GOAL #3

Goal #3: The Learning Sciences: using collaborative inquiry in novel study

George Bernard Shaw’s words continue to guide my teaching practices.  In EU551: The Learning Sciences, I developed a professional inquiry project that challenged my ability to point ahead of myself as well as the students.  The inquiry began with a simple conversation that challenged my way of teaching and thinking about learning.  My grade nine students were finishing their short story unit and we were soon moving on to our novel study unit, when a student asked me, “What do we do during our novel study unit?”

Before I could even reply, another student spoke up and told the inquiring student, “Don’t worry about it. We just read the book and answer questions.”

I was shocked.  Why was I shocked?  Simply, because the student was right; all I had done in the past for novel study was have students read the book and answer questions, then we had a test and a few discussions to make sure everyone understood the themes and how they related to the world. I was also shocked because I took into consideration all that I was learning in EU551 and realized how limited the learning was for the grade nines when they weren’t given more opportunities to interact with the text and with each other – Rosenblatt would be very disappointed.  I was even more shocked that after six years of teaching, I was just now questioning the methods of teaching novel study that are common practice at the school that I teach at. In that moment, I resolved that I would not teach the novel using question sheets.  I told my students right then and there that we would be doing “other activities”, even though I didn’t know what those activities would be.

So began my journey into The Learning Sciences and my understanding of theory at a deeper level.  I decided to engage in a professional learning inquiry.  I began my new inquiry with the statement: “If I use Learning Sciences techniques to teach novel study to grade nine academic students, then they will demonstrate a deeper understanding of the novel itself and make stronger connections between the novel, themselves, other texts and the world and ultimately perform better on the summative evaluation (the essay)”. I then worked through the process with my students by including various Learning Sciences- inspired collaborative tasks and discussions to engage my students in their learning.  I must admit, the success of this project was overwhelming.  As I reflect on the positive outcomes of this project for the students, I cannot deny the incredible shift in thinking and practice that has happened in me, as well. 

Throughout my journey to develop a learning environment that uses student centred learning I have expanded my understanding of the various components necessary for students to enhance critical thinking.  I have also come to realize that social interaction is a key component to learning for students; they demonstrated their need to interact with each other to develop their understanding of the novel from the very beginning of the unit when they worked together to construct ideas around the big question: “What does it mean to be different?”. 

Based on the pedagogical approaches of the Learning Sciences, it is clear that learning is a social practice; therefore, I recognized that it is integral to create purposeful groupings to provide students with a social learning environment that allows them to grow as learners and not merely to engage socially with their peers.  I considered purposeful grouping to create a Zone of Proximal Development for learners so that they were able to enhance their abilities through discussion and inquiry with their peers.  Through this process, I have realized that it is difficult to create purposeful groupings in every situation since some students do not fit into my intended groupings and are sometimes “add ons” to a group that do not necessarily benefit all members of the group. Again, being cognizant of purposeful grouping and providing opportunities for leadership as frequently as possible, are now at the forefront of my thinking when I am determining upcoming activities in the classroom.

Watching students share their perspectives to improve the learning of their peers was amazing, but also, released me from the role of the expert.  Students were able to ask each other for information and did not appear to worry that their peers didn’t have the “right” answers. This behaviour indicated to me that the students were willing to take risks and work together to solve problems.  Thus, I can conclude that sharing knowledge has created a dynamic student-centred learning environment in the classroom.  By creating a student centred environment, I became a resource for them to access and not the only expert in the room. 

This entire inquiry project has linked directly to goal 3.  The competency is explained as the ability to: “apply an advanced understanding of the learning and cognition theories such that diverse learning outcomes and educational needs for all students are addressed.”(OCGS, 2011).  By using constructivist theory as the primary component of the Learning Sciences, I have advanced my understanding of the learning theory and how it can effectively play out in the classroom, as discussed earlier.  The competency connections that I have made through this project could not have been clearer.  I have developed a thorough knowledge of The Learning Sciences and integrated theory into the context of the classroom.  I have used my knowledge of learning theory to meet the diverse needs of my students, which is indicated in the student survey results (see figure 1).  I have also met many curriculum outcomes in my teaching practices (see Table 1).

The greatest impact this inquiry has had is on my reflective teaching practices. By questioning my own teaching practices, I have developed new and meaningful ways to meet student learning needs while also enhancing my own knowledge and shifting my pedagogical approaches to better suit the outcomes of the learning environment.   I see the necessity of letting learning happen and the freeing nature of becoming a facilitator in the room and not the only main resource for information.  This is the greatest shift in pedagogy that I could achieve. 

Figure 1:

Anecdotal Student Comments about the class novel study learning techniques:

Leave a comment about the novel study. What do you like about the way we learn in class? What don’t you like about the way we learn in class?

I like how we thoroughly discuss the novel in class, and also how we looked at the types of writing that were being used; satire, irony, point of view...It helped me to gather a bigger idea of the book, and helped me to make more connections with the world around me and the text. There's not very much that I don't like. I enjoy English class very much! c: <--- (that's a smiley face)

i like the way we learn in class because we all share our different opinions

I like how we usually discuss what we've read in the novel in class

I like how we can use assignments to make connections to our world. The only I don't like when we use the same work sheet again and again.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I am enjoying the novel, and I am thoroughly enjoying the lessons and activities that are linked to the novel.

I like how we get to go in groups and share our ideas with everyone.

