Transdisciplinary Learning

As a future teacher I am constantly thinking about the best ways to structure my curriculum to provide the best opportunities for my students. Interdisciplinary curriculum is becoming more and more relevant in the 21^st century learning styles and is a style of teaching that I find very interesting. Interdisciplinary curriculum integrates concepts from different disciplines to make a synthesized whole in which many areas of study are considered (Drake, Reid, & Kolohon, 2014). There are several ways to do this but one of the best ways is through transdisciplinary curriculum. Transdisciplinary curriculum means going beyond the curriculum and planning with student interests and real world contexts rather than curriculum outcomes (Drake et al., 2014). Once a relevant theme is established teacher and students work together to decide what curriculum expectations fit their theme best. Since it is a real world context, many subjects are easily incorporated because a variety of ideas and skills are being implemented (Drake et al., 2014). Transdisciplinary curriculums include topics such as world hunger, gender inequality, and many other global issues. For example a question that could guide a transdisciplinary curriculum could be “why do some people in our community not have enough food? How can we change this?”. I wish that I had received this kind of education when I was in school. I feel like many teachers use the curriculum as the almighty guide for lessons and student expectations when sometimes the material is not relevant to the student’s lives. When teachers ask students questions like “what concerns you about yourself and the world around you?” they will be surprised by the immense awareness and knowledge students have about the world. Children are not little machines that you deposit information into. They think, have ideas and most of all care about the world around them and are interested in making change.

For Transdisciplinary curriculum a big idea acts as the overarching theme that leads the inquiry process

Retrieved from http://www.greenwichschools.org/page.cfm?p=6697

            To keep things in line with curriculum development, transdisciplinary curriculums have a very distinct set of know, do and be expectations. Learning to know involves making connections, adapting to changes and knowing how to learn new material. Learning to do involves performance tasks that demonstrate the ability to apply knowledge in a creative manner (Transdisciplinary Learning, 2006). Finally learning to be involves making connections on a local and global scale as well as being on a life-long journey of self-discovery (Transdisciplinary Learning, 2006). I thought I should include this information because it exhibits how possible a transdisciplinary curriculum is to implement. It seems a major risk to leave students to decide what the unit of study should be but through this KDB it is clear this curriculum is designed to implement many valuable skills that can used in the future.

            A great way implement a transdisciplinary curriculum is through project-based learning. In this, students tackle a local problem in the community with the guidance of their teachers (Drake & Burns, 2004). Teachers and students select a topic of study based on student interests, curriculum and local resources as a first step. Then the teacher works with the students to determine what they already know about the problem and help them generate questions and resources to tackle the problem. Finally, students share their work in a culminating activity where they share their results with the class and discuss strategies (Drake & Burns, 2004). Project-based learning has been proven to be extremely effective in that students are more attentive, ask open ended questions, make connections between curriculum and real-world events, and are generally more excited about school and the material that is being covered. I think in my future classroom I will have project-based learning activities in my classroom as it will help me have a transdisciplinary classroom. Using project based learning to help them environment would be useful in the Canadian context. Canada is known for its environmental beauty but pollution is slowly destroying it. As a project-based learning activity students could visit a local pond, forest, lake etc. and determine how they could use local resource to clean it up. Students would be making connections with the community and the real world through this form of curriculum which is knowledge that they will hold onto for a life time. I hope that this is a form of learning that other educators will use in the future because it’s really valuable J

Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARXs2cpzY3c

If you want to see a good example of transdisciplinary curriculum watch this video! It's really cool to see all these ideas come together in a real classroom!

References

Transdisciplinary Learning. (2006). Retrieved November 4, 2015 from: http://www.greenwichschools.org/page.cfm?p=6697

Drake, S., & Burs, R. (2004). What is Integrated Curriculum? In Meeting standards through integrated curriculum. Alexandria, Va.: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Drake, S. M., Reid, J. L., & Kolohon, W. (2014). Interweaving Curriculum and Classroom Assessment: Engaging the 21^st Century Learner. Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press.

Learning Goals and Success Criteria

Assessment is a key component for the school system. How would we know if students were learning anything otherwise? Assessment plays a critical role in teaching and learning and should have the goal of developing independent, autonomous, and confident learners (Growing Success, 2010). Unfortunately assessment in most schools has been focused on assessment of learning. This type of assessment only measures student’s performance after it has happened and often compares to other children’s work. This can be detrimental because it doesn’t allow for opportunities to be independent and improve learning. This is why schools are beginning to focus on assessment for learning and assessment as learning. Assessment for learning involves finding evidence for use by learners and their teachers to decide where the learners are in their learning, where they need to go, and how best to get there (Growing Success, 2010). Assessment as learning allows students to foster their capacity over time to be their own best assessors but teachers start by modelling opportunities for students to assess themselves (Growing Success, 2010). These last two forms of assessment are much more beneficial because they allow students to guide their own learning and have some say in the process. A key part of this process is creating learning goals and success criteria in the classroom for everyone to follow.

