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Imposter Syndrome - it's a thing!

6/23/2018

- Denis Waitley

For as long as I can remember I have always felt that I was never quite good enough for particular roles or could never do things as good as others. This is why it took me so long to eventually apply for a leadership position at school, even though I had been asked numerous times to 'fill in' for roles that were well above my current position. I really can't think why or where this has come from, but in doing some reading it is so comforting to know that this is 'a thing'.

A post I saw on Twitter today had the hashtag #impostersyndrome and it brought up these feelings again, especially now I am graduating with my Masters soon. So I decided to go to good ol' Google and have a look around at what exists. I found an 'Impostor Syndrome Test' - one of those psych tests that asks you a series of questions. It felt a bit like a 'Cosmo quiz', but the questions were much deeper than 'Do you like the colour pink?'. I tried to be as honest as possible, without being 'over dramatic' and my results from the test were as follows:

These results hit home... so hard! As mentioned, I have just finished my Masters and I am still questioning whether I can actually do anything meaningful with it. I worked for 4 years through 8 Masters level subjects and achieved a distinction for 3 and just missed a distinction with 2 others. So, obviously something is there... but what if it was just luck!? What if I do get a role in my chosen field and then don't meet my employers expectations?!

The great thing about the Internet though, is that you can also find strategies to deal with these feelings! Following the #impostersyndrome hashtag has shed some light on the sheer number of people who are in the same situation, but there is also an amazing number of people who are sharing what they are doing to overcome the shitty, sinking feeling that it brings along!

An article that was posted by Time just three days ago states that 'one of the first steps to overcoming imposter feelings is to acknowledge the thoughts and put them in perspective' and I guess that's exactly what I am hoping to achieve by putting my thoughts down in this blog! When I sit and think about it now, it really isn't that BIG of a deal. When I feel these thoughts creep in in a 'real world context' from now on, I need to make the conscious effort to really take the time to think harder about why I am feeling that way. There are definitely worse things in the world that could happen that not meeting expectations straight up. That doesn't mean that I won't learn from my experience and get better as time goes on! As long as no one dies, can it really be that bad?!

Some other suggestions put forward in the blog include:

reframe your thoughts - learn to value constructive criticism, know that it's OK to ask for help and remember that practice makes perfect!
share your feelings with trusted friends! Find someone who may be in a similar position - trust me, they will be out there!
surround yourself with positive people who will help you to develop the confidence you need to shift your mindset
understand you can have 'imposter moments', but it doesn't mean you have to have an 'imposter life'. Use those moments to learn and grow!

This TED Talk from Valerie Young does a great job of providing you with a few ways to 'reframe your thinking' when you suffer from imposter syndrome and again reaffirms that idea that it's OK to have 'imposter moments', but don't let it turn in to an 'imposter life'!

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The Flipped Classroom, Mastery Model & Education Perfect: A perfect combination

6/11/2018

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The flipped classroom model has been identified as a pedagogical pathway for teachers to follow to move toward more powerful learning and teaching strategies by leveraging the technology that is emerging to deliver lessons (Bergmann & Sams, 2014). The flipped classroom is an active, student-centred approach that was formed to increase the quality of face to face time spent in classrooms (Ozdamli & Asiksoy, 2016).

Flipped learning allows teachers to provide their students with the following:

Flexible learning environments: where they are able to implement a variety of learning models, physically rearrange the learning space (as well as the digital learning space) and provide students with a choice of when and where they want to access the information needed.
Learning culture shift: the culture in the classroom changes from a teacher-centred to a student-centred approach where the teacher goes from the ‘sage on the stage’ to the ‘guide on the side’
Intentional content: the flipped classroom needs a teacher who is able to evaluate what content needs to be taught directly versus the content that can be explored outside the classroom. This will maximise classroom time to allow students to explore other learning strategies such as PBL and peer-instruction
Professional educators: teachers need to be reflective and collaborative when implementing the flipped classroom model. The role of the teacher shifts from one of content delivery to one where they mentor the students (Hamdan, McKnight, McKnight & Arfstrom, 2013)

The implementation of a flipped classroom model also allows educators to shift the lower end of Bloom’s taxonomy out of the classroom (Sams & Bergmann, 2013), allowing them to be present with their students while they are facing more difficult activities. By completing a range of easily achievable activities at home, students interact with the ‘remember and understand’ levels of Bloom’s outside the classroom without their teacher, reserving time spent in class for the higher order levels of thinking including creating, evaluating, analysing and applying (See & Conry, 2014). These activities usually take a longer period of time to complete and often require the support and input of the classroom teacher. The ‘traditional’ classroom model sees students often take notes from the board or read information before completing project tasks at home. Flipping this process allows for those higher order activities to be explored where students feel safe and supported. Subjects that consist of educational content that falls within these lower levels of Bloom’s taxonomy are those that may benefit the most from a shift towards the flipped classroom model of teaching (Sams & Bergmann, 2013).

