Principles of the Learning College

1. Principles of the Learning College • The Learning College creates substantive change in individual learners. • The Learning College engages learners as full partners in the learning process, assuming primary responsibility for their own choices.

2. Principles of the Learning College, continued • The Learning College creates and offers as many options for learning as possible. • The Learning College assists learners to form and participate in collaborative learning activities.

3. Principles of the Learning College, continued • The Learning College defines the roles of learning facilitators by the needs of the learners. • The Learning College and its learning facilitators succeed only when improved and expanded learning can be documented for learners.

4. Technology for teaching Use all sorts of combinations of: • e-mail • online syllabi • text searching • Hypertext • CD-ROM materials • writing software

5. Technology for teaching relate teaching to multimedia and dynamic syllabi from the World Wide Web, Web-based and CD-Rom based electronic archives, a collaborative writing and groupware program, and the use of online communication programs.

6. Learning Activities • Conceptual LearningIdeas, theories, principles of information systems, bodies of knowledge • Problem SolvingDeductive powers, inferential reasoning, testing assumptions, decision making • Object and Document AnalysisContextualization and interpretation using texts, documents, pictures, objects • Data Gathering and SynthesisResearch skills, methodology, evaluation and reporting, quantification • Case StudiesEvaluation of systems by observing and analyzing simulated situations or processes

7. Learning Activities • Virtual Labs and Field TripsTesting and evaluating information through experiments and in situ examination • Presentations by TeachersDemonstrations, overviews, framing, setting forth of key information or salient points • Presentations by StudentsProduction or performance of representative knowledge by students • Collaborative LearningSharing knowledge, collective decision making, forming learning communities • Authentic InquiryLearner as practitioner, connecting theory to practice, taking responsibility for knowledge

8. Active Learning • It’s means any of a variety of strategies or pedagogical projects designed to place the primary responsibility for creating and/or applying knowledge on the shoulders of students. • It’s means transforming traditional classroom practices through problem-based learning or collaborative projects; others move learning beyond the walls of the classroom through community service-learning activities. • These teaching strategies usually require a lot of up-front work from teachers (creating effective problem sets or contacting community service groups, for example), and likewise, require careful attention from teachers during the process. • These strategies greatly increase students' retention of both knowledge and skills.

9. Assessment, Evaluation, & Testing • Classroom Assessment • Assessing Writing • Testing • Evaluating Group Work

10. Review of Last Week’s Activities • What questions to you have about the following learning activities? • Data Gathering • Pair Work • Interviewing • Group Work • Role Playing

11. Cooperative Learning • Cooperative learning is a teaching strategy in which small teams use a variety of learning activities to improve their understanding of a subject. • Each member of a team is responsible not only for learning what is taught, but also for helping teammates learn.

12. Why Use It? • Cooperative learning promotes: • the development of higher-order levels of thinking • essential communication skills • improved motivation • positive self-esteem • social awareness • tolerance for individual differences.

13. What Research Shows • Hundreds of studies show the following gains: • improved academic achievement, • improved behavior and attendance, • increased self-confidence and motivation, • increased liking of school and classmates, • Improved critical and creative thinking, • Improved group interaction and social skills, • Improved self-esteem and respect for others.

14. Implementing Cooperative Learning Group Size • It is best to keep groups small. While the number of group members may increase with a more complex task, keep in mind the fewer the members the more each student needs to communicate. • Teachers can let students choose their own groups or assign students to groups based on students’ strengths and weaknesses and their personalities.

15. Implementing Cooperative Learning Group Functions • Students can work in groups for any assignment they would normally do alone. For instance, the may: • collaborate on solving a problem, • discuss an issue without the teacher leading them, • brainstorm ideas, • summarize ideas they have learned, • share parts of a complex project, • jointly produce an assignment project, • prepare a presentation to the whole class. • Of course in the language classroom, the group may communicate in English, thus practicing speaking and listening skills.

16. Implementing Cooperative Learning Group Rules • Teachers may allow students to develop rules to help control the behavior in the groups. Things to consider: • Keeping the noise level down • Preventing insults or teasing • Promoting equal participation • Encouraging students to help each other • Developing signals for the teacher to use to re-gain the attention of the students (raised hands, finger on noses, etc.) • It is important that students learn to help each other. Brighter students' learning is enhanced by teaching others; less-capable students benefit from increased one-to-one attention.

17. Implementing Cooperative Learning Group Skills • Teachers need to teach students (and then be patient as they practice) how to rearrange into groups, work quietly within groups, and respond to signals from the teacher. • Important skills that students will learn by working in groups include: • Teamwork • Support, and acceptance of differences • Active/reflective listening • Positive feedback • Reaching consensus • Coaching and tutoring others

18. Implementing Cooperative Learning Group Goals and Roles • Clear instructions, goals, and time lines are essential to successful cooperative learning. • It is also important that each member have a specific function: recorder, reporter, monitor, observer, facilitator, etc. • Roles should be changed frequently, so members have opportunity to practice new roles.

19. Pair and Small Group Benefits • Allows students a greater opportunity to speak in English • Allows shy or nervous students to practice English skills without the pressure of speaking in front of a large group • Allows students to be more engaged in the learning activity—they can’t just let more aggressive students do the work for them • Allows students to enjoy learning. Even a difficult task is more enjoyable when shared with a teammate.

