Name: Norm Friesen
Chronological Overview of Teaching Activities
Approaches to Course Development and Teaching
Introduction/Intermediate German Language (Johns Hopkins University, 1989-1990)
The development and delivery of this course occurred in the context of the MA/PhD program of the German Department at the Johns Hopkins University. Each graduate student in the program was required to teach one undergraduate German course each semester, progressing from a first year introductory language course through to courses focusing exclusively on German literature. I participated in this teaching as a member of a cohort of seven to eight graduate students over three semesters. Together with the others in this cohort, I developed curriculum, exercises, and tests, and examined and discussed various language teaching methodologies and strategies. This work took place as a part of a graduate course in "Teaching College German," led by Alan Weirick.
As my first exposure to university instruction, this teaching experience presented me with a rather steep learning curve. In the course of my three semesters of teaching, the activity of teaching German to undergraduates changed in my own experience from an obligation and a duty to the most enjoyable of my activities as a graduate student.
Instructional Assistant, Winnipeg School Division, No. 1 (1991 - 1994)
In my own mind, the factor that led to this change in feeling is the development of an ethos, attitude or perhaps what might be called a particular teaching "persona" over the course of three semesters. This teaching "modality" has subsequently been reinforced in my work as a teaching assistant in K-12 settings, and in the training and teaching activities which I have since led and developed. As an instructional assistant, I worked in inner-city schools in Winnipeg, often with aboriginal, ESL and other groups with specialized curricula and learning needs. My responsibilities included collaboration and planning with teachers, and setting up individualized instruction for students and general classroom supervision. The mode of teaching I was able to utilize at this time first involved an attitude of identification with students and with their problems and challenges. In my very first teaching experinces, it seems that I understood my students as presenting a potential challenge to my position and knowledge as a teacher. It seems likely that this attitude was a response to my own self-doubts and insecurities as a teacher. However, I gradually discovered that my students were similarly struggling with their own expectations about themselves. I also realized that what they expected from me was not perfection, but rather, my help, attention and care. So what gradually replaced my "us against them" approach was an understanding that "we're all in this together." Whether teaching German language, computer literacy, or phenomenological writing, it is always a challenge for both student and teacher to make the best use of the limited time that is available, and to take an approach to the subject matter that is most appropriate for the occasion. It is therefore my feeling that it is important to try to make the best of the occasion, and to attempt to make it as enjoyable and productive as possible for all involved.
In my experiences as a teaching assistant in high school and other K-12 settings, and also in university, these same general principles have proved to be useful: For example, an emphasis on enjoyment and especially on humor helped to diffuse many a situation that could have otherwise persisted or even escalated in high school settings. And emphasizing the importance of external rules and conditions in these same contexts prevented many tense situations from being contests simply about individual power or personality.
Professional Development courses developed and taught for University of Alberta Faculty and Client Institutions (1997-2001)
I taught many of these sessions (and developed the associated Web-based materials) through the Academic Technologies for Learning unit. I also developed and delivered a smaller number of sessions in conjunction with the U of A's University Teaching Services. One of the challenges that this teaching work presented was the simplification and condensation of complex technical issues and topics that often required considerable background knowledge of Internet protocols and architectures. Another was the need to determine the level of knowledge and specific interests of my audience. I would frequently begin a professional development session by polling my audience to discover their background knowledge, as well as particular applications that they might have in mind for the technology in question. With this information, I would try to tailor both the complexity of my language as well as the subject matter that I would cover in the presentation. Where possible, I also tried to show sensitivity and interest towards the areas of specialization of the audience members, realizing that the subject matter being taught often determines the way that technology can be most appropriately applied.
