Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Yesterday's lesson was full of activity and was very hands-on. It was a very insightful lesson for me as I felt it helped consolidate our knowledge on learning environments thus far. We had an article to look at and present our information as a group on powerpoint, after which these were sent out to all the other members and also placed in the lesson box for sharing. The questions were simple yet important to point us in the right direction while reading the article and also made us reflect on the follow-up to be considered as a result of the research done.
The article "Constructive solutions: Improving teaching and learning in e-learning environments" by Sue Trinidad was simple to read, and helped us to focus on what kind of research is important in this area and how to be more critical of the data collected, the recommendations, and to reflect on the follow-up necessary in each of the gaps identified. A weakness in the paper was that not all the gaps identified in the research done were addressed. It also helped to remind us that research necessitates the kind of conclusions that are needed to address all the gaps identified based on the data collected.
A question I have is as to how much of the qualitative data should be taken into account, eg, if only one or two students interviewed reported problems with understanding the task. Because it is data from only one or two students, how far do you take his view as representative of the rest?
The second activity we had was on the use of an actual instrument. As a group, we looked at how to tabulate our scores for our resposes to the modified WIHIC instrument we used in class. It was a good exercise as we actually became much more familiar with the 6 scales used. Using the SPSS, the scores were computed and we got a first-hand look at how the SPSS system calculates the various types of information needed based on the research question. I was amazed at how efficient the software was (and that it even existed!)
The class discussion also gave us an insight to the terminology used for the various instruments.
Eg, the use of the terms "pre-test" and "post-test" are considered quite archaic (laugh here - cos we are still using these terms in school without knowing it is a give-away as to the "era" we come from!!) and that we should instead be using terms like "preferred" and "actual" to refer to our ideal state in the classroom lesson environment and the actual / one's own / real experience respectively.
This adds on to the earlier learning we gained on the use of the LE instruments; that they can be adapted for use in different contexts, but that the meanings of the statements should not change. this ensures tha validity and reliability of these instruments, which have already been tested and proven.
The group also worked very well together today!
8:43 AM |