As mentioned in the previous blog entry, the philosophy behind this Engineering Science course that I am developing is that it is intended to be used purely as an introduction to the basic engineering concepts, units and formulas that first year students studying in the diploma programme(s) will come across in various semester one subjects.
At present, all the learning activities that I do with my students are based around face to face delivery. This introductory course will have no face to face input at all. it is intended to be purely an informative course that the students can do in their own time, at their own pace, on the computer. There will be self directed tests, quizzes etc embedded within the course for student feedback and evaluation.
What learning activities I believe will work for this course will be voice over power point presentations that will be arranged into the various sections or topics making up the course. I will be using Ispring to convert the power points into flash files. In addition to these, some of my notes will be typed into word documents for extra information when required. These will then be made into web pages using eXe and it is intended to have hyperlinks embedded within these pages for additional information and enjoyment for the students. Linking to "virtual experimental" sites could be one such option. Moodle will be the delivery platform for this material.
The self directed tests, quizzes etc that are in this course will be made up with the eXe design tools that are available within that package. These self directed tests will keep the students interested and will provide instant feedback on their learning.
What would not work for this course is the old style of "distance learning" material involving a pile of photocopied notes and telling the students to read up about the various topics. Also, the ability at receiving instant feedback is not available with this form of delivery. Yes, the students could come and ask me questions, but if this was done individually, it would take up a lot of my time and resources, so consequently, not very productive.
Blended delivery would be nice, but as stated, since no teaching hours are going to be allocated for this course, it is not an option. This also applies to the use of Elluminate, although upon saying that, maybe one session of 2 hours at a convenient time for everyone could be arranged as a means of answering any pointed questions that may have arisen from the course content. This could also be a face to face session or both if the need exists.
From my last blog entry, I outlined the intended learning objectives for this course, so I don't need to repeat myself here. Elaborating a bit more on the resources that I think I need for this course, since my last blog entry, I have had some training on using eXe to the point where I can start experimenting with this package so that's a start. My last blog entry showed that I can hyperlink to youtube and such like so that's fine. I still need training with power points and using audacity for the voice over component but that should not be too much of a problem. Typing up my notes into word documents is going to be a drag, but it has to be done sometime. The trouble is when and by whom?
Time is going to be spent surfing the net for those "additional information sites" I mentioned before but I believe these will be well worth it as a means to keep the interest level up for the students.
Taping conversations and making videos are skills worth having, and I know training can be provided for them, but I feel they will not be needed for this course delivery. maybe a future one that I will develop will utilise these resources.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
Development of an Engineering Science course
This posting will be my record for the ideas surrounding the practicalities of the proposed design of the Engineering Science course I am developing. It is also assignment 3 of the assessment requirements for the Constructing Courses to Enhance Learning course I am currently studying at the Otago Polytechnic.
I believe there is a need for this introductory course because the level of learning and understanding of basic mechanical concepts and principles are some what lacking for the average student enrolling in the level 6 "Diploma in Mechanical Engineering."
Currently, the majority of students enrolling in the diploma are school levers with a minimum entry requirement of 12 credits in maths level 2 (calculus and algebra major) with ideally additional credits in physics and / or chemistry or graphics. They are predominately male (95%) and a resent survey on preferred learning styles (VARK test) indicated that the majority preferred the reader / writer learning style with a close second to the kinesthetic style. Visual was a clear last.
I must admit the preferred learning style that I use in my teaching is the read / write one and I am sure that this is because this was the way how I was taught, or maybe, it is just the way how engineer's think ; as Terry said "we engineers are a strange lot". Anyway, the result of the vark test proves to me that my current face to face practice is fine and since the majority of the diploma assessments are based around closed book examinations, this style is well suited for them. The kinesthetic learners are catered for with the laboratory sessions that make up part of the face to face sessions, but this course I am developing will be based around a self paced computer centred learning environment which will hopefully help with the underpinning knowledge the students will need for future courses within the diploma. So what works and what doesn't?
