Brent A. Anders's Blog, page 5

Top 7 Higher Education Trends for 2020

#1 AI (Artificial Intelligence) in the Classroom

Use of AI in the classroom will continue to increase as AI becomes more advanced and its implementation in the classroom becomes easier and more effective. I wrote an informative article about AI in the classroom (available here) but the evidence for this comes from researching the field, talking to instructors/professors, and the Artificial Intelligence Market in the US Education Sector 2018-2022 report that states “analysts forecast the...

Core Adult Learning Principles

Use these (see infographic) core adult learning principles to help address the ways many adult learners learn as well as the needs of many other learners. Ongoing research by the venerable Malcomb Knowles and his research team, Dr. Holton and Dr. Swanson (2012) have conducted ongoing research since the 1970s and have identified these key principles when helping adults learn:

Learner’s Need to Know

They need to know the course goals and class topics, the answers to why, what, and howAdults...

AI in Your Classroom

What is AI? AI stands for Artificial Intelligence and is generally defined as a machine/computer processing system that mimics human intelligence through information acquisition, reasoning, and self-correction. It has slowly become a growing part of our lives in that a lot of websites and programs we use have some sort of AI component. A great short video from ISTE.org (International Society for Technology in Education) offers a nice explanation:

If you use Amazon, Social Media (Facebook,...

Engage Students in All Environments

Is student engagement in a classroom really that important; can’t they learn just as well by passively listening to a lecture? No, they can’t learn just as well, and research has shown again and again that lecture is the least effective method of instruction; students want engagement, and that increased student engagement results in improvements to students learning persistence, academic achievement, motivation, and satisfaction (Anders, 2019; Taylor & Parsons, 2011; Trowler, 2010). By...

Engage Students in All Environment

Is student engagement in a classroom really that important; can’t they learn just as well by passively listening to a lecture? No, they can’t learn just as well, and research has shown again and again that lecture is the least effective method of instruction; students want engagement, and that increased student engagement results in improvements to students learning persistence, academic achievement, motivation, and satisfaction (Anders, 2019; Taylor & Parsons, 2011; Trowler, 2010). By...

The Army Learning Concept, Army Learning Model

I just released my new book The Army Learning Concept, Army Learning Model: A Guide to Understanding and Implementation. This book clearly presents and explains what the Army Learning Concept (ALC) and the Army Learning Model is all about. As a long-time higher education academic, and a 25-year veteran in the military, currently serving as a Sergeant Major in the Kansas Army National Guard, I logically broke down ALM into its main concepts. I worked to use my civilian knowledge of education (having earned a...

Online vs. Face-to-Face Learning, which is Better?

This debate has gone on for a long time
and there is a ton of research on this topic as well. But if we take a step
back, the question itself is a bit of an illogical proposition. To explain, let
me first describe my situation. I consider myself a super-student of sorts in
that I have taken over 1000 online classes. I took a few online courses as an
undergraduate at Kansas State University, I took my entire Master’s degree
online at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, and my Ph.D. program from
Kansas State University was a hybrid program. Additionally, I have been in the
Army for over 26 years taking many mandatory online training courses and many
online self-directed learning courses required for promotion. Plus, I’ve taken
a few online courses just for fun or for research.

On top of all of that, I have also spent
hundreds of hours recording classroom lectures/instruction when I worked as a university
cameraman. I’ve also taken thousands of face-to-face courses as part of my
civilian, military, business, and personal educational development. Throughout
this educational journey, I’ve had great courses online and face-to-face, as
well as some really bad courses both online and face-to-face. It isn’t a matter
of the delivery mechanism; it is a matter of the instructor/facilitator and how
the course is presented and ran.

There are so many types of courses (both
online and face-to-face) that comparing courses is difficult in and of itself.
If we are talking about online courses we need to differentiate between
synchronous (live components, meaning instructor and students are online at the
same time either for audio/video conferencing or text chat) and asynchronous
(no live components, done more on students’ schedule). Even then we would have
to take into account the instructional presence of the instructor and how the
class itself is managed and what other types of online technology are being
used (message boards, quizzes, student video assignments, etc.).

I’ve mainly been discussing my experience
and thoughts dealing with online vs. face-to-face instruction; what does the
research say? Research shows again and again that the delivery method (online
vs. face-to-face) has little to no effect on student performance outcomes (Cavanaugh
& Jacquemin, 2015; Driscoll,  Jicha, Hunt,
Tichavsky, & Thompson, 2012). Some research will show small benefit to
face-to-face and then some will show a small benefit to online learning (Means,
Toyama, Murphy, Bakia, & Jones, 2009). This again gives more credence to my
point that it is mainly about how the instructor conducts the class. In an
interesting study (White, McGowan, & McDonald, 2019) dealing with 169
second-year college students in an anatomy class, researchers discovered: “Students
performed at a similar level regardless of the content delivery format,” (p. 7)
and that: “student engagement, rather than the mode of content delivery, is a
determinant of student learning and performance” (p. 1). But what about student
perceptions?

