Let me start a little off topic. I must say that I am having issues with the
whole blogging thing. I am finding that
I have ‘lost’ some of my comments to my fellow classmates. If I have commented on your post and you
replied only to be met with silence, then I apologize. I must admit that, as I initially feared, I
find blogs much harder to keep up with than bulletin boards. Anyway, just wanted to throw that out there
in case anyone thought I was ignoring a comment.
Now on to what you’re
here for!
The main purpose of my wiki will be to allow instructors to
use newly acquired knowledge and to collaborate with other instructors to
re-create their training programs.
I believe that one of
the main advantages I have in the training course I am looking at is that my ‘instructors’
are also consumers. For example, one of
the participants in my class may be a firearms instructor and another may be a
defensive tactics instructor. The
defensive tactics instructor will not only be an instructor, but also a student
when it comes to firearms training and the same with the firearms instructor. This relationship will allow the instructors
to not only work with other instructors, but also work with ‘consumers’ of
their training.
I think that this relationship will give my students a
special ability to make their skills, “…portable and transferable outside of
the protective walls of the classroom” (Pg. 101 – West & West). I also think that this course will allow
students to ‘create and do’ (Pg. 101 – West & West).
All of that being said, I did not find a wiki project that I
felt fit my desired wiki lesson plan. So
I am turning my blog into a blogiki for the week. I am asking for some pointers from my loyal
(forced) readers. So far, here is what I
found:
Structured Online Critiques (Pg. 98): I like this as an option for an instructor to
put their lesson plan on the wiki and then the others in the group can offer a
critique based on the criteria on page 99 (strengths/limitations/conclusions/recommendations). I know that this is not a perfect fit when
compared with the intention of that wiki, but I think it fits good enough for
government work, which is what I do.
Collaborative Research Papers (Pg. 88): Think of this as a collaborative lesson plan
instead of a research paper. On student,
the instructor for that topic, would take the lead. The other group members would take a smaller
part since they would also have their own project to take the lead on. In this format, the other group members would
assist by pointing out weak areas and
helping to add new and creative ideas.
Yes I did start this out by saying that I felt my project
was better suited for contextual application, so I give you – Team Challenge
(Pg. 115): ‘Developing creative
solutions to real-world problems’ sounds like just what I need. So where does the challenge come from? Maybe, as the instructor, I could read each
lesson plan and throw my thoughts into the wiki in the form of a challenge to
get the group thinking about solving the problem. In this case, instead of the examples given
on page 117, my problems may come more in the form of: explain how you could
make this training more interactive or more collaborative. Team members could then use a ‘sandbox’ area
to brain storm and help the lead team member find creative solutions which they
could then add to the lesson plan.
While I think the team challenge would be more labor
intensive for the instructor, I also think it is the best way to draw the
entire team into the process.
Roy,
Hi Roy,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your dilemma to find the right wiki format for your intent. No matter, I think you still managed to synthesize this chapter to form a sort of hybrid approach. As I understand your learning objective, it sounds like you are taking a social constructivist approach to facilitate this knowledge transfer among peers (West and West, 2009). I can see the value of both the Collaborative Research Paper Model and the Team Challenge Model. My vote is for the Team Challenge. I also like that you are taking the role of facilitator by asking probing questions and pushing for extension of ideas. Recognizing that your students are also instructors is not only respectful, but also a tip to basic adult learning theory with the premise that adults have as much to offer as they have to learn, especially true in your case. Finally, by delegating responsibility for leading a section, I think you will help group dynamics and reduce some of the initial awkwardness of deciding roles. It also forces accountability, shares the work equitably, and stretches that section leader as an instructor in one role and develops those following skills when contributing to other sections.
I share some of your thoughts concerning the blog versus the message board. I think there is a place for both, but this has been a bit more cumbersome for me. I appreciate the streamline format of the discussion board, but I have enjoyed seeing personality on the blogs. I also think the blog is more time consuming and I am not sure there is a gain in learning with the extra investment. I had to do a reflective journal each week for one class. I would have enjoyed doing that as a blog instead of submitting a word document. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Vianne,
ReplyDeleteI am glad to know that someone else finds the blog more time consuming. I also like seeing the personalities come out and I have enjoyed 'playing' with my blog. I am glad to have been introduced to a blog, but like you, I don't see a gain in learning form the extra time investment.
As for your other comments, I appreciate your input. As this is mostly a work in progress, I am taking comments and suggestions seriously so I can have some input on what others think will work and will not.
I like the team challenge idea also.
Roy,
Roy,
ReplyDeleteI am right there with you on the whole blog thing and this being my first class in the masters program. I read over your lesson plan from last week and what you wrote about this week; I agree with Vianne that the team challenge would be a good plan to go with. Have you given any thought to using "what if" scenarios from West & West (12009, pg. 80)? You could have the different groups post and discuss the scenarios of the other groups and then possibly add in follow-up questions to keep the discussions going. Just thought I would throw that into the mix.
Dean
That would be a good way to use the 'what if' scenarios. I didn't want to do that as an instructor, but using peers could help the group think outside the box a little.
ReplyDeleteRoy,