Why do we teach the way we do? : the relationship between tutors' conceptions of teaching and learning, the design/teaching of their online courses and effecive online teaching principles : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for degree of Master of Education at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand

There is an increase in the use of e-learning within tertiary institutions and many courses are moving to online learning as the means to deliver all or part of courses that were previously delivered face-to-face. Online delivery, primarily through the internet, provides new challenges for tutors in delivering courses that demonstrate effective teaching principles. This study researched the perspectives and practice of twelve tutors from three different New Zealand polytechnics via a multiple case study. It investigated how tutors’ conceptions of teaching and learning aligned with the design and teaching of their online courses, and with effective online teaching principles. Enablers and barriers to tutors using effective online teaching principles were also examined. Interaction between students, between tutor and student and between tutor and content were all found to be important conceptions of teaching and learning shared by the participants. It appeared that an understanding of learning theory was related to tutors’ conceptions of teaching and learning aligning with the design of their courses. In addition, this understanding influenced tutors’ use of effective online teaching principles. The research identified that all tutors’ courses aligned with the effective online teaching principles of constructive alignment, the chunking of content and tasks into appropriate sizes, and scaffolding of information. The principles related to student interactivity with content, between students and with the tutor were evidenced on two of the polytechnics’ courses with limited evidence on the third polytechnics’ site. The effective online teaching principles of promoting student ownership of the learning process, and interaction with a larger learning environment was demonstrated on few of the tutors’ online courses in this study. The enablers and barriers experienced by tutors played a key role in the extent to which tutors implemented effective online teaching principles in their courses. Institutional processes related to course design, and tutor professional learning and support played a critical role in providing tutors with the knowledge and time they needed to effectively teach online

Experience of Students in Online Courses v. Students in Lecture Courses

My research project investigates the experience of students who are enrolled in online courses, specifically Organic Chemistry II and their experiences in Organic Chemistry I compared to those they are now having. The sample was composed of seven men, four whites and three blacks. One was a professor and the six students ages ranged from 20 to 22 years of age. The participants were interviewed and were asked to give their opinion about the format of Organic Chemistry II. The results indicted that race did not play a factor in which format was preferred by the subjects, the majority of whom liked the online format. Their biggest complaint concerned the exam format. These findings could be used to find a balance that will be acceptable to faculty, but will enable students to effectively learn in different environments

Assessment worlds colliding? Negotiating between discourses of assessment on an online open course

Using the badged open course, Taking your first steps into Higher Education, this case study examines how assessment on online open courses draws on concepts of assessment used within formal and informal learning. Our experience was that assessment used within open courses, such as massive open online courses, is primarily determined by the requirements of quality assurance processes to award a digital badge or statement of participation as well as what is technologically possible. However, this disregards much recent work in universities that use assessment in support of learning. We suggest that designers of online open courses should pay greater attention to the relationship of assessment and learning to improve participant course completion

Spreading the message: teaching music librarianship by distance learning

A course in music librarianship has been offered at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for many years. However, it is only since 2008 that the course has been offered online. The move from a traditional classroom environment to an online one raises several pedagogical and practical issues, some of which are discussed in the present article. The technology used to deliver courses online from the University of Illinois is also examined, and some information is also provided about the use of online course management software to deliver music librarianship courses at the University of Aberystwyth (UK). An increase in the number of courses offered online in this way will,one hopes, lead to greater course enrolment by students.published or submitted for publicationis peer reviewe

Towards using online portfolios in computing courses

The direct experience we had with teaching a summer pre-college computing course in which we adopted an online portfolio approach has led us to consider the use of online portfolios in our regular computer science undergraduate courses. The technical challenges we foresee include: the necessary support from the college\u27s IT department; the use of Microsoft-based web authoring technologies vs. the use of Open Source / freeware counterparts; the need for adequate technical knowledge on the part of our faculty; the need for server-side hardware and software resources