application notes:
the collaborative group project is the ideal means by which to blend both social and private modes of learning. assign your students roles within the group that make the results of their private learning essential to the success of the group. here are three discipline-specific examples of how such roles could be defined within a project group: in an engineering management course, assign a feasibility study of salt solution solar ponds and define the following roles: chemical engineer, economist, and industrial engineer. in an art history course, ask each group to assemble a collection for a different national museum and assign the roles of historian, curator, and financial officer. in an occupational therapy class, ask groups to investigate the use of computerized prostheses (mobility enhancements) and assign the roles of therapist, psychologist, engineer, and social economist.
#8: inexorable epistemological presumptions misdirect higher order learning.
prior learning is an important pre-requisite to continued learning. it is also the foundation into which the student anchors the scaffold of new knowledge.
however, prior learning often also holds incorrect assumptions about the epistemological context of that prior knowledge. there are numerous anecdotes and research findings that describe students who can, for example, calculate the gravitational attraction between two bodies with great proficiency, but who cannot explain why ocean tides might be related to the moon. in addition, students need to understand the value of collecting and interpreting it without bias, as a means to counteract these inaccurate predispositions.
as long as new learning is focused primarily on bloom's three lower taxa (recall, cognition, procedural), it is less likely the student will be confronted with the irreconcilable conflicts between her own fundamental presumptions and this new knowledge. students have been shown capable of mastering entire college degree programs of cognitive knowledge, while still harboring misconceptions of the fundamental precepts from which that knowledge derives.
practice: in order for a student to truly master the higher order thinking skills in bloom's three higher taxa (analytical, synthesis, evaluation) it is important for the course design to first help the student discover any intractable conflicts between this new knowledge and their own a'priori epistemological presumptions. but first, it is necessary to convey in a clear and compelling manner to each student, the nature and real prospect that each of us may harbor at least one such fundamental misconception. the course design should provide for a non-threatening exploration of typical misconceptions, and how, from a learner's viewpoint, such ideas could have first developed and how they could have gone so long undetected. additional study could show how collection of data from tangible observations, could have been interpreted to dispel the misconceptions.
encourage the student to complete a careful self assessment that attempts to discover any of his own misconceptions in fundamental reasoning that lurks among prior learning. again, the web-based class environment is an ideal venue for the presentation of self-assessments and curiosity-evoking questions in a non-threatening manner.
application notes: provide a survey of common misconceptions held by students' prior learning in the form of a "fun facts" item on the site. you could, for instance, post tantalizing questions or riddles on an announcement page and link the students to information that answers or explains the riddle or perplexity.
an extra-credit site feature is very simple to incorporate into an online class because students can complete or not complete the work as motivated. you might have students contribute critical analyses of logical or scientific concepts, by both defending and criticizing the view or assertion you post. ask students to pose real-world observations that could be used to substantiate or defend their own respective viewpoints on the views or assertions you post. then follow up in some manner by posting a public reply, answer, or summary of student comments. placing time limits (such as one week per riddle posting) on such activities is an effective manner to focus student attention and leveraging the "teachable moment."
as a component of group work, ask the group to identify the fundamental precepts of knowledge for the topic at the beginning of the project assignment. then ask the group to debate how those precepts may be correct, incorrect, or in need of further development, before observable phenomena are reconcilable. chat transcripts or discussion board archives are an excellent means of documenting this type of group work.
#9: learning is spiral.
the learning brain naturally assimilates concepts in a spiraling, progressive manner. research on brain learning suggests that the learner does not, in one fell swoop, "cover" the spectrum of subtopics in a subject in a linear, strictly sequential, and accumulative manner. rather, the best learning occurs when the brain's tendency to learn by developing associative connections is facilitated and it is given time to accrete new knowledge through a sophisticated knitting of these links or associations. one pass through a subject and the subsequent shutting of the gate, as a student might experience as she passes through chapters of a science text, for instance, does not yield the best learning. the typical textbook presents material in a serial, non-recursive manner. but the process of learning need not be driven by the structure of knowledge.
each time the brain encounters, repeats, re-approaches, and reencounters a subject, it makes associative connections that yield insights (unanticipated linkages) and strengthens the synaptic linkages necessary for retention and understanding.
good instructional design takes the student on a spiral path through course material such that she cycles through the topics at an increasingly deep and detailed level with each iteration.
practice: there is an obvious beginning, middle, and end to a textbook and a set knowledge structure of the contents, as expressed in a table of contents. content placed online does not need to exhibit the same pre-determined structure. online, the path through a given area of knowledge can be more freely determined by the learner. you can design looping or spiraling learning behavior into your class by avoiding sequential indicators, such as dates, numbers, or letters, in labeling learning activities. instead, consider organizing your course content in subject clusters. by not prescribing the same learning path for all your students, you encourage them to learn recursively and to form unexpected linkages between and among bits of knowledge.
further, you can encourage students to return repeatedly to a given topic or content cluster by indicating levels of mastery within the cluster and linking these levels to formative assessments. ideally, you prompt your students to engage the material at successively higher levels of thinking, as represented in bloom's taxonomy of thinking.
application notes: no two of your students will follow precisely the same path through the content you present or simultaneously engage that content at the same level of complexity. present your course content in un-sequenced areas or clusters. then create very simple learning activities (accompanied by self-assessments) within each content cluster and index them to levels of thinking. you may dictate that a student achieve the knowledge level in all content areas before proceeding, for instance; however, your course design will encourage them to cycle repeatedly through all the content in the course.
another approach is to formulate a series of learning activities that require a student to engage the same content at successively higher levels of thinking. learning about how to form a new business, for instance, could be distributed across three assignments as follows:
assignment #1 (knowledge level), "find out the following: what are the different mechanisms for obtaining corporate financing? what are the major governmental/regulatory constraints on new businesses? what are the primary channels for marketing? what are the different forms of corporate charter?
assignment #2 (procedural level), "find out the following: what is the process of obtaining financing through equity sharing and debt or bonds? how do you comply with ada, eoc, or osha regulations? how would you develop a web-based advertising program? what is the process for organizing and registering a limited liability company or a sole proprietorship?
assignment #3 (evaluative level), "do the following: discuss the risks and benefits of each financing mechanism. select the optimum approach to balancing compliance to regulations with performance when confronted with ada requirements. determine the optimum allocation of marketing dollars. evaluate the tax consequences of different corporate structures.
conclusion
this study has strived to help develop higher quality online courses by integrating the science of learning, the art of instruction, and the application of systems. our approach has been to rely on proven, fundamental principles and practices of quality course design. we have considered the extensive basic research on brain learning and instructional design, consulted with many experts who have learned from practical online teaching experiences, then clustered and categorized these into a set of overall guideline principles and practices.
for each of these basic principles of learning and teaching, and their associated good practices in the context of online learning, we have suggested practical applications for design of high quality courses.
however, there is one more inevitable conclusion one must also draw from the growing mountain of empirical evidence from online learning. in the final analysis, the instructor's own personal mastery and sensitivities to the "art of instruction" also determine course quality. learning is wonderfully "messy." instructional design and course delivery are art forms in which the student is the medium. the principles of learning described above are necessary but not sufficient. the instructor must fill the palette of the class and supply the brush strokes of genius in helping minds to construct learnedness.
