As I continue to work with students striving to achieve independent research excellence, I often marvel at the level of specialized expertise that students develop and display.  Their ability to communicate sophisticated scientific content effectively and thoroughly is the true magic in conducting a research experience (for me).  So it gets me to thinking about this expertise and how situated it truly becomes.  Students won’t have this deep level of understanding without such an authentic experience.  Experiences that allow students to appreciate the tentative and creative perspectives of the nature of science with truth value allow for incredible growth.

These students are truly entering a community of practice and, as such, have an understanding and ability to communicate that goes beyond what gets taught in the traditional science classroom.  When they develop their curriculum there is more ownership, but more importantly, there is better understanding for what NEEDS TO BE known.  Students become better filterers and can better attack their information needs. 

The ironic part of this discussion is what really inspires it.  I run a Dilbert Comic feed on my Google Reader.  It’s a great distraction sometime during the day and usually brings a smile to my face.  A recent comic caught my attention:

I thought to myself, “Gee, you really have to know a bit of Star Wars history to be able to understand this one.” My experiences allow me to appreciate the humor of this cartoon. Here’s the scene upon which this comic was based:

I saw the original Star Wars in the theater with my dadin 1977 in the theaters.  Over the years, we’ve enjoyed many Sci Fi movies together.  These experiences, combined with my interests allow me to have a more sophisticated understanding of what that comic was trying to say.  I am thinking that it is very similar for students attempting to develop concept domain understandings.  The situated nature of learning allows for expertise to blossom when the student is task committed and open to creativity.  (Joe Renzulli, might also want me to identify above average ability to complete his 3-ring conceptionof giftedness.)  I think I buy into situated learning more and more every day.  The theory just seems to emerge so frequently from my practice.

I’ve been working on my philosophy of education and thought I would post it here. It is always subject to revision and change based on my socially-constructed knowledge experiences.  I’ve used my 21st-century wheel here. 

            Too often, education is viewed as taking place in a classroom surrounded by four impenetrable walls, where knowledge is transferred from a teacher into the minds of students.  This didactic approach to teaching and learning does not provide young men and women with the opportunity to construct their knowledge and develop a conceptual understanding of content.  Teachers and teacher leaders need to facilitate the development of skills, dispositions, and knowledge of students to make them competent, contributing members of society.

            Secondary educators have such amazing opportunities to allow learning to transcend the classroom walls.  Frequently the expression, “like real life,” is used within the context of learning tasks provided by teachers.  Unfortunately these synthetic scenarios only partially mimic an authentic situation.  There is no reason that learning and learning context cannot be truly genuine.  Making meaningful connections with the community, whether that community is defined as a local environmental organization, the medical field, the computer gaming industry, or perhaps the local news media, is critical to provide an audience for the production of student products.  When students have an authentic audience who value the learning products they create, they take greater ownership and produce higher quality work.  They also develop the skills necessary for their future success.

Twenty-first-century skills

            Dubbed twenty-first-century skills, educators have developed a framework to identify the life skills that are necessary for today’s learners.  The skills and dispositions associated with a twenty-first-century learner include: critical thinking, problem solving, innovation, creativity, self-directed work ethic, collaboration, written and oral communication, and leadership development. Information technology (IT) skills are often listed within twenty-first-century frameworks, however it seems more reasonable to integrate IT skills as a bridge between core instruction and twenty-first-century skills because it is the emerging, common, fundamental link that connects them (see Figure).  The concept of twenty-first-century skills is really not novel; they make logical sense and have been long extolled by the education community.  However, they provide educators with a valuable framework to ensure they are providing their students with valuable learning opportunities.

Information Technology Bridging the Gap between Twenty-first-century Skills and Core Instruction  (LaBanca, 2008).

 

When truly considering the implementation of twenty-first-century skills in conjunction with core instruction, educators must reconfigure their instructional strategies. Most recognize that constructivist-based knowledge acquisition occurs through a situated learning schema where students not only learn from the “Sage,” but from social interaction with one another. Knowledge flow can occur in two directions. Therefore, students need to become producers of information, not just consumers. Implementing novel knowledge production in this bidirectional fashion certainly will cause changes to teacher pedagogy. It is probable that many educators will need direct and specific training and mentoring to implement this type of change.

Problem Solving and Problem Finding

            Secondary school teachers have long valued developing student problem solving skills

Indeed, problem solving has become an integral part of instruction across curriculum areas. Students are challenged to use a variety of strategies to identify problems and their implications, develop action plans, utilize a variety of relevant sources, information, and data to address the problems, and formulate solutions. Problem solving, a twenty-first-century skill, often involves the integration of other twenty-first-century skills like critical thinking, collaboration, and written and oral communication.

