deep learning

These websites look at deep learningDavid Warlick on Shallow Standards/Deep Learning: "Our students must leave school able to make themselves experts and able to teach themselves, becoming learners and relearners. Our current model does not do this."

Posted by gsiemens at January 24, 2006 08:48 PM Learning About Facilitation
What is Facilitation?
Very simply put, facilitation is helping a group to accomplish its goals. There are a wide range of perspectives about the ideal nature and values of facilitation, much as there are a wide range of perspectives about the ideal nature and values of leadership. For example, some facilitators may believe that facilitation should always be highly democratic in nature and that anything other than democratic is not facilitation at all. Others may believe that facilitation can be quite directive, particularly depending on the particular stage of development of the group.

Whatever one's beliefs about the best nature of facilitation, the practice usually is best carried out by someone who has strong knowledge and skills regarding group dynamics and processes -- these are often referred to as process skills. Effective facilitation might also involve strong knowledge and skills about the particular topic or content that the group is addressing in order to reach its goals -- these are often referred to as content skills. The argument about how much "process versus content" skills are required by facilitators in certain applications is a very constructive argument that has gone on for years.

How Can I Learn About Facilitation?
When gaining an introduction to facilitation, the reader might best be served to:
1. Read articles referenced from the section Group Dynamics
2. Then read articles referenced from the section "Some Basic Guidelines and Principles About Facilitation"
3. Then refine your knowledge about various types of groups by reading articles referenced from the section Related Library Links.
4. You can deepen and enrich your learning by reflecting on your facilitation experiences, including by sharing feedback with other facilitators. Consider joining any of the National Organizations That Include Focus on Facilitation
5. Also consider joining an on-line discussion group, such asTeamNeTor IAF Group Facilitation Moderated Discussion Group.
6. Ultimately, the best way to really learn facilitation is to facilitate -- start simple, but start. Regularly reflect on your experiences as you grow and learn. ,

http://www.managementhelp.org/grp_skll/facltate/facltate.htm

10th Point Transformation of Culture

The 10th Point is the transformation of culture. This can also be seen in the films Stand and Deliver and Mr Hollands Opus. The transformation of the students lead them to see the world in a different way and thus help to change the world. http://people.bath.ac.uk/edsajw/moira/Ling%20Yiwen.htmTransformation Through Education
by David Rhoads

We underestimate the power of education if we think it cannot transform us. Remember some words you heard about life that you will never forget, an insight that has shaped so many of your subsequent attitudes and decisions in life. Just think about pieces of information you have gotten at one time or another that completely changed your mind about something and enabled you to see things in a new way... or recall how the learning of some skill or method opened up many possibilities for your life... or ask yourself how certain life experiences have "taught" you the capacity to cry or to wonder. Think of the story you heard or the novel you read or the magazine article that has lead you to take a course of action or to take up some cause or concern in life.

9th Point Transformation of Self

The 9th Point to having an ideal learning place is to transform the self. This means that students change when they come to class. This can be seen in the films Mr Hollands Opus and Stand and Deliver. The students at first weren't interested in the class at all. Step by step the teachers created interest and self confidence that inspired the students to learn and thus changed their self perception.http://people.bath.ac.uk/edsajw/moira/Ling%20Yiwen.htm is a good website for developing self confidence in students. The teacher was teaching English in China and found the students were very low in self esteem. Gradually she improved their self esteem by getting them to make a speech in front of the class. Cultural issues have to be considered when they are used to learning in a certain way. is a website about multicultural education and how it can change ourselves by understanding different cultures.

