EDCI 335

Hello Nicole, Jarvis, Beliz, and Connor,

Below is a Peer Review of your “Misconceptions about Learners with Disabilities” Interactive Learning Resource (IRL).

Overview

I opted to review your IRL as the topic is one that resonates with me personally since my sister has a learning disability (LD). The creation of a learning resource to educate people on the misconceptions about LD’s is an important step towards combating biases. Additionally, I am happy to see a guide being developed for establishing inclusive learning environments.

Technical Suggestions

Initially upon reading your document, I was impressed with how organized and engaging the content was. As a result of reading your topic description, I was convinced that more advanced online learning resources were needed. My first technical suggestion is to specify what you are referring to in your first sentence: “These include an imperfect ability to ‘listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations’(Antaga, Et al. 2019).” If you begin that sentence with “Learners with Disabilities” I think it will provide more clarity. My next technical suggestion would be to spell out the word “Learning Disabilities” at the beginning of each new section and then continue with the abbreviation afterward. The last technical suggestion I have is to double-check the sentences throughout the document that state any facts and to provide citations. If the information was gathered through another source, a citation is needed in order to avoid plagiarism. 

Suggestion for a Rational

Your group wrote “A major belief is that they limit how successful an individual can be in school or their career. While LD’s can undoubtedly make things more challenging, with the right tools and guidance people can effectively work around them.” I think that this is a very powerful statement. I agree that we must offer students multiple ways to obtain information and express their learning. Although your group does not specifically mention it, I think your interactive learning design follows the Universal design for learning (UDL) model. Through human-centered learning, the UDL model aims to eliminate systemic barriers to equitable learning in any field or discipline (CAST Announces a Community-Driven Process to Update UDL Guidelines, 2020). Since your group’s IRL does not mention a specific rationale, I suggest including the UDL model to help explain why this resource is being created with inclusivity for all learners. 

Feel free to watch the video below that explains more about the UDL model. I think it is very applicable to your project. 

Structural Suggestions

Your group’s lesson subtopics seem to align with the assessments, good work! However, has your group considered condensing your learning outcomes to four instead of five? Since you have four subtopics, I think it would provide more clarity to maybe condense outcome #3 with #5. Both of these subtopics deal with critiquing the detrimental absence of accomodative features present in modern curricula. Another option would be to include a fifth subtopic so that each learning outcome has the chance to be fully expanded.

In relation to your lesson subtopics, your group might want to consider elaborating more in order to gain a full understanding. This would include detailed descriptions of the topics so that the reader can learn enough background in order to complete the assessment activities. Moreover, including the specific learning outcomes and activities within each lesson’s subtopics can benefit the structure of your resource. It can also provide more clarity for the reader. 

Asessment Activities suggestion

In terms of the assessment activities, I might suggest including how each of these activities are specifically designed for inclusion. Regarding the interactiveness of the activities, I think your group created excellent avenues for students to engage with the material.

Criteria suggestions

I may have missed something, but it seems to me that your project does not include a learning context section or a learning theory section. Right now, the document is reading as though your guide is applicable to every grade or age. Per the assignment outline, I suggest including a specific section for the learning context so it is clear who your intended audience is. In addition, your group may want to include a description of the learning theory that will be underlying your resource. This would be either cognitivism, behaviorism, or constructivism. Due to the nature of your technology tools, I would suggest perhaps cognitivism as the theory focuses on learning strategies.

Final Thoughts

Lastly, it was interesting to read about your inclusion of a digital textbook that has multiple learning formats such as braille, flexible audio, and visual content. I am curious about how braille would function in an online format, is it perhaps used with a specific device? 

Overall, I appreciated reading your resource, as the document is a great step in designing an inclusive environment for all learners.

I hope this feedback was helpful and well done!

-Mia

References

CAST ANNOUNCES A COMMUNITY-DRIVEN PROCESS TO UPDATE UDL GUIDELINES (2020, OCTOBER 6). CAST. HTTPS://WWW.CAST.ORG/NEWS/2020/COMMUNITY-DRIVEN-PROCESS-UPDATE-UDL-GUIDELINES

Hi Joshua,

I really like the topic you wrote your blog post about, brain breaks. Although the videos’ intended audience is kindergarten children, I definitely think it can be applied to any grade level/ age. This method reminds me of a study method that I have utilised throughout my undergraduate degree, the pomodoro method. This method includes taking five minute breaks after every 25 minute interval. I have found it to be very useful, and I really appreciate giving my brain a break!

