Hello everyone,
I see the “constructivist, learner-directed” instructional
model being promoted in the EPA. This is
in stark contrast to the teacher centred learning many of us – or at least I –
have been used to in previous classes.. I say this because we are not simply being
given a set of information and asked to recall them in an “assessment”. We are asked instead to create our own
learning experiences but more that that we are expected to create the
experience of our peers by the quality and quantity of our interaction with
them.
Based on the five roles students elucidated were necessary
in an online tutor namely planner, model, coach, facilitator and communicator I
found it difficult to select only three however the following are my choices
for the most important:
Responsibility
|
Why it is important
|
Communicator
|
In an online setting a tutor’s communication responsibilities multiplies
ten-fold. Students lack the numerous
opportunities for information sharing which naturally abound in face-to-face
classes. They do not have the benefit
of hearing their peers questions nor the tutor’s response to those questions
as they would in an on-the-ground classroom. As such it is the tutor’s role
to anticipate these questions and provide ample guidance and opportunities for student collaboration to ensure all
students are aware of course policies, course content, modes of delivery,
assessment schedule, tutor availability, synchronous meeting times (if
applicable), tutor expectations of the students and many others. The tutor must communicate these things and
more in a manner which does not overwhelm the student but is comprehensive
enough to lead to an informed student group. If the communicator role of an online tutor
is neglected or poorly performed the students are unlikely to become engaged
with their course material.
|
Model
|
The online environment is fairly new to most students and the tutor
must lead by example with the types of behaviour they wish to see modeled by
their students. Timeliness w.r.t.
grading and feedback on the part of the tutor will likely lead to students
being timely with assignment submissions and group or discussion
contributions. If the instructor does
not lead by example in this regard students will get lost along the way and
possibly never recover.
|
Coach
|
In an online environment it is even more necessary for instructors to
cheer on their students when they perform well on their assignments or
tests. The disconnect students often
feel when enrolled in an online class can be overcome by having the
instructor applaud success and provide positive critiques on work submitted
by persons at risk of becoming discouraged in the class.
|
These are my thoughts for now on the matter.
Web 2.0 tools and my
teaching approach
There are three main ways I see the use of web 2.0 tools
affecting my teaching approach:
- Feedback – these tools improve the immediacy of accessing and digesting student feedback. I can now adjust my teaching or lesson plan to the needs of my class as I progress through the semester thereby creating a more custom tailored classroom experience for the student(s)
- Active rather than passive participation – The use of these tools often encourage ‘doing’ over seeing. I would incorporate more quizzes and group activities in my lessons.
- Flipped classrooms – The tools available make it easy to provide students with course material (text, audio and video) one week in advance so that they can read it through and even start completing a study/work sheet thy will complete at the next class. I believe this will be of great benefit as it will allow me to offer the student support when they need it most – while doing the activity!
