Category: edci335

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Interactive learning Design: Technology-Based Learning

 

The Interactive learning resource that my group and I are designing is the English language taught to K-12 students. The YouTube link above is a five-minute video that introduces basic English conversations such as greetings, farewells, and common introductions. The video promotes positive interaction between the student and the learning material as well as between the student and the instructor. This is done by encouraging inherent interactivity, that is, the students are encouraged to respond to and interact with the media presented. Questions are asked at the end of the video that reflect the information that was taught. This method of learning is known as adaptive learning, which is a type of inherent learning. Student needs to understand the material taught in order to progress to more complex information, and this is ensured with a short quiz. The way in which students are likely to respond is by thinking about the topic when answering the questions to the quiz, for example, a student may verbally respond to the quiz question “who introduced Kyle” but to answer correctly they must cognitively respond, using the material that was taught prior. After showing the students the short video, it is important for them to apply the knowledge they learned in face to face situations, therefore, assigning review and preparation for homework is important. If the students have time to prepare questions and replies from the material taught in the video they will be better prepared for group work in the following class. Students can be put into small groups where they can have conversations with fellow students who have also had time to prepare questions and answers. The medium in which students can perform these tasks can be over zoom or face to face. The video is able to address barriers to learning, such as potential visual impairments or hearing impairments, since the video has audio as well as text, thus it is inclusive to all students, irrespective of learning abilities. Ultimately, understanding technology-based learning is important so that learner interaction and effective teaching can be accomplished.

thanks for listening!

Olivia Mitchell xoxo

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Universal Design: In the Classroom and the World

Modern environments, such as cities, roadways, stores, and even our houses have become increasingly complex due to the desire for a clean, sleek look that matches the ever-changing societal standard. Though these changes may seem simple and forthcoming to some, these constant advances can put forth barriers to others. Our road systems, for example, grow increasingly complex each year, with unique signs, speed limits, right of way rules, and more. Though this is good for organizing travel and ensuring people’s safety, special measures need to be implemented in order to ensure the wellbeing of everyone, despite individual ability. Universal design is a way in which particular environments are designed so as to provide equal opportunity and accessibility to all personal discounting age, size, ability, or disability (National Disability Authority, 2020). An example of the implementation of universal design would be stop signs. Stop signs have been around for many years, but recently they have not only grown in dimension but also have bright flashing red lights around them. By engineering these alterations, it ensures that everyone, even those with poor vision can see the warning sign. These new stop signs mediate the flow of traffic and also ensure the safety and viewing of people with visual deficits.

Related to the topic of design advancement is learning. A provisional transition from a “one size fits all” method of education, in which teachers design lesson plans to specifically accommodate “typical learners” and commonly fail to provide structured support for “atypical” learners, to a universal learning design (UDL), whereby the environment and strategy in which information is taught caters to the needs of all individuals irrespective of their ability. By identifying the various barrier present in a student’s learning environment, a framework for effective learning can be developed that supports the needs of every individual, thus modernizing the traditional perspective of how students learn. An example of universal learning design in the classroom is digital and audio text, whereby taught information is available digitally, thus supporting students with visual impairment, in that, they can enlarge the text, while also providing an alternative means of learning to students without disability.

In this way, ULD takes inspiration from engineered universal design, whereby inclusiveness and equal opportunity are promoted. UDL provides students with an equal opportunity to thrive in their learning environment, in the same way,that universal design engineering allows accessibility and opportunity to all.

