JonesECT7300-5

Well, hello and welcome back to the Pedagogue Pub,

a podcast where we talk about strong teacher practice while sipping strong drinks.

I am your host terry lynch and I'm so glad

that you were able to join us for this segment.

My next guest is a dear friend to the show. She always drops a few gems

anytime she stops by,

she's gonna talk to us a little about connective is um learning theory.

So all you teacher newbies gather around.

Okay, ladies and gentlemen, my friend and sister,

educator and content creator Extraordinaire Ebony jones A.

K. A. The side check. Thank you so much terry and thank you guys. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you for such a warm welcome.

It's such a pleasure to be here and I enjoy myself thoroughly every time I come.

Oh of course girl, of course. Now let's jump right in.

How did the learning theory of connective ism emerge.

And who are prominent theorists associated with connective is um

Well,

most learning theory came into prominence long before this age of information.

So connective is um is the baby of the bunch emerging roughly around 2005.

Um George Simmons and Stephen Downes who first proposed the

theory of connective is um um realized the dramatic impact that

technology and both physical and virtual socialization was having on

learning and the lifespan of knowledge as we know it.

Now today the lifespan of knowledge is growing ever

shorter due to the emergence of the internet,

right?

The world wide Web has provided access to a broad range of content and sure has girl,

I mean there is nothing

that we can't access on the internet. Yes.

And this has opened up opportunities for new forms

of communication and knowledge acquisition and perhaps most important,

the constant creation of knowledge beyond that of what was once

necessary to navigate more formal educational

settings and traditional career paths.

And I'm gonna give some teeth to that statement in the second

Consider our parents and grandparents who spent,

I don't know 30 or 40 years working as

bank tellers or postal workers at the local plant,

they were able to persist in these positions because

the scope of the job had remained virtually unchanged.

Thus the knowledge or skill required to do the job remained virtually unchanged.

But in modern day the focus is creation and innovation.

People are always looking for new methods and new ideas and new products. Yes.

New everything like nothing.

No technology, nothing that exists has any like longevity or staying power at all.

Yes. You're absolutely right terry.

And with globalization and these rapidly changing markets,

satisfying the demand for these things.

Makes connective Ism that much more important.

This is so good girl. Okay let's move on.

Um Now what specifically is the learning theory of

connective is um about that's a great question terry.

Um And connective is um learning is focused

on connecting information through tech and social networking.

Right?

This allows learners to combine the thoughts and theories and

tools that they acquire or come across in a useful manner

and technology namely the the internet has been a major conduit for um collectivism

in that sense.

It's about the ability to access relevant information,

utilize it and improve upon the resources made available by others.

Um yeah,

that that's the very nature of collectivist learning theory and it can

be likened to just a deepening of the knowledge that we already possess

simply by leveraging the people,

leveraging media books and and the experiences of those in

our learning communities as well as those and others.

Now, speaking of learning communities in um connective ist theory,

learning communities are described as nodes.

Now by definition a node is a point at which two lines

cross each other like a point of connection so globally right,

We have a myriad of nodes and myriad of these learning communities, these groups,

these subcultures and they're all linked together

through the lines of technology and socialization that creates the network.

Does that make sense? It sure does, it makes perfect sense. I like it. I like it.

I have never heard very much about connective is um before,

but this is really interesting.

My next question is how is connective isM

alike or different from other learning theories?

Like, you know, behaviorism, cognitive isM constructivism,

really good question and I guess I never really

um I thought about it that way, but now that I'm pondering the question um

I don't know, I feel like connective is um is perhaps least like behaviorism right?

Which assumes learners are these blank slates

who learn solely through repetition and conditioning,

right?

Um we've also come to understand that um connective is um

two employees,

the constant processing and assessing of new knowledge that

is at the core of cognitive isM as well.

So I see some similarities there. Um

you know what I think though,

connective is um is perhaps most akin to constructivism now

that I'm thinking about it because it's about building knowledge,

right?

Building knowledge through experience and interaction

and using resources um to share knowledge

and and and those experiences with others. So I definitely see some overlap there.

I feel like connective is um takes it a step further because it also has the component

um that includes continually assessing the

relevance and longevity of that knowledge,

if that makes sense.

Yes, it does, it makes it makes really good sense. Um

I was wondering what kinds of instructional strategies

and learning experiences are informed by connective is?

Um

well, you know what if I had to think of um just a few, let's say five.

Right, my top five,

my top five would have to be um starting with teaching information literacy, right?

Helping students to know how to be critical and selective

um when, when trying to identify whether or not a source is credible.

I think that's important.

