webteach: interactive web-based teaching - CiteSeerX

WEBTEACH: INTERACTIVE WEB-BASED TEACHING Lindsay Hewson and Chris Hughes Professional Development Centre, UNSW, Australia Email:

[email protected] [email protected]

Theme: Transformation of teaching, learning and assessment of student achievement Key words: Interactive web-based teaching

Abstract Despite the economic incentive to employ a resource-based approach in flexible delivery, a 'deeper' approach to student learning can be facilitated by involving students in intense communication on their conceptions of the subject matter. However, standard Internet communication packages offer only basic levels of interaction which are inadequate for educational purposes. The authors have developed a pilot program, called WebTeach, which implements online asynchronous correlates of several educational modes of communication, including discussion, brainstorming, questioning, and task setting. To the best of our knowledge this approach is unique. The system is easy to use and, because it employs familiar strategies, it makes the transition to the online environment easy for both teachers and students. The WebTeach system will be demonstrated and its use in a range of disciplines at UNSW discussed.

WebTeach: interactive web-based teaching

Hughes & Hewson

Introduction The Internet offers an accessible, relatively cheap and powerful communication medium that has appeal to those wishing to offer and access university courses. As university management, teachers and students look towards technology to provide an economically viable learning environment, we are concerned that these developments may be at the expense of quality teaching and learning. Recent research into university learning offers a range of useful concepts and principles that have proven effective in the traditional classroom setting, and which should inform the design of teaching and learning in the online classroom. However, in the rush to establish and market online courses, some teachers and institutions are simply converting existing teaching resources into Web pages, setting up a server and enrolling students, effectively abandoning any pretence of an instructional design to facilitate learning. Alternatively, others are choosing off-the-shelf commercial management information systems such as Lotus Notes™ or Top Class™ with the expectation that quality teaching is somehow embedded in the product. While an original instructional design may have succeeded in the richness of a face-to-face classroom, the mediated environment provided by the Internet is inadequate to support the subtlety and complexity of synchronous group interactions. We have examined the range of teacher/learner and learner/learner interactions and strategies commonly employed in the traditional classroom along with some theoretical frameworks for teaching in higher education, and tried to develop a purpose-built tool to bring these together in the online environment of the Internet. In this way we hope to preserve quality teaching strategies and transfer familiar elements and processes from the classroom, and to ease the transition to online teaching.

Theoretical framework We begin with an examination of some current theories of university teaching and learning to determine those characteristics and processes that we may value and wish to preserve in the online classroom. The literature of student approaches to learning (Biggs, 1990; Laurillard, 1993; Marton & Saljö, 1984; Ramsden, 1988) advocates the encouragement in students of a deep approach to learning which is distinguished by: • • • • •

a focus on the arguments or concepts of the subject opportunities to relate previous knowledge to new knowledge an ability to relate knowledge across a range of subjects an ability to relate theoretical ideas to experience the organising and structuring of content into a coherent whole (Ramsden, 1992, 46).

A deep approach can be fostered by encouraging active engagement with content, interaction with other learners, access to a well-structured knowledge base, clear motivation by and interaction with the teacher, and opportunities for individual reflection on these experiences (Gibbs, 1992). These characteristics are fostered, ideally, in the traditional classroom through

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the instructional design of the subject, using a combination of teaching methods, resources, assessment and most importantly the interpersonal communication between teacher and learner, to produce an environment conducive of a deep approach. Within this framework, many authors stress the importance of dialogue and communication in facilitated learning (Brookfield, 1986; Laurillard, 1993; Ramsden, 1992). Diana Laurillard (1993) in particular, uses the two-way conversation between teacher and learner as a basis for her unique model of university learning that distinguishes interaction at the “descriptive” or theoretical level of the discipline from the practical activities used in teaching (“actions”). In doing so, she highlights the importance of reflection for both teacher and learner and locates technology as the medium to support these conversations. (Fig 1)

Fig 1 Simplified Model of Teaching and Learning (after Laurillard 1993,103)

Laurillard sets the overall goal of the process to be rhetorical, in that the teacher uses a range of interactive strategies and conversations at both levels to lead students to appreciate other perspectives on the content. In the real life classroom many standard forms of activity are used within any teaching session. Based on Halliday's work on linguistics (Halliday, 1978), John Swales (1990) describes the notion of genre as "a class of communicative events, the members of which share some set of communicative purposes" which also..." shape the schematic structure of the discourse and influence[s] and constrain[s] choice of content and style" (p58). Extending this concept, the ways in which teachers and students interact in classroom activities can be seen as a series of familiar 'micro-genres' or protocols that are understood by both teachers and learners and used to structure the sequence of instructional events. Some of these are closed, teacher-centred events such as making announcements or setting tasks, while others allow more open and flexible outcomes, such as a discussion or small group debate on an issue. So, the sequence of learning activities in the classroom can be characterised as a series of microgenres, marked by a recognised set of conventions, towards a set of predetermined learning outcomes. Once identified, these elements can become the building blocks for the instructional design of online learning. Page 3


