Affecting, not Correcting

     Last week I was talking with an English instructor, and he mentioned one of his least favorite aspects to the job, having a seemingly endless pile of  "too many papers to correct."  We talked for a bit about ideas to help reduce that load he carries, such  having students read drafts and provide feedback to each other as part of the writing process.  I also mentioned that he can encourage  and guide students to use tools such as Grammarly,  https://www.grammarly.com/, Google's Language Tool, both of which go beyond just spell checking, before they turn their papers in, to reduce the amount of correcting that needed to be done. He had done none of these things, and nodded distractedly, and afterwards I felt that my message had not been loud enough. Or perhaps he was unable to hear due to the mental din created by being completely resigned to a lifestyle of correcting papers every weekend. 

    It is no longer necessary for this type of attitude or lifestyle.  Making effective use of tools is one of the digital competencies of 21st-century learning.  These tools empower our multilingual and new-to-writing students to write research papers and post to discussions with confidence, giving them the ability to express themselves clearly.  They give all learners the ability to gain and use new knowledge with much more ease than ever before.  And they shift the teacher's job of "correcting" to something much more connected to the deeper levels of learning and richer conversations than simply putting squiggly lines under sentence fragments, circles around dangling modifiers. and question marks in the margins. 

     Language matters.  Instead of "correcting" - which implies from the outset that something is wrong - we should be thinking of ourselves as affecting.  Imagine how that concept in itself would change the way we approach looking at student writing; we are there to help them clarify with "Tell me more about this" and build on their own experience "What makes you feel this way?" leading to a more satisfying and engaging learning experience for both teacher and student. This kind of approach also allows for individuality of voice for the student, and shifts the role of teacher to facilitator; someone who moderates and encourages the learning process. 

     The bottom line of teaching is affecting student lives. In all aspects of our relationships with students, if we  shift our mental state to affecting, instead of correcting, we will enhance both the enjoyment and depth of the learning process. And who knows how much it would add to our energy and spirit  if that pile of weekend paperwork disappeared? 

Image source: http://competendo.net/en/Facilitation 

The PedaGOgy of Pokémon GO, Part Two

Part Two: Professor Willow and the Four Connections

    In 2010, Odessa College had a student retention problem.  A concerned dean, Dr. Donald Wood began to look at both data and classroom teaching, and discovered that the teachers with higher retention rates consistently did four things that stood out - things that had nothing to do with their teaching methods. He honed it down to four things. What are those four best practices?

1. Interact with students by name
2. Check in regularly
3. Schedule one-on-one meetings
4. Practice Paradox

Professor Willow could have told him that; he has been retaining students since 1996.  He always calls you by name checks in regularly and schedules one-on-one meetings for continued engagement. When you start the game, you have a one-on-one meeting with him.  When you first start to play, his greeting is:

"Hello there, ________! I am Professor Willow. Did you know that this world is inhabited by creatures known as Pokémon? Pokémon can be found in every corner of the earth. Some run across the plains, others fly through the skies, some live in the mountains, or in the forests, or near water... I have spent my whole life studying them and their regional distribution. Will you help me with my research? That's great! I was just looking for someone like you to help! You'll need to find and collect Pokémon from everywhere! Now, choose your style for your adventure."

Then when you get yourself set up, he says,

"There's a Pokémon nearby! Here are some Poké Balls. These will help you catch one!"

     From there on, he appears regularly in your Poke-life, encouraging you and giving you special research tasks to carry out. Professor Willow practices 21st-century teaching in that he is not the old-school  "sage on the stage"  but follows the current teaching practice of being a  "guide on the side," urging us to learn new skills and move forward, even when things get frustrating. 

     Professor Willow leans in to talk to you. He outlines his expectations for your research tasks and clearly explains what your rewards will be.  When you finish them, he personally congratulates you as well. Using your name, and re-iterating what you have just accomplished, and what it means in the bigger picture of Pokémon research. He is always outside, reinforcing the GO aspect of Pokémon GO. 

