In order to establish and evaluate learning objectives under a non-traditional learning program that allows learners to mix experience with actual learning endeavors, such as the TCM490 Senior Project, a learning contract will be used for the course. The intent of utilizing learning contracts in a learning endeavor is to provide a vehicle whereby you can personalize the learning experience.
"Learning contracts provide a vehicle for making the planning of learning experiences a mutual undertaking between a learner and any helper, mentor, or teacher. By participating in the process of diagnosing personal needs, deriving objectives, identifying resources, choosing strategies, and evaluating accomplishments the learner develops a sense of ownership of (and commitment to) the plan. Learning contracts also are a means for making the learning objectives of any field or practical experience clear and explicit for both learners and facilitators."
(Roger Hiemstra's Web Page: see references)
The final learning contract for each individual will need to be in an outline format. The Learning contract specifies the individual learning objectives for a member on a project team. The objectives of the individual learning contract supports the objectives of the project but do not necessary cover the entire project. It represents his or hers specific goals in the project to support the whole. The collection of learning contracts from a project will represent the entire project.
Learner: ______________________ Course: ___________Instructor: _____________ Contract Grade: _____
| What are you going to learn (objectives) | How are you going to learn it (resources/strategies) | How are you going to know that you learned it (evidence) | How are you going to prove you learned (verification) |
What do I need to learn to do or understand in order to help complete this project?
A learning need is the gap between where you are now and where you want to be in regard to a particular set of competencies. During the Project Start-up Phase, you may develop a set of general learning needs related to a particular field of interest (Web page development, NT Installation, PBX installation, Help-desk software Installation, router configuration, etc.) and break that down into learning needs for that particular field of interest.
What specific tasks or skills do I need to learn to better my skills in order to support my team?
You are now ready to start filling out the first column of the learning contract (objectives). Each of the learning needs diagnosed in Step 1 should be translated into a learning objective. Be sure that your objectives describe what you will learn, not what you will do. State them in terms that are most meaningful to you.
- I will learn to code HTML, Javascript, and MySQL effectively in a UNIX web serving environment.
What resources are availble to help my learning (books, mentors, seminars, workshops, videos, practice...)?
When you have finished listing your objectives, move over to the second column of the worksheet (resources and strategies) and describe how you propose to go about accomplishing each objective. Identify the resources (material and human) you plan to use in your various learning experiences and the strategies (techniques, tools) you will employ in making use of them.
- I will purchase a book on HTML.
- I will review my JAVA notes from class and consult with my former professor.
- I will purchase a book with software on MySQL for Linux.
What will I have to show that I completed my specified learning activities?
Move to the third column (evidence) and describe what evidence you will collect to indicate the degree to which you have achieved each objective.
- I will testbed a functional network in the DeVry LAN lab using Linux 6.4, HTML, Javascript, and MySQL. The MySQL will interface with the Oracle database set up by another team member.
- I will provide a demonstration for the team, client and professors and collect documented feedback.
What will this allow me to specifically do for the project?
After you have specified what evidence you will gather for each objective in column three, move to column four: verification. For each objective, specify the criteria by which you propose the evidence will be judged.
- I will have the necessary skills to code and troubleshoot a web site that will effectively display the content, enter and retreive data from an Oracle database without error.
After you have completed the first draft of your contract worksheet, you will find it useful to review it with your project team, your Project Mentor, and your Project Coordinator. Here are some questions you might have them ask about the contract to receive optimal benefit from their help:
- Do the learning contract objectives relate to the project deliverables?
- Are any objectives overlooked?
- Are the learning objectives clear, understandable, and realistic? Do they describe what you propose to learn?
- Can they think of other objectives you might consider?
- Do the learning strategies and resources seem reasonable, appropriate, and efficient?
- Can they think of other resources and strategies you might consider?
- Does the evidence seem relevant to the various objectives, and would it convince them?
- Can they suggest other evidence you might consider?
- Are the criteria and means for validating the evidence clear, relevant, and convincing?
- Can they think of other ways to validate the evidence that you might consider?
Your Learning Contract will need to be placed in an outline format for turn-in during the Project Concept Phase.
You can now work to complete the contract. Keep in mind, that as you work on it, you may find that your notions about what you want to learn and how you want to learn change; however, you should be able to remain focused on the main objectives in your contract.
When you have completed your Project, you will be evaluated on the completeness of your Learning Contract.
Roger Hiemstra's Web Page
http://www-distance.syr.edu/distancenew.html:
Home Page
http://www-distance.syr.edu/contract.html:
Learning Contracts