Um the second thing I think is important for uh students

to be assigned activities that allowed them to use media effectively?

Right.

We have young people always engaging in

media doing something where media is concerned,

but the effective use of media um is dictated by uh it's ability to um

encourage students to showcase complex ideas or provoke discussion or

allow some introspection on the part of the student.

Um the the effective use of media is um

presenting students with

content that is culturally relevant content that connects theories

taught in classrooms to the to the real world.

Students always want to know how can I use this in the real world.

So, I think that's important.

Um the third is also in harmony with like the universal design for learning,

exposing students to multiple media sources, right

sources that allow them to create their own

blogs and wookies and and types of art and media,

whether it's music or or photos or videos, um

that they can create for publishing or sharing. I think that's important of,

I think it's super important to

discuss intellectual honesty with students and what

that means and what their ethical

responsibilities are as contributors of content.

And finally, teachers just being there um,

to offer scaffolding and support, um,

particularly the kind that provides opportunities for students to

reflect not just on the products that they're producing,

but also on the process.

And I think student voice is extremely important where um,

um

good instructional practices concerned. I couldn't agree more.

I could not agree more.

Um My next question is how how would that show up in your classroom? Right.

Can you provide some specific concrete examples?

Okay. Um Let me see. I was kind of on the spot. Theater very um

So like take for example um I am the

side chick is provocative on purpose science education and

um let's say we're doing human body systems and

we're focusing specifically on the human respiratory system.

Um I probably start by breaking up students into groups of three or four.

No more than four.

And student groups would be assigned to research a relatively provocative or

controversial subject or issue regarding a minority group in new york city.

Right? So I'm trying to make it hot topic.

I'm trying to make it relative to their

communities because I teach in Brooklyn new york

and by minority group I'll throw out something that could be somebody in the L. G. B.

T. Q. Community.

It could be a minority group based on religion or ethnicity or gender.

They can certainly choose.

Um Maybe one student would create a power point or some type

of slide share presentation to present

background information on the chosen issue.

Another student would perhaps do a blog using the platform of their choice

to present a positive viewpoint of the issue.

Um Just to push another student who might be um

far more capable um Having them create abroad abroad.

Excuse me create a blog as well. Um But this time sharing an opposing view

on the subject of you that they might not they they very well might not share.

And um 1/4 student in the group would create a P. S. A. A public service announcement

on the issue using either a movie or another similar technology platform.

And then every every learner in the group

would uh come together and collaborate and create a

class presentation using all of those media platforms and

be prepared to answer questions regarding their issue.

So that's just a little snapshot of what like some type of um

project at the end of the unit project might look like

very good. I love it, I love it, I love it.

Um My next question is how do the instructional strategies that

are rooted in connective is um address inclusion and learning?

You know, connective is um

that's a good question,

collectivism relinquish is a ton of power and autonomy to the learner, you know?

And I think that's great.

Um I also think that the strategies work optimally when the learner

Is intrinsically motivated and skilled, right?

When they can handle that power or right?

Um and in my 16 years of experience as an educator,

unfortunately um that type of motivation,

motivation and skill is is possessed by fewer learners

than than most and only under specific conditions.

So while the guiding principles of

collectivism clearly provides agency and promote

openness and the diversity requisite for a more inclusive learning experience,

um, in my opinion, and it's just that it does lack um,

the balance and explicit teacher role for supporting

um students who need a little more structure or even students with special needs.

That's a really good observation, really, really good observation.

And my last question um,

that I want you to answer is what are the

challenges of using instructional strategies informed by connective is um

and how do you plan to overcome these challenges?

Wow. Um,

challenges?

Um, so, so I'll say this, No,

educator should be married to practices

associated with a singular learning theory,

right?

It's just, it just doesn't doesn't make sense.

An educator teaching today's diverse student groups understands that they ought

to have an instructional arsenal as diverse as their student bodies.

So I would say one way to overcome the challenge just to mix it up,

Mix it up,

um pull from multiple learning theory as it serves your students because that's,

that's the thing that works right?

We don't want to do the thing that doesn't work for our kids,

just make sure that your content is interactive, accessible and relevant.

And

if a teacher creates the environmental conditions that provide

uh, scaffolds around informational literacy, it's my belief that um,

the self efficacy and and tangible performance of

all learners can exhibit a measure of improvement.

Thank you so so much for coming ebony.

Like we love you,

we love having you and you have really given us much to think about

and we're so grateful that you stopped by and please come back again.

Yes, I cannot wait. Thank you so much.

Alright guys, we'll be back after this message.

JonesECT7300-5

Chapters

Audio TranscriptAuto-generated