The No Significant Difference database was first established in 2004 as a companion piece to Thomas L. Russell's book, "The No Significant Difference Phenomenon" (2001, IDECC, fifth edition), a fully indexed, comprehensive research bibliography of 355 research reports, summaries and papers that document no significant differences (NSD) in student outcomes between alternate modes of education delivery. Redesigned in 2010 and provided as a service of WCET, (WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies), a division of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, the database was designed to expand the offerings from the book by providing access to appropriate studies published or discovered after its publication.
This site is intended to function as an ever-growing repository of comparative media studies in education research. Both no significant differences (NSD) and significant differences (SD) studies are constantly being solicited for inclusion in the website. In addition to studies that document no significant difference (NSD), the website includes studies which do document significant differences (SD) in student outcomes based on the mode of education delivery.
A set of generic/reusable learning design resources to assist university teachers to create high quality, flexible learning experiences for students. This site provides technology based examples including collaborative, problem-based, case based, and role play learning strategies.
This site describes a model of authentic learning, based on 9 key elements that can be used to design authentic learning environments. It has been created to support courses and units using authentic learning and authentic e-learning.
A key challenge in the 21st Century technology-rich school is how to keep track of students’ learning across time, location, media, and networks. The Next-Tell project has developed a competence-oriented approach to capture and visualise students’ learning in a holistic manner, bridging learning management systems, e-portfolios, and cloud applications and closing the gap between online learning and tablet-based learning activities. Students are offered a wide range of opportunities to practice complex skills, including 21 Century skills. Teachers can plan collaboratively for learning that cuts across the curriculum and analyse students’ learning using advanced assessment and learning analytics approaches. Teachers, students and parents benefit from having managed access to always up-to-date, information-rich, school-wide data on learning and development.
A basic assumption of the 4C/ID model is that educational programs for complex learning can always be described in terms of four basic components, namely (a) learning tasks, (b) supportive information, (c) procedural information, and (d) part-task practice (see Figure below). Learning tasks provide the backbone of the educational program; they provide learning from varied experiences and explicitly aim at the transfer of learning. The three other components are connected to this backbone.
ABC Learning Design is a high-energy, hands-on curriculum development workshop developed at UCL. In just 90 minutes teaching teams work together to create a visual ‘storyboard’. The storyboard is made up of pre-printed cards representing the type and sequence of learning activities (both online and offline) required to meet the module or programme learning outcomes.
This site is an archive of the important publications and presentations during my career as a university professor. Please contact me for lectures or consulting.
Understanding by Design. Cite this guide: Bowen, Ryan S., (2017). Understanding by Design. Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching. Retrieved [todaysdate] from https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/understanding-by-design/. Print Version Overview The Benefits of Using Backward Design The Three Stages of Backward Desgin The Backward Design Template Overview Understanding by Design is a book written by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe that offers a...
Instructional design (or instructional systems design) combines the art of creating engaging learning experiences with the science of how the brain works. This site is designed to support students, teachers, instructional designers, learning engineers, and anyone interested in creating more effective learning experiences. Resources on this site were created by Greg Kearsley and Richard Culatta
One of the most obvious ways to increase your classroom charisma is to increase the amount of active learning in your class. Not only will you find it easier to keep students engaged during one of the most difficult times of the year (the warm weather days of spring), but you will find that your students will retain information with greater ease and with more success. 1. Have students lead conferences with each other and with you. When students take the lead, their interest and confidence soars. Prepare a set of guidelines that encourage them to take the lead in designing ...
In this section you will learn about 20 active learning activities. Explore the Venn diagram below to find out which activities may work in small or large classes, and which ones may be appropriate for individual work.
Think of active learning as an approach to instruction in which students engage the material they study through reading, writing, talking, listening, and reflecting. Active learning stands in contrast to "standard" modes of instruction in which teachers do most of the talking and students are passive.