Supporting the Collaborative Learning of Practical Skills with Computer-Mediated Communications Technology Supporting the Collaborative Learning of Practical Skills with Computer-Mediated Communications Technology Mark A. Edwards School of Business and Management, Brunel University Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB8 3PH, United Kingdom Tel: +44 1895 274000 Fax: +44 1895 203149 mark.edwards@brunel.ac.uk Fintan Clear School of Business and Management, Brunel University Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB8 3PH, United Kingdom Tel: +44 20 8891 0121 Fax: +44 20 8891 8291 fintan.clear@brunel.ac.uk Introduction 'People and Computers' is an undergraduate module provided for students by the School of Business and Management at Brunel University, London. In the British context, Light et al. (1997) explain that increasing demands on lecturer time are due to "the rapid expansion in access to university level education with diminishing funding per student", and suggests that "underfunded expansion prejudices the viability of traditional modes of teaching and learning". Flexible Learning Research Methodology Conclusions References
Collaborative Learning/Learning with Peers | Institute for Writing and Rhetoric Though peer group work is the most commonly used method for collaborative learning, many instructors employ collaborative assignments in order to reap the benefits of peer learning. Consider, for example: Collaborative Research Assignments The collaborative research assignment allows students to work together to explore a topic relevant to the course, but not necessarily covered in class. Not all collaborative research assignments involve "big" tasks. Group Presentations Group presentations are common in many Dartmouth classrooms. Some instructors express concern that group presentations allow weaker students to depend on stronger ones for their success in the course. Collaborative Papers Like collaborative research assignments or group presentations, collaborative papers permit instructors to ask students to tackle an idea associated with the course that has not been covered in class. Finally, collaborative writing makes students more conscious of their own writing processes and styles.
CTE - Active Learning Research suggests that audience attention in lectures starts to wane every 10-20 minutes. Incorporating active learning techniques once or twice during a 50-minute class (twice to or thrice for a 75-minute class) will encourage student engagement. Active learning also: Implementing any new teaching technique can be a daunting or challenging task. Some students may not accept new learning activities with complete ease. Angelo, T.A. & Cross, K.P. (1993). Bonwell, C. Davis, B.G. (2009). Deslauriers L, Schelew E, Wieman C. (2011). Felder, R.M. & Brent, R. (1996). Felder, R.M. & Brent, R. (2009).
When Teachers and Administrators Collaborate Those of us in education know that systemic change requires collaboration. And when trying to implement large-scale initiatives like the Common Core State Standards that require rethinking professional learning, curriculum and instructional materials, family engagement activities, assessment and other aspects of the education system, collaboration is particularly important. But too often the rhetoric of change indicates that it is being done to teachers, not with them -- particularly change driven by politicians who know little about education and are more conscious of the political realities they face than the best interests of students. Yet there are places across the country where that is not the case. Collaboration in ABC ABC has been widely praised for the collaborative relationship that exists between its teachers and administrators. What makes ABC so special is not just the fact that a strong partnership between teachers and administrators exists. What Does It Look Like?
Collaborative Learning versus Peer-to-Peer Learning Collaborative Learning versus Peer-to-Peer Learning It’s misleading to see teachers as the only people students learn from during their educational journey. Students learn from each other too. Of course, this will always happen informally and spontaneously. These two methods enable students to share and shape the learning process themselves, acting as participants and not just recipients. And with new technologies making them even more invaluable, here’s our quick guide… What are they? Collaborative learning is where students work in small groups to discuss concepts and find solutions to problems. Peer-to-peer learning is where one student leads another through a concept, in which the first student is an ‘expert’ and the second is a novice. What’s the difference? Collaborative learning is learning with each other. Peer-to-peer learning is learning from each other. This distinction is important. Which is better? They’re equally valid! When could you use collaborative learning?
