试论当前网络教育的教学质量

The Quality of Teaching in e-Schools: A Case Study of China

本文在分析高等教育大众化背景下的教育质量观、教学观的基础上,提出一个网络教育学院从“学与教”的层面上提高质量需关注的四个主要方面:必须正确理解开展网络教育试点工作的出发点;整合和优化教学资源;把握网络教学过程的四个关键环节;培养学生的学习方法与学习能力。

Higher education in China used to cater for the elite few but has now been extended to the masses. During this development, different institutions have offered educational services in different forms and for different levels of learners. Therefore, the objectives of higher education have become more varied, and the question of what constitutes a quality higher education may now lead to a number of answers. Meanwhile, the development of e-schools has laid the foundation of a lifelong learning system and this has posed a number of challenges to existing beliefs and models about teaching activities as well as the curriculum and teaching materials. New understandings of teaching, learning and the curriculum are therefore essential. To this end, e-schools should strive to enhance the quality of e-education, which includes both learning and teaching, in the following four areas. First of all, we should understand the rationale behind pilot projects in the development of e-schools. These projects started in 1999 and are carried out to assess whether universities have the ability to offer e-education on an experimental basis. Thus, it can be said that these pilot projects are visionary but in practice the problems and difficulties that might be encountered are numerous. How to best utilize the strengths of e-education in the development of adult education is of the utmost importance if e-education is to survive and thrive. Second, learning and teaching resources should be integrated in an optimal manner. Collaboration among teachers within the same department should also be promoted so as to enhance the quality of e-education practitioners and to improve the standard of e-learning resources and e-learning process design. Third, the four key components in the teaching process should receive due attention. These components include course induction, learning activities, learning support and evaluation. Last but not least, students need to improve their learning skills as this directly affects what and how much they learn. Some Chinese students are particularly weak in learning strategies and so might not be able to engage in autonomous learning. Distance e-learning institutes should strive to equip students with the skills to become autonomous learners capable of employing a range of learning strategies.