The computer science students have enrolled in the CS course because it is their major. Very few other majors require students to take CS courses. It is something the students are interested in (and dare I say excited about). They are not afraid of technology and although not necessarily master problem solvers, they do have some analytical capabilities. Upon entering the classroom/lab, there are conversations and often multiple students huddled around a single monitor. In the online environment, these students are very comfortable sharing ideas and discussing concepts. Discussion Boards are quite active!
The math students have enrolled in the course because they absolutely HAVE TO. Students will even change their majors to avoid math courses. The remedial students have already unsuccessfully sat through at least 10-12 years of math classes. They have no desire to continue in the endeavour. Numbers are foreign matter that make absolutely no sense. Therefore, they have only survived by what they can memorize. Upon entering the classroom, it is deathly silent and the students barely look around at their fellow classmates. I have thought that some students even choose online math courses, just to avoid that uncomfortable classroom feeling. Unfortunately, most do not have the skills to communicate mathematically. This leaves them feeling alone and isolated in the online environment.
There are other challenges in teaching math online.
- Math/problem solving must be practiced. Therefore, instructors are often tied to textbooks and publisher websites for practice problems.
- Because of the programming involved, it is impractical to try to completely create a math course without the outside technical help.
- Students do not have the terminology to communicate mathematical concepts verbally.
- The online tools for writing equations are not always user friendly. Most problems/applications cannot be written using text editors leaving email and discussion boards difficult to use.
2 comments:
Sue,
I'm so excited you are in this course. I haven't spent a lot of time talking with people who teach math online. I think you face a lot of challenges that hopefully we can spend some time chatting about. I'm wondering if you might want to work on community building aspects of your remedial math courses. Maybe these students need to bond together early and commit to surviving together.
You may laugh, I sometimes feel my students relax when I admit I got a C-, and C in the equivalent of eng101 and eng102. And now I'm getting a PhD in rhetoric & comp (not literature, actual writing). It gives them hope and demonstrates I empathize with their struggle. Do you ever do introductory assignments? Maybe a "math-autobiography" that allows people to reflect on both good and bad math experiences (you as well)?
I'm just brainstorming...
Welcome to the class! :-)
Shelley
One semester in a f2f class, I really tried to address the anxiety issues and try to build the community feeling. There were lots of group activities and games. I remember one student's comments at the end of the semester: "I'm not sure how much math I learned, but it was the most fun I have ever had in a math class."
Unfortunately, these types of activities (although fun) take time away from the lesson in f2f classes. Maybe I can try more of this in the online environment. But I have found that unless it is graded, they will not voluntarily participate.
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