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We've heard a lot about collaborative learning in recent years, but almost at the expense of another, equally important concept: competition. Don't get me wrong-I believe that today's students should be service-oriented, cooperative, intellectually humble, and less individualistic in their educational pursuits. But we've been speaking as though collaboration and competition are mutually exclusive, and they're not.

Some of you will say that competition harms learning. In fact, Alfie Kohn has been saying it for years: "One after another, researchers across the country have concluded that children do not learn better when education is transformed into a competitive struggle. Why? First, competition often makes kids anxious and that interferes with concentration. Second, competition doesn't permit them to share their talents and resources as cooperation does, so they can't learn from one another. Finally, trying to be Number One distracts them from what they're supposed to be learning. It may seem paradoxical, but when a student concentrates on the reward (an A or a gold star or a trophy), she becomes less interested in what she's doing. The result: performance declines."

But competition isn't going anywhere; it's a fundamental part of human nature. The way we teach our students to view and respond to competition, though, needs to change. We need to present collaboration, for example, as a competitive advantage. Teachers need to start rewarding students for empathy and good listening skills, not just homework completion. Admissions teams need to start looking for evidence of service learning, not just G.P.A. And the students themselves need to start valuing an entirely new set of principles and skills.

Competitive learning not only means doing everything you can to succeed individually, but also being receptive to the needs of society. Ten years ago, success would have meant earning your degree, knowing how to ace an interview, and having a great business idea. Now it may mean pursuing an alternative education path, knowing how develop soft skills and work well with others, and considering the value of social entrepreneurship. Here are our top ten strategies for becoming a competitive learner today's world:

1. Use innovation, not knowledge, as a competitive advantage.

"Today knowledge is ubiquitous, constantly changing, growing exponentially," says Tony Wagner in his book Creating Innovators. "Today knowledge is free. It's like air, it's like water. It's become a commodity. There's no competitive advantage today in knowing more than the person next to you. The world doesn't care what you know. What the world cares about is what you can do with what you know."

Students who realise this quickly will have a significant advantage over their peers when it comes to personal, educational, and professional pursuits.

2. Be able to solve problems collaboratively.

We've talked a lot in recent years about how important it is for students to think critically and be able to solve problems. But now the challenge is to teach students to do these things not just for themselves, but for each other. Companies like Google and Apple want to hire candidates who can work in teams, which means not just pitching your own ideas but also listening, adapting, and empathising with others. Laszlo Bock, hiring manager at Google, says solving problems collaboratively starts with something called "intellectual humility": you have a sense of responsibility to try and solve any problem, but you also have the humility to step back and embrace the better ideas of others.

"What we care about [at Google] is, when faced with a problem and you're a member of a team, do you, at the appropriate time, step in and lead. And just as critically, do you step back and stop leading, do you let someone else? Because what's critical to be an effective leader in this environment is you have to be willing to relinquish power."

3. Understand how to build your presence.

Making yourself known in the world today means something very different than it did even a few years ago. Nearly every company and organisation around the globe has a digital presence of some kind. Most individuals use professional platforms like LinkedIn, Behance, and AboutMe to showcase their skills to potential employers. If you're still a student, it's not too early to start building your presence with a digital learning portfolio or similar curation tool. Doing so will not only help you stand out from the crowd; it will also help you reflect on and interpret your own learning journey.

4. Cultivate a multi-disciplinary outlook.

Way back in 1916, Alfred North Whitehead was telling educators to "eradicate the fatal disconnection of subjects which kills the vitality of the modern curriculum." Later, Harland Cleveland wrote: "It is a well-known scandal that our whole educational system is geared more to categorising and analysing patches of knowledge than to threading them together." John Goodlad, after a massive, multi-year study of American high schools culminating in a 1984 McGraw-Hill book titled, A Place Called School, wrote, "The division into subjects and periods encourages a segmented rather than an integrated view of knowledge. Consequently, what students are asked to relate to in schooling becomes increasingly artificial, cut off from the human experiences subject matter is supposed to reflect."

As Valerie Strauss wrote for The Washington Post last year: "The systemic nature of reality, the seamless way the brain perceives it, the organising process that aids memory, the relating process that creates new knowledge, the conceptual networking that yields fresh insights, the meshing of two seemingly unrelated ideas that underlies creativity-all rely on holistic, systemically integrated and related thought. And it's not being taught."

If teachers won't change it, students can. Learners who deliberately cultivate a multi-disciplinary outlook in their studies will go far in our systemically integrated society.

5. Be intrinsically motivated.

We bring this one up a lot, but it's essential. And contrary to what Google may have you think, it's becoming harder, not easier, to be a skilled learner. Finding the right answer may be easier if you've got your smart phone on hand, but asking the right questions is nearly impossible unless you've got a real interest in the topic at hand. Students who help keep curiosity and wonder alive in an increasingly automated and desensitising world will reap the most benefits, both personally and professionally.

6. Don't be afraid to fail.

Learning is failing. We learn from our mistakes; we grow by taking risks. But that's not the way it seems when we expect students to regurgitate the "right" answers onto a test sheet all year. By doing this, we're training students to make only safe choices in life, thereby remaining indistinguishable from one another as academics, job candidates, and even individuals. This year's star players will truly understand the value of failure and know how to use it to their advantage.

7. Believe in a culture of service.

The National Service-Learning Clearinghouse defines service learning as "a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities." Research indicates that service-learning programs contribute to higher student achievement and reduce achievement gaps. But most importantly, service learning is good for society as a whole. Students who approach learning and education as an opportunity to create good in the world-and not just a journey of personal gain-will find it easier to stand out from their peers and finding jobs upon graduation.

