Estudiantes/Students

Estudiantes/Students

por Moira Doyle -
Número de respostas: 16

Buenos Aires es la unica provincia en la Argenitna (la universidad de Buenos Aires y desde el 2012 la universidad de La Plata) donde alumnos pueden venir a estudiar Meteorología. Sin embargo, esta carrera en el pais tiene muy pocos alumnos, con un ingreso a la Facultad de aproximadamente 100 alumnos por anio.  A través de este nueva materia se habre una nueva puertta para que mas personas puedan entrar en este maravilloso mundo. Este anio, sin embargo solo hubo 7 inscriptos y son solo 3 los que estan coninuando hasta el final. La materia fue publicitada a través de los mecanismos de la facultad y además publicada en Faceobook en la pagina del Departamento. Como convocar alumnos y que perseveren hasta el final?

Otro tema que encontramos un desafio, es como crear el clima de una aula cara a cara en un medio, como el moodle, donde los alumnos estan estudiando sin tener contacto fisico entre ellos ni con los docentes.

Mire el video alusivo y exponganos sus comentarios

Buenos Aires is the only province in the country (the Univeristy of Buenos Aires, and since 2012 the University of La Plata) where students can study meteorology. However, meteorology in Argentina is a career with very few students, each year approximately 50 students come to the University of Buenos Aires to start their studies. Through e-learning a new door opens to give the chance to more people to enter this wonderful world. This year's experience has not been very encouraging in this sense. A total of 7 students inscribed and only 3 have persevered upto now when the semester is coming to an end. We used facebook, the Facultys methods and sources to announce the course, what other methods have you tried and which has been your experience?

Regular lessons of our meteorology courses at Buenos Aires University are generally twice a week, divided in two hours of theory and two hours of problem solving. This frequent contact between students and with professors creates a particular climate and sharing experience which tends to be absent in e-learning. Through daily contact you can see how students are doing, if they are having problems, if they are not attending lessons and are having their doubts on continuing studying. This is not so visible in e-learning. We encouraged our students to act as if they were sharing a classroom, to share their doubts, problems, difficulties, and to contact us teachers whenever they needed and results were very good. What has been your experience?

Watch our video and share thoughts

Em resposta a 'Moira Doyle'

Re: Estudiantes/Students

por Vesa Nietosvaara -

Moira,

maybe in addition to asynchronous sessions you could also offer a live space where the students can meet each other and the instructors on a regular basis?

Or could you benefit from mixing the real meetings and online sessions - having a face-to-face meet-your-fellow-students day in the beginning, and in the end another face-to-face meeting.

And I would try to create some Labs, Simulations and games for the online part as well, to make the students more engaged.

Em resposta a 'Moira Doyle'

Re: Estudiantes/Students

por Patrick Parrish -

Hi Moira,

One approach to make things as engaging as in the classroom is to try to recreate the same basic activities online. If they spend 2 hours in problem solving as a group in the classroom, try to do the same problem solving online, and use the discussion forum for sharing ideas and results. You may find that if they are having problems it will be just as visible in the classroom, or even more visible! You can also assign students to small groups in Moodle so that they are more likely to have discussion and learn from each other. You can have daily contact with students online as much as in the classroom if you set up the assignments to require engagement in daily activities. If you are concerned about engagement, do make students study on their own with opportunities to have dialogue with you and with the other students. 

Just asking students to contact you if they are having problems will not work as well. Many will be reluctant to contact you. You need to ask them to do some task, and then give them feedback about how they did. 

These are just a few thoughts...

Em resposta a 'Patrick Parrish'

Re: Estudiantes/Students

por Moira Doyle -

Thanks Patrick and Vesa for your ideas

In this first course we had very few students, 7 enrolled but only 3 are completing the course. We tried having chat sessions where they could clear doubts, and discuss about the subject they were studying, but they were not very successful. One of the students never engaged, and the other two didnt seem to have difficulties with the text or activities.

This course is the first course in meteorology when students enter University. It takes quite some time for students to gain confidence and start asking questions or talking in class, and some may end the course without speaking! I constantly encourage them to ask even what they think might be dumb.

I encouraged our distance learning students to interact among themselves just as they would do if they were face to face in a classroom: sharing doubts, results, asking. They did it in the beginning, but it does not come naturally as in a classroom, I believe this is an opportunity to be creative and learn from this experience!

Anyway, the mid-term exam results were very good.

Moira

Em resposta a 'Moira Doyle'

Re: Estudiantes/Students

por Patrick Parrish -

Hi Moira,

I think you are experiencing what many distance educators experience, that you have to provide a reason for interaction or students often drift in their own directions and into their own lives rather than having a shared experience. Not all students are this way, but many are.

I would not just say, "Do you have any questions?", which can often lead to silence. I would try asking questions yourself to see what the students know. If you start by asking questions that are not so difficult at first, it may create a safer environment and more willingness to respond and willingness to respond to (and ask) deeper questions. Some online teachers even ask their students to LEAD a discussion by asking questions to the other students to start a dialogue.  

