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Overview
The Foundation of Learning Activities book was created as a companion
book to
Foundations of
Learning. Activities are arranged to correspond with
the content from the chapters in the main textbook.
This book of activities is an essential component to a foundations,
orientation, or seminar course for students new to higher education.
While
Foundations of
Learning lays the groundwork for building learning skills and
developing into a life-long learner and self-grower, it is only through
practice and assessment that skills will actually improve. Activities in
this book are designed to put students in situations where they must
practice and use these skills, often during class time. The instructor
can observe the level as well as the growth of skills in the affective,
cognitive, and social domains.
The activities generally require students to do a great deal
of thinking, writing, self-reflection, and assessment. While many
activities could be performed individually, the majority of activities
will be most effective when completed in cooperative teams with roles
for each team member. Descriptions of possible roles and their
performance criteria are presented at the beginning of the book.
Several of the activities require students to record their
discoveries and insights gained during the activity. It is our goal that
students discoveries involve higher levels of thinking and inquiry than
simply repeating or restating factual information. For this reason, a
common measure for performance criteria is the ability of the student to
apply their discoveries in future activities.
We invite you to use the activities are guides you may either follow
very closely or use as a framework to modify, amend, and supplement with
your own ideas and materials.
Activity Types
There is a wide variety of activities in this book which include:
Case studies
Requires students to make connections between the text and a
real-world situation.
Guided discovery
Draws upon a set of critical thinking or inquiry questions.
Group discussion
Allows students to learn from other students expertise and
knowledge.
Problem solving
Requires students to solve a problem with only a certain amount of
information or materials.
Project oriented
Produces a work product at the end of the activity.
Research
Requires students to work out of class to create an extended
knowledge base.
Team building
Works in the social domain to build skills in working with others.
Technology utilization
Requires the use of the computer in some way.
In general, the
activities require students to do a great deal of thinking, writing,
self-reflection, and assessment. While many activities could be
performed individually, the majority of activities will be most
effective when completed in cooperative teams with roles for each team
member. The most common roles include captain, recorder, reflector and
spokesperson. Other roles include optimist, skeptic, technology
specialist, and time-keeper. Descriptions of the roles and their
performance criteria are presented at the beginning of the book.
Several of the activities
require students to record their discoveries and insights gained during
the activity. It is our goal in these situations that students
discoveries involve higher levels of thinking and inquiry than simply
repeating or restating factual information. For this reason, a common
measure for performance criteria is the ability of the student to apply
their discoveries in future activities.
Finally, consider the activities as guides you may either follow very
closely or use as a framework from which you can modify, amend, and
supplement with your own ideas and materials. |
