Journal of Research in Innovative Teaching - National University

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language used in the description and guidelines for a Q&A Forum assignment in an online course.) Advantages of the Q&A Forum The Q&A Forum is better at achieving the goal of peer interaction and critical discussion than merely requiring students to post peer comments; it can do everything peer comments are meant to do and more. Deeper engagement with peer work is guaranteed because the main task of the assignment is to answer another student’s original question. Since students must each answer a different question, they will not only be eager to read through all of the questions to find one they want to answer but also be prompt about completing the assignment, as the sooner they engage, the greater the selection of questions. The last person to post his or her answer will be left with the final unanswered question. Seeing the list of available questions visibly dwindle as the due date draws near creates a real-time indicator of students working together as a class on the same project. Students enjoy the mildly competitive “race” to answer their preferred question. If they move precipitously, they will not have the advantage of seeing the entire list of questions; if they wait too long, they may miss their chance to answer the question of their choice. This kind of dynamism is a good way to engage students. The structure of this assignment also stimulates students to pay more attention to what others in the class are doing, because the assignment suggests that the question refer back to one or more peer posts in the previous discussion board; this provides a strong incentive to read through a number, if not all, of the previous discussion posts. By contrast, the peer-comment assignment can be fulfilled by simply reading two other posts in order to make two comments; students are given no real motivation to go beyond this effort. The Q&A Forum assignment gives students a self-interested reason to read through more of their peers’ discussion-board posts: They will want to craft a relevant and interesting question, so they will be likely to read through various posts to find one that helps them come up with good ideas. Also, the suggestion that a good way to formulate a relevant question is to refer to another student’s discussion-board post will lead to critical thinking skills kicking into gear, because the student’s own grade is affected by successfully using analysis and creativity in relation to the ideas and arguments of others. Koszalka and Ganesan (2004) make the well-supported point that active peer collaboration and social interaction on specific instructional tasks or course assignments is a significant factor in successful learning in online environments (and it can be asserted that the same holds true for onsite classroom situations). They claim that learning takes place in other ways than simply taking in and comprehending new information. Learning takes hold when the needs of learners are addressed, and learning grows out of conversation and shaping of understanding through interactions with the content and others in the learning environment. Thus, the instructional design focus of online instruction must be to engage learners purposefully and strategically in integrated interactions with content, activities, peers, and with the instructor ultimately facilitating the learning process (p. 244). The Q&A learning tool advances these specific goals and aims to meet the purposes of successful learning as specified in the well-known ARCS model of motivational design 167
(discussed in ChanLin, 2009; see also Hirumi, 2005; Keller, 1987): (1) gaining and sustaining students’ attention; (2) making course content and modalities relevant to students’ needs and interests; (3) building students’ confidence in their own abilities; and (4) greater student satisfaction with their learning experience. The Q&A Forum assignment’s task of coming up with original questions is in line with the first two motivational principles: students will be curious to read what others are thinking about, and because the questions originate from the students they questions are bound to be relevent to their needs and interests. Furthermore, the Q&A Forum offers a great platform for multimedia participation. Students who have the technological capability (and this does not require much) could pose their question by inserting an audio or video clip of themselves addressing the class. Or, in order to provide motivation and background for the question, a student may want to link to or even embed a video clip or insert an image. These kinds of posts will certainly gain students’ attention. The instructor could lead the way in this media-enhanced direction by introducing and explaining the assignment in a video clip. Encountering audio or video clips that feature a student first framing and then asking his or her question would positively enhance student engagement both with each other and with course content; students would undoubtedly enjoy hearing or seeing their peers address the class and be highly motivated to peruse all the questions before responding. This is also a terrific way to address the issue of how to get disconnected, at-a-distance learners to bond as a class, since they are responding to a real person heard, or seen and heard, in the clip. Relevance to students’ needs and interests is clearly achieved in the act of students asking their own questions, whether in the traditional written style or, if possible, in a media-enhanced format. A student’s confidence is boosted by having others in the class actually do research on questions that the student deems important or interesting, and it is boosted in a way that a simple compliment or word of praise expressed in a peer comment cannot do. It is also obvious that there is a great deal more satisfaction to be gained from a learning experience in which the student has contributed to course content and steered class discussion and the learning of others (as well as his or her own learning) toward a successful attainment of course learning outcomes and goals. In addition, the Q&A Forum features opportunities for productive facilitation by placing more of the responsibility for learning on the student; it fosters reflective, enlightened, and innovative teaching by allowing for an open approach that takes into account learners’ needs, the instructor’s own considered educational beliefs and teaching practices, and current research in pedagogical theory and learning design (Donald, Blake, Girault, Datt, & Ramsay, 2009; Serdyukov & Serdyukova, 2009). Strategic alignment of learning tasks and course objectives (and consistently reminding students of this relationship) is an important but too-oftenoverlooked pedagogical goal. This is especially crucial in distance education, where students must work independently and be self-motivated to stay on track (Edmondson, 2007; Harmon & Hirumi, 1996). Interactive discussions are productive, but students can grow weary of the same activity week after week. Varying the types of activities and styles of assignments in a course has at least two sure benefits: boredom is alleviated, and students with different learning styles can become more engaged. Effective, and especially media-enhanced, use of the Q&A can help fulfill the educational purposes of colleges, universities, and other institutions of higher learning because it is an excellent and innovative way to place students at the center of the educational process and bring them together in their learning experience, enabling them to construct knowledge for themselves while operating in a community of inquiry that not only solves problems together but also 168
