Strategies for Times
When More Is Less
Collaboration to Maximize the Educational ROI
Cheryl Kerison, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Education
Quinnipiac School of Education
Quinnipiac University
[email protected]
Gary Pandolfi
Instructional Technologist
Adjunct Associate Professor of
English
Quinnipiac University
[email protected]
How many?
The Course(s)
ED 302 Elementary Field Study
• Situational Factors
– 20 students submitted a reflection paper (3-5
pages) once every two weeks (x20 = 600 pages)
– Papers contained reactions to field observations
tied directly to course content
– Teacher provided the only feedback
– Some papers discussed in class
Targeted Questions
• How important is it that every
student post a journal entry
every week?
• Which is more important, the
journal entry or the comments
from other students?
The Problem
How could the assignment
leverage technology to maximize
learning outcomes, shift the center
from the teacher to the students,
and make the workload
manageable?
A Solution!
•
•
•
•
Small groups (5 Groups of 4)
1 group posts each week
Each student posts once before
and once after the course midpoint
Students who are not posting
comment on each of the four
postings
Rationale
?
1. 2 < n n = number of observations
2. Students perceive peer review as
easier than self-evaluation
3. Critiquing other student work
fosters attitudes towards their own
work
4. Establishing critical habits of mind
becomes paramount especially when
the student is learning what it
means to practice a discipline.
Results
• Comparison of outcomes before and after
using blogs in this way.
– Students wrote every week and comments were
substantive.
– Journals incorporated links to other sites that
supported students’ conclusions.
– Course was easier to manage from facilitator’s
position.
– Peer review was the collaborative element that
sustained student interest.
Summary
• Collaborative practices such as peer review…
– maximize learning outcomes
– center learning with the students
– provide authentic experience of working/thinking
in a discipline
– multiply the sources of knowledge
– balances the work load among students and
teacher
– develop both the cognitive and affective domains
Any questions?