Problem solving techniques can be highly idiosyncratic. However, in perhaps too many educational settings involving problem solving, teachers provide students with the problem or question, and sometimes even the methodology for determining the solution. This approach may be due to curricular requirements, time factors, the limited scope and goals of particular learning modules, or the inability of teachers to effectively employ inquiry-oriented instructional techniques.

What, therefore, seems lacking are opportunities for students to problem find: to develop their own unique ideas for study. While problem solving requires primarily logical and analytical thought processes, problem finding is a creative process. Students benefit greatly from a more holistic instructional approach, which includes experiences in both problem finding and problem solving. When these opportunities become authentic, there is potential for great gains in student learning and achievement. Educators can simultaneously develop students’ creative and innovative potential while improving critical thinking skills.

Teachers and Instructional Leaders as Change Agents

Bidirectional knowledge acquisition as an instructional strategy is not a simple process. It involves a major rethinking and a paradigm shift for teaching and learning. Too often the educational enterprise has focused on good teaching.  While good teaching is important, it is not as critical as meaningful learning.  If there is a shift in focus from teaching to measured learning, there will be benefits to the educational enterprise, business and industrial communities, and most importantly, our students.  Twenty-first-century skills are critical to the needs of society, as we develop autonomous, self-directed learners. The only way this process can potentially approach success is through communication and sharing of ideas with all stakeholders. The collective expertise of many people, facilitated by informed leadership, can help to continuously improve the process where students become producers of information that is shared with an audience that transcends the classroom walls.

I hosted my annual Science Symposium last night.  It is always professional rewarding to see my students present their results in front of a large audience of adults and impress them with their sophisticated, technical knowledge.  These students represented themselves, their school, and me in an exemplary fashion.  They are true innovators and capture the essence of autonomous, self-directed learners.  I am randomly selecting several of their presentations to feature here:

I will be giving a presentation on tools for research tomorrow at Western Connecticut State University.  I am going to do a little show-and-tell.  This picture represents the essential (and perhaps not-so-essential-but-boy-is-it-nice) gear for educational research.  The products I selected where what I deemed the “best” at the time. Best sometimes referred to price, sometimes quality, sometimes availability. 

I would be remiss to not recognize my wepage provider, BlueHost.  Some of the best prices, but more importantly, fantastic service and techical support:

I currenlty employ:  Two WordPress Blogs (http://appliedscienceresearch.labanca.net; http://problemfinding.labanca.net), LimeSurvey (http://surveys.labanca.net), MediaWiki (http://practicalstats.labanca.net), as well as my homepage (http://www.labanca.net) which I construct on DreamWeaver (part of the Adobe CS3 Suite).  Surveys for my dissertation were orgininally hand coded in HTML and PHP, but I wouldn’t now think of using anything but LimeSurvey.

Please leave a comment and let me know what you think.  Discourse is, of course, always welcome!

My wife and I enjoyed a movie last night, The Cider House Rules.  We are a bit behind the times when it comes to movies, but have been making a rapid comeback since we started our Netflix subscription.

A brief introduction synopsis from the Internet Movie Database:

Homer is an orphan in remote St. Cloud, Maine. Never adopted, he becomes the favorite of orphanage director Dr. Larch, who imparts his full medical knowledge on Homer, who becomes a skilled, albeit unlicensed, physician. But Homer yearns for a self-chosen life outside the orphanage. When Wally and pregnant Candy visit the orphanage Dr. Larch provides medically safe, albeit illegal, abortions Homer leaves with them to work on Wally’s family apple farm. Wally goes off to war, leaving Homer and Candy alone together. What will Homer learn about life and love in the cider house? What of the destiny that Dr. Larch has planned for him?

What stood out for me in this movie was the relationship of a teenage boy with his mentor and his desire to spread his wings and seek out his own life.  Homer, played by Tobey Maguire, is a young orphan who learns to be a physician, even though he never attends medical school.  From a situated perspective, he becomes a brokered member of the community of practice – receiving his cognitive apprenticeship from his mentor, Dr. Larch. 

Homer respects and honors the relationship with his mentor, but realizes that he needs to grow beyond the walls of the hospital/orphanage that has been his home his entire life.  He seeks new experiences as an apple picker and a lobsterman – potential careers that are not necessarily on par with his cognitive ability.  He does this because he has the desire to experience a more visceral life – to interact with others, to value hard work, and certainly the feeling of independence.

