The Evolution of Practice through Collaboration of Learning

 

Using the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM)

The Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) is used to address change implementation on a systems level. This model can help supervisors or change leaders to understand:

·      The process of change

·       How individuals respond to change

·       How to insure that the correct actions are followed to help ensure the success of the change initiative

(Central Rivers AEA)

Through this model we are accepting that all change and learning takes time which is something we as teachers believe to be best practice for the learners in our classrooms. However, it is just as important to allow teachers to have time as they implement new approaches, technologies and resources into their own practice. Susan Loucks-Horsley reminds us that “People need suitable help along to way if they’re going to fully implement a new idea, and they’ll require different kinds of help as their needs change” (1996). This Framework begins by addressing people with where they are at, and understanding where the questions they are asking from are coming. To create an environment that fosters learning, experimenting and tolerance we must be the type of person who is supportive throughout each of these stages by doing our best to meet our collaborator’s needs, concerns and questions. The two tables below shows how concerns and behaviour may be expressed at different stages:

(Loucks-Horsley, 1996)

(Loucks-Horsley, 1996)

For more detailed information about implementation please visit: 

https://www.centralriversaea.org/curriculum/assessment/concerns-based-adoption-model-cbam/important-components-cbam/

Personal Experience

At my current capacity I am working as a Grade 6/7 classroom teacher. When it comes to collaboration I have only had the opportunity to work within my Grade group, with a younger buddy class and with my resource teacher who comes in to service my ELL learners. Teaching can often times feel like a lonely job, your experience is isolated from that of your colleagues and you are physically separated by classrooms. For me collaboration has always been such a vital part of my learning journey. I look to teachers who have experiences and hope to learn from them, I speak with my teacher librarian regularly to explain my needs and aspirations and I interact with newer colleagues and student teachers in the hopes of learning something new.

During my first year of teaching I worked as a resource teacher, this experience allowed me to work with teachers at multiple grade levels including: Kindergarten, Primary and Intermediate. It was very apparent to me just how different the needs of each individual grade were but also each individual teacher based on their prior experience and comfort level. I remember supporting the Kindergarten teacher to implement social emotional learning videos into her classroom while for the Intermediate teacher the technology aspect was not a concern. Although I have yet to work in a Teacher Librarian position I believe this past experience will be helpful to me moving forward. I understand that my job is to meet teacher where they are at, to help scaffold their learning and to provide a space without any judgement where they can continue to learn and grow.

Colleague #1: Nancy

Nancy has been working as an elementary school teacher for 20+ years. In her experience she has primarily worked in the primary years classrooms and is currently working in a grade 2/3 classroom. Nancy’s classroom consists of a lot of play-based hands on learning activities for her students. In terms of technology Nancy’s students utilize the two computers in her room to access RAZ Kids a reading program with interactive elements. Each student is assigned a day for this activity. In the past when Nancy has struggled with a technology problem including either her computer or projector she has asked me for assistance and advice. Although she has experience using technology daily she has not yet learned to troubleshoot some issues. Nancy has shared with me that at home her family will also help her if she experiences any issues that may lead her to become frustrated. By establishing a collegial friendly relationship with Nancy I have been able to support her through her journey with technology.

Nancy has advised me that she would like to have her Grade 2/3 class complete an Animal Research Project. She has already prepared a number of non-fiction book resources for her students to use while they complete their research. During this conversation I ask Nancy if her students will be using ipads or laptops to do any research. At this point Nancy said she was not sure and would like to learn more if I could support her through the process. She asked more self-orientated questions such as “How will it affect me?” At this point Nancy’s behaviour is indicating that she is in the Orientation stage and her stage of concern is Informational. I was able to help her navigate these concerns by first showing her the ipads and laptops. We decided that for the younger students it would be easier to navigate the ipads as many of them also used them at home.

By creating a plan to support the students in her class we were able to move into the Preparation stage. At this point questions will sound more task oriented such as:
- How do I do it?
- How can I us these materials efficiently?
- How can I organize myself?
- Why is it taking so much time?
I would have to remind Nancy or anyone else that I am working with at the time that these are all valid questions and that I would fully support them through the implementation process. We knew we would use ipads but “How were students supposed to get to the information?” these task orientated questions allowed me to introduce some resources to Nancy. Not wanting Nancy to get bogged down by Management concerns I was able to provide her with some resources student could safely explore. We choose to stick to 3 main resources to create a manageable amount for students. 

SanDiego Zoo - https://kids.sandiegozoo.org/
National Geographic Kids - https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/
World Book Online (available in K-3 friendly language) -  https://www.worldbookonline.com/wb/Login?ed=wb&id=812

The basics of using an ipad Nancy already knew, such as opening the device and turning on the search Engine. In our first lesson with the students we decide that to familiarize the students with the ipad we would demonstrate the process using the projector cart and this would allow students to follow along on their own ipads. During this lesson we would advise them that when searching online there are a lot of websites that will not have student friendly language on it and if the language is too hard to read they have not gone onto the correct website. We then introduced the websites on the board and had students choose one to visit. In this primary lesson students were just reading but in future lessons we planned to have them extract information from the page in their own words. It was helpful to have another teacher in the room to work with students and to troubleshoot technology issues.

After our initial lesson Nancy told me she felt more comfortable using the ipads in her classroom. At this point Nancy had entered the Mechanical stage of use by implementing technology into her classroom more regularly. She had also begun to think about how the change was working for her students. We both noticed they were engaged throughout the activity and excited to be utilizing new technology. At this point Nancy has entered the Consequence concern stage.  

