Month: June 2023

Hi Julia,

I think open pedagogy is an interesting method of learning. Similar to inquiry-based learning, it seems like open pedagogy is more learner based as open pedagogy and inquiry-based learning really rely on the learner to either be curious or learn autonomously. I also use many methods of open pedagogy learning but I still like going back to a textbook at the end of the day.

Thanks for sharing,
Kevin

Hi Rick,

I think that cooperative learning is a very common way of learning as it allows for other member’s ideas and you can learn a lot off of your peers. Just recently I took a class on group dynamics and realized that there are a whole different types of groups that groups can be classified into. I think your example is very good and provides a strong point to your blog.

Thanks for sharing,
Kevin S

The learning approach I will be discussing is inquiry-based learning. Inquiry based learning is an approach to learning that focuses on active engagement and critical thinking. Inquiry based learning is all about having the learners ask questions, investigate topics of interest, and explore solutions through hands-on activities, research, and collaboration (National Research Council, 2000). Inquiry based learning follows a cycle that loops where the learner first gets familiar with a topic, questions it, discusses it and reflects it. This allows for a thorough understanding of the topic and being able to reach a high level of understanding. Some challenges that are faced with inquiry based learning is that it is hard for some students to stay motivated because of lot of the learning is self-guided and another challenge is that it is difficult for students to know when they reached a good level of understanding. Though if the student is very interested in a subject or topic, inquiry-based learning really allows for the students creativity and passion to move forward.

For us, this relates to our learning pods topic because we are going to teach a subject and to keep it interesting we are going to incorporate all kinds of methods. Inquiry-based learning is especially important to us because inquiry-based learning is able to deliver more than your typical teacher classroom learning. This is even more relevant depending on the type of learner because personally I think that I learn better in a subject that I am curious about rather a subject that I don’t care about.

Inquiry-based learning will be used when we deliver our lesson on ChatGPT by triggering the curiosity of the students and then making them learn by exploring or investigating. This will be done by the students trying out ChatGPT by themselves and seeing what type of results are being returned, analyzing the data brought from ChatGPT as well as questioning the correctness of the results. I think that ChatGPT is a great subject for inquiry-based learning because ChatGPT is still relatively new and there is a lot of questions around it as well as ways that you can use it. In our case with ChatGPT for research, I think that students will delve into this black hole of a topic and make the most of the subject by their curiosity supplemented by the lessons that we deliver. Additionally, the students will be able to reflect and think critically about their learning because research methods with ChatGPT isn’t black and white. There is no 100% correct way and people are still learning about how to use ChatGPT as well as ChatGPT itself is changing.

References:

National Research Council. (2000). Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards: A Guide for Teaching and Learning. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

Hi Fawzan,

I love to hear that you are enjoying a healthier lifestyle and all the positive changes it has brought to your life. I also love taking a break and getting some exercise as well as eating good food. Self-improvement is so important and it is definitely a challenge to get in the mindset to stay consistent.

Thanks for sharing,
Kevin Song

Hi Zhenshang,

Thank you for your thoughtful insights on the different methods for learning. After examining the different methods, I came to conclusion that I am probably follow a Constructivism based learning model. This is because I find that I work well learning by myself and having the self-guided aspect really allows for flexibility to allow myself to learn whenever I have the time. I do however have some friends that wouldn’t work well in this type of setting because it really takes a lot of motivation and passion to learn by yourself.

Thanks,
Kevin S

Share a story about your best learning experience (could be a formal course or something more personal). Why did you enjoy it?

My best learning experience comes from a formal course that I took at UVic. The class that made me really enjoy learning was CSC 361 with professor Jianping Pan. I found this class especially interesting because the topic on computer networks really caught my interest but also the way that professor Pan structured the class. This class had both tutorials and lab sections and most of the weight in the class fell on midterms as well as assignments. Not only were the lectures very engaging but also the labs used the skills in lecture which would later be used again in tutorial to teach you how to do the assignments. I was able to see and understand better what happens when we make a basic google search or how we connect to the internet and I found this really cool.

Looking at this class from the perspective of the foundations of learning and instructional design technology, it can be seen that Pan did a good job of translating principles of learning and instruction into specifications for instructional materials and activities (Smith & Ragan, 1993, p. 12). Pan made it so it was easy to see how the skills we were learning were used in the practical world allowing us to be able to bridge our understanding to potential solutions in the real world.

Another part that Pan did well was with his amazing behaviourism. Pan’s passion in the subject made it much more exciting and gave us stimulus when asking questions or processing information. The most critical factor that influences learning is the arrangement of stimuli and consequences within the environment (Ertmer & Newby, 1993).

Overall, this class that I took was especially enjoyable because it followed many of the different theories and motivations that make learning both effective and interesting. By including real-world application to what we were doing and an environment perfect for learning, the class and students were able to have a more productive and positive learning experience.

References:

Peggy A. Ertmer & Timothy Newby (1993). Behaviorism, Cognitivism, Constructivism. (n.d.). In Learning Theories and Transfer of Learning. Retrieved from https://edtechbooks.org/lidtfoundations/behaviorism_cognitivism_constructivism

Smith, P. L., & Ragan, T. J. (1993). Instructional design. New York: Macmillan.