1. Introduction to Education: Looking Forward and Looking
Back on Education
Course Overview and Introduction: The overall design is easy to follow and the
menu makes it easy to find what you need.
• Description of the course is found on the main screen.
• Course is cited on the main screen.
• Menu on the left makes it easy to navigate through the different areas of the
course.
• Syllabus is posted and highlights all assignments that will be done in class.
• Course texts are posted with links to buy them on Amazon.
• Rationale is included in the introduction.
• No prerequisites are required, and this is clearly stated.
• Activities and their descriptions are in the introduction.
• Calendar is provided with due dates and with questions to prompt each
week's activities.
Learning Objectives: This course does not have anything titled learning objectives,
but does have a list of "teaching topics."
• The topics relate to the assignments given.
• Youtube videos are posted to reinforce the different topics.
• In the syllabus, there are three bullet points that state what STEP teachers at
MIT should be able to accomplish when they finish their time in college.
• The calendar lists the topics for each week.
• The topics seem appropriate for this course.
Assessment and Measurement: Assessment strategies follow the learning theory
of constructivism and seem to be appropriate for an education class.
• There are two types of assignments: ongoing and major.
• Ongoing assignments include online discussion of current events,
presentations of specific chapter readings through a wiki, and documented
hours of classroom observation. This seems to be combination of
constructivism and connectivism.
• The major projects include various ways for students to play the role of a
teacher and help them learn how assess projects. Work based learning is a
key type of assessment in this course.
• Students are required to create math games to reinforce the learner's
knowledge. A separate rubric is posted for this assessment.
• A portfolio is also required at the end of the course to highlight everything
the learner has gained from his or her experience.
Instructional Materials: Seem current and are broken up in a week-by-week
process.
• There is a description of the instructional materials, but the reasons for using
them are not clearly stated.
• Most instructional materials appear to be videos and online sites for
discussions.
2. • The readings either are materials that have to be purchased or they're
articles that can be accessed online.
• The materials seem to give a variety of perspectives.
• It is not clear which materials are required or not required.
• Most materials are easy to access.
• Most reading materials are appropriately cited.
Learner Interaction and Engagement: There are many forms of interaction and
engagement in this class.
• The activities match the learning topics.
• Online discussions are a big part of the class. Student to student learning
seems to be important.
• Requirements for interaction in group projects or discussions are clearly
stated.
• Faculty to student interaction is present through individual assignments and
professor feedback.
• Students have access to many different forms of media to get the information
(articles, books, video, etc).
• Students work together in real world situations to solve problems.
• Students work with the community through their observation time at the
school.