Active Learning By Diane Starke, El Paso Community College Purpose: Learning is not a spectator sport. Students do not learn much just by sitting in class listening to teachers, memorizing prepackaged assignments, and spitting out answers. Research has demonstrated that students learn more if they are actively engaged with the material they are studying. Key Concepts: Section 1: What is Active Learning? Active Learning is, in short, anything that students do in a classroom other than merely passively listening to an instructor's lecture. This website from Stoutland Elementary School in Missouri, provides an extensive list of the various definitions of active learning originally posted by the Teaching Resource Center at UC Davis. Powerful Partnerships: A Shared Responsibility for Learning (1998 Joint Report, American Association for Higher Education, et. al.) describes learning as an inherently active process: Section 2: Research on Active Learning Springer, L., Stanne, M. Tobin, K. (1986). D.C.
Why Don't They Apply What They've Learned, Part I - Do Your Job Better By James M. Lang For two years I taught in a special program in which the same cohort of students took two consecutive courses with me: freshman composition in the fall and introduction to literature in the spring. In the composition courses, I worked hard to help students move beyond the standard strategies they had learned in high school for writing introductory paragraphs: Start with a broad statement about life ("Since the beginning of time, people have been fighting wars ...") and narrow down to a specific topic. In both years that I taught the two-course sequence, I was startled to see many students come back from winter break and—on their very first papers in the spring class—revert directly back to those tired strategies that I had worked so hard to help them unlearn in the fall. One such student came into my office early in the spring semester to show me a draft of her paper, and it included a lame reverse-pyramid (i.e., general to specific) introduction. D'oh! James M.
Active and Cooperative Learning The past decade has seen an explosion of interest among college faculty in the teaching methods variously grouped under the terms 'active learning' and 'cooperative learning'. However, even with this interest, there remains much misunderstanding of and mistrust of the pedagogical "movement" behind the words. The majority of all college faculty still teach their classes in the traditional lecture mode. Some of the criticism and hesitation seems to originate in the idea that techniques of active and cooperative learning are genuine alternatives to, rather than enhancements of, professors' lectures. We provide below a survey of a wide variety of active learning techniques which can be used to supplement rather than replace lectures. "Active Learning" is, in short, anything that students do in a classroom other than merely passively listening to an instructor's lecture. Exercises for Individual Students
The Little Assignment with the Big Impact: Reading, Writing, Critical Reflection May 6, 2013 By: Geraldine Van Gyn, PhD in Instructional Design Several years ago, I came across the Purposeful Reading Assignment that was reported to encourage students to read, reflect, and write about readings assigned for class. Research (Roberts and Roberts, 2008) and experience tell us that supporting students’ reading, writing, and reflective practices is one of the most challenging aspects of learning and teaching. Although this assignment appeared to be simple, it has proven to be an influential tool for learning and has increased engagement and participation among my students. The basic assignment, also called the 3-2-1, has three requirements: Requirement 1: Students read what is assigned, then choose and describe the three most important aspects (concepts, issues, factual information, etc.) of the reading, justifying their choices. The completed assignment is submitted on an electronic template before the class when the reading will be discussed. References Novak, G. Dr.
How Technology Can Improve Learner-Centered Teaching For faculty looking to create a more learner-centered environment there are always a few bumps in the road. First they need to get used to no longer being the “sage on the stage” and then there’s the adjustment period for students who aren’t used to being active participants in their learning. In many ways, technology can help pave the way for both faculty and students, but only if the instructor “is adept at creating a course that capitalizes on the pedagogical benefits that technology facilitates in helping students meet the desired learning outcomes for the course,” said Ike Shibley, associate professor of chemistry at Penn State – Berks. In other words, technology for the sake of technology is never good. In the recent online seminar Learner-Centered Technology: Aligning Tools with Learning Goals, Shibley provided a roadmap for matching technological tools to course learning outcomes. Here are some of the ways technology can help satisfy the goals of a learner-centered classroom: 1.
How to Fix Shockwave Flash Crashes in Google Chrome Google Chrome is becoming one of the most popular Web browsers, with an 84% increase in users over the last year. However, because Google Chrome comes packaged with so many features, some users may experience some plugins, like Shockwave Flash, to crash seemingly inexplicably. Unlike other browsers — such as Firefox and Internet Explorer, which call upon the Flash installation of the host system — Chrome includes an internal Flash installation. Sometimes, this isn’t a problem for new Chrome users. [NOTE: you might also be interested in seeing how to disable 'This Page Has Insecure Content' warnings in Google Chrome.] Other times, the duplicate installation of Adobe Flash on the OS and in Chrome will cause a conflict. It’s important to know that the warning has nothing to do with with Adobe Shockwave, which is a separate program/multimedia system from Adobe Flash. After you disable Chrome’s installation of Flash, close the tab and then close Google Chrome.
Hacking Prezi as a Platform for Visual Composition and Design Experimentation [This is a guest post by Kimon Keramidas, Assistant Professor and Director for the Digital Media Lab at the Bard Graduate Center. Kimon teaches about the design and material culture of technology and is tasked with integrating and implementing digital media within the curricular and research goals of faculty and students. He also leads the development of digital media and interactives for the BGC's Focus Gallery exhibitions. Find him online at and follow him on Twitter at @kimonizer.--@BC] One of my favorite parts of ProfHacker is the idea of subtly hacking tools for educational purposes. But if you start to think more creatively about what Prezi’s toolset offers, you begin to realize how powerful a tool it can be for designing a wide array of visual compositions. At my institution, the Bard Graduate Center, we’ve come to realize the range of Prezi’s possibilities through a variety of different projects. Return to Top
How To Convert Prezi To YouTube Videos Anyone who has used the Prezi platform would know that creating a Prezi and uploading it to Prezi.com is easy enough, however when it comes to converting it to a YouTube video, there seems to be no native method of doing so. While you can convert PowerPoint to video formats using a native PowerPoint feature, the same cannot be said for the Prezi application. However, you can convert Prezi to YouTube by using a workaround. Capture Prezi With A Screen Recording Tool As Prezis are zooming presentations, you can neatly capture your presentation using a screen capture tool. Convert Prezi To Video Format Once your Prezi presentation has been recorded, you can use the native option within your screen recording tool to convert the captured screencast to a desired video format. Upload Recorded Prezi Presentation To YouTube Once the Prezi has been converted to video format, you can upload it to YouTube. Example Of Prezi Presentation Uploaded to YouTube (1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading...
The 15 best free images websites on the Internet With the revamp of Google Images, there's a big temptation to dive on in there and start picking out photos and graphics willy nilly. The sad truth, of course, is that you can't just download any image you like and use it on your website or blog because Google found it. There is that rather annoying thing called copyright. You're welcome to have a go, but there's all sorts of internet tools out there to let photographers know what's happening to their shots. Instead, what you need are Creative Commons, public domain or just photography that someone is good enough to hand out for nothing but often just a little credit. Freeimages.co.uk It's not the world's prettiest website and the search is basic to say the least, but you can't argue with a source of more than 5000 free original stock photos - particularly when they're this good. Freedigitalphotos.net Stock.xchng Image After NationslIlustrated There's only one thing you'll find here but you do get it 7700 times over. Turbo Photo Photl.com You