Hi Meagan,

I too appreciate how this EDCI course is designed for accessibility. The flexibility on the assignment due dates and readings have really allowed me to learn to my full potential, rather than cramping everything at the last second. Also, I appreciate how your interactive learning resource contains 3 different options for the assignments. I think this will definitely help cater to a wider range of learners’ needs. 

Hi Qiao Gao

I enjoyed reading the part of your blog post where you included a personal example of cooperative learning. I too find study groups to be very beneficial to my learning, especially when I can bounce off ideas and ask peers for guidance. I too agree that online cooperative learning is not as beneficial as in person, but I also think it is continuously improving.

Stress is an experience that I have come to loathe as I grow into my adult years, and I find myself wishing I had practiced stress management techniques sooner. When discussing this topic with my lovely partners for this course’s major group project, we found that we all felt the same way. Therefore, we decided to focus on teaching the topic of stress to intermediary-aged children for our interactive learning resource. For this blog post, I will be discussing a video that came up when I searched “stress management techniques for kids” on the Youtube search engine. Moreover, I will discuss how the video could fit into our interactive learning resource.

This video is designed in a cartoon-like style, which I find will keep students engaged in learning the material. Also, the video utilizes plain language, simple definitions, reflective questions, and examples which can enhance learner-generated interaction. Learner-generated interaction refers to media that does not have explicit interaction built in, but rather the interpretation of the material is left to the learner (Bates, 2019). If the video required the students to actively respond to the video material then it would be referred to as inherent activity (Bates, 2019). In order to make this video more interactive, I would suggest that the students write down their own examples for each of the tips (focus on the things you can control, manage your time, take care of your body, use positive self-talk, talk to a friend/adult). This activity would help encourage further reflection and enhance the quality of the interaction with the video. After the students are done writing their answers on a piece of paper, they can hand it in to receive feedback. This short activity would not take too much time or effort and is very worthwhile as it is so important that kids learn and apply stress management techniques to their own lives. In order to design this activity for inclusion, I would ensure that the subtitles are written throughout the video, and provide a printed copy of the transcript in case the students wanted to review the material.

References

Bates, A.W. (2019). Teaching in a Digital Age – Second Edition. Vancouver, B.C. Tony Bates Associates Ltd. Retrieved from https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/teachinginadigitalagev2/

Blog Prompt: How can you adjust your planned learning activities to meet the needs of your learners if an unexpected event occurs? (for example, if a pandemic arises and many of your employees must now work from home – how will you ensure that they can still do their jobs? What training will they need, and how will you deliver it, knowing they must remain at home?) This is a common discussion thread right now as many schools and universities have made the switch to teaching online.

My entire educational career prior to the pandemic was conducted through face-to-face learning and switching to online learning was a big transition. A question I considered throughout the online terms was: If a neuro-typical person (myself) is struggling with this learning environment, how is a neurodivergent person getting by?  I think the answer to this question is the Universal Design for Learning (UDL), which improves the teaching and learning for any discipline or domain (CAST, 2018). The UDL guidelines are focused on human-centered learning and aim to eliminate systemic barriers to equitable learning (CAST Announces a Community-Driven Process to Update UDL Guidelines, 2020). The guidelines surround providing multiple means of; engagement, representation, action & expression, recruiting interest, perception, physical action, sustaining effort & persistence, language & symbols, expression & communication, self-regulation, comprehension, and executive functions (CAST, 2018). 

In order for my group’s interactive learning resource to follow the UDL model, we need to offer multiple means for students to express and communicate their thoughts, whether that be typing a reflection or sharing their thoughts verbally with the class. Moreover, if the class had to transition to online learning, I would suggest implementing zoom lectures as they can allow students to engage with the content and communicate with their peers and the teacher on meanings, strategies, and learning goals. Firstly, these zoom lessons should be recorded to allow for students to re-visit the content to process information. Secondly, the zoom lessons should have the transcript feature enabled to allow students who are deaf or hard of hearing to fully participate. Most importantly, the instructor should be readily accessible to students who have questions or concerns. Consequently, the UDL guidelines will help eliminate barriers for any student, and this shift in learning design can highlight even more barriers to learning that require attention. 

