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Updated 3/14/01
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Teaching Literature Online
A New Twist on Student-Centered Learning Discussions of online courses, especially negative reactions to them, tend to center on comparisons with their traditional counterparts. Online classes, the critics say, simply cannot do what traditional classes do. This comparison, however, is a red herring--something akin to comparing summer courses to those taken in the fall or spring. Even if we could somehow measure the success of a course in absolute terms and thus could compare courses taught in various formats, the results would vary from course to course, from professor to professor, and, perhaps most of all, from student to student. Furthermore, online courses fill a niche that traditional classes cannot. In my experience as a teacher of online courses, I have heard from students who live an hour or more from campus, from students with children at home, in short from students who consider online courses a godsend. My purpose here is not to argue that online courses serve a purpose or that they can be successful--though I believe that they are and that they can. Rather, I would like to show how professors who already believe in them can make them as productive as possible by turning them into models of student-centered learning. |
When carefully structured, online courses can be models of student-centered learning. That is, students in these courses can develop some expertise in a subject and then present their findings to their classmates, as well as their teacher. In the process, they develop important skills in research, writing for an audience, graphic design, and effective use of technology, not to mention a depth of understanding of their material. Finally, this student-centered approach has the additional benefit of making online courses--notorious black holes of time--manageable for professors. Indeed, a student-centered online course need take no more time than a traditional course taught in the classroom.
One reason that online courses may intimidate professors is that they assume that they will have to do more work to produce all of these components. In particular, they may shudder at the thought of converting all of those lecture notes to clear, attractive Web pages. To reduce their workload--and potentially increase their students' learning--however, these and other online teachers need only take a cue from those traditional teachers who have turned over more responsibility for learning to their students. Indeed, they may even steal some ideas from themselves. If assigning class presentations works in a traditional classroom, wouldn't assigning World Wide Web pages serve the same purpose in an online course?
Yes, it would--and it does. In both my traditional and online courses, I have begun turning students into teachers. Instead of writing out definitions of all the terms I want students to know, I assign these definitions to the students and then compile them in an online glossary. Similarly, students produce Web sites on authors, write interpretive essays, and otherwise produce the content of the course. As they finish these assignments, they post them on their online portfolios, where other students can read them and learn from them. Unlike a correspondence course, to which online courses sometimes are likened, my online literature course is a kind of ongoing dialogue conducted over the Internet. Students not only learn from each other, but learn as they conduct research, write, edit, design, and generally consider the most effective ways to teach material to others.
Like its counterpart in the traditional classroom, this form of student-centered online learning requires no more work than teacher-centered learning, but it does require a different approach to education. As the most knowledgeable and articulate member of the class, the teacher still plays a vital role in the student-centered class. Rather than a source, however, the teacher in this environment must become a type of guide. That is, I do not pour out information through lectures or even voluminous lecture notes posted on the Web. Instead, I help students to produce this information. For example, I use optional workshops, online guides, and one-on-one tutoring to help students master the essential skills of finding and using reliable sources, writing clear prose, and designing a functional Web site. More than anything, I read and carefully evaluate the students' work, offering them specific comments about what they have done effectively, as well as suggestions for ways to expand on their content, clarify their explanations, and make their material more attractive and engaging.