Online Options for Enhancing Teaching Dr. Diane Finley Prince George’s Community College Dr....

Online Options for Enhancing Teaching Dr. Diane FinleyPrince George’s Community CollegeDr. Kenneth GrayCollege of DuPage

American Psychological Society Annual Meeting Chicago IL May 27-30, 2004

What Computer Mediated Education Is

• Any education in which the computer is used for part of the learning process

• CME can be completely online at a distance or it can be a traditional classroom in which the computer enhances what is done face-to-face.

Diane Finley

It may involve a proctored final but that may take place at a military base, a testing center or a commercial center. In this presentation I will be talking about psychology courses totally online, except for a proctored final exam. Dr. Gray will talk about enhancing the traditional classroom with a web component. There are also hybrid versions and much of what I say would apply to those as well.

Online Psychology Courses

• Online learning is not a correspondence course delivered via the internet

• Online learning is an active learning environment in which the majority of the instruction occurs over the internet

Diane Finley

Online learning is not an easy way to deliver a course. It is not static (if it is any good) and it is not just thown up online with out regard for design and pedagogy.Online courses may involve some in-person work, especially a proctored final which may be adminsitered on the home campus or at another procotred site.It is not answer to shrinking enrollments or limited physical classroom space.It is not just a way to cram more students into one instructor's classroom.Newer models called hybrid courses mix face to face and online delivery.

Web Enhanced Classes

• Web content and exercises supplement traditionally delivered course.

• Hybrid course has reduced seat time– 1 hour per week– Half-time being piloted next fall

The Seven Principles

• Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education

• American Association for Higher Education

• Chickering and Gamson, 1987

• Guiding principles for undergraduate education

Diane Finley

The 7 Principles were first published in 1987 and have become guides for good practice in undergraduate education. Just because education is online does not mean that the principles do not apply. To the contrary, we can use them explore what makes a good online course and what should those considering a move to the online environment think about. We will use these principles to organize the presentation today.

Principle One

Good Practice Encourages Contact between Students and Faculty

Principle One - Online

• Contact is the most important factor in student motivation and involvement in the discipline and school

• Online courses promote interaction through easier access, discussions, space for interaction to occur, attenuation of perceived barriers

Diane Finley

The faculty member online may actually find that you have to set limits on the contact and that you have to structure it so students do not assume they are Instant messaging you. I find that I have much more contact with more students. It is much harder for a student to "hide" online. Also, it is possible to structure the course so that interaction is integral.Encouraging email for specific concerns and posting of questions in some sort of questions conference are important. Setting response times is critical. Response should be prompt - not instananeous but reasonably. Answering within 48 hours seems reasonable. Letting students know when the instructor will be offline is also important.

Principle One - Enhanced

• Electronic availability helps “break the ice” for quieter students.

• In one class, 80% of students were AIM users.

Principle Two

Good Practice Develops Reciprocity and Cooperation Among Students

Principle Two - Online

• Learning is enhanced when there is a team effort and it is collaborative.

• Online courses facilitate student to student contact through a ready space for communication and the reduction of time and space obstacles

Diane Finley

It is important to set things up so that the isolation of the online environment is dissipated. Encouraging introductions the first week of class is helpful.Setting up assignments that require cooperation and response to other students also helps.Working with groups can be more challenging online but it is very possible. Student contact can be encouraged both formally and informally. Formally you can require students to post and respond. Informally you can create a cybercafe or student lounge. Because they can work at any time of day or night, the traditional problems of finding a common time or space to meet is attenuated.Setting up a cybercafe or chatting lounge can also help.

Principle Two - Enhanced

• Facilitates out-of-class group work– Online study groups– Virtual group meetings– Easy notification– Face-to-face time makes social

pressure more effective

• Online discussion board– Mixed results

Principle Three

Good Practice Uses Active Learning Techniques

Principle Three - Online

• In online courses that require active learning, students fare better than in passive courses.

• Active learning promotes thinking skills and touches on multiple learning styles.

• Online courses are tailored for active learning

Diane Finley

Online courses can be active learning experiences. a good online course should not just be a correspondence course in which students read a text and take tests. A good online courses requires interaction, on a weekly basis, and demands that students interact with the instructor and each other. There are mayn wasy to interject active learning into the online environment. There are simple ways and there are ways that take advantage of the interactivity of the internet.Some active learning techniques include Peer TeachingCooperative Learning Groups – jigsawCase StudiesSimulationsOut of Class exerciseWritten exercises

Principle Three - Enhanced

• Example: comparison of popular and scholarly psychological information.– Find a claim and compare to peer-

reviewed research.

Men and women need to talk abouttheir feelings often, but for

different reasons.

Remember, 90% of what you are feeling at any given moment is

likely reflective of your past experience. Only 10% is purely new.

