Teaching Seasoned Learners vs. Non-seasoned...Online
As someone who returned to school to obtain my Masters Degree, I see how important it was for me to have work experience in order to apply the concepts learned in the classroom.
I went to college initially, fresh out of high school and didn't retain nearly as much as I did when I returned to college as a "seasoned" worker/learner.
Now, when you add the ability to achieve a degree completely online, I wonder what will be lost from an interactive perspective. In a class environment, you are able to have immediate, if not always appreciated, feedback from instructors and peers whereas online, unless you are in an active chat session, the feedback may not be as timely or relevant.
As a new online instructor, my plan is to tkae the positive aspects of the classroom environment and try to implement them where possible (i.e. scheduling interactive chat sessions, establishing a conference call to review material on a periodic basis, etc.)
Hi Tonya! Thanks for your comments. The interactive element in the online environment is, as you mention, quite different than on ground, particularly in an asynchronous format. This places great responsibility on the instructor to create an effective and personal feedback system - your examples identify good ways to foster interactivity.
Jay Hollowell
EL102 Facilitator
I teach both live and online classes.
I have found that in online classes that I am on my toes to keep myself visible to the students as I would in a live classroom. Both styles of classrooms are important and I try to keep myself visible.
The students want to know their feedback and I try to be on top of that area as I would in a live classroom.
I feel I am as available to the online students as I am to the live students as much as humanly possible.
I wasn't afforded the opportunity to go to college right after high school. After my first 5 years in the military though I realized I needed/wanted to obtain my degree. With a spouse, and 3 children though, I've found online classes to have been a life saver for me. I do understand the difference in class room enviroments and online environments but I think they both have their advantages, mostly depends on what fits your schedule and what you personally prefer.
I have found that with an online class as well as a traditional classroom that an offer of quick phone call to disscuss an issue the student is having one-on-one works very well. Last quarter I had a student who kept telling me that he did not understand some of the basic grammar review we were doing. He was being told by others around him to just drop out if he wasn't understand it. I offered to call him. Be reviewed some very basic rules for about 10 minutes. I gave him a followup assignment to check his understanding. When he sent that work in, I graded it immediately. He did not get every thing correct, but he did much better. He gained confidence and knew that I would help when he asked. He stated and did well in the class.
Many students are afraid to ask for help and will try to muddle through. In our discussion area, this is an issue that is frequently addressed in the interaction of the students. It is a bit of sage advise that I try to put out somehow in every class. Do not be afraid to ask questions!
In some classes I have even created a separate thread where questions can be asked to the group or to me anonymounsly. Many nonseasoned learned hate to appear foolish or stupid by asking a very basic question.
Sometimes it just takes the teacher to reach out to the student to turn him/her around, regardless of whether it is an online or residential class. Well done Billie.
Michele
Hi Billie and everyone,
I really enjoyed reading the posts on the this topic. I've completed three degrees - two in the traditional classroom setting, and my master's online. I agree that having a few years on me certainly helped with my motivation and having the ability to apply my schoolwork to my work setting was invaluable. I love the idea of creating a separate thread of a DB where questions can be asked by the group or anonymously. The e-learning platform we work with doesn't have that capability that I'm aware of, so I strongly encourage my students to email me if they have any questions. I'm in my first year of teaching online and I have been truly amazed at the range of knowledge in the students I am teaching, but they all appreciate a burst of confidence being shown in them and encouragement to see them succeed in their education. From the beginning of the course all the way through I emphasize that all questions are good and to not be afraid to ask them - as there are usually 10 other people with the same question who don't want to speak up. So far so good on the communication with the students! Thanks for all your thoughts and discussion. Tamara
Thanks for your response Tamara. You certainly bring an additional perspective as a former online student, which certainly helpful to know what your students are going through.
Although it is admirable that you want to take the best from your personal experiences in education and use those to the benefit of your students, an additional perspective I might share is that many online students are doing their education online because they wish to avoid some of the traditional aspects of the classroom. I have had some students who were very happy doing the majority of things online, and performed best by taking a more independent method of working on the course. Certainly, there are many students who will welcome some of the aspects of the classroom environment you list here, but just a reminder that even if facilitators do not have the ability to incorporate those things, your online presence can still be important and helpful to students.
One of the challenges that the nontraditional, older adult student has going back to school is the insecurity of being the "oldest student" in the class. One of the advantages of online learning is no one knows how old a student is or what gender the student is (although names will usually give that away) or ethnicity of the student. This anonymity is attractive for many adult students.
Hi Tonya,
I have enjoyed reading your post.
I have taught both on campus and online. I am only teaching online at the moment due to its flexibility.
One of the experience that I have found to work both on campus and online is to ask questions to specific students. These particular questions will get them more involved and to think outside the box.
Thoughts?
