Vets4Vets will be hosting a FREE peer support workshop at  www.eagle-landing.com, February 26-28, 2010. This is a general workshop, so all OIF/OEF-era veterans can apply!

All you need to do is fill out the Vets4Vets Workshop Registration Form  and email it to Info@Vets4Vets.us, or fax it to (520) 325-0772. If you live outside the workshop area and will be needing a flight, please also fill out the  Air Compassion Flight Form - this should be sent to us as well. 

REGISTRATION AND FLIGHT FORMS MUST BE RECEIVED BY February 12, 2010 (unless you live in the Virgina area and will be driving yourself to the workshop).

Once your documents have been received, we will be in contact with you re: your travel arrangements and workshop details.

Again, the workshops are COMPLETELY FREE, which means your transportation, lodging, food and activities are paid for. We want all returning veterans to be able to receive the benefits of peer support without worrying about the cost.

If you have never attended a workshop before and would like more information before registering, please browse our website or give us a call at (520) 319-5500. You can also post a question below. We are always happy to speak to vets!

Thanks, and we look forward to meeting you!

Can you tell I am getting lazy with my post titles? Enjoy! ^_^

Skin – Plastik

Hair – Bryce

Eyes – Poetic Color

Ears – SLink

Shape – my own

Shirt – Ninikoboy

Jacket – Emery

Pants – Marinesta

Boots – Redgrave

Scarf – Scars

Glasses – Duboo

Poses – Peer

Heute um 15:06 Uhr haben wir, Peer, Ben, Helke, Moritz, Mama und ich, den Bus Nummer 843 an der Haltestelle “Merler Schleife” in Richtung Bonn genommen. Wir sind dann ca. 45 Minuten gefahren, bis wir endlich am Bonner Hauptbahnhof angekommen sind. Dort angekommen haben wir uns in die Kinderwagen geschwungen und sind in die Stadt gegangen. Dort waren ganz viele schön geschmückte Buden aufgebaut und bei einem Kaufhaus war das Schaufenster total schön geschmückt. Dort haben wir ganz lange gucken müssen:-)

Da das Wetter leider nicht so schön war und es zu Regnen anfing, sind wir noch zu Starbucks gegangen. Helke und Mama haben dort eine Cafe Latte Grande getrunken und Peer und ich haben einen total leckeren Milchschaum in einer kleinen Kindertasse bekommen. Der war super lecker.

Als es dann schon ganz spät und dunkel war sind wir wieder mit dem Bus nach Hause gefahren. Die Fahrt war ganz schön lang (ca. 1 Stunde), da wir im Berufsverkehr feststeckten, und sehen konnte man auch nichts, da es stockdunkel war. Beinahe wären wir alle schon im Bus eingeschlafen:-) So ein Ausflug mit dem Bus ist ganz schön anstrengend. Beim nächsten Mal fahren wir bestimmt wieder mit dem Auto. Da dauert die Fahrt nur 10 Minuten.

This session was changed at the last moment, again as a direct result of the previous sessions CIQ feedback. I had originally intended to cover evidence gathering, with specific focus on digital gathering e.g. hyperlinking, converting and embedding media etc… Reading the students responses over the last two sessions, it became evident that we needed to slow down and actually allow time for reflection to happen, especially during these introductory sessions. I can foresee this being a major problem in the future, knowing the content of the Production strand and the curriculum in which it’s embedded. There is simply not enough time for the students or staff to effectively reflect. As part of my 3 year PDP I intend to tackle this problem head on, perhaps using the Curriculum Reform process as a vehicle to solve this perennial issue. After all, there is little point in embedding reflection if there is no time in which to reflect. Last years cohort was a good example of how reflective practice was dropped as soon as the production throughput rolled into action. Out of a dozen or so keen reflective practitioners, only 3 now remain and they aren’t reflecting at the same consistent level as before.

The class was simple, without much planning required. I was in attendance as the students worked on their ePortfolio’s. We worked together, solving problems that they had come across between sessions. It was hoped by taking this approach, the slower members of the class would catch up with their peers. It was great to see the students helping each other and not always coming directly to me for advice, this seemed to enforce the belief that you should always plan your IT classes around one PC to 2 students, as it encourages collaborative learning. It is a method I witness every day when my two sons collaborate on a video game (the Lego Star Wars games in particular), they achieve much more when working together, though in the early days this wasn’t always the case! This approach allows frustrations to be shared and eventually dispelled through working the problem in a methodical manner, I believe that this is the same for young adults at varying levels of IT competency.

