I like this approach very much! It is very similar to Anchored Instruction that we have discussed last week, but more organized and easier to understand for both teachers and students. Besides, I also think it is similar to Guided design that students follow the steps created by teachers to complete challenges. For me, I think this approach is the most feasible one so far in Context-based Instruction & Multimedia section because of its layout’s clarity and its flexibility. I like its flexibility a lot because it is coincide with my belief that instruction must be adjusted to meet students’ needs and learning styles. If the learning software or system is unchangeable once after being created, it can’t be an effective teaching material. Using this approach, teachers can change/add any element they wish to meet the needs of a group of students. In addition, I LOVE the idea that ask students’ initial thoughts first and reflect back later to see how much they learned. Students really have seldom chance to see how much they learned, so they seldom appreciate school education. This step allows students actually see their growth in a subject by reading their own notes, I believe they’ll have very strong impression on the knowledge they just learned and retain it for long.
Although Star Legacy keeps mentioning the importance of flexibility, the step-by-step cycle is easily misunderstood as a rigid format to follow. That is also the reason why I think it is similar to Guided Design. Therefore, I think it is very important for teachers to remind their students that you can always revise/switch the steps when you find it’s better for your own research process. Besides, like other approaches in this section, the biggest barrier is the huge workload that added to a teacher. Teachers must have a clear vision of the cycle(s) and prepare the transcripts for the necessary videos/audios as well as resources. Nonetheless, probably because I always need clear and explicit information about the theories, I don’t feel as overwhelmed or panic toward this approach as previous two approaches. I believe that when having enough time to prepare all the essential information, I can definitely apply it to my future class.
I think there are lots of website can be used for presenting this module, like Moodle, Wiki, and creating web pages. I even think that using online environment is better than the original software format since students’ comments or thoughts can be saved immediately online so that both teacher and students can easily track students’ progress.
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From Jennifer Knott: You're the second person who's recognized and stated that students are learning from their own trial and error, and not from what a teacher tells them where to improve. This is very exciting to me. I am trying to remember a time in school where I experienced this, and can't seem to recall. It would have made a big difference.
ReplyDeleteHi Miya,
ReplyDeleteI agree that the STAR model is definitely easier to understand on all fronts than Anchored Instruction. This model is my favorite so far in this section. Good point about this model's flexibility to meet various learning styles and student needs.
Oops, I didn't put my name. The last post was from Mary Ellen
ReplyDeleteAs Jennifer posted in comment, the students are learning from their own constructed design based on their individual experiences and knowledge. This adds TREMENDOUSLY to the example pool for each crafting student and any who are viewing their work.
ReplyDeleteI also agree I did not experience this in school either...only upon Graduate school did I experience this in math education! When I visit classrooms to observe and work with teachers now, I still find it to follow a rigid, "do only as I say" approach which is disheartening to me...
Mike Swinson
I must have missed something in the reading because this method seems complicated to me had. Based on your reflection and several others in the class, I think I should revisit the modules to figure out how I could have missed the simplicity of the STAR LEGACY. If you had an
ReplyDelete"A-ha!" moment during your reading and learning about this module, will you please share it with me?
Ah... the flexibility of it all! That might be my favorite part of this theory. I love the guidelines, or the trading posts that we use as a rough map of where the instruction is headed. ;)
ReplyDeleteMiya-
ReplyDeleteThanks for pointing out the flexibility. I didn't think of that when creating my blog post. When teaching my middle schoolers I always have to be flexible. I never know when my lesson will totally tank and need reworking on the spot. I think its also important that you pointed out that it is good to let our students know that we're not always right the first time (teachers included!) and things do need to be reworked and tweaked. The following example illustrated creating a behavior plan and at the end gave suggestions for reworking the plan even after it has been "finalized" http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/par2/cwrap.htm. Thanks for the post and pointing out a great aspect of this model that I overlooked!
Anni Carroll