Some thoughts after the 1st night of class and the Meta-Analysis

I will admit, somewhat reluctantly, that while taking classes to become certified to teach, I looked at most of the information as a lot of “fluff”. With phrases used, like “every student can learn and succeed”, I said to myself, “Yeah, yeah, give me something I can use”. I don’t know if I have reached a turning point, but some of the information I now read, which is related to improving my strategies and techniques, is beginning to make more sense.

Two points resonated with me as I taught classes the 2 days after the first class of CEdo525. Those are: 1) the best way to improve student understanding of material is to show similarities and differences to what they already know. 2) communicate not only what the goals are for the entire class, but from day to day.

With so many great ideas to consider of how to introduce myself to students and what to do the first day, I wish I had read the article the week before school started instead of the week after.

Quite often - in years past - after being done with a class I have “taught” I felt like I went through the motions. This year I am becoming more cognizant of what I need to improve upon. It seems so obvious in hind sight that I haven’t shared the daily goal often enough with my students.

After reading the Meta-Analysis (and before reading the intro to Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works):

Keep in mind upon reading the following that the book intro explains some of my misunderstanding below:

If reading this article and posting a response was a means to “find a cynic”, here I am. I prefer the term "skeptic", however.

From the abstract:

“…The mean of the study-weighted effect sizes averaging across all outcomes was .410 (p < .001), with a 95-percent confidence interval (CI) of .175 to .644. This result indicates that teaching and learning with technology has a small, positive, significant (p < .001) effect on student outcomes when compared to traditional instruction.”

and

“On the other hand, the mean study-weighted effect size for the 3 studies that contained behavioral outcomes was -.091, indicating that technology had a small, negative effect on students’ behavioral outcomes.”

What is the study-weighted effect size, what does it measure?

I get the feeling spending all the money that districts do on computers isn’t justified if the results show just a “small” positive significant effect. I wonder what spending the money to hire more teachers, thus, changing the class sizes would do in comparison? And just what does a small, negative effect on students’ behavioral outcomes mean?

What was measured?

The article also states:

“Swan and Mitrani (1993), for example, compared the classroom interactions between high school students and teachers involved in (a) computer-based instruction and (b) traditional instruction. They found that student-teacher interactions were more student-centered and individualized during computer-based teaching and learning than in traditional teaching and learning.”

Am I missing something? The preceding sentences from the article state something that is as obvious as the following. Let’s say you only eat food with a knife and fork. The more you use the fork, the less you will use the knife…

Am I cutting my own throat here?

A couple of things I had to research and/or look up: Meta-analyses is a big study made up of a bunch of little studies (which by the way, the article says originally 200 little studies were retrieved and only 42 of them were used, the others were thrown out for various somewhat ambiguous reasons). Effect size is the output of a meta-analyses. It involves a weighted average based on sample sizes of the smaller studies. (How is the weighted average set up? Who decides how to weigh things? Or is there some agreed upon way? And what about those studies that were "thrown out"?)

The last paragraph of the conclusion is:

“There are, of course, many unanswered questions about the effects of teaching and learning with technology on students’ outcomes. We maintain, however, that research can play a critical role in answering some of these questions. Policymakers, however, will need to invest more money on research in technology. The findings from this research synthesis suggest that more and better research needs to be funded and conducted by researchers in this area. Although recognition of the uniqueness of each school and classroom situation will always need to be considered, the accumulation of research evidence over time and across studies may provide consistent findings that enhance our understandings of the role of teaching and learning with technology.”

What I read between the lines:

unanswered questions = disclaimer so if part of our study is disproved, we are not responsible

Policymakers will need to invest more money = We need a new study cause this one is over and we’re out of grant money (kinda getting hungry)

…findings from this research synthesis suggest that more and better research needs to be funded… = We don’t want to eat at anything less than a 4 star restaurant.

Having been an analytical chemist, I know how to use statistics to prove something. I am well aware of what the 95% confidence interval means, that is, within ±2 standard deviations of the mean (95 out of 100 times the next bit of data will fall within that interval). I have no idea, since I didn’t see it specified in the meta-analysis, of how it is justified that technology integrated in the classroom is better than without. After all, how are students from the United States falling behind students from other countries in academic achievement that certainly don’t have the money for technology in their classrooms?

I do, however, believe students can achieve more with technology, but how much technology? Yet another study...

Coincidences? Or just more awareness?

I'm somewhat embarrassed to say, I have never been one to get much of my knowledge of the news from the newspaper. I am in the habit of watching the local news at 5 pm and national news at 5:30 pm. After "tweaking" my browser, I have headlines for articles posted from CNET.

We had recently discussed [in class] people's opinions of "wikipages". To trust or not to trust. Then, there it was - an article about polling, supposedly knowledgeable, people about their faith or lack thereof in "wikipages".

Our current assignment list has an task dealing with "Ethics and Privacy" on the web - How safe do you feel? Here we go again with a timely subject. Facebook launched "Places" just last night. "Places" will post on the web in real time, photos and videos, of where you are. If on vacation, do you really want to tell the world you are away from your home and won't be back for a while?

The first CNET article on "Places" did not ask this question and I felt obligated to e-mail the author to notify her of my thoughts. Today, another author addressed that scenario.

A text message/bank scam was one of the stories on the local news.

If our current class had gone one more week, I wonder what topics we would have covered...

It's been kinda spooky!

Thoughts for August 11

Two linked google docs, linked the same way or so I thought. One works, the other doesn't. I have no clue why. I am going to leave it for a while. There is the question of to share with the world or just the Stritch community when one proceeds to share the doc. Both are done the same way. Still no clue...a little frustrated...

Gone too soon after bringing us 4 years of joy!

