enhancing on-line teaching: designing responsive learning environments

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Enhancing on-line teaching: Designing responsivelearning environmentsMargaret Hicks a , Ian Reid a & Rigmor George aa Flexible Learning Centre , University of South AustraliaPublished online: 09 Dec 2010.

To cite this article: Margaret Hicks , Ian Reid & Rigmor George (2001) Enhancing on-line teaching: Designing responsivelearning environments, International Journal for Academic Development, 6:2, 143-151, DOI: 10.1080/713769258

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IntroductionA range of social and economic factors has resultedin major changes in higher education andcontributed to the current educational climate(Campion, 1995; Edwards, 1995; Organization forEconomic Cooperation and Development, 1993;Reid, 1996). These changes have challengeduniversities to introduce teaching and learningstrategies which cater for different client groupsusing forms of delivery that increase access tolearning opportunities. In particular, there aredemands for the university sector to provide for alarger and more diverse cross-section of thepopulation, to cater for emerging patterns ofeducational involvement which facilitate lifelonglearning and to include technology-based practicesin the curriculum (Renner, 1995). On-line deliveryis seen as one solution to these demands and as aresult has been embraced by universities world-wideas a mode of delivery. The issue for those involvedin professional development and student support ishow to provide appropriate and timely services thatreach the range of students (equity groups,

continuing education, re-trainees, mature age,school leavers, and international students) studyingin significantly different contexts (on campus,distance, overseas, workplace) in a large number ofcourses using on-line technologies.

Over the years there have been different ways ofconceptualizing student learning support inAustralian universities. There have also beendifferences in approaches to supporting studentsstudying in face-to-face contexts and distancemodes. In face-to-face contexts the approachdeveloped out of counselling models with anemphasis on equity and access concerns (George &O’Regan, 1998; Quintrell, 1985). Support wasgenerally delivered to students by specialist stafflocated in separate units. Even though thisapproach was independent of mainstreamteaching, the aim was to complement this teaching.Over the last few years there has been a movetowards the integration of support into the subjectsthat are being taught (Hicks & George, 1998;Skillen, Merten, Trivett & Percy, 1998). Learningadvisers and professional development staff workwith teaching staff in a form of professional

Enhancing on-line teaching:

Designing responsive learning

environments

Margaret Hicks, Ian Reid andRigmor George, FlexibleLearning Centre, University of SouthAustralia

ABSTRACTHigher education is undergoing major changes in the development and delivery of courses. These changes arisefrom a range of social, economic and technical factors operating across the higher education sector. The use oftechnology in both teaching and learning is both a response to, and a reason for, these changed practices.Technology provides new ways of catering for the traditional learning needs of students and also enables new formsof support appropriate to technology-based delivery. One of the outcomes of the increased use of technology isthe development of on-line approaches to teaching and learning. This requires a reconceptualization of the roleof support mechanisms for students, which has implications for the professional development of academic staff.This article considers the ways in which the wider trends in education impact upon on-line learning environmentsand the implications of this for professionals involved in the development and delivery of the courses. Particularconsideration will be given to the range of approaches of support in online delivery, which include stand-aloneresources and generic support, parallel or adjunct learning opportunities, and integrated strategies. It examinesthese in relation to the characteristics of pedagogically defensible teaching activity and proposes ways ofconceptualising the work practices of professional staff involved in student support, professional development,discipline-based teaching and resource development.

The International Journal for Academic DevelopmentISSN 1360-144X print/ISSN 1470-1324 online © 2001 Taylor & Francis Ltd

http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals

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development to implement and support change. Indistance education contexts, support has generallybeen considered to have a much widerdevelopmental focus. It has been conceived asintegral to mainstream teaching and theresponsibility of the teaching staff, often inconjunction with instructional designers or coursedevelopers. Learning support in this context isintegrated through the development of materialsand other learning opportunities (Inglis, 1996;Morgan, Dingsdag & Saenger, 1998). With thedevelopment of on-line technologies and theincreasing use of on-line methods in mainstreamteaching, these modes of delivery are converging.As mainstream approaches to teaching andlearning increasingly include on-line forms ofdelivery for all students (Reid, 1999), it is criticalthat support strategies and techniques respond bydeveloping new forms of support consistent withthe opportunities and demands made available bythe technology and within the resource constraintsof the current climate. As a result of these changesit has been necessary to rethink the ways in whicheffective student support can be offered in allmodes of delivery and to identify effective strategiesfor working with teaching staff to effect change(Hicks & George, 1998).

