Postmodern Pedagogy Changing Learning Paradigms Dr. Mark Taylor.

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Postmodern Pedagogy

Changing Learning Paradigms

Dr. Mark Taylor

info@taylorprograms.org

Issues in the classroom

Interfering with what?

What would be helpful?

Imbedded AssessmentNon graded activities that evaluate

learning progress

Audience response systems

“Clickers”

“The finger”

Must be private

Negotiation

Our postmodern, consumer students want and expect to be able to negotiate

AnticipateStructureOffer appropriate opportunitiesClear rubricsFlexible outcome dates/ mastery?

State of College Teaching

Loosely organized, unfocused curriculum with undefined outcomes

Classes emphasize passive listeningLectures transmit low-level informationAssessments demand only recall of

memorized material or low-level comprehension.

(Gardiner 1998)

An emphasis on passive, content learning reduces students’ abilities to think critically.

College “Learning”

Locking students into surface learning performance goals

Input and output are knowledge based “Learn content/process based on test” “Memorization and point acquisition” Information’s utility is grade based Take it in and spit it back out Don’t recall because they never understood Gets worse over time.

John Tagg “Why Learn?”

Most college courses represent a systematic failure to create a learning environment that promotes meaningful, lasting student development.

John Tagg 2004

Despite the fact that faculty and staff overwhelming care about students and desire them to do well.

Mark Taylor 2006

Teaching to and across styles has significant impacts on knowledge acquisition

Pascarella and Terenzini, p. 623

Instruction How do people teach and why? Like they were taught? Based on data on best practices?

“70% admit to lecture as primary instructional method”

“83% of students report that courses rely on lecture”

Lectures that transmit facts.

Instructional methods should be based on best practices, not tradition.

A pedagogy of

Engagement

Activity

Options

1. Information

2. Application

3. Meaning.

ShiftsOld – TeachingInstructor behavior

New – LearningStudents heads

Knowledge is transferred One direction- received “Spray and stick”

Learning is constructed Information everywhere Focus on student activity

The strong survive Competitive

Success for all Cooperative

Modern“Truth/ meaning”

Postmodern“Created reality”

Teaching constantLearning variable

Learning constant Teaching variable

Learning what? Changing how?

Knowledge/ Information-transmitted/ found -“knowing” cognitive

Application/ Skills/ Utility-Must relate to students’ experience in world -Must be practiced, rehearsed, anticipated-“Doing” behavior/ social

Value/ Meaning/ Caring-“Why care?” “What is the value of the application?”-Required to maintain content, apply or use skill-Can only be personally created -“Being” affective

Learning what? Changing how?

Knowledge/ Information-What is critical for them to know?-How can we make it available?-How can we get them to bring it to class?

Application/ Skills/ Utility-What is the use to them?-Past, present, future-Meaningful applications relate to and can be used for goal setting

Value/ Meaning/ Caring-Value/ benefit of use-Opportunities to articulate value to others.

Class time Too much time in most classes is spent on

the transmission of information Most class information can be accessed from

other sources at other times If they have real need for information in class,

they will bring it Spend class time working on application and

meaning.

If students have a real need for information in class they will bring it.

How can we get them to bring it?

How can we increase content learning options?

Increasing content learning options Listen to lecture podcast/ watch lecture AV Read text silently/ aloud to others Listen to tape of text On-line tutorials/ lessons on disc Access web resources Study group/ tutor group Chat/ on line message board Dyads, triads, in-class activities Project group Question instructor in class, office or on-line Chanting concepts in drumming circle.

Application/ Skills/ Utility “What can I do with this information?”

“What are my possible uses of this information?

“How can this information be applied to my world?”

Information without a use is….

useless and will be discarded

What skills will this help me with or what skills do I

need to do this?

Must be non-circular

Critical thinking/ abstract problem solving in

ambiguous situations with limited information.

Application learning options Modeling/ illustrations

Activity, Practice, Ownership

“What is your previous experience with this information?”

“What have others done with it?”

“What could you do with it?

Reading for meaning/ sharing

Writing reflections (in class/ out of class)

Peer teaching

Managed small group problem solving

Case studies

Simulations/ experiments

“central theme, same or different, brainstorming, examples in world”

Jig-saw, expert groups.

Why are you taking this class?

What do you hope to get out of this class?

Class goals

What are your goals for students?What are students’ goals?Ask them the first day for goals?List/ articulate/ offer/ sell class goals

“Which most important to you?”

“How does this change over semester?”

Value/ Meaning/ Caring Human dimension/ valuing

Ethical standards Affective social implications Helping students care and invest Builds from personalization of application

“What can this do for me?”

“Which of my goals will this help me reach?”

“What do I want to get out of this class?”

“What are the ethical standards of my profession?”

What should they be?”

Your passion is necessary but not sufficient

Value learning options

“Why is this important to me?”

