Guiding Questions: Aligning Online Course Experiences with Teaching and Learning Goals

Guiding Questions: Aligning Vista with teaching

and learning goals

NERCOMP WebCT User Group December 6th, 2006

Jason Gorman

Gail Matthews-DeNatale

Simmons College

First, some context

This talk is about Vista, but in the context of:

Instructors’ philosophy of learning Goals for student learning An expanding universe of technical options

(Web 2.0)

Presentation introductionand overview

This presentation provides:

An overview of intellectual “pre-work” that preceded production

A sample learning sequence An explanation of how philosophy/goals

affect design A discussion of challenges and lessons

learned

A bit about “Conscience and Consumption: the Tao of Shoe”

Guiding questions

1. What is a learning community?2. How is it fostered through instructional

design expertise and technical tools (e.g., Vista, wikis)?

3. How can we know if students are achieving goals for learning and engagement (learning community)?

4. What were the challenges for this project, and what have we learned?

Guiding question #1

What is a learning community?

Learning COMMUNITY

Most frequently we focus on “community”

1. Mutually-held sense of responsibility

2. Trust

3. Spontaneity

4. Comfort

Without articulating …

“LEARNING community”

1. Are self-aware/explicit about the relationship between values and filters put on evidence

2. Perceive their work as part of a larger effort for meaning-making

3. Ground discussion/reasoning in evidence

… and the whole is greater than the sum of parts

… what the professors mean by “learning,” that participants:

Inquiry-based and student-centered learning

Common criticisms:

Inadequate instructor involvement Lacks depth Is touchy-feely The “blind leading the blind” Difficult to assess

Learning (and community)by design

The devil is in the details of design, for example:

Rubrics Assignment sequence and timing Discussion writing prompts Formative and embedded assessment

Pedagogical needs (in sum)

Organization (keeping track) Cognitive mapping (you are here …) Scaffolding the inquiry process (cognitive

apprenticeship) * Inquiry-based, student-centered learning

(successful outcome)

* Collins, Seely Brown, Holum, “Cognitive Apprenticeship: Making Thinking Visible,” 1991

Guiding question #2

How is the learning community fostered through instructional design expertise and technical tools (e.g., Vista, wikis)?

“Assignments” unfold over two weeks, e.g.:

Week 1: What is the impact of our general consumption on the environment?

Week 2: How does green consumption lessen impact on the environment?

Learning sequence: guiding questions

Learning sequence

Investigation- What’s in your closet?

Readings- “Cleaning the closet” - Bhopal Case Study

OverviewOverview Page (OVP)

Wiki CollaborationCollaborative writing

Wiki SweeperOne person responsible for clean-up/final edits

DiscussionVista in groups of 3s

Faculty FeedbackVista “journal” group of 1

Revise

Reflect/ReportMS Word

Grade

Investigation

Readings

Overview

Wiki Collaboration

Wiki Sweeper

Discussion

Faculty Feedback

Revise

Reflect/Report

Grade

LearningSequence

Investigation

Readings

Overview

Wiki Collaboration

Wiki Sweeper

Discussion

Faculty Feedback

Revise

Reflect/Report

Grade

LearningSequence

Outstanding Satisfactory Poor

Quality of contributions

If this person were not a member of the group, the quality as a whole would be diminished

Contributions are well substantiated and often persuasive

If this person were not a member of the group, valuable time would be saved and the quality improved

Ground Reasoning in Evidence

Explicit about values and filters

Documentation of Reasoning and Sources

Rubrics, for example:

Investigation

Readings

Overview

Wiki Collaboration

Wiki Sweeper

Discussion

Faculty Feedback

Revise

Reflect/Report

Grade

LearningSequence

Investigation

Readings

Overview

Wiki Collaboration

Wiki Sweeper

Discussion

Faculty Feedback

Revise

Reflect/Report

Grade

LearningSequence

Jane Student Doe Outstanding Satisfactory Poor

Quality of contributions

Because … For example x, y, z

Ground Reasoning in Evidence


Explicit about values and filters


Documentation of Reasoning and Sources


Self-assessment against a rubric, for example:

Guiding Question #3

How can we know if students are achieving goals for learning and engagement (learning community)?

Learning:Cognitive apprenticeship








Revise


Grade

rubricIn dialogue with rubric

Scaffolding

Community:Engagement and relationships








Revise


Grade

Individual work Many to many Many to one

S S S

S SF

S

S

SFS

One to one

S

Guiding Question #4

What were the challenges for this project, and what have we learned?

What were the challenges?

Creating a space in Vista that allows students and faculty to integrate learning across two courses and the seminar

Developing a system for formative assessment that guides student learning, but is also manageable for the faculty

Deciding when to use the wiki and when to use Vista

What were the challenges?

The Great Vista / Wiki Debate At one point, faculty wanted to only use wiki Step back and consider what each tool affords

Wiki / Vista

WikiPro:• Collaborative authoring• Ease of use / fluid / nonlinear• Learners have a greater

sense of control (learner-empowered)

Con:• Nonlinear• Navigation manually added• Public and/or no way to scale

enrollment

VistaPro:• Modules helpful for guiding &

scaffolding process• Discussions allow private

dialogue

Con:• Can’t connect across courses• Tools for students not as

robust as tools for designers• Difficult for students to

coauthor / share documents

Learning management OR learning community?

Web 2.0 - type tools are being built into LMSs, but something gets lost in translation student-centered learning use scenarios

How can we ensure that the next generation LMS can support learning that involves collaborative work and co-created knowledge-

making (many-to-many)? both public (world readable) and private presence? connected learning across courses?

Guiding Questions: Aligning Online Course Experiences with Teaching and Learning Goals

Education

Transcript of Guiding Questions: Aligning Online Course Experiences with Teaching and Learning Goals