References

CAST (2018). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines Version 2.2. http://udlguidelines.cast.org

CAST Announces a Community-Driven Process to Update UDL Guidelines (2020, October 6). CAST. https://www.cast.org/news/2020/community-driven-process-update-udl-guidelines

Hi Xinh,

I really enjoyed how you placed a video in your blog post. The video clearly explained what direct instruction is, how it is used, and its history. This was useful since if I were to use this teaching method, I would have clear instructions on how to facilitate it. Moreover, I appreciate how you connected the learning design to a personal example. I have also completed a few co-ops and as the term is quite short, I commend you for learning a topic and being able to teach it in the span of 4 months!

Hi Guoqin,

I appreciated how you implemented a few quotes at the beginning of your blog, I found this made reading about the learning design really clear. Moreover, the way you broke down the key reasons why your group is applying open pedagogy in your interactive resource made your argument convincing. After reading your blog, it made me consider using this learning design in my group’s project as well.

Hi Joshua,

I agree with your argument that direct instruction should not be the only learning design model to be used. Although I am not a teacher like you, I am a student who has been taught using solely this method. For example, in my philosophy 100 class, the teacher would solely lecture with slides for hours on end, and I would find myself drifting off in class. I definitely agree with you that brain breaks are needed to increase information intake and student engagement.

Hi Ariehl,

I quite enjoyed the image you provided in your blog post, as I think it really sums up stress management. The brain is the main culprit when it comes to stress, making you overthink and worry. I believe that if we followed our heart’s true desires, it could be a tool to help relieve stress.

Cooperative learning is a teaching procedure embedded with specific learning strategies which allow students to learn through social interaction (Johnson & Johnson, 2009). Initially, when I heard about cooperative learning, I thought it was simply about placing students in groups. I realized the importance of this learning theory as I researched the benefits of changing the instructor’s role from a strictly top-down to a student-student approach. By working together in groups, cooperative learning ensures that learners can both listen and communicate with their peers as they work together to solve a problem (Brame & Biel, 2015). This is opposed to a traditional teaching style where the students are given a plethora of information from the teacher and then attempt to retain the information independently. Since learning occurs by building new synapses in the brain, practicing recalling that information can help strengthen those connections (Sorensen-Unruh, 2019). Therefore, communicating information through a social environment can help students recall information, and learn through the interaction (Brame & Biel, 2015). 

The theoretical underpinnings of cooperative learning are based on the social interdependence theory. The positive type of social interdependence occurs when individuals in a group can depend on each other to achieve a common goal (Johnson & Johnson, 2009). The cooperative learning environment creates individual accountability for the outcome as scores are given individually and as a group (Brame & Biel, 2015). As a result, there is a promotive interaction, meaning the students will encourage and help each other achieve the goal (Johnson & Johnson, 2009).

I think that the cooperative learning approach could align with my group’s planned interactive learning resource. Our topic surrounds identifying different types and triggers of stress and learning various strategies to help manage emotional and physical stress. Since our learning resource is aimed at elementary students, I think placing learners in groups can benefit knowledge retention. After the students review the content, they can discuss with their peers the strategies they learned and which ones they may use in their lives. Consequently, this approach can strengthen their interpersonal and group processing skills.

References

Brame, C.J. & Biel, R. (2015). Setting up and facilitating group work: Using cooperative learning groups effectively. Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching. Retrieved from http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/setting-up-and-facilitating-group-work-using-cooperative-learning-groups-effectively/.

Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. T. (2009). An educational psychology success story: Social interdependence theory and cooperative learning. Educational Researcher, 38(5), 365-379. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X09339057

Sorensen-Unruh, C. (2019). 5R Adult Learning Assignment 5: Learning – The Neuroscience and The Neuromyths. Retrieved from https://clarissasorensenunruh.com/2019/04/20/5r-adult-learning-assignment-learning-the-neuroscience-and-the-neuromyths/

Hi Amelia,

The blog post you wrote was fascinating as I learned more about you even though you discussed course content. I think my blog post sounded too formal, so I will take your writing as inspiration as your style is perfect for blogging. As someone who also hated swimming as a child, I particularly enjoyed reading about how you taught scarlet to swim. In retrospect, I believe my parents also used behaviorism when convincing me to learn to swim. When I was a child, I was very stubborn, but the behavior and reward system also helped me overcome this.

