Kristen Koch - Flexible Educational Resources

Flexible Education Resources

Learning Opportunities via a Curated Menu of Educational Resources

In the field of education, it is important that teachers have an understanding of the flexible education resources available to them and are skilled in selecting appropriate resources based on their subject area and students. Flexible education resources are the tools, programs, or manipulatives that teachers use as learning activities. These may be digital or physical. For example, in a lesson sequence on renewable energy, a potential digital flexible resource would be this 3M Wind Energy Virtual Lab; while a potential physical resource would be this Flinn Scientific solar car kit. Any free, online flexible education resources are referred to as open education resources. All open education resources are flexible, but not all flexible education resources are open. In the prior example, only the 3M Wind Energy Virtual Lab would be defined as an open education resource.

With such a plethora of resources available, teachers must become skilled in selecting resources. Teachers should "consider the skills [they are] teaching, how content aligns with standards, ease of assessment, and whether [these will] provide an active, creative experience" (Marcinek 2015). Resources that are too low or high of a level might be saved as scaffolding resources or extension activities, but should not be a teacher's top choice. Resources that incorporate a significant deal of content that is not within the parameters of the curriculum should not be selected. The great news is that many flexible education resources can be created and/or modified by the teacher to meet specific needs.

In conjunction with the Personalized Learning competencies of learner agency and authentic assessment, I have created a lesson on renewable energy sources that allows students to work at their own pace, have choice, work collaboratively, and create authentic artifacts to display mastery of the standards. Below is the student-facing Google Slides document with embedded activities.

Renewable Energy

Employing Engaging Pedagogies and Research-Based Best Practices

Self-Paced Learning

"Giving students some control over the pace of their learning can help them develop self-reliance and better problem-solving skills" (Rowe 2019). This lesson utilizes self-paced learning. Especially with a large class of thirty ELLs ranging from WIDA level 2s to 4s, and grades 9-12, my students have very diverse needs. Students can spend the amount of time they need re-watching the video, listening to audio recordings on their notes slides, or even adjusting the lexile level on their NewsELA articles. Students are given group opportunities, and this model of instruction encourages them to work with different peers.

Virtual Field Trips

Part of ensuring that a virtual field trip (VFT) is meaningful and aligns with standards is to "make sure the trip explores an idea, not just a place" (Platoni 2008). In this example, a virtual field trip to a renewable energy site allows students to visualize the energy farms, but also provides details on the use of renewable energy along with a real-world application and insight on careers within the field. VFTs also negate the time needed to travel somewhere and the necessary funding for field trips. Many VFTs, including the one I selected for this activity, contain a teacher's guide and learning materials including student-facing worksheets.

Student Artifacts + Coplanning

As a form of authentic assessment, also tying in learner agency and executive functioning skills, students are responsible for creating an artifact that demonstrates their understanding of the competencies learned throughout their self-paced activity sequence. Students must co-plan and gain approval for their artifact before creation. Having their own voice and choice adds autonomy and gives students ownership of their learning. For my ELLs, a list of possible artifact types is provided as a scaffold. Coplanning sessions are in-person and informal. Students are given access to an array of flexible education resources, including digital and physical options, to aid in creation of their artifact.

Monitoring and Observing Effectiveness of Resources in Real-Time

Padlet

Padlet is a good way to monitor student responses to questions, or to monitor student discourse and collaboration. In this lesson activity, students watch a video and then select at least one question to respond to. My students have used Padlet before and have accounts, so I am able to see who each response belongs to. Padlet can be moderated, requiring teacher approval before posts show up; a profanity filter is also available. I find that open-ended questions are best, to prevent simple one-word answers from students.

Nearpod

Nearpod is one of my go-to, most frequently used tech tools. Nearpod elevates notes slides by allowing the teacher to integrate notes with formative assessments, videos, and other activities. There is a teacher-paced option and a student-paced option, both of which come with real time monitoring and reports. On the student-paced version used in this lesson, audio recordings are available for accessibility on notes slides. There is also the option to require student responses and participation in activities before advancing to the next slide.

Quizizz/Blooket

"If you want to find out whether your students really know as much as you think they know, polls and quizzes created with...[online tools] can help you get a better sense of how much they really understand" (Thomas 2019). There are an overwhelming number of virtual formative assessment options - KaHoot, Quizizz, GimKit, Blooket, and more. Students prefer different tools because of the game modes, which is why I created two options for this activity. Students are able to self-assess their understanding in a fun way, and depending on the tool, teachers can view reports that would then open up the opportunity for data analysis and individualized feedback.

Sources

Marcinek, Andrew. “Open Educational Resources Meet Instructional Design.” Edutopia, 8 Jan. 2015, https://www.edutopia.org/blog/open-educational-resources-instructional-design-andrew-marcinek.

Platoni, Kara. “How to Make the Most of Virtual Field Trips.” Edutopia, 29 Oct. 2008, https://www.edutopia.org/virtual-field-trips-tips.

Rowe, Katherine. “Getting Started with Self-Paced Learning.” Edutopia, 18 June 2019, https://www.edutopia.org/article/getting-started-self-paced-learning.

Thomas, Laura. “7 Smart, Fast Ways to Do Formative Assessment.” Edutopia, 26 Apr. 2019, https://www.edutopia.org/article/7-smart-fast-ways-do-formative-assessment.

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