FUTURE OF HIGHER EDUCATION: We continue our series on the rise of online and blended learning and how free online courses are set to transform the higher education sector. Today, Shirley Alexander from UTS looks at the limitations of online learning.
If you have listened to the debate so far about online education, you’d think learning was simply about content. Of course, universities teach the “hard skills” of a particular discipline – what a lawyer knows about law, or an engineer knows about building design.
But the silence on what the transition to online learning will mean for all-important “soft skills” is deafening.
What are soft skills?
Soft skills broadly involve communication, social ability, problem solving and other personal traits.
Increasingly, soft skills are high on employer’s check lists. They want university graduates with expertise in their chosen field, who can also communicate well, manage change and think critically. This world of work expects graduates to solve complex problems, and communicate ideas often in global teams across cultures.
It’s a harsh reality but those who have the technical skill but lack this social intelligence will be left behind.
Discipline-based learning
Graduates can learn a lot through Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and other online learning programs. But ultimately, the development of communication skills and many other soft skills is best achieved face-to-face.
At the moment, most universities aim to do this with a “statement of capabilities” – a list of skills from beginning to advance level that students should have achieved by the end of their degree.
Let’s take the soft skill of spoken communication for example. The University of Technology, Sydney’s Faculty of Law has identified advanced communicators as those who are “highly effective in using the English language to convey legal ideas and views to different audiences and environments”. Those with basic skills are able to report back after a court visit for example, while advanced communicators can effectively advocate within a court room setting.
On the other hand, the Faculty of Engineering and IT aims to graduate students who will be competent at working across disciplines to solve a design problem. In this case, students will need to be able to communicate effectively as a “leader of diverse teams within a multi-level, multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural setting.”
Although students in both disciplines are developing spoken communication skills, they are doing so within the specific professional contexts. What is common to both groups is the way in which they progressively develop these skills. First through modelling and looking to others; then through participation in exercises and receiving feedback; then practice and reflection; and finally, assessment.
Where does online learning fit in?
Using the example above of the Law program, students might be able to use MOOCS or online learning programs to read about communication in Law and even to watch online videos of highly competent lawyers modelling effective advocacy. But MOOCs cannot allow for students to practise these skills themselves and then to receive feedback on their performance.
For most situations, the nuances of communication mean that the practice should be carried out in the most authentic context possible. In the case of Law for example, most universities have a Moot Court to ensure an authentic experience. Students in Engineering and IT faculties increasingly have access to groupwork rooms that are designed to mirror those in contemporary workplaces.
Work arounds
Online courses can only go so far in teaching soft skills to graduates. Students need the opportunity to practise and receive feedback on their performance in an authentic context, by an expert who can provide meaningful feedback.
Some have suggested that online students could submit video performances to groups of online peers who would respond with helpful comments. For this to be effective, peer learners would need to be committed to spending the significant amounts of time necessary to provide such feedback. These peers would also need to have a level of expertise themselves, including the ability to provide useful critique.
Other alternatives might include students seeking this level of feedback from the workplace or other mentors.
The future of online learning and teaching
For these reasons, the future of higher education undoubtedly lies in a hybrid learning experience – blending online and face-to-face learning.
Online would work for some parts of a course. For example, engineering students might access personalised learning material, simulations and activities on engineering mechanics or circuit theory.
But on campus, they would engage in social, active learning activities which promote deeper engagement with that content, at the same time as developing soft skills.
These face-to-face learning activities would challenge their current understanding of the world, help them link new concepts to what they already know, and ultimately develop new understandings.
Students' university experience should play a critical role in the development of these difficult soft skills. Frankly, any university that can be replaced by a MOOC, should be.
The series will conclude next week with a panel discussion in Canberra co-hosted with the Office for Learning and Teaching and involving the Minister for Tertiary Education, Chris Evans.
We’d love you to take part: leave your comments, join the discussion on twitter.com/conversationEDU, facebook.com/conversationEDU.
