These are the concepts we want to reinforce with younger scientists - we want to guide them toward coming to these connections more and more independently so they are set up for success in higher level courses.
Five Years of Growth in Online Learning represents the fifth annual report on
the state of online learning in U.S. higher education. This year's study, like those for the previous four years, is aimed at answering some of the fundamental questions about thenature and extent of online education, supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
Teaching adults should be different if adults learn differently than children do. Theories or perspectives on adult learning, such as andragogy, make a number of assertions about the characteristics of adults as learners. If there are indeed distinctive characteristics of adults, on which claims for the uniqueness and coherence of adult education are based, then one might expect them to be taken into account in all organized education for adults. However, each of these characteristics is contested. Some question the extent to which these assumptions are characteristic of adults only. The literature promotes learner-centeredness as another distinguishing characteristic of adult education. Research indicates learner centeredness is an expression of a teacher's values, not a teaching method. Adult learners are more concerned with teacher character and appropriate teaching methods; adult students' conceptions of good teaching include a mix of teacher-directed and learner-centered characteristics. Ongoing debates--andragogy vs. pedagogy, teacher directed vs. learner centered--may mean no single theory explains how adult learning differs from children's learning. Appropriate choices about teaching practices should be based on numerous considerations, including context, learner knowledge and characteristics, and teacher beliefs and values. (Contains 22 references) (YLB)
This study investigates the counter-intuitive observation that older students tend to thrive better than younger students in online classes. We use a variety of measures to compare performance and attitudes of undergraduates and continuing adult professionals in separate but nearly identical class sections led by the same instructor at a US university during the same nine-month study period. Findings are consistent with theoretical predictions about differences in readiness of younger and older adults for elf-directed learning experiences. Results also suggest that online educators should be proactive in stimulating younger students' participation in class discussions, and should find ways to evaluate explicitly the tacit learning that online discussion can foster.
Previous research has shown that online instruction has aided in the preparation and retention of special education teachers (Dymond & Bentz, 2006; Knapczyk, Frey, & Wall-Marencik, 2005).
Online instruction is research proven to help benefit special education students
positively affect attitudes, knowledge
lack of training during their preservice years in proper interventions for students with disabilities, including modification, accommodations and assistive technology
For example teacher educators identify time constraints as one of the biggest barriers in providing an effective overall class on how to educate students with disabilities in the general education classroom
outcomes, and perceptions of educating students with disabilities in general education (Carroll, 2003; Cook, 2002; Kirk, 1998; Powers, 1992).
Assistive Technology Outcomes and BenefitsFocused Issue: The Role of Higher Education in Preparing Education Professionals to Use AT
Many facts about students with disabilities and how educators can benefit from online courses and learning to better support the needs of these students.
Benefit of taking this course online - community, sharing..
The standards assume that being literate means being digitally literate.
My goal for this column is to highlight strong examples of digital literacies instruction and technology integration that teachers can remix and customize for their students and teaching contexts
“One of the biggest communication changes happening today is the shift from the printed word on a page to multiple modes of image, sound, movement, and text on a screen.”
proposition that effective technology integration occurs at the intersections of teachers’ knowledge about technology, pedagogy, and content, or TPAC (see Figure 1).
Class Differences: Online Education in the United States, 2010 represents the eighth annual report on the state of online learning in U.S. higher education. The survey is designed, administered and analyzed by the Babson Survey Research Group with support from Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. This study is aimed at answering some of the fundamental questions about the nature and extent of online education.