In this article a framework is provided for theconsideration of on-line student support, which isapplicable to all forms of delivery. It identifies anumber of characteristics of on-line learningenvironments that are critical in conceptualizingon-line student support. On the basis of thisdiscussion, it presents a matrix using the notions ofembeddedness and consistency for analyzing on-line student support. Using this matrix, threetypes of student support at the University of SouthAustralia – generic, parallel or adjunct, andintegrated, are discussed.

Characteristics of the on-line learningenvironmentOn-line learning, as with any mode of learning, isjudged on its effectiveness to provide qualitylearning experiences to the target student group(Bates 1997; Kirkwood, 1998). As Renner (1995)points out, the role of technology in learning is toprovide a flexible learning environment whichsupports student learning rather than thetransmission of ideas for passive use in a highlydeterministic educational regime. Although thereare significant issues about the technologies

themselves, particularly in terms of access (Bates,1997), it is this constructivist approach to teachingand learning which is the critical feature of allsuccessful learning environments. Technologythen, of itself is not seen to provide qualitylearning; rather quality depends on the waytechnology is used to provide access to relevantlearning opportunities at the optimum time.

Ramsden (1992) has identified six key principlesby which effectiveness of teaching in highereducation can be judged. These include: interestand explanation, concern and respect for studentsand student learning, appropriate assessment andfeedback, clear goals and intellectual challenge,independence, control and active engagement, andlearning from students.

Based on Ramsden’s research, it can be seen thatteaching is concerned as much with the processinvolved as with the content. That is, teaching is notjust structured around content (for example, logic,sequence of presentation, relationships betweentopics) but also must take into account the personaldimensions students bring to the learningexperience (for example, previous experience inthe topic, gender, culture, age). It is the interactionbetween these two foci that gives rise to appropriateteaching and learning opportunities whichfacilitate students in the construction of their ownunderstandings and conceptualization.

With these understandings in mind, it is clearthat on-line contexts have the potential to providegreater opportunities as well as to make muchgreater demands on students. On-line learningchanges the educational process in fundamentalways, and where issues of distance are involvedthere is an added level of complexity (Bates, 1997).It provides new and possibly better opportunitiesthan face-to-face teaching. The characteristics ofthe on-line learning environment are summarizedin Table 1.

Conceptualizing on-line student support

The characteristics of the on-line learningenvironment and the consequent opportunitiesand demands raise issues about forms of studentsupport and their application within learning. Therole of student support is to assist students tomaximize the opportunities of the environmentthey are learning in. As Alexander (1995, p. 4)points out:

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While we should certainly explore the features of newmedia as part of an on-going process of being aware ofthe capabilities of various media, we should also spendequal amounts of time thinking about what ourstudents need to learn, what we know about helpingthem to learn and then and only then, developstrategies to make it possible for them to learn.

As with all educational design, these pedagogicalissues are deeply embedded in the discourse of thefield of study and also require a range of strategiesthat are appropriate to the political andinstitutional structures. At the University of SouthAustralia, a number of the learning demands havebeen identified at the institutional level and havebeen addressed through University-wide strategiesin computer literacy (McCausland, Wache & Berk,

1999) and graduate qualities (Nunan, 1999). Thegraduate qualities initiative has curriculum designand delivery implications that focus on tailoringstudent learning in particular subjects and coursesin terms of agreed outcomes. The need to linkinstitutional strategy with professional developmentis crucial, particularly in the on-line arena (Reid &Slay, 1999).

