I think setting up a Second Life for online learning is strange. I see the benefits but it also seems to be too much extra work. However criticially thinking from the beginning of the course is so important at the college level.
Critical thinking is a necessary component for students,which for some it is not easy. The instructors must encourage critical thinking with our students and ourselves.
I prefer to teach PBL in-person, and hope to transition my online courses this direction this coming semester. I have always enjoyed learning when the information I acquire helps me overcome a challenge.
This module discusses critical thinking and strategies that will enhance the student's learning experience. It presents the challenges of students in accepting knowledge from various sources. Some of the activities applied to 21st-century education are jigsaw activities, peer-self-reflection, creation of test questions, and be the Expert.
Best practices require the incorporation of collaborative learning, cooperative learning, and problem-solving (PBL) to keep students engage and become thinkers. In my experience with various platforms that students can practice all the practices in a virtual world than in a F2F setting. For example Zoom offers break rooms, virtual laboratory, students can present projects together as well.
Critical thinking and problem solving go hand in hand create the problem present it to your students have them get together use their heads and see if they can resolve it by running scenarios that may or may not work collaborate together apply the "fix" check it out if it doesn"t work check your steps think about it and you will begin to understand that there is more than one way to resolve an issue have the students use their thought procecesses in collaboration and they will learn without you doing it and the lesson will stick in their heads better because you showed the path and they figured it out with just a little guidance
Incorporating problem solving via role playing.
Critical thinking and collaboration play such a huge role as a faculty facilitator. I learned new ways to implement and engage that with students.
I see how Problem Based Learning can be significant in brining in real world examples into the classroom. It would be relevant and could relate to the student's life more acutely than a printed example from a textbook or a recycled lecture.
getting students to use critical thinking will not only benefit their leaning, but will help them succeed in the "real world."
Collaborative and cooperative learning are very similar; however, cooperative is more structured to enhance student learning in groups. Critical thinking skills can be augmented in problem-based learning groups too. This type of learning will be relevant to the real world issues that help students think in real-time.
After reading the material on cooperative and collaborative learning I have new insights that I will put into place in my on-line class.
use critical thinking in the clasroom.
Classroom assessment techniques are an important part of being an online teacher. They are best described by:
- *Some material in this report is adapted from:
Angelo, T.A. and Cross, K.P. (1993). Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers, Second Edition, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
- This resource is adapted from original content by Lee Haugen, Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, Iowa State University.
"Classroom assessment techniques (CAT) are relatively quick and easy formative evaluation methods that help you check student understanding in “real time”. These formative evaluations provide information that can be used to modify/improve course content, adjust teaching methods, and, ultimately improve student learning. Formative evaluations are most effective when they are done frequently and the information is used to effect immediate adjustments in the day-to-day operations of the course."
Exploring the many varieties of technological tools available to the learner are vast. Even though integrating these tools may require some effort on the instructors’ part; the rewards are great for the learner. A plan moving forward would be to integrate more of the technological tools into the class setting as well as group based work – specifically peer reflection.
Critical thinking is a skill that must be fostered in the online learning environment.
Critical thinking involves mulling over topic and providing a carefully thought out response. High school students today lack this ability and they do not attend college, they have no recourse to learn this type of thinking other than in the work place as they advance. Student that take the time to consider critical thinking do better in school and are promoted faster in the work place.
While critical thinking may not come naturally to all students, it is a necessary skill to build. I can definitely see the PBL method working well in teaching Health Information Technology courses and using current healthcare issues / trends as a foundation.
What I learned about active learning, such as collaborative learning and problem-based learning, I would utilize fully in all my courses along with the other components of student-centered active learning.
Dr. Anton Hawatmeh
I am so tired of posting things that I feel like an online student. Fed up, losing interest. and what ever happen to video's and photo's to keep up our interest. If we follow the way these course are laid out for our students we will lose them within the first 5 days.
Collaberative actvities can help a student know that there is not necessarily one carrect answer. It helps the student explore different solution and this can enhance their critcal thinking.
