Author: yizhouzhang

https://classroom.google.com/w/NTEzNjM5ODEzNzgz/t/all

Learning Pod: # 8

Peers’ Names: Matthew Kim, Finn Barker, Ashley Christison

Interactive Learning Resource Topic:  Healthy Cooking

Identify components of the Interactive Learning Resource that might be missing (e.g., appropriate outcomes, alignment, interactivity, inclusivity, technology use and rationale, presentation, grammar, spelling, citations, etc.).

1. Interaction with students is lacking, relying only on post-class feedback such as assignments and tests may not be able to better grasp students’ learning progress, nor can they exercise students’ divergent thinking and inquiry learning skills.

2. the use of technology does not take into account the color-blind and deaf student population.

3. there is no detailed quantitative score and grade composition for the final results feedback.

Provide a summary of The Interactive Learning Resource’s strengths and weaknesses. Draw out specific examples from your peers’ work to justify your feedback.

Strengths:

1. The course design is complete, and the course arrangement is well organized and concise.

2. The course content is close to life and easy to understand. There is no excessive jargon, which can help k-12 students to be proficient.

3. there are supporting materials for students to further understand and master the course content, such as relevant papers and videos.

Disadvantages:

1. The content is a bit single, just simple lecture and feedback on homework. It could be diversified, for example, our group added some thoughtful questions for students to discuss while lecturing, and let students do presentation and peer review, etc. to improve students’ participation in class.

2. did not take into account special groups of students who need more care. The mode of recording while lecturing can be used, which allows deaf or color-blind students to learn by watching subtitles or watching repeatedly, but also allows ordinary students to review easily.

Provide general, specific, and practical recommendations to your peers on how to improve their Interactive Learning Resource.

Overall, your interactive learning resources are engaging. However, to make the learning more solid, I would suggest adding more interactive activities to your course, such as discussions, brainstorming, presentations and so on. Make a clear list of what constitutes a grade for the entire course and try to have more activities and participation marks.

To ensure that the needs of all learners are met, an interactive learning resource could follow such an approach by conducting user research, designing for accessibility, providing multiple learning pathways, etc. Ensure that the resource is accessible to all learners, regardless of their abilities or disabilities, and caters to different learning styles and preferences.

In the event of an unforeseen event such as a pandemic, planned learning activities may need to be adjusted to meet the needs of learners. The impact of the pandemic on learners needs to be determined first, and then a plan for distance learning needs to be developed, including alternative methods of providing content and assessment. This may include videoconferencing and online discussions, followed by training for learners and instructors on how to effectively use distance learning tools and resources, such as how to access e-books and how to share resources. In addition, there should be regular communication with learners to provide updates and support, and finally the need to keep a record of the distance training as it is being conducted, making feedback and adjustments as necessary.

Students may have difficulty learning about demand and supply due to the abstract nature of economic concepts, the use of technical terms, and the complexity of the diagrams and equations used to illustrate these concepts. In addition, the lack of real-world applications may be detrimental to students’ understanding of the subject matter.

To reduce these barriers, the curriculum can be adapted to include real-world examples that provide practical applications of demand and supply concepts. Interactive and engaging learning activities can be designed to help students visualize the relationship between these economic concepts. In addition, teachers can use simpler language to explain technical terms and incorporate visual aids to help students better understand diagrams and equations.

In terms of the learning environment as currently designed, potential barriers that can be reduced or eliminated, such as providing opportunities for peer-to-peer learning and collaboration can increase student engagement and understanding. Teachers can create a supportive and inclusive learning environment that values student feedback and encourages open communication, which can help address any individual learning challenges and barriers.

Reference:

“Barriers to Learning Economics” by John Sloman (2017) in The Journal of Economic Education

“Reducing barriers to learning in higher education” by Jacqueline Potter and Margot Pearson (2004) in the Journal of Further and Higher Education

After watching what I learned this week, I think the video that touched me the most was the bike experiment. Very few people try to experiment by reversing the direction of the bike grip and the direction of the wheel forward. But it was this experiment that made me fully aware of the plasticity of the brain and the bias in understanding things.

In my learning experience, I think the errors that occurred because of cognitive strategies occurred in my middle school. When we were learning math functions, our teachers did teach us how to use function formulas to solve problems, and there was only one formula, which I thought was very simple. But when I was doing my homework, I found that just applying the one formula I learned in class was not able to solve all the problems, or even only half of them. On the second day, the teacher changed the use of function formulas, i.e., one formula can be changed into different formulas by equivalent substitution, which can be applied to solve different function problems. Although only one formula was learned in class, we can derive more formulas through our own understanding of the function. From this incident I learned that learning is not the same as understanding.

I think current university professors are more of a cognitivist. This is because they tend to review previously learned knowledge when teaching new knowledge, allowing students to collide the old with the new in their thinking and use their previous experience and understanding to learn new knowledge. And they analyze difficulties for students when they encounter learning difficulties, provide different strategies to solve problems, and ultimately solve them.