Given the current economic climate in highereducation and the need to maintain pedagogicallysound practices, student support has beenreconceptualized at the University of SouthAustralia (Hicks & George, 1998). In particular aprofessional development approach to studentlearning support has been embraced where a rangeof professionals in the University (learning advisers,librarians, professional developers, counsellors)

ENHANCING ON-LINE TEACHING 145

Table 1 Characteristics, learning opportunities and learning demands of on-line delivery

Characteristic of the on-line Learning opportunities Learning demandsenvironment

Computer-mediation Enhanced capacity for using digital Computer literacy skills including some technologies technical capacity

Potential for accessing large Availability of enriched, dynamic Information literacy skills, particularly amounts of dynamic information information evaluation of informationthrough the World Wide Web Development of transferable critical

literacy skills

Use of hypertext and working with Flexibility and freedom of learning Ability to navigate and remain focussed materials in non-linear way paths on task

Access to real-world contexts via ‘Real-world’ learning ‘Netiquette’ and apprenticeship skillsInternet

Capacity to communicate via e-mail Increased quantity and quality of Management of timeand other electronic technologies interactions Comfort with capabilities ofwith lecturers and other students Increased potential for independent technologies

and ‘democratic’ interaction Appropriate personal use of Flexibility in time and place of learning technologiesIncreased personal reflection Group dynamics in democratically Collaborative and group learning based forms of interaction including

dealing with potential for ‘flaming’, harassment and illegal activity

New methods for administration Cost/time effectiveness and flexibility Computer literacyof learning e.g. submitting assignments, getting results

Networking New and wider discourses Identifying appropriate contactsStrategic use of contacts

Internationalizing the curriculum Learning in and for an international Cross-cultural communicationcontext (students, content, processes) Cross/inter-cultural issues such as

religion, globalization and imperialism


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work with the teaching staff to enhance learning forall students. The members of the team worktogether to design and plan the implementation ofa ‘learning environment’ which has the support ofall students as a central feature. It draws on theexperiences of staff to stage and embed thelearning processes and skills often assumed withinthe teaching of the subject. This approach isapplied within face-to face, distance and on-lineteaching contexts. In on-line teaching contexts thedesign and development of on-line supportmechanisms can be understood in terms of twoimportant dimensions: embeddedness andconsistency.

Two external dimensions:Embeddedness and consistencyIn order to conceptualize the interaction of studentsupport with this complex learning environment,we introduce two concepts: embeddedness andconsistency. Both these dimensions are concernedwith links to other on-line materials. Embeddednessis concerned with the electronic links between thesupport materials and the immediate point ofinterest – the subject, or aspect of the subject towhich it relates. Consistency is the extent to whichsupport materials reflect, or are shaped by, thesubject to which they relate.

If embeddedness and consistency are seen as twoaxes of a matrix, it is possible to map any kind ofsupport mechanism in terms of both dimensions(see Figure 1). One end of the ‘embeddedness axis’has generic, stand-alone materials that have noimmediate relationship to the primary delivery of asubject. They may be on a home page or a web pagebelonging to another part of the organization, oreven at another institution. At the other end of theaxis are materials that make an electronic link intothe materials at the point of student need in a waythat is seamless to the student. The ‘consistencyaxis’ ranges from support mechanisms that have norelationship to the process and content of thesubject, to those where the mechanism is integratedinto the primary learning experience, using theterms, concepts and other learning experiences ofthe subject in fundamental ways.

An example of support that is low inembeddedness and low in consistency might be astand-alone website on essay-writing that ismounted independently of the on-line learningthat students undertake. This generic support canbe more embedded by simply placing links to itfrom appropriate places within the learning

resources of a subject, such as in the description ofan essay-writing task. If this resource wascustomized to use the particular essay question as astarting point, or used the particular processes andconventions (e.g. referencing methods, writinggenres, etc.) required in the particular subject,then the support becomes more consistent with thesubject for which it is to be used. Stand-alonecustomized support is also possible. Although itsdistance from the locus of instruction makes itsomewhat problematic, it is certainly possible forlearning support to be constructed, outside thesubject, while still attempting to mirror theparticular learning requirements of the subject.This is an example of support that is highlyconsistent but low in embeddedness.

