Digital Portfolio
Master’s in Educational Technology
Kristen Dyksterhouse
A Perpetual Work in Progress
A Reflection of Growth & Learning During the MAET Program
Synthesis Essay
by Kristen Dyksterhouse
Click the ADOBE icon for a PDF version of my essay
This essay serves as a reflection of my learning, experiences, and growth as a teacher, learner, and leader of educational techbnolgy during my time in the Master's in Educational Technology Program at Michigan State University.
Introduction to the Program
When I applied to the Master’s in Educational Technology program I initially believed I would be learning about specific technology tools and how to use them in my classroom; however, it didn’t take long for me to realize that the scope this program extends far beyond specific technology tools and focuses on instructional purpose, design, pedagogy, theory, and best practice. Perhaps one of the most intriguing factors of the MAET program was the blend of technology and psychology. Particularly, I didn't just learn what tools were available; I learned why they worked and under which conditions they were the most effective. As a result, I have reflected on my learning over the past three years by organizing my coursework according to major themes of the program.
Design, Theory, & Practice
The MAET program began with coursework that required me to explore conditions for learning and tools and resources that I could use in my classroom to effectively support learning and understanding. In CEP 810: Teaching for Understanding with Technology & CEP 811: Adapting Innovative Technology to Education, I was reminded of the importance of experimentation and play while developing new understanding. Early on in the coursework for these classes I was exposed to the TPACK framework. TPACK helped me understand how knowledge of technology should be paired with pedagogical knowledge of teaching, and content knowledge of what is being taught. By understanding the intersection of these knowledges, I learned to use technology in an effective way. These two courses were especially beneficial in terms of putting ideas into practice and they revealed an entire culture around the ideas of creativity, ingenuity, and resourcefulness.
I also learned a ton about resources available to me as an educator and how to assess whether the resources would be effective tools for my classroom. Within that realm, I learned about Universal Design (UDL) and how I could use the UDL guidelines in my instruction to minimize barriers and maximize learning by implementing multiple methods of representation, expression, and engagement in terms of what I wanted my students to learn and care about. In sum, it was the diverse learning approaches and tools that I was exposed to during these two courses that helped me realize the importance of providing a variety of tools and choices that serve a purpose and make learning worthwhile. Through these experiences, I learned how to assess learning goals and present problems that force students to think and reflect; problems that are designed to change their way of thinking, spark their curiosity, encourage them to try new things, and push them to grow as learners and doers of math.
Passion, Curiosity, & Wicked Problems
Next, in CEP 800: Learning in School and Other Settings I examined various psychological perspectives of learning in relation to students’ learning experiences. Specifically, I explored and compared how learning occurs in various settings in accordance with the diverse and unique abilities of each of my learners while considering the development of powerful learning experiences. Throughout this course I researched different learning theories, and using those learning theories, I was able to achieve a greater understanding on how technology can be used to support, enhance, and extend learning both in and out of the classroom, and, in turn, reconnect learning and life. I was able to relate earlier learning from CEP 810 and CEP 811 regarding learning theory, conditions for learning, and the TPACK model and apply them to my learning in CEP 800 as I designed instructional models and optimal learning experiences. In this class I learned that changing the model of pedagogy to meet the demands of the 21st century is crucial. Learners need the opportunity to learn how to learn, discover and formulate problems, build on other peoples' insights, and adapt their abilities to various situations. As George Polya (1957) once said:
“A great discovery solves a great problem but there is a grain of discovery in the solution of any problem. Your problem may be modest; but if it challenges your curiosity and brings into play your inventive faculties, and if you solve it by your own means, you may experience the tension and enjoy the triumph of discovery. Such experiences at a susceptible age may create a taste for mental work and leave their imprint on mind and character for a lifetime.”
Through this coursework I learned that today’s learners need to rediscover the values of education and how they address real life needs. They need to be reflective in their thinking and discover their unique talents and abilities on their own and in doing so they will become competent, skillful members of society. However, the only way this will happen is if the education model is reevaluated. We will never fulfill the demands of the future by teaching with a model of the past. This new perspective helped me understand the need for an education reform that aligns with 21st century principles.
The next influential course that I took was, CEP 812: Applying Educational Technology to Problems of Practice. This course taught me to think critically about using a wide variety of technologies in an attempt to address education-related problems. In a small group, comprised of three other educators and myself, our task was to explore “wicked problems” in education and create potential solutions based on research. My colleagues and I explored the importance of how to make innovation and creativity part of learning ethic. We compiled diverse resources and findings and presented them using Glogster (shown below on the left), which included our white paper response and visual media production, which you can view below on the right.
To view view Innovation as Learning Ethic: A Wicked Problem! hover your mouse over the image and scroll.
A summary of our solution towards making innovation part of learning ethic suggests that 21st century learning and problem solving is all about connecting the dots, and in life and education the ability to make connections is essential. The late Steve Jobs, an entrepreneur and innovator, was quoted saying:
"Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things. And the reason they were able to do that was that they’ve had more experiences or they have thought more about their experiences than other people. Unfortunately, that’s too rare a commodity. A lot of people in our industry haven’t had very diverse experiences. So they don’t have enough dots to connect, and they end up with very linear solutions without a broad perspective on the problem. The broader one’s understanding of the human experience, the better design we will have.”
