Blog Post 3: Educational Model Exploration

Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) and Read Reflect Display Do (R2D2) are the two educational models I chose to take a closer look at for the second blog. I chose CBAM because it concerns questions and levels of questioning in people experiencing change. There are three parts to the CBAM model, they are: 1) stages of concern, 2) levels of use, and 3) innovation configurations (Alias & Zainuddin, 2005, p. 32). There are seven stages of concern in CBAM. Stage 0 is awareness, Stage 1 is informational, Stage 2 is personal, Stage 3 is management, Stage 4 is consequence, Stage 5 is collaboration, and stage 6 is refocusing (Alias & Zainuddin, 2005, p. 31). These stages of concern are seen in hand with developing and changing through the process of change or learning. In most application pieces of the CBAM model are research projects. Because of this, the CBAM model is easily adapted for experiments in the professional and school based educational realm. I chose R2D2 because it looks at online education and ways to design and deliver a more engaging, dynamic, and responsive teaching and learning in online environments. R2D2 stands for Read Reflect Display and Do. In online learning, these four steps are often repeated time and time again. In some settings, this model can be used as Read/Listen, Reflect/Write, Display, and Do, depending on the type of instruction used. R2D2 pulls ideas from 4MAT, VARK, and Kolb’s learning cycle (Cartner & Hallas, 2009, p. 111).

CBAM is a tool used by educators to assess innovations and those assessments show them how those affected by change react to the implementations of the innovations (Christou, et. al., 2004, p. 160). Christou (2004) used CBAM to get to the concerns of teachers who adopted a new mathematic curriculum. To do this, they defined the stages of concern and administered a questionnaire to teachers who were implementing this new curriculum (Christou, et. al., 2004, p. 160). Based on their answers, the research team was able to categorize their responses and pinpoint their concerns (Christou, et. al., 2004, p. 165-170). They found that teachers agreed to continue to the new curriculum and there were not any self-concerns on the teachers’ part in doing so (Christou, et. al., 2004, p. 171). Marzano (1995) and his research team look at why change-oriented educational innovations often fail (p. 162). They study the CBAM model and expose it weaknesses, which I will discuss in detail later. Bonk discusses in his article how he implements R2D2 into his curriculum at the collegiate level (Bonk, 2009, p. 1-2). Bonk states in his article: “[R2D2] is intended as a problem-solving wheel that represents phases of learning–from reading and exploration, to reflective writing, to visualization of the content learned, to attempts to try it out. R2D2 is also a means to help instructors consider diverse learner needs. At its core, it is also a tool for reflecting on one’s teaching practices.” (Bonk, 2009, p. 1). Bonk teamed with Zhang to write a paper introducing R2D2 in 2006. In this paper, they basically tell all about R2D2 and go into detail discussing how R2D2 can be useful to all learning types (Bonk & Zhang, 2006, 255-261). I found this article very useful because it starts out with a very detailed description of R2D2, then gives application uses for the model, and then tells how to apply the model for the different types of multiple intelligences.

CBAM assumes that individuals experiencing change will logically progress through a predetermined set of stages of change (Marzano, et. al., 1995, p. 162). If this is the case, CBAM is an all comprehensive approach to analyzing those experiencing change. If individuals experiencing change diverge from the stages outlined in CBAM, then only some, if any, of the model is useful. This depends on the individual, setting, environment, and much more. However, these stages are predetermined and research using CBAM, since its creation in 1978, has been most successful in using the model (Marzano, et. al., 1995, p. 162). The stages in CBAM also have many variables in their definitions. For example, in the management stage, there is a reliance on the individual’s ability to “accept” the change and are looking at how to adapt (Marzano, et. al., 1995, p. 162-163). Being dependent on a person’s ability to accept change and move on to how to deal with the change is a huge variable. Some people are not comfortable with change and do not cope with the differences in their lives, and therefore would struggle to pass stage three in CBAM. The last inconstant I found in CBAM is another that is reliant on the individual and that is a mindset called a paradigm. The definition of paradigm has changed since its birth by Thomas Kuhn in 1962 (Marzano, et. al., 1995, p. 163). Then, it was defined as a “mental perspective” one took when engaging in scientific inquiry (Marzano, et. al., 1995, p. 162). Since then, the definition has been fluid as to apply to different situations. The backbone of CBAM, which is identified by Marzano and his team as a paradigm, is therefore fluid in nature, and difficult to fit to a specific set of standards, solid for anyone who works through CBAM.

