Discussion ﻿Applied Pedagogies Intro. & Ch. 1

THE ONLINE WRITING INSTRUCTION COMMUNITY

Discussion Applied Pedagogies Intro. & Ch. 1

8/31/2016

Let's chat about Applied Pedagogies. This space is for discussion on the introduction and chapter one.

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11 Comments

Heidi Harris

9/6/2016 01:35:14 pm

I can get us started. I just finished reading the chapters.

Ruefman's argument connecting the cognitive experience to the Kolb cycle and then to aesthetics in online classes was a sound one. I am interested in hearing more about his research on mono-modal online writing pedagogies.

I wondered about whether or not a focus on mono-modal classes corresponds with the length of time a person has been teaching a particular class online. For example, I was VERY long-form print text based in my first online class because I was trying to master a new modality (online instruction) and a new discipline (philosophy). I only had time to prep part of the course because I found out I was teaching it only a week before it began. So I created the course as I went, and I was too overwhelmed to think multimodally (granted, this was also in 2006 when multimodal materials were not quite as easy to integrate into online classes....YouTube wasn't even a year old).

I am developing a new graduate class this semester and I find myself falling back on the mono-modal focus (mostly writing/print-based reading, although enhanced by a lot of collaborative work in Google Apps). Because I am developing a new course in a new area, again, I feel like I need to understand how the course works, what students in our program need, and to do this I am, again, designing as I teach. I can embed some multi-modal materials, but I don't have time to create those materials AND maintain my grading/class/committee meeting schedule. When I teach this course again, I will improve it by adding multimodal elements.

Maybe its an issue of comfort? We all fall back on what we feel comfortable with when we encounter a new teaching modality or subject? Or are there individuals out there who can create multimodal materials on the fly as they work to design user-centered classes?

Thanks, Jessie and Casey, for getting this discussion going!

Michael Greer

9/7/2016 06:46:54 pm

I'm mostly in agreement with Ruefman's case for multimodal over monomodal text-based course content and design. I don't think text-based readings and activities are always necessarily bad, or that multimodal is always necessarily good, but in general I try to follow the guidelines in this chapter.

I want to focus briefly on each of the three strategies outlined in the chapter.

1/Providing direction: I generally provide both written and video instructions for writing projects. The videos sometimes repeat what is in the written directions, but what I try to do is go beyond those instructions to show an example. Sometimes I will walk through a successful student project from a previous class and do a quick close-reading to show how and why it represents a successful response to an assignment. Sometimes I do a live demo and actually write a sample myself to illustrate the process. That takes a lot of time because I have to actually, you know, write a paper and film myself writing it. But students comment that they find that very helpful. Some of them think teachers write by some kind of magic, so watching us fumble and wander around opens their eyes.

2/ Reinforcing content. I like the idea of the multimodal theme sets and I want to try some of that this fall. I realize now that I think of video as instruction more than content. This prompts me to look for more multimodal texts to share with students as readings and examples.

3/Offering Constructive Feedback. I've done video response to student work in grad courses, but find I can go faster with written comments in Google Drive so I usually fall back on that. I've started using Eli Review for peer feedback and response, which takes this idea in a different direction.

I think Heidi is right that we use whatever works in the moment and fall back on what's familiar. I've had a lot of practice doing video screencasts, so I sometimes do those as my default option. If I am hurried and stressed, the videos are too long and disorganized. I can do better if I slow down and script them out.

I'm going to be teaching a course in a few weeks on multimodal online writing instruction. Which of these strategies have worked for the rest of you? How else do you use multimedia in your courses? What do you think I should tell the grad students about how not to get overwhelmed with the technology? ;-) Thanks.

Jessie Borgman

9/11/2016 11:43:46 am

I like what you said Michael that you mostly agree with the main argument. I do think there is value in text-based courses, but I think too much of anything can be overwhelming to students, whether it's too much technology or too much text that they have to read.

Reinforcing content through media is a great tactic in online courses. It's one I use regularly and I find that students respond to this heightened interaction well.

For example, a lot of my courses started up this week and I sent out a welcome video that discussed content that was already in the course, the assignments and/or the syllabus, but it helps to have students hear this as well, or (when using video) see it/where it is at in the online classroom.