I opened up a Moodle chat room on the front page of the VLE, so students could go elsewhere and work if they feel that they needed a workstation of their own. They could then be in direct contact with me or their peers and in turn ask questions. It seemed to be a success, so I left the Chat room up on Moodle, to add an extra level of support to any student having problems with either Mahara and the VLE. I shall monitor this over the next few weeks to evaluate it’s effectiveness and my work load!

I finished the session with a final assignment for the students to complete, which was:

Pecha Kucha Assignment

“You have 6 minutes, 40 seconds and 20 slides and your time starts NOW!

It’s a game.

The rules are simple. Anybody can present but you’re allowed 20 images that you show for 20 seconds each giving you a total of 6 minutes and 40 seconds before the next presenter is up.You can’t spend 6:40 on one image/slide or 2:20 or any other denomination you can only spend 20 seconds on each image/slide. It’s all part of the fun and keeps presentations concise. If the facilitator decides then the presentation may be open for discussion with the audience otherwise it’s straight on to the next presenter.

Each presentation is pre-loaded onto a laptop (Powerpoint or Keynote) and then is ready to go. The facilitator will make a brief introduction of the presenter and then the talk begins. Each presentation must be configured to advance every 20 seconds, so it’s up to the speaker to keep pace with their slides.”

Pecha Kucha is a style of presentation with rules governing the focus, time and content. Your assignment is as follows:

For Wednesday 11th November in the Fyffe Lecture Hall.

Select an element (or elements) of your learning so far i.e. during Creative Beginnings and/or PP1a. You may decide to present all or some of the processes you have experienced so far. These may be a mixture of sessions you enjoyed, didn’t enjoy or were confused about.

Using your reflections so far, summarise your thoughts by selecting 20 still images (no text) that are relevant to your experiences. You should then prepare a script for your presentation giving 20 seconds to each slide.

During your presentation you may use your script (no need to memorise it!) and the slides will run in the background (with fixed timings), emphasising your words. The key to Pecha Kucha is to rehearse beforehand as 20 seconds can feel like 2 minutes. You will be presenting on your own with the remainder of the class as your audience.

Please research Pecha Kucha online to familiarise yourself with the concept.

The entire presentation should last 6 minutes and 40 seconds exactly.

Pecha Kucha helps you to; build self-confidence, focus on the content you are presenting, summarise data, present concise reflections, evidence your learning and build on public speaking skills.

Each session will be recorded for you to use on your ePortfolio.

I wanted to end these Introductory sessions with a completely non-IT method of reflection and a way in which the students could summarise their learning achievements and issues in as concise a way as possible (bearing in mind the size of the group). Pecha Kucha is an ideal vehicle to end, not just a series of sessions, but also a module.

]]> http://carlysch.wordpress.com/2009/11/16/coaching-and-study-groups-edu-6600/ Mon, 16 Nov 2009 04:33:21 +0000 carlysch http://carlysch.wordpress.com/2009/11/16/coaching-and-study-groups-edu-6600/

Essential aspects of coaching are trust and collaboration. Coaching develops knowledge and critical thinking skills. It aims to pose and solve problems. It helps improve job satisfaction. It gives feedback and empowers individuals to grow and develop. ( Zepeda p. 164). Coaches prompt, question, guide and nurture (p. 165).

Cognitive Coaching is based on the idea that metacognition occurs when there is an awareness of one’s own thinking. It builds flexible confident problem solving skills through self-appraisal and self management guided by the coach (p. 167).

Peer coaching promotes reciprocal learning. Both the person being observed and coach can learn from each other. Peer coaching includes pre-observation, observation and a post-observation conference (p. 186). Peer coaching helps ensure transfer of knowledge to skills applied in the classroom. Training must be combined with coaching to be effective (p. 187). The best advice for coaches, in my opinion, is to listen more and speak less (p. 190). And the best advice for mentees is to face their problems. Don’t avoid confronting them because they will only get worse (p. 192).

Reading about study groups was helpful because my school is starting a book study on formative assessment and a lot of us are not sure how it will be organized or what is expected of us. At least now I know what a focused study group should look like and I can try to make it happen in my own group.

12 november, 2009 – Een taart met speculaas, appel, en peer!