8. Actively improve your memory.

Although we're no longer in a "knowledge economy," as Wagner calls it, retaining what we learn is just as important, if not more important, than ever. A thousand years ago, Roman senators were using elaborate memorisation strategies to aid their speechmaking. Today, we expect students to remember content without giving them the tools and tricks to do so. Students who are willing to improve their working memory capacities-independently, through research and practise-will gain a significant edge over their peers.

9. Be committed to digital literacy.

Today's students may already be the most tech savvy individuals in history, but screen time doesn't always translate to digital literacy. Competitive learners need to know not only the basics (coding, blogging, Tweeting) but also keep up-to-date with the rapidly changing landscape of communication technologies. Every student today should be a digital communications hobbyist. It's no longer enough to master interview skills and e-mail etiquette. People communicate through a diverse array of media now, and the most literate navigators will reap the most benefits.

10. Record your own learning.

Competitive learners know the value of curation and reflection in today's world. Recording your own learning, in a portfolio or through some other organisational tool, is one of the most advantageous tools at the disposal of today's students.

According to the University of Cincinnatti online, "Reflection provides an opportunity to analyse our thoughts, behaviours, and actions to gain a better understanding of ourselves and the world. We can isolate instances in which we were successful or we need to improve and learn from these experiences. Reflection also allows us to make connections between academic classes, experiences, and other aspects of our lives.

"On a very practical level, reflection helps us synthesise and articulate our learning. This is especially important when interviewing and writing applications for graduate school, jobs, internships, or nationally competitive awards/scholarships."

What strategies have you found to balance competitive and collaborative learning in your own educational journey? Join the discussion below.

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How to Balance Competitive and Collaborative Learning - InformED

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We've heard a lot about collaborative learning in recent years, but almost at the expense of another, equally important concept: competition. Don't get me wrong-I believe that today's students should be service-oriented, cooperative, intellectually humble, and less individualistic in their educational pursuits. But we've been speaking as though collaboration and competition are mutually exclusive, and...

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Competition vs. collaboration in learning

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Competition vs. collaboration in learning

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Predominance of collaborative, cooperative or competitive values in learning is dependent on individual student personalities, teaching subject (profession), and environment (economic, cultural).

Collaboration and competition in learning do not need to be mutually exclusive. Principles of competition can be used to enhance collaboration skills.

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Reflections on reflection

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“We teach values by having them and in this sense we are role models for student learning and we pass on values whether or not we intend to.”

from Harland, Tony & Pickering, Neil (2011) Values in higher education teaching

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Motivation - How do we motivate people . Belonging to a PLN!

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Motivation to learn

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JavaScript is disabled on your browser. Please enable JavaScript to use all the features on this page.

Highlights

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Regardless language of instruction MOOC participants are driven to learn by similar goals.

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Intrinsic motivation and self-determination are rated high among MOOC participants.

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Five types of MOOC participants were identified according to their learning motivation.

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Large and small group interactions are significant for MOOC completion.

Abstract

Learning is mediated by language of instruction and social engagement. Both factors may play a significant role in understanding motivation to learn in massive open online courses (MOOCs). Therefore, the goal of this study was threefold: a. to compare motivation patterns of MOOC participants who study the same course but in a different language of instruction; b. to examine relationships between motivation gain and diverse modes of engagement; and c. to characterize MOOC completers according to their learning motivation. An exploratory case-study was conducted in the settings of a MOOC in Nanotechnology and Nanosensors, delivered in two languages: English and Arabic. The research sample included 325 participants from the English (N = 289) and Arabic (N = 36) MOOCs. The study applied the mixed methods approach, collecting data via pre- and post-questionnaires, forum posts, and email messages. Findings indicated that regardless the language of instruction, MOOC participants were driven to learn by similar goals, emphasizing intrinsic motivation and self-determination. Findings indicated a positive relationship between motivation gain, the number of messages posted to the online forums, and the number of members in the online study groups. Five types of MOOC completers were identified: problem-solvers, networkers, benefactors, innovation-seekers, and complementary-learners.

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Motivation to learn in massive open online courses: Examining aspects of language and social engagement

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JavaScript is disabled on your browser. Please enable JavaScript to use all the features on this page. * Regardless language of instruction MOOC participants are driven to learn by similar goals. * Intrinsic motivation and self-determination are rated high among MOOC participants. * Five types of MOOC participants were identified according to their learning motivation.

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Online collaboration is one of the aspects of becoming a part of a online learning community. One definition of Collaboration is that it is Learning and sharing by interacting with others. To be successful with the online collaboration the group needs for example good communication, clear goals, have an open and trustful climate in the group etc. For more reading see the following articles:

Interaction matters

Online collaborative learning

Also please feel free to watch the video above.

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4.4.1 What is online collaborative learning?

The concurrence of both constructivist approaches to learning and the development of the Internet has led to the development of a particular form of constructivist teaching, originally called computer-mediated communication (CMC), or networked learning, but which has been developed into what Harasim (2012) now calls online collaborative learning theory (OCL). She describes OCL as follows (p. 90):

OCL theory provides a model of learning in which students are encouraged and supported to work together to create knowledge: to invent, to explore ways to innovate, and, by so doing, to seek the conceptual knowledge needed to solve problems rather than recite what they think is the right answer. While OCL theory does encourage the learner to be active and engaged, this is not considered to be sufficient for learning or knowledge construction......In the OCL theory, the teacher plays a key role not as a fellow-learner, but as the link to the knowledge community, or state of the art in that discipline. Learning is defined as conceptual change and is key to building knowledge. Learning activity needs to be informed and guided by the norms of the discipline and a discourse process that emphasises conceptual learning and builds knowledge.