Retrieved from: http://blackdeer.edublogs.org/2012/11/05/learning-goals-and-success-criteria/

     Learning goals and success criteria go together like peanut butter and jelly so they're essential to each other. Learning goals are short statements that address the KDB of the lesson or unit of study (Drake, Reid, and Kolohon, 2014). A learning goal should address the simple question “what are we learning?” and derive from curriculum expectations. However, they are not simply copy and pasted statements but rather thoughtful statements that divide the unit into learnable chunks where each child can reach the goal at their own pace. Success criteria are the skills needed to complete the learning goal and answer the question “what am I looking for?” (Drake et al., 2014). So for example, a learning goal could be “learning to write a scary short story” and the success criteria could be things like “having cliff hangers, using scary verbs and adjectives, having characters, etc.” To avoid any power imbalances between teacher and student (which is usually avoided through assessment of learning and assessment as learning), the learning the goals and criteria need to be written in student friendly language and make learning attainable and reasonable (Drake et al., 2014). Students can take charge of their own learning by offering ideas of what they deem successful, collaborating with peers and teachers to form a plan, and have the ability to change the criteria as the unit progresses (Drake et al., 2014). The learning goals and success criteria are on a kind of continuum where knowledge is co-constructed by teachers and students and eventually leads to students creating individual goal setting (Drake et al., 2014). This way students are making real connections with what they are learning and  can understand the assessment process. Often what happens in schools is that students don’t know how to be successful because they are not included in the discussion of how to assess. When students are involved in the process they are more likely to strive for success because it is partly based on what they think success is (which is a relative term anyway right?).

Retrieved from: http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2012/03/28/5-simple-ways-adjuncts-can-help-each-other/

     A great way to assess progress in relation to the learning goal is through exit cards. When students have a clear understanding of what they are supposed to learn they are able to track their progress toward achieving the goal (Learning Goals & Success Criteria, 2010). By asking students to submit exit cards they are able to reflect on the progress they have made towards their goals and what they can do to continue on the right path (Learning Goals & Success Criteria, 2010). I would personally use this kind of assessment in my classroom because it is a great way to track their learning. Sometimes when setting goals people forget things along the way or their thoughts change on what their goal should be. By creating exit cards it can help students further internalize and personalize their learning goal, making it more likely to be achieved (Learning Goals & Success Criteria, 2010).

In my own personal experience I have rarely been in a classroom that allows students to be part of the assessment process. It was always about having the teachers teach at us which left us excluded in this part of education. I think learning goals, success criteria and the co-construction that goes along with it allows for great repoire between teachers and students. Furthermore, it gives students a sense of empowerment and independence in their learning experience which is something they rarely get but it can affect how seriously they take their education. Finally, the feedback would be much accurate through this method because the teacher and the student are on the same page about what success means and how they can accomplish it.

       Retrieved from:: http://www.edugains.ca/resourcesAER/VideoLibrary/LearningGoalsSuccessCriteria/LearningGoalsSuccessCriteriaViewingGuide2011.pdf

Finally, if you’re ever unsure about when to implement this kind of assessment, just ask yourself these three questions (Davis & Herbst, 2013):

1.      When could I co-construct criteria? How can I use examples to support an understanding of success so the criteria are better?

2.      How can I involve students in using criteria as a guide for self-assessment, peer assessment, and as a way to monitor the progress of their learning?

3.      How can learners show proof of learning from the co-constructed criteria?

If you would like to understand more about learning goals and success criteria, check this out!

References

Davis, A., & Herbst, S. (2013). Co-constructing success criteria: Assessment in the service of

learning. Retrieved from http://www.cea-ace.ca/education-canada/article/co-constructing-success-criteria

Drake, S. M., Reid, J. L., & Kolohon, W. (2014). Interweaving Curriculum and Classroom

Assessment: Engaging the 21^st Century Learner. Don Mills, ON: Oxford University

Press.

Exit Card (2010). Retrieved

from http://www.edugains.ca/resourcesAER/VideoLibrary/LearningGoalsSuccessCriteria

/LearningGoalsSuccessCriteriaViewingGuide2011.pdf

GROWING SUCCESS: Assessment, Evaluation, and Reporting in Ontario Schools. First

           

 Edition, Covering Grades 1–12, 2010. Retrieved from

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/policyfunding/growSuccess.pdf

Helping Hands (2012). Retrieved  from: http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2012/03/28/5-

simple-ways-adjuncts-can-help-each-other/

Learning Goals & Success Criteria (2010) Assessment for learning video series. Retrieved from

http://www.edugains.ca/resourcesAER/VideoLibrary/LearningGoalsSuccessCriteria/Lea

rningGoalsSuccessCriteriaViewingGuide2011.pdf

Success Criteria (2012). Retrieved from http://blackdeer.edublogs.org/2012/11/05/learning-

goals-and-success-criteria/

Grading, grading, grading, when does it ever stop? While it can get tiring, it is an essential component to teaching as it gives a good indication of how your students are performing in your classes. But with every concept comes a model or a theory and I’ve been thinking a lot about two very different types of grade distribution.