Allereerst de bodem: mix 125 g boter, 125 g basterdsuiker, een beetje vanille-essence,  1/2 ei en maak er een smeuïge massa van. Meng een eetlepel koek en speculaaskruiden door 125 g zelfrijzend bakmeel en mix dit met het beslag tot een mooi en glad deeg. Leg het even weg in de vriezer, of een nachtje in de koelkast, totdat het deeg kneedbaar is.

Bekleed met 2/3 van het deeg de zijkanten en bodem van een taartvorm. De hoeveelheden in dit recept zijn voor een vorm van 18 cm doorsnede. Gebruik je liever een 24 cm-vorm, verdubbel dan het recept. Prak een half pakje spijs (te koop in de supermarkt van Dr Oetker) fijn met een ei, en leg dit op het deeg.

Schil een grote appel en een peer, en snij ze in blokjes. Meng naar smaak met wat rozijnen, kaneelpoeder, en suiker, en verdeel het over de bakvorm. Pak nu de rest van het deeg en verkruimel het over het fruit, of maak er reepjes van en maak die voorzichtig vast aan de zijkanten van de vorm. Zorg er voor dat het dege goed gekoeld is! Ik heb dit niet gedaan, en mijn reepjes deeg zijn daardoor verspreid over de hele bovenkant van de taart. De smaak is prima, maar het ziet er iets minder mooi uit

De taart mag ongeveer een uur in de oven op 180 graden. Controleer regelmatig of de taart al goed is (zeker als je een kleine vorm gebruikt). Smullen maar! Heerlijk met een toefje slagroom.. Geniet ervan!

Perfect timing. Chips and salsa. Dancers. Mesmerizing. Unfunny jokes. Talk. Work. Space. Cookies. Peer pressure. Edit.

The shield is the central and essential component of the Coat of Arms. Without the shield there cannot be a coat of arms. The shape of the shield may vary just as the design of the arms as a whole may vary and in fact does. It would be possible to have half a dozen examples of the same coat of arms yet to the uninitiated it would appear that they are different coats. The reason for this is that the artists in creating the arms from the original written description have been influenced as all artists are by varying fashions and styles in Heraldry. The shield can be represented in many ways and directions according to the fashion of the time, what goes on the shield however does not change.

From the shield we come to the helmet. This object exemplifies the essential practical side of original Heraldry. In the days when knights were bold and adventurous everyone wore a helmet of some sort in battle, so everyone was entitled to a helmet in their grant of arms. Heraldry has shown a power of adaption which has enabled it to survive when contemporary arts such as Armor making died out. The shape of the helmet, like that of the shield, is varied and numerous. Some helmets are of the tilting variety, others are the barrel type where the weight began to be borne by the shoulders. More important than the shape of the helmet is its position. In Heraldry’s earliest days the position of the helmet in the coat of arms varied as much as the shape of the helmets, but since the 17th Century there have been rules laid down and generally observed for the delineation of helmets. A royal helmet is of gold, placed affrontée, i.e. with the helmet full face on, and the bars of the helmet down but the visor raised. The helmet of a peer is silver, in profile, visor raised and the bars are of gold. The helmet of a baronet or knight is steel, affrontée, visor up and without bars or grills. The helmet of an esquire or gentleman is steel, in profile with visor closed.

An interesting, and timely, sidelight exposed in this article from today’s Science section of the NY Times.

I cannot help but be amused by the bubble of existence that some people place themselves in. Their self important existence only lasts until it reaches the filmy, rainbow coloured wall and then it stops to be so important because the people outside of the little bubble do not care, will not care, and probably couldn’t care about the person inside the bubble. Won’t a breeze come along and blow bubble boy away?

Personally I’ve experienced peer pressure, and parent pressure, and social pressure to become as successful as I possibly can. I have to be talented, rich, good looking, smart, funny and I have to be cool. None of which I am. So apparently I’m screwed, and yet, I don’t feel screwed because I feel just fine to exist as I do – gently just going with the flow and being who I am because it’s who I am, and that’s who I’ll be.

I often see people that I used to go to school with who have great jobs and have been to university and are really happy with who they are, and that’s great but it’s not who I want to be. At first I always thought that I must be weird to not want to be normal – but then I realised that perhaps I had my thoughts on what was considered as normal slightly crooked because surely being normal is just to be who you are comfortable being?