This is part twelve of our series on the Future of Higher Education. You can read other instalments by clicking the links below:
Part one: Online opportunities: digital innovation or death through regulation?, Jane Den Hollander
Part two: MOOCs and exercise bikes – more in common than you’d think, Phillip Dawson & Robert Nelson
Part three: How Australian universities can play in the MOOCs market, David Sadler
Part four: MOOC and you’re out of a job: uni business models in danger, Mark Gregory
Part five: Radical rethink: how to design university courses in the online, Paul Wappett
Part six: Online education: can we bridge the digital divide?, Tim Pitman
Part seven: Online learning will change universities by degrees, Margaret Gardner
Part eight: The university campus of the future: what will it look like?, David Lamond
Part nine: Deadset? MOOCs and Australian education in a globalised world, Ruth Morgan
Part ten: Research online: why universities need to be knowledge brokers, Justin O'Brien
Part eleven: Online education at the coalface: what academics need to know, Rod Lamberts & Will Grant
Craig Savage
Professor of Theoretical Physics at Australian National University
We shouldn't forget that tertiary students have already endured years of secondary education. Surely that's where generic "soft skills" are being taught?
If not, then perhaps universities should be taking over secondary education?
Shirley Alexander
Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Teaching, Learning & Equity) at University of Technology, Sydney
There does seem to be more of an emphasis on developing some of the more generic soft skills in schools. But I am talking about the development of increasingly sophisticated level of these skills within specific professional contexts.
To give another example, most people would say that medical practitioners and nurses for example, have already learned the soft skill of communication. But research studies from UTS have shown that poor communication at handover time in emergency departments can have fatal consequences. Thus specific programs are being developed around communication with the professional context of an emergency room.
SHirley
Mark Smithers
logged in via Twitter
Hi Shirley,
If universities are to bring students to campus then they have to have an excellent learning experience. The very cool learning spaces that you describe are excellent I'm sure but I suspect they represent a very small proportion of all current on campus student experiences which are, in my experience at multiple universities, mostly not very good. I'm also not sure that students get all of their social, active learning activities on campus. I think they get it both on and, increasingly…
Read moreShirley Alexander
Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Teaching, Learning & Equity) at University of Technology, Sydney
Thanks Mark
you wrote "If universities are to bring students to campus then they have to have an excellent learning experience"
I agree completely with this statement - if we are going to ask students to make the investment of time to come onto campus, then it should be a really high value, high quality experience. That is what my argument here is all about. If however, they can get the same experience online, then let's make that possible for them. I see academics now being asked to give lectures…
Read moreJonathan Marshall
Founder
Mark I think you are on the money.
Like many I used to work in a large office where the guiding principle was such an environment was necessary to be effective and key to the corporate learning culture.
I now run my own business and work from home - I have access to everything at my finger tips and manage a very productive global network effortlessly with not meeting most ever personally.
Everyday I am spending a few hours at a cafe or any other convenient spot to hold meetings/discussions…
Read moreNeo Tesla
logged in via Twitter
"It’s a harsh reality but those who have the technical skill but lack this social intelligence will be left behind." - And how does one go about measuring the so-called "social intelligence"? From my experience, it is a very useful shroud placed to hide the simple old-fashioned like or dislike the employers might have for a particular candidate. Further, the illusive social intelligence can be (and I am afraid, is) used as an underhand way of furthering the old-fashioned prejudice (based on gender, age, race, country of origin, accent, etc.) "No, we are not rejecting you for this role because you are an old woman; we just think that unfortunately you do not quite match the company culture". Don't you just love this corporate BS, assisted with their armies of MBA-borgs?
Joyce Seitzinger
Lecturer in Blended Learning
Hello Shirley and thank you for not being blinded by the MOOCs :-)
You say: "Online would work for some parts of a course. For example, engineering students might access personalised learning material, simulations and activities on engineering mechanics or circuit theory.
But on campus, they would engage in social, active learning activities which promote deeper engagement with that content, at the same time as developing soft skills."
The online examples you give are all to do with information…
Read moreShirley Alexander
Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Teaching, Learning & Equity) at University of Technology, Sydney
Thanks for these comments Joyce.
If I did come across as talking about xMOOC style, then that was accidental. I'm a cMOOC enthusiast. Although I think I did mention online simulations and other more generative environments ....
I think we need to focus on what students experience in their courses - and then on the optimal ways of designing learning experiences - and integrating the best of online and face-to-face.
I also agree with you on the value of backchannels. I've been to a lot of conferences in my career, but the one I got the most out of was the Learning Analytics Conference in Vancouver earlier this year (http://lak12.sites.olt.ubc.ca/). Not only was there a very active twitter stream, but people were collaborating in Google Docs to produce shared notes of the talks, others wrote blogs, whilst others compiled a list of URLs mentioned in Diigo. A terrific groupwork experience, even though we weren't "working in groups".
