May 2016 Learning Module Peer Reviewed Projects’s Updates

Your Task - Create a Learning Module

Create a learning module which demonstrates how you would translate some of the ideas and principles of this course into practice.

In Scholar, a learning module is a hybrid work which crosses the legacy educational practices of lesson plan, syllabus and textbook. Unlike a lesson plan which is mainly written for teacher-organizational purposes, a learning module has both teacher and learner sides. On the left side of the screen you speak to learners in "classroom discourse", however in the case of the learning module, in a dialogical, social media mode. On the right side of the screen, you speak to other teachers in the professional discourse of the curriculum and pedagogy. Unlike a syllabus, a learning module contains content as well as an outline of coverage. And unlike a textbook which typically summarizes and transmit content that learners are to consume and remember, a learning module curates a variety of web content (links, embedded media etc.) and establishes a dialogue with and between learners which positions them as active seekers and producers of knowledge. For 'how to' instructions, visit section 5 of the Scholar 'help' area (link in the top right corner of the Scholar screen).

Your learning module should:

  • have a clear rationale in terms of learning objectives and, if applicable, curriculum standards.
  • include at least 8 updates, each of which on the left side includes at least some curated media and a comment request that will prompt rich dialogue among students, and on the right side speaks to teachers about the underlying pedagogical rationale, possible supplementary resources, teaching suggestions, and standards mapping.
  • include least one peer reviewed project , with peer assessment rubric.
  • include at least one information or knowledge survey.
  • demonstrate pedagogical coherence and completeness. Optionally, creators could use the Learning by Design pedagogy, described at L-by-D.com.
  • be well formed in terms of the learning module two column format and heading structure, with all media and other curated content fully sourced.

For model K-12 learning modules, visit the Literacies and Learning by Design collections in the Scholar Bookstore. For model college and higher education learning modules, visit the Higher Education collection.

You would be very welcome to use the completed learning module with your students. Course participants have perpetual access via their logins to Scholar’s Community, Creator and Bookstore areas at no charge. You can also request access to Scholar’s Publisher (peer review management) and Admin areas for your classes at no charge until the end of the calendar year after you complete your current course or program.

Projects in Scholar start on the 1st of each month; draft works are due on the 15th of the month; peer reviews are due 22nd of the month, and revised works are due on 28th of the month. If you miss the start date of 1st of the month, you have to wait until the next month to do the work.

For tutorials on how to participate in a peer reviewed project in Scholar, see section 3 in the Help area in the top right of the screen.