I was excited to find Andrew Marcinek’s article, “A Web 2.0 Class: Students Learn 21st Century Skills, Collaboration and Digital Citizenship” because it partially addressed some questions I have about collaborative learning and the design of such projects. In short, communication and collaboration are an art form. How do I address this critical component in my project based learning assignment?
The way I see it it’s not enough to instruct students to exchange ideas with classmates through their blogs or wikis or whatever collaborative tool their using. I believe such instruction does not emphasize the importance of meaningful collaboration.
Students need to be taught the craft of “being an effective communicator,” as Marcinek put it. He describes a working and learning relationship between three schools in Iowa, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania using web tools. The key to this program’s success is not that the students are using technology in the classroom, but rather the program is teaching students to expand their knowledge and practice of meaningful collaboration. The testimonials offered by students participating in this project praise the benefits of learning with others in preparation for real-world experiences. The article does not outline how this particular outcome was achieved (other than to say the students used blogs and Skype as their communication tool of choice.)
With this in mind, I have been trying to design my PBL assignment for a group of hypothetical 9th graders to include “rules” of engagement. I want the students to make it a practice to expound on the opinions and ideas of their classmates--instead of offering responses that are typically summed up to, “that’s a good idea!” or “I like what you said…” To be clear, these types of acknowledgements are not terrible in and of itself; in fact, peer-to-peer praise is a wonderful step in the direction of teamwork and group support. Often times, though, the practice of real collaborative work never gets beyond the brief pleasantries. Additionally, students who have not been taught the skill of negotiating different personalities or finding value in differing opinions may get stalled in their work trying to overcome varying degrees of frustration.
I am considering a collaboration rubric as a helpful guide, but I am also considering some in-class communication and teamwork exercises as a practice run before the 10-week PBL assignment is set to begin. I am not entirely certain how much time needs to be spent on these “let’s learn how to get communicate” exercises. Yet, I feel practice in this area (however long it takes) may prove invaluable.
I totally agree with you! Is not the tool is the way how our students communicate and use these tools. Every educational tool should guide our students to expand and explore on their own. Some teachers might think that just giving a tool is teaching. But, as an educator we need to guide them and create a healthy environment where our students can experience the world. The reason why I believe is so important is because we are preparing them for inside and outside of the classroom. I also believe that peer to peer teaching is a great way to communicate with others. Students tend to learn better when they are learning together with other peers. By analyzing and experimenting on their own will also help students understand the point of view of others. There is no specific time frame. I believe that the right time is when teachers and students feel comfortable with these technologies and use them to its full potential.
ReplyDeleteDani thanks for your feedback. You made an excellent point when you said "...we are preparing them [students] for inside and outside of the classroom."
ReplyDeletePriority one is to prepare the students for the "real world." Universities & employers expect prior (expert) experience in the area of communication and collaboration.
I want to build this into my project....Not as an after thought, but as an intentional design element. Wish me luck!
I like the idea of rules of engagement. I do think we often assume students know how to share ideas, to take turns, to support and acknowledge one another. I find in elementary school I have to model the type of behavior I want. I will pick two children and have them practice sharing ideas in a "fishbowl" with the entire class watching. I may "talk into" the conversation to show how to exhibit good listening behaviors and appropriate responses. Maybe you can have some video clips of students "speaking" through technology. You could project a chat, or a Skype conversation that demonstrates what you are looking for. Just a thought...
ReplyDeleteThis is really the heart of the tech-education movement to me. The act of using technology in the classroom is not progressive in and of itself. It's teaching students how to use technology effectively as a means to an end. You mention "expand their knowledge and practice of meaningful collaboration" and I think this is something students really struggle with. However, given the opportunity to learn how to be effective communicators teaches them how to network in their social lives and their professional lives. I'm interested to see how you set up a rubric for something so open-ended. I'm sure I'll learn something from your project.
ReplyDeleteRavenport...what an amazing idea you've given about modeling conversation/dialogue. I'll do a search to see what video demonstrations I can find and possibly you. Many thanks!!
ReplyDeleteWiregrl7...I wish I could better express how passionately I feel about effective communication and how so many of us take it for granted.
ReplyDeleteHow often have we written something in e-mail, facebook, etc. only for that message to be misconstrued and taken out of context? Happens all the time. And so, like you, focusing on how to communicate is probably more important than the medium we are using. (if that makes sense.) lol...see what I mean about communication?
What a powerful post. Thank you for your contribution!
ReplyDeleteJohn...thank you.
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