R2D2 is a design for online education that requires the student to complete the instruction, rather than the teacher completing the instruction for the student and giving it to the student (Cartner & Hallas, 2009, p. 111). Depending on the age of the student, this could be a positive or negative. Older students who are aware of how instruction and learning flows would be more productive at such self-taught learning, compared to a younger student who needs guidance to make connections in order to comprehend information. Because of this and the stipulation of online learning, this model has a limited audience of higher grade high school, collegiate, and higher education students, which is another negative for some and positive for others. Another issue of R2D2 is that it is limited to the number of applications, in a way. The model is limited to Reading, followed by Reflecting, followed by Displaying, ending with Doing, sometimes continued back to the beginning. This limits the number of content areas that this can be applied to. There are adaptations of the model created by other educational leaders that tailor the model to meet their needs for their curriculum, however, this particular model is strict on the components of instruction. The last thing that I found was the ability to appeal to different learning styles. R2D2 does a good job at including tasks at some point in the cycle that learners of different styles can not only enjoy, but learn from. These learning types included are: auditory and verbal (read), reflective and observational (reflect), visual and spatial (display), and kinesthetic (do) (Cartner & Hallas, 2009, p. 111-112). The down side, R2D2 doesn’t have a defined space for musical-rhythmic, logical-mathematical, interpersonal, or naturalistic learners. However, some of those adapted models rooting in R2D2 are applicable to some of those other multiple intelligences.

None of the articles I used for this blog offered ideas for application when using CBAM in a classroom setting, but I was able to come up with a fairly comprehensive list after researching. Scientific content and research would be a logical place to include CBAM in the agriculture education classroom, as well as any experiments or inquiry based learning. The approach to CBAM and the stages of questioning would be a good fit for these areas. Another logical application for me would be a research project, where students must follow a set of questions, self or teacher designed, that leads them through research on a certain topic.

Bonk and Zhang broke R2D2 into each part to identify application pieces for each. These are a few of the application pieces that I could apply my future classroom: Read - chat, instant messenger, forums, podcasts, WebQuest, and online scavenger hunt; Reflect - role play, debate, annotative notes, summarize, write, and journal; Display - tables, timelines, graph, chart, PPT, and virtual tour; Do - simulation, case based learning, problem based learning, inquiry based learning, podcast creation, video/ film creation, photo gallery (Bonk & Zhang, 2006, 252-255). Through the research I completed on R2D2, the most applicable idea that I came up with for a high school setting is flipped classroom. I would be able to easily apply R2D2 to the flipped classroom instructional model.

References

Alias, N. A. & Zainuddin, A. M. (2005). Innovation for better teaching and learning: adopting the learning management system. Malaysian Online Journal of Instructional Technology, 2(2), 27-40.

Bonk, C. J. (2009). R2D2: a model for using technology in education. eSchool News. Retrieved from https://www.eschoolnews.com/2009/12/10/r2d2-a-model-for-using-technology-in-education/

Bonk, C. J. & Zhang, K. (2006). Introducing the R2D2 model: Online learning for diverse learners of this world. Distance Education. 27(2), 249-269.

Cartner, H., Hallas, J. (2009). Exploring the R2D2 model for online learning activities to teach academic language skills. Same Places, Different Spaces, 1(1), 110-115.

Christou, C., Eliophptpu-Menon, M., & Philippou, G. (2004). Teachers’ concerns regarding the adoption of a new mathematics curriculum: an application of CBAM. Educational Studies in Mathematics. 57(2), 157-176.

Marzano, R. J., Zaffron, S., Zraik, L., Robbins, S. L., & Yoon, L. (1995). A new paradigm for educational change. Education, 116(2), 162+. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&u=ndacad_58405zndj&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA18163706&sid=googleScholar&asid=542dc408bc348f4aae62cd92a82a34aa