Learning Communities

Labs for Innovation in Teaching and Learning

Brent G. WilsonUniversity of Colorado at DenverJanuary 2003Tel Aviv Israel

What Is Knowledge?

Three Contrasting Views...

AcquiringContent

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ConstructingMeaning

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Developing & Sharing Cool Stuff

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Knowledge as...

Content acquisition

Meaning construction

Participation in inquiry and

sharing

All of the above!

Teaching Architectures

Three basic models...

Teacher-CenteredEnvironment

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Learner-CenteredEnvironment

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LearningCommunity

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Self-Organizing Systems

Autonomous agents Diversity of perspectives Innovative actions and

solutions High levels of connectivity Self-organization Emergent intelligence

ClassroomCommunities

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Cohort Groups

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Alumni and FieldCommunities

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Starting Over: Designing a Learning Environment From Scratch

If we wanted to design a

learning environment, without

ever having seen one, what

would we come up with?

From Tom Carroll, PT3 Grants

T S ?

S

T P S

S

T

L

P L

L

LLL

L LL

L

Put Problems in the Middle

Teacher on the side

Local resources all around

Leaky boundaries to outside world allowing access to

– people

– info & resources

– places

Projects forCommunities

Design studio

Inquiry (e.g., action research)

Cases for study & exploration

Group support for exams

Discussions of readings

Writer’s workshop

Inquiry Cycle

Star.Legacy

The Legacy Principle

Build on what you find.

Leave something for the next group.

Texts define communities, but interpretation of texts is always evolving.

More Strategies

Case-based reasoning

Problem-based learning

Service-learning

WebQuests

Epistemic games

Slashdot forums

Field experiences

Varieties of e-Learning

Self-paced self-instruction

Support resources on the Web

Group-paced courses online

Informal interests & support

Blended learning experiences

Do what best fits your situation.

Adoption Strategy

Start small w/Web resources

Move to blended learning

Choose a target for online delivery

Convert to online delivery

Target programs and repeat process

Evaluate at every stage.

Good Targets for Online Delivery

Deliverable content

Online adds value

Access a concern

Available resources and

expertise (e.g., willing

instructor)

Learn More About Inquiry Learning...

http://www.sasked.gov.sk.ca/docs/policy/incel

/section_4.html

http://scied.gsu.edu/Hassard/mos/7.4.html

http://www.thirteen.org/edonline

/concept2class/month6/index_sub5.html

http://www.ncsu.edu

/meridian/win2002/514/index.html

http://www.miamisci.org/ph/lpintro5e.html

http://emints.more.net/info/area1/iblearning.html

Further Reading and Resources

Dynamic Learning Communities http://carbon.cudenver.edu/~mryder/dlc.html

7 Principles for Undergrad Teaching http://www.tltgroup

.org/programs/seven.html also http://www.hcc.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/7princip.htm

Cognitive Load Theory http://www.arts.unsw.edu

.au/education/CLT_NET_Aug_97.HTML

Problem-Based Learning http://www.mcli

.dist.maricopa.edu/pbl

Case-Based Teaching http://www.edtech.vt.edu/edtech/id/models/casebased.html

Tom Carroll on Networked Learning Communities http://www.citejournal.org/vol1/iss1/currentissues/general/article1.htm