Online courses
really do change the way instructors deliver content, but online instruction—in
all of its various forms—is also making a huge impact on face-to-face
instruction.
Take a look at Gavin
Clinch’s talk about re-useable learning objects—he calls the short chunks
“Lego’s” because each one covers a concept, a chunk of information, in a 5 to
15 minute complete video lecture, and because he can reuse these learning
objects in different courses, from one semester to the next. While Clinch uses his pre-recorded learning capsules
to save time in his own online course preparation, the real benefit is that this
format may better suit students’ learning style. Students can work through these learning
objects on their own time, as quickly or slowly as suits them.
Daphne
Koller, in her TED talk, makes the point that these short modular learning
units fit the needs of more students than the standard 1-hour lecture format
that for decades has been synonymous with college courses. I think both are absolutely right.
After
25 years of teaching AP English Language to high school students, I am certain
that a “flipped classroom “ approach is a more effective way to teach the
concepts of this course. For example,
when students study argument, they must learn first to read arguments and be
able to identify the logical parts of the argument—the speaker’s claim or claims,
the reasons, the evidence, the counterarguments, the qualifiers. Through their understanding of these
elements, they are better able to structure their own arguments. Instead of overwhelming them with a lecture
on everything at once, most students would do better if they could learn one or
two concepts at a time, in short presentations (this is where a myriad of great
tech tools comes in handy) on their own time, read short well-selected sample
arguments, and identify/explain how each feature works in the argument. With online quiz tools, students can then try
out their new skills and get instant feedback. With face-to-face instruction,
students, who have already worked their way through these modular units, come
to class ready to tackle a more complex argument, to work with the instructor
to learn about the subtleties of an argument, after they’ve worked through the
basics on their own. Sliced bread,
anyone? I guess I quit teaching too soon…
But
wait, as a librarian, trying to teach students how to find quality sources of
information, I can create modular learning objects for students to access WHEN
THEY NEED them! Voila! No more boring
lectures about how to do research—instead students search a menu on the library
website, and choose the topics they need at the very minute they need them…how
to figure out which websites are junk and which are gems; how to create a works
cited page; how to find articles in a database.
In her online
article, “Flipping the Classroom,” Cynthia Brame raises the point that Flipped
classroom students perform learning tasks on the lower levels of Bloom’s
Taxonomy independently, while “focusing on the higher forms of cognitive work
(application, analysis, synthesis, and / or evaluation) in class, where they
have the support of their peers and instructor.” I am a firm believer that this
makes sense, and that face-to-face classes can focus on the more strenuous
learning experiences, after students have mastered the basics on their own.
References:
Brame,
Cynthia J. "Center for Teaching." Center For Teaching.
Vanderbilt University, n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2014.
<http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/flipping-the-classroom/>.
Clinch,
Gavin. “Reuseable Learning Objects.” You Tube. Penn State World Campus
Faculty Development, 21 Oct. 2010. Web. 15 Feb. 2014
Koller,
Daphne. “What We’re Learning From Online
Education.” You Tube. TED Talks, 1 Aug. 2012. Web. 15 Feb. 2014.