The other day I used the overhead projector to present to the students some past exam questions which involved calculations and I instructed them to use their notes but do their own work. We then went over them as a class group. I believe this worked well for reinforcing things they should know and presenting new information to them when required. Even though it was open book it gave the students practice at using the formula sheet and testing them in semi-exam conditions (as a group, they like to chat amongst themselves and bounce ideas around with each other).
This style of learning could quite easily be done on elluminate as it needs to be in "real time" for the students to get the necessary feed back. Come to think of it, I could use this form of delivery for any course I teach when having a devoted "problem-solving time" session with the students.
I mentioned before that the kinesthetic learning style ranked quite highly from the VARK test, and this is why the laboratories are regarded as an extremely important learning environment. Giving the students the opportunity to be in charge of the experiments and consequently their own learning is very beneficial in terms of theory reinforcement; putting into practice what has been learnt in class, as well as aiding in understanding of concepts. These must still be done face to face due to the nature of the assessment; ie. use is made of expensive laboratory equipment and the experiments are treated as group activities where the students learn from each other. On saying that, the Engineering Science course will not have any laboratories in it because I want this course to be assessable by distance, at the student's own pace. The course that I am proposing is an introduction only and is not going to be formally assessed. I intend to have self directed tests embedded within the finished product as well as links to various sites for added information as and when required. eg. if I was explaining about hydraulics I could get the students to click on various youtube presentations like so
I will need training on using the eXe package and it's application into the Moodle site along with voice over power point presentations etc but these should be pretty straight forward (I hope!). Also possible help with typing my lovely old handwritten notes into word would not go astray and I can recall a prominent member of the EDC team telling me that there is funding set aside for such issues.
I envisage the students will access this course within the first two weeks upon starting the diploma programme or beforehand once full fees are paid.
Now to the learning outcomes. These will be closely linked with one of the learning outcomes each from Engineering Mechanics A and Thermodynamics, these being;
i) Demonstrate an understanding of SI units, fundamental, supplementary & derived units, concept of mass, force, moments, torque and equilibrium condition.
ii) Demonstrate awareness of the range of methods for temperature and pressure measurement and their fields of use.
Both of these learning outcomes can be achieved by students completing the self directed tests that will be embedded within the course. Other components of learning outcomes from various courses will be added to compliment the underpinning knowledge that this course should bring. ie
iii) Demonstrate understanding of the need for stability
iv) Show an understanding of Hooke's Law, modulus of elasticity, modulus of rigidity, yield stress, UTS, tensile, compressive and shear stresses and strains, working stress and FOS.
Again, all these principles and concepts can be assessed by the same method as before, with added information and self direction being available by way of the internet. eg wikipedia, youtube etc.
I believe there is a need for this introductory course because the level of learning and understanding of basic mechanical concepts and principles are some what lacking for the average student enrolling in the level 6 "Diploma in Mechanical Engineering."
Currently, the majority of students enrolling in the diploma are school levers with a minimum entry requirement of 12 credits in maths level 2 (calculus and algebra major) with ideally additional credits in physics and / or chemistry or graphics. They are predominately male (95%) and a resent survey on preferred learning styles (VARK test) indicated that the majority preferred the reader / writer learning style with a close second to the kinesthetic style. Visual was a clear last.
I must admit the preferred learning style that I use in my teaching is the read / write one and I am sure that this is because this was the way how I was taught, or maybe, it is just the way how engineer's think ; as Terry said "we engineers are a strange lot". Anyway, the result of the vark test proves to me that my current face to face practice is fine and since the majority of the diploma assessments are based around closed book examinations, this style is well suited for them. The kinesthetic learners are catered for with the laboratory sessions that make up part of the face to face sessions, but this course I am developing will be based around a self paced computer centred learning environment which will hopefully help with the underpinning knowledge the students will need for future courses within the diploma. So what works and what doesn't?
