- What are the most important lessons you gathered from the course?
I have found these courses challenging but so rewarding as they dive deeping into the community of inquiry process. I have managed to review a lot of areas of my current teaching and explore ideas and areas to improve. Lots of ideas actually of what I can bring into the online classroom from here which I am excited about.
I have always known student engagement to be at the core of a successful learning experience and I was able to explore these concepts in more detail here and come up with ways to help facilitate more engagement esp. with the students that are coming into the course on a more superficial level.
- How has your thinking changed as a result of completing the course?
Seeing that ‘birds eye’ view of the students learning process helped me to see the gaps in my approaches.
My thinking was pretty simplistic before and it could often lead to frustration of why a student might not be meeting an objective the way that I think they should have been. The critical inquiry process itself, and the model of that process, was most insightful. Now I can see myself looking from that lens when I question a particular assignment or discussion or outcome for example.
I have also often felt that my goal as an online facilitator was to not try to duplicate the face to face classroom, but where I would get stuck was in ‘how’. More opportunities were present to me here to get me beyond any perceived constraints with the use of more media, different approaches, etc. while keeping in alignment with student engagement and outcomes. Also, by remembering that the process should be student-driven and self-directed, cemented my role in the process in a new way.
- In what ways did the platform (WordPress) influence your interaction with the content and other people and what you learned?
I learned a lot from reading others perspectives and expertise. I can get very comfortable in my way of doing things so to see such a diverse group of educators share their approaches and experiences has really opened my eyes up to a lot of other possibilities.
- What learning strategies were most effective for you? Why?
The process of providing feedback stood out for me as I think this was one area where I wasn’t particularly effective. Now I can see that I can include a gauge of the students progress to highlight again the goal and objective. Also to create an environment that is safe and allows the students to safely make mistakes.
The idea of a FAQ page is something I can’t believe I havn’t thought about before, but makes so much sense, esp. in tackling those misconceptions that students might be holding onto.
Finally, while I have always done introductory videos, now I can truly appreciate the importance of them and how they can set the tone for sharing the common goals and objectives of the learning community.«