Transcript Engaging Students in Learning Activities

Engaging Students in Learning
Activities
Mark H. Gelula, Ph.D.
Director of Faculty Development
Department of Medical Education
[email protected]
The Online Classroom
• Fast communication across distances
• Anytime learning and teaching
• Integration of the computer
Caveats
• Technical skills
• All participants must have access to
suitable hardware and software
• Bandwidth is usually limited
• Technological problems
Pedagogical Decisions
• Learners and their needs
• Motivation
• How can my course material help the
students in their lives outside of the course
• Learning styles: an important consideration
for every online teacher
Instructors and their teaching
model
• four types of teaching models:
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discipline-centered,
teacher-centered,
student-centered cognitive
student-centered affective
Questions to Consider
• Is this content primarily factual,
experiential, conceptual, or attitudinal?
• Is this content better approached by an
individual activity, a group activity, or both?
• Should units be completed at each student’s
own pace, or should there be deadlines for
assignments?
Instructional methods
• Lectures and readings
– fixed material to students – passive
• Discussions and group activities
– allow students to interact as they grapple with course
material – active
• Exercises and simulations
– provide individual students with an opportunity to try
out course concepts in a limited way and thus enhance
their understanding – experiential
Modes of Interaction
• Two basic concepts
– the shape of the communication.
– the timing of the communication
Shape of the Communication
A course activity may be
•Solitary
(like individual reading)
•One-to-one communication (as in a tutorial)
•One-to-many
(as in a lecture)
•Many-to-many
(as in a discussion).
Timing of the Communication
• Synchronous communication
• Asynchronous communication
Synchronous Communication
– Participants receive the communication at the time that
it is spoken (or written);
• Telephone calls
Asynchronous Communication,
• Some delay between the time the speaker
speaks and the listener hears.
• correspondence by mail.
• "telephone tag" and voice mail messages.
Communication Shape, Venue, and
Timing
Shape
Venue
Timing
Synchronous
Asynchronous
One-to-one
Off-line
On-line
•Telephone call
•Instant messages
•Postal mail
•Email
One-to-many
Off-line
On-line
•Grocery store
bulletin board
•Website
Many-to-many
Off-line
On-line
•Lecture
•Streaming
audio/video
broadcast
•Brainstorming
session
•Chat room
•Hospital patient's
chart
•Network newsgroup
Technological decisions
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Software
Hardware
Network Bandwidth
Security
A Learning Taxonomy*
1. Knowledge: arrange, define, duplicate, label,
list, memorize, name, order, recognize, relate,
recall, repeat, reproduce state.
2. Comprehension: classify, describe, discuss,
explain, express, identify, indicate, locate,
recognize, report, restate, review, select,
translate,
3. Application: apply, choose, demonstrate,
dramatize, employ, illustrate, interpret, operate,
practice, schedule, sketch, solve, use, write.
*From Distance Learning Resource Network's Technology Resource Guide Chapter 4:
Bloom's Taxonomy. http://www.dlrn.org/library/dl/guide4.html
A Learning Taxonomy
4. Analysis: analyze, appraise, calculate, categorize,
compare, contrast, criticize, differentiate,
discriminate, distinguish, examine, experiment,
question, test.
5. Synthesis: arrange, assemble, collect, compose,
construct, create, design, develop, formulate,
manage, organize, plan, prepare, propose, set up,
write.
6. Evaluation: appraise, argue, assess, attach,
choose compare, defend estimate, judge, predict,
rate, core, select, support, value, evaluate
What about Lectures?
• Streaming audio-video
• PowerPoint presentation
• Textual
– Lecture
– Notes
– Supplements
Kolb’s Learning Cycle
Concrete
Experience
Active
Experimentation
Reflective
Observation
Abstract
Conceptualization
Experiential Learning
Experiencing
Applying
Sharing
Generalizing
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Processing
Activity and Learning
Didactic: Meaning
External to Learner
Experiential: Meaning
Internal to Learner
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Three Principles
• Active and experiential
learning
• Dynamic student to student
discussion
• Opportunities for reflective
thought followed by relative
risk taking
More than Distributing
Information
• Processes to assist students as they
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discover how to think critically and reflectively
work collaboratively
establish leadership skills
learn to exchange ideas leading to
• productive problem-solving
• careful decision making,
• substantive applied learning.
Vary Group Size and Purpose
• Students learn to
– relate concepts to each other
– develop new strategies and approaches to
problems
Organizational Process for a
Typical Course Week
Asynchronous Discussions
• General class conferences are for the use of all of
the students in the class. These conferences appear
in every student’s conference list, and include
“Announcements”
• Topical class conferences are associated with
each of the topics covered in the course. These
conferences are also open to all students, and
appear in every student’s conference list, after the
general conferences.
Asynchronous Discussions
• Small group conferences are used by each of the 4-5
person student groups in the course. Each student’s
conference list includes only the small group conference
for their group;
• Private conferences are for discussion between an
individual student and the instructors. Using private
conferences rather than email allows both student and
instructor to keep everything associated with the course in
one place.
Asynchronous Discussion
Examples
• Four per-group conferences
• Four per-group conferences with
topical sub-conferences
• Four per-group conferences with
weekly sub-conferences
• Eight per-week conferences with
group sub-conferences
Asynchronous Discussion
Examples
• Three topical conferences with group subconferences
• Three topic conferences with weekly subconferences and group subsubconferences
– 2-person paper review
– Co-writing papers
– Case analysis
Synchronous Discussions
• Text
– Computer bulletin board systems and Unix
systems have long supported text-based
synchronous “chat” discussions.
• Audioconferencing and Videoconferencing
How to Suggestions
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Use Small Group Sizes
Find Group Facilitators
Set Deadlines
Focus on Goals
Ask Questions
Lie Back
Specific Activities
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Problem-based Learning
Case Analysis
Peer Teaching
Group Writing
Critical Incident Discussions
Nominal Group Technique
Delphi Process and Polling