8th Point is Creativity

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/3717310.stm is a good website about creativity in the classroom. The 8th Point is creativity. Creativity is very important in the classrom http://www.plsweb.com/resoruces/newletters/enewsso that students can reach their own full potential . Ms Fowler believes that being creative means helping the students believe that they can be anything that they want to be."The trick is to create an environment that's purposely planned — and then step back and observe how the students are thinking. The planning takes a lot more time than moving from page to page in a textbook, but the reward is in the creativity." –Marian Peiffer, Educator
Involve students in the development process: Have students choose a topic that interests them and then do the research, think about what materials will be needed, and write the directions for an activity they would like to do in class.
Appeal to all of the senses: When possible, present new information so students can see it, hear it, taste it, smell it, touch it, and feel it. Encourage students to approach a problem in many different ways.
Offer real-life experiences: Have students create their own useful inventions; connect learning to potential careers for your students; take students on field trips so they can experience hands-on learning.
Lead activities that will allow your students to flex their brains: Do brain-teasers, puzzles, games, and other activities that encourage your students to "think out of the box." (See below for a creative activity example.)
Imagination is more important than knowledge. - Albert Einstein , On Science
Where all think alike, no one thinks very much.- Walter Lippmann
Creativity killers: - Surveillance - Evaluation - Rewards (if overused, deprive intrinsic pleasure of creative activity) - Competition (win-lose situations) - Over-control - Restricting choices - Pressurehttp://www.multiage-education.com/multiagen-b/creativity.html

7th Point Power and Freedom

The 7th feature of an ideal learning place is power and freedom. Glasser says that power and freedom is needed for each student. If they don't feel power they will sometimes be naughty to get power. http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-fetch-msg.tcl?msgis a good website that discusses power and freedom. Power and freedom is a basic human need and according to Glasser the classroom is where our basic needs should be met.
The Need for Power

This is the most misunderstood of the psychological needs because we tend to think of power in a negative sense, as power over other people. The power that Dr. Glasser is talking about is a personal power, a sense of self-worth that comes from accomplishment and recognition.

The need for power is also the need to feel that we are in control of our own lives. When you give students orders or commands, you frustrate their need for power. When you give them choices, you satisfy their need for power and give them a feeling that they are responsible enough to have control over their own behavior.

When you praise students for the things they do well, when you recognize their accomplishments, you are satisfying their need for power. When students feel powerless, they attempt to satisfy this need by exerting power over others by bullying, acting out in class or disobeying rules (showing they are more powerful than the person who set the rules).

Teachers most often frustrate their students' need for power when they continually criticize or belittle them, saying things like: "You never can do anything right." "I never had this problem with your sister." "Why can't you behave like Johnny?" "You are a real disappointment to me." These types of statements chip away at children's self-worth, frustrate their need for power, and in the end cause more problems.

There is one simple thing all teachers can do to help their students meet this need. At least once every day, every single day, pay every student a compliment. You will be surprised at the impact this can have.

4. The Need for Freedom

This is the need for the freedom to choose how we live our lives, to express ourselves freely, and to be free from the control of others. We are fortunate to live in a society with considerable freedom, and we are free to make countless choices every day.

Helping children satisfy this need does not mean giving them the freedom to do whatever they want to do. When we talk about helping students learn about responsibility, we are talking about giving them the freedom to choose. For instance, consider the following statement by a teacher to a child: "If you do not do your work, you are not going to go to recess." Now, compare that statement to this one: "Of course, you can go to recess if your work is done. It is your choice."

We can accomplish the same thing, making sure work is completed, with either a threat or the offer of a choice. A threat frustrates the children's need for power and does nothing to meet their need for freedom. Offering a choice meets both their needs for power and freedom and teaches them about responsibility--it is their choice.

5. The Need for Fun

I look at the psychological need for fun as the ultimate, positive diversion. When you are having fun, you are very happy. You are so happy that whatever cares or concerns you might have melt into the background. When we are having fun, we relax, recharge our batteries and enjoy a much-needed relief from the pressures that surround us. http://everything2.com/index.pl
http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1222239

6th Point for the Perfect Learning Place

The sixth point for the perfect learning place is inclusive learning. A good website for this topic ishttp://www2.edc.org/urban/view.asp?365.M This shows the importance of including children with special needs in the normal school setting and ensuring success for all children.http://www.uni.edu/coe/inclusion/strategies/learning_support.html This means that the student's gifts and talents are used in the classroom. Gardnier's theory of mulitple intelligences is important here as each person learns in a different way and to be included in the class the teacher needs to know what is their way of learning.

