Bridging IE

3 – 4 October, 2008

Tampere, Finland

2nd Meeting

Definition of the four key elements

Bridging Insula Europae134214-LLP-1-2007-1-IT-COMENIUS-CMP

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Definition of the four key elements Part I: Active Learning as a teaching method

ACTIVE LEARNIG is:

1. Learning by doing

2. Cooperative Learning

(As a teaching method) it was first started at the end of the 18° century (Andrew Bell and Joseph Lancaster) and became

widely used in the 19° century with the movement “Active Schools” also known as “New Schools” (Decroly, Claparede, Freinet) till its definition and systematisation in the 1970s.

Definition of the four key elements

1. Active Learning

Definition

“Active Learning” is an umbrella term describing the teaching approach popularised by Bonwell and Eison (1991) that refers to several models of instruction that focus the responsibility of learning on learners.The teaching method is centred on work seen as ability/opportunity to “interact” with the subject studied.

Definition of the four key elements Active Learning Learning by doing

By linking the concept of interaction with the subject of study to a “practical” and material dimension, the term “Active Learning” could be associated to the term “learning by doing” defining the learning method that is used

through “doing”, making and the action.

The basis of “learning by doing” is in the pedagogic movement “Discovery Learning” developed during the 1960s with Jerome Bruner as the main theoretic.

“Practice in discovering for oneself teaches one to acquire information in a waythat makes that information more readily viable in problem solving" (J. Bruner,1961)

Definition of the four key elements Active Learning/Learning by doing as a set of “techniques” or “strategies”

used to build participation in the learner while carrying out his/her study activities.

Contemporary Active Learning focuses on:“group work” as opposed to “individual” work.

Among the “techniques” or “pedagogic strategies” we find:

Peer teaching/Cooperative Learning Project Work Brain Storming Role Playing Simulation/Goal-Based-Scenarios Drama Problem Solving

Definition of the four key elements What is Role Playing ?

More properly called “role games” these are used to represent real situations in which students face real circumstances occurred to somebody else.This technique, beside knowledge acquisition, brings to the surface group behaviour and Individual creativity.

Role Playing is structured in four parts:

1. Warming up: the use of specific techniques (sketches, interviews, debates etc.) establishes a relaxed and constructive atmosphere.

2. Action: the students are requested to act in different roles and put forward possible solutions.

3. Cooling off: end of role playing and re-establishing distances.

4. Analysis: comments and debate on previous actions.

Definition of the four key elements What are Simulation/Goal-Based-Scenarios ?

They are artificially created real life situations. Students can practice and take realistic decisions; they can pursue a concrete professional objective using their knowledge and skills.The objective in the simulation must be chosen in such a way that the participants feel motivated and use all their already acquired knowledge, thus creating an ideal situation for the integration of new competences.

What is Drama ?

Drama is a contextual theatrical activity. Its aim is to have a proper competition, creating a strong team spirit to overcome the group's difficulties.Two teams play against each other improvising situations suggested by the facilitator with a referee who decides the length and the style of the improvisation.

Definition of the four key elements 2. Cooperative Learning

Definition “Cooperative Learning” according to the definition by Johnson, Johnson, and Smith, (1991) is a particular teaching-learning technique involving small groups of students with a common goal and based on the following elements:

Positive interdependence.

Promotional face-to-face interaction.

Individual responsibility and evaluation.

Proper use of social skills.

Checking and review of the group’s work.

Definition of the four key elements 2.1 Cooperative Learning – the 5 key elements according to Johnson &

Johnson

1 - Positive interdependence. An individual member cannot succeed by himself and the achievement of the common goal will be the group’s success

2 - Promotional face-to-face interaction. Although part of the work may be divided and carried out individually, a certain quantity must be the result of interaction among the members of the group through information swapping.

3 - Individual responsibility and evaluation. Every member of the group is responsible for the part of the work assigned to him/her

4 - Proper use of social skills. Students are encouraged and helped to develop and practice cooperative knowledge: communication, mutual trust, shared leadership, ability in conflict solving

5 - Checking and review of the work. The members establish the objectives periodically, assessing the work’s progress.