I’m quite happy to exist in what most people would call a dead end job because it means I have no pressure to do better than I already am doing. I get paid and I am able to live happily enough with what I have. Okay, sure – I don’t have a wardrobe full of expensive clothes that make me acceptable to the kind of people who like expensive clothes, but coincidentally, I don’t want to be acceptable to them because I’m quite happy in my jeans and t-shirt. I’m happy and so as far as I am concerned that’s good enough and I’ll make do with that.

I used to spend a lot of time worrying that I wasn’t quite acceptable because I was always the triangle that wouldn’t fit through the square hole of life and I still am that same old triangle because as much as I tried I couldn’t live up to the social expectations of what people think I ought to be doing at my age. I felt like a bit of a disappointment but I was told by my parents that they didn’t care if I was a social misfit and that they didn’t care if I wore the clothes that I liked wearing even if they weren’t all that fashionable and they didn’t care that I wasn’t in a hugely successful job because as far as they are concerned I am happy with my life and that is all that matters. For once in my life I’m starting to see things from my parents POV and I happen to agree with them because as soppy as it sounds, life is too short to worry about meeting what is expected of you unless it makes you feel truly happy to do so.

huaaaaahhhh~

akhirnyaaaaa selesei juga mmai ngerjain peer pengantar akun yang bejibun. peer yang mmai kerjain dari tadi pagi jam enem pagi dan baru beres…hhay 13 halaman tulis tangan… lama-lama mmai yang bakal butuh chiro nih… abis deh hari ini buat ngejain peer~

btw, post kali ini mmai ketik d warnet, dengan koneksi yang cukup lelet, gara-gara citacita modemku blom tercapai…aaaaa~ kapan ya?

doakan sajalah. biar mmai makin sejahtera disini.

edit : dan si mamai pun terjebak d warnet…hujan banjir cuy!

’s Gravenvoeren | za 28/11 (10-17u) – Oxfam-Wereldwinkel (Pley 23)

Genk | vr 20/11 – receptie (19-21u) / za 21 + zo 22/11 (10-18 u) – zaal Zeshoek (Gieterijstraat, Genk Driehoeven)

Hamont-Achel | za 5/12 (12-18u) / zo 6/12 (12-17u) / din 8/12 + woe 9/12 + vrij 11/12 (13-17u) / za 12/12 (12-18u) / zo 13/12 (12-17u) – Expo De Wal

Hasselt | za 28/11 (13-18u) / zo 29/11 (10-18u) – zaal Sint-Katarina (Nicolaas Cleynaertslaan, achter CCH)

Herk de Stad | za 5/12 (14-18u) / zo 6/12 (10-18u) – Gemeenschapscentrum (Markt 2)

Houthalen-Helchteren | za 28 + zo 29/11 (10-18u) – Bibliotheek Vredelaan

Landen | za 28/11 (18-22u) / zo 29/11 (14-18u) – Stadshal (Sportlaan Landen)

Lommel | za 28/11 (12-18u) / zo 29/11 (10-17u) – Sint-Jozefscollege (Kloosterstraat Lommel)

Lummen | za 12 + zo 13/12 (13-18u) – G.C.O.C. Oosterhof

Maaseik | zo 29/11 (10-18u) – CC Neeroeteren

Overpelt | za 28/11 (17-18u) / zo 29/11 (10-18u) – CC Palethe

Peer | za 28 + zo 29/11 (10-18u) – Poorthuis (ingang Bomerstraat)

Riemst | za 2/11 + 5/12 + 12/12 (10-17u) / zo 29/11 + 13/12 (17-18u) – ‘t Paenhuys

Tessenderlo | za/12 + zo 13/12 (10-18u) – De Schuur (parochiecentrum achter de kerk)

Zonhoven | za 28/11 (14-18u) + zo 29/11 (10-18u) – De Kwint

meer bijzonderheden en informatie: Geschenkenbeurzen Limburg

Although I had always planned to host a session on reflection and how it could be recorded using Mahara, it was evident that from my last class that a significant number of students required more work to be done in this area. Feedback from the students, both formal (online CIQ) and informally relayed a range of concerns over this issue. Questions raised by the students were:

• Whether reflections were personal or public?
• Difficulties with reflecting for the first time i.e. Where to start?
• How will it benefit their education?
• How will it benefit their career?
• How does reflection ‘marry’ with their ePortfolio work?

