Peer Reviewed Article Online Links:
Other Online Links:
Online Link #3: http://www.slideshare.net/bsed3a/edtech-lesson-8-group-3-bsed-3a
According to Campbell, Flageolle, Griffith and Wojcik (2014), resource-based learning (RBL) engages students through the use of a variety of resources, in an active way. Students can use pre-selected print or non-print materials by the teacher and Media Specialist as resources throughout this learning process that are compatible with their own learning preferences and processing skills. Media specialists and teacher collaborate before, throughout, and after the unit to provide a rich RBL experience for the students. The goal of RBL is to create autonomous learners who can find information effectively and be self-directed learners. Although teachers plan the instruction, student direct have the opportunity to choose how they learn. Teachers are guides/facilitators that collaborate with the Media Specialist to incorporate supporting materials and relevant technologies appropriate for the RBL unit. Teacher are to ask questions to guide students to the answers to meet learning goals. The final product of RBL is a student-created artifact that is presented at the completion of the unit. The benefits of RBL exceedingly outweigh the challenges it brings (see Table 1). Benefits of RBL include; students’ literacy skills are enhanced, lifelong learners are created, student’s become efficient with resources, the final projects increase student motivation to find quality resources, the students are motivated to learn through choice of resources selected, problem solving skills and higher-order thinking skills are developed, and students interact with resources instead of getting information told to them. Some challenges include time and effort spent collaborating with other staff (teachers and Media Specialists), ability and accuracy assess learning goals, and unforeseen technology issues (Campbell et al., 2014).
Table 1
Benefits and Challenges of RBL
Benefits (student gains)
|
Challenges
|
Enhanced literacy skills
|
Collaboration (time, effort)
|
Life-long learners
|
Assess learning goals
|
Efficiency with resources
|
Technology issues
|
Student motivation from project and choice of resources.
| |
Problem-solving skills
| |
Higher-order thinking skills
| |
Interaction with resources
|
When implementing RBL, keep in mind the nine steps Resource-Based Learning suggests (2014). It is important to first identify the goals for the unit, then determine the artifacts the students are able to produce. The Media Specialist and teacher collaborate to plan the unit, choose the resources, determine the timeline and schedule, and create the rubric. At the completion of the unit, the teacher and media specialist evaluate the artifacts and evaluate the unit as a whole to determine what was successful and what adjustments can be made to improve the unit (Campbell et al., 2014) (see Table 2).
Table 2
Implementing Resource-Based Learning Cheat Sheet
Step
|
Implementing Resource-Based Learning Cheat Sheet
|
1
|
Identify the goals for the unit.
|
2
|
Determine artifacts students can produce.
|
3
|
Collaborate (Media Specialist and teacher) to plan.
|
4
|
Choose resources for students.
|
5
|
Determine timeline for the unit.
|
6
|
Schedule - reserve space for researching, computer lab, and any other events/presenters.
|
7
|
Create rubrics.
|
8
|
Evaluate student artifacts.
|
9
|
Evaluate unit through collaboration - revise if necessary.
|
According to Greenhow, Dexter and Riedel, “Automated evaluation tools and data collection methods can help such Web site designers develop and use online, resource-based learning environments to meet their goals of providing high quality learning opportunities for teachers” (2006, p. 21). This article discusses the importance of developing quality learning environments when using them for RBL environments. The literature allows teachers to use criteria to determine whether the website is worth using in a RBL environment. A checklist is provided to help teachers determine if a particular web-based learning environment is appropriate and beneficial to the students. The four features within this checklist include Knowledge-centered, Community-centered, Assessment-centered, and Learner-centered. Knowledge-centered features include hyper-links to resources, networking forums, and interactive tools. Community-centered features include chat rooms, bulletin boards, human facilitators for discussions, and student work examples. Assessment-centered features include reflections, feedback forms, and questions. Learner-centered features include learning styles that are diverse, databases where students can search, and ability to attach files within a digital workspace. If a particular learning environment website does not include all aspects on the checklist, it doesn’t necessarily mean the resource is not appropriate, but it is a good guideline to follow based on the needs and preferences of the resource. If website designers understand the teachers needs, keeping the checklist in mind, better learning environments will be created for a better learning experience for students (Greenhow, Dexter & Riedel, 2006).
