1 / 12

Learner-directed Learning in Online Geoscience Education

Learner-directed Learning in Online Geoscience Education. Suzanne T. Metlay, Ph.D. Front Range Community College Longmont, CO (USA) Geological Society of America – Charlotte, NC Session T73: Successful Strategies for Teaching Online Geoscience Courses 4 November 2012.

aira
Download Presentation

Learner-directed Learning in Online Geoscience Education

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. Learner-directed Learning in Online Geoscience Education Suzanne T. Metlay, Ph.D. Front Range Community College Longmont, CO (USA) Geological Society of America – Charlotte, NC Session T73: Successful Strategies for Teaching Online Geoscience Courses 4 November 2012 Image: SERC.Carleton.edu

  2. Learner-Directed Learning:Build confidence & capability • Roger Hiemstra & Ralph Brockett (1994) • “From behaviorism to humanism…” • http://www-distance.syr.edu/sdlhuman.html

  3. 5 common Learning Orientations:Each can be useful & Used Online • Humanist • Learning transforms the learner, both intellectually and emotionally • Self-directed activities, experiential education; affect and self-worth • Behaviorist • Learning involves changes in behavior from stimulus and response • Games, simulations, incentives, reinforcements • Cognitive • Learning is about knowledge and internal mental processes • Concept mapping, “chunking” information, learning environment • Critical Reflection • Learner identifies and evaluates own learning experiences & outcomes • Self-reflection, scenario building, focus group inquiry • Social Learning • Learner must actively engage in social interaction and society itself • Internships, peer partnerships, service learning • http://www.umsl.edu/services/ctl/DEID/destination2adultlearning/2dlearningtheories.html

  4. From Guided Questions… • Direct students to specific websites designed for education & outreach Lab 2: http://facweb.bhc.edu/academics/science/harwoodr/Geol101/Labs/Minerals/ • Analyze and identify each mineral sample Credit: Richard Harwood, Black Hawk College

  5. To active learning… • (2) Walk students through an activity • Lab 6: Go to http://kepler.nasa.gov/multimedia/Interactives/keplerFlashAdvDiscovery/# and select “Kepler Exoplanet Transit Hunt”. • Click and hold the grey ring labeled “Telescopic View”. • Drag it over the blinking white dot that represents a star. • Take data from each star • Analyze data with worksheet provided • What is a habitable zone? • Which stars have exoplanets in habitable zone? • (3) Guide students to teach themselves through • reading text and watching videos Lab 8: Register and log in to www.SolarStormWatch.com • Look at the menu to options on the left-hand side. • Follow the directions provided below to fulfill the requirements of this exercise and successfully navigate the website. • Transition up Bloom’s Taxonomy  tie facts to concepts/relationships

  6. To Self-Discovery… • Lab 10: Go to http://www.ciclops.org/ir_index_main.php • Click on the “New Horizons Imaging Diary”. • Find TWO (2) interesting images of Jupiter and/or Saturn – provide the links. • In your own words: • Explain what is pictured • Discuss why it is interesting • Compare to two images of Earth’s atmosphere at http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/ • Analyze similarities and differences between the images • (4) Begin with guided questions, end with quest/explanation NASA Orbiter Images – “This puny excuse for a hurricane on Earth snuggles up against the coasts of Yemen and Oman. It is but a freckle on the face of Earth… Earth's storm front is also mostly water vapor, while the coloring of Jupiter's red spot is indicative of more noxious cloud formations.” – AST 101 student, Fall 2011 Jupiter’s “Little Red Spot” http://www.ciclops.org//view_media.php?id=19481 Earth’s Tropical Storm Keila http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=76346

  7. …To Total Learner-Directed Learning • (5) Guide students through complete self-direction • Lab 12: Select a CITIZEN SCIENCE site like Zooniverse.com or Cosmoquest.org • for a project such as http://cosmoquest.org/moonmappers/ • Please follow the directions on site and analyze at least ten (10) images.   • Report on your experience here. • Please explain your procedure (step by step). Be as detailed as possible. • Give me at least two (2) paragraphs describing what you didand what you learned. http://cosmoquest.org/mappers/moon/FullMoonMaker.php

  8. Develop Your Own pedagogical Tools: 1 • Modify your student’s mindset: • “I hate _____” (math, writing, science, etc.) • “Nature Deficit Disorder” • “I can’t…” to “I don’t know how to…” • Develop skills for basic competence • What are key skills, abilities, content? • Constraints? • Professional considerations? • Vocational vs. General Education Adult learners need “Why” before “How”  make learning relevant to their lives & work • Identify essential tools • Apps (Android & iPhone), Google Earth, other implements & equipment • Critical thinking • Student resourcefulness All images: Zazzle.com

  9. Develop Your Own pedagogical Tools: 2 (4) Teach methods/techniques that online students can do from home http://www.seriouseats.com/2009/10/the-food-lab-science-of-how-to-cook-perfect-boiled-eggs.html Pearson Education, 2006

  10. Develop Your Own pedagogical Tools: 3 (5) Consider professional behavior • Professional ethics • Legal, social, political issues • Convicted seismologists in Italy • Fracking and groundwater: pros & cons • (6) Have students present their work • Peer instruction • Mock professional presentations: Posters, Recorded PowerPoint, Prezi Credit: Morag Perkins, 25 June 2012 Credit: James Russell, Hampton Univ. Noctilucent Clouds are a marker of methane increase (CH4 = greenhouse gas)

  11. HUMANISM in Education: Transforming the Learner • Acknowledge and address ignorance and misinformation • “Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.”- Will Durant • Realistic goals: • Workforce development (all STEM) • More scientifically literate citizens • Decision makers: Corporate, Community, Individual • Voters: Resource use/development, etc. • Improved critical thinking about new information • From fear to confidence • From gullibility to governing effectively • Students govern themselves • Personal responsibility and accountability for learning

  12. Questions? Comments? Thank you! suzanne.metlay@frontrange.edu

More Related