A sequence for distance education

Peter Milnes and Ross Woods, Jan 2015

This distance education sequence was used at Curtin University:

  1. Give a reading and ask basic analysis questions, e.g.
    1. "What does it say?"
    2. "What does it mean?"
    3. "What are the implications and consequences?"
    4. "How could you put it into practice?"
  2. Give another reading on the same topic and ask basic analysis questions, e.g.
    1. "What does it say?"
    2. "What does it mean?"
    3. "What are the implications and consequences?"
    4. "How could you put it into practice?"
  3. Assign a task that integrates the readings, e.g.
    1. "Write a 2,500 word paper in which you design your own system."
    2. "Write a formal proposal to improve an aspect of practice in your organization."
    3. "Write a plan to start a new XYZ program."
    4. "Write a handbook of policies and procedures suitable to support MNO."
       

Essential principles

Students do most of the work as independent students. It is not about creating work for the tutor.

Tell students that they will get a B if they do everything required as instructed.

Provide a finite amount of reading for each task. It can be a textbook or a set of suitable journal articles. Although you can provide extra reading for enrichment, do not require it. Students often cheat by trying to answer questions without doing the readings. This becomes obvious when they answer questions, and they will usually admit it when the tutor asks them. Then they'll go back and do the reading.
 

Comments

Two improvements present themselves. First, start the sequence with a section on problematization, that is, give students a reason to be motivated to study this topic. Second, many students also need some kind of social contact. Droput rates can be quite high if study is a lonely slog to meet deadlines. The discussion of analysis questions is the obvious place to do so, and students might need some support during the assignment.

As an observation, the sequence approximately follows Bloom's taxonomy:

  1. Cognition of information
  2. Comprehension
  3. Application
  4. Analysis, synthesis, evaluation