How much reading and writing skill should the students have?
Should the student have a certain amount of reading and writing skills before the online class begins? Should the instructor from any background teach a student reading and writing skills, on top of course material? Please share your thoughts with me on this?
Skills in English, specifically, is another factor to consider. It's somewhat ironic that more and more students who do not speak English as a first language (they may speak it well, but writing, as we know, is another story) are finding themselves pointed towards online learning, though they face special challenges. The issues ESL students encounter with writing assignments and online forums tend to be very different from English speaking students who simply haven't achieved a high degree of literacy. An awareness of your students' linguistic backgrounds is important as it affects the learning tools that may come into play.
Lou,
What a great post. You make a great point. I don't think we as instructors think about students having a limited ability to read. I also have stopped calling grading "grading". I try to get them thinking about using the feedback to improve. It is such an important step in learning.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
To be successful in college, students must be able to read and write on a high level. From my experience, it is much easier to see growth in writing skills with assistance than with reading. Individual instructors have a greater opportunity to help improve a student's writing skills with appropriate feedback and revisions. If an assignment is used only for grading purposes with no feedback, the student will learn little from the writing assignment. Improving reading skills is a slow arduous process that's difficult for individual instructors to help students improve. Students who read on a 6th grade level have a difficult time reading textbooks and materials such as Anatomy and there's really little the individual instructor can do to improve the student's success rate. It take more time than the course allows.
Chezree,
It is really disappointing, I agree with you. I also think we have to hold them accountable regarding their communication skills. It is part of professionalism. BTW, I have also been appalled by the communication skills of some instructors!!!
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Personally, I believe that students should possess reading and writing skills as most of these are generally developed starting in elementary school and advance at different levels as students excel in their education. Sadly, this is not always the case with several of the students that I come across. What I find troublesome is that many of our students are training for careers in insurance, coding, pharmacy technicians, nurses, or performing some role in the medical office. And yet I’m astounded by the lack of literacy and professionalism that I observe in several of the email communications that I receive in my inbox or even the assignments that come into the Writing Center.
Although I’m certain there is a high expectation that instructors should teach the students reading and writing skills, I am going to argue that in light of the high volumes of managing course materials, this is simply not feasible. This is why it is important that the academic institution provide alternate resources and/or support systems to refer students when these particular skills need to be taught separately.
Christine,
I agree, I think you have to. I also quit re-mediating during my course time. If students don't remember content or skills that are expected of them when they enter the course, they have to work to obtain them. I do provide tutorials and information that will help them get up to speed. I do find it interesting that students don't think they have to read the material needed for the course.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Monique,
You have posted very good discussion questions. I believe it is necessary to have a good amount of reading and writing skills before students begin taking online classes. I think it will be nearly impossible for students to pass any course without these skills, especially the college level courses.
As for your other question, I teach mathematics and we do have vocabularies and verbiage that are not taught in English classes so in my case, I believe it is okay to teach them such skills, on top of the course materials.
-Christine
Natasa,
I agree with you. We at times make students do so much as we want to prove that we are all engaged in active learning. Many times we make them "jump through hoops" that are not necessarily connected to and with the learning.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I feel that they need to take general education courses to some extent. Sometimes Online Classes are very demanding and it is hard to teach the basics sometimes to students via the internet.
Kimberly,
I agree with you. You make a great point about faculty. I am surprised when faculty say they grade for grammar and punctuation and when they write you wonder if they know.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Monique,
I think their should be an expectation that students are at a certain reading and writing level prior to beginning online classes. It is key to their success and the main way of testing their knowledge for the material. Same for instructors; those who hold higher degrees should be expected to read and write appropriately. How can we effectively critique the student if our skills are not up-to-par? I cannot review APA formatting if I do not know and understand it.
David,
You are right. I am surprised how little students understand the need for these skills.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I believe students should have sound reading and writing skills before taking f2f or online classes. Most schools have prerequisite writing classes. If a student cannot communicate effectively, the course material and learning objectives are lost
Alaina,
I agree with you. I just finished grading freshmen papers and their writing is sorely lacking. You have to have the expectations work with their learning sometimes remediating but always working with them to meet expectations. I don't see this is an area we can be lax.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Charles,
Yes, with discussion boards playing an important role in online learning this is an important skill and one we should expect students to have.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Fortunately, my online schools require students to complete at least one English course before moving into other areas of study. As their first line of defense, so to speak, I take my job very seriously in order to provide them with the skills necessary to communicate clearly and effectively in their other courses. Mostly, I teach Freshman and Sophomore Composition classes, which brings me to your question. Many of these students come to class improperly equipped to write coherent paragraphs, extended essays, or to cite sources correctly. I do feel that it is my job to provide students with these skills even when the remediation isn't built into the course. At some point, we have to become proactive as instructors and at the very least provide the students with the tools necessary to become successful even if we, specifically, do not teach them how to use these tools.
Reading and Writing is huge. I have way to many students who can not write a sentence.
Marcia,
I agree with you, I still use a writing guide, I use Gregg's. There are also great resources online to helps students such as the Online Writing Lab from Purdue. About the reading. . . I have a colleague that states that problem with math skills today is students don't read and she is a math professor!
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
The professor I had for the class, whose name I cannot remember at the moment, is, I believe, a full professor, and she has published a good deal about basic writing and literacy. The Council for Writing Program Administrators also addresses these issues. At the time of Shaughnessy, many people, often women, were hired to teach composition, with the upper level classes going to others. I have also tried to subscribe to The Journal of Basic Writing. I really did not know much about this area until I took a class focused on it. The professor used several chapters from Shaughnessy's book along with newer articles. I still see the three levels of writing preparedness today.
I believe that all of the colleges I have taught for have open admission, and most have not remedial writing options. In some technical colleges, it is possible that the writing ability is not even across classes. I find Shaughnessy's work to still be valuable, and overall, I do not think writing skills have improved much. Although I work with everyone in my classes, students pop up fairly regularly who say they do not read, yet many things at college and business levels still need to be read.