OCL builds on and integrates theories of cognitive development that focus on conversational learning (Pask, 1975), conditions for deep learning (Marton and Saljø, 1997; Entwistle, 2000), development of academic knowledge (Laurillard, 2001), and knowledge construction (Scardamalia and Bereiter, 2006).

From the very early days of online learning, some instructors have focused heavily on the communication affordances of the Internet (see for instance, Hiltz and Turoff, 1978). They have based their teaching on the concept of knowledge construction, the gradual building of knowledge mainly through asynchronous online discussion among students and between students and an instructor.

Online discussion forums go back to the 1970s, but really took off as a result of a combination of the invention of the WorldWide Web in the 1990s, high speed Internet access, and the development of learning management systems, most of which now include an area for online discussions. These online discussion forums have some differences though with classroom seminars:

first, they are text based, not oral;

second, they are asynchronous: participants can log in at any time, and from anywhere with an Internet connection;

third, many discussion forums allow for 'threaded' connections, enabling a response to be attached to the particular comment which prompted the response, rather than just displayed in chronological order. This allows for dynamic sub-topics to be developed, with sometimes more than ten responses within a single thread of discussion. This enables participants to follow multiple discussion topics over a period of time.

4.4.2 Core design principles of OCL

Harasim emphasises the importance of three key phases of knowledge construction through discourse:

idea generating: this is literally brainstorming, to collect the divergent thinking within a group;

idea organising: this is where learners compare, analyse and categorise the different ideas previously generated, again through discussion and argument;

intellectual convergence: the aim here is to reach a level of intellectual synthesis, understanding and consensus (including agreeing to disagree), usually through the joint construction of some artefact or piece of work, such as an essay or assignment.

This results in what Harasim calls a Final Position, although in reality the position is never final because for a learner, once started, the process of generating, organising and converging on ideas continues at an ever deeper or more advanced level. The role of the teacher or instructor in this process is seen as critical, not only in facilitating the process and providing appropriate resources and learner activities that encourage this kind of learning, but also, as a representative of a knowledge community or subject domain, in ensuring that the core concepts, practices, standards and principles of the subject domain are fully integrated into the learning cycle.

Harasim provides the following diagram to capture this process:

Another important factor is that in the OCL model, discussion forums are not an addition or supplement to core teaching materials, such as textbooks, recorded lectures, or text in an LMS, but are the core component of the teaching. Textbooks, readings and other resources are chosen to support the discussion, not the other way round. This is a key design principle, and explains why often instructors or tutors complain, in more 'traditional' online courses, that students don't participate in discussions. Often this is because where online discussions are secondary to more didactic teaching, or are not deliberately designed and managed to lead to knowledge construction, students see the discussions as optional or extra work, because they have no direct impact on grades or assessment. It is also a reason why awarding grades for participation in discussion forums misses the point. It is not the extrinsic activity that counts, but the intrinsic value of the discussion, that matters (see, for instance, Brindley, Walti and Blashke, 2009). Thus although instructors using an OCL approach may use learning management systems for convenience, they are used differently from courses where traditional didactic teaching is moved online.

4.4.3 Community of Inquiry

The Community of Inquiry Model (CoI) is somewhat similar to the OCL model. As defined by Garrison, Anderson and Archer (2000)

An educational community of inquiry is a group of individuals who collaboratively engage in purposeful critical discourse and reflection to construct personal meaning and confirm mutual understanding.

Garrison, Anderson and Archer argue that there are three essential elements of a community of inquiry:

social presence " is the ability of participants to identify with the community (e.g., course of study), communicate purposefully in a trusting environment, and develop inter-personal relationships by way of projecting their individual personalities."

teaching presence is "the design, facilitation, and direction of cognitive and social processes for the purpose of realizing personally meaningful and educationally worthwhile learning outcomes"

cognitive presence "is the extent to which learners are able to construct and confirm meaning through sustained reflection and discourse".

However, CoI is more of a theory than a model, since it does not indicate what activities or conditions are needed to create these three 'presences'. The two models (OCL and CoI) are also more complementary rather than competing.

4.4.5 Developing meaningful online discussion

Since the publication of the original CoI paper in 2000, there have been a number of studies that have identified the importance of these 'presences' within especially online learning (click here for a wide selection). Although there has been a wide range of researchers and educators engaged in the area of online collaborative learning and communities of inquiry, there is a high degree of convergence and agreement about successful strategies and design principles. For academic and conceptual development, discussions need to be well organized by the teacher, and the teacher needs to provide the necessary support to enable the development of ideas and the construction of new knowledge for the students.

Partly as a result of this research, and partly as the result of experienced online instructors who have not necessarily been influenced by either the OCL or the Community of Inquiry literature, several other design principles have been associated with successful (online) discussion, such as:

appropriate technology (for example, software that allows for threaded discussions);

clear guidelines on student online behaviour, such as written codes of conduct for participating in discussions, and ensuring that they are enforced;

student orientation and preparation, including technology orientation and explaining the purpose of discussion;

clear goals for the discussions that are understood by the students, such as: 'to explore gender and class issues in selected novels' or 'to compare and evaluate alternative methods of coding';

choice of appropriate topics, that complement and expand issues in the study materials, and are relevant to answering assessment questions;

setting an appropriate 'tone' or requirements for discussion (for example, respectful disagreement, evidence-based arguments);

defining clearly learner roles and expectations, such as 'you should log in at least once a week to each discussion topic and make at least one substantive contribution to each topic each week';

monitoring the participation of individual learners, and responding accordingly, by providing the appropriate scaffolding or support, such as comments that help students develop their thinking around the topics, referring them back to study materials if necessary, or explaining issues when students seem to be confused or misinformed;

regular, ongoing instructor 'presence', such as monitoring the discussions to prevent them getting off topic or too personal, and providing encouragement for those that are making real contributions to the discussion, heading off those that are trying to hog or dominate the discussions, and tracking those not participating, and helping them to participate;

ensuring strong articulation between discussion topics and assessment.

