Key Points from Dervin, Baggio, and Clark

From the Mind’s Eye of the User by Dervin
Upon rereading this text, a few points became clearer with the context of other readings (especially Clark).  Here are my “aha” points:

• Information Use as Transmission Vs. Construction:  Humans have no external resource for measuring truth, as all understandings are self constructed.

My take:  Since all learning is self constructed, it is difficult to build context for learners.  We do not know their experiences and how they will make sense of the materials and techniques we use.  I find this applies especially to adult learners, with potentially more diverse experiences.

• Information Use as Seen by the Observer Vs the Actor:
• Providers are constructing for users from the outside
• We design for users based on what we think they want
• Even when we ask them what they need (our assumptions guide the questions we ask), the result is a design based on our own assumptions

My take:  Since we cannot climb inside the minds of our users, how can we best help them from the outside, on their terms?  Even with empathy--how do we do this?

Methodology and Its Methods:

• The act of researching how humans construct information and make sense of it:  following a person’s construction each step at a time, and observing how they gather and interpret information that decides each new step--uniquely.

My take:  When a person is in the state of information need, he is facing his gap.  This method reminds me again of the empathy step referred to in design thinking that we have begun to discuss.  It answers my question above, about how to (to the best of our ability) see inside their minds as they enter a state of needing information and then filling that gap by taking another step, all the while answering questions for the researcher.  The questions are not predetermined or based on our own assumptions, but follow the path that the user takes us along. Is this how we operate the empathy for our end user step?

The Visual Connection by Baggio (Ch 4-6)
Baggio is such a nice read.  I like this content because I have always felt that I am an extremely visual person--to the point that I’m almost anti-audio.  I hate noisy environments and I rarely even listen to music. Silence is my favorite song!

Key Points:

• 3 things that influence the way people learn:  
• Prior knowledge:  Neuro-associative pathways are roads well traveled to easily access our prior knowledge. Using these pathways helps us visually understand what we are seeing.
• Context:  This is about how the learner finds relevance to the new information.  Baggio says we can use context two completely different ways to our advantage when teaching.  We can present something in a familiar context to help a learner, or in a completely ridiculously outlandish context, to make the learning more memorable for the learner.  Attention is drawn to the relevant information, because it is outside of an expected surrounding.
• Expectations:  This is how a learner anticipates what will most likely happen.  “Expectations set the stage for what we see and what we focus on.” (Baggio, The Visual Connection)

My take:  This reminds me a little of learning targets because we are setting the what, why, and how up with our lessons.

• Learning styles not really proven, but like conation, people seem to know intuitively how information enters their brains.  Most people are visual learners to some degree.

My take: I am 100% a visual learner, and scored 15/20 on the visual learner quiz.  Sometimes I think reading online is harder than in a book because I remember more of what I read in relationship to its visual placement in a book:  beginning of the chapter, left side page, right side page, what color I highlighted it, etc… These things are less possible with online reading.

• Cognitive load:  If new information is too overwhelming, excess is eliminated and doesn’t make it into working memory, and then later the long term memory.  Visual design for learning must apply restraint so as to not overload the learner. Remember that the learner takes in the entire image on a screen at once.  Try looking at your screen from a distance: What do you see/notice? Try looking upside down. This trick might help you to see what stands out most with your visuals.

My take: This (cognitive load & relationship to design for learning) is very important for me to remember as I design many presentations and PDs for my staff.  I tend to try to get lots of info into my visuals, which might be a bad habit.  Sounds like it would be better go keep things simple visually, and then supplement orally, or break things down more into smaller chunks.

Develop Technical Training by Ruth Colvin Clark (Chapters 1 & 2)
This reading almost felt like a blend of Baggio and Dervin.  I think reading this helped me to connect to some of the ideas in Dervin with which I struggled.

Key Points:

• Ineffective training (and teaching) is a huge waste of time, money, and energy--for everyone.

My take: Ineffective training on educational software happens all the time:  iRead, System 44, RI, MI, Benchmark, Bridges. All of these resources are not utilized to their full potential, mainly due to lack of time for training and practice.  There are so many features that teachers never learn to use.

Instructional Systems Development goes like this:

1. Needs assessment: Who needs training and on what?
2. Task Analysis: Define training content and performance outcomes/learning objectives and assessment to see if objectives and outcomes are met.
3. Development: Instructional methods to communicate content and achieve the performance outcomes (workbooks, videos, lessons, etc…).  
4. Course evaluation:  Time to pilot test your instructional materials and assessments and then revise.
5. Final implementation via selected media to carry content using instructional methods.

My take: Media and information is useless without effective instructional methods.  Needs assessment makes me think of the few parents who signed up, but did not participate in my study.  I cannot assume reasons why they did not participate. I would have to do a needs assessment= empathy step (design thinking).

Task analysis seems to have been done for us for years by our curriculum:  accounting for unconscious competence--remembering to teach the tiniest steps that are not obvious to people who are already competent.  I think teaching Kindergarten helps teachers develop the skill to pay attention to this. I always say that I think every teacher should have to spend some time teaching Kindergarten!

Development: Sometimes I am grateful to have curriculum that has done all of this for us, because of the time it would take.  Other times, I wish I could slow down and be creative.

Lesson structure includes:

1. Introduction:  Lesson purpose, objectives, relevance of the info to the learner, context, and outline of lesson
2. Knowledge Needed and Major Task of the Lesson:  Main body of the lesson and practice with feedback
3. Summary:  Condensed key points with a reminder of objectives, perhaps a preview of next lesson

My take:  This section sort of reminds me of the old style lesson plan formats they taught us in credential programs.  We always started with “anticipatory sets.” Trying to connect it to my learning now, I think this basic format can still work--but there is so much diversity today.  We have flipped learning, project based learning, and almost as many different approaches as there are learners. I do find it interesting that the purpose of this book is commercial, yet it is nearly exactly what we were taught to do as teachers.

• Educational Taxonomy: The idea that grouping learning goals to determine the instructional methods that would work best for them.  Bloom’s taxonomy among others is mentioned.

My take:  I think these taxonomy approaches are revised continually.  The first thing that came to my mind is Webb’s Depth of Knowledge, and the current taxonomy we have been looking at which identifies learning as “surface, deep, and transfer.”  Is this the work of Hattie, Douglas, and Fisher, or did they build on the work of others?

• Structured Writing Technique (type of information display based on the 5 kinds of content).  Information is visually simplified and chunked to give more access to the viewer.

My take:  I would love to read more about this.  It reminds me of Baggio. Of course I would be looking to see visual examples!  I often search for images on topics rather than text, just because I am looking for simple illustrations of information.  I think this is really important for learners.

• Detailed Notes vs. Outline Notes:  Research shows that providing detailed notes allows learners to have the information for future use, to be able to add personal thoughts, and use more energy to pay attention to the lesson rather than copious note-taking.

My take:  I love this. I am always super appreciative when slide decks are shared in advance so that I don’t have to stress out about taking notes, or pictures of every interesting slide.  I even love it better when we are given paper copies of slide decks with lines for our own notes! Like Baggio, I need to write everything down.