I post an expectation statement to my course home page at the start of each course. I find it useful to clearly articulate my grading method and for those things that I will hold the student accontable. Student accountability to deadlines. participation and professional contact summarise my key points.
Peter,
Good detail. The multi-format approach is a good way to connect to your students. With the diversity in learing styles, attitudes and dispositions of students, the multi-formatted approach is a good way to reach them.
Herbert Brown III
Racquel ,
All of these are good expectations and details. Do you also ask the students to respond in your bio. forum with their bios or descriptions of themselves so students can "connect" with one another in a more personal way in the class?
Herbert Brown III
The first week of class can be compared to a first date. Both parties are nervous and uncertain as to what is expected. I use 3 avenues to express my expectations to my online students. 1. in an introductory letter to all students sent through course email, 2. on the announcement tab, 3. in my first live chat. I also refer to my expectation list during first week grading. This way I should not receive student comments of: "I didn't know" when dealing with global students.
In my expectation list I discuss items dealing with what APA format to use for written assignments and how to format work in both the primary and summary portions of the forum.
On the general requirements, most students follow it and remember. The specifics to each assignment I review on a weekly basis on the week the assignment is due. That seems to work for the students who read thru the information or postings.
Some students don't follow it, and when they get the poor grade and I tell them where they could have gotten the information, they do much better in the following weeks.
Nina
In my class expectation, I include my contact info the quick summary of the course objective, the guideline of the different area when they can get additional course resources in the virtual classroom. Furthermore, I include the class synchronous schedule and office time, class rubric, which breakdown how I grade student’s work, late policy and resubmission opportunity. You can find the Academic Honesty Expectation, Student Code of Conduct and Classroom Etiquette.
In a different (second) post, I welcome students to my class; my third post in the announcement board is a little biography of myself.
Nancy ,
Sounds like you have it pretty well covered. Do you find this has been 100% effective or have you had to address other issues not addressed in these documents?
Herbert Brown III
Nina,
Has that worked for you? Have you been able to give enough specifics in your expectations for students to post correctly the first time and then correctly throughout the course or do you have to follow up with other ways?
Herbert Brown III
To assist students in understanding expectations in online learning, I post 3 documents outlining the expectations. The first is a Welcome Letter; this welcomes the students to the course and provides my credentials. The second document posted is the Expectations document. Here, I provide my contact information and outline the specific expectations I have for the class such as on-time assignment submission. Finally, I post the Rubric I use to grade the assignments. These 3 documents provide a solid foundation from which the student can more easily navigate the course.
I believe students should be given clear instructions as to when they are expected to post to discussion boards, how often and to what degree.
Thanks, Nina Miville
Stephanie,
Are these writing classes? What about other expectations such as classroom dynamics, communication? How do you present these expectations to students and ensure that they have read them and comprehend them?
Herbert Brown III
William,
These are all very important. Do you provide any expectations regarding communication between the students and instructor and instructor/student?
Herbert Brown III
Dwayne,
Expectations are very important to the sucess of the studnets in the course. Student are bad to not read expectation you provide them, thus causing potential issues later in the course. How do you provide the expectations to your students? How do you make sure they actually read and comprehend the expectations?
Herbert Brown III
It is critical when setting expectations that you:
Define expecations
Have 100% transparency around the course expectations
Commit to the expectations and the student's success.
Thank you,
Dwayne Roark
I find that providing specific expectations to students is important to avoid misunderstanding. I typically provide my contact information, both email and phone number, and list various items that I feel are important for students to be successful. Some of those items include letting the students know they are responsible for submitting assignments on time and what the late penalty is. I outline the point value for each assignment, and how that converts into a letter grade. I also provide information on incompletes and outline the rubric I use for grading.
Grading
Expectations (general)
APA or formatting
Depth of discussion/knowledge
Use of research
Guillermo,
All of these are important expectations to clearly articulate to the students. Do you do this in writing or part of a live orientation to the course? If it is in writing, how do you know they actually read the expectations?
Herbert Brown III
Alexander,
Are you truely available 24/7/365? Is that healthy for you and the students? I agree with the importance of retention and the importance of reaching out to students and connecting in a timely manner, but there are issues with being available 24/7/365.
Herbert Brown III
Here is what I would see as important student expectations.
Amount of time required to spend in course
Participation in class discussion
Assignment deadlines
Late policy
Grading and scoring criteria.Rubric
Plagiarism policy
School Resource
Just as online classes can be 24/7/365, so am I, too, available via email, chat, or telephone.
My number is posted on every Live Chat, on every email as well as though the campus directory.
An important factor is student rentention, reaching out to students, making sure they are aware that I care about them really helps in keeping the students involved and interactive.