These issues are discussed in more depth by Salmon (2000); Bates and Poole (2003); and Paloff and Pratt (2005; 2007).

4.4.6 Cultural and epistemological issues

Students come to the educational experience with different expectations and backgrounds. As a result there are often major cultural differences in students with regard to participating in discussion-based collaborative learning that in the end reflect deep differences with regard to traditions of learning and teaching. Thus teachers need to be aware that there are likely to be students in any class who may be struggling with language, cultural or epistemological issues, but in online classes, where students can come from anywhere, this is a particularly important issue.

In many countries, there is a strong tradition of the authoritarian role of the teacher and the transmission of information from the teacher to the student. In some cultures, it would be considered disrespectful to challenge or criticize the views of teachers or even other students. In an authoritarian, teacher-based culture, the views of other students may be considered irrelevant or unimportant. Other cultures have a strong oral tradition, or one based on story-telling, rather than on direct instruction.

Online environments then can present real challenges to students when a constructivist approach to the design of online learning activities is adopted. This may mean taking specific steps to help students who are unfamiliar with a constructivist approach to learning, such as sending drafts to the instructor by e-mail for approval before posting a 'class' contribution. For a fuller discussion of cross-cultural issues in online learning, see Jung and Gunawardena (2014) and the journal Distance Education, Vol. 22, No. 1 (2001), the whole edition of which is devoted to papers on this topic.

4.4.7 Strengths and weaknesses of online collaborative learning

This approach to the use of technology for teaching is very different from the more objectivist approaches found in computer-assisted learning, teaching machines, and artificial intelligence applications to education, which primarily aim to use computing to replace at least some of the activities traditionally done by human teachers. With online collaborative learning, the aim is not to replace the teacher, but to use the technology primarily to increase and improve communication between teacher and learners, with a particular approach to the development of learning based on knowledge construction assisted and developed through social discourse. This social discourse furthermore is not random, but managed in such a way as to 'scaffold' learning:

by assisting with the construction of knowledge in ways that are guided by the instructor;

that reflect the norms or values of the discipline;

that also respect or take into consideration the prior knowledge within the discipline.

Thus there are two main strengths of this model:

when applied appropriately, online collaborative learning can lead to deep, academic learning, or transformative learning, as well as, if not better than, discussion in campus-based classrooms. The asynchronous and recorded 'affordances' of online learning more than compensate for the lack of physical cues and other aspects of face-to-face discussion;

online collaborative learning as a result can also directly support the development of a range of high level intellectual skills, such as critical thinking, analytical thinking, synthesis, and evaluation, which are key requirements for learners in a digital age.

There are though some limitations:

it does not scale easily, requiring highly knowledgeable and skilled instructors, and a limited number of learners;

it is more likely to accommodate to the epistemological positions of faculty and instructors in humanities, social sciences, education and some areas of business studies and health and conversely it is likely to be less accommodating to the epistemological positions of faculty in science, computer science and engineering. However, if combined with a problem-based or inquiry-based approach, it might have acceptance even in some of these subject domains.

4.4.8 Summary

Many of the strengths and challenges of collaborative learning apply both in face-to-face or online learning contexts. It could be argued that there is no or little difference between online collaborative learning and well-conducted traditional classroom, discussion-based teaching. Once again, we see that the mode of delivery is less important than the design model, which can work well in both contexts. Indeed, it is possible to conduct either model synchronously or asynchronously, at a distance or face-to-face.

However, there is enough evidence that collaborative learning can be done just as well online, which is important, given the need for more flexible models of delivery to meet the needs of a more diverse student body in a digital age. Also, the necessary conditions for success in teaching this way are now well known, even though they are not always universally applied.

Activity 4.4: Evaluating online collaborative learning models

1. Can you see the differences between 'Open Collaborative Learning' (OCL) and 'Communities of Inquiry'? Or are they really the same model with different names?

2. Do you agree that either of these models can be applied just as successfully online or face-to-face?

3. Do you see other strengths or weaknesses with these models?

4. Is this common sense dressed up as theory?

5. Does it make sense to apply either of these models to courses in the quantitative sciences such as physics or engineering? If so, under what conditions?

Bates, A. and Poole, G. (2003) Effective Teaching with Technology in Higher Education: Foundations for Success San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

Brindley, J., Walti, C. and Blashke, L. (2009) Creating Effective Collaborative Learning Groups in an Online Environment International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, Vol. 10, No. 3

Entwistle, N. (2000) Promoting deep learning through teaching and assessment: conceptual frameworks and educational contexts Leicester UK: TLRP Conference

Garrison, R., Anderson, A. and Archer, W. (2000) Critical Inquiry in a Text-based Environment: Computer Conferencing in Higher Education The Internet and Higher Education, Vol. 2, No. 3

Harasim, L. (2012) Learning Theory and Online Technologies New York/London: Routledge

Hiltz, R. and Turoff, M. (1978) The Network Nation: Human Communication via Computer Reading MA: Addison-Wesley

Jung, I. and Gunawardena, C. (eds.) (2014) Culture and Online Learning: Global Perspectives and Research Sterling VA: Stylus

