An Analysis and Evaluation of Online Instructional Activities

A key factor in successful teacher education is designing activities that promote attainment of instructional objectives. However, in online teacher education there is little evidence regarding the types of activities that can be used to achieve specific objectives and variation from class to class while providing effective instruction. This study examined 6 online activities focused on the types of objectives instructors o set in teacher education coursework. The activities were evaluated in an online graduate methods course. Data were gathered from the teachers' (a) performance on each activity, (b) rating of questionnaire items, and (c) responses to open-ended survey questions. Findings suggested that the success of t5e 6-activities varied. Many teachers gave positive ratings to the activities related to facilitating learning of course concepts and promoting, interaction among classmates. Several implications for designing online instructional activities are presente, O nline instruction can provide effective strategie for ffering courses and field experiences in special education teacher preparation programs. Evidence shows that such approaches can serve to supplement on-campus teaching activities and to replace conventional coursework and practicum supervision for students at distance education sites (Collins, Schuster, Ludlow, & Duff, 2002; Knapczyk, Hew, Frey, & Wall-Marencik, 2005; Sun, Bender, & Fore, 2003). Under circumstances such as these, online instruction can give prospective teachers broad-based, comprehensive, and high quality learning experiences. For example, Caywood and Duckett (2003) reported no significant differences in student learning between an online and an on-campus course on behavior management. Beattie, Spooner, Jordan, Algozzine and Spooner Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Dennis R. Knapczyk, Special Education Programs, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Education 3238, 201 Rose Avenue, Bloomington, Indiana, 47405. E-mail: Knapczyk@ indiana.edu (2002) reported similar findings in comparing course evaluations from an online and an oncampus methods course on learning disabilities. Knapczyk, Frey, and Wall-Marencik (2005) surveyed in-service teachers completing an online course on behavior disorders and reported ratings of this experience as equal or superior to conventional coursework in such areas as engagement in course activities, interaction with classmates, instructor feedback and overall quality of learning. However, an important caution consistently expressed in the literature is that online teaching will not be successful if instructors use the same approaches as in a conventional course (Beattie et al., 2002). Young (1999), for example, reported that when online courses are taught using a conventional model of face-toface instruction, problems such as high rates of student dropout, learner dissatisfaction, and low motivation result. This is because conventional teaching methods such as lectures, class discussions, reviews of handouts, and presentations using PowerPoint slides are based on an