Abstract
This paper examines how teaching within a traditional classroom benefits from insights and
techniques developed through online teaching. A critical assumption underlining the presentation
is that much online instruction will be performed by faculty members who, as part of their
workload, also teach traditional face-to-face classes. It is important for distance learning
advocates to identify and encourage synergistic feedback between teaching online and teaching in
the classroom. Being able to demonstrate how an instructor’s traditional way of teaching may
benefit from online teaching and vice versa helps contribute to the overall improvement of
instruction. Motivation to teach well regardless of format is enhanced if it can be demonstrated
that instructional performance improves by virtue of alternating venues. Additionally, inculcating
a reflective approach to teaching regardless of modality achieves important pedagogical goals for
faculty and students alike. The format follows a journal I kept in my graduate seminar,
“Leadership in Organizations,” during the Spring 2000 semester.
Introduction
In Spring 2000 I taught the graduate seminar “Leadership in Organizations.” It was the sixth or
seventh time I had given this course which I originated several years earlier. It answered a need
for a leadership course on campus and also my own desire to study leadership. With one
exception when I taught the course online last year, I have always taught it face-to-face. The
online version was very satisfactory. There were so many things about that experience which I
enjoyed including the frequency of interaction between students and instructor, its intensity, the
emphasis on writing, the opportunity for reflective observation, and the flexibility in structure
offered through asynchronicity. I began to wonder if and how my teaching in the conventional
classroom would be affected by this online teaching. My journal, kept during the semester
contains reflections on course structure, content and materials, class interaction, assignments and
grading, modes of presentation, quality issues for students and instructor, and satisfaction.
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Journal of “Leadership in Organizations”
19 January 2000
It is the first session of my seminar and I am waiting for the students to arrive. How many will be
on time? I am starting late …very concerned about getting off on a good footing. I did not mail
out the materials to them in advance; I do that with my online course. By way of contrast I will
be reviewing the syllabus at this first class session- a waste of time?
All the disagreeable habits of students- arriving late, eating in class, appearing bored, and
yawning! There are 14 students. I have to keep in mind the immediacy of the classroom. Beware
of gaffes. Beware of appearing impatient and anything resembling condescension. In this face-toface
course I am looking forward to doing all the things I could not accomplish when I last taught
this class online a year ago: showing parts of movies in class, bringing in guest speakers, having
case discussions in real time. I am starting tonight with a video of Martin Luther King’s famous
“I Have a Dream” speech.
24 January 2000
Reflections several days after my first class: It was very exciting. The dynamism of being live
and creating a mood/environment; an exciting climate. Drawing people in…a performance.
Reaching out in real time and getting a response. This could be intimidating for students since
they are very often accustomed to large classes where they can be in a passive mode. Actually
this is one singular feature of my face-to-face course- a very high level of student participation.
An example of one crossover benefit. I will distribute a feedback instrument at the third session
to see how it is going.
Maybe I was a little “over the top” at my first session. Conscious of the fact that I am not
continuously “logging into” my class as I would if it were online. I don’t really have to do
anything until the next session a few days from now. I will work a little bit today and look at the
assignments and maybe refresh myself on the readings and course syllabus. Also check
enrollment and see if anyone has dropped out since I told the students how hard it would be,
especially how much writing would be required. This is another “carryover”- I require more
writing since teaching electronically. Spoke with three students who arrived late (no late
electronically where we log on aysnchronously). Found out that two dropped out and three new
students enrolled for a net gain of one.
26 January 2000
Yesterday was a snow day and we cancelled classes. But tonight we are back in business. There
is still plenty of ice around and by sundown it will be very treacherous. How many students
should I expect? I am guessing that five or six will not make it (a surprise- almost all came).
They will use the weather as an excuse. Maybe that is how I really feel? I personally would not
be so eager if I had to drive at night. So it is my second class and because of the weather we will
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not quite be up to speed. In the electronic course weather is a non-issue.
The first class, although fun, is by nature an introduction. Moreover, it is necessary to dismiss
them early so that they can go to the bookstore and buy books- students expect it. However I
noticed this year that several of my students purchased their books from online bookstores. They
are becoming less dependent on the physicality of the college.
