Title: Integration of Adult Learning Principles and Pedagogies in Online Learning
1Integration of Adult Learning Principles and
Pedagogies in Online Learning
- Anthony Foster
- Southern Seminary (PhD Cand)
- McGraw-Hill Learning Solutions
2Contact Information
- This presentation and paper reside at
- anthonyfoster.com/ALN
- Anthony Foster
- McGraw-Hill Learning Solutions
- Anthony_Foster_at_McGraw-Hill.com
- For support documentation see paper or
Support1.ppt
3The Key Facets
- Chickering and Gamsons Seven Principles
- Mezirows Transformative Learning
- Adult Learning Theory
4Encourage Contact Between Students And Faculty
- Frequent student-faculty contact both in and
outside of class is an important factor in
student motivation and involvement (Kelly 2004,
55). - Faculty concern helps students get through rough
times and keep on working (Chickering and Ehrmann
1996, 3). - A major condition of transformative learning is
the communication accurate and complete
information (Mezirow 1991, 171).
5Encourage Contact Between Students And Faculty
- Ideal learning conditions promote a sense of
safety, openness and trust (Zepke 2006, 510) - It is necessary for teachers to be empathetic and
caring, authentic, sincere, and demonstrating a
high degree of integrity. Faculty should be
willing to self disclose (Taylor 1998, 49). - Adults need dialogue and social interaction must
be provided. They also need for the instructor
to act as a facilitator (Cercone 2008,156, 159).
6Encourage Contact Between Students And Faculty
- Communications technologies such as email, text
messaging, blogs, chats, social interaction
sites, voicemail and telephones can increase
access to faculty. - Shy students are liberated to interact more
freely in this environment. - It is often easier to discuss issues involving
personal opinions and values in a written format
than in person.
7Encourage Contact Between Students And Faculty
- Building a sense of community must be
intentional from the beginning of a course, and
the teacher must monitor and support
participation. - Instructors can highlight themes, point out
connections between ideas and relate discussions
to a "big picture." This is known as "weaving"
(Stepich and Ertmer 2003, 41).
8Encourage Contact Between Students And Faculty
- Access is a key issue as well, especially for
students who would traditionally have had to
commute to be present in a classroom and then hit
the road after class. - Asynchronous communication is a rich alternative
to the impoverished communication opportunities
offered in typical traditional learning
environments.
9Encourage Contact Between Students And Faculty
- Instructors should realize that students can
potentially sign up for online courses without
the benefit of ever having been advised of how to
access online courses. - You may need to inform them of the requirements.
- Be sure to give clear instructions for using the
course, completing exercises, and completing
assignments.
10Encourage Contact Between Students And Faculty
- Create a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page
and make it available in an area where even
guests can access it. - When you receive more than two emails asking for
the same information/ clarification, add a hint
or explanation to the FAQ list. - Make sure to refer students to the list so that
they become accustomed to checking it first.
11Encourage Contact Between Students And Faculty
- Expect and plan for problems, such as students
who cannot access their email, students getting
locked up half-way through a timed on-line quiz,
etc. - Be flexible and have a backup.
- If you are suspicious of the reported problem,
most courseware programs include student tracking
routines that can be used to investigate and
verify some types of problems.
12Encourage Contact Between Students And Faculty
- Also provide your students with basic
information on how to deal with common problems
and establish reporting protocols and procedures.
13Encourage Contact Between Students And Faculty
- Adults have a pre-existing learning history and
will need support in the new learner-centered
paradigm (Cercone 2008, 156). - Clear communication attains here as well.
- The use of questioning techniques that provoke
critical thinking can help adult students to
bridge these gaps.
14Create And Encourage Opportunities For
Collaborative Learning Among Students
- Tonkin states that compared to traditional
distance education methods, e-learning can
provide experiences that are more engaging and
interactive (Tonkin 2004, 562). - We should expect participants to move through
phases as they develop their working group. - Be clear about group tasks and expectations.
- The clearer that the instructor is about what is
to be accomplished in the course, the less likely
that participants will become confused and
flounder.
