Running head: ONLINE DISCUSSIONS IMPROVE CRITICAL PEDAGOGY 1

Online Discussions Improve Critical Pedagogy Acquisition

Michael D. Ballantine

9022040476

ESL/502

May 22, 2011

Julie Adkins
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Online Discussions Improve Critical Pedagogy Acquisition

Proponents of critical pedagogy seek to engage students in learning about social issues with

intent to develop a personal relationship or opinion with social concerns important to the

community. Whereas students are aware of common problems such as global warming,

globalization, or terrorism, they may not have developed a complete understanding of specific

issues. Some would go so far to say that critical pedagogy must remove the shackles of

teacher domination from students (Cho, 2007). Simply participating in passive learning

exercises does not promote a complete understanding of the issue. Constructivism focuses on

developing a broader or deeper exploration of a subject allowing the student to develop his or

her own ideas. Through critical pedagogy and constructivist educational practices, educators

hope students will take a greater interest in social issues and improve higher level cognitive

ability (Cho, 2007).

As part of a typical Liberal Arts college, Griggs University is always striving to provide a

diversified educational experience. In Ovando, Combs, and Collier’s analysis of Cummin’s

writings (2006), the expectation is that critical pedagogy should encompass a broader

understanding of social issues beyond the classical lecture format. To meet these expectations,

it is necessary to engage the students in a free-flow of dialogue where each student has an

opportunity to express his or her ideas and thoughts on social issues. To expand the pedagogy

of each class, as part of the university’s program, students must engage in online activities to

meet accreditation requirements. Unfortunately, there is no curriculum to support these online

activities and each instructor must devise a functional method of learning online. When viewing

the online requirement, an obvious opportunity presented itself to enhance cooperative learning

and enable students to engage in higher order cognitive exercises (Markel, 2001).

When preparing the advanced expository writing class, it was thought that students

would have an opportunity to explore social ideas that they had never discussed. Initially,
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students tasks related to reading a chapter about a social issue and responding online with a

brief summary. In the majority of cases, the students had never considered these topics in the

past because Vietnamese schools avoid any political or controversial issues. Without the ability

to express themselves in either L1 or L2, students predictably parroted whatever Wikipedia

posted on the subject rather than the students’ own cognitive evaluation. To offset this particular

problem, extending the assignment to include responses to each other’s postings created

opportunities for evaluation, cooperative learning, and teamwork. When preparing the course

on Multiculturalism, students must go online for a period of three hours posting an initial

response to an issue and providing at least five responses to their classmates during the three

hours.

Employing online discussion formats promotes cooperative learning among students.

Cooperative learning according to Ovando, et. al. (2006) was common prior to the movement

toward lecture formats. When responding to classmates, a student must consider one student’s

idea in relationship to his or her own ideas promoting higher order cognitive learning (Purdue,

n.d.). By working together online, students assist one another without the pressure of

performing in class or in front of the instructor. The traditional classroom focused on rote-

memorization whereas the university environment depends upon open discussion and

constructivism. When faced with the culture shock of new words, new ideas, and social issues

that have never been discusses, students often disengage from the class discussion

(Shoebottom, 1996).

The university provides access to all students in the program on a web server employing

Moodle software. Students access the website with a password and access individual classes

for class materials, post assignments, and engage in online discussions. Most teachers do not

bother with the system because of the additional work required to follow-up. Teachers are paid

for face time but not online time. Given the weaknesses of L2, many classes reflect passive
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learning activities reflecting the difficulty of eliciting vibrant discussions in L2. Discussion

participation is often spotty and dominated by a few students.

To improve learning, it is essential that students engage in active discussion through

responses. Markel (2001) promotes online discussion as a way to offset classes dominated by

a few students whereas everyone else remains passive. Specifically, Markel (2001) relates

“participation in the virtual conference demands that students become actively engaged with the

course content and through the interaction with their peers, negotiate the meanings of the

content. They construct knowledge through the shared experiences that each participant brings

to the collaborative discussions” (para. 8). With collaborative software like Moodle propagating

throughout higher education, online discussions are more commonplace than in 2006, only five

years ago. Markel (2001) promotes the use of online discussions as a way to include

technology as a cognitive tool and not just a fun toy. According to Markel (2001), one crucial

benefit is that online discussions allow time for reflection, unlike in class discussion in which

students must respond immediately.

Developing higher order cognitive analysis and active participation is desirable in any

class. When including critical pedagogy in a classroom, it is necessary to include multiple forms

of learning particularly cooperative learning. Whereas a teacher provides a platform of learning,

a student values peer opinions more than his or her teacher’s opinion (Markel, 2001;

Véronneau, Vitaro, Brendgen, Dishion, & Tremblay, 2010). Online formats allow students to

express their opinion, gauge their peers’ response, and engage in scaffolding through

cooperative learning (Markel, 2001). English language learning students have enough

roadblocks to success without concern or stress in the classroom.

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Endnote

Some of the literature suggests critical pedagogy as a tool of indoctrination for children

(Cho, 2007). During the advanced expository writing class, students criticized the curriculum as

too socialist and implied the objective of the class was to re-indoctrinate them to social values

that they did not hold. One objective of the course was to build a sense of ethics in business

dealings and a feeling of corporate social responsibility. Instead, students with preconceived

notions rejected many of the new values suggesting that critical pedagogy is more effective with

younger students before they form strong opinions. Time permitting this may make an

interesting action research project.

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References

Cho, S. (2007). Politics of Critical Pedagogy and New Social Movements. Educational

Philosophy & Theory, 42(3), 310-325. doi:10.1111/j.1469-5812.2008.00415.x

Markel, S. L. (2001). Technology and Education Online Discussion Forums: It's in the

Response. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, IV(2). Retrieved from:

http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/summer42/markel42.html

Ovando, C. J., Collier, V. P., & Combs, M. C. (2006).Bilingual & ESL classrooms: Teaching in

multicultural contexts (4th ed). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. ISBN: 0072982365

Purdue. (n.d.). Cognitive Skills Instruction. Retrieved from:

http://education.calumet.purdue.edu/vockell/edPsybook/Edpsy7/edpsy7_instruction.htm

Shoebottom, P. (1996). ESL Students and Culture Shock. Retrieved from the Frankfurt

International School website, http://esl.fis.edu/parents/advice/shock.htm

Véronneau, M., Vitaro, F., Brendgen, M., Dishion, T. J., & Tremblay, R. E. (2010). Transactional

analysis of the reciprocal links between peer experiences and academic achievement

from middle childhood to early adolescence. Developmental Psychology, 46(4), 773-790.

doi:10.1037/a0019816