Does a face-to-face class use less of my time? Although I think about my class often, I only
actually do something when I am physically with my students. By way of contrast, if the course is
online, I can contribute to discussions whenever I want. The same for the students. In face-toface
we must “save up” our contributions to the next week.
27 January 2000
The 3rd class was OK. We went the distance, the full 2 ½ hours. Mood is an issue. At one point
things were a little tense. The class worked in groups to discuss the leadership case studies. This
was not as rich as I imagined it would be. Might work better online. Something to try next
semester when I teach this seminar asynchronously again.
31 January 2000
Grading papers. I am also setting up a distribution list (DL) for the students in the class although
not all of them have access to email. I wonder if I make this a condition of the face-to-face class
next time I do it and teach the course as a “hybrid”? How would this work? Unless all have
access to it, I think the DL will be a very limited form of additional feedback between us. But,
who knows?
1 February 2000
Getting some response to my emails…more connections between us. I want to experiment to put
additional technology into the class. Back in the fall semester I met several times with the Center
for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) staff to see what options were open to me.
Tony Scarlatos was very helpful and assigned three undergraduate students to assist me. But I did
not have enough time to do the work required for restructuring my course. Basically I was to set
up a data base of leadership characteristics. And the students in my class would then use this
information to “construct “ on their computers an ideal leader whose behavior could be tested in
a variety of simulated situations. It was a good idea but it would have required me to re-design
the course. I was also using two new texts for the first time and
I guess I could not absorb any
additional innovation this time around. We will still be using the computer lab, but I am not sure
how. Too bad, however.
“Quality” in teaching requires that the instructor stay excited and involved in the material,
continually turning it over in one’s mind, thinking about new relationships, and especially new
ways of bringing it alive. Especially in a subject like leadership, how does one bridge theory and
practice? The research base is colored so much by the subjective values of the scholars. I can see
for myself how the values and prejudices of my students have shaped their concepts of
leadership. Hardly anyone in my courses esteems production in the same way they do quality of
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interaction between leaders and followers. Most of all they prioritize “being nice.” Yes, it is
important to me too. I want to be treated well. But now, I am beginning to see things from the
perspective of senior management. What a joke. A big joke, since for so long I wanted to be
known by the quality of my relationships. Is it because I have become cynical about relationships
at work? After fourteen years of trying to please everyone as Dean and trying to have a strong,
supportive climate at work, what do I have? Do people work as hard and produce as much as
they possibly can? And what about my assumptions underlying “creativity”? Minimizing fear of
failure? I try. Is there enough innovation? Am I deluding myself about my own leadership
abilities? Maybe in teaching this term I will be able to reach a number of important
understandings.
3 February 2000
My Feb. 2 class was good but exhausting! I need to be more disciplined and not go off on too
many tangents. I find that one question leads to another and before I know it I am miles away
from where I started. Perhaps the “linearity” of the session has to be questioned as if that quality
is a virtue. Maybe this is better- to start here and go there. The excitement, and unpredictability.
I tend to think of the lecture as a “set piece” like a chapter in a book. Fifteen lectures all in a row.
And presto, the course is neatly packaged. Also the lecture is designed to be highly distilled and
to encapsulate some difficult and important material. But, I must remember that this seminar is
deliberately designed as a discussion class, not a lecture course. Also, aren’t my online courses
non-linear and instead “elliptical” ?We circle around, teasing at the issue from many different
vantage points. It is not a straight assault on the summit. Rather one must circumnavigate,
switching back and forth before the pinnacle is attained. If you know your material, the “live”
class can be the ultimate test…you can build on your material and create in the same way a
picture is painted. Moving around- the edges, the middle, color here and then there. Not from the
left to the right like a typed page of manuscript. Not from the top to the bottom. Bits and pieces,
phrases and explorations here and there. Eventually it is done. The picture is painted. The class is
over. What is “done”? It is simply a point at which you choose to stop.
