Ed/Tech must-reads 200224

Measuring actual learning versus feeling of learning in response to being actively engaged in the classroom from Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

This article definitely sits on the Ed side of the Ed/Tech spectrum (or at the pedagogy point of the TPACK triangle) but it really does deserve some attention. It reports a comparison between STEM student perceptions of their learning in a conventional passive lecture and in a more active-learning class. Despite assessment results showing improved performance for the latter, students generally believe they learn better and have a more enjoyable experience in a formal lecture. The researchers attribute this to the higher cognitive effort involved in active learning and suggest actively explaining the benefits to students using activities such as 1 minute papers to foster greater self-awareness.

Teaching with AI webinar featuring Anna Mills - 2pm US Eastern Time, Thurs 22nd Feb - from Modern Language Association.

Anna Mills was a very early adopter of GenAI for teaching and quickly generated a rich set of resources associated with writing with AI. (We were fortunate enough to have her on our first GenAI webinar in Feb last year). This session showcases the Exploring AI Pedagogy collection and covers topics including indigenous storytelling, prompt engineering and AI ethics. (It’s 6am AEDT, Friday 23rd, AEDT, to save you the conversion. Challenging but worth it I’m sure)

Similar but different from Ryan2point0

Ryan Tracey has deep experience in the learning and development space, so his take on proposed new National Skills Passport in Australia is worth your attention. He points out some major problems with conflating skills with qualifications and calls for careful thought as to how these are identified and demonstrated. The maxim that ‘Ps mean degrees’ indicating that some skillsets are greater than others. Whether this ultimately looks like a glorified CV, an ePortfolio or a new set of digital badges remains to be seen but the importance of providing confidence in the ability of students is clear.

The shape of cheating to come - Transforming Assessment webinar 6pm AEDT Wed 6th March - from ASCILITE Transforming Assessment SIG

Scourge of contract cheating providers everywhere, Kane Murdoch and Shaun Lehmann (Macquarie), will showcase their rather impressive ‘Wiroo’ tool set used to review non-learning analytic data to systematically identify academic integrity breaches. There are few people in the sector who know as much about this space as these people.