Workshop Objectives

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Workshop Objectives

• Identify the limitations of existing frames on
  effective teaching
• Compare and contrast the science and art of
  effective teaching
• Analyse the core principles of learning as the
  basis for effective pedagogic design
• Evaluate SHAPE as a metaphor for creative
  teaching

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Metaphor
Creative Teaching Framework
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Teaching Quality the big factor in Student
Learning
nothing is as important to learning as the
quality of a students teacher. The difference
between a good teacher and a bad teacher is so
great that fifth-grade students who have poor
teachers in grades three to five score roughly 50
percentile points below similar groups of
students who are fortunate enough to have
effective teachers
(Izumi Evers, 2002, p.ix) The
effect of the teacher far overshadows classroom
variables, such as previous achievement level of
students, class sizeheterogeneity of students,
and the ethnic and socio-economic makeup of the
classroom. (Rivers Sanders, 2002, p.17)
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Striving to find meaning in ones life is the
primarymotivational force in manVictor Frankl
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Is this still the case now?
Teaching is the only major occupation of man for
which we have not yet developed tools that make
an average person capable of competence and
performance. In teaching we rely on the
"naturals," the ones who somehow know how to
teach (Peter Drucker) few
facts concerning teacher effectiveness have been
established
(Ornstein, 1995, p.77)
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If it bleeds we can kill it
If we can model it, we can understand it and
learn how to do it
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Good Teaching Science or Art?
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Its in The Experience
What are the features of experience that result
in Attention , Motivation Engagement?
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Are there useful Theories of Motivation?
We know nothing about motivation. All we can do
is write books about it.
(Peter Drucker)
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The brain and motivation(why many students are
not well motivated)
Cloniger 1987 argued that 3 neural systems run
our lives

• The Cortexs quest for Novelty
• 2. The Mid-Brains quest for Pleasure
• 3. The Lower-Brains desire to avoid Pain

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When the learning experience is painful -Many
students Descend into the World of Bla
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Just what you fancy after lunch at 2pm
Newton's second law of motion can be formally
stated as follows The acceleration of an object
as produced by a net force is directly
proportional to the magnitude of the net force,
in the same direction as the net force, and
inversely proportional to the mass of the
object Then follow this with 40 mins of
exposition and equations
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• How can teachers create Experiences which
• Add novelty and/or pleasure to learning
• Take away some of the pain of learning

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Making the simple complicated is commonplace
making the complicated simple, awesomely simple,
that's creativity(Charles Mingus)
Apply Core Principles Get into great
SHAPE (The Science)
(The Art)
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The Serial Position Curve
80 70 60 50 40 30 20
Primacy Effect
Recency Effect
Proportion Correct
von Restorff Effect
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Position on List
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Creative Leverage on 3 Psychological Effects

• Primacy Effect (the tendency for the first items
  presented in a series to be remembered better or
  more easily)
• Recency Effect (the tendency for the most
  recently presented items or experiences to be
  remembered best)
• Von Restorff Effect (the tendency to remember
  distinct or novel items and experiences)

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Towards a Science of Learning
There is increasing recognition of a substantive
and validated research base that is beginning to
constitute a science of learning. For example,
Marzano (1992) argued that over the past 3
decades, we have amassed enough research and
theory about learning to derive a truly research
based-model of instruction (p.2) More recently,
Darling-Hammond Bransford (2006), from
surveying the research findings, concluded
that There are systematic and principled
aspects of effective teaching, and there is a
base of verifiable evidence of knowledge that
supports that work in the sense that it is like
engineering or medicine (p.12)
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Philosophical Baggage
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Paradigms/Perspectives
Perspectives are neither good nor bad. They are
simply philosophical orientations to knowledge,
learning and the role and responsibility of being
a teacher. Therefore, it is important to
remember that each of these perspectives
represents a legitimate view of teaching when
enacted appropriately. Conversely, each holds
the potential for poor teaching (Pratt,
2002, p.14) What is needed more than a
philosophy of education is a science of
education. Modern attempts at educational
improvement point back to theorists (Piaget,
Vygotsky, and Dewey) whose theories are vague by
current psychological standards and lack the
strong connection to empirical evidence that has
become standard in the field
(Anderson, 1998, p.237)
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Typical framing

• Many teaching approaches are embedded in a
  paradigm of
• learning and stress particular methods, such as
  lectures,
• PBL, inquiry based learning, technology-based
  learning,
• etc.
• Furthermore, this typically leads to questions
  about
• particular approaches and methods, e.g.,
• Are lectures a poor way to teach?
• Is cooperative learning effective?
• Does computer enhanced teaching help achievement?

