I believe that the two most importnt things to consider when establishing a pattern of teching. Are to determine and communicate lerning objectives and plan a coordinated strategy for covering all points in a lesson.
Rob,
What a great post. In both my f2f and online courses I have student expectations and instructor expectations. The one thing I do tell instructors over and over again is to make sure that you ENFORCE the expectations.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Josh,
Great post. You are right, consistency is the key. Consistency in design, in access to information, in expectation. As instructors we must enforce what we say in the syllabus.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I'm sure it has already been said, but I would place managing expectations as #1. A list of or a guide to your own expectations is a must, but also soliciting students for their expectations of YOU can be extremely useful. Under-promise and over-deliver is a decent rule of thumb!
If we are talking about an online environment specifically, I would add that regular announcements are also vital. If used effectively, these can add some momentum and can act as a virtual milestones for students (i.e. "Welcome to Unit 4 and congratulations on completing Unit 3!")
I think consistency is a really strong pattern to establish. Being consistent with communications with students, office hours, etc. helps give the whole class a good sense of direction.
I also think it is important to consider the ease of access to information for the students. So, the centralized location and content delivery work together well to provide students with the setup that is beneficial to their engagement.
William,
I am so glad you said community!!!! An online course must have a sense of community among the students. This is also established by a teaching pattern that is inclusive of all students.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Elizabeth,
That is true, it is also the consistency of the instructor. Students should have faith that you will do what you say you will do. That produces a pattern.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Nicole,
Just has you have expectations of your students, students should have expectations of you that you have established. I love your term predictability. Students know what to expect from you. This will help with their confidence in completing the course.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Marjorie,
You are right. You need to develop strategies that will help students complete the requirements of the course. Consistency in how you do things does help with that.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Marjorie,
That is so important. You must have those expectations and as an instructor you must hold you and your students accountable.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Troy,
You make great points. The instructor does set the communication tone. If you are active in communication students will understand the expectation. Feedback is such an important part of that communication and the feedback needs to be other positive and constructive.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Clarity of communication and mutual respect are very important in establishing a pattern of teaching that fosters a learning communmiity. Involved in establishment of this learning community is a pattern that involves timeliness and consistency of response to students and teaching approaches to the subject matter.
The two most important teaching patterns in the online environment are effective discussions between the student and professor, and a clear understanding of the course expectations.
Hi,
It was interesting to read about establishing a ‘teaching pattern’. I think of this as making myself predictable to my students. I try to be consistent enough that students should be able to predict what I will expect and how I will respond. Consistency and explaining my reasoning seem to be two ways that I have been able to accomplish this. If I explain to the students why I have a particular rule or care about a particular requirement, then they begin to understand how I teach and what I find important. This helps them predict my responses in novel situations. They can then start to see my teaching pattern.
Nicole Zeger
Dear Richard,
I agree, also, that the assignments and their instructions must bwe made clear. Also, important is how the student can interact and contact the instructor and fellow classmates.
Sincerely,
Marjorie Thrall Moller
When establishing a teaching pattern, it is extremely important to clearly share with your students:
* what is expected of each student in order to successfully complete the course;
* what is the grading process for the course
Respectfully submitted,
Marjorie Thrall Moller
Two important things I consider when establishing a pattern of teaching are good communication and effective feedback. Good communications involves responding to student emails in a timely fashion, calling students who are not meeting participation requirements, and encouraging students to attend group sessions. An instructor's presence through these avenues of communication allows the student to build a trust that is needed for successful learning. Effective feedback can contain specific information to let the student know about specific course work expectations and how problems can be remedied for the next time. Students will then come to rely on this feedback for future guidance.
Adib,
Those factors are so important. You have to give students feedback that provides them guidance in there learning.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
The two most important factors to me are:
1. Ensuring that you provide an opportunity for students to feel connected to you as their instructor
2. Provide clear and actionable feedback to students with grading so that students know what they did well, what they need to work on, and a guideline for how to improve.
Austin,
True, you want to make sure you help students develop skills to locate information and resources. It is also frustrating when students tend to want everyone to do their work!
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