This design that Jobs is referring to speaks true to the design of 21st century education, where the ability to problem solve, make connections, apply understanding, and reflect in terms of the big picture are qualities instilled within learners. It's about customizing to your circumstances and personalizing education to the people you're actually teaching. And doing that, I think, is the answer to the future because it's not about scaling a new solution; it's about creating a movement in education in which people develop their own solutions, transfer their knowledge to new scenarios, and design new innovative tools and processes.
Another related theme in CEP 812 allowed me to reflect further on innovation and creativity through the lens of my instructional practices. In Thomas Freidman’s (2013) article It’s P.Q. and C.Q. as Much as I.Q. he says that in our hyper-connected, technology-driven world, the individuals who will succeed “...won’t just be those with more I.Q. It will also be those with more P.Q. (passion quotient) and C.Q. (curiosity quotient) to leverage all the new digital tools to not just find a job, but to invent one or reinvent one, and to not just learn but to relearn for a lifetime.” That is, intelligence alone will not prepare individuals for an unknown
future with unknown problems and jobs, but rather a combination of passion, curiosity and intelligence is necessary for success in a rapidly changing economy. Reflecting on this article, I created a representation of how I embody and envision PQ and CQ in both my present and future work as educator. I created the video remix you see to the right using YouTube and iMovie to help viewers see that passion and creativity go hand in hand in my instructional practices and learning experiences.
Research & Leadership
Additionally, through my coursework in CEP 822: Approaches to Educational Research and CEP 815: Technology and Leadership, my learning started to become cohesive; the dots were connecting once again.
The class that I learned the most in was ironically my least favorite and the most difficult, although I have since come to appreciate and value the learning and understanding garnered from my hard work during the class. In CEP 822: Approaches to Educational Research, I learned that educational research is one of the most challenging fields of research because there are many variables that need to be considered- teachers, students, pedagogy, technology, presentation, etc.- which leads to findings that are often confounding. In this class I learned how to formulate research questions, collect and analyze data, critique the validity of published articles, as well as interpret the findings from statistical analyses and psychological research. The culminating product of my coursework was a research proposal that examined multimedia in relation to how students learn. That is, the introduction to multimedia has been restructuring the way we think, learn, and live for the past two centuries. Multimedia tools converge text, picture, video, and sound into a single format or at least utilize a combination of the different forms. As we advance further into the 21st century, and multimedia forms and uses evolve, educators and researchers alike have recognized the power of media and have sought ways to harness it as an educational tool to improve learning outcomes and address modern educational problems.
The purpose of my research was to derive evidence-based principles for more effective use of visual media in the classroom, specifically in areas concerning knowledge regarding multimedia instruction, multimedia learning, and multimedia tool selection as well as a close examination of how those factors interact with one another. My findings revealed that it is evident that using visual media technology does not ensure that its use will be appropriate and that learning will occur, which reinforced my earlier learning regarding the TPACK framework, instructional design, and learning theory. Further, based upon current research, I found that in order to address some of the concerns brought on in previous studies, as well as increase effective innovative teaching practices in schools, there needs to be increased collaboration amongst district staff. Additionally, there needs to be a school culture that offers a common vision of innovation and support for new types of teaching and professional development- providing teachers with opportunities to experiment and apply innovative teaching methods, such as critical thinking, complex problem solving, collaboration, creativity, or technological fluency. In doing so, educators and researchers will be able to analyze the capabilities of visual media to influence particular students, tasks, and situations according to a specific educational problem. When reported, such findings will contribute to the improvement of teaching and learning. This finding makes sense, as each local context is different, requiring differences in programs, personnel, methods, funding, leadership, and kinds of educator and community support. Thus, the sheer complexity of the learning context calls for a closer look at the combination of method, learner, and environmental variables that contributes to successful learning. The research aims to do so by bringing awareness to educators regarding dynamic Web2.0 visual media tools and resources available to them, as well as to inform them on how to effectively employ those tools in their classroom. Although, experienced researchers recognize that the use of technology and multimedia, resources, and lessons can vary in the level of interactivity, modality, sequencing, pacing, guidance, prompts, and alignment to student interest, all of which impact the effectiveness in learning. Therefore, further research is needed to capture valid and reliable evidence of improvement but also to explain the complex set of conditions that led to improvement. This research review and my findings revealed the importance of continuous action research in local contexts in addition to the need for global meta-analyses reviewing specific outcomes of that data holisitically. It is through this data that educators and researchers can inform instructional practices and identify areas of need, perhaps even on a global scale.
Further, my findings from CEP 822 served as a nice segway into CEP 815: Technology and Leadership. In CEP 815 I learned that technology leaders must have a vision for moving forward with a problem of practice that focuses on using technology as a support rather than a solution. Taking on the role of a technology leader in the assignments, I indentified a problem of practice, presented a solution that utilized technology as a support rather than solution, and created a high-level action plan (vision) to move from policy to implementation that policymakers could monitor along the way to ensure the policy aims were being met.
