Self-Assessment: for one, for all

Module 1:
As way of introduction to the experience of online learning, students in Dr. McBride's course were asked to answer the following questions. Here are my answers ...

Q: Describe your current educational setting. Are you a practitioner or pre-service teacher? What is your current teaching assignment or major field of study? What is your interest in teaching online?

My A: I am currently in a place of major professional transition. Having worked at Northeastern University for eight years as a PhD student and candidate and then a post-doctoral researcher (in Microbiology), I thought, up until about a year ago, that I would be teaching and doing research at the college- and graduate-level until I retired. Almost a year ago, I left NU during maternity leave and started volunteering and taking courses at Lesley. My volunteer position turned into more of a job (unpaid) because I took on the role of educational programming coordinator. I am currently looking for paid employment, either as a high school science teacher or in project and program management in a local non-profit. The more time passes, the more I think I will land in museum-based educational settings or in educational leadership. This is in part because the economy is so poor and I am unwilling to relocate. In my current job search, I am learning that I do not have enough teaching experience at the high school level to compete with the multitude of unemployed science teachers in the Boston area. 

 

I am excited about online teaching and learning because I think online education is incredibly powerful, especially when it comes to environmental science and studies. Students from various locations can collaborate to learn about and compare their communities. Further, in terms of urban environments, online experiences are so integral to how people connect to their communities. I mention this because the M.A. program I am enrolled in at Lesley is called Urban Environmental Leadership (in GSASS). Overall, whether in a formal, curriculum enrichment, or museum-based education career, I think this course, and others like it, will be incredibly useful to my approach.  

Q: Compare and contrast any two of the assessments described in the article, discussing which features you feel would be most relevant to your present or future students.

My A: In our first reading, Martinez et al. (2006), describes various models of how to assess student readiness for online instruction. It is clear that online instruction should come with an interactive preparation period. I think this is especially important in museum-based education settings because often students (and their regular instructors) tune-out because they might feel that the experience is extra-curricular, not integral.

The model used by Cascadia Community College, in particular, seems relevant to this issue of tuning out. By requiring a "week zero" component before enrolling in any course, instructors can be sure that technical problems or study habits will not be a barrier to learning. These programs serve the dual purpose of ironing out any confusion with tools and setting a framework of the course sharing rigor, albeit in a different package, with previous educational experiences. CCC's orientation is entirely online.

Coastal Bend Community College and TVI Commmunity College both opt to have a more personal approach to preparation for online coursework. CBCC approaches this with personal advising and TVICC approaches this with video/audio chat. The article presents the need for this support to ensure student retention, over the course and, perhaps, over the program.

In terms of museum-based or enrichment programs, the regular classroom instructor and the students both need to be pre-assessed for commitment and technology literacy. It would likely make the most sense to have a personal approach to classroom teacher preparation and give those teachers a 'week zero' module to help them get their students on board. Likewise, if this were applied to home schooling parents, the parents, in their role as teacher, need a rigorous process to determine if they are ready and able to teach and learn with an online facilitator.

For the classroom (online or in-person), I think this article has a fair amount to contribute to ensuring students are prepared for the skills they will be expected to use during the course. For K-12, I think personal interaction is going to be more effective than multiple choice questionnaires. As the teaching medium ages, hopefully there will be a similar article available for K-12 teaching.  

Q: Share the results of your SORT assessment. What are your strengths and weaknesses in terms of being prepared for online learning? Be sure to include any areas in which you feel you may need assistance or advice. 

My A: I am well-prepared to be an online learner, according to the SORT assessment and I agree with this assessment. I am well-versed in and have access to the technology required and am dedicated to the content and experience of the course. I actually like more interaction, even if only through the written word, than many traditional taught classroom-based courses provide. My central challenge for this course, my first ever exclusively online learning experience, will be to maintain study skills in the absence of in-person meetings. As online educators, we will be faced with this challenge from most students and it is important we understand how we approach it for ourselves.



Reflection: Answering these questions reminded me how self-reflective and formal online teaching and learning asks me to be. I wonder how students that have not had self-reflection incorporated into their previous coursework will respond to that being a requirement. I think this will be especially challenging in science courses, but less challenging in others.