Hi Dahlia, I think the key is to set specific expectations, so there is no misunderstanding of what learners can expect from you and the course. Tina
I have had a hard time with this. Many on-line students expect to be hand-fed and not do work on their own.
The school that I currently teach for online has set clear rules/expectations regarding online participation, so I do not have to come up with my own. I do go over that expectation the first day of class though.
As far as my how I (the instructor) will engage the students, again there is a policy that all student questions will be addressed within 48 hours; although I do my best to check my email and the discussion board for questions multiple times a day if I am off and at minimum in the morning and evening when I am working. I also make it clear to the students when I will be less available. For example this past class I had company coming to the house for a few days. I told the students 2 weeks in advance (and reminded them several times) that I would be less available for questions, so they should look over the rubric for that week early to make sure they didn't have any questions that needed to be answered at the last minute.
Hi Kim, other than providing expectations for grading, do you include expectations for participating in the course for students and the expectations for how the instructor will engage in the course? Tina
I agree that students (and instructors) may become frustrated when their expectations are not being met. I provide detailed grading rubrics for every assignment and I still find that I have a few students who end up not understanding them (or even looking at them) and therefore get frustrated with their grade and on the flip side I become frustrated because they didn’t take the time to look at what I expect.
I think this has to do with how well the student is prepared for the online class and their own self-motivation to master the material. All too often the student is focused on the grade and not on learning the material.
Hi Asmeret, these are all excellent expectations to set. I like the idea of having a live chat to go over the expectations for the course and I think the statement would allow learners to reflect on it throughout the quarter when they have questions. Tina
Hi Tina,
The idea of "faculty expectation statement" sounds great. I use the first live chat (called Orientation & Expectations) for explicitly clarifying expectations both what I expect of my students to achieve their full potentials and what they expect of me in terms of supporting them to be successful in the course. I invest the first live chat to set the tone: as a facilitator for adult learners and self directed students. Perhaps some of the most important expectations include:
- A shared common goal: I let them know that their success is mine and that they can count on my full support
- The course being accelerated, everyone should be “on the same page” and “on track” and the need to keep course schedules, timelines and deadline
- As a learning community, everyone is encouraged and expected to actively participate in discussion forums, chats etc. Each student My belief is that attempting an online course
Then there is the University policies: Academic Honesty expectations including: Originality Verification tool, APA; Re-purposing, plagiarism; Late policy; exceptions to late policy (Discussion forums and Group projects expected to be completed by the deadline; Grade turnaround – within 72 hrs
I also set the ground rules for communication, interaction and participation as a learning cohort:
- Discussion forum How/when/how often and to respond in discussion forums and the deadlines
- Individual Project assignments: File naming expectations with student name and task title
- How to submit and late individual projects assignments and how to route a notification email to let me know for grading purposes
- Ground rules for interactive sessions: Mutual respect and courtesy and applying the rules of netiquette, etc. Activities: Live Chat Schedules, Office Hours, how to reach me; if they email they can expect my reply with 24/48 hours. I let them know that I encourage active participation, interactive learning, asking questions etc.
Essentially, I try to spell out and clarify everything they need to know to succeed in my class and I have been reviewing and updating my handout on expectations based on student questions and feedback. I have a comprehensive resource on expectations. But I like the idea of "faculty expectation statement" and would like to adopt that title.
Hi Kim, I like the idea of beginning with a welcome email to let learners know that you are aware of their presence in the course! Tina
Tina,
I have taught many online courses. I start by sending a welcome email to the students. I try my best to make my expectations clear and concise. My initial announcements cover my expectations regarding attendance, student participation, technical issues (computer related), and late assignments. I also post a weekly grading rubric so students will know how I grade.
To try and be as positive as possible, set your expectaions such as when you will be answering discussion boards or office hours, how ever you are always available by email if any issues.
