I have chosen to focus on three important frameworks and combine these to create a framework that not only enforces higher order thinking, but engages students and recognises that as 21st century leaners, ICT's are integral to furthering their education.
These frameworks are:
Bloom's Revised Taxonomy - A classification of learning objectives designed to help teachers plan "units that incorporate low to high-level thinking activities" and allow "for student thinking at all levels". http://www.kurwongbss.eq.edu.au/thinking/Bloom/blooms.htm
Engagement Theory - A framework that contextualises learning and is based around the idea that learning is best achieved when it ENGAGES students by means of collaboration, project based activities and and authentic focus. It is also "intended to be a conceptual framework for technology-based learning and teaching", as they believe that technology further facilitates effective learning in the digital world we now live in.
Engagement Theory revolves around three core principles:
1. Relate - "emphasises team efforts"
2. Create - "makes learning a creative, purposeful activity"
3. Donate - "making a useful contribution while learning"
I have also employed aspects of the unit plan we were given at our residential school in Rockhampton, as well as components of effective e-learning design as subscribed by the Australian Flexible learning Framework. Despite the fact that I am aiming to teach in a classroom, I felt that this website provided solutions to many of the issues that arise when dealing with an interactive, collaborative environment. I was particularly interested in how assessment was implemented as well as the support that teachers provided for students.
I have tried to design my framework on the basis that effective learning design needs to encourage students to create. Creating is the top category of Higher Order Thinking in Bloom's Taxonomy.
I believe I need to start my learning design by addressing the key learning areas, my intended learning outcomes and the assessment. From there I need to focus on the individuality of my students:
What do they already know?
What are their intelligences?
What are their preferred learning styles?
To cater for a diverse range of students the learning design framework needs to be balanced. This is achieved by ensuring that:
A range of learning theories are implemented
ICT's cater for all types of learning styles such as visual, auditory kinaesthetic.
In order to learn, Prensky claims students need to be ENGAGED. This is the central focus of this framework because if students are not engaged they lose motivation and struggle to progress to a level of higher order thinking.
In order to engage students, I am adhering to the Engagement Theory and believe that students learning needs to be:
Project based
Collaborative
Meaningful (Authentic Focus)
It also needs to be technology based (ICT's)
Once students are engaged, they need to progress from Lower order thinking to Higher Order Thinking (HOT). This is achieved by scaffolding. Scaffolding supports students through their learning journey and encourages HOT by using strategies to drawing out their ideas.
In an elearning environment, it is important that I remain aware of the strategies relevant to this particular environment. I need to decipher what type of scaffolding will suit them best, based on all other aspects above, as well as what level of face to face or online interaction there will be, how self directed the courseware will be, and how this will lead them to excel in the assessment.
Here is my finished product which will is open to transformation as I progress through my own learning journey. How fantastic it is to have created something!
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