Wikis for...
...collaborative learning, knowledge construction, critical thinking, and contextual application
To add onto the pros and cons wiki entry from last week, I’d like to highlight the quote I posted by King & Cox (2011) relating to the major advantages to using wikis:
They are “(1) practical, as they allow for community collaboration; (2) political, as
they offer freedom of participation; and (3) timely, as they can provide the most
up-to-date content” (p. 126).
The following lesson plan can be utilized by the Nutrition and Food Services department as an ongoing collaborative intern project. The lesson plan has played to the strength of the advantages listed by King & Cox (2011) in the sense that the wiki project will be practical - both for the department and as a practical application for the interns to move from theory to practice and utilize the SOPs in real-world applications within our kitchen. Second, the project offers freedom of participation and fosters collaborative learning through knowledge construction. Finally, the wiki provides timely information to the department, and requires critical thinking to build the SOP and continually maintain them to ensure relevancy with the Food Code and the VA internal policies.
Please take a look and let me know what I am missing, or if you have any comments, suggestions for improvement - I look forward to hearing any and all feedback!
Title of the lesson/training: Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)
Target audience: Dietetic Interns at the Milwaukee VA Medical Center
Learning/Training objectives:
a. Work collaboratively on a Wiki
b. Learn the fundamentals of a HACCP food safety plan through SOP creation
c. Become familiar with industry resources and criteria for food safety
d. Create a process map to identify when/how to maintain HACCP plan
e. Critically think about process and reflect upon learning outcomes
f. Students will bridge the gap from learning about food safety to applying it to practice
a. Work collaboratively on a Wiki
b. Learn the fundamentals of a HACCP food safety plan through SOP creation
c. Become familiar with industry resources and criteria for food safety
d. Create a process map to identify when/how to maintain HACCP plan
e. Critically think about process and reflect upon learning outcomes
f. Students will bridge the gap from learning about food safety to applying it to practice
Rationale for the use of wiki: Utilizing a wiki for the learning opportunity will allow students to work collaboratively on the HACCP SOP project, regardless of the gap in time between rotations in one intern class. After the initial wiki build, it can remain an ongoing project for future intern classes. With a built in process map to identify when SOPs need to be updated, the wiki can serve as a repository for the Nutrition and Food Services department food safety procedure, and be easily updated by future internship classes. Wikis offer hands-on, active learning, which is a preferred mode of learning for millennial and adult students alike.
Details on how wiki is used: The initial wiki site will be created by the first group of interns. As the preceptor, I will create a frame for the page that can be used as a guide to write the HACCP procedure, the SOPs, and the outline for the required annual review. The interns will have a style requirement (APA) as well as a sandbox page to use for practice in creating their wiki content and format. I will additionally create a page with references to other wiki sites (tips, tricks, and how to get started), food safety resources, VA guidelines, how to write in APA style and create an annotated bibliography, and the rubric for assessing the work.
The wiki will be based in Google Sites, which can be organized like a webpage. Interns will obtain access as they start their rotation and the access will be removed after they have graduated. There are currently six interns per year, and two go through their management/food service rotation at a time. They will be required to work collaboratively with one other student through the management/food service rotation, and when the next group of interns start their rotation, they will review the information that has already been created and add or update information as relevant. With over 20 required SOPs for food safety in the Milwaukee VA, there will be ample opportunity for each intern to create or maintain SOPs during their rotations.
Suggested wiki-related learning activities/practices/schedules:
- Week 1:
- Wiki group set-up
- Provide resources on starting a wiki
- Interns to familiarize themselves with Google Sites
- Week 2:
- Provide content requirements for review
- HACCP plan SOPs, Food Code, VA Guidelines
- Week 3:
- First wiki group meeting
- Week 4:
- Create assigned SOP
- Second wiki group meeting
- Progress meeting with preceptor
- Check in for any questions, concerns
- Week 5:
- Continue working on SOP
- Third and final wiki group meeting
- Review SOP maintenance document (or if first class, begin work on creating maintenance document)
- Week 6:
- Submit SOP link to preceptor
- Peer assessment/Evaluate group and self on project
- Week 7:
- Meet with Nutrition and Food Service cooks and management to train staff on new HACCP SOP updates.
- Week 8:
- Submit written reflection on group work, identifying challenge areas and areas for improvement in future work.
Wiki Activity Evaluation (rubric, grading criteria, etc.): Evaluation of the intern wiki project will be threefold. First, the rubric will contain several sections that will determine whether the student was fully successful, successful, minimally successful or not successful. The sections will review intern preparedness, content of information on the wiki, organization of the wiki, participation within the wiki group and style - which will include references, APA style, correct spelling and grammar. Second, the individual will be graded on the peer evaluation and self evaluation. Finally, the intern’s reflection paper will be utilized to determine if the grade given was appropriate. This will give some insight into how the intern worked throughout the project, what challenges they faced, and how they learned from and worked through them.
