Environments to promote engagement, interaction and enquiry

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Environments to promote engagement, interaction
and enquiry Carol Wakeford, Ian Miller and Kate
Breakey Faculty of Life Sciences, University of
Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT
Real Spaces
The Faculty of Life Sciences has exploited
technologies to create and expand traditional
physical and virtual learning spaces to enhance
student engagement, interaction and enquiry.
Polling Tools To elicit feedback, review opinions
and stimulate discussion
30-40 students per year generate e-learning
resources for their final year project. Training
in project skills is delivered in a enquiry-based
blended course, in which students peer review
project materials in online groups. They work in
a dedicated microlab to produce enquiry-driven
e-resources. Various interactive activities
accompany macromedia breeze presentations.
We have used interactive voting pads to enrich
lecture content and enhance student engagement,
in spotter tests, for example, and to measure
opinions and track progress throughout Bioethics
sessions, to demonstrate audience response to
debate.
Between Spaces with video conferencing
Remote scientists Industrial
placements
Using video conferencing technologies can provide
links to scientists from around the world. Our
students study the Biology of being Human course
run by Stony Brook University in New York. They
provide monthly review sessions using Breeze
during the semester.
Industrial placement students keep in touch and
deliver small presentations on their placements.
Virtual spaces
We use innovative new software, PBLi, for online
enquiry-driven learning in a virtual
scenario-based environment. Creating multi-path
problem-solving activities in a variety of units,
such as Genetic Analysis. Here, students predict
and select offspring from Chocolate Monster
parents.
Dedicated Spaces
CEEBL rooms Two linked dedicated spaces for
enquiry-base learning (sponsored by CEEBL -
Centre for Excellence in Enquiry Based
Learning). These rooms are designed for small
group work for up to 45 students or staff in
total, and containinteractive white board to
record group work, such as brainstorming
activities projector and DVD/video player to
provide audiovisual material to enhance the
learning environment access grid for video
conferencing, to provide an opportunity to work
with remote institutions and experts in the
biosciences. Intended use small group tutorials,
staff training in a variety of technologies,
video-conferencing.