EDUT 6217 Distance Interactive
Teaching and Learning
Me and my son at Discovery Cove Orlando, FL
Response to Questions: Distance Learning Plan Research Paper on Motivation
Chapters 1 & 2 Audio-Visual PPT
Response to Questions in Chapters 1 & 2
Based on your reading and review of the key points for these chapters, what is your sense of how teaching and learning online are different from the face-to-face classroom or other distance learning models? Or are they?
The first obvious difference is the role of the teacher. In an on-line class the teacher can not simply state the facts, show a demonstration for how a concept works, or dictate what is to be done at a given time for a set time frame and expect the students to write it down, absorb it, and file it into the learned area of the brain. Instead, the instructor must lead or guide the students to the desired knowledge through leading yet generalized questions or directions. The purpose of this is so students will "discover" what is important and how it applies to any given situation. The teacher also encourages the students to seek each other and ask for their peer’s input. With this technique a variety of points of view can be digested and the individual student makes a critical decision for themselves.
The next biggest difference is the role of the student. In an on-line course the student can no longer be a passive learner allowing any information to be presented to them. With on-line classes, the student must actively pursue the information, decide if what they find is pertinent, and apply the information in the way that they see most fit. The instructor must now be more flexible. It is possible that a student may take the guidelines provided by the instructor in a different light in which was the intent. The student must be prepared for the conditions of an on-line course. There could be no personal interactions with the teacher. Smiles, nods, and pats on the back during the learning process encourages students and provides motivation. With on-line courses students must be self motivated, and self disciplined. Also, there is no immediate feed back out of a regular classroom setting.
A regular classroom setting will have a variety of learners with different learning styles. A teacher in the classroom may employ various techniques to help students better understand the lesson. But on line, the students must find what works for them and use it themselves to get through the course. Not all students can be successful with an on-line course, however in a regular classroom environment, with day to day personal interactions without delays, educators believe that all students can learn and be successful.
How do you see yourself as a teacher, or a trainer? How would you currently evaluate your relationship to your students / workshop participants? What types of learning activities do you currently incorporate into your classes / workshops? How will you adapt these activities in the online classroom? What changes will you need to make to effectively make the transition to the online classroom?
A regular classroom teacher, I can honestly say that my teaching style varies and is dependent on my students. If the class as a whole responds better to cooperative learning, then I try to utilize that technique more often than not. I have had classes that were more hands on learners, so labs were the preferred method (I teach science with helps with this method). I have had classes that thought that any cooperative learning, any collaboration between students, and any freedom in the classroom meant "free time to socialize." For these classes, I use the lecture, drill and practice, with some cooperative learning, and teacher lead demonstrations. On a whole, I am the one in charge and the leader of the class. I say when to do something, how long the students have to do it, and how to do it within a rubric. My relationship with the students while they are in my class is strictly one of teacher-student, expert-novice. I have tried to have a projects based classroom with many types of projects such as presentations, reports, writing of songs to convey a concept, to drawing or designing models to demonstrate understanding of an idea. I have found that at the school where I teach, the students are not exposed to these types of activities in prior grades and are not mature enough to do an adequate job on any of the projects. There are individual exceptions of course. I have tried assigning lessons to groups of two students who would then research the lesson and in turn teach the rest of the class their lesson. I have found that over half of my students do not take this seriously and do a poor job of teaching because they did not prepare and learn the material themselves. The students want the easiest road they can take, which is to have a teacher dictate information to them and they regurgitate it back on tests.
Many of the activities utilized in my class are designed to motivate the students in the classroom and to have fun doing them. We try to use activities that the student wants to do to get them more involved. These same activities can be used with an on-line class. But if a student has signed up for the on-line class, then they are assumed to be motivated already. The activity then switch to the mode of how does this information fit into my life and why is it important to know it.
I am the biggest believer in discovery learning. When a student explores a concept, and draws from his/her own unique personal experiences regarding that concept, then the idea is learned for life. I believe in thinking critically. And I look forward to the day when all students must demonstrate their understanding by applying what they have learned to various situations instead of reciting facts to pass a standardized test.
The biggest change that I see that I will have to make is linking all the individual concepts to each other to show their interdependence on each other. My fear is that I will not be able to present the "big picture" and get too wrapped up in the small details. I look forward to taking a role that does not place me in the center of the stage, but requires the students to place themselves there.
Response to Question in Chapters 5 & 7
In the learning process, "double loop" implies that there is more than answering questions, understanding concepts, solving a problem, or completing the project. It also includes discovering why the questions were answered in that manner, what led to the understanding of the concept, the thinking process involved to solve the problem, and how the project was completed. If the concept "double loop" in technology and distance learning is achieved then it insures that the learner actually learned the material, used technology to help learn it, and used technology to effectively communicate evidence that learning has taken place.
