The number of students taking online courses in British Columbia is growing. And while this growth has slowed slightly in the last couple of years, the impact of the rapid increase from 30000 to nearly 80000 unique students taking one or more courses since 2008 in BC distance education facilities is something that I have begun to notice at our school. Our district is no exception--for example, more than 300 students were taking online Physical Education last year. And while it may seem paradoxical that students are taking a physical activity course on the computer, it is happening. And not just in PE.
To be quite honest, when asked, I have been cautious about recommending online courses for students. I have always felt that the online learning environment can be effective for certain students, but for others, online courses can be much more challenging to complete. I have always felt that a 'regular' classroom is a better place to learn than in an online environment.
I fully acknowledge that I have a bias: I am a product of the public school system, I work in the public school system, and my children are in the public school system in typical, 'bricks and mortar' classrooms. For all intents and purposes, the public school system has served my family very well. But the reality is that more students are finding alternative ways to explore their passions and get credit for it at the same time, and as a result, those students are moving away from the traditional 'bricks and mortar' schools. I also acknowledge that my experience in an online learning environment is limited--I did the Deeper Learning MOOC last year and got a great deal from it. However, even with the scant evidence that I have to support my feelings--I feel the in-classroom experience has some decided advantages for kids.
Bearing these thoughts in mind, I began pondering a question:
"What are the advantages for a student in a typical, face-to-face, 'bricks-and-mortar' school versus an online learning environment?"
I have asked a number of colleagues this question, and even posed the question in a survey on Twitter. Here are some of the more common answers came back to me:
- interact/work with others in a face-to-face environment
- more 'immediate' interaction with a teacher and other students
- someone there to motivate, inspire, and 'drive the learning'
- getting to hear the ideas of others
- a diversity of hands-on activities
- being a part of a culture, something larger than the individual
- student-student relationships
- student-teacher relationships
And while there are likely numerous other pieces that we have not considered (and please feel free to add them to this survey), I want to evaluate each of the advantages above, but focus in on each of them with a slightly 'tighter' lens, which is
Are we consistently leveraging the advantages that we say that we have in 'bricks and mortar' schools? Considering each of these advantages, if evidence to support these factors is difficult to find on a consistent, classroom-to-classroom basis, then these are NOT true advantages that we are leveraging. Instead, one might argue that they are little more than lost opportunities.
So here we go, let's examine them, one-by-one...
So here we go, let's examine them, one-by-one...
Interact/work with others in a face-to-face environment:
Working with others in a face-to-face environment is a skill that has been both deemed as necessary and condemned as being lost with today's student, all in the same breath. And while there are certainly more jobs that can be done 'remotely' or from behind a screen, the majority of jobs and interactions that students are going to have in the next few years are still going to require face-to-face interactions and cooperation.
But ask yourself this....
What are the nature of the interactions that are taking place in classrooms? Are students actively taught how to effectively collaborate in partnerships, triads, small and large groups? Are there driving questions and opportunities for kids in the class to dialogue and practice these skills? Are the tasks that students are asked to do requiring them to participate and interact with each other? Are the tasks ones that require positive interdependence between the students, or for them to simply to do their part? Is the seating arrangement in the classroom conducive to these sorts of conversations? Is the length of time spent on these interactive activities long enough for students to become proficient at these skills and make them transferable to other situations?
But ask yourself this....
What are the nature of the interactions that are taking place in classrooms? Are students actively taught how to effectively collaborate in partnerships, triads, small and large groups? Are there driving questions and opportunities for kids in the class to dialogue and practice these skills? Are the tasks that students are asked to do requiring them to participate and interact with each other? Are the tasks ones that require positive interdependence between the students, or for them to simply to do their part? Is the seating arrangement in the classroom conducive to these sorts of conversations? Is the length of time spent on these interactive activities long enough for students to become proficient at these skills and make them transferable to other situations?
Someone there to motivate, inspire, and drive learning:
Each of us has had those teachers who were truly inspirational, that got to know us, and got to know what our strengths and interests were both in and out of the classroom. They took something as boring as Ohm's Law or poetry and turned it in to something that was both interesting and meaningful. Their passion for their subject area was second only to their passion for us as students in the classroom. They kept us on task and roughly moving in the same direction. It was awesome.
But ask yourself this...
Each of us has had those teachers who were truly inspirational, that got to know us, and got to know what our strengths and interests were both in and out of the classroom. They took something as boring as Ohm's Law or poetry and turned it in to something that was both interesting and meaningful. Their passion for their subject area was second only to their passion for us as students in the classroom. They kept us on task and roughly moving in the same direction. It was awesome.
But ask yourself this...
