SESSION 3: BEST PRACTICES.

1. After reviewing the Quality Matters Checklist, what are three best practices you can extract. List each one and explain its significance and importance. Be sure to give an example of how using this idea would make either delivery or assessment better in a specific eLearning context.

        From the Quality Matters (QM) checklist, I found the following to be best practices: Course activities and learner interaction, assessment & measurement and instructional materials. Dr. Newberry points out that the very best best practices would be those that are most universal and applicable to more settings and populations. 

Providing course activities and learner interaction – activities which the learner has to undertake provides an opportunity for delivering the content to be learned; a good way to develop the knowledge base of the learner which leads to mastery of content. This can be accomplished by following bloom’s taxonomy.

Such activities include reading resources – instructor can provide URLs of web resources for students to read and complete assignments. The learner will be able to interact with the content, interact with other students about the topic of discussion and the instructor so that learning objectives can be achieved. Students learn by sharing what they know because they put it in the way they understand better.

          I have found blackboard discussions to be a good eLearning context. This is because different views and resources are presented by students about the same topic; giving one a chance to learn more information about the same topic as of compared when it would have been presented by an individual. Writing reflections about what has been covered in that topic helps in facilitating critical thinking.

For example, this weeks’ work illustrates this clearly. We had several topics to read and three topics were presented but we were to respond to one and give comments to the rest. This is emphasized by Chickering and Gamson (1987) under principle numbers 2 & 3; one way to enhance learner-focused teaching by focusing attention on the learning process and empowering learners to take on the learning task (Palloff & Pratt, 2009).

Giving assessment & measurement – Assessment is a strategy that both the learner and the instructor uses to track performance in regards to the learning objectives. It’s through assessment that an instructor can identify the best way to deliver instruction to meet learners’ needs. Best practice is exercised when the learner receives prompt feedback about their performance through a grading routine. This motivates and enlightens them about areas they need to improve.

        Dr. Newberry has shared his strategy about this; a question a once asked him and this is what he had to say:

“Q: I must say I like the way you are so prompt in giving feedback. What is the secret behind this?”

“A: I try to reserve Monday to do grading. By focusing only on grading (and by reading fast!) I can get grading done for two or three classes in a single day.
I keep all grades in a spreadsheet and I use a merge feature to port the grades and the comments into individual emails. That is how I can send you an email each week that includes all of your grades including updated scores.”

         Chickering and Gamson (1987) points out this under principle numbers 6 & 7. Aligning assessment with course activities helps to determine a true measurement of student competency and performance. It also ensures that the instructor retains responsibility for monitoring progress and assigning the final grade (Palloff & Pratt, 2009). They recommend answering this question when designing assessment: “what is it we want our students to be able to know and do at the conclusion of this course?” (p.28).

Use of instructional materials – having an updated and a variety of instructional materials will help to effectively facilitate learning activities. These ranges from printed and duplicated materials, still-projected display materials and technological instructional media. I believe all the seven principles presented by Chickering will have to rely on instructional materials for fruition of eLearning.

You may click here for more information about instructional materials.

          In an eLearning context the following materials should be used to deliver the content, use of textual information, audiovisual materials and presentations. Chickering and Gamson (1987) points out this under principle number 7.

More information about best practices in online teaching: http://www.uwec.edu/AcadAff/resources/edtech/upload/Best-Practices-in-Online-Teaching-Strategies-Membership.pdf

2. After reviewing the readings (and other sources that you locate on your own) what are some ideas that you can take from the work of Chickering and Gamson? How well do their suggestions map to online education in general? How well do they map to the students and/or content you might teach or develop for?

        Dreon (2013) states in her work that almost 25 years have passed since Chickering and Gamson offered principles for good instructional practices in undergraduate education, but still they have a place in today’s collegiate classroom. The principles translate well to the online classroom though they were meant to communicate best practices for face-to-face instruction.

The seven principles have illustrated how good practice can be exercised while teaching be it face-to-face or online learning. They also relate well with what (Palloff & Pratt, 2009) have presented about learner-focused teaching.

          From my experience with online / hybrid learning, I would say efforts have been made to ensure what Chickering presented is implemented. Use of communication technologies has helped to see learners and instructors remain in contact throughout the course. Various interactions especially student-student has so far ensured that students build a community and has been a good way to learn from others.

Breaking down course content into manageable weekly readings, assignments, discussions and reflections promotes active learning, gives the instructor time to provide prompt feedback on the work covered and a convenient way of learning. 

          For any course which I will develop, I will ensure I implement the seven principles by ensuring there is constant communication with the students about the course expectations, come up with methods of promoting student-student interaction as discussed before and having a variety of multimedia options to deliver the content.

3. According to the text, what are Objectives, Outcomes and Competencies? Provide an example of each.

• Objectives: Are statement of purpose describing what students will learn, generally at the end of a unit of study. They are outlined goal an instructor would want to achieve in his or her teaching. This is accomplished by coming up with learning activities which students have to perform followed by an assessment to demonstrate that they have mastered the concepts presented. For example: At the end of the unit, students should be able to list points to consider when designing an online course.

• Outcomes: What students will be able to know or do, generally at the end of a course. The behavior to be achieved that will be performed even after leaving the program course. This is something which a student can do to demonstrate knowledge acquisition. For example: At the end of the course, students should be able to design an online course.

• Competencies: How students demonstrate knowledge or skill acquisition, generally at the end of a program of study. It forms the foundation. It is at this stage that I would say learning has taken place because there is an observable change in the learners’ behavior i.e. acquisition of knowledge and skills. For example, at the end of the program, students should be able to facilitate an online class.

