Writing web‐based distance education courses for adult learners

Abstract

This study examines faculty writing style in Web‐based courses aimed at adult learners, a key audience for university‐level courses. Taking into account independent‐study courses and others, the investigator conducted faculty interviews, looking at written and oral strategies implicit in teaching; print vs. Web formats; and adherence to educational philosophies. Faculty who were interviewed revealed minimal experience in both print and Web realms, minimal style differences beyond teaching netiquette or using occupational jargon, and adherence to active learning or social constructivism.     

Identifying at‐risk students in videoconferencing and web‐based distance education

Abstract

Based on the multivariate framework of student attrition developed by leading researchers in the field of distance education and instructional technology, this study centers on a method of assessing the ability of a student to complete a distance learning course. The focus of the investigation is construction and validation of a brief survey instrument to identify at‐risk students enrolled in Web‐based and videoconferencing courses.     

The study of literature and culture in a web‐based environment

The rationale behind the project is based on the belief that the study of a work of literature can effectively open a window of opportunity for pupils to study other countries’ cultures and identities as well as contribute to pupils’ own identity construction and to the understanding of the identity of others. Information and communication technologies serve as an educational catalyst for collaborative learning which transcends national boundaries and presents pupils with the opportunity to study cultural and identity similarities and differences, to strengthen their national identities and, at the same time, to appreciate the characteristics of other identities and cultures.

L’étude de la Littérature et de la Culture dans un environnement fondé sur la Toile

L’idée qui sous‐tend ce projet repose sur le fait que l’on croit que l’étude d’une ?uvre littéraire peut effectivement constituer une fenêtre pour les élèves, l’occasion d’étudier les cultures et les identités d’autres pays tout en contribuant à la construction de la propre identité de ces élèves et à la compréhension de l’identité des autres. Les TIC servent de catalyseur éducatif pour faciliter l’apprentissage collaboratif qui transcende les frontières nationales et offre aux élèves l’occasion d’étudier les ressemblances et les différences de cultures et d’identités, de renforcer leurs identités nationales et en même temps d’apprécier les caractéristiques d’autres identités et cultures.

Das Studium von Literatur und Kultur in einer Web‐basierten Umgebung

Die logische Grundlage dieses Projekts ist die Überzeugung, dass ein Studium im Bereich von Literatur wirksam sowohl ein Fenster zum Einblick in andere Kulturen und Identitäten öffnen kann, als auch zum eigenen Identitätsaufbau der Schüler und zum Verständnis der Identität anderer beitragen kann. ICT dient damit als Bildungskatalysator für kooperatives Lernen, damit die nationalen Grenzen überwunden werden können und bietet den Schülern die Gelegenheit, kulturelle‐ und Identitätsähnlichkeiten und Unterschiede zu erkennen, um ihre nationalen Identitäten zu stärken und gleichzeitig die Merkmale anderer Identitäten und Kulturen kennen und schätzen zu lernen.     

Premature closure and guided reinvention: a case study in a web‐based learning environment

Just as linguistic errors have provided insights into the nature of linguistic competence(s), detailed analyses of blind spots or marked trajectories in the reflection cycles of novice teachers may provide a window on their underlying beliefs, and thus on relevant zones of proximal development. In this paper we analyse a case study in an experimental web‐based learning environment in which a novice teacher demonstrably just reproduces the assumptions she started out with rather than re‐inspecting them. Having located a problem of motivation uniquely inside the learners’ heads, she pointedly ignores hints in the feedback that her own verbal and nonverbal behaviour in the classroom might be a relevant domain of enquiry. Our findings show the need for structural interventions within a priori hypothesized, linearly ordered, stages in reflection models. We report on two small‐scale experiments that implement suggested changes in the architecture of the web site which yield more context‐sensitive ways of scaffolding reflection. In conclusion we argue that detailed discursive accounts of successful and less successful reflection trajectories are needed to refine and further develop models in teacher thinking.     

Advancing knowledge of the teaching profession through web‐based assignments

Abstract

An Introduction to Teaching course was strategically developed to allow university students of many backgrounds to access, synthesize, and evaluate the teaching profession as a possible career. The authors planned a multi‐layered course that included Web‐based assignments, required and suggested readings, targeted writing assignments, and field experiences. In this study, student perceptions of the usefulness and effectiveness of the Web‐based assignments were investigated.

