The Online Teaching

Survival Guide

The Online Teaching

Survival Guide

Simple and Practical Pedagogical Tips

Judith V. Boettcher

Rita-Marie Conrad

Second Edition

Foreword by Pam McQuesten

Copyright © 2016 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Boettcher, Judith V., author. | Conrad, Rita-Marie, author.

Title: The online teaching survival guide : simple and practical pedagogical

tips / Judith V. Boettcher, Rita-Marie Conrad.

Description: Second edition. | San Francisco, CA : Jossey-Bass, 2016. |

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016022347 (print) | LCCN 2016025298 (ebook) | ISBN

9781119147688 (pbk.) | ISBN 9781119147695 (ePDF) | ISBN 9781119147701 (ePub)

Subjects: LCSH: Web-based instruction. | Computer-assisted instruction. |

Distance education. | Education, Higher—Computer-assisted instruction.

Classification: LCC LB1044.87 .B64 2016 (print) | LCC LB1044.87 (ebook) | DDC

371.33/44678—dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016022347

Cover image: ©I_Mac/iStockphoto

Cover design: Wiley

Printed in the United States of America

second edition

PB Printing

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To our families for their constant support and patience

To all faculty striving to do a great job at teaching and learning

wherever they may be

Contents

List of Tables, Figures, and Exhibits

xv

Foreword

xvii

Preface xxi

Acknowledgments xxii

About the Authors

xxiii

Introduction

xxv

PART ONE: CORE PRINCIPLES AND BEST PRACTICES OF ONLINE

TEACHING AND LEARNING

1

1 Teaching Online: The Big Picture

3

Preparing to Teach in the Online and Blended Environments

4

Uh‐Oh. What Did I Say I Would Do?

4

Is This You?

5

The Definition of a Course

6

How Do Online and Blended Courses Differ from

Traditional Courses?

8

Types of Online and Blended Courses

10

The Four Stages of a Course

13

Learning Theories and Theorists

13

Summary—and What’s Next

22

2 Pedagogical Principles for Effective Teaching and Learning:

Ten Core Learning Principles

23

Background of the Ten Core Learning Principles

25

Ten Core Learning Principles

26

Principle 1: Every Structured Learning Experience Has

Four Elements, with the Learner at the Center

27

Principle 2: Learners Bring Their Own Personalized

and Customized Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes

to the Learning Experience

30

vii

viii

Contents

Principle 3: Faculty Mentors Are the Directors of the

Learning Experience

32

Principle 4: All Learners Do Not Need to Learn All

Course Content; All Learners Do Need to Learn the

Core Concepts

33

Principle 5: Every Learning Experience Includes the

Environment or Context in Which the Learner Interacts

35

Principle 6: Every Learner Has a Zone of Proximal

Development That Defines the Space That a Learner

Is Ready to Develop into Useful Knowledge

36

Principle 7: Concepts Are Not Words But Organized and

Interconnected Knowledge Clusters

37

Principle 8: Different Instruction Is Required for

Different Learning Outcomes

38

Principle 9: Everything Else Being Equal, More Time on

Task Equals More Learning

39

Principle 10: We Shape Our Tools, and Our Tools Shape Us

40

Summary—and What’s Next

41

3 Best Practices for Teaching Online: Ten Plus Four

43

Best Practices for Online and Blended Teaching and Learning

44

Best Practice 1: Be Present at Your Course

44

Three Types of Presence

46

Best Practice 2: Create a Supportive Online Course Community

47

Best Practice 3: Develop a Set of Explicit Workload and

Communication Expectations for Your Learners

and for Yourself

48

Best Practice 4: Use a Variety of Large Group,

Small Group, and Individual Work Experiences

50

Best Practice 5: Use Synchronous and Asynchronous

Activities 51

Best Practice 6: Ask for Informal Feedback Early in

the Term

52

Best Practice 7: Prepare Discussion Posts That Invite Responses,

Questions, Discussions, and Reflections

53

Best Practice 8: Think Digital for All Course Content

54

Best Practice 9: Combine Core Concept Learning with

Customized and Personalized Learning

55

Contents

ix

Best Practice 10: Plan a Good Closing and Wrap Activity

for the Course

57

Four More Best Practices for Online and Blended

Teaching and Learning

57

Best Practice 11: Assess as You Go by Gathering Evidences

of Learning

58

Best Practice 12: Rigorously Connect Content to Core Concepts

and Learning Outcomes

58

Best Practice 13: Develop and Use a Content Frame

for the Course

59

Best Practice 14: Design Experiences to Help Learners

Make Progress on Their Novice‐to‐Expert Journey

60

Summary—and What’s Next

61

4 Technology Tools to Support Teaching and Learning

62

Guidelines for Choosing and Using Technology Tools

63

Basic Set of Technology Tools for Online and Blended

Teaching and Learning

65

Basic Set of Digital Technology Tools: Their Teaching

and Learning Purposes

66

More Thoughts on the Basic Tools

70

Tools for Practicing Contextual Knowledge and

Exploring Possibilities

74

Staying in Sync with Tools

77

5 Four Phases of a Course: Themes and Happenings

79

Phase 1 Course Beginnings: Starting Off on the

Right Foot

79

Phase 2 Early Middle: Keeping the Ball Rolling

85

Phase 3 Late Middle: Letting Go of the Power

90

Phase 4 Closing Weeks: Pruning, Reflecting, and Wrapping Up

97

Summary—and What’s Next

103

PART TWO: SIMPLE, PRACTICAL, AND PEDAGOGICALLY BASED TIPS

105

6 Phase 1: Course Beginnings: Starting off on the Right Foot

107

Tips for the Course Beginnings

107

Course Beginnings Tips Overview

109

Getting Started—Preparing Your Syllabus and Course Site

109

Getting Started—Preparing Your Syllabus and Course Site

110

x

Contents

CB Tip 1: Essential Elements of an Online or Blended Course

Syllabus and Course Site

110

CB Tip 2: More on the Significant Elements of an Online

or Blended Syllabus

118

CB Tip 3: Creating a Syllabus That Jump‐starts Learning

122

CB Tip 4: Using “Bookending” to Add Structure and Meaning

to Your Course

127

CB Tip 5: Generating Energy and Purpose

with Specific Learning Goals

130

Getting Started—Launching Your Course

134

CB Tip 6: Hitting the Ground Running: Maximizing the

First Week

134

CB Tip 7: Launching Your Social and Cognitive Presence

136

CB Tip 8: Getting to Know Students’ Minds: The Vygotsky

Zone of Proximal Development

140

CB Tip 9: Getting into the Swing of a Course: Is There an Ideal

Weekly Rhythm?

142

Creating and Managing Discussion Posts

145

CB Tip 10: The Why and How of Discussion Boards:

Their Role in the Online Course

145

CB Tip 11: Characteristics of Good Discussion Questions

148

CB Tip 12: Power Questioning for Meaningful Discussions

154

CB Tip 13: Response Posts—A Three‐Part Structure

158

CB Tip 14: Discussion Wraps: A Useful Cognitive Pattern

or a Collection of Discrete Thoughts?

160

CB Tip 15: Using Discussion Forums to Gather

Evidence of Learning

162

CB Tip 16: Feedback in Discussion Posts—How Soon,

How Much, and Wrapping Up

166

CB Tip 17: The Faculty Role in Blended

and Online Courses

168

Summary—and What’s Next

171

7 Phase 2: Keeping the Ball Rolling in the Early Middle

172

Tips for the Early Middle

172

EM Tip 1: Tools for Teaching Presence: E‐mails,

Announcements, and Discussion Forums

174

Contents

xi

EM Tip 2: Monitoring Student Progress Using Learning

Management Systems

177

EM Tip 3: Early Feedback Loop from Learners to You

178

EM Tip 4: Early Feedback Tools: Rubrics, Quizzes,

and Peer Review

181

EM Tip 5: Steps in Memory‐Making: What Teaching

Behaviors Make a Difference

184

Summary 187

EM Tip 6: Tips for Making Your Grading Time Efficient

and Formative for Learners

188

EM Tip 7: Dealing with Difficult Students—What Do You Do?

191

Building the Cognitive Presence

195

EM Tip 8: Building Cognitive Presence Using the Practical Inquiry

Model 196

EM Tip 9: Core Concepts of a Course—Do You Know Yours?

198

EM Tip 10: Designing Assessment Plans for Online

and Blended Courses

202

EM Tip 11: Three Best Assessment Practices

205

EM Tip 12: Assignments for the Evaluating and Creating

Levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy

210

Strategies and Tools for Building Community

213

EM Tip 13: Collaborating with Groups of Two or

Three—Casual Grouping

214

EM Tip 14: Group Projects in Online Courses: Setting Up

and Structuring Groups

216

EM Tip 15: Using Synchronous Collaboration Tools

220

EM Tip 16: Using Audio and Video Resources to Create

a More Engaging Course

222

Summary—and What’s Next

225

8 Phase 3: Letting Go of Power in the Late Middle

226

Overview of Late Middle Tips

226

Going Deeper: Leveraging the Power of Questions

228

LM Tip 1: Questions and Answers: Upside Down

and Inside Out

228

LM Tip 2: Three Techniques for Making Your Students’

Knowledge Visible

230

xii

Contents

LM Tip 3: Developing Rigor in Our Questioning:

Eight Intellectual Standards

232

LM Tip 4: Moving Beyond Knowledge Integration to Defining

Problems and Finding Solutions

237

Feedback for Cognitive Growth

239

LM Tip 5: “Are You Reading My Postings? Do You Know

Who I Am?” Simple Rules for Feedback in Online Learning

239

LM Tip 6: Feedback on Assignments: Being Timely

and Efficient

244

LM TIP 7: Substantive Feedback: Doing It Wisely and Well

248

LM Tip 8: Rubrics for Analyzing Critical Thinking

252

Assessing Learning as You Go with Projects

255

LM Tip 9: Customizing and Personalizing Learning Projects

256

LM Tip 10: Managing and Facilitating Group Projects

259

LM Tip 11: Assessing Group Projects

261

LM Tip 12: Four Effective Practices During Project Time

264

Community Empowerment and Social Networking

267

LM Tip 13: Course Middles and Muddles: Souped‐Up

Conversations That Help Build Community

268

LM Tip 14: Using Social Networking Techniques to Build

a Learning Community

269

LM Tip 15: Experts: A Touch of Spice

272

Summary—and What’s Next

275

9 Phase 4: Pruning, Reflecting, and Wrapping Up

277

Tips for the Closing Weeks

277

Meaningful Projects and Presentations

279

CW Tip 1: Using What‐If Scenarios: Flexing Our Minds

with Possibilities

279

CW Tip 2: Stage 3 of a Learning Community: Stimulating

and Comfortable Camaraderie

281

CW Tip 3: Learners as Leaders

283

CW Tip 4: Course Wrapping with Concept Mapping:

Capturing Course Content Meaningfully

285

CW Tip 5: Using Case Studies in Online Courses:

Making Content Real

290

Preparing for the Course Wrap

294

Contents

xiii

CW Tip 6: Pausing, Reflecting, and Pruning Strategies

294

CW Tip 7: Closing Experiences: Wrapping Up a Course

with Style

296

CW Tip 8: Real‐Time Closing Gatherings: Stories and Suggestions 299

CW Tip 9: Debriefing Techniques: What One Change

Would Students Recommend?

