I believe that a faculty expectations should include general information about the course, the instructor and the class title/topic. After this is presented, specifics should be outlined for the students such as instructor contact numbers and technical support numbers. I also believe that students need to have boundaries to operate in, so a Late Submission Policy statement should be included (with what points are lost for late or no submissions). I use a Welcome Letter that is posted to the announcement sections that contains much of what I described above. This is not all encompassing, but the idea is to give the student general boundaries and important information to operate from in the online environment.
Sandy,
Well stated. This is an excellent template for the general course announcements. Do you have any particular guidelines you find especially helpful?
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Natalie,
This is very thorough and timely. Maintaining consistent and frequent feedback that continuously reinforces the expectations is an excellent procedure.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
The expectations should re-state and explain the academic policies regarding research, citation, academic honesty, deliverables, late policies, etc. Most importantly the expectations should include your willingness and availability to assist them with both the content and platform tools. The expectations should set the tone of the course and include guidelines to assist them in achieving successful outcomes.
I actually do this now as well and a few of the things I highlight are:
I communicate regularly with students throughout the week, so be sure to check your email at least every other day.
This course is not designed with content that will only help you in your workplace or school. I will provide examples to help you see this content is applicable in all aspects of your life.
I am available via email, office hour, and voice mail, so feel free to use me as a resource and not wait until something is due to say "I didn't understand."
Students who do not have a home computer must be able to still access the classroom 4x/week
I spend a lot of time adding comments and feedback to assignments, so look to the drop box once a grade is posted and pull up the edited paper I have sent back to you for details.
I do go into more detail, but wrote these based on my most frequently asked questions, so I provide the answers right up front now.
Mark,
Your comments are very important with regards to the instructor's obligation to the students. As course facilitators, when we model adherence to stated expectations and provide professional responses, it sets a standard for the students to follow that example. Excellent point. Thank you for sharing.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Sharon,
Providing the students with his metacognitive map to evaluate their own work before your evaluation substantiates it, is an excellent higher-level thinking instructional method. Very good. Thank you for sharing.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
I use faculty expectation statements in many of my classrooms and believe all online instructors should do likewise; after all, given how detailed we are in our expectations of students, it only makes sense that we let them know precisely what they can expect from us. At the least, online instructors should address the following in their faculty expectation statements: contact information (how and when students can get in touch with the instructor in the most expeditious fashion), grading schedule (how long after a due date specific assignments will be graded and returned), a description of what types of commentary students should expect to receive on their work, and a statement regarding how often students can expect their instructor to interact with them in the classroom. Instructors should regard the expectations statement as contractual and let students know that they can count on the expectations being met throughout the term.
Mark A. Coppelli
One of the most important elements regarding faculty expectations falls in the area of deliverables and grading rubrics. Nothing fustrates a student more then having to guess at what the faculty is looking for in the homework assignment. I find that even in, what appears to be the clearest instructions there is room for interpretation. After I have taught a course 2-3 times I start hearing the same questions regarding the assignments come up. Consequently I post 'hints and tips' which include the most common questions regarding the assignments. With regard to grading rubrics, I have successfully almost eliminated grade appeals because my grading rubrics are clear and reiterated each week. I will provide the student with not only examples of what is expected for each level of grade but will offer brief examples of unacceptable submissions. Students understand exactly what is expected of A level work and what is expected of C and below level work. Rarely am I questioned about the grades and often hear comments such as "I know that my assignment was not up to the level expected, it was missing.... I plan to improve my future submissions".
Eryn,
You are so very right. Modeling the behavior of being engaged in classroom activities is one of the most powerful instructor behaviors for getting students engaged. Excellent point. Thanks
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Matt,
Yes, the prerequisite knowledge being brought to the class by the students is a very reasonable expectation. This is a very good point. I know many of us in the post secondary environment have multiple examples where this is not the case and the student suffers for it. Excellent addition to this discussion. Thanks.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
I feel the most important element is faculty presence. As we establish requirements for student presence, we must practice what we preach; therefore, faculty presence is imperative.
Hmm, I hope I am not taking this in the wrong direction, but I know I get frustrated as an instructor when the per- knowledge is not there. Either the student has not taken those classes or the classes did not teach the class expectations.
So at a minimum, faculty expectations should be set so that students know the class objectives, and know that they will be presented. And then that the per-requisite knowledge is essential. Yes a review to reenforce the concepts can be made sometimes but current valuable class time should not need to be given for the missed basics.
Then personally, I like to establish the expectation that I am there for them (I am at a for-profit institution) and I know they are paying good money to learn valuable material and I will try my best to ensure that their expectations are met.
-- Matt
Arijana ,
This is an excellent recipe for success. Your approach allowing students to understand their success is a major component of your success let them know you are "on their side." Nicely done.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
I absolutely agree with this statement. It is extremely important to set your expectations and make them clear to your students regardless of the mode of teaching. Also, everything else we do in life will be more successful if we state clear expectations. Now back to the online environment. Since students are very remote and can feel distant from the teacher and the classroom the thing that helps the most is clear expectations by the instructor. I tell my students that their success is my success and their success is my main goal so I very clearly list expectations and go over them several times during the course so they feel like I am not tricking them and that the good grade on their part is my goal. So far worked out OK for the most part. It is also great thing to fall back on if students are questioning anything you are doing so you can point out that it was explained timely to them so they should have been aware of the expectations. Assures success of the students and the instructor, I believe.
Most important elements are:
• Timeliness of Work
• Timeliness of feedback
• Quality of Work
• Deadlines
• Late Policy
• Grading strategy
• Specific format accepted by the system
• Contact information of the teacher
• Office hours
• How to reach for help and when
• How soon to communicate problems
Amy,
Your experience resonates with most instructors, especially online. You are right, students must be engaged in the achievement of their own education. Thank you for your contribution.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
I believe that the most important expectation should be two fold: - The first , is to show up and the second is to participate. That is half the battle in most of the classes I have taught both online and on ground.
Christina,
Your "daily" approach definitely the learner with the knowledge that the instructor is engaged. Timely feedback, engage instructor is a prime motivator for students to participate. Very nice. Thank you for your contribution
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Hello Joseph,
Well stated, especially about the students "opportunity to choose a course that fits their needs." Thank you for your insights.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Important elements of faculty expectations statements that can help set the appropriate expectations for learners is that the instructor remind the students daily to keep checking the site for any new changes, take notes, and not wait for the last minute to complete the discussion board, or the test and quizes. Students tend to have a lot going on and its hard to remember but if the instructor reminds them and enforces it everyday it engages the student to take it seriously.
Another thing is the timely feedback the instructor gives the student once they post, if the instructor timely responds back to the student it gives the student the incentive to keep doing the work. If the instructor takes their time it really shows the student the course isnt that important.
An example: A student posts adiscussion topic and the instructor only responds a week later The student then might be questioning to themselves," wow its taking her or him this long to respond why should i have to complete the work right away or why should I complete it at all"?