Meaning is personally constructed

Have students articulate their construction

to others

Explain, debate, convince

Information

ApplicationValue

Where to begin?

Knowledge Skills Values

“Stuff you know” “What you can do with it?”

“Does it matter?’

Facts, data, concepts, theories, formulas

Applications, utility

Meaning, Beliefs

usefulness

Cognitive Social, behavioral (or cognitive)

Affective

Transmitted,

Discovered, practiced

Personally created

Values/ ethics

Knowledge

Values Skills

Ideas intoPractice

Practice into ethical behavior

Ability to evaluateinformation

Lasting change requires knowledge, skills and values

Acting in uncertain conditions requires knowledge, skills and values

Elements of FormationKnowledge Skills Values

Habits of the head Habits of the hands Habits of the heart

Being told/ discovering Doing Interaction/ modeling

Data/ theory Specific skills Ethics/Purpose

------- Professional Judgment in Conditions of Uncertainty -------

Ideas into practice Practice into “moral” behavior

Learning requires engagement

Learning begins with engagement and ends when engagement is broken

Articulate expectation of

Attention/ engagement

Participation/ Activity

Preparation/ Accountability What do these look like? Live, on-line, asynchronous?

Academic Challenge“When faculty members expect

students to perform at high levels and support their efforts to meet their high standards, students generally strive to rise to the occasion” (p. 178).

Kuh, George D., Kinzie, J., Schuh, J.H., & Associates. (2005) Student Success in College, Creating Conditions That Matter.

Behavioral Expectations

Normative behaviors “context” Attendance Preparation Attention Civility Accountability Transparency Risk taking Interdependence.

Teacher’s role Identifies external/ criterion goals

Helps students own /personalize

Offers many learning options

Facilitates variety of learning methods

Acts as resource

Assesses against external criteria.

Tinto, Vincent. (1993) Leaving College: Rethinking the Causes and Cures of Student Attrition.

“Even among those who persist, wide-ranging contact with faculty, especially outside the class, is associated with heightened intellectual and social development” (pp. 68-69).

Large classesConsider an audience response systemAttendanceBringing content to classEngagementAssess on-going understandingFacilitate activity/ peer sharingAssessments/ evaluations

Increasing student input into class activities and outcomes increases student responsibility and ownership.

“the most effective

teaching and learning

require opportunities

for active student

involvement and

participation”

Pascarella and Terenzini,

2005, page 646

Increasing activity in learning

Brain science Improves learning outcomes Increases higher level learning Increases student ownership of material Improves retention/ satisfactionOffers citizenship/ character

development opportunitiesGet them to say it to get them to own it.

Increasing activity in learningDeveloping skills and finding meaning

Routine context/ novel content Reading for meaning/ sharing Writing reflections (in/ out) Peer teaching Managed small group problem solving Case studies Simulations/ experiments “central theme, same or different, brainstorming,

examples in world Jig-saw, expert groups.

Increasing activity in learningRoutine context/ novel content Read- content for meaning Think/ write- “theme, application, example, etc.” Pair- with partner Share- “same or different” Square- two pairs, “same or different” Group- model understanding, consensus building

The brain connection

Students develop neural pathways by repeated practice

It is not what the instructor does, it is is what happens inside the student’s head that matters

Requires activity.

The meaning connection

1. Start with what student knows

Their experience in the world

What matters to them/ an important question

Goals- learning, career, personal, etc

2. Teach- find information/ utility to them

3. Help student see how their world can be different as a result of the utility of information

Activity in learning increases opportunities for developing academic and social integration.

Increasing activity/ disclosure in learning increases opportunities for observing and developing citizenship and character.

Activity and citizenshipHow does “lecture” improve

citizenship?

Activity requiresAccountability

Class, instructor and selfTransparency/ exposure

Values are made apparent

Process/ contentActing according to expectations.

Tinto, Vincent. (1993) Leaving College: Rethinking the Causes and Cures of Student Attrition.

“Even among those who persist, wide-ranging contact with faculty, especially outside the class, is associated with heightened intellectual and social development” (pp. 68-69).

The grading event should not be the first time a student’s work is evaluated.

Self and peer reviewThe grading event should not be the

first time work is evaluated!They come to understand the rubrics

by using themNo surprisesMastery important?Then they are not done until they have

mastery.

Grading/ testing “You pay the bill you are sent” You must “teach the test” Must relate to known rubrics Self, peer evaluations Testing is part of learning, not the end Mastery

“Early non-fatal reality testing” Short, power writing…

“Higher” education

“Thinking” is an acquired taste

Content through application

Get active

Connect

Mastery/ student change

Why does it matter?

Questions/ Comments?Resources?

Dr. Mark Taylor

www.taylorprograms.org

mltaylor@asub.edu

Postmodern Pedagogy Changing Learning Paradigms Dr. Mark Taylor.

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