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Implementing the Seven Principles: Technology as Lever

http://www.tltgroup.org/programs/seven.html

"Since the Seven Principles of Good Practice were created in 1987, new communication and information technologies have become major resources for teaching and learning in higher education. If the power of the new technologies is to be fully realized, they should be employed in ways consistent with the Seven Principles. Such technologies are tools with multiple capabilities; it is misleading to make assertions like 'Microcomputers will empower students' because that is only one way in which computers might be used."

Learning Styles
There are many resources online about Learning Styles, but I found this introduction by Beginner's Guide to be right on...

http://beginnersguide.com/college/learning-styles/learning-styles-overview.php

"Have you ever noticed that in order for some people to learn something, they have to read it out loud? After they’ve said and heard the words, they understand it and will probably remember it. Others, though, could read a paragraph six times without learning anything; but if you give them a project to work on – if they do it with their own hands – they’ll never forget it. Why is it that some people need to hear things, while others need to see them and some need to experience them? These different approaches to learning are more than just the personal preference of those involved; these learning styles are part of who they are.

Learning styles are simply various ways of learning. Though most people learn through a combination of the three primary styles (auditory, visual, and kinesthetic), everyone has a preferred style that works the best for them. It is important to understand your own learning style so that you can cater to your own distinct learning needs; it is also very important to understand the learning styles of others when teaching or working with them. Identifying the learning style of yourself and others will help you capitalize on strengths and improve weaknesses."

Constructivism, Instructional Design, and Technology: Implications for Transforming Distance Learning

"...Distance learning provides a unique context in which to infuse constructivist principles where learners are expected to function as self-motivated, self-directed, interactive, collaborative participants in their learning experiences by virtue of their physical location. Hence, the aim of this paper is to provide a clear link between the theoretical principles of constructivism, the construction of technology-supported learning environments, and the practice of distance education...."

* "...encourages the construction of social context in which collaboration creates a sense of community, and that teachers and students are active participants in the learning process.
* learners work together as peers, applying their combined knowledge to the solution of the problem.
* seven primary constructivist values of collaboration, personal autonomy, generatively, reflectivity, active engagement, personal relevance, and pluralism."

Building Learning Communities in Cyberspace: Effective Strategies for the Online Classroom

http://www.iasce.net/Newsletters/2001_Spring/20_1_page_4.shtml

..."Indicators of the existence of community among the members of an online course include (p. 32):

Active interaction involving both course content and personal communication

Collaborative learning evidenced by comments directed primarily student to student
rather than student to instructor

Socially constructed meaning evidenced by agreement or questioning, with the intent to
achieve agreement on issues of meaning

Sharing of resources among students

Expressions of support and encouragement exchanged between students, as well as
willingness to critically evaluate the work of others"...

Instructors Become Facilitators...
The instructor must "Re-think the syllabus to build as many collaborative activities as possible. Collaborative learning changes the whole nature of the teaching-learning process and the teacher-student relationship. The educator becomes less an authority figure and more a resource and facilitator for the learning activities (Harasim, Hiltz, Teles, & Turoff, 1995)."

http://illinois.online.uillinois.edu/Resources/tutorials/pedagogy/instructorProfile.asp

Active participation within a hybrid environment can strengthen learning to provide stronger comprehension and retention of material. Because the students are now more involved in their learning by writing, discussing, sharing, debating, and working within teams, the instructor must now facilitate the students' learning. Facilitators will spend less time lecturing and more time mentoring individual learning.

Facilitators can provide the students with current information and personal experiences to help build understanding. They may be online 5 to 7 days a week reviewing discussions and providing feedback. It is important for students to think critically, so a facilitator may create assignments to assimilate theory into concept and application. A facilitator will not only provide a student with content resources, but also provide support resources for the technology used in a hybrid course.

Blurb.

Effective Teaching

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Bloom's Taxonomy
Corrosion Doctor's Bloom's Taxonomy for Corrosion Training site...

http://www.corrosion-doctors.org/Training/Bloom.htm

"Training levels have been added to the following adaptation of Bloom's taxonomy to corrosion education, with Level 1 corresponding to the easiest goal and level 5 to the most difficult. Typically, goals belonging to levels 4 and 5 would be required of students in their last years of an engineering program, or at the graduate level. Levels 1 to 3 would correspond to difficulties associated with the very first years of any university program."

UVIC Learning Skills Program

http://www.coun.uvic.ca/learn/program/hndouts/bloom.html

Benjamin Bloom created this taxonomy for categorizing levels of abstraction of questions that commonly occur in educational settings. The taxonomy provides a useful structure in which to categorize test questions, since professors will characteristically ask questions within particular levels, and if you can determine the levels of questions that will appear on your exams, you will be able to study using appropriate strategies.

Understanding by Design: Chapter 1. What is Backward Design
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development provides an online version of the Understanding by Design book, Chapter 1. Backward Design...

http://www.ascd.org/portal/site/ascd/menuitem.6a270a3015fcac8d0987af19e3108a0c/

"To begin with the end in mind means to start with a clear understanding of your destination. It means to know where you're going so that you better understand where you are now so that the steps you take are always in the right direction."

Learning-Centered Syllabi Workshop
The Iowa State University Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching provides...

http://www.celt.iastate.edu/teaching/syllabi.html

"The concept is simple but its implications are far-reaching: students and their ability to learn are at the center of what we do. This means that we focus on the process of learning rather than the content, that the content and the teacher adapt to the students rather than expecting the students to adapt to the content, that responsibility is placed on students to learn rather than on professors to teach."

Formative Assessment within Bb's Test & Survey Tools
"When teachers know how students are progressing and where they are having trouble, they can use this information to make necessary instructional adjustments, such as reteaching, trying alternative instructional approaches, or offering more opportunities for practice. These activities can lead to improved student success."

http://www.ccny.cuny.edu/ctl/handbook/Griswold.html

Some methods of formative assessment are;

instructor evaluation survey

For example: instead of waiting until the end of the year for the instructor evaluation, go ahead and create a small survey for your students so that you have time to adjust your teaching methods during the class.

after class survey

For example: after class, provide a quick survey that asks about the muddiest and best points in today's lecture.

homework assignments

practice exams

For example: "These exercises may be done outside of the class with opportunities for students to check their own answers and discuss them with classmates. We have found that this approach has two important benefits. First, it communicates clearly to students what you think is important and at what level you are testing. Second, it focuses and motivates students to study. This is because they know what to expect and can take responsibility for their learning. Practice testing is fair only if the actual examination reflects the structure and emphasis of the pretest."

quizzes & surveys

Online Journals

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Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

http://www.iupui.edu/~josotl/

"JoSoTL is sponsored by The Mack Center at Indiana University for Inquiry on Teaching and Learning in association with the Faculty Colloquium on Excellence in Teaching. Founded in 2001 at Indiana University South Bend and now housed at IUPUI, JoSoTL encourages all instructors to engage in the discussion of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), and to become involved in the sharing of knowledge and learning about the teaching-learning process. The Journal provides a publication outlet for research in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning."

Positive Pedagogy: Successful and Innovatvie Strategies in Higher Education

http://www.mcmaster.ca/cll/posped/

"Positive Pedagogy is an on-line journal, developed by the Ontario 3M Teaching Fellows, and devoted to the recognition and development of excellence in teaching. Published three times per year, Positive Pedagogy presents examples of innovative and/or effective practices in use at Canadian universities and colleges."

Techniques and Strategies

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