Searching for "learning outcomes"
How to Determine if Student Engagement is Leading to Learning
http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2016/01/14/how-to-determine-if-student-engagement-is-leading-to-learning
Here are some questions that will assist in determining if engagement is leading to actual learning:
• Is the technology being integrated in a purposeful way, grounded in sound pedagogy?
• What are the learning objectives or outcomes?
• Are students demonstrating the construction of new knowledge? Are they creating a learning product or artifact?
• How are students applying essential skills they have acquired to demonstrate conceptual mastery?
• What assessments (formative or summative) are being used to determine standard attainment?
• How are students being provided feedback about their progress toward the specific learning objectives or outcomes?
• Is there alignment to current observation or evaluation tools?
‘#FlippedClassrooms’ may not have any impact on learning – See more at: http://www.eduwire.com/technology/flipped-classrooms-may-not-have-any-impact-on-learning/#sthash.ydZEqVVD.dpuf
Students reported in anonymous surveys that they either loved or hated the new model, and some said they felt the flipped classroom had a heavier workload since it required students to set aside time to watch the lengthy lecture videos.
Professors, too, had to spend considerably more time making and editing the videos and crafting engaging, hands-on sessions for their classes, she says.
Given these drawbacks, the fact that the actual learning outcomes seemed unaffected by the switch suggested that it might not be worth the hassle, Lape says.
Are you a user of Course Builder, Course Design Accelerator, Learning Activity Library…
Ken Miller (kwmiller@stcloudstate.edu) and I sat today as part of our Technology Week gatherings and were wondering how faculty is using these tools.
We won’t to hear other faculty how they integrate Learning Objectives and Outcomes through the process of building a D2L Course using Course Builder.
Courseware Designed to Close Equity Gaps
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2022/04/13/building-courseware-close-racial-gaps-gateway-classes
Coalitions of companies, colleges and research groups, funded by Gates, will develop digital courses especially aimed at improving learning outcomes for underrepresented students in gateway statistics and chemistry courses.
Faculty members often tell students to seek help via email, a mode of communication that typically demands a professional tone. “So you’re telling me that in this moment I’m struggling, I need to craft an all-important email,” Thanos said. “Why not help them with some email templates? One of the solutions we’re planning is a tool that would populate the draft of an email message for various things, like seeking help from a professor, to reduce my anxiety about reaching out.”
faculty training in “practices that demonstrate caring, an element often left out of faculty support
Why faculty need to talk about microcredentials
There is reason to believe that shorter, competency-based programs will play an important role in the university landscape in the coming years.
Australian commentator Stephen Matchett expands: “MCs are the wild west of post-compulsory education and training, with neither law on what they actually are or order as to how they interact with formal providers. … Until (or if) this is sorted by regulators there needs to be a sheriff providing workable rules that stop the cowboys running riot.”
The lack of standards is also an issue in Canada. While degree standards have been agreed upon – the Canadian Degree Qualification framework, contained in the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC)’s 2007 Ministerial Statement on Quality Assurance of Degree Education in Canada, outlines expectations for bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees – the CMEC has yet to issue a pan-Canadian framework for microcredentials.
In the absence of a pan-Canadian model or definition, for the purposes of this column I will use the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO)’s definition, put forward in its May 2021 report, Making Sense of Microcredentials:
“A microcredential is a representation of learning, awarded for completion of a short program that is focused on a discrete set of competencies (i.e., skills, knowledge, attributes), and is sometimes related to other credentials.”
Developing and running effective microcredential programs is not simply a matter of bundling a group of existing classes into a new sub-degree level program (although there will certainly be some who try that approach). Effective microcredential programming needs to be an institution-wide effort, with appropriate resourcing and guidelines, along with effective recruiting and student support.
department chairs and other unit leaders to lead collegial discussions about the following questions:
- Gaps: who is not being served by our current degree offerings? Is there potential demand for our disciplinary knowledge and skills from people who don’t want a full degree program? Are there ways people could upgrade their skills by taking certain types of our courses? Can we identify potential short programs to meet new, distinct learning outcomes?
- Student diversity: are there opportunities to develop short programs that could introduce a new demographic of students to our discipline? How might microcredentials be developed that meet the needs and interests of Indigenous students, first-generation students, or international students?
