Day 28 - What is the Nature of Deep Learning? A search for a definition.

A Cook’s Tour of Dead Greeks and Echo Chambers.

Ambiguity. Uncertainty. Patternicity.

This year, our cluster has been searching for the holy grail of definitives…. A clear and accurate definition ‘deep learning’. Finally! We all sighed. The joy of precision and accuracy was to be ours… But then the questions started. How will we know it when we observe it? Is it a process or a product, or both?  Could it ever be linear? We could quickly and easily, reach for a tautological answer: “It is learning that is deep”. Yet this was as unsatisfying as our continual banging on the inside of our own education echo chamber.

What then were the key elements that make up deep learning? Our incredible staff have pondered, discussed and argued. Terms were bandied about. Did it involve critical thinking? Did it involve transformation? Did it involve moving beyond mastery of knowledge? Did it involve conceptual knowledge? Was that term ‘mastery’, allowable, possible, even to mention within the sacred walls of the education echo chamber? At our fabulous school all terms are mentionable, unlike that uncomfortable feeling in the wider education community, where sometimes we are unable to call out or even whisper, silenced by the cacophony of demands from that community to keep the echo chamber door closed.

We also asked whether it included elements of collaboration, authenticity and real world contexts? Lashings of ideas were stirred into the pot.

Presentism abounded with terms that are current and popular within the education echo chamber. Could these terms assist in defining deep learning? What of student agency? Ubiquity? Leverage? Were these terms that could be massaged into assisting in the search for the holy grail of learning? Iterations of definitions were explored. Iterations were torn apart and chewed over. Iterations were added to and altered.

I personally pondered…. What of liminality? The space between understanding and knowing. The space between the mastered and the leveraged knowledge. The space between discovering and generalising, where our learners swim more deeply.  A space that is important within the concept of deep learning.I also pondered whether deep learning was even a concept, an idea, or a thing?

From there,  I turned to ancient philosophers to assist in my quest for certainty and found that they were unequivocally uncertain...;

“True knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing.”

Socrates

Also:

“To know, is to know that you know nothing. That is the meaning of true knowledge.”

Socrates.

Alas, advice from that quarter shed no light on the actuality of deep learning.

SOLO is a  model put forward by Biggs and Collis (1982) and adapted for schools by Pam Hook (2011). This approach, edges closer to a clear definition, allows students, and teachers, to use SOLO as a model to self-assess the depth of knowledge outcomes for different tasks. With SOLO, the focus is on the complexity of the knowledge, the connections made between such knowledge outcomes and the whole, as well as the ability to leverage that knowledge or skill to extrapolate to new understandings.  

Although there may be danger in simplicity, SOLO taxonomy appears to provide an elegant and simple lens for observing at least the linear depth of learning (That is if you agree that ‘deep learning’ is deep rather than breadth focused and if you are of the looking for a ‘product’ rather than describing a process.).

This fantastic tool can be used both to investigate all aspects of a teaching task and student learning output, and search these for ‘depth’ of learning,  for depth of learning beyond the knowing of a skill or discrete piece of knowledge. Beyond making connections and down into constructing new knowings and generalising and evaluating.

A word of caution though,  even with powerful tools such as SOLO, we must be mindful of the richness and complexity of learning experiences in dynamic environments  and ensure we are investigating learning versus performance. Therein lies….

Ambiguity. Uncertainty. Patternicity.

Melody McCombe

References:

Biggs, J.B., and Collis, K.F. (1982). Evaluating the Quality of Learning - the SOLO Taxonomy. New York: Academic Press. xii +  245 pp.

SOLO Taxonomy: A Guide for Schools. Hook.P. & Mills, J. Essential Resources.  2011

Dare you to move

By Jon Keelty, Deputy Principal, Thorrington School

jon.keelty@thorrington.ac.nz

+Jon Keelty 

@jonkeelty 
Blog

I have been involved in digital innovation in schools for a long time now. There are so many exciting ideas and approaches that have developed in the last 10-15 years. The advances we have made in the area of pedagogy and learning design with technology have helped to transform the way we teach and the way students are approaching their learning. Technology underpins many important emerging visions for modern learning. It is one of the core “deep learning” skills identified in Michael Fullan’s groundbreaking “New Pedagogies for Deep Learning” project.

Image: iPad Curious Learners by Fancy Jantzi, on Flickr

1. ACCEPT that this is a part of your teaching toolkit that you can longer afford to be light on. It’s here to stay and it is becoming increasingly important for you to have these skills to be able to contribute positively in your teams and not be a burden on others.
2. BUILD on our existing strengths and knowledge – choose technology use and digital strategies that you know will enhance learning based on research and your understanding of how kids learn. After all that’s what schools and students need to make it successful – teachers who can apply and filter these initiatives through a lens of pedagogical expertise! If you have a growth mindset, apply it and supercharge your tech initiative.
3. CONNECT with other teachers who can support your skill development and who will benefit from your ideas and input. Working together is part of what we do as a profession and we are seeing many exciting developments in team-based approaches to teaching in modern learning spaces which are fantastic for teachers to be continuously developing and honing their craft alongside their colleagues. A personal learning network is only a few clicks away – social media is a rich source of wisdom, encouragement, innovative new ideas and support for any teacher who needs it. Don’t just sit and wait for the next course to be offered to you – go out and design your own learning by accessing the global network of educators who are more than willing to lend a hand!

Billions of dollars have been spent around the globe in education to improve infrastructure, upgrade technology training and increase access to devices for students in a variety of ways. There are many frameworks which have been developed which focus on marrying good pedagogy and learning design with effective technologies. It is not good enough just to put technology in front of our kids and think that they can do it themselves. Our kids are fearless risk-takers when confronted with new tech – but they often need a lot of guidance and support to use technology to improve their learning – that’s where we are ideally placed to have the most impact!

And yet there are still many teachers and leaders who have a view that technology is an added extra or even a “distraction to real learning”. We talk about our “digital natives” in a way that implies that this revolution is about them and not us. There are many ways that we can enhance the learning of our students by the use of technology – but there are also some exciting ways that we can improve the way that we carry out our roles as teachers.

Technology is still an area where many teachers feel hesitant, under-skilled, disempowered and even fearful – but it doesn’t need to be that way! It is way past time that we lived out our vision for our kids for ourselves. Here are three easy steps to take:

Is it time you got your passport out and shifted your mindset? Become a digital immigrant.

I dare you.