Guiding Questions: Aligning Online Course Experiences with Teaching and Learning Goals
•Download as PPT, PDF•
1 like•1,096 views
This document summarizes a presentation about aligning the learning management system Vista with teaching and learning goals. It discusses: 1. The presentation provides an overview of how the instructors' philosophy of learning and goals for student learning influenced the design of Vista. It also explains challenges faced and lessons learned. 2. A learning sequence in Vista is described that scaffolds an inquiry-based process through investigations, readings, collaboration, feedback, and reflection. Rubrics are used to assess student work. 3. Both cognitive apprenticeship and engagement are fostered through individual and group work that allows dialogue between students and faculty. Formative assessment guides student learning.
Recommended
More Related Content
What's hot
What's hot (20)
Viewers also liked
Viewers also liked (19)
Similar to Guiding Questions: Aligning Online Course Experiences with Teaching and Learning Goals
Similar to Guiding Questions: Aligning Online Course Experiences with Teaching and Learning Goals (20)
More from Gail Matthews-DeNatale
More from Gail Matthews-DeNatale (20)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
Guiding Questions: Aligning Online Course Experiences with Teaching and Learning Goals
- 1. Guiding Questions: Aligning Vista with teaching and learning goals NERCOMP WebCT User Group December 6th , 2006 Jason Gorman Gail Matthews-DeNatale Simmons College
- 2. First, some context This talk is about Vista, but in the context of: Instructors’ philosophy of learning Goals for student learning An expanding universe of technical options (Web 2.0)
- 3. Presentation introduction and overview This presentation provides: An overview of intellectual “pre-work” that preceded production A sample learning sequence An explanation of how philosophy/goals affect design A discussion of challenges and lessons learned
- 4. A bit about “Conscience and Consumption: the Tao of Shoe”
- 5. Guiding questions 1. What is a learning community? 2. How is it fostered through instructional design expertise and technical tools (e.g., Vista, wikis)? 3. How can we know if students are achieving goals for learning and engagement (learning community)? 4. What were the challenges for this project, and what have we learned?
- 6. Guiding question #1 What is a learning community?
- 7. Learning COMMUNITY Most frequently we focus on “community” 1. Mutually-held sense of responsibility 2. Trust 3. Spontaneity 4. Comfort Without articulating …
- 8. “LEARNING community” 1. Are self-aware/explicit about the relationship between values and filters put on evidence 2. Perceive their work as part of a larger effort for meaning-making 3. Ground discussion/reasoning in evidence … and the whole is greater than the sum of parts … what the professors mean by “learning,” that participants:
- 9. Inquiry-based and student-centered learning Common criticisms: Inadequate instructor involvement Lacks depth Is touchy-feely The “blind leading the blind” Difficult to assess
- 10. Learning (and community) by design The devil is in the details of design, for example: Rubrics Assignment sequence and timing Discussion writing prompts Formative and embedded assessment
- 11. Pedagogical needs (in sum) Organization (keeping track) Cognitive mapping (you are here …) Scaffolding the inquiry process (cognitive apprenticeship) * Inquiry-based, student-centered learning (successful outcome) * Collins, Seely Brown, Holum, “Cognitive Apprenticeship: Making Thinking Visible,” 1991
- 12. Guiding question #2 How is the learning community fostered through instructional design expertise and technical tools (e.g., Vista, wikis)?
- 13. “Assignments” unfold over two weeks, e.g.: Week 1: What is the impact of our general consumption on the environment? Week 2: How does green consumption lessen impact on the environment? Learning sequence: guiding questions
- 14. Learning sequence Investigation - What’s in your closet? Readings - “Cleaning the closet” - Bhopal Case Study Overview Overview Page (OVP) Wiki Collaboration Collaborative writing Wiki Sweeper One person responsible for clean-up/final edits Discussion Vista in groups of 3s Faculty Feedback Vista “journal” group of 1 Revise Reflect/Report MS Word Grade
- 17. Investigation Readings Overview Wiki Collaboration Wiki Sweeper Discussion Faculty Feedback Revise Reflect/Report Grade Learning Sequence Outstanding Satisfactory Poor Quality of contributions If this person were not a member of the group, the quality as a whole would be diminished Contributions are well substantiated and often persuasive If this person were not a member of the group, valuable time would be saved and the quality improved Ground Reasoning in Evidence Explicit about values and filters Documentation of Reasoning and Sources Rubrics, for example:
- 23. Investigation Readings Overview Wiki Collaboration Wiki Sweeper Discussion Faculty Feedback Revise Reflect/Report Grade Learning Sequence Jane Student Doe Outstanding Satisfactory Poor Quality of contributions Because … For example x, y, z Ground Reasoning in Evidence Because … For example x, y, z Explicit about values and filters Because … For example x, y, z Documentation of Reasoning and Sources Because … For example x, y, z Self-assessment against a rubric, for example:
- 24. Guiding Question #3 How can we know if students are achieving goals for learning and engagement (learning community)?