The other day I used the overhead projector to present to the students some past exam questions which involved calculations and I instructed them to use their notes but do their own work. We then went over them as a class group. I believe this worked well for reinforcing things they should know and presenting new information to them when required. Even though it was open book it gave the students practice at using the formula sheet and testing them in semi-exam conditions (as a group, they like to chat amongst themselves and bounce ideas around with each other).
This style of learning could quite easily be done on elluminate as it needs to be in "real time" for the students to get the necessary feed back. Come to think of it, I could use this form of delivery for any course I teach when having a devoted "problem-solving time" session with the students.
I mentioned before that the kinesthetic learning style ranked quite highly from the VARK test, and this is why the laboratories are regarded as an extremely important learning environment. Giving the students the opportunity to be in charge of the experiments and consequently their own learning is very beneficial in terms of theory reinforcement; putting into practice what has been learnt in class, as well as aiding in understanding of concepts. These must still be done face to face due to the nature of the assessment; ie. use is made of expensive laboratory equipment and the experiments are treated as group activities where the students learn from each other. On saying that, the Engineering Science course will not have any laboratories in it because I want this course to be assessable by distance, at the student's own pace. The course that I am proposing is an introduction only and is not going to be formally assessed. I intend to have self directed tests embedded within the finished product as well as links to various sites for added information as and when required. eg. if I was explaining about hydraulics I could get the students to click on various youtube presentations like so
I will need training on using the eXe package and it's application into the Moodle site along with voice over power point presentations etc but these should be pretty straight forward (I hope!). Also possible help with typing my lovely old handwritten notes into word would not go astray and I can recall a prominent member of the EDC team telling me that there is funding set aside for such issues.
I envisage the students will access this course within the first two weeks upon starting the diploma programme or beforehand once full fees are paid.
Now to the learning outcomes. These will be closely linked with one of the learning outcomes each from Engineering Mechanics A and Thermodynamics, these being;
i) Demonstrate an understanding of SI units, fundamental, supplementary & derived units, concept of mass, force, moments, torque and equilibrium condition.
ii) Demonstrate awareness of the range of methods for temperature and pressure measurement and their fields of use.
Both of these learning outcomes can be achieved by students completing the self directed tests that will be embedded within the course. Other components of learning outcomes from various courses will be added to compliment the underpinning knowledge that this course should bring. ie
iii) Demonstrate understanding of the need for stability
iv) Show an understanding of Hooke's Law, modulus of elasticity, modulus of rigidity, yield stress, UTS, tensile, compressive and shear stresses and strains, working stress and FOS.
Again, all these principles and concepts can be assessed by the same method as before, with added information and self direction being available by way of the internet. eg wikipedia, youtube etc.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Flexible Delivery Plan - Rev A
Today, I intend to give Terry my updated plan for bringing flexible delivery into the mechanical engineering diploma programme. The project will be used to develop and deliver electronic based learning resources in the form of a course blog or wiki. The reason behind the project is to get the students actively involved in subject matter by targetting their self directed learning hours. Being an electronic delivery medium, the students should be comfortable with this learning environment.
The learning and research that I have done while enrolled in this subject has helped me understand that students do learn from each other and it is my job to ensure that the subject matter be up to date, cover the subject syllabus and encourage learning in an environment that the students relate to.
I believe this project will be of benefit for both lecturer and students and meets all the requirements for assessment four in the designing for flexible delivery subject that I am currently enrolled in for my teaching qualification.
The learning and research that I have done while enrolled in this subject has helped me understand that students do learn from each other and it is my job to ensure that the subject matter be up to date, cover the subject syllabus and encourage learning in an environment that the students relate to.
I believe this project will be of benefit for both lecturer and students and meets all the requirements for assessment four in the designing for flexible delivery subject that I am currently enrolled in for my teaching qualification.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
My Project Scope- a design brief
I had a meeting with Bronwyn on the 26 September to discuss my progress with the designing for flexible delivery course and here is a brief from that meeting.
