Project RITE
Recipients
Learning Beyond the Classroom:
Blogging for Reflection, Retention, and Application of Learning Concepts
launch blog |
Trena Paulus
Assistant Professor, Educational Psychology & Counseling, UT KnoxvilleLisa Jahns
Assistant Professor, Nutrition, UT KnoxvilleOverview
How well do college students retain what they have learned after a course is over? Are they able to apply concepts learned to their daily lives? Transfer and application of knowledge beyond the formal classroom environment is notoriously difficult to assess. This interdisciplinary research study between Dr. Trena Paulus and Dr. Lisa Jahns in Nutrition will examine application of knowledge The NTR (Nutrition) 100 course at the University of Tennessee teaches concepts of nutrition, health and wellness to approximately 200 undergraduate students each semester. NTR 100 attracts a wide range of undergraduate majors as it fulfills a UT General Education requirement. However once students finish the semester and move on, whether or how they retain and apply what has been learned is unclear. Computer-mediated communication (CMC) tools can extend learning experiences beyond traditional boundaries of time and location. We propose using web logs (blogs) as an informal online learning community where highly motivated students who have done well in the course can extend their learning through reflection, discussion and application of learned concepts to their daily lives as they write about it in their blogs.Social interaction with other bloggers is possible through the commenting features of the blog technologies. Communities around particular areas of interest develop as people link to each other's blogs, comment on individual entries, and in short spend enormous amounts of time talking to other people in this medium. There are many existing communities in the blogosphere where informal learning takes place. The body of empirical studies on blogging is limited, but initial studies in the field of education have shown that blogs support reflective thinking, critical thinking, collaboration and allow students to take ownership of their learning. Creating a community for freshmen on the topic of health and wellness may provide opportunities for reflection, discussion and application of concepts learned in formal classroom environments. More studies are needed which investigate how blogs can be used as sites for extending learning beyond the formal classroom environment.