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Kenneth W. Miller Teaching Science Methods Online: Myths about Inquiry-based Online Learning The author addresses six myths about inquiry-based online science delivery and offers some strategies to demonstrate effective online science teaching. Introduction the delivery of an online course are David has a two-year associate degree With universities, teacher education provided. from a community college, and he is institutions, and high schools gearing Katherine started her degree from also a substitute teacher. up heavily in online course delivery Montana State University-Billing by Programs in teacher education for in every discipline, science educators driving three times a week from her learning online have given both these specifically are asking themselves home and family over 50 miles away. students options to fulfill their dreams “How do we provide this access to The worst part was not the slippery of becoming teachers that previously our students and still maintain our roads during the winter or the two- were not available to them. The ben- pedagogical integrity in science hour-a-day commute. The worst was efits do not stop with the individual. instruction?” This question seems to that she often ran behind schedule to Rural schools in the Northwest are in be at the heart of a national discussion. pick up her two sons after school in dire need of elementary and second- The standards in science promote an her hometown miles away. ary teachers. The state of Montana inquiry-based approach at both the David lives over 90 miles away is a perfect example. Montana is the national and state levels, therefore, an from a community college or univer- fourth largest state geographically arguable difficulty exists in adapting sity. He helps his wife with their tamale in the United States, with many of a reticent online inquiry approach company business which turns out over its 900,000 people living in remote that is more consistent with the 600 tamales a week in a hometown areas, hundreds of miles from the excitement of an inquiry based face- kitchen, and he also drives a school nearest four-year institution. Many to-face classroom approach. Today’s bus route and works with the school of those seek to finish their degrees in students require coursework when district’s technology department. elementary and secondary education they want it, where it is convenient and teach in the schools where they for them, and how it fits their needs. live, but it is emotionally, physically, Many students need online delivery and geographically impossible to because of distance from the university Given the plethora of online restructure their lives and families to or their already demanding schedules. learning courses at most do so. Providing methods of teaching Delivering coursework using scientific post secondary institutions, courses online within their regions and inquiry techniques can be problematic. we as science methods offering opportunities to intern in the This paper discusses six myths about instructors find ourselves schools where they weave theory into inquiry-based online science delivery. discussing the issues of practice helps these students to earn Examples of how to design and their bachelors or masters degrees and promote inquiry that is embedded in sound pedagogical delivery. become certified teachers. 80 ScieNce educator Almost every community college Most faculty, though quite and university within the current Instruction in an online pedagogically sound for on campus milieu offers online course offerings, format requires that faculty delivery, also understand that teaching and science teacher educators often re-think the tried and true online requires a different mindset find themselves in a quandary. and delivery style. A small on- Coursework and scheduling for online methods they use to teach campus survey showed that 0 faculty delivery increases, and there exists on campus. members were questioned prior to a philosophical struggle between experiencing, developing and teaching perceived appropriate teaching continue by stating that approaches courses online. All responded that they strategies that promote the national should be used to help students to were quite hesitant to teach online, and state science standards and what “construct new understandings, and most reported they did not think many believe we are capable of doing through experiences that extend and it was possible to teach their courses in online delivery platforms. Given the challenge what they already know” (p. and their content totally online, void plethora of online learning courses at ). Loucks-Horsley et al., thoroughly of face to face interaction. However, most post secondary institutions, we relate these practices to teacher after planning online delivery and as science methods instructors find education. They state that “engaging actually experiencing teaching online, ourselves discussing the issues of teachers in learning experiences that this same faculty reported a new sound pedagogical delivery. enhance their understanding” (p. 2) understanding of delivery methods Mission statements of public of science concepts and appropriate and discussed how much learning universities have at their heart outreach pedagogy should be a definite took place in their online courses and accessibility, yet many state priority. They suggest that teachers, (Miller & Knuth, 2004). Some faculty funded institutions do not provide, or like students, learn best by doing echo, “It can’t be done! To prepare