I had already designed several solutions to the above questions, specifically those that related to Mahara. The student feedback confirmed that theses solutions were valid, however some of the questions raised weren’t addressed in the original design. A major re-write was required. It was also an ideal opportunity for me to show that the students that their input into the evaluation process, was as much for them as it was for me. Within a week, their comments had been acted on and their learning needs were being addressed. I emphasised this during my introduction to the session.

50% of the students had completed their assignment, set last week. As a result, those who did, received formative feedback and went on to to submit more evidence and reflections. There was a flurry of activity on Tuesday evening on Mahara, as students left the work to the last minute, forgoing the benefits of timely feedback. It was also evident that, in a lot of cases, the assignment wasn’t completed solely because of student apathy. There were those who were struggling with the technology itself. The pace at which we went through the Introduction to Mahara session did not suit every student and as a result they struggled to keep up. The CIQ clearly supported this. As a result I have rewritten the next session to allow the students more time to explore the software, with myself in passive attendance, in order to support them if required. I had originally attended the session to be solely on how to gather digital evidence and upload it into Mahara, outlining several techniques e.g. screen capture, online file conversion, hyperlinking etc… I will produce an online resource to cover these aspects and present it on Mahara for the students to use.

I had been disappointed by the initial student response to the CIQ I had posted last session. In order to address this lack of evaluation (though the little I did receive was enough for me to redesign a large portion of the reflection session) I asked each student to fill the form in, there and then. It was the last opportunity to do so as I didn’t want them to mix up the this and last weeks sessions. It was at this point that I reiterated the value of these forms. I am glad that I did now, as several students have commented that they were impressed that I had moved so swiftly in addressing their concerns.

I then outlined a new support mechanism that I had instigated for them, where TPA staff were allocated several students each to support them with their evidence gathering and reflections. I had asked the staff to make at least one comment on each of their students Intro to TPA views. The breakdown was as follows:

Martin – Holly Baxter, Joy Bonfield-Colombara, Nicola Stewart, Alexander Ridgers

Christine – Emily Black, Gillian Tormey, Adam McCall, Rosemary Sims

Jamie – Rachael Brown, Roishann McGuire, Emma Fitzgibbon, Alexander Morgan

Zander – Maisie Cottingham, Sarah Crooks, Rachel McGovern, Elizabeth Milne

Simon – Samantha Burns, Iain Jolly, Ching Long Koo, Simon Legg

Steve – Dougal Gudim, Fiona Nisbett, Hannah Nicol, Barbara Brza,

John – Chris Gowling, Margaret Kiernohan, Siobhan MacIntyre, Ellen Porteous, Sarah Wilson

Ros – Ross Oliver,  Fraser Walker, Danielle Farrelly, Jonathon Towers

I was surprised to hear from the students that a few staff members hadn’t done this, even though the students had posted artifacts and reflections up onto their views. I plan to have a training session in place for the staff as soon as possible as I may have wrongly assumed that they were comfortable with the software and the concept of ePortfolio learning. Those who did receive feedback, found it useful and a positive step towards their own learning experience.

What are you doing here?

I wanted to find a question that was fundamental to the reflection process i.e. What happened?, with the emphasis on ‘what’. To simply reflect on this aspect of a learning experience would be tantamount to writing a diary, a chronological recording of events that happened. By suggesting this as a place to start their reflections the students were in familiar territory, as most had recorded events in this way, at some point in their lives. I recommended that if they found themselves staring at a blank screen (or paper), unable to conjure up words that adequately express their reflections, then perhaps a paragraph or two of recounting what happened would kickstart the process. Somewhere within that simple process the ‘what?’ may transform into the ‘why?’.

Why are you here?

After the initial paragraph had been recorded, the next phase of reflection could be attempted, the ‘why’. Using the three earlier questions we had posed during the PDP session and then as part of the assignment I had set last week, I reiterated their use and suggested that as their reflective practice progressed, the students would begin to create their own questions, perhaps more specific and detailed. Understanding the ‘why’ is the first steps towards a deeper set of cognitive skills. I suggested that, with practice, the learners could develop better analytical and problem-solving abilities. The brain after-all is an organ that requires exercise.

