Reflection: CBE and Technology

Video Transcription

Hello, ladies and gentlemen. I hope you are having a wonderful day today. Today we're going to be looking at a little bit of reflecting, specifically on competency-based education and technology.

And for today's lesson, I've chosen a quote by Daniel J. Boorstin, which says, "education is learning what you didn't even know you didn't know." And that's the beauty of reflection-- taking a little bit of time to look back on all that we've done, and find out some new things, even when we feel like we've figured it all out.

Now by the end of the lesson today, you will be able to understand the reflection process according to the Pappas model.

Now let's go ahead and take a look at what this looks like. I am going to be taking you through that reflection process. As we go through the various reflection levels according to Pappas, we're going to look at some example reflection questions that you can ask yourself. As we go through, this is a wonderful tool for you to use to really reflect on how competency-based education can be enhanced through technology, and then really viewing competency-based education through that technology ISTE standard lens.

So as we walked through this, first we are going to ask ourselves under the idea of remembering-- looking back over what we've done. As we go through the very first level-- the remembering level-- we want to go ahead and ask ourselves, did I cover all of the content in the allotted time? What was the lesson about? Did I do what I needed to do? And did I do it in the amount of time that I said I would? This is absolutely, the most simple form of reflection.

So when we look at competency-based education, what we're really looking at here is, did I get to individualize what I was doing with each individual student in the way that I wanted and within the time that was allowed?

You'll notice that this level of questioning is absolutely simple, very similar to Bloom's taxonomy, which is graded on a level of complexity from relatively low complexity to relatively high complexity. Peter Pappas' reflection model does the same. So right now, we're at a very low level of complexity.

The next level in reflection according to the Pappas model is understanding. Within the level of understanding, we want to ask ourselves things like, did I convey those big ideas and really reach the goals that I set out for the lesson?

So what was important about what I taught? Do my students see that as I am teaching? And did I really meet my own goals as a teacher?

Questions like this really get you thinking a little more deeply on what the lesson was about, and making sure that your understanding what you've achieved during the lesson, not just what the students were achieving. Again, a lot of this reflection starts first with you reflecting on yourself, then reflecting on what your students have been able to accomplish.

The next level up as we move in the Pappas reflection model is the idea of application. Within this level, as we get a little more complex, I'm going to ask myself, how well does this lesson bridge from previous learning opportunities that I provide students in the past and bridge toward the future learning that we're going to do in this classroom? So did I use this instructional strategy or have I worked with this content before? Can I use some of these strategies or elements of this content, again? And in what context might it be useful for me to use these, again?

Remember, teaching is not about reinventing the wheel. So this reflection can really help save you time in the long run. Questions like this really help to get at the heart of applying your instructional ideas into the classroom.

Analysis-- so here you want to ask yourself, do I recognize that patterns in my teaching? And were there any relevant patterns, for that matter? And should I remove them in the future? Or should I make sure to include them in future lessons?

Sometimes when we have patterns, they are not always good. So did I ask a particular level of questions rather than others? Did I bring with me into the classroom, assumptions that are not healthy to my teaching or to the students learning?

The fifth major area is evaluation. So really asking yourself, how did that lesson go? How well did I do? What area do I need to include improvement here? We're really looking at, what level of mastery did the students reach? And how well did I help them get there? So that's what we're looking at in this one.

And the last major area of reflection is creation. So here's where you bring it all back full circle and ask, what are my next steps? How can I used what I did today in this class, in this lesson to help improve what I'm doing in the future?

Now what I would like to do is go ahead and reflect just a little bit on how technology can really enhance competency-based education. When we look at this in the way in which we can incorporate it, we want to focus back in on those ISTE standards for teachers. So the very first standard is for teachers to facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity.

When I use competency-based education within my classrooms, I'm offering them technology as a way to enhance and inspire that student learning based on an individualized approach. So students are not only getting to work within their areas of strength, but also we're reaching their areas of need, really helping to increase that engagement.

The second major standard for teachers is to design and deliver digital age learning experiences and assessments. Remember within competency-based education, assessments needing to be meaningful and ideally, applied outside of the classroom. So have a broader application. Something that fits right in with this ISTE teacher goal.

The third is to model digital age work and learning. We've talked a lot in competency-based education about how students learn better when there is a model in front of them. And technology really helps to enhance that by offering a wide range of models for students to look at.

The fourth ISTE standard for teachers is to promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility. We've talked about how whenever you bring technology into a classroom, particularly a competency-based classroom where technology can be very prevalent, you want to make sure to teach those students to be strong responsible digital citizens. This fits right in with that ISTE standard.

And finally, our goal as teachers are to engage in professional growth and leadership. That is what you're doing right now, and competency-based education requires constant updating and work on your part, as the teacher, to really invest yourself in new and innovative ways to reach those students as individuals, helping them to achieve mastery within a particular content area. And so if you are truly embodying that competency-based educational approach, then you are engaging in professional growth and leadership.

Now that we've reached the end of the lesson today, you are able to understand the reflection process according to the Pappas model.

Now I'd like you to take just a moment to reflect yourself. As you look back on those connections between competency-based education and technology, what do you think are some of the ways that technology can enhance the CBE learning that takes place in your classrooms?

As you reflect on how this new information can really be applied, you might want to explore the Additional Resources section that accompanies this video. This is where you'll find links to resources chosen to help you deepen your learning and explore ways to apply your newly acquired skill sets.