Fermilab LInC Online
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Phase 1-5 (Five Weeks): Participants will experience a firsthand Engaged Learning activity. Teachers will then debrief the experience and define Engaged Learning attributes.
Teachers will work in collaborative groups to share information and problem-solve. They will use the Internet as well as other sources on and off line to gather information.
Participants have been assigned by their district to plan for and open a new type of learning environment. What does this school look like? Where is it? Who will attend the school? Is it a building? Is it a virtual environment? What is the mission? What is the curriculum? How do the students learn? This task will be a hands-on model of Engaged Learning so that the participants will experience the process.
Phase 6-10 (Eight weeks): Participants will develop Engaged Learning projects under the ongoing and consistent leadership of the facilitators. Project developed will be incorporated into existing curriculum and infused with the State Learning Standards.
Target Audience: Classroom Teachers, Staff Development Leaders and Administrators
Participants will work in teams to experience and develop Engaged Learning lessons. The learning environment will include: facilitators' instruction to the whole group, collaborative group interaction, and individual responsibilities.
Participants will complete a graduate level accredited course. The class will meet 13 weeks for 3 hours. Additional time will need to be spent outside of class to research and develop the components of the project. Communication with team members and facilitator will be essential using a bulletin format and a syllabus is provided.
Participants will be able to:
- Compare and contrast alternative ways of educating students with more traditional methods of instruction
- Identify key components of instruction that enable students to be active, engaged, self-directed learners
- Investigate progressive teaching methods
- Develop a criteria for the type(s) of instruction in the "model" environment
- Research alternative learning environments
- Design a new environment incorporating the best of these ideas into the "Structure of the Learning".
Participants have been assigned the task of designing a new type of learning environment. What does it look like? Where is it? Who will attend the school? Is it a building? Is it a virtual environment? What is the mission? What is the curriculum? How do the students learn?
The NEA/IEA and AFT are sponsoring a challenge to find a design for the best learning environment of the future. The primary goal is to engage all students in learning to their fullest potential. This task allows participants to be free to dream without boundaries or limits in their quest for the ultimate learning environment. The organizations will fund the top three proposals with the winning educators as paid consultants/teachers.
After selecting their collaborative groups, participants will determine ways to research various types of alternative educational opportunities and teaching styles. Some of the questions they may answer are: What are some ways to research various types of alternative educational opportunities and teaching styles? How can we identify criteria for analyzing best practices in teaching? How can you use the criteria that you have generated to assess lessons and instructional methods of classrooms of their choosing? Which opportunities and styles have the most promise for the future of educating youth? How will you define the attributes on the model learning environment you design? After completing the research each group will develop their vision of an educational system for the future.
In order to facilitate communication, participants will keep in contact with team members and the facilitator in the following ways: Synchronous chat, email messages, and bulletin board postings of work.
For ongoing assessment the participants will post weekly journal responses in the bulletin board reflecting on their learning and process. The facilitator will use these to help gauge areas of concern and target what is going well.
By the end of the course participants will have worked toward developing their own Engaged Learning project to take back to the classroom. Participants will incorporate their project into classroom curriculum in order to enhance authentic teaching and learning.
Participants will utilize a variety of resources including the Internet in the following ways: Locate educational experts on and off line. Contact through email and chats with teachers and administrators from alternative types of schools. Research current trends in educational pedagogy. Post their research and resulting vision on a website.
Communication with team members and facilitator will be accomplished through Web site, bulletin board and chat avenues.
Assessment will be ongoing. Evaluation of participants' work will involve rubrics designed for each set of tasks in the learner outcomes. The learners will be involved in generating rubrics for their learning. Thus, participants will become acquainted with the rubrics in advance and can use them as checkpoints as their work progresses.
For ongoing assessment the participants will post weekly journal responses in the bulletin board reflecting on their learning and process. The facilitator will use these to help gauge areas of concern and target what is going well.
Evaluation at the completion of the course will be evidenced in the quality of projects developed and the enthusiasm generated by the participants to engage with their students using this method rubrics.
NETS stands for ISTE's National Educational Technology Standards projects: NETS for Teachers (NETSƒT)
II. Planning and Designing Learning Environments and Experiences
Teachers plan and design effective learning environments and experiences supported by technology.
Teachers:
A. design developmentally appropriate learning opportunities that apply technology-enhanced instructional strategies to support the diverse needs of learners.
B. apply current research on teaching and learning with technology when planning learning environments and experiences.
C. identify and locate technology resources and evaluate them for accuracy and suitability.
D. plan for the management of technology resources within the context of learning activities.
E. plan strategies to manage student learning in a technology-enhanced environment.
III. Teaching, Learning and the Curriculum
Teachers implement curriculum plans, that include methods and strategies for applying technology to maximize student learning.
Teachers:
A. facilitate technology-enhanced experiences that address content standards and student technology standards.
B. use technology to support learner-centered strategies that address the diverse needs of students.
C. apply technology to develop students' higher order skills and creativity.
Created for the Fermilab
LInC program sponsored by Fermi National
Accelerator Laboratory Education Office
and Friends of Fermilab, and
funded by United States Department of Energy,
Illinois State Board of Education,
North Central Regional Technology in Education
Consortium which is operated by North Central
Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL), and the National
Science Foundation.
Author(s): Barbara Holdiman,
Gina Keifer, and Lucianne
Sweder
Lincoln-Way High School District 210, New Lenox, IL
Lockport High School District 205, Lockport, IL
Professional Development Alliance/Regional Office of Education for Will and
Grundy/Kendall Counties, Joliet, IL
Learning Technology Center One South, Joliet, IL
Created: February 25, 2001 - Updated: February 27, 2001
URL: /lincon/w01/projects/futureschools/presentfs.htm