Open Learning Initiative

• Active learning
• Explanations combining voice with evolving graphics
• Simulations
• Individualized, instantaneous guidance and feedback
• Timely assessments of progress
• Learning at convenient time and pace

Active Learning

While instructors can and should promote active learning in class, this is clearly challenging to achieve in large classrooms. By contrast, computer-based materials that appropriately intersperse and sequence content, questioning, practice, and assessment can promote high levels of cognitive activity on the part of students.

In engineering science courses it is often assumed (probably correctly), that students do not read the textbook on their own; they are only engaged when solving homework problems. However, in appropriately devised online materials, students are actively engaged throughout the process, with frequent, small checks on their progress, besides major problem solving episodes.

The OLI Engineering Statics course promotes active learning in many ways, including user-controlled simulations, through "Learn By Doing" and "Did I Get This?" interactive exercises that offer hints and feedback. Students are given opportunities to integrate knowledge, write explanations, and compare with expert knowledge in “Submit and Compare” exercises that seek to foster critical thinking on the part of the student.

Explanations combining voice and evolving graphics

Text and graphics clearly can convey content in many circumstances. But the combination of voice and graphics, which takes advantage of multiple pathways of information (aural and visual), offers enormous benefits relative to textbooks, particularly when words are linked more tightly to the relevant diagrams. The student can choose to replay portions of the video file as often as needed.

Simulations

Neither a static textbook, nor an instructor with chalkboard, can offer dynamic simulations of relevant phenomena, particularly simulations with parameters which are controlled by the user seeking to explore relevant phenomena or study questions that are posed.

In the case of the Statics course, simulations of motions are critical to conveying the various effects of forces, and therefore the conditions for equilibrium (lack of motion).

Individualized, instantaneous guidance and feedback

Students learn through a constant iterative process of assimilating new information and testing out their evolving understanding with feedback; the integration of assessment into the learning process is known to be of great benefit. Tremendous benefits are associated with problem solving and answering conceptual questions online as compared with the traditional practice of homework.
In a traditional course, a substantial number of textbook problems might be assigned, but there is relatively little effective feedback.

Graded homework is usually returned with minimal critique and after enough time has passed that the thought processes involved have faded.

Problem solving on the computer can accommodate the user by posing a task that is directly pertinent to current learning objectives, giving the user a chance to answer independently, but then offering gradual levels of hints as appropriate, as well as informative feedback in instances of wrong answers.

Progress in learning is not only, or always best, assessed using full blown problems, such as are found in textbooks. Often, frequent short questions on fine grained conceptual issues, sometimes simply with yes or no answers are more appropriate. In an online environment this is more feasible than with traditional written homework. In addition, one can more easily pose conditional questions, which depend on the answers to the previous questions.

When attempting to solve homework problems, students sometimes need a small hint to get them going, but when help is unavailable (at 2 am), their time is wasted and frustration may be high.

The individual guidance and feedback for problem solving that students can get from online materials is instantaneous and right on time.

Furthermore, instantaneous feedback can be used to address common student misconceptions in a manner not possible with the traditional homework format.

Timely assessments of progress

In the traditional classroom, with the delay in solving homework, and the minimal feedback usually accompanying graded homework, students are often unaware that they have serious deficiencies until exam time.

By contrast, computer-based learning materials can help students recognize right away that progress is not sufficient and that additional help should be sought.

Also, in the near future, students’ progress in completing formative and summative assessments will be made available to registered instructors, who would be able to focus in-class instruction to better address students’ needs.

Learning at convenient time and pace

Online materials can fruitfully be engaged multiple times, giving students opportunities to review when convenient for them, and as appropriate to their individual learning trajectories.

Students can work on their own pace (not dictated by the instructor). They can repeat selected portions of material when needed (unrealistic in traditional lecture). They have opportunities to repeat some exercises to get more practice when needed (rather than through fixed number of assigned HW problems). Help is not necessarily timed with office hours.

Such materials also allow students in to review material for follow-on courses in a time-efficient way.