They have presented it in this table which gives a clear illustration of how they relate to each other:

4. List the six levels in Bloom's taxonomy. Now list one eLearning task, question or assignment for each level.

Knowledge: Ability to recall previously learned material; know specific facts, methods, and procedures; and know basic concepts and principles.

eLearning Question: List any four best practices in eLearning as presented in the web resources provided.

Comprehension: Ability to understand the meaning of material, interpret charts and graphs, estimate future consequences implied in the data.

eLearning Question: Write a brief explanation about best practices in eLearning as presented in the web resources provided and any other online material.

Application:  Ability to use learned information in new situations, problem solving, solutions that have “best answers”; to demonstrate correct usage of procedures; to apply laws or theories to practical situations.

eLearning assignment: Illustrate how the identified best practices can be used in an online environment.

Analysis: Ability to identify component parts of knowledge, to understand its structure and composition, to recognize logical fallacies in reasoning, to make distinctions between facts and inferences.

eLearning assignment: Compare and contrast “best practices” for face-to-face learning and those for online learning.

Synthesis: Ability to creatively apply knowledge to new areas, to integrate new knowledge, to write a well-argued paper or speech, to propose a research design to test a hypothesis.

eLearning question: In relation to the chapter readings, what solution would you suggest towards improving the practice of eLearning.

Evaluation: Ability to judge the value of evidence or material for a given purpose.

eLearning assignment: Review the various definitions of best practices as presented in the chapter readings as well as several other definitions that you find online.

5. According to the text, what is "learner focused teaching"? How does this concept relate to the work of Chickering and Gamson? Provide some ideas for providing "learner focused teaching" in an eLearning setting and give at least one example.

       Learner focused teaching enables the learner to gain knowledge by analyzing and evaluating the information presented. This is done by involving the student, aligning assessment with course activities and use of multiple measures of student performance.

The seven principles places the learner at the focal area. How delivery and assessment of the content is presented by Chickering is a true picture of learner focused teaching. This include use of active learning techniques, reflecting on diverse talents and ways of learning e.t.c. Palloff & Pratt (2009) have identified the benefits of learner-focused teaching as follows:

• Focuses attention squarely on the learning process.

• Focuses on what the student is learning, how the student is learning, the conditions under which the student is learning, and whether the student is retaining and applying the learning.

• Focuses on how current learning positions the student for future learning.

• Focuses on learning, not grades.

• Empowers learners to take on the learning task.

• Gives learners input into the assessment process.

• Ensures that the instructor retains responsibility for monitoring progress and assigning the final grade, if one is necessary.

6. Explain how the readings this week (and your own research) connects with the Blackboard discussion.

        The readings are interrelated with blackboard discussion topics. They include best practices and how to implement them, quality matters, bloom’s taxonomy and learner-focused teaching. Discussion topics were selected from these readings which was a good way to reflect on what was presented in the readings. All the information presented covered issues about improving online delivery and assessment. I gained a deeper understanding of key areas relating to best practices in online learning.

7. Quote your best entry from this week's Blackboard discussion. Explain why you chose it and what it demonstrates about your understanding, learning process etc.

        “Quality Matters check helps to improve the quality of most online classes. QM standards provide information for instructors to keep track as they design and deliver the course. This helps to identify areas that need improvements. The peer review process helps the instructor to receive information about the strengths of the course, instructional enhancement suggestions and/or recommendations. Standards that were met and those not met are provided. Any score below the minimum score (85%) calls for revision of the course for the instructor to continue teaching it.”

        It is encouraging to realize that online classes have to meet some laid down standards before they can be taught. Any online classes which do not meet the requirements need to be reviewed. This has a positive impact towards learning process because we can be sure that learners are receiving quality education that will help to improve their performance.

8. Identify the student you think was the most important participant in the Blackboard discussion. Explain why and provide at least one quote from that student's contributions to the Blackboard discussion.

           Generally all the postings that I read were informative and information about real classroom experiences were presented but I gained a lot from Laura’s presentation. I needed an explanation about how the 7^th principle relates to online learning and her feedback broadened my understanding about it:

“The curriculum can be fast-tracked for students who are capable and modified for struggling students……..For example, if they are not going to be able to accomplish writing an entire research report, they could create a PowerPoint or travel brochure that covers the same learning objectives.”

9. Reflect on what you have learned this week. What have you learned that has the potential to inform or influence you or your practice of online learning going forward? Explain why.

           It has been very long time since I read about Bloom’s taxonomy. This gave me a time to reflect on what & how learning is facilitated in a classroom setup. Best practices have changed the way I used to view online delivery and assessment. At least I now have something to refer to whenever I carry out online learning. I have understood how emerging technologies has helped to facilitate best practices.

REFERENCES.

Chickering, A. and Gamson, Z. (1987). Seven principles for good practice in              undergraduate education. Washington Center News. Retrieved from:                                                                                                                                      http://www.lonestar.edu/multimedia/SevenPrinciples.pdf

Dreon, O. (2013). Applying the seven principles for good practice to the online          classroom. Faculty Focus. Higher Ed Teaching Strategies from Magna                Publications p. 1-5.

McEachron, D. , Bach, C. , & Sualp, M. (2012). Digital socrates: A system for           disseminating and evaluating best practices in education. Campus-Wide             Information Systems, 29(4), 226-237.

Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2009). Assessing the online learner: Resources and strategies for faculty. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.