Innovative Learning & Teaching

Respect

Introduction

By understanding the diverse abilities, talents, and backgrounds of our students, we can develop more effective instructional strategies which are tailored to them. Students are better engaged by content that is coded to their experience, needs, and perspective and which they perceive as relevant. One of the most important aspects of this principle is the role that attitude plays in this process. Technology can enable us to more easily develop and use content which appeals to all of our students.

Relevance

Attitude

Attitude plays an important role in learning and manifests in several ways. An excellent and very readable source for information on this is How to Turn Learners on without Turning them Off by Robert F. Mager 3 rd Edition 1997 ISBN 1-879-618-18-4. There is a lot of literature on the attitudes of various learner populations towards specific subjects, particularly for at-risk populations.

Ways that attitude effect teaching and learning:

• The attitude that a teacher has for his or her students. This aspect of attitude is both the most important and the most relevant to this principle. Nothing can destroy a student's interest in a subject faster than classroom cruelty or indifference. (Mager discusses how common it is for adults to pinpoint the exact moment/incident within the classroom that a negative experience destroyed their interest in a subject for life.) Each teacher must strive to project a sense of sincere concern and care for all of his or her students. This includes learning to correct in a fashion that uses positive rather than punitive encouragement. There should be absolutely no place in the classroom for ridicule, or humiliation.

•  The attitude that a teacher has for the subject or topic being taught. Students will respond either positively or negatively to the attitude that a teacher projects toward a subject. Unfortunately, disdain or apathy for a subject on the part of a teacher may be more contagious than enthusiasm. Sometimes teachers are required to teach subjects that are not of their choosing or within their area of expertise. It is very important to make every effort to project a positive attitude for all subject content and to treat it as relevant and worthwhile.

•  The attitude that students have for the subject or topic. This can be either a major obstacle or a boon to learning. (For example, we know that the poor representation of women in engineering fields is due to the tendency for girls to turn away from math and science studies prior to college.)

Good performance in a subject does not necessarily imply a positive attitude towards it. Explicit measures of attitude include position papers, Likert scale surveys and other formal instruments. Unobtrusive measures of student attitude tend to be informal observations. This includes things like wear and tear on textbooks (implying greater usage), prompt submission and completion of homework, attendance, etc.

One approach is to craft instructional content in ways that map the subject area to the everyday experience of students. For instance, a variety of math topics (fractions, statistics, etc.) could be presented in the context of a student's interest in professional sports. Of course, to do this effectively, teachers must know their students.

Diversity – Ethnic, Cultural, Gender, and Class Backgrounds

Our students bring a wide range of diversity to the classroom. We need to understand and have a respect for this diversity if we are to effectively tailor our presentation of content to best engage them. Education in the United States includes enculturation of societal values, rules, and laws which are critical for the future success of our students as citizens. Our goal here is to obtain a real understanding our students' backgrounds in order to develop a sincere respect for their perspective.

•  To a great extent, respect for other perspectives can be couched in the way we communicate with our students. A good approach is to make a distinction between ‘culturally different' and ‘wrong' in order to preserve respect for other cultures. As an example, I've worked with graduate students from India who in their culture have a gesture in which they shake their head from right to left to indicate understanding. I explain to them that this gesture is coded exactly opposite in American culture and actually signals a lack of understanding to Americans. A useful source for cultural and ethnic differences is Understanding Cultural Differences by Edward T. and Mildred Reed Hall, Intercultural Press, 1990. (The author has some very useful and readable earlier works as well.)

•  Class differences can be more pronounced than other differences in background and perspective. For teachers in urban schools, I highly recommend A Framework for Understanding Poverty by Ruby Payne Revised 3 rd Editon 2003 ISBN 0-9 29229-14-3. This work is very useful for obtaining an understanding of how class differences can impact the coding of instruction for improved effectiveness.

•  One important issue to address here is that of African American Vernacular English (AAVE) also know as Black Vernacular English and Eubonics. Linguists recognize this as a legitimate dialect of English which is readily understood and spoken by many people. However, this dialect is not generally the language of the workplace, the job interview, or instruction. Clearly, to prepare our students for success in society, they must be able to speak and write Standard English. Again, the best approach is to recognize the legitimacy of the AAVE as a language along with the student's accomplishment in mastering it, but to emphasize that Standard English is the language that is used in school and work. The message should be: AAVE is not wrong, just best suited for specific situations and environments, just as Standard English is suited for other environments and situations.

