Planning To Listen
- 1. Cover Planning to Listen: An Exploration of Jane Vella’s 12 Principles for Effective Adult Learning, as Applied to One Course Design. ACE D625 V005: Listening Dynamics in Teaching and Training Adults. Professor: Frank R. DiSilvestro June 19 th 2003
- 2. Preface To experiment with Vella’s 12 principles in an online interactive module (with me as instructor/designer and you as learner, how do ya like that?! ). To fully respond to the call for creativity expressed in the assignment description; To develop and present information in a non-linear exploratory setting that is user guided and; To be different AND effective. I believe I’ve been successful. Now, I’m just hoping that you will too! Heather L. Eaton Clearly, this is not a traditional “paper”. However, it is comparable in that the learning, research and effort required on my part is the same. I developed my submission in this format for 4 primary reasons:
- 3. Introduction How you review the information is up to you. To navigate you can: Follow the “Next” prompts on each page. They will lead you through all of the material in a relative order or; You can use the “Home” page as a launch point to explore individual pieces based on the order and way you prefer to evaluate the information. If you want to navigate to the last screen viewed choose the “Back” button. For this assignment I decided to take a typical course design and revise it based on Jane Vella’s approach, as described in her book Learning to Listen Learning to Teach: The power of Dialogue in Educating Adults . To do that, first I will choose a course design and apply the 7 steps for Design (p37). Then, I will examine it for elements of Vella’s 12 principles (p3). Finally, I will redesign the course based on that information by making at least one modification per principle. I have chunked the process into several sections for easier understanding.
- 4. Home Click on a button to view the relevant information. Discussion of Application 1 Discussion of Application 2 7 Steps For Design Design Before Choosing a Design References Summary Design After Cover & Preface Introduction
- 5. Choosing a Design The model I used for choosing a well designed course was Dee Fink’s “ Criteria for Assessing Course Designs (p24)”. I feel the design I chose rates highly enough on all the criteria in his model to be considered average. In practice it may even rate “good”, but the class and assignment descriptions are not complete enough for me to be sure. View the design before I apply Jane’s principles .
- 6. Design Before The course design depicted is fictitious but was developed to represent a well designed, typical, undergraduate college level class. Its intended purpose was for learner critique inside an online learning module series Teaching in Support of Student Success within the Inclusive Teaching module. These modules were designed to provide Indiana University faculty with “foundational information about effective teaching strategies”. I obtained permission from the author to use it for this purpose. Syllabus & Schedule Viewing this requires an internet connection
- 7. 7 Steps for Design How Who What For When Why Where What The course design I’ve chosen was invented as an example (see Before design for details) . In order to apply the 7 steps, some contextual information had to be arbitrarily made-up.
- 8. Who Learners who enroll in this course are typically: First year college students. Degree seeking in African American Studies, Anthropology, General Studies, Liberal Arts, Sociology and Women’s Studies. Female, with about 25-30% males.
- 9. Why To provide a well-rounded education; Offers an environment where enlightenment and understanding is an expected norm; Provide a context for diversity; Explain the social and political climate of our surroundings and world.
- 10. When Spring semesters only Mondays and Wednesdays 1:00 – 2:15pm
- 11. Where The Liberal Arts Building / Trellway Hall F1011 – A regular classroom with room for up to 40 students located on the far east side of campus.
- 12. What A multidisciplinary study of ethnic studies including : Methodologies and theories; History; Basic and key concepts such as ethnic adaptation, ethnic stratification, ethnic differences in socioeconomic achievement, ethnic prejudice, ethnic discrimination, and ethnic racism; Terms such as race, racism, racialism, ethnic identity, ethnonationalism, panethicity, ethnocentrism, prejudice, discrimination, marginalization, pluralism, multiculturalism, affirmative action, and self-determination; Geographical literacy and; Current issues in Ethnic studies.
- 13. What For Students take this course because they: Need it to fulfill degree requirements Need it to complete electives Find it an interesting topic
- 14. How In a way that: Provides balance between flexibility and structure so that each specific learner can get what they deserve. Employs Jane Vella’s 12 principles and; Honors all stakeholders.