The Edtech Lesson 8 video does a great job of explaining the difference of traditional learning and RBL on slide 7. On the left side it indicates that in the traditional learning model, the teacher is the expert, textbooks are the primary source for the content, specific facts are learned, the end product is the end of the learning for that unit, and there is a quantitative assessment in the end. Under the resourced-based learning side, it indicates that teachers are the facilitators, there are a variety of sources to gather information, students learn by discovering information, the process of learning is learned aside from just the content, and at the end of the unit there are qualitative and quantitative assessments (see Figure 1) (bsed3a, 2015).
Figure 1. Traditional vs. resource-based learning.
Some students have a difficult time with RBL and “suffer from cognitive overload and conceptual and navigational disorientation” (Tergan, Gräber & Neumann, 2006, p. 327). According to Tergan, Gräber and Neumann (2006). Research indicates concepts maps help students cope with the more complex problems, and can support the organization of knowledge when using RBL. Many students do not have the experience with RBL and therefore, lack the strategies needed to be successful with RBL. Visual-spatial strategies help with complex subject matter, increasing the intellectual performance of the student. When using RBL, visual-spatial strategies are important to consider to enhance the student’s learning experience (Tergan, Gräber & Neumann, 2006).
The Resource-Based Instruction Enters the 21st Century: Creating a New Curriculum (1995) discusses ten concepts to assist teachers when implementing RBL lesson units. The ten concepts are used to move the students from the old resource style, to the new ever-changing technology based world. The Ten concepts include: “a shared pool of materials benefits everyone, library materials are arranged by subject, reference materials are available for all students, recognition of the arrangement of a resource speeds access to its information, indexes are the major key to locating information rapidly, not all information is equal, timeliness of information is an important consideration, information may carry bias, research requires both thinking and communicating, voluntary reading builds knowledge” (Weisburg & Toor, 1995, p. 10). RBL is the “most effective way to prepare lifelong learners” (Weisburg & Toor, 1995, p. 8) and contains five elements including; a “variety of resources, collaborative planning and teaching, resources are used for a purpose, group work, diverse and a shared end product” (Weisburg & Toor, 1995, p. 8-9). The technology advances change the approach of the Information Curriculum because the number of types of sources have increased requiring two questions to guide students; what do you want the students to be able to do, and what do you want them to understand? RBL does not require one correct answer and in some cases the answers might not be 100% accurate, but the students should be using critical thinking skills to get to the answers they indicate. Information sheets are used in RBL to guide the students to find the information needed. Fill in the blank questions are not used, instead, open-ended questions are asked to drive students to create reasoned judgements (Weisburg & Toor, 1995).
The five summarized resources indicated have commonalities amongst them regarding RBL and all support one another. Campbell, Flageolle, Griffith and Wojcik (2014) give a great description of what RBL is and an excellent example of how it is used within the classroom. It paints a clear picture of what a RBL unit looks like from start to finish (Campbell, Flageolle, Griffith & Wojcik, 2014). Weisburg and Toor (1995) go into detail and have similar suggestions on how to use RBL within the classroom, but the ten concepts are worded slightly different. The additional information on information sheets is helpful for new RBL teachers trying to implement a RBL lesson (Weisburg & Toor, 1995). The other three resources branch off from what RBL is and discusses different concepts within RBL. Edtech Lesson 8 (2015) does a nice job determining the advantages of RBL versus traditional learning, supporting the benefits of RBL. When teachers are looking to implement an RBL lesson, it is important to keep in mind how to evaluate the web-based resources being used with the lesson. The four features within this checklist (knowledge-centered, community-centered, assessment-centered, and learner-centered) are important considerations when searching for quality resources for the students (Greenhow, Dexter & Riedel, 2006). With the amount of resources selected, the chance of students to get overwhelmed by materials is very likely. Concept maps or visual-spatial strategies are important aids for students to gather their information and make sense of the information and knowledge they are ingesting (Tergan, Gräber & Neumann, 2006). All five resources are linked and support each other throughout the research.