•  Gender differences are probably most noticeable in the areas of Math and Science. The disproportionate representation of women in science and technology careers has generated a lot of research in this area. Our goal here is to encode our presentation of instructional content and classroom activities to better engage female students. Additionally, it is clear that student attitude is a big factor in these differences and we can adopt additional strategies that explicitly address that.

Diversity – Learning Styles

Learning styles is a simple yet powerful concept. It states that people learn best when information is encoded and presented in specific somatic (sensory) modes. Thus visual learners learn best from material that is presented pictorially or via text. Auditory learners learn best from hearing a lecture, etc. Additional styles include kinesthetic or haptic which describes people that learn best by doing. Many people may show only a slight preference for one style or another or respond best to a blend of several styles.

•  There are several psychometric inventories designed to identify the particular style of the learner. However, many people show only a slight preference for one modality over another. The best approach is to make the learner aware of their own learning preferences and encourage them to incorporate style-based choices in their learning strategies.

•  We want to encode our presentation of content so that it addresses all the major styles. This can be done redundantly with separate multiple presentations of the same content encoded differently or via a single multi-modal presentation designed to work for all styles. Generally, multi-modal presentation of content is more effective for most learners, so it is best to reserve separate style-specific presentations for augmentative content which we can direct students to when they need additional exposure to master the content.

•  Ultimately, as a life-long learning skill, we would expect that all students will need to be able to process and learn new information by reading, so we need to re-enforce this.

Diversity – Multiple Intelligences

•  In 1983, cognitive psychologist Howard Gardner published an alternative view of intelligence in his book Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Gardner proposed that instead of the single monolithic intelligence as measured by IQ tests, there were actually several different kinds of intelligence. He listed: linguistic intelligence, musical intelligence, logical-mathematical intelligence, spatial intelligence, bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, intra-personal intelligence, inter-personal intelligence, and natural intelligence.

•  Multiple Intelligence theory impacts instructional design at several points. First, it serves to indicate which sorts of subjects a learner might be best suited for and which might be used to build self-esteem. Secondly, like learning styles, it suggests ways that instructional content can be encoded using the various intelligences. Note that this latter tends to imply a much more immersive and activity-based approach to instruction.

•  Implementing instructional approaches that take into account multiple intelligences can result in what is known as a 'low resolution' classroom.   This is opposed to a more traditional 'high resolution' classroom in which student ranking by academic ability (typically based on math and reading) is readily apparent.   In the low resolution classroom, since multiple talents are valued, every student has a chance to be successful.   This results in better overall self image with improvement in engagement and motivation levels as a result.   Homogenous ability grouping (High, Middle, and Low achieving students) within a class by its very nature results in high resolution classrooms and should be avoided.

Principle in Practice

The methods suggested here for this principle can be applied at several levels: by an individual teacher in a single course, or multiple courses, by colleagues working together at a department, entire school or district.

The attitude elements can result in the most pronounced improvement and require little cost by way of resources but may involve a paradigm shift for some instructors.

Learning Style and Multiple Intelligence re-coding of existing curriculum content will require time and resources. There is a minimal base level of technology that is required for the use of most of the learning objects: classrooms equipped with multimedia-enabled computers with projection display capabilities, etc. They are ideal for Distance Learning use.

Assuming that you have this minimal technology, start by focusing on locating or creating multi-modal content for the topics that your students have found challenging. You can continue to enhance your courses over time.

Attitude:

•  Project a positive attitude towards your subject.

•  Maintain and project a positive and respectful attitude towards your students. Never ridicule, belittle, or humiliate a student in your teaching.

•  Try to encourage, recognize, and reward every effort of your students.

•  Consider developing an attitude change program if you feel that students' attitudes are blocking learning.

•  Use classical conditioning to improve student attitudes by providing the most comfortable and pleasant learning environment as possible for your students.

•  Use operant conditioning to improve student attitudes and behavior by using rewards as positive re-enforcement to motivate desired student behavior. Withhold rewards to provide negative re-enforcement but be careful with other negative methods.

•  Consider using a role-model as a means of improving student attitude. A celebrity or respected alpha-peer that can model the behavior you want the students to adopt is ideal.

