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lkryder

Differentiating Instruction: Meeting Students Where They Are, Teaching Today, Glencoe O... - 1 views

  • Differentiated instruction is an instructional theory that allows teachers to face this challenge by taking diverse student factors into account when planning and delivering instruction. Based on this theory, teachers can structure learning environments that address the variety of learning styles, interests, and abilities found within a classroom.
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    Another web page for this resource which seems a bit more well behaved. In case others need it.
sschwartz03

http://www.cambridge.org/other_files/downloads/esl/booklets/Jones-Student-Centered.pdf - 0 views

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    Classroom management tips to a successful student-centered learning environment.
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    A student-centered approach helps students to develop a "can-do"  attitude. It is effective, motivating, and enjoyable. This booklet sets out to  discuss how this approach can be implemented. It also deals with the problems  that may arise.
alexandra m. pickett

Consider the Source II - 0 views

  • I recall in my early SLN days trying to find out why faculty were being told to close past modules as they moved forward in the course
    • alexandra m. pickett
       
      Not sure where this comes from linda, but it is not so. the exact opposite is true.
    • lkryder
       
      2004 - I am sure it has changed. It may have been the the SLN ID I was working and/or the classes I was taking. But I did see it more than a few times and it perplexed me. I definitely don't see it anymore so that is a good thing :-)
    • alexandra m. pickett
       
      odd... i actually in the early days strongly recommended that faculty have all their modules open from the first day so that students could see the structure and flow of the course from the beginning and have the structure help them not only anticipate what was coming, but act as advanced organizers to help students understand the scope and approach to the content taken by the instructor. I also didn't want faculty to use it as an excuse to not complete the course before it went live : ) I keep the modules closed in ETAP640 and reveal them one at a time because i don't want to confuse and overwhelm students. But, i have always maintained that work in previous modules should remain open and accessible so that students can refer back to or continue conversations if they want to. If you close a module then students won't have access to their own content. I would have to be convinced that under some very specific circumstance that there would be a good reason to do that. : )
    • lkryder
       
      I am in total agreement with you on that - I won't mention names or courses :-) But I think the message is out that they should all be open!! lkr
  • because my exploration was respected. This kind of supportive environment makes me – or any student I am sure – fearless
  • I can say that I think I am on a completely different level in my teaching and design work.
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  • I have increased my toolkit for engaging students at multiple levels. I feel I will be more vigilant about tapping into their basic human need for challenge, while attending to their narratives. Their storylines were not always part of my approach, but now I will be watching for those.
Alicia Fernandez

Online social networks as formal learning environments: Learner experiences and activit... - 0 views

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    Case study of learners' perspectives and experiences in an online course taught using the Elgg online social network. Findings indicate that learners enjoyed and appreciated both the social learning experience afforded by the online social network and supported one another in their learning, enhancing their own and other students' experiences. Conversely, results also indicate that students limited their participation to course-related and graded activities, exhibiting little use of social networking and sharing. Additionally, learners needed support in managing the expanded amount of information available to them and devised strategies and "workarounds" to manage their time and participation.
Sue Rappazzo

30 THINGS WE KNOW FOR SURE ABOUT ADULT LEARNING - 2 views

  • Information that conflicts sharply with what is already held to be true, and thus forces a re-evaluation of the old material, is integrated more slowly.
  • Adults prefer self-directed and self-designed learning projects over group-learning experience
  • Self-direction does not mean isolation. Studies of self-directed learning indicate that self-directed projects involve an average of 10 other people as resources, guides, encouragers and the like. But even for the self-professed, self-directed learner, lectures and short seminars get positive ratings, especially when these events give the learner face-to-face, one-to-one access to an expert.
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  • The learning environment must be physically and psychologically comfortable
  • Adults have something real to lose in a classroom situation. Self-esteem and ego a
  • Adults have expectations, a
  • Adults bring a great deal of life experienc
  • Instructors who have a tendency to hold forth rather than facilitate can hold that tendency in check--or compensate for it--by concentrating on the use of open-ended questions to draw out relevant student knowledge and experience.
  • New knowledge has to be integrated with previous knowledge; students must actively participate in the learning experience.
  • The key to the instructor role is control. The instructor must balance the presentation of new material, debate and discussion, sharing of relevant student experiences, and the clock.
  • The instructor has to protect minority opinion, keep disagreements civil and unheated, make connections between various opinions and ideas, and keep reminding the group of the variety of potential solutions to the problem. The instructor is less advocate than orchestrator.
  • Integration of new knowledge and skill requires transition time and focused effort on application. Learning and teaching theories function better as resources than as a Rosetta stone. A skill-training task can draw much from the behavioral approach, for example, while personal growth-centered subjects seem to draw gainfully from humanistic concepts. An eclectic, rather than a single theory-based approach to developing strategies and procedures, is recommended for matching instruction to learning tasks.
katespina