cannot provide, outreach opportunities science in an inquiry approach, science teachers appropriately, you to their constituency unless those investigating and constructing their have to be able to monitor student opportunities are offered online. own understandings. Loucks-Horsley learning, model teaching strategies Distance to universities, in many suggests that professional development for the student, and mentor students rural states is a barrier to possible on- must include the modeling of effective in their teaching careers.” Generally, campus attendance and participation; learning environments. these words originate from faculty however, providing access to state These reasons make online learning relatively inexperienced in online institutions is the duty, and many attractive and challenging. Gill (2003) delivery and/or those that lack the times, the mission of those institutions. suggests that almost 20% of training technological expertise to format an Access to institutional grounds should in “world class organizations” is being inquiry-based online course. Faculty mean more than being physically delivered online with an even greater with no experiences with online able to set foot on the university percentage foreseen for the near teaching typically made comments campus quad. Using metaphoric future. Change of any kind is difficult such as these: language like “e-learning” or “open- and hence, fraught with myths. This • I think it will compromise quality, education” advocates have hailed paper will discuss six myths of online and that we will eventually lose online learning as the harbinger of a learning in an inquiry-based science our share of the market to larger complete transformation in teaching methods course and begin to construct universities with more attractive and learning (Cox, 2005). A synthesis a better understanding of the power of transcripts. of the professional development online science content and pedagogical • When I first heard about online principles found in the standards, learning. Some strategies will be instruction, I thought, ‘I don’t Loucks-Horsley, Stiles, and Hewson provided to demonstrate effective like it and I don’t think I will (996) suggest that there should online science teaching. ever do it.’ be an emphasis on “inquiry-based Myth One: Good on campus face to After having taught their course learning, problem-solving, student face instructors make good instructors online, faculty became more aware of investigation and discovery, and online. the variety that online delivery could application of knowledge” (p. ). They Fall 2008 Vol. 17, No. 2 8 produce. They then made comments who teach online should receive information to make choices that like these: training in online communications arise every day. Everyone needs • After teaching an online class, and course facilitation (Kleinman, to be able to engage intelligently I think I really like teaching 2005). in public discourse and debate online. I get to know my students Being void of visual cues, online about important issues that individually. Each one becomes teaching forces instruction to be involve science and technology, unique, and I learn about each more reflective and planned. “It is and everyone deserves to share one’s strengths better than when true that face-to-face pedagogy can in the excitement and personal I had them in class. I also have and should be used to inform online fulfillment that can come from the opportunity to relate each unit pedagogy. However, this in itself can understanding and learning about with a field experience, which not be the driving force to designing the natural world. (National I am unable to do with face to online courses; one must consider Research Council, 996, para ) face, since we have so many ePedagogy to create a successful and The NSES also suggest that restrictions on placements in our meaningful course” (Li & Akins, the science teacher must use these college. 2005). Consequently, a weak on inquiry-based techniques to develop • It is great! It forces me to be campus teacher will quite likely make appropriate content development in more constructivist. I lay the a weak online instructor. It can also their students. However, an inquiry- groundwork. I set the stage. I be suggested that without appropriate based online science course is become a facilitator. The students e-pedagogical decisions, a good on- certainly not the same as the mail have to get involved and take campus instructor will not necessarily delivered correspondence course of responsibility for their own make a good online instructor. yore. In sharp contrast to some initial learning! Myth Two: Online delivery is perceptions, online courses can be Instruction in an online format requires similar to correspondence coursework designed to simulate constructivist that faculty re-think the tried and and limited to content learning teaching and inquiry approaches. true methods they use to teach on The definitions of inquiry and Figure represents the continuum campus. Online delivery, sometimes constructivist teaching come into play from which online courses can call ePedagogy, does not provide when we begin to think of training be designed. If the nature of the instructors with instantaneous cues science teachers to teach. Certainly, the coursework is to develop a content regarding their teaching and the National Science Education Standards knowledge base and provide student students’ learning. Online delivery (NSES) call for inquiry as a way of access to information, feedback loops must be well thought out in