It is enjoyable to “go with the flow” and let the dynamic of the course carry you along. The
spontaneity. But there is fatigue when you are done. Isn’t this similar to the concept of flow
introduced by Csikszentmihalyi? It just carries you along and you can do your best work and it is
energizing while in the moment. I have to look at his book again. Shari (my daughter) mentioned
this to me a few weeks ago. The task can’t be too easy or too hard. Just hard enough to provide
an attainable challenge. Enough of a challenge? We want university work to be hard. Rigorous.
Frustrating. If it is easy, we are suspicious. Too much fun and frivolity is to be avoided.
Especially in the classroom and in scholarship. But, what about “play” and creativity? Many
authors cite this connection and it is generally accepted. At the same time there is the aphorism
attributed to Edison about creativity being “1% inspiration and 99% perspiration”? No simple
formula. Creativity is where you find it. That certainly is the context/systems perspective.
I notice in my class that it is very difficult to obtain perspective on my teaching in real time. That
is, to back off, and see myself and thereby evaluate what I am doing. There is no “delay” or
“pause” button to press. Maybe online teaching will appeal to those who want to carefully craft
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their classes and the live classroom for the riskier performer? Then it could be extending the
options for college teaching by expanding the variety of venues. Different strokes for different
folks?
When I anticipate a face-to-face class and I am confident I find the prospect thrilling. What kinds
of connections will I make tonight? If I am filled with doubt, what kinds of mistakes, pratfalls
and embarrassments await me? I remember when I was talking about one of the leadership cases
(“The Case of the Reluctant Leader”) about a controversial AIDS curriculum for children and in
doing so I mentioned the risk to adults. I was embarrassed to have brought this up.
The traditional classroom revolves around the faculty member…no question. But it can be just as
student-centric. Undeniably however, the format favors our control, just as in the electronic
classroom, the numbers favor the students unless I want to stay online all the time and dominate
the electronic conversation. My greater experience in the face-to-face setting makes me feel like
a virtuoso, something I have not yet developed in online teaching. With additional experience it
is reasonable to assume that I will attain mastery in that format too.
11 February 2000
On February 9 I had a gestalt experience in my class when a certain relationship between ideas
became clear to me at once. I know it happens in writing too, but perhaps it is more visceral
when it takes place while talking out loud. But perhaps not. Still, it is great when it takes place. I
experienced great fatigue in my last class after two hours. It made it harder for me to generate
enthusiasm and be responsive to my students. I think I just droned on. Ugh!
15 February 2000
At my talk last night at the Library Directors seminar I used three different kinds of media- chalk
board, overhead projector, and video. I moved back and forth using each. I think this was a
successful session with drama and intensity, also very interactive. In the online environment I am
still very text based. This will change as computers develop with greater capacity. In the
meantime score another one for the live class.
16 February 2000
I was too tired to teach tonight. I think I am doing too much this semester and am paying the
price with exhaustion. Instead of “teaching” I “lectured.” Like G. B. Shaw. Or was it Johnson? I
think he once wrote that he was too tired to write a short letter so he wrote a long one. I was too
tired to talk with them so I talked at them. No community.
How do you measure community? It doesn’t mean just showing up and being prepared to listen,
or speaking when you are called upon. Is it more like belonging to a club where you feel you are
welcomes and belong? Community is voluntary. I can hold myself aloof, apart. Or I can be a part
of it and work to keep it alive. A most elusive quality. Like leadership…we can recognize its
presence or its absence. But oh so hard to fabricate on demand. Transcending the gap between
personal and impersonal is one way. There are tricks in getting people to share, “icebreakers”
they are
called. I remember once a rather long online discussion within AEDNET (Adult
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Education Network, an online listserv) in which people shared their favorite icebreakers. I
printed a few out…but where did I put them? I can go to the listerv and ask someone if they still
have them handy. Neat!
24 February 2000
An observation: Teaching is an example of “thinking through” with others, in public. The best
teaching successfully involves students in this process. Interpersonal skills help students
participate in this manner. The unusual combination of ideas, unplanned and unpredictable, help
students see the fun in learning as well as its excitement. People-to-people exchanges with very
dense data. Very unique and satisfying.
