Getting to Deeper and More Meaningful Thinking in Online Activities

Target Audience - Higher Ed and K-12 Educators at an Intermediate Level

Session Goals/Learning Outcomes:

• Session facilitators will define deeper, more meaningful thinking

• Session facilitators will compare technology used for more shallow thinking vs technology tools used for deeper thinking

• Session participants will investigate a technology tool individually or in a small group that can be used to encourage deeper thinking from students

• Session participants will discuss learnings from a technology tool with a small group

• Session participants will assess and present learning from the investigated learning tool

Background:

In his critique of “surface-level” digital pedagogy, Monreal (2016), uses a fictional composite narrative where hypothetical tenth graders respond to the use of digital tools:  “She made us use something called an LMS or something.  It basically just controlled what we had to learn.  She thought it was like way different, but really it was just like being in desks surrounded by the four walls of the classroom.”  “...sometimes you all think you are impressing us with all this new shiny stuff.  It might grab our attention for a second before we realize that it is usually just the same old, same old.  My math teacher tries to get us to use this app, but really it’s just a colorful worksheet” (n.p.).  Monreal closes his article with the question:  “why is there not a bigger call for critical digital pedagogy in our schools of education?” (n.p.).  It is difficult to dismiss Monreal’s critique as hypothetical when we have heard our own teacher education students complain about the lack of depth in online discussion forums and other LMS tools.  While there might be questions about the depth of learning in technology-based instruction, even from the students themselves, it would appear that such teaching is going to be a part of education in the future (Gabriel, 2011).  

So what might help online instruction and Internet-based tools to achieve more in-depth learning and critical thinking?   This is not a simple question, even in completely face-to-face classes that use essentially no technology!  Deep thinking is reflective thinking that involves moving beyond simple understanding.  It involves an array of factors, such as collaborative effort, connection to content, developing habits of mind, and teacher interaction (Razzak, 2014).  Faced with this complexity, it is worth considering what tools/approaches to technology can lead to greater depth of teaching and learning.  We propose to explore this issue in this interactive presentation.  

Technology tools used in online courses or flipped instruction can help students think at different levels of depth. Certain tools create efficiencies for an instructor and certainly are of benefit to help students think at a Bloom’s “remembering” level or a Webb’s “recall” level (Armstrong, n.d.) (Francis, 2014). Technology tools like Kahoot or Quizzizz are engaging for students but the objective questioning nature means the thinking stays relatively basic or shallow. A quick check for understanding is important for an instructor but doesn’t necessarily get students thinking deeply about content. Other technology tools are sometimes able to get student thinking deeply and interact with each other i.e. a threaded discussion board but we often find that student rush through the assignments and don’t get into the deeper thinking.

Tools for project-based learning that allow students to create video, infographics, podcasts, etc. often help students demonstrate deeper, more meaningful thinking; however, student created projects are not always appropriate for an instructor or for a skill/concept/etc. that students are learning. If an instructor wants to encourage deeper, more reflective extended thinking there are tools beyond project-based tools to lead students into deep learning. The tools encourage students to interact with each other over knowledge, to interact with instructors related to learning and to think about their learning in multiple ways. We believe the different activities that are a part of each of these technology tools help students apply and synthesize learning.

The tools/methods in this session, Actively Learn, PlayPosit, Digital BreakoutEDU and Google Hangouts Centers/Stations all create easy opportunities for instructors to demand follow-up thinking by students or require students to do their own investigations. They each have features that create multiple opportunities for students to attain knowledge and/or to interact with peers and instructors around that knowledge. These interactions can challenge student thinking extending it past where a student would think on his/her own. Each tool provides different methods to get students to connect to content, ask students open-ended questions, encourage students to make decisions and guide them to working with their peers in their thinking.  

• Actively Learn - an interactive eReader allowing instructors and peers to interact with each other around text. Instructors can add objective and open-ended questions into texts that they upload and students and instructors can use a comments feature to dialogue with each other within the selected text.
• PlayPosit - an interactive video tool that allows instructors to upload questions, additional content, and discussion forums into a video at different points. The videos can be created by the instructor or found online and different levels of questioning can be inserted into the video to encourage thought and discussion.
• Digital BreakoutEDU - an online method of gamifying content, allowing instructors (or students) to create interactive challenges around any content. Students/players then attempt to solve the challenges to "breakout" of the locks that have been set around the various challenges.
• Google Hangout Stations/Centers - using Google Hangouts in conjunction with a set of activities in an LMS. The activities build upon each other and are completed by a group of students while in a Google Hangout to encourage working together on the various activities and to encourage discussion at different levels. 

We would like to emphasize that using these tools is not all about students just "doing stuff" (which would rightfully earn the scorn of Monreal’s hypothetical students!), but is also about reflective teaching practice (which is what we hope the participants in our session will do), and reflective learning.  

Session Outline:

As participants enter, they will be divided into small groups based on different technologies.

1. 10 minutes: The presenters will give a brief introduction and overview of four technology tools and the definition of “deep thinking”

2. 25 minutes: Each small group member will get a Google Hyperdoc link to guide use of and thinking about specific technology tools. Each Hyperdoc will include:

   • A learning objective that can be understood by different levels of audience members i.e. one from a first-year college writing course - “Be able to integrate their ideas with those of others using summary, paraphrase, quotation, analysis, and synthesis of relevant sources” (the learning objective will be the same for each group)

   • A specific technology tool to use in that learning (each group will have a different technology)

     • Actively Learn

     • PlayPosit

     • Digital BreakoutEDUs

     • Google Hangout Centers/Stations

   • Directions and guidance as well as a specific step-by-step set of activities to use the tool to learn. In the Actively Learn and PlayPosit groups, each individual will use the tool but will interact with each other virtually. In the Digital BreakoutEDU and Google Hangout Centers/Stations groups, participants will work together.

   • A link to share and explain their learning and briefly the tool they used

3. 10 minutes: Groups will present out what they learned and how they learned it. The results from the learning will be published so others can see a specific example of the tool in use.

References:

Armstrong, P. (n.d.). Bloom’s Taxonomy. Retrieved from https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/blooms-taxonomy/

Francis, E.M. (2014, Aug 3). Let's make a D.O.K.! A game show approach to depth of knowledge [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://maverikeducation.blogspot.com/2014/08/lets-make-dok-game-show-app...

Gabriel, T. (2011, April 5). More pupils are learning online, fueling debate on quality.  New York Times.  Retrieved from  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/06/education/06online.html

Monreal, T. (2016).  Beyond surface-level digital pedagogy.  Hybrid Pedagogy.  Retrieved from  http://www.digitalpedagogylab.com/hybridped/beyond-surface-level/

Razzak, N.A. (2014).  Strategies for effective faculty involvement in online activities aimed at promoting critical thinking and deep learning.  Education and Information Technologies, 21, 881-896.