302

Conclusion—and What’s Next

303

10 Teaching Accelerated Intensive Courses

305

Tips for Intensive Courses (IC)

305

IC Tip 1: Designing for Intensive Courses Using

Content Framing and Case Studies

306

IC Tip 2: High‐Impact Practices for Short Courses:

Reflections, Patterns, and Relationships

308

IC Tip 3: Developing Expertise in Short Courses:

Can It Be Done?

313

Conclusion—and What’s Next

315

PART THREE: CONTINuING YOuR JOuRNEY TO ExPERTISE 317

11 What’s Next: Reflecting and Looking Forward

319

Reflecting and Looking Forward Using the Four

Course Phases

319

Reflecting and Looking Forward with the Learning

Experiences Framework

325

Advice from Fellow Online Instructors

328

Conclusion: Innovation as a Three‐Phase Process

330

Appendix: Resources for Learning More about the Research

and Theory of Teaching Online

333

References 339

Index 359

Subject Index

363

List of Tables, Figures,

and Exhibits

Chapter 1

1. Table 1.1 Types of Courses

11

2. Figure 1.1 Influential Learning Theorists

15

Chapter 2

1. Table 2.1 Ten Core Learning Principles

26

2. Figure 2.1 Learning Experience Framework

27

3. Figure 2.2 Customizing Content Resources

34

Chapter 3

1. Table 3.1 Best Practices for Teaching Online

45

Chapter 4

1. Table 4.1 Basic Set of Technology Tools and Their Specific Pedagogical Uses

69

2. Table 4.2 Enriched Set of Technology Tools and Their Pedagogical Uses

73

3. Table 4.3 Tools for Contextual Practice and Emerging Possibilities

75

Chapter 5

1. Table 5.1 Phase 1: Course Beginnings—Starting Off on the Right Foot

80

2. Table 5.2 Phase 2: Early Middle—Keeping the Ball Rolling

86

3. Table 5.3 Phase Three: Late Middle—Letting Go of the Power

92

4. Table 5.4 Phase Four: Closing Weeks—Pruning, Reflecting, and Wrapping Up

98

xv

xvi

List of Tables, Figures, and Exhibits

Chapter 6

1. Table 6.1 Course Elements

112

2. Figure 6.1 Graphic Overview of CB Tip 3

123

3. Figure 6.2 Photo of Depression Mother by Dorothea Lange

126

4. Table 6.2 Sample Weekly Schedule for an Online or Blended Course

144

5. Table 6.3 Draft Rubric for Discussion Forum Postings

165

6. Table 6.4 Phases of Engagement with Activity Categories

169

Chapter 7

1. Table 7.1 Three‐Point Rubric for Evaluating Weekly Postings

182

2. Table 7.2 Rubric for Participation and Levels of Thinking

182

3. Figure 7.1 Steps and Processes in Memory‐Making

186

4. Figure 7.2 Practical Inquiry Model

197

5. Table 7.3 Assessment Plan

204

6. Figure 7.3 Bloom’s Cognitive Taxonomy Updated by Krathwohl, 2002

206

7. Exhibit 7.1 Group Availability and Contact Info

219

Chapter 8

1. Table 8.1 Types and Purposes of Feedback Using Five Types of Tools

250

2. Table 8.2 Examples of Critical Thinking Criterion 5: Integrates Issues Using

Other Perspectives and Positions

254

3. Exhibit 8.1 Team Member Evaluation Form

263

Chapter 9

1. Table 9.1 Checklist for an Effective Learner‐Led Activity

286

2. Figure 9.1 A Concept Map Showing the Key Features of Concept Maps

288

Chapter 10

1. Figure 10.1 Kolb’s Four‐Stage Learning Cycle

309

Foreword

In the past five to ten years, we’ve seen online modalities become the

default in our daily lives, for communication, commerce, entertainment,

and our interactions in many other sectors. Data on popular technolo-

gies is mind‐boggling: On average, 300 hours of video are uploaded to

YouTube every minute. Over 1 billion people login to Facebook each day.

An estimated 73 percent of the world’s population is now connected by cell

phone. The world is already online.

For the most part, however, education is late to rethinking where stu-

dents already are in this larger picture. Perhaps most importantly, too

many education institutions—and teachers themselves—have contin-

ued to treat online learning as an afterthought, rather than devising new

approaches to student learning.

Overwhelmingly, most students today are actively engaged online in

many areas of their daily lives. Mobile apps and messaging, social media,

and tools for deep engagement on the Internet are embedded in their rou-

tines. User‐generated content has exploded across many platforms they

use. All of that participation provides massive amounts of data for ana-

lytics that can, at least potentially, shape behavior and support the user

experience. How can we as educators use relevant online technologies to

create the same level of involvement with learning as our students have in

so many other areas of their lives?

In this, the second edition of The Online Teaching Survival Guide: Simple

and Practical Pedagogical Tips, Boettcher and Conrad have responded to

the rapid expansion in online tools, technologies, and practices, with an

insightful update to the original 2010 publication. This updated edition

provides the support and inspiration that can situate the efforts of teachers

as they define and redefine their roles and behaviors in the education of

students in current online or blended environments.

The opportunity to teach online presents those special teach-

able moments that all good teachers should recognize. It is a chance for

xvii

xviii

Foreword

mindfulness, a theoretical frame that the authors note hinges on discern-

ing the difference between one environment and another. While teaching

online can be informed by the same theories of learning as face‐to‐face

instruction, the enactment of the online experience, for both teachers

and students, will—and should—differ significantly from the physical

classroom.

The authors identify ten core principles and 14 best practices grounded

in learning theory and brain science that empower teachers to create qual-

ity learning experiences whether in traditional face‐to‐face settings or any-

where along the continuum from blended to a completely online course. By

grounding what they will do in the philosophies of learning as well as in

light of updated best practices, those who teach online or in a blended envi-

ronment will be better prepared to reimagine their work in consideration

of both the affordances of technology and principles of effective learning.

The extensive overlay of practical tips throughout this book also serves

much like that all‐important phrase book that lets you function immedi-

ately in a foreign country until you become a more acculturated participant

in the new culture, its behaviors, and its language.

As faculty consult the guide, whether they are new to online learn-

ing or seasoned veterans, and no matter the type and size of their institu-

tion, they develop a mindset for applying the core learning principles, best

practices, and tips effectively to create highly relevant teaching and learn-

ing that meets the challenges of today’s dynamic and shifting education

landscape.

How will faculty create the best online learning designs and practices?

Faculty are experts in their disciplines, but we need to help them develop a

deep understanding of online pedagogy. We’re still in early days on how to

do this well: The evolution of our technologies and our processes for online

instruction is really just beginning.

Happily, we’re constantly discovering advantages to online instruction

and blended models. Consider a faculty member’s responsibility to pre-

pare students to do a collaborative project. Most students have done col-

laborative work face‐to‐face, but there is still a good chance they have not

had this experience in an online setting. Yet in the online model, the faculty

member doesn’t have to be directly “on tap” for everything the student

will need, because the instructional team can more easily expand to offer

additional support from other staff on the instructional side. That, along

with an array of new tools—like computer‐generated planning calendars,

syllabi accessible through a shared database, and online course resources—

creates room for the role of faculty to change. They may be inclined now to

Foreword

xix

take on more work as mentor/guide/director, as well as maintaining their

traditional role as the expert voice students want to hear.

Vast changes are in store for students as well, as new options for online

learning help us focus on learner needs and success. Students are indi-

viduals, and we want to support that. Now we can align educational expe-

riences with the student’s goals and individual traits, and build on their

desires and choices. At the same time we are growing transferable skills

like problem solving along with the ability to explore, research, and take

charge of one’s own learning. These are the outcomes we truly want. The

flexibility of online instructional programs that may incorporate elements

like multiple starts, recommendation engines, and competency‐based

assessment strategies will allow us to promote personalization and cus-

tomize the student’s educational experience so that we can achieve our

higher learning goals both for the student and for society. Faculty insight

and invention will take all this even further. There are myriad examples:

At the heart of a liberal education is gaining the ability to connect dispa-

rate concepts and insights. What if we could expand the instructional team

based on what the recommendation engine learns about the student, and

assist the student in building research skills to support her interests rela-

tive to the institution’s overall program context?

You can return to this book again and again to discover more choices

and inspiration. Be willing to innovate, and if your experiments don’t work,

draw again on the many ideas presented here to modify your strategies.

I’m very happy to see the 2016 revision of this valuable guide. It is

much needed, given the recent, rapid evolution of online technologies and

teaching practices, and it will come at just the right time for so many. If

you aren’t already teaching online, more likely than not you will be in the

very near future. And if you do it well, it will be a new, differentiated, and

rewarding educational experience for you and your students.

Pam McQuesten, Ph.D.

Vice President & CIO

Southwestern University

Preface

EvEry book has a beginning, and the seeds of this one were planted

in 2006 with a request from the leadership at Duquesne University in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The administration wanted to provide more

active and ongoing support to online faculty to ensure the quality of the

online teaching and learning experience. The path they chose was to request

coaching services tailored to the online faculty. Thus began the creation of

a set of tips to guide faculty practices in online learning. Between 2006 and

2009 the library of tips grew to over 70 and feedback on the usefulness of

the tips also increased. Then the idea of organizing these course delivery

tips and adding tips on developing online courses in a more permanent

and easily referenced format took hold. The library of tips continued to

grow after the first edition and by 2015 and over 100 tips, it seemed time

for a second edition of the guide.

We have been colleagues for over twenty years now, and by the time

we launched this edition, we had already completed two editions of the

Faculty Guide for Moving Teaching and Learning to the Web and the first edi-

tion of this book, The Online Teaching Survival Guide. We have been active

participants in higher education organizations while helping faculty

integrate classic and emerging research and pedagogical theory with the

developing digital environments. We are well versed in the challenges that

higher education faces in providing continued professional and teaching

support for faculty. A book focusing on the life of a course and the tips for

each phase of it seems a natural choice as a way to continue supporting the

higher education community and building quality learning experiences.

xxi

acknowledgments

It is never possible to acknowledge everyone who contributed to the ideas,

structure, and book creation. But we must try. First and foremost, thanks

go to past and current leadership at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh for

their innovative thinking in launching coaching services for online faculty.

This includes Benjamin Hodes, Boris Vilic, Dorothy Basset, and Michael

Forlenza; and director of technology David McGeehan, leader of the lead-

ership faculty Jim Wolford‐Ulrich, and faculty consultant Mark Prestopnik.

We also want to thank dean William Riffee and Diane Beck of the University

of Florida for their support of faculty development efforts that suggested

some of the tip topics.

We also want to thank the many faculty and students whose questions

inspired many of the tips and who contributed their ideas and suggestions

for making the tips practical, simple, and pedagogically sound. Although

the tips were originally written for the faculty at Duquesne, faculty from

institutions large and small, public and private, graduate and undergradu-

ate, and degree and certificate programs alike inspired the questions.