When do you think it would be appropriate to use chat, a whiteboard, or audio or video clips in a course? How would you accommodate students who are unable to access these forms of technology?
It would be appropriate to use chat if it did not cause unnecessary stress on students. For example, if a student does not have to get up in the middle of the night to participate, it may be used. This would allow for student-student, student-teacher, teacher-student communication and interaction. Disadvantages include agreed upon times for the chat, keeping all students involved, or keeping one student from dominating the responses. Responses could be sent before a student thinks about what they are saying, and could offend others.
Audio and video could be utilized if all students have the necessary technology to use such techniques. If they do have the means, then audio and video could be good to allow interactions and students getting to know each other.
If course requirements did not specify specific types of technology, then if the students do not have access to desired technology, the instructor is obligated to arrange for alternate means for instructional delivery such as CD or DVD or maybe e-mail the information to the student, or omit those requirements.
At the beginning of the course there would be a mandatory orientation class meeting for face to face interactions regarding the syllabus and requirements. This also allows for students to put a face with a name that they may hear latter during on-line interactions. At this first meeting students would select a partner for their first group assignment. For each group assignment, the students would be required to select a different partner. This way every student becomes familiar with many other students. This also keeps one student from always having a weak partner or a strong one.
Students would be required to "host" a discussion and response secession for a period of time. Every other student would be required to respond to these discussion secessions. As the instructor, I would also respond to encourage more participation and help keep on topic even though a minimum number of responses per week will have been established.
The lack of physical or verbal cues requires the instructor to be specific, and clear on instructions and answers to questions. It also requires quick responses to questions and comments posed by the student when they feel "lost." In addition, as the instructor I would also give the student the option of meeting with me on campus at an agreed time.
Response to Questions in Chapter 3 & 4
|
Culture/Values |
Goals |
Applications |
Hardware/media software, staff, facilities, finances |
Evaluation |
Feedback |
Culture/Values:
The same values and society the county is trying to reach would be the same plus the addition of the non-traditional students who need and would benefit from a distance learning course. These include:
Goals:
Applications:
The county will reach students who have medical conditions which prevent them from attending a traditional school in a traditional setting. These students would benefit from on-line courses or video classes instead of being limited to seeing a homebound teacher one time a week. The county could maximize the expertise of teachers by offering unique classes, AP classes, and test improvement classes to all students, traditional or not, from one convenient location so that the teacher would not have to travel, or so the county would not need to hire more teachers with certain strengths. On-line course would allow flexibility in scheduling of classes for students who want or need to take particular classes but can not fit them into their traditional schedule.
Hardware/Media:
The county has good technical equipment, however, if the on-line distance courses are to take full advantage of the technology and teachers, at a minimum the county would need to improve what they have. In some cases, the county would have to replace some things such as the server. Each school will need to be updated as far as wiring, and hardware is concerned. Each teacher would require newer computers. Though price is a factor, the computers should be Pentium processors, and Pentium IIIs are recommended. The teachers would need or have access to digital cameras, scanners, and web cameras, along with printers and telephones. As a back up teachers should also have a fax machine available to them. Each school already has video equipment for videoing classes.
Software:
As of now the county does not have the required software to conduct classes on-line. An investment in a teaching software which allows postings, responses from students, tests, discussions, and e-mail between all participants and navigation from point to point will be required. A software such as Web-CT or Blackboard would be suitable.
Staff:
The county has many technology experts employed already, however, a true instructional designer is not. There must be an instructional designer to help the teachers develop their course and to help supervise and answer questions the teachers and or community members may have. The designer would be responsible for training the involved teachers in the on-line software as well the design process. The county also employs a number of hardware technicians and contracts with a company to help maintain the equipment and install any new software on servers and desk top computers. A video technician will be added to aide the teachers and designer in any video applications of the distance plan.
Facilities:
Most teachers have a classroom of their own already. As some students will be in the same location as the teacher, new space for the classes may not be required, but space will be needed for the new designer as an office and space needed for training of the involved teachers. Most county high schools have a central computer lab on site, so they may be utilized for the training. The training will take place on a rotational bases. One training session will be at one school, and the next will be at another school. By using this approach, the designer and technicians could insure that the facilities are up to date and maintained.
Finances:
Expected cost of implementing distance learning plan.
Total cost of implementing plan $292,450 -- $380,300
Evaluation:
Twice a year the technology board will make a report to the entire school board and superintendent. This evaluation will include a financial report of expenses, new developments, and difficulties encountered, and how they were solved. The evaluation would also include the observed success or failures of the plan. This will reflect the test scores of the students on the state’s end-of course test required of all academic classes.
