My First Attempt at Storify: Tribes

Pursuing Passions

In terms of education, one of my major passions is children’s literature. It is all too often that I have found myself in the children’s section of a bookstore or library with hours passing. It is also a rare occasion that I can get off Amazon with only textbooks in my cart- if there aren’t already a couple of children’s books in there from the last time searching- some mysteriously end up there before I hit “Continue to Checkout.” I passionately believe that the key to a successful Language Arts curriculum is developing a love of reading within students. In order to truly foster this love, students need to be surrounded by books and be exposed to everything a book can provide- adventures to times and places, emotions, knowledge about a specific topic, etc. 

I was introduced to an incredibly passionate teacher last semester and am currently student teaching in her classroom. The love of reading and books that she possesses is exponentially expanded to each of her students. They are constantly reading, talking, and thinking about books. They are each SO excited that leading book discussions is truly about finding the rhythm of the group and keeping them in their seats (literally- often they cannot control themselves because they are so excited to tell the group something from the book).

The students are incredible critical thinkers and are constantly making connections to their own lives, other books they’ve read, and the world around them. It is so inspiring and exciting to watch.  I am so thankful to have a chance to be a part of it and learn from an incredible teacher who has fostered such an amazing environment of passionate learners!

Recently, I have also found that character education is something that I am really passionate about, as well. I truly believe that school is not only a place for students’ to find knowledge in the form of content, but that it is also a place to foster and develop important traits as human beings.

The classroom I am currently student teaching in is part of an incredible program in which character education is woven throughout the curriculum from kindergarten through sixth grade. The students in my classroom are incredibly empathetic, caring, and conscientious human beings. They are constantly thinking about and talking about how they can be better citizens and serve the community. While community service is a piece, it is also a philosophy of being a respectful, kind, and mindful person. How do we want to act everyday and relate to the people around us? I think this is something that all of us as human beings, no matter what age or walk of life, should truly consider. In doing so, our world has potential to become a very different place.

Visitor Resident Continuum

Reflect on where you are on the Visitor-Resident Continuum and how you see your future on the Internet:

In imagining the continuum of the Visitor-Resident principle as described in the video, I currently view myself somewhere in the middle leaning towards resident. I would say that I do have somewhat of an online identity, however, that persona is somewhat stagnant at the moment. Through this course, I am definitely enhancing my online identity, but before that it was more of a shell rather than an interactive persona.

I would consider myself a communal resident, but I have not yet explored being truly collaborative. I enjoy being a part of certain online communities, however, I am not very active. This course is providing more of the spaces necessary and forcing me to become more collaborative. I see the Internet as a very positive area to engage in relationships of sharing knowledge and ideas, however, I am often overwhelmed by the possibilities. I think that because the infinite possibilities provided by the Internet overwhelm me, it is hard to narrow down (or have the time to narrow down) and make using the Internet as a space effective. In this way, I often use it more like a visitor, as a tool that I pick up when I need it and then put it down.

I really liked when Dr. White said, “It isn’t about just knowing how to use technology, but one must be able to integrate it appropriately to make it effective.” I completely agree with this statement and believe that I am still learning not only how to use technology but also more importantly, when to use it so that it is effective.

A Whole New Mind (Part I)

A Whole New Mind (Part 1)

1. What is L-Directed and R-Directed Thinking? Does my subject require more of one than the other? How could I try and reach a balance?

L-Directed thinking                                 R-Directed thinking 

                     what is said                      NOT SEPARATE!       how things are said        

                  Sequential                                                                      Simultaneous

                 Text                                   VERY MUCH NEED              Context

              Analyzes details              EACH OTHER TO BE                Synthesizes the big

                                                                SUCCESSFUL!                                  picture

             Logical, analytical                                                                   Recognizes patterns,           

                                                          WORK AS ONE WITH              synthesizes information

                                                      DUAL STRENGTHS

In elementary school, I strongly believe (very much supported in this book) that both “ways” of thinking need to be promoted. Students need to be provided with opportunities to construct, develop, and practice both L-directed and R-directed thinking strategies (separate and in conjunction with one another).

