DESCRIPTIONS OF CUP,

TABLES ETC. IN POEMS

Other Relevant Pages

Recipes Focus groups

ARCHIVE & HISTORY

Nominal group technique

N.B. DIFFERENT KINDS OF QUESTION

Confidence logs Information Pages Learning styles

Pedagogic toolkit Working with groups

Students can be worried about the time this takes within a class. Sell it with confidence on the basis that it will Isolation or integration

actually get them further forward than a final alternative 10 minutes of input would - their actual experience will Pre and post testing

confirm this. It may well also open up dialogue between you and them about the process and agenda of your Serving suggestions

sessions, deepening their motivation and commitment.

References

CAL packages have come a long way from a set of floppies with merely text and graphics on them, to highly sophisticated interactive learning modules. Often these packages claim learning is made easy for students, by taking their learning styles into account.

But is this truly the case? Find below some learning styles explained and translated into good practice for use in CAL packages.

Auditive or visual learning styles One of the easiest recognisable learning styles that students

have is the preference for auditive intake or visual intake of taught knowledge. Students usually either prefer look at material individually, or prefer to listen to lectures. Ideally a CAL package caters for both. A module supported with audio as well as a visual representation of content is easily achievable using modern multimedia facilities.

Supporting study styles Tutors often explain to students how they should write

essays, how to prepare for exams, how to deal with big amounts of reading work, i.e. how to study. In doing this, tutors encourage students to use better methods of learning. The better the lecture, the better this advice is ingrained in their teaching.

However, very few CAL packages support this students need. Occasionally, a button featuring study advice is available, and although this is a fairly artificial solution, it is a good start. Weaving study-related remarks into the body of a module within a package would be ideal.

Allowing for failure In a similar way to toddlers learning how to walk by trial

and error, students need opportunities to stumble and fall within their learning process. This helps them to develop knowledge that they can use creatively. However, some packages do not allow for failure. Modules are immediately followed by assessments, without allowing for a test-area or playground. It is good practice to leave learning space for package users.

Interaction: none of it, false or true interaction? Broadly speaking, all CAL packages try to incorporate

interaction. Often this is explained by developers as the package giving immediate feedback to students input. Quite often the feedback is no more than Right, Wrong or Please try again! This is false interaction and serves very little pedagogical purpose. Usually students will resort to a trial and error approach to this sort of interaction, with all attention going to the result of their actions, not the content.

Pedagogically successful packages give an explanation of why something is right or wrong and preferably do not allow for retrying based on trial and error. True interaction is concerned when a students input steers the activities of the package. This could, for instance, mean that a students right answer allows him to skip the next module, or a wrong answer adds a remedial module.

Please note that even in a mass-lecture where students are not encouraged to ask questions or discuss topics, learning often takes place in a two-step fashion. The first step is passive: the student listens to what the lecturer talks about, reads slides or looks at the blackboard. The second step is active: students generally make notes and therefore engage with the material they need to learn, however shallow this may be.

Students observed while using CAL packages showed very little active learning, unless the package promotes interaction. They are encouraged to work together or guidance is given on a more active way of working through a package (for instance by making notes).

DESCRIPTIONS OF CUP,