15Create And Encourage Opportunities For
Collaborative Learning Among Students
- In regard to transformative learning,
collaborative learning is a key to providing an
avenue for students to open themselves to
alternative perspectives. - Consensus is built in a corporate, not individual
context. Taylor found that transformative
learning is group situated (Taylor 1998, 49). - Dialogue as well as dissonance and conflict occur
socially. The learning environment must be a
nurturing place. It must be free from coercion
and self deception.
16Create And Encourage Opportunities For
Collaborative Learning Among Students
- The instructor can meet a specific adult learning
need by designing instruction to scaffold the
instruction in team environments. - The provision of learning resources that includes
multiple scenarios, events can help students
develop plans and decisions in collaboration. - The provision of orientations, study teams,
coaching and examples can facilitate this as
well.
17Create And Encourage Opportunities For
Collaborative Learning Among Students
- Developing reciprocity and cooperation among
students is key. - Team learning possibilities are easily maintained
in an online learning environment, but it must be
intentional and required on the part of the
instructor. - Online study groups, collaborative learning,
group projects can be designed as part of the
learning environment. In fact, ad hoc and
spontaneous discussion of assignments should be
encouraged.
18Create And Encourage Opportunities For
Collaborative Learning Among Students
- Study Groups-This requires that the instructor
lay aside fears that students will not be doing
their own work. - Establishing clear evaluation expectations and
rubrics for insuring critical interaction of all
students can alleviate those fears.
19Create And Encourage Opportunities For
Collaborative Learning Among Students
- Interactivity does not stop at technological
solutions. Interpersonal interactivity is also
key. - Instructors should promote collaboration, as it
Assists with deeper levels of knowledge
generation Promotes initiative, creativity, and
critical thinking Allows students to create a
shared goal for learning Forms the foundation of
a learning community Addresses all learning
styles and Addresses issues of culture (Palloff
and Pratt, 2005, 6-7).
20Create And Encourage Opportunities For
Collaborative Learning Among Students
- The online teacher can promote collaborative
learning through small group assignments, case
studies, simulations, and group discussion of
readings and assignments. - Have students post their assignments and
encourage feedback to one another on their work.
- Remember that grades must be shared privately.
21Create And Encourage Opportunities For
Collaborative Learning Among Students
- Cercone (2008) adds these suggested activities
- Allow students to introduce themselves, develop a
personal web page, and provide an area that
students can feel free to discuss their
experiences. - Problem-based or case-based learning activities
that are done in collaborative work groups. - Use cooperative and collaborative learning
structures such as learning partnerships, to
equalize the power relationships in groups and
encourage a shared leadership. - Encourage shared leadership (Cercone 2008, 159).
22Encourage Active Learning Techniques
- Meyers and Jones define active learning as
learning environments that allow students to
talk and listen, read, write, and reflect as they
approach course content through problem-solving
exercises, informal small groups, simulations,
case studies, role playing, and other activities
-- all of which require students to apply what
they are learning (Meyers and Jones 1993, xi).
23Encourage Active Learning Techniques
- Learning is participatory by nature. Students
are rarely motivated by sitting like sponges and
soaking up information. - Good learning requires dialogue and reflection.
- Faculty should require students to apply their
learning in articulated forms. If a student
cannot articulate knowledge, the student does not
own it for themselves.
24Encourage Active Learning Techniques
- To achieve transformative learning, students must
be given opportunities to weigh evidence and
assess arguments, then demonstrate ability to
reflect upon presuppositions and their
consequences. - The asynchronous environment is a great
equalizer, as each student has the opportunity to
weigh in on any discussion, and there is not need
to compete for a hearing as in the traditional
classroom, where turns must be taken or other
limitations attain.
25Encourage Active Learning Techniques
- Cercone (2008) provides these active learning
techniques - Encourage learners to identify resources and
devise strategies for using resources to achieve
objectives. - Encourage learners to formulate their learning
objectives, giving them more control over their
learning. It is important for the instructor to
discover what the participants need or want to
learn. - Provide regular, consistent communication to
individual learners and groups.
