Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Engaged Learning: Making Learning an Authentic Experience
Several thoughts after reading this article.
TJC embarked on the PBL programme for the TJC Academy (TJC THINK Cycle). After a year of implementation, we discovered a distance between the THINK Cycle and the idealised PBL approach. Very much of the differences are idealogical in nature which are impacted by the implementation strategies of the teachers and the learning attitudes of the teachers and students.
In crafting problems and designing lessons, the TJC curriculum planners start from the A Levels curriculum. In conducting the lessons, the ultimate aim of the teachers and students is to pick up knowledge to meet the curriculum requirements through solving the problems of the PBL. In an idealized PBL, however, the ultimate objective is to solve the problem posed. The Singapore educators and students are in general very examination driven. Unless the A Levels is geared towards the assessment of process skills required by an idealized PBL, it will be difficult to implement the academically defined idealized PBL. The TJC Think Cycle however is still a big step forward towards authentic and engaging learning environments.
Examples of the technologies recommended by the paper to facilitate engaged learning are:
1. videos such as in anchored instruction
2. Technology-based templates that guide learners in the problem solving process
3. Communication tools
4. Information searching tools
5. reflection logs
6. Peer critiquing tools
7. Monitoring tools
8. Learning environments which facilitate the involvement of experts
9. Mind Tools
10. Collaboration tools like the Knowledge Forum
11. Visualisation-simulation tools
Many schools know have some forms of LMS. However, most LMSes do not have all the required technologies to facilitate engaged learning. Schools therefore have to deploy different platforms. Operationally speaking, this will be a deterent to the use of IT. At the user level, it is ideal if there is 1 platform that fulfills most if not all the requirements for schools to implement IT facilitated engaged learning environment.
TJC embarked on the PBL programme for the TJC Academy (TJC THINK Cycle). After a year of implementation, we discovered a distance between the THINK Cycle and the idealised PBL approach. Very much of the differences are idealogical in nature which are impacted by the implementation strategies of the teachers and the learning attitudes of the teachers and students.
In crafting problems and designing lessons, the TJC curriculum planners start from the A Levels curriculum. In conducting the lessons, the ultimate aim of the teachers and students is to pick up knowledge to meet the curriculum requirements through solving the problems of the PBL. In an idealized PBL, however, the ultimate objective is to solve the problem posed. The Singapore educators and students are in general very examination driven. Unless the A Levels is geared towards the assessment of process skills required by an idealized PBL, it will be difficult to implement the academically defined idealized PBL. The TJC Think Cycle however is still a big step forward towards authentic and engaging learning environments.
Examples of the technologies recommended by the paper to facilitate engaged learning are:
1. videos such as in anchored instruction
2. Technology-based templates that guide learners in the problem solving process
3. Communication tools
4. Information searching tools
5. reflection logs
6. Peer critiquing tools
7. Monitoring tools
8. Learning environments which facilitate the involvement of experts
9. Mind Tools
10. Collaboration tools like the Knowledge Forum
11. Visualisation-simulation tools
Many schools know have some forms of LMS. However, most LMSes do not have all the required technologies to facilitate engaged learning. Schools therefore have to deploy different platforms. Operationally speaking, this will be a deterent to the use of IT. At the user level, it is ideal if there is 1 platform that fulfills most if not all the requirements for schools to implement IT facilitated engaged learning environment.
CoP - David Hung's Introduction
Dr Hung made a very spirited introduction to the session bringing in a lot of examples to support the principles of social constructivism and how different parts of the brains interact with each other to form meaning. The checker-board illusion example attracted most attention. The participations didn't believe their the mind trick at first till at the request of Joy, Dr Hung repeated the demonstration without the powerpoint animation.
Dr Hung went on to introduce his RSP model with which he explained the differences between social constructivism, cognitivism and behaviourism. He went on to argue how the formation of CoP can be explained by the RSP model.
He shared the essential components to a successful CoP, to which Dr Koh asked for my opinion whether these components are reflective of the "CoP" in the formation of the Temasek Academy. I can't remember what I have said, but really hope that I didn't rattle out rubbish.
From Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_of_Practice):
CoP - The concept of a community of practice (often abbreviated as CoP) refers to the process of social learning that occurs when people who have a common interest in some subject or problem collaborate over an extended period to share ideas, find solutions, and build innovations.
The term was first used in 1991 by Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger who used it in relation to situated learning as part of an attempt to "rethink learning" at the Institute for Research on Learning. In 1998, the theorist Etienne Wenger extended the concept and applied it to other contexts, including organizational settings. More recently Communities of Practice have become associated with knowledge management as people have begun to see them as ways of developing social capital, nurturing new knowledge, stimulating innovation or sharing existing tacit knowledge within an organization. It is now an accepted part of organizational development (OD).
Key CoP concepts are: periphery & core membership, participation, domain, practice, boundaries, reification, making meaning, legitimate peripheral participation.
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The creation and maintenance of participation in CoP that is truly beneficial to the organisation is not an easy process. Very often, when the core team (or even just 1 person) moves on, the CoP dies a natural death. Wenger himself advocates a natural "decline" of COPs. Dr Hung shared in general strategies required to maintain CoP which are quite logical and refreshing. It is interesting to see how these can be applied to ETD.
Dr Hung went on to introduce his RSP model with which he explained the differences between social constructivism, cognitivism and behaviourism. He went on to argue how the formation of CoP can be explained by the RSP model.
He shared the essential components to a successful CoP, to which Dr Koh asked for my opinion whether these components are reflective of the "CoP" in the formation of the Temasek Academy. I can't remember what I have said, but really hope that I didn't rattle out rubbish.
From Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_of_Practice):
CoP - The concept of a community of practice (often abbreviated as CoP) refers to the process of social learning that occurs when people who have a common interest in some subject or problem collaborate over an extended period to share ideas, find solutions, and build innovations.
The term was first used in 1991 by Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger who used it in relation to situated learning as part of an attempt to "rethink learning" at the Institute for Research on Learning. In 1998, the theorist Etienne Wenger extended the concept and applied it to other contexts, including organizational settings. More recently Communities of Practice have become associated with knowledge management as people have begun to see them as ways of developing social capital, nurturing new knowledge, stimulating innovation or sharing existing tacit knowledge within an organization. It is now an accepted part of organizational development (OD).
Key CoP concepts are: periphery & core membership, participation, domain, practice, boundaries, reification, making meaning, legitimate peripheral participation.
----------------------
The creation and maintenance of participation in CoP that is truly beneficial to the organisation is not an easy process. Very often, when the core team (or even just 1 person) moves on, the CoP dies a natural death. Wenger himself advocates a natural "decline" of COPs. Dr Hung shared in general strategies required to maintain CoP which are quite logical and refreshing. It is interesting to see how these can be applied to ETD.
Sunday, February 19, 2006
Introduction
Here is a little about myself.
Name: Sherwin Cheng
Occupation: Educational Technology Officer
Company: Ministry of Education
Family: Happily married with a little boy, Skyler
Name: Sherwin Cheng
Occupation: Educational Technology Officer
Company: Ministry of Education
Family: Happily married with a little boy, Skyler