IEEE Xplore Abstract - Empirical Study on the Effect of Achievement Badges in TRAKLA2 O... - 1 views

  • Our results show that achievement badges can be used to affect the behavior of students even when the badges have no impact on the grading.
  • We also found that students in the two studied courses responded differently to the badges.
  • Based on our findings, achievement badges seem like a promising method to motivate students and to encourage desired study practices.
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    this study shows that badges can impact student achievement even with no direct correlation to their grading.
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    This is a great resource - thank you. I will be adding to my own library for future use.
lkryder

IEEE Xplore Abstract - Empirical Study on the Effect of Achievement Badges in TRAKLA2 O... - 0 views

  • encourage desired study practices.
    • lkryder
       
      This aligns with how I want to use them
Alicia Fernandez

eCoaching Tip 51: A Garden of Three Presences - Social Presence, Teaching Presence and ... - 1 views

  • Social presence is the ability to project oneself socially and affectively in a virtual environment. You achieve social presence by being a real -- three-dimensional -- person to your students. Another way of saying this is that you let yourself be known as a person with a life in addition to your role as a teacher/mentor.
  • teaching presence is the work of teaching both before and during the course. It includes the designing and developing the course and in directing and supporting the learners during the course delivery. Teaching presence is manifested in the course materials -- in the syllabus, assignments, choice of readings and discussions. Teaching presence is also manifested in everything the faculty member does to guide, support and shape the learners' experiences. Effective teaching presence sets clear expectations and supportive guidance.
  • Cognitive Presence is the extent to which a group of learners are able to 'construct meaning through sustained communication.' (Garrison, 2006)
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  • Faculty sets high expectations for student inquiry and expectations Faculty examine student responses and probes, challenges, questions encouraging thought and analysis of ideas and content Learners participate thoughtfully in the discussions, responding to content and thoughts and questions from other learners so that a sustained communication occurs. Faculty and students strive to ensure that project outcomes are long-lasting and meaningful.
  • Cognitive presence requires a focus on meaning and not on covering conte
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    Of all the best practices for online teaching, the most important practice is "being there." Being there is the core of presence, letting your students know that you are there to direct, to guide, to listen and to share your expertise with your learners. This tip takes you on a guide through a Garden of Three Presences for Online Teaching and Learning - Social Presence, Teaching Presence and Cognitive Presence (Garrison, 2006b). This tip defines the three types of presence and then lists tools and behaviors - for both faculty and students -that support these three types of presence.
katespina

Incentivizing Participation in Online Forums for Education - 0 views

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    This is a really great article on how teacher feedback can inventiveize participation in an online environment - by providing rewards including feedback!
Alicia Fernandez

Early Attrition among First Time eLearners: A Review of Factors that Contribute to Drop... - 1 views