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Journal of Research in Innovative T
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Table of Contents Editor’s Column
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Editor’s Column National Universi
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training-based method for integrati
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The Editorial Board invites the rea
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The Influence of Social Worlds on E
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experience in a strong group settin
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Table 1 Example Scenario of a Burea
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hierarchy ensures a social position
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(see Figure 5). Each member is affo
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through four types of instructional
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Hierarchic (high grid, strong Group
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Figure 10. Didactic Task Structure
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Stansberry, S., & Harris, E. (2005)
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Utilizing current research-based co
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teachers. The instructor kept a mas
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References Coburn, C. E. (2001). Co
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Organizing for Instruction Carefull
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Accelerated Learning 33
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the learning process but rather to
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Csikszentmihalyi (1982) has written
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term (intersession) gets its name b
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Some Important Issues Scott and Con
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esponsibilities). A higher percenta
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them in such a way that the likelih
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makes a valuable contribution to ou
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North American Association of Summe
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E-learning 51
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Academic Learning Today Academic in
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In the original publication by the
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• Individual (1) — Group (2) co
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Challenges and Opportunities From t
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About the Authors Cynthia (Cindy) L
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AGILE TEACHING: A CASE STUDY OF USI
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the scope-by-name feature of Ruby e
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need to deal with. Students learned
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experiment with different options f
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the students evaluate the optimum s
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Using Bibliotherapy as a Tool for C
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different clients and their present
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supervisees with a brief synopsis o
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Stick Figure, by Lori Gottlieb As t
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psychological awareness to encourag
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on the Internet. To keep the classr
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The third portion of the discussion
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Henry, S. (2005). A different appro
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elementary-age students. Linked wit
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considered in multicultural literat
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In Finding One, the conclusion was
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Stephanie: “I learned that some p
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importance in society and in school
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published in the United States. Ret
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Reading Practices in Elementary Sch
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groups of students reading by apply
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Table 2 Participant-Reported Teachi
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Table 5A Teachers’ Reading Task P
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Because electronic texts are increa
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Conclusion As teachers work to impr
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Bilingual Education and Second Lang
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successful in hiring enough qualifi
Page 122 and 123: Five Innovative Strategies That Wor
Page 124 and 125: The third strategy is “Determinin
Page 126 and 127: the categories, synthesized and def
Page 128 and 129: Fereshteh, M. H. (1995). Multicultu
Page 130 and 131: Can Balanced Bilingualism Be Achiev
Page 132 and 133: As may be seen from this discussion
Page 134 and 135: Alternatives to Current Methodologi
Page 136 and 137: education when students are isolate
Page 138 and 139: Conclusion SL learning must be a tw
Page 140 and 141: Language as Tool for a Global Educa
Page 142 and 143: encouraging passive learning. Such
Page 144 and 145: Similarly, their actions or what go
Page 146 and 147: should therefore not be glued to th
Page 148 and 149: Supplementary Reading Since there i
Page 150 and 151: Bruce, M. G., Podemski, R. S., & An
Page 152 and 153: • Sentence combination (using con
Page 154 and 155: The Motivational and Attitudinal Ch
Page 156 and 157: Other researchers have challenged t
Page 158 and 159: education classes were taught in Ru
Page 160 and 161: Participants also described how the
Page 162 and 163: Implications and Suggestions for Fu
Page 164 and 165: National University Carlsbad, CA Em
Page 166 and 167: Assessment and Evaluation 161
Page 168 and 169: affordance of opportunities for sel
Page 170 and 171: An examination of the peer-comment
Page 174 and 175: promotes self-discovery (Saulnier e
Page 176 and 177: Appendix A Sample Language from an
Page 178 and 179: Student Evaluations of Courses and
Page 180 and 181: that there is a consistent positive
Page 182 and 183: (teaching) for all classes (11 item
Page 184 and 185: Figure 1. The Nonlinear Relationshi
Page 186 and 187: About the Authors Nataliya Serdyuko
Page 188 and 189: Best Practices 183
Page 190 and 191: The Textbook Elementary Statistics
Page 192 and 193: If the mean number of visits was as
Page 194 and 195: discussion in such courses is slow;
Page 196 and 197: Table 1. A grade list for a class o
Page 198 and 199: Sloboda, B. W. (2005). Improving th
Page 200 and 201: The Journal of Research in Innovati
Page 202: About the Author In the end of your
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