KNOWLEDGE CONSTRUCTOR
Students critically curate a variety of resources
using digital tools to construct knowledge, produce
creative artefacts and make meaningful learning
experiences for themselves and others.
(ISTE, 2016)
using digital tools to construct knowledge, produce
creative artefacts and make meaningful learning
experiences for themselves and others.
(ISTE, 2016)
Coursework Artefact #1
In January 2015, I began my second course of the MET program ETEC 510: Design of Technology-Supported Learning Environments which consisted of many informative but text-heavy articles and reports surrounding technology-infused teaching and learning. One of the activities we completed in this course as a response to the content was to extract a single keyword from our weekly readings and explaining its importance. I decided to produce mind maps to more visually depict the connections and conclusions I had learned each week:
This activity heavily influenced my thinking when approaching the final design project for the course. After reading a significant amount of data on the topic of gamification, I decided to choose keywords that shaped my understanding of the concepts in the research. I narrowed down my understanding of the research to eight key ideas, then designed a visualisation of how the elements are interconnected:
While the keyword activity prompted me to depict my knowledge in a simplified manner, it was the creation of this framework that truly taught me how powerful visual representations can be for solidifying learning about complex concepts. This framework along with a corresponding video was included in my group’s design project for the course, a website titled Gamification in Education. This approach to learning emphasised the importance of constructing, building and designing as ways of knowing. The knowledge I gained was acquired through a constructivist method as it was “not simply transmitted from teacher to students, but actively constructed by the mind of the learner” (Brennan & Resnick, 2013).
Application to Practice
After participating in a Twitter chat in April 2015, in which I shared the above visualisation of gamification elements, I was asked to present the framework at the 8th Annual 21st Century Learning Conference in Hong Kong. In February 2016, I presented the session Zombie Runs and Other Examples of Gamification to share with other educators the elements experts have identified as effective when designing gamified units or learning tasks.
The original keyword activity made such a lasting impression on me that in March 2016, I also featured the strategy in the Mindmapping Theory and Tools episode of ten part teacher professional development series, noting that the activity can be used across grade levels and subject areas. I also continue to use this strategy with students in my Language and Literature classroom in hopes that it inspires my own students to creatively construct knowledge for themselves.
Coursework Artefact #2
In January 2016, I began my sixth course of the MET program ETEC 500: Research Methodology in Education that focuses on developing skills for “locating, understanding, interpreting, critiquing and designing education research” (UBC, 2017). Prior to this course, I had no exposure to research skills at the graduate level and found it very useful to learn about how to select and refine a topic for research, locate and summarise published research, follow procedures for collecting data, and analyse data findings. Understanding the differences between qualitative and quantitative data was an important learning for me, as I previously did not fully understand these two types of research. The course text Introduction to Educational Research states that “the combination of both qualitative and quantitative data tends to provide a better understanding of a given research problem than can one type of data in isolation” and thus I was also introduced to the mixed-methods approach (Mertler, 2016, 14). This is precisely the approach I took when undertaking my own research project The Effects of Asynchronous Learning in Middle School English Language Instruction.
In this report I constructed appropriate research questions, identified variables, acknowledge assumptions and devised an effective search plan to inquire about a topic that is directly related to my teaching practice. The aim of my study was to offer some insight into how technology could help facilitate the designing of online, self-paced learning experiences for adolescent students. By undertaking such a substantial research project, I was able to gain a better understanding of the research process and how I could more effectively construct knowledge for myself in our data-saturated digital world.
Application to Practice
Learning more about research methodologies has made a substantial impact on my teaching practice. Completing my own research project prompted me to consider how I could develop research skills for students at my school. In my role as the ICT Educational Specialist for the secondary section, I created a scope and sequence of research skills to scaffold students’ learning from Grade 6 through 12. Topics I learned in the Research Methodologies course such as designing appropriate research questions, knowledge of database keywords, evaluating sources, and understanding the research process itself are examples of checkpoints setup to help guide teachers’ instruction. I also began regularly facilitating in-class student workshops on information literacy and in March 2016 I also featured what I had learned about research methodologies in the Online Research Skills episode of ten part professional development series for teachers at my school in Hong Kong.