  • Some have reported attrition from eLearning as high as 70 - 80% (Flood 2002, Forrester 2000, in Dagger & Wade, 2004). Parker (1999) argues that “With the growth of distance education has come the problem of exceedingly high attrition rates”. Citing Carter (1996), she suggests that eLearning student attrition in some institutions is exceeds 40%, while others (Frankola, 2001). Diaz (2002), put it at between 20 - 50%,  and Carr (2000), estimate it to be 10% - 20% higher than for traditional on-campus education.
  • learners in employment bring a different set of needs, strategies and motivations to the learning process.
  • frequently geographically removed from the learning resources, information sources, learner peers and Tutors compared to their on-campus peers
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  • Employed adults tend to complete eLearning in their personal time due to workload pressures in the workplace and/or Internet access issues at work
  • Cognitive Load Theory
  • states that learning is initially processed in working memory
  • Learning complex or technically demanding material requires building mental models or cognitive schemas about the subject being studied or the skill being developed over time
  • Learning new material or a skill, for which a schema in long term memory is undeveloped or non-existent, can cause working memory to quickly overload its limited capacity. This overloading can result in a learner becoming highly anxious and losing confidence, which in turn can lead to the learning process, in effect, freezing and the learner being unable to continue.  
  •  “Digital literacy involves more than the ability to use software or operate a digital device; it includes a large variety of complex cognitive, motor, sociological and emotional skills, which users need in order to function effectively in digital environments.”
  • It is this author’s experience in designing, developing and delivering several eLearning programmes to public sector employees in New Zealand, that a face to face workshop prior the start of the online distance course can make a significant difference to a first time eLearner’s perception and experience of eLearning. 
  • This type of pre-course face-to-face induction workshop can also be used to foster the group’s sense of itself, and to identify the individual participants and their backgrounds, along with their expectations and concerns. It is also helpful to have the course design, structure and philosophy explained and to discuss anxieties associated with beginning an online course.
  • The multi
  • al learning tasks of the first time eLearner
  • dimension
  • (1) negotiating the technology; (2) negotiating the course website; (3) negotiating the course content (4) becoming an eLearner (5) negotiating CMC interaction.
  • come to terms with the computing technologies involved.
  • develop a mental model of the content structure and navigation system in order to find his/her way around
  • engage with the learning materials, readings, activities and assessments that make up a programme of study
  • Confronting the actual content and of becoming a learner again.
  • anxiety
  • abandon his/her existing mental model of what it is to be a learner in a formal learning situation
  • embrace a model based on a self-directed and motivated learner
  • undertake the learning tasks involved in interacting with peers via synchronous and asynchronous Computer Mediated Communication
  • Successfully negotiating this early experience depends very much on the relevant skills, circumstances, motivations and personal attributes of the learner. It follows then, that paying particular attention to how an eLearning course is structured and introduced and the manner in which the learner is inducted can make a very important difference in a learner deciding whether or not to engage and persist or to drop out. 
  • actually apprising learners of the issues of cognitive overload and how it is commonly experienced would go some way towards inoculating learners against its more pernicious effects.
  • Supporting learners till they are over the initial “eLearning learning-curve hump”, may involve a seemingly high level of resource and effort on the part of the course facilitator and associated programme administration staff, but the payoff is that fewer learners will drop out at the early stage.
  • Actively supporting, encouraging, gently cajoling and following up on learners who seem to be struggling will help to keep wavering learners in the course.
  • In terms of the actual course design and the structure of the materials and learning activities, then it is a useful practice to aim to start slowly and build the course tempo over time.
  • The one area where something may be done to reduce attrition is in the early stages of an online course.
  • Cognitive overload is a likely contributor to high drop out rates, particularly where those withdrawing do so within the first few weeks of the start of a course.  Greater levels of persistence and completions may be achieved if learners are supported to anticipate, prepare for, recognise and recover from the cognitive burden they may experience as first time eLearners.   
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    Looks at why some students don't make it through online courses- many first time online students are unsure what to expect and are just overwhelmed by the whole experience.
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    The experience of the first-time online learner is qualified. Suggestions for decreasing early attrition are suggested.
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    Attrition among mature adult online learners is affected by sociological, psychological, technical and cognitive factors, critical features of which are the notions of cognitive load and locus of control.
Alicia Fernandez

How People Learn - 0 views

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    Bransford outlines effective design for learning environments through four aspects: knowledge centered learner centered assessment centered community centered
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    PDF book - Making a real connection between classroom activities and learning behavior.
alexandra m. pickett

