The use of technology provides opportunity for the learning process to become much more engaging for students. Technology has become a transforming force on how students learn and are driven to learn as it relates to the learning outcomes, objectives and evaluations. Technology can provide students with more of a hands-on relationship and can give direct input into the learning process. It is also an effective way to increase students' learning autonomy.
Yes, Angel. Great points and I agree with you. I support your comment as well about learner autonomy which is the greater goal of our teaching. Have you seen or experienced some specific uses of technolgy that demonstrate this? I can think of the use of chat for group work - great for supporting this kind of development. How about you?
It opens the opportunity for innovation while arriving at a desired outcome. It's always been a sore point for the student to fully explain how an outcome was achieved yet never given credit for the process when the final answer was somewhat circuitous or wrong. Logic and rational thinking were not included in the result. It's great to see the education industry adopting these new holistic approaches.
Very true, Carl, and actually promotes the importance of all processes of learning and not just as they relates to a specific task.
Being in a vocational environment we often have to evaluate the students by what they understand of the topic. The use of web information is used in our classes in the web training and in their labs as they have to access sites to gather specifications and procedures, then apply them to the work, at the end they have to write answers to questions based on the labs. The way they interpret the work varies in explanation, which we have to decide whether they understand it or not. It takes understanding the individual.
Certainly, Greg, the importance of each individual student is vital. However, how can using the Internet as an instructional tool help to build both the skills and knowledge base for our students?
As I stated the students had to use the internet to obtain references from different sites to obtain specifications and procedures to carry out thier lab projects.
The outcome is extremely important. We can't train a programmer to leave to NASA and develop an "almost perfect" module of code for their calculation section. However, it is very important to understand how a student thinks. If a student turns in a flowchart for a programming concepts class, and the flowchart is wrong, I mark the exercise wrong. I also ask them to show me how they got to that decision, beginning with step 1, to however long it takes on a whiteboard or similar, until they finish. I don't make corrections along the way. We go through it a second time, and I begin to show them how small changes and logic decisions can help correct the flowchart. Once I understand what a student is trying to do, I can focus in on that specific hurdle.
Yes, Greg. I like your commitment to process and your focus on learning - your adjustments to the student's existing flow mean that he/she will understand the adjustments within an already familiar context. Much more effective than simply scoring the answer as wrong. Great! This is the kind of support for process that we must demonstrate as teachers...
James, I agree, If a test cannot prove the ability of the learner, how can we evaluate ourselves as instructors. I feel that if a student is challenged they perform better.
Yes, Kenny, rigor must be maintained for students. Often that is the criticism of using new technology - that it lowers the standard of the course and the expectations of the students. Do you agree? How do you work to maintain the academic rigor while using new technology...?
It is important to evaluate the process of learning in addition to the learning outcomes because we need to find out if the student has aquired new knowledge or skills. How we evaluate this process is another question. Conventional testing does not do the job. Instead, the student may have memorized the information for the exam or is a good test taker. Maybe the student has mastered a process but is unable to demonstrate this new knowledge on a multiple choice test.
Exactly, Deborah. So, when assessing a process, the process should be mapped out, quantified and given a score. So, in setting up assignments, gathering this kind of information is vital for your assessment. I have often, in the past, had students submit a project proposal within which they outline their "steps to accomplish" and/or "methods to accomplish". That helps me assess their process and not just the task. Do you have any other ideas on how process might be assessed?
In the arena of blended classes the instructor is making the transition from lecturer to facilitator. This is difficult for many teachers who have been and performed in a teacher centered classroom envornment their entire career. Teachers learning how to facilitate effectively is as vital to the process as the student learning how to engage the process without having the knowledge delivered with a spoon.
Allowing students the opportunity or (forcing them)to lead their own learning process via inquiring research and critical thinking application will enrich the learning process. Our students need to learn how to direct their own efforts through the process without being led by the instuctor.
Instructors need to create a rubric for the learning process similiar to that of the Bloom's progression. If the student has the proper guidance during the process then they won't be so hesitant to learn. They will have the confidence to engage the process utilizing the technology of choice.
Alan,
Yes, blended learning can increase the process of developing autonomous learners if, as you say, the instructors are able to change their role and understand the newer paradigms of learning. Good points!
Dr. Ruth Reynard
I agree that testing alone does not indicate what a student knows. I like using case studies where students have to think more critically about their answers.
Kathy,
Yes, case studies are a lot more holistic than tests - also scenario-based questions and discussion encourage students to apply what they are learning directlu to contexts of meaning.
Dr. Ruth Reynard
Since I teach writing, I always ask students to include their prewriting, i.e. brainstorming with their paragraphs or essays. I stress that it will not be pretty but should be marked up, scratched out, added to etc. In spite of this, I often get prewriting that is nice and neat with only the points included that end up in the final product. Sometimes, I suspect that they do the prewriting post-final paragraph or essay, thus missing the point. Writing is a process and I get very frustrated with the above attempt to lead students through the process. They just want to sit down at the computer and type out the required writing. I even include the prewriting requirement in my rubric, so they get points for submitting it and I determine the quality of it on a scale. Any other ideas?
Melanie ,
Journaling (blogging) is a great way to help students work through a process - Wikis help them work together to "build" a project or writing piece. I concur that it is difficult to help students work through the writing process as they often want to "jump" to the end and simply produce something - thus losing out on the richness of the journey. So, I used blogs as a tool for them to explore their ideas, write initial paragraphs of those ideas and then expand the ideas and bring ideas together. I found it worked well - I also had my students use blogs to build their bibliographies as well :)
Dr. Ruth Reynard
With any endeavor it is important to continually evaluate whether or not the means of achievement match up with our intended achievements. This is necessary to any critical evaluation.
I teach criminal justice courses and continually have my students evaluate the process of criminal justice. If they determine that the goal of the criminal justice system is to create a safer society then we must evaluate the process on those grounds. If, however, the goal is to punish wrong-doers, then our evaluation of the process must be different.
Students have been quite surprised to learn that our criminal justice system often has conflicting goals and means. This has caused a fair number of them to evaluate the processes and outcomes in their own lives.
