Here is my constructivist environment example. In the past, I installed the second life software considering that it was a game. I roamed and roamed in worlds that already were created, chatted with people in another countries with my avatar. Then I thought that it was boring. It was just like sitting on Sunshine and talking with friends. Why I had to do this via my computer? This video shows us how Second Life Worlds can be used to create constructivist learning environments. In the video, a Second Life World that was prepared by a group of people called TELLS TEAM is presented. In this world, you can attend lectures, have group meetings for discussion, work on simulations and role plays whereever you are. All participants including the teacher has an avatar and walking, sitting, chatting as if they were in the same room. In this project, learners are active participants. They roam, talk, immediately can fly to role playing sessions and etc. Teacher is only responsible to present initial knowledge. I could not find how they evaluate the learners. However, it is up to you. This environment is just a tool. You can arrange your role plays, your simulations, and also your assesment. Also they have some guides to use the environment effectively on this web site:
https://sites.google.com/site/secondlifeuwnshss/Home
I have no positive attitude towards this application, children at school age always, especially in middle schools, have tendencies to criticize their friends according to their different appearance, different accents they use etc. Clothing is one of them. Now, equal opportunity for education is diminished. Children who even can not afford to pay school fee or price for textbooks may not want to come to school. What about Japanese culture.They still use uniform in schools, they are successfull. I think government tries to change the daily hot topics of Turkey.
I completely agree. I think dressing children like they are in military and having strict rules is wrong but with this new system so many new problems come up. I think -as always- this change have not been thought well.
This is a lesson plan I prepared during my last year of college while I was taking school experience course and attending a public school as an intern. My proffessor Jale Çakıroğlu also liked this lesson plan very much and published it in her book named "Bilimin Doğası ve Öğretimi". Moreover, I also implemented it this semester with preservice teachers at METU.
I took activity from http://www.indiana.edu/~ensiweb/lessons/gr.fs.fd.html and adapted it into Turkish. I also made some changes to make it more appropriate for 6th graders. In this activity, students are active all the time. The teacher only provides them the required materials and answer their quesions to guide them. The students work in small groups to learn the nature of science aspects with an acitivity where they act as they are scientists. The evaluation is process based not product based and this is clearly explained to the students.
Since I prepared this lesson plan, actually implemented it and saw that it worked perfectly I would not change anything, but I always welcome your suggestions. :))
Looking from the MI side to KPSS, it looks rather awkward, anyway. But this latest news make content knowledge upper front, pedagogical knowledge is the next. However, there is no place for pedagogical content knowledge to evaluate, which is also important knowledge type that a teacher should have.
Good point raised here Sinem. Knowing the content is not enough to teach a subject and that is why PCK has been implemented in the teacher education programs since 1980s. This particular knowledge, yet, is complex and cannot be measured with tests like KPSS.
Erdem, I watched this before, a clear demonstration of why people die in ppt presentations :) I am planning to implement different formats second semester in my class like Pethca Kutcha or Ignite. Will see if that will help to keep the presentations engaging.
Çoklu Zeka Kuramı; zekanın tek bir boyutta olmadığını, aksine her bireyin farklı derecelerde, çeşitli zekalara sahip olduğunu öne sürmektedir (Gardner, 1993a, 1993b; Armstrong, 2000; Campbell & Campbell, 1999; Baş, 2009). Bireylerdeki bu zekaları ortaya çıkarabilecek olan kurum ise "okul"dur. Ancak, okulda bireylerin bu zekalarının ortaya çıkarılmasında bir takım sorunlarla karşılaşılmaktadır.
It is a high school which has learner centered curriculum and also multiple intellegences is the corncern of this school especially visiual and artistic component of the theory. Interdisciplinary and vertically integrated curriculum was prepared. You can see a pure example of this curriculum.
As we mentioned about the foundations of theories, I have read an article about behaviorism and I want to share with you. This article is especially for Bilge.:)
Dear Canan, I uploaded pdf format on moddle under the title of reading reflection part of Behaviorism week. You can dowload from there. Have a good reading.. :)
Erdem, this is the list about reputation. They are asking academicians about reputed universities around the world. METU has been actively involved in the international projects and quite a big number of professors were mobilized from the US, Europe, and Canada in the last couple years. However, Turkey has the lowest budget in the list. That creates problems with getting the funds that are needed to create quality research, and thus increase the number of high impact research and publications.
Hocam, today I have read about the details from news and also had conversation with my friends at work, the results actually seems to be reliable and proud. And yes, METU has the lowest budget!. Some details about the list:
''Dünyanın en güçlü 100 üniversite markasını'' belirlemek amacıyla yapılan ankette, katılımcılardan hem eğitim hem araştırma alanında ''mükemmel'' olarak tanımladıkları en fazla 15 üniversiteyi seçmeleri istendi. Katılımcılara, ''En başarılı mezununuzun lisansüstü eğitim için hangi üniversiteye gitmesini önerirsiniz?'' gibi sorular yöneltildi.
source:http://www.cnnturk.com/2013/turkiye/03/05/odtu.dunyanin.ilk.60.universitesi.arasinda/698873.0/index.html
On another list run by METU itself, URAP, METU comes 489th in 2012 listing, not URAP but for THE having so much impact on worldwide scale I'm not sure how free it is from political influence.
Recently I came across with this paper.
According to authors Learning Science has at least 4 dimensions:
Education, Neuroscience, Psychology and Machine Learning.
By the way, just a fresh news: Next semester we may have a "Learning Science" course offered by Evrim Hoca ;)
yet the expectations held in the mind of the teacher—or the parent, or the manager, or the coach—can make an enormous difference.
They create a warmer “socioemotional climate” for the learners they regard as high-potential, often conveying this warmth through non-verbal signals: a nod, an encouraging smile, a touch on the shoulder.
They teach more material, and more difficult material, to learners they see as especially promising.
They give up-and-coming learners more opportunities to contribute, including additional time to respond to questions.
They offer their “special” learners feedback on performance that is more detailed and more personalized—not just a generic “Good job.”
Ok, I have been trying to explain how I approach teaching in higher education. This explains it clearly. Indeed, I do have very high expectations from my students and I believe high expectations bring greater achievement.