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Ten Things We Know About Teaching Online
Driscoll, M. (2000). Teaching online. Technology for Learning Newsletter. Lakewood Publications. Vol. (No 1.), 4-5.

As a consultant, I frequently work with business unit managers who are making decisions about online learning. These managers have clear business needs and an in-depth knowledge of technical issues, but they sometimes lack the knowledge needed to make sound educational decisions. As online learning technology becomes more reliable and user-friendly, the real difference between good and bad programs is the instructional design.

Training and development professionals often take for granted the skills and knowledge they have acquired through years of hands-on experience and formal education. This background gives them the ability to evaluate programs and see things that go beyond fancy graphics, cool sounds, and clever animations. Business unit managers and information system managers need training expertise when making educational decisions. Online learning provides training professionals the opportunity to move into a consulting role in their organizations.

Managers with the responsibility and the budget for online learning are being asked to make highly visible decisions. Potentially, every end-user from the CEO to the receptionist will suffer or thrive based on the effectiveness of the training and development solution. One way to move into a consulting position is to assist managers and to provide basic guidelines for evaluating online teaching and learning.

I generally recommend the following ten guidelines for managers evaluating the educational effectiveness of Web-based training and CD-ROM programs. These items are grounded; that is, there are research studies showing these items are important factors in effective programs. This is far from an exhaustive list, but these items are easy to understand and managers can relate them to their prior experience. For more information on research studies see the resources at the end of this article.

The following ten items focus on the teaching aspect of online learning programs. Good programs will incorporate these elements.

1. Online learning has four distinct phases of instruction

There are four phases in any instructional interaction

Presenting information

Guiding the student in practice

Practicing by the student

Assessing student learning

In the "information presentation" phase the author of the lesson provides the student with content and information, or a foundation for achieving the instructional objectives. The "guiding the student" phase provides the interaction needed to ensure that the learner has understood the concepts, principles, and procedures presented. Students must practice the new skills and knowledge to move information from short-term to long-term memory and to develop mastery of the content. The third phase requires practice recalling, manipulating, and applying new knowledge. The cycle closes with an "assessment" phase that answers the questions: Was the instruction effective? What is the next step for the learner? A good training program has all four phases. Anything short of this is something other than training!
 
 

2. Performance- and content-based objectives are the foundation of effective programs

Lessons must be developed based on clear objectives because objectives drive the four phases of instruction. Component Display Theory by Merrill (1994) suggest objectives should be classified on two criteria: performance and content. Performance refers to the three types of performance possible: remember, use (apply) or find (create a new instance). Content refers to four kinds of knowledge: facts, concepts, procedures, and principles. Based on a content-performance matrix Merrill has identified optimal ways to present content, practice skills, and test knowledge. Good training programs have objectives that are clear and have measurable content and performance.

3. Relevant and problem-centered programs are best for adults

Effective lessons are relevant and problem-centered. Learners undertake self-directed learning projects to meet a need or fill a gap in skills and knowledge (Knowles, 1980, Tough, 1971). For example, learners do not want to know how to use a word processor; they want to learn how to create a document, write a resume, or draft a letter. Good programs offer relevant content that is easy to transfer to the workplace.

4. Limited learner control and deliberative structure enhance learning

Effective programs impose structure and limit learner control. The ability to surf the Web is a much-publicized quality of the Web. Using the Web as a learning environment requires that subject matter experts and course developers impose structure. Likewise, structure is important in CD-ROMs. Learning is enhanced when programs chunk, sequence, and pace instruction. Well-structured programs reduce demands on short-term memory by organizing information into small pieces that are easy to remember and manipulate. The learner's skill and the complexity of the content should dictate the amount of structure and the amount of control granted to learners.

5. Meaningful feedback improves performance

CD-ROM and Web-based training (WBT) programs can provide rich and meaningful feedback during guided practice and student practice. In addition to simple text remediation that explains why an answer is wrong, graphics can illustrate solutions, animation sequences can demonstrate steps, and audio can model correct responses. Feedback during guided practice should provide prompts that are more instructive than "please try again" or "correct." Effective programs use feedback to develop the learner's ability to self-diagnose their problems and eventually correct errors without prompts.

6. Effective assessments test what has been taught

Use a performance/content matrix to be sure you have assessed the learner's mastery of the stated goal (performance/content). For example, if the goal of the course is to teach learners how to calculate the standard deviation, then the test should assess if the student is able to apply the procedures required to calculate the standard. That is, the test should avoid testing the definition of the standard deviation or testing the memorization of the steps -- rather the test must determine if the learner can use the procedure to calculate the standard deviation. Effective online learning programs match test items to stated objectives.

