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Table of Contents for "Seven
Principles Collection of TLT Ideas"
Chickering and Gamson's
third principle is ' encouraging active learning.' "Students
do not learn much just sitting in classes listening to
teachers, memorizing pre-packaged assignments and spitting
out answers. They must talk about what they are learning,
write about it, relate it to past experiences, and apply it
to their daily lives." Many of the other principles, such as
student-student collaboration, can also advance active
learning. In what ways has technology been used in your
courses or at your institution that, directly or directly,
encourages active learning?
We're
looking for ideas that at least some people would appreciate
and haven't yet thought of - you don't need to be the first
to do it. Describe what you do in a sentence or three and
let us know if we can include your name and email address.
Submit your description to Steve Ehrmann.
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Our school is an art and design college,
so the studio courses make use of digital imaging
possibilities, drawing and art programs, type and design
capabilities on a daily basis.
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I use 2 techniques, both of which require
technology as an enabler. First, I make an extra effort
to come up with projects that make it fun for them to
learn. An example is an eDating project my eCommerce
students are currently working on. The topic is
interesting enough for them to want to give them a try.
Most of them are intrigued by how online dating works,
and knowing that they are doing this as a school
assignment provides them with a safe environment to “try
it out”. Second, I divide the project in milestones, and
assign a new milestone each week. It works pretty much
like a novel: they don’t know how it will end, and as
the term progresses, they are so interested in
completing the milestone at hand, that they don’t’
realize how much they are learning about a specific
topic (i.e., in the eDating project, it will be a
business model called “Online Market Makers” by
Eisenmann). Maria R. Garcia -
garciam@fpc.edu
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Where Information Technology itself is
the subject, then practical projects that require the
student to analyse and state the problem, then design
and build a solution can be very instructive. However,
due to time and cost constraints these projects must be
limited in scope and usually all students are working on
the same problem, so there can sometime be very little
variety in the range of solutions (and the learning
experiences) available. One way to overcome this for
small to moderately large classes (say <60 students) is
to publish a set of practical projects, and require the
students to form groups of between 3-5 students. Each
group must then choose a project which has to be
implemented in the Lab. No two groups can work on the
same project (within the same tutorial session). The
students in each group are then given their own private
web noticeboard system to use as a communication and
repository. They must analyse the project, assign tasks
to group members and all this must be written in the
notice-board system (it becomes an on-line log book...)
The group must then demonstrate their finished project
to the tutor and if time permits, a showcase can be
arranged at the end of semester so that the group can
demonstrate their project to their peers. [Monash
University, Australia] Editor's Note: See also
Principle II for more ideas about student collaboration.
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A colleague has been using WebCT for
example as a means of developing authentic tasks with
group of postgraduates in finance. He has them working
online in teams analysing and designing investment
strategies and building an investment portfolio around
real world companies and work place based problems.
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I have also developed technologies for
the course. For example: 1) a Flow Charting program)
specifically designed to help students master elementary
programming concepts before they've mastered the syntax
of a computer language. 2) A web-sever simulator, that
allows students to create programs that behave as if
they were running on the web 3) A numeric conversion
program, that actually runs through number problems
(such as base conversions) symbolically, allowing
students to check their own work. Editor's Note:
Giving students tools (often commercially-developed) can
aid active learning.
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Prior to having these computer class
rooms, I used to teach course such as programming
language and computer simulation using overheads/board.
That used to be very boring and ineffective for
students. Now they model as I go along. Using smart
board I show them what I am doing and they follow very
well.
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Assign periodic "self-discovered"
readings on the topics being discussed in class. This
broadens discussion greatly, encourages initiative in
locating ideal material and creates an ever-growing
bibliography for that course and for students in later
sections of the course (if I choose to transfer the
citations to the next course).]
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Definitely online research -- visiting
websites for viewing artworks, artifacts of other
cultures. Further, the Blackboard site for our course
last semester in professional writing included a series
of links to other sites that could help students with
their work, became a sort of jumping off point.
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Given a research design, students are
challenged to find at least three research studies that
pertain to the discipline and that utilize that same
research design. They then critique the studies as to
their usefulness to the discipline, and suggest changes
that would improve the design or the rigor of the study.
They use internet search engines to find the research
studies.
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Lab equipment allows faster data
collection and more time to consider what is really
happening. Our labs are moving away from the "follow
directions and fill in the blanks" model, giving
students more time to focus on why something is
happening. Each lab requires a word-processed report.
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Technology encourages active learning
because students have actual hands-on lab work in class.
I always try to engage my students in the lesson
presentation. For example, I have the students come to
the front of the classroom and perform the technology
assignment while I explain to the class what is
happening.
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One thing that I am just starting to do
is use technology to provide virtual access or exposure
to laboratory and other exercises that are either not
possible to do in larger classes, or where the research
is not being done at the University of South Florida.
Editor's Note: In science and engineering, labs
have sometimes become the museum of the curriculum --
where students go to learn how things were once done.
