The fourth and final topic for the ONL course was on online and blended learning. The PBL group read and discussed papers on the Community of Inquiry by Mart Cleveland-Innes, as well as the Five Stage Model by Gilly Salmon. The latter model provides a framework for online learning. We collectively agreed that the Five Stage Model by Gilly Salmon was more relevant to the courses we taught and we proceeded to concentrate on this concept. We went on to characterise the ONL course to the five stages of Salmon’s model. As a group, we then decided that one of the asynchronous exercise was to reflect how we can adopt and incorporate the Five Stage Model into our online courses. This prompted me to assess comparatively, the LSM1301 General Biology which I was teaching (online for the first time due to CoViD-19) to the Five Stage Model.
The first stage of the Five Stage Model is ‘Access and Motivation’. By far, this stage was the one which I found to be most important. This stage is not as necessary in a physical class, and hence I had never carried it out. However, I see it as crucial for online classes. This stage sets the tone and motivation for the rest of the course but can comprise of an activity as simple as an introductory email with invitations for responses. This is definitely one aspect which I will incorporate in the coming semesters when carrying out online courses.
The second stage of the Five Stage Model is ‘Online Socialisation’. This stage was also a revelation to me. Instead of expecting the students to immediately participate in class and be comfortable with their peers, it is important that a space is created with learning in mind. To achieve this, participants (in this instance students) must feel connected and willing to interact. This can be carried out by setting aside one session to introduce students to each other and for informal interactions. I see this as an ice-breaker activity that is important to ensure that students are comfortable in this online space. I now realise that the fact that I did not take into account this aspect was one contributing reason why the class participation of the LSM1301 course was lower than when the course was held face to face.
The third stage of the Five Stage Model is ‘Information Exchange’. This stage is inherent in many teaching modes in which information is disseminated or shared to the students. I believe this stage is already present in the online course LSM1301.
The fourth stage of the Five Stage Model is ‘Knowledge Construction’. This stage represents one in which the students build on their knowledge for the topics on hand. This stage is also already present in the online course that I teach in the form of assignments and assessments.
The final stage of the Five Stage Model is ‘Development’. This aspect of the model is already present in the online LSM1301 course. I ensure that assignments are formative (rather than summative) so that students are able to build on their knowledge, and share these thoughts with others. I will also incorporate group presentations in the future to further enhance my teaching with respect to the model.
