Mr. Hood's Learning Journey

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Tag: Aoki

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Assignment 3A: Evidence-Informed Design and Content for Learner-to-Learner Communication in High Schools

July 27, 2020 / / 0 Comments
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Learner-to-Learner Online Communication Review

Moore stated there are three types of learning in online environments: learner-to-learner, learner-to-teacher, and content-to-learner (1989). Since spring break, teachers have made adaptations for delivering content to students, and have used alternative methods for communicating such as e-mail, phone calls home, creation of websites, the use of centralized online learning spaces, and the use of video conferencing. However, I feel one of the foundational pillars Moore stated has been left out, and that is learner-to-learner interactions.

Learner-to-learner communication is a part of the British Columbia curriculum. It is outlined by the B.C. Ministry of Education as one of the three core competencies that is fundamental for students to acquire (“Communication | Building Student Success,” n.d.). Informally, my online students described to me the challenges of not being able to talk with their peers freely, feeling disconnected, and not having the opportunity to have small group conversations with their peers. In order to meet the education guidelines set by the government, we need to change our online teaching practices.

Lev Vgotsky stated, “Human learning presupposes a specific social nature and a process by which children grow into the intellectual life of those around them” (1978, p.88). Vgotsky’s social development theory describes how social development is imperative for cognitive development. If we are limiting student social interactions, we are limiting cognitive development. 

Additionally, Ted Aoki’s ideas on the polarization of the lived curriculum and planned curriculum (1993). The planned curriculum being the core competencies mandated by a governing body such as the B.C. Ministry of Education, and the lived curriculum, the stories, metaphors, personal aspirations, and the phenomenological expression of the students themselves. It is an embodiment of celebrating the uniqueness of individuals, and how those shared experiences with others enriches the learning experience. 

In an online learning setting, you can’t replicate the same experiences in a classroom. However, you can be more proactive by giving the opportunity for learners to communicate with their classroom peers online by establishing clear expectations and guidelines for parents, educators, and high school students.

References:

Aoki, T. T. (1993). Legitimating lived curriculum: Towards a curricular landscape of  multiplicity. Journal of Curriculum and Supervision, 8(3), 255-268.

Communication | Building Student Success. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/competencies/communication/

Moore, M. G. (1989). Three types of interaction. The American Journal of Distance Education, 3(2), 1-6.

Vygotsky, L., & Cole, M. (1978). Mind in society. Harvard University Press.

Reflection of the Planned and Lived Curriculum

July 19, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Children Fishing into Reflections-1=“Children Fishing into Reflections-1=” by Sheba_Also 17,000,000 + views is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

I found Sarah Olsen’s summary of  Aoki’s work on the planned and lived curriculum very familiar in terms of my teaching practices, but also supportive in emphasizing the importance of the lived curriculum.

In elementary schools, it is easier to draw into the lived curriculum of students and facilitate their stories. Having the same group of students for ten months allows the educator to grow the collective bond and celebrate the diversity of learners. Teaching at grade five and six split class, the opportunity to communicate in talking circles where the curriculum becomes more personalized and flexible in responding to the “now”, and the teacher can pass between curriculum topics with an interweaving of student led interests, stories, and muses is within itself the lived curriculum.

 

This is not to say high school teachers can’t respond to the support of bringing the lived curriculum into their classrooms. However, there is more tension in the planned and lived curriculum, where specific content learning objectives are foundational pieces for students to understand more complex ideas as they move through the planned curriculum. It is in this realm where you find master educators balancing the lived experience of learning in the class and connecting it to learners with their analogies, storytelling, and giving the platform for learners to voice their experiences. Travis Fachs gives incite on his own practices with using artifacts in the classroom to provoke the lived curriculum.

In our current environment, we need to think back to Aoki’s thoughts on the lived curriculum and teaching in a blended or online environment by giving students their voices. We need students to have the opportunities to talk with each other, share their experiences, and allow teachers to respond to those voices and give guidance towards their interests. We have an amazing opportunity to facilitate pedagogy in a new way as opposed to the traditional in-classroom instruction by unlocking online learning tools for students. Online classrooms shouldn’t look like live video lectures that are teacher centered with students listening to content and not having the opportunity to engage or feel disconnected. Online or blended classrooms need to promote collaboration between learners by allowing the freedom to communicate between each other in small groups that would naturally occur in the classroom. Allow students to have their video cameras on and let them talk. Having policies in place to create the online lived curriculum allows the learner to engage, socially, emotionally, and personally.

 

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