Month: June 2011

I attended an explorative session at the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (2011) Conference in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The session highlighted a Community-Based Art exibit at the University of Saskatchewan.

http://stlhe2011.pathable.com/talks/18987

Here is my personal poetic journey:

 

LEARNING,

LEADERSHIP,

Passion & Compassion,

Sympathy, Inspiration,

Collaboration &

CHANGE,

Innovation, Tradition,

Diversity & Culture,

CONFIDENCE, Silence,

Questioning & Insight.

These are the words which guide my practice.

 

Short burst of creativity inspired by STLHE2011!

What does learner-centredness mean to you?  How would you describe a learner-centred course?

– inclusive design – understanding how different learners learn differently
– active learning
– mindful of other courses the student might be taking in their course of study, being mindful of flow
– aligned and relevant (personal and real-world relevance)
– there has to be responsibility placed on the student for their learning.  They are not just a sponge
– active learning. deep learning.
– creating environments for learning
– One where there is a great deal of chaos. Learner centredness, seems to come in two flavours.

Instructor acts as a facilitator.  Instructor as LEARNER.
One is the ‘webquest’ style of learner centred design. This involves significant front end design work on the part of the facilitator or the instructional designer. Specific outcomes are desired and constrained ‘choices’ offered to the student. The student becomes the centre of those choices, but within a pre-defined rubric

Open education, on the other hand, doesn’t do this. It allows the student to… ack. really have to go… http://wikieducator.org/User:Davecormier/Books/Educational_Technology_and_the_Adult_Learner i mean this stuff. It goes to a meeting and comes back later and finishes its thought.

Fink’s 5 Principles of Course Design: http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/finks5.htm

• Challenges students to HIGHER LEVEL LEARNING.
• Uses ACTIVE FORMS OF LEARNING.
• Gives FREQUENT and IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK to students on the quality of their learning.
• Uses a STRUCTURED SEQUENCE OF DIFFERENT LEARNING ACTIVITIES.
• Has a FAIR SYSTEM FOR ASSESSING AND GRADING STUDENTS.

Constructive Alignment:
http://www.springerlink.com/index/l2q3820h2436l607.pdf Biggs, 1996

The benefits of Learning Objectives  (Simon and Taylor, 2009)

• Improve Communication with students and other faculty
• Provide Structure and Organization – streamline course, improve assessment
• Enhance Student Learning – structure learning. focus attention

Natasha’s summary:
https://natashakenny.wordpress.com/2011/05/19/learning-objectives-do-they-really-work/

Source doc:
http://www.cwsei.ubc.ca/SEI_research/files/Life%20Sci/Simon_Taylor_ValueOfCourseSpecificLG.pdf

THE CARL WIEMAN SCIENCE EDUCATION INITIATIVE – Achieving the most effective, evidence-based science education  (effective science education, backed by evidence)

http://www.cwsei.ubc.ca/