Are you a Tech Coach, Instructional Coach, or Data Coach? Or are in an a Coaching-adjacent role like a Tech Integrator, Curriculum Coordinator, or Team Lead? We can often be the only person in our role, so #VisualizeYourLearning is launching the #ISCoachingCollab to help us network, learn and grow. Together.
We aim to have virtual meetups 2-3 times per semester, launching in January of 2023. The meetups will include learning, networking, problem-solving, upcoming professional development, and whatever else the Collab wants. And… we are proud to partner with Learning2 as part of their L2Threads which aim to keep the conversations alive.
This great share was contributed to VisualizeYourLearning by Iliana Lourie
Several years ago, I was looking to digitize my science and math notebooks and ran into a little gold mine. I found The Scientific Teacher website and discovered the Digital Science notebooks and Learning Logs that revolutionized my practice. I created several variations (first with Zoho Docs and then with OneNote) inspired by The Scientific Teacher’s digital notebook, which allowed me to provide students with timely feedback.
The school adopted the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) to help students improve their English Language Proficiency levels and implemented student-led conferences (SLC) quarterly. Both of these were factors in the students’ notebooks’ adaptation, which directly connected to the sections in students’ Learning Logs:
Vocabulary
Essential Objectives (which were a reflection of Essential Questions, but formatted deliberately as objectives to support English Language Learners)
Journal (Inquiry-based activities or laboratories)
The elements in the first two sections were aligned to the NGSS, providing necessary background knowledge and vocabulary to meet the standards. The third section of the students’ notebook was dedicated to activities that explicitly developed the crosscutting concepts and specific vocabulary of the NGSS. This section encouraged students to build a logical and scientifically-based view of the world around them.
The elements in the first two sections were aligned to the NGSS, providing necessary background knowledge and vocabulary to meet the standards. The third section of the students’ notebook was dedicated to activities that explicitly developed the crosscutting concepts and specific vocabulary of the NGSS. This section encouraged students to build a logical and scientifically-based view of the world around them.
Tracking their progress became a classroom routine. Every Friday (or almost every Friday), students were given time at the end of class to record their grades into their learning logs and reflect. To help them with the reflection, each section of the learning log had a hyperlink to relevant activities addressing the learning goals such as Quizlets, Kahoots, Nearpod lessons, readings, or simulations.
At first, students struggled with the reflection piece of the log and sometimes left my classroom without recording any reflections, yet I was determined to make this part of our classroom culture. I would go back to their Learning Logs and note who needed support and took a bit more instructional time in the beginning when the process was introduced.
After a while, the kids caught on and were able to do it more independently. Throughout the year, I would also change it up a bit and pair up students to brainstorm ways to enhance their learning. Some of these conversations were amazing! Students can come up with very creative ideas on how to help their friends improve their grades and meet their learning goals. Students could also track a Personal Goal in their log. To make sure this was an academic, content-specific personal goal, I scaffolded SMART goals aligned with the expectations for Student Led Conferences. It didn’t feel like additional work because instead of scrambling for evidence at the last minute, they were always able to refer back to their Personal Goal graph in Science class. A bonus was the communication established with parents. I witnessed many SLC’s where parents who came from a different educational background than their children struggled to understand their children’s explanation during these conferences. Yet, they could easily understand a rising graph or changing colors, which prompted meaningful conversations with their children about their learning.
The notebook on its own was a great tool for me to evaluate student learning. I was able to assess my students’ responses in real-time and make any necessary corrections through feedback promptly. The transformational power of the notebook, however, was the connection to the students’ learning log. Initially motivated to provide students with a tool to use during SLC’s, the Learning Logs proved to be a much more essential component of students’ learning.
In my experience, data’s transformational power is evident when we teach children to interpret, analyze, and take action steps based on their data observations and goals. This way, we can educate them to be critical thinkers responsible for their learning and actions.
