10 Concrete Classroom Activities that Aim at Long-term Learning

• If we can't force a student to read a book for Tuesday, can we give him the will to still be reading years after graduation?

• We want students to acquire skills and attitudes that will make them long-term learners and thinkers.

• What kind of classroom scenarios are we striving for? • Can new technologies furnish us with tools to help make

learning stick?

This workshop will present ten specific classroom activities and explore the pedagogical ideas behind the learning.

Agenda

1. Introduction (15 minutes, including film)

2. Ten Activities (4 minutes each = 40)

3. Questions (10 minutes)

4. Group Brainstorming Session (10 minutes)

What is long-term learning?

There are two ways of looking at this.

1. What are the experts saying?

2. What are my impressions from experience?

We all know the feeling we get when a classroom activity works.

Let’s reflect on why…

Overview of long term learning:

What it is not-• Opinion poll: What kind of learning slips in and out of students’ consciousness like a

fish in a fast moving stream? • Possible answers:

– cramming for tests, – memorizing without understanding, – large quantities of information learned without connections to anything in the student’s

reality, – learning acquired in social isolation.

What it is-• Our “learning footprint” is unlike the carbon footprint, this one we want to be big, and

to last a long time. What do we know from our own experience in and out of the classroom about learning that lasts?

• Possible answers:– reinforced, – learned in a social context, – active participant, – responsible for own learning, – attitude, – connections, – prepared, – own fields of interest

What is your idea of effective teaching?

10 Concrete Activities

• If we can recreate some of these elements in our learning scenarios we can contribute to the longevity of our students’ learning.

• The following ten activities come out of our teaching and seem to support long term learning judging by student feedback and teachers’ impressions.

SocialNetworking

FilmAnalysis

RightBrain

Drawing

IT

CourseCommercial

BookProject

On-lineForums

VirtualWindow

VirtualTeam

Teaching

TeacherShadowing

Long-termLearning

Teacher Shadowing

• Ten minute video

• Susan Banville is a legendary Biology teacher at the Cegep de Sept-Iles.

• Let’s look at her at work in her class and pick out some of the things she is doing that support long-term learning.

Activity #1

• Open up a dialogue about teaching and learning with your peers in an effort to continually improve your pedagogy.

Activity #2

• Virtual Team Teaching: Teaching in a social context

• Peer interaction: for students and teachers

What is Virtual Team Teaching?• two or more instructors involved

in the same course using information technology tools as their mode of communication

• at least one in-person meeting of some of the participants contributes to the success of the project

Montreal and Sept-Iles

Why is virtual team teaching good for students?

• enhancement of classroom learning conditions

• improved motivation

• higher level of engagement with the material

• social interaction modeled by teachers

• opportunity for social interaction with peers

Activity #3 The Virtual Window

• a window into another city, another classroom

Activity #4On-line Discussion Groups

• conditions that contribute to success

• gregarious students

• small group interaction combining students from both locations

• effective on-line activities

• human connection

“I would take this course

over and over

forever.”

Activity #5

• Course Commercial• Windows MovieMaker

Activity #6

• The Children’s Book Project

• Creating an artefact for a real audience

The Satisfaction of Doing Something Real!

Activity #7IT

• Use technology!

Activity #8Drawing in Your Right Mind

Activity #9Film Analysis

Activity #10Social Networking

Questions1. Teacher Shadowing2. Virtual Team Teaching3. Virtual Window4. On-line Discussion Groups5. Course Commercials6. Children’s Book Project7. IT8. Drawing in Your Right Mind9. Film Analysis10. Social Networking

Brainstorming Session

Share some of your learning activities that promote long-term learning…

Thanks!

• We appreciate your participation in our ongoing quest for quality learning experiences!