The fifth thing is to learn at the deepest level. They need to keep learning. It begins with critical reflection. They need to have materials that have depth in them. Don't underestimate your students. Young ones are bored because the stuff they are assessing is boring and superficial. There is that information you have in your head and where to get the information. You have to have deep knowledge . The framework to hang everything on.
Factors that detract from deep learning are heavy workloads and the exclusive use of lectures. http://www.uottawa.ca/academic/cut/options/Nov_98/TeachingStrategies_en.htm a good website for deep learning. When considered in terms of Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives Deep learning requires high order cognitive thinking skills such as analysis - compare, contrast, synthesis. Students are required to integrate components into a new whole eg what is the relationship. Surface consists mainly of comprehension and reproducing knowledge rote leanring. Good teaching and interactive learning such as groups and peer learning can help to promote deep learning.

Reflective mindset is the fourth thing for a perfect learning placehttp://www.higp.hawaii.edu/kaams/resource/reflection.htm

http://www.higp.hawaii.edu/kaams/resource/reflection.htm Reflective mindset is the fourth thing for a perfect learning place. Reflective thinking can be promoted by:Provide enough wait-time for students to reflect when responding to inquiries.
Provide emotionally supportive environments in the classroom encouraging reevaluation of conclusions.
Prompt reviews of the learning situation, what is known, what is not yet known, and what has been learned.
Provide authentic tasks involving ill-structured data to encourage reflective thinking during learning activities.
Prompt students' reflection by asking questions that seek reasons and evidence.
Provide some explanations to guide students' thought processes during explorations.
Provide a less-structured learning environment that prompts students to explore what they think is important.
Provide social-learning environments such as those inherent in peer-group works and small group activities to allow students to see other points of view.
Provide reflective journal to write down students' positions, give reasons to support what they think, show awareness of opposing positions and the weaknesses

3rd Point - Learning Through Social Interaction

Learning can only occur when there is a good relationship between teacher and student. Below is a good website about community learning. Vygotsky developed the theory of social interaction. He asserts that there needs to be reciprocal teaching which is a dialogue between students and teachers. This promotes discussiona and goes beyond just rite learning. The classroom should be divided into work spaces where there is group work and collaboration. We can learn more from our peers than just listening to the teacher.http://chd.gmu.edu/immersion/knowledgebase/theorists/constructivism/vygotsky.htm

This site discusses constructivism learning and Connectivism learning.Soon there will be no textbooks so that the children will be learning themselves.http://learnweb.harvard.edu/ent/home/index.cfm is a good site http://www.experiencedesignernetwork.com/archives/000589.html
Constructivism is about enabling students to assemble information from various sources and construct their own knowledge. Children must have alot of group work. Connectivsim is learning from experience and interactions with a moving community.

A sense of Place

Creating a learning place is very important. Below is a website where you can see examples of a sense of place in Pilbara.http://www.sustainability.murdoch.edu.au ] http://www.sustainability.murdoch.edu.au/casestudies/Pilbara/socio-cultural/Sense_of_Place.htmThe first requirement of learning is having a sense of place. In this website Pilbara is described by the indigenous as a place that they belong to , have an attachment to and ownership to. The non-indeigenous often only have a work-related value to Pilbara. Creating a strong sense of local identity and sense of place is vital in towns to create a better environment. It is the same for a learning place each individual has to have their own place there.
A sense of place in the classroom is very important as a student needs to feel attached to the class and have a feeling of belonging. This can mean they have their favourite seat or place in the class. ANother way to help the students feel like it is their place is to put their work on the wall in the classroom