Dr. Larch struggles with Homer’s departure from his lifelong home, and at one point comments “I think we may have lost him to the world. . .”  Dr. Larch is conflicted with the desire to have Homer work in partnership with him and allowing Homer to experience the world without the constraints of pleasing and staying with him.

As a mentor, this is certainly the monumental challenge – to give a young mind the skills, dispositions, and knowledge of a discipline-domain, while allowing the student the freedom to grown and move beyond the experience.  We are often selfish, but the greatest gift we really can give our mentees is the gift of self-direction, self-reliance, and independence.

As a research teacher/mentor, I have been fortunate enough to see some of the long-term results of these relationships, and am amazed how these students, now doctors, scientists, as well as a host of other professionals, recognize the importance of the relations they had with me. 

It’s too bad Dr. Larch didn’t get to see Homer at the end of the film – if you don’t know why – rent it.  I’m sure you’ll see why I could relate to this film so well.

I’ve started a post-Ed.D. writing group with my colleagues for the purpose of generating articles for publication. We’ve all done significant research, and now is the opportunity to share this great, original knowledge with others. We invited Dr. Karen Burke as a guest speaker last night.  Karen spoke so eloquently on the topic and I am podcasting her presentation here.  Dr. Burke speaks about a wiki that is currently by invitation only.  Please contact me or leave a comment if you need further information.

After dinner tonight, my older daughter Anna (6) said that my wife and I had mail, but she “didn’t know” who it was from.  It contained a “mystery” that we needed to solve.  Each of us had a different letter giving us clues to figure out who and where s(he) was.  We found that she had scattered a breadcrumb trail made of index cards all around the house and it eventually led us to her room.  She was so excited that we found her, but frankly, I am more excited to see what she had done.

You see, Anna had created an piece of writing for a specific, authentic audience.  She wasn’t writing within the confines of directed parameters of some adult, but rather what was interesting to her.  She was certainly utilizing age-appropriate higher order thinking skills, connecting two independent writing samples purposefully, all with a goal of having two individuals work together.  Of course there were spelling and grammar errors, but that is appropriate at this age.  What was important was the conveyance of a novel idea.

Anna was problem finding today, and in my mind, that is one of the most important creative acts in which an individual can engage.  These are the things we need to promote in education in our young children.  Sure we want them to solve problems, but I think we always must keep in the back of our minds, that the problems we ask children to solve are often well-defined: a well-known question, with well known answer.  When we leave our comfort zone and push the boundaries of ill-defined questions and answers that we don’t necessarily develop or know the answers, we allow our children (students) to become more thoughtful, autonomous thinkers.

My students and I can certainly learn from Anna’s example.

Today, my Honors Biology students and I had the opportunity to videoconference with Dr. Don Webb at Quinnipiac University.  Don is currently running the Bristol Meyers Squibb Center for Science Teaching and Learning:

Old Saybrook resident appointed director

of Bristol-Myers Squibb Center for Science Teaching and Learning

at Quinnipiac University

Hamden, Conn. – Sept. 18, 2008 – Donald Webb of Old Saybrook has been appointed director of the Bristol-Myers Squibb Center for Science Teaching and Learning at Quinnipiac University.

The Bristol-Myers Squibb Center for Science Teaching and Learning is a Quinnipiac-based network of scientists and educators working to advance the art of science education from kindergarten to the university level. The Bristol-Myers Squibb Center for Science Teaching and Learning is one of only three such centers in the country.

In his new position, Webb will be responsible for overseeing the center, which strives to enhance science education throughout the state. The center offers workshops and support for teachers in inquiry-based teaching methods, providing tools which support student’s proficiency and achievement in science including interactive science education video conferencing with local high schools. In addition, Webb will offer science teachers and students opportunities for hands-on science experiences through Quinnipiac’s management of the Farm River in East Haven.

Webb holds a bachelor’s degree from McGill University in Montreal, a master’s degree in education from the University of Arizona and a Ph.D. in Biological Oceanography from the University of British Columbia. He has worked extensively on issues related to bioremediation and has been involved in international research projects on global climate change and the oceans.

