Depending on what lens a photographer uses and how the lens is adjusted, the focus of a photograph can change. A long range lens can help the photographer bring into focus something far away. A wide angle lens can give a broader perspective. A telephoto lens allows the photographer to examine detail.

The analogy fits in my concept of being a life-long learner. Sometimes I need to see the overall picture. Other times I want to bring concepts that are further away into closer views. Still other times, I need to see the very detailed examination of the concept. This program has let me do variances of all these. I have examined the broad range of lesson design. I have examined closely the tools at my disposal when designing a lesson. I have studied the research of multiple writers, bringing their insights closer for examination.

The principles of learning, designing, researching, and creating in lesson planning and teaching all have transfer to multiple other areas which continues to broaden my learning both professionally and personally. It is also a great model of teaching for transfer which is one of the thinking dimensions that I strive for in my own class.

Games:

As mentioned in the Tools section, games are great way to allow the learner to focus. These can range from enhancing memorization skills such as locating the 50 states to more complex games such as the simulation game we played in class, (Decisions, Decisions: Violence in the Media) where in groups of 5-6, each student advocated their assigned role. One was a network executive, another a representative of a concerned parent group, one the representative of the new TV show, and others. Each received a small booklet outlining their beliefs and attitudes. Using these personas, the group had to made decisions. Depending on the decision the group made, the outcome of the simulation changed.

Games allow the learner to try working at the concept multiple times without negative consequences (such as failing a test). It allows the "play" that Vygotsky talks about in Mind in Society where the learner is mentored across his Zone of Proximal Development.

Online learning:

 One of my summer courses was fully dedicated to the process on online learning. I discovered an overview of the different types of online courses available and experienced the concept both as a student and a mentor. Over a period of time, I documented my lessons as a mentor in a brochure serving as a quick reference for my strategies as well as reflection of lessons learned.

In a broad sense, benefits of online learning include choices in education; student directed pacing, and one-on-one instruction from the online teacher. Online learning also provides a level playing field where race, appearance, shyness, or disability is unknown to fellow students online providing every member of the class a chance to be heard. Some online classes simply transfer the traditional class syllabus to online form. In my summer course, I learned the COPLS model, short for Community of Practice Learning System, which integrates 6 subsystems that interact and demonstrate examples of the content. According to the concept's developer, Dr. Patricia Norton, COPLS "provides a pedagogical framework for a learning context apart from the definitions of teacher, student, grades, tests and classroom as defined by the CLS (Conventional Learning System).

COPLS model:

Community of Practice builds on Vygotsky and Situated Cognition in that knowledge and understanding are built through social interaction among those who work in the particular discipline. Second, learners are not shut out until gaining mastery, but are encouraged to develop expertise and contribute in the community. Third, Instructional Resources are included by the designer to provide for shared goals, knowledge, tools, skills and habits of mind between learner and Community of Practice. Fourth, an Expert Mentor helps learner to cross ZPD by modeling/coaching the learner from where he is to where he can be with gained cognition. Mentors don’t manage the learner, but provide assistance and feedback. Fifth, Representative Problem offers an authentic activity that integrates the instructional resources and gained cognition into a kind of problem typically encountered by those in Community of Practice. Finally, sixth, is the Performances of Understanding. These are formative assessments that show the mentor that the learner is developing mastery of each concept. It is also the summative assessment whose product is the culmination of the Representative Problem. Performances of Understanding show what the learner can do with his knowledge, not just what he knows.

While this model was presented in the context of online learning, it is not invalid in traditional classrooms. It is consistent with ACTS, the strategy for one lesson and FACTS, the strategy for an entire unit.

Practicum:

 The practicum learning allowed me to put the pieces of the puzzle together. At first, the focus was on a single lesson. I began to think on a deeper level how this lesson (and by extension, the rest of the lessons in the unit) were all part of a scaffolding of building the learner's knowledge.  A more extensive explanation of all I learned in during the practicum is found under Practicum 1 and Practicum 2.

MOPEDS:

This acronym is to remind me of the thinking skills that transform learning: Meaning, Orchestra (Symphony), Play, Empathy, Design, and Story. Taken from the book, A Whole New Mind, by Daniel Pink, each component allows learners to relate to what Pink refers to as "The Conceptual Age" instead of the "Information Age." Pink suggest that as more production jobs are shifted overseas, workers will need to transform their thinking to encompass these aptitudes to thrive in the new society and economy.

I have used meaning in my lesson design as I put students in real life contexts. In Unit 1-Advertising and Unit 2-Editorials of the practicum, students were designing an advertising campaign and writing a "pitch" letter to the client. These skills have meaning in that they are authentic. They are skills and decisions that would need to be made by actual advertising executives and creative staff.

Next, students were given a brief client profile, the statistics of yellow page design strategies, and basic design concepts. Orchestra (Symphony) was the process of synthesizing this information and making decisions on how to proceed.  Play allowed students to brainstorm all sorts of ideas (as an advertising agency would do). I encouraged students to talk out many ideas, no matter how silly they sounded at first since that idea may spark other ideas. To develop their idea, student advertisers first needed to consider the demographics of the audience. Being advertised was the Leaf and Lawn Landscape service. Demographics for this business was most likely home owners, who had recently bought their house, above average income, and 30-50 years old. Students had to empathize with this demographic to effectively develop advertising that would reach them. Armed with this information, students plan both their design and tell a story to which the intended audience will relate. For example, a couple groups empathized with the group thinking that a main objective of landscaping would be an outside area where the family could enjoy spending time. Their advertising told the story of how the family bonded more now that their lawn was attractive and inviting.

ZPD:

Vygotsky said the Zone of Proximal Development is that area in a learner's growth between what the learner know knows and what he could know if mentored across the gulf. He talked about how learning, higher psychological function, is created by a person’s mind interacting with the world. I would like to think I deal with this daily. My students are always on the precipice of what they know, having before them the canyon of the unknown, and on the other side, what they should know after finishing a particular lesson, unit, or year. As their mentor, I design lessons to allow them authentically interact with the world and guide them through the unknown knowledge so they can arrive safely on the other side. In the beginning, the mentoring is much more. As they reach their level of new development, the mentoring is not as much, as they have obtained another level of mastery.

DROET:

This acronym represents the 5 different purposes of graphic representation. D stands for decorative graphics which support learning by adding visual appeal to student work. R is for representational graphic which visually explains a concept. O stands for organizational graphics which focuses on one aspect of a concept. E is Explanation and offers a visual outline of a process. T is for a Transformational graphic which illustrates a changing process. By  helping students recognize what the purpose of their graphic is, they are more likely to choose images that represent the concept more appropriately.

DEAPR:

Design, Encode, Assemble, Publish, and Revise are the steps in this acronym that serves as a strategy for not only writing, but also desktop publishing. This process is not only for students, but also one I look at when designing the lesson. The first step is to brainstorm the ideas. Encode is to select the appropriate symbols to convey the message. Assemble puts the message together. Publish and Revise is a two-step process that can be worked through as many times as necessary to gain a finished product. DEAPR is a great companion to the ACTS lesson model in that it gives process to the created products that flow from the authentic problem.