20. Assessing Group Work • Simple Task • Teacher may walk around and monitor groups, asking questions and noting students’ work. • Teacher may ask teams to volunteer to share the product with the entire class. • Teacher may ask teams to come back to the large group and then lead a class discussion on team findings.

21. Assessing Group Work • Complex Task or Project • Teacher may assign one grade for the entire project. Each team member receives the same grade. (Sink or Swim Method) • Teacher may monitor in-class group work and make notes of students’ participation and effort. This can be factored in with the project grade so each child receives an individual grade. • Teacher may ask teams to evaluate individual members and use this information to assign individual grades.

22. Portfolios • What Is a Portfolio? • A portfolio is a collection of student work that exhibits the student's efforts, progress, and achievements. • It should represent a collection of students' best work or best efforts, not all pieces will necessarily be “excellent”. The emphasis is on the process and the product.

23. Why Use a Portfolio? • Instructors can use them for a variety of specific purposes, including: • Encouraging self-directed learning. • Fostering learning about learning. • Demonstrating progress toward identified outcomes. • Creating an intersection for instruction and assessment. • Providing a way for students to value themselves as learners. • Offering opportunities for peer-supported growth.

24. What Makes a Good Portfolio? • They clearly reflect the curriculum that students are expected to study. • They focus upon students' active learning experiences as well as their acquisition of key knowledge. • They contain samples of work that stretch over an entire marking period, rather than single points in time. • They contain works that represent a variety of different assessment tools. • They contain a variety of work samples and evaluations of that work by the student, peers, and teachers, possibly even the parents' reactions.

25. Types of Portfolios • Documentation Portfolio: • This approach involves a collection of work over time ,showing growth and improvement. • May include everything from brainstorming activities to drafts to finished products. • The collection becomes meaningful when specific items are selected out to focus on particular educational experiences or goals. • It can include the best and weakest of student work.

26. Types of Portfolios • Process Portfolio: • This approach documents all phases of the learning process. • They are particularly useful in documenting students' overall learning process. • It can show how students use specific knowledge or skills and progress towards both basic and advanced mastery. • The process portfolio emphasizes students' reflection upon their learning process.

27. Types of Portfolios • Showcase Portfolio: • Best used for summative evaluation of students' mastery of key curriculum. • It should include students' very best work, determined through a combination of student and teacher selection. • This type of portfolio allows students to include audio/visual materials, including photographs, videotapes, and electronic records of students' completed work. • It also includes written reflections by the student about how and why the materials were selected.

28. Implementing the Portfolio Phase One: Organization and Planning – • This initial phase of portfolio development requires decision-making on the part of students and teachers. Key questions for the teacher and the student include: • How do I select times, materials, etc. to reflect what I am learning in this class? • How do I organize and present the items, materials, etc. that I have collected? • How will portfolios be maintained and stored?

29. Implementing the Portfolio Phase Two: Collection • This process involves the collection of meaningful artifacts and products reflecting students' educational experiences and goals. • The selection and collection of artifacts and products should be based upon a variety of factors that can include: • Particular subject matter; • A learning process; or • Special projects, themes, and/or units. • All selections included in the collection should clearly reflect the criteria and standards identified for evaluation.

30. Implementing the Portfolio Phase Three: Reflection • Wherever possible, there should be evidence of students' reflections upon the learning process and their evolving comprehension of key knowledge and skills. • These reflections can focus on the thinking processes they have used, and the habits of mind they employed at given points in time and across time periods. • In addition, teacher and/or parent reflections upon the products, processes, and thinking articulated in the portfolio may also be included wherever appropriate.

31. Sample Portfolios • Many examples of electronic student portfolios may be found online: • http://www.mehs.educ.state.ak.us/portfolios/portfolio.html • http://www.ebps.net/verizon/electronic_portfolio_samples.shtml • http://www.oswego.org/staff/jdecosa/portfolio/

32. Workshops • Workshops allow students to apply skills to achieve their own purposes, rather than analyzing or memorizing information a teacher chooses. • Workshops allows students freedom • to choose their own topics • set their own purposes • identify their own goals

33. Workshops in an EFL Class • Teachers assume that students learn a second language the same way they learn a first. • Teachers emphasize tasks that encourage students to express themselves and make meaning, rather than learning the language by memorizing the grammar. • Teachers emphasize taking risks in using language by downplaying direct grammar instruction and correction of grammar errors. • Teachers use authentic language models-what "real" speakers say and what "real" writers write, rather than formal textbook dialogues.

34. Workshop Benefits • Learner is more likely to be involved and motivated • Work can be individualized, lending itself to multiple learning styles • Workshop is "active" learning rather than "passive,” so larger numbers of learners are motivated to participate and learn • Teachers can be the "guide on the side," rather than the "sage on the stage" • Those using the workshop method do not focus on telling students information.  Instead, they create learning experiences that guide, direct, and help the student gain new knowledge.

35. Workshop Results • The workshop provides students the opportunity to discover on their own, but with guidance. • The most successful workshops allow students to share and receive feedback. This allows students to retain the concepts better.

36. Preview for Tomorrow • Tomorrow we will discuss and practice using a specific type of workshop activity—the Task-Centered Discussion.