26Encourage Active Learning Techniques-Cercone
- Teach inquiry skills, decision-making, personal
development, and self-evaluation of work. - Make regular announcements or updates and
establish regular online office hours. - Assure learners that discussion board postings
are being read. - Increase interactions with embedded practice and
feedback sequences. - Embed content in authentic contexts if technology
allows
27Encourage Active Learning Techniques -Cercone
- Require learners to synthesize and problem solve,
using the information in new ways. - Have learners manipulate objects on the screen if
appropriate. - Develop peer-learning groups.
- Periodically review goals. Have students reflect
and discuss. - Provide students with multiple resources of
information that include differing viewpoints
from diverse authors.
28Encourage Active Learning Techniques -Cercone
- Acknowledge the accumulated experiences of the
participants as valuable educational resources. - Use learning contracts, group projects, role
playing, case studies and simulations to enhance
self-direction. - Use hyperlinks to allow students to develop their
own path. If they know the topic, they can skip
it. - Provide flexibility in assignments that allow
students to work ahead. - Divide learning into small manageable units or
subunits that can be completed in relatively
short amounts of time for logical stopping and
starting points.
29Encourage Active Learning Techniques -Cercone
- Allow learner choice of assignments, projects, or
research topics (consider learning contract). - Encourage and reinforce self sufficiency through
timely feedback. - Develop a student portfolio or personal scrapbook
- Incorporate text signals such as "this is a long
unit," "this is very important content," "proceed
to lesson six."
30Encourage Active Learning Techniques
- Adults need consideration of their prior
experience and need to connect new knowledge to
past events and existing knowledge. - Communicating clearly the objectives facilitates
transformative learning as well.
31Encourage Active Learning Techniques
- Do a needs assessment and a student
self-assessment prior to class starting. Relate
this information to the class. Recognize the
value of experience. - Include tasks that let the participants use their
knowledge and experience. - Tell why the topic or link is important.
- Provide practical information with examples.
- Link new topics to what has been discussed or
read. - Open the class with introductions that include
personal and professional background. Instructor
should do the same. - Involve learners in diagnosing their own needs
(Cercone 2008, 157).
32Encourage Active Learning Techniques
- Use and present lecture information wisely. An
online lecture can become just another article
that students are required to read. - We find that video lectures add little value as
they are not interactivea talking head is just
that. - Active learning activities involve students in
the learning process they must be intentionally
based in learning objectives that define the
learning activities that in turn produce learning
outcomes (Tonkin 2004, 564-565).
33Encourage Active Learning Techniques
- Adults need to test their learning as they
proceed. Have them apply concepts to tasks and
problems and be sure to properly evaluate the
difficulty level. - Adults need to self-reflect on the learning
process and be given support for transformational
learning (Cercone 2008, 159).
34Encourage Active Learning Techniques
- To accomplish this self-reflection precept in the
online classroom, the instructor might - Provide a place in the course to discuss the
process of learning online which may include
thoughts on how they are managing in the online
course. - Allow students to discuss options for their new
roles, plan action strategies and exchange of
knowledge and skills for effective and efficient
online learning. - Provide ways for learners to engage in
metacognitive reflection. Students may benefit
from the use of think logs, reflective journals,
and group discussions within a cooperative
learning setting (Cercone 2008, 159).
35Encourage Active Learning Techniques
- To accomplish this self-reflection precept in the
online classroom, the instructor might - Provide a place in the course to discuss the
process of learning online which may include
thoughts on how they are managing in the online
course. - Allow students to discuss options for their new
roles, plan action strategies and exchange of
knowledge and skills for effective and efficient
online learning. - Provide ways for learners to engage in
metacognitive reflection. Students may benefit
from the use of think logs, reflective journals,
and group discussions within a cooperative
learning setting (Cercone 2008, 159).
36Encourage Active Learning Techniques-Discussion
- Please note that students will not take advantage
of online communication tools that are not
required as a portion of their grade. - For example, if you want them to use the
discussion board, make that a requirement for
some of their group work and monitor their
progress.
