Throughout the past six weeks in my Masters of Arts in Educational Technology (MAET) class, CEP 812, I have been considering “wicked problems” of practice in terms of “Rethinking Teaching”. A Wicked problem is one that is so complex that it involves many variables and does not have one correct answer. Large-scale problems such as this “require the search for new tools and new uses of old ones. And they require knowing when to stop asking one question and start asking a better one” (Gee, 2013, p. 144). With a group of three of my peers in my class, we have collaborated our thoughts, issues, concerns, and solutions to “Rethink Teaching” in the 21st century.
Our Wicked Problem is finding a way to limit direct instructional time to allow for more focus on student-centered learning.
In order to solve our Wicked Problem, we studied blended learning models, which incorporate face-to-face teaching with technology-based learning, to formulate our solution. We used our experiences in teaching, our understanding of Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) Framework, influences of James Paul Gee’s book The Anti-Education Era, and research based studies on blended learning effectiveness to form our solution to the Wicked Problem. We focused on three blended learning models and merged them to find an effective solution to our problem.
My group loved the idea of utilizing technology to rethink teaching and change the role of the teacher and the student in traditional classrooms. Traditional classroom models that fall short in a few areas and leave some learners unchallenged or too challenged. Our approach was to get a more student-centered approach where the teacher facilitated active learning. Our group liked principles of blended learning, but felt that each model tended to lack solutions to basic problems that we saw arising in educating 21st century learners.
Our team hybridized elements of the Flex, Rotation, and Flipped Models to create a new model that lends itself to efficiency in the classroom: the F.U.S.E. Learning Model. The F.U.S.E. Learning Model is Facilitated Unrestricted self-paced blended learning models in a Student-centered learning Environment.
Throughout this six-week process we met using Google Hangouts, collaborated using Google Docs, and used a multimedia approach to collaboration. We submitted a draft to our class last week and were paired with a peer from a different group to provide constructive feedback. Here is the feedback in a googledoc that I was provided with. It was very helpful and the suggestions of my peer review and my team members peer review were extremely valuable.
Here is a look at our final project in Blendspace. We curated our Google Document Essay, Infographic, and multimedia video to show our collaborative efforts and solution to our problem in one place. Please share, comment, and enjoy!
REFERENCES:
Gee, J.P. (2013). The Anti-Education Era: Creating Smarter Students through Digital Learning. New York, New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Koehler, M. J., & Mishra, P. (2009). What is technological pedagogical content knowledge? Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 9(1), 60-70. Retrieved June 19, 2014 from http://tpack.org/
Winning in Education 