US History Since 1877
Introductory level US History course desgined for incoming freshman and sophomores.
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US History Since 1877 is traditionally a lecture dominated freshman/sophomore introductory level course at Texas State University. When I started teaching it in 1992, my average class size was 35 students; however, over time that number grew to 400! I moved to the use of e-instruction as the numbers grew, in part, to help with class management and communication. After attending a two week Instructional Technologies Seminar offered at Texas State in the summer of 2002, I came to the conclusion that offering the course strictly online could be both cost efficient and instructionally valid. Initially, the number one instructional challenge for me was to translate the guidance and organization I offer in a face-to-face classroom to a virtual environment. The Systematic Design of Instruction (Dick, Carey, Carey) proved invaluable to me in meeting this challenge. The course work completed at Virginia Tech in their online IT Master’s program, forced me to realize that the process of moving completely online would not happen overnight . Thus, the second challenge was to give myself permission to move slowly. Utilizing a systems approach model, I created a plan to build and employ different elements of the course over a period of two years. Development has followed two lines. First, I focused on revising my lectures to fit an effective written format. The second area was designing the visual presentation of the content to assist students in being successful. I have been teaching the course completely online since the fall of 2006. An ongoing challenge is to empower students not to take the course as online instruction is not a perfect fit for all students. Currently, the online version of this course has a drop-out rate of about 20% which is considerably higher than the 5% of my traditional courses. I continue to fine tune the course to attempt to bring the percentage down by adjusting the generic course to fit the needs of a particular class section. Thus, the course may look slightly different from one semester to the next as rotate through a variety of instructional methodologies and ideas.
The course is essentially a reading correspondence course but with a twist. Unlike most correspondence courses offered at Texas State, the pace at which a student moves through the content is not left entirely to student discretion. There are a series of deadlines throughout the semester to keep students on track and to increase their chances of completing the course successfully. Students are given not only a course calendar with the deadlines for the semester but also a suggested weekly study schedule that breaks down the reading and work by tasks. The course has 8 lessons that cover US history from 1877 to 1990 using a thematic approach. Lesson content is designed to elaborate on a specific lesson’s learning objectives. There are 3 to 4 learning objectives per lesson. Within each lesson, students’ access secondary and primary source readings, discussion overviews, study guides and PowerPoint slides for each lesson objective. This material is posted in the TRACS resources folder as html, rtf, pdf and ppt files but students can only access the material via each Lesson’s html index page. I elect to use the external web page link option rather than the resources folder in order to provide a stronger organizational structure for field dependent students. Communication tools such as the announcements page, discussion forums and mailtools are used extensively in order to build community and increase student retention. I distribute feedback about student progress by using the assessment tools, dropbox and gradebook tools.
As communication is of critical importance to me, I try to utilize as many of the Sakai communication tools as possible. Announcements are used to remind students of deadlines, notify them of course changes and to offer them encouragement. Students also have access to the gradebook throughout the semester so as to keep apprised of their progress. Following the first exam, each student completes a formative feedback survey that requires them to assess the course, my effort and their own effort. I then use the information to adjust the course to fit the unique needs and circumstances of the students for that semester. Upon completion of the course, students complete a summative survey in order to assist me in the planning for future classes. Students communicate with me using the Mailtool but the preferred communication format for peer to peer interaction is the Chat Room. At the start of each semester, students must participate in one of three live chat sessions to confirm their participation. While I prefer the well ordered forum tool, students overwhelming prefer the freedom of the chat room. One semester I removed the chat room following the initially introduction only to be attacked by a virtual mob who demanded its return. Discussion forums are used by students to register for exams and to work collaboratively on lesson study questions.
Students are provided with several organizational tools for securing their success in this course. Along with the traditional syllabus which has hyperlinks to sections of the syllabus as well as outside resources, the course calendar is presented in a table format for visual learners. Sequential learners appreciate the linear format of the Suggested Study Schedule while global learners find the index pages for each lesson useful to organizing their study habits.
Course goals are listed in the course syllabus and are supported within the course by the lesson objectives and a variety of guided practice activities. For example, one course goal states that students will be able to analyze issues and themes within US History explaining their relevance to current social, political and economic culture. Within a lesson on the 1920s, students are encouraged to connect the anti- immigration policies of this era with current anti-immigration sentiments. Student contact with each other and the instructor is encouraged via the chat room and discussion forums. Space is provided within the forums to promote student collaboration on each lesson’s study guides. Self-check exercises include submission of essay outlines via the dropbox and practice quizzes using the assessment tool. As stated in the course syllabus, students are guaranteed a private email response by the instructor to emailed questions within 72 hours of receiving the message. I am also dedicated to provide feedback on major assessments such as exams within 10 days of submission. Students complete a formative feedback survey following the first unit which allows them to assess the course, instructor and themselves.
The use of the main toolbar to link students to course support tools as well as course content provides students with direct access to information needed to be successful in this course. Tools are organized on menu in a sequential order to facilitate understanding of rules, procedures and tasks. Access to content information is controlled by the instructor by units throughout the semester via the main toolbar hyperlinks.
Technical support links are provided to students via the course syllabus which is posted as an html pages as well as a rich text document. Students are provided ongoing encouragement and support to campus resources via the weekly course “updates and reminders” announcement.
At Texas State University, the US History survey courses are part of the core curriculum meaning that all students must complete them with a C or better. Subsequently, most students enrolled in my survey courses would prefer to be doing something else. As traditionally taught, the course is often viewed by students as one long extended trivial pursuit game. With the online version of the course, I have attempted to challenge this perception by utilizing the principles of instructional design and the resources of modern technology. While one might think that the World Wide Web and history have little connection, students in my class discover the wealth of historical information and resources located on the www in the first unit when they are asked to visit not only the written text of Jacob Riis’ How the Other Half Lives [http://www.yale.edu/amstud/inforev/riis/title.html] but take a tour of the Lower East Side Tenement Museum [http://www.tenement.org/]. In addition, the online version of this introductory level course empowers students to utilize a wide variety of sources, primary and secondary, to develop a understanding of US history rather than simply accept the narrow interpretation of a single professor.
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