37Encourage Active Learning Techniques-Discussion
- Brookfield and Preskill (1999) discuss fifteen
ways in which discussion enhances learning. - Among these benefits, discussion
- introduces a variety of perspectives,
- increases the students awareness of complexity,
- and helps them investigate their assumptions
38Encourage Active Learning Techniques-Discussion
- Brookfield and Preskill (1999) discuss fifteen
ways in which discussion enhances learning. Among
these benefits, discussion introduces a variety
of perspectives, increases the students
awareness of complexity, and helps them
investigate their assumptions Discussion
encourages active listening, increases
intellectual agility, shows respect for student
voice and experience, aids in democratization,
affirms the student as a participant in learning,
and helps students develop skills of synthesis
and integration. This can lead to transformation
of the learner (Brookfield and Preskill 1999,
22-36).
39Encourage Active Learning Techniques-Discussion
- Begin discussions with prompt questions that you
expect most students can answer correctly. - Provide lots of positive feedback to encourage
participation. - As the discussion continues, start asking more
probing questions.
40Encourage Active Learning Techniques-Discussion
- Require students to get into the habit of
including an unique and descriptive title for
their posts. - This will make it much easier to navigate a
thread of content. - Otherwise one only sees a seemingly infinite
number of redundant titles cascading down the
page. - Make the students responsible for coming up with
their own discussion topics.
41Encourage Active Learning Techniques-Trasnsformati
on
- Taylors research found that transformative
learning is fostered if feelings and emotions
about content are discussed and worked through
before critical reflection (Taylor 1998, 49). - You may choose to create a discussion board forum
that allows for anonymous posting for discussion
of value-laden or sensitive topics. - If the anonymous setting is not the default, take
extra care in explaining how the tool works.
42Encourage Active Learning Techniques-Transformatio
n
- Remind students that not all personal experiences
and feelings are necessarily appropriate for
group discussion and that they must be respectful
towards each other. - Alternatively, you might provide a safe space or
forum for student commiseration, where off topic
conversations are welcome.
43Encourage Active Learning Techniques-Transformatio
n
- Other practical applications of this principle
- Allow the learner to voice his or her own opinion
and treat him or her as equal in the learning
process. - Individuals have many perspectives and bring
these to the classroom these may be a result of
their religion, gender, ethnicity, class, age,
sexuality, and/ or physical abilities.
Acknowledge these. - Provide an open environment so that the students
are allowed to disagree with the instructor. Not
all learners bring the same ability to think
critically, analyze results, etc. Plan
accordingly.
44Encourage Active Learning Techniques-Transformatio
n
- Establish an environment that learners feel safe
and comfortable in expressing themselves and feel
respected for their views. - Help students with similar interests find each
other. - Know when to pull back in a discussion and let
the students go. - Keep up with the discussion postings, and act as
a summarizer, reflector, and source of external
help if the group fails. - Recognize learners individual talents and
contributions. (Cercone 2008, 158)
45Give Prompt Feedback
- Adults need for the instructor to facilitate
learning. Stay present. - Let your students know you are there by
commenting on their posts and asking additional
questions for them to consider. - Faculty should provide appropriate and prompt
feedback on performance, speaking the truth in
love. - Part of building trust is in establishing open
feedback channels.
46Give Prompt Feedback
- Students need help assessing their current
competence and performance, and need frequent
opportunities to perform and receive suggestion
for improvement. Such feedback should be an
ongoing process in collegiate settings. - Taylor highlights the importance of self
assessment and feedback as key to transformative
learning (Taylor 1996, 29). - Establish guidelines for the class and for
participation that provide enough structure for
the learners but allow for flexibility and
negotiation.
47Give Prompt Feedback
- Positive and negative feedback responses with
affordances and hints can be added to online
quizzes. - We have already explored email as an option for
communication. Discourse can also occur by
reflection and reaction to others writings by
using the commenting feature available in text
processors. - It is a simple exercise to create a thread of
responses and counter responses in this context.