I like how we get to use multiple ways of learning in class. We do hands on (super David and super Uncle Axel), independent work (reading in class or at home), and working with others (charts around the class room). I don't like coping stuff off the board but I know it is needed sometimes. ~Amy :]

What i like is how we work in groups writing and sharing our thoughts about the novel. What i don't like is the essay that we have to wright soon. sincerely Alex

I like how sometimes we get into groups and collaborate with each other so everybody can share ideas and have a saying in something. There's nothing that I don't like about the way we learn in class. Brittany

I like the way that we get to share our Ideas about the book with the class.

Personally I feel that the way we learn in this class is exceptional. I like how I can share my ideas freely and also how we use technology frequently in class. I do like working in groups

Table 1: Activities inspired by Learning Sciences to meet goals and curriculum outcomes:

New Approach	Previous Teaching Strategies	Consistent with Learning Sciences	Diverse Curriculum Outcomes
KWL chart: using the KWL graphic organizer, students record the prior knowledge they have, what they would like to learn about and what they have learned as we progress through the novel.  Throughout the novel study, we return to our sheet to see if we have answered any of our questions.  We collaborate and use technology to answer more complex questions.	Students answer predetermined questions about the novel before, during and reading.	Inquiry Asking questions to promote deeper thinking and inference is a key component of constructing knowledge.  The KWL organizer aligns with The Learning Sciences because students are using a process and can track their understanding of the text from his or her initial interactions with it right through to the end to see if they have been able to develop meaningful answers to questions they have asked throughout the novel.  As highlighted in the text, “As students synthesize, plan, make decisions, and transform information and data into a variety of forms, higher level learning strategies and self-regulation are required” (Sawyer, p. 480), which indicates that students are meeting the goal of deeper thinking through inquiry.	1.      Reading for Meaning: read and demonstrate an understanding of a variety of literary, informational, and graphic texts, using a range of strategies to construct meaning; 1.3. Demonstrating understanding of content 1.4. Making inferences 1.5. Extending understanding of texts 1.6. Analysing texts 1.8. Critical Literacy
Reciprocal teaching: In this particular activity, students learned about the Cold War and post-apocalyptic worlds on separate PowerPoint presentations, they were responsible to become “experts” about their subject, teach it to their partner, then work together to make connections between these topics and the novel.	The teacher would show the students the power point and transmit the knowledge. Students would take notes to understand the content.	Collaboration According to the text, “Jigsaw creates interdependence among group members by having each student become an expert on information that others in the group need” (Sawyer, p. 484). Students are able to interact with each other to share knowledge about a new topic in order to expand understanding of the text. When students become experts in their subject, they take ownership of the learning and are motivated to ensure that their partners have a strong understanding of the material.	1. Listening to Understand: listen in order to understand and respond appropriately in a variety of situations for a variety of purposes; 1. 3. Using listening comprehension strategies 2.    Speaking to Communicate: use speaking skills and strategies appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes; 2.2. Interpersonal speaking strategies 2.3. Clarity and Coherence
Super David: Several activities are used to learn about the characters.  The process begins with a think aloud which is lead by the teacher. Students develop smaller versions of the character independently, then they work together to create a life size version of a character from the novel integrating all of their ideas.  Their goal is to use the novel, inference skills and each other’s ideas to develop a depiction of the character’s thoughts, feelings as well as the outside factors that affect the character.	In the past, I would have had students complete only one activity about the main characters instead of scaffolding their knowledge and using each other’s knowledge to construct an understanding.	Scaffolding A common thread throughout the text shows that, “learning is an active process, employing a ‘learning by mindful doing’ approach where learners must cognitively manipulate the material they are learning to create cognitive links from the new material to their own prior knowledge” (Sawyer, p. 122).  This hands on learning task is a demonstration of “mindful doing”. Students combine their knowledge of character traits, external factors that affect the character and their prior knowledge to make inferences that build on their understanding of the character and the novel as a whole.  Through this scaffolding process, students make links between new materials and prior knowledge, build their repertoire of understanding and can later apply this understanding to essay writing.	1.Understanding Media Texts: demonstrate an understanding of a variety of media texts; 1.5. Critical literacy 1.2. Interpreting messages 3.Creating Media Texts: create a variety of media texts for different purposes and audiences, using appropriate forms, conventions, and techniques; 3.2. Form 3.3. Conventions and Techniques
Driving question: students were asked to reflect on the question: “How are people who are different perceived by society?” as a thematic focus continually throughout the unit.	Driving questions would not have been as explicitly examined and used to scaffold understanding of the novel.  Students would have written their thoughts in their notebooks and shared them solely with me and not necessarily with each other to make meaning of the text and connections to the world.	Making authentic learning connections Throughout the novel study, we return to the big question to determine if our thinking has changed as we learn more about the novel and the world around us.  Students use their prior knowledge and make connections between the novel and current events.  Through sharing these connections, they are able to develop their understanding of the concepts of the book while also enhancing their knowledge of the world around them.  This creates a meaningful learning experience because students can associate the themes of the novel with real life situations.  “A wide range of learning sciences research has shown that students learn more when they reflect on their own thinking” (Sawyer, p. 127).	1.Reading for Meaning: read and demonstrate an understanding of a variety of literary, informational, and graphic texts, using a range of strategies to construct meaning; 1.3. Demonstrating understanding of content 1.4. Making inferences 1.5. Extending understanding of texts 1.6. Analysing texts 1.8. Critical Literacy