My learning in the course also prompted me to facilitate a professional development workshop in April 2016 titled Information Fluency: Practical Tools and Strategies for Online Research at the inaugural ReThinking Literacy Conference in Singapore. The aim of this workshop was to teach classroom educators research methodologies basics and provide simple activities to teach more elementary research skills to students. The presentation contains a breakdown of how to encourage students to effectively plan their research and evaluate the reliability and relevance of online information. I have been asked back again this year to present a full-day preconference workshop on the same topic.
When I returned to classroom teaching in September 2016, I found my knowledge of research skills aided me in developing lessons to promote media and information literacy, two subgroups of the research approach to learning in the International Baccalaureate MYP curriculum. In addition, this year I supervised two students in the undertaking of their own Personal Projects, a large-scale independent research project that is a requirement for students to be successful in the MYP. Currently, I am also supervising a Diploma Program student in the writing of his Extended Essay, a compulsory research paper students must complete to successfully earn their IB Diploma. I have referenced the ETEC 500 course text numerous times in my supervisory role and have even used my own research paper as an exemplar for students to reference as they work through the process themselves.
Coursework Artefact #3
In May 2016, I began my ninth course in the MET program ETEC 522: Ventures in Learning Technology. I was ecstatic to take this class as entrepreneurship became a significant part of my life while living in Hong Kong. In a place known for startups, the densely populated city is seeped in networking, co-oping spaces, competitive drive, pop-up companies, and innovative ideas. I was eager to learn more about ventures in learning technologies not only to support student entrepreneurship, but to perhaps further pursue this route myself.
The course began with a module entitled Opportunity Horizon in which we explored the significant publications that forecast trends in educational technology. One of the reports I learned about in this course is the 2016 NMC Technology Outlook for International Schools in Asia which reflects a collaborative research effort between the New Media Consortium (NMC) and prominent international schools in Asia to inform school leaders and decision-makers about important developments in technologies supporting teaching, learning, and creative inquiry within the Asian international education scene. This regional report was produced to “explore important developments in technology and forecast their potential impact expressly in an Asian context” (Adams et al., 2016, p.1). Prior to the initial release of this regional report in 2014, leaders of international schools in Asia looked to the NMC Horizon Report: 2016 K-12 Edition which did not necessarily reflect what was occurring in the particular context of international schools in Asia.
With international schools in Asia at the forefront of educational technology, this regional report has become a valuable and useful tool for technologies specialists and venturers of international schools in Asia to reference. Since this report is so specialised, it has become an important document to guide school leaders’ decision-making and inform policies surrounding technology integration. The report can further provide the broader education community with more long-term projections of technology trends and tools within K-12 schools. I used my knowledge of educational technology trends in Asia when selecting a technology startup company to construct an analyst report for a fake board of international school directors. Once this company had been selected, I continued to explore the issue of English language grammar for non-native students by actively pursuing solutions for the company to expand in the Asian market. At the conclusion of the course, I created a comprehensive venture pitch for my idea:
Coursework Artefact #3
In May 2016, I began my ninth course in the MET program ETEC 522: Ventures in Learning Technology. I was ecstatic to take this class as entrepreneurship became a significant part of my life while living in Hong Kong. In a place known for startups, the densely populated city is seeped in networking, co-oping spaces, competitive drive, pop-up companies, and innovative ideas. I was eager to learn more about ventures in learning technologies not only to support student entrepreneurship, but to perhaps further pursue this route myself.
The course began with a module entitled Opportunity Horizon in which we explored the significant publications that forecast trends in educational technology. One of the reports I learned about in this course is the 2016 NMC Technology Outlook for International Schools in Asia which reflects a collaborative research effort between the New Media Consortium (NMC) and prominent international schools in Asia to inform school leaders and decision-makers about important developments in technologies supporting teaching, learning, and creative inquiry within the Asian international education scene. This regional report was produced to “explore important developments in technology and forecast their potential impact expressly in an Asian context” (Adams et al., 2016, p.1). Prior to the initial release of this regional report in 2014, leaders of international schools in Asia looked to the NMC Horizon Report: 2016 K-12 Edition which did not necessarily reflect what was occurring in the particular context of international schools in Asia.
