No, I don’t mean asynchronous communication – I mean asynchronous classes.
At our alternative high school, we offer continuous intake at our widely dispersed campuses. Students begin working on a print-based course anytime during the year, and their progress through the course is self-paced. The campuses are much smaller than the typical high school, and students often find they have few opportunities to learn together with other students. Can we enhance our print-based courses by offering opportunities for interaction? Is it possible to form a community of learning from these independent learners? What communication tools can we use to create a supportive environment? Can we structure online learning activities to help our students develop their thought process through discourse?
I’m working with a team of teachers on a new version of a science course, and I have been thinking about how students could participate in asynchronous discussions. I don’t think it would be very useful to have discussions based on different units of the course – this may spread the participation too thin, since the students will all be at various points in the course. I think participation may be broader if the discussions are structured in such a way that students working at any point in the course can participate in them.
One way to design these discussions could be to build them around the Goals of the Science Program. For example, one of the goals is “to relate science to technology, society, and the environment”. Students could participate in a discussion that asked them to describe a technology related to the science unit they are currently working on.
Another way to structure the discussion could be to focus on the “Big Ideas” of the science curriculum – a focus that we have kept as we work on developing the course. Students have been working with the fundamental concepts of science throughout their schooling, and can participate in discussions about one of the “Big Ideas” of the course, whether or not they have completed that particular unit, yet. This can act as a preview for students starting in the course, and as a reflection for those nearing the end.
Another way to offer students an opportunity for interaction could be to have collaborative tasks designed “to develop the skills, strategies, and habits of mind required for scientific investigation” – another of the goals of the science program. Students can apply these skills to scientific research or inquiry, across all units of the course.