As a unique individual with my own personal teaching style, my pattern of teaching will look completely different from another teacher.
I do believe that for each teacher, it in important to provide students with :(1) clear concise communication on discussions, assignments,and tests (2) all content information is organized and placed in a consistent centralized location to ease student navigation and learning
Peter,
What a great way to engage students. There is nothing wrong in asking students what they think works and doesn't work. I think it is a great strategy.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Jessica,
I agree with you. How do you think we should capture their attention in an online environment? What role does the LMS play in all of this?
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Julie Ann,
You are correct! Both are so important to student success.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I agree with all the posts. I believe in consistency and assistance. I have established one of my patterns of teaching from a student suggestion. Their suggestion of more than just an introduction of the week’s assignments has bloomed into a full 10 minute discussion of the topics and how best to research them. I have embraced this and it is now expected by the students who take my classes.
Elin,
You are right, the LMS plays a HUGE role in the teaching pattern. It is the canvas of your teaching pattern. It provides guidance.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Consistency and capturing our students attention I believe are cornerstones to being an effective instructor. Our students need to be able to rely on their instructor and know what is to be expected. If we can also capture their attention and keep them engaged, then that's even better.
When establishing a pattern of teaching, I believe the two most important things to consider are clear communication and repetitive learning techniques.
Having a centralized location for communication , assignments and content delivery is important. Having students learn how to go through LMS or webpages will be essential. The interaction process with question and answers will be able to let us know more about the learning outcomes by our designed patterns. When students understand this pattern, it will be easier to guide them back on track when they are lost in the process.
Samuel,
Yes that is correct. You want to be available to all students within a reasonable amount of time.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
When establishing a pattern of teaching, I believe that the two most important things to consider is to be consistent and being available. I believe that consistency is key to student learning. One's grading, detailed responses, helpfulness, announcements, etc; must be consistent in order for a student to be successful.
Samuel Bufkin
Julie,
The syllabus (course contract) is so important. It is imperative that the syllabus as expectations for both you and the student. Has your syllabus gotten longer over the years?
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
When establishing a pattern of teaching, what do you believe are the two most important things to consider?
1) Communication: letting students know that my door is always open whenever they have questions or concerns
2) Clear and organized Syllabus: I believe that it can serve as a roadmap for the students
Jason,
I agree with you. Flow does describe it well. That is so important in teaching and learning regardless of the delivery. Great post.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I keep feeling pattern is the wrong word for this. In fact it almost feels like we are analyzing the course by stringing together educational synonyms.
So to join in, "The flow and rhythm are important to the organization of collective data management systems."
Want to make the class flow better use words that are clear. The message will be if you want to show that words are the message.
Greg,
Great post, I agree with you about having a centralized location. You also have to continue to point students to that information. . . consistently.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
the 2 most important things to consider when establishing a pattern of teaching is to be consistent. That allows students to get your pattern quickly. Also, communicating your expectations in a centralized location so students always know to go there to get the information.
Cathy,
You make a great point about course organization. That is a part of teaching pattern in the online environment. When you add that to consistency and currency it makes for a strong teaching effort. Good post.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I think the two most important things to consider when establishing a teaching pattern are 1) how you organize your course and your teaching time and 2) who your students are.
In terms of organization, it is critical to be transparent about every aspect of the course -- the course content, objectives, assignments, rubrics, expectations, etc. All of this needs to be communicated to students up front. But it is also important to think about how you will organize your daily and weekly schedule so that you have the time to regularly monitor your students' progress, provide timely feedback, answer students' questions, and grade their assignments in a timely manner. A regular daily schedule really helps with this.
In terms of knowing who your students are, this is a little more difficult in an asynchronous environment. But you can create a discussion board for students to introduce themselves. You also learn a lot about them when you interact with them via e-mail, texts, or instant messaging. You can also learn a lot about your students by reading between the lines of their assignments -- what topics do they choose, how do they connect what they are learning to their current lives or past experiences, etc. It's really important to pay attention to what students are sharing about themselves so you can treat them as individuals and also provide them with the individualized (differentiated) support they may need. Yes it is important to establish consistent universal course expectations but it is also important to provide whatever support individual students may need to successfully complete the course.
Elin,
I don't understand how these statements fit regarding establishing a teaching pattern. Please explain.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