With international schools in Asia at the forefront of educational technology, this regional report has become a valuable and useful tool for technologies specialists and venturers of international schools in Asia to reference. Since this report is so specialised, it has become an important document to guide school leaders’ decision-making and inform policies surrounding technology integration. The report can further provide the broader education community with more long-term projections of technology trends and tools within K-12 schools. I used my knowledge of educational technology trends in Asia when selecting a technology startup company to construct an analyst report for a fake board of international school directors. Once this company had been selected, I continued to explore the issue of English language grammar for non-native students by actively pursuing solutions for the company to expand in the Asian market. At the conclusion of the course, I created a comprehensive venture pitch for my idea:
Application to Practice
In June 2016, inspired by what I had learned in the course, I helped orchestrate a project-based entrepreneurship week for Middle School students at my school in Hong Kong. Modelled after the popular American television show Shark Tank, students were encouraged to explore real-world issues and problems, develop ideas and pursue solutions just as I had done through my course. Students were mentored by Hong Kong entrepreneurs on how to focus their efforts and persuade an audience to invest in the idea. At the end of the week, students pitched their idea to a board of judges and some groups even actively pursued starting a company.
I continue to advocate for the integration of entrepreneurial skills at my current school in Singapore and am working towards constructing an interdisciplinary unit as part of my Language and Literature program. Entrepreneurship is an excellent avenue to encouraging students to actively explore real-world issues and problems and construct their own knowledge.
References
21st Century Learning International. (2016, April). Cris Turple [Photograph]. Singapore. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/42604412@N06/25967867193.
Adams Becker, S., Cummins, M., Davis, A., Estrada, V., & Hall, C. (2016). 2016 NMC Technology Outlook for International Schools in Asia: A Horizon Project Regional Report. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium.
Brennan, K. & Resnick, M. (2013). Chapter 17: Imagining, creating, playing, sharing, reflecting: How online community supports young people as designers of interactive media. Emerging technologies for the classroom. Springer New York.
FitzGerald, F. [duncanfitzg]. (2016, February 19). Great ideas being shared re gamification [Twitter moment]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/duncanfitzg/status/700941130016292864.
International Baccalaureate (2017). MYP Projects. Retrieved from http://www.ibo.org/programmes/middle-years-programme/curriculum/myp-projects/.
International Baccalaureate (2017). What is the extended essay? Retrieved from http://www.ibo.org/programmes/diploma-programme/curriculum/extended-essay/what-is-the-extended-essay/.
ISTE (2016, June). ISTE Standards for Students. Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards/standards/for-students-2016#startstandards.
McFarland, C. [CMcFarland34]. (2016, June 23). Don’t underestimate the power of students [Twitter moment]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/CMcFarland34/status/746165154463768576.
Mertler, C. A. (2016). Introduction to educational research (8th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Turple, C. (2015). Keywords for ETEC 510 [Google slides]. Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/12vavLEpIUn3N7WYwm68PJ9bjpFTosKnJgPBfkyMVCI4/edit?usp=sharing.
Turple, C. (2015). Visualisation of Gamification Model [diagram].
Turple, C. (2016). The effects of asynchronous online learning in middle school English language instruction. Unpublished paper. The University of British Columbia, Canada.
Turple, C. [CrisTurple]. (2016, June 15). Are you an entrepreneur? [Twitter moment]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/CrisTurple/status/743250906355949568.
Turple, C. [Cris Turple]. (2016, November 28). NoRedInk Mandarin - Venture Pitch [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEIuPUSzzT4.
University of British Columbia (2017). ETEC 500: Research methodologies in education (core credit). Retrieved from http://met.ubc.ca/etec-500/.