Learning is Not a Spectator Sport

Learning is not a spectator sport. Students do not learn much by sitting in class listening to teachers, memorizing prepackaged assignments and spitting out answers. They must talk about what they are doing, write about it, relate it to past experienced, apply it to their daily lives. They must make what they learn part of themselves. (Chickering & Gamson, 1987)

This quote was used in a recent workshop on Learning-centred and Outcomes-based Teaching (Dr Diane Salter from University of Hong Kong). It also made me think about the work of Cathy Moore (eLearning Blueprint or click on image below to check out a great powerpoint with design tips). 

Dr Salter emphasised that we need to focus on what and how our learners LEARN rather than on what we teach. She pointed out the need to align Outcomes, Learning Activities and Assessment in a Learning-Centred model:

Outcomes: What you want your students to learn – write learning outcomes as active statements that make the change in behaviour of the learner explicit and clear, eg. identify or discuss instead of ‘know about’

Learning Activities: How you want your students to learn – what activities will they DO, eg discuss case studies, do a task, projects, problem-based learning activities. Learning activities should provide the students with opportunities to practice (formative), prepare them for final assessment and achieve the learning outcomes/performance criteria.

Assessment: How you will judge how well the students have learned, achieved competency or changed behaviour. The assessment methods should align with the learning outcomes and the learning activities. Assessment can be formative (practice, stages, quizzes) and/or summative.

If we consider the alignment of these 3 elements, and the tips in Cathy Moore’s Blueprint we can design educationally sound and engaging learning sequences for our students.

Another way to look at this is the T5 Model developed at the University of Hong Kong, CETL:

Tasks (Learning Activities)
Tutoring (Feedback and Discussion)                           TEACHER
Teamwork (Collaboration)                                            OWNERSHIP
Reflection (Diary, Blog, Work Log)
——————————————————————————
Topics (Course Resources
Tools (Resources/SocialNetworking/Repositories)    RE-USABLE

How might you change your thinking and approach to designing learning sequences and activities and assessment for your students now?

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