Once a quarter the technology chairman will report to the technology board and make plans to improve the distance plan or recommend altering the plan as needed.
A formal evaluation process will take place once a month where the instructional designer will report to the school technology chairman.
The designer will take report twice a month, from. the teachers involved These reports will include any problems that have arisen, and difficulties experienced.
The students will have e-mail access to not only the teachers, but also to the designer to report any difficulties they have experienced on their end.
Feedback:
Students, their families, teachers, administrators will be asked to critique to courses they were involved with. All participants will be provided with the e-mail address of the designer and the technology chairman to submit their views of the courses. Drop boxes for suggestions will be made available in all locations where students take the on-line courses, and an electronic suggestion box will be made accessible to all involved.
Research Paper on Student Motivation
Learner Motivation and Its Issues
By: Robert Morgan
October 23, 2003
Motivation and Its Issues
Educators will go to most any length to help their students learn the material and demonstrate the knowledge they have acquired. By going to those lengths, the teacher is actually trying to motivate the student. Student motivation is a key for success – success for the student themselves and success for the teacher. Many papers have been written on the subject of student motivation, but the actual definition of it is a bit more elusive. Many experts can not agree on one common meaning of the word (Thanasoulas 2000). Some say that motivation is the inner source of an individual which provides the desire to perform, achieve, or accomplish some activity which has value to that person or value to another that they want to please (University of Houston College of Pharmacy et al 1998). Motivation is a condition inside a person which causes that person to start or continue an activity (Thanasoulas 2000). Psychologists state that motivation: is the cause and instigator of behaviors, provides direction, allows a behavior to continue, and leads to selecting a particular behavior (University of Houston College of Pharmacy et al 1998). Specifically, student motivation is the learner’s desire to participate in the learning process.
Where this student motivation originates is an issue that is agreed upon. Any motivation starts and is shaped by the home environment (Lumsden 1994). If a child’s questioning nature is accepted and encouraged by the parents or guardian, then the parents are giving the message that learning is a worthwhile, fun, satisfying activity. And by doing so, the parents have opened the world to their child (Lumsden 1994). Those homes that foster a child’s curiosity help them develop a feeling of self-worth, self-efficacy, and competence. The child is then more apt to risk those things in the pursuit of learning (Lumsden 1994). The opposite is true when children are not encouraged at home. The youngsters do not develop those good self feelings and can not deal with failure as easily as the before mentioned children (Lumsden 1994). When the child reaches the age to attend school, they begin developing beliefs regarding their accomplishments and set backs in education. It is how these school age children view any failures or successes that defines the motivation or lack of within the person. This is a powerful predictor of how students will deal with new learning situations (Lumsden 1994). Within the school itself, the teacher’s beliefs about the learning process, expectations, and teaching have great influence within the student (Center for Applied Research 1999). Deborah Stipek (1998) writes "To a very large degree, students expect to learn if their teachers expect them to learn" (Lumsden 1998). Some where some time ago someone once said, "have high expectations of your students and they will reach them , for if you have low expectations they will definitely reach those " (unknown).
Two researchers, Wlodkowski (1985) and Champagne (1995) list six factors that impact learner motivation (University of Houston College of Pharmacy et al 2001). The first is attitude. According to the researchers, attitudes are learned from experiences in the environment, watching role models, and instruction. Most students go to school with an attitude about learning that they have acquired from their parents. If the parents are educated or have a positive attitude regarding school, then so will the child. The opposite is also true. But if the school experience starts negatively, the attitude of the student can change. The student may develop a negative attitude towards school (University of Houston College of Pharmacy et al 2001). Students do not plan on becoming bored in school, but teachers and courses that do not stimulate inquiry will result in boredom and distraction, so stimulation is important in class (University of Houston College of Pharmacy et al 2001).
Affect deals with the emotional status of the learner. How a student is feeling mentally can alter the motivation. After all, "learning does not take place in a vacuum." Emotions may be controllable, but they cannot be stopped (University of Houston College of Pharmacy et al 2001). Most learners want to master the task at hand. This task may be one of their choosing or one that is required of them to complete the curriculum. Regardless, the child does not go into a situation with the purpose of wasting their time and getting nothing from the experience. Therefore, competence is one of the major factors that impact motivation (University of Houston College of Pharmacy et al 2001). When a student achieves competence or mastery of a task or concept, they have a feeling of satisfaction and self worth. The competence plays into the field of affect due to the emotions it can invoke. Conversely, if a child can not master the task in a timely manner, they become frustrated and possibly resentful. In this case the affect is detrimental to motivation (Betrand 2000).