Laurillard, D. (2001) Rethinking University Teaching: A Conversational Framework for the Effective Use of Learning Technologies New York/London: Routledge

Marton, F. and Saljö, R. (1997) Approaches to learning, in Marton, F., Hounsell, D. and Entwistle, N. (eds.) The experience of learning: Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press (out of press, but available online)

Paloff, R. and Pratt, K. (2005) Collaborating Online: Learning Together in Community San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

Paloff, R. and Pratt, K. (2007) Building Online Learning Communities: Effective Strategies for the Virtual Classroom San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

Pask, G. (1975) Conversation, Cognition and Learning Amsterdam/London: Elsevier (out of press, but available online)

Salmon, G. (2000) e-Moderating: The Key to Teaching and Learning Online London: Taylor and Francis

Scardamalia, M. and Bereiter, C. (2006) Knowledge Building: Theory, pedagogy and technology in Sawyer, K. (ed.) Cambridge Handbook of the Learning Sciences New York: cambridge University Press

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The concurrence of both constructivist approaches to learning and the development of the Internet has led to the development of a particular form of constructivist teaching, originally called computer-mediated communication (CMC), or networked learning, but which has been developed into what Harasim (2012) now calls online collaborative learning theory (OCL).

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Engaged learning could be achieved by facilitating the interaction of students with the content, with the instructor and with other students.

Interaction with the content could be facilitated by conducting the problem based learning group works and by utilizing the online quiz tools like clickers, kahoot etc.

Interaction with the instructor can be better achieved by the presence of instructor in online educational platforms and discussion forums.

Student, student interaction: Interaction among students could be facilitated by creating different online discussion forums on a particular topic, allowing students to review other students report or work and asking the student to come up with relevant questions.

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Thoughts on Reflection

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Motivation is the reason for people's actions, willingness and goals. Motivation is derived from the word motive which is defined as a need that requires satisfaction. These needs could also be wants or desires that are acquired through influence of culture, society, lifestyle, etc. or generally innate.

Without motivation community learning would be strenuous or impossible. To have effective communities the motivation for participation should be investigated and this should form part of the building blocks for Learning. Collaborative learning is achieved when all participants are motivated and invested in the process and contribute.

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Essential skills for learning in communities.webm

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Learning in communities or collaborative learning is an important way to gain experience in collaboration and develop important skills in critical thinking, self-reflection, and co-construction of knowledge. However, communication and collaboration in communities require specific skills in order to work.

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Developing critical reflective online communities by empowering student voice

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Developing critical reflective online communities by empowering student voice

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Chapter 1: Fundamental Change in Education

Knowledge involves two strongly inter-linked but different components: content and skills. Content includes facts, ideas, principles, evidence, and descriptions of processes or procedures. Most instructors, at least in universities, are well trained in content and have a deep understanding of the subject areas in which they are teaching. Expertise in skills development though is another matter. The issue here is not so much that instructors do not help students develop skills - they do - but whether these intellectual skills match the needs of knowledge-based workers, and whether enough emphasis is given to skills development within the curriculum.

The skills required in a knowledge society include the following (adapted from Conference Board of Canada, 2014):

communications skills: as well as the traditional communication skills of reading, speaking and writing coherently and clearly, we need to add social media communication skills. These might include the ability to create a short YouTube video to capture the demonstration of a process or to make a sales pitch, the ability to reach out through the Internet to a wide community of people with one's ideas, to receive and incorporate feedback, to share information appropriately, and to identify trends and ideas from elsewhere;

the ability to learn independently: this means taking responsibility for working out what you need to know, and where to find that knowledge. This is an ongoing process in knowledge-based work, because the knowledge base is constantly changing. Incidentally I am not talking here necessarily of academic knowledge, although that too is changing; it could be learning about new equipment, new ways of doing things, or learning who are the people you need to know to get the job done;

ethics and responsibility: this is required to build trust (particularly important in informal social networks), but also because generally it is good business in a world where there are many different players, and a greater degree of reliance on others to accomplish one's own goals;

teamwork and flexibility: although many knowledge workers work independently or in very small companies, they depend heavily on collaboration and the sharing of knowledge with others in related but independent organizations. In small companies, it is essential that all employees work closely together, share the same vision for a company and help each other out. In particular, knowledge workers need to know how to work collaboratively, virtually and at a distance, with colleagues, clients and partners. The 'pooling' of collective knowledge, problem-solving and implementation requires good teamwork and flexibility in taking on tasks or solving problems that may be outside a narrow job definition but necessary for success;

thinking skills (critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, originality, strategizing): of all the skills needed in a knowledge-based society, these are some of the most important. Businesses increasingly depend on the creation of new products, new services and new processes to keep down costs and increase competitiveness. Universities in particular have always prided themselves on teaching such intellectual skills, but the move to larger classes and more information transmission, especially at the undergraduate level, challenges this assumption. Also, it is not just in the higher management positions that these skills are required. Trades people in particular are increasingly having to be problem-solvers rather than following standard processes, which tend to become automated. Anyone dealing with the public needs to be able to identify needs and find appropriate solutions;

digital skills: most knowledge-based activities depend heavily on the use of technology. However the key issue is that these skills need to be embedded within the knowledge domain in which the activity takes place. This means for instance real estate agents knowing how to use geographical information systems to identify sales trends and prices in different geographical locations, welders knowing how to use computers to control robots examining and repairing pipes, radiologists knowing how to use new technologies that 'read' and analyze MRI scans. Thus the use of digital technology needs to be integrated with and evaluated through the knowledge-base of the subject area;

knowledge management: this is perhaps the most over-arching of all the skills. Knowledge is not only rapidly changing with new research, new developments, and rapid dissemination of ideas and practices over the Internet, but the sources of information are increasing, with a great deal of variability in the reliability or validity of the information. Thus the knowledge that an engineer learns at university can quickly become obsolete. There is so much information now in the health area that it is impossible for a medical student to master all drug treatments, medical procedures and emerging science such as genetic engineering, even within an eight year program. The key skill in a knowledge-based society is knowledge management: how to find, evaluate, analyze, apply and disseminate information, within a particular context. This is a skill that graduates will need to employ long after graduation.

