Reflections on Theories and Strategies for Active Learning
These theoretical approaches to teaching and learning indicate that I am a firm believer that students should always create some form of product to enhance learning. Educators should always do some digging to find out what kind of learners they are to teach. Are they are visual learners, kinetics learners, etc…. If you take the time as an educator to do this you will not only have successful students in your class, you will truly understand the importance of introducing lessons in a variety of ways.
Of the two teaching and learning strategies talked about in chapter two I am prone to using Generative Learning strategies and Authentic Assessments. Both of these strategies go together in which the prior knowledge of the student is necessary. In Generative Learning Strategies comprehension of a task is most effective if the student can relate to it is some way due to past experiences. This strategy is helpful in my class because this is how I keep my students engaged in the lesson. I will start off each activity with either an anticipation guide or responsive questions in which I know some of the students had a past experience relating to the topic of the lesson. This ties them in so they are focused on the topic of the lesson and then eventually the tasks set for the lesson.
Since the students will be engaged during the beginning phases of the lesson, I can then have them to create some from of authentic assessment. Student engagement will continue where they can assess the creation of a product that their peers have created. By assessing the products created they can then analyze which product followed the set rubric for completing the objective. In class I love having students to create a project and then present them to the class. As the student presents his/her work their peers fill out a rating form detailing how the quality of the student work, the presenting of the work, if eye contact was made, the clarity of the language used while presenting, etc…
Technology and the internet can impact both of these teaching and learning strategies in a big way. Assignments can be created and placed on a web based program like Second Life. As students’ avatars travel around a teacher created environment, they can click on objects created in the space that will navigate them to a responsive question that they will have to answer using prior knowledge (generative strategy). Next, when completing a product using hidden clues found in the teacher created space, their work can be critiqued and even assessed by their classmates (authentic assessment). I can certainly see this being a very effective in the classroom.