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Project Organized Learning - a course from the Master Programs

Introduction Semester for foreign student in Electronics and Information Technology

Lars Peter JensenAssociated Professor at Aalborg University

Department of Control EngineeringFredrik Bajers Vej 7C, DK - 9220 Aalborg East

Phone: + 45 96358740, e-mail: lpj@control.auc.dkURL: http://www.control.auc.dk/~lpj

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Thursday the 10th of June (Fibigerstraede 11, room 115)

09.00: Coherence between projects and courses09.30: Co-operation in small teams - cases and theories10.00: Exercises on co-operation12.00: Lunch13.00: Project Management – cases and methods14.00: Exercise on project management15.45: Supervision, coaching, facilitation16.00: Reflection on outcome and expectation

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Friday the 11th of June (Fibigerstraede 11, room 115)

09.00: Cases on supervision. 11.00: Supervision - strategies and tools12.00: Lunch12.45: Assessment15.00: Development of action plans – and peer

review of action plans15.30: Evaluation

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1. What is a problem based project?

• The Aalborg model:– PBL, Projects, Team work

• A four phase model of a Project• Analysing: why, what and how?• Reflection for action• Exercise, start analysing your project

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Projects in the first semester

Reflective evaluation Reflective evaluation Process analysis Process analysis

Evaluation Evaluation

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Lessons

P0 – 5 weeks P1 – 10 weeks

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How to start analysing • The six W- model

• Post It Brain storm1. Everybody writes keywords on Post It notes for 5 min 2. All notes are placed on the blackboard3. All notes are read out 4. Everybody goes to the blackboard and structures the notes together

ProblemWhom?

Why? What?

Where?

When?How?

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Reflection for Action

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Results:

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2. P0-experience exchange

Programme

8.15: Lecture I: On reflection and learning

9.00: P0-experience exchange i cross-groups

10.45: Poster presentation 11.30: Lecture II: On the P0-

process analysis

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HOW to reflect?

Test

Generalisation

Reflection

Experience

The P0 project has given you some experience.You analyse your experience through reflection.By asking what and how to do better you generalisein the form of ’Good Advice’ which can be tested in P1 and give you new experience.

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Poster Presentation

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Cross-cultural Team BuildingLearning in a New Culture

Xiangyun DuOctober 15th 2003

International Master International Master Program Program

POL Course Mm3POL Course Mm3

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Am I Different?

I thought and

communicated

things in a

different way

Am I Strange?I could not understand what was happening -metaphors, references and jokes Problem

s StudyAm I Stupid?I got a nick name of

‘question person’ from asking all kinds of stupid questions

in

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4. Project ManagementContents:

• The project settings and goal• Managing people:

– Co-operation contract, Team health assessment

• Project Planning, managing time:– Activity diagram– How long time do we need for a given activity?

- how to make a qualified guess– The Gantt chart– Project monitoring

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Agree on the goal, or you won’t reach it!

-OR GET ON ADESERT WALK

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Be aware of your differences

YOU ARESTUPID !

WE DON’T KNOW

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The co-operation agreement – A tool for project management

• Expectations and ambitions ?• Meetings – How often ? – What if somebody is late ?• Organising meetings , chairman, referee, use of

blackboard ? • Division of labour ?• What kind of response do you give within the group ?• How do you prepare a meeting with your supervisor ?

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Contracts - example

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5. Learning and learning styles

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What is ’learning’?Yes, it’s actually true – you can get a degree by repeating everything the teacher says.

The psychological mistake in learning: ”We pretend that there is co-incidence between what is being taught and what is being learned” (Illeriis, 1998)

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Learning – two different perceptions

A• ’Knowledge’ is objective,

measurable, conscious.• ’Learning’ is ’to receive

knowledge’ from outside.• ’Teaching’ is ’to handout

knowledge’ (’waterglass-pedagogics).

B• ’Knowledge’ is subjective,

non-measurable – often implicit.

• ’Learning’ is ’personal transformation of experiences’.

• ‘Teaching’ is ‘to stage transformation of experiences’, ‘to establish room for learning’.

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Passive versus active learning

• A study performed by Socony-Vacuum Oil Company shows that students learn (i.e. remember) :

– 10% of what they read– 26% of what they hear– 30% of what they see– 50% of what they see and hear– 70% of what they say– 90% of what they say and do

passive

active

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Experiential learning- Kolb’s learning cycle

Test

Generalisation/conceptualisation

Reflection

Experience

Learning is the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experiences - David KolbLearning is a function of the activity, context, and culture in which it normally occurs, thus it is situated- Jean Lave & Etienne Wenger

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Experiential learning – the Cowan loopy diagram

Reflection for in on action

Time

P0-proces analysis

P0-project start

”P1-midway seminar”

P1-process analysis

Eksperimental, testing

Consolidating, verifying

Next project

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Everyday reflections – an enhanced Cowan loopy diagram

Planned and joint ’grand’ reflections

Incidential and personal ’small’ reflections

Reflection

Time

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On Learning Styles

Overview:

• WHAT is learning style?• WHY test learning style?• The test• Different learning styles

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WHAT is learning style?

• A person’s way of taking in and processing information – and thereby learn.

• Different persons have different learning styles.

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WHY test learning style?