A RBL lesson can be used within the 8th grade health classroom for the disease unit. Table 3 is the cheat sheet created from Resource-Based Learning (2014). In the right-hand column are descriptions on how the particular step is met. The goal of the unit would be to identify and communicate with others within their school, family, and community regarding health issues. The students are to choose the disease and artifact to create to convey the information. The students would be asked “why is (insert disease here) a health concern?”. The question is an open-ended question forcing the students to find information on the concern. Since I have not collaborated with a Media Specialist on this unit, parts of this table can still be added including the artifacts and resources chosen. The Media Specialist would have additional suggestions for those. The unit would be ten days long and macbooks would need to be reserved. A doctor would be an appropriate presenter for this particular unit because a doctor would cover a majority of health issues. Once the artifacts are created, the artifacts would be evaluated using the rubrics, and finally, the unit would be evaluated overall by the teacher and media specialist. Information sheets can be used to guide the learners (Weisburg & Toor, 1995). Concept maps can be used for students to gather their thoughts and organize their knowledge (Tergan, Gräber & Neumann, 2006).
Table 3
Example of RBL in Health Using the RBL Cheat Sheet
Step
|
Implementing Resource-Based Learning Cheat Sheet
|
EXAMPLE -
DISEASE RBL UNIT
|
1
|
Identify the goals for the unit.
|
"The students will be able to identify and communicate with others within their school, family, and community regarding health issues".
|
2
|
Determine artifacts students can produce.
|
Powerpoint presentation, public service announcement, fact sheet, podcast, etc.
|
3
|
Collaborate (Media Specialist and teacher) to plan.
|
Determine if other types of resources are available (books, videos, interactive websites, etc.)
|
4
|
Choose resources for students.
|
Mayoclinic.org, cdc.gov, niddk.nih.gov, kidshealth.org
|
5
|
Determine timeline for the unit.
|
10 DAY UNIT: 3 days to research, 3 days to create artifact, 1 day for presenter, 3 days to present artifacts.
|
6
|
Schedule - reserve space for researching, computer lab, and any other events/presenters.
|
Reserve macbooks for 6 days, bring in presenter (doctor), reserve library for presentation days for space allotment.
|
7
|
Create rubrics.
|
Create rubric used for artifacts.
|
8
|
Evaluate student artifacts.
|
Assess the artifacts using the rubric.
|
9
|
Evaluate unit through collaboration - revise if necessary.
|
Meet with Media Specialist to review unit and make changes if necessary.
|
References
bsed3a. (2015). Edtech lesson 8 (group 3 bsed 3a) [Video file]. Slideshare. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/bsed3a/edtech-lesson-8-group-3-bsed-3a
Campbell, L., Flageolle, P., Griffith, S. & Wojcik, C. (2014). Resource-based learning. Retrieved from http://epltt.coe.uga.edu/index.php?title=Resource-Based_Learning
Greenhow, C., Dexter, S. & Riedel, E. (2006). Methods for evaluating online, resource-based learning environments for teachers. Journal of Computing in Teacher Education 23(1), 21-28. Week5-reading_resource-based-learning_v15.pdf
Illinois State Board of Education. (2015). Illinois State State goal 22: understand principles of health promotion and the prevention and treatment of illness and injury. Illinois State Board of Education. Retrieved from http://www.isbe.net/ils/pdh/pdf/goal22.pdf
Tergan, S.O., Gräber, W. & Neumann, A. (2006). Mapping and managing knowledge and information in resource-based learning. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 43(4), 327-336. Retrieved from http://web.a.ebscohost.com.cucproxy.cuchicago.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4&sid=1b0f0ac3-abef-4d00-bee1-456be0704219%40sessionmgr4005&hid=4114
Weisburg, H. & Toor, R. (1995). Resource-based instruction enters the 21st century: creating a new curriculum. Emergency Librarian, 23(2), 8-10. Retrieved from http://web.a.ebscohost.com.cucproxy.cuchicago.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=34&sid=34218531-c43a-4967-b934-b7fe0454fe07%40sessionmgr4004&hid=4104&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPWNvb2tpZSxpcCxjcGlkJmN1c3RpZD1zODQxOTIzOSZzaXRlPWVob3N0LWxpdmU%3d#db=eric&AN=EJ514996
