Preparation
for Teaching at Distance
Commentary
For
the past few years, many higher education institutions
have been increasingly offering distance education programs
to reach a greater student population. In the distance
education environment, teachers and students are geographically
separated and the communication between teachers and
students relies on the communication technologies. Obviously,
distance teaching is quite different than that in the
traditional classroom.
In order to adjust to the new teaching environment,
the distance instructor needs to prepare for distance
teaching and modify his or her existing teaching materials.
While a distance instructor is preparing his/her teaching
material for distance education, the following aspects
of preparation should be considered: learner analysis,
syllabi and handouts, visual aids and technologies,
social interaction, local facilitators, and support
services.
Any
class preparation starts with learner analysis. Analyzing
learners helps instructors determine which material
should be included in instruction to fit learners' characteristics
and meet their needs. Research on distance education
indicates that the majority of distance learners are
adults with extremely diverse educational experience.
The adult students usually have unique needs, motivations,
goals, and self-concepts (Ehrman, 1990). They appreciate
an instruction that is structured systematically with
requirements (objectives) clearly specified. Also, adult
learners expect the material to be relevant and beneficial
to them. While preparing course materials for these
adults, the instructor should try to make the course
as relevant as possible.
Syllabi
for distance education should be more comprehensive
and complete than syllabi used in traditional courses.
Through a comprehensive syllabus, students can clearly
understand what the instructor expects of them. A study
shows that distance students often feel anxious and
uncomfortable when the instructors' expectations are
not clear (Hara & Kling, 2000). In addition to syllabi,
the presentation handout is an especially efficient
tool for distance educators because they not only provide
visual cues of the teacher’s lecture, but also help
keep the distance learners on the pace. Many distance
teachers have found the usefulness of presentation handouts
in distance leaning and then use the same techniques
in their traditional class situation.
Another
important aspect of distance education is the use of
visual aids. Research has demonstrated that the use
of visuals clearly influences the learning experience
of students (Cohen, Ebeling, & Kulik, 1981). While
preparing for distance education course material, the
instructor should utilize the effectiveness of different
visuals, such as slides, video clips, films, pictures,
graphics, diagrams, tables and flowcharts. With the
combination of visuals and oral explanation, the instructor
can convey his or her instructional materials to students
more effectively and efficiently. Furthermore, to successfully
utilize visual aids, the instructor must be familiar
with the following technologies: television, computers,
slides, VCRs, projectors, and communications technologies.
Before class time, the instructor should acquire sufficient
knowledge regarding the features of those technologies
and know how to operate them accordingly. Also, they
might need to check if their instructional materials
can be shown through the technologies correctly.
The
social dimension is also critical to the instructional
effectiveness. The interaction between instructor and
students and among students should not be underestimated.
It is suggested that in order to make sure that interaction
will happen in the actual environment, preplanning interaction
is necessary. Teachers should preplan classroom activities
to encourage students' participation, such as asking
questions, assigning group projects, or prompting class
discussions.
Local
facilitators are important for the success of distance
instruction (Herring & Smaldino, 1997) as well and
the instructor should include them into the instructional
program. The facilitator is located at distance sites
and sometimes serves as an instructor. It is suggested
that talking to the local facilitator before class and
after class will significantly smooth the class process.
When there is no local facilitator, it is often a very
good idea to appoint a student to be the site facilitator.
It is usually easy to convince someone to volunteer
for this position or having rotating site facilitators.
Usually the facilitator can serve as the student representative
for the distance students. Talking to the student facilitator
after class can help the instructors understand distance
students' reactions, feelings, expectations, and emotions.
Finally,
while the learners are separated from their instructors,
they are also separated from the support services. Distance
students, like their on-campus counterparts, need library
services to conduct projects or studies. While these
library services are not available to them, distance
students often feel frustrated and constrained. This
will hinder students' intentions to complete their tasks.
Although it is not the instructor’s responsibility
to offer library services, the instructor can provide
some directions for students to seek library services.
Preparation
is the crucial ingredient to successful distance teaching.
Preparation is more formal, more sequential and more
elaborated than what the teacher often considers necessary
for traditional teaching. As a matter of fact, many
experienced distance teachers consider this preparation
similar to teaching for the first time. They are preparing,
rehearsing and having backup for the unexpected. Distance
teaching can be an enjoyable and pleasant experience
if the teacher is prepared.
Reference
Cohen, P., Ebeling, B., & Kulik, J. (1981, Spring).
A meta-analysis of outcome studies of visual-based instruction.
Educational Communications and Technology Journal,
29 (1), 26-36.
Ehrman, M. (1990). Psychologicai factors and distance
education. The American Journal of Distance Education,
4 (1), 10-24.
Hara, N., & Kling, R. (2000). Student’s distress
with a Web-based distance education course. [Online],
Available: http://www.slis.indiana.edu/CSI/wp00-01.html
Herring, M., & Smaldino, S. (1997). Planning for
interactive distance education: A handbook. Washington,
DC: AECT Publications.
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