Midterm Learning Record

Please complete your Midterm Learning Record, which consists of the following:

• completed parts A1 and A2
• a selection of Observations you feel represents the work you have done thus far in the semester
• a selection of your work you feel represents the work you have done thus far in the semester
• completed part B1
• completed part C1

Part B1 – Midterm is a "summary interpretation of observations and evidence in terms of the major strands of work and the five dimensions of learning." For the purposes of this class, the major strands are: communication; research; critical thinking, writing and reading; technology; and collaboration. The dimensions of learning are: confidence and independence; knowledge and understanding; skills and strategies; use of prior and emerging experience; and reflectiveness (critical awareness). Part B is crucial to the effectiveness of the Learning Record. It helps readers understand what the bits and pieces of evidence gathered really mean for the student’s learning. It doe snot need to be written like a formal essay (for example, you do not need a thesis; rather you can structure it by course strand and/or dimension of learning) but it does need to connect and reference (yes, do quote from your own work) the observations and samples of work explicitly to development across the five dimensions of learning in the main strands of work for the class.

Part C1 – Midterm is where you make an estimation of your grade based on the grading criteria (see the syllabus or the end of the learning record document) and make suggestions for your own further development. Part C provides an opportunity to reflect over the entire LR and the class, evaluate progress and achievement, and suggest next steps for development. Part C1 will help you take stock of your progress, estimate an evaluation in the form of a grade, and reflect on your plan of work for the remainder of the semester. I will take this opportunity to provide feedback to you regarding your work in class to this point. The midterm serves as a kind of "reality check" to prevent misunderstandings about the level of activity and progress I expect from students in my classes.

When completing Parts B and C, please first type them in their own individual documents and save them to complete Learning Record document (this will ensure proper backing up of the text). Parts B and C are the most important parts of the Learning Record and should be completed carefully and thoroughly.

Note that you are supposed to select work you believe illustrates what you have learned since the beginning of the semester, which means that you are not expected (and should not) include all of the work in the Learning Record (work not completed and not included in the Learning Record does not mean that you are excused from the assignment; all assignments much be completed to receive a certain grade). You may, however, include work that was not assigned, such as work completed for another class that uses some of the skills learning in this class.

Because we are using the paper-based Learning Record, you will be turning in Parts A, B, and C, as well as your selection of observations and samples of work in one document. You already have documents containing your observations and Part A. For your midterm LR, please copy and paste Part B1, Part C1, selected Observations, and selected Work Samples into the Learning Record document. Please name your Learning Record document: "wec-s08-lastname-midterm-lr.doc". Upload it to the "midterm-document" folder in your learning record folder in the openarea. If you have Word 2007, please save all files as Word 2003 files.

Also upload your work samples to the "midterm-work-samples" folder, which is inside your "midterm-document" folder in the openarea.

Do not copy and past your work samples into the learning record document; in the document you only have a list of the work samples that can be found in the worksamples folder. Please replicate selected forum blog postings as Word documents and place them in the worksamples folder, as well. When adding a Work Sample be sure to fill in each part of the form: Date, Title, Assignment (if not assignment, select "Unassigned Work"), Format (Word document, email, forum posting, etc.), location (Blackboard, in print, etc).

You can download two sample midterm Part B1 and C1 at sample 1 and sample 2 as well as sample observations and work samples (note that the samples are from an undergraduate web design course, not a graduate course, so I expect a more nuanced reflection from you). You can also see the documents without downloading by scrolling to the bottom of this page. Use these samples as guides for how long and how to organize part B and C, how many observations and work samples to include, and what type of information to include with your work samples.

It is vital that your Midterm Learning Record not be late. Please post all questions to tyour blog, and check others’ sites for questions before posting your own. I will check the forum frequently.

When discussing your blog, please be sure to also reflect on the goals of your blog, and not just how you have learned how to use the WordPress software.

Important Due Dates

• learning record midterm due: Tuesday, March 25 by 5:00pm
• in-class moderations: Thursday, March 27

Learning Record Samples

Sample 1

Sample 2

Sample Observations and Work Samples