The impact to student motivation, which receives the most attention from experts, is reinforcement. There are two basic types of reinforcement: positive and negative. Positive reinforcement is when a reward of some type is given when the appropriate behavior is exhibited. The reward could be a pat on the back or a few words of praise or a tangible reward such as money, a trophy, or candy. A negative reinforcement is the withholding of a positive reinforcement. If a student knows that a reward can be had if certain behaviors are expressed and they do demonstrate those behaviors, they know the reward will be withheld. Often, however, penalties, threats, and disapproval are used as negative reinforcement. In fact, they are not. Penalties for expressing unwanted or undesirable behaviors fall under the category of punishment (University of Houston College of Pharmacy et al 2001). Punishment has been demonstrated as a motivation inhibitor. This inhibitor causes the student to change their emotion and therefore has an affect on their motivation. But for positive reinforcement to be effective, the learner must value the object of the reinforcement. Here is where the motivation becomes intrinsic or extrinsic (Lumsden 1994).
Intrinsic motivation comes from within the learner. The intrinsic motivation receives its origin from the morals, values, and attitudes (Center for Applied Research 1999). Intrinsically motivated students undertake an activity because they want to do so. The pupil is interested in the subject matter and wants to learn for the sake of learning or enjoyment of the class. Students who are intrinsically motivated put in more of an effort to reach goals or accomplish a task. They demand more of themselves and from those around them in that environment (Lumdsen 1994). Extrinsically motivated students only attempt a course or task strictly for a reward or what they can get out of the course (Lumsden 1994). One unique aspect regarding extrinsically motivated students is that once a reward is received the student wants it again and more. The student then becomes more focused on when and how to get the reward instead of the material being covered. Extrinsic rewards should be used thoughtfully and sparingly due to the fact that they have great potential for decreasing intrinsic motivation (Ames 1990). The extrinsically motivated student begins to want the requirements to receive the reward lowered or the work made easier so that they can get the maximum reward for as little effort as possible (Lumsden 1994). If the teacher gives in to the wishes or lack of effort by the student, then the teacher begins to expect less and require less effort from the student. This allows the student to do less and less work. By allowing this action to continue, the teacher is allowing the learner to become lazier. This could evolve into an endless circle. With this in mind, it is in the teacher’s best interest to build on any intrinsic motivation the student may have (Lumsden 1994). So what can teachers do to peak students’ intrinsic motivation? Some research shows that intrinsic motivation can be improved in the educational system by technology. Attitudes, interest, and the experience of success is maximized by utilizing computer technology (Center for Applied Research 1999). Technology increases students self esteem and allows for them to work at their own pace (Center for Applied Research 1999). Improved attitudes towards themselves, other students, the content, and school in general helps keep the student motivated by reinforcing the goals and values of the pupil (Center for Applied Research 1999). Technology allows for the integration of cooperative learning where interdependence upon each other and allowing for individual differences is presented in a positive manner (Bracewell et al 1998)
Motivation of some type is why students work and tries to achieve goals and accomplish task. It is the motivation that comes from within that causes a student to exert more effort and take pride and ownership of their accomplishments. Extrinsic motivational rewards should be utilized with discretion so not to diminish or even extinguish the intrinsic motivation and lead students down to road of something for nothing.
References
Betrand, Wes (2000). The nature of educational systems and their psychological effects on the learner. Learner Driven Education http://www.logicallearning.net/learnerdrivened.htm retrieved 10/20/02
Center for Applied Research in Educational Technology. http://caret.iste.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=evidence&answerID=10 retrieved 10/19/03
Center for Applied Research in Educational Technology. http://caret.iste.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=evidence&answerID=11 retrieved 10/19/03
Lumsden, Linda. (2000). Student motivation to learn. Eric Digest, No. 92. http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content2/Student_Motivation.html retrieved 18/18/03
Thanasoulas, Dimitrios. (2000). What is learner autonomy and how can it be fostered? The Internet TESL Journal Vol.VI, No. 11, November 2000. http://www.iteslj.org/Articles/Thanasoulas-Autonomy.html retrieved 10/20/03
University of Houston College of Pharmacy, Texas Southern University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Texas Tech Health Science Center School of Pharmacy, University of Texas College of Pharmacy. (June 1998). Becoming an effective preceptor. http://www.utexas.edu retrieved 10/19/03
Work Group of the American Psychological Association’s Board of Educational Affairs. (1997). Learner-centered psychological principles: A framework fro school redesign and reform. http://www.apa.org/ed/lcp.html retrieved 10/19/03
