Are Independent Study/Correspondence Courses Still Viable? A

Case StudyICED 2008

Michael C. Johnson

Brigham Young University

Introductions

Goals

• Understand the disadvantages and advantages of the independent study model of distance education

• Understand ways of mitigating disadvantages and leveraging the advantages

• Apply lessons learned to personally relevant cases (time permitting)

Trends in Distance Education

• Online

• Synchronous

• Communities of learning

• Scalability

Elements of Independent Study

• Flexibly Time Schedule

• Flexible Location

• Student Independence

Disadvantages?

Disadvantages

Students have to be self-disciplined and motivated

• “I felt like one of the greatest challenges was having the self discipline to actually finish” (Pam).

• “We are not undertaking the Ring to Mordor, but for some, finishing an independent study course can be as difficult” (Bob).

Disadvantages

No discussion with other students (missed hearing other perspectives, etc.)

• “I know that this can't happen because people take this course at different times and for different lengths of time…but it would have been nice to have had an internet chat once in awhile with others in the course to get ideas and bounce around some thoughts” (Helen).

Disadvantages

Student had minimal access to/direct interaction with instructor

• “Its harder to ask questions…A lot of time passes between the question and the answer. It is just not as good as when there are office hours or something” (Kate)

Advantages?

Advantages

Convenience (could study when and where they wanted)

• It was its flexibility that allowed for convenience…” (Sam)

Advantages

Allows students to learn and still take care of other obligations in life

• “I had two children at home, two teenagers, and I felt like my time was needed being at home more than being in a class. So having online experience made it possible for me to take classes, which you could say is my hobby, while still being a good mother” (Marian).

Advantages

Allows students to learn when they are ready

• “When I was feeling a little overloaded I might not do anything for a couple of days, in the evening watching movies with my kids or going out in the evening something” (Joy).

Advantages

Permits a deeper approach to learning• “In an IS class, if I have two pages and I read

them really well and then see what they are saying and it takes me several days just to tear those two pages apart, I have had time to digest it. Learning that way you don’t feel rushed…you have time to understand what is being taught” (Helen).

• “If I wanted to spend a couple of weeks on a topic, I could (Kate).

Advantages

Allows them to be around and influence their usual social networks (family, friends, coworkers, students, etc.)

• “I like the fact that sometimes when I’m studying, my kids get to come up and see me studying. So they see education is important. It is important to me, it is important to my husband.…I think it really reinforces to our children that college is important” (Lucy).

Advantages

Allows them to do activities in their local communities (service learning, working with local professionals, etc.)

• “I’m in a community where I can actually work in my own community is really unique and I think that the fact that I am in a long distance learning environment allows me to do something completely different I couldn’t do had I been on campus learning.” (Lucy).

Advantages

Students have to be self-disciplined and motivated

• “It challenges people to be self-motivated. You have to set your own schedule. If you don’t get things done it falls back on one person. So I think it just encourages that self-initiative for character building” (Hannah).

Advantages

Allows students to take responsibility for their own learning

• “It also can be a positive because it forces you to think more through the process than having anyone feed you their opinion and going from that, it is completely you” (Joy).

Advantages

Helped some students from being pushed in directions they didn’t want to go

• “There wasn’t so much of the other classmates pushing [the discussion] in any particular direction….” (Eve).

Advantages

Helped students to think for themselves• “….you can learn from other people’s insights, but

it’s difficult to have your own insights when everyone else is coming up with one thing…it’s very difficult to be able to voice your own opinion in that kind of environment” (Eve).

• “I don’t know that in a classroom setting I would have come to some of the conclusions I came to on my own” (Pam).

Advantages

Gave students more of a one-on-one experience with the instructor (more individualized and personal though less direct and dynamic)

• “It feels more personal and makes it more of a one-on-one experience” (Michaela).

Advantages

Gave students opportunity to write, and write more meaningful responses

• “Articulating that and getting more opportunities to [write],” she said helped her to “have it more firmly in [her] mind of what [she was] actually learning” (Victoria).

Mitigating and Leveraging (Instructor)

• Taking an invitational approach (personal relationship with students, respect for the students, making the course enjoyable yet still taking a serious approach, depth of the course)

• Inviting students to discuss things with family or friends

• Preparing students for the reading (writes in a personally engaging style; provides sufficient instructional guidance--but not too much).

Mitigating and Leveraging (Instructor)

• Asking good questions: (thought-provoking, apply the literature personally, and to do a considerable amount of writing)

• Offering choices (enhances student responsibility or autonomy)

• Providing good feedback (Timely, Encouraging, Respectful)

Mitigating and Leveraging (Instructor)

• Contacts outside of the course context• Quality of the relationship/levels of

communication (personal and validating, not just superficial)

• Content was something that students felt was worth discussing (great stories, great characters, great insights, applicable to life)

Mitigating and Leveraging (Students)

• Setting goals, creating a schedule• Taking initiative to teach and/or discuss what they

were learning with others• Utilizing other available resources to expand their

learning (Web, Books, Movies, etc. related to the topic)

• Taking advantage of the opportunities to learn more deeply (spending time thinking, applying things personally, writing, etc.)