I just read a post on the ProfHacker blog about the challenges of teaching multiple sections of the same course. This is not something I've had to do in some time, but I can definitely relate to the issues raised. Dr. Hara makes a number of great suggestions for addressing things like varying class size and dynamics, but instructional technology does not seem to come up at all. I wonder what sorts of technologies might help? What do you think? Also, if you were in her shoes (maybe some of you are) and you were using a learning management system, would you combine the sections into one course space? Or would you keep them separate? What are the pros and cons of each option?
Monday, February 13, 2012
I just read a post on the ProfHacker blog about the challenges of teaching multiple sections of the same course. This is not something I've had to do in some time, but I can definitely relate to the issues raised. Dr. Hara makes a number of great suggestions for addressing things like varying class size and dynamics, but instructional technology does not seem to come up at all. I wonder what sorts of technologies might help? What do you think? Also, if you were in her shoes (maybe some of you are) and you were using a learning management system, would you combine the sections into one course space? Or would you keep them separate? What are the pros and cons of each option?
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Sherry, I had to teach two courses of data management last semester and I combined the two sections into the same course space. The pros from my end were that I only had to post the slides/assignments/study guides/etc to one location to distribute them to all students. Posting announcements and grades was also simplified because the two sections were combined in eLC. In terms of negatives, the discussion boards could possibly become problematic. I had students using the discussion boards to find group members for group projects and they had to be careful about agreeing to be in a group with students in the other section. Also, there were some situations where an engaging discussion occurred in one section but not the other and I decided to post some follow up materials for those students who were interested in learning more about the topic we were debating. It may have been a bit confusing for the students in the other section since they did not participate in the same discussion that occurred in the other class.
ReplyDeleteAs for technologies to help organize multiple sections, I think this is something worth thinking about more. I can't think of anything off the top of my head but would love to have a brainstorming session on this at some point.
Teaching multiple sections of the same course can be a challenge, but it can also be a blessing. Once one has prepped for the week, you're set to go with all the sections. This is especially true for laboratory style courses, where a substantial amount of time goes into set-up each week. As for a LMS system, I think I would use a single course space, then create separate discussion zones if need be. It may also be possible to create email groups by section so as to facilitate easy information transfer to a single section.
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