update md files

en-md/action.md

@@ -2,11 +2,10 @@ We have been writing the missing manual for peer-produced peer learning
 - the “Peeragogy Handbook” ([peeragogy.org](http://peeragogy.org/)).
 Throughout the building of this work, we, ourselves peer learners in
 this quest, have been mindful of these four questions:
-
 1.  *How does a motivated group of self-learners choose a subject or
-    skill to learn?*
+    skill to learn? *
 2.  *How can this group identify and select the best learning resources
-    about that topic?*
+    about that topic? *
 3.  *How will these learners identify and select the appropriate
     technology and communications tools and platforms to accomplish
     their learning goal?*
@@ -34,7 +33,6 @@ facilitators or theorists who want to hone their practice or approach.
 Together, we will use our various talents to build effective methods and
 models for peer produced peer learning. Let’s get started!
 ![image](http://metameso.org/~joe/OpenBook-2-1.jpg)
-
 **Setting the initial challenge and building a framework for
 accountability among participants is an important starting point.**
 
@@ -79,7 +77,6 @@ visionary.” In short,
 
 **Other people can support you in achieving your goal and make the work
 more fun too.**
-
 *Activity* – Write an invitation to someone who can help as a
 co-facilitator on your project. Clarify what you hope to learn from them
 and what your project has to offer. Helpful questions to consider as you
@@ -115,8 +112,7 @@ list.
 
 **Solidifying your work plan and learning strategy together with
 concrete measures for ‘success’ can move the project forward
-significantly.**
-
+significantly. **
 *Activity* – Distill your ideas by writing an essay, making visual
 sketches, or creating a short video to communicate the unique plans for
 organization and evaluation that your group will use. By this time, you
@@ -153,7 +149,6 @@ productive.
 **Wrap up the project with a critical assessment of progress and
 directions for future work. Share any changes to this syllabus that you
 think would be useful for future peeragogues!**
-
 *Activity* – Identify the main obstacles you encountered. What are some
 goals you were not able to accomplish yet? Did you foresee these
 challenges at the outset? How did this project resemble or differ from
@@ -186,8 +181,7 @@ moment, we're still waiting to see the first remix edition, but we're
 confident that it will come along in due course. Maybe you'll be the one
 who makes it!
 
-Micro-Case Study: The Peeragogy Project, Year 1
------------------------------------------------
+## Micro-Case Study: The Peeragogy Project, Year 1
 
 Since its conception in early 2012, the Peeragogy Project has collected
 over 3700 comments in our discussion forum, and over 200 pages of
@@ -200,8 +194,7 @@ and this accompanying syllabus will provide a seed for a new phase of
 learning, with many new contributors and new ideas drawn from real-life
 applications.
 
-Micro-Case Study: The Peeragogy Project, Year 2
------------------------------------------------
+## Micro-Case Study: The Peeragogy Project, Year 2
 
 10 new handbook contributors joined in the project's second year. We've
 begun a series of weekly Hangouts on Air that have brought in many

en-md/assessment.md

@@ -1,18 +1,16 @@
 Authors: Joe Corneli and David Preston
-
 > This article is about both assessment in peer learning and an exercise
 > in assessment, as we put our strategy for assessment into practice by
 > evaluating the [Peeragogy
 > Handbook](http://peeragogy.org "Peer Handbook") itself.
 
-Adapting strategies for learning assessment to the peer-learning context
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
+## Adapting strategies for learning assessment to the peer-learning
+context
 
 In “[Effective Grading: A Tool for Learning and
 Assessment](http://books.google.com/books?id=EJxy06yX_NoC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false "Effective Grading: A Tool for Learning and Assessment"),”
 Barbara E. Walvoord and Virginia Johnson Anderson have outlined an
 approach to grading. They address three questions:
-
 1.  Who needs to know, and why?
 2.  Which data are collected?
 3.  How does the assessment body analyze data and present findings?
@@ -24,7 +22,6 @@ understand - and assess - any strategy for assessment! For example,
 consider "formative assessment" (in other words, keeping track of how
 things are going). In this context, the answers to the questions above
 would be:
-
 1.  Teachers need to know about the way students are thinking about
     their work, so they can deliver better teaching.
 2.  Teachers gather a lot of these details on learning activities by
@@ -37,7 +34,6 @@ would be:
 This is very much a "teacher knows best" model! In order to do something
 like formative assessment among peers, we would have to make quite a few
 adjustments.
-
 1.  At least some of the project participants would have to know how
     other participants are thinking about their work as well as
     analyzing their own progress. We are then able to "deliver better
@@ -67,9 +63,7 @@ has been to show that when the familiar roles from formal education
 devolve "to the people," the way assessment looks can change a lot. In
 the following section, we offer and begin to implement an assessment
 strategy for evaluating the peeragogy project as a whole.
-
-Case study in peeragogical evaluation: the Peeragogy project itself
--------------------------------------------------------------------
+## Case study in peeragogical evaluation: the Peeragogy project itself
 
