Engaging Students in Learning Activities

Mark H. Gelula, Ph.D.

Director of Faculty Development

Department of Medical Education

mgelula@uic.edu

The Online Classroom

• Fast communication across distances

• Anytime learning and teaching

• Integration of the computer

Caveats

• Technical skills

• All participants must have access to suitable hardware and software

• Bandwidth is usually limited

• Technological problems

Pedagogical Decisions

• Learners and their needs

• Motivation

• How can my course material help the students in their lives outside of the course

• Learning styles: an important consideration for every online teacher

Instructors and their teaching model

• four types of teaching models: – discipline-centered, – teacher-centered, – student-centered cognitive– student-centered affective

Questions to Consider

• Is this content primarily factual, experiential, conceptual, or attitudinal?

• Is this content better approached by an individual activity, a group activity, or both?

• Should units be completed at each student’s own pace, or should there be deadlines for assignments?

Instructional methods

• Lectures and readings – fixed material to students – passive

• Discussions and group activities – allow students to interact as they grapple with course

material – active

• Exercises and simulations – provide individual students with an opportunity to try

out course concepts in a limited way and thus enhance their understanding – experiential

Modes of Interaction

• Two basic concepts – the shape of the communication. – the timing of the communication

Shape of the Communication

A course activity may be

•Solitary (like individual reading)

•One-to-one communication (as in a tutorial)

•One-to-many (as in a lecture)

•Many-to-many (as in a discussion).

Timing of the Communication

• Synchronous communication• Asynchronous communication

Synchronous Communication

– Participants receive the communication at the time that it is spoken (or written);

• Telephone calls

Asynchronous Communication,

• Some delay between the time the speaker speaks and the listener hears.

• correspondence by mail.

• "telephone tag" and voice mail messages.

Shape Venue Timing

    Synchronous Asynchronous

One-to-one Off-lineOn-line

•Telephone call•Instant messages

•Postal mail•Email

One-to-many Off-lineOn-line

•Lecture•Streaming audio/video broadcast

•Grocery store bulletin board•Website

Many-to-many Off-lineOn-line

•Brainstorming session•Chat room

•Hospital patient's chart•Network newsgroup

Communication Shape, Venue, and Timing

Technological decisions

• Software

• Hardware

• Network Bandwidth

• Security

A Learning Taxonomy*

1. Knowledge: arrange, define, duplicate, label, list, memorize, name, order, recognize, relate, recall, repeat, reproduce state.

2. Comprehension: classify, describe, discuss, explain, express, identify, indicate, locate, recognize, report, restate, review, select, translate,

3. Application: apply, choose, demonstrate, dramatize, employ, illustrate, interpret, operate, practice, schedule, sketch, solve, use, write.

*From Distance Learning Resource Network's Technology Resource Guide Chapter 4: Bloom's Taxonomy. http://www.dlrn.org/library/dl/guide4.html

A Learning Taxonomy4. Analysis: analyze, appraise, calculate, categorize,

compare, contrast, criticize, differentiate, discriminate, distinguish, examine, experiment, question, test.

5. Synthesis: arrange, assemble, collect, compose, construct, create, design, develop, formulate, manage, organize, plan, prepare, propose, set up, write.

6. Evaluation: appraise, argue, assess, attach, choose compare, defend estimate, judge, predict, rate, core, select, support, value, evaluate

What about Lectures?

• Streaming audio-video• PowerPoint presentation• Textual

– Lecture– Notes– Supplements

Kolb’s Learning Cycle

Active Experimentation Reflective

Observation

Concrete Experience

Abstract Conceptualization

Experiential Learning

Experiencing

Sharing

ProcessingGeneralizing

Applying

Activity and Learning

Didactic: Meaning External to Learner

Experiential: Meaning Internal to Learner

Read i ng

Lecture

Discussion

Case

Role

Play

Exp.

Lec

Instrumnt

Simulation

Three Principles

• Active and experiential learning

• Dynamic student to student discussion

• Opportunities for reflective thought followed by relative risk taking

More than Distributing Information

• Processes to assist students as they– discover how to think critically and reflectively– work collaboratively– establish leadership skills– learn to exchange ideas leading to

• productive problem-solving

• careful decision making,

• substantive applied learning.

Vary Group Size and Purpose

• Students learn to – relate concepts to each other

– develop new strategies and approaches to problems

Organizational Process for a Typical Course Week

Asynchronous Discussions

• General class conferences are for the use of all of the students in the class. These conferences appear in every student’s conference list, and include “Announcements”

• Topical class conferences are associated with each of the topics covered in the course. These conferences are also open to all students, and appear in every student’s conference list, after the general conferences.

Asynchronous Discussions

• Small group conferences are used by each of the 4-5 person student groups in the course. Each student’s conference list includes only the small group conference for their group;

• Private conferences are for discussion between an individual student and the instructors. Using private conferences rather than email allows both student and instructor to keep everything associated with the course in one place.

Asynchronous Discussion Examples

• Four per-group conferences

• Four per-group conferences with topical sub-conferences

• Four per-group conferences with weekly sub-conferences

• Eight per-week conferences with group sub-conferences

Asynchronous Discussion Examples

• Three topical conferences with group sub-conferences

• Three topic conferences with weekly sub-conferences and group subsubconferences– 2-person paper review– Co-writing papers– Case analysis

Synchronous Discussions

• Text– Computer bulletin board systems and Unix systems have

long supported text-based synchronous “chat” discussions.

• Audioconferencing and Videoconferencing

How to Suggestions

• Use Small Group Sizes

• Find Group Facilitators

• Set Deadlines

• Focus on Goals

• Ask Questions

• Lie Back

Specific Activities

• Problem-based Learning

• Case Analysis

• Peer Teaching

• Group Writing

• Critical Incident Discussions

• Nominal Group Technique

• Delphi Process and Polling