We then discussed the differences between secondary education and higher education. Higher education having different demands on learning responsibility than that of secondary schooling, in so much as the learner is expected to manage their own learning, albeit from within a support network. Most agreed that self-created learning was the most likely to create knowledge that remains with the student on a much more permanent basis than the rote, “parrot-fashion” methods which only served to skim the surface of learning. This open discussion wasn’t intended, but I let it run as I found it invigorating. I could sense the energy in the room change as more of the students expressed their opinions. I had a real sense that the students were indulging in a non-facilitated group reflection. It’s amazing what a simple question can produce.

At some point, I manage to segue into the subject of blogging, or micro-blogging to be precise. As soon as I uttered the word ‘Twitter’ I was met by a chorus of low groans and sighs. It would seem that my chosen subject was somewhat derisory. I sensed another debate brewing…. I outlined the three main uses of Twitter:

• as a communication medium.
• as a networking tool.
• as a micro-blogging/thought capturing tool.

All of which could aid in capturing and gathering evidence in the moment and as a way of reflecting on idea’s through 140 character summaries. I suggested that an effective way to do this would be to RSS feed your tweet streams directly to your blog. In this way the learner has a way of recalling topics for reflection on the same page as they are writing their blogs. With more and more theatre’s and practitioners using Twitter, it has become a direct way of creating contacts within the industry and for knowledge transfer. The debate that ensued seemed to highlight that Twitter had evolved a social stigma, which, it was felt, belonged to a specific type of Web 2.0 user. It would seem that the modern learner and socialite are extremely territorial when it comes to their personal digital environments. It cannot be assumed that any online tool, offered by a teacher, will be eagerly adopted by all digital learners. Their choice of tools are carefully selected to suit their digital identities, an example of this can be found in the devotion Bebo users have to their environment and the distaste they have developed towards the FaceBook clans and vise-versa. The debate was left in the balance, though several students did admit that their opinion of Twitter had been altered slightly and they may try it out.

The session then continued with a short discussion on the topic of blogging proper. The following benefits were discussed on the advantages of using digital reflection:

• Allows instant feedback
• Tracks progress
• Develops deeper cognitive skills
• Allows media-rich content
• Can easily be shared or secured
• Allows collaboration

Again, the issue of making blogs publicly viewable came up, there was a sense of discomfort by a few students at the notion of their personal thoughts and opinions being exposed to a wider public. I realised that, at some point, these students had assumed that because a blog was an online tool, it had to be public. We discussed the options available to bloggers and ePortfolio users which gave them the choice to reflect privately, semi-privately (to an invited audience) or publicly. There is also the option to make online reflections non-searchable i.e. they can’t be located using a search engine. The concept of online learning (blogging) communities was raised, where learners can link, comment and quote from blogs covering a common theme and forming a peer network of reflective practice. A few students also expressed a concern that their writing skills weren’t up to public scrutiny and this would cause them some embarrassment. However, studies have proved that in a high percentage of students who, at the outset, had shown poor creative writing skills, developed these skills to an acceptable level (some excelled beyond the standard) after exposing their writing to a wider audience. Not only did they receive formative feedback throughout, they also developed a self-confidence which motivated them to progress and succeed. I agreed to accept and proof read any students work, before it was uploaded to Mahara and made it clear that their folio’s need not be public at all. I did recommend that their ePortfolio support lecturer, at the very least, should be allowed access for guidance purposes.

Questions?

A statement, not a request. To further emphasise the use of questions to start the reflective process, I suggested that the post heading may be a question e.g. What did I do well during the technical rehearsal today? or Why did I start getting confused in Props class this morning? This may be a useful mechanism to focus the learners reflection and get the process started.

Game-based Learning

I had wanted to introduce game-based learning to my practice for a while, but had never been able to find a suitable platform or game that served the purpose well. I had searched for online management simulations that gave the students variable parameters to experiment with. A critical element of the game had to include the student making basic decisions which would somehow affect their digital environment or virtual situation at the time. It also had to be fun in order to engage the learner. There are many online management simulations (some SCORM compliant) but most were either too complex, boring or expensive and none were 100% suitable to Stage Management. This session wasn’t subject related so I had an opportunity to demonstrate the reflection process with a much simpler (and free) online game. After much searching I found a game which seemed to fit all of the criteria I needed.

