Planning Activities for Purpose
The broad examples of categories and purposes of use illustrated here are not exclusive, there is inevitable overlap. Success depends on many interactive factors, and will obviously be influenced by purpose.
Context information about the student group is important. Who they are, what their subject and information technology experience has been before coming into the course, where they might be at the times when they are studying e.g. at home (study, bedroom, kitchen), at work (shared office, temporary classroom, own workspace) and when they might be studying (after the kids are in bed, in between teaching and project meetings) is critical for you to have an understanding of your students' resource and support needs. Such knowledge does not always help to predict participation, but it can help to explain participation patterns.
Whether or not the technology and technological support available to them is adequate, i.e. accessible on demand, easy to use to the point of being invisible, and lends itself to the tasks in hand is another obvious factor influencing motivation to participate.
Most important is why they are taking the course - interest, professional development, company requirement, scholarship etc.. Their reasons may or may not closely match your reasons for providing it, and inevitably your reasons for the particular provisions you make - teaching strategies, learning tasks, support resources - may not be clear to them, or agreed with even if understood.
The critical thing here, as in traditional classroom environments, is to ground learning community relationships and task activities in a shared understanding of learning outcomes and agreed pathways to their achievement.
| Categories of Activity | Strategies for engagement |
| Questions and Answers Sharing information, building up a knowledge archive |
Experience suggests that tutor-student or student-student question/answer sessions can be valuable for developing 'why' or 'how' knowledge. It can also help with the refining of questions. Management and role responsibilities here, of course, depend on learner level, available resources and depth of issues to be covered. |
| Group activities Team building, getting used to working together online |
Too large a range of possibilities here for truly generic advice but - small numbers work best (4-6), purpose-relevant tasks should be set, based on existing knowledge/skills for developing into the new environment. Time should be allowed for familiarisation, without pressure. The point, and the goal, of activities should be understood/agreed across the group(s). Role/tasks distribution should also be agreed and understood - decisions here on choice criteria, allocation responsibility. |
| Debates Analytical, communication, persuasion skills development, course concept cover |
Adapting traditional rules - e.g. 'position statement' prepared, proposer and opposer identified, perhaps support team allocation to 'provide evidence' or 'support arguments'. Time deadlines established, form of debate itself agreed, judgement criteria (and roles) established. Resources for debate information should be available and accessible! |
| Master class Access to subject expert |
This can be a good way for students to take their ideas further and get useful expert feedback, but can be a rather daunting experience - on both sides. The 'guest expert' might need a 'lead-in' and one or two students might be encouraged to seed the discussion with (genuine but not too esoteric!) questions or comments. It could be that the expert starts the discussion with a prepared paper, or it could be that she or he rounds off the 'open floor' by summarising and drawing issues into a report paper. Whether, and which, other resources might be provided depends on topic and practicality, but it may be appropriate to provide links to other papers, illustrations, etc. |
| Cooperative/Collaborative Project work Product development, conceptual or concrete - broadening perspectives, expanding experience, developing subject knowledge and skills, group work skills. |
Again too great a potential range of need and context for generic guidelines, but many activities may combine, sequentially or together, for success. Grounding - clarifying and sharing objectives and rationales. Brainstorming - generating and exploring solutions. Task allocation/sharing - taking and giving responsibility, group awareness. Self-peer evaluation/assessment. Critical reflection, revision, change. |
| Tutorials One to one, one to many - supporting lectures/assignments/ individual study |
Generally these precede, or follow, class activities such as labs, field trips, lectures. A major issue here could be spontaneity - sessions should be as freely interactive as possible, with all participants at their ease, and resources (lecture notes, assignment papers, whatever) to hand for common discussion. The first session for a new group could be deliberately set up as 'practice' with provided, but relevant, items for discussion and perhaps ending with a 'focus session' on the experience itself, and ways of improving it. |
| Seminars Presentation, discussion, peer critiquing skills. Conceptual development |
With a different agenda, ground rules and practice need to be agreed - probably on the basis of group experience, though with reference to guidelines if these are appropriate. Whilst there may be a necessary formality, a relaxed atmosphere should be encouraged, and contrasts of presentational style. Availability of common resources is essential and, importantly, any preparatory work should have been done by all concerned! |
| Discussion forums Special interest groups. Separating out for study, bring back to topic group. Following individual course interests/objectives in company with peers - extending general knowledge |
'Ownership' and freedom of speech need attention, if the desire is to allow open discussion of agreed issues. Students are likely to develop their own rules and codes of practice, and management of these, if left the space to do so. If teaching and support staff are present, it is a good idea if that is on an equal basis. |
| Review groups Critical skills, subject knowledge development |
These can be very good ways of covering a lot of subject ground - content, issues, readings, performance. A key aspect is the pre-task activity of identifying sources and agreeing criteria for review/assessment. Different disciplines will inform quite different patterns of activity. |
Adapted from McAteer et al 2001, see also McAteer & Harris 2002
