Friday, February 19, 2010
CSCL2
The chapters discuss methods to help facilitate learning. One mention was about helping the students grow away from the task oriented mentality. I enjoyed reading the first chapter because I learned a lot about myself and how I could apply some of those theories to my own learning and comprehension strategies. I understand that I am in a graduate program and this should have already been learned. To be honest I am still very task oriented. I have to really try to put more into my work then just answering questions or making my responses seem relevant and intelligent with little effort. I find it difficult when I have to answer over 100 posts each week in my classes to maintain a high level of engagement. I’m not sure what I would do (if anything) if told to only write and respond if I wanted to. After the readings and my reflection I have decided that it has to be a personal goal, which I keep in the forefront of my mind when interacting in my classes. I thought it was interesting that the author pointed out that students are taught (or our culture) to be task oriented when it comes to school. They gave examples of reading Shakespeare but not being able to understand how it would be relevant in real life. The teacher presents it as a task that must be completed in order to progress in school, not to progress in life. They also stated that if the purpose of what was being asked of them was explained then the students may engage on a different level. I agree and see that even as a grad student. I also see that with my co workers. They attend in-service because it is mandatory and most would admit they got little out of the experience. When the staff is asked to put on the in-service based on their feelings of importance or needs assessment (they have something to gain), then they themselves enjoy it and engage as well as their peers because they are supportive. The underlying message I got from the readings was that the learner has to be on board with the purpose and be looking to obtain the same outcomes as the educator for them to be engaged and it be more than a task they are required to complete. Another example is the when they discussed the boy Ted who was very competent in his math skills but had low scores on test and other worksheets. He found what he enjoyed and was relevant to him and pursued that portion only.
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I agree with your comenting on the posting aspect of the classes this semester. I get easily confused on who I have responded to, what I have said and to whom, and how many posts I have actually made. Sometimes it seems I am more concerned with the number than the content. I need to make more of an effort to post quality not quantity posts on a weekly basis.
ReplyDeleteI also appreciated your comments on being very clear about an assignments purpose. It is easy to just make assignments just for the sake of taking a weekly grade. It made me want to reexamine why I assign some of the things that I do, or at least to make them seem relevent to my students lives.
I feel that if we (students or as co workers) know up front what to expect, what we are going to learn and why it is important, it makes it more relavent to our practice or to our learning. We will get more out of it if we know why it is important to attend an inservice. The worst possible thing is to go to an inservice where the manager says that it does not apply to you but are still required to go. It is a waste of time and effort for you to even go. Time is to precious to waste and we need to get the most out of our learning. It not only benefits us but also our patients.
ReplyDeleteI agree that if students or staff are explained why they are given assignments or have to go to in-service, they will make more of an effort to learn. If we are told to just post a response to someones discussion post without knowing that this type of discussion is how we can gain a deeper understanding or learn more, we are more apt to just blow off the assignment and just say, "good post. I agree." I think that just as chapter 1 illustrated in the case study,learning can be more effective through discussion.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your discussion about relevance of learning. think about why people decide whether to join or not to continue in a virtual community...it all depends on if an individual see the perceived needs and relevance, and if the time spent interacting with other people is worthwhile given personal goals. -Xun
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