Reflections:
Current perceptions of online learning and teaching…
Like many individuals, I
have developed a misconception that online instruction is simply a series of
assignments which have been posted to an electronic bulletin board by the
instructor or proctor of a course.
Students visit the site (an electronic blackboard), read the assignment,
complete a series of questions, write a short paper each week on another
assignment and e-mail the assignment to the instructor. The course is easy; there is little
interaction or high level learning.
Online instruction can be like living in a desert, very desolate.
Since 2001, I have taught
several “on ground” courses for a local university. Many of my students were enrolled in the
Educational Administration program or the Teaching and Learning program in the
Department of Continuing Education. I
enjoyed the interaction in the traditional classroom. The research review and connection to the
“real world” gave everyone involved a sense of satisfaction and a rich learning
experience.
I also agreed to teach an
online course. The curriculum had been
developed and the textbook selected. I
thought, how hard can it be to teach an online course? I would post the assignments and readings,
the students would complete the assignments and e-mail them to me and I would
(using a rubric) grade the assignments.
Words that described the experience were “isolated”, “incomplete”, and “sterile”
for the instructor and the students. We
completed the semester, however it seemed as though something was missing. There were no opportunities for cooperative
learning, project or problem based learning.
The missing piece of the puzzle was the “community”, the exchange of
ideas – student to student and student to teacher.
Expectations of what I hope to learn in this online
course…
As an
undergraduate student at Eastern Illinois, I recall, Dr. Thomas Elliott
professor of an Educational Foundations course, ask his students, "do we believe
that teachers are made or are they born."
As a seasoned or veteran educator of thirty three years, I continue to
ask the question, is teacher born or can an individual be taught to be an
effective instructor? I hope to continue
my exploration of the question posed at the beginning of my career. This research question could be one of many for an
online Educational Foundations course, which I might develop and teach in the
future.
After reviewing the course
objectives or goals and student expectations, listed on the first two pages of
the syllabus, I would like to explore methods which would encourage the
development of an online learning community.
The online learning community would demonstrate the positive impact of
student to student and student to teacher connected interaction to achieve the
outcomes of futures, which I hope to develop.
I would like to learn how to use blogging and discussion boards to
create a sense of community in my courses.
Also, I would like to develop a high level of expertise using technology
and online instructional strategies and finally, I would like to investigate
the “best practices” of online teaching and learning.
Introduction
to Online Teaching – February, 2012: End of Part 1 – Update. By D. Corbin
The
concepts learned and experienced thus far in the course:
·
Create a learning community that
demonstrates the positive impact of student-student and student-instructor on
achieving the learning objectives of the course.
·
Develop an understanding empathy for the
experience of the online learner.
·
Developing an understanding of the
similarities and differences between online and teaching in a traditional classroom
environment.
·
Model best practices in online teaching and
learning.
We examined the online learning environment and compared/contrasted it with the “on-ground” model during lesson 2. We read an online line article titled; “High-Touch” and “High-Tech” by Dr. Joan D. McMahon and Dr. Neil Davidson
“Models of Online Learning” was the title of
lesson 3. The research about online
teaching and learning is new and somewhat limited. The initial research appears to show that
effective online teaching and learning can take students to higher levels of
learning than traditional classroom instruction. A promising study presented in our readings
included “Classroom Teaching Changes in Web-Enhanced Courses: A Multi-institutional Study” (Wingard, 2004) . The study examined the changes that occur in
face-to-face instruction when faculty added web enhancements to their
course.
According to Wingard;
there seems to be little research reported on the “specific impact of web
enhancements on classroom activities—the face-to-face component of traditional
courses—and the nature of that impact. Wingard,
instructional designer in the Center of Instructional Development &
Distance Education at the University of Pittsburg reported on a study conducted
by the Learning Technology Consortium. The
nine members of the Consortium included Indiana University, Virginia Tech
University, University of Delaware, University of Florida, University of
Georgia, University of North Carolina, University of Notre Dame, University of
Pittsburg and Wake Forest University.
Researchers reviewed and evaluated the impact of technology use to
improve the processes of instruction and learning. An online survey and semi-structured interviews
were used to gather information pertaining to the research questions. Wingard, (2004) reported; the longer faculty
worked with the Web, the more likely they were to pursue and derive pedagogical
benefits from the technologies. Some
faculty indicated they believed that the use of online learning might be
motivating for students, provide a sense of connectedness, and help accommodate
difficult time constraints.