The matrix in Figure 1 enables the analysis ofsupport mechanisms in order to provide effectivemeans of reaching the maximum number ofstudents with the most appropriate support.Although we would want to contend that learningsupport that is highly embedded and highlyconsistent is most effective, we understand that the realities of working in higher educationcontexts do not always make that achievable. Byproviding resources ranging from support that has high embeddedness and high consistency tothat which has low embeddedness and low

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Embeddedness

High Generic support Customized within a subject support within

subjectFor example, essay For example, essay writing information writing assistance that provided in is specifically related conjunction with to the discourse assessment learning processes of information a particular subject

Stand alone Stand-alone support generic customized support supportFor example; essay For example, essay writing information writing information on a home page that is highly related

to the assignment butis not available to thestudent at the point

Low of need

Low HighConsistency

Figure 1 Embeddedness vs consistency of on-line support


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consistency, it is possible to meet the varying needsof students.

This framework is most useful when workingwith teaching staff in conceptulizing supportprocessess and mechanisms within the curriculum.It provides the opportunity for focused discussionon teaching and learning and the resulting co-development of resources has been the catalystfor the personal reform of teaching.

Approaches to providing studentsupport in an on-line learning environmentOver time, many different approaches andorientations to supporting student learning havebeen developed in universities. They have beeninfluenced by a range of local, national andinternational factors. Seven approaches tosupporting student learning (for on- and off-campus students) at the University of SouthAustralia have been identified and criticallyexamined in relation to their strategic contributionto the university (Hicks & George, 1998). Theseseven approaches have been considered in thecontext of on-line delivery at the University ofSouth Australia and they have beenreconceptualized into three forms of on-linesupport: generic; parallel or adjunct; andintegrated. Unlike other modes of delivery (face-to-face and distance) the degree ofintegration varies more widely due to the potentialof the medium. A summary of these approaches isgiven in Table 4.

The support can take the form of downloadabletext-based documents or interactive on-lineworkshops. Downloadable documents are valuableas references for students wanting informationabout learning requirements. Interactive on-lineworkshops, however, provide a much richerlearning experience where the focus is on theprocesses of learning and the students’ engagementwith this. These workshops are designed toreplicate the cognitive steps involved in theseprocesses and are usually associated with assessmentrequirements because it has long been recognizedthat assessment is a significant motivational factorin engaging students in learning (Ramsden, 1992;Rowntree, 1987; Thorpe, 1998).

Although the on-line learning environmentmakes new demands on learning skills, examples ofon-line support as given in this paper are in termsof the ‘traditional’ learning skills required but

delivered on-line. At the University of SouthAustralia we are about to embark on thedevelopment of support related to the ‘new’ skillsrequired when learning on-line. This will includesuch things as support for participating indiscussion lists and searching the web. Theframework we have used to analyze the on-linesupport currently developed will be used toconceptualize these new learning demands. A similar approach to the way we are working withteaching staff to integrate these processes into thecurriculum will also be used.

Generic resources

The term generic refers to the general applicability of the support resources and is related to the notion of consistency. Resources aredeveloped which are generic to a range of learningstrategies or assessment requirements. These maybe available to students in the following contexts: cross-disciplinary, cross-institutional, cross-facultyand discipline-specific. In Table 2 examples of bothdownloadable text-based documents andinteractive on-line workshops are given.