Technology use for such experiential and exploratory
learning sometimes can be used to allow students to
experience the modern version of their field. As this
comment indicates, it can also sometimes give students
experience that would not be available on campus.
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Editor's Note: A relatively new
innovation in this area is the ability for students to
create and run laboratory experiments, and gather data,
while not in the same place as the laboratory
equipment. Among other things, this means that some lab
equipment can be used 24x7, so that it can be shared by
a much larger group of students. MIT has created a
system for developing and sharing such laboratories,
even among different institutions around the world.
iLabs is described on
MIT's web site. You might also be interested in
The TLT Group's
study of this and several other MIT-developed academic
software projects.
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Often because of time constraints, I am
unable to cover a topic in as much detail as I (and some
students) would like, and thus, I give assignments where
students are asked to gain more knowledge on a topic
area. Many times students will actively gain this
information from various Internet sites. We then will
discuss in class the information they've gathered and
the validity of such information. This is a great tool
that encourages active learning, and discussion of not
only the topic, but also allows students to evaluate
materials they find on the Internet.
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Some of our classes have used
Internet-based research projects, such as a learning
community we did that had small groups of students
examine and report on separate web sites of American
hate groups. The in-seat class time for this project was
only about 50% of what would normally have been
required; even the students' presentations occurred out
of class, in a campus-wide auditorium setting.
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Another way active learning is encouraged
through one of my classes is through a tool provided by
the textbook publisher. One of our general psychology
texts is bound with a CD-ROM that gives students an
opportunity to explore the material in more depth,
practice testing themselves, and review material already
discussed.
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Occasionally, I will have students visit
a web site that contains information that they are
covering, I have found giving the a study guide that
asks them to visit certain pages of the site, and find
specific information is helpful. The process of writing
it down after reading it, then reporting it back seems
to help with retention. Editor’s Note: This
may help a bit with the student remembering the text
that he or she has copied, but it takes even more active
forms of learning to help the student learn how to
explain or apply what has been found. Compare this idea
with the one immediately below.
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My composition students are exposed to
many of the principles of effective research and
information literacy by comparing electronic information
sources. By applying the criteria we introduce and
discuss in class to a wide variety of artifacts that
they are assigned or which they locate on their own,
they actively engage in the lessons we would have
previously "shown" them. The level of active engagement
that happens in most courses on campus makes it
interesting when students are expected to partake of
more lecture-oriented material, as must happen in all
courses at some time; they labor to remain attentive. So
this is a bit of a double-edged sword.
-
I also use the calendar to inform them
about extracurricular events they could attend related
to the course and use e-mail alerts this way, too.
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Students in my history classes prepare a
number of technology projects. These are collaborative
in nature, so they teach one another technological
skills while simultaneously sharing content knowledge
regarding their particular topic. Moreover, students
must present their finished web quests or virtual field
trips to the entire class. In short, they teach the rest
of us about their subject. Editor’s Note: One
of the brightest professors I know returned to teaching
a grad course after several years absence. He organized
the course around student research into literature on
the topic, mostly using the web. To his surprise, about
60% of what the students uncovered was research of which
he had been unaware.
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The Library has a Virtual Librarian web
page.
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Case studies may be assigned to
individuals or groups. When students work in small
groups on case studies they seem to enjoy discussing the
case and working out the answers to the case.
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In my websites, students are provided
with a range of reflective, and open-ended tasks that
support the application of theory to practice. These
activities utilise video and photographic images, case
studies and other online resources. Students are able to
save work, view summaries of work in progress, and send
and receive comments from academic staff and other
students. External evaluation of the site shows a high
level of student engagement and authentic learning.
[Monash University, Australia]
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Case Study Application by technology has
been much more helpful. I teach fairly abstract
courses-Community Health Nursing, Public Health Science.
I find this a strong active learning motivator for the
student who is learning new material. The student is
forced to read the text and materials! (I've learned
some don't read otherwise, they study your class notes).
They must then take it the next step and apply it based
on their readings. Well-developed case studies and
assignments on-line have prompted active, creative and
independent learning which is critical when learning
new concepts and principles in a course.
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I have developed an interactive activity
on the web that was very popular with students and I
believe that they learned a lot from this activity. I
use this in a business class to demonstrate a popular
business concept and the activity is very much like a
video game to them, but they need to understand the
business concept and be able to apply it in order to
"win." Additionally, for business education, there are
many web based plant tours available -- real plant tours
are sometimes difficult to organize and these allow the
students to "tour" a plant from wherever they are.
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In one literature course, we created an
online notebook which was linked to an e-text they were
reading so they could maintain a running commentary on
the reading. This was then available for all students in
the class to see as they read the text rather than
having to wait till the next day's class to see what
their peers were thinking. The students were required
to respond daily online. Although they didn't
necessarily enjoy this, they did admit that it made them
think more about the text as they read it rather than
being able to put off their critical thinking till they
had to write a paper on it at the end of the course.