Bell Curves

Retrieved from: http://aweekinthelifeofaredhead.com/a-bell-curve/

While it is not necessarily essential in high schools and elementary schools this model is prominent in many post-secondary institutes. The bell curve works as a “normal distribution” model which means it presents the standard deviations of the scores at the bottom (the average between different sets of scores).  The “0” or the middle of the graph is the mean and average of the scores (top of the bell) and the two halves are the other 50% of the scores. If that is too complicated for you non-stat majors imagine it like this: 100 students take a test and their scores are put on a bell curve model. A few but equal number of students receive As and Fs a small but equal number of students receive Bs and Ds and the majority fall in the C range. This is considered grading on the curve (Yount, 2011).

While this system seem good in theory, with the highest percentile receiving As and lowest percentile receiving Fs (such scientific grading tools are supposedly far superior to any form of bias that can arise in other forms of grading) I argue that it is not a good form of grading. The biggest fault of the bell curve model is that for every score in the positive percentile there must be an equal score in the negative percentile for a “normal” distribution to be formed (Yount, 2011). This gives students no guidance on how to do well in school, they are only marked on their final place on the curve in relation to fellow peers (Yount, 2011). I have personally been in courses where this type of grading system is used and it is detrimental to the learning environment. For instance, in one of my first year university classes this grading system was implemented to decide our final grade. Throughout the year I witnessed a lot of students have anxiety about their mark in this class as well as hostility towards their peers because it became a sort of “competition”. What was so frustrating was that all the teacher instruction, group interaction, and individual growth that happened in the class didn’t even matter because your marks only mattered in relation to the average. I received a decent grade on the final exam but finished the class with a low mark because the average of the class was higher than my exam mark. This made me feel like my successes throughout the semester were irrelevant because this one assessment stifled my growth. There is no chance for success at the individual level as this form of assessment only benefits a certain number of people, there is no chance for everyone to be successful.

J- Curves

Retrieved from http://rube.asq.org/edu/2009/11/problem-solving/apply-a-j-curve-to-achieve-success-not-perpetuate-excuses-.pdf

This is what brings me to a new innovative model that I think is much more effective in distributing grades. The J curve is a distribution model that shows a dip in grades for some students but an increase for most (Drake, Joanee, & Koholon, 2014). The philosophy behind this model is that while some students may be unsuccessful at the task, most will reach the learning goals. This model was built on the premise that with proper instruction and a healthy learning environment anyone can be successful (Mikels & Sartori, 2009). What I appreciate about this model is that every student has the opportunity to work at their own pace and reach their level of achievement without the added pressure of meeting or beating the average. Students are able to focus on individual growth (Mikels & Sartori, 2009)

            While both of these are grading distribution models, I believe the philosophies that influenced them also have a strong hold in schools. So while bell curve and j curve models are not necessarily used as assessment tools in elementary schools and high schools, the ideas behind these models influence assessment. For example, assessment of learning (AoL) is a still a prominent form of assessment in schooling. Similar to the bell curve model, AoL reports on achieved learning through things like tests and quizzes (Drake et al.., 2014). Furthermore, forms of AoL can also be standardized and compared to ministry standards (Drake et al., 2014). A similar philosophy is present here because the education system is assessing each student in the same way and seeing if they meet the “requirements” of the ministry, which is a far cry from how learning actually works. In contrast the J curve philosophy has similar principles to assessment for learning (AfL). In AfL assessment is continuous through the learning process, with feedback about performance (strengths, things to improve on) consistent (Drake et al., 2014). What is important about this is that comparison to other students is irrelevant; the sole focus is on student growth.

What is unfortunate is that AoL and the “bell curve mentality” is still the prominent form of assessment used in schools today. I have asked a few teachers over the years what were normal averages for their class and they would say things like “60-75%”. Why are some many schools focused on sameness and what students in the “normal range” should be receiving? This limits the abilities of all students because they already have a predestined position on a scale. As future teachers we should push for the J curve mentality and help students define their own learning experiences and be successful in their own right. And hopefully get a few 100s along the way J If you want to learn more about the J curve, heres a link to a brief completed by a low income school that implemented the j-curve with great results!!

Finally, here's an article I feel summarizes the importance of switching from the "bell curve mentality" to the "j curve mentality" 

References

Bell Curve (Online Image) (2005). Retrieved from http://aweekinthelifeofaredhead.com/a-bell-curve/

Drake, S., Joanee, R.L., & Kolohon, W. (2014). Interweaving curriculum and classroom assessment: Engaging the 21^st century learner. Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press.

J Curve (Online Image) (2009). Retrieved from http://rube.asq.org/edu/2009/11/problem-solving/apply-a-j-curve-to-achieve-success-not-perpetuate-excuses-.pdf

Mikels, L., & Sartori, T. (2009, November). ASQ- Apply a J-Curve to Achieve Success, Not Perpetuate Excuses. Retrieved from http://rube.asq.org/edu/2009/11/problem-solving/apply-a-j-curve-to-achieve-success-not-perpetuate-excuses-.pdf

Yount, R. (2011, June 30). The Bell Curve and Assigning Grades. Retrieved from: http://www.drrickyount.com/2011/06/jason-norris-and-the-bell-curve/