The second reading;
“Improving Learning and Reducing Costs: New Models for Online Learning” (Twigg, 2003) provided examples of
improving instruction for students. According
to Twigg, “Results showed improved student learning in twenty of the thirty
projects, with the remaining ten shows no significant difference.” Outcomes reported by Twigg, included
increased course-completion rates, improved retention rates, better student
attitudes toward the subject matter, and increased student satisfaction with
the instruction model. Course redesign
models included; supplemental, replacement, and emporium, fully online and
buffet. As stated in the Twigg article,
the replacement model utilizes a reduction in class-meeting time, replacing
(rather than supplementing) fact-to-face time with online, interactive learning
activities for students. It is assumed
that some activities can be better accomplished online, than in the traditional
classroom. While the commitment of lab
space and material is higher than the traditional model, students can use the
computer lab resources 24/7.
The
Lesson 4 topic included an exploration of Learning Styles. I completed the DVC learning styles assessment
and reviewed an explanation of the learning styles. The four learning styles include – Active and
Reflective Learner, Sensing and Intuitive Learner, Visual and Verbal Learner,
Sequential and Global Learners. (Felder, 2010) My learning style is visual/verbal learner,
which is why I need to read out-loud to improve my comprehension. I also, enjoy working with others in small
groups to learn new and difficult information.
As a future online instructor, students will be asked to identify their
learning styles and attempt to match good instructional technique to their
learning modalities. “Distance Learning
Tips for Online Group Work Success” by David R. Wetzel was presented to the
students. The central theme of the
article was the importance of communication within the group. As a future online instructor, this reading
and others will be used with students prior to beginning group projects.
Online
Teaching Styles was the topic for lesson 5.
The readings included “A Model to Integrate Online Teaching and Learning
Tools into the Classroom (Schmidt, 2010) . As suggested earlier and also in this
article, “little research exists on how learning environments can be created
that successfully combine online teaching and learning with a traditional
classroom environments to enhance student learning.” According to Schmidt and Brown, a positive
relationship between students’ satisfaction with instruction and success in
courses were evident. Enjoyment, control
of pace, a student’s preferred instructional environment and accommodating
student learning styles were significant factors in measuring student success in a
course. Schmidt and Brown presented a
model of five considerations when creating a quality mix of online and
traditional classroom teaching and learning.
According
to the teacher preferences rating on the Penn State Learning Design instrument (Grasha, 2010) , my preferred
teaching style is Facilitator – 4.5,
Formal Authority – 4.0, Delegator - 3.6 and Expert – 3.1. As a facilitator, I believe responsibility is
placed on my students to take initiative to achieve results for various
task. I typically design group
activities which necessitate active learning, student to student collaboration
and problem-solving. Also, as a formal
authority, I feel responsibility for providing and controlling the flow of
content.
The following items are a demonstration of achieved
learning objectives for part 1:
Posted
a profession Blog - “My Thoughts of Online Learning” and “Intro to Online
teaching”
Participated
in over 50 online discussions with students of the ONTL 650 course
Developed
an online course curriculum for “School Improvement” with assessments
Completed
a DVC learning styles inventory and reported the results via discussion thread.
Completed the Grasha 5-Teaching Styles Inventory, reflecting on the results via
a discussion
Participated
in group project to produce the online unit – Civil Rights Movement 1954-1964
Felder, R. M. (2010). Learning Styles and
Strategies. Retrieved February 5, 2012, from NCSU Felder:
http://www4.ncsu.edu/felder-public/ILSdir/styles.htm
Grasha, R. (2010). Grasha
5-Teaching Styles Inventory, accessed online. Retrieved February 26,
2012, from Grasha 5-Teaching Styles Inventory from
http://fcrc.indstate.edu/tstyles3.html
McMahon, J. a.
(2000). "High touch and hig tech". ALN National Conferences,
University of Maryland . University College. Sloan-C View. Retriefed February 2, 2012
from http://www.sloan-c.org/publications/view/v2n7/hightouch.htm
Schmidt, K. (2010). A
Model to Integrate Online Teaching and Learning Tools into the Classroom. The
Journal of Technology Studies , 86-91. Retrieved February 21, 2012 from
http://www.scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JOTS/v30/v30n2/pdf/schmidt.pdf
Twigg, C. A. (2003,
September/October). "Improving Learning and Reducing Costs: New
Models for Online Learning:. Retrieved February 21, 2012, from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/PDF/ERMo352.pdf
Wingard, R. G.
(2004). "Classroom Teaching Changes in Web-Enhanced Courses: A
Multi-Institutional Study". Educourse Quarterly , 26-35.Retrieved
February 26, 2012 from http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/eqm0414.pdf