Phenomenological Research, University of Alberta (1999-2000)
An online version of this course was led by Max van Manen a in the fall of 1999 and the winter of 2000. My role was to set up discussion forums on the "WebBoard" system and to suggest strategies for their use. I also worked with Dr. van Manen to integrate online discussions with Web-based readings, exercises and other resources that I had developed earlier with Dr. van Manen as a part of the "phenomenologyonline.com" Website. The statement from Carina Henriksson included with this dossier describes some of the strategies I recommended and implemented to accommodate students' needs in the discussion forum. The development of these strategies was informed by the explicit recognition that the student's focus and area of expertise was to be phenomenological writing and qualitative research, and not the use of Web-based interactive tools. Indeed, this reflects an important, guiding principle in my professional development and training work during this time: That technology has to present a clear, comparative advantage for use, and that otherwise it is of little value or interest for busy faculty and pressured students. This is something that I am still very aware of whenever I am asked to discuss my more recent work in learning objects and e-learning standards with practitioners: I always describe these in terms of "teaching resources" and easily accessible "online collections," rather than expecting those involved in teaching to be interested in "repositories" "interoperability" or "metadata" for their own sake.
Courses Taught in the Master's of Distance Education Program, Athabasca University (2003-2004)
Because this course is delivered entirely online, and involves students of diverse backgrounds and interests, teaching it has led me to emphasize and develop new aspects and techniques of my teaching practice. Most important of these is the need to be attentive, responsive, and metaphorically "present" to students in an exclusively online setting. In a context where such "presence" is signaled only via email messages and Web-based conferencing, prompt but carefully worded text messages are indispensable. I have discovered that this is one of the best ways for me as an instructor to cultivate an online "atmosphere" that is positive and supportive. A further consideration that is perhaps more mundane --but no less important-- is the need for clarity and specificity that an online context requires of both teachers and students. Changes in assignment details, ad hoc explanations in response to student questions, and spontaneous modifications of approach or emphasis --all of these things are rendered impossible or (at least) very difficult in an online context. Consequently, clearly stating expectations, anticipating and addressing questions in advance, and other similar techniques have become an important part of my repertoire as an online teacher.
Supervision of Doctoral Research Assistants, School of Communication, Simon Fraser University (2004-)
Since the fall of 2004, I have been collaborating with and advising students in the context of a research project funded by the Canadian federal government. This three-year project is sponsored through a SSHRC Standard Research Grant for which I am principal investigator. Entitled "Learning Spaces" (learningspaces.org), this project involves research into the experience of mediated and simulated online environments. I have been working intensively with three graduate students in undertaking this research, and have been helping them develop papers and presentations to disseminate the research findings. Because these students are both self-directed and advanced in their studies, I have modeled my relationship with them after my collaborative relationships with colleagues and peers. Where coordination and management of their activities is necessary, I have relied on my experience in managing programmers and editors in the context of other, recent project work. In all of this activity, I have endeavoured to cultivate a supportive "team" culture, rather than emphasizing individual performance and hierarchical structure.
Design and Delivery of FIS 1311, Information Technology Applications, University of Toronto (2005)
Starting in the Summer of 2005, I had the opportunity to re-design and then deliver a course in the Master's degree program at the Faculty of Information Studies at the University of Toronto. This course was planned and delivered using a "hybrid" distance and classroom-based approach: I taught less than half of the classes face-to-face, with the majority of the class activities and discussions occuring online. FIS1311 had been previously identified as a "problem course" among the required offerings in the Master's of Library Studies program, heightening an aversion to technology among those students already self-identifying as "technophobic." Drawing on my practical and theoretical expertise with information technologies and online teaching techniques, I made every effort to counteract this. Through the use of popular Internet applications, I have consciously cultivated an appreciation of these technologies as both accessible and relevant to the non-expert user. I also created online interactive exercises (see, for example, RSS and SQL activities) both to familiarize students with more advanced applications, and to strengthen positive perceptions of their own self-efficacy. This approach appears to have been successful, as the Faculty of Information Studies has recently requested to re-use my design and materials (all available at: http://learningspaces.org/1311/) in future offerings of the course.
Short Courses for Undergraduates in Erziehungswissenschaft Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck. (2006)
These courses are currently at the earliest stages of development. More information about these courses will be posted at learningspaces.org/ewa and learningspaces.org/canclc.
Teaching-Related Publications & Interviews
Supporting Materials (PDF documents)