These materials are not designed specifically toreflect the content and processes of the subject,although they have generic application to subjects.Indeed, they are usually written in ways that givethem appeal across a range of courses and subjects.In terms of the matrix above, the extent ofconsistency with a subject is low. However, it ispossible to embed the resources within a subject atthe point where a student needs to know how toundertake a particular activity such as give apresentation, write a report or give a seminar.While some students can apply the skills/strategiesdeveloped in such resources to a wide range ofsubjects/topics, many students find this transfer ofskills difficult and the level of generality too broad.In terms of professional development, they providelimited opportunities for working with staff.

Parallel and adjunct resources

These on-line programmes are more closely alignedwith the content and process of the subject and areusually developed and delivered in parallel with theprimary delivery of the subject. In terms of thematrix above, these support materials have somedegree of consistency and can be either embeddedor not. Parallel and adjunct programmes can beavailable within traditional programmes or on-linedelivery, and focussed on courses, subjects and



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particular target groups. In Table 3 are examples ofboth downloadable text-based documents andinteractive on-line workshops.

These resources have a range of features ofconsistency or integration. Some of the skills maybe quite generic and others discipline-specific. Thecritical point here is that the basic programme isgeneric with modifications for the subject/course/group targeted. Even though materials of thisnature are more closely related to the context ofthe subject and the needs of the students there isstill some distance between the materials and thecontext. However the on-line learning medium

allows greater flexibility and embeddedness ofthese materials than other mediums of delivery.

Adjunct and parallel programmes are often putin place because of a failure of the primaryteaching. As such they provide excellentopportunities to work with the teaching staff toclarify and define matters for students.Furthermore, they are often the points of entry formuch more comprehensive redevelopment withstaff because they are a bounded opportunity thatcan often have quite dramatic positive effects forboth staff and students.

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Table 2 Generic resources

Form Example Type of resource Website

Cross-disciplinary Learning guides Downloadable http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/learningconnection/learnres/learning/index.htm (Flexible Learning Centre, 2000)

Essay writing On-line workshop http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/essaywriting/ (Kokkinn and O’Regan, 1999)

Transition to On-line workshop http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/transition/ university (Frangiosa, 1999)

Cross-institutional Range of Downloadable http://www.macarthur.uws.edu.au/assa/Unilearning/ resources welcome.html (Unilearning, 1999)

Cross-faculty Health Sciences Downloadable http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/learningconnection/learnres/researchwrite/welcome.htm (McLean, 1998)

Discipline-specific Practical Downloadable http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/learningconnection/ reports learnres/learng/word/!9pracrv.doc (FLC, 2000)

Table 3 Parallel and adjunct resources

Form Example Type of resource Website

Courses Research skills Downloadable http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/learningconnection/learnres/researchwrite/welcome.htm (McLean, 1998)

Subjects Reflective On-line workshop http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/12152a/ (Kokkinn, 1999).journal summary

Oral history On-line workshop http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/oralhistory/ (O’Regan, 1999)

Engineering On-line workshop http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/10769/ (Berk, 1999)management case study

On-line nursing On-line workshop http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/12152/info.htm ‘study room’ (Smith, 1999)

Target groups NESB nursing On-line workshop http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/clinical/ (Hussin, 1999)


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Integrated resources

In this approach professional development staffand learning advisers work closely with teachingstaff at the curriculum development level to ensurethat the skills and processes needed by students tosuccessfully complete a subject, or part of a subject,offered on-line are integrated into all facets ofsubject design. The aim here is to make the supportboth embedded and consistent in terms of theabove matrix. The value of this approach is that theresponsibility for the support rests with the faculty-based academic staff member and the aim isto support the staff member to designpedagogically defensible learning experiences. It isa very labour-intensive task initially and requires ahigh degree of maintenance and therefore is bestundertaken where there are large numbers ofstudents who can take advantage of the effortinvolved.

In terms of professional development, this is theideal because it opens up the teaching experiencein ways that are highly contextualized and directlyrelevant. Although this is a high-effort approach,the potential benefits are also high. Table 4 is asummary of the characteristics of the three forms ofon-line support with the advantages anddisadvantages outlined.

