Social Learning Theory (SLT) and Assessment
We’ve spent this week digging into Social Learning Theory (SLT) and assessment in EDUC 109/261. To meet course standards 8 and 9, below, I’ve created a sample online formative assessment using the educational technology Spiral that students can use collaboratively.
Standard 8: Uses educational technology to engage students in collaborative knowledge construction.
Standard 9: Uses educational technology to reveal and assess students’ thinking.
According to its website, “Spiral is an interactive learning platform that teachers can use for quick assessment, student collaboration, interactive video, and flipped classroom activities.” When I read that, I thought immediately of how it could be applied to Lev Vygotsky’s reciprocal teaching theory. Via reciprocal teaching, students and instructors collaborate in learning and practicing four skills: summarizing, questioning, clarifying, and predicting (McLeod). With it’s collaboration and video features, Spiral could be an interesting way for students to explain themselves to each other and boost each other’s learning (standard 8), while the teacher provides information and asks questions, facilitating and assessing (standard 9).
Spiral offers four activities: “Quickfire”, “Discuss”, “Clip”, and “Team Up”.
Teachers can create interactive presentations in Spiral, and using it’s “Discuss” and “Quick Fire” features, use the platform to cover content or quiz students in real time. Students can participate by asking questions, sharing pictures/videos, and responding to their peers.Teachers are able to pose questions throughout the presentation, asking students to reply via the platform. Student responses are anonymously shown to the class. I think there is real value to this, as an introverted student, as a way to get those hesitant to verbally speak out in class to participate. More participants creates more points of view and add to the learning experience for everyone. Even seeing “wrong” answers and misconceptions can help students know that they aren’t alone in their understanding (or not) of the topic. Both of these points get to the heart of collaborative/social learning. We want students to learn from each other, and the more who feel comfortable participating, the better. Teachers can require students to improve and resubmit responses, if needed, getting at the assessment piece of this week’s content.
Clip allows users (both teachers and students) to create interactive videos and allows them to stop periodically to check understanding or discuss content among each other.
Lastly, a “Team Up” feature allows students to work on group projects and create collaborative presentations. Teachers can assign or randomly create teams according to their preference. Spiral allows teachers to view each student’s individual contribution on their side of the platform, checking for each student’s learning and providing group or individual feedback. Teachers can also share exemplary work with the entire class as they create, so that they can see models as they work.
I found Spiral to be fairly straightforward to use. Below are screenshots of my sample formative assessment for a hypothetical reading of the book Because of Winn-Dixie, by Kate DiCamillo. It includes a video clip of a trailer for the book, which introduces some of the characters. Unfortunately, you can’t see all that I’m asking students to reply to in the box on the right (second image), but it says:
Today we started reading Because of Winn-Dixie. Using what you know about the characters so far, why do you think they each act the way they do? Select three characters and give the class your thoughts. When you are done posting your video, respond to two other classmates' videos with comments about their ideas.
I think Spiral could be a great tool for educators to use in the classroom. The possibilities to use if for both collaborative knowledge construction and assessing student thinking are really endless and it could be used for a variety of content areas.
Works cited:
McLeod, S. A. (2018, Aug 5). Lev Vygotsky. Retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.html
Standard 8: Uses educational technology to engage students in collaborative knowledge construction.
Standard 9: Uses educational technology to reveal and assess students’ thinking.
According to its website, “Spiral is an interactive learning platform that teachers can use for quick assessment, student collaboration, interactive video, and flipped classroom activities.” When I read that, I thought immediately of how it could be applied to Lev Vygotsky’s reciprocal teaching theory. Via reciprocal teaching, students and instructors collaborate in learning and practicing four skills: summarizing, questioning, clarifying, and predicting (McLeod). With it’s collaboration and video features, Spiral could be an interesting way for students to explain themselves to each other and boost each other’s learning (standard 8), while the teacher provides information and asks questions, facilitating and assessing (standard 9).
Spiral offers four activities: “Quickfire”, “Discuss”, “Clip”, and “Team Up”.
Teachers can create interactive presentations in Spiral, and using it’s “Discuss” and “Quick Fire” features, use the platform to cover content or quiz students in real time. Students can participate by asking questions, sharing pictures/videos, and responding to their peers.Teachers are able to pose questions throughout the presentation, asking students to reply via the platform. Student responses are anonymously shown to the class. I think there is real value to this, as an introverted student, as a way to get those hesitant to verbally speak out in class to participate. More participants creates more points of view and add to the learning experience for everyone. Even seeing “wrong” answers and misconceptions can help students know that they aren’t alone in their understanding (or not) of the topic. Both of these points get to the heart of collaborative/social learning. We want students to learn from each other, and the more who feel comfortable participating, the better. Teachers can require students to improve and resubmit responses, if needed, getting at the assessment piece of this week’s content.
Clip allows users (both teachers and students) to create interactive videos and allows them to stop periodically to check understanding or discuss content among each other.
Lastly, a “Team Up” feature allows students to work on group projects and create collaborative presentations. Teachers can assign or randomly create teams according to their preference. Spiral allows teachers to view each student’s individual contribution on their side of the platform, checking for each student’s learning and providing group or individual feedback. Teachers can also share exemplary work with the entire class as they create, so that they can see models as they work.
I found Spiral to be fairly straightforward to use. Below are screenshots of my sample formative assessment for a hypothetical reading of the book Because of Winn-Dixie, by Kate DiCamillo. It includes a video clip of a trailer for the book, which introduces some of the characters. Unfortunately, you can’t see all that I’m asking students to reply to in the box on the right (second image), but it says:
Today we started reading Because of Winn-Dixie. Using what you know about the characters so far, why do you think they each act the way they do? Select three characters and give the class your thoughts. When you are done posting your video, respond to two other classmates' videos with comments about their ideas.
I think Spiral could be a great tool for educators to use in the classroom. The possibilities to use if for both collaborative knowledge construction and assessing student thinking are really endless and it could be used for a variety of content areas.
Works cited:
McLeod, S. A. (2018, Aug 5). Lev Vygotsky. Retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.html
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