I attempted to break down the reflective process and based this (loosely) on Kolbs learning cycle. By using a stage by stage flow chart I portrayed the reflective process thus:

I found a game which was simple enough to use as a vehicle to demonstrate this simple model of reflection. It’s called Student Sim and is a basic ‘point and click’ type simulator. The game can be found here.  The students all signed in and I gave them 10 minutes to orientate themselves to the games interface and concept, they were to do this without any instructions. I also asked them to note down any tips that they came across as they played. Some did basic screen captures while others used simpler technology i.e. paper and pen. Having successfully orientated themselves to the software, I then asked them to reflect on the evidence that they had gathered, which they shared to their peers. We then decided to set a common ‘group’ goal and played the game again, for another  10 minutes, with this goal in mind. Again I asked the group to gather evidence by making notes and screen grabbing. As the students progressed through the stages of reflection, I revealed the next stage on the screen, further emphasising the process.

We stopped after the 2nd Action phase as time was running short, but the students seemed to understand. We then discussed the process, contextualising it with theatrical practice. The general feeling from the room seemed to be that there was no need to break down reflection in such detail as most of the learners did this process naturally. I did feel however that it did serve a purpose in highlighting where the reflective phase should reside, as many had admitted to being aware that reflection was a process and had struggled to grasp the concept. It also underlined that reflection was deeply rooted in a practical cognitive process. It will be interesting to review and evaluate the student feedback to this class as the game element was very experimental. I did recognise a problem with this approach, as the session progressed  I felt the students became distracted from the main purpose of the exercise, especially those who became engrossed in the game play. The flowchart, as a visual prompt wasn’t enough, neither was my vocal prompting. However, I was pleased to note that the conversation that ensued was deeper than I had anticipated and the majority of the cohort seemed to understand what I was trying to achieve with them.

I finished the class with another assignment based around reflective practice. I wanted to return to theatre somehow, to leave the students with a contextualised aftertaste. I showed them a short and incredibly experimental production called Fuerzabruta. I had, over the last 3 years, showed this video to 1st year students to inspire them to think outside of the box and that not all theatre plays were stuffy and classical. I asked the students to reflect of their experience of watching the show and highlight moments which inspired them or disappointed them. Which elements worked and which didn’t? Why these elements had this affect and finally; What could have been done to improve the production and their overall experience?

After considerable reflection on how to make stronger links between the Personal Academic Tutorial (PAT) system in the Academy and Personal Development Planning (PDP) framework (as identified in my Lighting a Fire post) I have suggested a solution to my colleagues. By extending our PAT student group support to include mentoring indivduals in reflection and evidence gathering (using Mahara) we add a further layer to thier learning experience.  PAT then becomes interwoven with PDP, using ePortfolio’s as the tool to accomplish this. An equal distribution of  1st year students amongst the lecturing staff from the outset would ensure that every student recieves learning support and each member of staff shares an equal workload.

We have decided to trial this method using a current assignment that I have set the first year cohort (see An Introduction to ePortfolio post). I have assigned a lecturer to a group of 5 or 6 individuals and have asked them to make comment on the views that the students have posted. It is hoped that, by the assignments submission deadline, every student will have a few lines of formative feedback to support them. This may only act as an encouragement to continue, but at this stage, may be enough. Providing this early scaffolding is essential in embedding reflective processes as well as orientating the students in using new tools, which they can use to manage and deepen their learning.

Teachers can create a class community such as everyone knowing two things about everyone else in the class without having a learning community where students continually work together to better each other.   Likewise, teachers can have students work together (Student A does this/ student B does that….) without really collaborating (interacting and changing the individual or group’s ideas) .

I would propose using formative assessment to build a class learning community. When students continually help each other by peer-reviewing and offering new ideas to others, they  have a learning community.  For example, in pairs, the students have peer-reviewed each other’s brainstormed evidence for an English essay and the teacher has given the original authors time to make appropriate changes. Then they continue being formative by creating groups of three to four.  In turn, each author reads his/her thesis and his/her brainstormed evidence; the group has the responsibility of adding three to four new pieces of evidence to the original list. After they help the first person, they rotate through the group.  Each group has a single purpose: to help each author to have three to four new pieces of evidence.  Those groups are truly learning communities

What learning communities do you have in your class?

My new book,  Successful Student Writing Through Formative Assessment, is available through Eye on Education.

My book, Formative Assessment: Responding to Your Students, is available through Eye on Education.

