Wiki for Contextual Application

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:

Lee, S.J.; Srinivasan, S.; Trail, T.; Lewis, D.; and Lopez, S. (2011). Examining the Relationship Among Student Perception of Support, Course Satisfaction, and Learning Outcomes in Online Learning. Internet and Higher Education, 14, pp. 158-163.

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.