Rethinking the University Learning Environment: How to Enrich Students’ Education through a Constructivist Learning Environment
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Abstract
There has been wide spread discussion regarding how to create an authentic setting for students to acquire competencies to enrich their lives. We have been hosting an International Collaborative Project (ICP) for many years. After reviewing our experiences hosting this ICP over the past 10 years, we have come to the conclusion that learners develop a more meaningful understanding if they are active participants in their own authentic setting like the International Collaborative Project. This event‟s focus on making English presentations provides an obvious result and furthermore a proof of the successful collaboration which breaks through cultural barriers and the students‟ mixed level of English communication abilities. In this report, while showing clear examples of how students participated in the event as an authentic setting, we would like to further clarify the perspectives to evaluate their activity. What is the scaffold for them and how are they led by the constructivist theory. We also focused on the ICT education which they used to enhance their understanding and development regarding the event. This new media provides them seems with an opportunity to improve their interactions with other people. These technological competencies extend so far as to show how they could share their thoughts and other forms of information through the network.