Dialogue is critical to learning so that students get feedback, so it is worth a little extra work online. 

Its great that the mid-term exams were good. That must mean you are providing good resources and instruction. 

Patrick

Em resposta a 'Patrick Parrish'

Re: Estudiantes/Students

por Larissa Timofeyeva -

Hi all

It is nice to see how to get over some e-learning problem )

Sometimes e-learning is chosen by very shy students, with special needs or not having time for forums and extra communication. 

Moira, you might have been "lucky" to have such kind of students.

If the results are good and most students had no obvious difficulties do you need to worry so much?

I suppose, if the students had known each other before the course, they would have been more talkative. 

On the other hand, if you do want the students to talk (sure, it is crucial), you can create a special system of  assessment, for example, with use of weighted indices. If Talking weight is sufficient enough your students  will have to talk.

As far as I could understand, assessment in virtual learning is a very special tool. It needs to be considered even more seriously than while teaching face-to face  - just because you don't see faces.

And if it is efficient enough, both - students and Teacher - can benefit from it. 

Good luck

Larissa

Em resposta a 'Larissa Timofeyeva'

Re: Estudiantes/Students

por Elizabeth Castañeda -

As a professor  of the course with Moira, I can tell that the three students have a different behaviour. As far as we know two of them communicate with each other via forums and email, and during the chat sessions interact very well even responding one to each other. The third student is a mystery: Is he shy? Or prefer just work alone? We do not know. He always deliveres tasks and is a very good student but it's been difficult to integrate him.

Em resposta a 'Larissa Timofeyeva'

Re: Estudiantes/Students

por Patrick Parrish -

Hi Larissa,

I just wanted to comment on one really interesting thing you said, which is similar to things I hear from a lot of people: "As far as I could understand, assessment in virtual learning is a very special tool. It needs to be considered even more seriously than while teaching face-to face  - just because you don't see faces."

I agree to some extent, but I also question it. What is it that we can actually assess by looking at faces? When I tried researching this online just for a short time, I came up with papers on how we read emotions on peoples faces, often wrongly. But nothing on how we can read what people know by looking at their reactions in their facial expressions. I suspect that is difficult, if not impossible. 

Nevertheless, I think this is worthy of some research to see if there is really a correlation between when a teacher thinks they see signs of knowledge or understanding and when it is actually there. I wonder if it is more about feelings of affirmation for the teacher than signs of learning. 

If you share my doubt at all, I think the solution is that you need to have students do exercises, answer questions, and complete assignments that clearly allow you to see if they understand what you hope they are learning, and can apply the skills you want them to learn. 

Patrick

Em resposta a 'Patrick Parrish'

Re: Estudiantes/Students

por Bernadette Connell -

Hi Patrick (and Larissa and others...)

You are probably getting at one aspect when you say "I wonder if it is more about feelings of affirmation for the teacher than signs of learning".  Not only is it what some might perceive as subtle facial indications, but also the not so subtle indicators - like nodding of heads or people whispering and talking to each other.

You can get those affirmations online if the person giving them is inclined to type them in and has enough time to do so (it takes longer).

So I'll add - it's not only about affirmation, but also is there confusion: many presenters also look for those signs of "puzzled faces" or negative head nodding.  You can get that input online as well, but only if it is provided.

Bernie

Em resposta a 'Patrick Parrish'

Re: Estudiantes/Students

por Larissa Timofeyeva -

Hello Patrick, Bernie and CALMeters

I share your doubts about

 a correlation between when a teacher thinks they see signs of knowledge or understanding and when it is actually there.

You see, I have become more pragmatic, than romantic, that is why I worry so much about relevant assessment.

I have completed Performance Assessment in the Virtual Classroom at Coursera, and it was a real challenge:

final test, on-going control, counting, weighting, comparing how much should be assessed by the teacher, by peers ....

Since that I remember how important,  time and force consuming it is.

I might take it too seriously, but it is better not to neglect this while teaching a Degree course.

I have even tried academic rating for more objectivity ...

But still want to watch students, so young and pretty )))

And learn from them

 

Larissa

Em resposta a 'Larissa Timofeyeva'

Re: Estudiantes/Students

por Patrick Parrish -

Hi Larissa,

Congratulations on completing that course in Coursera! And now, will you share what you learned with the rest of us by presenting at CALMet about it next time? Or in the WMO Online Course for Trainers next year? I will be contacting you about that, so you may be sorry that you let out this secret. :)

Assessment is hard, no matter how you look at it, or don't look at it, as the case may be :)

Patrick

Em resposta a 'Larissa Timofeyeva'

Re: Estudiantes/Students

por Larissa Timofeyeva -

Dear Argentinian Team

I would like to share ideas about attracting students to learn Meteorology. 

