Collaboration, Pedagogy and Practice

The focus in this module was to experience, participate, and collaborate online with colleagues and practice applying teaching strategies that involve Design Thinking and Bloom’s Taxonomy. The module on Collaboration, Pedagogy & Practices had several important learning objectives:

• Create and deliver student-centered lesson objectives, resources and strategies to enhance collaboration among students in a group project setting.

• Apply Design Thinking process in curriculum development, planning and revision.

• Identify appropriate levels of Bloom's Taxonomy for planning for the use of a variety of Web 2.0 tools.

• Research, select and apply a variety of Web 2.0 tools appropriately for higher levels of cognition.

• Identify technology resources, tools and strategies to facilitate project-based learning activities into the online or blended learning environment.

I was fortunate to work with a team of individuals who all knew each other very well because they work in the same district. Even though I was new to the group, the team welcomed me into the discussion with respect, care, and ease. This process of online collaborative work and project creation, compared to face-to-face collaboration, was interesting to compare and analyze. It was evident that our process of online collaboration worked really well and we were able to effectively and efficiently discuss the task at hand, revise the plan of attack, and equitably assign sections for completion of the project as a whole. One concrete example was evident in the communication, selection, and decision-making ability of the team members. Our process for securing times to secure our first meeting felt respectful of all schedules, offered options, and were extremely flexible in contrast to scheduling a meeting face-to-face.

The online setting allowed for our time together to be organized, fruitful and friendly in nature. We maximized our time completely and were able to adjourn with a strong connection to the necessary work to complete our activity. At our planning session, the team established roles discussed the final product construction and design and created Google slides to organize assignments through a shared file. Our second meeting was more of a “check in” to ensure that nobody had difficulty or needed team support in order to complete the assignment. One area of improvement for me personally during subsequent team assignments would be to have more knowledge about the use and application of Web 2.0 tools and how they can enhance communication and creation of content. I hope that I can gain more technological skills so that I can better support my colleagues with any technical issues. I felt our team was very effective in communication among team members, allowing for the flow of opinions and ideas and created a safe space to share. Each team member communicated their status appropriately and responses had an appropriate response time. I can say with certainty my group was very adept at the collaboration, respect and flow necessary for a positive tam approach. I thoroughly enjoyed working with my team for the first time in an online collaborative environment. The entire experience was essential towards my growth as an educator and I enjoyed meeting four awesome new people who are like minded in this process. Overall, I this process was very successful and provided an opportunity for my intellectual growth.

After reading the links, articles and viewing the video information, the assignments in this moduleI allowed me to expand my thinking in terms of the deign thinking process, Blooms Digital Taxonomy and how it applies to my approach as the facilitator of the project, and how to integrate the standards and objectives into the lesson activities to further support and advocate for student achievement and exploration. I feel strongly in my strengthened skill towards two standards from the iNACOL Standards for Quality Online Teaching:

• Domain 2: Qualities

  • Competency 3: Collaboration

    • Standard A: Balance individual initiative with teamwork to accomplish organizational objectives.

I felt very strongly in my participation and engagement in completing the collaborative project. Our team came together quickly, created a strategy for completing our tasks in a timely and effective manner, and then the team by reconvening to evaluate and support the work of the entire team for cohesion and accuracy.

• Domain 4: Technical Skills

  • Competency 4: Instructional Tools

    • Standard B: Demonstrate skill in the evaluation, selection, and use of effective instructional materials, tools, strategies, and resources for students, and engage students in this process to help their achievement and development of academic skills.

The main reason I chose this standard was able to expand my thinking in terms of using different Web 2.0 tools for academic creation, collaboration and for the purposes of differentiation. I believe that using different Web 2.0 tools help significantly increase student engagement and project completion. I will now feel more confident in creating similar collaborative projects for my own class/staff. My students/staff will cohesively discuss and apply life skills that will benefit them in the competitive and ever-changing global workforce. Strengthening a students ability to use technological strategies to complete research-based activities will be the driving force behind the shift in the ability of teachers giving way to student voice and interests. Allowing students to experience their own the learning with the teacher as the guide and moderator. As a result, it is critical that to make sure I enhance my role as a learning coach through concise professional development and provide teacher support in the learning process.

Making decisions and finding solutions face-to-face in the same room can be both challenging and rewarding at the same time. Online collaboration is much more than face to face collaboration. When creative groups begin to design, it is effective when the team is able to sit down all together and share ideas. As in all collaborative settings, it can be a challenge when people work in different places. It also takes a considerable amount of time to explain ideas via email or in a Google document, explaining things through speaking is a lot easier, faster, and more effective.

When considering and creating during this method of collaboration, the following areas should be considered:

• Empathy (Consider all ideas in a safe and open setting)

• Define (What is the issue/problem?)

• Ideate (Expand discussion and explore ideas in a safe space)

• Prototype (Try out different ideas that will facilitate a solution)

• Test (Test your ideas and collect data for fidelity)