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Communication and Student Learning
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Summer Institute Thematic Groups
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| Communication and Student Learning |
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Online communication fosters student learning by providing a collaborative, proto-public environment in which students can develop personal and academic voices. Moreover, because these environments explicitly integrate reading and writing, these new online communication technologies provide valuable insights into more traditional classroom practices, in which speaking is sometimes privileged over listening.
This poster summarizes the work of the 2004 VKP Summer Institute's "Communication and Student Learning" Group. It is organized into three sections which are color-coded; each section presents questions, findings, and models relevant to the specific focus. Images to the right are links to each of the three sections.
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Reading and writing online helps students develo
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How can reading and writing online help students develop greater literacy, stronger first person writing and prepare them for formal essays?
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"When use of the Discussion Board becomes a part of a series of pre-writing activities, the "I" that emerges in the later stages of the writing process is often more expressive, shaped as it is by an audience of peers. The Discussion Board in writing classes thus invigorates writing assignments that encourage students to write in the first-person."
Gail Green-Anderson
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Students can benefit from online discussi
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Online communication involves reading and writing: - Greater literacy: Electronic discussion is one element that can move students along the continuum from novice to expert, providing a space in which they can develop greater literacy.
- Stronger first person writing: Online communication can give students a stronger foundation for their writing, and an engagement with the subject matter that they reported as being long-lasting and significant.
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How VKP researchers use reading and writing
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How VKP researchers use reading and writing online in their classroom: Developing first-person writing through the electronic Discussion Board [Gail Green-Anderson, English] Blogging on the Beat [Kim Pearson, Professional Writing and Interactive Multimedia] More questions about reading and writing online and student learning: - How does use of the discussion board affect relevant skills in the production and analysis of texts?
- How do students learn from their peers' contributions, thus emphasizing the importance of "reading" in online discussions?
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collaborative learning
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How can online communication and collaborative learning disrupt the boundraries between public and private discourse and open up new possibilities for the assessment of individual student learning?
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"My first look at my evidence of student learning for this project was truly overwhelming. Because asynchronous discussion (unlike face-to-face discussion) leaves a persistent, visible, manipulable trace, there were volumes of student Discussion Board postings, and survey responses. Even limiting my project to the evidence gathered in one semester still produced far more than I could manage..."
Joe Ugoretz
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Going public and evaluating student learning through online discussion: - Creating public records: New technologies disrupt the boundaries between public and private discourse, partially because they can lead to the creation of written records that survive the class, often in a form readily available to people who are not enrolled in the class.Assessment: It is possible to evaluate student learning through analysis of discussion.
- Online and f2f discussion: Students adjust seamlessly between different discussion environments.
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How VKP researchers foster collaborative learning in their classroom: Improving Discussion Boards [Edward Gallagher, English] Making Collaboration Visible [Mills Kelly, History] More questions about online communication and collaborative learning: - What is the evidence that there are connections between "safe spaces" for discussion and student learning?
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traditional classroom practices
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How can new online communication technologies provide valuable insights into the pedagogies of more traditional classroom practices?
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Comment Aaron Cohen
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"As in the regular classroom, I wanted students to answer challenging questions based on the reading, to learn to ask questions they develop themselves, and to interact with others to find solutions to historical questions, but I hoped that with the bulletin board weaker students would be able to see and imitate the work of better students, while stronger students would help, directly or indirectly, weaker students."
Aaron Cohen
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New technologies introduce new pedagogical questions and insights that then can be applied to more traditional classroom practices:
Learning to listen: The obvious importance of reading in online discussions highlights the importance of listening in f2f oral classroom discussions.
Different uses of online writing environments:
- In blended classes, alongside f2f discussions
- Used independently in distance education
- In-class online discussions
New opportunities for teaching and learning:
Differences between online and f2f discussion environments can provide new opportunities for teaching and learning because:
- Online discussions leave a record that can serve as data for other class activitites. Examples from projects
- Online discussions leave more room/time for deliberation in developing one's comments. Examples from projects
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