Learning Design for the 21st Century:Practical Insights on Challenge and ThreatGabrielle Rappolt-Schlichtmann

CAST; April 6, 2010

Stress System Functioning

o Increase immediate availability of energy

o Increase oxygen intake

o Inhibit growth, digestion, immune function, reproductive function, pain perception

o Increase blood flow to important flight/flight areas

o Enhancement of memory/performance

Can examine cortisol in response to an acute stressor…

Or as it changes over the course of the day…

Ecology

Biology Behavior

Biology Behavior/Ecology….

Behavior/Ecology Biology…

Ecology

Biology Behavior

• No differences in testosteroneNo differences in testosterone levels among male fans levels among male fans before the gamebefore the game

• Change in testosterone between Change in testosterone between the beginning of the game and thethe beginning of the game and the end of the game was larger, in the end of the game was larger, in the positive direction for male fans of positive direction for male fans of the winning teamthe winning team

Another Level of Coordination:Another Level of Coordination:The same hormones that affect the presence or absence of mating behaviors also affect the production/maturation of the reproductive system

So what?

o What you “know” and “understand” is dynamic, not static.

o Emotion organizes, drives, amplifies, and attenuates all students’ observed thinking and reasoning.

o How kids experience school on a psycho-physiologic level is highly dependant on their prior experiences of school and at home.

Knowledge

Abilities

Dispositional characteristics

Available external support

Level of danger

Degree of uncertainty

Perceived amount of required effort

Resources Demands

o Classroom experiences and instructional practices can enhance student engagement to support academic achievement (Stipek, 1996, 2002;

Turner, 1995).

o Yet, evidenced-based strategies for supporting the development of students’ motivation and academic emotion are rarely instituted in any systematic or meaningful way in classrooms (Brophy, 1998; Guthrie & Alao, 1997; Stipek, 1996, 2002).

Student motivation for, interest in, and value placed on education declines substantially over the course of formal schooling (Eccles, Wigfield, & Schiefele, 1998; Gottfried, Fleming, & Gottfried, 2001; Wigfield & Eccles, 2002).

UDL Affect Guidelines: Multiple means of engagement

Provide options for recruiting interest• Options that increase individual choice and autonomy• Options that enhance relevance value and authenticity• Options that reduce threats and distractionsProvide options for sustaining effort and persistence• Options that heighten salience of goals and objectives• Options that vary levels of challenge and support• Options that foster collaboration and cooperation• Options that increase mastery-oriented feedbackProvide options for self-regulation• Options that guide personal goal setting and expectations• Options that scaffold coping skills and strategies• Options that develop self-assessment and reflection

The Psychology of Success

Why do some students loose that inherent desire to strive for competence and persist in learning while others do not?

What is an expert?

“Your intelligence is something basic about

you that you can’t change.”

“No matter who you are you can substantially

change your level of intelligence.”

Changing Theories

• Middle school students

• Eight session workshop during regular math class

• Half students received explicit instruction on the incremental theory and how to apply it to their school work

Mastery Oriented Learner

“Scientists make models to help them understand and represent phenomena. Their models change as they learn new things.”

“John Dalton was a famous chemist. He recorded more than 200,000 observations in his science notebook.”

“Did you know that when you exercise your thinking through practice and hard work, you can learn new things and become smarter!”

“When you learn new things, your brain actually changes. Learning makes you smarter and grows your brain!”

Building Resources – Reducing Threats, Supporting Challenge

Instruction:• Make demands, purposes and real world

significance clear• Give challenging tasks that can be

differentiated by skill level• Allow students to move at their own pace• Tasks should allow for substantive,

intellectual work• Focus on big ideas rather than small

fragmented skills or concepts• Give open ended, multi dimensional

tasks with support• Encourage participation, exploration

and experimentation• Allow choice/support student interest

Evaluation:• De-emphasize external evaluation• Base grades at least in part on

effort, improvement and standards rather than relative performance

• Emphasize info contained in grades• Make grading criteria clear and

fair• Provide substantive, informative

feedback rather than just grades or scores

• Monitor learning and understanding through formative assessment

• Hold students accountable • Emphasize the value/”smartness”

in errors and help seeking