Hi Glenn, yes, I agree. In the program I manage we use the Elder Paul Model of Critical Thinking to help learners think critically in discussions. Tina
Socratic dialogue is a participative practice in classroom interactive discussion that engages oral discourse. I use Socratic discussion in online as well as on ground class facilitation. The practice of asking students to post a new subject question in all responses in the distance learning environment promotes critical thinking. This motivates and engages the student's action to participate in subject discussion connecting their reality to the subject. Hunt, Touzel, and Wiseman (1999) stated, "It was Piaget's position that intellectual development is directly related to the amount of oral conversation in which learners engage. Not only should students be encouraged to discuss activities, a teacher must also attempt to describe these activities in everyday language" (p. 95). Student interaction with other students and the instructor for clarification of the student's interpretation as developed from student's reality is essential. Purposeful discussion when effectively supported by a planned approach contributes significantly to students achieving objectives. Hunt et al. (1999) posited, "Teachers often select this strategy because it aids in the development of certain positive learner attributes: objectivity, open-mindedness, and flexibility of thinking" (p. 123). Another important consideration that has significant implications for student learning is self-assessment. Engaging students with self-assessment techniques connects the student's reality for outside the school with the classroom action (Angelo & Cross, 1993). Socratic dialogue in the online interaction promotes self-assessment. The instructor's engagement with student's through interaction has significant implications for success in reinforcing student learning skill outcomes.
The Reference
Angelo, T., & Cross, K. P. (1993). Classroom
assessment techniques: A handbook for
college teachers, (2nd ed.). San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass.
Hunt, G. H., Touzel, T. J., & Wiseman, D. (1999).
Effective teaching: Preparation and implementation.
Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas Publisher, Ltd.
Hi Sherrilyn, we keep the syllabus separate from the faculty expectation statement. The purpose of the expectation statement is to make certain that learners understand exactly what is expected of them in the online environment as well as what they can expect from you. Tina
The expectations document should also serve as a course syllabus. The faculty member should provide his/her grading policy and grading scale, extension policy, assignments, due dates and times for assignment.
When dealing with students that are in different timezones, it is important for studnet to be able to know if their deadline is based on east,mountain or west timezones. These are all information that we provide however we do not call this document "expectations". I don't believe that the industry has established a common name for this document. I am going to mention to our director that maybe we should use the term "Expecations" when we do our post instead of the name we are using.
Hi Glenn, I think you make some very important statements about setting expectations. Can you give some examples about how you demonstrate professionalism to students? Tina
Effective ways to reinforce learning goals and outcomes is to apply a strong balanced structured approach focused on student centered learning with a consistent professionalism in maintaining facilitation practices. Establishing formative and summative assessment practices that deliver clear concise well organized feedback to students to learn from. Challenging students to constantly question perceptions developed from the student's experience empowers the student's efficacy to renew perceptions providing opportunity for change. To accomplish this, the course expectations must send a strong signal to motivate the student to modify understanding and behavior for the students benefit. This is best accomplished by demonstration of professionalism through consistency in the manner in which students are provided course content for class engagement.
Hi Srabasti, I have a faculty expectation template with a number of different ideas for what to include in your faculty expectation statement. I am having a problem including an attachment to my reply, so please email me at tina.stavredes@capella.edu and I will send it to you. Tina
Hi Tina,
Thank You for the reply. Could you please give a sample about how to write that expectation. I will be teaching a 5 week course and thus I hope students will not take any vacation.
Sincerely,
Srabasti
Hi Lisa, you will find that learners had a lot of different expectations for the online course environment, so you may want to describe how you will engage with learners, the pace of the course and whether they need to complete units on a weekly basis or if they can do them any time during the course. I also recommend that you include something about plagiarism because it is so prevalent in the online environment. Tina
Hi Srabasti, these are great expectations to set. I recommend that you also discuss policies for learner time away from the course. I have had learners take vacation for two weeks and think they can pick up where they left off!! Tina
