IT-supported ‘active learning’ methods in the linguistics curriculum

1. IT-supported‘active learning’ methodsin the linguistics curriculum Heike Wiese & Jörg Lüttgau Humboldt-University Berlin & IT Media Office

2. Overview 1. Didactic background 2. ‘Grammar games’: Active learning in class 3. LinguTrain: Self-instruction outside the classroom 4. Moodle: Discussion forums and additional material 5. Active learning methods in linguistics

3. The classes • Curriculum: Grammatical structure of German; Formal methods of linguistic analysis • Participants: Linguistics students; 70% study to become teachers at high schools and sixth-form colleges

4. The classes Tight time-tablesnecessitateconcise instruction; Classes can be very large (up to over 100 students); Classes are heterogeneous (+specialisation, motivation) • Challenges:

5. ‘Active learning’ methods Methods that do not treat students as passive recipients of the teacher’s instructions, but as active participants in the learning process +Increase students’ interest in linguistic topics + Allow students to experience didactic methods that they can later employ when teaching grammar at schools

6. ‘Active learning’ methods • Self-instruction (tools of grammatical analysis) In class: Classroom materials that support independent studies, in particular ‘grammar games’. Outside class (internet): Linguistic training program: LinguTrain; Additional material and discussions: Moodle.

7. ‘Active learning’ methods • Research projects (apply analysis tools) Empirical investigation,carried out in team-work; Intermediate reports and final presentation of results. Organise work, discuss problems, contact other teams: Moodle.

8. Positive potential of ‘active learning’ methods • Differentiation: Differentiated tasks fit the needs of different students. • Flexibility: Option of running a variety of activities at the same time.

9. Positive potential of ‘active learning’ methods • Cooperation: Team work, cooperative learning • Emancipation: Self-instruction, independent studies +Motivation, enhanced learning success

10. Grammar games • Tasks: Analysisand discussion of linguistic structures • Form: Similar to familiar games (jigsaw puzzles, card games, board games, dominoes, Scrabble) • Control mechanisms: Students monitor each other’s contribution Self-regulation through pictures etc. Answers on separate sheets.

12. Outside the classroom: LinguTrain

13. LinguTrain • Tasks: Linguistic analyses: short summaries, open and multiple-choice questions • Form: Tailor-made program on the internet: www.lingutrain.de • Control mechanisms: Correct answers appear on mouse-click.

15. Students can recapitulate and elaborate on classroom- lessons. LinguTrain offers short summaries of linguistic theories and exercises for grammatical analysis.

16. The teacher can lock/unlock sections to keep the focus on current and previous lessons.

17. Exercises supported by LinguTrain 1. Open questions no solution offered Correct answer appears on mouse-click.

18. Exercises supported by LinguTrain 1. Open questions 2. Multiple choice no solution offered several solutions offered Correct answer(s) highlighted on mouse-click. Correct answer appears on mouse-click.

19. Exercises supported by LinguTrain 1. Open questions 2. Multiple choice 3. Matching no solution offered several solutions offered problems and solutions randomly mixed Correct answer(s) highlighted on mouse-click. Correct match visualised on mouse-click. Correct answer appears on mouse-click.

20. Mouse-click Open questions

21. Mouse-click Multiple Choice

22. Mouse-click Matching

23. About LinguTrain • Completely open-source + no running costs (e.g. licensing fees) • needs just ‘standard’ environment: • Webserver (‘Apache’ etc.) • PHP as programming language • mySQL as database

24. About LinguTrain • Straight-forward editing, no support by a programmer needed: • Open Source Content-Management-System ‘typo3’ enables teachers to modify, add, and delete content. • More complex types of questions with an intuitive backend-module allow teachers to add and modify questions for each section.

25. About LinguTrain Software that supports tailor-made exercises that are accessible via internet and complement classroom teaching in an active-learning paradigm.

27. Moodle • Open shareware • Supports university teaching • Some features: Time-table for courses, Information about participants, Links to files and websites, Discussion forums.

30. in class outside class Active learning methods in linguistics Grammar Games Lingu- Train Training Self-instruction Team Work Moodle Application Research projects