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Contextual Learning:
Designing Relevant and Active Student Experiences
Simply placing a student in a real world context, however, does not guarantee a learning experience.
Students learn best and retain what they have learned when they are interested in the subject matter, and when concepts are applied to the context of the students' own lives. They can then process new information in a way that makes sense to them because it fits in their frames of reference. This is what Contextual Learning (CL) is all about! In the CL environment, students discover meaningful relationships between abstract ideas and practical applications in a real world context.
Effective contextual learning results from a complex interaction of teaching methods, content, situation, and timing. Contextual learning adds new dimensions to a teacher's responsibilities, including developing learning environments that are more interactive, applied and laboratory-oriented than traditional classrooms. Furthermore, learning activities that are interdisciplinary, long term, and student-centered are emphasized, rather than short, isolated lessons.
The teacher's professional development in CL is paramount!
Research summaries indicate that a teacher who attempts contextually-based activities with no CL training, achieves minimal success and becomes frustrated with the process.
But with the proper training and the necessary tools and resources, the instructor can make the CL strategies work to connect the content of knowledge with the context of application. And the students understand why what they are learning is important. The benefits of CL do not stop there. Results from recent research indicate that in the CL classroom environment:
- Students accepted more responsibility for their own learning
- Student discipline problems, absenteeism, and tardiness were down
- Students enjoyed a positive social interaction
- All students learned more (gifted, average, less gifted)
Opening Level Workshop:
Building the Skills & Processes to Plan & Manage CL
Expanding Level Workshop: Designing CL Experiences
Full Text Download: Work-Based Learning
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