- 25. Learning: Cognitive apprenticeship Investigation - What’s in your closet? Readings - “Cleaning the closet” - Bhopal Case Study Overview Overview Page (OVP) Wiki Collaboration Collaborative writing Wiki Sweeper One person responsible for clean-up/final edits Discussion Vista in groups of 3s Faculty Feedback Vista “journal” group of 1 Revise Reflect/Report MS Word Grade rubric In dialogue with rubric Scaffolding
- 26. Community: Engagement and relationships Investigation - What’s in your closet? Readings - “Cleaning the closet” - Bhopal Case Study Overview Overview Page (OVP) Wiki Collaboration Collaborative writing Wiki Sweeper One person responsible for clean-up/final edits Discussion Vista in groups of 3s Faculty Feedback Vista “journal” group of 1 Revise Reflect/Report MS Word Grade Individual work Many to many Many to one S S S S S F S S S FS One to one S
- 27. Guiding Question #4 What were the challenges for this project, and what have we learned?
- 28. What were the challenges? Creating a space in Vista that allows students and faculty to integrate learning across two courses and the seminar Developing a system for formative assessment that guides student learning, but is also manageable for the faculty Deciding when to use the wiki and when to use Vista
- 29. What were the challenges? The Great Vista / Wiki Debate At one point, faculty wanted to only use wiki Step back and consider what each tool affords
- 30. Wiki / Vista Wiki Pro: • Collaborative authoring • Ease of use / fluid / nonlinear • Learners have a greater sense of control (learner- empowered) Con: • Nonlinear • Navigation manually added • Public and/or no way to scale enrollment Vista Pro: • Modules helpful for guiding & scaffolding process • Discussions allow private dialogue Con: • Can’t connect across courses • Tools for students not as robust as tools for designers • Difficult for students to coauthor / share documents
- 31. Learning management OR learning community? Web 2.0 - type tools are being built into LMSs, but something gets lost in translation student-centered learning use scenarios How can we ensure that the next generation LMS can support learning that involves collaborative work and co-created knowledge- making (many-to-many)? both public (world readable) and private presence? connected learning across courses?
Editor's Notes
- For 3rd point, add in which faculty deliberate the strengths/weaknesses of Vista as compared with another instructional technology: the wiki
- pre-work that preceded production: the process of articulating pedagogical philosophy and learning goals learning sequence developed for Conscience and Consumption, a “learning community” comprised of two courses and an integrative seminar – students are enrolled in all three as a cohort An overlay that explains how philosophy/goals affected use (and selection) of technology in this instance A discussion of challenges and lessons learned
- Explanation of what the project is – About this “learning community” Chemistry course paired with a Philosophy course, plus the integrative seminar. Content: For the chemistry, students investigate the science associated with “green” and non-green practices. For the philosophy, students investigate the complex ethical decisions associated with environmental practice (both on the individual level of life choice and in the broader context of politics and policy-making) Pedagogy: Chemistry professor advocates “inquiry-based learning.” Philosophy professor advocates a student- centered approach in which students grapple with issues and philosophical questions on their own before reading what philosophers have to say on a given topic.
- This presentation is divided into four parts. Each section addresses one of our four guiding questions.
- If haven’t mentioned already, note that LC = 2 courses, 1 integrative seminar, 1 cohort of students
- 1. , perceive work as part of a larger effort (contributing to a professional record) which affects the way they document their work (so that it can be shared, replicated, tested, etc.) -- (whole greater than the sum of its parts) -- “learning community” is better than learning, community
- Inadequate instructor involvement Low in content because student exploration and discovery takes up too much time Inquiry work is touchy-feely The “blind leading the blind” misconceptions are reinforced during student-led discussions Impossible to assess individual student achievement in a group exercise These are real possibilities when instructional design isn’t carefully planned and implemented – it’s not magic that just happens.
- For example: Rubrics (provide transparency of expectations) Assignment sequence and timing (e.g., do you have them look in their closets first, then read an article or vice versa?) Discussion writing prompts Formative assessment Instructor comments Student reflection, revisions, self-assessment
- Need to make it easy for students to find information for both courses and the seminar (one-stop shopping for the learning community) Organization of materials within Vista mirrors the learning community’s flow of inquiry (topic/question-based as opposed to module/session #) Organization helps students traverse a bridge between novice and expert understanding (cognitive apprenticeship and guided inquiry)
- Go through each step and explain what’s happening, then, in the slides below, we can dig deeper into the 4 major questions posed above. We’re used to thinking in terms of discrete “activities” instead of learning experiences that unfold over time through a sequence of thoughtfully interconnected activities – each phase of the sequence is designed to deepen learning and/or produce new insights
- Provides requisite organization Layers of questions provide a map of: the guiding questions of the course student progression from novice to expert understanding how issues within chemistry and ethics interrelate
- At the conclusion of collaborative writing in the wiki, students in each group take turns editing and “pulling together” the group’s work
- Each student is in a “group of 1” discussion (“Journal”) that only she and faculty can see Student description of their contribution Self-evaluation using rubric Evaluation of group and others within the group using rubric
- Referring to the assignment rubric, the instructors provide feedback Discussion board used as student’s private space to self-assess, ask questions and receive guidance Students rewrite and resubmit one or more times Faculty do not give a grade until at least one round of edits has been completed Cite Wynne Harlen et al The Assessment Reform Group, 2002 meta study Testing, Motivation, and Learning http://arg.educ.cam.ac.uk/TML%20BOOKLET%20complete.pdf Grades short circuit learning – hold off on giving them as long as you can!