Choose Your Own "SoTL" Adventure

I laughed a bit when I saw the title of this week's blog post assignment for my CEP 811 graduate class through Michigan State University.  "Choose Your Own 'SoTL' Adventure."  Remember back in grade school, there were these choose-your-own-adventure books?  You could choose to turn right or turn left, help an enemy or move on.  Kinda like a book version of Oregon Trail.  I found this funny because I had discovered a series of historical fiction books that did just that...and my students loved them!  Here is a link to one that I read aloud during our history unit: http://www.amazon.com/The-Civil-War-Interactive-Adventure/dp/1429639105  They are worth checking out!

Back to reality and graduate class assignments.  This week, since I am a Master's student and therefore am already partaking in 'Scholarship of Teaching and Learning,' I was asked to 'consume' information about a research topic I am interested in and push my scholarly ways a bit further and share my findings with my PLN (professional learning network).  A classmate and I developed a conference proposal about designing and creating a 21st Century classroom, so it made sense to direct my efforts in this direction.  Here are brief annotations of the scholarly articles I read on my research topic.


Annotated Biography

Christen, Amy. "Transforming the Classroom for Collaborative Learning in the 21st Century." Techniques: Connecting Education and Careers 84.1 (2009): 28-31. ProQuest. Web. 24 June 2013. Retrieved from http://www.eric.ed.gov.proxy1.cl.msu.edu/PDFS/EJ829507.pdf

I truly enjoyed the many points made in this article.  It states how technology hasn't fully penetrated into modern classrooms and learning environments, mainly due to the fact that schools are not taking advantage of public and private sector partnerships that could make technology more meaningful and accessible to students and teachers.  The article goes a step further, offering suggestions for schools and educators to begin to correct this situation.

Kwek, S.H. (2011). Innovation in the Classroom: Design Thinking for 21st Century Learning. (Master's thesis). Retrieved from http://www.stanford.edu/group/redlab/cgi-bin/publications_resources.php

In this Master's thesis, Kwek summarizes a qualitative study of a San Francisco Bay Area school explored and adopted design thinking as a model of learning.  The data collected from observations and interviews of school administrators and educators supports the need for changes in classroom learning environments and curriculum/lesson design.


Theisens, Henno, Francisco Benavides, and Hanna Dumont. "OECD Work on Future Educational Environments." PEB Exchange (2008): 11. ProQuest. Web. 24 June 2013.  Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.proxy1.cl.msu.edu/docview/189838044/fulltextPDF/13EDC10DAE118E44AED/117?accountid=12598

 This was a very enlightening article.  It focuses on the challenges schools face when designing and planning for future learning environments.  Social demographics, such as falling birth rates, economic globalization, and rising numbers of single-parent families, play heavily into this concept.  The authors also go beyond talking about the physical structures of the building and how these buildings need to facilitate, motivate, and enable creative learning within students.


Wambach, Catherine. "From Revolutionary to Evolutionary: 10 Years of 1-to-1 Computing." T.H.E.Journal 33.14 (2006): 58-9. ProQuest. Web. 24 June 2013.  Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.proxy1.cl.msu.edu/docview/214818737/13EDC10DAE118E44AED/93?accountid=12598

 I found this article to be interesting, especially since my school district's county is petitioning for a 1-to-1 Technology Initiative to be put on the ballot in September.  It outlines the slow but successful progression of schools that have implemented 1-to-1 computing and how it has created a more equalized learning environment/opportunities for students.  In the progression over the course of the past ten years, these schools have gone from classroom computers, to mini-labs, to wireless laptop carts, to tablets. 


Williams, Kevan. "WHAT'S UP IN NEW DEVELOPMENT." Flagpole Apr 25 2012: 7. ProQuest. Web. 24 June 2013 .  Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.proxy1.cl.msu.edu/docview/1019782459/13EDC10DAE118E44AED/58?accountid=12598

This article examines the changes one school district is making while planning and building new schools while taking into account the needs for a 21st Century classroom and 21st Century learners.  The district's administrators and planners have designed learning environments that allow for dynamic collaboration, flexible spaces, and furnishings that meet the needs of both educators and learners.