Quinnipiac is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian institution located 90 minutes north of New York City and two hours from Boston. The university enrolls 5,400 full-time undergraduate and 2,000 graduate students in more than 65 undergraduate and 19 graduate programs of study in its School of Business, School of Communications, School of Education, School of Health Sciences, School of Law, College of Arts and Sciences and College of Professional Studies. Quinnipiac consistently ranks among the top universities with master’s programs in the Northern region in U.S. News & World Report’s America’s Best Colleges. The 2009 issue of U.S. News and World Report’s America’s Best Colleges named Quinnipiac as the top up-and-coming school with master’s programs in the North. Quinnipiac also is recognized in Princeton Review’s The Best 368 Colleges.

Dr. Webb’s professional path lead him to his current job at Quinnipiac.  He spoke to the students about professional opportunities in this field.  His PowerPoint presentation was:

Please comment on the field(s) of environmental science.  Is it interesting? Do you have interests?  What has surprised you by the presentation?  Please feel free to add to, respectfully agree or disagree, but not repeat others comments.

Last week I heard about the amazing water landing of the US Airlines flight on the Hudson River in New York City.  I was in the midst of many projects and didn’t have a chance to truly appreciate the magnitude of what had happened until I viewed a slide show of pictures.  The images are breathtaking, and I hope the link I am providing to this event lasts a long time.

What amazes me most is, in less than one minute, the pilot identifies a problem, creates a strategy for solution with multiple options, selects the best option, and finally executes the option in a near-flawless fashion.  This is what creativity and 21st-century skills is all about! (Well, maybe we don’t need to teach students how to crash land a plane, but we do need to give them the skills, knowledge, and dispositions to successfully navigate the challenges that they will undoubtedly encounter in their future.)

This situation makes me really consider the creative mind, in this case, the pilot.  Preparedness certainly favored this mind, and the expertise displayed in the choices made were enhanced by previous experience.  Sandy Kay (1994) defined creativity (specifically problem finding) in terms of an individual finding, defining, or discovering an idea or problem “not predetermined by the situation.”. This definition is problematic because it assumes there are no underlying or situated factors that might influence decision making factors. There are boundaries and parameters that are required for individuals engaging in creative problem finding and solving behaviors that are established by the field of study and the domain-culture (i.e., Csikszentmihalyi, 1990). These predetermined factors must surely influence the nature of the problems individuals attempt to solve.

IMHO, the pilot was capable of such a creative and successful act because he had the necessary expertise, coupled with a situation that mandated immediate action.  Without his experiences as a pilot and a safety consultant he could NOT have been as creative as he was. 

In terms of education, the lesson seems to be that we need to engage students in authentic experiences that challenge them to develop skill sets that allow them to solve problems well.  From a situated cognitive framework, becoming members of a community of practice – practicing both the trade and the thinking of professionals – is a necessary tool to become a productive, contributing member of a 21st-century society.

As teachers strive to increase the quality of instruction, more evidence-based practices have been implemented in classrooms. A recent trend challenges teachers to evaluate data to make decisions that will inform their instruction. My current district strives to collect student data information, but I think they still struggle with what to do with this information. We can collect it, but do we do anything with it?

In my leadership role, I have done my due diligence with my department to really think about data in meaningful ways. After all, as scientists and science teachers, we strive to use natural empirical evidence with our students to draw meaningful conclusions. Should we do the same for ourselves as we measure achievement data? As a “pocket” in the faculty community of our district, I think we are taking great steps to use assessment as a meaningful tool to help students learn.
I am writing about this, because over the past week I’ve watched an irony in all of this. Fortunately this irony does not apply to the teachers in my department. You see, the past week has been midterm exams. Many evaluate students using multiple choice questions. I feel strongly that multiple choice questions, if well written, conceptually-based, can be very effective assessment instruments. (I’ve written about this before.) Many teachers use machine grade sheets to efficiently correct the papers.  I have no issue with this.  In fact, I provided a machine (a very affordable product from Apperson), connected to a laptop which had data analysis software installed.

A teacher could log on to the laptop, start the data analysis software, scan his or her students’ exams, correct them, and have a full analysis of the questions in a matter of minutes.  This is effective use of teachers’ time.  They gather necessary information and learn about trends of student understanding.  Who could ask for more?

The irony?  No one, except my department members and two other teachers have logged onto the laptop. Teachers are correcting their exams without a care for the analysis of the data.  The machine grades, puts a score on their students’ papers, and they  walk away.   They are not collecting what could be the most valuable information of all:  the item analysis.  I’m sure there are lots of reasons why.  I’m also sure that none of them are any good.  Anyone who has ever collected item analysis data knows how valuable it is.

In a time when we say that data is so important, I wonder how many actually, truly, and really believe it?