On Week 3 Readings

The professor did a good job of picking readings that were all related. Taken as a whole they provided a cohesive and thorough analysis of Active/Collective learning vs. the traditional classroom.

Reading 1: Active Learning
This reading provided an easy-to-understand summary of what active learning is and how to put it into practice. The reading incorporates different perspectives, tying them together to present an accurate, balanced analysis of active learning, how to implement it and its elements.

By giving a list of in-class active learning techniques, the reader is able to visualize what the active learning classroom looks like (making the concept of active learning real to the reader instead of a far fetched ideal).

Reading 2: What is the Collaborative Classroom?
I thought this reading was uneccessarily long. Although it started off focused, the background at the end on research methods and beyond worked to dilute the main message.

"New learning and thinking curricula require collaboration"

I think this goes to the heart of what the article was trying to get across. The collaborative classroom is the product of student and teacher efforts to keep the learning process engaging and meaningful for all involved.

Even though it was long, it was thorough and gave examples for how teachers and students should approach transitioning from a traditional classroom to one that's collaborative and meaningful.

Reading 3: Strategies for Engaging Students
I liked that this reading was specific, focused and succinct. After giving the suggestions, it gave examples of how these things can be implemented in the classroom. "Make Content and Assignments relevant to the students' lives," "Provide Students with a choice and a sense of control," "Encourage Self-Reflection on Learning," these are objectives that are easy for educators and policy makers to agree upon, nor are they difficult to do.

Reading 4: Problem-Based Learning
The shortest of the readings, I like how the article spoke to the student instead of the teacher. The use of this tone gave the article more meaning and made its suggestions more tangible for the reader.

The article made learning seem kind of scientific in that it provided a sort of formula, a scientific method of sorts, for the learning process.