Thanks also go to our colleagues who provided feedback on early drafts of

the chapters and to the reviewers for their suggestions and feedback that

resulted in an improved guide overall.

Special thanks to our editors Erin Null and Alison Knowles for their

encouragement and support during the sometimes arduous but always

satisfying task of completing this book and keeping it focused. A special

thanks also goes to friends and colleagues Pam McQuesten, vice president

and CIO of Southwestern College and Mary Grush, campus technology

editor extraordinaire. To Pam for her captivating Foreword to this edition

and to Mary for her energizing and thoughtful help in the process of pre-

paring this Foreword.

xxii

About the Authors

Judith V. Boettcher is a nationally known consultant and author on

online and distance learning. In addition to reaching hundreds of faculty

through workshops, columns, articles, and conferences, she has worked

closely with faculty at Penn State University, Florida State University, the

University of Florida and Duquesne University. Currently, she is founder

and principal of Designing for Learning. Judith is a frequent keynoter at

teaching and learning conferences, conducts faculty workshops on best

practices in online learning, and consults on program and course designs

for online and distance learning. Judith is the coauthor with Rita‐Marie

Conrad of two editions of the Faculty Guide for Moving Teaching and Learning

to the Web (1999, 2004), published by the League for Innovation as well as

the first edition of The Online Teaching Survival Guide: Simple and Practical

Pedagogical Tips (Jossey‐Bass, 2010).

Rita‐Marie Conrad is an experienced online educator, award‐winning

author, and digital learning strategist. She is currently a senior consultant

with the Center for Teaching and Learning at the University of California,

Berkeley. Prior to Berkeley, Rita‐Marie also served as the instructional

strategist and technologist for Duke University’s Institute for Educational

Excellence in the School of Nursing. She has also taught online for nearly

two decades. In addition to the books co‐authored with Judith Boettcher,

Rita‐Marie wrote Engaging the Online Learner (Jossey‐Bass, 2004 and 2011)

with J. Ana Donaldson, as well as Continuing to Engage the Online Learner

(Jossey‐Bass, 2012) and Assessing Learners Online (Pearson, 2008) with

Albert Oosterhof and Donald Ely.

xxiii

introduction

This book is a practical resource for faculty who want to develop

expertise in teaching quality online and blended courses. Moving from a

campus face‐to‐face environment to a rich mobile technology environment

can be intimidating and challenging. Adapting lifelong teaching habits to

a new environment takes time, energy, patience, and a willingness to try

different teaching strategies using digital tools. While instructors who are

new to online and blended teaching need many kinds of support, from

technology to course design to simple encouragement, faculty often appre-

ciate help in the form of simple, practical tips and best practices.

This book meets the needs of many online and blended faculty by pro-

viding tips for effective pedagogy and practices for technology‐enriched

environments. It particularly meets the needs of faculty with limited access

to support for designing and teaching in technology‐enabled, mobile envi-

ronments. It is not unusual for faculty to be assigned to take one of their

existing courses and teach it in an online or blended environment with

only a few weeks’ notice. They may be expected to redesign the course

without any additional time, resources, or support. What happens next is

often a frustrating and unsatisfactory teaching experience for faculty and a

frustrating and unsatisfactory learning experience for students. This book

details not only what faculty must do to offer excellent courses that are

effective and satisfying for learners, but also how to do this with ease and

confidence.

The set of simple, practical, theory‐based instructional strategies and

practices in this guide are mapped to the four phases of a course: Course

Beginnings, the Early Middle, the Late Middle, and Closing Weeks. This

organizational approach not only helps new faculty to survive their first

teaching experience but also lays a foundation for many future success-

ful and rewarding experiences. This guide also provides answers to

all‐important questions such as, “What is absolutely critical to getting

ready to teach an online or blended course?” “What should I—and my

xxv

xxvi

Introduction

learners—be doing now?” and “What should I—and my learners—be

planning on doing next?”

Many resources for assisting faculty in teaching in digitally enhanced

environments address the need to learn the new technologies. This book

combines theory‐based and practice‐based pedagogy needed to achieve

the effective and enjoyable teaching and learning experiences using tech-

nologies. When learning principles inform teaching practices, faculty

design learning experiences that integrate rich mentor‐learner relation-

ships, encourage developing personal competencies, and create a richness

of community among the learners.

intended Audiences and Uses for This book

This book can help faculty wherever they might be, on campuses large or

small or in areas remote from their home campuses. It can be most help-

ful for instructors with limited access to faculty support services and for

faculty with little or no experience in online instructional environments

and, likely, little time to prepare for online teaching. This is a useful

resource as well for faculty who are planning a gradual transition from

the face‐to‐face‐only environment to blended or fully online environ-

ments. Even faculty already experienced in technology‐rich environments

will find practical tips for developing more expertise in effective teaching

practices. For institutions requiring online faculty to complete a course or

program prior to teaching online, this guide can be used as a resource for

a faculty development program and as an ongoing resource after the

initial training.

Research about teaching practices for online and blended courses has

been proceeding concurrently with development of voice, video, and

mobile technologies and digital resources for many decades now. Online

courses as we now recognize them first started being available in the early

1980s. A brief timeline is available at https://docs.moodle.org/23/en/

Online_Learning_History. A review of the various and inconsistent use of terminologies in this field (Moore, Dickson‐Deane, & Galyen, 2011) provides useful perspective on how to use research results and practice

recommendations.

Given the relatively recent history of designing and teaching in the

online and blended environments, it is not surprising that structures and

processes for supporting faculty for teaching online are still evolving

(Sorcinelli, Austin, Eddy, & Beach, 2006). In addition, more faculty devel-

opment is critically important, as the use of adjuncts, graduate students,

Introduction

xxvii

and other less experienced personnel as members of instructional teams is

increasing and is projected to increase even more (Bennett, 2009). For exam-

ple, a 2012–2013 report (Curtis & Thorton, 2013) reported that 41 percent of

American university faculty are now adjunct professors. A report from

EDUCAUSE offers many recommendations for faculty development,

including the need for flexibility depending on faculty needs and interests

and the need for modeling “best practices in assessment, active learning,

new instructional delivery modes, and/or deeper learning” (Diaz et al.,

2009). This book provides a means for meeting many of the faculty needs

where they are.

book overview

Part One provides an overview of the essential online teaching and learn-

ing concepts and practices. Chapter One provides the big picture of the

organization of a course, from the course beginnings to the early middle,

the late middle, and closing weeks of a course. This chapter also describes

how faculty and learner roles change over the term of a course as a com-

munity develops and learners assume increasing responsibility for direct-

ing their learning. Very importantly, this chapter describes a few of the

more significant theories and theorists that inspired the integrated view of

constructivism and social (situated) learning that inspired the tips.

Chapter Two focuses on the description of a learning experiences

framework composed of the four elements of learner, mentor, knowledge,

and environment. This framework is useful for guiding the design and

implementation of any learning experience and simplifies the design and

development process of online teaching and learning experiences. This

chapter then examines each of these elements and their pedagogical role in

learning experiences. This learning experiences framework encourages an

analysis of learner characteristics, faculty characteristics, the knowledge

and skill structures and competencies desired, and the environment—the

where, when, with whom, and with what resources that determine how a learning experience happens. This chapter is organized around a set of ten core

learning principles, many following from the framework. The principles

draw on the disciplines of instructional design, constructivist teaching and

learning theory, and practical uses of technology tools. These ten principles

serve as the foundational thinking for all the tips in this book.

Chapter Three provides a set of effective online teaching practices that

describe the core best practices of an effective online or blended instructor.

This set of best practices was expanded from ten to fourteen for this book

xxviii

Introduction

and is the best chapter to use to introduce faculty to the digital teaching and

learning experience. Chapter Four focuses on the technologies. This is

always challenging, given the pace of change, but essential to address how

and when and for what purposes technology use makes sense. Almost all

institutions now rely on the use of learning management systems of some

type; these are now large, complex systems that combine administrative

uses as well as teaching uses. This chapter describes three sets of tools for

teaching in technology‐enriched environments: a basic set, a basic enhanced

set, and a set for contextual practice and emerging possibilities.

Chapter Five provides an overview of the themes and happenings of

the four phases of a course. This is very helpful for developing a sense of

the cyclical nature of any structured instructional experiences. We first

describe the guiding themes for each phase, followed by the key happen-

ings and goals for each phase. We conclude with a description of the rec-

ommended behaviors for achieving the goals.

Part Two is the core of the book: five chapters of practical theory‐based

tips mapped to the four stages of a course plus tips on teaching intensive

accelerated courses.

Chapter Six addresses the first phase of a course, the course begin-

nings. This chapter provides tips for course design and getting a course

site ready for students, the essential elements of an effective syllabus for

the digital environment, launching the social dimensions of community,

getting to know the initial cognitive states of the learners, and creating,

designing, and managing discussion forums. Chapter Seven addresses

the early middle phase. It provides strategies and hints for nurturing the

growth of the learning community and engaging learners with the core

content concepts. Chapter Eight turns to the late middle phase of the

course. It focuses on hints for supporting project work and supporting

learners’ move to independence. Chapter Nine addresses the last phase

of a course, the closing weeks. It discusses hints and strategies for pro-

jects, presentations, and ideas and practices for closing out course experi-

ences. Chapter Ten provides tips on teaching intensive accelerated

courses, describing the strategies and practices that work best with com-

pressed and focused learning times.

Part Three looks ahead to how faculty might want to proceed after

completing their initial online teaching and learning experiences. Chapter

Eleven reviews some of the recommended ways for reflecting on, analyz-

ing, and then making changes and plans for the next offering of a course.

The Appendix sets out resources for continued development as a profes-

sional online instructor.

Introduction

xxix

In summary, this book provides support for a four‐stage structure of

courses within a design framework based on traditional pedagogical prin-

ciples integrated with current memory and brain research, instructional

design, and online learning research. In addition, these tips describe peda-

gogical uses of collaborative and synchronous applications such as live

classrooms, wikis, blogs, podcasts, and social media apps. The current and

emerging sets of tools now make possible deeper and more lasting col-

laboration, communication, and synchronicity for developing learning

and relationships than we have ever had before. We are indeed fortunate

to have these tools and resources to support teaching and learning

experiences.

how to Use This Guide

Each faculty teaching an online or blended course will find his or her own

particular way of using this book. The basic design of the book is a step‐by‐

step guide describing the tasks of preparing and teaching a course and

following through the four phases of a course. It can also be used as a

resource for adapting existing courses for more integration of mobile tools

and as a reference resource for practical, pedagogically effective tips.

The initial chapters lay the foundation for thinking about pedagogy;

the chapters with the tips provide answers to questions that make a differ-

ence in the effectiveness and satisfaction of online teaching and learning

experiences. These tips help instructors survive and enjoy the challenges of

teaching in what is, for many, a strange and even intimidating environ-

ment. Many faculty will find this book a useful resource as they develop

expertise in teaching online, which takes time, energy, and patience.