•  Some negative attitudes like performance anxiety are best addressed using cognitive dissonance by providing students with an experience that directly contradicts their pre-conceived attitude towards a subject. (If you have women students successfully assemble a computer from components, they will be a lot more comfortable with computers!)

•  Generally, non-obtrusive, observational assessment will suffice for determining if you have effected an attitude change in your students, especially in a single class. If you need to demonstrate this effectiveness to colleagues, administration, or others, consider using additional reactive measures for assessment which can include: position papers, Likert scale surveys, and a variety of other formal assessment measures. It is likely that you can find an existing instrument that is suitable for you purpose.

Diversity - Ethnic, Cultural, Gender, and Class Backgrounds

•  Obtain a working understanding of your students' cultural and ethnic backgrounds, particularly if they differ from your own. An experienced colleague might be the best resource for this.

•  Always respect the cultural and ethnic diversity of your students and encourage them to respect each other's in turn.

•  If you teach in an urban school, obtain the Ruby Payne book: A Framework for Understanding Poverty . This book is well-suited for working through with a group of colleagues.

•  Incorporate women-centric activities within instructional design to better engage women. The literature indicates that young women:

• Like group vs. individual work.
• See technology's expressive qualities.
• See computers as a means to converse.
• Focus on the social function of technology.
• Like expressive/communication-based tasks. Source: Farmer, Empowering Young Women Through Technology, Technology Connection; Feb 1998, Vol. 4 Issue 9, p18.

For additional ideas see: Ettenheim, Furger, Siegman, Tips for Getting Girls Involved, Technology and Learning, March 2000.

Diversity – Learning Styles

•  Use a multi-modal design for delivering instructional content. Review lesson plans to ensure they are coded for each of the learning styles.

•  Multimedia encoded presentations by their very nature are multi-modal and speak to varied learning styles.

•  You don't have to create all your own content. There is a burgeoning international Web community for freely sharing re-usable curriculum content. Specific items are referred to as Learning Objects . Here are some good sources which include subject area indices as well as links to other sites:

•  Merlot - I have not met instructors yet who weren't able to find a Learning Object at Merlot that they could use immediately in their teaching!

•  Maricopa Learning Exchange.

•  Ohiolink Digital Media Center.

•  A variety of instruments for determining student learning styles are available. One online instrument is the VARK.

Diversity – Multiple Intelligences

•  Thomas Armstrong's Multiple Intelligence Website


Diversity – Cooperative Learning

•  Cooperative learning is an excellent group-based pedagogical technique which, when implemented correctly, will engage your students so they learn from one another. We know that the more active a learning experience is, the more effective it is likely to be. Group-based instruction increases the opportunity for active participation by individual students, and gets them to take responsibility for their own learning outcomes. This is particularly good for ethnically, racially, or economically diverse student populations as it fosters respect, cooperation and tolerance.

•  Cooperative Learning can also be used to engage the students on the higher order levels of knowledge but can also be used for lower level learning tasks.

•  An excellent resource for Cooperative Learning is Designing Groupwork: Strategies for the Hetrogenous Classroom by Elisabeth Cohen and John Goodlad.

Assessing the Benefits

•  If you haven't already been doing most of the suggestions provided here for adopting this principle, you should see your students become more engaged as you begin to use these techniques.

•  This should result in less discipline problems, better attendance, and ultimately better achievement.

•  If you need to formally assess the impact of adopting this principle, use an instrument designed to measure students' attitudes to your instruction (i.e position paper, Likert scale survey, etc.) along with the observational items previously mentioned. Administer the instrument immediately and then periodically repeat it as you continue to adopt these suggestions.

Looking Ahead

•  Learning Objects are in the process of being standardized into a meta-data encoding format that will eventually lead to the next generation of sophisticated adaptive Learning Management Systems (LMS) like Blackboard and WebCT. These systems will understand and adaptively respond to individual student needs/styles.

•  The first generation of this meta-data standard is already here and supported by current LMS. It is know as SCORM. See the Advanced Distributed Learning Website.

•  Educational Modeling Language (EML) is currently being developed to extend SCORM to allow an LMS to have a much richer understanding of students and instructional paradigms.

•  Ongoing research in neuroscience will undoubtedly extend our understanding of human learning and improve our teaching.

The Ohio Learning Network would like to thank Content Specialist Tom Wulf for thoughtfully gathering and organizing the content about this Principle.