We have all realized at some point in our teaching career that only when we taught a topic did we really understand the material (glycolysis!). For this very reason it makes pedagogical sense to design your course in such a way that it included student construction of content, as well as management of activities, within the course. Students who create content will have the opportunity to use new skills learned in the course and also broaden their knowledge base. All while actually decreasing the workload of the instructor who can then focus on developing other aspects of the course.
The products created by the students, which are often learning objects, such as presentations, video, podcasts, etc, can be reused in the course and by the students themselves to teach other (current and future) students.
If the task is done as a group project then not only will it stimulate individual learning but also collaborative learning by building a knowledge base collaboratively.
This type of inquiry-based learning will involve the integration of informational (background research on the topic) and technological (using video camera) skills. Ultimately we will be educating a workforce with skills that employers value. The disadvantage is that some of these skills are not necessarily your responsibility to teach within the scope of the course. It is therefore important that student have access to support from their institution to be able to obtain the skills (use of camera, how to do library research, etc.) to help create content (I guess just as the instructor will need access to these resources).
1. Student Content Creators: Convergence of Literacies (2007) Educause Review V 42 (6): 16-17 Joan K. Lippincott http://bit.ly/cpAy1c
2. Talk the talk: Learner-generated podcasts as catalysts for knowledge creation. British Journal of Educational Technology V39 (3): 501-521 M. J. W. Lee, C. McLoughlin, A. Chan
No comments:
Post a Comment