IDEAS: Instructional Design for Elearning Approaches – Efficacy of Web-Based Instruction

http://ideas.blogs.com/lo/teaching_online/

Ferdinand Kraus read the following report, The Efficacy of Web-based Instruction at York University: A Case of Modes of Reasoning, 1730 by Grayson, McDonald, and Saindon who all work at York University in Toronto, Canada.

This paper was concerned with a class study, Modes of Reasoning 1730.This particular class developed the critical reasoning skills of the student’s who took this class. The Instructor taught this class in two different sections, in class and online, personally, I find this to be very interesting. The results from this study indicated that the on-ground students’ grades were much better than the online ones.

Kraus found that the study was problematic because the focus was on technology, “which does not enhance learning.” Classroom or online learning is based on the Instructor’s learning styles that they bring to their class. Technology plays not part in the learning process, more importantly, the design of the instruction also. Kraus is amazed that any kind of baseline derived from the on-ground classes is applied to the online one as well, which should not be accepted. For on ground classes, Kraus provided the following examples that can be applied to this aspect, such as “chalkboards, television, and computers.”

Kraus felt that efficacy could be applied to the on ground environment as well, not just the online. She also noted that comparative studies cannot be equally applied to the on ground and the online environment; she uses e-mail versus snail mail as an example of the communication aspect. For instance with e-mail, a student can attach, distribute, and link files compared to snail mail. Kraus stated that each method of communication is not perfect by any means.

According to Kraus, the article mentioned, “both sections had the same readings, essays, tests, and final exams and the text of in-class lectures was posted on the web.” However, the on ground students scored better on their tests. Kraus felt the result of the differences in testing had to do with the “limited range of instructional strategies.” Another aspect could have played a role is that the critical thinking skills were not developed was not appropriate.

Kraus stated that by no means should “an online class replicates what occurs in a classroom,” different rules of engagement should take place, for instance, more in-depth interaction between students. Kraus stated that in the online environment “that fellow students can learn even more from each other than from the Instructor.”

A study revealed that students did not prefer the online method because they had to assume more responsibility for learning, which increased their cognitive way of thinking and “forced them utilize their critical thinking skills to analyze instead of totally relying on the Instructor.”

Kraus contended that critical thinking skills should not be the focus in either aspect, “it should be the classroom/web-based strategies which promote this skill.”

I learned that the online and the on ground classroom deliveries are both not compatible with “certain learning styles,” according to Kraus. Learning styles have nothing to do with how a class is delivered. Lastly, any learning environment can host different learning styles and abilities; no particular one is targeted to be the correct one. This blog helped me to understand that not just one learning style is attached to one method of learning as I previously thought. This information is useful to the Instructional Designer for the mere fact that certain learning styles can be applied to both forms of methods of delivery.