- Connection: how might we create partnerships with external organizations to inform our understanding of skill-training needs? Can these partnerships be leveraged to create new career pathways for students, and/or new research opportunities for faculty, postdocs, and graduate students?
- Impact: in what ways do our discipline’s insights relate to Canada’s current and future public needs? How might our disciplinary knowledge be combined with knowledge from other disciplines to train students to help address particular challenges? In what ways could our discipline contribute to student competency development that we consider meaningful and impactful?
+++++++++++++++
more on microcredentials in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=microcredential
Tip: Planning by Design
Stage 1: Planning learning outcomes, assessment, learning activities & course materials.
https://higheredpraxis.substack.com/p/tip-planning-by-design
The idea of backwards design has been around for several decades, starting with Understanding by Design, published in 1998 by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTigue.
- Learning Outcomes.
- Assessment.
- Learning Activities.
- Course Materials.
+++++++++++++++++
Study: Gamification Techniques Can Improve Online Teaching
https://campustechnology.com/articles/2021/04/12/study-gamification-techniques-can-improve-online-teaching.aspx
A new study out of MIT‘s Sloan School of Management explores the use of ideas and tools from the gaming community to improve online teaching and student learning outcomes.
four key elements for maximizing student engagement in online learning:
- Narrative — a specific storyline or overarching theme. For instance, study co-author Brian Stevens, senior lecturer at the University of Tennessee‘s Haslam College of Business, created a video game theme for his statistics class, incorporating “Boss Battles,” “Speed Runs” and wacky characters to spice up his lectures.
- Continuous flow of action in sight and sound, even before class starts. For example, Lo uses a countdown timer and upbeat music on his course page about 30 minutes before the start of a synchronous lecture, to build anticipation for class. He also switches tasks and/or scenes every 15 minutes to help maintain students’ attention and interest levels.
- Opportunities for two-way communication. To help turn students from viewers into participants, Lo uses a combination of the “Raise Hand” function in Zoom, polls, breakout sessions, surveys and the chat window.
- High production quality. Lo built a home studio with various input devices, professional lighting, a green screen and more to create richer, more engaging presentations for students.
The full study, “The World of EdCraft: Challenges and Opportunities in Synchronous Online Teaching,” is openly available online
serious gamers and gamification experts on that panel. More here on the initiative: https://tinyurl.com/IABOL2021
+++++++++++++++++++
more on gamification in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=gamification
free webinar: ‘How to facilitate effective group work at business schools’ on May 5 at 1PM ET.
This webinar will gather teachers and instructional designers from business schools in a panel discussion to share and exchange ideas on improving group dynamics and social loafing in team based education.
We’re happy to welcome Mustafa Elsawy, Learning Technologist from Georgia State University and Jeff Webb, Associate Professor from David Eccles School of Business as guest speakers for the discussion to share their insights on:
- Why and how team based learning adds value to course design;
- The challenges of implementing and facilitating group work in online, blended and hybrid classrooms;
- How peer feedback and peer assessment can contribute to achieve learning outcomes;
- How to empower faculty to scale peer feedback/assessment in future courses and prepare students for the labor market
You can learn more about the event on our website and register for free here.
++++++++++++++++++++++
more on online ed in this IMS blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=online+education
https://lompocrecord.com/opinion/columnists/jennifer-brown-and-christopher-lynch-quality-online-education-for-higher-ed-requires-public-investment/article_512e95ce-fae0-5d0b-917c-3a2f9232ad74.html
Online coursework must not be considered an inferior or cheaper option. Getting online right requires a significant investment in course development guided by professional course designers who focus on achieving and assessing learning outcomes. Best practices show that developing a quality online course takes about 10 weeks to build with the faculty member working closely alongside an instructional/course designer, and research has shown that in-person instruction improves after working with instructional designers.
An online lecture requires more lecture preparation, continuous monitoring of student progress, increased use of assessment tools, extensive electronic interaction with the students and online office hoursAdditional instructor and teaching assistant support is also needed, as well as technical support.
+++++++++++++++++
more on online education in this ISM blog
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=%22online+education%22