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Introduction
This study aims to discuss the ‘educational relevancy’ of online
Computer SupportedCollaboration
(CSC) and also the difficulties faced in adopting this technology into the acceptedculture of the school or college.There has been some reemphasis of late on thinking skills and accelerated learning practice. Forexample DFEE, McGuiness (1999).The use of CSC and it’s role within this ‘new’ paradigm of thinking schools is one that McGuinessand other researchers comment on within recent research papers. More work needs to be doneon the effect that CSC use has on the teaching environment, pupils, teachers and educationsystem as a whole.The increasing pressure on schools and their students and teachers to perform well is evident.How could CSC help to improve motivation, engagement and further home study?This report begins to look at practical use of CSC environments and their relationship if any withrelevant educational theories.
Metateaching
Metateaching is a phrase that has recently been used to describe a new paradigm of teaching. Bynew I don’t mean revolutionary, more like a collective phrase to describe the increasedawareness within the teaching profession on reflective thought on how people learn and thereforebe educated. This phrase seems to sum up the history of educational research since LawrenceStenhouse first started his seminal work on teacher led educational research. Stenhousedescribes a model curriculum, which has been called:‘Liberating or emancipatory because it encourages independence of thought and argument on thepart of the pupils, and experimentation and the use of judgement on the part of the teacher’(Hopkins D 1985). This ‘new’ type of teaching seems to reflect good practice and use of a variedteaching style. It has foundation blocks seen in accelerated learning and preferred learning styletheories.
Thinking Schools
A recent DFEE commissioned report ‘From Thinking Skills to Thinking Classrooms’ (Mcguiness99) commented on the use of ‘critical thinking skills’ using various methods within our schools andmade some conclusions on the impact that ICT could have on this whole schools approach.
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Information and communication technologies can be linked to the thinking skills framework inseveral ways and provide a tool for enhancing children’s understanding and powers of reasoningthrough exploratory environments/micro worlds, multi-media and hypermedia. Networkedcommunication (local and wide area) provides special opportunities for collaborative learning.Considerable evaluation remains to be completed on learning outcomes for both individual andwhole class learning.’(Mcguiness 99)
Metacognition
Meta-teaching approaches try to activate the metacognitive process with any students thinking.‘Metacognition, or learning ‘how to learn’, is now recognised as a vital aspect of learning.Metacognition refers to one’s knowledge concerning one’s own cognitive process and products oranything related to them… Metacognition refers, among other things, to the active monitoring and
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