A survey was administered to 92 students across three course sections. Most students (85%) were positive about Web‐based research, despite some difficulty with completing the assignments. Reasons for their difficulty included lack of knowledge, incompatible software, and outdated address information. Students reported that the Web‐based assignments were one effective way to learn about the teaching profession but that more contextual projects, such as field work and writing ethnographies, were more powerful learning took. The authors examined the construction of the course for possible reasons for this perception and suggested ways to enliven the Web assignments to make them more interactive.     

Web‐based versus paper‐based data collection for the evaluation of teaching activity: empirical evidence from a case study

The collection of teaching evaluation questionnaires in the traditional paper‐and‐pencil format is a costly and time‐consuming process and yet it is a common assessment practice in many university systems. web‐based data collection would reduce costs and significantly increase the efficiency of the overall evaluation process in numerous ways. Results for both types of surveys are reported from two years of progressive introduction of the web‐based survey by the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy. In the first year, two faculties representing scientific and humanistic fields were selected for a web‐based survey. In the second year, eight out of 12 faculties took part in the web survey. This data collection strategy allowed for responses from non‐attending students and facilitated a comparison of attitudes between attending and non‐attending students.     

Teachers’ perspectives on their use of ICT in teaching and learning: A case study

This article presents the perspectives of science and mathematics teachers on their use of information and communication technology (ICT) in teaching and learning in Tanzania. The findings show that few teachers used computers for teaching and learning purposes while majority of them used computers for administrative purposes. Additionally, teachers were found to have limited confidence in using technology to facilitate specific concepts or skills, to support creativity, and to support students to learn complex concepts. Therefore, it is suggested that schools explore strategies ICT integration strategies that focus more on making a shift from teaching technology or using technology for administrative purpose to appropriate pedagogical uses that could enhance student learning.     

The role of history in teaching science — A case study

One of the most interesting aspects of late-nineteenth-century France was the extraordinary interest the public expressed in science. Its adulation of Pasteur was only one of the many manifestations of this interest. It was also expressed in the widespread popularity of scientists as public figures and in the increasing public and private financial support of science. While popularity of science was created in the general public by fiction and by the various international world fairs held in Paris, it was strongest and most important in the middle classes.This paper examines one of the key methods used to stimulate bourgeois interest in science in France during the Second Empire and early Third Republic (1852–1895): the campaign to create ascience vulgarisée, a popularized science. While a number of different approaches used by these popularizers are examined, the article concentrates on the science writings of Jules Michelet and Jules Verne, both of whom were immensely successful in creating a favorable climate of opinion for French science. The article concludes by suggesting how such an approach could be modernized and utilized in order to create greater scientific literacy and a similar acceptance by the public today.     

Audio‐conferencing in graduate education: A case study

Abstract

This paper reports the findings of a study that examined the relationship between distance teaching and the faculty reward system. Using a qualitative approach, the study sought to understand how distance teaching is valued, rewarded, and accommodated within the institutional reward structure. Based on interviews with faculty members, distance education program administrators, and the chief academic officers at four research universities, the study describes a reward culture that is not accommodating to and rewarding of faculty work in distance education. The study finds that: 1) distance education occupies a marginal status, 2) distance teaching is neither highly valued nor well‐rewarded as scholarly activity, 3) distance teaching is not highly related to promotion and tenure decisions, and 4) rewards for distance teaching are dependent on the academic unit's commitment to distance education.     

A methodological framework for understanding and describing discipline‐based scholarship of teaching in higher education through design‐based research

Since their inception in 1993 at an Australian university, the workshop tutorials in physics have evolved and grown beyond the initiating department. In this paper, we adopt an interpretive perspective to: (i) reflect on why the tutorials continue to be successful; (ii) use models from literature to understand that success; and (iii) abstract key features that can inform scholarly inquiry into teaching and learning in higher education in other contexts and discipline areas. Practitioner (action) research and design‐based research not only provide useful methodological frameworks that support the success of the workshop tutorials, but they also offer a worthwhile methodological strategy for fostering scholarly inquiry into university teaching and student learning.     