7. Adequate practice leads to mastery

The phrase "practice makes perfect" may sound trite, but there is a great deal of research that supports this cliché. There must be adequate practice if students are to develop fluency and mastery of content. Again, there is no formula for determining how much practice. Based on the content and the learner’s skill level, the program must offer an adequate number of practice items and the items should range from simple to complex.

8. Actively engaging the leaner increases learning.

Good CD-ROM and WBT programs offer frequent interactions that probe the learner’s understanding. Interactions should go beyond simple multiple-choice questions that provide linear branching (correct/incorrect) and the old rule of thumb "provide an interaction every three screens." Questions should offer the opportunity to move the student forward to new information, backward to review information, and sideways to provide supplemental information. Active engagement results in increased enjoyment and engagement.

9. Multimedia can reduce the effort required to convey a message

When appropriate, CD-ROMs and Web-based training can take advantage of multiple media such as: text, graphics, animation, video, and audio to deliver instructional content. These media can improve instruction when they are used alone or in combination to reduce the effort required to convey a message, increase active engagement, and focus attention. The choice of media should be driven by the performance and content stated in the objectives.

10. Teaching is only half of the instructional transaction

Teaching online is a transaction between the program that teaches and the student who must do the learning. Despite the popularity of Web-based training and the claims that students enjoy CBT more than traditional classroom programs, online learning still requires work. Many programs are a form of self-directed learning. These programs require motivated learners with fundamental computer skills and the tenacity needed to develop metacognitive skills for this environment.

Use this list of ten elements as the starting point to educate decision makers in your organization. Modify the list to meet your needs. The following books offer a wealth of information on online learning and teaching.

• Alessi, S. M. & Trollip. S. R. (1991). Computer-based instruction: Methods and Development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ. Prentice Hall.
• Bloom, B. S., Hastings, J. T. and G.F. Madaus, G. F. (1971). Handbook on formative and summative Evaluation of Student Learning. New York: McGraw Hill.
• Dick, W., & Carey, L., (1995). The Systemic Design of Instruction. New York Harpercollins College Div.
• Driscoll, M. M. (1998). Web-based training: Using Technology to design adult learning experiences. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
• Dwyer, F. M. (1978). Strategies for improving visual learning. State College: PA. Learning Services
• Fleming, M. & Levie. W. H. (1978). Instructional message design: Principles from the behavioral sciences. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology Publications.
• Gagne, R. M. (1985). The conditions of learning and the theory of instruction 4th ed.. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
• Knowles, MS. (1980). The modern practice of adult education: From pedagogy to andragogy. Englewood Cliffs: NJ. Cambridge Books.
• LeFrancois, G.R. (1995). Theories of human learning. Albany: Brooks/Cole Publishing
• Markle, S. M. (1965). Good frames and bad. New York: Wiley.
• Merrill, M. D. (1994). Instructional design theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology Publications.
• Rowntree, D. (1966). Basically branching: A handbook for programmers. London: MacDonald.
• Tough, A. (1979). The adult's learning projects. (2^nd ed.) Toronto: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.

About the Author

Dr. Margaret Driscoll is the author of Web-Based Training from Jossey-Bass. She is a consultant in the strategic planning and design of web-based training programs and the Director of the Instructional Design Program at the University of Massachusetts Boston. She has been a featured speaker at national training events and her work has appeared in the Journal of Performance Improvement; Training and Development Magazine, the Multimedia and Internet Newsletter; Technical Training; and CommunicationsWeek. Her monthly online design column can be found in Inside Technology Training magazine.

Margaret consults and delivers seminars on instructional design distance education, online learning, and corporate curriculum design. She brings sixteen years of training and educational experience in working with organizations such as the Merrill-Lynch, BayBanks, Harcourt Publishers, i2 Technologies, Stratus, Interleaf, Compaq Computer, and Fidelity Investments. Her experience as a distance educator in high tech, medical education, financial services, and academic institutions makes her well versed in the real-world challenges and opportunities facing training organizations.

Dr. Margaret Driscoll
3Phased Consulting
47 Deerfield Ave.
Westwood, MA 02090
Tel: 781 329-6541
Fax: 781 251-9306
E-mail: margdris@tiac.net