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To read more about SMILE software which enables to benefit from case-based reasoning

A nice example of learning by design.

A very good example :-)) I think this supports the idea that projects should have an aim and provide possible solutions to existing problems. As we all know, necessity is the mother of invention. So when we want to engage sts with design activities, we should be realistic and provide them with problems from real life.

"If a decision were to be made by the minister of education or the government to move in a new direction, then the orientations, the value system and the commitment of design-based researchers would be a natural way because it is an engineering field approach applied in education,"

Hocam, it would be nice to build a DBR team, we desperately need such an innovation in our field. Maybe, there can be DBR schools where researchers can work with voluntary teachers. If some incentives are provided for the teachers by MONE, they will work eagerly in the projects. Just an example: nowadays, lots of English teachers are doing really good Comenius projects and the motive behind their hard work is going abroad:)

+1 for DBR team & DBR Schools. I can try to find some support from MONE side.

After I read this I become more worried about our students especially in secondary schools. There were SBS (exam for entering high schools) and they were taking 3 different exams at each grade, 6,7,8 but now with the new regulations they will have 36 exams. Apart from that in 10 years the system has changed for 5 times. what can be more devastating their chilhood than that?

I agree with you about the testing system in Turkey but it is only the top of the iceberg. For me, childhood ends for children who start the formal education in Turkey. Our system is so demanding and competitive that children cannot endure the difficulties they encounter. First of all, we have very overloaded curricula and students always need to be alert and hardworking to keep up with the required activities. While trying to make use of constructivist understanding curriculum developers missed some points: the opportunities and facilities the schools and students have, the difficulty level of activities, background of the learner and student and parent profile in Turkey, teacher characteristics in our schools and so on. The curricula cannot be implemeted in most of the schools so teachers invented their own methods and techniques which do not match to any of the instructional theories properly. Parents started to find out ways to protect their children and they made lots of mistakes. For example, some parents do projects of their children and smarter children started to sell ready-made projects at schools. Although teachers know the truth, he grade these projects because the system makes it nearly impossible to fail. In short, our system is working but not in the way writen in the curricula. The changes, negativities and difficulties in the system is damaging the childhood and future of the students. Somebody should change it, not the curricula:)

World is getting more populated, and each individual wants to have a better life. And a better life is significantly related to education. So, exams still appear to be a "must" in this racing system. Actually, I am a supporter of the exams if we want to have a more "fair race". I remember the terrible old days when successful people couldn't get what they deserved because of the bribery system in Turkey. On the other hand, I agree about the side effects of the overtesting. And as an individual who has been exposed to overtesting, the question I ask to myself is "How has the overtesting affected my mental health?" The truth is I have been stressed, depressed and sad because of the tests :(

Based on Reeves' design-based research model, this study did the research following 6 stages. In stage 1, a needs analysis was conducted with K-12 teachers in four 2-hour workshops in which teachers created WebQuests. Researchers came up with some design principles. In the second stage, based on needs analysis and literature review, a prototype Electronic Performance Support System (EPSS) was developed. In the following phase, the prototype EPSS was tested and evaluated as well as continuing needs analysis and refining design principles. In stage 4, the web-based EPSS prototype was developed through expert evaluation and some modifications were made. Stage 5 was characterized with continuous evaluation and testing with the practitioners in a similar workshop. Like in the first stage, data was collected through interviews, questionnaires, filed notes etc. Deriving from the findings gathered in stage 5, the design principles were developed and refined. As seen in the example, practitioners were involved in the process, both qualitative and quantitative data collection tools were utilized and EPSS was jointly developed by continuous evaluation and testing. I think the example is quite good to understand DBR.

The link provides useful info about expert resources that enhance deliberate practice presented by a professor as part of a class.

I think the references of this page can be beneficial for us as well, thank you.

A study about two major pitfalls impeding achievement of the desired social interaction in CSCL environments which are defined as; taking social interaction in groups for granted and the lack of attention paid to the social psychological dimension of social interaction outside of the task context

Here are some ideas for integrating CSCL to language teaching. You can also find practical activities.

This is a useful source for language teachers including benefits, elements and sample activities of CSCL.

İbrahim thanks for sharing this source, I believe we should make use of CSCL while both teaching and learning a language. Especially the role of interaction is really important, as teachers our mission is to make this interaction possible I think and there are some good sources for activities.

This is a how-to video, showing an effective way of supporting and promoting teamwork even out of class. It goes through the steps of the formation of random teams using Random.org and the allocation and naming of team shared documents using the blended synchronous/asynchronous facility of Typewith.me.

Dr. Roy Pea has been exploring how information technologies can support and advance learning and teaching, with particular focus on topics in science, mathematics, and technology education. He has published widely on such topics as distributed cognition, learning and education fostered by advanced technologies including scientific visualization, on-line communities, digital video collaboratories, and wireless handheld computers . He is the co-author of " How People Learn". You can see his other publications on the given link. It is possible to download some of his articles from the link.

It was an informing video about the basics of situated cognition, I wish that whole essays can be transformed into videos :) It was nice to support with perssonal experiencec with theory

* Provide authentic context that reflect the way the knowledge will be used in real-life; * Provide authentic activities; * Provide access to expert performances and the modelling of processes; * Provide multiple roles and perspectives; * Support collaborative construction of knowledge; * Provide coaching and scaffolding at critical times; * Promote reflection to enable abstractions to be formed; * Promote articulation to enable tacit knowledge to be made explicit; * Provide for integrated assessment of learning within the tasks.

Research finding on Flipped Classrooms. Connected to some of the reading reflections this week on technology.

This classes can have no effect on students learning, in a short term. For me, a study should measure the long term effect of the flipped classroom. This point can be missed. there is need for not only summative but also confirmative evaluation.

As a language teacher, I've felt really interested in such a change in the instructional process. I always need more time for activities and hands-on experiences; however, I fail to have. I think if the initial preparations are well-organized and students are provided with effective support, flipped classrooms idea may work better than the traditional classes. Therefore, I disagree with the researchers who have found no significant difference in learning. One research may not set a good example for a generalization.

This is a new article by Mary C. English and Anastasia Kitsantas from the Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem- Based Learning. What do you think about including self-regulated learning in problem based learning?

A center for cognitive tutor program. The definition from the website: "Our research focuses on the development of Cognitive Tutors -- instructional systems that support guided learning-by-doing. Drawing from the disciplines of artificial intelligence, cognitive psychology and human computer interaction, we develop systems that provide individualized assistance to students as they work on challenging real-world problems in complex domains such as computer programming, algebra and geometry. Individualized guidance is made possible using detailed computational models of skills and misconceptions underlying a learning domain."

Mostly probably all of you are familiar with Dyned. It is an interactive software for learning English and it is a quite good innovation in the field of computer assisted language learning. It is tired to be used in the public schools and Turkish Ministry of Education supports this.

So perhaps, "motivation" is an important issue to consider with cognitive tutors. Let's cover some of the motivational aspects of cognitive tutors and intelligent tutoring systems in class.

I think when sts are first introduced with such programs, they display high motivation. They are eager to find the secrets of the program. However, as time passes and as they get used to the style of the program, their motivation decreases since there are no secrets anymore. Therefore, in my opinion, to keep their motivation at its highest level, each module (if it's modular) should introduce new ways of learning.