ConclusionOn-line learning support provides significantopportunities for all modes of educational delivery.At the University of South Australia, one of thesignificant initiatives in this respect has been thedevelopment of three forms of on-line support forstudents. The development of these forms hastaken into account the need for support to be bothdevelopmental and timely. That is, students need tobe supported in ways that are appropriate to theirstage of development as students, as well as theparticular learning requirements of the assessment.When the learning needs are conceptualized in thisway it is possible to consider any supportmechanism in terms of a matrix of embeddednessand consistency. Support that is both highlyembedded in the primary delivery of the subjectand highly consistent with the content andprocesses of the subject provides quality learningopportunities. Other less embedded or lessconsistent kinds of support can also contributesignificantly to the learning experiences ofstudents, particularly when they are related to theassessment.

A major effect of these approaches is theopportunities they provide to engage in theprofessional development of teaching staff. Rather


Table 4 Summary of approaches to student learning support in an on-line learning environment

Approaches Characteristics Advantages Disadvantages

Generic Stand-alone cross Can be used by students from a Not consistent with content and and inter-institutional range of universities processes of subjectapplicability Can be applied on a more Often too general without specific

institutional wide basis detail requiredCan be embedded at point of need Little possibility for professional Little maintenance development

Parallel/adjunct Closely aligned with Specifically focuses on particular Only useful if task is genericthe subject/course groups of students, subjects May be misleading if terms and ideas Developed in parallel and/or courses used in highly specific ways

Can be embedded at point of need Some maintenance requiredSaves effort on the part of the academic

Integrated Close collaboration Fully contextualized Relies on collaboration between between teaching Seamless for student teaching staff and support staffstaff and support staff Staff member engages in Labour intensiveTotally seamless with developmental processes, Significant maintenance requiredsubject providing significant learning

opportunities


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than being abstract activities, they are grounded inthe specific teaching and learning experiences inwhich staff and students are engaged withimmediate and demonstrable benefits for both thestaff member and the students. Because the resultsalso include the development of new learningmaterials, these benefits are both enduring andsharable between staff thus further increasing theireffectiveness.

At the University of South Australia, three formsof student learning support – generic, parallel oradjunct and integrated – have been developed. Thisarticle has analyzed these forms of support in termsof their embeddedness and consistency and hasprovided examples of the different forms from bothwithin the University of South Australia and in thewider university context. It concludes that the mostuseful and pragmatic approach is to provide asmorgasbord of options so that both students andacademic staff are able to access the supportavailable to improve student learning.

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Reid, I. C., & Slay, J. (1999, June). The virtualuniversity: Strategic implementation and academicstaff development. Paper presented to the 19thWorld Conference on Open Learning and DistanceEducation, The New Educational Frontier:Teaching and Learning in a Networked World,Vienna.

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Skillen, J., Merten, M., Trivett, N., & Percy, A. (1998).The IDEALL approach to learning development: A modelfor fostering improved literacy and learning outcomes forstudents. AARE conference, University of Adelaide.

Smith, C. (1999). Concepts of professional nursinginquiry. On-line Nursing Subject,Flexible LearningCentre, University of South. Australia. On-line:http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/12152/info.htm

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The AuthorsMargaret Hicks is Coordinator, Teaching andLearning Services, at the Flexible Learning Centreat the University of South Australia and isresponsible for staff in the areas of professionaldevelopment and learning support.

Ian Reid is Senior Lecturer and Coordinator, On-line Services, at the Flexible Learning Centre atthe University of South Australia. He manages theon-line delivery platform of the University,UniSAnet.

Rigmor George is Coordinator, AcademicDevelopment, at the Flexible Learning Centre ofthe University of South Australia. This involvesshaping the direction of both student support staffand academic professional development to achievestrategic objectives of the University.

Address:University of South Australia, Learning Connection– Flexible Learning Centre, City East Campus,North Terrace. Adelaide, South Australia, 5000.Tel: +61 8 8302 2134; Fax: +61 8 8302 2363E-mail: [email protected]



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