I had to say goodbye to one of my best friends today. She was hit by a truck and the end happened quickly - without any pain. I never thought I could get so attached to an animal, but if you knew "Waffles", you know she was a dear member of our family. She had as much personality as any living thing I ever knew...

The house will not be the same without her...

What a model she was for unconditional love and tolerance!

We love and miss you, Girl, we will never forget you!

1st Blog of 520

AJAX - Asynchronous JavaScript XML or something like that.

I want to learn Java, partly because I want to know what is currently being used in the world of programming and partly because I could be the one to teach the class at my school, once I learn it. I think that the other programming languages are all archaic (the ones I know, that are not supported by the latest computers).

Now, in our readings, I came across this "AJAX" term and I want to know about it. I can't even fathom how complex the computer is, much less, how complex the interactions between them must be!

I was browsing through the Cohort Home Webpage and I came across the Instructional Technology Department Information page. I saw the description of the Masters of Science in Instructional Technology and compared it the Masters of Education in Instructional Technology. I couldn't help but think, "What are they learning that I am not?" Probably, Java among other things.

I also read that we, the cohort, are required to submit an updated portfolio and culminating experience at the end of the program. Is the portfolio something we can start now so it is not so daunting next summer?

Thoughts, anyone?

As always, A LOT TO SAY...spreadsheets, my history with them

I remember being introduced to Microsoft Excel some 17 years ago. I was shown the application [in Excel] of using “linear regression” to calculate the concentrations of analytes, mostly heavy metals, in effluent water and/or industrial waste produced by the manufacturing of heat exchange products.

I was a lowly worker in a laboratory, with the title, “Chem Lab Tech 1”. It was the lowest rung on the ladder in the quest to forge a career, and make a little money in the meantime. I never realized where my life’s journey would take me from there…

Up to the point where I began to see where statistics truly has a purpose, I hated it. (In this regard, I can relate to those students who I am charged with teaching some specific topics that they hate.) The reason I hated it so much is that I didn’t understand it. What do you mean once I get an answer, I can only be 95% sure of its accuracy? And it lies within a window of this accuracy? That answer is an “outlier”! What? I don’t get it! As far as stats was concerned, I wanted to be the outlier!

Excel was enchanting to me; it took the data that I was generating from some expensive piece of analytical equipment and magically changed those numbers into useful answers (in a matter of microseconds, instead of hours of me punching the numbers into my calculator – God forbid, if I would have had to “crunch the numbers” by hand). It told me whether or not to tell the environmental engineer in charge of the plant, to keep the lines running or shut them down. Ah, what power I had (at least, in my own mind)! It was there that I finally understood the concepts of confidence intervals, variance, degrees of freedom, correlation coefficients and outliers, etc. I was finally an “inlier”! I had arrived.

I need to find ways to excite my students, energizing their motivation to become as passionate and enthusiastic about mathematics as I am. In this manner, I wish to show them applications involving computer and other technologies as the springboard. Utilizing spreadsheets was a turning point for me.

I have already used spreadsheets to show students the amortization of a bank loan, the maximization of the volume of a cylinder and right rectangular prism with the amount of surface area being held constant, the generation of the number pi by adding sides, ad infinitum, to a regular polygon and calculating the perimeter to pseudo-diameter ratio, graphing polynomials, in particular, parabolas to find the “zeros/solutions” and vertices, etc. all by using Microsoft Excel. Every time I have used these lessons, I have gotten overwhelmingly positive feedback from my students. I need to create/find more resources for these type of activities.

1st Blog of 515

Having read only the first chapter in the book, I have to get accustomed to some of its nuances (and in my initial opinion, faux pas) in order to acquire what is really being said. In other words, I had big problems, at first, with some of the ideas being stated. In particular on page 16 entitled, “Teacher’s Role” – focus is now on student learning, instead of teacher teaching (Huh? What kind of psychobabble am I reading?) I thought for something to be taught, something has to be learned. But after much contemplation, I have to agree with the book. Most of the time I spend planning for instruction, I am focused on what actions I will perform and statements I will make, rather than, how the students will respond and demonstrate their understanding. I could do my thing in an empty classroom and call it teaching, but no one is learning. I have more and more empathy with each passing year of what my students must be thinking when what comes out of my mouth sounds like some of the things I read earlier without time to reflect, critique, analyze and process.

I took the true/false quiz before reading the first chapter to see what I knew or thought I knew prior. I was shocked when I found the answer being sought for number 7, “According to this text, learning occurs best when it is technology driven”, was false. (“Technology has not been shown overall to be effective at increasing student achievement”, pg 13) Although, the text does throw a few disclaimers out there to justify itself and seemingly contradicts itself in the 4^th line of Figure 1.6 pg 16 (“Technology can help make learning more effective by providing a great wealth of resources and allowing students choices). I guess it depends on the definitions of the words “overall” and “help”.

I really got a kick out of the heading “What is Learning?” on pg 9. Upon reading something like this, I believe most of us would formulate a quick definition, then read further, to see if we were right or maybe close. The book never defines learning in its following lines of text. It just makes mention of two theories of what it is and that is given in Figure 1.2. It does, however, say it will be addressed in chapter 2. What a teaser!!! (I think I focused on this since I gave a definition in class and wanted to see if I was close or way off.)

These examples and some others will definitely impact my job, in that, I will be more aware of giving time for students to reflect, critique, analyze and process information that I present. I have been guilty in the past of not giving enough “lag time”. I also need to concentrate more on asking a student or student(s) to “play back” what was just proffered by me and articulate to the class the information (I attempted to convey) and its usage (so that I can assess understanding or any misunderstanding).

Post Script – The answer I gave for #7 true/false was supposed to be “true” after all. I found out when I submitted my answers to be corrected. I don’t agree.