A faculty member new to teaching online may have time only for scan-

ning the initial chapters and then focusing on building assessment plans

and creating the posts for the initial set of discussion forums. During the

second cycle of a course, a faculty member may be ready to apply many

more of the tips. Subsequent to those initial experiences, the faculty mem-

ber should find the deeper analysis tips and issues of great interest. Most

innovative practices take root over a period of these three cycles. The first

cycle is survival, the second cycle is a feeling of competency, and the third

integrates exploration and innovation.

This is a book that will grow in value as the instructor grows in online

experience. The phased nature of the book can be a lifesaver for both fac-

ulty and the students they teach.

Part One

Core Principles and

Best Practices of

Online Teaching

and Learning

Chapter 1

teaching online:

the Big Picture

Why doesn’t this book jump right into the tips for effective online and

blended learning? Because using the tips depends on an understanding of

how people learn, or pedagogy. Pedagogy is the science of how to design

and teach so that students experience lasting and significant learning. The

most important missing element in the preparation of many higher educa-

tion faculty is a foundation in teaching and learning principles and prac-

tices. This chapter attempts to help you build that foundation, one that will

have long‐lasting impact as you journey toward becoming an expert in

online and blended teaching and learning.

The first part of the chapter focuses briefly on a big‐picture perspec-

tive of higher education and its near‐term future. This perspective will

be valuable for understanding the context within which to interpret and

possibly adapt the new gadgets and movements that often promise silver

bullet solutions. Some of the new emerging ideas are grounded in solid

pedagogical theories, holding great promise. Other ideas are simply vari-

ations of traditional practices that still need a great deal of refinement and

work. Unfortunately, some of these emerging new trends are truly ineffec-

tive strategies, grounded in outmoded and ineffective teaching practices.

Secondly, this chapter provides a quick look at the most influential and

meaningful learning theorists. The learning theories of these giants can

truly help guide you into designing and teaching courses well. We know

that most faculty have little patience or tolerance for spending time learn-

ing practices and principles not of their own professional discipline, but

knowing just a little about these theorists will help build a long‐lasting,

3

4

The Online Teaching Survival Guide

effective personal philosophy of teaching. The brief sketches of the key

constructivist learning theories and theorists illustrate the thinking that

have shaped and inspired many of the tips, principles, and practices in

this book.

Additionally, to encourage thinking about the future of digital learning

environments, one of the sections highlights the major differences between

a mostly digital course and a mostly face‐to‐face course. We then provide

an overview of the four phases of a course—course beginnings, the early

middle, the late middle, and the closing weeks—and the happenings,

themes, and behaviors that normally occur in those course stages.

In summary, this chapter serves as one of the foundation chapters to

Chapters Six through Nine, where you will find tips, suggestions, and

guidelines on how to create and deliver an efficient, effective, and satisfy-

ing course.

Preparing to teach in the online and Blended environments

As the demand for online programs has increased over the past several dec-

ades, deans and department chairs have often turned to their faculty and

simply assigned them to online courses without much support or training.

The expectation is that faculty will use whatever resources are available on

campus from technology centers or teaching centers and learn to use online

tools: course management systems, synchronous collaborative “live” class-

rooms, and working with and assessing media of all types, including audio,

video, and images. Many institutions do acknowledge the need for time

and for assistance, but as the tools are becoming easier to use and more

widely dispersed generally, getting time and assistance to learn how to

teach online—and to redesign a course for the new online environment—is

increasingly difficult. These expectations reflect a belief that teaching online

is not much different from teaching in a face‐to‐face environment. This is

not the case. Teachers who are effective in the face‐to‐face environment can

be effective as online teachers, but it is not automatic, and it does not hap-

pen overnight.

Uh‐oh. What did i say i Would do?

We’ve all done it at one time or another: agreed to do something and then

found ourselves wondering how we were going to do it. Many faculty find

themselves in this state of concern and trepidation when they agree to

teach a course listed as either an online or blended course. Just minutes

Teaching Online: The Big Picture

5

later, they often wonder what they have agreed to do. Minutes after that,

they experience confusion and even fear, feeling clueless about what the

first step might be. Even experienced campus faculty feel a little nervous

about teaching with the new digital tool set for the first time. Faculty may

feel alone, thinking that everyone else knows exactly how to prepare and

teach online, while they can’t even begin to know what questions to ask

or of whom.

Well, how hard can it be? A common practice for teaching in the face‐

to‐face environment is to use the syllabus and notes from someone who

has taught the course before. This often happens when a mentor hands a

new instructor a large binder with his notes and says, “Go forth and teach.”

For a new course, the strategy is a bit more complex. The instructor must

determine the goals and learning outcomes for the course learners, explic-

itly define the content of the course, review textbooks or resources that

map to the learning outcomes, order the resources (probably a textbook),

and plan the assessments and assignments and experiences so that stu-

dents achieve the learning outcomes. Do the steps in preparing a course for

the digital environment map to these steps, or is there more to do? This

chapter answers these questions.

is this you?

The current cadre of faculty teaching online includes the following major

categories of faculty: a tenured faculty member with decades of teaching

experience; an assistant professor facing the need to teach, do research, and

meet tenure requirements; an untenured faculty member with a heavy

teaching load; and a part‐time adjunct with content expertise and a touch

of teaching experience.

You have been teaching for five, ten, or even twenty to thirty years. You

are an expert in your subject area, but not in technology or in the pedagogy

of how to ensure learning in different environments. You wish you had

someone who could walk you through the steps in preparing a course for

online students. You wish you knew which of your face‐to‐face teaching

strategies and behaviors will work well in the online environment and

what new behaviors and strategies you need to learn.

Or you may be a tenure‐track faculty member who must focus on meet-

ing tenure requirements. You do not have the time or the energy to develop

all the new skills associated with teaching online. You wish there was a

way to reduce the amount of time and energy spent teaching, but you also

would like the learners in your online courses to enjoy learning with you.

6

The Online Teaching Survival Guide

You have been assigned to teach your course online as part of a larger pro-

gram degree online offering. Are there ways to teach online but within

defined time and technology knowledge parameters?

Or are you an adjunct faculty member who will be teaching an occa-

sional course online? In a weak moment, you volunteered. You are excited

about the opportunity to teach a course online because you enjoy teaching;

you enjoy the dialogue and relationships you build with students, but you

don’t enjoy the hassles of getting to campus and parking late at night. How

can you—with limited time and expertise—create and develop an online

course that students will love?

This book can help you achieve your goals. But to get us started—just

what is a course, anyway?

the definition of a Course

We often assume that as faculty, we know what a course is and what peda-

gogy, the study of teaching, is. But do we? Sometimes it is helpful to review

the origins of the terms that we use every day. Particularly as we move to

new learning environments, assumptions as to how we structure teaching

and learning, the purposes of learning, and the resources and time for

learning are worth a new look.

For example, the following definition of pedagogy by Basil Bernstein, a

British sociologist and linguist, captures the key elements of the teaching

and learning experience. It also suggests some interesting possibilities as to

the means of instruction other than the faculty member, particularly in our

world of learning objects, tutorials, simulations, and mobile everything.

The italics are to highlight the key elements to consider.

Pedagogy is a sustained process whereby somebody(s) acquires new

forms or develops existing forms of conduct, knowledge, practice and

criteria from somebody(s) or something deemed to be an appropriate

provider and evaluator. Appropriate either from the point of view

of the acquirer or by some other body(s) or both [Bernstein, in

Daniels, 2007, p. 308].

This definition highlights the three essential elements of teaching and

learning: (1) a learner, (2) someone or something appropriate who is guid-

ing or directing the learner, and (3) the acquisition of attitude, knowledge,

or practice by the learner. The element of “someone or something” leaves

open the possibility of learning being guided by a “something,” which

might include resources such as texts, tutorials, simulations, virtual worlds,

Teaching Online: The Big Picture

7

or even robots. This will be very common in our future world. It is also

worth noting that pedagogy, as defined here, requires a sustained process,

which needs a context or an environment; that is, a place of learning. In

higher education, a course provides that context, and the sustained process

is a series of learning experiences in a course. This leads us to the following

operational definition of a course that captures the elements of learners

and their experiences, mentoring and assessment by an instructor, time,

and earned credit or record of some type.

A course is a set of learning experiences within a specified time frame,

often between six and fifteen weeks, in which learners, mentored by an

instructor, expect to develop a specific set of knowledge, skills, and

attitudes. Learners are then assessed as to whether they achieve these

goals and are assigned a grade for academic credit.

This description of a course provides the backdrop for a course design

that focuses on a learner and his or her learning outcomes.

The definition of a course varies depending on your role either as a

student or instructor. From a student perspective, a course is a set of

requirements and expectations, often including meetings, that results in

learning new knowledge, skills, or attitudes and counts toward a degree or

certificate that certifies a certain level of competency or skill. Students often

get stressed regarding the time needed to complete course requirements

and develop the level of competencies required to earn appropriate credit.

From an instructor’s viewpoint, teaching a course requires time and

expertise over a specific span of time. A common faculty concern is a ques-

tion of workload: “How much time does it take to design, develop, and

deliver a three‐credit online course, and will I have time for my other

responsibilities?” Generally a three‐credit campus course represents from

20 to 25 percent of a full‐time faculty’s workload, or about eight to ten

hours a week. Thus, after an initial investment of time, developing new

habits, resourcing of tools and materials, and completing course redesign,

the goal is that an online course will not require more than eight to ten

hours a week of a faculty’s time. Is this possible? Yes.

Some of the preparation required and the tool learning is dependent on

the percentage of a course that is online and the percentage that uses the

traditional face‐to‐face model with a digital component; that is, a blended

course. The definition of whether a course is an online or blended course is

addressed in the section on “Types of Online and Blended Courses.”

Preparation effort and time is also dependent on the teaching and assess-

ment strategies used in achieving student outcomes in updated courses.

8

The Online Teaching Survival Guide

how do online and Blended Courses differ from

traditional Courses?

The differences between traditional courses and online and blended

courses are getter smaller and smaller for two reasons. First of all, technol-

ogy advances have made synchronous meetings and gatherings much eas-

ier. This means that faculty and students can interact in real time, close to

the interactions in a traditional classroom. Secondly, understanding about

how we learn from brain and cognitive research has resulted in more active

teaching and learning strategies, no matter which environment is

being used.

There still are differences, and designing a fully online or blended digi-

tal environment is easier if you approach the design task with the charac-

teristics that follow in mind. Notice that this list is organized according to

the four key elements of teaching experiences—learner, faculty mentor,

content, and environment, plus the assessment element.

1. The faculty role shifts to more coaching, guiding, and mentoring. In

the newer digital, twenty‐first‐century environments, there is much

less “telling” on the part of the instructor. Rather than preparing

fifty‐minute lectures, instructors prepare short concept introductions

and challenging, concept‐focused discussions, monitor discussions,

manage student interactions, and support students’ creative work. This

means that an instructor assumes a predominately coaching, mentor-

ing, guiding, and directing learning role. Constructivist theory posits—

and research supports—that learners must construct their own

knowledge base. It is more effective for students to follow their own

lines of thinking and inquiry by talking to peers and immersing them-

selves in resources, rather than listening to the delivery of content from

an instructor for long periods. Research is supporting this pedagogical

theory, indicating that lecturing alone, without periodic questioning or

discussion, is an ineffective way of learning. In most lectures, learners

are too passive for much higher‐level learning to occur (McKeachie,

Pintrich, Lin, & Smith, 1986; Wieman, 2008; Svinicki & McKeachie, 2011).

