SPM030910

=Dissertation 101 - Ben Johnson= What an interesting dissertation Ben Johnson proposed. I like his approach to use technology to learn more about the learning stye/preferences of underachieving boys in math. His study should produce some interesting findings. His approach of applying educational technology to an educational psychology issue provides a viable example for others to follow to consider suitable topics. Ben gave us some good tips for approaching the dissertation, and I plan to use his suggestion to read one article a night and complete an annotated bibliography that way to be used to create the literature review. Ben is very practical, and I appreciated how he shared ideas that would simplify the process and make it more manageable.

Some of Ben's ideas made me realize that in some ways, I'm like the cobbler's children with no shoes. I am learning all of this very interesting and useful 'stuff' about instructional design and strategy, but I really haven't consciously thought about applying it to my own personal learning. Ben's example of the lit review preparation is essentially chunking the material. It makes me wonder what other strategies I can employ to my bring my own learning up a notch.

=Declarative Knowledge= The other topic of the night was Smith and Ragan's chapter on Declarative Knowledge. Before reading their chapter, I hadn't thought of how this very knowledge type should be integrated into lessons with the main purpose to develop the ability to synthesize and apply new knowledge. In the past, the inclusion of the declarative knowledge was an afterthought. Now, I am inspired to consider it as an integrative element of the entire lesson/course.

Tekleab produced a useful outline of the chapter that helped me think about the chapter elements and the important pieces of information.