What percentage of your teachers or university professors fit the above description? 100%? 10%? 1%?How many of them tried to determine what motivates students to learn? In our schools, do we ask students what their motivations are, or do we assume they are driven by things like grades, university, or the promise of a better life (which may or may not be so applicable to a rambunctious Grade 7 boy who has just come in from the playground)? Do we ask driving questions (check out the 'Tubric' from the Buck Institute), and use tuning protocols to empower students in their learning, or do we come up with the activities in isolation, and hope that students want to do it? Do we think of learning from a developmental perspective, honoring the fact that if we create our lessons with the acknowledgment that students come from different backgrounds and have different skill sets, that they will be more motivated to do the task? Do we try to determine what gets students into 'flow'?
If we don't do these sorts of things to inspire our students, we cannot lay claim to having someone there to inspire and motivate as an advantage--we can only lay claim to having a person...well...there.
Getting to hear the ideas of others:
There is no doubt that crowd-sourcing an issue is going to lead to a more diverse set of solutions. Among many examples, Steve Johnson's "Where Good ideas Come From" talks about the collision of smaller hunches to form bigger ones, and the Professional Learning Community model of collaboration both point to the power of the group versus the individual.
But ask yourself this...
Do we consistently give students tasks that require multiple perspectives and multiple solutions? Do we actively demonstrate to our students that there is more than one way to accomplish a task or meet a learning outcome? Do we 'go wide' with our students, asking the shortest question possible and then encourage divergent thinking? Do we create a safe forum for this to occur, and have students display their learning in such a way that it allows others to comment on, critique, and draw inspiration from to affect their own work in a positive way?
There is no doubt that crowd-sourcing an issue is going to lead to a more diverse set of solutions. Among many examples, Steve Johnson's "Where Good ideas Come From" talks about the collision of smaller hunches to form bigger ones, and the Professional Learning Community model of collaboration both point to the power of the group versus the individual.
But ask yourself this...
Do we consistently give students tasks that require multiple perspectives and multiple solutions? Do we actively demonstrate to our students that there is more than one way to accomplish a task or meet a learning outcome? Do we 'go wide' with our students, asking the shortest question possible and then encourage divergent thinking? Do we create a safe forum for this to occur, and have students display their learning in such a way that it allows others to comment on, critique, and draw inspiration from to affect their own work in a positive way?
If we have students do tasks that require one answer or that can be copied from a book/website/peer or have students demonstrate their learning in ways that are not visible to their peers, this cannot be considered an advantage.
A diversity of hands-on activities:
Individual work. Group work. Driving questions that require creative solutions. Peer review and evaluation. Labs. Projects. Role plays. Digital portfolio work. Video creation. Connections with the community. Field trips. Internships. Cross school/district/country collaboration using technology. The list of possibilities goes on and and on for activities to do in the classroom with students.
But ask yourself this...
What are the typical tasks that students are required to do in each of the classes in our schools. I can say with honesty that some of my science classes were predominantly textbook based, with the 'where's Waldo'-style review questions at the end of a section, potentially a lab, and then some sort of quiz or test. Occasionally I did a debate, role play, or something that I thought was pretty cool (although I am not completely sure that the kids agreed with me). However, for the most part, I felt as though I had a great deal of content to get through and didn't have a lot of time to 'waste' on these sorts of activities. I rarely did any task analysis to see what my students were actually required to learn as a result of doing the tasks in my classes. Looking back, I could have truly empowered my students in their learning by having them involved in task development: I could have used a variety of different activities that would have been designed with a focus on 'how best will students learn this' rather than 'how best can I cover this material'.
If students are mostly exposed to textbook/worksheet based tasks with quizzes and tests that are multiple choice, matching, short answer and long answer questions, we are not maximizing our opportunities to engage kids with the activities that are possible in a face-to-face environment.
But ask yourself this...
What are the typical tasks that students are required to do in each of the classes in our schools. I can say with honesty that some of my science classes were predominantly textbook based, with the 'where's Waldo'-style review questions at the end of a section, potentially a lab, and then some sort of quiz or test. Occasionally I did a debate, role play, or something that I thought was pretty cool (although I am not completely sure that the kids agreed with me). However, for the most part, I felt as though I had a great deal of content to get through and didn't have a lot of time to 'waste' on these sorts of activities. I rarely did any task analysis to see what my students were actually required to learn as a result of doing the tasks in my classes. Looking back, I could have truly empowered my students in their learning by having them involved in task development: I could have used a variety of different activities that would have been designed with a focus on 'how best will students learn this' rather than 'how best can I cover this material'.
If students are mostly exposed to textbook/worksheet based tasks with quizzes and tests that are multiple choice, matching, short answer and long answer questions, we are not maximizing our opportunities to engage kids with the activities that are possible in a face-to-face environment.
More 'Immediate' Interaction with a Teacher and/or other students
For a variety of reasons, students in an online environment may experience a 'lag' in terms of needing versus getting assistance. And if the online experience is such that a student is working individually and asynchronously, the odds of the student being able to work with their peers can be 'hit and miss', depending on who is online or whether such a mechanism has been set up with that particular course. In the 'bricks and mortar' classroom, the students are in physical proximity to the teacher and eachother, and most often are learning synchronously.
