Learning Approach & Activities

This course is based on the collaborative learning, which contains online lectures and supplementary readings on various aspects of forest resource management and protection in the changing context. Learners are required to watch online videos, read assigned readings and most importantly actively participate in the discussion for collaborative learning.

Self-Introduction (week 1): Each learner should prepare a short video not more than 30 seconds to introduce herself/himself. Information should include name, affiliated university, hobby, expectation from the course etc. 

Group formation: For effective learning, students will be divided into groups based on the total number of participating students. Please make sure to find your group membership before the end of week 1.

Pre-course survey: Each learner should complete a Pre-course survey occurred in the first week of the course. The completion of survey may take 5-10 minutes and mostly contain open-ended as well as close-ended questions. This survey questionnaires will focus on understanding learner’s background and expectations towards the course. Pre-course survey will be used for support learning/course effectiveness.

Module video watching & mandatory reading (week 1-12): Learners are required to watch online videos and read mandatory reading including introduction/background information assigned for each module as per the learning schedule.

Module self-administered tests (weeks 2, 5, 8and 11) and peer review (weeks 3, 6, 9, 12):

Learners are required to complete self-administered tests for each module on each Sunday of week 2,5, 8, 11. Each student is then required to conduct peer review to the test responses of other three students by Thursday of week 3, 6, 9, 12. Please see learning schedule for detailed due dates. 

Module topic discussion (weeks 2, 4, 7 and 10) and peer review (weeks 3, 6, 9, 12):

Instructor will post discussion questions related to the assigned module or assigned mandatory reading as per learning schedule on each Monday of week 2, 4, 7, 10. Then, each leaner must respond to the instructor’s question by writing their views based on what they have learnt from viewing lecture videos, reading mandatory reading as well as from their experience with a paragraph not exceeding 300 words by Thursday of week 2, 4, 7, 10（Step1). Photos and other descriptions are encouraged to accompany with the responses. After that, each learner is required to respond to or comment on at least one peer answer (not exceeding 100-150 words) by each Sunday of week 2, 4, 7, 10（Step2). Each student would then need to score the topic discussion performance of the other three students according to their Step 1 and Step 2 by Thursday of week 3, 6, 9, 12（Step3). Please see learning schedule for detailed due dates.

Final Assignment (week 13):

The instructor will post the questions of final assignment by midnight on Wednesday in week 13. Then, each learner has to write and submit his or her own answers in response to the questions by midnight on Thursday in Week 13. The final assignment will consist of two parts, one is the basic questions, the other is the advanced questions. Each part contains four questions that come from each course learning module. The specific number of words and requirements will be given according to the requirements of different modules, and students will be able to see the specific requirements when they receive the task. In general, the word limit is 150-200 words for a basic question and 250-300 words for an advanced question. Please see learning schedule for detailed due dates.

Post-course survey (week 13): Each learner should complete the post-course survey at the end of the course. The questionnaires in this survey will focus on the experience of the learner’s participation in the course. It will contain open ended as well as close-ended questions. The nature of the close-ended question will be Likert, rating scale, importance, dichotomous and so on. It may take 10-15 minutes to complete the survey.