Building an Online Undergraduate Module from a Graduate Module - A Case Study. Igi Teaching Case Studies. (Electronic book text)

Online teaching has not as yet penetrated too deeply into the undergraduate culture, and most successful programs are targeted towards vocational learning or postgraduate courses. This case study details the experiences of translating a successful online teaching paradigm used in a fully online postgraduate degree to an undergraduate degree program. The main objective of this case study is to determine the appropriateness of using the postgraduate model at undergraduate level by examining the performance of three separate undergraduate groups studying a re-designed online undergraduate subject. As the graduate model is based on a semi-Socratic paradigm of initial discussion questions and follow-on weekly discussions, it was not at all clear that such a paradigm would be applicable at the undergraduate level. Given the limited working experience of undergraduates, a translation of the paradigm could loose its effectuality on the target student population. Yet the changing demographics of students suggests an online subject based on this paradigm may be successful.