ETAP640

The concept of the zone of proximal development was originally developed by Vygotsky to argue against the use of standardized tests

Last term I asked my students to provide feedback on the software engineering course I teach. One student reported that, although he liked the course and appreciated that I'd spent most of my career in the "real world," many times he felt that I was doing corporate training rather than teaching.

For many years of my business career, it was my responsibility to train clients on the best ways to use the products and services my company sold them. My student's remarks led me to ask myself many questions. Was I really still behaving like a trainer? What assumptions was I making about teaching and my primary responsibility to my students? And fundamentally, what is the difference between teaching and training? In this column I'd like to share my thoughts on these issues and examine how teaching and training are viewed differently in the halls of academia from in corporate boardrooms. Perhaps this will help you think constructively about what your organization values in its employees and what it does to further their professional development.

each has many alternate definitions, including: To cause to know something To guide the studies of To impart the knowledge of To instruct by precept, example, or experience Definitions for train are: To form by instruction, discipline, or drill To make prepared for a test of skill

with opposing viewpoints based on asking and answering questions

negative method of hypothesis elimination

Begin with a question that is concrete and based on concrete experience that the students can all relate to. Students need the prerequisite knowledge for the discussion to begin or the discussion can initially devolve into an explanation of required preknowledge. Through response, students verify their understanding of the question. Students provide possible answers or resolutions to the question. Often the answers should draw on personal experience. Subsidiary questions are explored based upon responses.

primary assessment involves the quality of the discussion

There is a danger of the instructor dominating the discussion

Simulations

Learning Centers

Journals/Blogs

a situation where an object’s sensory characteristics intuitively imply its functionality and use.

An affordance is a desirable property of a user interface – software which naturally leads people to take the correct steps to accomplish their goals.