Abstract
This paper provides some insight into students' performance and perceptions within the context of an introductory psychology course in which Web-based materials and activities were used to enhance teaching effectiveness and learning outcomes. The paper begins with an overview of the development and implementation of this French-language WebCT course. The rationale behind the adoption of WebCT and the use of a number of its tools are also discussed. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of this pedagogical approach, we collected quantitative and qualitative information on student performance and perceptions from a number of sources throughout the term. The data highlight some of the strengths and weaknesses of this particular use of online teaching and learning support.
Highlights
A long-established approach to teaching large, first-year university-level introductory courses has been to adopt a lecture-based teaching or didactic strategy, that is, formal presentations or lectures by the instructor with the support of overhead, slide, film, or audio materials
Our decision to introduce Web-based teaching and learning support was based, in part, on a summary review of what has been said over the past decade or so with respect to some of the pedagogical merits and flaws of online teaching and learning environments
Jonassen (1990, 1994, 1996), Schank (1993), and Yaverbaum, Kulkarni and Wood (1997) are just a few of the many learning theorists who believe that learners should be "doing something, not just watching something" - and that this doing could occur through online learning environments that promote the intellectual capacities of learners
Summary
A long-established approach to teaching large, first-year university-level introductory courses has been to adopt a lecture-based teaching or didactic strategy, that is, formal presentations or lectures by the instructor with the support of overhead, slide, film, or audio materials. With the advent of technology-enhanced teaching and learning environments such as Web-based educational resources and activities, multimedia CD-ROMs, and so-called smart or multimedia classrooms, to name but a few, instructors have access to an even broader range of teaching tools. When they are used appropriately, these tools can enhance teaching and learning effectiveness, create a more interactive teaching and learning environment, and promote the use of higher-Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology. Computer-supported tasks such as the retrieval and reorganization of information from the World Wide Web (WWW) may require a reconceptualization of existing semantic networks, a process of active learning
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