 We can evaluate this project partly in terms of its main "deliverable,"
 the Peeragogy Handbook (which you are now reading). In particular, we
@@ -83,7 +77,6 @@ are two very different questions, with two different targets for
 analysis -- though the book's co-creators are also part of the "intended
 audience". Indeed, we might start by asking "how has working on this
 book been useful for us?"
-
 ### A methodological interlude: "Follow the money"
 
 The metrics for learning in corporations are business metrics based on
@@ -100,7 +93,6 @@ going to decide whether or not to continue investing. Because the figure
 involves judgment, it’s never going to be accurate to the first decimal
 place. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be. Ballpark numbers are solid
 enough for making decisions.
-
 [![jay-cross](http://peeragogy.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/jay-cross-300x169.jpg)](http://peeragogy.org/assessment/jay-cross/)
   ~ Are we serving the customer better? [Assessing Workplace
     Learning](http://vimeo.com/45989089) from [Jay
@@ -133,7 +125,6 @@ interviewing less than 100 people out of 2000 yields an answer within
 10% nineteen times out of twenty, a higher confidence level than most
 estimates in business. Interviewing 150 people will give you the right
 estimate 99% of the time.
-
 ### Roadmaps in Peer Learning
 
 ![image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/Lewis_Carroll_-_Henry_Holiday_-_Hunting_of_the_Snark_-_Plate_4.jpg)
@@ -166,7 +157,6 @@ members of the Peeragogy Google+ community, as well as to the currently
 active members of the Peeragogy mailing list. The responses outlining
 the project’s purpose ranged from the general: “How to make sense of
 learning in our complex times” - to much more specific:
-
 > **Anonymous Survey Respondent 1**: Push education further, providing a
 > toolbox and [techniques] to self-learners. In the peeragogy.org
 > introduction page we assume that self-learners are self-motivated,
@@ -182,15 +172,13 @@ participated by joining the Google+ community) was: “[Seeking]
 shared aim of learning.” More active participants justified their
 participation in terms of what they get out of taking an active role,
 for instance:
-
 > **Anonymous Survey Respondent 2**: “Contributing to the project allows
 > me to co-learn, share and co-write ideas with a colourful mix of great
 > minds. Those ideas can be related to many fields, from communication,
 > to technology, to psychology, to sociology, and more.”
 
 The most active participants justified their participation in terms of
 beliefs or a sense of mission:
-
 > **Anonymous Survey Respondent 3**: “Currently we are witnessing many
 > efforts to incorporate technology as an important tool for the
 > learning process. However, most of the initiatives are reduced to the
@@ -202,7 +190,6 @@ beliefs or a sense of mission:
 > learn and find new strategies to learn better with my students.”
 
 Or again:
-
 > **Anonymous Survey Respondent 4**: “I wanted to understand how ”peer
 > production” really works. Could we create a well-articulated system
 > that helps people interested in peer production get their own goals
@@ -212,7 +199,6 @@ Or again:
 
 They also expressed criticism of the project, implying that they may
 feel rather powerless to make the changes that would correct course:
-
 > **Anonymous Survey Respondent 5**: “Sometimes I wonder whether the
 > project is not too much ‘by education specialists for education
 > specialists.’ I have the feeling peer learning is happening anyway,
@@ -221,7 +207,6 @@ feel rather powerless to make the changes that would correct course:
 > experts. Or at least, quite a few of them are.”
 
