Designing Discussions as Group Inquiry

The scholarship of teaching and learning increasingly recognizes that active and dynamic instructional models promote better, more holistic, and lasting educational outcomes. This article summarizes an in-class engaged learning activity based on the popular playing card game, President. This game requires players to exchange cards with each other in such a way to give some a marked advantage over others. For this reason, the game can help students understand how economic inequality operates insidiously in contemporary society. The data indicate that the activity helped students to better grasp concepts such as exploitation, class antagonism, upward mobility, and the myth of meritocracy. Students demonstrated a richer understanding of these concepts as evidenced by their comments on the individual feedback forms and improved exam scores on related questions. Some commentary on the character of their responses and the effect of the activity for the classroom environment are also provided.     

协作学习在翻译理论与实践网络课程中的应用

翻译理论与实践是一门实践性很强的课程,在网络教学中采用小组协作学习,能最大化个人和他人的习得成果,并能提高学习者的动手能力和团队合作能力。本文以翻译理论与实践网络课程为例,对开展小组协作学习的目标、教学策略和实施过程进行分析和总结。     

教学设计:你准备好了吗?

教学设计是教育技术领域中很重要的一个分支,在我国的发展已有20余年的时间。目前天津电大正在实施的“课程一体化设计”与本质意义的“教学设计”尚有较大差距。为推动教学模式改革,教学设计是必不可少的。教师作为教学实践活动的实施,应发挥自身优势,敢于迎接挑战,提高自身的信息素养,搞好教学设计,不断提高教学效果和教学质量。     

The difficult bridge between university and industry: a case study in computer science teaching

Recently, there has been increasing criticism concerning academic computer science education. This paper presents a new approach based on the principles of constructivist learning design as well as the ideas of knowledge transfer in communities of practice. The course ‘High‐tech Entrepreneurship and New Media’ was introduced as an interdisciplinary project management lab in which students collaborate in groups to develop software solutions for authentic problems. Main goals were the tighter integration of university and local start‐up companies, an intense knowledge transfer on software engineering methods, as well as the implementation of constructivist learning principles in academic teaching. This paper presents the background and structure of the course as well as the results of a formative evaluation. While being successful in introducing a course based on digital‐media assisted, constructivist learning arrangements, establishing lasting communities of practice between university and industry is still an open issue. After discussing several reasons, the paper concludes with a list of general recommendations on how to improve the approach and its implementation.     

The Manners of Liberalism: A Question of Limits

Collaborative group projects have documented learning benefits, yet collaboration is challenging for students because the educational system values individual achievement. This article explores Scrum, an approach to framing, planning, and managing group projects used in Web-software development. Designed for multi-faceted projects, this approach facilitates collaborative goal setting, breaks tasks into small manageable chunks over short periods of time, and encourages communication, accountability, and reflection among team members. In this article, I discuss how I have adapted and implemented Scrum in a number of my courses including examples, tips, and suggestions for using Scrum in the classroom.     

项目教学法在“计算机应用基础”课程中的应用

项目教学法在强调＂以学生为主体,以能力为本位＂教学理念的今天,对于有效促进学生学习的主动性,激发学生的学习兴趣,提高课堂教学效果有着重要的作用。介绍如何将项目教学法引入到＂计算机应用基础＂课程教学中。该方法充分地展示现代职业教育＂以能力为本＂的价值取向,使课堂教学的质量和效果得到大幅度的提高。     

解决体育理论课课堂困境的教学策略

基于沟通课堂的困惑同教室外的社会困惑的理念,提出以下策略：把封闭的课堂教学扩大为运动场甚至社区的教学;积极开展小组合作性学习;建立信任、平等的师生关系;引导学生建立各自的资料库及教室外学习网络。     

项目教学法在高职旅行社业务课程中的应用

项目教学法是一种以学生为主体,教师起引导作用,强调学生参与及教学互动,使学生能够理论结合实践,重在培养其职业能力的新型教学方式。在高职旅行社业务课程中应用项目教学法符合职业教育培养实用型人才的要求。具体的教学实施过程可分为项目的确定、项目的计划、项目的实施、项目在实践中的检验四个环节。这其中学生积极参与及教师的主导作用很关键,并且工学结合的理念要贯穿课程设计的始终。     

网上课程设计的理论基础的模式建构

有效的网上课程设计是网上教学成功的关键因素之一.本文旨在分析和探讨网上课程设计的理论基础.文章分为三部分,第一部分介绍目前网上课程设计使用的理论基础的片面性,说明建立整合式网上课程设计的需要.第二部分阐述了整合式网上课程设计的埋论基础,包括一般的教学理论和学习理论、成人教学理论和成人学习理论、远程教学理论以及技术使用原理,并分析了这些理论存网上课程设计中的应用.第三部分提出了整合式网上课设计理论基础的假设模式,并强调存各种理论和原理的使用中,不只是考虑引进的西方的理论和原理,同时要发扬光人中国传统和中国现代教学理论和原理,使我国的网上课程设计能适合我国的成人学习者.     

Quality Control in Online Courses

SUMMARY

There has recently been increased interest in the quality of online courses. Faculty from the School of Education at Marquette University suggest using social constructivist theories in the design and development of online courses and in the training and pedagogy of online instructors to ensure quality in online courses. Quality can be designed into online courses by focusing on complex tasks, using multiple perspectives, establishing a learning community, encouraging the social negotiation of meaning and providing assistance for learners at various levels. While good design can go a long way to ensure quality in online courses, the quality of the instructor is equally critical. Training instructors to establish a supportive climate, provide constructive feedback, and ask critical and probing questions leads to high quality online instruction.     

浅谈高职英语项目化教学法的应用

项目教学法是目前国内高职专业教育中被普遍推崇的一种新型教育理念,我国高职《实用英语》项目化教学仍处于起步阶段。该文介绍了项目教学法的概念、特征,探讨了项目教学法在《实用英语》教学中实施的可行性、意义、运用和应注意解决的问题。项目化外语教学是指教师指导学生围绕一系列项目进行语言技能的整合训练,培养学生自主学习能力,在做中学,在应用中学的能力以及沟通协调、团结合作能力。通过调查、实践、教学成果展示证明这是一种有效的教学方法。     

“We've Got to Keep Meeting Like This”: A Pilot Study Comparing Academic Performance in Shifting-Membership Cooperative Groups Versus Stable-Membership Cooperative Groups in an Introductory-Level Lab

This study examined possible ways to increase student engagement in small sections of a large, introductory-level, required university course. Research shows that cooperative group learning boosts achievement through fostering better interpersonal relationships between students. Cooperative group learning is an evidence-based instructional practice engaging students in active learning. The present study investigated whether cooperative groups with sustained-membership functioned more effectively for boosting performance than shifting-membership cooperative groups. Findings indicated that the amount of class time spent in groups influenced the impact of shifting or sustained-membership. A significant difference in performance was found for sustained-group students when group activities were used the majority of the time during recitation.