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Education Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

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2016

Teaching Methods

Teacher Education and Professional Development

Articles 1 - 4 of 4

Full-Text Articles in Education

Using Guided Reflective Journaling Activities To Capture Students’ Changing Perceptions, Joanna Dunlap Mar 2016

Using Guided Reflective Journaling Activities To Capture Students’ Changing Perceptions, Joanna Dunlap

Joanna Dunlap

Many professions are increasingly emphasizing the role of reflection, encouraging educators to look for appropriate ways to help students engage in reflective practice during their professional preparation. Journal writing is an insightful and powerful instructional technology utilizing strategies that foster understanding and the application of concepts, enhance critical thinking, improve achievement and attitude, encourage student reflection and capture changes in students' perception. Examples from three different professional preparation courses illustrate the power of journal-writing activities as a way of encouraging students' reflective thinking, and giving faculty a way to assess students' reflective practice and perceptual changes. Based on the author's …


From Pixel On A Screen To Real Person In Your Students' Lives: Establishing Social Presence Using Digital Storytelling, Patrick Lowenthal, Joanna Dunlap Mar 2016

From Pixel On A Screen To Real Person In Your Students' Lives: Establishing Social Presence Using Digital Storytelling, Patrick Lowenthal, Joanna Dunlap

Joanna Dunlap

The Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework is a comprehensive guide to the research "and" practice of online learning. One of the most challenging aspects of establishing a CoI in online courses is finding the best way to attend to each element of the CoI framework in a primarily text-based environment. In our online courses, we have examined the use of digital storytelling as a way to break down the barriers that can get in the way of achieving a healthy and productive CoI. In this paper, we describe how we use digital storytelling to establish our social presence as instructors.


Co-Teaching An Online Action Research Class, Brent Wilson, Jennifer Vanberschot Mar 2016

Co-Teaching An Online Action Research Class, Brent Wilson, Jennifer Vanberschot

Brent Wilson

Two instructors report their experience co-teaching an online action research (AR) course required as part of an e-learning master’s degree. Adopting a practice-centered stance we focus on the course activities of participants (instructors and students), with particular attention to the careful crafting of course elements with the goal of achieving an excellent learning experience for students. The case narrative describes the course and ways in which we have modified the course based on a variety of considerations. We also outline problems and areas still in need of improvement. We reflect on the role of theory in our own pursuit of …


Constructivism And Instructional Design: Some Personal Reflections, Brent Wilson Mar 2016

Constructivism And Instructional Design: Some Personal Reflections, Brent Wilson

Brent Wilson

Some personal reflections on instructional design and its relation to constructivism are explored. Instructional design in its present form is out of sync with the times in that its orientation, methods, and research base are behavioristic, or positivistic. However, a constructivist theory of instructional design is possible, particularly if constructivism is recognized as a philosophy rather than a strategy. To better fit the needs of practitioners, instructional design theories need to be better grounded in a broad understanding of learning and instructional processes. Generic principles and specific heuristics are needed for dealing with recurring problems and situations in instructional design …