In general, students’ perceptions and
preferences for online learning are the same as they are for face-to-face (Baker,
2018; Mann & Henneberry, 2014). But of course, students love the flexibility,
time management, and instructional technology tools offered through online
learning (Cantiello, & Hotchkiss, 2018; Mann & Henneberry, 2014). From
my readings and observations, as millennials and Generation Z get older, and as
older adult-learners continue to get more comfortable with good online
learning, more and more will actually prefer online learning to face-to-face (Clinefelter
& Aslanian, 2015; Murray, 2019; Zimmerman, 2018).

I feel that a hybrid solution is best (although I very much see the necessity for courses that are purly online) with some face-to-face instruction, I felt a greater connection with the instructor and the class. Although I think this could still be duplicated in a pure online form, it would require a lot more effort and interactive tools. For now, a hybrid solution seems to offer the best of both worlds, maximizing instructional presence and social interaction while at the same time using all the benefits of online instructional technology such as a learning management system, videos, discussion boards, games, quizzes (etc.) Research evaluating the effectiveness and student perceptions of hybrid instructional solutions are also showing very favorable results (Ali, 2018; Lim, Morris, & Kupritz, 2007).  

Reference

Ali, W. (2018). Transforming
higher education landscape with hybrid/blended approach as an evolving
paradigm. Journal of Advances in Social Science and Humanities, 4(7),
143-169.

Baker, D. M.
(2018). USA and Asia hospitality & tourism students’ perceptions and satisfaction
with online learning versus traditional face-to-face instruction. e-Journal
of Business Education and Scholarship of Teaching, 12(2), 40-54.

Best Colleges
Report. (2019). 2019 online education report. Retrieved from trends https://www.bestcolleges.com/perspectives/annual-trends-in-online-education/

Cantiello, J.,
& Hotchkiss, R. B. (2018). How Are We Doing? Student Perceptions and Best
Practices in Online Health Administration Education. Journal of Health
Administration Education, 35(4), 505-525.

Cavanaugh, J. K.,
& Jacquemin, S. J. (2015). A large sample comparison of grade based student
learning outcomes in online vs. face-to-face courses. Online Learning, 19(2),
n2.

Clinefelter, D.
L., & Aslanian, C. B. (2015). Online college students 2015: Comprehensive
data on demands and preferences. The Learning House, 8.

Driscoll, A.,
Jicha, K., Hunt, A. N., Tichavsky, L., & Thompson, G. (2012). Can online
courses deliver in-class results? A comparison of student performance and
satisfaction in an online versus a face-to-face introductory sociology course. Teaching
Sociology, 40(4), 312-331.

Lim, D. H.,
Morris, M. L., & Kupritz, V. W. (2007). Online vs. blended learning:
Differences in instructional outcomes and learner satisfaction. Journal of
Asynchronous Learning Networks, 11(2), 27-42.

Mann, J. T., &
Henneberry, S. R. (2014). Online versus face-to-face: Students’ preferences for
college course attributes. Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics,
46(1), 1-19.

Means, B., Toyama,
Y., Murphy, R., Bakia, M., & Jones, K. (2009). Evaluation of evidence-based
practices in online learning: A meta-analysis and review of online learning
studies.

Murray, G. (2019,
July). Why more adult learners are opting for online education. https://www.educationandcareernews.com/college-affordability/why-more-adult-learners-are-opting-for-online-education

White, L. J.,
McGowan, H. W., & McDonald, A. C. (2019). The effect of content delivery style
on student performance in anatomy. Anatomical sciences education, 12(1),
43-51.

Zimmerman, K.
(2018, February). 3 reasons millennials might choose online learning over a traditional
degree. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/kaytiezimmerman/2018/02/18/3-reasons-millennials-might-choose-online-learning-over-a-traditional-degree/#60813f73545b

You need to have Instructional Presence, here’s how

Instructional presence is an important and vital part of the learning environment affecting student performance (Law, Geng, & Li, 2019). Instructional presence deals with how one presents themselves as an instructor/facilitator and the courseware itself. This is vital for many reasons, specifically student comprehension, motivation, critical thinking, achievement, and both instructor and student experiences (Anders, 2017). Instructional presence is the culmination of social presence, cognitive presence, and teaching presence as initially developed by Dewey (1910) and then further refined by Garrison, Anderson, and Archer (1999) into the Community of Inquiry Model.

In working in higher academia for many years and helping professors improve their courses, I’ve heard and read critiques from students in large classes and online courses.  “I feel like just a number in the class, I don’t think he even knows my name” and “the instructor is so distant. She seems unapproachable and I don’t really know anyone else in the class, I feel very isolated.” In analyzing these comments and researching the different components of the class and interactions, the ultimate reason for these issues is Instructional Presence. Thankfully instructional presence can be improved (both online and face-to-face) with strategic use of video within the course.

By properly using video all three aspects of the Community of Inquiry Model (social, cognitive, and teaching presence) can be enhanced. Social presence is about instructors/facilitators being able to humanize themselves to the students and the students humanizing themselves to one another so that all feel that they are valued and are real people with shared goals in a community of inquiry (Kim, 2011; Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000). Effective project orientated instructor and student introductory videos can help build this sense of humanization and shared educational endure (incorporated with a reflective assignment dealing with the course). Other effective uses of video to enhance social presence are in its use for announcements, reminders, and supplementary materials. A key aspect here is how one projects themselves using proper verbal and non-verbal forms of communication to be viewed as much more relatable and approachable.