2. How do Abundance, Asia, and Automation affect the dominance of L-Directed thinking in business and schools?

            Abundance, Asia, and Automation are reducing the necessity of dominant L-Directed thinking in business and schools. Abundance has created a necessity of creativity to stand apart from the competition- the analytical, simple engineering of a product that performs the desired task is not enough. It needs to perform the task while also setting itself apart from the incredible amount of alternate options that also perform the same task; requiring not only L-directed thinking to develop the product, but also R-directed thinking to creatively set it apart from the others.

Through education and training, Asia has produced a multitude of workers who excel at L-directed thinking. Companies are able to outsource their L-directed thinking (analytical and concrete tasks) to these countries for much less money. This has reduced the number of jobs available in this country requiring solely L-directed thinking.

Automation, or the use of computers, has extremely reduced the dominance of L-directed thinking. Computers can be programmed to exponentially outperform humans in many L-directed thinking tasks.  This has also reduced the need for dominant L-directed thinking.

3. What is High Concept and High Touch. What is the impact of this on my teaching?

According to Pink, “High concept involves the capacity to detect patterns and opportunities, to create artistic and emotional beauty, to craft a satisfying narrative, and to combine seemingly unrelated ideas into something new” (p. 2)

“High touch involves the ability to empathize with others, to understand the subtleties of human interaction, to find joy in one’s self and to elicit it in others, and to stretch beyond the quotidian in pursuit of purpose and meaning” (p. 3)

In essence, high concept is the ability think, act, and recognize creative and expressive actions involving objects or ideas. In relation to this, high touch connects to the emotional and relational actions and feelings involving oneself and others. These concepts connect and strongly support the need to foster a warm, caring and supportive environment within the classroom. In doing this, high touch will be attainable, supporting the ability for students to engage effectively in high concept.

4. What are the flaws of an education system that only values IQ? Is there also a role for EQ in education?

An education system that only values IQ is extremely flawed. For one, IQ is measured in an extremely L-directed thinking manner (as described by Pink). This not only excludes and disvalues people with extremely valuable talents and ideas, but also disregards the importance for all people to strive to have balance in both ways of thinking. Secondly, as argued by Pink, the demand in our society is moving away from L-directed thinking skills and toward more R-directed thinking skills. Therefore, why should we propel an education system that only tests and values the standard definition of IQ (extremely L-directed)? However, this does not mean that I do not support or value IQ. I believe that an educational system needs to strive to achieve a balance between valuing IQ and EQ. This will support a balance of L-directed and R-directed thinking, and instead of valuing one way as better than the other, we can instead value individuals for their true strengths. 

As we learn together...

What is our domain, community, and practice for this course and beyond?

The domain for this course is you and me. WE are the group of people, who possess and are committed to our shared interest in technology within education and to promote learning. In order to be fully effective, each of us must value one another and passionately pursue our shared interest. Although we will become the core of OUR community of practice, we will have the opportunity to join and meld with other communities of practice engaged in similar passions.

            The community for this course will be made up of our time in the classroom as well as shared through our personal learning networks. This will help us to “engage in joint activities and discussions, help each other, and share information” (Wenger, 2006). This is where we will build our relationships.

            The practice will include our work of incorporating technology into the realm of education and our teaching practices. As we try new things or practice old techniques in the classroom, we must share the implications (successes and failures) with one another in order to foster and allow our community to expand and develop.

            The concepts and ideas of a community of practice and situated learning are extremely relevant as I consciously develop my personal learning network. In order to foster, flourish, and contribute successfully to a community of learners, as an individual I must develop a comprehensive personal learning network. In doing this, I will be able to both pursue information relevant to the community and effectively communicate my practice. My individual personal learning network will become the tool or forum necessary to participate effectively in our community of practice.

... 

In contrast, the following article disagrees and argues against many aspects of the concept of situated learning:

Anderson, J.R.; Reder, L.M.; Simon, H.A. (1996). "Situated learning and

education". Educational Researcher 25 (4): 5–11.

Accessed online at: http://people.ucsc.edu/~gwells/Files/Courses_Folder/ED%20261%20Papers/Anderson,%20Reder_Pt1.pdf