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CITL staff are available to assist
you in designing and developing instructional materials for
use in the classroom or at a distance. Whether you're teaching
in an on-line environment or trying to work a computer simulation
into your classroom experience, we can help you think through
the relevant issues.
Areas we can help you with include:
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instructional design (needs analysis,
defining objectives, determining appropriate strategies...)
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information architecture (structure,
labeling, navigation issues...)
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interface design (usability issues,
consistency, communication...)
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assessment and evaluation of technology
effectiveness
Instructional innovation may be an enitrely
different process for faculty in the sciences than for those
in the humanities. In addition, student needs shift dramatically
across various learning contexts. We can help you identify the
key challenges that may undermine your instructional innovation.
In the following examples, we indentify some of the difficulties
of using new instructional strategies and suggestions for eliminating
potential problems.
Collaborative learning: Strategies
such as problem-based learning
or project-based
learning requires students to
work in small groups, making it difficult to assess individual
successes. As well, group performance may be affected by personality
conflicts. One solution is to establish a self- and group-assessment
point structure that allows students to privately communicate
to you the standards of performance that they expect of themselves
and of their collegues. Another solution is to ask students
to keep a journal in which they reflect on the group process.
A web-based discussion tool could be useful for managing group
communication or for documenting group process activites.
Exploratory or discovery learning:
Allowing students the freedom to explore
a content area as part of a problem-solving exercise can be
an effective way to foster insightful thinking. But how do you
ensure that students do not waste valuable time or are not distracted
by erroneous assumptions? To avoid these pitfalls, it can be
useful to design feedback mechanisms that allow students to
self-assess and/or comment on their progress. In this way you
can assist them in developing meta-cognitive skills so that
they are able to better manage their own learning.
Active learning: Retention
is improved when students are actively using analysis and decision-making
stategies as part of the learning process. Active learning helps
to motivate cognitive processes, prompting students to develop
mental models and schema of their understanding of your content
area. However, it can be difficult to acurrately portray authentic
conditions for knowledge application within the parameters of
formal education. Using technologies to foster students' understanding
through simulations, modeling, or even authoring materials for
public distribution via the World Wide Web can help them to
develop both inductive and deductive reasoning skills in a context
where analysis and decision-making skills can be practiced.
If you want to set up a time to consult with a member of the
CITL staff, call us at 7-2702 or send an email note to
CITL@ohio.edu.
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