Are students struggling to have conversations which involve dialogue and not just monologue? Why does this matter in History classrooms? What can we do about it? Can eLearning be part of the solution and not just the problem?
1. Improving the
Quality of our
Conversations
Ian Gray
… in an electronic era
www.histconversations.blogspot.com
2. WHAT DO WE THINK?
Survey Monkey Results
How well do
students
converse?
Mainly MS, SS, urban, upper middle socio-eco
where quality of conversations fit a bell curve …
aim to skew it more toward conversing ‘very well’
3. WHAT DO WE THINK?
Survey Monkey Results
Students are reasonably
good at empathising.
4. WHAT DO WE THINK?
Survey Monkey Results
Teaching large
groups is still the
norm but many
opportunities
exist for small
group
discussions
5. WHAT DO WE THINK?
Survey Monkey Results
In whole class activities
students are not usually
seated so they can
“eye-ball” each other.
7. WHAT DO WE THINK?
Survey Monkey Results
How often is
electronic
feedback used?
8. WHAT DO WE THINK?
Strategies to help students learn to dialogue
Catholic school contextualises learning within values like
respect … an expectation to listen to one another
I model and explain what I am doing
Openly acknowledge differences in the classroom -
everyone has a right to communicate their thoughts
Tasks set eg orals, completion of questions on a
computer which is projected, role plays.
Excursions, guest speakers, writing from a particular
perspective
Reinforce showing respect for fellow students by
remaining quiet and listening while others speak. I then
reiterate what the student said , give further
information. and ask for responses
9. more comments
• Small discussion groups.
• In larger groups, I need to regularly wait for silence
to allow students to speak
• Use of blogs, suggestion boxes and responding to
an article using One Note and annotating the
article before emailing it to a peer for a response
• Turn taking Ensure everyone is included in
questioning
• 'Gallery walk' - post it notes for feedback and
reflection. Jigsaw collaborative learning strategy,
online blogs
• In terms of creating empathy, which I believe
stimulates dialogue, I have used visualisation
techniques most recently with success.
10. History is based upon shared perspectives
We need dialogue, not monologue.
Better conversation = improved
learning outcomes
A conversation is “A conversation is
a dialogue, not a monologue. That's
why there are so few good
conversations: due to scarcity, two
intelligent talkers seldom meet.”
Truman Capote – c 1960 – American
author of Breakfast at Tiffany’s, In Cold
Blood etc
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/t/trumancapo1
24425.html#20VfhQTgvDIoKXBX.99
WHY DOES IT MATTER?
https://encrypted-tbn0.
gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSUYAcoGuvU0
WGleMLjQUFiTry8xZ5NccjAlVuB72hFYPdcK55X
11. WHY DOES IT MATTER?
New media is already here and already challenging preconceptions about
‘good’ communication
The Conversation
eg here is about
WW1
https://mail.google.com/m
ail/u/0/?tab=wm#inbox/14
788eb95d5c9843
12. Universities are increasingly virtual
WHY DOES IT MATTER?
UQ News Dec 2012
• 91% of students
use laptops
• Courses require
them
• MOOCS
• etc
14. RISE in Narcissism – epitomised by monologue conversation
• 18-19 year olds are now more narcissistic than 18-19 year olds in
1980s and 1990s as measured on the same scale.
• eg narcissists lack empathy and in conversation wait until they
can have their say
EVIDENCE OF DECLINE
• plastic surgery rates have exploded since 1990s
• rise in materialism, which correlates with a rise in narcissism
• eg % agreeing "being very well off financially" was an
important life goal
• 2013 = 82 %
• 1969 = 45%
• 1974 = 45%
References:…
• The Narcissism Epidemic, Jean Twenge, 2010
• http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/allinthemind/young-people-
today-are-more-narcissistic-than-ever/5457236
• http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/saturdayextra/the-new-
narcissism/5572544
16. • Emergence of the internet
• emergence of “selfie” culture
• internet enables fame seeking in ways not possible decade ago
and celebrity culture promotes this
CAUSES
• Strong correlations between those scoring high on narcissism
and those having very high number of friends on Facebook
too much screen time ….
18. Discussions about “Screen Time” were prominent in 2014 whether judged
by talk-back radio. twitter, staffroom talk, discussions with the rellies,
eavesdropping or numerous blogs eg
19. IT’S ALL TECHNOLOGIES FAULT
OR
ARE THERE OTHER CAUSES AND
TECHNOLOGY CAN BE PART OF
THE SOLUTION?
CAUSES
20. CAUSES
• The self-esteem movement in parenting and education.
• Twenge argues that rather than telling a child they are special,
parents should just say: “I love you”.
• otherwise what is going to happen when the child goes out
into the world and the world doesn't treat him or her as
special?
• & incidentally self esteem does not equate with higher
academic performance:
• highest academic achievement = among Asian
Americans and they have lowest self esteem
• the most successful CEOs by income/happiness
index are the least narcissistic
• the resilience movement promotes self efficacy – ie if
I work hard and focus I can improve.
21. Teachers causing disengagement by:
- limiting student choice about the variety of ways that students
receive information and evidence learning
- not understanding that choice and variety is nigh on impossible in
a purely paper-based classroom
CAUSES
Parents and teachers not engaging in the sort of conversations
young people want to have
• see Dr Cheryl Sim, Griffith Uni ---QHTA Journal 2010,
• republished with permission from Sim, Cheryl (2010) Sustaining
Productive Collaboration between faculties and Schools. Australian
Journal of Teacher Education ,35, (5),18-28.
This is not pandering. This is conversing.