48Give Prompt Feedback
- Portfolio assignments afford the possibility of
critique as well, both from instructor and from
other students. - Learning management systems such as Angel,
eCollege, WebCT and Blackboard have tracking
features that allow overview of progress.
49Give Prompt Feedback
- Feedback will be natural and coherent if clear
objectives and outcomes have been communicated up
front. - Socratic questioning techniques and contextual
responses also facilitate feedback. - Remember to establish a standard for promptness
and communicate this. Then be consistent in its
application
50Emphasize Time on Task
- The injunction to facilitate the process bears
repeating here as well. - Although we strongly support the empowerment of
participants to take on their own learning
process, instructor guidance and intervention is
necessary to keep things moving and on track. - Determine a basis for judging appropriate time
on task. This is an instructional design concern
that can help instructors allow time to complete
assignments and encourage students to steward
their time.
51Emphasize Time on Task
- Tight deadlines are necessary throughout the
course to keep the group pacing through the
content and to have the discussion groups
coherently interacting. - Learning takes time and learning technologies
can make studying more efficient. - The time spent commuting can be re-appropriated
by the student and applied to the learning
process.
52Emphasize Time on Task
- The aspect that may be of the most benefit is
that asynchronous access to learning allows
students who might otherwise be excluded from
taking courses altogether creates an opportunity
to approach learning from a time perspective that
is more germane to their particular
circumstances, and allows for life interruptions
which will happen. - Online access to library resources is another
important time saver. - Using online search tools to access information
becomes normative in an online environment.
53Emphasize Time on Task
- Another feature of most learning management
systems is the ability to see statistical
breakdowns of individual and group time on task - this is an important feature that can help
faculty insure that students are tracking with
online content in a timely fashion. - In some cases the lack of time spent in the
various areas of online content suggests a need
for remediation, alternative instruction, and
motivating feedback from the instructor.
54Emphasize Time on Task
- Allow realistic time to complete assignments.
This should be a vital aspect of your curriculum
design - Guide students in this area when they are
required to create their own assignments
55Emphasize Time on Task
- One factor that promotes transformative learning
that is often left out of learning environments
is solitude. - Taylor points to this as necessary before
reflection can occur (Taylor 1998, 49). - It may be obvious, but meditation takes time and
solitude can foster this Adhering to the
practices that foster transformative learning,
particularly in a group setting, takes time
(Taylor 98, 54-55).
56Emphasize Time on Task
- Creation of a learning environment that includes
dialogue and critical reflection creates the
necessity for time. - Again, an asynchronous environment creates means
of stewarding time in a way that traditional
learning cannot. - Faculty should create opportunities for students
to practice good time management. - This includes setting realistic time for students
to complete assignments as well as using
synchronous learning opportunities.
57Communicate High Expectations
- Faculty should set and communicate high
expectations for students. - Setting the bar at an appropriately high level
can become a self-fulfilling prophecy for
students and they often will rise to meet the
challenge (Chickering and Ehrmann 1996, 5). - You will typically get no more than you expect.
This benefits the poorly motivated as well as the
highly motivated student.
58Communicate High Expectations
- Expectations must not only be clear, they should
be clearly articulated. - Online communications can quickly and efficiently
to the student. - Access to this information is available at the
click of a mouse. - Rubrics for measuring success can give students
a benchmarking capability to track their own
progress as well.
59Communicate High Expectations
- One of the main approaches for introducing higher
cognitive learning activities in the online
environment is to start with clear learning
objectives, which are in turn mapped to learning
activities that appropriately teach to the
objectives. - As these learning activities are designed to fit
the content, it is imperative that one be
intentional about the cognitive levels they
address in the learner.
60Communicate High Expectations
- A helpful tool for realizing this intentionality
is to design the activities with Blooms Taxonomy
in mind. - A secondary characteristic to track is to
designate a time on task differentiation in
regard to the difficulty levels of the
activities.
61Communicate High Expectations
- Learning objectives that require application,
analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of knowledge
should be matched with activities, assignments,
or projects that require this kind of cognitive
interaction. - The very verbiage one uses, such as analyze,
rank, interpret, appraise, develop, classify, and
extrapolate, will help determine how engaged a
student must become with the content. The key
issue is the demands of the content.
