Anthony,
Yes, it's hard to narrow it down to three, but the points you brought up are great. Letting students know up front how much time they need to spend on the course is helpful to everyone. Setting high expectations and letting students know the rigor of the course certainly sets the stage. Thanks!
Dr. Crews,
There are clearly more than three points to consider, as your course material so accurately shows! I have been teaching Calculus and Advanced Algebra online for over 8 years to adult students, and simply selected the first three points which came to mind!
The first is the level and background of the students. Many students come into a Calculus Course with only a minimal background in Algebra, and often that was taken 20 years or more ago. They have forgotten so much, and cannot easily manipulate the concepts and ideas needed to proceed into Calculus. These students need a fast “ramp upâ€!
The second is the time that students have available each week to study the material and work on the assignments. In a full 5 week course, they nominally have to spend 30-40 hours per week which translates into 5-6 hours of work each and every day. Most of the students have full time jobs and families, and have a lot of “time management†issues in determining what must be cut out of their day and evening to make room for study time. I normally urge them to go to a quiet room (or area) after dinner, and then plan on spending the next 4-5 hours in study and work. Football watching and family TV are out! This is normally met with groans of dismay!
The third is what the students should get out of the course. At nominal level, a Calculus course can be a brief survey of the key components and a little history of how it developed. At the next level, the course can focus on real world applications of Calculus, and let them see how it is used in financial engineering, health services, and in IT. Another level up would cover just the basics in fairly comprehensive fashion, and include several applications for students to appreciate what they are really studying. At the highest level for the best students, the course should be a rigorous course covering all the core theorems and proofs which set the stage for later study in more advanced mathematics …. Matrix Algebra, Differential Equations, Integral Equations, Asymptotic Methods,…., etc. This level of course is mandatory for all serious students in any of the technical fields!
Comments?
Anthony
Suzanne,
Good list. We have to understand where our students are coming from and how to help them get to the outcomes. So true. Thanks for your input.
I believe the 3 most important things to consider when authoring a course are:
a) the level of knowledge and type of student who will be taking the course
b) the amount of time students are expected to spend on classwork each week
c) the best methods of delivering well organized, clearly defined information
Thanks,
Suzanne
Aaron,
The workflow of the module is something others have not mentioned. Thanks for bringing that up.
Appreciate your input.
The three most important things are content, delivery of content and an easy ability to understand the workflow of the module.
jacob ,
Excellent things to think about. We, as online instructors, have to connect the learning objectives to the assignments/projects and can be infused into the rubrics so students can see how to meet them. Nice job.
1. What are the learning objectives of the course
2. How are these learning objectives going to be meet by the students in an online course
3. Are the students in an online course meeting the same course requirements as the students taking the same course on-ground
Philip,
Great questions. These are all things that others need to think about as well. As our students are all different and from varying generations, the delivery of content in a variety of ways is essential. Thanks!
Martin,
Good questions. I particularly like that you are asking the question and thinking about what students may have difficulty with. It's good to think about that up front.
Hi Dr. Crews!
The curriculum says:
1. How will content be delivered?
2. How will students receive the content?
3. How will students be assessed in their knowledge of the content?
a. What do the students know?
b. What can students do?
I agree with the curriculum and think our main challenge in college today is the diversity of our student population. You may have a Gen Y student and a Baby Boomer in the same class and they don't receive the content in the same way most of the time. I think that drives instructors to bring more variety of delivery to the table.
1] What are the learning objectives of the course: at the end of the course, what do I want students to know and be able to do.
2] What is the best way to deliver this content? What tools are available and most helpful?
3] Where are students likely to encounter difficulty with the material? What can I do to anticipate and minimize this difficulty?
Heather,
Thanks for bringing up the fact that students do have obstacles to overcome. They come in many forms. As you motivate them beyond the obstacles, you are providing information in various ways and hitting those learning styles. Thanks!
I believe the most important thing to consider is how the student learns, what is their learning style. I always change how I teach things to their learning style to help them grasp the new knowledge.
Another thing to consider is what is their obstacles to overcome. Some students can be pregnant or working multiple jobs. This is important to remember
Lastly, I like to know the reason they came to the online course in the first place. That way if they are falling behind by either their obstacles or not understanding the material and can use that to help motivate them.
Daniel,
Thanks for your input. We do so much need to try our best to understand what students know and help them figure out how to get to what they need to know. Thanks again.
The three things I would ask are
1. What do the students need to know by the end of the course, especially if another course is going to build on this course;
2. How is the best methods to deliver the information, particularly if there are multiple methods as students learn in different ways; and
3. How will students demonstrate their understanding of the information.
Daniel
Betsy,
This type of blended course is popular. Many like to teach in this manner. Connecting everything to the learning outcomes is important. Thanks for your input.
I have been involved in the development of a new curriculum at our school for a new RN to BSN program. I recently developed a pathophysiology course that is blended. Half of the course is presented online and the other half is in a traditional classroom setting. When developing this course, the first thing to consider was how it met the objectives of the overall curriculum. In order to build the objectives of the course, first I had to understand how the course was meeting the objectives of the program. The next step was to develop the objectives for the course, and the third was to develop the course content. The course content was built so that it would meet the objectives of the course. Each step builds on another to develop the course.
Heather,
We do have to make sure students can prove what they have learned and it's best to do that through a variety of ways. Thanks for adding to the conversation.
Lucille,
It's fine. Post as many times as you like. ;-)
We do need to understand the students and content and how to get the point across. Integrating their personal experiences into the learning environment is excellent. Thanks!