Definition of the four key elements 2.2 Models and characteristics of present day Cooperative Learning

The following are the best known techniques:

1. Learning Together

2. Structural Approach

3. Group Investigation

4. Student Team Learning

5. Complex Instructions

6. Communities of Learners

Definition of the four key elements

Part II: Active Learning on the Web

ACTIVE LEARNIG is:

1. E-learning

2. Social network/Social learning network

Definition of the four key elements

1. E-Learning

Definition

“E-Learning is a distance training/learning process based mainly on

modern communication and information technology (E=electronic),

Internet in particular, to create an open, flexible and disseminated

learning environment (E-learning/Open Learning)”

Definition of the four key elements

First generation Distance Learning: correspondence courses

Second generation Distance Learning: is a training method based on the extensive use of teaching material such as traditional course texts, video recording, didactic/multimedia software

Third generation Distance Learning (e-learning): highly interactive online training community training tools

1. E-Learning and Distance Learning

Definition of the four key elements 1. E-Learning

Main communication tools

Synchronous tools

Internet rely chat; Videoconference; “Forum”; Live web assistant.

Asynchronous tools

email; Document sharing, electronic-repository and file/sharing; Forum

Definition of the four key elements 1. e-Learning and virtual simulation

During the past ten years technological progress has allowed the simulation environment to acquire a relevant position in third generation distance learning. The high degree of interactivity has brought about increased learning possibilities without necessarily the mediation of a language.

With the coming of simulation in structured online learning contexts there is the linking up of:

Third generation Distance Learning Cooperative Learning Active Learning – Simulation/Global based scenarios and Role Play Social Learning Networking

Definition of the four key elements

Web 2.0, the evolution of Web 1.0, (in use since the 1990s) is the set of online applications which allow a high interaction level between site and user or between users (blog, forum, chat, systems such as Wikipedia, Youtube, Facebook, Myspace, Gmail, etc.).

The innovation in Web 2.0, more than in the tools already present in Web 1.0, is in the way they are used and in the ability to open new scenarios based on the possibility for users to use and at the same time create or change the multimedia contents.

Web 2.0 is therefore a new way to look at the web centred on content, information and interaction.

Definition of the four key elements 2. Social Network and Social Learning Network

Definition of Social Network

“it is a group of people (social actors) linked by various social connections (definite relationships) going from casual acquaintance to work relations or family ties”.

Social Network Analysis (SNA)

SNA is a recent theoretical and methodological outlook studying the social network (network theory).

The basic element is the relationship any individual (or actor) has with the others, and this form of interaction shapes and changes their mutual behaviour. The main aim of network analysis is to define and analyse such ties between individuals (nodes).

Definition of the four key elements 2. Social Network and Social Learning Network

Social Network Online

The online version of social network is one of the most evolved forms of web communication.

Through internet and its technological supports the social connections each of us creates day by day in a more or less casual way can be materialised, organised in a consultable map and increased with new contacts.

The online social network has its inception in the US and develops along three main themes: profession, friendship and love relations.

According to the article titled "How Netlog Leaps Language Barriers" published on the Wall Street Journal on November 1, 2007, the two most contacted social networks are Myspace and Facebook with 107 and 73 million users respectively.

Definition of the four key elements 2. Social Network and Social Learning Network

Definition of Social Learning Network

“the term Social Learning Network identifies a group of constantly interacting people whose aim is the pursuit of a common training objective”.

Social Learning Network on-line

“Online Social Learning Network are last generation (Web 2.0) digital platform and interface structured as online social networks in which all key web communication and interaction tools can be found and used for exclusive educational purposes”.

Definition of the four key elements OPEN TOOLS FOR ON-LINE ACTIVE LEARNING

TOOLS

BlogForum Chat

WEB SYSTEMS

WikipediaYoutube

FacebookMyspace

Gmail

Virtual worlds as SecondLife

Thank you for your kind attention!

3 – 4 October, 2008

Tampere, Finland

2nd Meeting