A Post-Secondary Teaching Scenario for “Tomorrow

Abstract

This paper will present a scenario for a teaching method that would be appropriate "tomorrow" in any discipline or setting (government, industry, university, etc.) at a post-secondary level. A 1976 publication of five basic "psychological principles" for effective teaching has been chosen to be applied to the web era. The basic questions of "what is education", "where is the classroom", "where are the students", "what do we teach", and "how do we teach" will be briefly probed for their application to this scenario. The resulting scenario involves the concept of a Learning Center staffed by discipline experts who can lead discussions on particular aspects of the course, computer facilities for students to use at their leisure, and areas that allow for group interactions among the students. The scenario also allows for students to completely self-pace themselves using the course web sites and web tests to help them determine their level of competence before each proctored exam.