Keeping Score

Each of the modules is set up to maximize student options. The courses contain numerous activities, usually with process learning and product or content intertwined.. Some material will be review for students, other assignments will present challenges and new insights. It is important for the student to feel free to get the most value and information from each module by sculpting activities, readings and evaluations to personal needs.

Each syllabus provides a chart like the one below. Suggested activities and point assignments are provided. These are suggested because each student has different skill levels and an activity that is offered may be very difficult for one student -- never having used the web for searches, not knowing the way to access and get involved in a chat room -- and simple for another who teaches technology classes at the school.

The same holds true whether we look at the content of the course or the process of learning to learn on the web. The points are flexible, so students who spend 30 minutes getting into the chat room and chatting for an hour may see the expenditure of effort as about 25 points worth of time invested and value achieved. Somes students find it takes 5-6 hours to get established in a chat room. The energy expended it much greater and the points they give themselves for this first heroic effort is 200 point.

Grading: You have a choice in the grade you will receive. As outlined in the syllabus, there are three grades possible for completion of the material. The grade of B is given if all assignments are completed satisfactorily. To receive this grade for one unit of credit, please contact the professor upon completion of assignments totaling 1000 points.

To receive an A, you will want to find a way to extend your learning. Once you have decided on a project that is appealing to you, send a brief summary of the activity. Upon completion of the "A" project, please send documentation of the project to the professor and request a final grade.

Extending Learning: In education, we strive for the ideal of a life long learner. At the same time, it is easy to comply with the minimum requirements of a course, and lose sight of ownership of learning. To facilitate student ownership of courses, an ancillary or capstone experience is left to you. I have provided some examples of things I would find interesting. These may serve to define your project, or may suggest something that caught your interest and you wish to pursue further.

• Read a book by one of the proponents of educational philosophy
      i.e. William James, John Dewey, Martin Buber, Abraham Maslow.

• Read a journal article by a more recent educational philosopher
      i.e. Theodore Sizer, Paulo Freire, Alfie Kohn, Maxine Greene.

• Build a model philosophy that is consistent with a school of thought, including the plant, the teaching role, what kind of school board, funding sources, discipline techniques, student roles, types of assessment and evaluation of teacher, school success.

• Start a personal journal on practices at school and review periodically to determine if your personal philosophy and actions are synchronous.

• Start a chat room to discuss philosophy and educational reform.

• Build your own web page, show casing your education ideas.

These projects may seem like min-modules in their own right. Do not feel like these are the only options. some student provide service to the community - working at a food bank, subbing one day at the Pappas School for homeless youth, helping with Special Olympics, coaching a team of youngsters.

Go on to begin the class
or
Go back to Self Assessments

Questions???E-mail J'Anne Ellsworth at Janne.Ellsworth@nau.edu

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Course created by J'Anne Ellsworth

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