How can we use our knowledge of research to shape an online curriculum that promotes self-regulated learning through active cognitive engagement?
These six perspectives of learning theory provide us with a framework for structuring learning activities in the virtual classroom:
- Active, Participatory Learning
- Constructivist Learning Theory
- Collaborative Learning
- Cognitive Engagement
- Teaching & Learning Style Research
- Computer-Mediated Communication Research
- Active, Participatory Learning
- Active learning can increase motivation, attendance, long-term retention and reduce competition and isolation.
- Active Learning
Campbell & Piccinin, University of Ottawa, February 1999
- Constructivist Learning Theory
- Constructivist Learning Theory provides a useful construct on which to base the development of effective online course delivery:
- Constructivist Theory (Bruner)
Source: Theory Into Practice Database (Kearsley)
- Collaborative Learning
- You can enrich your students' online experiences by developing collaborative learning activities.
- Active and Cooperative Learning R.M. Felder
- Center for the Study of Work Teams
- Cooperative/Collaborative Learning Neil Davidson, Maricopa CC
- Cooperative Learning, California Department of Education
- Cooperative Learning Center
Roger T. Johnson and David W. Johnson, University of Minnesota- Cooperative Learning (University of Tennessee, Chattanooga)
- Cognitive Engagement
- Learning is fundamentally a cognitive process. Students can develop facilitative or debilitative styles of cognitive engagement. What cognitive engagement styles can you recognize in your students?
- Teaching & Learning Style Research
- Computer-Mediated Communication Research
- Research on computer-mediated communication provides a helpful framework for thinking about pedagogically effective ways to promote student learning (active cognitive engagement) in online environments.
Whether you're teaching online or face-to-face, these resources will provide you with some effective strategies for enhancing your teaching:
- Classroom Assessment Techniques
Improve your online and face-to-face teaching effectiveness with CATs- Learning Outcomes
- Learning Styles & Preferences
- Transform Your Online Teaching
Adult Learning Theory: A Resource Guide
Compiled by Teresa Crafton, Indiana State UniversityCable's On-Line Pedagogy Distance Learning Portal
Cable T. Green is a 3rd year doctoral student in the School of Journalism and Communication, Ohio State University.Changing a Course from Lecture Format to Cooperative Learning
By Dean A. McManus, Professor School of Oceanography/ Updated from an article which originally appeared in the Winter 1996 issue of Paideia: Undergraduate Education at the University of Washington. 4(1), 12-16Constructivism
A comprehensive page from the School of Education, University of Denver, Colorado. Includes theories of Jean Piaget, Seymour Papert, Jerome Bruner, Lev Vygotsky, and John Dewey.Constructivist Learning Theory
Contextual Teaching and Learning Bowling Green State UniversityDesigning and Managing Multiple Choice Questions
Greg Kearsley's Guide to Online Education Journal of Innovative Higher Education
A refereed scholarly journal in its 25th year of publication. Includes Abstracts from issues for Fall 1989 to present.Learning Theories in Information Technology
From James Cook University, Australia. Topics include behavioural theories, cognitive constructivist theories, social constructivist theories including Vigotsky's Zone of Proximal Development and Learning, and critical theoryLearning to Use the World Wide Web
By Ernest C. Ackermann, Department of Computer Science, Mary Washington College, Fredericksburg, VAModels of Distance Education: A Conceptual Planning Tool
University of Maryland University College NewChalk:
- Encouraging Student Use of Internet Resources
- Online Testing
- Promoting Community
- Building the Syllabus
- The 'Open' Office
- Reading Assignments on the Web
- Online Discussion
- Student Projects
- Writing to Learn
- Learning Outcomes
- Online Collaboration
- Time Management
- Back to School with Technology
Notes On Active Pedagogy
Susanne Moser and Susan Hanson, School of Geography, Clark UniversityPedagogies of Distance Education
From the University of OregonPedagogical Principles
From the InterQuest project at Oregon State University.
- Problem-Based Learning
American Educational Research Association SIG- Problem-Based Learning Directory
Based on D.R. Woods' 1995 book, How to get the most out of PBL. A compresensive site that covers definitions of PBL, the Problem Solving Process, Small Group Problem-Based Learning, and Group Skills.
- Problem-Based Learning as Collaboration
- Problem-Based Learning, McMaster Medical Education
- Problem-Based Learning-Sociology
- Problem-Based Learning -Samford University
Includes the publication, PBL Insight, and links to other PBL sitesPositive Pedagogy
An on-line journal devoted to the recognition and development of excellence in teaching. Developed by the Ontario 3M Teaching Fellows; published three times per year.PowerPoint, No! Cyberspace, Yes
Tom Creed, Saint JohnÕs University,MN. The National Teaching and Learning Forum, 1997, Vol.6 No.4.Self-Scoring Teaching Goals Inventory
From Classroom Assessment Techniques, by Thomas A. Angelo and K. Patricia Cross.A Template for Converting Classroom Courses to Distributed, Asynchronous Courses
By Lowell H. Roberts, Director, Institute for Academic Technology, University of North Carolina, Chapel HillTools for Teaching | Online Compendium
Barbara Gross Davis, University of California, Berkeley, Jossey-Bass; San Francisco, 1993.Using E-Mail in Computer Assisted Freshman Composition and Rhetoric
Dr. Rebecca Dowden, English Coordinator, Tomball Community College, Texas and Sharon Humphries, Professor of English, Montgomery Community College, Texas
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