for a few weeks. Sometimes I feel we are expecting our students to do things that we teachers are not doing. For example, how well do we collaborate with other teachers from different backgrounds. How many "foreigners" make up the teacher group at our university? That kind of thing....When students see teachers come together in a spirit of caring and demonstrate true collaboration while teaching in teams, the students see first hand at what is possible. The obstacle we face is our teaching teams are not diverse. We look for diversity and cultural enrichment abroad but do not take advantage of the richness found on campuses. Why?

Ending thought

Some say we need more tolerance in this age where regional borders are disappearing.

The question is:

How nice would it be if you were merely tolerated by your coworkers each day at work?

Do we really believe tolerating one another is the answer to collaboration/cooperation?

I don't think so either!

Topic 2: Open Learning: Sharing and Openness

In our group discussions we are gravitating toward the topic of MOOC. It seems we all have an eye on the future as this forerunner paves the way. I felt that we all are experiencing a type of added pressure when it comes to providing online learning platforms. In a way perhaps we feel we might be training the robot to take our job kind of thing...we will be obsolete if we do not develop but into what exactly, there is the conundrum. We talk about liquid learning/teaching/living :) Soon it seems there will be the possibility for students not only to receive a certificate for courses completed but actual ECTS or credits. The big questions many are asking in our group is how will the students be assessed? What then is the role of the teacher in an arena where students assess each other and issue their own grades without. Too, teachers want to share their material but also are concerned how it will be used & abused? It seems we are are in the process of deciding as a society what role digitization will play in our own lives, in our work and how much will we engage. Will we have a right to choose? Can we protect the vulnerable members of our society? Is all of this healthy? Or perhaps it is too late in the game to begin to ask these questions, "the train left the station long ago". So many questions, exciting times in this age we are living...can't wait for the next webinar and group discussion this week!