Talkin' 'bout my cerebration.

In an effort to enable the steep learning curve of the staff I have recruited to be part of this project, I threw together this quick summary of transformative learning and how the theory might translate into action within the Physical Education cohort in 2010.  Preparation goes well.  The teaching team has thus far redesigned the course overview, established a group within Diigo for bookmarking and cataloguing resources and slowly developed the team site on One Portal.

The next challenge for the staff involved is to perform a performance review and plan for development.  I have created a template to streamline the process across my staff, beginning with a trial for the two transformative learners.

Transformational theory of Learning as applied to the Qld Senior Physical Education syllabus.

Description:

Summarised from the;

• Wikipedia article on 25 November 2009  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transformative_learning
• Transformative Learning Theory webspace on 25 November 2009  http://transformativelearningtheory.com/index.html

Transformative Learning is a theory of learning that goes beyond just content knowledge acquisition.   It is a process where learners learn to think for themselves, developing freedom from unquestioning acceptance of what they have to come to perceive through life experience.  Freedom is experienced through active engagement and questioning of how we know what we know. (Learning as Transformation, by Jack Mezirow & Associates, 2000, published by Jossey Bass, San Francisco)

Transformative Learning Theory, as originally described by Mezirow (1991, 2000), explores a learning process where learners become critically aware of their own implicit assumptions and expectations of the learning experience.  Merriam and Caffarella (1999) further codify Transformative Learning into three phases, including critical reflection, reflective discourse, and action. Mezirow (2000) suggests that Transformative Learning often involves deep, powerful emotions or beliefs and is evidenced in action.

Implementation of the Transformative Learning Theory considers;

• the teacher’s role in establishing an environment that builds trust and care and facilitates the development of sensitive relationships among learners. The goal is to create a community of individuals who are “united in a shared experience of trying to make meaning of their life experience”. The teacher also serves as a role model by demonstrating a willingness to learn and change.
• the role of participants for creating the learning environment.
• the role of the rational and the affective. Teachers need to consider how they can help students use feelings and emotions both in critical reflection and as a means of reflection.

Watkins and Marsick (1993) suggest that learning networks can become the medium for moving new knowledge through the learning organization and that such collaborative structures and processes enhance the organization’s ability to learn because they enable critical conversations and challenging of assumptions and norms.

Yorks and Marsick (2000) suggest two strategies that can produce transformative learning for individuals, groups and/or organizations: action learning and collaborative inquiry. Both strategies are concerned with learning around significant issues and can be directly applied to learning within Physical Education.   A critical assessable criteria calls for solutions to problems.  These solutions can be found through collaborative inquiry (drawing on the inquiry process as a framework for learning) and action learning.  Integration of physical performance and academic learning allows the opportunity to develop and test hypotheses based on the targeted concepts.  Action learning is a process involving a team or group working collaboratively on a project or problem-solving task.   It involves the participants not only in the joint analysis, evaluation and reflection of the task, but also in reflecting on the process of how they worked, and taking personal and group learning from that process.

How will this look?

Learning to think for themselves:

• selecting evidence and resources
• determining suitability of resources for learning and validity of evidence
• think about personal learning habits and preferences.  Understanding data that predicts learning styles and preferences.
• problem solving strategies
• contributing to information streams
• understanding thinking processes, in particular the difference between lower order and higher order thinking.

Freedom from unquestioning acceptance:

• questioning norms (eg. Power in learning relationships, learning norms)
• Determining assumptions and preconceptions from knowledge and learning
• Use of tools to enhance learning
• Response to feedback – seek further info themselves
• Compare personal performance with assessment criteria
• Choosing learning activities (in and out of lesson time)
• Personal accountability for learning and achievement, and the reporting of such.

Teacher as a model learner:

• public reflections
• Engaging in critical conversations about teaching and pedagogy
• Learning from students, acknowledging and publicising such learning.
• Personal accountability for learning and achievement, and the reporting of such.

Use of feelings and emotions

• differentiating choices influenced by pleasure from those influenced by learning.
• identifying influences on learning, and management of those influences.

Collaborative inquiry:

• contribution to information streams
• collaboration on learning
• providing assistance to enable learning of others

Reflection:

• individual learning journal – reflect on learning choices, influences on such choices and extent of learning
• data from surveys and achievement
• teacher reflection (blog)

How will it be measured?

• Achievement data (PE and across other subject choices)
• Teacher surveys
• Teacher performance data (eg. movement on SCPDF)
• Student surveys
• Student reflective blogs
• Student surveys
• Student reflection on achievement
• Student reflection on contribution to information streams
• Teacher reflections (blog?) – could be in LP project room.
• My blog
• Surveys of critical friends
• Action / performance plans after reflection (teachers re. curriculum, teachers re. practice, students re. practice)

Skills:

• Teaching student research, including identifying valid sources for referencing vs. appropriate sources for instruction and content.
• Contribution to information streams (blogging, commenting, social book marking, resource wikis)
• Attribution of sources
• Choices in capture, storage, annotation and conversion of information.

Systems to be established:

1. One Portal Team Site
2. Learning Place project room
3. BlackBoard virtual classroom
4. Teacher accounts in Diigo, Delicious, iCyte
5. Wordpress install on MIS space

There is still a considerable amount of work to do to be adequately prepared for the implementation of this project, however progress can be seen.

Yesterday I invited two staff members to be the teachers in this project.  Both seemed excited by the invite which is a good thing.  I have purposely picked them for a number of reasons.

