Russell,
I do think that you need to explain content, explanations and guidelines in multiple ways and continually point students to these course elements. I use recordings, links, and text within the LMS.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Hello Michael,
What are your methods to explain course content, expectations, and guidelines?
Thanks,
Russell
Russell,
Great post. You make a great point. You don't want to overwhelm students with too many messages. You do want them to engage with you and other students. It is a delicate balance.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
To establish effective communication between students and the instructor the virtual classroom should be organized. This is accomplished by providing a competent delivery system and guidelines that are consistent. It is important for students to feel comfortable when accessing and learning within the virtual classroom. The instructor also requires organization in order to maintain the classroom environment and to encourage student participation. The asynchronous learning environment should provide an easy-to-use content, sequence, and assessment format that is clear and concise to the student. The classroom needs to be “user friendly†and take into consideration different learning styles, technical abilities, and age groups; otherwise, students can become overwhelmed and frustrated trying to navigate the system. When students are aware of what is expected with regard to participation then more efficient and comprehensive learning can take place.
James,
You are right. It is about consistency. Students should be able to have expectations about us as instructors just as we have of them. It may be an interesting exercise to have students to articulate their expectations of you, the instructor.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I believe that teacher consistency and assignment expectations are the two most important elements to develop in order to establish a successful pattern of teaching. I establish teacher consistency by answering emails within 24 hours and grading assignments within 72 hours of submission. This way, students know that I am available to provide support and feedback in a timely manner. I establish assignment expectations by setting guidelines which students must follow. For example, when grading paragraphs, I consider a typical paragraph to be a minimum of five interconnected sentences in length. This way, students learn to develop their writing through the use of specific details, examples, and textbook related content in order to fulfill the expectations of their assignments.
James,
You make a great point. We always talk about students disappearing but we never really discuss instructors disappearing. It is problematic. It is important that we make ourselves REALLY "visible" online.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
James,
I agree with you and it can't be the instructor being the vigorous dialog leader. Students should have responsibility in the vigorous dialog.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
James,
Great post, you are right. You want students to be able to connect the assignments to the outcomes. Assignments cannot be viewed as busy work.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I think another point here, in addition to getting the students involved and talking, is that it is important that they know the instructor is there to help them. It is always frustrating to find a student who, at the end of the course, says he or she feels there wasn't enough help available. It generally IS available but perhaps the student just simply didn't know.
I would agree that dialog really matters. This is something that can be overlooked, but I believe that a vigorous dialog with students is important. This can be in the discussion board area, in the live chats, or via email...but one way or the other, students need to know the instructors care and are working for them.
First and foremost, it is necessary to know the expected learning outcomes if we expect students to really have a chance to learn effectively. So we always have to know where we are going. Secondly, I think it is necessary to let the students know where we are going. They have to understand in order to know what the assignments are attempting to teach and what they are supposed to know when the course is completed.
Brian,
Another great post. It sounds like you already have a strategy in place if the first does not work. That is from experience and learning from that experience.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
The first thing I would consider as most important is my experience. There are often many ways of presenting topics. I typically chose to present only one way as I have found students tend to mix processes from different methods together. The method I typically choose to teach is the one that I have found historically students understand best.
The second thing I consider is the balance between practical application and calculation. I teach math and part of the goal in any math class is to teach the ability to calculate. Another goal is to quip students to identify solutions to real world problems. Students typically find the latter more interesting, but need the calculation abilities first. Balancing the right comb is extremely important for a successful class.
Brian Stout
Paulette,
Interesting. All of us teaching online should be required to have a policy on email response time. That is good practice.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
lea ann,
True, and the must be reminded over and over again!
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Jason,
Silence is not a good thing! I try to always have a plan to combat that. I hate to remind students that this is worth points but sometimes you have to.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Dr. Kelly,
As part of our syllabus, we are required to respond to students' emails within 24 hours.
I encourage students to email me with any questions, issues or comments.
Paulette
The two most important thing when establishing a pattern of teaching are course content and class expectations. Course content may call for different types of teaching such as hands on activities and all students need to be aware of expectations before starting the course.
I totally agree, I myself have only been an instructor for going on two years. The last thing you want is silence.
