Understanding and Supporting Complex Barriers to Learning · PDF fileAddressing barriers to...
Transcript of Understanding and Supporting Complex Barriers to Learning · PDF fileAddressing barriers to...
Understanding and Supporting Complex Barriers to Learning
April, 2016Sophie Lampard Dennis
Dorothy A. Osterholt
Overview
Introduction
Noticing student behavior and language
Assessing behaviors using the framework of The Four Domains of Learning
Addressing barriers to learning through implementation of strategies/The World of Learners Wheel
Autonomy and self-advocacy as a life- long learner
Landmark CollegeSince 1985
• Student body of about 500 students- all with diagnosed learning disabilities• Langauge-based LD, AD(H)D, ASD, NLD, others
• Average of 40-50% transfer from other colleges
• 6:1 student to teacher ratio
• Two and four-year programs• AA Business Studies
• AS Life Sciences
• AA & BA Liberal Studies
• AS & BS Computer Science
• BA Studio Art
Steps to the Self-directed Learner
Noticing student behavior/language
Who Are Our Students?
What are the Common Behaviors that we all experience?
Timeline of Research andDevelopment of The Four Domains of Learning
2009
2012
2014
2015
Our original research at LC; student engagement
• Four Domains of Learning emerged
Our further research; impact of explicitly designed instruction
Development of our World of Learners Wheel
Our informal FY assessment; usability of Four Domains materials by students & teachers
• 51 first-year students surveyed, 50 responded that the model is “very valuable”(32) or “moderately valuable” (18)
Four Domains of Learning content integrated into all First-year classrooms in the ED department at LC
Data Results 2009Student Perspective of Academic Behaviors
End of Semester Results
Beginning of Semester Results
© 2008 Osterholt and Barratt
Barriers Identified
Student perception of the barriers that prevent their success in the classroom© 2008 Osterholt and Barratt
Four Domains of Learning
Steps to the Self-directed Learner
Noticing student behavior/language
Assessing behaviors using the framework of The Four Domains of Learning
Four Domains of Learning
Self-RegulationAwareness,
understanding and
monitoring
of executive
functioning skills
Academic Skill
Attainment
Ability to apply
appropriate thinking,
reading and writing
skills to complete
academic tasks
Social/Emotional
Influences
Awareness and
management of
emotional triggers &
ability to manage
stress
MotivationComprehends the
meaning of
concepts, sees their
relevance within a
larger context, sets
realistic goals
Observable Student Behaviors
•Please Note: students' characteristics do not necessarily fit this neatly into the 4 areas; there is a considerable amount of overlap between student need and domains.
• Long & Short-Range Goals• Understanding• Meaning is Established• Clearly Established Expectations • Perseverance• Flexibility• Appropriate Support System• Able to ActivateBrooks, R. (2006), Ames & Ames (1980, 1990)
• Awareness of Triggers that Induce Anxiety
• Resilience
• Awareness of Strengths & Challenges
• Optimistic Outlook
• Social Intuition
• Detects Social CuesRichard J. Davidson & Sharon Begley (2012)
• Organized
• Established Routine
• Maintains Focus
• Maintains Willpower to Complete Tasks
• Completes Tasks on Time
• Reduces Stress
• Maintains Physical & Emotional
Well-BeingBJ Zimmerman (1990), Ratey, J. (1995)
• Content Mastery
• Consistent Work
• Critical Thinking & Problem Solving
• Uses Effective Learning Strategies for
Thinking, Reading & Writing
• Open-MindedDunlosky, ,Rawson, Marsh, Nathan & Willingham (2013)
Motivation Social/Emotional Development
Self-Regulation Academic Skill Attainment
Commonly Heard
• I hate this stupid assignment
• I don’t know why I have to do this
• The teacher’s assignments never make sense
• I am not very good at-
• I’m always being interrupted by friends!
• I had to take my friend to … and now I have an hour to finish this
• I keep missing class and I am lost
• I lost my assignment, then I missed my office hour appt.
• How do I…?
• I don’t know how to -
• I need to-
• I want to…(organize,
read, write)
• I don’t understand-
• Can you help me with-
• This assignment is past
due because I keep
putting it off
• I can’t seem to get
started
• I don’t care about the
topic or assignment
• I don’t see the point of
this assignment
Motivation
Self-Regulation
Social/Emotional
Academic Skills
Steps to the Self-directed Learner
Noticing student behavior/language
Assessing behaviors using the framework of The Four Domains of Learning
Addressing barriers to learning through implementation of strategies
Specific, Attainable, Sustainable Goals
Self-regulation
AcademicSocial/Emotional
Motivation
Areas of ChallengeMotivation:Choose an item.UndirectedLack of PerseveranceRelies on external LOCOther
Social/Emotional:Choose an itemAnxiousVolatileRelies on External WillOther.
Areas of ChallengeSelf-Regulation:Choose an item.DisorganizedDistractedMinimal RoutineOther
Academic:Choose an itemLack of Content KnowledgePassiveResistantOther.
Using the information from the World of Learners Wheel, identify the areas in any domain(s) that present barriers to your academic success by using the dropdown bar in each domain.
Prioritize the challenges you have identified. Look at the relationship between each area of challenge to determine which areas you want to be the focus.1.2.3.
Identifying Actions
1.
Choose an Action.
2.
Choose an Action.
3.
Choose an Action.
