Educational Pedagogy

Strategies that target students’ metacognition—the ability to think about thinking—can close a gap that some students experience between how prepared they feel for a test and how prepared they actually are. In a new study, students in an introductory college statistics class who took a short online survey before each exam asking them to think about how they would prepare for it earned higher grades in the course than their peers—a third of a letter grade higher, on average.

This low-cost intervention helped students gain insight into their study strategies, boosting their metacognitive skills and giving them tools to be more independent learners.

Learn more / En savoir plus / Mehr erfahren:

http://www.scoop.it/t/21st-century-learning-and-teaching/?&tag=reflection

http://www.scoop.it/t/21st-century-learning-and-teaching/?&tag=Psychology

http://www.scoop.it/t/21st-century-learning-and-teaching/?&tag=Metacognition

http://globaleducationandsocialmedia.wordpress.com/2014/01/19/pkm-personal-professional-knowledge-management/

Learning doesn't have to be a "loner" experience.

Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky suggested that knowledge is constructed through our interactions with others.
MOOCs (Massive Open Online Learning) leverage our inherent social needs by bringing people together to learn the same material in a virtual group. Students can express what they're feeling and experiencing with others in a shared space, making the learning journey more enjoyable and less daunting.

As people gain confidence, they often enjoy friendly competition with fellow learners to push themselves to compete exercises and assignments. Recognition is part of our need for building self-esteem—and some courses have gamification built in to reward student accomplishments and community helpfulness.

Learn more / En savoir plus / Mehr erfahren:

https://www.scoop.it/t/21st-century-learning-and-teaching/?tag=Social+Learning

This is an interesting intro to social constructionism as it applies to eLearning.  I hope the MOOCs do what they suggest and are not just an attempt to throw jargon out there.