And the Survey Says…

In my pre-course survey I asked my Read 088 and Eng 100 community college students (age range 17-36) the following question:

8. When you think about classes in which you learned a lot but still had fun, what kind of activities did you do in class and what kind of out of class homework was expected of you?

Here’s a sampling of the anecdotal answers: 

group activities in class and in homework

group activities in class, but could still do it on my own

It was a topic I was interested in, so I payed attention. I think that’s what matters, if I am interested.

work outside of class,talking in class

Lab work. Hands on work.

We did a lot of practice, but the teacher made it fun. We would have silly hw assignments like go home and write a parapraph about your dream home. It allowed us to use our imaginations yet still be doing something that would help us in the future.

very visual classes and on hands experience

hands on stuff with skits and what to do if situations

I did a business latter[sic] and had to send it to them

…she made us do cool assingments that were outside of school that we could have fun doing for example one assignment was going to any restuarant to eat and observing what people would do, then have a class discussion about it the next day.

We wrote about ourselveves and what we’ve done all of our life

it was a more hands on class, such as art, or a lecture class where you have to particpate

There was a lot of hands on activities in class. I like to have class discussions and be able to study with other classmates

Plus labs everyday during class time

I LIKE TO INTERACT WITH OTHERS

We got in groups a lot and talked as a class a lot. Presentation was expected.

We would do group activities in class

Activities we did in class were debates, labs, and just flat out talking about a subject we all were interested in.

Activities with others in the class. (group)

we did labs like science type labs

I learned a lot in my English class when I first came to CC, she let us discuss a lot with each other

Of the 32 respondents to this particular question – which required them to type in any answer of their choice – 20 answered in words that can directly relate to the Read/Write Web.  These students stated that they learned the most, and enjoyed a particlar class the most, where they had interraction with their peers (collaboration), and where  students did “hands on” activities incorporating “tools” of some kind (Constructionist and integrated technology).  Students mentioned homework writing assignments for reflection and then making presentations with and to their peers later (Connectivist and Constructionist theories).  Perhaps the most telling component of these admittedly non-scientific results is the fact that these students were not asked about a technology-infused course, and most were not speaking of such courses.  They were talking about their high school math, English, American history, or basic college psychology course. 

If teachers are applying the concepts of Web2.0 to their technology-poor classrooms and metacognitive learning increased for students, this surely is a call for the application of Web2.0 technologies where access to equipment is not an issue.

Brain research on learning supports it, educational research on learning supports it, and even the students are supporting it.
 

Why don’t more teachers know about it?

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Tags: Teaching, Education, Online, eLearning, Brain Research, Web2.0, Digital Literacy , Best Blog Practices