Re: Not ready for it. LONG

[Margaret Mazzolini <mmazzolini@SWIN.EDU.AU>]

> Active learning (problems, labs, discussions) are already essential
> components of an ideal physics course. We should continue improving
> its effectiveness in real courses within the existing paradigm. Those
> who know should lead novices along well designed and tested paths.
>
> Any comments from those who are active in the physics education
> community? Do we need research to demonstrate that teaching
> science without an organized structure, imposed and supervised
> by experts, is impossible? Do have physics education data comparing
> the effectiveness of the Internet versus the face-to-face teaching?
> We may need that kind of ammunition very soon.
> Ludwik Kowalski

I found Ludwik's posting very thoughtful & I'd agree with most of it. But, as someone who
has aimed to encourage active learning in my face-to-face teaching, but who presently
teaches purely 'online', can I comment that one shouldn't assume that 'Internet teaching'
= 'passive learning'.
One of the reasons I became interested in online education was because the initial
educational models for it which were discussed in my university sounded depressingly
passive, and I wanted to see if that was inevitable or not. My experience now is very much
the reverse. I've found that online teaching can lend itself to active learning approaches
as much or even more than can face-to-face teaching, and I have quite a bit of
correspondence from my students to back that up.
It's important to distinguish the general aim of encouraging active learning, from
specific constraints such as teaching courses (eg introductory physics) which require lots
of hands-on lab work. Like any other teaching format, online education is not suitable for
every subject or for every student. But it can work, and work well. It can even be
inspiring!
Cheers
Margaret
--
Dr. Margaret Mazzolini
Astronomy Course Coordinator
Swinburne Centre for Astrophysics & Supercomputing
BSEE, Mail Box 31,
Swinburne University of Technology,
PO Box 218 Hawthorn VIC 3122
Australia
email: mmazzolini@swin.edu.au
phone: (+61) 3 9214 8084
fax:   (+61) 3 9819 0856

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