References
Community Action Southwest Even Start. (2011). Family literacy work-related lesson plans. Part of EQUAL Practitioner Action Research project and the Family Literacy Professional Development Project.
King, K. & Cox, T. (2011). The professor’s guide to taming technology. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
West, J. and West, M. (2009). Using Wikis for online collaboration: The power of the read-write Web. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
I ran across a good article on challenges in using wikis (Sharp & Whaley, 2018). They were interested in how wikis affect learner thinking prior to the writing steps. The study is distressingly small (n=25), but they write a nice summary of the positives and challenges. Learning how to be a virtual team seems to be a substantial challenge. My own thought is that addressing some of the issues Sharp & Whaley uncover may be able to mitigate the concerns Lari (2011) raised about learners overfocusing on style and underfocusing on stubstance.
ReplyDeleteBest
--Les
Lari, P. (2011). The use of wikis for collaboration in higher education. In King, K. P. & Cox, T. D. (Eds). The Professor’s Guide to Taming Technology: Leveraging Digital Media, Web 2.0, and More for Learning. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
Sharp, L. A. & Whaley, B. (2018). Wikis as online collaborative learning experiences. Adult Learning, 29(3), 83-93. doi:10.1177/1045159518761095
Hi Les,
DeleteGreat article - thank you for sharing. I agree that there are some challenges to becoming a successful virtual team, as we have seen in our course with respect to wikis. The interesting piece is that there isn't a one size fits all approach. Each group has to figure out what will work best for their individual team. Thanks for visiting!
Highlighting the practicality of using Web 2.0 technology in the workplace illustrates the overall benefits. As business and industries evolve, so does the standards of operations change. The expense of updating Standard Operating Procedures, rules and regulations become a time-consuming process. However, integrating the use of a WIKI to manage these process reduces the cost surrounding the necessary changes. Although, if such information about standard business operations is shared on the Web 2.0 technology I wonder what the difference would be to maintain a secure infrastructure for digitally storing business policies and procedures? Also, if the organization conducts business globally, what are the safeguards in places to govern Web 2.0 technologies?
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting Rhonda, and good questions. Although the VA is part of a large network, each facility operates under its own policies and procedures (as odd as that sounds). Therefore, everything created would remain internal to our specific facility and with the SOPs created for our department, the content is not going to be advertised to the public. With Google Sites, you can limit who has access to view the content stored on the page.
DeleteSara,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading through your lesson plans and how the use of a Wiki could benefit your program and the revolving group of interns. As the first group set up and design, knowing those after can still contribute to their learning with the updating of information and the use. As we all know, information changes as new practices and ideas immerge. Ongoing collaboration contributes to all learners work.
As I continue to learn about the use of a Wiki, I forget that the Google Sites are similar to a Wiki. With log-in information, users can access the information, and it keeps the integrity of the program and information as only those who need to have access can contribute. My currently employer uses google for our documenting purposes, and we can access and contribute to the work as needed and on our schedules. For my lesson, I am not sure if Google Sites will work, but it might.....have to think about that more! :)
Lastly, I didn't even think about the Sandbox for users to go in and play. I know we had access to one, but I wasn't sure what to do when I got there but look around. As I use and review my groups Wiki pages, I am slowly learning more and more!
starblogspot
Thanks for your comments starblogspot. I have enjoyed working with Google Sites in the past, and I think the layout and format is a little easier to use than other platforms I've worked with. I hope you can use it (or find something even better) for your project too!
DeleteSara
“After the initial wiki build, it can remain an ongoing project for future intern classes.” This statement is such a prime example of the apprenticeship perspective that Pratt, Smulders, and associates refer to, “learning curriculum consists of moments of learning situated within the natural ebb and flow of practice” (2016, p. 118). Because you plan to carry the SOP information forward from its origination, future learners organically feel a part of the community. “In order to be a member you need to interact with others in that community in pursuit of common goals” (Pratt, Smulders, and Associates, 2016, p. 106). In the social learning perspective of apprenticeship, the knowledge is “defined by the community of practice” (Pratt, Smulders, and Associates, 2016, p. 115). You are creating the social part of learning when “the next group of interns start their rotation, they will review the information that has already been created and add or update information as relevant.” I’m going to add another military term, this will create fam training (familiarization training) so that moving from learning to real life practitioner is a smooth transition.
ReplyDeletePratt, D. D., Smulders, D, & Associates (2016). Five perspectives on teaching: Mapping a plurality of the good (2nd ed.). Malabar, FL: Krieger Publishing Company.
Hi Melissa,
DeleteThanks for your post - and for the Pratt, Smulders & Associates (2016) article - there are some good nuggets of information in there!