As my students frequently note, I am somewhat Socratic in my teaching methods. I teach them a concept, and then as we review and practice it, I ask questions when they are lost. While they grumble about the fact I won’t just tell them what they already know, it’s quick to show me what they’re confused about so I can help clarify and it shows them that they can rely on themselves for the answers. In fact, a number of them have told me that’s how they now get through class. If they can’t remember something, they ask themselves what I would ask them, and get themselves back on track.
Being Socratic has been a wonderful tool for teaching in my current position, but I think I’ve really only developed it in the past two years or so. Of course, because I’ve relied more on it than my old teaching styles, it’s now my reflex teaching method. This isn’t a bad thing, but it’s making things interesting as I create more material for Dead Bunny.
The Socratic method requires the teacher to be there asking questions, probing to help the student find their way through a skill. That’s something a blog post, a PDF quick-facts sheet, and a video tutorial cannot do. I’m still in the process of creating the first tutorial, and I think one of my biggest problem spots right now is the script. I’m used to demonstrating a skill, and then directing practice by questioning, but the video won’t allow for that for obvious reasons. Even when I teach myself how to create a more interactive learning unit, I know I won’t be in the program questioning.
I could try to predict the common questions that will come up, but I know from experience that students don’t always run into the same problems. I’d hate to throw useless questions at a student who just wants a better understanding of a skill. How do I sooth my inner Socratic teacher in this case?
So far, the best I can do is write as clearly as I can, addressing the basic steps necessary for the skill and trying to cover the more common trouble spots. It’s forcing me to teach in a more direct manner than I’ve ever taught in my life. In fact, I’m hacing to write this material from my training frame of mind instead of my teacher way of mind.
Can multimedia have a Socratic aspect to it, too? I don’t know, but I’m willing to explore and find out.
Posted by Rebecca as Teaching methods at 7:43 AM EDT
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For those of us who subscribe to Bloom’s taxonomy, one of the ultimate expressions of a student’s learning is synthesis, the creation of their own work based on the learned concept. This is actually the basis for authentic assessment, and a great argument against testing. When the student can take what they’ve learned and apply it to a personal project, that is the true measure of how well the student has learned the concept.
We’re so bogged down in this concept that the only way to prove students are learning is in easily quantifiable tests that may or may not have any actual bearing on demonstrating whether or not a student really knows the material.
really, what we’re seeing from students outside of school reflects this. They approach new applications, new technologies, and within minutes have often figured out the basics well enough to exert their personality over it. These persistent users of Web 2.0 take what they read and turn it into their web presence, expressing themselves visually and verbally. The evidence of their learning is on display to the world. We’d do well to consider this when setting up learning and assessing tasks for them.
The most sincere way to determine whether or not a student has mastered a concept is to give them the opportunity to apply that knowledge through thecreation of a project.
Posted by Rebecca as Components of Learning, Teaching methods at 8:43 AM EDT
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I’ve finally decided to jump in and attempt to create a tutorial for Dead Bunny. The most logical place to start, given my current knowledge base and available technology, is Impress (otherwise known as OpenOffice’s equivalent of PowerPoint).
Someone recommended Beyond Bullet Points: Using Microsoft PowerPoint to Create Presentations that Inform, Motivate, and Inspire, so I checked it out from the library. I’ve used PowerPoint twice, both in grad school. I had to create a presentation for class and then I created the non-multimedia sections of a workshop in it. I was never able to make the multimedia sections insert correctly into my slide show. Going to a book just seemed a good idea.
I’m only partway through working on the tutorial, but Beyond Bullet Points has been wonderful! Atkinson starts you off with a template to plan the story of your presentation, and then takes you step by step through moving from the story template to a storyboard template to making sure your presentation is a good blend of script and visual elements. You develop both together to make sure they stay in sync with each other from the standpoint of the message. He includes tips at the end of each chapter for things you can do to make your presentation stand out or just feel slightly different from other presentations.
The best part, for me as someone interested in educational media, was that he included Mayer’s Principles and how each principle is reflected in the BBP method. It’s been useful in thinking through my own tweaks to the BBP method.
I took a ton of notes, and they’re guiding me through my work on this tutorial. Hopefully, I’ll finish everything up soon and will have it posted to the Dead Bunny site so everyone can check it out.
If you have to present with a slide show, regardless of the setting, you really need to check out this book and the accompanying websites. They’re full of great tips. (If you use Impress like I do, though, be ready to do a little exploring to find some of the menus and panels.)
Posted by Rebecca as e-learning at 7:38 AM EDT
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