|
| |
CyberPsyc V: Pleasures, Promises and Pitfalls
Dr. Diane Finley
Presented at Eastern Psychological Association Annual Conference
April 21, 2001
Washington DC
For information, contact the author at Department of Psychology Prince George's
Community College, 301 Largo Road, Largo MD 20774
dfinley@pgcc.edu
Teaching online requires the development of new teaching
skills as well as ventures into the sometimes confusing and often frustrating
world of technology. It requires that the online teacher management class
interaction and deal with issues of diversity without seeing the students in the
course. In this presentation, a relatively new online teacher will discuss
moving from the classroom to the Web. Dealing with issues of diversity and
managing group discussions and projects will be considered. The pleasures,
promises and pitfalls of teaching online will be examined. Suggestions for those
considering a move to the online environment will be included.
Pedagogy is the art and science of teaching. There are 4 components: the
learner, a task, knowledge needed to complete the task, teacher. I say art and
science because I think teaching is both. And I deliberately put the teacher
last because I am not convinced that the teacher is the most critical component.
Traditional approaches to pedagogy put the teacher first but the online
environment is shifting that hierarchy.
Traditional theories of behaviorism and cognitivism have dominated the
pedagogical literature for a long time. These theories tend to be
instructor-centered. Constructivism
is the newest theory to appear in teacher education and educational psychology
texts. Constructivism stresses the participation of the learner and active
learning techniques and it shifts the role of the teacher.
Constructivism is really the theoretical model for online learning and teaching.
Constructivism is based on the work of Jerome Bruner and Lev Vygotsky. The
learner is actively involved and constructs knowledge for him or herself.
Interaction among all parties, including student to student is important. In
constructivist teaching, the teacher becomes more of a manager or a facilitator.
This approach is what we see in the online environment. The online teacher
becomes as has been stated in many places, the guide on the side, v. the
traditional sage on the stage.
Learning becomes a team-focused approach: Instructor, Course designer, Web
support, Administrator of distance education, Technical support people (and I
think they are really the most important).
Moving to the online environment (or any constructivist classroom, for that
matter) requires a paradigm shift in how we think about education. Let me share
some thoughts from one of my students. We
do have to shift our thinking. In doing so, we actually go back to denotative
roots of education – educare – to lead out.
Along with rethinking about the education process and what that means for course
design, it also means rethinking and restructuring the role of the teacher. Most
importantly for me (and for most of us) we have to be comfortable giving up some
of the control. In online courses you are much less didactic and more
facilitating. Teaching online requires the instructor to shift thinking about
the role of teacher and student. Just because you are a good teacher in the
classroom does not mean you will be a good teacher online. Some great teachers
in the classroom fail miserably online and vice versa. The two mediums require
two completely different approaches to designing how you reach your course
objectives and how you interact with students.
In preparation for this symposium I asked members of a faculty listserv for
distance educators about teaching online. One of them said that one of the
pitfalls is thinking that teaching online is like teaching in the classroom.
There are some commonalities: if you really enjoy what you do and you
really enjoy working with students and you know you are a good teacher, then the
transition is not that difficult. It is a challenge but such challenges are
often the most fun part of teaching. In
fact, as in my case, the move to online can be a truly energizing experience.
In the online environment, the instructor becomes a manager. We organize our
course content and design interactive activities that will help students
understand the content. We manage the information exchange and the interaction.
We really are forced to think about the course in total before the
semester begins. We have to think about what we want our students to learn and
to accomplish during the semester. Actually doing so makes us better teachers I
think since things are more coherent.
Let me talk a little bit about the online classroom
and some of the implications of that classroom.
Asychronous – not real time
–
Can take longer to
identify conflict and to reach consensus (keep group work in mind)
An uncertain environment
–
Don’t know
anything about others, except what they share
–
Differing levels
of comfort with the technology
Unstructured communication situation
–
Relies entirely on
text
–
Messages are often
blunt; people are often less inhibited
–
Can escalate
quickly into flaming
-- No nonverbal
to either soften words or signal potential conflict
–
Greater potential for misunderstanding since we don’t know
any characteristics
of other learners, except what they self-disclose
(face-to-face is difficult enough)
Because of these differences, there are things an instructor
has to take into account. Richard
Powers in the Faculty Focus, a UMUC publication, identified 6 myths:
1)
I can just post the notes I already have on the computer
Students won’t scroll through all those notes (just
like they don’t always listen in
face-to-face classes (f2f).
Students need interaction,
particularly online.
2)
My subject is not really group friendly and I hate group work.
Most web programs are designed to encourage group work.
3)
I have my f2f students answer discussion questions each week
and turn them in.
I can just transfer that assignment to the web course.
You will end up teaching a bunch on individual
one-on-one courses – you will go crazy!!!
4)
Grading and returning papers promptly online will be easier.
In some respects, yes but because you don’t see the
students you have to be disciplined
about keeping up.
5)
I can just have my student search out web sites and report on
them
Websites can be a secondary source but you cannot just
have them do this.
I actually took a course online (the instructor did not know
who I was or
my
background but I thought I should have the experience if I was
going to teach to get the other view) where we did this and I thought
I would
die of boredom before the class was over)
6)
My grading is set up on 2 tests and one paper.
If you do not require significant interaction and grade
it, you will have none.
And you might as well be teaching a traditional correspondence course if this is what you do.