Sources

National Disability Authority, 2020. What is Universal Design. Retrieved from: http://universaldesign.ie/What-is-Universal-Design/

 

 

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Direct Instruction: Application to Learning the English Language

Different methods of effective instruction have been developed so as to optimize learning in the classroom environment. A widely used approach to teaching is known as direct instruction (DI). The basis of DI is providing students with information about a topic at their particular skill level, via incremental, built upon knowledge. In doing so students can learn in a faster, more effective way. DI is taught in an explicit manner, in that, teachers follow carefully mandated lesson plans and present it to students, whether that be via a presentation or directly speaking to the class. The teacher ensures that each topic is understood before moving on to the next, more advanced sub-component of the subject. For example, if a class is learning about language, the teacher will not begin the lesson on how to comprise full sentences, they will begin by informing students of simple words, grammar, conjugation and eventually will build-up to the ability to form sentences. The method aims to ensure full comprehension of each sub-topic before progression onto the next, in order to achieve this, the material is taught in a 10%- 90% manor, in that 10% of the learned content is new, and 90% is review and application. This integration of new and old information promotes deep understanding, and complex thinking.

My pod group and I have chosen the English language as our topic. The benefits of direct instruction are that students can learn at their own level of intelligence and will not be either held back or left behind as the subject is taught. Students are grouped together based on their skill level, and thus are able to work closely with the instructor and not amongst a large group of individuals. As an instructor, gauging the student’s progression is made easier using DI. In relation to teaching the English language, direct instruction will be a great teaching method, since students learn languages at very different passes, and progression cannot be done without deep understanding. As well, language is something that is learned incrementally, building upon a small foundation, DI will allow for effective progression of understanding. One downfall of this method is its lack of inclusion of interactive group work, which may be troublesome for some students who require more interaction with students and group discussion. For students who require group work, a cooperative approach to learning would be more effective, as Kaiheng explains.  The directed Instruction teaching methodology is effective in the learning environment because it supports every individual in an effective, encouraging way.

 

Thanks for listening!

xoxo Olivia

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Behaviourism, Cognitivism and Constructivism: How Learning Made Sense

Learning cannot be encapsulated as one specific means of obtaining knowledge simply through the input of information but is better characterized by three developed theories of learning; behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism, which aim to reinforce, make connections and remold mental representations of information, respectively. A situation in which all three methods of learning were presented to me pertains to my favorite university course, Endocrinology (biology 432), which is the study of endocrine glands, and hormone systems in the human body. The course began by overviewing the topics to be covered using the behaviorism strategy; presenting us with terms and definitions which needed to become second nature before proceeding to the more complex components of the course. This was achieved through constant presentation and reinforcement of information, thus enhancing our stimulus-response associations until the correct knowledge became inherent to us. Secondly, the professors took on a cognitivism approach, in which they began to build upon our knowledge of basic Endocrinology and presenting us with more complex ideas, in which they linked to previous understanding and the utilization of prerequisite knowledge to improve understanding of complex ideas. Deeper thinking was encouraged in this section, since the information being presented was not simply input and regurgitation, but required decision making, for example, presenting us with symptoms of an illness and prompting us to associate the information we already knew and connect it to the novel information. Finally, in the most complex portion of the course, the constructivism strategy was engaged to promote the mounding of our knowledge into more than just knowing what was written in the textbook. We were primed to take our understandings and apply it to higher-order thinking, in that real-life patient scenario were presented, and we had to interpret the information (ex. Cold intolerance lethargy and depression) and come up with what was causing it, a formal diagnosis, and future treatments. This information could not simply be read from a textbook, the information needed to be conceptualized and elaborated upon using underlying knowledge. By creating a link between presented material and the meaning of the information we were able to remold the way our brains process information. By Embodying all three methods of learning design, I was able to progress my knowledge to more than just reproducing what the textbook aforementioned, but I was able to associate, process, and contextualize information in a positive, effective way.

After reading Trinh’s post it was clear to me that although science and theory formulate methods for effective learning, each individual is unique in that their learning strategies stem from personal insight, knowledge, and the context/environment in which they learn information. Despite Derek Muller suggesting the complicated impacts of learning via khan academy, and the impacts of screen time learning, students can still thrive by utilizing these methods of learned behavior and knowledge gain.

Thanks so much for listening!!

Xoxo Olivia