This week our assignment is to extend our previous lesson plan to develop either critical thinking skills or transfer learning outside the classroom, otherwise known as contextual learning. West and West (2011) explain that learning experiences must encourage students to create and do, not just think. Using Bloom's Taxonomy, this learning objective would fall under applying and creating. In addition, Knowles assumptions of the adult learner tell us that contextual learning is important to an adult's need to relate their learning to relevant tasks in order to make meaning. Finally, contextual learning contributes to situated learning theory in which students learn within a community of practice by working on authentic problems with the help of more experienced mentors or peers (Swan, 2005).
This lesson plan extends the previous assignment by requiring students to take the knowledge they already created (questions and answers for new distance learners) to look for trends that may diminish satisfaction of distance learning among new students, which may contribute to lower retention. Once the trends are identified, narrowed, and supported with evidence, students are to articulate a specific problem and develop a solution that can be applied to their immediate academic environment. These proposals are then submitted to decision makers within the academic institution for review and possible implementation. Although this lesson plan is not exactly like one of the examples detailed by West and West (2011), it is closest to the Team Challenge meant to encourage students to brainstorm, test, and develop creative solutions to real-world problems.
Title of the lesson:
Wiki: New
Solutions for Distance Learners
Target audience:
Students in an
introductory online course
Learning objectives:
Students
will continue their collaborative work with the web 2.0 tool, wiki for
contextual application by identifying common problems for distance learners and
brainstorming new solutions. Students
will identify trends from their initial project of generating a list FAQ for
new distance learners, prioritize and narrow most common problems to a list of
top 3, and then develop possible solutions.
This “real world” problem will appeal to new distance learners as
meaningful work with direct application to their field/topic of interest (West
and West, 2011). Groups will maintain
the same members in order to avoid the need to build trust and establish
productive group dynamics again. Groups
are expected to move quickly into the project since they have already worked to
create a learning community. Groups will
be encouraged to shift responsibilities if they have relied on job assignments
as opposed to immersed collaboration.
Preparation:
Create child wiki pages for each
group connected to their group home page of FAQ.
Frame each child page in order to
scaffold and support adult students in their ability to brainstorm problems, research
corroborating evidence, and negotiate solutions.
§ Trends identified
§ Research to support challenges
identified with trends
§ Best practice solutions found
elsewhere
§ Recommendations for change
Materials needed (handouts,
worksheets, Link reference, etc.):
Link to required reading
Required Reading:
Assignment Procedure
For this
assignment, you will extend and expand your wiki of Frequently Asked Questions
of New Distance Learners. I have created
a child page, or a new wiki page linked to your original page (called your
“home” page). You can locate this page by clicking "projects" under the Wiki Home at the top left hand side of the main class page. You will maintain your
original group members in order to facilitate quick discussion and
brainstorming.
Retention of
adult students in higher education is a concern for all learning
institutions. Therefore, student
satisfaction is an important goal. Now
that you have generated a list of common concerns of new distance learners,
your challenge is to review your previous work to identify trends of frustrations
or issues that diminish the satisfaction of distance learners and develop
strategies to overcome those barriers to student satisfaction within our
academic institution.
I have
already framed your child page with 4 areas of focus for you to develop. Feel free to modify this starting point to
better suit your direction. However,
remember to support all arguments with credible evidence and cite references
accordingly. Take advantage of your
previous wiki brainstorming by referring to the history section to remind you
of your discussions. Identify 3 problems
contributing to student dissatisfaction with distance learning and develop a
solution for each. Consider a variety of
options to enhance student satisfaction, such as technology, support services,
social media, programming, etc. Don’t
limit your solutions when brainstorming.
It is important to really stretch your ideas for creative answers. However, your end result should have a level
of reasonableness and applicable to local students.
Groups will
post feedback to other groups that is constructive and substantive. Each group member is required to answer at
least one feedback post. Groups will
have an opportunity to fine-tune their project based on feedback. Finally, proposals will be submitted to
program managers responsible for student retention in the Department for Distance Learning at XYZ University for
consideration of implementation. Good
luck!
Due Dates:
October22,
2012 – Wiki complete
October 29,
2012 – Feedback complete
November 5,
2012 – Final proposal complete
Evaluation:
20 points possible, 5 points for each
category below:
Creativity: Color, visuals, and creative design elements
are included to create an appealing site without cluttering or distracting the
reader. Remember, your audience is
program managers in an academic institution.
Although they are interested in solutions for improvement, they will
appreciate wikis that are easily read, with a logical flow and free of
extraneous or unnecessary filler.
Content: Real
problems are identified and supported with current (last 5 years) and credible evidence
and articulated in a clear and concise manner.
Solutions are detailed, thorough and applicable to local students. Care is taken not to quote directly, but instead
paraphrased and includes active links when possible. Grammar counts!
Collaboration:
All students contribute to the group
effort using their personal strengths to advance the collaborative
product. This is a subjective area, so a
group assessment survey will be taken into consideration.
Peer Review: Comments are substantive and supportive of
the task at hand. Postings are positive
and respectful while offering clarification and new perspectives.
Some characteristics of good feedback:
· Positive comments about a particular
element of the wiki with explanation as to why it is unique and/or especially
notable
· Relates to a personal experience
which extends the conversation
· Illustrates how the wiki enlightened
or stretched understanding
· Offers constructive critique or
extends the analysis with additional evidence or research
References:
Swan, K. (2005). A constructivist model for thinking about learning online. In J.Bourne & J.C. Moore (Eds), Elements of quality online education: Engaging communities. Needham, MA: Sloan-C.
West, J. and West, M. (2011). Using Wikis for Online Collaboration. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA.