The course is assessed in four parts. The first part is the webblog that I am currently writting in so that's up and running. The second assessment is a teaching resource which I am happy to say I have just finished a draft of and intend to get comments from staff after the holiday break. The third assessment is keeping a reference list which is my delicious account so thats fine. The last assessment involves writing up a flexible delivery plan which is where I am now.
Monday 1 October.
I emailed a draft copy of my flexible delivery plan to Bronwyn on Friday for review, so this is a summary of what I am proposing.
All subjects in the mechanical engineering diploma have a self directed learning component of 60 hours out of a total 150 hours. Using the hardest subject that the first year students grasp as my target base, I believe their learning would be a more meaningful and enjoyable experience by taking a proporsion of these self directed hours and incorporating them as a technology based learning guide. This will transpire into a possible learning platform where assignments, quizes etc could be performed and in so doing expose the students to the wider engineering emvironment.
There are two components that I want this project to achieve. Using the web as the source of information the first part would be to try and give the students an insite into various mechanical engineering projects that utilise the subject content that they are learning in class, but in the much broader sense. ie. it will try and answer the " what is the relevence of this subject that is being taught" in the classroom. The second component would be to bring part of the assessment material into the new technology and actively engage the students by incorporating work based programmes like word and excel that they would use by way of an assignment.
As I have explained in the project scope, the time to surf the web for the necessary content and compile the material into a cohesive whole is of concern but not impossible if the resources are made available. I know that this would be the starting platform to get our mechanical engineering diploma into a format which combines new technology with traditional teaching methods and create the possibility of being able to deliver part of it to distance learners as a viable option.
I will now wait and see the comments from the EDC team about my project.
The course is assessed in four parts. The first part is the webblog that I am currently writting in so that's up and running. The second assessment is a teaching resource which I am happy to say I have just finished a draft of and intend to get comments from staff after the holiday break. The third assessment is keeping a reference list which is my delicious account so thats fine. The last assessment involves writing up a flexible delivery plan which is where I am now.
Monday 1 October.
I emailed a draft copy of my flexible delivery plan to Bronwyn on Friday for review, so this is a summary of what I am proposing.
All subjects in the mechanical engineering diploma have a self directed learning component of 60 hours out of a total 150 hours. Using the hardest subject that the first year students grasp as my target base, I believe their learning would be a more meaningful and enjoyable experience by taking a proporsion of these self directed hours and incorporating them as a technology based learning guide. This will transpire into a possible learning platform where assignments, quizes etc could be performed and in so doing expose the students to the wider engineering emvironment.
There are two components that I want this project to achieve. Using the web as the source of information the first part would be to try and give the students an insite into various mechanical engineering projects that utilise the subject content that they are learning in class, but in the much broader sense. ie. it will try and answer the " what is the relevence of this subject that is being taught" in the classroom. The second component would be to bring part of the assessment material into the new technology and actively engage the students by incorporating work based programmes like word and excel that they would use by way of an assignment.
As I have explained in the project scope, the time to surf the web for the necessary content and compile the material into a cohesive whole is of concern but not impossible if the resources are made available. I know that this would be the starting platform to get our mechanical engineering diploma into a format which combines new technology with traditional teaching methods and create the possibility of being able to deliver part of it to distance learners as a viable option.
I will now wait and see the comments from the EDC team about my project.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
I see the Light.
Starting to look at what I need to complete for this assessment.
Assessment one is my learning blog. Writing down a few comments on the form and I see that I need to report back about various discussions that I have had up till now.
In one of my previous blogs I mentioned that I would try and talk with Peter Brook regarding teaching to students via television conferencing. I did speak with Peter on a casual basis about it and he advised me that he can only televise to about four students max at a time with present technology. It also means that the students have to be able to reach the receiving telecast in a designated location (ie a school that can recieve the broadcast) but he assured me that it will increase in popularity with time and advance of the technology. For me, this technology would be worthwhile once it has been fully developed, so I will not pursue it until then.
I remember Terry giving us an "Elluminate" demonstration and from my notes I see that it was on the 19 April. That really was a worthwhile session and I apologise Terry for not writing about it till now. In that session Terry introduced us to a variety of programmes and web sites that are available to us for making flexible delivery a reality and not just an idea as well as showing us what "Elluminate" was.