My University (Russian State Hydrometeorological University) http://www.rshu.ru/eng/

is about 85 years old and it has its own traditions of "fighting" for future potential students (it is taken quite seriously,

since the volume of state funding depends on the number of students).

There is a special Department responsible for this. 

"Fighting" starts in advance - at schools. There are several so called "open doors days", when shool leavers visit the Uni. During these days excursions to labs are organised, teachers talk to visitors, presentations are shown and so on. University is a little bit decorated and hosts do their best to please guests )

The Uni has close relations with several schools, usually situated nearby, and they are visited by experienced teachers and young ones (even by Masters and Phd students) with the some purpose - to let them know more about professions that are taught at RSHU, including Meteorology. Usually these visits are a great success since there are stories about expeditions, field practices, pictures, videos, quizes ...

School children can take part in special Contests during their last school year, and winners get a chance to become Uni students in advance.

We are lucky here, in Saint Petersburg, to have rather changeable weather, that is why Weather forecasts (on TV, in newspapers) are very popular. And experts from the Uni are often invited to tell about weather, climate, floods, climate change. 

Obviously, RSHU in some sense, occupies a more privileged position in comparison with other places, where Earth Sciences are taught, since it has been the Regional Meteorological Training Center of the WMO for 20 years. And the University does not miss any opportunity to introduce itself at events of different scale - from local to global )

 I understand, the conditions in Argentina and Russia differ, as well as the demand for meteorologists, but I hope, you will find out  something, that can be used to attract more attention to studying meteorology.

Good luck!

Larissa

Em resposta a 'Larissa Timofeyeva'

Re: Estudiantes/Students

por Izolda Marcinonienė -

Dear colleagues,

in Lithuania, meteorologists start working for our Service after they graduate Vilnius University natural faculty as hydrometeorologists. During their work at Service they can rise their knowledge in different courses and be experienced in more specific fields such as climatology, or hydrology or agrometerology..

But before they choose hydrometeorology (even pupils) they  additionally can study at State School of young geographers, take part at  Olympiad in geography. So they start knowing what they want. Furthermore:

  • Every year  several pupils from the School of young geographers spend  a few days at Lithuanian HMS and familiarize with the world of meteorology.
  • There are very popular school excursions to forecasting room or another divisions.
  • Our specialists also take part at Nights of science and conduct people to our work places or museum. They also take part at different events and make presentations for wide audiency.
  • To conclude, we have charity workers since last spring: young ladies (TV presenters ) visit child care homes or day centers and talk about our daily work, show presentations etc.

Finally, there is Lithuanian expression-every Lithuanian is an expert in backetball and in weather forecasting! It shows that meteorology is  very known amongst people. Unfortunatelly not so popular as it was 20-30 years ago. The main problem is -young people become more and more pragmatic and... lack of romance. You know-clouds are not only physics,  they excite also our feelings:)))

 

Izolda

Em resposta a 'Izolda Marcinonienė'

Re: Estudiantes/Students

por Moira Doyle -

Hi Izolda!

Thanks for sharing. In the city of Buenos Aires there is one night a year where museums are open to the public and for the last 3 or 4 years the Faculty opens its doors to the public on that night. Stands are prepared, not only for meteorology but also geology, chemistry, biology. People are quite enthusiastic with the activities presented. 

Moira

Em resposta a 'Larissa Timofeyeva'

Re: Estudiantes/Students

por Elizabeth Castañeda -

Dear Larisa, We actually have almost the same kind of activities that at your University. School students share activities for one day and, for selected students,  for two months as they were "researches". We also go to schools and opendoors/indoors places like "ferias" or a science, technology, industry and art mega exhibition (http://tecnopolis.ar/ ).

These activities reach only those who live relatively close to the University. It involves a huge economic cost to move a group of people to more remote places but with potential students for the career . And in this case, only those who can afford the way of life in Buenos Aires, capital of Argentina, will be able to study. Thanks to the scholarship system recently implemented, some students are able to come now.
Maybe the conditions in both countries differ but we al implement the same strategies!!
Thanks for your ideas!!!
Elizabeth
Em resposta a 'Larissa Timofeyeva'

Re: Estudiantes/Students

por Moira Doyle -

Hi Larissa

Thanks for sharing your ideas and the activities at St Petersburgh 

Our Faculty is very active working with schools. Throughout the year there are different activities (Maths week, Chemistry week, Earth Science week), scientists for a day, visiting schools and setting up stands in expositions organized by the city. Our department is active in these activities because we understand it is a way of letting people know there is a University Degree in Meteorology! Many ignore this. Very often when people ask about my job and I say I am a Meteorologist, its the first one they have met in their lives and many times didnt know you could study meteorology.

Another issue is that these activities are mostly limited to the city of Buenos Aires and the rest of the country remains ignorant!

Thanks again for sharing

Moira