We know a lot from research about skills and skill development (see, for instance, Fischer, 1980, Fallow and Steven, 2000):

skills development is relatively context-specific. In other words, these skills need to be embedded within a knowledge domain. For example, problem solving in medicine is different from problem-solving in business. Different processes and approaches are used to solve problems in these domains (for instance, medicine tends to be more deductive, business more intuitive; medicine is more risk averse, business is more likely to accept a solution that will contain a higher element of risk or uncertainty);

learners need practice - often a good deal of practice - to reach mastery and consistency in a particular skill;

skills are often best learned in relatively small steps, with steps increasing as mastery is approached;

learners need feedback on a regular basis to learn skills quickly and effectively; immediate feedback is usually better than late feedback;

although skills can be learned by trial and error without the intervention of a teacher, coach, or technology, skills development can be greatly enhanced with appropriate interventions, which means adopting appropriate teaching methods and technologies for skills development;

although content can be transmitted equally effectively through a wide range of media, skills development is much more tied to specific teaching approaches and technologies.

The teaching implications of the distinction between content and skills will be discussed in more detail in Chapter 2. The key point here is that content and skills are tightly related and as much attention needs to be given to skills development as to content acquisition to ensure that learners graduate with the necessary knowledge and skills for a digital age.

http://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2015/05/skills-development-2015-05-03-5.56-PM.m4a

Activity 1.2 What skills are you developing in your students?

1. Write down a list of skills you would expect students to develop as a result of studying your courses.

2. Compare these skills to the ones listed above. How well do they match?

3. What do you do as an instructor that enables students to practice or develop the skills you have identified?

References

The Conference Board of Canada (2014) Employability Skills 2000+ Ottawa ON: Conference Board of Canada

Fallow, S. and Stevens, C. (2000) Integrating Key Skills in Higher Education: Employability, Transferable Skills and Learning for Life London UK/Sterling VA: Kogan Page/Stylus

Fischer, K.W. (1980) A Theory of Cognitive Development: The Control and Construction of Hierarchies of Skills Psychological Review, Vol. 84, No. 6

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Chapter 1: Fundamental Change in Education Knowledge involves two strongly inter-linked but different components: content and skills. Content includes facts, ideas, principles, evidence, and descriptions of processes or procedures. Most instructors, at least in universities, are well trained in content and have a deep understanding of the subject areas in which they are teaching.

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JavaScript is disabled on your browser. Please enable JavaScript to use all the features on this page.

Highlights

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Regardless language of instruction MOOC participants are driven to learn by similar goals.

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Intrinsic motivation and self-determination are rated high among MOOC participants.

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Five types of MOOC participants were identified according to their learning motivation.

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Large and small group interactions are significant for MOOC completion.

Abstract

Learning is mediated by language of instruction and social engagement. Both factors may play a significant role in understanding motivation to learn in massive open online courses (MOOCs). Therefore, the goal of this study was threefold: a. to compare motivation patterns of MOOC participants who study the same course but in a different language of instruction; b. to examine relationships between motivation gain and diverse modes of engagement; and c. to characterize MOOC completers according to their learning motivation. An exploratory case-study was conducted in the settings of a MOOC in Nanotechnology and Nanosensors, delivered in two languages: English and Arabic. The research sample included 325 participants from the English (N = 289) and Arabic (N = 36) MOOCs. The study applied the mixed methods approach, collecting data via pre- and post-questionnaires, forum posts, and email messages. Findings indicated that regardless the language of instruction, MOOC participants were driven to learn by similar goals, emphasizing intrinsic motivation and self-determination. Findings indicated a positive relationship between motivation gain, the number of messages posted to the online forums, and the number of members in the online study groups. Five types of MOOC completers were identified: problem-solvers, networkers, benefactors, innovation-seekers, and complementary-learners.

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Motivation to learn in massive open online courses: Examining aspects of language and social engagement

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JavaScript is disabled on your browser. Please enable JavaScript to use all the features on this page. * Regardless language of instruction MOOC participants are driven to learn by similar goals. * Intrinsic motivation and self-determination are rated high among MOOC participants. * Five types of MOOC participants were identified according to their learning motivation.

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Key Takeaways

Various instructional models for online learning focus on efficiencies of time and space, from flipped classrooms to competency-based education, MOOCs, and online learning environments that rely on reading, writing, and discussion.

The model proposed here for online education focuses on social learning and student engagement, training faculty and designing online courses to make interaction the driving factor in creating a highly personalized experience for students.

The model's five-point framework highlights best practices to create a high level of student engagement, with guidance on reading and writing instruction, peer group work, discussion, experiential learning, and assessment.

