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Ralph, The rock kits sound like a good idea. Thanks, I'll give that a try.....Rob ----------------------------------------------------------- Robert C. Thomas, Ph.D. Department of Environmental Sciences The University of Montana Western Dillon, MT 59725 (406) 683-7615 [log in to unmask] http://www.umwestern.edu/ http://www.umwestern.edu/envirosci/ "I'll know my song well, before I start singin'"...Dylan On Feb 25, 2010, at 12:07 PM, Dawes, Ralph wrote: > Hi Frank, > In the Geology of the Pacific Northwest class I teach online, we > haven’t been having the problems you describe. It seems like there > may be several keys to this. > > One key may be how I respond to the students frequently on all > discussions and assignments with in-depth feedback, in which I try > to consistently refer to the expected outcomes and standards for > each assignment or discussion, and provide encouragement to help the > students keep building toward achievement of those standards. > > Another key is recognizing and acknowledging the students for who > they are and having them share their life experiences. This is done > with some of the more interesting guided discussion topics, which > bring out their encounters with geology, experiences with > earthquakes and volcanoes or floods (or stories of such encounters > they heard from relatives or friends), beautiful geological places > they have visited, and so on -- life experiences that are meaningful > to them and which help them get to know each other. > > Another thing we have the students do is a field project much like > what Rob Thomas mentions, with their results shared with each other > via pictures and summaries of their geologic interpretations of > their field sites. > > The students in PNW Geology online also work with real rocks and > geologic maps from a lab kit they buy. The rocks and maps provide a > basis for several intensive, discussion rich exercises, including > examples and diagrams modeling what the student will be doing > themselves to interpret structures on the geologic map, or the rocks > in terms of the rock cycle. They also engage in social learning by > discussing their rocks in groups after attempting to identifying the > rocks once to see how they did, and then they get to try again. I > like it when they start sending pictures of their rocks around and > talking (writing) about them on the basis of the pictures, though > that does not always happen. > > On the whole, the results have been about as good as, or sometimes > better than, my in-person PNW Geology class. > > --Ralph > > > Ralph Dawes, Ph.D. > Earth Sciences > Wenatchee Valley College > 1300 Fifth Street > Wenatchee, WA 98801 > (509) 682-6754 > [log in to unmask] > > > > > From: Frank Granshaw [mailto:[log in to unmask]] > Sent: Thursday, February 25, 2010 8:16 AM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: On-line earth science courses: Experiences and research > > Hello everyone... > > For the past four years I have been attempting to develop a fully on- > line earth science sequence for non-science majors. In our system > we call it the general science sequence. At the end of this year I > will be "retiring" from teaching distance courses and making the > recommendation that we stay with a hybrid sequence (on-campus lab) > rather than attempt to go fully on-line. As a point of closure I > would be most interested in hearing from some of you that have been > involved in similar efforts. In particular I would appreciate > hearing about how you have dealt with the following issues or if you > know of research dealing with these issues. > > Encouraging inquiry and problem solving in on-line environments - My > experience has been that the on-line experience is a highly scripted > one that doesn't lend itself easily to the kinds of flexibility and > open-endedness that is a hallmark of inquiry-based instruction. > This scriptedness also makes teaching earth science on-line somewhat > problematic, since the earth sciences are a bit "messier" than math, > physics, chemistry, or accounting. > Providing the kind of near instantaneous, social trouble shooting > that is part of an on-campus course - The asynchronous aspect tends > to slow down many activities quite significantly. We have tried > video-conferencing options such as Elluminate, but this adds a level > of technical complication for students who are still struggling with > basic technical tasks such as sending an attachment to an email. > Coping with student expectations about distance courses - I sense > there is a certain amount of scuttlebutt amongst students (and maybe > even advise from college counselors) that if you are looking for an > easy way to fill a requirement take an on-line course. Students > seem to arrive in our courses with the illusion that they will be > spending far less time completing an on-line course than they will > its on-campus equivalent. They also seem to arrive with the > impression that the experience will be a canned, "work-at-your own > pace" experience. > Coping with student frustrations - For much of the past four years, > we've spent a considerable amount of time trying to figure out how > to deal with the many frustrations students have expressed on-line. > While many of these frustrations are rooted in the all-to-common > technical difficulties that come with teaching on-line, my own > hypothesis is that many more of these frustrations stem from > students finding on-line science different from their expectations, > trying to work alone without the support of instructors and other > students, and their own discomfort with science (e.g. "Science isn't > my thing"). Add to this the anonymity of email communication and > you often get students expressing themselves in ways that they would > not do in a face-to-face encounter. > > Again, I am quite interested in hearing from any of you who have had > experience with these issues or know of research dealing with them, > especially as I make my recommendations to our DL folks and the > instructors who will inherit these courses. > > Cheers > Frank G. > > Frank D. Granshaw > Earth Science Instructor > Portland Community College > Sylvania Campus > Portland, OR > 503-977-8236 > > > >