Using ALNs to Strengthen the Quality of Learning in the Classroom

1. Cheryl Davisson Gracie October, 1999 Entire (informal) report available for review at http://www-instruct.wccnet.org/~cdgracie/ALNPaper.html Using ALNs to Strengthen the Quality of Learning in the Classroom

2. What we did • Assessment driven • students able to recognize legal concepts • students unable to apply legal concepts in case analysis • Ran parallel sections for online and campus students • Campus students allowed to participate in ALNs

3. Key Observations…. • ALNs provided documentation of difficult concepts useful to both sections • preview of concepts • review of lectures • record of student/instructor exchange • Highly structured and guided exchanges, (dependant on instructor)

4. Key Observations…. • Online community developed for some • Core of actively engaged students • mostly online • joined by a couple campus students • Many campus students “lurked”

5. Key Observations…. • Limited use of forums for team discussions • all students shared individual drafts of cases in forums • online students sometimes met outside

6. Results... • Division in both sections between active and non-active students • immediate • extreme and clearly defined • did not change overall attrition rate which is high…50% for day classes • no observed relationship to • grade point • prior computer usage

7. Results... • Quality of analysis improved with active group • quality of class comments and questions improved • observed by instructor in campus sections • documented in forum discussions • quality of papers improved over prior assessed period • both sections

8. Results... • Chilling effect on inactive student • less argument about “lack of understanding” assignment • greater willingness to recognize effect of lack of preparation • Active students would use documentation and accountability of forums to move class forward • participation observed at non-traditional times • filter “spontaneous” but irrelevant class comments • refer back to postings

9. Conclusions: The Learning “Gap” • ALNs are a course management tool that • can be used to improve analytical thinking processes • accentuates the learning “gap” between those active students and inactive students

10. Implications for Community Colleges... • Solutions are not readily apparent • Eliminate requirements • transfer classes? • life skills? • Allow process to self-select successful students • waste of resources • societal implications

11. Implications for Community Colleges... • Provide additional support for students that are inactive • online forums ARE the support • remedial education not well received • constraints on student time are beyond our control

12. Implications for Solutions • Solutions for eliminating this “gap” must address fundamental issues and concerns about learning evident in both traditional and online learning environments. • Use of ALN identified underlying problem at earlier stage.