In considering how my instructional methodologies might need
to change in an online or blended learning environment, I think it would depend
on my students.
My current students have mostly moderate to severe
disabilities. I don't believe that a
100% online course would work for them.
In order to access curriculum, they often need assistance in varying
degrees, and it is not possible to predict what will be difficult and how much
help will be needed. My students will
often need help with a task on a Wednesday that they were fine with on a
Tuesday. They often need physical or
gestural prompting to complete a task; staff is trained to look for the signs
that they need assistance, which would be impossible online. So, for a 100% online course, I think my
students and what I taught would need to change before I could even think about
teaching methodologies.
A blended learning environment would work much better with
my student population. While some
students might still have a meltdown when frustrated by online learning, it
would help some to know that an instructor will be available at some point to
clarify and help. This week I read about
the Carpe Diem Collegiate High School and Middle School (CDCHS) in Yuma,
Arizona. They blend both classroom instruction and online learning in a unique way, in that the online portion takes place in
computer labs on campus. I think they would be a good model for a method that
might work with my students. Students at
CDCHS cycle between learning online in the computer lab and being in a
classroom setting with a teacher who can clarify, re-teach, and expound on what
they have learned online. They go through this cycle three times during each
school day. This could give the best of
both worlds to my students.
Planning and developing online instruction for my students
could be a challenge and one in which I will have to put much thought. Having students with a range of
disabilities and behavioral problems means that online lessons would need to
cover the material and offer a learning situation, but keep students engaged
and challenged, yet not frustrated. In
the classroom, staff often relies on intuition and experience with individual
students to know when a student is becoming frustrated and may be about to have
a meltdown or become violent. Obviously,
this observation factor would not be present in a true online learning
environment. This is why I was so
intrigued by what CDCHS has done. Having
students work online on-campus with a familiar staff member available in the room
could circumvent all sorts of problems.
In addition, I think I would have to work on teaching lessons about
online learning, including teaching students strategies and coping mechanisms for when
they are confused or frustrated with a computer lesson.
While there are many issues that might preclude my
particular students from using true online learning, I believe that with some
adjustments and modifications, an online model would be highly beneficial in
pre-teaching, re-teaching, and re-enforcing concepts and curriculum with my
students.
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