This shift means that you as an instructor do not have to invest time

preparing for live lectures. Your teaching time shifts to preparing

recorded or written mini‐lectures and resource introductions, prepar-

ing facilitation and community building experiences, and monitoring

and guiding students in their learning experiences.

2. Learners are more active and direct more of their own learning expe-

riences. While course design is the major influencer of how actively

Teaching Online: The Big Picture

9

students direct their own learning, online course designs tend to place

more emphasis on student choice and personal learning decisions.

Learners’ dialogue and activity are often higher in online courses.

Learners must do more thinking, writing, doing, sharing, reflecting,

collaborating, and peer reviewing as part of a community of learners.

Students often come to a campus class without completing the reading

assignment and expect that the instructor will enlighten them, saving

them time. Learners in an online course cannot similarly hide passively.

If they have not prepared and processed the content prior to posting

their discussion responses, that shortcoming is evident to everyone.

Learners are therefore motivated to complete the readings to interact

well with the others. This change means that faculty must design dis-

cussion forums with effective catalyst discussion questions before the

course begins.

3. Content resources are flexible and virtually infinite. This content

characteristic is now the same for any type of course; the main distinc-

tion for online and blended courses tends to be that students in online

and blended courses likely use a greater variety and sourcing of con-

tent resources. This is probably linked to the greater self‐direction

described earlier. This characteristic has pros and cons for all students.

Self‐directed students have more freedom, although not necessarily

more time, to search out and use content resources that support effec-

tive building of their own knowledge base. At the same time, the greater

abundance and diversity of content media of all types probably means

that students focus less and process content less deeply. Also, as con-

tent resources are now increasingly mobile, resources are accessible on

smartphones, iPods, tablets, and other small, mobile devices. This

means that learners have many more options than in the past as to

when, where, and with whom they work on course goals. Too much

flexibility can be overwhelming, so establishing a weekly rhythm with

regular, rigorous milestones is essential. In addition to the usual mix of

required, highly recommended, and other resources, students will be

suggesting and contributing and creating additional content resources.

The core learning principle on content in Chapter Two discusses this in

more detail.

4. Learning environments for gathering and dialogue are primarily

asynchronous with occasional synchronous meetings. Online and

blended class discussions are primarily asynchronous—available at

different times depending on the learner’s physical location, rather

10

The Online Teaching Survival Guide

than synchronous in real time at the instructor’s location of choice.

Since online discussions are asynchronous and require learners’ com-

ments and statements, there is an expectation that learners reflect on

what they have learned from the resource assignments before they

come to class (online) to participate in the course activities, such as

posting their reflections in the discussion areas. Online classrooms now

provide opportunities for synchronous gatherings, but good online

practice uses these gatherings for consensus‐building discussions,

question‐and‐answer sessions, peer critiques, collaborative project

work, and presentations—anything that is less reflective work.

5. Assessment is continuous. Assessment in online courses should be

continuous, multiphased with community input rather than episodic,

concentrated, and focused on the individual‐faculty dialogue

(Moallem, 2005). This is pedagogically beneficial and makes cheating

and other forms of fraud more difficult. Assessment in any course

improves when instructors get to know learners as individuals and

invest time in coaching and mentoring. In online and blended course

designs students also get to know themselves as learners and also ben-

efit from other students’ learning work. Most online course assessments

are not closed‐book tests and thus do not require proctoring, which

eliminates a whole range of potential challenges. Rather, assessment in

online and blended courses generally uses a combination of low‐stakes

automated quizzes; frequent, regular postings in discussion forums;

short papers; case study practices and analyses; and customized projects.

Although these are the primary differences in online and blended

courses, all courses are still more similar than different. Also, with the

growing popularity of blended courses combining online and traditional

elements, all courses are actually becoming even more similar. This means

that a good way of beginning your own personal growth toward being an

expert online instructor is to shift your campus course to a blended envi-

ronment that combines online, technology‐rich activities and resources

with active learning strategies that involve the class community.

types of online and Blended Courses

Table 1.1 describes four general types of courses. The first type of course

listed is the traditional face‐to‐face course that still meets regularly in some

shared physical space. In the first edition of this book, this type of course

had virtually no digital components. We are now rapidly approaching a

Teaching Online: The Big Picture

11

taBle 1.1

types of Courses

Proportion of Content type of Course

typical description

delivered online

None to 14 percent

Traditional

Course with little or no content delivered online;

face‐to‐face

regular and frequent weekly synchronous

campus course

gatherings; content delivered orally, with assigned

meetings and readings, and assessed with

proctored tests, papers, or projects. The course

may use a course site for handouts and emergency

communications. This type of course offering is

decreasing as all courses become blended or

hybrid offerings.

15 to 39 percent

Lightly blended or

Course that uses technology to facilitate what is

hybrid course;

essentially a face‐to‐face course. Uses a course

might also be called

management system to post the syllabus and

a flipped course

assignments and lectures, for example. Similar to

face‐to‐face courses.

40 to 79 percent

Blended or hybrid

Course that blends online and face‐to‐face delivery.

A substantial proportion of the content is

delivered online; typically uses online discussions

and has some, but fewer face‐to face or

synchronous meetings.

80 percent or more

Online/MOOCs

A course where most or all of the content is delivered

online. These courses are shifting to regularly

include synchronous online meetings.

Source: Adapted from Boettcher and Conrad (2004) and Allen and Seaman (2008)

note: Percentages were changed in this edition to reflect changing practices in blended, flipped, and MOOC courses and trends.

time in which there are no traditional face‐to‐face courses; all courses will

use some digital gathering and communications tools and spaces such as

those offered by course management systems. The traditional face‐to‐face

course now frequently uses digital communications for distributing digital

course documents, such as syllabi, readings, and managing 24/7 commu-

nications. Many traditional courses now also use technology when normal

campus operations need to be suspended due to severe weather or other

emergencies.

The next type of course is described as “lightly blended or hybrid

courses.” We wish we had a better term for these courses, but this term

12

The Online Teaching Survival Guide

tries to capture the fact that the percentage of time for face‐to‐face meetings

is decreasing and that more teaching and learning experiences are designed

and offered using digital tools and resources. These courses might also be

described as “flipped” courses when lectures are digital and available

asynchronously 24/7 and face‐to‐face gatherings are used for discussion

and collaborative problem‐solving.

The third type of course is one firmly planted in the blended or hybrid

mode. In blended courses, the times that teaching and learning experiences

are synchronous using shared physical spaces might be a two‐ to three‐

hour session every two or three weeks. All other teaching and learning

discussion, brainstorming, and engagement are digital, often using the

tools and spaces of a course management system.

The fourth category of online courses includes those courses in which

most or all of the content is delivered online and that rely very heavily on

asynchronous (at different times) discussions and occasional synchro-

nous meetings.

Note that the description of the four types of courses has been shifting

over the last fifteen to twenty years. We are rapidly approaching a time in

which there are no traditional face‐to‐face courses; all courses will use

some digital gathering and communications tools and spaces such as those

offered by course management systems.

The table is intended to serve only as a way of talking about the type of

course you will be designing. For example, the table defines an online

course as having few face‐to‐face or synchronous meetings, but many pro-

grams are designed with frequent synchronous digital gatherings and

occasional face‐to‐face gatherings for introductory, assessment, or celebra-

tory meetings. Some research (Means et al., 2010) suggests that the pre-

ferred and most effective model, if possible, is a course that is a blend of

asynchronous, synchronous, and face‐to‐face gatherings.

Given the variables of gathering times, places, and asynchronous and

synchronous tools and resources that are available to support teaching and

learning strategies, it might be best to categorize courses within a contin-

uum of digital instruction featuring flipped courses, blended/hybrid

courses, online courses, MOOCs (massive open online courses). As can be

deduced from Table 1.1, all of the types of courses we offer contain some or

all of the characteristics of digital instruction: (1) online availability of con-

tent, (2) online quizzes and assessments, (3) video and audio resources, (4)

online forums, and (5) peer and self‐assessment. Glance, Forsey, and Riley

(2013) provide more descriptions of these elements in their article on the

pedagogical foundations of MOOCs.

Teaching Online: The Big Picture

13

And speaking of MOOCs, a word is probably in order. What exactly are

MOOCs, and what educational need will they be meeting in the higher

education landscape? Very briefly, MOOCs accommodate large numbers

of students that generally cannot be managed or accommodated in the tra-

ditional campus course model. Here are some of the major characteristics

of MOOCs: they are open to anyone who registers (usually at no cost); the

primary content resource is videos of professors delivering lectures; forums

for students to discuss ideas with others are available; little or no self‐

assessment or certification. If there is a certification badge of some sort,

there are usually costs associated with that assessment process. It is very

early in the evolution of MOOCs, and just how they will evolve is uncer-

tain, but it is likely they will successfully play a twofold role in higher

education. First, they may help to satisfy the need for continuing lifelong

professional development. Second, they may provide a path to higher

learning for those who cannot afford to pay and who may be able to prove

competency without certification. Another potential benefit may be that

innovations discovered for MOOCs might inform traditional cam-

pus models.

The tips offered later in this book can be applied or adapted to any type

of online or blended course, including MOOCs.

the Four stages of a Course

Now that we have discussed how courses differ, let’s consider how they

are the same. Each course has a minimum of four distinct stages: Course

Beginnings, Early Middle, Late Middle, and Wrap Up. This is reflected in

how the four elements of learner, faculty‐mentor, content, and environ-

ment interact and flow within teaching and learning experiences. Chapter

Five describes in detail what is happening in each of these stages and

delves more deeply into the themes, behaviors, and tools for accomplish-

ing the goals of each of these stages.

learning theories and theorists

The principles, practices, and tips in this book are grounded in learning

theory, principles, and research. More specifically, the tips in this book

build extensively on constructivism, the philosophy that learners actively

construct and create their personalized knowledge structures from the

interaction of three inputs: what they already know; what they pay atten-

tion to in their environment, including language, people, and images; and

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The Online Teaching Survival Guide

what they process deeply. The constructivism philosophy is the foundation

of how we view learning and how our minds work. Closely related to con-

structivism is the social theory of learning, which emphasizes the role of

the context or environment of learning.

Figure 1.1 presents a few of the more significant theories and theorists

that inspired this integrated view of constructivism and social (situated)

learning. These sketches of key learning theorists are in no particular order

other than generally chronological. We have also attempted to show rela-

tive relationships and linkages among these theorists who are so important

to the tips. There are many other truly significant theorists and theories,

but all cannot be profiled in this chapter. However, many of these others

will be mentioned in the principles, practices, and tips.

