Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Reflections For Day 5 . . . cont, A&ILE

Training and Education require to be purpose driven. Resources need to be justified and planned to minimise waste and maximise learning effectiveness.

After spending time and efforts in instructions of a learner, whether the learner actually attains higher cognitive abilities, internalises the knowledge and created new knowledge, will in turn requires review of the interventions and strategies.

This means a review of the learning environment as a whole where the learner, the instructor, the people, the physical aspects and psychological aspects inclusive, all interacting and affecting learning.

Much focus has been put on internal validation where content achievements of the learner are emphasized, stakeholders need to be reminded of the importance of validating the entire learning environment to foster a wholesome development of the learner and allowing a positive learning experience.

Imagine an environment that's learning conducive, becoming a culture, where people approach learning instinctively and sharing is supported in systemic view. Perhaps building a learning culture and climate will take years, even generations, it is a worthy cause that benefits all.

Coming for this module allowed myself to see learning as inclusive of more than teaching content. And validated assessment tools are in existence to help any organisation to systematically review its learning processes and reveal gaps for enhancements.

Reflections For Day 5, A&ILE

On summarising Day 4 & 5 learning . . .

By going through the experience of administering the WIHIC in our class, though a scaled down version, learning for me occurred in two dimensions:

The Content: The survey process . . . the data collection / statistical analysis / drawing of lessons learnt / giving recommendations . . . and re-examining the Murray's Needs-Press Model.

The Context: This is definitely most important in supporting learning fulfilling both the hygiene and motivation factors. Able to appreciate the Social interactions, of how team and cooperative learning works and happens.

Teach Less, Learn More? This is THE Way!

Reflections For Day 4 . . . cont, A&ILE

. . . that . . . Belief Drives Reality.

" Believe to See, or See to Believe? "

The quote . . . in each part, each in its own is a belief. And the environment & circumstances will be shaped by the beholder of that belief.

Environmental conditions are the collective manifestations of individual's interactions with the greater world . . . interpreting and perceiving what's important and necessary, for surviving and living.


Martin Luther King, Jr.
"I Have a Dream"

delivered 28 August 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C.

Reflections For Day 4, A&ILE


Yawk! Main bulk of the day is group activity doing up report on Assessing of Learning Environment in NIE Classroom.


aMAZING! How the group just sprung into action . . . each of us knowing and doing what's needed and contributing what each is most best at, great initiatives!


~ Team Dynamics, that the total is greater than the sum of the parts! ~


Special THANKS! to DR Quek for taking care of our Brain by feeding us with lots and lots of FRUITS!


Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Reflections For Day 3, A&ILE

Today was very much about Group Activities - Using Case Study to learn about Survey Instrument.

Main Learning Points -
  • Instruments are validated, when using, keep meaning intact.
  • Avoid reinventing the wheel, find the appropriate Instrument and modify.
  • Modify only to suit the Audience, Language style and Context.(Why modify?)
  • Manage Survey Fatigue to achieve Consistency, Reliability and ease of result collating.
  • Prefer having all positive statements to ease result collating.(How to modify?)

The day went by . . .

Morning . . .

  • Arousal, a simple exercise to survey the class about years of service. Then, started to introduce terms like mean, standard deviation, average, etc.
  • Went into lecture on modifying of Learning Environment Inventory.
  • Did a WIHIC-preferred to experience it and understand how its modified.
  • Case Study about survey findings from three schools to learn about how School Learning Environment Questionnaire was used to elicit responses coupled with Naturalistic Approach for further gathering of Qualitative feedback.

(By now, exposed to WIHIC and SLEQ)

How to conduct survey?

Administering -

  • Determine the Inventory use, target audience, sample size, set up base questions for research.
  • Inform and seek consensus from stakeholders(School, Parents).
  • Conduct survey.

Interviewing -

  • Is instrumental survey sufficient? Conduct interviews to capture qualitative feedback missing from the survey.

Consolidating -

  • Collate findings
  • Prepare report
  • Share with stakeholders and interested parties.

Afternoon . . .

  • State change, introducing Mr James Peh, student of Dr Quek.
  • Rubrics on assignment, 'My Blog'.
  • Group sharing on Case Study
  • Summarising the findings by Dr Quek.
  • Did WIHIC-Actual, follow up to WIHIC-Preferred.
  • Reflections.

My Additional Learning . . .

Adult learners love case study, especially well presented with positive & negative perspectives. It allows opening for differing interpretations and inferences.

Adult learners tend to be self-driven (actualise or peer pressure) to do well in assignment given (My Blog).

Mr James Peh's sharing of interesting Internet sites and tools.



Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Reflections For Day 2, A&ILE

Continued with the previous day's efforts, I'd managed to create my first Blog.
Some achievements today were,

  • created my first blog
  • using of gmail as a form of learning environment
  • making use of LessonBox for online asynchronous learning
  • using MindMap to capture learning points for revision

Today's Learning Focus,as I've gathered, as follows,

1. What to assess about the Learning Environment?
- Physical
- Student
- Social


2. How assessment instrument came to be?
Development of LE inventory
Murray's need-press model > Walberg&Moo's research on classroom&school climate > Moo's LEI > Moo's CES > reaffirming Lewin's theory that interaction of personal character and environment determines human behaviour (learning). > developed Assessment Instruments for different learning environment.

Learning Environment Inventory is based on Moo's Scheme of,
Relationship Dimension
Personal Development
Dimension
System Maintenance & System Change Dimension

FIT = Interaction between the Learner with the environment and other people that results in a positive learning experience.

3. Why assess?
Is it a waste of time & resources?
Are learning outcome meant through, quality relationship of the teacher & learner situated in environment and interaction?
Is there 'beyond academic achievements', such as attitudinal enhancements?

Also, assessment of Web-based learning can be in the form of peers' feedback through sharing of blogs and other new media.

Additional Learning - State Changes employed by Dr Quek:

  • Lecturing
  • Individual work using computer
  • Group learning through collaboration (research on Pioneers of LE, Barry J Fraser)
  • Social interaction, 'a walk downhill to canteen for a cuppa and back'.
  • Self Reflection using Blogger

Group Attributes - My inferences of the Group Work experience,

  • Forming Stage, very cooperative and eager to engage and share.
  • Able to focus on group objective of completing assignment in 30 min.
  • Immediate volunteering of main role players to minimise dispute.
  • Simple structure with immediate takers during tasks delegation.
  • Understand & moderated personal standards & requirements to form and accept group standard.
  • Focus on objective and allow learning to take place.

Social forming of group > Learning through interacting with Internet - Problem/Need > Criteria > Search > Retrieval > Processing > Completion > Comparing & Discussing(Internalising) > Evaluate >Substantiate > Conclude.