Pedagogy & Theory 

Individualization in Learning 

--Michael Day, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology 

Computers and networks are just tools, like the typewriter and the telephone. But like other tools, they enable some students, and put others at a disadvantage. I like to think of these technologies as just more tools in my toolkit from which I can draw. I will most likely ask all students to try out the technologies, but later in the semester, I will let them decide which tools are best for their projects and their learning styles. Thus, having more tools allows more individualization of class projects. (next entry) 

--Diane C. Boehm, Saginaw Valley State University 

[W]riting development is such a highly individual process. I think the thing I like most is the fact that the use of electronic media is highly motivating for students; it's not the "same old stuff" they've done before. Consequently, they are more open to taking some risks . . . The "Design a Project" assignment . . . was highly individual; [a] non-traditional student who had never used a computer, for instance, did his project on ways to incorporate technology into high school math classes. He learned a lot--so did we . . . The students' background ranged from [this man] to several "techies." Every student was pleased with the learning he/she accomplished, since everyone learned about some aspects of electronic media which were unfamiliar to them. [An] on-line resume/job search got the consensus rating as "Wow! I didn't know about all this. (next entry) 

--George Otte, Baruch College/CUNY 

I have always felt individualization is key, and I have also always felt that I never had the time or enabling context in the conventional classroom. I would say that computers have changed some things slightly, others significantly. 

In regular composition instruction, I have long felt that my commentary on student writing should be primarily formative rather than summative, plugged into the process and not offered as a final/post-facto verdict. I have for some time written letters of sorts on drafts, full of suggestions, and I find that sending such letters via electronic mail seems to have much more of an impact on the final product than when they were on sheets of paper. I'm not sure why, but again I think it has to do with the greater immediacy of computer-mediated communication (and, of course, if students want elaborations or clarifications, it's so much easier to ask for them--and get them answered quickly). 

In terms of basic writing, where (again) most of my energies have been focused of late, I find that what students need from me most is individualized attention, and computer use frees of up much of my class time to use in just this way. To the extent the whole class needs me for something, I can be there as the "ghost in the machine," having set up some conferences or customized an invention program or whatever, and so I can wander about the class, going over individual students' work. I had one of those "aha!" moments near the end of this most recent semester when I had several colleagues visiting my class. I was doing what I normally do--moving through the lab, meeting with students or answering questions--while my students toggled in and out of activities I had set up for them in DIWE and on the web. I honestly hadn't thought about it all that much, but I had visitors, and I saw what I was doing with their eyes: this was teaching? The answer, of course, is yes, but I had slipped into this gradually enough--years ago I met in the lab only every third or fourth class, whereas now I'm there all the time--so that the full effect of the sea change in my teaching sort of snuck up on me. (next entry) 

--Eric Hofmann, The American University 

Because of my status as an adjunct (teaching a course at 8:30 am), I use email to forge what Randy Bass calls a "dialectic relationship," i.e. continuous reflection and feedback that helps students connect their work from class meeting to class meeting. My writing seminar, for example, stresses three activities--close reading, generative writing, and dialogic/collaborative meaning-making--and email helps sustain these activities outside of class by providing students with 'practice' for the intellectual work I want them to do inside the classroom, work that is both personalized and collegial. At the same time, I am modelling the activity for them: by including the student's message in my response and addressing separate sections with breaks in the text, I demonstrate how learning is more like a dialogue than the one-way monologue associated with traditional contexts. Furthermore, when I address some of the specific language they use, I show them how to respond to a text, annotate, critique. The somewhat less formal (conversational) aspect of email also captures the student's stream of consciousness style in print, all the while slowing down the process so they can be reflective as they generate ideas. Before long, I can point out and help them expand their thoughts when they haven't gone far enough; likewise, I can get them thinking about things they'd never considered, therefore beginning the critical thinking process. 

I stress the importance of asking questions to generate ideas, and email is perfect for short exchanges that eventually lead to longer responses from the students. In class, I can allude to some of the ideas students have brought up in email, which not only invites them into the current conversation, but also demonstrates for other students that the conversation (and learning) does not necessarily cease at the end of the seventy-five minutes. Therefore, it's important that I contact each of the students by email early in the semester; essentially, I invite them to talk to me. The choice, ultimately, is theirs, but I do include two mandatory email exchanges on the syllabus. In these, I ask them to reflect on the work they want to do or are doing, e.g. "What structural, syntactic, and stylistic improvements will you focus on in your final paper, and how will these improve your writing?" I never let these activities end with one post, and even those who 'resent' the work I'm asking them to do seem satisfied that I've given them individual attention.