Creating a virtual classroom: evaluating the use of online discussion forums to increase teaching and learning activities
- Authors: Bezuidenhout, L Peta
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Conference paper
- Identifier: vital:6070 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004635
- Description: In teaching large classes, the educationally beneficial informal interaction between students and between lecturer and students is generally reduced, while effective use of both students’ and lecturer’s time is often a challenge. During student consultations, especially over the already stressful test and examination periods, many of the questions asked by the students are the same or similar. The lecturer needs to respond to each query by providing the same detailed explanation for the problem, resulting in ineffective use of time for the lecturer, while students waste time waiting for an appointment, or more often, simply don’t bother to follow up on any queries they may have. Having a social presence is important for students’ cognitive development, but in a large class posing questions or interrogating issues during a lecture appears to be challenging for many students. It is often not easy for students to initiate discussions or establish relationships with peers or the lecturer due to feelings of vulnerability and due to the size and impersonal atmosphere of the lecture theatre. This paper deals with the introduction of online discussion forums in an introductory accounting course and the benefits and problems experienced by the students, tutors and lecturer as a result thereof. Feedback received from these participants is discussed. The introduction and use of these forums resulted in a virtual classroom being created, where significantly more teaching and learning activities took place, to the benefit of all participants. Participation could have been peripheral -in the form of simply reading discussions; or active – through posting questions, or responding to questions.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
Creating a virtual classroom: evaluating the use of online discussion forums to increase teaching and learning activities in an introductory accounting class
- Authors: Bezuidenhout, L Peta
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: Conference paper
- Identifier: vital:6082 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008586
- Description: In teaching large classes, the educationally beneficial informal interaction between students and between lecturer and students is generally reduced, while effective use of both students' and lecturer's time is often a challenge. During student consultations, especially over the already stressful test and examination periods, many of the questions asked by the students are the same or similar. The lecturer needs to respond to each query by providing the same detailed explanation for the problem, resulting in ineffective use of time for the lecturer, while students waste time waiting for an appointment, or more often, simply don't bother to follow up on any queries they may have. Having a social presence is important for students' cognitive development, but in a large class posing questions or interrogating issues during a lecture appears to be challenging for many students. It is often not easy for students to initiate discussions or establish relationships with peers or the lecturer due to feelings of vulnerability and due to the size and impersonal atmosphere of the lecture theatre. This paper deals with the introduction of online discussion forums in an introductory accounting course and the benefits and problems experienced by the students, tutors and lecturer as a result thereof. Feedback received from these participants is discussed. The introduction and use of these forums resulted in a virtual classroom being created, where significantly more teaching and learning activities took place, to the benefit of all participants. Participation could have been peripheral - in the form of simply reading discussions; or active – through posting questions, or responding to questions.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
Creating a virtual classroom: evaluating the use of online discussion forums to increase teaching and learning activities in an introductory accounting class
- Authors: Bezuidenhout, L Peta
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Conference paper
- Identifier: vital:6069 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004630
- Description: In teaching large classes, the educationally beneficial informal interaction between students and between lecturer and students is generally reduced, while effective use of both students' and lecturer's time is often a challenge. During student consultations, especially over the already stressful test and examination periods, many of the questions asked by the students are the same or similar. The lecturer needs to respond to each query by providing the same detailed explanation for the problem, resulting in ineffective use of time for the lecturer, while students waste time waiting for an appointment, or more often, simply don't bother to follow up on any queries they may have. Having a social presence is important for students' cognitive development, but in a large class posing questions or interrogating issues during a lecture appears to be challenging for many students. It is often not easy for students to initiate discussions or establish relationships with peers or the lecturer due to feelings of vulnerability and due to the size and impersonal atmosphere of the lecture theatre. This paper deals with the introduction of online discussion forums in an introductory accounting course and the benefits and problems experienced by the students, tutors and lecturer as a result thereof. Feedback received from these participants is discussed. The introduction and use of these forums resulted in a virtual classroom being created, where significantly more teaching and learning activities took place, to the benefit of all participants. Participation could have been peripheral - in the form of simply reading discussions; or active – through posting questions, or responding to questions.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
Using assessment and reflexive teaching practices to inform and guide changes to the teaching and learning activities in Introductory Accounting
- Authors: Bezuidenhout, L Peta
- Date: 2008
- Language: English
- Type: Conference paper
- Identifier: vital:6081 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008585
- Description: Teaching accounting to first year university students in higher education institutions is becoming increasingly complex as we deal with increasing class sizes, increasing diversity and a student body which appears to be less inclined to study without external motivating factors, while to be successful in studying accounting requires more than passive learning. Our aim was to make our students active participants in their accounting studies. After studying established research into assessment and approaches to student learning, changes were made to our course to ensure increased and active participation from our students. Critical to this change was guiding students in making the shift from a surface approach to learning, to a deep approach to learning where they would engage with the subject matter in a manner more likely to result in truly understanding the concepts and principles being taught. An important part of implementing these changes was asking our students to evaluate the innovations after they had taken place. Feedback received from our students resulted in the use of a new and unplanned innovation in the form of the setting of regular mini-tests. This was arguably the most successful of all the interventions introduced during the year and resulted in our journey being more exciting and less predictable than expected.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
Using assessment and reflexive teaching practices to inform and guide changes to the teaching and learning activities in Introductory Accounting
- Authors: Bezuidenhout, L Peta
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Conference paper
- Identifier: vital:6068 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004622
- Description: Teaching accounting to first year university students in higher education institutions is becoming increasingly complex as we deal with increasing class sizes, increasing diversity and a student body which appears to be less inclined to study without external motivating factors, while to be successful in studying accounting requires more than passive learning. Our aim was to make our students active participants in their accounting studies. After studying established research into assessment and approaches to student learning, changes were made to our course to ensure increased and active participation from our students. Critical to this change was guiding students in making the shift from a surface approach to learning, to a deep approach to learning where they would engage with the subject matter in a manner more likely to result in truly understanding the concepts and principles being taught. An important part of implementing these changes was asking our students to evaluate the innovations after they had taken place. Feedback received from our students resulted in the use of a new and unplanned innovation in the form of the setting of regular mini-tests. This was arguably the most successful of all the interventions introduced during the year and resulted in our journey being more exciting and less predictable than expected.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008