Category: edci335

The video I have watched is the following:

This video is an introduction to what different materials are used in building and engineering projects. It details how to determine the best materials to use, history of material use, cost associated, types of materials and sustainability. This video is only 10 minutes and provides a good coverage of the topic, while incorporating easy to follow graphics.

Interaction with Learners

The beginning of the video clearly states the intended learning outcomes and what the learner will be able to do after watching the video. Following these it would be beneficial for the students to create a list or a brain dump of what they learned right after watching the video. After watching the video an activity for students could be to analyse a simple example house and listing out what materials can be used for different elements like the walls, flooring, roof and fixtures. Then doing some research on what these materials might cost for the size of the home. This will allow the learners to take the descriptions provided in the video of what each material is used for and be able to think of how that can be designed into a home. Associating the materials with a cost will help to create the relation of why certain materials are used more than others to save on cost but have the same strength.

This video only needs the learners to listen and watch, and since it is a short video it is not very onerous on the learner to do. The activity to follow would take around 15-20 minutes, it is meant to be a short introduction to the concept and help spark connections. This activity can be done through a discussion post where the students can interact and comment on each other’s posts. Once all the discussion posts are posted in a lecture a small poll can be done for which students used which materials for the building components and talk about which are commonly used. 

One day you’re in classes and the next every class is suddenly online. How will this change the planned learning curriculum and student experience? As someone that has experienced this shift in their university experience, I want to touch on this and how my learning resource will be able to adapt in these conditions. 

Brief Intro to the Learning Design

Looking into the best building material to use for a particular type of building, choosing from: steel, concrete and timber. The current learning design is to have a mixture of theoretical teachings, in lab and material testing, and testing using quizzes/midterms/exams to evaluate a student’s learning. But as seen in the past a shift in the learning environment can change how these lessons and evaluations can change, and wanting to ensure the best outcome for the students. To do so I have listed in the below categories some strategies that I have either experienced and made my own adaptations to to make them work better or things that would work well.

Firstly when the learning environment changes it is important that a re-evaluation of what the course needs to teach and what the resulting outcomes and expectations of what the students are capable of doing after the course. Expecting the exact same outcomes of a course that has gone from in person classes to fully online is unrealistic, there will have to be changes made to how evaluations are done.

Theoretical Teachings

This would be the lecture style classes where the professor has a slideshow and goes through material and does some examples on the chalkboard. This is simple to replicate over a zoom meeting, same slideshow and using the whiteboard option on the zoom meeting to annotate. An additional step would be to ask students to give a ‘thumbs-up’ emoji at intervals during the lecture to gauge the understanding and engagement. Since looking at faces and feeling the energy of a physical classroom is not an option. Learning online just sitting and looking at a computer can be difficult especially at home where getting distracted can be easier. Thus taking multiple 1-2 minute breaks can give students a chance to stand/stretch and refocus.  

Lab & Material Testing

Having hands on experience is a very important part of this learning design, which is also the hardest to capture the learning and skills when not being able to meet in person and be physically hands on. The best way is to conduct the lab students would conduct either as a video or over zoom to demonstrate the equipment and procedure of testing. Data collected from the testing can then be given to the students to create a lab report and document their learning. Other additional or supplementary learning can be used like making a vlog (video blog) about the different materials students have in their place of residence or in surrounding areas. This allows students to connect theoretical learning to what they see in day to day life.

Exams

Lastly, how can exams be done in a productive way that adequately evaluates the learning? This comes down to asking certain types of questions, simple multiple choice or true false about material properties or facts are not as productive because this online learning environment allows for having notes/course materials available. So asking questions that are design related, or giving a set of information and asking the student to make decisions based on the situation would be the better option. Still allowing for evaluating the learning outcomes but asking for more deeper thinking rather than simple questions.

edci335, Post 2, Group K

What is inquiry based learning? This comes from the idea that those who are doing the learning (students) should be involved in their learning and interacting with the materials/ideas and the process. This learning style and environment differs from the more ‘traditional’ teaching where a teacher simply tells the students what they need to know and what is important. Inquiry-based learning encourages the students to make connections with the real world and ask questions that can be explored and provide a deeper learning connection. 

In the construction industry this style of learning can be seen in how hands-on and physically interactive the job site is. There is more of an emphasis on making sure the work meets the building codes and regulations which has less of the inquiry-based learning style. However, there are some creative process situations where asking questions is needed to ensure all the parties involved are on the same page with how all the building components are going to function together. For example when looking at the door locking and access of an apartment building, putting yourself in the shoes of the future residents is crucial to understand how they might be moving around and accessing the different rooms/sections of the building. Asking questions like “how would I (being a resident) use my key fob to get to my suite, the amenity areas and visit a friend on a different floor?” These types of questions and situation based thinking create a better understanding of usage.

Inquiry-Based Learning & the Learning Blueprint

The decision of what building material to use comes down to what the capabilities of the material are. This can be better understood and explored when asking questions and being involved in both answering a question and learning about the subject at the same time. Materials have a set list of properties and tolerances and it is up to the selector to analyze those properties to determine the best approach for the specified situation. In the Learning Blueprint there are areas where critical thinking is needed to decipher codes and testing results to see the important decision making facts.

My best learning experience and one that changed the way I learned and went through school was in my high school grade 11 and 12 maths class. As someone who can generally pick up maths this class was the start of how I developed my own learning style. I had a teacher who was incredibly personable and eager to help, not only in class but anytime outside of class, I created a safe environment. As someone who takes pride in their work and places pressure on “perfection” asking for help and admitting to not understanding was not in my vocabulary at the time. The accepting learning environment made by the teacher is what changed the way I handle an issue. 

Too often it is easy to fall into the stream of “I don’t know anything”, “ I will never get this”, “ I am not smart enough, not good enough”. Which are all incorrect. The grade 11 class and teacher really challenged the way I approach a learning difficulty – and that is to bring it back to the basics. There is not one subject that can’t be brought back to the most simple of processes that can’t also be related to anything else. This led me to learn how to stop, say “I’m not sure what is going on here, where and when did I start getting lost on this concept” because my teacher, if you had a question would walk you through the problem and ask along the way at each step if the process made sense to you. This takes the negativity out of a blanket “I don’t understand, I’m dumb” statement and helps isolate exactly where something stopped registering. Which I really admire and am so thankful for this environment and learning how to stay calm and reflect on my own learning.

Moving forward in school I have had to apply this theory over and over, the art of how to approach problems and learning from what works and what needs more process time never stops. I can also say that this is not only how I approach school but also life tasks and problems.