Provide actions for each of the challenges listed above by using the dropdown bar.Area of Challenge Action ACTIONS:
*Strengthen
Interest & Skills
*Plan Strategies
*Establish Routines
*Set goals
*Self-Monitor
*Build Resilience
*Problem-Solve
*Build Content
Knowledge
*Learn from Errors
*Micro-unit Steps
*Internalize
Organization
*Choose Topics of
Interest
*Collaborate with
Peers
*Seek Positive
Support
*Shift Mindset
Other:
Accounting for Obstacles
Identify the obstacles that may interfere with your action plan and strategies for overcoming the obstacles:Obstacle: Strategy:
Changing Habits to Achieve Goals
Routine
Reward
CueCurrent:
New:
Current:
New:
Current:New:
In order to think about how to create a new habit it is important to consider what you can use to cue yourself, to take action, what the action will be, and what reward will satisfy your effort enough to continue the process until you have established the
new habit.
Explicitly Designed Instruction
Student Growth
Within the 4 Domains of
Learning
Content
Methodology
Student Needs
Instruction that Supports the 4 Domains
• Structure Discussions Reinforcing Active Engagement• Social emotional development
• Construct Understanding with Colleagues• Academic skills/social development
• Learn and Apply Current Research about Learning• Academic skills/motivation/self regulation
• Apply Disabilities Laws using Advocacy Tools• Building personal responsibilities into learning
First Day Activity: Setting Expectations for Active Engagement
Activity: Teacher poses a question that requires only background knowledge to answer and activates the day’s content.
Objective: To promote class participation that activates background knowledge and fosters active listening and participation by considering a posed question.
Directions: Students respond in turn, one at a time, until all students have responded. Only one student speaks at a time. Everyone else must actively listen. If another student says what you wanted to say, you should refer back to that student’s comment and build on it.
Domains Addressed
• Strengthening interest and relevance/Building Personal investment
• Self monitoring/ Practicing Effective EF skills
• Problem solving/Sense of self-competence
• Building content of knowledge/Completes work successfully
Small Group Activity Supports Learning to Work Collaboratively
Activity: Using an article or chapter, students work together to create a visual representation of the key concepts.
Objective: To practice critical thinking skills and build content knowledge.
Directions: Having read the article for HW, and identified the key concepts, students first form “expert groups” to build their individual knowledge of a portion of the reading. Next, they re-group so there is one expert per key concept represented. This group works to come to consensus on a visual model that will fully represent the relationship between the key concepts. Each group will share its poster with the whole class.
Domains Addressed• Strengthening interest and relevance/Increases personal investment
• Self monitoring/Focus
• Problem solving/Building resilience
• Building content knowledge/Mastery of content
Steps to the Self-directed Learner
Noticing student behavior/language
Assessing behaviors using the framework of The Four Domains of Learning
Addressing barriers to learning through implementation of strategies
Autonomy and self-advocacy as a life-long learner
Student Journal Assignment FollowingFour Domains Activity and Discussion
Journal prompt
After completing today's activity on the four key Domains of Learning, what is your initial reaction to this framework?
~Can you see yourself as a learner somewhere within this model?
~Which domains represent strengths for you right now?
~In which areas are you currently challenged?
Student 1: When I first heard about the Four Domains of Learning I was a bit surprised that all of the attributes that go into helping someone become a good and successful student could fit into four distinct categories. As I started to think and talk about the idea it started to make a lot more sense because I started to realize that each one of the four domains was an umbrella term that could be used to cover a lot of smaller ideas.
Looking at the four domains in this way makes me realize that the way I learn is embodied in this design. Of the four domains I would have to say that right now my strengths are in the areas of motivation, academic skills and social/emotional, because I am currently doing well in school as well as my social life.
Right now I am being challenged in the self-regulation domain because even though I am doing well in school I need to get better at completing and handing in assignments.
Student 2: The concept of the Four Domains of Learning seems to be a good way of thinking about your education. It can get a little messy sometimes, since there's a lot of aspects of learning that exist between the established four domains, but the overall framework is solid. I can definitely see myself using this model to improve myself as a student.
I think I'm pretty strong in terms of Academic Ability and Social/Emotional skills. I'm certainly capable of getting strong grades, I can empathize well with others, and can gauge my own emotions.
I could stand to work on my Self-Regulation and Motivation. I'm pretty good at maintaining a day-to-day structure, but long-term projects are still somewhat of a struggle. And motivation for me has a lot to do with self-worth and a whole bunch of other stuff which is kind of a huge mess that I'm not sure I want to get into right here, but I know where my weaknesses are and how I can turn them around into strengths.
Student 2: I would say that this framework is malleable. It isn't static, it represents how a person is or can be at a present time and situation, not as they are as a whole. Which means I would be careful to assess people based on a system as such, and use it more as a personal growth and analytical tool.
I would say that I'm not missing much, but what I am missing is a few of the more important qualities (at least to me). For example, being disorganized, does not detect social ques, and procrastination.
I would say that my strengths are more in academic skills than any of the others, with mixed strengths in motivation and self regulation, and either hit or miss for social/emotional. This makes sense for me but means I still have work to do for improvement.
Student 3: I find the framework to be very accurate. In my opinion and experiences the four domains do a good job of encompassing students. I see myself as a learner in academic the most. But all four of the domains apply to me. Everything comes back to the academics for me.
I find my strongest domain to be motivation. I have lots of motivation to be here at landmark and want to be successful. My motivation is to keep my RA job, join PTK, stay eligible for sports, and get a transfer scholarship.
The biggest challenges are emotional influences. With my goals, taking 16 credits, being an RA, and playing two sports, I feel stress to finish work and sometimes struggle with the amount I have to do.
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Dorothy A. Osterholt Sophie Lampard Dennis