For more information on the learning theorists mentioned here and any

others that are not, the Theories into Practice database developed by Greg

Kearsley and now integrated into www.instructionaldesign.org is an excel-

lent resource. This database contains descriptions of over 50 theories rele-

vant to human learning and instruction, descriptions of learning concepts,

and important domains of learning.

lev Vygotsky (1896–1934): theory of social development

Vygotsky is a twentieth‐century Russian psychologist, linguist, and phi-

losopher whose work became accessible in the mid‐1960s when it was

translated into English. His theory is usually referred to as a social devel-

opment theory because a major theme in his theoretical framework is that

social interaction plays an essential role in the development of cognition.

His work also included significant investigations into the processes of con-

cept acquisition that led to a study of problem‐solving strategies. Perhaps

his best‐known concept is the zone of proximal development (ZPD), which

defines for each individual the state of readiness for learning. The formal

definition of the zone is “the distance between the actual development

level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of

potential development as determined through problem solving under

adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers” (Vygotsky, 1978,

p. 86). It is always interesting to think about the similarities of Vygotsky’s

thinking with his contemporaries, the Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget and

John Dewey, the giant of American psychological thought (whose profiles

follow). The writings of van der Veer (1996) suggest that Vygotsky and

Piaget definitely were in contact with each other, but that language and

geography barriers prevented regular contact to resolve differing perspec-

tives. What is worth focusing on, we believe, are their shared core concepts

of the staging of learning and the importance of context in learning.

Teaching Online: The Big Picture

15

FigUre 1.1

influential learning theorists

LEV VYGOTSKY (1896–1934)

JOHN DEWEY (1859–1952)

JEAN PIAGET (1896–1980)

1. Theory of Social

1. Experiential Learning –

1. Stage theory of child

Development – encourages

characterized by interaction

development – how

small teams and groups.

and continuity. Encourages

reasoning abilities develop.

2. Zone of Proximal

hands-on collaborative

2. Learning occurs with two

Development – Small window

activities and projects.

processes: assimilation and

of readiness and opportunity

2. Development of

accommodation – requires

suggests choices and

reflective, creative,

active use of content and

personalization, and close

responsible thought as

time for processing.

monitoring.

primary aim of education.

WHAT THEY SHARE

1. Emphasis on developing critical reasoning skills

2. Focus on engaging with content and influence of context

JOHN SEELY BROWN (1940 - )

JEROME BRUNER (1915 - )

1. Theory of cognitive apprenticeship –

1. Learning as an active process, adding to

promotes hands-on doing and

learner’s existing knowledge – promotes

problem-solving.

discovery and problem-solving.

2. Concept of collective social mind –

2. Concept of scaffolding, designing experiences

promotes community and

to match learner’s state of readiness –

collaborative work.

encourages options and personalization,

relationship with learners.

WHAT THEY SHARE

1. Emphasis on learner discovery, active engagement with

content and others

ROGER SCHANK (1946 - )

ALBERT BANDURA (1925 - )

1. Schema Theory – scripts,

1. Social learning theory – we

JEAN LAVE (1939 - )

plans, mental models to

learn by observing others.

describe knowledge structure.

1. Social learning theory

Suggests use of models, case

Suggests use of context,

– Learning is a cognitive

studies, examples.

patterns, relationships.

process that takes place in

2. Self-efficacy – belief in

2. Curriculum Design –

a social context. Learning

oneself to take appropriate

Promotes combining learning

includes elements of

actions. Suggests learning as

by doing experiences with

observation, extraction of

attitudinal as well as cognitive

mentoring.

ideas, and decision-

growth.

making. Suggests need

for observation, reflection,

K. ANDERS ERICSSON (1947 - )

and decision-making.

1. Need for deliberate practice to

acquire expertise. Argues for

monitored practice in varied and

WHAT THEY SHARE

multiple contexts to develop

expertise. Suggests use of examples

1. Learning is cognitive activity within a social

with evaluative activities.

context observing modeling behaviors

ELLEN LANGER (1947 - )

DANIEL GOLEMAN (1947 - )

1. Mindful Learning – Learning requires

1. Theory of emotional intelligence. Emotional

mindful engagement with content.

intelligence can mean ability to perceive and

Noticing distinctions, the novel within

regulate emotions in self and others. Argues

the familiar, and the familiar within

to include dimensions of feeling and attitude

the novel. Argues for thoughtful

in learning situations.

reflections.

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John dewey (1859–1952): experiential learning

John Dewey, an American philosopher, psychologist, and educational

reformer, was a major proponent of experiential learning in the first half of

the twentieth century. He foresaw an active and collaborative student

experience that, almost a hundred years later, we finally have the tools and

shared collective acceptance to implement. Dewey emphasized the unique

and individualized nature of interaction in the learning experience. He

believed, as do many constructivist theorists, that learners construct new

knowledge based on previous knowledge and that experiences are unique

to each learner. Dewey promoted the active participation of the learner in

the learning environment, and he championed the role of an instructor as a

facilitator or mentor.

Dewey focused his ideas on developing what he believed to be the

aims of education: the development of reflective, creative, responsible

thought. In his 1933 treatise, How We Think, Dewey said, “We state emphat-

ically that, upon its intellectual side, education consists of the formation

of wide‐awake, careful, thorough habits of thinking” (p. 78). This single

sentence, which captures the essence of Dewey’s thinking, sets forth one

of the ultimate goals of education. Another key concept in Dewey’s work

is that interaction and continuity are the two primary characteristics of

effective teaching and learning experiences. The characteristic of interac-

tion reinforces the importance of dialogue and communication and

engagement in learning; the characteristic of continuity reinforces the

perspective that the individual learner must be viewed as the key

design element.

Jean Piaget (1896–1980): theory of genetic epistemology

or origins of thinking

A twentieth‐century Swiss psychologist and natural scientist, Piaget is

best known for his stage theory of child development, beginning with the

sensorimotor stage (0 to 2 years), preoperational thinking (3 to 7 years),

concrete operations (8 to 11 years), culminating in abstract thinking in the

formal operations stage (ages 12 to 15 years). Piaget called his general the-

oretical framework “genetic epistemology” because he was primarily

interested in how cognitive knowledge, including moral reasoning, devel-

ops in humans. In his view, cognitive development consists of a constant

effort to adapt to the environment in terms of the processes of assimilation

(adding information to existing knowledge structure) and accommoda-

tion (modifying a knowledge structure to accommodate new information).

In this sense, Piaget’s theory is similar in nature to the constructivist

Teaching Online: The Big Picture

17

perspectives of Vygotsky and Jerome Bruner (whose profile follows),

including an emphasis on context and environment. Another concept cen-

tral to Piaget’s theory is cognitive structures, which he defined as patterns

of physical or mental action that underlie specific acts of intelligence and

correspond to stages of child development. These cognitive structures are

similar to the schemas of Roger Schank and the concepts of mental models

(Schank & Abelson, 1977). Piaget’s theories have been used extensively in

the development of logic and math programs, providing a planned

sequence or spiraling of instruction, from simple to more complex.

Seymour Papert, the MIT mathematician who developed the Logo pro-

gramming language for children, worked with Piaget in the 1950s and

1960s. Papert expanded on Piaget’s thinking with a focus on how children

build knowledge structures through a progressive internalization of

actions, or making things.

Jerome Bruner (1915–): Constructivism

Jerome Bruner is an American educational psychologist who is a senior

research fellow at the New York University School of Law. As a construc-

tivist, Bruner’s work incorporates strong support for discovery learning.

He believes that mastery of the fundamental ideas of a field involves not

only the grasping of general principles, but also the development of an

attitude toward learning and inquiry, toward guessing and hunches,

toward the possibility of solving problems on one’s own (Bruner, 1963). As

a constructivist, Bruner emphasizes the active process of discovery and

trial and error through which a student can uncover the interrelationships

of concepts and ideas (Clabaugh, 2009).

One of Bruner’s best‐known statements and one of my favorites is that

any subject can be taught to any child at any stage of development if it is

presented in the proper manner (Bruner, 1963).

Another oft‐used quote is about the usefulness of knowledge. Bruner

(1963) stated, “The first object of any act of learning, over and beyond the

pleasure it may give, is that it should serve us in the future. Learning

should not only take us somewhere; it should allow us later to go further

more easily” (p. 17). The focus of this thought is twofold. First, Bruner

emphasizes that learning should be purposeful; for example, developing

skills to serve us in the future. Second, every time we learn something, we

add links or nodes to a cognitive structure on which we can build and link

to later; as we grow these connections and nodes, we are able to learn more

and to learn faster. In this view, the more one knows, the more one can

know, and know quickly. Also attributed to Bruner is the concept of

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The Online Teaching Survival Guide

scaffolding. He observes that it takes a very skilled teacher to structure a

learning experience so that the learner discovers new knowledge on his

own. This means “scaffolding the task in such a way that assures that only

those parts of the task within the child’s reach are left unresolved, and

knowing what elements of a solution the child will recognize though he

cannot yet perform them” (p. xiv of 1977 edition of The Process of Education).

This statement reiterates the importance of design for successful learning

experiences.

Bruner’s belief can be summarized as follows: “Learning is an active

process in which learners construct new ideas or concepts based on

current/past knowledge.” http://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/

constructivist.html

John seely Brown (1940–): Cognitive apprenticeship

John Seely Brown is best known as the chief scientist at the Xerox

Corporation; he directed the company’s Palo Alto Research Center, known

as PARC, for twelve years, up to 2000. He is now a visiting scholar and

advisor to the provost at the University of Southern California and inde-

pendent cochairman of Deloitte Center for the Edge. As early as 1991, in a

Harvard Business Review article, Brown envisioned how “advanced multi-

media information systems” would make it possible to plug into a “collec-

tive social mind” (Brown, 1997), laying the groundwork for our thinking

about communities in online learning. Brown explored similar ideas about

“learning communities capable of generating, sharing, and deploying

highly esoteric knowledge” (p. 127) in The Social Life of Information, the book

he coauthored with University of California, Berkeley researcher Paul

Duguid in 2000. His work on cognitive apprenticeships (Brown, Collins, &

Duguid, 1989; Collins, Brown, & Holum, 1991) and learning environments

(Brown, 2006) examine how technologies can support problem solving and

hands‐on learning. A recent article explores how activities within virtual

worlds create a “sense of shared space and co‐presence which make real‐

time coordination and interaction not only possible, but a necessary part of

the world” (Thomas & Brown, 2009, p. 37). Brown’s latest initiative focuses

on the maker movement, which leverages technology and the world econ-

omy for making anything and everything. What is a maker? “Broadly, a

maker is someone who derives identity and meaning from the act of crea-

tion” (Hagel, Brown, & Kulasooriya, 2014, p. 3).

Our students are maturing in the midst of this wave of making; if we

can find ways to incorporate “making” into our courses, students will

engage with energy and enthusiasm.

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roger schank (1946–): schema theory

Roger Schank was one of the influential early contributors to artificial intel-

ligence and cognitive psychology in the 1970s and 1980s and continues as

a major contributor to learning theory and the building of virtual learning

environments. His concepts of case‐based reasoning and dynamic memory

were significant contributions to these fields. The central focus of Schank’s

work has been the structure of knowledge, especially in the context of lan-

guage understanding. He is well known for his work on schema theory—

the concepts of scripts, plans, and themes to handle story‐level

understanding (Schank & Abelson, 1977). Schema theory is similar to the

concept of mental models; it is another way of describing knowledge struc-

tures and a way of predicting and inferring information from incomplete

information. His work in this area extended into developing programs to

enable computers to understand and predict what might be coming next.

