PALEONTOLOGY AT A DISTANCE - CHALLENGES OF TEACHING PALEONTOLOGY ONLINE

Paleontology is offered in the Department of Geosciences at Mississippi State University (MSU) through both on-campus and distance-learning courses, designed specifically for educators. Challenges in teaching paleontology include students' limited understanding of time and space, lack of training in the classics, and difficulty in making connections among organisms. Are these challenges different between traditional classroom and distance learning environments? Our experience with distance learning at MSU shows that similar challenges exist in teaching paleontology in both settings.

The format for the distance-learning courses includes 12 hours of videotaped lectures, bulletin board discussions, laboratory exercises, and online assessments. Analyses of four years worth of bulletin board postings for Historical Geology taught via distance learning at MSU show that concepts that are difficult to grasp in traditional classrooms are as difficult for some online students. The main obstacles in geoscience distance learning, lack of specimens available to the students and the absence of face-to-face contact, compound these conceptual teaching challenges.

Despite the challenges there are several advantages to teaching paleontology through distance learning. Recorded discussions of key principles and concepts are possible through the use of bulletin boards. Online delivery can make use of the wide variety of multimedia resources that are available through sources such as museums, universities, and educational consortia. Students in the TIG program, who are mainly educators, also have the opportunity to exchange teaching methods in paleontology.

As we develop a new paleontology course, we are addressing the problems teaching paleontology online. To overcome the specimen problem, we will incorporate more photographs of specimens, use museum websites and databases, and utilize 3-D models. Instructors will initiate dialog on controversial issues and hold students accountable for participation, encouraging student/instructor interactions. Finally, a move from standardized testing towards authentic assessment may provide our educators with useful products.