EdUCATION
CASE STUDY: Valparaiso University
Goal: Simple, organized peer feedback with data that furthers learning
ABSTRACT
Organized lesson sharing and feedback
LEADERS: Ben Boche and Selina Bartels
PARTICIPANTS: 16 university students
ORGANIZATION: Valparaiso University
Goals:
1) Better lessons through shared solutions and peer feedback
2) Clear, actionable data
3) Better organization / fewer apps
This case study explores the implementation of Huddle Up, an asynchronous online learning & collaboration platform, in a teaching practicum course led by Associate Professors Ben Boche and Selina Bartels of Valparaiso University. The course aimed to improve the organization and effectiveness of lesson plan sharing, feedback exchange, and promote collaboration among undergraduate Pre-Service teachers.
Huddle Up Learning is an asynchronous online learning & collaboration platform.
BACKGROUND
Information in too many places
"We'd have all this data just sitting there and we'd have to comb through it and figure out how to analyze it."
Professors Ben Boche and Selina Bartels knew that there had to be a better way to generate and organize data around the learning from their Pre-Service Teachers at Valparaiso University.
“a lot of times we didn't have all the (peer evaluation) information in one place”
The course utilized Google Classroom, graphic organizers, worksheets and other online apps for sharing lessons and peer feedback. However, this approach lacked organization and resulted in information silos. The course needed a more organized and centralized platform.
The goals for implementing Huddle Up were to enhance organization, facilitate sharing of unit plans and video lessons, enable peer feedback, and enable the reporting of data and metrics for further analysis.
IMPLEMENTATION
One-Stop Shop: No More Silos
See how users share and give feedback to units.
(Units and names are fictional for privacy purposes.)
All 16 undergraduate Pre-Service Teachers participated in the Huddle Up platform for 4-5 weeks. Students shared lesson plans and videotaped lesson being delivered. Huddle Up provided a centralized space for students to post their lessons, allowing for easy accessibility and visibility to the entire group. Subsequently, students engaged in giving and receiving feedback on each other's lessons within the platform.
"Huddle Up allowed us to see everything in real time. Who's doing what? Who has what done? And also, what kind of feedback they're giving to each other."
Dr. Ben Boche, Professor of Education
using feedback data to understand learning
RESULTS
“Huddle up makes the collaboration a lot more seamless than what we were using before”
- Selena Bartels, Professor of Education
The implementation of Huddle Up yielded positive outcomes. All 16 students were able to share solutions and feedback. The use of Huddle Up significantly improved organization, as all lesson plans, vidoes and feedback were consolidated into a single platform. Becaues the group's thinking is visible to all 24/7, collaboration and interaction occurred asynchronously and gave everyone a voice a feedback, saving class time for extended work on synthesizing feedback and taking more developed steps to improve practices.
the simplicity of having it all in one platform
the
conclusion & NEXT STEPS
Learning through collaborative action - with a focus on data
The case study demonstrates the positive impact of integrating Huddle Up into a teaching practicum course. Benefits included:
1) reduced platforms/apps, and a more centralized organization of data to reduce data silos
2) saved class time
3) deeper learning through shared action and feedback.
Huddle Up enabled improved organization, action-based learning (compared to passive 'video & quiz'), and comprehensive peer feedback among participants.
"It made data collection much more organized."
-Selena Bartels, Professor of education
Huddle Up for tracking learning over time and longitudinal growth
Additionally, Valparaiso worked collaboratively with Huddle Up to customize the data and reports generated in order to show learner (and cohort) growth on important organizational goals (eg. "21st Century Skills of creativity, analysis etc.). The new data sets from this new learning model are described here. The goal for measuring these 21st Century Skills in the VU case study is to help identify the alignment between proposed lesson goals and the feedback received from peers. This data will aid in better serving prospective student-teachers and adjusting teaching methodologies to target desired outcomes effectively.