Practicing Paradox:  Community Events 

     Practicing Paradox in teaching refers to teachers setting up clear expectations, and then allowing for exceptions; in other words, being willing to meet students where they are in order to help them succeed. In the case of Pokémon GO,  Community Days bring double points and "extras" that you don't normally have. They are paradoxical. These are offered about once a month, and often bring with them a focus on a certain Pokémon and lots of chances to interact with other players. What a great way to build an understanding of a subject. I was cajoled into participating in my first one last spring...and now mark my calendar in advance. These "paradox" events give you a chance to get ahead with extra points and opportunities, and skillfully teach you more about the game as they do so. Extra points means extra learning. 

The Delight of Learning 

     Pokémon GO includes what I call the "delight" factor in teaching and learning; my own personal favorite "best practice" for engagement.  Building knowledge, new skills and discoveries should be - as much as possible - a fun experience. I find that the more I can delight and intrigue my students with creative assignments,  multiple ways to achieve goals, and occasional surprise extra credit opportunities as part of their learning, the more they stay engaged. (I would argue that this should be connection #5 on the list, but it can often take a lot of experience and skill to develop.)

     Pokémon GO has this down to a fine art, because at any given moment, the Pokémon you catch could be shiny!!  Or it could be a "perfect," scoring 100 on the IV scale, when most are between 50 and 80.  Shiny Pokémon are few and far between...and catching one makes one feel lucky indeed. You may catch one in a raid, or  you may  just be walking down the street in front of your own house and catch one.  Trading your Pokémon with a friend also gives you an opportunity to maybe  - just maybe  - have them become "special"  or jump in their rating.  

     Shiny Pokémon that are offered up here and there to all players is, in my mind, one of the compelling elements that keep people like me - interested not so much in the points but in the process - participating. The pokemon characters range from adorable to fierce. Who knows...maybe today you'll catch a shiny Magicarp, flopping around on your screen, that can be evolved into a red dragon? 

     

     I love finding inspiration in unexpected places. Professor Willow and Pokémon GO understand the four connections, and practice them with aplomb. My small foray into this world has helped me to better appreciate the importance of connection, celebration, and creativity in my role as an educator. 

The PedaGOgy of Pokémon GO

Part I

     I had never played an online game in my life when I opened Pokémon GO while walking with a friend who was playing.  This first experience was compelling enough for me to write a blog post, 10 Days of Pokémon GO.

My friends Stephanie, Tim and my husband John

     In the year and a half since that time, I picked it up again as a social activity and play with a small group of friends, and it has become a regular activity in my weekend life.  As an educator, with a special interest in online education, this game has reinforced my ideas about student engagement and opened my eyes in surprise and delight to some new ones.  It is an artful, amazing game that allows players to interact in their own ways, continue learning, and stay engaged long-term with constant challenges and rewards.  And yes - it makes me walk more and meet new people in the process.  Here are some of the great pedaGOgy strategies I have enjoyed: 

Personalized Learning 

     Each day, you are given the opportunity to complete research tasks that you receive by spinning stops. These are tasks you can either fulfill, or - if you don't like them - delete. There are a total of three you can work on at one time. If you delete one, you simply find another to replace it. This allows you to help to structure your own experience, and directly ties into adult learning styles, because we like to help control our learning experiences.  It also allows for different learning styles; some people love the raids, and tend to focus on research tasks that ask you to battle in a raid; others love the journey of capturing different types of Pokémon, and will work on those tasks.  Any one person will be moving forward in the game by picking and choosing their pathway. And the tasks for any given stop change daily, making each day a new adventure. 

Competency-based Learning 

     At the core, you are capturing Pokémon  of various sizes, forms, and skills with balls. You are given multiple chances to catch them; if you miss the first time, try again. You can use different berries to help entice them to hold still for you; you gather those berries by spinning stops as you move around.  If you absolutely can't get one, you can choose to escape and try another one.  There are always more Pokémon to capture, so no matter how few or many you end up catching, you can always try again. Each time you catch one, it is tallied; if you miss one, you move on. You receive metals for catching them, and you can work at your own pace. 