advance, life in the science classroom. from peers or the instructor do not need as it is virtually impossible to ‘shoot The world is filled with the to be as prominent an embedded feature from the hip’ and improvise online. products of scientific inquiry, in the course. Hence, an instructor Teaching online is different from and scientific literacy has could possibly design a content driven teaching face-to- face, and instructors become a necessity for everyone. course using a direct instruction Everyone needs to use scientific model with little instructor or peer Figure 1. Continuum from which online courses can be designed. Direct Hands-on Guided Full Inquiry Instruction Verification Lab Inquiry Constructivist Teaching 82 ScieNce educator feedback. Given such a scenario, an as they discuss with each other pre- Darling-Hammond, 990); and the online student could sign into a course, determined questions, rather than to 5E teaching model (BSCS, 989) in determine the unit’s requirements, specific individuals. The instructor previous coursework. Now, you would read, do activities, research, and can direct or re-direct discussions like to have your students do an activity comply with the requirements of that of the group, thus providing the to experience one of these. You choose unit. The student would eventually be necessary feedback loops. Assessment the Conceptual Change Model (CCM) assessed on those requirements. The can be more individualized and can because you are fairly sure from unit assessment, likely true/false or provide the instructor with a deeper previous courses that your students multiple choice, could quite possibly understanding of the students, as seen need experiential opportunities with be the only feedback that the students Bernoulli’s Principle. You are fairly might receive. Further, in some cases, certain your students do not understand that feedback can be totally computer the CCM teaching model, and this generated. For example, at a nearby It can also be suggested becomes your primary objective for university, a beginning personal health that without appropriate this unit. Bernoulli’s principle, at course is offered each semester with e-pedagogical decisions, a a basic level, suggests that a fluid almost one thousand students enrolled. good on-campus instructor in motion has a lower pressure that The students read the material and will not necessarily make a surrounding fluid. Consequently, respond to the content with exams the surrounding fluid (or air) tends to determine content understanding. good online instructor. to move from a higher pressure to a Evaluation is multiple choice and lower pressure. You need to take into true or false. The computer scores account that your students do not each student and records the grade in more interactive, discussion-based, have access to equipment other than in the online gradebook. This type on-campus classrooms. most household materials. Again, of course is extremely efficient and Myth Three: You cannot model your major objective in this method generates a large number of FTE for constructivist inquiry teaching of science teaching course is for the the university. However, it is a course strategies online. students is to understand the steps and that is based upon content knowledge Further along the continuum (see stages of the CCM and how it is used understanding; not pedagogical, Figure ), we can establish a guided in the classroom. attitudinal, and following the inquiry inquiry course nearing full inquiry. A series of digital video segments are standards-based understandings as How does an instructor design an constructed by the instructor to model prescribed by the NSES. online course that models appropriate this inquiry-based activity. These Toward the middle of the continuum, standards based teaching pedagogy? videos represent a modeling of the a course can be developed that would Certainly, this is a daunting task. It steps of the CCM and help to develop enable more in-depth instructor requires that the instructor plan for the activity sequentially, following the feedback and can also include peer- inquiry-based activities that model CCM format. Students are directed to-peer discussions and feedback. appropriate constructivist techniques, to watch a segment of a video and Logistically, this type of feedback yet with clearly defined e-pedagogical respond online in a discussion format. limits the total number of students objectives. Let’s see how this might The following segments and directed in a course simply because of the be done. student responses show how to model time required by the instructor to Assume that you have introduced inquiry-based teaching through online interact with individuals and monitor various teaching models, i.e. The delivery. their responses. Should there be Learning Cycle (Karplus, 974; Video Segment One: Show a video a large number of students in the Lawson, Abrahamn, & Renner, where the instructor asks the students course, the instructor may establish 989), The Conceptual Change to predict what would happen, if discussion groups to facilitate content Model (Hewson, 992; Posner, anything, to a strip of paper when you understanding. This plan allows Strike, Hewson, & Gertzog, 982) blow across it. (the paper moves up for the instructor to interact and The Instructional Theory Into Practice and flutters). Have the students enter provide feedback to groups of 5-8 (ITIP) (Hunter, as described by into the discussion area of the online Fall 2008 Vol. 17, No. 2 83
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