Remember our goal it to "operationalize" the "theory" of connected learning using "matirix analysis" to evaluate an online community
We have discussed shapes a lot this semester. We started by tracing the shape of Kobe Bryant's award winning farwell to basketball. You then traced a shape of a story. Finally you shared the shape of your own story as we built an About Me website, created an unselfie, and did a photo challenge.
Meanwhile we learned how to recognize the shapes of qualitative and quantitative research articles you will encounter in college. We explored how values get baked into numbers or codes.
Now you begin to shape your own research.
We have been learning about a theory of learning called "connected learning." Theory gets operationalized in research, so the way we are doing that is by breaking connected learning into categories and placing this in a table. There is a column for you describe how you define the principle, a column for you to describe your learning community, and then a column for any additional notes. This is a simplified version of something we call matrix analysis.
This process is our method of research. You have to first complete an example of your matrix by looking at an exemplar texts. These are the case study examples from the DML Research hub we looked at. This provides you a chance to practice completing the matrix.
Giving you practice means you get trained as a researcher and this helps increase the rigor of results.
After you did the model you were then to choose a community to analyze. Remember you are not going to prove if it is or is not "connected learning."
You collect evidence, put it in the write box on your matrix, look for patterns and draw conclusions. It may or may not be a connected learning space. It may not matter. Go where the data takes you.
This graphic organizer is due next Monday. While this was a group project I will allow people to work alone giving the craziness going on.
I provided students as a cognitive wrapper (haven't used a ppt in >365. Try it! So freeing). edu106.jgregorymcverry.com/ 2020/ hey-edu106-here-are-photos-of-our-lecture-lastdiscussion-at
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This graphic organizer was a cognitive stop in a collaborative writing project. Students were going to analyze a space from connected learning lens. This shifted to an online community with the lockdown. Why this assignment:
-Collaborative essays one of the few writing activities to have moderate effect sizes
-As a Technology Fluency I need to teach spreadsheets, internet research, collaborative writing technology.
-No one teaches 1st year students how to read discipline specific texts. I want students to know the predictable patterns of research text structure.
-Cognitive stops matter. You need to help students learn how to learn. Break projects up into shorter more frequent low stakes assessments driven by reflection.
-Cogntive wrappers matter. Take one last chance to beat learners over the head with what you want them to learn.
Cognitive Wrappers matter.
The post was too long but it explores the shape our class back to when we traced the story of Kobe Bryant's documentary. Will always remember how moved we were as a class during those somber moments.
Spring 2020 began and ended so surreal.
Greg McVerry, May 07 2020 on quickthoughts.jgregorymcverry.com