Evolution of Distance Education
When we think about distance education in North America, the first image that might come to mind is online learning of the kind that is offered by University of Maryland University College. However, current online teaching and learning practice of distance education have a much longer history, in fact, dating back to Apostle Paul preaching the gospel by writing his epistles which were sent out to Asia Minor (Peters, 2004, p. 14). Peters, Moore, and Holmberg (2006) laid the foundation for discussing distance education so many years later. Otto Peters started out as a pedagogue attempting to analyze educational approaches when he came across “correspondence education” (Bernath, 2006). In the 1960s there were no academics for distance learning, so he intended to write a negative on the status of educational approaches. Since Professor Peters was not involved in correspondence education, he was able to analyze it standing from the outside looking in. Human and educational behavior is such that new forms of pedagogies are not readily accepted until they can be theoretically proven. As such, the experts in the field felt that Peters’ framework applying industrial revolution to “correspondence education” was a de-naturalized form of face-to-face education (Peters, 2010).
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Overall, I think analytical rubrics provide more information than holistic rubrics in both approaches – behaviorist and cognitivist.
Holistic rubrics are used more often when there is no definite answer required. They focus on the overall quality or understanding of the content or subject. It is a quicker scoring system for instructors and less detailed scoring diagram for students. In behaviorist approach, these rubrics can be used, but they do not provide enough feedback to keep positive feedback current and constant. Holistic rubrics combine different kinds of thinking into a single category, which creates less work for instructors, and more doubt for students, especially in behaviorist approach (Mertler, 2001). I think holistic rubrics are more appropriate for the cognitivist approach; however, they still leave the motivation aspect out, because a student must be self-motivated enough to receive an overall score. When separate parts are graded, like in analytical rubrics, and feedback is provided for each of them, the students have the opportunity to correct their mistakes and adjust along the way. Every instructor and a student are different. Although the scoring system is supposed to be on a neutral level, since neither of both rubrics, holistic or analytical, can have a mathematical approach to them, using analytical method seems to be more appropriate for both approaches – cognitivist and behavioral. “Instead of the holistic rubric's lumping of several different traits into one category, an analytical rubric separates them” (Pierce, 2006). Although analytical rubrics do take more time to score, they “can be useful to departments assessing student's thinking skills in assignments and projects in multi-section courses to determine which areas of student thinking need more attention in the course” (Pierce, 2006). References Mertler, C., A. (2001). Designing scoring rubrics for your classroom. Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 7(25). Retrieved from: http://www.pareonline.net/getvn.asp?v=7&n=25 Peirce, W. (2006). Designing rubrics for assessing higher order thinking. Retrieved from: http://academic.pgcc.edu/~wpeirce/MCCCTR/Designingrubricsassessingthinking.html By comparing behaviorist and cognitivist approaches to online teaching and learning, I came to the following conclusions that I could use in my practice of online instructing.
1. First, I think behaviorist approach is best for in classroom environment, directly because teachers and learners can observe each other’s behavior and exchange feedback right away. In my opinion, online teaching and learning is a mix of both approaches, behaviorist and cognitive. Although in behaviorist approach consequences occur immediately in a classroom environment, they can be easily transferred to the online environment as well through feedback and grades. In Distance education, simultaneous, immediate feedback is slightly delayed. However, providing feedback can occur when students submit their assignments, participate in weekly discussions and group projects. Providing positive reinforcement can happen in any form in online teaching. There is no disadvantage from in classroom positive reinforcement. The only downside is timing, which does not always occur instantly (Standridge, 2002). Positive reinforcement is significant, especially for online learners. Showing students that you are interested in their work, reinforcing that interest with additional information, and actively engaging in discussions is my goal as a future online educator (Standridge, 2002). As for negative reinforcements in behaviorist approach, they are not different from in classroom environment. Obtaining a lower score on the assignment or submitting all assignments on time that would result in the lowest grade being dropped, or perfect attendance – are all very similar to what can be used in distance education negative reinforcements (Standridge, 2002). The same can be said about punishments. For instance, the students can be dropped from the class, earn a low grade, or receive warnings from an instructor. Although I think behaviorist approach of more suitable, in my opinion, for in classroom learning, instructors subconsciously use this approach in online teaching as well. Whether the response is delayed or not, our behavior and reflexes are still present in any form of studying. 2. On the other hand, I think, cognitive theories pertain mostly to students rather than instructors, because it is an internal learning that involves our memory, thinking, reflections, abstractions, motivation – anything that helps learners process and absorb information given to them better (Gunderson, 2009). “Students organize old knowledge, scripts, and schema, find relationships, and link new information to old” (Gunderson, 2009). This is when it is very important for instructors to understand that “learners have different backgrounds/experiences which can impact learning outcomes; determine the most effective way to organize and structure new information to work with these backgrounds/experiences; arrange practice with feedback so that the new information is effectively and efficiently assimilated and /or accommodated with the learner’s cognitive structure” (Gunderson, 2009) The main weakness of this approach is that it can be challenging to know everyone’s background to use specific ways of teaching in an online environment. However, this is a robust approach when it comes to giving necessary knowledge for students to study and rely on their senses. References Gunderson, G. (2009). Cognitive approaches to learning. Retrieved from http://etec.ctlt.ubc.ca/510wiki/Cognitive_Approaches_to_Learning#Key_Components_of_Cognitive_Learning_Approaches Standridge, M. (2002). Behaviorism. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://epltt.coe.uga.edu Saba in his "Distance Education Theory, Methodology, and Epistemology: A Pragmatic Paradigm" discusses how different and at the same time how similar distance versus face-to-face education can be. As for the final results, the difference between the two is not that significant. Eventually, students learn the same material and obtain the same knowledge. However, because the teachers and the students do not meet in person, the complexity of distance education can be overwhelming for both educators and students.
