At the recent Emerging Learning Design conference, I attended the keynote presentation by Elliott King, professor of communications and journalism at the University of Maryland-Loyola. He’s also known for his research in best practices of online and hybrid course development and the Internet’s impact on higher education and journalism.
Dr. King provided frank observations of today’s classroom and instructional methods: they aren’t working like they used to.
- The most depressing moment of the semester for a professor? Grading finals.
- Why offer 8 AM (or even 7 AM) courses?
- Night courses don’t work.
- There’s too much reading assigned (some faculty take pride in assigning massive amounts of reading…why?).
- Long final exams (research shows they don’t work). Linear structures (no one remembers earlier knowledge).
- Timed tests (coping with the stress of time)
Why do we continue to teach this way? King notes that tradition (100 years and counting) and the familiarity/comfort of teaching this way are some reasons. It’s fun (sage on the stage). Students have become comfortable as well. King indicates it’s documented that students typically dislike the flipped class method (it’s not comfortable).
How do we break this structure? King provided several proven solutions he has incorporated into his teaching, with promising results. He notes there is a lot of research to back up the idea of using online tools (adaptive technology). He calls it learning in 4D: structure, timing, content and context.
What is the outcome? Tell the students the outcome up front. Pose the “big question”.
Give students the final exam on day 2 of class! King’s final exam is 3 questions (one of which is the big question). When the final is given again, they’ll see how much they’ve learned.
Change the interval: 45 minute classes don’t work (don’t offer early/late classes either). Use short online videos (6-12 minutes each) and don’t try for professional quality. Students can’t pay attention for 45 minutes. There’s a reason sermons are 12 minutes! King’s classes “meet” everyday. It’s a MWF class, but on T/TH the class discusses online. This helps the student think about the class everyday. He has divided the class topics into shorter units. Interleaving (bring back previous concepts/topics in later units, etc.) is also recommended. Iteration is also suggested by King. Keep repeating, scaffolding and building up, perhaps by using a little technology. Wikis can help, although students aren’t huge fans (students would need to read the entire wiki discussion first, then decide where their comment fits; this helps with retention). Lastly, repetition (memorization) is always key. King provides online quizzes based on readings, and students can take them as often as they want in order to get a 100.
One interesting side note: King only allows handwritten note taking in class. He then asks students to type them up after class and post into an online discussion or to him as an assignment. In past, his experience with students typing their notes out in class were vastly inferior to those who wrote by hand.
In summary, King references Socrates, who thought books were the end of education. While that didn’t quite turn out to be the case, some still believe it. The key is to break down “time, space, record” of the traditional educational experience and evolve instruction through restructuring for today’s student.