Online Course Design - 0 views

    • alexandra m. pickett
       
      Joy! thank you for making your learning visible to me! I am awed and inspired by the depth of your insights!
  • So establishing teaching presence is what all the designers, Alex, and even I, am doing when we make decisions about the content of the course, the types of activities we want to include, the tools we would like to use, how we want to assess, how we provide channels for providing and managing feedback, how we want to induct students into the course, how we want to wrap up the course….Basically – everything!
  • From planning, to execution, to assessment, to revision. So this is why developing a course is an “iterative process”.
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    • alexandra m. pickett
       
      eureka!!! brilliant!!!
  • And nothing happens by chance. Everything happens by deliberate design. And I am seeing how this is happening.
  • People are important, so… (make decisions, plan activities, evaluate, discard, adapt, iterate, etc.) Thinking is important, so ….(make decisions, plan activities, evaluate, discard, adapt, iterate, etc.) Learning is important, so….. Content knowledge is important, so… Skills are important, so…
  • From this, I have learnt that it is perfectly fine to change your mind, as long as you have solid justification. This was also a useful reminder abot the importance of accurately matching the number of objectives with activities. A designer needs to avoid creating an objective that has no activity, and an activity with no objective, as can sometimes happen through oversight.
  • “You need to rethink lots of things, to be open to possibilities, opportunities to options, then you’re more likely to be successful,” says Alex. This kind of openness does not happen as a matter of course. It has to begin with an awareness. This attitude of being open to possibilities, opportunities and options has to be actively worked upon. I failed to understand this at first. So I found it perplexing that Alex would pursue what I thought was a trivial line of discussion. What do you think is not possible to teach and learn online? I volunteered several bright contributions. I was still unaware of the purpose of this apparently innocuous discussion. Of course now I know better. That discussion was supposed to challenge a closed mind. Because with a closed mind, we render ourselves unable to be open to possibilities, opportunities to options. A closed mind works against innovation, progress, improvement, expansion. This is a new frontier, and therefore the stance which can reap untold benefits and leanings should be “Let’s explore!” So the question we should be asking isn’t “What cannot be done?” but rather “How do I make this possible?”
    • alexandra m. pickett
       
      thank you for this observation, joy! thank you for taking the bait and giving us all the opportunity to question our assumptions and to arrive at creativity, innovation and possibilities!! : )
  • I need to be open to possibilities, opportunities, to options. I must put aside my prejudices and temporarily suspend “logical thinking” in favor of creative thinking.
  • But we should never give up on the unwilling ones.
  • The best way to spark change is to let them attend an effective online course.
  • I am beginning to see how “developing a course is a transformative experience”.
  • I don’t think I can return to the classroom and teach anything the same way before.
  • Designing an online course has been, for me, a truly transformative experience. It has allowed me not only to reexamine, reformulate and reassess, but to also move forward to innovate and in some ways, to reinvent myself as a teacher.
  • I was therefore quite relieved Alex confirmed what I had feared. I was packing in too much. Even before even before Alex provided her completely justified feedback that my course was too packed (“for you Joy, less is more!”)
  • An online environment is different from a f2f setting. Being able to state it in a theoretical way is not the same as understanding it and translating it into practice. Of course I knew the theory. But when the time came for application in the design of the online course, my knowledge did not transfer well into practical application. This is one of the main problems when there is a failure of the student to  successfully transfer learning, which is basically one of great challenges of teaching.  So basically, what I did initially did was to replicate my f2f activities directly into my online classroom.
  • As I feared, and Alex confirmed, this large amount of group work puts a strain on the students and also poses too many logistic difficulties. Perhaps one or two group work activities might work, but not several in each module. It is unrealistic. So I have learnt, in a very concrete and hands-on way, that designing for my online classroom in this instance is different from designing for my face-to face classroom.
  • Once again, I am reminded that theory and practice need mutual reinforcement. Understanding the theory is one thing. Transferring the theoretical knowledge into action requires experience, reflection, and feedback from others.
    • alexandra m. pickett
       
      thank you for making your thinking and learning visible to me!
  • Having experienced a wonderful sense of community, and seeing how it is done, I do feel that I have a fair idea of the basic ingredients that go into creating a sense of community. However, Alex has set a high, high standard, and I don’t know I have the energy to sustain the community building effort, even if I knew how to do it!
    • alexandra m. pickett
       
      i have great expectations of you joy! i know you can do it : )
  • this is a process
    • alexandra m. pickett
       
