Best Practices in Online Learning, K-12

Although I had a difficult time finding even three articles on best practices for distance education for the K-12 learner, I read a few more that addressed educational best practices for the K-12 learner using technology in the classroom. Cher Ping Lim(2004) states that learners need instruction in how to learn online to get them started, they need advance organizers to process the learning to come, and they need scaffolding “provided by the instructors or through peer interactions, or … embedded in the online learning component (Lim, July/Aug, 2004)” to help them get the most out of their online learning experience.  Another article examined the barriers to changing classroom instruction to reflect best practice which the authors identified as learner-centered instruction (An & Reigeluth, 2011). A third article addressed the advantages of individualized instruction with a 1:1 ratio of students to computers in a classroom (Rosen & Beck-Hill, 2012). All three of these articles are based on the constructivist theory of learning which states that the learner constructs knowledge based on his experiences (Seel, 2008). My favorite style of learner-centered instruction, probably because it fits so well in the math classroom, is problem-based learning, or PBL. In PBL, the teacher sets up a problem based on or modeled after a real-world problem. Usually in small groups, students then try to solve the problem as the teacher guides them with strategies and problem-solving skills. The series of textbooks I used when I taught elementary and middle school math was authored by a man named Saxon and commonly called Saxon math. He believed in teaching students how to identify and categorize math word problems at an early age, so (as an example) students learned that a “some and some more” was an addition pattern which could require addition or subtraction to solve based on what was missing in the problem. Several other patterns were taught, giving students strategies to recognize and solve real-world problems. If a student is taught via PBL, he is more likely to develop his own problem-solving strategies, giving him more independence. I believe the purpose of education is exactly this, to teach students to think independently (higher order thinking), knowing how to reason things out for themselves, so they can become lifelong learners.

References:

An, Y.-J., & Reigeluth, C. (2011). Creating technology-enhanced, learner-centered classrooms: K–12 teachers’ beliefs, perceptions, barriers, and support needs. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, 28(2), 54 - 62.

Cote, D. (Sep 2007). Problem-based learning software for students with disabilities. Intervention in School and Clinic, 43(1), 29 - 37.

Lim, C. P. (July/Aug, 2004). Engaging learners in online learning environments. Tech Trends, 48(4), 16 - 23.

Rosen, Y., & Beck-Hill, D. (2012). Intertwining digital content and a one-to-one laptop environment in teaching and learning: Lessons from the time to know program. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 44(3), 225 -241.

Seel, N. M. (2008). Empirical perspectives on memory and motivation. In J. M. Spector, M. D. Merrill, J. V. Merrienboer, & M. P. Driscoll, Handbook of research on educational communications and technology (pp. 39 -54). New York: Routledge.