This last class focused on the
final project of all of the principles we have learned over the last seven
weeks. I can hardly believe that we are
half way done with our first two grad courses in the Doodles program, but as I
think back I also reflect on how much we have learned. We started the course by
understanding why students need a change from the standards based drill and
skill that is the norm today. Then we explored how we can provide meaningful
experiences for our students and what it looks like to plan as a designer. We learned
that decisions we make in the design process have consequences and we need to reflect
critically about what to incorporate and how it is meaningful to our students.
Dr. Norton could have had us simply
summarize the content and present to each other, but instead she decided to
engage us in a creative summarizing activity. We the students became the
designers and in turn the teachers of the content. We had the creative license
to show what we learned in our own way and we had plenty of laughs while
getting the job done. This is meaningful in my own classroom. As messy as it
might look or end up, I need to remember to let go of control and let my
students help design on their own. For me the key to success in trying this is with
the “comprehensive scaffolding” mentioned in the sixth design principle. All of
the carefully thought out pieces need to be in place throughout the lesson in
order for the students to take the reins and create a final design themselves.
The video was a fun way to demonstrate our knowledge and it also gives us a template to teach the same lesson. I agree that allowing students to design is messy and relinquishing control and not stepping is difficult but it is a must I few want our students to be creative designers.
ReplyDeleteAnd each aspect of the scaffolding process plays an important role. I know that if I jump into lesson without carefully thinking out the SPD or other important steps, I'm not going to get the same product out of my students. I felt prepared going into this creative design project and I'm glad I can reference this activity in future projects that I design.
ReplyDeleteI laughed when I read what you said about it being "messy" when you give up control to your students to become the designers. That's probably the hardest part for me to do in this whole transformation of designing lessons.
ReplyDeleteI think that your point goes back to the fact that quiet classrooms were always considered the most successful classrooms. Even when I was in school, silence was golden. I think that our program challenges this assumption. To be sure, quiet and order are necessary at times. You would never be able to give directions if the students didn’t know how to listen. When we made our videos, we were required to listen to understand the software skills. Helping students to understand the boundaries (when it is ok to express creativity, and when listening is required) is probably one of the most difficult things to master, but it is necessary in the well designed classroom. We should also be aware that collaboration and creativity generate a little noise, and that is ok.
ReplyDeleteMaking a video was a great way to get in the students as designers shoes. I keep reflecting on ways to design engaging lessons following the six principles, and one of the key elements for me is the "comprehensive scaffolding" piece too. We created our videos step by step, and every one of the steps was carefully planned; the tools we used to do some collaborative writing on the scrip, the video about in-camera editing strategies, the actual device we used, etc. This means that authentic activities required time and careful planning, but the result is worth it.
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