62Communicate High Expectations
- For instance, when discussing hypermedia, it is
important to distinguish between two kinds of
media. - Hyperbases are browseable databases suited to
free exploration, and hyperdocuments are more
highly structures linear representations of
bodies of content. - Deep learning is best served by the more linear
document, while discovery learning is better
served by exploring a hyperbase (Hinesley 2007,
262-263).
63Communicate High Expectations
- Recent finds by researchers show that the use of
navigation signals such as hyperlinks and
topical overviews in hypertexts compensates for
reported deficits in reading skills in an online
environment (Naumann, et.al. 2007, 791).
64Communicate High Expectations
- Pointing students to examples of excellence via
an external links page can play a key role in
giving students some tangible idea of what
constitutes excellent work - Peer evaluation of student work is another
avenue.
65Communicate High Expectations
- The publication on the web of student work can be
highly motivating as well. - Online learning environments facilitate these
approaches. An online gallery for student work is
especially valid for projects that have a visual
element. Require peer-to-peer critique as well.
66Communicate High Expectations
- Monitor the use of your online material as well.
- You may then be able to tell if students are
having difficulty with a particular concept (i.e.
a large increase in "hits" on a particular
topic), whether some members of the class are
falling behind, or if someone has suddenly
stopped participating. - If you are planning on monitoring individual
student use of online material, let your students
know this up front.
67Communicate High Expectations
- The web is a dynamic medium, therefore it is
necessary to monitor any links in the course for
current availability. - Using an online component to make the class
contemporary and current (i.e., include links to
current research, news, references) is thwarted
if the link moves or is otherwise inaccessible. - Some instructors award extra credit for students
who alert the instructor to such problems first.
68Respect Diverse Talents And Ways Of Learning
- Adults generally need to feel that learning
focuses on issues that directly concern them. - They want to know what they are going to learn
and why it is important they need to see how it
will apply to their lives (Cercone 2008, 157). -
69Respect Diverse Talents And Ways Of Learning
- According to Taylors findings, research
supports effective instructional methods that
support a learner centered approach, promote
student participation and collaboration. - He points to the importance of activities that
encourage the exploration of alternative personal
perspectives, problem posing, and critical
reflection (Taylor 1998, 48-49).
70Respect Diverse Talents And Ways Of Learning
- Varying presentation style and assignment
requirements will allow students to showcase
their unique talents and abilities and learn in a
variety of ways. Teach content in multiple
iterations, geared toward reinforcing learning in
those who get it the first time, and turning
the lights on for the first time for others.
Instructors can also set up lessons in a linear
flow inside their learning management system if
required by the content. This would provide
gates through which students may not pass until
prior content is mastered.
71Respect Diverse Talents And Ways Of Learning
- Varying presentation style and assignment
requirements will allow students to showcase
their unique talents and abilities and learn in a
variety of ways. - Teach content in multiple iterations, geared
toward reinforcing learning in those who get it
the first time, and turning the lights on for the
first time for others.
72Respect Diverse Talents And Ways Of Learning
- Instructors can also set up lessons in a linear
flow inside their learning management system if
required by the content. - This would provide gates through which students
may not pass until prior content is mastered.
73Respect Diverse Talents And Ways Of Learning
- Consider using such experiences as virtual
simulation, visualization, cognitively robust
exercises, journaling, webquests, and student
blogs in the course instructional design. - These can address student differences in learning
styles in ways that traditional learning may only
do in a limited fashion.
74Respect Diverse Talents And Ways Of Learning
- One can incorporate "virtual field trips" into
online courses by using the assignments, external
links and discussion board functionality of the
course in tandem. - Students participation will not only increase,
but they can come back to access and review the
lesson while conducting research and reporting
the results.
75Respect Diverse Talents And Ways Of Learning
- The application of a Multiple Intelligences
approach - The application of a Learning Styles approach
- Thats ANOTHER presentation
76End of Presentation