Summary Week 1

This first week of quarter 2 we have been spending a great deal of time on clarity of language. What does a dependent or independent variable mean in the context of our study? When the faculty say they want each student to become an expert on a variable – what EXACTLY does that mean? Inevitably when instructors give instructions (which we thought were so clear!), we discover that they are murky for people unfamiliar with the topic.

I think this entire issue is one of the major challenges of teaching and conducting research online – you must be willing to acknowledge that your and others’ language may be imprecise; which means negotiating until you both agree on what is needed. I recall one of the interview questions we asked potential students was – if they were given unclear instructions by one or more faculty – how would they handle it? All of the students we selected understood the importance of clarifying, and we have tried to emphasize this throughout our lab – if you do not understand something – ask us again!

Which brings me to an important issue for faculty – you must be open to being questioned by online research students. Yes, you are the “expert”, but you also have to accept that you will have to explain and justify your actions and comments. This can be a big shock to faculty coming from a traditional brick and mortar school – traditionally faculty do not justify. But in the virtual environment you are working with nontraditionally aged students, and they want and need to understand the logic behind procedures and directions.

So my take home message for students: be patient too! Yes, you would like everything to be crystal clear the first time through, and we faculty certainly try, but when we are not: be kind and negotiate the language.

Lee Stadtlander