Joyce Seitzinger
Lecturer in Blended Learning
Then we are indeed on the same page :-)
I suppose my comment and concern is really to do with the idea that we are charging someone who has not experienced the rich interactions possible in a true hybrid environment (one example of which you describe here, with people contributing across multiple platforms in personalised but collaborative ways), someone who isn't yet a digital resident, to design a learning experience for that augmented reality environment. That is a big ask.
Jim McLeod
Geo Scientist
I think you are too focused on MOOCs. Surely these are the online equivalent to the lecture hall. For the smaller groups that you appear to be introducing there are other online tools far more suitable.
What I have found is that many people are still learning how to interact effectively in online groups, especially in project type work. Because at university / tech college when working in small groups they get together around a table or in a lab not in an "online" shared workspace.
Tim O'Hare
Science Student, University of Melbourne
Online learning does have a place in education however should not replace campus based classes completely. My peers and I would generally all agree that the classes we gain the most out of are tutorials and practicals. They give the opportunity to ask questions, meet peers in person,work in groups and share ideas all in an environment that will improve 'soft skills'. They also allow for face-to-face conversations between people from different backgrounds on topics that may not even be related to the course, with all the intricacies of body language and human expression. All of this contributes to a learning experience that is more rewarding and engaging than a purely online course can offer.
I am disappointed when I see that increasingly subjects are replacing tutorials with online activities. The online work is helpful however should be in addition to tutorials for the reasons mentioned above.
Chris Booker
Research scientist
Yes, the voice of a current student! I think you've been missing in this debate. I would also add that one of the things I could single out as useful in my undergraduate courses was presentations - given public speaking is such as integral part of a science career. While the article mentions recording a video presentation, there's nothing like getting up in person. Experience is critical in that regard.
Shirley Alexander
Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Teaching, Learning & Equity) at University of Technology, Sydney
Good to hear your perspective Tim, and from my discussions with students at UTS, there is strong support from many students for retaining a significant f2f component as you describe.
I recently held a student forum here to talk about future learning scenarios - I put forward 4 possibilities for discussion:
1 - "Business as usual" - much of what we do now, but with increased use of technology
2 - "Flipped Learning"
3 - Individualised and personalised learning
4 - Hybrid (MOOCs, OERu etc) then credential from a university
About 70% of the students wanted 1.
Jim McLeod
Geo Scientist
How about the voice of a potential employer.
I am seeking smart graduates who already know how to engage effectively and efficiently online to participate in cutting edge environmental management. Employees that aren't still fumbling with the technology, but can get on with the discussion and deliver the robustly argued critique or dissertation on the topic of interest.
Shirley Alexander
Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Teaching, Learning & Equity) at University of Technology, Sydney
Yes Jim - interesting challenge for educators to prepare students to be effective communicators in both an online environment and f2f! My experience is that most are strong in one or the other, but we need both!
Jonathan Marshall
Founder
Firstly one could argue that the current model for developing soft skills is broken as one of the primary complaints of employers of recent graduates is their lack of soft skills.
Secondly soft skills are being redefined rapidly by our interaction with each other in a virtual world.
It is interacting virtually that will define the new soft skills requirements - ones many of my generation do not possess.
Millennial's though who are growing up in a virtual world will have these skills - or will learn them from environments designed to teach them such as good video games (serious games). This is their reality - they know no other world - our world.
It is not unreasonable that soft skills 2.0 will be very different to how they are defined today.
Benjamin Johnston
Researcher
Hi Shirley,
Thanks for the interesting article.
My understanding is that you're suggesting that the role of universities for undergraduate students should be as a place for learning "situated social social skills". If this is the case, then should we be dramatically rethinking the course structure to deliver those outcomes more efficiently?
For example, perhaps an IT degree should involve nothing but team projects, role playing, start-ups, simulations with actors (e.g., playing difficult clients), mentoring and work-placements. Students would be assessed only on social factors: teamwork, professionalism, empathy, salesmanship, entrepreneurialism and ability to 'get things done'. The teaching of technical skills delegated entirely to MOOCs and video lectures (e.g., no subject on "computer programming" taught at UTS but a passing grade in a programming MOOC is a prerequisite to "Team Project" or "Start-Up" and a requirement for graduation).
-Ben
Shirley Alexander
Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Teaching, Learning & Equity) at University of Technology, Sydney
Couldn't have said it better myself :)
Benjamin Johnston
Researcher
How and when do you think this will change academic recruiting?
If technical content is taught through MOOCs run by international experts, then I would think that the ideal IT teaching faculty in a local university would be comprised of professionally trained actors, counselors and experts on organizational behavior (with maybe just a tiny handful of 'technical experts').