“social network hub”by Mathias.Pastwa is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0
I have just finished reading Essential features of effective networks in education (2015) by Santiago Rincon-Gallardo and Michael Fullen.
On the first page of the article they make a statement about the level of research regarding social networks. “The key limitation derives from the scarce available evidence to date casually – or even co-relationally – connecting network activities with improved student learning. This paper summarizes what is known to date about effective collaboration in networks and advance a theory of action that casually links network activities with improved student outcomes and enhanced professional capital” (Gallardo and Fullen, 2015, p. 5). I do question this statement, but also trust Michael Fullen. This paper is four years old, so perhaps things have changed in the field since publication.
The term social network, in the article, is describing something broader than within a school, which would eliminate the traditional Professional Learning Community design. This makes sense because âwe know a great deal about what makes for effective collaborative school cultures. We know a lot less about inter-school, inter-district, and multi-layered collaborativesâ (Rincon-Gallardo and Fullen, 2015, p. 8).
In my own career, I have created and organized a numeracy network within my district. It is composed of volunteer teachers from most of our schools. We meet synchronously once a month. The agenda was typically something that I would generate, based on member feedback and input, although the level of member input has fluctuated over the three years. This last year we did a book study on Jo Boalerâs (@joboaler) book Mathematical Mindsets. Each month a different school would look into a chapter and attempt the strategies within their classroom. We would then have a debrief discussion about the findings and implications of the students.
I know this is not research, but I also know that a few of the teachers talked about the very positive outcomes they saw with their students in relation to the book study. They also talked about how they are adjusting their teaching practices in response. This makes me curious if there are more stories where a social network, as defined by Rincon-Gallardo and Michael Fullen, has a positive impact on student achievement.
Does anyone else have any anecdotal stories about how you feel social networks have influenced your classroom practices, and by extension, your student achievement? Please comment any thoughts and stories that you want to share below.
2019-07-15 at 6:12 pm
Hi Adam…your numeracy network and book study sound really cool. I like Jo Boaler’s work a lot.
There can be real power in connecting people around shared interests…my own stories would be partly about how networks have *shaped* my interests, and my awareness, and therefore my educational practices. So many things I’d never even have known about if it weren’t for educational/academic Twitter that have come to guide the way I approach my work. I learned the word “heutagogy” from my network, I learned about Critical Race Theory from my network, I learned about the idea of Universal Design for Learning from my network. Casual mentions and breadcrumbs that I followed down the trail.
I think part of the challenge in talking about impact of networks in education is that often stories like ours don’t “count” (or rather, people decide they don’t count), if people need research to mean controlled studies, or even just formal writeups. Also, if people need impact to mean “change in measurable outcomes or grades.” I will say though, Gallardo and Fullan could have found plenty of stories – including many formalized in research writeups – even in 2015…certainly on “improved professional capital.” Fullan is a big name in ed research but I think your questioning of that statement is spot-on.
2019-07-15 at 6:52 pm
I love that my own questioning of the maths have been supported (and encouraged to go further down the rabbit hole) by connecting with thinkers like Sunil Singh ( @mathgarden ) who were equally inspired by writer/thinkers like Paul Lockhart and his Mathematicians Lament (a book and a blog – https://www.maa.org/external_archive/devlin/LockhartsLament.pdf )
Hope your network continues to expand and be fertile!
2019-07-15 at 6:53 pm
Wrote this 11 years ago about the power of blogging with students, and how they start to own the learning: http://pairadimes.davidtruss.com/blogging-with-students-requires-biting-your-digital-tongue/ (apologies for the missing images)
A great book to read is Danah Boydâs âItâs Complicatedâ. Great research and anecdotes.
My question: If we donât explicitly use social media for learning, and students only engage âon the socialsâ for peer interactions… what are they missing?
2019-07-16 at 3:44 am
I am falling a Twitter request for comments. Gladly.
I would recommends Jay Cross’ excellent Informal Learning (http://www.amazon.com/Informal-Learning-Rediscovering-Innovation-Performance/dp/0787981699) as well as Harold Jarche’s work (rebrand.ly/l8fs9i).
Jarche suggests that we need to move from the classroom to the workspace or as he puts it,
“We should not forget that important learning happens outside of work and perhaps even in spite of work. We are multi-faceted social beings. Therefore it is not just what happens in our work teams, or even our professional communities of practice, but all of our experiences, hardships, and social connections that makes us who we are.” (rebrand.ly/l30k42)
My experience unschooling my three children is that what Jarche suggests is true for younger learners as well. In fact your hypothesis that networked learning is at the heart of things, is true for me and my family.
Two items stand tall and in the way: our institutions cannot be adapted quickly or well to the changes needed to embrace networked learning (although I think that individually some us might make that choice), and, second, the threshold of climate collapse compresses all action into crisis mode. Fear and learning, not good friends.
I think that you suggest that there are many networked learning scenarios that are out there even now, but that, because they are informal/casual, we do not acknowledge them as such. I agree. I think that perhaps by always looking for ways that can fit into existing institutional frames that we are making a bed of Procrustes for these potential, casual networks. Instead, we need to be looking for learning effects that work and figure out ways to fit them into the lives of children, not the ways of status quo institutions.
Messy and expensive, but considering the alternatives, maybe we need to re-consider creating in learning what Jon Husband dubbed a ‘wirearchy’. (rebrand.ly/2dxaba) Maybe the wirearchy is just unevenly distributed or even more interesting to me, perhaps it already exists in a form as yet unseen and waiting to be uncovered.
2019-07-16 at 3:48 am
falling=following
2019-07-16 at 6:06 am
I am beginning to think we have to recognize the network as an important, if not the most important part of knowledge and meaning making.
Do studies show often show increases in student achievement? No, these horse race studies never shine positive on technology and networked learning. In fact more research, which may show early signs of replication is a drop in learning.I know we saw this when introducing online reading comprehension.
When you take away time to learn content as you use the tools of a discipline scores fall on measures of the content knowledge.
Yet the variables and goals of these studies often do not align with the goals of networked learning.
What if we focused on civic and community engagement before we framed school as college and career ready? These value propositions get layered in the research.
2019-07-16 at 7:10 am
Hi Adam,
I have juts completed my doctoral research on how open educational practices can impact high school student learning. Specifically, I was interested in how students could connect their formal learning with informal “networked” learning as you describe. This is the link to my initial research idea http://www.openclassroomonline.com/proposing-oldi-version-1-an-open-learning-design-intervention-for-k-12-open-educational-practice/
Some of my findings included …. that no matter what the development of relationships matter when expanding learning into networked learning enviros. Learners need to feel safe and they need the confidence to give and receive feedback . In my case, I focused on high school students, but I think any learners at any age, need time to develop open readiness (Check out Cronin’s work https://er.educause.edu/articles/2017/10/open-education-open-questions).
I also think you might like Rod Lucier’s & Degrees of Connectedness http://thecleversheep.blogspot.com/2013/01/7-degrees-of-mooc.html
Juts some possible examples to support your post…