      Yes!!! the value to me and to the others in the class is to be able to watch your process. we see how you think and refine and how your ideas change and evolve and that adds to our understanding of you and our own learning.
  • My present ideas never look like version 1! The result is that the ideas I handed up in the proposed learning activities resemble very little of what I actually have now
    • Joan Erickson
       
      Oh Joy, I can relate! By the time Alex reads my submitted writing assignment, my actual course design has already morphed a few times. I've visited your course, it looks great! the activities you set up indicatethat you have high expectations for the participants!
  • Confucius
    • Joan Erickson
       
      wow, Confucious said that? I didn't even know, and I'm Chinese!
  • In short – let the students do the work. This is the best way to learn. This principle, I think, has been demonstrated in this course. And I intend to pursue it in my own course. I see the value of giving the students both structure and space.
  • One of the insights has to do with letting go as a teacher.
  • Reading Sue’s
  • I agree with Sue.
alexandra m. pickett

Supporting the Spectrum - Building a Bridge between Families and Schools - 1 views

  • Reflections of Module 1  
    • alexandra m. pickett
       
      BRILLIANT!! : )
  • The one thing that I did not realize before entering online courses is how it would impact my writing.
  • In addition we as instructors should continue our learning process.
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  • It is important to create an online community to shift the course from a teacher centered course to a student centered course. We want to facilitate our courses and guide content, but let the students dig deep to provide a rich and diverse experience that has meaning to the participants.
  • So what have I learned? I have learned who I am as a learner, and what I appreciate in a professor. I have learned that I need to let my voice and personality be known to my students because that is how we will connect and become emotionally connected to our course. I reflect on Professor Pickett’s introduction by her daughter. I immediately connected and realized that there was a human being behind the words, and she was relatable. This course is challenging and pushes my abilities, but the interaction with students and the professor helps me know that I am not a lone, and gives me space to evaluate my goals and reflect on what my presence is in our class and in developing the course.
    • Hedy Lowenheim
       
      Hey Heather Thanks for reminding me of this tool. It looks very cool! Lucky you to go on vacation, must have been tricky. I have been in the same predicament, being enrolled in a course and being on vaca. Definitely a challenge, you just have to be very, very disciplined. But all of us have that in common. Hedy
  • When I read the post prompt of “Where are you?” I know that Professor meant in the course, but I immediately had a flash of Carl Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot. “The significance of our lives and our fragile planet is then determined only by our own wisdom and courage (Sagan,2011) .”
    • alexandra m. pickett
       
      so, you may think this course is about online teaching, but it is really about changing the world. : ) I need you to help me. Together we can do more than alone. "where are you?" is a multilayered question.
  • What I have realized in this course, is that teaching presence and social presence and cognitive presence come together to create meaningful learning environments for students and teachers. We want to facilitate this in our classrooms but also in our schools, buildings and districts. We want to create shared spaces where teachers are working together connecting, asking questions, working together to find solutions. When we look at the Seven Principles of Effective teaching, all of these principles are centered around communication and interaction. It is about forming relationships and understanding each other. It is about connecting, creating and understanding.
  • This course held a mirror up to the learner in me. Inside I want to connect with others. The social element in learning is vital. I want to connect, I want to be validated and I want to feel safe in my learning spaces. I want to learn from someone who is passionate about their subject and teaching. I want to be inspired and I want to feel like I am making a contribution. All of these elements have been present in our discussion forum. We have exchanged ideas, thoughts and we have been able to thoughtfully disagree.
  • April 2019 February 2017 July 2015 June 2015 January 2015 August 2014 February 2014 December 2013 November 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013
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