Month: May 2020

The method I choose is the inquiry-based learning method. This method is focused on students’ role in learning. In inquiry-based learning, they are encouraged to ask questions and share their ideas with the group. This kind of learning starts by posing questions, problems, or scenarios to the students and having them think for their own. It contrasts with traditional learning that just presents facts to students and asks them to remember the facts. Some benefits include that the inquiry-based learning is more fun for students and they will take ownership of their learning, which fosters engagement to the topic. Further, this type will help the student learn critical thinking and communication skills. They can use these skills in other subjects or even for the daily life [1].

Because our topic is AI, a part of computer science, I think this method is adequate. Inquiry-based learning is common and effective for studying science. For example, a study conducted on 5th graders studying science found that the students who were taught based on the Inquiry-Based Learning method scored significantly higher on their test after instruction [2]. Our goal is to teach middle school students to understand AI. They are only a bit older than the students studying science in the research study, so I think clearly the inquiry-based learning method could be suitable.

[1] “What Is Inquiry-Based Learning (And How Is It Effective)?” GradePower Learning, 28 May 2019, gradepowerlearning.com/what-is-inquiry-based-learning/.

[2] Abdi, Ali. “The Effect of Inquiry-Based Learning Method on Students’ Academic Achievement in Science Course.” Universal Journal of Educational Research, vol. 2, no. 1, 2014, pp. 37–41.

The videos about science video and riding bicycle were very interesting and simple to understand because they include visual, which helps me. However, I found the reading that discuss behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism a bit difficult to understand. The author used some vocabularies that I am not very familiar with. When I realize this problem, I search in the online dictionary, but I find that some of the words are still hard to get the meaning. After that, I ask my girlfriend to help me with the concept, because she is speaking English as first language. When she explains it to me, I find the concept is very easy to understand because she know me well and how to explain clearly for me. This make me realized that learning should be personal.

Every person have a different way to understanding because of their different experience and connection to other topic, like the author mention in the textbook. Of course, in a large course at universities, it is not possible for the professor to make the course customizing for every person, but I think it is good to find your own way in a course. Sometimes, when we do not understand well the teaching style of the teacher or writing of author, we can find help. When learning a difficult topic, I can ask my friend or classmate, and they can know me well already so to explain it in a way that work for me personally.

Personally I like the concept in the constructivism approach. Constructivism focused on the real world and recognize that everyone have different interpretation of world. So I think this approach makes a lot of sense because I find that even we read the same thing, we can have different understanding. And constructivism think that transfer comes from authentic tasks in meaningful contexts, and I think that is true because I feel I cannot learn something well unless I have some practice with it in real world. If I just reading something, I maybe don’t understand as well than if I can do some experiment.