WebCT and the 7 Principles for Good Practice
The article "Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education" by
Arthur Chickering and Zelda F. Gamson (AAHE
Bulletin, March 1987) was based on
years of research, and has been a strong influence on teaching in colleges
and universities since first appearing. Arthur Chickering and Stephen
Ehrmann consider the implications for e-learning in "Implementing the Seven
Principles: Technology as Lever," AAHE Bulletin, October 1996, pp. 3-6 (also
at
http://www.tltgroup.org/programs/seven.html).
These suggestions follow their inspiration, applying the principles directly
to uses for WebCT:
1. Good
Practice Encourages Contacts Between Students and Faculty
Frequent student-faculty contact
in and out of class is a most important factor in student motivation and involvement.
Faculty concern helps students get through rough times and keep on working.
Knowing a few faculty members well enhances students' intellectual commitment
and encourages them to think about their own values and plans.
Electronic discussion options
can improve both the amount of and standards for participation:
- Some obvious benefits general to this kind of technology: encourages
shy or slower students to interact more (can be preparation rather than substitute
for stronger classroom engagement), and allows for continuation of classroom
conversations.
- Discussion tool gives more focus to discussions, in terms of both quality
and content: they can be organized by topic, and criteria for evaluation
can be more clearly explained and applied because typed contributions are
more concise and benefit from time delay (constant attention to these criteria
can also improve in-class discussion). Suggestions for possible criteria:
faithfulness to and grasp of the topic/material at hand, sensitive and effective
use of/response to prior contributions, originality of input and leadership
in shaping collective thinking.
- There are some limitations to the discussion tool (e.g. contributions only
listed chronologically); more sophisticated discussion programs such as QuickTopic
can be linked to WebCT site as alternative.
2. Good
Practice Develops Reciprocity and Cooperation Among Students
Learning is enhanced when it is
more like a team effort than a solo race. Good learning, like good work, is
collaborative and social, not competitive and isolated. Working with others
often increases involvement in learning. Sharing one's ideas and responding
to others' improves thinking and deepens understanding.
WebCT offers a number of arenas in which students can learn to merge their
individual gifts and goals into a team effort, and maintain a rigorous but affirming
dialogue:
- The "student presentations" tool of linked html pages can be used as collaborative
space, or for students to display their work individually.
- Programs such as word processors which allow one to comment on the work
of another can easily be used in conjunction with WebCT (for example, the
"review" tool in Word inserts comments into the original document much like
footnotes - perhaps an option in its own right). A paper might be sent
out and edited into a final version before submission along with the comments,
so the editorial process itself could be evaluated.
- As with the discussion tool, the slower pace and semi-permanent nature
of the results allows one to be more specific about what makes a good critique,
for example recognition of strong points, clarification of meaning, improving
the flow of argument, etc.
3. Good
Practice Uses Active Learning Techniques
Learning is not a spectator sport.
Students do not learn much just sitting in classes listening to teachers, memorizing
prepackaged assignments, and spitting out answers. They must talk about what
they are learning, write reflectively about it, relate it to past experiences,
and apply it to their daily lives. They must make what they learn part of themselves.
On its Academic Communities page,
WebCT.com has collected various resources which help students better to understand
their subject as a discipline, and use it more responsibly and creatively:
- Multi-media resources (either uploaded into "my-files" and posted or linked
from expernal web site) can enhance perspectives on content, e.g.use of art
and music to demonstrate themes in history, literature or theology.
The assignment tool provides a mechanism for students to view something on
their screen, and comment directly.
- Simulated experiments, "virtual language labs" and access to data sources
used by professionals (e.g. sociological statistics such as census figures)
extend the "hands-on" experience a class can offer.
- Web sites and on-line journals of professional guilds can increase students'
awareness and consideration of the "hot issues" in the field - especially
useful for upper level courses.
4. Good
Practice Gives Prompt Feedback
Knowing what you know and don't know
focuses your learning. In getting started, students need help in assessing their
existing knowledge and competence. Then, in classes, students need frequent opportunities
to perform and receive feedback on their performance. At various points during
college, and at its end, students need chances to reflect on what they have learned,
what they still need to know, and how they might assess themselves.
WebCT can improve both the timing of feedback, and student initiative in seeking
it and responding:
- The assignment tool allows for work to be returned at any time the instructor
chooses
- It includes a mechanism for making comments, and the "review" mechanism
mentioned under the second point is even more pertinent here. This could
lend itself well to a number of exchanges, allowing students to become more
intelligently self-critical and build on their previous efforts by correcting
them rather than just moving on to the next thing.
- The instructor can create folders in which student work is stored, so papers
from different stages in the semester can be compared and different approaches
tried.
- The quiz tool is laborious to set up and not cheat-proof, but it makes
grading a breeze and encourages the creative use of a number of testing methods.
Since questions can be stored in a "bank" they can be easily accessed again
later (this feature might be useful whether or not one administers quizzes
on line). "Self-tests" are only multiple choice and are not graded,
but can provide instant feed-back and a sense of what you are looking for.
5. Good
Practice Emphasizes Time on Task
Time plus energy equals learning.
Learning to use one's time well is critical for students and professionals
alike. Allocating realistic amounts of time means effective learning for students
and effective teaching for faculty.
In addition to the obvious benefits of transfering information on-line, WebCT
allows instructors to intervene and teach good time management more directly:
- The assignment tool allows for teachers to set and students to work on
and submit tasks electronically.
- On-line readings can be linked directly to WebCT, as can on-line databases
and catalogues (including reserves for a particular course).
- Content modules (which might include an assignment) can record each student's
visit and the amount of time spent, and material can be released and hidden
at certain times.
- Progressive assignments and the linked pages of a student presentation
might be used to track the development of a larger project (e.g. from
idea with bibliography to outline to drafts larger project).
6. Good Practice Communicates High Expectations
Expect more and you will get it.
High expectations are important for everyone - for the poorly prepared, for those
unwilling to exert themselves, and for the bright and well motivated. Expecting
students to perform well becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
WebCT facilitates the vivid illustration of standards, so they can be more
easily internalized:
- Examples of good, average and poor work can be posted and then examined
side by side, modified, and regularly updated (especially effective if student
work is being stored and progress tracked).
- Source material can be similarly examined and compared, and students encouraged
to discover and evaluate sources for themselves.
7. Good
Practice Respects Diverse Talents and Ways of Learning
Many roads lead to learning. Different
students bring different talents and styles to college. Brilliant students in
a seminar might be all thumbs in a lab or studio; students rich in hands-on
experience may not do so well with theory. Students need opportunities to show
their talents and learn in ways that work for them. Then they can be pushed
to learn in new ways that do not come so easily.
Hopefully this is implied in each of the other six points! Student presentations,
and electronic transfer of information from student to instructor in general,
make it easier for students to contribute to the class as a whole. A
link or file on the WebCT site credited to a student is one of the best ways
to convey respect for the perspective he or she brings.
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