Learning can be achieved far
more visually, and also academically, with Online Discovery Learning compared with reading and answering one page of text,
such as text resources, which can be well designed and well presented , with outcomes and questions following text. Its easier,
but can be restrictive. The student only learns what the teacher presents.
"We learn about a city from the full multi-path, sensory
experience of it, rather than from sequential information in a book. We learned our neighbourhood as a child from scattered,
random input, not from a manual or a guidebook. Learning is best when it provides many options and inputs"
Human Brain and Learning. Leslie Hart.
In a four
lesson block in a week, teaching would involve planning for two computer-based sessions, one activity sheet
which has text and questions, provokes discussion, and which may be text or Library based, and a class presentation.
At the end of the week, the student produces a Power Point Presentation, Word
Document, or a hand written Project or essay on the weeks work, (so students who prefer to work this way are not penalised),
and presents this audio-visual to the class.
The
Ideal Situation is constant use of the computers, where the student takes notes on the computers, follows the
online lesson, researches the selected researches, creates his own data base, and presents the work online for assessment,
and also as a class presentation for discussion and group re-enforcement. This is responsible, student self paced, and Discovery
Learning at a very high level.
In Student Centred Online Discovery
Learning, the student knows the expectations, and many students are usually motivated enough to prepare far in excess of the
minimum expectations. I have had twenty-six page documents presented with all the trimmings, sound, illustrations, color,
copies of transcript, facts, sources, fancy lettering, animation, etc, all showing how interested and motivated the students
are. The student has a permanent record of their work, and learning which can be shared with others. Students become facilitators
of learning and take pride in what they can do and learn.
Our school has a facility for
students to display their work on a large screen, and present a short talk on their presentation through a key computer. Students
are encouraged to learn from other students,discuss and share their findings, and literally teach each other
what they have discovered.
In one classroom session, students
are advancing their knowledge, adding to their research and writing skills, using and developing their communication and leadership
skills, and experiencing daily doses of self confidence and self esteem, because of their motivated involvement. They
are actively involved in the task of learning in the ways they understand.
"When you get to a new city, you not only want to know where
you are going, but also where you are in relation to where everything else is located. In other words, the spatial, contextual
relationships are the ones which help you understand and get around a new city......
Hart says that learning is the extraction of
meaningful patterns from confusion. In other words, figuring out things in your way."
The Learning Brain. Eric Jensen. p.21
Students are proud to share their learning and have a record of their work, which can be used by others
as a reference material. A library resource of their PowerPoints can then be located in the Library resources for other
students use, as when we went looking for this very same information, it was not easily accessible in the Library.
Printed out Presentations are
fully fledged books, and as students progress, they develop their writing and presentation skills more competently and to
a very high level of expertise, especially if they are using their Power point Presentations in classroom featured talks
and discussions.
Computer based lessons are researched, prepared, and placed on the school network or Internet, for
all student and teacher access, and, on a website which all interested students and teachers can access, both at school and
at home. This is what I am currently developing... a series of lesson resources that students can access from school by accessing
my page, and also from home, and creating a series of links other teachers worldwide can access.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/teachersnewslink
If a student is away or misses a session, they can follow the session by resorting
to this site and keep up with what is happening. It also creates a link that parents can access
and use to work in with their students, and maybe learn along with them, so discussion can be generated at home like the conversations
I had with my grandfather.
Students get motivated to continue
their work, and research at home, through the internet site which can be accessed after school hours. Many students have parents
who are interested in their students tasks, who can help them at home ,using the resources available on the open
site. New links also lead students to follow what is going on in the world, through News videos and highlighted links.
School
Websites can be used to house the separate learning areas, or lessons can be stored and listed on a School network
for the use of the students, and also other teachers ,who could use the lessons either as they are, or amend them to suit
teacher individual differences.
Broome High School has a site such as this where
all have access to what is available.
Schools would thus over a period
of time develop school based curriculum, with living resources, that could at any time be added to or changed. Students using
Discovery Learning become lifetime learners because what is truly learnt is never lost.
© Maggi Carstairs 2003-08-29
