Engaging

Regardless of the effort made to simulate an authentic experience, the fact remains that students are obviously participating in a simulation. Therefore, they must agree, even if tacitly, to suspend their disbelief so that they can be immersed in the scenario, in a similar way to movie audiences.

Herrington et al. (2003) note two typical patterns of engagement. The first is a willing acceptance of the learning situation, its characters and context. Students immerse themselves in the authentic activity to such a degree that they treat it as "real". This was the case with the "Emma" case study from the very beginning. In response to the first scenario, a student observed in the online discussion forum:

My initial impression of Sarah was that she was a loyal friend, at the meeting because of her friendship with Emma. The second time I viewed the scene I felt that Sarah was sniveling and whining! The conversation between the two girls seemed to be spiraling into a hissyfit.

This student had immediately engaged with the characters of the two girls on an intuitive, emotional basis. She, and many other students, went on to use similar observational methods to develop hypotheses about Emma's problems.

By Scenario 5, while still remaining aware of the constructed nature of the activity, students had sustained the engagement and were placing themselves in the position of a real school counsellor:

If I was the counsellor I might have started by talking to Mrs. Jones about Emma's school work and grades before discussing about Emma wanting to leave school as soon as possible and get a job... I would also ask if Emma has a situation where she can study and do her school work under favorable learning conditions. Then move onto the discussion about leaving school... It would be interesting to set up a meeting with the father and hear his ideas about school.

The second pattern of engagement is a negative one (Herrington et al., 2003), in that students resist authentic approaches. Some find that student-centered learning confers a degree of freedom which they find uncomfortable, although even reluctant students usually engage within a few weeks. This did not appear to be the case in this unit.

اخر الاخبار

اخبار العتبة العباسية المقدسة

شعبة الخطابة النسوية تطلق العام الدراسي الجديد في معهد الخطابة

صُنع في العراق.. تجربة العتبة العباسية المقدسة في إعادة الهوية المفقودة

قسم الشؤون الفكرية يعلن عن بدء التسجيل للدورة التمهيدية الحوزوية الإلكترونية

أثناء استقباله فريق مجلة (أثر).. سماحة السيد الصافي يؤكد دعم أي إبداع يسهم في تنويع طرائق إيصال المعلومة إلى المتلقي

المزيد

الآخبار الصحية

تحذير من "عدوى بكتيرية" تسبب نوبات قلبية

ماذا يحصل لجسمك عند التوقف عن استخدام الزيت في الطهي؟

الأمل في كبسولة.. "فيتامين شهير" يبطئ التقدم في العمر

اشتهاء أطعمة بشكل مفاجئ.. ناقوس خطر للسرطان ؟!

المزيد

الآخبار التكنلوجية

زلزال أفغانستان يحصد أكثر من ألف قتيل.. ويدمر آلاف المنازل !

ناجٍٍ وحيد من انزلاق أرضي.. دمّر قرية سودانية بأكملها !

نهر الفرات.. مورد مائي بين الندرة والتقاسم

ما السر وراء مشية إيلون ماسك الغريبة والسريعة ؟

المزيد

مواضيع ذات صلة

Feedback

Intermediate and Advanced Fluency

Speech Emergence

Early Production

Preproduction

Classroom Example

Classroom Recommendations

Generalizations from Classroom Instruction That Works

Identifying Vocabulary and Key Concepts

Determining Language Functions and Structures Classroom Examples

Determining Language Functions and Structures

SETTING OBJECTIVES AND PROVIDING FEEDBACK