 Another respondent was more blunt:
-
 > **Anonymous Survey Respondent 6**: “What problems do you feel we are
 > aiming to solve in the Peeragogy project? We seem to not be sure. How
 > much progress did we make in the first year? Some... got stuck in
@@ -238,7 +223,6 @@ peers will find pathways to turn their excitement into shared products
 or process. For example, one respondent (who had only joined the Google+
 community) had not yet introduced current, fascinating projects
 publicly:
-
 > **Anonymous Survey Respondent 7**: “I joined the Google+ community
 > because I am interested in developing peer to peer environments for my
 > students to learn in. We are moving towards a community-based,
@@ -253,7 +237,6 @@ Responses such as this highlight our need to make ourselves available to
 hear about exciting new projects from interested peers, simultaneously
 giving them easier avenues to share. Our work on developing a peeragogy
 accelerator in the next section is an attempt to address this situation.
-
 ### Summary
 
 We can reflect back on how this feedback bears on the main sections of
@@ -274,9 +257,7 @@ communities of life long learners to practice digital literacies."
 **Assess** *How can we be effective and relevant?* "I am game to also
 explore ways attach peeragogy to spaces where funding can flow based on
 real need in communities."
-
-Conclusion
-----------
+## Conclusion
 
 We can estimate individual learning by examining the real problems
 solved by the individual. It makes sense to assess the way groups solve

en-md/carrying_capacity.md

@@ -1,29 +1,43 @@
+**Definition**: There's only so much any one person can do in a project.
+
+**Problem**: At times, a facilitator or participant in the peer-learning
+enterprise may feel he or she is over-contributing -- or, perhaps more
+likely, that others are under-contributing -- or that someone else is
+railroading an idea or dominating the discussion.
+
+**Solution**: If this happens, take a step back and observe the dynamics
+of involvement. Ask questions and let others answer. Especially if you
+start to feel the symptoms of burnout, it's important that you find the
+level of engagement that allows you to participate at a level that is
+feasible for maintaining progress toward the project's goal. Lead by
+example -- but make sure it's someplace you, and others, actually want
+to go! This could be a good time to revisit the group’s roadmap and see
+if you can figure out and clarify to others what concrete goal you're
+working towards. Remember that you can also change the "landscape" by
+making it easier for other people to get involved -- for example, by
+explaining what you're trying to do in a clear manner. Be on the look
+out for opportunities to step back, watch, and listen. Try to be mindful
+of phases when active or quiet involvement would be more helpful to the
+individual and the group. It's also helpful to let anyone who has taken
+on a facilitation role know if you're stepping back temporarily. Then,
+when the time is right, step back in and get to work!
+
+**Challenges**: Even though your project may be very important, you
+won't always make it go better by working harder.
+
 > **Alvin Toffler**: If overstimulation at the sensory level increases
 > the distortion with which we perceive reality, cognitive
 > overstimulation interferes with our ability to 'think.'
 
-![external image
-carrying%20capacity.gif](http://carrier.pbwiki.com/f/carrying%20capacity.gif "external image carrying%20capacity.gif")
-from [Miss Baker's Biology Class
-Wiki](http://missbakersbiologyclasswiki.wikispaces.com/Ecology+Study+Guide),
-licensed under CC-By-NC-SA
+If you notice yourself caring about the outcomes more than other
+participants, investigate why this is. Are you all affected by the
+outcomes in the same way? Working smart requires you to focus on your
+goals, while relating to others who may have a different outlook, with
+different, but still compatible goals.
 
-At times, a facilitator or participant in the peer-learning enterprise
-may feel he or she is over-contributing -- or, perhaps more likely, that
-others are under-contributing -- or that someone else is railroading an
-idea or dominating the discussion. If this happens, take a step back and
-observe the dynamics of involvement. Ask questions and let others
-answer. Especially if you start to feel the symptoms of burnout, it's
-important that you find the level of engagement that allows you to
-participate at a level that is feasible for maintaining progress toward
-the project's goal. Lead by example – but make sure it's someplace you,
-and others, actually want to go! This could be a good time to revisit
-the group’s roadmap and see if you can figure out and clarify to others
-what concrete goal you're working towards. Remember that you can also
-change the "landscape" by making it easier for other people to get
-involved -- for example, by explaining what you're trying to do in a
-clear manner. Watch for opportunities to step back, watch, listen. Try
-to be mindful of phases when active or quiet involvement would be more
-helpful to the individual and the group. It's also helpful to let anyone
-who has taken on a facilitation role know if you're stepping back
-temporarily. Then, when the time is right, step back in and get to work!
+**What’s Next**: This pattern catalog has been rewritten in a way that
+should make it easy for anyone to add new patterns. Making it easy and
+fruitful for others to get involved is one of the best ways to
+redistribute the load (compare
+the[Newcomer](http://peeragogy.org/practice/heuristics/newcomer/)
+pattern).