29 March 2000
I’ve missed writing in my journal for almost a month. Experiencing the “middle innings” of my
course, the point when the semester seems to be just dragging on and on. We show up, talk; I
collect their papers and then go home. I told some jokes last night. It is like we are all in a ship’s
cabin making a long voyage together. There is no way out (Sartre’s No Exit ?) We have to make
do with each other. Why must the college term be fifteen weeks? Back in the winter before this
class started I thought about shortening my seminar to nine weeks. But I didn’t do it.
2 May 2000
Tomorrow is my final session of the seminar. It has been a long term. I made all the sessions save
one, when I was in the city and Manny London covered for me. Otherwise I taught them all
myself, no guests. Having guests was one of the things I had wanted to do and missed in my
online classes. Yet, I didn=t follow through when I had the chance this term. Why was that? In
the past I just did it. Why? Maybe I was less organized this term? Maybe I had not given enough
thought to where I could bring someone in? Or maybe it had to do with the quality of the guests
themselves? In the past all were leaders (the university president, the state senator, a university
vice president, etc.) who never took courses in leadership. It seemed like I was holding them up
to be examples. Each time one stated that he or she never studied how to be a leader I felt that it
actually undermined the premise of the course which is that study and reflection-in-action
contribute to improved performance. I’ve got to think more about how to integrate guests for the
future since this was a dimension which students liked. An alternative to my style?
I changed texts. and modified some assignments, and came up with something brand new…the
Leadership Field Project. But I didn=t do much to change the nature of things once we were
under way…and I thought the real time element would enable me to do that. And I didn=t
Conclusions
What then is involved in crossing educational “platforms” ? It appears to be just minor
variations in behavior as I work to reinterpret and reinvent the subject material, trying, above all,
to keep it fresh for my students and myself. Can I list some differences? This term I could hand
out some material from a book. Without a scanner (I don’t have one) I can’t do this in my online
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course. But soon I will. The online course keeps me constantly checking my email. I don’t do this
for my seminar. I just show up. Maybe that is why online students report greater “community”-
they are always interacting with each other, not just once a week. And I notice, if I miss a class, it
is a big blow to my feelings of belonging. It must be true for them too. Actually, in a face-to-face
course meeting once a week, the ties of community are fragile indeed. That is why attendance
and participation must be emphasized. So let’s assume that community is weak in face-to-face
courses. This would be exactly the opposite of what critics of electronic courses allege. They
have not yet experienced the reality of online community. What will they say then?
“Faculty don’t get to know our students in electronic courses “ is another criticism. Of course in
face-to-face courses this is only true for those who teach to very small groups. And let me look
at my own experience this term. Whom do I know in my class of 14? There are some who
participate with enthusiasm, others, I must drag it out of them. It is a potentially coercive
environment and everyone must feel the potential for manipulation and embarrassment.
Overcoming this is neither easy nor trivial matter. It is part of what Parker Palmer addresses in
The Courage to Teach. How do his observations translate into the electronic environment? I
must check this out.
What did being in real time do? It enabled me to come to class with very little preparation and to
give a lecture, or to think out loud. And to command their focus. Have human contact. Bask in
their glory. I don=t think it was pedagogically rich. We think it is better, face to face. Yet,
according to Bill Pelz at Herkimer County Community College, faculty who do distance courses
feel re-invigorated. Perhaps, in face-to-face the truth is that the affect can get in the way. The
emotionality of the classroom can be its biggest strength and greatest weakness. Also, students
expect you to do all the work and resist rigorous and extensive class participation. And it is so
easy to fall into this role and be a “star.’ Also , too many external factors influence grading and
the accurate assessment of their learning. Who looked awake and who didn’t? Who participated
more often? Neat attire. Promptness and punctuality. Submitting assignments on time. The
proper use of English. All of these had a bearing on the final grades. Also my desire to be liked
gets in the way. My enthusiasm often fell victim to how I perceived my own performance more
than anything else. The classroom is vague and ambiguous; isn’t that the truth!
Perhaps next year I will teach a hybrid class that is face-to-face supplemented by an online
dimension and see how it works. Could that be the ideal synthesis? What it boils down to is
keeping young and alive in the class; giving it your best, and to keep experimenting. Maybe the
lesson I learned this term is to make the most of whatever modality is being deployed and to
continuously rethink my approaches to teaching.