Dur to the importance of the subject matter, I am including this video at the beginning of my blog. It is something I find to be important when addressing the letting go of power and self-directing the learning of students.
The course I am observing is going along about the same as it was in the early phases. The students are highly involved, at least those most involved. The second project has been handed in and graded, for those that have completed this task. Since the course is half way through, it seems most of the students and the instructor have established a strong connection with a certain amount of trust. However, I am experiencing a need to deeply think about the progress of the course, at this point due to a difference in thinking about what I would do versus what the instructor has done in the design of the course.
It seems to me, the course discussion is more of a forum to sort through the materials given in the course and reflect on how it applies to their own personal circumstances and past experiences. This is something I would want to encourage in any course I set up. But my problem is, I am having trouble with the projects that are required. The instructor is giving them three projects to complete during the course. I would want to give them only one…a capstone project. At this point the students should be moving from exploring and researching ideas to integrating knowledge and using this knowledge to solve ill-structured problems. To me there is a disconnect between each project and the students are not given the freedom to do papers or individual research based on their interests and are losing some of the academic freedom they should be developing at this point. The only feedback from peers and the instructor, on the project, seems to be after it is written and turned in.
Instead of three projects, I think I would have set the course up as a process of first proposing the theme they want to write about in their finally project. Writing a draft of the proposal in the second phase of the theme development; and after that, having other students and the instructor comment on it and how it could be approved. Finally, the finished version would be presented as a capstone project completed at the end of the quarter. When this happens in the late middle and early end of the course the instructor’s position shifts from being the primary facilitator of the course to that of supporting the work of their students in the last phases of the project. The purpose is to shift the responsibility of learning in the course to the students and points them in the direction of self-directed learning, which will be reflected in their final project.
This leads to the subtle shift of responsibility from the instructor to the learner; and it can help the instructor let go of power and empower the students. They are becoming the experts in their project and taking on the responsibility of arriving at their research goal as they work to present the project. At this point, they have incorporated or are incorporating the knowledge and key concepts they have learned during the quarter in order to write or create their final project paper, blog or presentation. The instructor is helping them by empowering them and coaching them in each phase of the project; but giving them the primary role in the construction of the project, in these later phases. The questions the instructor raises during the phases of the project are formative assessment and will help the student in the process if done properly and/or effectively. Also, their peers are giving their input and this feedback helps both the person working on the project and the peers who may rethink their own work in the process. In essence the student is developing critical thinking skills during these phases and their final project is a product of how those skills are developing and being used.
Why is this idea of letting go of power so important? It helps the student grow beyond the master or actually surpass the work of the instructor in their own area of interest. It is a way of challenging the learner to think critically about solving the ill-structured problems. They will be confronted many ill-structured and complex problems in their work and with in their lifetime. Boettcher and Conrad explain in their Online Teaching Survival Guide, that simulating real life disasters, through role-playing and scenarios prepares pilots, firefighters, police etc, to automatically respond to these crises. We might add that those skills will help our students in every aspect of their lives when they have these skills at their disposal. After all, isn’t that the very reason we are educating them?
I am including a few links that might be helpful rsources and a short video with Judith Boettcher presenting one of her concepts.
http://www.mesacc.edu/~johnson/DLMGRSRC.HTM
JOYSTECHTOOL 
Midnight in Manhattan–someone’s car alarm just went off below our window, and the subway rolls by regularly–decidedly urban vibe.
I think you’re ready to begin putting up a class. You have a wealth of resources, strong opinions about how students should learn and it’s time for the rubber to hit the road. I look forward to being on that road with you.
Here’s an exercise, purely an exercise: tell me three benefits students will receive from doing the papers the way this instructor has assigned them. Since I’ve not seen the assignments, you’ll have to provide a one-sentence summation of each so I have the context for judging what you’re saying.
Then after you’ve done the exercise, tell me whether doing it was worthwhile or a waste of time.
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Okay…I am very sick and trying to write this answer. My head is swimming and I am sick to my tummy. The thought of midnight in Manhatten would be my worst nightmare! I hate the smell of the city!
