This week I learned about the differences in empathy and sympathy and attempted to empathize with any individuals who may experience hearing loss. Using a hearing loss simulator, I listened to a short conversation between a man and his grandchild at different levels of hearing loss and attempted to transcribe the whole conversation. I consider myself to have pretty good listening skills and do not normally have any issues with communication, so listening to this conversation on the ‘moderate’ hearing loss setting was a bit shocking at first. As you can see in my transcriptions below, I was able to make out most of the conversation, but a lot of this had to do with inferences I was making to make the words make sense. When I listened through a second time on the ‘mild’ hearing loss setting, I realized how much I had actually missed the first time through. I noticed that I had heard some words wrong and missed entire sections completely. I finally listened a third time through on the ‘normal’ setting (no hearing loss) and was shocked at how different some of my inferences were from what the man and child were actually saying. I noticed that there were certain tones that were harder to understand than others. For example, I was able to understand almost all of what the man said due to his low and powerful tone, but the child had a higher pitch voice and was much softer when communicating which made understanding them more difficult. This experience made me empathize with some of my older relatives who have a hard time communicating with me or my mom, but seem to hear my brother and father with no issue. Even though I try my hardest to speak clearly around them, I now understand that this higher and softer tone of voice is just more difficult to understand with hearing loss. My (rough) transcriptions are included below. These transcriptions were completed while listening to the conversation all three times. I have also included the real transcription from the conversation for comparison. As you can see, the real transcription and my ‘normal’ transcription are pretty similar, an indicator that I do not experience any hearing loss. What is not indicated on any of the transcriptions is the ability to hear inflection and personality within the conversation. When listening to the conversation with mild and moderate hearing loss, I was only able to hear and focus on the actual words spoken, but when this factor was taken away, I heard the snuffles, laughs, brightness, and inflection in the conversation. References: Clare-Rothe, J. (2011). Hear [Photograph]. Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/imagengine/6245030138
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This week I explored pedagogy a little deeper. Two pedagogical strategies that I explored in depth were modeling and think-pair-share. In a future creation I am going to be using these two pedagogical strategies to facilitate a professional development session for teachers, teaching them a few different pedagogical approaches for teaching fractions (that’s a lot of ‘teaching’ and ‘pedagogy’!). If you need an intro (or refresher) to pedagogy, this video by Team Satchel is a wonderful place to start! The first pedagogical approach I explored was modeling. The University of Louisville’s College of Education describes modeling as “the teacher [engaging] students by showing them how to perform a skill while describing each step with a rationale”. Modeling is a very common pedagogical strategy that can be used with almost any content and in any classroom. In my future PD session I am going to be teaching my learners how to use a different pedagogical strategy for teaching fractions by modeling the strategy for them. A very common example of modeling can be found in math classrooms- the teacher explains an operation, models the operation, and students follow suit. While this is a very basic (and somewhat boring) example of modeling, it can be spiced up and reformatted for more learner engagement! One constraint of the modeling approach, specifically for a PD session, is that it has the possibility of fading into more of a ‘lecture’ style pedagogical approach. With a proper plan and strategic execution, modeling can be very engaging for learners and facilitate active learning. My goal in incorporating this pedagogical approach in my future PD session is that I facilitate it in a way that places the focus on the learners instead of the teacher.