We were introduced to such things as "Audacity" which is where we can have audio imput over slides, turn them into moving demos using moviemaker if wanted and then producing them onto a CD. This is because the files are too large to send via the web. If you wanted to send files down the line then "Flash-Animations" were the way to go (how can I ever forget that poor cat getting it's fur shaved off in a certain manner prior to an operation). These are time consumming to prepare for the technician, but an option non the less.
I have got things jotted down called "Video-in Director", "Action Mazes" and "Toolboxes" which incidentaly took my fancy as Terry mentioned that they were made in Australia for the trades and may have some engineering material in there and best of all they are free to use. Since then, I have viewed the toolbox site, but the actual subjects covered are not really of any help to me. Damn!
The programme that interested me the most though, was ""Course Genie" which turns word documents into web pages for sending down the line. Incorporated in them would be pictures (don't forget copyright rules etc.) and I see from my notes that a secure server like "Blackboard" has to be used. The reason why this programme appealled to me most was that my course is primarily made up of notes, calculations etc, and if I were having to send out a course to a distance learner, then this would be the easiest method to get the content delivered. Also, it would be an ideal starting point for flexible delivery in my course for the students that are here - NOW THERE'S A THOUGHT.
I am going to leave this blog here, and come back with a report about my meeting with Bronwyn from yesterday. See ya.
Assessment one is my learning blog. Writing down a few comments on the form and I see that I need to report back about various discussions that I have had up till now.
In one of my previous blogs I mentioned that I would try and talk with Peter Brook regarding teaching to students via television conferencing. I did speak with Peter on a casual basis about it and he advised me that he can only televise to about four students max at a time with present technology. It also means that the students have to be able to reach the receiving telecast in a designated location (ie a school that can recieve the broadcast) but he assured me that it will increase in popularity with time and advance of the technology. For me, this technology would be worthwhile once it has been fully developed, so I will not pursue it until then.
I remember Terry giving us an "Elluminate" demonstration and from my notes I see that it was on the 19 April. That really was a worthwhile session and I apologise Terry for not writing about it till now. In that session Terry introduced us to a variety of programmes and web sites that are available to us for making flexible delivery a reality and not just an idea as well as showing us what "Elluminate" was.
We were introduced to such things as "Audacity" which is where we can have audio imput over slides, turn them into moving demos using moviemaker if wanted and then producing them onto a CD. This is because the files are too large to send via the web. If you wanted to send files down the line then "Flash-Animations" were the way to go (how can I ever forget that poor cat getting it's fur shaved off in a certain manner prior to an operation). These are time consumming to prepare for the technician, but an option non the less.
I have got things jotted down called "Video-in Director", "Action Mazes" and "Toolboxes" which incidentaly took my fancy as Terry mentioned that they were made in Australia for the trades and may have some engineering material in there and best of all they are free to use. Since then, I have viewed the toolbox site, but the actual subjects covered are not really of any help to me. Damn!
The programme that interested me the most though, was ""Course Genie" which turns word documents into web pages for sending down the line. Incorporated in them would be pictures (don't forget copyright rules etc.) and I see from my notes that a secure server like "Blackboard" has to be used. The reason why this programme appealled to me most was that my course is primarily made up of notes, calculations etc, and if I were having to send out a course to a distance learner, then this would be the easiest method to get the content delivered. Also, it would be an ideal starting point for flexible delivery in my course for the students that are here - NOW THERE'S A THOUGHT.
I am going to leave this blog here, and come back with a report about my meeting with Bronwyn from yesterday. See ya.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
What's the Problem?
(I will keep this post here without the dflp07 label as it really is me letting off a bit of steam but at least it shows that I am still here and am certainly thinking about the group of students I have to teach. It also means that I am going to finish off this course so stay tuned!)