The first assignment was to create a research experimental design to test a hypothesis based on 8 choices created by the instructor. The prediction aspect of the experiment was to be supported by the evidence or not. This paper asked the students to create a reseach study using quantitative design information to test a relationship between a independent varible and dependent varible or cause and effect. This exercise was to give the students a deeper understanding of research design and the ability to understand or create a design that is both reliable and valid. In everyday academic life, students must understand how reliable a research test or design is and whether it has inherent flaws that may negate the findings of the research.
Secondly, they were asked to create a summer camp while applying two theories of child development. The activities planned in this camp of children from 18 months to 13 years (choosing any one of those age groups) had to be socially and intellectually stimulating and based on the theories of two leading experts in the field. The students had to understand the two theories and apply them to this exercise in their paper. The creative portion of the paper was in the design of the camp and the learning activities. It allowed them to more thoroughly understand the concepts and apply them to the practical application of a summer camp. They had to critically think about what they needed to do to accomplish this task, while understanding and applying the concepts and/or theories.
Finally, they were to update a video from the series the instructor had used for the course.The series had been produced in 1990 and was last updated in 2001. The students were to chose one concept from those films to update and research. They were to find the latest information that had been published on the concept by authories in the field. Then based on their research, they were asked to write a narration of the updated information that should be included in the film. Much of the research in any academic field is not current. It takes time to write and research an update. There is often a lag of one to two years (or longer) before the study gets published. By writing a narration and researching the updated material students were given the opportunity to read the latest information in the field and apply it. Many times new information either validates the findings of the study or makes it null or void or simply points out the problems within the study. Also, it can flesh out the concept with new information or add to the original findings or predictions.
All of the papers were used with chunks of the material read and studied during the course. It gave the students the opportunity to work with the material in a real life situation…creating experiments to test design; creating a scenario based on theories in the field; and updating information in the films they had watched in the course. It gave them a wide range of choices. Finally, it allowed them to develop the critical thinking skills needed to accomplish the ill-structured problems each paper presented. I suspect that Robin my instructor disagreed with my current blog and gave me this exercise to re-think what I had written. Current pedagogical thinking states that learners learn best when information is chunked into pieces that are easier to remember, rather than waiting until the final test at the end of a quarter. I cannot stand by my conclusions in my blog. The students were to turn the papers in so their fellow students could comment on them. They were structured in a way that would help them learn by remembering a large amount of information and applying it in their papers.
My idea was to develop a paper or project based on their own interests within a given framework. Having it approved by the instructor and in the process of writing or presenting it, think about what the other students in the course had to say about the development of the paper or project. Each of these steps in the process were collaborative with the help of the instructor and their fellow students. So, it boils down to two approaches and to different ways of thinking about the project: one from the novice and one from the expert. Okay was this exercise useful…yes; I did not need the extra work…but it caused me to think a bit deeper about the whole issue of papers and projects.
Incidentally my strong opinions come from personal learning experiences and the latest research on how we learn in online course. (Okay, I have to stop. I have to get rid of what’s in my tummy!)
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I DO very much hope that you’ve recovered from your tummy aimlment by now and had a lovely anniversary. Ours is tomorrow. We’ve already celebrated with the fabulous meal in New York. Tomorrow will be a peaceful drive from Montreal to Quebec City, then just enjoying the place.
No, I wasn’t disagreeing with you–I really did just want you to think from a different perspective and I like the result. One additional reason for having three short assignments is that, assuming students are relatively new to academic writing, they need practice in writing academic stuff. The three-paper sequence allows students to improve as writers over the course of the quarter, benefiting from the instructor’s feedback. Generally, students new to academic writing make a complete hash of it, producing a high school “report” the first time out, and it’s necessary to whip them into shape. It’s the behavior modification component of the beginning undergrad experience.
That having been said, I could make equally compelling arguments for your methodology. My aim is just to make you think more deeply.
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Thank you for your comments. I am fine and had a lovely Anniversary.
Yes, I did take the time to sort it all out. My admiration of the instructor of the course is based on his/her ability to cover all the bases in an effortless, seamless way. I would be very happy to read anything he/she wrote on the subject. I sense a deep understanding of the content and an ability to write and publish a wonderful intellectual and interesting book. This person should have taught in a university where he/she would be required to publish! Okay, a value judgement; but I want to read what he/she would write!
I hope you enjoy Canada! I actually love the country; but prefer the Klondike and North Western parts of it. However, my last name is french and they do speak french in the Klondike and in Quebec.
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