The Importance of Having Student Moderators in the Online Classroom
I once taught a Literature class where I let students be the moderators for each week. In the beginning, I had trouble convincing students to volunteer to be student moderators. Just like with student groups, nobody wanted to be the first 'guinea pig'.
As a result, I assigned different students and different student groups based on alphabetical order to moderate the forums each week.
After the first couple of weeks, students began to enjoy the experience of having fellow students moderate the forums. The student moderator would place the announcements in the forums, place topics for students to follow and then was responsible for answering all the students in the threads for that week.
Once students got used to the process, the hard work for me was over. I just sat back and watched my students enjoy each other's company and teach themselves the course materials. It was truly more relaxing for me because the pressure was off me to create lectures each week.
Instead, I guided the students, make sure the student moderators and other students stayed on topic, I presented some valuable tidbits on the topic, but I did not have to be the major presenter.
In the student evaluations, students wished more of their classes had the student moderator experience. Scott Warnock in his book, Writing Together, says that student moderator activity is a great collaborative teaching experience for online students.
Only a few students complained and preferred that the teacher also participated because they felt that too much student moderator activity meant the teacher was just being lazy and not doing their job. But overall majority of students loved the experience of being student moderator and being taught by a student moderator.
Yvonne's Tips For Teacher Blog
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Post 510: Can AI replace a human tutor? Do Tutoring companies feel threatened by the rise of AI?
Can AI Replace Writing Tutors? AI can serve as a valuable tool in the field of education, offering personalized learning experiences, adap...
-
Title: The Dynamic Duo: Unveiling the Connection Between Motivation and Learning In the pursuit of personal and professional growth, motiv...
-
How AI Helps ESL Students With Their Writing ChatGPT can significantly benefit ESL students by providing assistance in various aspects of...
-
The Role of Gratitude in Education Title: The Transformative Power of Gratitude in Education Introduction Education is a journey that exten...
No comments:
Post a Comment