Learning Contract
===== Professional Behavior Survey https://tamuc.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eWHNTnzpCb3gelD =====
The child enters into a learning environment and negotiates a contract with the adults and more competent peers present: "I want to know about something. I am curious, motivated, and focused. I bring a particular set of skills, tools of the mind, and approaches to learning. If you let me, I will explore, touch, encounter and engage the topic until I master my own learning."
This child is really not much different from you or me.
My expectation of the learner is that you will engage in our topic as if you were interested, motivated, and recognized it was to your own best benefit to participate in our learning contract together.
From our course syllabus:
Grading
A holistic grading approach is sought. Rather than a scorecard with points, students must account for their mastery of the course objectives, and thus their grade in the course. This is done through the use of the Professional Behavior Survey. You will self-assess your professional behaviors TWICE, once at the beginning, and again at the end of the course.
A – highest level, an example to others
B – complete, quality, clear fulfillment of course objectives
C – average, just what is expected/required
D – partial, incomplete, not tied to course objectives
Professional Behavior Survey
Please participate in this self-assessment of your professional behaviors TWICE, once at the beginning, and again at the end of the course. Your grade on this Course comes from your self-evaluation. Check your D2L Course Home for PROFESSIONAL BEHAVIOR Quiz.
Principles of Self-Directed Learning
Munoz, et al (2018) Developmentally Appropriate Practice for Adult Learners.PDF
We will utilize the 3 Core Considerations of Developmentally Appropriate Practice throughout this course, throughout your study of the child and learning to teach here at Texas A&M University-Commerce. This perspective of the child is foundational to all that you learn about teaching and guiding young children.
1. Learners come to us at a specific time in their development. Understanding sequences and stages of normal development helps us reach the learner where she is today, and look forward to all she is becoming in the future.
2. Learners have unique individual differences.
3. Each of us come from a culture, a family, a set of norms and predispositions.
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In a series of three articles on student motivation and teacher preparation to teach, read this, from David Gooblar, published in The Chronicle of Higher Education:
First, from August 13, 2018, in an essay titled "Will students actually want to do this assignment?"
https://www.chronicle.com/article/will-students-actually-want-to/244247"... it’s far more preferable for students to learn out of intrinsic motivation rather than be pushed by extrinsic factors like grades. Active-learning strategies are far more effective than just lecturing for that very reason: It’s nearly impossible to make someone learn something without their willingness and their work."
"According to the framework, three main variables influence student motivation:
- Value. I like to think of this one as the "Do they care?" variable. Value refers to how much the student values the learning goal we are trying to motivate them to pursue. The more that students value a goal, the more motivated they will be to pursue it.
- Expectancies. By expectancies, the authors mean: Can the student expect to succeed in attaining the goal? That breaks down to two parts: (1) Will the steps we assign actually lead the student to the goal? and (2) Is the student capable of completing the steps and attaining the goal? The more that students think they will be able to attain a goal, the more likely they will be motivated to put in the work to pursue it.
- Environment. How supportive is the classroom environment? If students perceive the course environment to be supportive, they are more likely to be motivated to pursue the goal in question."
"Align our goals with students’ goals for themselves. At the beginning of a semester, in particular, it’s worthwhile to devote time to figuring out — and asking your students to figure out — what their goals are for the semester and beyond."
Then, on 9/6/2018: "Will student actually believe they can do do this assignment?"https://www.chronicle.com/article/Will-Students-Actually-Believe/244440?cid=wcontentgrid_hp_9
With these highlights:
"The more students feel that a goal is achievable, the more likely they will be motivated to pursue it."
- Outcome expectancies. Here the student is asking: If I do this assignment, how likely is it that I will learn what you say I’m supposed to learn? That is to say: Do students think the assignments and course plans we have devised are a path that leads to the course goals? Does that path you’ve cleared lead where they’re expecting it to go?
- Efficacy expectancies. This is the extent to which students believe they are capable of achieving the goal. They have to believe success is possible, or else why bother?
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Personalized Learning
This approach to the learning contract and the professional behavior survey is similar to what is also called “Personalized Learning.” Listen to this 8 minute audio file https://www.npr.org/2018/11/16/657895964/the-future-of-learning-well-it-s-personal about the future of learning.
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Pedagogy = to guide a child
Andragogy = to guide an adult
Heutagogy = to guide one's own learning
Heutagogy Comparison Chart .docx
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Here are some resources to examine the concept of Learning Contracts.
* The powerpoint here: LearningContractsOverview.ppt.
Finally, explore this document: Learning Contract Matrix.doc. Think how it works for you, just as it is. Dream of another way to represent your own pursuit of knowledge this semester. Discuss your ideas with our classmates. This is not an assignment to turn in, but it is an important element in analyzing your ownership of learning.
Let me know how I can help josh.thompson@tamuc.edu 214-663-6102.
===== Professional Behavior Survey https://tamuc.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eWHNTnzpCb3gelD =====