With the advances in technology occurring all the time, educators are in possession of a paradigm-shifting toolbox that will help them to change the shape of education and enhance the student learning experience (Albert & Beatty, 2014). The wide range of technology available to educators today enable them to provide students with access to more advanced content, the tools for constructing and sharing created products as well as opportunity to develop critical and creative thinking skills (Siegle, 2013).

For those who are looking to explore flipping their classroom, Education Perfect (www.educationperfect.com) is one tool that provides teachers with an online learning and assessment platform for Languages, English, Maths, Science and Humanities. The platform includes content to suit the Australian Curriculum, as well as the state specific syllabus from NSW and Victoria.

Education Perfect has been designed to focus on mastery and customized learning. It supports learner-centered approaches where each student is able to work at his or her appropriate level and pace based on their actual existing skills and knowledge.

Education Perfect allows teachers to easily assign students work to complete before they arrive to class. This introduces concepts to the students outside of the classroom space, a concept that aligns with the flipped classroom model. The Smart Lessons produced by the Education Perfect Content Team introduce the concepts to students in a variety of ways, including simple text with keywords highlighted, short videos or a combination of both. After students have been introduced to the content, the platform assesses their understanding of this through a range of question types. A cycle of content learning and assessment continues until the lesson is finished, however, students are only able to move forward once they have mastered each section.

The mastery-approach to education has been linked to higher intrinsic motivation and enjoyment, positive affect, engagement, deep learning, and persistence in students (Simon, et. al., 2015).

It has been found that when students realise that it is the process that helps them to build their understanding and expertise in a particular field that they are studying, they are more willing to put the extra effort into their learning (Cushman, 2015). The Education Perfect platform helps to enhance this process by adding an element of gamification by awarding the students points for completing activities, which place them onto a school wide and global scoreboard. By introducing the idea of games and point scoring into these kinds of activities, students may be more willing to share their expertise as it is an area that they are passionate and motivated about. This is evident as when the students become passionate, they will be inspired to play and then go discuss, modify, research and explicate everything about the game that they are playing with others (Gee, 2012).

Before arriving to class, teachers are able to analyse the detailed data provided by the platform to understand how the students have interacted with this material. This will help to guide the teacher on how to start the lesson where the students will be further exploring this content. Through the mastery model, most students should have been able to develop a grasp of the content by completing the Smart Lesson and therefore the class should be able to participate in activities that allow much deeper understanding of the concepts being covered.

After introducing the flipped classroom model, class time is now able to involve more problem solving, creation and investigation - whether it be in practical work or research activities - with the students working with their teacher as a mentor rather than provider. Collaboration and group work become with norm with the whole class working together towards the common goal of improving the outcomes of all students in the class.

All teachers are able to sign up for a free teacher login by visiting www.educationperfect.com.

Albert, M., & Beatty, B. J. (2014). Flipping the Classroom Applications to Curriculum Redesign for an Introduction to Management Course: Impact on Grades. Journal Of Education for Business, 89(8), 419–424.
Bergmann, J., & Sams, A. (2014). Flipped learning: gateway to student engagement: there's more to flipped learning than just asking students to watch videos at home and complete worksheets in class. Find out how to use the flipped model to take your teaching - and your students - to new places. Learning & Leading With Technology, 41(7), 18.
Cushman, K., & The, S. O. W. K. C. (2010). Fires in the mind : what kids can tell us about motivation and mastery.
Gee, J. P. (2005). Good video games and good learning. Phi Kappap Phi Forum, 85(2), 33-37.
Hadman, N., McKnight, P., McKnight, K., & Arfstrom, K. (2013). A white paper based on the literature review titled A Review of Flipped Learning. Washington D.C.: Flipped Learning Network.
Ozdamli, F., & Asiksoy, G. (2016). Flipped Classroom Approach. World Journal On Educational Technology, 8(2), 98. http://dx.doi.org/10.18844/wjet.v8i2.640
Sams, A., & Bergmann, J. (2013). Flip Your Students' Learning. Educational Leadership, 3, 16-20.
See, S., & Conry, J. M. (2014). Flip My Class! A faculty development demonstration of a flipped-classroom. Currents In Pharmacy Teaching and Learning, 6(4), 585–588. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.cptl.2014.03.003
Siegle, D. (2013). Technology: Differentiating Instruction by Flipping the Classroom. Gifted Child Today, 37(1), 51–55.
Simon, R., Aulls, M., Dedic, H., Hubbard, K. and Hall, N. (2015). Exploring Student Persistence in STEM Programs: A Motivational Model. Canadian Journal of Education, 38(1).

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Imposter Syndrome - it's a thing!

The Flipped Classroom, Mastery Model & Education Perfect: A perfect combination

Kelly Hollis

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