(Loucks-Horsley, 1996)

The bridge picture above shows the relationship between mentoring & coaching in improving teaching & learning.  Change is undeniably hard and scary. Although it could be argued that people get set in their ways, it is also a matter of staying comfortable and feeling overwhelmed when trying to add new activities into your practice. I can personally say there are times during the teaching year when I am just not ready to add anything new and other times when I’m more open to the change. For change to happen not only does the timing have to be correct because “change is a process not, an event” (Loucks-Horsley, 1996) but supports have to be in place and the teacher has to  feel safe. I was able to support Nancy with her concerns scaffold her knowledge and provide in class support for implementation. 

Using the Substitution Augmentation Modification Redefinition (SAMR) Model

The goal of this model is see how technology might be able to impact teaching and learning. It is often times seen as a progression of adopting technology into educational practices with the hopes of increasing student engagement. Dr. Ruben Puentedura states that, “As one moves along the continuum, computer technology becomes more important in the classroom but at the same time becomes more invisibly woven into the demands of good teaching and learning.” The following image shows a helpful picture diagram to explain technology integration through the 4 stages of the SAMR method.

Image credit: Sylvia Duckworth, via @DavidGuerin

Colleague #2 : Kelly

Kelly began her teaching career with my school district in January of this year having finished her teaching practicum in December last year. I met Kelly when the two of us were teaching writing in summer school at different levels. By talking daily and exchanging ideas the two of us were able to cultivate a collaborative relationship. This school year Kelly found herself in a job share position in a Grade 6/7 classroom and needing to teach Social Studies. Due to having a pre-established relationship with me Kelly felt comfortable asking me for help to start her unit. We met bi-weekly after school to create the unit. In the past Kelly had only used the computer as a research tool and thus had implemented technology use at the Augmentation stage. I was excited to work with her to find some further technology based activities that would be able to create excitement in her classroom and be great teachable moments.

While crafting our unit plan I suggested that we use PowerPoint organize the materials into lessons. This also meant that as a teacher Kelly was utilizing technology every class. We embedded pictures, videos and written information into the presentation; these different parts of a lesson were utilized to help students with different learning styles. The PowerPoint format also allowed us to follow a natural progression of lessons. The following list is the lessons we decided on:
Lesson 1: What is History
Lesson 2: Communication
Lesson 3: Timelines
Lesson 4: Geography & Trade
Lesson 5: Technology & Architecture
Lesson 6: Society & Religion
Lesson 7: Rise & Fall

A link to the work in progress PowerPoint: 

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ZqxCLTqqEBL6W0XOZZkJapkC_e7H_-Lz2abvKpKv9Lo/edit?usp=sharing

My goal was to utilize an activity where students could get familiar with finding information online. Although this activity would still be dealing with the Augmentation of technology it was still meaningful and purposeful. Student could have also found this information in encyclopedias and non-fiction fact books. Link to the activity - Ancient Egypt QR Treasure Hunt Activity: 

https://www.classtools.net/QR/qr_generator.php?fold=43&fname=cAj28&diff=0

Last year while teaching during remote learning my students were able to learn together through the Minecraft Education Platform. Minecraft: Education Edition is:
- an open-world game that promotes creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving in an immersive environment where the only limit is your imagination.
- a game-based learning platform that offers educators a transformative way to engage students using Minecraft, and ignite their passion for learning!
(Mojang, 2020).

By searching through the platform we found a number of  activities where students could utilize their creative and critical thinking through project based learning and collaboration. Below I have included some pictures of lesson plans for the topic, there were a number of other options. I find it helpful that each lesson comes with a lesson plan that outlines learning objectives, guiding ideas, student activates as well as assessment. Through using this platform the options for student activities are increased and Modification has become possible. By utilizing the Minecraft platform students are giving a number of opportunities that were not possible before. Minecraft allows them to build and create photo albums or digital museums. Student could also use the pre-built world to create stories.

As me and Kelly continue to work with our students we are working on finding better ways to mix technology and education. Our end goal is to get to the Redefinition stage and create those tasks that would not be fully possible without technology.

Overview:

Collaboration is such an vital part of my practice, by collaborating with colleagues I not only have the opportunity to support them in their growth but also feel supported by them. I think whatever model of support we choose either CBAM or SAMR it is important to cultivate a caring relationship where opinions are welcome and choices are many. Discourse is so important in any classroom and I think this is especially true in a library where asking questions should be fostered. I think as teacher-librarians our roles are so imperative to the heart of our school. As information specialists we hold not just the answers but the ideas and tools on how to find answers. It is our job to share our expertise with our staff and students.

References:

Loucks-Horsley, S. (1996). Professional Development for Science Education: A Critical and Immediate Challenge. National Standards & the Science Curriculum, edited by Rodger Bybee of the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co., 1996 . Retrieved on October 25, 2020 from: https://s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/731/2015/07/CBAM-explanation.pdf

Central, Rivers. “Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM).” Central Rivers AEA, 10 May 2017, www.centralriversaea.org/curriculum/assessment/concerns-based-adoption-model-cbam/.

Minecraft Education Edition. Retrieved on October 31 2020 from: https://education.minecraft.net/

QR Challenge: Ancient Egypt Treasure Hunt! Retrieved on October 31, 2020 from:https://www.classtools.net/QR/qr_generator.php?fold=43&fname=cAj28&diff=0

Technology is Learning. Retrieved on October 31, 2020 from: https://sites.google.com/a/msad60.org/technology-is-learning/samr-model

The 4 Stages of EdTech – The SAMR Model for Technology Integration. Retrieved on October 31, 2020 from: https://lingomedia.com/stages-of-edtech-the-samr-model-for-technology-integration/