User:Vtaylor/Active learning/Introduction

Active learning - not passive

• K-8 - area of focus, particularly middle school

Some definitions and research

• quoting Don Clark (2009), active learning involves: ...learning by being engaged in the instructional process by means of such activities as exploring, analyzing, communicating, creating, reflecting, or actually using new information or experiences.

• Learner expectations - expect authentic, engaged learning to involve a range of different learning activities appropriate to their own learning needs, the subject matter at hand and the available resources to support that learning.

• what it is

• what it is not

• maybe

Bloom

In 1987 Chickering & Gamson published the Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education. These principles are based on the perspective that the goal of a proper undergraduate education should be active, cooperative, and challenging. And, these can be applied to K-8 learners and supported with technology. Having taught college courses, it is interesting to revisit these practices from the K-8 perspective.

1. Encourage student-faculty contact - "faculty" aka teacher, leader, facilitator, guide, informal educator, tutor, mentor, caregiver, parent
2. Encourage cooperation among students - peer-to-peer, pair and share, small group, whole class, troop, tribe
3. Encourage active/engaged learning
4. Give prompt feedback
5. Emphasize time on task
6. Communicate high expectations
7. Respect diverse talents and ways of learning

1. Encourage student-faculty contact

"faculty" aka teacher, leader, facilitator, guide, informal educator, tutor, mentor, caregiver, parent

Student-faculty contact often diminishes significantly in college course - large lecture halls, reliance on TAs for small study group contact, more working commuter students, adjunct faculty with limited time on campus. Many critics of integrating technology into K-8 believe that this will be the norm for elementary and middle school as well.

When balanced with appropriate technology integration and learning support, teachers and students are free to explore topics of interest, areas of inquiry and project work. The teacher is a facilitator, guide and resource. The teacher-student contact is now learner-directed and more rewarding for both.

For the unit on the earth's atmosphere, Jennifer's sixth graders created books using iBooks. After a brief introduction to the iBooks app, students created their own books on their iPads. Each book include the basic information about the atmospheric layers. Images, text, diagrams allowed each student to explore the regions ans show what they had discovered. Jennifer was able to work individually with students or in small groups as the work progressed. The interests and abilities of the students vary, so their questions and needs for information and encouragement could be individual.

2. Encourage cooperation among students

Consistent with encouraging cooperation among students, most classrooms are using tables and chairs, rather than desks. This format allows for the furniture to be re-arranged frequently throughout the school year. Various strategies are used depending on the age and maturity of the students, as well as on the group activities in progress.

Four student centers work well for general classwork where students work individually on their own iPads, and cooperated with others in their immediate group. Students discuss information, research and compare notes and drawings. They can consult the others if there are questions about the assignment instructions or the iPad apps features. Working with peers adds an expectation of responsibility and can help the students with problems of focus, interpretation of the assignment instructions, confirmation on appropriate work products and even improvements in behavior.

3. Encourage active/engaged learning

   4. Give prompt feedback
   5. Emphasize time on task
   6. Communicate high expectations
   7. Respect diverse talents and ways of learning

Other WikiEducator resources

• Learning and Teaching in Practice - An exploration of your role and the context within which you practice as a tertiary educator. Build your knowledge of learner-centred pedagogy and contemporary educational design to develop your teaching philosophy for dynamic, open and inclusive educational environments.