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Wrong Questions?
Maybe these are the wrong questions. Asking
which teaching method/technique is best is
analogous to asking what tool is best a hammer,
a screwdriver, a knife, or pliers. In teaching,
as in carpentry, the selection of tools depends
on the task at hand and the materials one is
working with. Books and lectures can be
wonderfully efficient modes of transmitting new
information for learning, exciting the
imagination, and honing students critical
faculties but one would choose other kinds of
activities to elicit from students their
pre-conceptions and level of understanding, or
help them to see the power of using metacognitive
strategies to monitor their learning (Bran
sford, 1999, p.22)
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Moving Beyond Paradigms
While learning is ultimately an individual act of
personal construction and meaning making - as
constructivists point out - there is real danger
in over-individualizing the learning process.
The assertion by Schank (1997) is very
pertinent Contrary to common belief, people
dont have different learning styles. They do,
however, have different personalities. The
distinction is important, because we need to be
clear that everybody learns in the same way
(p.48)
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Pedagogical Competence not just skills and
techniques
Even with scientific advances, the physicians
problem is not much easier today than it was in
the times of hellbore and cautery how, for
whom, and when still loom as problems. The
challenge is always to situate our knowledge in
the living context that poses the presenting
problem, to borrow a bit of medical jargon.
And that living context, where education is
concerned, is the schoolroom the schoolroom
situated in a broader culture.
(Bruner, 2006, p.160)
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Better frame

• Using a core set of universal learning principles
  to design teaching strategies (in context of
  subject matter, learning outcomes, student
  cohort, etc) will enable teachers to construct
  effective and situated learning designs without
  the chaos of competing alternatives and plethora
  of jargon
• Focusing on how people learn will help teachers
  move beyond dichotomous views that have long
  plagued the field of education (e.g.,
  behaviourism Vs Constructivism), etc)

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Core Principles of Learning

• Learning goals, objectives and expectations are
  clearly communicated
• Learners prior knowledge is activated and
  connected to new learning
• Motivational and Attentional strategies are
  incorporated into learning designs
• Content is organized around key concepts and
  principles that are fundamental to understanding
  the key structure of a subject
• Self-directed learning is encouraged through
  facilitating the development of good thinking

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Core Principles of Learning contd

• 6. Instructional methods and presentation mediums
  engage the range of human of senses (e.g. visual,
  auditory, kinaesthetic)
• Learning design takes into account the working of
  memory systems
• Learner competence is promoted through active and
  experiential learning
• A psychological climate is created which is
  positive, success orientated and promotes
  self-esteem
• Assessment practices are integrated into the
  learning design to promote desired learning
  outcomes and provide quality feedback

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Core Principles - A Synergetic System
While each principle focuses attention on a key
area relating to effective pedagogy, they are
not discrete or separate in that they should be
considered independently of each other. In fact,
they are mutually supporting, interdependent and
potentially highly synergetic. As Stigler
Hiebert (1999) highlight Teaching is a
system. It is not a loose mixture of individual
features thrown together by the teacher. It
works more like a machine, with the parts
operating together and reinforcing one another,
driving the vehicle forward. (p.75)
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Using Core Principles Thoughtfullyin the
Situated Context of learning

• The core principles of learning must always be
  used thoughtfully
• in relation to the following situated factors
• The specific learning outcomes (e.g., recall of
  facts, conceptual
• understanding, competence, etc)
• Learner characteristics (e.g., motivational
  level, prior competence, learner
• preferences, etc)
• Learning context and resource availability
  (e.g., learning environment,
• facilities, resources, etc)

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Online Learning in the context of Core Principles

• The core principles that underpin good learning
  design in the face-to-
• face learning context are equally applicable to
  designing and managing
• learning in the online environment. Learning
  online does not change
• the way the human brain functions or the basic
  processes of learning.
• Clarke (2005) illustrates this fundamental point
  when he argued
• that
• The most robust instructional principles are
  those based on a model of human psychological
  learning processes.Any given instructional
  method will be effective or ineffective depending
  on the extent to which it supports or disrupts
  basic-learning psychological processes regardless
  of the delivery media (p.594)

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What is SHAPE?
Stories
Humour
Examples
Activities
Presentation Style
A Metaphor for the underlying syntax - the
art - of Creative Teaching
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SHAPE A Collection of Personal/professional
Resources

• Stories told to provide context, understanding
  and emotional anchors
• Humour used to achieve rapport and provide
  novelty
• Activities provided to integrate, apply and
  consolidate learning
• Presentation style employed (e.g., words, tone,
  body language as well as observation and
  listening) to provide clarity, meaning and
  influence student attention, beliefs and
  psychological states
• Examples used to illustrate facts, concepts,
  principles, procedures

and use these Resources Creatively
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Where is the connection between David Beckham and
Newtons Second Law of Motion?
Newton's second law of motion can be formally
stated as follows The acceleration of an object
as produced by a net force is directly
proportional to the magnitude of the net force,
in the same direction as the net force, and
inversely proportional to the mass of the
object.

• What would happen to the ball if these conditions
  were changed
• The opposition played a trick on David and put
  down a much heavier ball
• David plays a trick on the opposition by doing
  extra power training and can now hit the ball
  some 10 harder

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The Power of SHAPE
We understand everything in human life through
stories (Jean-Paul Sartre) Humour is by far
the most significant behaviour of the
brain (Edward De Bono) Learning activities
are the best and most productive way to
learn (Lambert and Coombs) The
meaning of your communication is the response
that you get (Bandler
Grinder) A fine example nurtures learners,
enhancing their concentration and effort
(Wlodkowski)
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Metaphor for Creative Teaching
Total Pedagogy
CREATIVE TEACHING COMPETENCE
Strategies
P
H
E
A
S
CORE PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING
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Re-defining the World of BlaWhere X ?
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