• To make you aware of how you learn • …and thereby improve your learning process

• To enable the group to take into consideration the group members’ different learning styles

• … and thereby improve your team work

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Different learning styles – Information channel

Visual Learners

• ‘Show me’• Pictures• Diagrams• Sketches• Schematics• Flow charts

Verbal learners

• ‘Explain it to me’• Spoken word• Written words

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Different learning styles – Information processing

Active Learners

• ‘Let’s try it out’• Process actively• Jump in prematurely • Like group work

Reflective Learners

• ‘Let’s think about it’• Process introspectively • Work quietly • Slow in starting• Like solo or pair work

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Different learning styles – Perceiving

Sensing Learners

• Concrete: facts and data• Focus on sensory input• Practical • Observant • Repetition

Intuitive Learners

• Abstract: theory and models • Focus on subconscious • Imaginative • Look for meanings • Variety

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Different learning styles – Comprehension

Sequential Learners

• Function with partial understanding

• Steady progress • Explain easily • Analysis, details

Global Learners

• Need big picture to function • Initially slow, then major

leaps• Can’t explain easily • Synthesis, systems-

ecological thinking

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REMEMBER:• The test cannot be used to categorise people.• No learning style is better than another – they are simply

different. • The test informs you about your preferred learning style(s) –

strengths and weaknesses• The more ways you are able to learn the better you learn.• Take into consideration differences in learning styles when

cooperating in the group.

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6: Conflict handling

Agenda:

1. Conflicts, what, why and how2. Role play about conflicts3. Break 4. Preventing conflicts5. Break 6. Conflict behaviour and conflict solving

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Conflicts – WHAT? WHY? HOW?

• WHAT? Behaviour exhibited by one (or more) person(s) which bothers another (or other) person(s) and/or prevents them from doing something they would like to do.

• WHY? Disagreement, “bad chemistry”, fight about power, lack of respect, cultural insensitivity e.g..

• HOW? It is easy to start a conflict – but it might be hard to solve it satisfactorily!.

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Preventing Conflicts

Conflicts are best prevented by:

• Knowing and understanding expectations, opinions and feelings - your own as well as those of others (dialogue, I-messages)

• Agreeing on rules, roles and relations in the group, (co-operation agreement)

• Evaluating your group co-operation regularly (’hot chair’, team health profile).

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Evaluating personal relations: The ’Hot chair’

Every 2-3 weeks group members evaluate each other one at a time according to the following rules:

• The person in the ‘hot chair’ is not allowed to comment, she/he is supposed to listen to the constructive and loyal criticism of other group members

• All the others have to give positive and negative feedback e.g. Two things they like about the person’s behaviour within the group, and two things they don't like

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Evaluating personal relations: The ’Hot chair’

Feedback must: • Describe behaviour – not interpret motives• Express your own feelings directly – not indirectly• Be specific – not general• Only address issues which can be changed• Make room for change• Be non-judgmental • Only be given when asked for/agreed upon – not uninvited• Be motivated by a wish to help others – not to hurt

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How to use ’I’-messages to tell others about something you don’t

likePhase Example

Start (state the factual behaviour)

”You didn’t tell me that the meeting was cancelled.

Consequence (describe the consequence of this behaviour for you)

So I have wasted my time coming here.

Feeling (describe how you feel about this)

This makes me angry and I feel that you disrespect me and my job.

Alternative (point out another way to behave)

If you had notified my secretary she could have notified me.”

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Behavioural self-assessment test

Assertive, submissive and aggressive behaviour ?

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The concept of assertion• Assertive communication is to say what you mean and

to mean what you say – without demeaning or hurting others

• Assertive behaviour is to be able to and dare express feelings, opinions and needs clearly, unambiguously and honestly – with respect for others

• Assertive behaviour is to be who you are and let others be who they are

• Assertive behaviour increases your self-confidence and gives you personal impact that improves the positive feelings in the situation

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How to spot a conflict

• Very loud discussion in stead of dialogue – nobody is trying to understand each other

• Very long arguing but no decisions• Goes ‘for the man’ not ’for the ball’ • Postulate in stead of reasoning• Formation of cliques• Talk about people behind their backs

REMEMBER: Deal with conflicts, the sooner the better !!!

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Personal conflict behaviour

Goal

Relations

Important

Not important Important

Smooth things out Confronting

ForcingDrawing

Compromising

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Remember:Conflicts arises !!!It is your choice whether they shall lead to positive or negative results.It depends upon whether your mental frame is positive or negative !

What do you read here?

• OPPORTUNITYISNOWHERE• OPPORTUNITY IS NOWHERE• OPPORTUNITY IS NOW HERE

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7. Presentation and Communication

Content:

• Models of Communication• Types of communication + exercise • Oral presentations• Illustrations• How to write• How to review technical papers• Exercise

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Communication

Talk - in order to be understoodand

listen - in order to understand

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Planning what to ”send”

• What is my point? Message• Why do i want to tell? Purpose• Who is to know? Receiver• How should i tell it? Media• Where and when should it be told? Situation

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Disturbances at sender •Intentions not well considered•Conflict between needs and interests•Verbalising-problems•Non-logical sequence•Too much information•Nervousness•Tone and body language•Speed•Lack of knowledge of media •Bad choice of medium•Not adjusted to receiver

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Disturbances at receiver

•Refusal of medium•Selection among sensations (needs and interests)•Perception of sensations (needs and interests)•Processing to a meaningful whole•Expectations•Already known•Pre-conceived opinion about sender•Pre-conceived opinion about subject

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Group Exercise• Read the Technical paper review form

carefully• ”transfer” the ideas to reviewing your groups

written material• The result should be a: Paper review form for

group xxx• Prepare a short presentation of the most

important parts of the review form

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