Staff member A sits in the main HPE staffroom and I believe has the potential to be an excellent teacher.  2010 will be their 3rd year at our school.  They are well organised and always working within timelines from myself or administration.  They have spent large amounts of time preparing resources for their classes, and although this will change tact with this project the time commitment is important.  Their learning management needs refinement, and I believe this process will allow them to critically reflect on their influence on the learning environment and improve their practice acordingly.

Staff member B is my most energetic and motivated staff member.  They are constantly seeking advice and feedback on performance and show an ability to critically reflect and adapt their practice.  They sit in a staffroom across the other side of the school, which should result in a spreading of the influence of the project.  The fact that they like to talk about their teaching will aid this process.  This will also encourage me to leave the main HPE staffroom more often to interact with my other staff.  This staff member is well organised and always works within timelines.  They seem to thrive in team situations, although I see the potential for leadership within them.

So now I am getting excited.  At this point there are three priorities that need to be addressed.  First and foremost I need to formalise the plan for the project.  As it is an action learning project I need to frame it as such.  This includes the recruitment of critical friends.  I’d like to have critical friends for each of the following aspects;

• syllabus implementation
• staff development
• student achievement and satisfaction data
• pedagogical practices
• digital pedagogy (incl. use of specific tools and processes)

There may be other areas I incorporate critical friends and no doubt they will become evident in the plan formalisation process.  I have not yet identified the requirements or commitment of critical friends, but if you are interested in being one for this project then I encourage you to let me know.  If you can’t dedicate the time (I know we are all busy) there will be opportunity to read our progress and comment as such.

Secondly I need to provide a range of readings to my staff to increase their understanding of transformative theory.  I will do this through the creation and transfer of a Zotero notebook, demonstrating to them the use of such technologies that I want incorporated into the project.  Thirdly, we need to meet to refine the work program so that it enables the success of the project.  Aspects like the use of physical activities that allow the teachers to be “close” in the early stages.  Our classroom is next to our hall, so if the first unit of work has an activity in the hall the teachers will be relatively close.  This will enable student choice and teacher support of each other.

I can feel the momentum building.  I am excited, I am heartened by my staff’s excitement.  And I am strong due to your support.  Those that are reading this and sending comments via the blog, twitter, email or facebook are keeping me strong.  Thanks to those who have already volunteered to be a critical friend.

I have successfully pitched the project concept to my immediate supervisor, who reported to the principal and I have their support for this (relatively) radical project. The project is based on my understanding of Transformative Learning, as proposed originally by Mezirow and built on concepts such as Connectivism and 21C learning skills.  Why do I term it relatively radical – quite simply nothing like this has been implemented at my school previously therefore staff and students have not experienced this approach to learning.  I’ve blogged my thinking that has lead to this project before – A potential project; Constructing purposeful learning spaces; Planning my learning environments for 2010; and Learning 2010 – an update.

So my thinking has formalised into a project proposal, that in a rough form was pitched to my supervising Deputy Principal. I pitched the idea using one slide and a lot of talk.  I’ll need to refine that when I pitch to staff.  The slide used is embedded below.

As you can see, there are three learning foci; content learning, conceptual / contextual learning, and reflective learning. It is the interaction of these three learning foci that will determine the success of this project for students and parents.  I believe it is the support and professional development of teachers that will determine the success for teachers.  These two (2) vital components need to be combined and considered at the forefront of the project for success to be achieved.  A lot of work, but exciting times.

The final question that will form the framing of the action learning project is yet to be finalised, however the one I am proposing when pitching the project to my staff on Tuesday is included in the project pitch here.  Details of the project are still forming in my head (and my evernote), however the teachers who decide to be involved need to be included in the final development of the project plan.  This in itself will be an exciting process as I encourage my staff to unlearn then re-learn.  I intend to post more here as the project develops.

The existing infrastructure that enables this project includes blocking the 2 classes onto the one timetable line – which means they are both in PE at the same time.  This ensures the two teachers teach the cohort instead of singular teachers teaching their classes.  The National Secondary Schools Computer Fund ensures I can have 30 laptops in my classroom, and convert 5 LAN points to wireless access points.  I’ve been given permission to research and purchase (partially funded through the facilities budget) alternative furniture that will align with the goals of the project.  The HPE department already owns a large number of devices that can be utilised.

Fingers crossed it will be well received.  It is significantly different to anything they have considered previously.

I had the good fortune to attend a MasterClass for Smart Classrooms Teacher Award winners last week, which was an inspirational and motivating two days with some remarkable and focussed teachers.  This MasterClass was conducted by a few awe-inspiring and highly intelligent educators – @agrei8, @checkingboxes, @joram10, @bobrodgers54 and @fzwilkins.  One of the activities we were guided through caused me to focus on how I support the development of digital pedagogy skills in my staff.  There were quite a few great ideas suggested from the participants, and if they read this they will recognise them here.

So I’ve been thinking of a potential project for next year.  The concept is not yet definite in my mind, and will need discussion with my staff and critical friends, but the essentials are;

• teachers won’t individually teach classes, they will collaboratively teach a cohort.
  (this will work better if the classes are on the same time / period)
• paperless
• a range of devices will be utilised (iPod, video camera, still camera, computers)
• lesson content and learning tasks delivered via RSS
• student digital portfolios
• students choose learning activities each lesson
• Students surveyed regularly to provide feedback

My plan is to offer this to staff as an option.  Benefits to include Professional Development and devices supplied, requirements include exploring digital pedagogy, sharing of practice.  I’m unsure whether I will be one of the teachers involved or act as a critical friend.  I think for succession planning and leadership density, my role is best as the critical friend.  For this I will need to trust my staff and let go of direct control (akin to a recent blog “the importance of letting go”).  I need to consolidate this plan, and get some advice before 2010.