- 15. Discussion of Application of Principles 1 Full Disclosure is a Basic Need Spells out Rewards/Effort Reveals Values To Express Caring The design I chose does not provide enough evidence to me that all of Vella's principles would be adequately utilized. While it is true that there is room for a good instructor to incorporate all of the principles "on the fly", it is my personal belief that a good course design evidences all the intended goals and incorporated educational philosophies in an obvious manner. One way to ensure I fulfilled each of these responsibilities was to offer a list of all activities learners would be expected to engage in. For each of Vella's principles I will discuss how I planned to integrated it into my course design. Then to demonstrate it's integration in a way that can be measured simply by finding evidence of it in the syllabus and/or schedule, I added them to the After course design. I feel that way for a number of reasons, but here are those I think are the most important. Click on them for further clarification Click here to Continue
- 16. Discussion of Application of Principles Reveals Values My opinion is that goals and philosophies are and should be the expression of value judgments on the part of the course designers and instructors. What I value has moral and ethical implications. If learners are going to have to operate within an environment structured by someone elses values, I feel it would be wrong to not fully inform them about what those values are.
- 17. Discussion of Application of Principles Full Disclosure is a Basic Need As an Instructor I feel that I owe learners full disclosure of my intent so that they may decide for themselves whether the learning environment I facilitate is conducive to the way they best learn and if it isn’t they can make informed adjustments or address it with me directly.
- 18. Discussion of Application of Principles To Express Caring If I am well intended, and I am, I want learners to know it. From the start of a course, during those first interactions and when they read my syllabus and review the learning activities I plan for them, I want them to realize that I care about them as humans, students and individuals. I wish to treat them as whole beings so that they may take what I have to offer, be enriched, and then go out into the world and do the same.
- 19. Discussion of Application of Principles Spells out Rewards/Effort I feel that learners and facilitators are engaged in a transaction. Learners expect a certain amount of rewards in exchange for money, effort and time. There are many different rewards such as learning, accomplishment and certification. If facilitators are unclear about the amount and the nature of the effort required for the reward, learners may feel, or in fact be, taken advantage of, which I think is counter to the whole purpose of education.
- 20. Discussion of Application of Principles 2 Needs Assessment Praxis Respect For Learners Ideas, Feelings, & Actions Immediacy Clear Roles & Development Teamwork Engagement Accountability Safety Sound Relationships Sequence Click on any of the principles to see how they will manifest in the After design .
- 21. Needs Assessment Background Knowledge Probe (Angelo & Cross p67) To find out the learners level of familiarity with the topic I will include the administration of a short questionnaire in week one.
- 22. Safety According to McKeachie, one way of reducing fear in the classroom is by getting acquainted (p55). He says that after students “know they are among friends, they can risk expressing themselves” and he offers the idea of pairing students up to discuss a topic before posing questions to the group at large. I will add this activity to some of the discussions in the early weeks under the name “Think-Pair-Share”.
- 23. Sound Relationships In order to demonstrate “respect, safety, open communication, listening and humility (p10)” to create sound relationships in a way that is evident in the course design, I will change the tone of the information so that it is more welcoming and personal.
- 24. Sequence of Content and Reinforcement The order of the information is already arranged in a way that seems “simple to complex (p12)”. However there is quite a bit of information and it may be hard for students to navigate. To remedy this I will implement a navigation system so that learners may access any part of the course design at will. This will also help them access the information in the sequence most comfortable for them.
- 25. Praxis I found the perfect assignment for this. It is a wonderful web site that has an archive of documents related to the historical homicide of a black man named William Robinson. It is up to students to determine who murdered him. A quick review of the first page shows how this will require them to utilize and recognize the concepts they should have already gained . You will find it in Week 9 of the schedule. See for yourself!!
- 26. Respect for Learners as Decision Makers To address this I will add a class activity to week 10 that I will call “brainstorm and prioritize” where students will be asked what are some important issues related to Race, Class and Gender. Then by voting and discussion we will arrange them in order of most important to least.
- 27. Ideas, Feeling and Actions I will change the look and feel of the syllabus to a more welcoming design. One way to do this is to integrate school colors into the scheme as a way of highlighting something we have in common.
