1. Building Student Networks
Towards a Connectivist Analysis of Classroom Learning Environments
Building Student Networks
Dr. Gerald Ardito
Pace University
ASTE 2016

2. It all started with an insight
Be careful what you wish for
It all started with an insight
What would it look like if students drove their own learning?

3. Conceptual Framework

4. Communities of Practice
Conceptual Framework
Communities of Practice
Communities of practice are formed by people who engage in a process of collective learning in a shared domain of human endeavor...In a nutshell:Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly. (Wenger, 2006)

5. Distributed Constructionism
Conceptual Framework
Distributed Constructionism
"(Distributed Constructionism) focuses particularly on the use of computer networks to support students working together on design and construction activities, and it argues that these types of activities are particularly effective in supporting the development of knowledge-building communities." Resnick, 1996.

6. Connectivism Conceptual Framework
"At its heart, connectivism is the thesis that knowledge is distributed across a network of connections, and therefore that learning consists of the ability to construct and traverse those networks." Downes, 2007.

7. Research Questions

8. Research Questions
1. What type of learning environments can promote self-directed learning in middle school science students?
2. How does a self-directed learning environment (re)shape student learning networks?
3. How can teachers be developed to build these types of learning environments?

9. Instructional (Re) Design
If you build it ...
Instructional
(Re) Design
Is this my beautiful house?

10. How did it work? If your only tool is a hammer ...
You may find yourself in another part of the world

11. Where are we going? A journey of one thousand miles...
What's the Big Idea?

12. The Physical Layout

13. Options, options, options
Take a seat
Options, options, options
Since effective student-centered, self-directed learning environments are characterized by student choice the physical space is an important part of the structure for the course (Enghag, 2006; Merriam, 2001)

14. The Tools

15. Moodle Follow the yellow brick road...
Building a container for learning

16. There is no try. Do or do not.
Google Docs
Sharing is caring

17. What we have here...
Edmodo
Easy communication

18. Flexbooks
CK12.org
Open, editable educational resources

19. Once upon a time...
ShowMe
Teacher presence

20. What it looked like

21. Findings

22. Student Self-Management
94% of students (all but 3) finished the entire course.
14% of students (7) finished the course early. One completed the course 4 months early.
Students managed themselves spontaneously, creatively, and productively
26% of student (13) decided to work on more than one unit concurrently.

23. Some anecdotes Intrinsic Motivation
"Conditions supporting the individual’s experience of autonomy, competence, and relatedness are argued to foster the most volitional and high quality forms of motivation and engagement for activities" Selfdetermination.org

24. Student Achievement
60% of students scored at 85 or above on year end state mandated cumulative exam (compared to 46% in other classroom).
The biggest impact was in students in the band.

25. Regents Scores
Year 2

26. Regents Scores
Year 1

27. Depth of Student Work Run silent, run deep
"For the first time, I don't feel yanked along." (Emmy, 8th grade student)

28. Student Learning Networks
A metric was created - Student Network Composite (SNC).
The SNC included:
# of nodes in a students' network
Strength of students' connections to those nodes
Level of interactions with course materials

29. Types of Student Networks
How were the students connected
Types of Student Networks
Getting connected. Staying connected

30. Student Learning Networks
44% (22 students) were above the median on the SNC.
15 of those 22 students scored in the mastery level on the year end assessment.
14 of those 15 student met or exceeded predicted scores based on pre-assessment.

31. Follow the evidence, wherever it leads
Conclusions
What did we learn?

32. Discussion
Almost all students were able to succeed in this self-regulated learning environment.
Students with special needs and ELL students did particularly well.
Student networks clearly developed or not and seem likely to have an impact on learning and achievement.
The experience was much more like online learning environments than typical classroom settings.

33. A rising tide raises all boats
Next steps
Learning from failure.

34. Further Research
Work is needed to develop better metrics and assessments for student networks in classroom, blended, and online learning environments.
Current research is being done on the teaching training . Project based learning skills seem essential to student success in this setting.