Texts for the Team Work on March 22

1 & 5 PROJECT-BASED LEARNING
(Havva, Hızır, Ramazan - Mazlum, Salman, Doğan)

In project-based learning, students work in teams to explore real-world
problems and create presentations to share what they have learned.
Compared with learning solely from textbooks, this approach has many
benefits for students, including:

• Deeper knowledge of subject matter
• Increased self-direction and motivation
• Improved research and problem-solving skills.

Project-based learning (PBL) shifts away from the classroom practices of
short, isolated, teacher-centered lessons and instead emphasizes learning
activities that are long-term, interdisciplinary, student-centered, and integrated with real world issues and practices.

Many of the skills learned through PBL are those desired by today's employer, including the ability to make planning, work well with others, make thoughtful decisions, take initiative, and solve complex problems.


2 & 6 PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING
(Serpil, Orhan Veli, Gülşah B. - Erhan, M.Akif, İsmail)

PBL is typically done in small discussion groups of students accompanied by a tutor or facilitator. Students are encouraged to take responsibility for their group and organize and direct the learning process with support from a tutor or instructor. A realistic problem is presented that often has incomplete information. The students discuss the problems, define what they know, generate hypotheses, derive learning goals and organize further work (such as literature and database research). Results are presented and discussed in the following session. The students then apply the results of their self-directed learning to solve the problem. A PBL cycle concludes with reflections on learning, problem solving, and collaboration.

Advocates of PBL claim it can be used to enhance content knowledge and foster the development of communication, problem-solving, and self-directed learning skill.


3 & 7 AUTHENTIC LEARNING
(Tülay, Sabriye, Özlem - Osman, Musa, Bayram)

Constructivists believe that the most effective way for students to acquire knowledge is to apply information or instruction to assessing and resolving problems that are common to the student's experience. Each new application forces students to either modify existing knowledge concepts or develop new ones. It is critical that learning occurs in its actual settings that are relevant to today's real world problems and to the student's lived experiences. This type of learning is called "Authentic Learning."

The premise of Authentic Learning as an instructional strategy is that the most effective learning takes place when meaning is created from experience. Unlike traditional instruction that rigidly structures and limits the role of students in a classroom, Authentic Learning encourages full participation. It is student-driven and allows for creativity and discovery in and outside the classroom. In Authentic Learning, the teacher is not the only knowledge resource. Other students and teachers, parents and external experts support and assist the learning process.


4 & 8 EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
(Canan, Fethi, Eren)

Experiential learning is the process of actively engaging students in an experience that will have benefits and consequences. Students make discoveries and experiment with knowledge themselves instead of hearing or reading about the experiences of others. Students also reflect on their experiences, thus developing new skills, new attitudes, and new theories or ways of thinking (Kraft & Sakofs, 1988). Students may also relate existing knowledge and theory to their experience to better understand the existing theory or modify it.

Experiential education differs from much traditional education in that teachers first immerse students in action and then ask them to reflect on the experience.

In traditional education, teachers set the knowledge to be learnt (including analysis and synthesis) before students. They hope students will subsequently find ways to apply the knowledge.

Experiential learning is related to the constructivist learning theory.


9- LECTURE METHOD
(İbrahim, Yusuf, Gamze)

Lecture is a valuable part of a teacher's instructional repertoire if it is not used when other methods would be more effective. If the presenter is knowledgeable, perceptive, engaging, and motivating, then lecture can stimulate reflection, challenge the imagination, and develop curiosity and a sense of inquiry. Criteria for the selection of the lecture method should include the types of experiences students will be afforded and the kinds of learning outcomes expected. Because lecture is teacher-centred and student activity is mainly passive, the attention span of students may be limited. Many students, because of learning style preferences, may not readily assimilate lecture content. In addition, lectured content is often rapidly forgotten.

Advantages of lecture method:


- Factual material is presented in a direct, logical manner.

- Useful for large groups.

Disadvantages of lecture method:


- Proficient oral skills are necessary.
- Audience is often passive.
- Learning is difficult to gauge.
- Communication is one-way.
- Not appropriate for children below grade 4.

**** BE AWARE THAT THE FOLLOWING ("role play") is a technique; not an instructional method as the instr. methods we have seen so far!

12 ROLE-PLAY (Akif Ç., Alper, Adem)


Role-play is an excellent technique for building clinical skills in the safety of the small group setting. It is particularly effective for practicing communication skills. Role-plays can be based on previously scripted written scenarios or on a real case that may have been presented to the group. Clear instructions must to be given regarding the nature of the roles, timing, and specific objectives. The role-play may be enacted in groups of two, with one student playing the “physician” and another playing the “patient.” Role-play can also take place in groups of three, with an observer added to the group. The observer should be given a checklist to facilitate observation and feedback. The role-play should always be followed by a debriefing and an opportunity for self-assessment and feedback. The student in the role-play, the physician, should first be given the opportunity to self-assess by being asked “what went well” and “what would you have liked to have done differently?” Opportunities for a “re-play” may be given if desired. Ideally, students should switch roles so that each one has the opportunity to practice each role.

Strengths and Weaknesses:

The role-play method allows learners to practice clinical skills, particularly communication skills. The faculty member can directly observe the skills of multiple students during a single session. By playing the role of the patient, the student can get a better understanding of the patient’s point of view. The biggest limitation of role-play is the almost universal hesitance of students to role-play.

LECTURE METHOD

Advantages

The "good" lecture

• permits dissemination of unpublished or not readily available material.
• allows the instructor to precisely determine the aims, content, organization, pace and direction of a presentation. In contrast, more student-centered methods, e.g, discussions or laboratories, require the instructor to deal with unanticipated student ideas, questions and comments.
• can be used to arouse interest in a subject.
• can complement and clarify text material.
• complements certain individual learning preferences. Some students depend upon the structure provided by highly teacher-centered methods.
• allows for the gradual development of complex or difficult concepts and theories.
• permits the greatest amount of material to be presented to a group in the least amount of time.

Disadvantages

However, the lecture also

• places students in a passive rather than an active role. Passivity can hinder learning and students' attention may be lost.
• encourages one-way communication; therefore, the lecturer must make a conscious effort to become aware of student problems and student understanding of content.
• requires a considerable amount of unguided student time outside of the classroom to achieve understanding and long-term retention of content. In contrast, interactive methods (discussion, problem-solving sessions) allow the instructor to influence students when they are actively working with the material.
• requires the instructor to have or to learn effective writing, speaking and modeling skills.
• places the responsibility of organizing and synthesizing content upon the lecturer.

AUTHENTIC LEARNING

By definition, the term authentic learning means learning that uses real-world problems and projects and that allow students to explore and discuss these problems in ways that are relevant to them.

Goal

The goal of instruction in the Authentic Learning model is not just that students know the facts, but that they also be able to interpret, process, and apply them. The students' goals in Authentic Learning are to be able to:

1. Assemble prior knowledge from diverse sources appropriate to the problem at hand.
2. Create tools that reflect the wisdom of the culture in which they are used as well as the insights and experiences of individuals.
3. Articulate their own understanding of a problem.
4. Assess, construct an understanding and deal with complex problems within the world in which they live.
5. Research and investigate natural realistic phenomenas.
6. Understand the relationship between human beings and their environment.