The common online format of read, write, discuss often results in a subpar academic experience. ¹ Hidden biases within online education can create unintended obstacles for learners, and many of these biases have grown rather than shrunk over time. Perhaps paradoxically, we see an inverse relationship between easy access and student engagement. This is nowhere illustrated better than in massive open online courses, or MOOCs - a sort of post-apocalyptic approach to online education with limited faculty engagement. Traditional online education suffers from similar biases, though not to the same extreme. For example, online education offers great flexibility in asynchronous learning, but it need not follow that online education takes place exclusively in an asynchronous format. Limitations in this common mode of delivery can likewise limit student engagement. ² This is problematic because the data show that student engagement drives learning. ³

Online education promises great cost efficiencies; for-profit institutions have developed courses of read, write, discuss at a low cost. ⁴ Nonprofit and public universities realize similar cost efficiencies. Among the most prominent is Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU), now with over 70,000 students. What sets SNHU apart, however, is its resource-intensive use of data analytics to improve student success. In this way, SNHU is making a sustained effort to layer additional services over the typical online experience. ⁵ Thus, the process of online course development that achieves a high level of quality requires significant effort and rigor. ⁶

Over the past decade, a variety of new instructional models have been heralded as the next generation of higher education; among those models are flipped classrooms, competency-based education, MOOCs, and traditional online learning environments of read, write, discuss. ⁷ These models focus heavily on efficiencies of time and space. The model we propose for online education focuses instead on social learning and student engagement, training faculty and designing online courses to make student interaction the driving factor in creating a highly personalized experience for students. We suggest the antithesis of MOOCs: using the flexibility of the online environment to create personalized learning environments. We use a fundamentally different set of assumptions than traditional online classes, to revolutionize online courses with socially engaged learning. To this end, we have developed a five-point framework highlighting best practices for faculty to use in their courses to create a high level of student engagement: project-based instruction, peer group work, discussion, experiential learning, and assessment.

1. Project-based Instruction

Reading and writing are the foundation of the online learning experience. Yet, a problematic bias exists in online education if reading is used as a substitute for teaching. The problem of insufficient instruction ought not be exacerbated by assigning a higher quantity of reading materials with few controls in place for quality. This can instead be resolved by using depth as a method to focus instructional activity: limit reading material to focus on an overarching project.

Scaffolded Learning

In this approach, faculty assign progressive readings within a class environment. Instruction is focused by assigning different sections of readings to different groups of students. As a result, students must do the work in order to teach other students, while the role of the faculty member is to actively guide and bridge gaps in the report-back instruction that students are engaging in. This creates a highly interactive environment because the learning of one group of students depends on another group of students.

Collaborative Development

Writing often challenges students: overcoming this challenge is among the more pressing priorities of modern educators. One method to help address this challenge are asynchronous writing projects that are collaboratively developed, with students working in small groups. This approach has the benefit of requiring students to learn to communicate effectively. It also reflects the modern workplace, where work is often done in a collaborative and iterative manner. In this model writing focuses on brevity rather than length. Each group may have an assigned leader who rotates per assignment and is responsible for the overall submission, and whose proportional grade reflects their leadership role.

2. Peer Group Work

Students working with their peers has been demonstrated time and again to be a highly effective form of learning. ⁸ Yet, without careful and thoughtful design work, online courses may be built with very limited group work components. This is, however, an artificial limitation: a variety of tools help students engage in group work online. Two pedagogical methods in particular can be used to facilitate group work.

Synchronous Activities

These are activities where students work together on a project and discuss the project in real time in order to build relationships and interpersonal skills. This approach is common in physical classrooms. Learning how to successfully engage in content with peers is a critical skill for the modern workplace. This approach does not need to be organized from the top down: students are highly capable of arranging synchronous meetings on their own, but they do need to be required to describe their process of working as a group.

Cooperative Learning

Students need not be confined to particular classrooms. In this model, faculty can assign students to work across classes; for example, capstone students might collaborate on a project with students earlier in the program. This helps create a sense of community among students through mentoring and leadership development, while also providing a platform for learning by teaching. This approach can also encourage online adjunct faculty to develop greater connectivity to their adjunct or full-time peers to improve collaboration and continuity between their coursework and across sections.

3. Discussion

Building relationships and engaging in constructive dialogue are critical components of active learning. Effective online discussion, however, requires a significant level of rigor and management. The essence of constructive dialogue is active listening and measured articulation. This is certainly achievable in an online forum, but it requires a thoughtful framework of clear student expectations and active engagement by faculty.

Debates

Discussion should be a debate rather than a gauge of competency: asking a group of students to repeat by rote the same learning objective is not conducive to effective learning. Discussions that generate debate are those topics and questions that do not have objective answers. Nuanced discussion gives everyone the opportunity to voice their unique perspective, exercise critical thinking, and engage in scholarly debate. Since it is rare for one question to allow for 30 unique perspectives, more than one topic needs to be used to give all students an opportunity. Faculty engagement in every discussion is an invaluable instructional opportunity.

Structured Discussions

The structure of discussion ought not become a substitution of quantity for quality (e.g. students must post x times per week, etc.). Responsiveness matters, and the online bias against synchronous activity must be rigorously questioned: Is it too rigorous an academic requirement to ask students to be highly responsive to a classroom debate? Additionally, structure can be used to give everyone a way to contribute, assigning discussion roles to avoid repetitive participation. For example, consider the following four roles: one group of students advocates for a particular point, another group advocates an opposing point, another group serves as debate moderators, and a final group synthesizes the full debate.

4. Experiential Learning

Experiential learning is an exciting way to draw on the wisdom of the student body and bring to the forefront their localized life experiences and how that influences their learning. This diversity offers a wonderful opportunity for learning from each other.

Volunteer Work

Internships need not be limited to traditional vocational roles. Liberal arts studies, for example, provide a level of abstraction that enables more flexibility in the types of volunteer work that can be made relevant to the coursework. As a part of the admissions process for their program of study, students select a local organization to volunteer or intern with. Each course has a component where students identify challenges that arise from their work in a form that might suit group work, discussion, a self-directed project, etc. This approach has the benefit of diverse real-world and relevant experience balanced and guided by academic rigor.