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Microgenres Our work with WebTeach to date has identified several useful microgenres based on the types of interactions typically encountered in university teaching and learning. At the minimum level of interaction, the online medium needs to support both teacher and learner access to the 'content' of the course, which may be presented in text, graphic, or multimedia format. This should allow teachers to distribute the equivalent of notices, lecture notes, readings or tasks and also to provide a medium for learners to contribute, either privately or to the class, any material, assessable items or simply input to the ongoing dialogue. In addition, teachers need to initiate and guide discussions on particular issues that arise. If they lead to opportunities for the student to respond, such functions would support the descriptive level discourse proposed by Laurillard for deeper engagement with abstract concepts. To be demonstrated or made more concrete, these discussions may need to be suspended temporarily while the teacher sets an activity, or asks a question. Such set tasks (at Laurillard’s ‘action’ or 'discursive' levels) may be individual, or involve the group in a collaborative process. As in the classroom, the teacher may wish to form small groups with appointed leaders to facilitate the task and then request feedback from each. Eventually, these interactions may be documented and made accessible to teacher and learners as a record of the process and evidence of participation. While more detailed discussion of the microgenres, their distinguishing features and purposes is available elsewhere (Hughes & Hewson in press), Table 1 offers a summary of the microgenres offered by WebTeach 2. Microgenre Notices

Presentations

Formal discussions

Questioning with wait time

Pedagogical purpose To make announcements about changed administrative arrangements, rescheduled activities or rearranged class responsibilities. To offer one-way communication of content, these may be made by both teachers and students. They involve extended periods of time with protocols that lightly inhibit discussion or question asking. To support description and redescription of concepts, these are typically initiated by teachers, are free flowing and all parties participate more or less equally. Teachers usually retain some control options to keep the students on task. To focus thinking by posing a question. Questions which are more thought provoking call for a 'wait time' in which students ponder their possible responses before offering them (Tobin, 1987).

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Brainstorms

Task setting

Class quizzes

Informal peer discussion/study groups

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To elicit initial responses to a question for later analysis, brainstorms emphasise the response and not the identity of the respondent. Discussion, evaluation and questioning is inhibited until everyone contributes. To set or propose tasks for individual, pair or small group work. Groups or individuals usually signal to the teacher and the whole class when they have completed their deliberations and are ready to proceed To provide formative feedback to the class on their progress on the topic. Some notice of a quiz is usually given, together with the topics to be addressed. To support informal discussion of the content, processes and outcomes of the learning process. Informal meeting spaces such as coffee shops, corridors and the library etc) are important places for student/student and student/teacher interaction. These discussions may take the form of casual conversations or semi-formal interactions such as reading groups or study circles

Table 1 Microgenres in WebTeach 2.1 and their purpose

The use of these familiar classroom micro-genres makes the WebTeach software easily useable by teachers and students since it allows them to draw on their knowledge of classroom micro-genres in planning and contributing to educational activities. Since teachers and students participate simply by filling in forms on a web page, the system is platform independent and relatively user friendly. Following is a description of the WebTeach software and how it operates from the perspectives of teachers and learners.

How WebTeach works WebTeach is an asynchronous web conferencing system with built-in supports for a range of educational micro-genres. The WebTeach software is written in HyperCard ® and runs on a Macintosh™ server under WebStar® . It can theoretically support any number of class groups offering all the above functions. A practical limit on numbers arises from hard disk space and processing speed restrictions. WebTeach requires only that students and teachers have access to a basic web browser capable of displaying tables, and email software. Future versions of the software will incorporate support for confidential small group sessions for pair and small group work.

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The WebTeach package presents the students and teacher with three virtual locations: a Notice board, a Seminar room and a Coffee shop (Fig 2). Teachers can post notices to the Notice board and start activities in the Seminar room. Anyone can initiate activities in the Coffee shop. The person initiating an activity can nominate others as discussion leaders. The teacher, initiator and/or any nominated discussion leaders for an activity have access to a range of microgenres for use during the activity.

Fig 2 WebTeach Interface Page 6


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Each WebTeach activity takes the form of a serial transcript of interactions with a contribution form attached at the end. A discussion is begun with a comment, and students or teachers simply fill in the text box and submit in order to contribute their own comments. As comments are added, the activity page expands and a complete transcript of the interactions is formed. At any time the teacher, initiator and/or discussion leaders can choose to switch microgenres using the drop-down menu adjacent to the text entry box. The choices currently available are discuss; pose a question with wait time; conduct a brainstorm; set a task; or close the discussion. A range of stylistic features in the screen layout signifies each microgenre, and the final form for contributions is changed to reflect the expectations of the microgenre. Discussions solicit comments; questions solicit responses that are hidden until the teacher decides to reveal them; brainstorms solicit brief responses that are added to the page anonymously and the setting of a task generates instructions and a form to indicate, with a comment, when the task is completed. Discussions can be closed with a comment. All these strategies are available both in the Seminar Room (for teacher initiation only, but the teacher can nominate student leaders) and in the Coffee Shop. To inform the members of the class whenever a submission has been made, an email list is automatically notified by WebTeach. This email may be sent to either the teacher or the whole class, depending on the nature of the modification. In this way an online class group can participate in a wide range of sound educational strategies using common web browsers and an email account.