Situated Learning and John Seely Brown - Your Active Learning Classroom - Sparks John Seely Brown John Seely Brown et al published Situated Learning and the Culture of Learning in 1989. It is an important foundation block in the evolving notions of Situated Learning and Active Learning. The authors argue that all knowledge is situated, that is, it has a context. The biologist practices his craft in the world of flora and fauna and addresses real problems. All knowledge is, we believe, like language. The authors turn to the subject of tools, including the tools of the specialists students should eventually emulate. …students need much more than abstract concepts and self-contained examples. In the school setting students confront precise, well-defined problems, formal definitions, and symbol manipulation as the challenges and the problem-solving techniques that go with them. Furthermore, though schooling seeks to encourage problem solving, it disregards most of the inventive heuristics that students bring to the classroom.
David Perdue's Charles Dickens Page - Oliver Twist Asks for More Reading Dickens Oliver Asks for More Oliver Twist - Condensed from Chapter Two Nine-year-old Oliver is a resident in the parish workhouse where the boys are "issued three meals of thin gruel a day, with an onion twice a week, and half a roll on Sundays." The workhouse is run by Bumble the Beadle, Limbkins is Chairman of the Board of Guardians for the workhouse. The room in which the boys were fed, was a large stone hall, with a copper at one end: out of which the master, dressed in an apron for the purpose, and assisted by one or two women, ladled the gruel at mealtimes. The bowls never wanted washing. The evening arrived; the boys took their places. 'Please, sir, I want some more.' The master was a fat, healthy man; but he turned very pale. 'What!' 'Please, sir,' replied Oliver, 'I want some more.' The master aimed a blow at Oliver's head with the ladle; pinioned him in his arm; and shrieked aloud for the beadle. The board were sitting in solemn conclave, when Mr. 'Mr. 'For MORE!'
Multiage Grouping and Student Collaboration, Online Submission, 2014-Jul-27 The aim of this action research project was to investigate students' social preferences and pro-social interactions in a multiage, high school classroom in order to better understand how to group students to maximize learning and collaboration. According to many educational experts and previous inquiries, mixed-age learning groups introduce numerous social, emotional, and academic benefits into the classroom setting but this research has been predominantly conducted at the primary school level. In response, the specific focus of this research project was to examine how and if mixed-age grouping in a high school classroom affects student preference for peer collaboration over independent work when given a choice, and their collaborative relationship with their peers. This research was carried out within a mixed-age social studies classroom during the spring of 2014. Data was collected qualitatively through student interviews and in-class observations.
How Rural Schools Paid for Students’ Home Internet to Transform Learning Like many districts serving low-income populations, it was fairly easy for Piedmont City School District officials in Alabama to find funds for devices. District officials wanted to leverage technology to open up opportunities for the 1,240 students in this rural community, so they started sending devices home with kids in grades 4-12 in 2009 through a program they call mPower Piedmont. However, lack of access to the Internet after school and in kids’ homes became a major obstacle to learning with those devices. At first, teachers tried to work around Internet limitations, letting students download what they’d need for work at home before they left school. “It was really not fair to say this homework requires Internet access, and if you don’t have it, go to McDonald’s,” Akin said. At first, to compensate for disparities in Internet connections, many local businesses cooperated with the district and allowed students to use the Internet at their establishments.
The MOOC experiment University reflects on successes, challenges of online learning The past year-and-a-half has seen the University dive headfirst into the once-foreign frontier of online education, notably through its offering of more than a dozen massive open online courses, or MOOCs. But whether MOOCs in their current form are any indication of what the future holds for higher education is still up for debate. At what cost? As of now, there is no direct monetary payoff for offering a MOOC, and producing the courses require huge investments in time. “I don’t know what will become of MOOCs, since by definition they involve no money and therefore have a weak business model,” Physics Prof. Bloomfield teaches an introductory physics course called “How Things Work,” one of the University’s first MOOC offerings and a student favorite for years before MOOCs were introduced. “I have really enjoyed creating and running my MOOC,” Bloomfield said. MOOCs at the University Defending MOOCs A learning experiment