I am at present supervising the end of term test from one of the final year papers in the National Diploma in Engineering. I knew from the beginning of this course that it was going to be a difficult paper for this group of students that are currently sitting it. I say difficult only in the context of the mathematical computations that are required to get the answers to the problems given.
There are only five students in this class, we are 20 minutes out from finishing, and already two of the students have left. The look on their faces as they threw me their answer sheets says it all and one even had a parting comment "that's your best one yet Dave" confirmed what I feard most - the test was too hard for them.
Was it too hard I hear you say. Well, it happened to be some questions from last year's exam paper from another polytechnic, so yes, it was reasonably hard, but it is of the same standard that this paper has to be delivered at. The final exam that they have to sit in seven weeks will be of the same level that this test was delivered at, so WHATS THE PROBLEM?
It is now the next day, and I have already marked the test. Lowest mark 10%, with highest mark 19%. I have this same group of students this morning for 3 hours with another subject.
Lets us call these five students Mr's A, B, C, D and E respectively and examine their learning needs and styles. Normally, on Friday, Mr E does not turn up as he has already indicated to me before that he can't really get out of bed before 11am anyway. Too much of a night owl he said. Obviously a classic case for "Blackboard" type learning. You know the way - have the notes available "on line" so that he can go to them when he wants etc.etc. Trouble is Mr E has told me that he dosn't have the self discipline to study by himself at home. Too many distractions he says. Well, sorry Mr E, if you only turn up to two thirds of the classes as my attendance record shows, it means you only have two thirds of the subject matter at hand so I cant see a problem, can you?
Next, we move onto Mr D who incidentily also did not turn up for today's class. This fellow sits in class without saying a word. I have to virtually twist his arm to get him to ask a question. I am in class, writing up notes and things on the board, talking about the subject matter and I ask "any questions anybody". I get questions. Great. Then I look at Mr D. "Do you understand what I have just done Mr D?", I say. And then comes that little shake of the head meaning I don't understand. I have to say that Mr D is an international student, so is understanding English the problem?
Now Mr C is a different kettle of fish. Always quick with the smart remarks which, at times can be, either ammussing or intelligent and I dont have an issue with. Not afraid to ask questions and also keeps me in check every so often. The problem with Mr C is he keeps everything to the last minute. If an assignment is due 5pm on a certain day, it will be in my postbox at or near 5pm on that day. To study for a test means he can keep drinking till the night before the test or if it is an afternoon test, then party the night before as he has got the morning to study for the test at the sacrifice of any morniong classes that he may have. Is lack of managing time the problem? Order of priorities an issue? Sorry, NOT MY PROBLEM.
Mr B is a senior student and has told me that he has an agenda after competing his diploma which is fine. Mr B's problem is that he has been out of the school environment for a while, particularly with mathematics and as such, is having to come to terms with that issue.
Last one up is Mr A. I have been told that he has a medical condition that may hinder his learning so it is understandable that this course will be difficult for him. He is, nevertheless,. copping quite well and has indicated that he may want to go to university after completing the diploma. It did sadden me that after giving up in one of the questions in the test he left a comment which implies sex and travel so Mr A is now getting a bit of an "attitude". You know the one. Sorry, too hard, put it in the "too hard basket" and not my problem.
Monday morning and here I am thinking about flexible delivery and how I can apply it to my lesson structure. The five cases that I have just described are not unique by any means but it does bring home the point that they all believe that they will pass the end of year exam by reading the notes that I give them in class, do the odd assignment sheet that I hand out and answer the class exercises that we do during the term. WRONG.
From day one, all our students get told that they get 90 "contact" hours with the lecturer and are "expected" to do 60 hours "self directed learning". So what is SELF DIRECTED LEARNING?
I remember when I was a student spending countless hours in the library researching material, doing problems etc etc. and asking the lecturer questions when needed. Our department has an"open door" policy which allows students to come to us for help when required, so nothing has changed. What I think I am trying to say here is that it does not matter what format the research material is in, it is up to the individual to be motivated enough to do that bit extra in order to guarentee success in their studies.
