Camelia Vesa's Learning Diary by

About me

cameliarusiusan — 2016-11-06 12:59:30 UTC

Hello! 
My name is Camelia Vesa and I work at a secondary school in a small town with a rich historical past in Romania.  I teach Romanian language and literature. My students aged between 11 and 15 years.My class sizes are usually 25-30 students. We have a Computer Lab at school and, also, a Laboratory of language and communication.
In 2014, I attended a European School net Academy MOOC- Developing Key Competences from November to December.
I hope this course will convince me to use more often collaborative work and technology in my classe and will innovate my teaching.

Module 1- Collaborative Teaching and Learning

cameliarusiusan — 2016-11-06 13:10:13 UTC

What is collaborative learning?

cameliarusiusan — 2016-11-20 16:00:52 UTC

According to research reviews, collaborative learning enhances:
• Academic achievement
• Student attitudes
• Student engagement
• Student retention
(Prince, P. 2004; Davidson & Howell Major 2014) Moreover, Collaborative learning contributes to the development of specific skills, including:
• Leadership competences
• Self-evaluation
• Listening skills
• Presentation skills
• Skills of persuasion & negotiation
• Team working skills
(Jacques & Salmon, 2007)

Module 2: How can you design collaborative learning in the classroom?

cameliarusiusan — 2016-11-21 14:27:28 UTC

Collaboration: Rubric

In this learning activity,
| 1 |  Students are NOT required to work together in pairs or groups.
| 2 |  Students DO work together  BUT they DO NOT have shared responsibility.
| 3 |  Students DO have shared responsibility  BUT they ARE NOT required to make substantive decisions together.
| 4 |  Students DO have shared responsibility  AND they DO make substantive decisions together about the content, process, or product of their work  BUT their work is not interdependent.
| 5 |  Students DO have shared responsibility  AND they DO make substantive decisions together about the content, process, or product of their work  AND their work is interdependent.

Module 3: How can you assess collaborative learning?

cameliarusiusan — 2016-11-21 14:40:47 UTC

Assessment with rubrics
The use of rubrics is a speedy and interesting way to collect information on progress in learning and provide feedback to stakeholders.
A rubric is a scoring tool that lists the criteria for a piece of work and articulates gradations of quality for each criterion, from excellent to poor (Goodrich, 1996).

Why use rubrics?
Firstly, the use of rubrics is important because they are very clear instruments for assessment. They are flexible
and effective for self- and peer-assessment. Rubrics are also important because they allow students to be
engaged in their design. In this way, students identify themselves better with the assessment objectives, with
the criteria and scales to measure these criteria, and teachers can give formative feedback if the descriptors
are sufficiently clear and objective.

Module 4: How can teacher collaboration facilitate collaborative learning?

cameliarusiusan — 2016-11-21 14:55:34 UTC

Camelia Vesa, Romania

The question I have asked myself many times when I worked in teams has been related to team building: I know that it is advisable to form heterogeneous groups, but in which situations it is advisable to work with homogeneous groups, with a level learning higher or lower?