Michael Greer

9/7/2016 06:55:06 pm

I just re-read Heidi's comment and it reminded me of something. What do you think about the neuroscience stuff in the opening of the chapter? I've been reading more of the "learning science" material and I think it is quite fascinating. I think Kolb is ok as a foundation but there is a lot of newer work that goes further into the process of learning and anchoring concepts in long-term memory. Richard E Mayer is a good source in this context because he writes specifically about the multimedia learning principle: humans learn better from images + words than from images alone. The empirical research on that stuff is pretty fascinating. One thing that it has changed my view about is the value of short quizzes and basic summary writing. Students have to practice retrieving terms and concepts from memory. Even a lame little multiple-choice quiz actually improves content retention and transfer. I always looked down on those as busywork. I was wrong. Reading work by Mayer and more recently by James Lang (Small Teaching) is showing me how to build a better course design that facilitates learning. In short, lots of repetition and layering (like a videogame, Casey!) is the best way to learn. Rereading notes is almost useless. Which is odd because that's how I was always taught to study.

Daniel Ruefman link

9/19/2016 12:43:54 pm

I did have more neuroscience details, but unfortunately I was forced to cut a significant part while structuring the chapter for this book. Even as is, one of the peer reviewers mentioned that the walk through the neuroscience was a little long and dense for a Rhetoric and Composition audience.

I do think that we can learn a great deal when we understand more about how writing and communication impacts the brain. Understanding this dimension can lend itself well to aspects of language acquisition and education in general.

I too used to view short quizzes as "busy work" but after I started incorporating some quizzes into my "Rhetorical Style" class, I really began to see the added benefit. The quizzes aren't worth enough points to have much of an impact on the final grade in class, but they did help me to focus online content to address the gaps that my students seemed to have.

Jessie Borgman

9/11/2016 11:39:07 am

I really like what Heidi said here about the length of time of the course and the length of time for course prep. and how this affects how one designs the course. In a 15 week course, there's a lot more time to have students learn how to use technologies, and practice with them using low-stakes assignments (Tiffany and Andy Bourelle use these types of "media lessons" in their online courses and presented on it at CCCCs 2016). Giving students time to learn and experiment really takes away the fear of creating multimodal assignments, or even participating in a course that has multiple modes of learning. I think time is an important factor.

Jessie Borgman

9/8/2016 03:15:07 pm

First, I would like to say that I'm a big fan of this statement in the introduction:

"Lack of instructor preparation and varying standards for online teaching throughout academia, while simultaneously growing online course offerings, is a recipe for educational mediocrity that is counterproductive to the mission of higher education" (p. viii).

I think the authors do a good job at framing a real problem and one of the reasons why online courses get a bad reputation.

Chapter 1 is one of my favorite in the book because it really points to the fact that online courses can still be engaging and can still include sensory interactions. Ruefman's argument that online courses can be incredibly text heavy is legitimate. I find myself designing my own online courses with a lot of text. Adding in elements, such as video, audio, images, etc. really helps with student engagement (I've tested it!).

It seems as Ruefman is reiterating the argument that both he and Scheg made in the introduction that quality is important when it comes to online courses. Designing quality courses is a step in the right direction for changing the view of online courses as "completion" courses; courses where students can work through modules with minimal interaction with the instructor or other students.

Michael Greer

9/10/2016 01:22:02 pm

Jessie picks up on an important distinction between "completion" courses and courses with real interaction. It seems to me that many students expect to be able to just cruise through an online course at their own pace and schedule. Multimodal content is one way to increase engagement and interaction. What are others that you have found successful?

Cat Mahaffey

9/12/2016 08:37:30 am

I'm interested in the tension between the "lack of time to develop the instructional resources ... in multiple modes" (p. 10) and the reality that "the best course materials are those created by the instructor" (p. 11). My first semester teaching online largely bombed because I relied too heavily on web resources and failed to contextualize them for my students. I had to do a lot of damage control after every assignment.

So as we think about ways to support faculty, I'd like to share what our FYW program did. We're shifting from a 2-course FYW F2F sequence to a 1-semester 4-hour hybrid model. We used a grant to fund the development of ready-made online "studios" to ease the transition for our faculty, but we stressed the need for instructors to revise and adapt them to fit their needs. This if our first semester of full implementation and it seems to be working well so far, especially for the instructors who are less comfortable in digital spaces.

I'm curious as to what support your programs offer to ensure a quality learning experience for students who happen to register for a course taught by a instructor with less experience teaching online. I'm hoping to find more ideas for professional development this year as our faculty become more acclimated to blended learning.

Jessie Borgman

9/15/2016 04:25:21 pm

Cat, I like that you brought up that quote about the best materials are ones that come from the instructor because I think this is true ideal situations (the instructor has sufficient time to plan before the course starts). This is hardly ever the case, and I so relate to you being overwhelmed when teaching your first online course.

I've taught from pre-designed courses and I've designed my own courses and there is definitely a disconnect when instructors don't create their own materials. Perhaps the best thing is a mix as your program did where instructors have some control over the materials they use.

Daniel Ruefman link

9/19/2016 12:50:11 pm

Thanks for the great discussion, everyone. I've enjoyed reading about it.