What else is currently available? It was necessary to develop WebTeach in the first place, as the authors had made the decision to offer a postgraduate subject entirely on the web, and a close examination of the software and standards available at the time revealed few choices. Most virtual classrooms are implemented using standard Internet communication tools such as email, Internet Relay Chat (IRC), web conferencing, MUDs or MOOs. These standard tools allow for the exchange of messages, sometimes including URLs for graphics etc. and are commonly thought of as being adequate to support the communication needs of educational interactions. Many other implementations of online learning abandon attempts to support interaction altogether, by resorting to a resource-based or self-instructional approach to learning. At best only rudimentary support for communication between teacher and student and among students is employed, typically via email or perhaps proprietary bulletin boards. The communication tools incorporated in applications such as TopClass™ and Lotus Learning Space™ , like standard email, support extremely impoverished communication when compared to the possibilities available to the classroom teacher. Arising in most cases from management information systems, these products are attractive in that they offer an offthe-shelf solution, sophisticated tracking of messages and record keeping. However, as they are best suited to the hierarchical structures of corporate management and the military where accountability and efficiency are paramount, they offer little in the collaborative, communal climate of the student-centred classroom.

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Other issues relevant to the overall success of this form of teaching are the instructional design load imposed on the teacher and the management of the cultural change generated by the adaptation to resource-based learning. Apart from the need to acquire the technical skills and time management necessary to operate within the new environment, teachers need to feel confident that the methods they are using are valid educationally. By providing online correlates of familiar classroom strategies, the cognitive demands are reduced for both teachers and learners at a time when functioning credibly in this new environment has high priority. The evaluation of WebTeach to date, across a range of disciplines, indicates that the initial transition from face-to-face learning to the mediated setting of the Internet may in itself impede learning because of the skill and cognitive load that mere participation involves. Any tool or instructional design that integrates the acquisition of participation skills with the main activity of teaching and learning should significantly aid the shift through this barrier, and thereby facilitate learning.

Conclusions The approach taken, supporting specific educational interactivities in web-based teaching, has proved popular with teachers and students and has been found to be an effective support for quite sophisticated educational communication. The approach also has appeal in an administrative sense in that it is cost effective, requires no specialised software of the learner, and web-based student data can be integrated easily with the WebTeach interface. As we continue to evaluate the software in our own teaching, and with users in other disciplines, we hope to identify more generic processes and microgenres that may be incorporated into future versions. Already, a case study approach used in management and medical education suggests WebTeach may offer an accessible means of progressively revealing details of the case study as a class discussion develops. We are encouraged by the way the software supports the development of teacher and learner skills in this new environment

References Abercrombie, M. L. J., & Terry, P. M. (1978). Talking To Learn: improving teaching and learning in small groups. (Vol. Monograph 32). Surrey: Society for Research into Higher Education. Bateman, W. L. (1990). Open to question: the art of teaching and learning by inquiry. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Biggs, J. (1990). Teaching: Design for Learning. Research and Development in Higher Education, 13, 11-26. Biggs, J. (1996). Enhancing teaching through constructive alignment. Higher Education(32), 1-18. Biggs, J., & Collis, K. (1982). Evaluating the Quality of Learning: The SOLO Taxonomy. New York: Academic Press. Brookfield, S. D. (1986). Understanding and Facilitating Adult Learning: A Comprehensive Analysis of Principles and Effective Practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Gagné, R., & Briggs, L. (1974). Principles of Instructional Design. New York: Holt. Rinehart and Winston, Inc. Page 8


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Gibbs, G. (1992). Improving the Quality of Student Learning. Bristol: Technical and Educational Services Ltd. Halliday, M. A. K. (1978). Language as a Social Semiotic. London: Edward Arnold. Hughes, C. Hewson, L. (in press) Online Interactions: developing a neglected aspect of the virtual classroom, Educational Technology, Vol , Educational Technology Publications, Englewood Cliffs, N.J. Jaques, D. (1991). Learning in Groups. London: Kogan Page. Laurillard, D. (1993). Rethinking University Teaching: a framework for the effective use of educational technology. London: Routledge. Marton, F., & Saljö, R. (1984). Approaches to Learning. In F. Marton, D. Hounsell, & N. Entwistle (Eds.), The Experience of Learning, . Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press. Ramsden, P. (1988). Improving Learning: New Perspectives. London: Kogan Page. Ramsden, P. (1992). Learning to teach in higher education. London: Routledge. Swales, J. M. (1990). Genre Analysis: English in academic and research settings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Tobin, K. (1987). The Role of Wait Time in Higher Cognitive Learning. Review of Educational Research, 57(1), 69-95.

The Authors Chris Hughes and Lindsay Hewson are senior lecturers in the Professional Development Centre at UNSW. They work extensively on educational technology support and teach in the Centre's postgraduate program on the uses of information technology in teaching. Chris has a background in both the humanities and the sciences and has worked in educational development for many years in areas ranging from communication and management skills to technology training. Lindsay comes from a design and media background and taught design before joining the Centre. In addition to working on educational technology support, he teaches communication design and interface issues within the Centre's postgraduate program.

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