Issues related to moving to the online environment:
Must plan a whole semester ahead.
-
Must give up control
Online takes more time – some estimates are about 20% more
Nature of online environment: no physical and vocal cues of
f2f
Comfort with technology
Collaboration
Training students how to act: Names on emails; Grammar,
spelling;
Appropriateness of tone and content; Use of names of real people
24/7 availability
Publicness of comments
Importance of clear instructions and direction
Adherence to copyright laws and rules
PLEASURES
Thoughtful answers from students, indicating that they have
spent time with the course
material and care about learning
High percentage of students who participate
Sameness of teaching the same material over and over is
alleviated since
you get new responses each semester
The computer keeps records of times material is turned in,
there is no more arguing about late papers
Relationships with students - Can get to know more students
better.
Diversity of students – in social psychology we look at
cartoons and the social learning of aggression.
I have a student who is in
Africa (and is African) and his perspective is really
contributing a great deal
to the discussion.
Great lab for testing principles of learning –
reinforcement, shaping, schedules
Allows you to work during your best time (early morning, midnight)
Allows you to travel to professional conferences (or even
vacations) without worrying about
something meaningful for students to do.
Running into your students all over (including the dental
chair)
Teaching in pajamas
Can watch baseball while I am teaching
PITFALLS
Technology, technology, technology!!!!
Some students have little experience with the technology
Misconceptions by students about the rigor or online courses
Students who expect you to be on duty 24/7 – students talk
about the lack of immediate
feedback but that is sometimes a matter of setting
up the parameters early in the semester.
Diversity of students
Running into your students all over (including the dental
chair)
Inability to see students and thus you can’t tell when
someone is not getting it
Enormous amounts of time spent reading and responding to
email
and discussions (underestimating how much is required) and looking at
websites.
Underestimating the difficulty of teaching difficult concepts
“blind”
Student attrition
Informality – occasionally students cross the line
Status differences are less important and obvious online –
you need to be aware of that
Students wait until the deadline to post and then you have a
bunch of things to read and respond to
If you tend to be compulsive and obsessive, it can be
difficult to limit your
time in the classroom (I sometimes lurk and don’t
respond because I don’t
want them to think I will be there 24/7).
It is not the environment for every student – they must be
self-disciplined
Technology, technology, technology
PROMISES
Extending education to those whose lives won’t let them
attend traditional class hours
Making education a two-way street – the instructor is no
longer solely responsible for learning
Allowing instructors to spend time with students rather than
on other tasks
Makes learning and teaching exciting
Easier access to information
Expands the possibilities even in the traditional classroom
Can include truly diverse students and so have a real
international experience
MY HINTS FOR SUCCESS (or
what has worked for me)
Encourage students to seek technical help from the College
personnel as soon as
any problem occurs (this is especially crucial in the first
week).
Respond to each student autobiography or introduction with a
warm welcome – it sets the tone
Make sure the syllabus and assignments are up the day the
course begins
and that they are clear. Be sure to open conferences or post other
assignments
by the date which you promise. Many students are on tight schedules.
Always respond to questions promptly. I recommend responding
within 48 hours.
Let students know if you will be off-line for ANY length of
time.
Create an announcement area where you will post weekly (or
more frequently if needed)
updates and information that comes up. Try to include
information about the discipline
there as well as the nuts and bolts.
Maintain the same rigor as in a face-to-face situation.
Be a little flexible – technical glitches do happen – but
maintain deadlines.
Give feedback on a regular basis – students like to know
how they are doing.
Keep a sense of humor!
Resources about online teaching and learning
Boaz,M., Elliott, B., Foshee, D., Hardy, D., Jarmon, C, &
Olcott, D. (1999).
Teaching at a distance: A handbook
for instructors. Mission Viejo, CA:
League for Innovation in the
Community College.
Boettcher, J.V & Conrad, R. (1999).
Faculty guide for moving teaching and learning to the web.
Mission Viejo CA: League for Innovation in the Community College.
Going the distance:A handbook for developing distance degree
programs.
(1992).
Washington DC: Annenberg/CPB
Project
Hara, N. & Kling, R. (2000). Students’ distress with a
web-based distance education course (CSI Working Paper
No. WP 00-01-B1). Bloomington IN: Indiana University, Center for
Social Informatics.
http://www.slis.indiana.edu/CSI/wp00-01.html
Horton, S. (2000) Web teaching guide. New Haven: Yale
University Press
Kearsley, G. (2000). Online education: Learning and
teaching in cyberspace. Belmont CA: Wadsworth Publishing
Norton, P. & Wiburg, K.M. (1998). Teaching with
technology. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt, Brace Publishers.
Schweizer,H. (1999). Designing
and teaching an on-line course. Boston: Allyn and Bacon
Syllabus Magazine www.syllabus.com - info@syllabus.com
(free subscription)
Verduin, J.R. & Clark, T.A. (1991).
Distance
education: The foundations of effective practice.
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
Wegerif, R. (1998). The social dimension of asynchronous
learning networks.
Journal of Asynchronous Learning
Networks, 3(2).
Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University [Online) http://www.aln.org/alnweb/journal/Vol2_issue1/wegerif.htm
White, K. W. & Weight, B. H. (2000). The online
teaching guide. Boston: Allyn & Bacon
http://ils.unc.edu/disted/resources.htm
http://www.umuc.edu/virtualteaching
http://www.center.rpi/PewSym/mono2.html
|