I teach adults technical stuff, in class and online. I have the blessed opportunity to advance our teaching style from rote memorization and spoon-feeding to something more advanced. I have always been a fan of the Socratic or elenctic method. My reasoning and hope are to teach students how to learn, as the field I teach in is fast changing subject area. I am looking for a teaching model, either reconfirming that my choice is reasonable or that there are better solutions out there. Do you have any suggestions on how to ween my department from the teat of mediocrity? What is yours/your departments method or style? Does it teach how to fish, or just hands out frozen fish-sticks as fast as possible?
I guess everyone is already on vacation, or still wrapping up grading! Or, is this topic moot to others as they do as told?
When it comes to "online" teaching, too many schools deliver "spam in a can"! The instructor is a mere facilitator hired for their initials and steers the learning process through a canned curriculum with zero tolerance for any latitude whatsoever! I've earned degrees through both traditional and non traditional pathways and I've instructed in the classroom and through distance learning. My opinion is that, "online" learning is inferior is so many ways. It does not permit the instructor to bring his or her uniqueness to the virtual classroom and the curriculum is canned and rigid to meet the minimum level of accreditation and I emphasize "minimum"! Distance learning is a multi billion dollar industry and serves a purpose. It has gone beyond academia and is now integrated into many corporate learning processes. For example, in the old days an airline pilot would receive live classroom instruction from a crusty old pilot with years of experience. Today it is taught via computer based training (CBT) which is convenient but close to worthless! Think about that the next time you fly across the friendly skies!
Not only is that not the only way to do distance learning, but that packaged model you describe is used in the classroom by many schools. It's a mistake to confuse a course's mode of instruction with the quality of its instructional design.
I'm fortunate enough to be able to write curriculum for many of my own courses (also technical). That means I get to experiment a lot. I have not found "the" best way to teach, but I've found better ways. I pay attention to the four main learning styles and MBTI quadrants of my students. I avoid didactic lecture as much as possible, and find other ways to "tell, show, do". Lately I am spending more effort having them teach me and each other. I use tools like screencast-o-matic to have the students demonstrate how and why they did what they did on an assignment and submit the video for everyone who has already completed the assignment to see. I'm finding that technique aids tremendously in retention and then application. I also use the heck out of Youtube.com and the Microsoft Virtual Academy for free video series by training professionals. I make a lot of videos to fill in the gaps, too. I take all available teaching training offered at my college, and I make sure that I spend time learning from my peers about how they teach, technical or otherwise. I also found out that we just got the Microsoft IT Academy a short while ago, and am working to implement that. In short, I try to find the best resources to teach with, realizing that I will never do anything the "best" way, and then see how to knit them together in a way that enables the students to learn and retain according to their learning styles. And all of that may change tomorrow if I find a way that works better.
The point is that we don't have instructors anymore only facilitators! Online delivery is a cheaper and efficient way for schools and businesses to get the knowledge delivered but still has need for continuous improvement. It's here to stay until they invent something new like surgical installation of a microchip in the brain with a wealth of instantaneous knowledge. Of course, knowledge does not equal experience!
I do know how fish sticks taste; alas, I am not privy to your deep culinary experience. :mischievous:
