Teaching

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Teaching Learning with TechnologyBest
Practices for Online Course Design

• Presented By Melissa Anderson
• Senior Pedagogical Advisor

September 29, 2005
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Session Goals Agenda

• Goal
• Present strategies for successful online course
  design within the Blackboard environment
• Agenda
• Discuss Networked Learning Environment
• Share Teaching Learning Theories
• Define Learning Object and Share Potential
  Value
• Present foundations for successful content
  management, collaboration, communication and
  assessment within a virtual environment
• Share and discuss client best practices focused
  on specific teaching and learning methods

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Why are we really here?
Good teachers join self and subject and students
in the fabric of life. -Parker Palmer, The
Courage To Teach
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The Networked Learning Environment
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Teaching Approaches Learning Theories

• What is pedagogy/andragogy?
• Pedagogy the principles and methods of
  instruction
• Andragogy the principles and methods of adult
  instruction (Knowles)
• Three flavors of online learning
• Supplemental
• Presents and shares some content online however
  same in-class time and tasks often remain the
  same
• Hybrid/Blended
• Replaces some portion of in-class time with
  online tasks and activities
• Fully Online/Distance
• Replaces all in-class time with online tasks and
  activities

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Teaching Approaches Learning Theories

• How do students learn?
• Behaviorism Skinner, stimulus-response
• Computer-assisted instruction
• Measurable learning objectives
• Multiple-choice tests
• Cognitivism Tolman, Vygotsky, mental processes
• Outlining, summarizing knowledge
• Generative note-taking
• Analogies, metaphors
• Social construction of knowledge Dewey, Bruner,
  individual creates meaning
• Situated experiences/apprenticeships
• Inquiry-based learning
• -Donovan, Bransford, Pellegrino, 1999

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Teaching Approaches Learning Theories

• How do instructors teach align practice with
  learning theories?
• Using one or more instructional learning
  strategies, including
• Shaping, chaining, fading (behaviorism)
• Organized, self-paced instruction (objectivism)
• Case-study method (cognitivism)
• Problem-based learning (constructivism)
• Active learning (constructivism)
• Collaborative learning (social constructivism)
• Learning communities virtual learning
  environments (constructivism)

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What About Learning Objects?

• Definitions vary, but include any combination of
  the following elements
• Instructional content
• Alignment of instructional content with learning
  objective and/or standard
• Assessment of the mastery of the instructional
  content
• Value of learning objects in academics
• Re-usable across classes, departments,
  institutions, etc
• Cross-functional within a variety of environments
• Can be more engaging, stimulating, focused
  elements for knowledge-building
• Favor chunking of content

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Online Education Evaluating Teaching

• Evaluation of Technology-based Teaching Key
  Elements of Quality
• Content
• Course or program planning
• Instructional design
• Media production
• Support and moderation of the learning experience
  
• Student administration
• Course or program evaluation and maintenance
• -Bates Poole, 2003

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Strategies for Success

• Client Best Practices Constructivist Learning
• Utilize the Discussion Board Adaptive Release
  functionality for student-centered discovery,
  research and reflection
• Facilitate synchronous discussion in the Virtual
  Classroom- students share documents, web sites
  and ideas in text/on the whiteboard
• Encourage student collaboration through the use
  of ePortfolios- students share the progress of
  their learning for colleague commenting
• Enable a shared collection of materials for
  student creation, management and discovery
• Develop a customized module that will allow
  students to grade each other and themselves using
  our open APIs

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Strategies for Success

• Client Best Practices Problem-based Learning
• Organize the course around the problem/theme
  and/or stages of the problem/theme- selectively
  reveal stages as the course progresses
• Present content from multiple perspectives,
  linking content with the course link creator and
  course map functions
• Present and share a resource library of materials
  (or encourage students to build one) that is
  searchable based on customized keywords
• Hold office hours in the lightweight chat space
  to answer questions and post transcripts for
  other students to review
• Give students access to a blog or wiki to share
  collective progress through one of our building
  block partners

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Online Education Client Best Practices

• Lead with your academic and administrative
  strategies at all levels institution,
  department, course.
• Plan your entire course, not just the online
  components, based on your teaching values and
  practices, before building anything
• Connect in-class and online activities directly
  make students aware of why you chose each
  environment
• Be aware of the various learning styles of your
  students and use technology to address the
  differences
• Provide an environment that fits the changing
  needs of the your students best more
  collaboration, more communication and more
  engaging activities.

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Where do we go from here?
Education is what survives when what has been
learned has been forgotten. -B.F. Skinner, The
New Scientist, May 21, 1964
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Questions Discussion Melissa Anderson Senior
Pedagogical Advisor manderson_at_blackboard.com