Schank is now working to design and implement learning‐by‐doing,

story‐centered curricula in schools, universities, and corporations. Why is

Schank’s work important to learning tips? His work encourages categoriz-

ing content knowledge into patterns, relationships, and dependencies. If

we identify patterns and relationships, our knowledge structures will be

more useful and memorable, and we will be able to see more quickly and

clearly the application of knowledge in new situations.

albert Bandura (1925–): social learning theory

Albert Bandura is best known as the psychologist responsible for learning

theories that transition behaviorism and observational learning, also

referred to as social learning theory. While behaviorism depends on learn-

ing theories of reward and punishment, Bandura researched the power of

observational learning, that children could learn from simple observation

of others. He is also known for the construct of self‐efficacy, the belief in

oneself to be able to take appropriate actions.

What does his work contribute to learning design? Observational learn-

ing theory suggests the use of models, case studies, examples, and videos

of behaviors and actions. The concept of self‐efficacy suggests that learning

is multidimensional—not just cognitive, but also attitudinal—foreshadow-

ing the emotional intelligence focus of Daniel Goleman (see later profile).

Jean lave (1939–): situated learning theory

Jean Lave, University of California, Berkeley, is a social anthropologist

whose learning theories emphasize the role of the context in which learn-

ing occurs. Her situated learning theory suggests that classroom activities

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The Online Teaching Survival Guide

that are abstract and lack context are not effective. Situated learning theory

is similar to social learning theory, which describes learning as a cognitive

process that takes place in a social context. Her theories may go to the

extreme of the emphasis on social learning, as she says, “participation in

everyday life may be thought of as the process of changing understanding

in practice, that is, as learning” (Lave, 2009, p. 201).

What does her work contribute to learning design? Situated learning

theory includes elements of observation, extraction of ideas, decision‐

making, and reflection. This view of learning sees social interaction as a

critical component encouraging learners to become a community of learn-

ers espousing certain beliefs and behaviors.

K. anders ericsson (1946–): expert Performance theory

K. Anders Ericsson is a Swedish psychologist widely recognized for his the-

oretical and experimental research on expertise. One of his most well‐known

contributions is the framework for development of expertise and the need

for “deliberate practice” (Ericsson, 2000). Deliberate practice is more than

simply practicing a skill over and over. In Ericsson’s words, deliberate prac-

tice “entails considerable, specific, and sustained efforts to do something

you can’t do well—or even at all. Deliberate practice involves two kinds of

learning: improving the skills you already have and extending the reach

and range of your skills. This type of practice usually requires a well‐

informed coach not only to guide you through deliberate practice, but also

to help you learn to coach yourself” (Ericsson, Prietula, & Cokely, 2007, p. 2).

What does this mean for designing learning? It suggests the need for

designing monitored practice into varied and multiple contexts to develop

expertise. It also suggests the use of many examples across and within a

discipline to provide a range of experiences with evaluative activities.

ellen langer (1947–): theory of Mindful learning

Ellen Langer, a professor of psychology at Harvard, has applied the con-

cept of mindfulness to any situation requiring decision‐making. She defines

mindfulness as having three characteristics: continually creating new cat-

egories, openness to new information, and an implicit awareness of more

than one perspective (Langer, 1997, p. 4). Mindfulness might be a close

relation to critical thinking, encouraging teaching skills and facts set within

multiple different contexts.

What does this mean for designing learning? Mindful learning means

engaging thoughtfully with the content and questioning positions, values,

Teaching Online: The Big Picture

21

and decisions. One strategy to use is to encourage noticing the novel

within the familiar, and the familiar within the novel. The value of mind-

fulness also argues for making time for thoughtful and questioning

reflections.

daniel goleman (1947–): theory of emotional intelligence

Daniel Goleman is the author of a 1995 book, Emotional Intelligence: Why It

Can Matter More Than IQ, that caused a rethinking of the skills and traits

needed for effective leadership and management. Goleman’s research

found that the qualities usually associated with effective leadership—such

as intelligence, toughness, determination, and vision—were insufficient.

Emotional intelligence, which includes self‐awareness, self‐regulation,

motivation, empathy, and social skill, is also needed.

What does this mean for designing learning? It suggests that we include

dimensions of feeling and attitude in learning experiences. The buzz

around this “new” topic encourages a look back to the 1973 affective

domain work of Krathwohl, Bloom, and Masia, corresponding to the much

more familiar Bloom’s cognitive taxonomy.

other theorists and influencers

As previously mentioned, many other significant researchers, theorists,

and thinkers have influenced the theory and practices behind the tips in

this book. You will come to know many of them in the context of the tips.

Before leaving the topic of key influencers, however, we want to call atten-

tion to the 2000 work of Bransford, Brown, and Cocking and the Committee

on Developments in the Science of Learning that resulted in the book, How

People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School.

This committee reviewed decades of learning research and identified

five themes that are changing our views on the theory of learning:

• Memory and the structure of knowledge

• Problem solving and reasoning

• Early foundations of learning, attempting to answer, “Who knows what,

and when?”

• Metacognitive processes and self‐regulatory learning processes

• Cultural experience and community participation

These five topics are active research areas that will continue to influ-

ence teaching and learning in all environments in the future, and they echo

throughout this book.

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summary—and What’s next

This chapter introduced the key concepts in getting started with online and

blended teaching and learning. The big picture of the four stages of a

course—course beginnings, early middle, late middle, and closing weeks—

helps you envision your course as a series of learning experiences that pro-

vide the context for you and your learners to develop a community for

learning and developing skills.

With the constructivist landscape in place, the next two chapters

describe ten core learning principles and ten—plus four—best practices to

guide you as you develop new mental models, habits, and skills for teach-

ing in online and blended environments.

Chapter Two discusses a set of ten core learning principles that capture

most of the key principles suggested by constructivist theories and related

instructional design approaches. Chapter Three is a summary of a set of

best practices for teaching online. The first edition had only ten best prac-

tices. It has been expanded to ten plus four to address key recommended

practices in design and assessment.

self‐directed exercise—application

Which one to three of the top theorists or theories resonate with you?

Chapter 2

Pedagogical Principles

for effective Teaching

and learning: Ten Core

learning Principles

The goal of this chapter is for you to develop a mindset based on the sci-

ence and theory of teaching and learning principles. This mindset means

you will continually be asking questions such as these:

• What are some truths about learning that I want to acknowledge and

build into the design of my course?

• What kinds of activities make a difference in my students’ learning?

• How should I structure learning activities so that my learners acquire

certain skills and behaviors and develop expertise?

• What types of learning experiences encourage students to work together

so they can learn the content in the course, experience the value of mul-

tiple perspectives, and develop lasting relationships?

While we have an abundance of research on how people learn, dis-

tilling that research into a usable and ready set of learning principles has

proven challenging. In recent years various sets of learning principles have

been proposed, and they have been very helpful. We’ll have more on these

later in the book.

Working with faculty in the emerging online, blended and hybrid envi-

ronments, we wanted a set of learning principles that more specifically

addressed these environments and their digital tools. The set of learning

principles in this chapter is our response, enriched through many conver-

sations with colleagues. This particular set of learning principles strives

to integrate these three threads of teaching and learning knowledge:

(1) instructional design, (2) learning theory, and (3) learning research. The

23

24

The Online Teaching Survival Guide

faculty we have worked with over the years have generally regarded these

principles as clear, concise, and usable. Various versions have also been

widely distributed among faculty centers.

To achieve this mindset, this chapter provides an overview of the

theoretical foundations of pedagogy—the science of teaching and learn-

ing. While it is common to be impatient with theory, this knowledge base

informs all the design practices and practical tips for teaching in this book.

You will also want theory and science to guide the teaching designs you

create to fit your discipline and course needs.

It is generally assumed that faculty know the fundamentals of teaching

and learning theory. Unfortunately, this is not necessarily so. An instruc-

tor’s preparation for teaching generally focuses on becoming an expert in

a discipline’s content and practices, not in communicating and developing

that expertise in others. The theory and practice of teaching and learning

is often an afterthought and learned somewhat haphazardly through years

of practice. As Derek Bok, a former president of Harvard University, has

noted, faculty are “rarely exposed to research on teaching during graduate

school” (2005).

This cultural practice is starting to change due in large part to the

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) movement (2004 to present)

that encourages scholarly inquiry into learning. As a discipline, we have

centuries of research on how people learn, but there remains a significant

gap between what we know from the research and theory and our general

teaching design and practices.

The net result is that most of us gravitate to teach the way we have been

taught. This has not been a serious problem in the past, but the proliferation

of new technologies, environments, devices, and students whose attentions

are focused on digital screens are creating new challenges. In many cases,

faculty today have not experienced learning in hybrid, blended, or online

courses and therefore have few examples on which to model their own

technology‐enhanced teaching. Rather than listening passively to lectures,

students want to be doing and creating. Fortunately, doing and creating

are exactly the kinds of learning activities that support lasting growth and

learning. So we may be on a good path.

Supporting learning growth means we need to design more active

learning strategies into course designs and experiences. The challenge is

how to transition to these new active learning strategies. A related chal-

lenge is how to support instructors to become knowledgeable in the princi-

ples of effective teaching and learning designs and practices. We hope this

book can help in meeting this challenge.

Ten Core Learning Principles

25

Studying the science of teaching and learning processes is best done

as a lifelong pursuit. For instructors who have the time and inclination

to pursue the study of pedagogy, this chapter provides a good founda-

tion and useful starting point for designing effective and efficient learn-

ing experiences. For instructors who have the time for only a simple set

of basic learning principles, this chapter provides a solid foundation and

vocabulary for a deeper understanding of the best practices and tips in

this book.

Background of the Ten Core learning Principles

Research programs launched with the Decade of the Brain initiative (1990–

2000) have greatly enriched our understanding of the brain, mind, and

consciousness. In work at a lab at the University of California, San Francisco

(UCSF) and other labs, neuroscientists are working on tools that let us see

how our brains work in real time responding to visual and motor stimuli

(Gazzaley, 2014).

A key finding from this brain research is that our brains keep growing

and changing throughout our lives, creating new physical neurons and

new connections, in response to changing conditions and stimuli. Some

research suggests that the actual structure of the brain is changed by medi-

tation practice. This characteristic of the brain to adapt is called neuroplas-

ticity and is defined as the “ability of the brain to respond to stimuli and

stresses by remodeling its structure, function and connections” (Brain and

Behavior Research Foundation, 2013, p. 28). In other words, research has

affirmed that, given the right conditions, our brains are able to create new

physical structures and connections.