Typical activities

• Coming up with operational definitions

• Effective searching of PsycInfo

• Reading and comparing

• Consulting with me and librarian

Principle Four

Good Practice Gives Prompt Feedback

Principle Four - Online

• The online environment enables the instructor to give almost immediate feedback. There is no need to wait for the next class.

• Most CMS (course management systems) have gradebooks that enable the student to see grades without any Buckley worries.

Diane Finley

Most systems allow for self-grading quizzes which provide instant feedback. With the randmozing function, it also eliminates some of the concenr about cheating. Newer CMS versions also allow the instructor to give more instant feedback on essays and longer assignments in a protected environment.Additionally, the instructor can randomly give feedback on weekly discussion assignments as well as posting closing thoughts on such assignments.

Principle Four - Enhanced

• Ditto

Principle Five

Good Practice Encourages Time on Task

Principle Five - Online

• Online courses can make time on task more efficient.

• Online courses makes it easier for the instructor to track student time on task and to remediate when necessary.

• Online courses record all participation so students can see what they are doing.

Diane Finley

Technology can give fairly immediate access to all sorts of study resources. Publisher websites have self-graded quizzes and other such materials. Tracking functions allow the instructor to see who has accessed (not necessarily read but if they don't access, they won't read!) materials. You can also, on some functions, see how long they spend on some tasks. This allows you to remediate or at least try to intervene earlier.

Principle Five - Enhanced

• I do not use course management software or “real” online courseware, so I cannot track time on task.

Principle Six

Good Practice Communicates High Expectations

Principle Six - Online

• Online courses can more easily post expectations in terms of objectives, etc.

• Online courses make it easier for an instructor to highlight good work, thus giving other students examples of work that meets expectations.

• The same high expectations held for face-to-face students must be maintained for online students.

Diane Finley

Online does not mean easy, contrary to the expectations of some students (and some faculty!). It is critical that no differences are found in f2f and online courses. The same objectives and requirements need to be maintained. Online delivery is merely another delivery system. It is very possible to expect the same effort and performance.

Principle Six - Enhanced

• Online objectives and materials

• Shift of responsibility to students

• Earlier principles– Rapid feedback on drafts– Electronic availability

Principle Seven

Good practice respects diverse talents and ways of learning.

Principle Seven - Online

• Different students have different learning styles and talents.

• The online environment allows the instructor to tap into all of these. While it is primarily a visual element, it is possible to gear some aspects to auditory or kinesthetic learners.

• Assignments can be somewhat customized to tap into various strengths.

Diane Finley

It might seem as though this would be a difficult principle in the online environment. It actually is not. For one, it is possible for diverse students to participate without fear of embarassment since no one really know who anyone is in terms of gender, ethnicity, etc. unless someone self-discloses. In terms of learning styles, assignments can be constructed that tap into various styles. Students can even do activities that touch on the kinesthetic learning style. Auditory learners can read material out loud at home without a problem.

Principle Seven - Enhanced

• I give choices-- 8 hour assignment– Political Psychology links– Important to use and demonstrate

in class

Online Resources • MERLOT – http://www.merlot.com

a free and open resource

• Hawaii Community College faculty site – http://www.hcc.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebook/teachtip/teachtip.htm

A terrific site with innumerable resources

http://www.merlot.com/

http://www.hcc.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/%0BFacDevCom/guidebook/teachtip/teachtip.htm

References

• Benjamin, L. T. (1991). Personalization and active learning in the large introductory psychology class. Teaching of Psychology, 18 (2), 68-72

• Berge, Z.L. (2002). Active, interactive and reflective elearning. The Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 3 (2), 181-190

Chickering A. W. & Gamson, J. (1987) Seven principles for good practice. AAHE Bulletin, 39. 3-7

• Clements, A. D. (1995). Experiential-learning activities in undergraduate developmental psychology. Teaching of Psychology, 22 (2) 115-118

• Gamson, Z. & Chickering, A. W. (1992) Applying the Seven Principles of Good Practice for Undergraduate Education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

References, cont.

• Lesgold, A.M. (2001). The nature and methods of learning by doing. American Psychologist, 56 (11), 964-973.

• McKeachie, W.J. & Hofer, B. (2001). McKeachie’s Teaching Tips: Strategies, Research and Theory for College and University Teachers, 11th ed.. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath & Co.

• Rubin, L. & Hebert, C. (1998). Model for active learning. College Teaching, 46(1) 26-31

Contact Information

• Dr. Diane FinleyDepartment of PsychologyPrince George’s Community College301 Largo RoadLargo MD 20774301-322-0869dfinley@pgcc.edu

• Ken GrayCollege of DuPage425 Fawell Blvd.Glen Ellyn, IL 60137grayke@cdnet.cod.eduhttp://www.cod.edu/grayke

Online Options for Enhancing Teaching Dr. Diane Finley Prince George’s Community College Dr....

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