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Contextualizing Online Assignments: “Spoon-Feeding” or Best Practice? Michael Cenkner, M.Ed. Athabasca University

Contextualizing Online Assignments Mar31

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Page 1: Contextualizing Online Assignments Mar31

Contextualizing Online Assignments:

“Spoon-Feeding” or Best Practice?

Michael Cenkner, M.Ed.Athabasca University

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Presentation Outline

Introduction • Terms - What does “contextualize assignments” mean?• Why we aren't doing it• Why we should do it

Thoughts on how to contextualize assignments• Ideas on how to approach it conceptually • Ideas on how to format

Conclusion

References

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What does “contextualize assignments” mean?

Telling students “why” they are doing a given assignment

Bringing awareness to the several dimensions to this

Separating the “how to” from the “why”

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Terms

“Contextualize“ - situating

“Explicit contextualization” – distinct from “how to”

“Assignment” - a learning task

“Content domain-centered ” vs. “learning-centered” – focus is the learning experience

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Limits of presentation

Not talking about rubrics (marking guides) - necessary but not sufficient

Not talking about feedback – actually this contextualization is part of feedback

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Example

(To Marking Guide…)

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Currently...

Explicit contextualization often not happening

• Absent • Buried

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“Fallacy of obviousness” vs. learner diversity

At the same time the diversity of students has increased enormously so that previous assumptions of the level of sophistication of knowledge background, study skills, conception of learning (Saljo, 1982) or conception of knowledge (Perry, 1970) of students are now likely to be very wide of the mark.

Gibbs and Simpson, Does your assessment support your students’ learning?

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“Fallacy of obviousness” vs. levels of awareness

Conception of the task• Conception of learning• Conception of knowledge• Conception of the discipline

Gibbs and Simpson, Does your assessment support your students’ learning?

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“Fallacy of obviousness” vs. complexities of environment

Difficulties related to online strategies

Difficulties related to online affordances

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Other reasons

Fallacy of “benefits of vagueness”• “Supporting creativity” vs. need to know the real goal• “Supporting initiative” vs. need to know real boundaries

Power and control• Conceptual development” vs. “rite of passage”?• “It was good enough for me…”

Lack of knowledge about integrated unit planning among faculty; lack of incentives

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Why we should contextualize assignments

To motivate • Relevance; competence

To remind• Cognitive - activating prior learning

To make responsible• Metacognition – activating learning strategies; learner control

To guide• Teaching - relates to summarizing, setting objectives, and cuing

To explain• Concept formation – “why” and “how to” are different kinds of concepts

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Some good reasons why students do assignmentsTo apply theoretical/conceptual knowledge in an accurate way

To practice a (conceptual) skill, procedure or algorithm

To apply domain thinking and terminology in an appropriate way

To help prepare for an exam

To be successful early on in the course

To apply explicit or implicit learning strategies

To benefit from a synergy (e.g. design a solution to a problem)

To consolidate/synthesize understanding

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Example

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Example

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Example

(To Marking Guide…)

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Some integrated unit development models

“Learning-centred” vs. “content domain-centred”

Both in K-12 and corporate but also post-secondary

“Integrated” means an entire learning experience is provided

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Understanding by Design (UbD)

Unit Planning Approach

Dimensions of understanding

“Backwards approach” - Starts with questions about assessment: o What do practitioners do?o What is evidence of them doing it?o What would assessment from there look like?o What activities would prepare students for that assessment?o What content would prepare students for that assessment?

The “why we are doing this” is integrated throughout

http://www.ubdexchange.org/

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“4MAT” Unit Planning Approach

online.sfsu.edu/.../deborah/4mat.htm

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Summary

The contextualization of assignments is crucial to learning

The contextualization should minimally be:o Explicito Multi-dimensional o Separate from instructionso Formatted differently from instructions

Some ideas on formatting

Some pointers to integrated unit planning models

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ReferencesBillett, S. (2001). Workplaces, communities and pedagogy: an activity theory view. In M.R. Lea &

Kathy Nicoll (Eds.), In Distributed Learning: Social and cultural approaches to practice (1st ed., pp. (pp.83-97).). New York: Taylor & Francis (Routledge).

Gibbs, G., & Simpson, C. (2004). Does your assessment support your students’ learning? Journal of Learning and teaching in Higher Education, Vol. 1, No. 1.

Marzano, R., & Pickering, D. (2001). Classroom Instruction that Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement (ASCD). Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervisions and Curriculum Development.

Moses, A. (n.d.). Building on Prior Knowledge and Meaningful Student Contexts/Cultures. Critical Issue: Building on Prior Knowledge and Meaningful Student Contexts/Cultures . Retrieved March 17, 2009, from http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/learning/lr100.htm.

Oxford, R. (1990). Language learning strategies and beyond: A look at strategies in the context of styles. In S.S. Magnan (Ed.), In Shifting the instructional focus to the learner (pp. 35-55). Middlebury, VT: Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.

Reflective baby. (n.d.). . Retrieved March 23, 2009, from http://mopslik.ca/photos/Gabriella/gabby12.jpg.

Sambell, K., McDowell, L., & Brown, S. (1997). "But Is It Fair?" : An Exploratory Study Of Student Perceptions Of The Consequential Validity Of Assessment. Studies In Educational Evaluation, Volume 23, Pages 349-371.

Spoon feeding Image. (n.d.). . Retrieved March 23, 2009, from http://www.flickr.com/photos/60546721@N00/73410200/.

Understanding by Design Exchange by ASCD. (n.d.). . Retrieved March 23, 2009, from http://www.ubdexchange.org/.

Waite, T. (n.d.). Activity Theory. Retrieved March 20, 2009, from http://www.slis.indiana.edu/faculty/yrogers/act_theory2/.

Welcome to 4MAT: A New Way of Thinking About Teaching and Learning. (n.d.). . Retrieved March 23, 2009, from http://www.aboutlearning.com/.