But ask yourself this...
For a variety of reasons, students in an online environment may experience a 'lag' in terms of needing versus getting assistance. And if the online experience is such that a student is working individually and asynchronously, the odds of the student being able to work with their peers can be 'hit and miss', depending on who is online or whether such a mechanism has been set up with that particular course. In the 'bricks and mortar' classroom, the students are in physical proximity to the teacher and eachother, and most often are learning synchronously.
But ask yourself this...
Can the student access the teacher at any time, and if content coverage is a norm, is there even time for students to get help from a teacher? And if not the teacher, are there mechanisms for peer support that have been created and actively taught in the classroom so that students can get this 'immediate' interaction?
Being a part of a culture, something larger than the individual
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Student-Student Relationships:
Students love to come to school to see their friends and socialize. They love to work with each other in class, and play with each other at lunch.
But ask yourself this...
As schools, do we cultivate these relationships, and ensure that they are positive and productive? Do we have programs such as Me-To-We, RespectEd, Roots of Empathy, and Safe Schools. Do we monitor our progress and how students are feeling about our schools through Student Voice, Satisfaction Surveys, tools like Tell Them From Me, and focus groups. And when we get this information from our kids, do we respond to it so they feel better about connecting with each other and the school. Or do we hope for the best, and allow the "Law of the Jungle" (a tongue-in-cheek quote from one of our excellent staff members) to manifest itself in our hallways with a "they need to sort it out" philosophy?
While this area is not a dichotomy, we need to help students with developing positive relationships with their peers. Adults need help with their relationships all of the time--why would kids be any different?
But ask yourself this...
As schools, do we cultivate these relationships, and ensure that they are positive and productive? Do we have programs such as Me-To-We, RespectEd, Roots of Empathy, and Safe Schools. Do we monitor our progress and how students are feeling about our schools through Student Voice, Satisfaction Surveys, tools like Tell Them From Me, and focus groups. And when we get this information from our kids, do we respond to it so they feel better about connecting with each other and the school. Or do we hope for the best, and allow the "Law of the Jungle" (a tongue-in-cheek quote from one of our excellent staff members) to manifest itself in our hallways with a "they need to sort it out" philosophy?
While this area is not a dichotomy, we need to help students with developing positive relationships with their peers. Adults need help with their relationships all of the time--why would kids be any different?
Student-Teacher Relationships:
This could be the biggest leverage point of all for bricks and mortar schools! Research validates the statement that kids 'don't care what you know until they know that you care'--in fact, the teacher-student relationship has seven times the impact than does the teacher's knowledge of their subject area. What an advantage, right?
But ask yourself this...
How are we getting to know our students, or are we really getting to know our students at all? Would our students say we have positive student-teacher relationships in each of our classrooms? Considering there is a repository of ideas only a few mouse clicks and key strikes away for getting to know our students, do we use these sorts of activities to create connections between ourselves and our students? How do we determine the prior learning and individual contexts of our students? Do we believe in that respect is something that is earned, and therefore that we must earn the respect of our students and their parents? Are we vulnerable in front of our students, and comfortable telling them that we don't have all the answers, and it's ok?
But ask yourself this...
How are we getting to know our students, or are we really getting to know our students at all? Would our students say we have positive student-teacher relationships in each of our classrooms? Considering there is a repository of ideas only a few mouse clicks and key strikes away for getting to know our students, do we use these sorts of activities to create connections between ourselves and our students? How do we determine the prior learning and individual contexts of our students? Do we believe in that respect is something that is earned, and therefore that we must earn the respect of our students and their parents? Are we vulnerable in front of our students, and comfortable telling them that we don't have all the answers, and it's ok?
If we do not actively cultivate these relationships, we have lost one of the very biggest potential advantages of a 'bricks and mortar' school.
In conclusion, I want to add one big qualifier--each of our schools is doing many of the things above, at the least in smaller pockets, and sometimes full-scale. And should we leverage each of these opportunities that we have with children in our schools, there is no one who could convince me that the online experience would be superior to the in-class experience for student learning. Yet given the proliferation of students choosing alternative options to pursue their passions while concurrently getting credit towards graduation, I think all 'brick and mortar' schools need to take a sincere look at each of these opportunities for us to enrich the in-class environment to see whether they are truly advantages that we are realizing rather than tremendous opportunities that are lost.
This has been cross posted in the Sa-Hali Educational Sandbox.
Online learning requires self-motivation and tight scheduling - two things many students struggle with. I agree that we have to take advantage of the ability to interact and provide hands-on training students can't get online. Cost is an issue, especially since students often turn to online courses because they are more affordable.
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