Simulations

An alternate approach that is self-contained within a course is to perform simulated activities. This can be done through specifically designed technology platforms or the more analog method of pairing student cohorts with professional counterparts to shadow work on a challenging project. This approach has the benefit of being organized in a centralized manner and thus more focused on particular learning objectives, while still providing the benefit of experiential learning.

5. Assessment

Effectiveness in assessment derives from engagement in student learning. Online learning often presents a variety of barriers to engagement, making accurate assessment challenging. Online courses that consistently require students to write a paper as their primary form of assessment rely on a relatively narrow method of assessment. We propose student-driven flexibility combined with more emphasis on group work.

Student Choice

Engage in universal design for learning. Faculty can provide choices for the way in which some assignments are completed. For some assignments, faculty would permit students to submit their work in a format they feel is most appropriate: writing a paper, making a presentation, conducting an interview, performing a demonstration, etc. This approach allows students to demonstrate learning in a variety of ways and provides new pathways for faculty and institutional support of student learning.

Outcomes

Grading participation and collaboration online is challenging because student collaboration often occurs out of sight. One way to address this challenge is to change incentives by using tiered grading. When assessing group assignments, a grade is assigned first to the group, then modified to each student based on their individual contributions. Individual contributions are best assessed when faculty can view the group spaces used by the students. This helps direct focus on learning outcomes as opposed to the performance of discrete tasks. It also avoids the issue of group work masking a lack of participation by some students.

Socially Engaged Classrooms

We suggest that courses designed in the format described here be labeled socially "engaged" classrooms as opposed to traditional "online" classrooms. It might be necessary to increase the compensation of faculty teaching online to convert a course into this format; courses run this way certainly require more work from the faculty member involved. The framework described is an abstract summary of methodologies, not an overly prescriptive framework. Faculty should not feel that they must have any particular component in a given class. Instead, our objective for this framework is that a socially "engaged" online course is any course organized with a substantive plan and accountability model for each of the five critical criteria: instruction, group work, experiential learning, discussion, and assessment. We believe that courses designed with this model will improve student retention and, with the focus on developing professional and interpersonal skills, improve job placement.

Notes

1. Yinying Wang and Janet Decker, "Can virtual schools thrive in the real world?" TechTrends, Vol. 58, No. 6 (November/December 2014); I. Elaine Allen and Jeff Seaman with Doug Lederman and Scott Jaschik, "Conflicted: Faculty and Online Education, 2012," Babson Survey Research Group and Inside Higher Ed; and E. C. Boling, M. Hough, et al. "Cutting the distance in distance education: Perspectives on what promotes positive, online learning experiences," Internet and Higher Education, Vol. 15 (2012).

2. Katrina A. Meyer, "Limits to Student Engagement," Student Engagement in Online Learning: What Works and Why, ASHE Higher Education Report, Vol. 40, No.6 (2014): 75-87.

3. Marcia Dixson, "Creating Effective Student Engagement in Online Courses: What Do Students Find Engaging?" Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, Vol. 10, No. 2 (2010): n. pag. Web. 24 Jan. 2016.

4. Tamara Butler Batagglino, Matt Haldeman, and Eleanor Laurans, "The Costs of Online Learning," Chapter 3, Education Reform for the Digital Era, Chester E. Finn Jr. and Daniela R. Fairchild, Eds. (Thomas B. Fordman Institute, April 2012), 55-76; and William G. Bowen, Matthew M. Chingos, Kelly A. Lack, and Thomas I. Nygren, "Interactive Learning Online at Public Universities: Evidence from Randomized Trials," Ithaka S+R, May 22, 2012.

5. Matthew Thornton, "Connecting to Success: Innovating Student Services with Enterprise Social Media," address, 2013 Sloan Consortium International Conference on Online Learning, November 20, 2013, Orlando, FL.

6. Maria Puzziferro and Kaye Shelton, "A Model for Developing High-Quality Online Courses: Integrating a Systems Approach with Learning Theory," Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, Vol. 12, Issue 3-4 (2008): 119-1136.

7. Steven Mintz, "New Models of Higher Education," Higher Ed Beta blog, Inside Higher Ed, October 15, 2014.

8. Patti Shank, "Considering Collaboration," Faculty Focus Special Report: Student Collaboration in the Online Classroom, Online Classroom, 12-13.

Brian Basgen is executive director for IT at Bay Path University, where he also teaches online in the graduate cybersecurity management program. He is an active member of the EDUCAUSE community and is currently serving as the co-chair of the 2016 Connect Conference.

Peter A. Testori serves as the director of the Center for Online & Digital Learning at Bay Path University, where he also teaches courses in the online teaching and program administration concentration of the higher education administration graduate program. Testori has worked in the field of online learning and learning technologies for the past six years and brings a student development and instructional design background to his role at the university. He is an active member of NERCOMP.

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Various instructional models for online learning focus on efficiencies of time and space, from flipped classrooms to competency-based education, MOOCs, and online learning environments that rely on reading, writing, and discussion. The model proposed here for online education focuses on social learning and student engagement, training faculty and designing online courses to make interaction the driving factor in creating a highly personalized experience for students.

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There are several different types of reflection, Reflection IN action (thinking about what you are doing while you are doing it), reflection ON practice (looking back and reflecting, perhaps focusing on something significant), reflection FOR action (gaining understanding for why you have done something) and reflection WITH action ( a conscious action to develop your skills). From Tony Ghaye: Teaching and Learning Through Reflective Practice: A Practical Guide for Positive Action,2011, Routledge