Module 6 - Electronic Journal and Output (PME 810)

I struggled a little bit with this portion of the course.  I've tried to connect with the professional community LSAC (Learning Specialists Association of Canada), but because I'm not currently in a classroom or teaching setting, I was trying to focus on the disconnect that may exist when students come to post-secondary.  When I look at it, I see that students are taught and assessed very differently in elementary and secondary school vs. in a post-secondary environment.  Some students will thrive in any academic setting, but some students need to learn these skills.  Not wanting to provide 'teaching and assessment' methods to a community that focuses on 'out-of-classroom' skills was my issue - in retrospect, though this community is more related to my department and context, it is slightly less related to this course. 

An important resource for me on the LSAC site will continue to be the additional resources that are provided and the contact information of members at various post-secondary institutions across Canada.

Since I am unable to figure out how load a PDF to my Blogger page, the Electronic Journal will need to be viewed on the class discussion board.  It includes the rationale for posting what I did, as well as the feedback I had received from the professional community.

(Please see Electronic Journal)


OUTPUT

The output below has also been discussed with colleagues in my current work setting.   Since we focus on the student supports that are provided to post-secondary students, it was more important for me to look at what we can do to help students reach their full potential while knowing how they are being taught and assessed in post-secondary.  It was an important connection to make that students are not always prepared for the post-secondary environment because of the changes of instruction and assessment methods between secondary school and post-secondary.  (I'm not super technologically-savy, so I had to import each slide as an image.)

At our institution, my colleages feel that they are increasingly meeting with students who require help with learning strategies.  Our Academic Advisors are consistently referring students to our Learning Skills Coordinator.  Our Learning Skills Coordinator has commented that the number of students who she sees on a weekly basis has increased dramatically.  She's frequently meeting with students about how to take better notes in class, how to better prepare for exams and how to manage time.  She did comment on the test taking - she said students are not used to taking multiple choice tests, so many of them struggle with this when they are in large first year courses. 

We are beginning to offer supports to faculty.  Our Executive Director meets with faculty who has pedagogy questions, since she is knowledgeable in the Education field.  This is an area that she has commented on - she feels that we really need to expand our faculty supports so that our student population isn't suffering.  Another goal of hers is to ensure that the learning outcomes for the courses are accurate and appropriate.  Our Learning Assistance Centre also provides faculty with help in creating online tutorials or other online technology support while teaching.  They are in the preliminary stages of planning workshops for faculty, but in the past many optional faculty events (supports) have been poorly attended. 

In addition, we have an increased demand for tutoring services and writing assistance.  We have more tutor requests than we have tutors and we are always running out of time slots for our writing assistance centre.  Students are increasingly requesting these supports.

Module 4 - Planning, Instruction, and Assessment

Find below a link to the Prezi created by Bianca, Kyle, and myself, which now includes information about planning, instruction and assessment.

https://prezi.com/8dodotbk3ikj/conceptions-of-curriculum/

Connection to my Context - November 1, 2015

Back in Module 2, I had answered the the following question:

How you can use conceptions of curriculum as a tool, or framework, to analyze planning, instruction, and assessment within your specific context of practice.

My initial response is in black.  After reading some more articles about conceptions of curriculum, philosophies, and assessment, I have made some additions in blue. 

(My apologies for the weird spacing issues in this post!) 

Currently, I am working in post-secondary education - my two main roles are as an administrative assistant and as a seminar leader for a first year course entitled "Understanding, Learning and Inquiry."  In the future, I am hoping to work as an Instructional Designer or with faculty in the post-secondary setting, since these are areas that my current department has begun to expand in.  

Conceptions of curriculum can be useful for my current position as a seminar leader.  In this context, I am responsible for leading discussions that are pre-planned by the course instructor.  Though there isn't a lot of room for me to select the "academic" part of the content that is being instructed, I have the opportunity to relate the classroom discussions to the individual or to society.  My philosophy of education will relate back to how I teach within my role as a seminar leader.  As I teach various concepts, I must consider how my own beliefs play a role in how I deliver content to students.

The assessment in the course "Understanding, Learning and Inquiry" provides clear learning outcomes and rubrics for students prior to having them complete the activity.  There are multiple ways for students to broadcast their skills, such as small papers, group work, presentations, and portfolios.  This allows for a broad range of assessment types, which puts emphasis on different conceptions. 

Looking at my goal of working with faculty and helping with the design of programs and courses at the post-secondary level, I can definitely see the relationship with conceptions of curriculum.  In this setting, it would be first important to recognize the obvious and necessary focus on Academia.  Students are retaining credits in a specific subject area, so these concepts must be touched on.  What is often left out of the post-secondary classroom is the focus on the individual, however this can be difficult to do because of classroom sizes and the huge focus on academics.  In some cases, small breakout sessions (such as laboratories or seminars) would be beneficial to students since this can help them discover things in their own way.  More evident than the individual focus in post-secondary education is the societal focus.  Depending on the course, there is often an emphasis on the impacts with the environment or the world.  While there is focus on what has already happened, this can open discussions on what we, as educated individuals, can do to make changes or be proactive.  Technology is also becoming more useful in education since we are able to provide study tools for students online, use apps in the classroom that can provide immediate feedback on student opinions (such as Socrative) or useful in online courses, since there are more and more students who are choosing to study online instead of in-person.  What should be more evident in post-secondary settings is the links between courses and how all of the knowledge gained can be linked together to shape an individual or their opinions and motivations regarding society.  

In terms of assessment at the postsecondary level, the focus is very different than what would be seen in elementary or secondary classrooms.  Because of large class sizes and the necessary focus on academia, the assessment of knowledge is very stream-lined towards content and course-based knowledge.  There is a lot of emphasis on selected-response assessments and less emphasis on constructed-response assessments.  Part of this issue may be because of the lack of formal teacher education amongst university professors, but may also be because of the time constraints and large class sizes at this level.  This, however, doesn't provide an optimal opportunity for all students to be successful, plus there is less emphasis on higher level thinking and more emphasis on recall and recognition of facts.  

Students, regardless of their level of education (primary or post-secondary), should be given many opportunities for assessment success (in my opinion!).  Multiple choice tests don't provide students with the appropriate feedback that is required in order for them to make changes to their knowledge and also don't provide students with the need to study the connections between concepts; instead, students are more focused on the short-term memory of recalling imformation.