There was a time in my young career when I was weighing my options. I was thoroughly confused about what I wished to do in my future. Although I know what I want – A lazy, nothing-to-do life – I had no idea where I would be able to live such a life. Barrons scared the shit out of me. Not the words so much as the endless lists of them. I recollect reading up to Wordlist 11 and then realizing that I had NO idea what Wordlist 1 had contained. I had no idea why I was reading Barrons in the first place. I don’t wish to go to Amreeka and the thought of devoting sleepless night in a foreign land to ‘research’ makes me wet my pants. Those were the days when everyone around me was reading Barrons, and more out of curiosity than anything else, I thought I might give it a looking into. This is where I feel peers are ever so helpful. If you could attribute my screwed up mind to anything, it has to be the people around me.

“Don’t tell me you are not giving the GRE, dude. With your angrezi and everything…”.

I think that was the statement that made me pick up the please-don’t-say-its-name  book. What I didn’t see soon enough was that I was preparing for an exam which will get me admitted to a course I didn’t want to do, studying subjects that bored the hell out of me, in a land that didn’t even want to go to. The day becks pawned GRE the way he had pawned SEn, I heaved a huge sigh of relief – Thank God I didn’t give the test.

It is at such junctures that peer power is often grossly underestimated. One must realize that peer pressure and its equally evil counterparts do not die out even AFTER a person has made a decision. It is the property of peer pressure to actually intensify when the guy thinks he has it all sorted out. I was never immune to such forces of evil and the fact that they did get to me shouldn’t really raise eyebrows.

“Oh, So you are not giving the GRE. You are giving the CAT, is it?”

I must here add that the abovementioned polite inquiry was made to me 3 days before the CAT forms came out. One must realize the intricacies of a polite inquiry. It is like one of the questions that we so often get at DA – Answer if true or false; If false, then give explanations. You can escape from the polite inquiry only if you answer positively. Say a simple “Yes, that is my POA.” and everything will be as hoodly-doodly as before; the matter and its polite inquiry fade into oblivion. Answer otherwise and you are at the receiving end of a reaction that will put a knee-jerk reflex to shame.

“What?! Then what are you going to do?”.

Readers bear in mind, this a tactic often used in the peer world. I have carefully represented the same in a tactical flowchart for the benefit of the proactive reader.

The peer Algorithm

I will not fool the readers here – I did buckle under the pressure – and before I knew it, I had bought a form for CAT even though I had practically no idea how I was going to prepare for it. A couple of days later, when I stood in my room rather foolishly with my CAT form in one hand and a booklet from the TIME course material in the other, I wondered whether the moolah could have been better utilized in procuring an account of the World of Warcraft.

[Thank God for the placement committee.]

I’ve had a bit of mixed luck on the Tennis. It’s one of those sports that I like to think that I have a good eye for, but in reality, I’m wrong almost half of the time. That hasn’t stopped me from browsing the tennis games tonight, and finding a perfect opportunity for a bet.

BET – Jelena Jankovic vs Lucie Safrova.

Jelena Jankovic – $1.30
Lucie Safrova – $3.35

I am quite fond of Jankovic. She’s a pretty woman with a heavy game. She made it through four rounds to the final of the Toray Pan Pacific Open, where she was belted so hard by Maria Sharapova that she retired the game.

I don’t know who Lucie Safrova is. Head to head, though, Jankovic has won all three of their games – two of them in straight sets. To get here, Jankovic has beaten Shedova, who I consider to be a pretty good, but flawed player.

The game should start in ~2 hours. Let’s hope it goes to plan.

BET: $7.20 on Jelena Jankovic to win, HEAD TO HEAD

EDIT:

BET – Shahar Peer vs Carla Suarez Navarro

I’ve found another bet that I think is very safe. I’ve been watching Shahar Peer for quite some time, and not in the creepy stalker kind of way. She’s been consistenly getting to the last quarters of tournament and open ladders before conking out of steam. Tonight, she plays Carla Suarez Navarro

Shahar Peer – $1.28
Carla Suarez Navarro – $3.50

They’ve only played once – in the US open. Peer won in straight sets, 6-2, 6-0. Tonight should be a repeat.

BET – $7.80 on Shahar Peer to win, HEAD TO HEAD

Well, if there was any day that could wreck this system, today is it. If one of these bets win, we’ll be close enough to $49 to pick up the pieces and continue on with the system, from square one. If both lose, we’ll be looking at playing with the following (not auspicious) balance:

BALANCE: $39.14