I have been taking online classes for quite some time. The first couple of weeks of each year are the toughest for me, because I build a new schedule, manage my time differently, and I have to compose some system for each class because I usually take two to three of them. I reach my equilibrium by dividing each class into sections. The first half of the week I read all the material given and search the internet for additional resources. The second half of the week I respond to discussions, and then I write my papers on the weekends. If I do not have enough time to read any extra material, this is when I am out of my equilibrium, because I feel that I am behind on something important – some significant changes in the world, or valuable information that I missed. I assume because I went to schools with behaviorist approach to studying, I still have to have a system and some discipline towards my online education to be able to keep up and maintain that equilibrium everyone strives for. References Saba, F. (2003) "Distance Education Theory, Methodology, and Epistemology: A Pragmatic Paradigm" in Handbook of Distance Education. pp. 3-19. Olga Usova posted Sep 16, 2017 9:06 PM In chapter 1 of his book, Tony Bates is talking about education being directly connected to the labor market. I think this is the major challenge I will encounter when I am an online instructor or an online curriculum “builder” because labor market changes so rapidly. Distance education is very focused on knowledge rather than experience and practice. This is where I will have to find a fine line between those two to make sure I incorporate both in my teaching, especially because more and more students are interested in accomplishing their degrees online. I believe, in fifty to a hundred years from now, all education will be distance education. I will not live that long, but the effect of it we can perceive even now. More and more students choose to work full-time and go to school full-time. They take either hybrid classes or online classes to do that. How do you teach them to be fully prepared for future professions if they choose their college education to be their future career? This is the question I often ask myself. I often wonder whether I will be able to find a job after I finish my degree or not. Fortunately, most jobs have a training or probation period that helps new employees adjust to new environment. However, not all jobs do, and a lot of them want you to have experience. I often hear people say that they cannot be hired because they are overqualified but do not have enough experience. Therefore, I think my biggest challenge now is to know how to incorporate all this knowledge into skills to be able to keep up with nowadays labor market. My challenge in the future will be to make sure my classes give my students all the necessary knowledge and skills at the same time. Why do you think it is important to understand the epistemology (theory of knowledge) underlying a learning theory? Discuss the impact that an understanding of knowledge can have on a distance education professional’s choice of instructional practices and technologies.
In chapter 2 of “The Nature of Knowledge and the Applications for Teaching,” Tony Bates gives us an example of different thinking views, and he talks about different approaches to learning and teaching. This is where I can give my own example. I grew up in Russia and went to Russian school, and then a college. In Russia, they have an objectivist approach to teaching and learning, where truth exists outside of our mind, laws of physics are constant, and a body of knowledge needs to be presented by a teacher to be learned by students (Bates, 2015). The teachers do include some elements of fun and game playing techniques to their students when they are younger, but it all gets eliminated in higher grades. For example, the students study a math chapter with a teacher, practice it in class, then they go home and read the same chapter, do additional exercises and answer additional questions not answered in the classroom. Repetition and revision are the key to success in Russian schools, because at the end of the semester the students always take accumulative exams that last about 6 hours for written exams, and the rest of them are oral, face-to-face with a teacher, who can ask any additional questions from the course. Basically, they work on long-term memory and understanding (Bates, 2015). Schools in the U.S. have a behaviorist approach to teaching and learning, where students stay longer in schools, absorbing and processing most of it in the classroom. Their homework is not that complicated until the start their higher education. The behaviorists rely on feelings, attitudes, and consciousness, where students can process a lot of information on a subconscious level using their five feelings (Bates, 2015). What I am trying to say is that people learn differently. Some have different backgrounds and culture. That is why it is important to understand the theory of knowledge. As a distance education professor, I will have to work on not only on giving my students materials to read, although this is how I learn, but also practical exercises, videos, tests, writing materials. Some people learn right then, and right there, others need some quiet atmosphere to revise and process, and a lot of it depends on their background and understanding. References Bates, A. W. (2015). Teaching in a digital age: Guidelines for designing teaching and learning. Retrieved from: https://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/ |