- 28. Immediacy In week 15, I will give students 10 minutes to write a list of how they think what they have learned will impact their daily lives. Then we will take 20 minutes so they can share what they have written informally.
- 29. Clear Roles and Role Development Whenever appropriate I have removed the designations of “You” and “I” and replaced them with “we”, in order to establish that we are on the same journey, part of the same team and that I am approachable and open to them.
- 30. Teamwork and Use of Small Groups Two weeks before each exam groups of 3-5 will be assigned to collaborate on their own time to come up with a list of at least 5 questions and answers they feel should be on the exam. During the exam review they will be asked to discuss their questions and answers as well as provide one written copy to turn in at that time.
- 31. Engagement I will schedule topic discussions so that students may add their own perspective to the material being discussed.
- 32. Accountability Beginning during week 3, I will ask students to keep a journal as part of their participation grade. In it they will record at least one paragraph per week, except during weeks with an exam, their thoughts on the current topic. Journals will be collected during exam weeks, reviewed and then returned the next class period.
- 33. Design After The course design has been completely transformed and so have I! When I decided to do this I had no idea how much a design could change but still contain the same content. Are you ready? Syllabus & Schedule Viewing this requires an internet connection
- 34. Summary I chose a course design, and revised it based on Jane Vella’s book Learning to Listen Learning to Teach: The power of Dialogue in Educating Adults . I applied her 7 steps for Design (p37). Then, I planned at least one element to address each Vella’s 12 principles (p3). Finally, I redesigned the course based on that information. The result was what looks and I think, would feel like a completely different course.
- 35. References Angelo, Thomas A and K. Patricia Cross. Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers. The Jossey-Bass Higher and Adult Education Series. 2 nd Ed. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1993. Fink, Dee. "A Self-Directed Guide to Designing Courses for Significant Learning." Creating Significant Learning Experiences in College Classrooms . Unpublished. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, In Press 2003. (Can be viewed online at: http://www.ou.edu/idp/idp_word/selfdirected1.doc ) Flowers, Natasha (primary author), Heather Eaton, Nicole Johnson, Don Lorentz, Randy Newbrough, Susan Slaybaugh and Kashy Valiyi,. Teaching in Support of Student Success: Inclusive Teaching Module . 2003. Web. IUPUI Office for Professional Development. Available: http://www.iupui.edu/~idd/. 6/10/03 2003. McKeachie, Wilbert J. with chapters by Graham Gibbs, Diana Laurillard, Nancy Van Note Chism, Robert Menges, Marilla Svinicki and Claire Ellen Weinstein. McKeachie’s Teaching Tips: Strategies, Research, and Theory for College and University Teachers. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1999. Pelho., Marja Leena. Royal Aura . 1999. Design Graphics. Quadretto Inc. Designs no longer available: http:// www.marjaleenapelho.com / . Sandwell, Ruth and John Lutz. Who Killed William Robinson? Race, Justice and Settling the Land: A Historical Whodunnit 2000. University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Website Available : http://web.uvic.ca/history-robinson / Vella, Jane Kathryn. Learning to Listen, Learning to Teach : The Power of Dialogue in Educating Adults . The Jossey-Bass Higher and Adult Education Series. Rev. ed. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2002.
- 36. The End Stop Clicking Already Good-bye
- 37. Finks Criteria for Assessing Course Designs p24-25 “ In-Depth Analysis of Situational Factors It is based on a systematic review of all the major situational factors, in order to define the situational constraints and opportunities of the course. Significant Learning Goals It includes learning goals focused on several kinds of significant learning, not just “understand-and-remember” kinds of learning. Educative Feedback and Assessment It includes the components of educative assessment: forward-looking assessment, opportunities for students to engage in self-assessment, clear criteria and standards, and “FIDeLity” feedback. These allow the feedback and assessment to go beyond auditive assessment. Active Teaching/Learning Activities It includes learning activities that engage students in active learning by incorporating powerful forms of experiential and reflective learning, as well as ways of getting basic information and ideas. Integration/Alignment All the major components of the course are integrated (or aligned). That is, the situational factors, learning goals, feedback and assess-ment, and the teaching/learning activities all reflect and support each other.”