Hi Ariana,

Knowing that your major is in computer science, it is unsurprising that you prefer the behaviorist instruction learning style. This is due to the structure that you mentioned which for every question there is a correct answer. I would say that I personally do not like this about math, as I am not excellent at memorizing black or white answers like you are. I guess this is why I am a sociologist as we focus on the shades of grey, meaning we look for the social systems that underly the black and white. Congruently, this aligns with the other learning styles, constructivism, and cognitivism. Lastly, I want to let you know that you are not alone in struggling with feeling if you chose the correct answer. I definitely feel that way too sometimes.

Hi Xihn,

If I were someone who had no knowledge about these learning theories, I would have a great grasp of the concepts after reading your blog post. In other words, you did a great job providing explanations and examples. I enjoyed your example of the proper deadlifting form as I too enjoy weightlifting, and the various cues have also helped me. After reading your paragraph about cognitivism, I thought about my own experience with statistics. For the first midterm, my own beliefs and attitudes surrounding math were very self-deprecating. This resulted in a below-average grade. However, once I shifted my attitude towards a more positive outlook my grades reflected that.

Hi Esraa

I enjoyed reading your blog post as I can relate to utilizing the cognitive learning approach myself. I too find it helpful to connect new pieces of information to prior understandings. Since you mentioned that you utilize spaced learning sessions, I am wondering if you have ever heard of the Pomodoro study method? The method is based on studying for 25 minutes and then taking a 5-minute break. I have found it to be very useful in time management.

Hi there!

Welcome to my first blog post for EDCI 335. Today I will be describing three learning theories: behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism. I will illustrate these theories with an example of a time when I was taught using each method.

Behaviourism

According to Ertmer & Newby (2013), behaviorism is a learning theory that focuses on the conditions of the environment to reinforce knowledge and behavior transfer. Utilizing behaviorism, the instructor would concentrate on specific cues and practice strategies to reinforce stimulus-response associations (Ertmer & Newby, 2013). Based on this definition, I can relate my current American Sign Language (ASL) course to this learning method. Although Ertmer and Newby (2013) point out that behaviorism cannot explain higher skills and deep processing like language development, I think it can apply to ASL. In the ASL class, the environmental condition took an active role in my learning as I was emersed in a strictly gestured communication style. The ASL classroom environment has allowed me to concentrate on the specific signing cues and with practice, it has improved my receptive and expressive skills.

Cognitivism

Cognitivism is a learning theory that focuses on the mental activity of the learner and situates the best the learning strategies such as mental planning and goal setting (Ertmer & Newby, 2013). Cognitivism centers the learner as an active participant while connecting their prior understandings to new information (Ertmer & Newby, 2013). The perfect example of this learning theory in practice is this EDCI 335 course. When completing this blog post, I first looked at the prompts and then read the required readings. This allowed me to mentally plan what I was going to write about. Moreover, as I was writing my notes I highlighted important aspects of the text and added my personal examples of how this learning theory relates to me, which were then used as cues to complete this blog post. Consequently, this allowed me to understand how cognitivism works in the context of this class, differentiating it from behaviorism, and allowing for knowledge transfer.

Constructivism

The constructivism learning theory focuses on how the mind is constantly creating meaning through interactions and experiences (Ertmer & Newby, 2013). It is the specific interactions between the learner and the environment that allows knowledge formation (Ertmer & Newby, 2013). As a sociology major, the first thing that came to mind after reading this definition was the concept of socialization. Socialization refers to the ways in which we come to know the things that we are supposed to know about our society (Kidd & Teagle, 2012, p. 22). In my prior sociology classes, I have been asked to reflect on my socialization process to examine how my pasts interactions have formed my thought process and who I am today. This concept is central to constructivism as the learning theory holds that “the mind filters input from the world to produce its own unique reality” (Ertmer & Newby, 2013). For example, my parents have taught me how to view and interact with the world which has shaped my actions in society. I was taught that in order to be successful I had to build my career by going to university. Can you think of a way your socialization process has defined who you are today?

References

Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (2013). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 26(2), 43-71.

Kidd, W., & Teagle, A. (2012). Culture and Identity. doi:10.1007/978-1-137-27251-5