Iliana Lourie
Iliana is an Instructional Technology Coach and K-12 Technology Coordinator for Shanghai American School – Puxi Campus.She has taught Biology, Chemistry, Math, and Middle School Science. Iliana is passionate about Teaching & Learning and using instructional technology to reimagine our classrooms.Connect with Iliana on twitter @IlianaLourie.
This great share was contributed to VisualizeYourLearning by Andrew Mowat
Deepen The Learning Experience By Using Small Data Visualisation
When we think of data visualisation, we often connect the idea of data visualisation with big data. You’ve probably seen the gorgeous visualisations on David McCandless’s Ted Talk from 2010. One unintended outcome from work like this is that data visualisation can seem inaccessible to the average user – we assume that we don’t have the resources or expertise to create such visual elegance.
I’m here to say that this is not the case. There is a place for what some call small data, and there are apps and platforms that can convey numerical information in elegant and useful ways.
The first I want to explore is a favourite platform of mine – Mentimeter (https://www.mentimeter.com). Some of you may already be using this minimalistic yet highly useful site. My own use case is to create connection and insight in the minds of adult learners in the programs I run.
Rather than a one-way transmission of content, I use Mentimeter to collect user input after framing an idea, concept or model. After input, the aggregation and visualisation of the results provides strong provocation through explorative questions and group insight.
I think a part of the secret sauce here is that deeper engagement extends from ownership of the data. “This is about us…”. In the image below, presented to a workshop group exploring metacognition in teaching and learning, the group input was around working knowledge and classroom use of metacognitive strategies.
In this case, discussion, discovery and action were all mobilised by the group’s insight into levels of metacognition knowledge and practice being way lower than expected. While group ownership of the data is one element that contributes, the clean interface and the visual representation of the data points against the overall trend also strongly assist learning impact.
Mentimeter’s ability to use a variety of entry points into the data collection – links, numerical codes and QR codes – makes it easy for participants to add to the data story. Further, I use QR codes during my (synchronous) online training sessions, given that most people engage on a laptop and have a mobile device nearby.
Lastly, to close the loop, the results page (with a different link to the poll page) is able to be embedded. Again, my use case is to embed the results in a learning platform (I use Teachable and Learnworlds) for students to access asynchronously, and to continue the discussion.
Besides collecting data about the audience themselves, another use case is around an easy data collection instrument for students research needing ‘public’ polling.
Particularly useful in a number of IB (International Baccalaureate) projects, short links and QR codes make it easy for students to collect raw data, sometimes in innovative ways. The rich visualisation environment then promotes deeper analysis and conclusion.
This all helps the learning and engagement design move substantially along the SAMR scale deep into Modification and Redefinition.
Want to give it a go? Try out simple 2-page poll about this article by visiting https://www.menti.com/32imxsiju1or by scanning the QR code.
Without being able to do this here in this article, a neat thing to do is to embed the results as a code snippet into any platform capable of embedding.
For me, the only downside of Mentimeter is its price. On the free account, you have access to two slides, a third if you recommend a friend. After that, it is $US120 a year. One close alternative that has recently emerged is Ahaslides (https://ahaslides.com).
Ahaslides has many of the feature set of Mentimeter, either at the fee account level, or at a significantly lower cost. The only missing feature for me (in my discovery so far) is the lack of embed code for the results, though this may not be a show stopper for you.
Regardless of the app, the key here is to make visualisation accessible as a lever for deeper learning. Apps like Mentimeter and AhaSlides do the heavy lifting of engagement, cognitive work, and learner progression, especially when baked into robust learning design.
So what do you make of this? Do you use an app to dig into small data for your students or audience? What friction points have you discovered? You could use the example poll above to add your answers.
More than ever, data visualisation using small data is both more available than ever before, and the opportunity to deepen learning in a number of layers is there before us.
Andrew Mowat
Andrew is the Principal Partner of MetaLearn Education and the Lead Partner for Learning for Ignite EdTech, both of which are based in Singapore. He is somewhat intimidated by having been in education over 40 years, yet still loves and enjoys working in adult learning and professional development. He especially loves exploring the convergence of technology, neuroscience, and leadership. Contact links: https://linktr.ee/amowat