One thing I do know is that on a number of occasions through the running of the course, I have asked the students if they believe that they could study this material from home or at work etc, and ALWAYS, I get the response no way in hell could they do this on their own. With that in mind, I am going to sign off now and come back later with a plan to help these guys with their studies. Briefly, I believe they have great difficulty in comming to terms with the "mechanics" concept. That is, using the mathematics that they have learnt in class and appying it in engineering mechanics. Cheers.
I am at present supervising the end of term test from one of the final year papers in the National Diploma in Engineering. I knew from the beginning of this course that it was going to be a difficult paper for this group of students that are currently sitting it. I say difficult only in the context of the mathematical computations that are required to get the answers to the problems given.
There are only five students in this class, we are 20 minutes out from finishing, and already two of the students have left. The look on their faces as they threw me their answer sheets says it all and one even had a parting comment "that's your best one yet Dave" confirmed what I feard most - the test was too hard for them.
Was it too hard I hear you say. Well, it happened to be some questions from last year's exam paper from another polytechnic, so yes, it was reasonably hard, but it is of the same standard that this paper has to be delivered at. The final exam that they have to sit in seven weeks will be of the same level that this test was delivered at, so WHATS THE PROBLEM?
It is now the next day, and I have already marked the test. Lowest mark 10%, with highest mark 19%. I have this same group of students this morning for 3 hours with another subject.
Lets us call these five students Mr's A, B, C, D and E respectively and examine their learning needs and styles. Normally, on Friday, Mr E does not turn up as he has already indicated to me before that he can't really get out of bed before 11am anyway. Too much of a night owl he said. Obviously a classic case for "Blackboard" type learning. You know the way - have the notes available "on line" so that he can go to them when he wants etc.etc. Trouble is Mr E has told me that he dosn't have the self discipline to study by himself at home. Too many distractions he says. Well, sorry Mr E, if you only turn up to two thirds of the classes as my attendance record shows, it means you only have two thirds of the subject matter at hand so I cant see a problem, can you?
Next, we move onto Mr D who incidentily also did not turn up for today's class. This fellow sits in class without saying a word. I have to virtually twist his arm to get him to ask a question. I am in class, writing up notes and things on the board, talking about the subject matter and I ask "any questions anybody". I get questions. Great. Then I look at Mr D. "Do you understand what I have just done Mr D?", I say. And then comes that little shake of the head meaning I don't understand. I have to say that Mr D is an international student, so is understanding English the problem?
Now Mr C is a different kettle of fish. Always quick with the smart remarks which, at times can be, either ammussing or intelligent and I dont have an issue with. Not afraid to ask questions and also keeps me in check every so often. The problem with Mr C is he keeps everything to the last minute. If an assignment is due 5pm on a certain day, it will be in my postbox at or near 5pm on that day. To study for a test means he can keep drinking till the night before the test or if it is an afternoon test, then party the night before as he has got the morning to study for the test at the sacrifice of any morniong classes that he may have. Is lack of managing time the problem? Order of priorities an issue? Sorry, NOT MY PROBLEM.
Mr B is a senior student and has told me that he has an agenda after competing his diploma which is fine. Mr B's problem is that he has been out of the school environment for a while, particularly with mathematics and as such, is having to come to terms with that issue.
Last one up is Mr A. I have been told that he has a medical condition that may hinder his learning so it is understandable that this course will be difficult for him. He is, nevertheless,. copping quite well and has indicated that he may want to go to university after completing the diploma. It did sadden me that after giving up in one of the questions in the test he left a comment which implies sex and travel so Mr A is now getting a bit of an "attitude". You know the one. Sorry, too hard, put it in the "too hard basket" and not my problem.
Monday morning and here I am thinking about flexible delivery and how I can apply it to my lesson structure. The five cases that I have just described are not unique by any means but it does bring home the point that they all believe that they will pass the end of year exam by reading the notes that I give them in class, do the odd assignment sheet that I hand out and answer the class exercises that we do during the term. WRONG.