The next pedagogical approach which I will use in my future PD session is think-pair-share. I have seen this specific approach grow increasingly popular throughout my education, and can count on it to be used in every classroom I am in. Because of the ease of this approach, it can be incorporated into almost any lesson or learning experience. The think-pair-share method gives students time to think about a prompt, pair up with a partner, and share their ideas with their partner. It can be taken a step further and students can share their pair’s ideas to the whole group. While this pedagogical approach works well for older students, it may not have the same benefits when working with a younger group of students. Because this approach involved some student-led discussion, teachers of early elementary aged students may need to structure this a bit more. With these approaches in mind, it is important to note that “many curriculum decisions are made at the school or district level and lie outside the province of the classroom teacher” (Kilpatrick et al. 2001). There is a limitless list of different pedagogical strategies, each with their own benefits and constraints. It is the job of teachers to understand their learners, know the content well, and incorporate the pedagogies that serve their students best. References: “Modeling- Elementary School.” Modeling - Elementary School - College of Education and Human Development. The University of Louisville. Kilpatrick, J., Swafford, J., & Findell, B. (Eds.) (2001). Chapter 9: Teaching for mathematical proficiency. Adding it up: Helping children learn mathematics. National Academy Press. Team Satchel (2020, Feb 13). What is Pedagogy? 4 Essential Learning Theories [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/QcpwEoW1uY8 I read an article this week about the difference in instrumental understanding and relational understanding and what each of these means (Skemp 1978). I have learned about these concepts in multiple courses throughout my undergraduate and graduate career, but did not know they had a name until now. In short, instrumental learning is more ‘surface level’ or the "what," whereas relational learning is deeper, understanding the "what" as well as the "why."
This article made me think about the ways that I have experienced instrumental and relational learning in different courses and I made a few connections back to some “ah-ha!” moments I experienced in my own education as well as teaching experiences (did you know "completing the square", is not just a formula, but comes from physically filling in the missing part of a square!?). In another article I read this week, a student named Benny had trouble with understanding fractions (as many students do) (Erlwanger, 1971). He had a bit of relational combined with some instrumental understanding of fractions. His understanding of fractions was a result of how he was taught. Benny had the proper foundations and he showed signs of relational understanding (he knew ½ was equivalent to 50 cents), but was unable to apply this understanding to all fractions. In one of my undergraduate courses we learned different ways to teach fractions for relational understanding (using lots of images and diagrams as representation of fractions). Although I was unaware of the title, this was building my Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching (MKT), as described by Hill & Ball (2009). The instructor was actively trying to portray that mathematics is "more than being able to solve the problems" (Hill & Ball, 2009). While this was all wonderful and I understood the representation of fractions in this way and how to teach fractions to students using these learning tools, I still found myself reverting back to the instructional techniques for computing answers that I have relied on for so many years. At the moment, I didn’t think much of the ways that I was learning and processing information. Much like Benny, I just wanted to get the ‘"right" answer and pass the class with a good grade. I learned what I needed to know, and let my brain go on autopilot to help me with what I already knew. I think this is an issue that many older and adult learners face. If something is initially learned in an instrumental understanding, practiced this way for many years, and suddenly you are expected to understand the content in a relational way, it can be very hard to switch the method of learning. This is why MKT is so important. As stated in Hill & Ball (2009), "most adults remember a 'rule'" and proceed with mathematics teaching in this way (Hill & Ball, 2009). Skimming through the Common Core State Standards, I came across a handful of standards that I wasn't even sure I understood, let alone knew how I would teach them to a student- for example, standard 4.NF.A.1, which involves explaining fraction equivalence using visual models instead of mathematical processes. For students to develop a relational understanding, the teacher must teach with this goal in mind. This requires that the teacher has a thorough understanding of the content and combines this knowledge with effective pedagogy. References: Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI). (n.d.). Mathematics standards. Mathematics Standards | Common Core State Standards Initiative. http://www.corestandards.org/Math/ Erlwanger, S. H. (1971). Benny's conception of rules and answers in IPI mathematics. Journal of Children's Mathematical Behavior, 1(2), 7-26. Hill, H., & Ball, D. L. (2009). The curious - and crucial - case of Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching. Phi Delta Kappan, 91(2), 68–71. Skemp, R. R. (1978). Relational understanding and instrumental understanding. The Arithmetic Teacher, 26(3), 9-15. Whytok, K. (2014). Educational Quotation: "A change in understanding is neened to change instructional practice" [Photograph]. Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/kenwhytock/15106104349 |
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