Notes

Outline

Pedagogical Implications of Collaborative Course Web Projects

What influenced my teaching? Graduate teaching assistantships Methods common to the discipline My best teachers, mentors, institution An evolutionary process – a personal chemistry

Everything I know about teaching… …I learned by teaching grad students who were learning to be oceanographers Role model – mentor – employer - colleague …I learned by teaching undergrads who were learning about oceanography Lecturer – gatekeeper – evaluator …I learned by trial and error, lots of error …I forgot or I haven’t learned yet

Initial Pedagogical Goals Reduce time spent lecturing Niche for lecture remains, but…. Increase students’ time on task, engagement

How? Promote active creation versus passive learning Develop student ownership and heightened significance of work Emphasize the social aspects of learning - collaboration Encourage holistic learning - about relationships as well as information

Web to the rescue! What is a collaborative course web project? Both process and product A major activity of the course Complex topic, interdisciplinary Designed, created and owned by students Publicly presented and open for feedback What it isn’t Just a publication Web posting of individual papers CourseInfo (but there are group pages…)

Early Examples Tragedy of the Coastal Commons 1995-96 Tragedy of the Coastal Commons 1996-97

Pedagogical Goals, Part Two to review and select resources critically to be challenged by information resources to learn socially sometimes, independently others, through diverse means to publish for audiences other than the instructor to learn how to communicate well with electronic tools to learn how to collaborate, avoid the pitfalls of moral over critical thinking to provide disciplinary context from the instructor

More Examples Large Dams of the Western United States 1997-98 Can the Earth Afford to Feed You? 1998-99 Denison’s Solid Waste Management Plan 1999-00

Implications Students were engaged Learning improved (self-assessed) Writing improved Peer reviews Writing to argue, inform, not for grade My efforts changed – facilitator, not authority Course evaluations were excellent Demystified web authoring

Challenges of course webs Making sure that substance is top priority Changes in authority structure of class Overcoming reliance on linear text Maintaining an online publication over time Developing referencing strategies Grading collaborative group projects – students are wary

When NOT to use course webs Large classes – more than 40 students Introductory courses where coverage is crucial Others….

Examples from others’ work North by South 1998 North by South 1999 The Family Farm The Farm School Project Masterworks of British Literature Blood, Gender and Power

Practical suggestions Prepare to relinquish control Work on patterns of collaboration early in course Collaboration takes time – allow for it Prepare web page templates; have students trained in their use Divide labor according to student interests Make sure students know in advance what they’re getting into Require journals of individual work

Examples, again Tragedy of the Coastal Commons 1995-96 Tragedy of the Coastal Commons 1996-97 Large Dams of the Western United States 1997-98 Can the Earth Afford to Feed You? 1998-99 Denison’s Solid Waste Management Plan 1999-00 North by South 1998 North by South 1999 The Family Farm The Farm School Project Masterworks of British Literature Blood, Gender and Power

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