Cognitive presence deals with both the process and the outcomes of the instruction through communication/interaction within the learning community (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2001; Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 1999). This area can be enhanced by creating videos that are effective, properly chunked into shorter more manageable lengths, provide clear instruction, and have closed captions for ease of review. In other words, making good videos to make it as easy and effective (avoiding cognitive overload) for students to learn from.

Teaching presence (involving the instructor or the student, whoever is filling the teacher role at any given time) describes the active, direct facilitation- involvement within the course (Anderson, Rourke, Garrison, & Archer, 2001). To stress the importance of this area, a study by Bowers and Kumar (2015) identified that the strongest links for students’ feelings of presence and connectedness derived from instructors giving clear expectations for the assignments, helping students stay focused, and providing relevant/timely feedback. Effective use of video can be used with each one of these items to improve teaching presence. Ideas include a video summary of the syllabus, an assignment video with tips on what to focus on, and short feedback summary videos sent with detailed written information.

To help instructors, facilitators, and trainers, I wrote an implementation book on enhancing instructional presence (Anders, 2017). The book goes into further details of how to fully implement the enhanced use of video to address each aspect of instructional presence. As an example, it isn’t enough to just start to have announcement videos, they need to be made in the right way. This type of video needs to be very short, friendly, and provide relevant information for the student. It should be timely and current, showing that it was recently made. This shows the class that you as the instructor are a real person going through the class with them. Don’t worry, this type of short announcement video should not be a major professional production, it should be a quick, not necessarily perfect, communication with your class. Here is an example:

“Hi, class. It is 1 November 2019, and it is cold and raining here in Manhattan, KS. I’m on my way to my office and wanted to put out this quick announcement. Remember that our class this coming Monday will be over chapter 7 so be sure to read up on it. We’ll have a cool demonstration then a discussion. Also remember that Monday, 4 November is also the due date for your video projects. I’m excited to check them all out. OK, see you in class, bye.”

Notice how this is made in a very informal way. Ideally, this would be very short, done on a good smartphone, outside or by a window, to show the students a real environment. The casualness of it would also help in humanizing the instructor making them that much more approachable. I specifically describe a present instructor as “a real human person that students want to listen to, can approach, and interact with” (Anders, 2017). All of this works to give students a greater sense of community.

In my book, I also talk about the difference in using video for social presence as opposed to cognitive and teaching presence. I recommend using more professionally made videos for the main instructional content to ensure that the videos are as clear and understandable as possible to maximize learning. The focus is on cognitive process and teaching so the use of video is different than when the goal is pure social interaction.

The key to all of this is in understanding that instructional presence is a real thing and that it greatly affects students learning (Giannousi, & Kioumourtzoglou, 2016). Those responsible for instruction need to ensure that instructional presence is being addressed properly in order to have the best class possible. By properly using video, instructional presence can be enhanced helping to ensure a positive educational experience for both instructors and students.

Reference

Anders, B. (2017).
How to enhance instructional presence: Research & experience based
techniques to improve both online & face-to-face instruction. Manhattan,
KS: Sovorel Publishing.

Anderson, T.,
Rourke, R., Garrison, D. R., & Archer, W. (2001). Assessing teaching
presence in a computer conferencing context. Journal of Asynchronous Learning
Networks, 5(2), 1-17.

Bowers, J., &
Kumar, P. (2015). Students’ perceptions of teaching and social presence: A
comparative analysis of face-to-face and online learning environments.
International Journal of Web-Based Learning and Teaching Technologies (IJWLTT),
10(1), 27-44.

Dewey, J. (1910).
How we think. New York, NY: D. C. Heath & Co.

Garrison, D. R.,
Anderson, T., & Archer, W. (1999). Critical inquiry in a text-based
environment: Computer conferencing in higher education. The Internet and Higher
Education, 2(2), 87-105.

Garrison, D. R.,
Anderson, T., & Archer, W. (2000). Critical inquiry in a text-based
environment: Computer conferencing in higher education. The Internet and Higher
Education, 2(2–3), 1–19.

Garrison, D. R.,
Anderson, T., & Archer, W. (2001). Critical thinking, cognitive presence,
and computer conferencing in distance education. American Journal of Distance
Education, 15(1), 7-23.

Giannousi, M.,
& Kioumourtzoglou, E. (2016). Cognitive, social, and teaching presence as
predictors of students’ satisfaction in distance learning. Mediterranean
Journal of Social Sciences, 7(2 S1), 439.

Kim, J. (2011).
Developing an instrument to measure social presence in distance higher
education. British Journal of Educational Technology, 42(5), 763-777.

Law, K. M., Geng,
S., & Li, T. (2019). Student enrollment, motivation and learning
performance in a blended learning environment: The mediating effects of social,
teaching, and cognitive presence. Computers & Education, 136, 1-12.