We can’t address narcissism if we’re not in the room
– the virtual room.
remaining Historical Technophobes ….
22. Antiquarianism and fears limit capacity to use technology and
improve conversations
Media Reports feed fears
Historical Technophobia
“student engagement with computers can damage their brain”
7.30 Jan 27 2014
Socrates - writing would "create forgetfulness in the learners' souls,
because they will not use their memories."
Conrad Gessner 1565 – printing press will overwhelm our senses with
information
Sanitarian Medical Journal 1883 - schools ‘exhaust brains and
nervous systems and imprison bodies’’
TV = the end of education
CNN 2014 : “Email hurts IQ more than pot”
ALL provide zero evidence.
BUT …
23. Technology that existed when we were born seems normal, anything
that is developed before we turn 35 is exciting, and whatever
happens after that is treated with suspicion.
Writer Douglas Adams
In 2010 Shermann Young did
not argue for the end of the
book but the end of nostalgia.
Long Live the Book !!
Causes: attitudes
24. Causes: attitudes
recent empirical research on
Factors Impacting Teachers’ Adoption of Mobile Learning confirms:
• user’s beliefs and attitudes determine, to a large extent,
teachers’ adoption of technology,
• especially beliefs and attitudes about perceived usefulness of the
technology and its ease of use
From DERN (Digital Education Research Network) ..
managed by ACER
25. Universities, school and home practices shut down conversation
• a Masters degree- electronic submissions “marked” with a biro
without comments
• a History professor says ignore all prior knowledge - only his notes -
on the web will be assessed
CAUSES
• busy parents engage in “instructional conversation”
• “--- Hi –have you finished your Homework? How did your
spelling test go?
• student disengagement
• content and pedagogy irrelevant to their personal
interests.
• "Teaching to the middle" means not teaching to any
student's zone of proximal development
26. 1. Teach students how to dialogue
1. use rules for speaking and for electronic engagement
2. encourage outside the square thinking = risk is OK
3. reduce content
1. too much content detracts from dialogue.
SOLUTIONS
Based on much practice and theory eg Dianna Laurillard, University of
London http://edutechwiki.unige.ch/en/Laurillard_conversational_framework
4. role model – dialogue
1. Here is a blog by a principal who is into digital leadership ..
http://esheninger.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/why-digital-leadership-digilead.
html?m=1
27. False or
‘Red Herring’
path
Wrong = E
standard
ie you might even
‘shepherd the user
into conclusions
which ‘score’ different
levels of ‘points’ say
on a 15 point scale !!
A
A-A+
B+
C
D, for
stop
here or
keep
going
START
HERE
QN=?
Source 1
Source 2
Source 3
create your own adventure
ppts
28. SOLUTIONS
6. Find out why Social Media Awareness Is Important In The Early Grades:
http://bit.ly/1sil29U
7. motivate reluctant learners with technology eg
http://home.edweb.net/motivating-the-reluctant-reader-through-technology-25-
resources/?utm_content=buffer96d34&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin.com&
utm_campaign=buffer ……both among my tweets …July 7 2014
Engage in the sort of
conversations young
people want to have:
shorter, sharper, anywhere,
anytime, BLENDED
The Blended Synchronous Learning
Handbook - US Dept of Education - freely
available under a Creative Commons
licence
30. SOLUTIONS
9. Higher Order Thinking Skills & Establishing a Twitter Routine in the
Classroom|Langwitches Blog http://t.co/edS2O816 #edtech --Sue Gorman
(@sjgorman
10. Find 10 Ways to Use Instagram in your classroom…twitter …iangray9
5 ways to improve classroom discussions
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/make-class-discussions-more-exciting-richard-curwin
BACK CHANNEL
TodaysMeet, Padlet, Forum on your LMS
Groups discuss; one student records on forum
POLLING
Mult choice quiz on mobile (or laptop) ….could be on survey monkey …correct
answers …. discuss tonight
Poll Everywhere allows text polling
Socrative, an app that shows real-time poll results for both multiple-choice and short-answer
quizzes,.
story telling enhanced by elearning - tools include Animoto; Slidestory, Storybird;
http://elearningindustry.com/7-tips-integrate-storytelling-next-elearning-course
31. COUNTER BALANCE NARCISSISM IN ASSESSMENT
- require collaboration
- you both explored different aspects of topic X ….now find the
commonalities
SOLUTIONS
FIND COLLABORATIVE SOFTWARE
eg https://www.diigo.com/
Make format of assessment an advocacy
website, a proposal etc
designed to improve the situation for others
- Seniors – How prevalent is Domestic Violence in Australia?
How did it get like that and therefore what can be done about it?
32. avoiding antiquarianism
U Magazine Sunday Aug 10 2014...Dr Michael Dezuanni from the Child and Youth Research
Centre QUT researched ipads in kindergarten and found they CAN improve communication
and their use did not diminish physical activity or create anti-social behaviour
33. Crowd sourced editing
SOLUTIONS
• a form of conversation
• now used by Smithsonian and Nat Lib of Aust as well as Wikapedia
• have student ‘crowd’ create and update Glossary in
Moodle/Blackboard
• empower students --- enrol in Mod Hist 2 as teachers with upload
rights
• any sabotage tends to be quickly quickly corrected
Benefits of mobile phones in class:
• students take snapshots whiteboard notes
• record teacher oral feedback
• back up internet searching device
• freeing time for conversation
http://www.insidebayarea.com/education/ci_25396070/cell-phones-proving-their-usefulness-classrooms
Music with Study --- much research to suggest that playing
music while studying is a distraction from and not a benefit to
study. Ask on the blog and the research can be revealed.