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I use threaded discussions to encourage
critical thinking. Students are required to read, learn,
and then share their own opinions online. Certainly, the
most important part is to see how they apply what they
have learned to their daily lives. Each week there is a
new topic, and students participate throughout the week
in the threaded discussion. Then, during class time, one
student is randomly called to summarize the topic. This
ensures that students not only participate, but also get
actively involved in the discussion. Maria R. Garcia -
garciam@fpc.edu
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In an introductory computer applications
course, adult students new to the Internet, word
processing, and e-mail are required to independently
search the World Wide Web for any site of personal
interest. They compose a two-paragraph summary
describing the site, complete with URL, its features,
how the student found the site, and what strengths the
student believes the site offers. This summary is then
emailed to the class discussion list. Other students
are asked to visit those sites that are of interest to
them and respond to the list with their own comments. I
have found this to be a wonderful way to integrate the
topics we are learning in a positive way since the
students discover how and why to use the information
presented in class for concrete, personal reasons.
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In experimental psychology, more on-line
laboratory exercises are being written every day. I am
using two substantial on-line packages for two courses
I'm teaching. Both packages contain exercises and demos
for every chapter of the text, illustrating classic
experiments and fundamental principles of the text. Many
of these exercises record data as the students perform
the task, and then report the results to them. I have
the students do these lab exercises and then post their
results on Blackboard in a discussion forum where they
can see what others' results were also.
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I have used email and discussion forums
for student learning journal reflection. I still have
mixed feelings about which of those is the better medium
for learning journals. And, of course, learning journals
sometimes do and sometimes don't achieve active
learning.
-
Creating crossword puzzles (via internet)
to help as a study guide for each module (in addition to
online self-help quizzes)
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Assigning each student an online article
(all relating to one topic), and having them summarize
the article. Then, in class, we create a concept wheel
where each person adds results from their study.
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Discussion groups allow students to bring
their own experiences into the discussions, which are
intentionally designed to be non-deterministic and as
open-ended as possible. Editor's Note: I
believe that all faculty can benefit from learning how
their students are thinking about the topic. So I always
try to ask at least some questions (about their
thinking) where I don't yet know the answer. And they
know it's a real question for me.
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All of the courses require a written or
other form of presentation. Often this takes the form of
a student-produced video, shot and edited by the
students using digital camcorders and digital editing
computers, VCRS, and editing software. Music students
will use MIDI equipped keyboards, music editing and
recording software to produce their own CDs. Astronomy
and biology students use CCD imaging to record, save,
enhance, publish and share astronomical and microscopic
discoveries.
-
Pairing PowerPoint with guided notes
including poems that reflect the topic at hand (such as
poems written during the industrial revolution)
including pictures and artwork by culturally diverse
artists having students write poems and respond to other
poems (this is not a poetry or English class) - it
allows them to think about the material and do something
with it.
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Summarize the process or application of
the lesson/learning during a subsequent class, either
through email or courseware.
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In class I use polling software to pose a
question, give students to enter an answer on their
laptop computer and then view the results to see if most
students understand the concept.
Editor’s Note: This kind of polling,
sometimes with Personal Response Systems, has gotten
good results.
Online polling during class meetings goes back over 30
years.
-
My students make us of handheld Personal
Response System transmitters to respond to questions.
Often, the question is answered twice, once prior to,
and again following consultation with a peer. Students
may be asked to select from possible outcomes or courses
of action from cases or they may be asked to identify
relationships between systems. The polling provides
immediate feedback to both the students and the
instructor.
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I post lecture outlines that are MS Word
documents. The student can take that document and
customize it (before or after class) for note-taking,
questions, etc. I think that using Blackboard to post
documents rather than distributing them in class gives
the students a more active role, right off the bat, in
their learning process.
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In notes from PowerPoint lectures, leave blank areas for
the students to write concepts in their own words (idea
from Gannon faculty, reported by Virginia Arp)
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I use my computer course to assist
students in completing research projects for other
courses, teach them how to "surf" the net for comparison
shopping, and utilize spreadsheets for personal use.
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When completing assignments
in computer classes, I have the students use scenarios
that affect them personally such as a family web page,
database, or accounting for their home or business.
Avoid technologies and facilities that
encourage passive learning
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The placement of the "props" of the classroom
set an expectation for passive learning--desks facing the
front of the room, podium, tiered auditorium seating, screen
in front, etc. In addition, instructors who are not tenured
or tenure-track carry the title of Lecturer. These cues
communicate an expectation of passive learning to
instructors and students. -- Kathy Ross, Indiana University
Kokomo
Please contribute your own ideas and suggestions by
e-mailing Steve Ehrmann at ehrmann @ tltgroup.org. Thanks!
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Return to Table
of Contents: 'Seven Principles Collection of Ideas for
Teaching & Learning with Technology"
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