Dr. V.
Letting the student know from the onset what is expected of them is imperative. If a student responds by telling you that in the past the structure was set up another way, you can let them know right away the new framework to be used.
Nick Pasquarello
Phillip,
Excellent point - slow and steady wins the race - consistency, frequency and dependability are foundational for success in online classes, and most other worthwhile pursuits. The 'every once in a while' student is at a substantial disadvantage for obtaining the value of the class. Thanks for the insight.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Well, I would have to say that we must stress how important it is to logon every day. I really think this helps even if it’s only 5 minutes just to check and see if any changes have been made.(deadline extensions) Some students tend to believe that they can wait to the last minute to make a change. This is why student must know what class they're enrolling themselves in....whether it is asynchronous or synchronous.
Mark,
I agree. What do you identify as the top 3 expectations a teacher should set to best help his/her students?
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
One of the more important elements to online teaching. Setting the expetations up front can help the student adjust to the online enviroment.
Hello Edward,
Reiteration in different venues is a good way to increase your students' opportunities for success. Hang in there with the 'multiple front' approach.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Hi Dr, Vaillancourt,
In the online classes I keep them abreast with announcements. Then I follow-up with pointing out the announcements in the live chat.
Sincerely,
Ed
Edward,
Great illustration of the point! Chunking and linking of classroom policies & logistics is a terrific approach. What is your best method of making sure they are downloading and /or viewing the communications?
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Hi Dr. Vailancourt,
Having a professional background in real estate for more years than I care to remember, I do remember one interesting thing that relates to this. When I started in real estate there was a 1 page contract and 2 page disclosure. Now there is a 10 pg contract and 20 pages of disclosure. All of it proliferated to make sure the parties of the transaction knew what to expect and how the transaction operates.
When teaching, you must offer upfront information to the class and time your class announcements to coincide with the tasks at hand. Then you must taylor your communications to the students appropriately. Finally you must make sure they are downloading and or viewing the communications.
Ed
Hello Sandra,
I wholeheartedly agree with the actions you indicate above, but could you expound a little on each for us.
Thank you for sharing your contribution.
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Hello Edward,
Confirmation, timely feedback, proactive announcements and the like, continue to provide higher student success than when they are not present. Most instructors know there is no one best solution, except maybe, an alert professional instructor who has a myriad of instructional approaches to address a variety of student types in the same class. Nevertheless, consistency with the 'old reliables' almost always has a positive impact, though not 100%. Thank you for your insights.
Hi Jeremy,
The old addage "They don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care," is true with many students in the postsecondary online classroom today. Sometimes the expectations statement is most useful for reference and reminders than the initial starting point. It is also a good idea for faculty to remind, with emails and pop-ups, the importance of reading the announcements and the benefit it provides the student in reduction of frustration, etc. Also, very good point about the teacher leading by example. Modeling the behavior that is expected is the best way to get buy-in from the students.
Hi Kevin,
It is so true that students can be caught up in modifications throughout the term. However, without even modifying I find that as students get deeper into the handling of the deliverables they generate more specific questions of what is expected of them. I really like the idea of confirming with a class that they are aware of the class file uploads and that they need to read the announcements before the class session.
Sincerely,
Ed
I have a bachelors degree, which I obtained completely online (due to military service) and then I went on to receive a master's degree in the traditional classroom setting. I can honestly say, a majority of students are not going to read the faculty expectation statement, unfortunately. What should be done, is instructors should be active in the virtual classroom. Almost all instructors I had in my online setting were virtually non existent, so their faculty expectation statement didn't say anything buy hypocrisy. I remain active in my classrooms in the discussion boards and encourage my students to respond to each other and to my questions in the discussion, which can only enhance their grade. Showing you care says far mare than an expectation statement, at least from my point of view.
Hi John,
I definitely like your approach. The balance between approachability and requiring student ownership of their own learning is a progressive adjustment with many students who are new to online. The indication of expected work time for each assignment is a great idea!
As you mention, the details can vary depending on the philosophies of the teacher and the type of class. The fact that it can vary, however, makes it all the more important to detail for any given class.
Personally, I might add something like this to an expectations statement: "I expect the students to have read and made a reasonable effort to discover answers on their own prior to approaching the teacher for help on a particular problem or assignment. If students meet that expectation, then they can expect that I will make every effort to help them."
You don't want to seem unapproachable, but at the same time you want the students to know that you expect them to take ownership of their own learning. This should help to limit students frustration when they come to you and say, "I don't understand X" and your first response is, "What about X don't you understand and what have you already looked up to try and figure it out."
Other student expectations such as time requirements and number of assignments should be clear either from the syllabus or from the CMS.
One thing I think is particularly important in an online class is to list in the title of each activity how many hours a student can expect to spend on it. Then they can know before they start something about how much time they should allocate to it.
John,
The frustration you identified is all too common. Your list of 'elements' is a good one. The Student Preparedness is not often mentioned. That is a good description and it is very helpful. What would be the criteria (time, # of attempts, etc.) you would have the instructor use to indicate "how much effort" the teacher expects? I expect it would vary from activity to activity, course to course, and even teacher to teacher, but what are your primary criteria? Thanks for this helpful contribution.
It can be very frustrating when teachers or students fail to meet expectations. However, it is even more frustrating when those expectations are not clearly defined at the beginning and they are held accountable to different expectations.
For faculty, the following elements are important when defining expectations:
* Response time - how long should a student expect to wait before receiving a response to any inquiry or submission.
* Availability - if and/or when can a student expect the teacher to be available for more synchronous activities.
* Student Preparedness - How prepared do you as a teacher expect a student to be, prior to attending the course, and prior to asking the teacher for help. Some students become frustrated when they ask a teacher for help and the teacher responds with more questions. You should tell the students how much effort you expect them to put into looking things up on their own prior to coming to you for help.
Amy,
These are strong components to a solid approach. Clarity on the deadlines and consequences is a critical part of setting class expectations for a quality learning experience. Emphasizing your availability and desire to answer all questions is very important to the 'two-way' street, as well. Nice job.