Primarily, as a leader, I addressed the problem of low math achievement by suggesting a curriculum redesign plan that allows for mathematical abstraction. This tied in my instruction design from CEP 800 using the TPACK model and my research from CEP 822 on multimedia modalities and how to create optimal learning conditions. I justified the need for a networked curriculum using missional thinking and went on to write a mLearning initiative for implementing mobile devices and in support of the new curriculum design. Using forward thinking, I also considered how to assess 21st century skills using mobile devices and a networked curriculum and as a result I created an assessment redesign plan where I examined differentiated assessments using the mobile devices infrastructure and the learning network. Finally, I put everything together and created an action plan, or roadmap, for implementing mobile devices that ensures initiative goals are being met.
Assessment Design & Purpose
In CEP 813: Electronic Assessment for Teaching and Learning, I was able to make connections to previous work I had done in the MAET program and then establish more extensive relationships building off of already familiar concepts. Specifically, as the last course I took before my capstone, I feel as though I had explored almost all combinations and facets of instruction, learning, theory, design and technology prior to enrolling in CEP 813; yet, as I delved into the course material, it was evident that this course was the first that has required me to consider those ideas through the lens of assessment. Although I created an assessment redesign plan in CEP 815, I didn’t explore different approaches of assessment or purposes, so I genuinely appreciated learned the role assessment plays in different contexts and according to different purposes. In general, CEP 813 helped me consolidate ideas from each of my master’s courses and gain a big picture perspective on how design, theory, technology, content, feedback, and assessments interact to inform and improve teaching and learning.
Through CEP 813 I not only learned what effective assessments and feedback look like in theory and in practice, but I also learned about various tools and supports that can be used to differentiate assessments/feedback and consequently improve learning outcomes. Utilizing what I learned about Understanding by Design (UbD), I was able to merge theory, content, and design to create formative assessments that, through scaffolded instruction and feedback, to inform both teaching and learning. One particular assessment design utilized gamification, which is a learning strategy that employs video game design and game elements to motivate students. In this assessment project, I learned how to navigate and create using the tutorial world in MinecraftEDU, and then, through the lens of formative assessment and design, I created a math rollercoaster that covered several strands from the math 8 Common Core State Standards while simultaneously informing teaching and learning.
In CEP 813 I also had the opportunity to explore, examine, and learn how digital portfolios can be used as an assessment tool in educational settings. Based on my learning, I concluded that including digital portfolios in the math curriculum would also allow me to easily generate and organize feedback for students regarding their work. Because digital portfolios easily allow for assessments to occur within learning, and stimulate both reflection and collaboration efficiently, I plan to integrate them as a learning tool in my 8th grade mathematics classroom. By reviewing their reflective work using a digital portfolio, I would be able to observe what my learners know and where they are headed, providing feedback on a personalized level. That is, by having learners reflect in their digital portfolios as they work through tasks, they will naturally organize their thoughts and make their thinking more permanent. As I have learned, this reflection process is also a reflection process for me as an educator. Their work and reflections should allow me to better gauge where each learner may need more help as well as examine the progress they have made. As a result, I can inform and adapt my instruction to better meet the needs of my learners.
Additionally, I was able to implement the electronic assessment methods I designed and reviewed in the online course module I build for CEP 820: Teaching Students Online. Utilizing what I learned regarding theory and design in CEP 813, for my online math assessment design in CEP 820, I used Haiku Learning, an online course management system, to create both traditional assessment measures and nontraditional assessment measures such as a reflective think-aloud and a collaborative investigation, both of which require critical thinking, problem solving, reasoning, and proof. The assessment tools, approaches, and strategies outlined in this screencast provide a more cohesive, accurate representation of learners’ proficiency because I have taken into account multiple measures of achievement (three differentiated assessments measuring computation, performance, and consolidation) and have relied on multiple sources of evidence (differentiated feedback in relation to the assessment type). Through the described formative assessments, I will be aware of my students’ needs, abilities, strengths and weaknesses, and I will be better positioned to modify my instructional strategies and content focus to help maximize student learning and improve achievement.
Concluding Thoughts
Reflecting on my growth and learning experiences since I began the Master’s of Arts in Educational Technology (MAET) three years ago has done more than just consolidate my learning, it has added to my passion, curiosity, and excitement as a teacher and learner. The MAET program pushed me to try things I would not have otherwise tried & use resources and materials I would have not considered. It helped me relate to my students as a fellow learner & reminded me of what makes an effective educator. I think it is so important to consider the process, not just the end result. Now, as I finish up my final term in the MAET program, I look to the future with excitement and hope. I have learned that the delicate balance of technology, pedagogy, content knowledge (TPACK) is essential in creating meaningful learning experiences for my students and in doing so, I can stimulate creativity and innovation in my classroom that extends beyond the confines of my classroom walls.