iConnect meeting reflections

Last Friday was our first TROPIC II team meeting using iConnect. This was an excellent opportunity for us to share our reflections on how we have been applying the learning from the workshop.

Unfortunately attendance wasn't so great with three members of the group unable to attend. However the input from Terrie, Simon and Phil was great. Meredith and Bob sent reports on what they had been doing.

The technology has its limitations - as Terrie commented, when you are presenting it can feel like you're just talking and that's all that's going on, with no feedback or interaction. Of course it's new to all of us and with trial and error hopefully we can get used to the environment and use it to its full capacity. One great advantage is having the recording of the meeting - I was able to get more out of the presentations hearing them a second time.

TROPIC II - the first workshop

Last week was our first Instructional Intelligence workshop, brilliantly facilitated by Vivienne Scott. Our learning covered two main areas: lesson design and cooperative learning. If I try to convey in writing what is involved in those two things, it would probably sound dry and boring, but it certainly is not. Let me attempt to summarise by saying, lesson design is all about increasing the chances students will learn. Cooperative learning is about recognising that simply putting students in groups does not ensure they will work together or that they will learn. Deliberately establishing the conditions and explicitly teaching the social and other skills required, greatly increases the likelihood that students will learn cooperatively.

Research shows that when students engage in cooperative learning and particularly when processing and reflection of both content and group work are built into the learning, retention of knowledge is up to 40% greater than with individualistic learning.

The great thing about the workshop is that we were fully immersed in the process - it wasn't a matter of learning about cooperative learning; we were engaging in it.

Next steps are for the participants to apply some of what we learned in our own teaching practice. We have a meeting scheduled via Elluminate on March 19 when we will report back on what that experience was like.

The next workshop is scheduled for April 20-22.