Today I presented my Research to Practice session at the MAET (Master’s of Educational Technology) GREAT15 Conference at NUI Galway, put on by Michigan State University. The main question that fueled my research and thought process was, how can film or imagery help students develop revision thinking and lead to better formal writing?
After reviewing film of my session and talking to several participants there are a couple of moment I would like to focus on in this reflection. First, it was a very difficult process to narrow down exactly what to focus on during a thirty minute session. Especially when that session is trying to represent an idea that encompasses an entire unit. I chose to concentrate on the blocking process before filming because this seemed to highlight the change in thought process/different perspective that students would have to take in order to transition from written story to film. This process is what would fuel revision of their original story eventually. I felt that if I could get this moment across to my session audience, they would be able to understand a bit about the overarching goal I am hoping to achieve with my kids next school year.
Based on the feedback, everyone was able to understand my perspective and consider the use of film as a revision tool. A few participants showed interest in further discussing the distinction between student generated work and other texts they are presented with and interacted with in the classroom. Two participants wished that they had more time to interact with their peers and the presenter about the ideas and unit plan that was mentioned throughout the conversation. They also mentioned during the presentation as well as afterwards that there were several “take away” observations that they had made throughout the lesson. This feedback let me know that participants were engaged and that it would have been okay to let the conversation flow a little longer or go a little deeper into my vision for the unit I am currently creating based on this research.
This experience was so informative and really pushed me to consider presenting research and my own material from many different perspectives. I feel that this opportunity has fueled a desire to seek out other opportunities to share my ideas in this sort of setting in the near future.
technology and ela 