Student‐teachers’ conceptions of science,teaching and learning: a case study in preservice science education

The resort to experiment is considered to be essential for teaching physics. But it often consists of an inductivist method where students are supposed to be able to find physical laws by observing phenomena. In fact it is not as easy for the students as it is for the physicist. We propose and test another way. When studying a new phenomenon, an initial discussion is performed between students in the class. They can propose various (eventually contradictory) explanatory models. Experiments are then used to make a choice between these models. Sequences in class situation are described, with learning behaviour and results reported for pupils in French schools (grades 6 and 8, 11‐14‐year olds).     

Partners in Learning—educators,practitioners and students collaborate on work‐based learning—a case study

Work‐based learning is incorporated into a wide range of undergraduate courses that emphasise education for the professions. Yet, there is a lack of literature examining successful models that are structured around the principles of experiential learning. Partners in Learning (PAL) is a 12‐month, part‐time internship developed for Library and Information Studies students at the University of Canberra. Now in its fourth year, PAL is judged successful by students, mentors and academics alike. In this article, PAL is examined in relation to a model of experiential learning. Elements of successful work‐based experience are identified in published literature and related to “best practices” underlying the PAL model. Implications for educators introducing such a model are highlighted.     

A school‐based project in five kindergartens: the case of teacher development and school development

Kindergarten teachers in Hong Kong are blamed for not putting child‐initiated learning theory into practice. Their competence is challenged. An earlier study (Li, 2003 Li, YL. (2003). Roadblocks to educational reform: investigating knowledge and practice of Hong Kong kindergarten teachers. International Journal of Educational Reform, 12(3): 217–229.  [Google Scholar]) suggested that the professional development of kindergarten teachers was limited by their inability to extend thinking beyond their own personal concerns so that the needs of the children were not the major determinant of their classroom practice. It was argued that to confront and modify the teachers' personal beliefs the presence of models, action research and joint collaborative activity were the keys. This report was a follow‐up study of a school‐based project, providing opportunities for teachers to engage in collaborative investigation of school curriculum and of pedagogical innovations. In this study, the practice and belief of a group of around 60 teachers were tracked during their participation in the project and the merits of peer coaching, mentoring and collaborative teamwork were examined. Classroom observations and semi‐structured interviews (40–60 minutes) were adopted as the main research procedure. Teaching records, videoed teaching episodes and feedback on project workshops were sources of data collected for triangulation. The findings of the study suggest that collegiality holds some promise for change in teachers' practice, though questions concerning the constancy of change are of concern.     

Do online web resources help professionals to work more effectively? A case study based on three sites

This article contains important messages for all those with an interest in enhancing the effectiveness of professional development supported by websites. It is informed by the findings of a Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) funded evaluation of the use and effectiveness of three websites whose development the TDA had supported. Data were collected from teacher educators and student teachers from a variety of initial teacher education (ITE) providers by means of face-to-face, telephone and e-interviews, as well as case study visits. It was found that although all three websites were regarded as being high quality, their effectiveness in supporting professional development varied. This article considers possible reasons for this and implications for other websites, not just within the English and schools contexts, but also more globally.     

A model‐based approach to science exhibition evaluation: A case study in a Brazilian astronomy museum

A models and modelling approach was adopted to investigate the educational potential of a science museum exhibition. It focused on patterns of relationship between the teaching models proposed by designers and students models in regard to four exhibits concerning astronomical cycles. Student’s models were elicited by interviewing 21 pupils selected from among those who showed a change of their models between pre‐visit and post‐visit questionnaires. Four patterns of relationship were identified, ranging from low to high degrees of convergence between designers and students. Exhibits designed by fragmenting the phenomena (analytical approach) tend to promote less convergent patterns than exhibits that maintain the complexity of the phenomena (synthetic approach). We argue that the two approaches are complementary: without synthetic models visitors find it difficult to identify the phenomenon addressed by analytical models, while the latter may bring to visitors’ attention aspects that otherwise might be hidden by the complexity of synthetic models.