Moodle Philosophy & Student Centred Learning
Moodle Philosophy &
Student Centred Learning
Yong Liu
Moodle Philosophy & Student Centred Learning
Contents
• What is student centred learning?
• Why student centred learning?
• Moodle philosophy
• Being a student centred teacher
• Examples
• Conclusion
Moodle Philosophy & Student Centred Learning
What is student centred learning?
• Knowledge is constructed by students and that the lecturer is a facilitator of learning rather than a presenter of information Kember (1997).
• Students might not only choose what to study, but how and why that topic might be an interesting one to study (Burnard 1999).
Moodle Philosophy & Student Centred Learning
Why student centred learning?
• Traditional teaching
o Teacher dominated
o Students passive learning
o Attract students’ attention
o Attendance issue
o Competent issue
Moodle Philosophy & Student Centred Learning
Why student centred learning?
• Technology impacts education
o More resources
o More attractive
o More flexible
o More options for learning
Moodle Philosophy & Student Centred Learning
Moodle philosophy (Dougiamas 2006) (Rush 2007)
• All of us are potential teachers as well as learners - collaborative environment.
• We learn particularly well from the act of creating or expressing something for others to see.
• We learn a lot by just observing the activity of our peers.
• By understanding the contexts of others, we can teach in a more transformational way.
• A learning environment needs to be flexible and adaptable, so that it can quickly respond to the needs of the participants within it.
Moodle Philosophy & Student Centred Learning
Being a student centred teacher (Westergaard 2006)
• Implement student centred learning into curriculum design (McMahon 2005)
• Not simply lecturing and letting students take a passive role.
• Knowing what students find interesting and building on that enthusiasm.
• Designing activities that let students take initiative.
• Allowing students to discover and find value in information.
• Giving students opportunities to solve real-world problems in an environment that allows discussion and experimentation.
Moodle Philosophy & Student Centred Learning
Examples
CAME programme in Unitec (Narayan 2010)
• Programme: Certificate in Automotive and Mechanical Engineering• Staff: David Clarke, Siona Kavaliku, Lee Baglow, Nick Marsden, Derrick Soloman & Vickel
Narayan• Redesigned in 2010 - move from a teacher-centred approach to a student-led one• Device: Laptop computers• Environment:
o Moodle (course content and attendance monitoring) o GoogleApps (Students creative centre)
Google Docs, Google Video (for collaboration), Gmail, Google Reader, Blogger (ePortfolio), Youtube (videos) and Picasa (pictures)
o Wikispaces area (Scaffolding)o Blog as ePortfolio (Assessment) – Their works, showcases & self-reflections
Moodle Philosophy & Student Centred Learning
Examples (Narayan 2010)
Moodle Philosophy & Student Centred Learning
Examples (Narayan 2010)
CAME showcase to other departmental staff (Part 1)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGw1SfA_t_w
CAME showcase part 2http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGv-Clz2zAI
Google App and Moodle concept - Student Centred Learninghttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJYyIenPPNU
David Clarke talks about the Moodle and Google Concepthttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJYyIenPPNU
Automotive Project Homehttp://automotiveproject.wikispaces.com/
Moodle Philosophy & Student Centred Learning
Conclusion• Rethink your curriculum design
• Rethink your role
• Rearrange your course contents
• Ask the right questions
• Create students abilities as well as give them knowledge
• Take the advantage of the Internet & Moodle
• Equip yourself with the technologies
Moodle Philosophy & Student Centred Learning
ReferencesRichards, D. & Cameron, L. (2008). Applying Learning Design concepts to problem-based learning. 3rd International
LAMS & Learning Design Conference 2008. Perspectives on Learning Design: 87-96.
Dougiamas, M. (2006, 24 March 2011). "Pedagogy." Moodle Docs. Retrieved May 15, 2011, from http://docs.moodle.org/en/Pedagogy.
Rush, M. H. D. (2007). Open Source VLEs (MOODLE) and student engagement in a blended learning environment. 2nd International Conference on e-Learning. D. D. Remenyi. Columbia University, New York, USA: 213.
Westergaard, M. L. S. (2006). Moodle and Student-centered Learning. 2nd Nitional ICT in Basic Education. Cebu, Philippines.
Narayan, V. (2010). "Driving the learning from teachers to students." Practice examples from living curricula. Retrieved 9th Jul, 2011, from http://tpa.unitec.ac.nz/livingcurriculum/?p=48.
Narayan, V. (2010). "Automotive Project." Retrieved 9th Jul, 2011, from http://automotiveproject.wikispaces.com.
Kember, D. (1997). A reconceptualisation of the research into university academics conceptions of teaching. Learning and Instruction 7(3), 255-275.
Burnard, P. (1999). Carl Rogers and postmodernism: Challenged in nursing and health sciences. Nursing and Health Sciences 1, 241-247.
Moodle Philosophy & Student Centred Learning
Questions