Scaffolded Learning Opportunities

     Pokémon GO helps you to become a better player by reinforcing information as you play with low-stakes activities such as powering up Pokémon and offering medals for capturing certain numbers and types with badge-like rewards that suddenly appear on your screen. It is like suddenly learning you got extra points on an assignment, boosting your confidence.  Pokémon reminds you of how to play the game in this way, and helps you advance in subtle ways.  With this support you can move forward gracefully. My research tasks remind me that I need to use my berries.  Slowly, by advancing from level to level, I gain an understanding of the various components of the game.  Pokémon GO starts with lower levels that are short and easy to move through, while the higher levels take much longer (ie more points) to complete. In that way, beginning players are rewarded easily as they learn the basics, while more advanced players are given bigger challenges to move forward, but no one is given something they can't handle at their level. Excellence in teaching!

Group Work and Building Community

My box becomes full and I have to decide which Pokémon to power up, send off to Professor Willow to clear space in my box, or trade with someone.  These decisions are part of the everyday tasks in the game, and there are as many approaches to them as there are players.  Learning from others on how they approach the game is part of the game itself.  And as you reach higher levels and start to raid, you naturally meet other players, as some raids take at least 10 people in order to win. Even those quieter among us share information and help each other; I have been in more than one raid where we all backed right before it started to allow someone time to reconnect their phone, or arrive late. There is as much a culture of respect as there is one of competition that is cultivated by the game. It allows for both introverts and extroverts in the learning community. 

Next: Professor Willow, Shinies, and Luck

Feedforward: Save Time, Save Students

     No matter what our subject, our level (K-12, College, Graduate) our modality (online or classroom) we are serving increasingly diverse classrooms of learners. The topic of underprepared students has come up in many places in my life recently; in departmental meetings, conversations with faculty, and on social media. "If only the students were better prepared, they would not have: flunked/dropped the course or program/stopped coming to class." You pick the ending; frustrated teachers are feeling that students aren't "ready" to succeed in their classes.  "How can we make them prepared?" they ask, heads shaking, and hoping someone will come up with a remedy for the problem. What they don't seem to ask as often is, "How can I reach these students?"  (Not because they don't care; faculty tend to be busy.)

     Remedies to this issue are now being written about from various perspectives; one excellent example is the  book, "Become a Student-ready College: A New Culture of Leadership for Student Success" which addresses various aspects of this dilemma, and the chapter "Becoming Whole-Person Educators" is especially pertinent.  But for those faculty who don't have the luxury of time or money to purchase and read largely on this topic - or any other -  are simply looking for something that will:

Stop. 

Students. 

From. 

Failing.

Now.

     Unfortunately, I fear there will not be a magical week zero course that will prepare the incredibly wide range of students walking into our real or virtual classrooms, although I am one of many who is at least half-tackling the concept. And we have learned already that admissions testing has very little to do with predicting student success, in spite of some faculty hopes that we can just admit the "ready" students. But as I explore this issue, I am stumbling upon some ways that faculty can address this issue on their own. 

     Without too much fuss. 

      One do-able step faculty can take is to utilize the concept of giving  "Feedforward" - a pathway to success for their specific subject. I recently heard this term used by  Dr. Jean Mandernach in her presentation, "10 Tips for more Efficient and Effective Online Teaching" at the fantastic virtual conference, "Transforming the Teaching and Learning Environment" offered by the University of Idaho. 

     In a nutshell, Feedforward turns Feedback on its head.  Her focus was the online environment,  but I would assert that this could be used for all modalities, with an intentional  focus on the students in your own area who are struggling. Do you find yourself sighing with despair quarter after quarter, with students making the same kinds of mistakes? Then change the way you are presenting your material by inserting a Feedforward aspect to your course.  Instead of spending so much time telling students what they did wrong afterwards, tell them how to do it right before they do an assignment. Give them tools for success before they start. (We may think we already do this. We may need to do it more.) This takes some time shifts (you have to allow some space in your course for this to happen) but the time and frustration you ultimately eliminate will be more than made up for.  

     Feedforward ideas: Show examples of what you are looking for. Walk students through rubrics, and explain what they mean.  Give them some links to online tools to help them improve their English/writing/reading skills. Offer multi-lingual vocabulary lists or important concepts, easily put together at sites such as https://quizlet.com. Start with an example of a past exemplary student work, or have past students give advice on how to succeed. Building curriculum with the Feedforward concept in mind can help catch those struggling students in myriad ways. 

What are your thoughts? How might you incorporate this concept?