From day one, all our students get told that they get 90 "contact" hours with the lecturer and are "expected" to do 60 hours "self directed learning". So what is SELF DIRECTED LEARNING?
I remember when I was a student spending countless hours in the library researching material, doing problems etc etc. and asking the lecturer questions when needed. Our department has an"open door" policy which allows students to come to us for help when required, so nothing has changed. What I think I am trying to say here is that it does not matter what format the research material is in, it is up to the individual to be motivated enough to do that bit extra in order to guarentee success in their studies.
One thing I do know is that on a number of occasions through the running of the course, I have asked the students if they believe that they could study this material from home or at work etc, and ALWAYS, I get the response no way in hell could they do this on their own. With that in mind, I am going to sign off now and come back later with a plan to help these guys with their studies. Briefly, I believe they have great difficulty in comming to terms with the "mechanics" concept. That is, using the mathematics that they have learnt in class and appying it in engineering mechanics. Cheers.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Time for Reflection
I've got a bit of free time at the mo, so thought I had better revisit this subject. Just finished reading all the current member blogs and had to read up on the article reported in Dave McC
blog on Cognitive Learning Theory. Very interesting. I believe I have picked up some useful pointers about presenting my analytical subject material from it and have saved it in my delicous account.
In that report it was stated that students retain more information on problem solving by utilizing the approach of carrying out a full worked example as a class group and then getting them to solve a similar type problem by themselves without referring back to the worked example just done.
The other day, after reading Jacquie Hayes interview with Dave Bremer, I decided to go and speak with him since I didn't realize that he is teaching by distance learning and his office is just around the corner from mine. Had a good talk with Dave and he agreed that my subject is at the "hard" end of subject matter in terms of distance learning but he advised me rather than to think "how could I teach this online" to rephrase it as "if I *had* to teach this online, how could I make it more interesting for the poor distance learner?" I am also trying to speak with Peter Brook whom I believe is presenting subject matter to schools "Live" but is limited to four students at a time. I will enter a posting of this meeting when it happens.
Getting back to what Dave said about making a subject more interesting, what comes to mind is some sort of interactive component embedded within the subject content. For instance, I can imagine covering the topic on vibration analysis by having the student reading notes via word or similar programme and having a button that reads "press this to see what happens when the forcing frequency equals the natural frequency of vibration" and upon picking the button, a video starts up showing a bridge or similar structure come tumbling down since students enjoy seeing things break apart. (I know I do)
In the meantime I will surf the net and see if I can find some institution which is teaching engineering by distance or any other relative info. Bye for now.
blog on Cognitive Learning Theory. Very interesting. I believe I have picked up some useful pointers about presenting my analytical subject material from it and have saved it in my delicous account.
In that report it was stated that students retain more information on problem solving by utilizing the approach of carrying out a full worked example as a class group and then getting them to solve a similar type problem by themselves without referring back to the worked example just done.
The other day, after reading Jacquie Hayes interview with Dave Bremer, I decided to go and speak with him since I didn't realize that he is teaching by distance learning and his office is just around the corner from mine. Had a good talk with Dave and he agreed that my subject is at the "hard" end of subject matter in terms of distance learning but he advised me rather than to think "how could I teach this online" to rephrase it as "if I *had* to teach this online, how could I make it more interesting for the poor distance learner?" I am also trying to speak with Peter Brook whom I believe is presenting subject matter to schools "Live" but is limited to four students at a time. I will enter a posting of this meeting when it happens.
Getting back to what Dave said about making a subject more interesting, what comes to mind is some sort of interactive component embedded within the subject content. For instance, I can imagine covering the topic on vibration analysis by having the student reading notes via word or similar programme and having a button that reads "press this to see what happens when the forcing frequency equals the natural frequency of vibration" and upon picking the button, a video starts up showing a bridge or similar structure come tumbling down since students enjoy seeing things break apart. (I know I do)
In the meantime I will surf the net and see if I can find some institution which is teaching engineering by distance or any other relative info. Bye for now.
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