Reflection 2 - Development of my Prototype

I have given some consideration to the prototype, with a wide range of ideas going through my head. The outcomes for the reflection helped settle that, by simply considering 'what learning problem' I need to address. I have 5 module, which range in design, subject matter and outcomes. So I decided to try find one common learning problem that is found in both of these, and then it occurred to me - lecture preparation for students.

For me, lecture preparation is both a learning and a teaching need. I require and expect students to go through course content before a lecture, so they have see it a least once. Then the lecture itself will go through the material, so that is a second experience for the student, before activities and other learning techniques are even introduced to become familiar with and learn the material. The students who do this engage in class more, and are not over whelmed by what they encounter, as it is not necessarily new. Unfortunately, most students do not  do this, and I am certain it would be of benefit.

So I thought that maybe my prototype should try tackle this issue. It is universal in all my modules I teach, so can impact all of them and be applied across all them. It may also be a less complex why to become familiar with revolutionising my teaching and assessment approaches in terms of teaching and learning philosophies and engaging with technology.

All my students have an access to a computer, as all my assignments are typed. All have access to the internet, as they all need to engage with turnitin for assignments too. So my tool I identified is this very platform, a blog. I will need to tease the idea out of course, but very simply, I will look at using a blog based system for students to regularly (weekly at least) engage with the blog to discuss the material we will be covering in the next contact sessions. This way, they will need to engage with and read the material first, then they can reflect on what they have gained from the experience, reflect on the first experience of new material, such as 'this looks interesting, can't wait for the lecture', or 'I am not certain I have a taste for looking at pictures of veneral diseases on monday', or 'this looks complicated, I particularly battled understanding the connection between haemostasis and thrombosis, as they seem to very different concepts'....etc. It may also give me insight into what the students may need more focus on when I deliver the lecture too!

The blog is ideal for this exercise, but possibly a facebook group may be better. I would like to have comments of about 200 - 600 words each week. I could also interact and create a discussion. I could post a blog to confirm the upcoming content (it would be in module descriptor, but sometimes we go out of sinc with the original plan for various reasons), and then the students can reply to the post with their short reflections. I can also reply to replies, and include in the assessment rubrics a section on student engagement and responses to others.

In terms of outcomes it offers relatively little compared to my other ideas. I am really assessing preparation, knowledge and autonomous work. This too should develop writing. It would not address critical thinking, collaborative work, social awareness, ethical issues, or verbally communicating with colleagues or lecturers in terms of professional jargon etc. However, to me, it seems a small, simple, and logical place to start...