The abundance of new understandings of the brain combined with the

ready availability of wearable, mobile communication devices is stimulat-

ing a rethinking of our traditional approaches to teaching and learning

experiences. Insights into how the brain works (Bransford, Brown, &

Cocking, 2000; Damasio, 1999; Kandel, 2006; Ramachandran, 2011;

Schacter, 2001) are deepening our appreciation and interpretation of core

learning principles. These understandings provide new insights as to how

we design and manage modern learning experiences and develop learning

communities (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000; Brown, 2006; Clark &

Meyer, 2011; Garrison & Vaughan, 2008; Swan & Ice, 2010; Vaughan,

Cleveland‐Innes, & Garrison, 2013).

That’s the good news. The flip side of all this research is that, while the

avalanche of research findings is exciting and breathtaking, deriving a

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The Online Teaching Survival Guide

simple, workable set of principles from the research can be daunting. It is

our hope that this chapter provides a simple, practical starting set of core

learning principles that you can use to design and teach your course.

The principles in this chapter have been particularly inspired by the

work of leading educational theorists of the twentieth century as described

in Chapter One. This set of principles is obviously not the last word on core

learning principles, but we have found them useful in our many years of

work with faculty. We believe these principles capture the core of construc-

tivist learning theories and serve as a guide to designing, creating, and

managing effective teaching and learning experiences. Each principle is

defined, its source identified, and examples provided showing how the

principle can guide the design of teaching and learning processes in online

environments.

Ten Core learning Principles

Table 2.1 lists a set of ten core learning principles that can guide you in the

design, creation, and teaching of any structured learning experience.

TaBle 2.1

Ten Core learning Principles

Principle

Description

Principle 1

Every structured learning experience has four elements, with the learner at the center.

Principle 2

Learners bring their own personalized and customized knowledge, skills, and attitudes to

the experience.

Principle 3

Faculty mentors are the directors of the learning experience.

Principle 4

All learners do not need to learn all course content; all learners do need to learn the

core concepts.

Principle 5

Every learning experience includes the environment or context in which the learner

interacts.

Principle 6

Every learner has a zone of proximal development that defines the space that a learner is

ready to develop into useful knowledge.

Principle 7

Concepts are not words but organized and interconnected knowledge clusters.

Principle 8

Different instruction is required for different learning outcomes.

Principle 9

Everything else being equal, more time on task equals more learning.

Principle 10 We shape our tools, and our tools shape us.

Ten Core Learning Principles

27

Principle 1: every Structured learning experience has

four elements, with the learner at the Center

The first core learning principle asserts that all structured learning experi-

ences are created by the presence and interaction of four elements:

• The learner who is at the center of the teaching and learning process

• The faculty mentor who directs, supports, and assesses the learner

• The content knowledge, skills, and perspectives that the learner is to

develop and acquire

• The environment or context within which the learner is experiencing

the learning event

This principle is illustrated in the learning experiences framework

shown in Figure 2.1. Learning experiences designed with this framework

feature the learner “on stage” actively doing and creating under the direction

of the mentor using learning resources guiding the acquisition of knowledge,

skills, and perspective within an environment of a particular time and place.

This framework simplifies the process of designing and managing

instructional experiences. Instructors can use the four elements as a check-

list. Who is the learner and what are they hoping to learn to do? How can I

figure 2.1

learning experience framework

Mentor

Faculty Mentor

(Designs, directs,

supports and assesses)

Learner

Learners

(Who and Why…)

Environment

Context (Where, when,

Knowledge

with whom, and how?)

Content and Resources

(What knowledge, skills,

attitudes?)

Source: Boettcher, 2003–2016.

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The Online Teaching Survival Guide

as their mentor guide them? What tools or resources can help make this

happen? Where and when and possibly with whom will the learner

be learning?

This framework captures a complex set of interactions among these

four elements and the roles those elements play in a learning experience.

Instructional designers and instructors can use this framework to analyze

learning experiences, focusing on (1) learner and faculty behaviors and

actions; (2) the knowledge, skill, or attitudes being developed; and (3) the

where, when, with whom, and with what resources a learning experience

is occurring.

We find it helpful to think of a course as comprising a set of 60 to 100

different learning experiences (Boettcher, 2000). To simplify design, instruc-

tors often use a set of five to seven templates for different learning experi-

ences. For example, one template might be for a reading or listening

assignment followed by a journal entry or forum posting. Another tem-

plate might be for a discussion forum assignment to analyze a problem and

suggest strategies for addressing the problem. Other templates might be

for peer review or collaborating experiences, research experiences, or other

targeted writing and creating tasks.

There are many variations of learning experiences, of course. The first

element, the learner, may be an individual learner, but might also be a

small or large group of learners. In collaborative learning experiences, for

example, multiple learners may well be “on stage” at the same time con-

tributing and thinking, but every learner is experiencing the learning expe-

rience somewhat differently.

The second element is the mentor or faculty member who manages

instruction and provides support to the learner. The mentor may be physi-

cally present on stage or in the classroom, but just as likely may be “in the

wings” directing the learner from offstage. The faculty mentor may not be

anywhere physically close to the learning experience but may be present

only implicitly by virtue of having designed the experience.

The faculty or mentor element may also be contained in an inanimate

learning object that provides content, instructions, or guidance, as sug-

gested by the definition of pedagogy by Bernstein in Chapter One. One

futuristic example of an inanimate faculty element is the holodeck on Star

Trek, which provides an environment for learning without a physical men-

tor being present (Boettcher, 1998). The Internet offers an abundance of

podcasts, digital courses, simulations, animations, video tutorials (such as

YouTube), and expert presentations (TED Talks), all capturing experts as

they explain, expound, and inspire.

Ten Core Learning Principles

29

In such cases, the mentor is present by virtue of having selected or cre-

ated the learning resource and provided instructions for the use of the

object. Note that mentor is our preferred term for the instructor or faculty

member who is directing the students’ learning experiences.

The third element in the learning experiences framework is the knowl-

edge, the content, or the skill that is the focus of the learning experience. In

instructional design terms, the knowledge component is the answer to the

question, “What is the knowledge, what is the skill, and what is the atti-

tude that the learning experience is intended to facilitate in each of the

students?” In a physiology course, for example, the knowledge or skill

may involve student proficiency in identifying the various parts of our

muscular and cardiovascular systems and the mechanisms of actions for

the systems. In a psychology course, the knowledge may be understanding

how our bodies react to stress and how to regulate those reactions, and the

skill might be interpreting an interview with a person under stress. In an

engineering design course the knowledge might be thinking holistically

about the life cycle of the construction elements of a project.

The fourth element is that of the environment. Mobile and wearable

communications devices now make it possible to learn anytime, anywhere,

and any while, as learners are exercising, driving, cooking, riding the sub-

way, or even just daydreaming.

The environment element answers the question: “When will the learn-

ing experience take place, with whom, where, and with what resources?”

Learners taking online courses need to be particularly disciplined about

deciding just when and where they are going to be doing their learning.

For example, the desired outcome of an instructional experience in

geology might be for a learner to accurately identify the different types of

sedimentary rocks, the locations where they might be found, and the pro-

cesses required to find them. This might be done in a virtual environment

where the student can examine a rock in three dimensions or the student

may be tasked to collect real specimens in the field, photograph them, and

contribute these specimens and photographs to a collection using mobile

handheld photography technology. Another example of a desired outcome

might be to study the effects of fracking and the potential link to increased

earthquake activity. If feasible, learners might be able to visit a fracking

site. Another example of the environment element might be more familiar,

such as a group of students gathering in a study group, in either the same

physical space or a virtual space.

Whatever the scenario, the core of this first principle is that the learner

is at the center of his or her individual learning experience. The learner is

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The Online Teaching Survival Guide

actively doing something, guided in the experience as designed by the

mentor, accessing whatever resources might be needed, and acquiring use-

ful knowledge, skill, or perspectives from the experience within a particu-

lar and specific context. Learning happens within our heads as we construct

and grow neurons and strengthen connections between neurons, aided by

resources, experiences, and active doing. Learning happens as we interact

with our environment. This fact echoes Vygotsky’s emphasis on learning

as a sociocultural activity. This is also the essence of John Seely Brown’s

theory of situated cognition. It affirms the experiential theories of John

Dewey and Jean Piaget, and the constructivist theories of Jerome Bruner,

David Ausubel, and Roger Schank.

Principle 2: learners Bring Their own Personalized and

Customized Knowledge, Skills, and attitudes to the

learning experience

This core learning principle focuses on the learner as an individual with a

unique and personalized set of knowledge, skills, and attitudes. The goal

of any learning experience is for learners to grow from where they are. This

means growing the neurons, connections, and structures in their brains. It

means developing knowledge representations that can be accessed quickly

and meaningfully.

Every course has a set of core concepts and knowledge. If learners

and mentors work well together, the learners create and integrate those

core concepts into their unique knowledge structures. Each learner’s

brain is as individualized and singular as his or her fingerprints and

DNA. Our learners’ knowledge structures thus become even more indi-

vidualized over time, resulting from the combinations of personal DNA,

interactions with life experiences and responses to those experiences.

Learners may share learning and life experiences, but how these experi-

ences are encoded, linked, and connected in their individual brains is

distinctive. Thus it is impossible to develop standardized brains in our

learners. Our goals must be to develop richly differentiated, creative

brains with overlapping common human understandings, experiences,

and feelings.

When designing learning experiences, instructors are generally work-

ing with broad assumptions and expectations of what their students know

and what they want to know. Getting to know learners means getting to

know the existing knowledge structure and composition of their brains.

Some students will come to the course experience with a brain replete with

intricate patterns of knowledge about an existing field of study, say, art,

Ten Core Learning Principles

31

biology, electricity, and communications. Call this a “jungle” brain, as it is

richly embellished, with almost infinite connections and relationships

(Boettcher, 2005, 2007). Other students may come to the course experience

with a brain populated by isolated, unrelated bits and pieces of informa-

tion resembling scraggly weeds, scrawny bushes, or a sparse, bare tundra

on this topic (Kandel, 2006; Boettcher, 2007).

The kind of learning experiences we design will depend on how well

developed our students’ networks of neurons and dendrites are and how

detailed and rich are the patterns and images in their brains. Learners who

are encountering not just one concept but an overwhelming number of

new terms and concepts have to work hard to make sense of this new infor-

mation by attaching the incoming knowledge to existing nodes and pat-

terns. This requires effort, time, and practice.

A classic educational principle asserts, “Build on what students already

know” (Dewey, 1938; Bruner, 1963). Memory research is confirming the

biology behind this principle by demonstrating the impact of students’

existing mental models on incoming knowledge (Damasio, 1999). Damasio

explains that the process of learning might be described as our brain’s

working to find receptor nodes for bits of new information and then

arranging that information into a useful mental model. A simple rule of

thumb can follow from this: “The more you know, the more you can know”

(Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000; Brown, Roediger, & McDaniel, 2014).

The more concepts, the more patterns, and the more linkages within

knowledge representations, the more receptor nodes exist. By knowing

what students know, instructors can design experiences to ensure an accu-

rate knowledge structure and then support the growth of that structure.

Reports from the National Research Council (Donovan, Bransford, &

Pellegrino, 1999; Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000) emphasize the

importance of two aspects of a student’s knowledge: (1) finding out what

students know and (2) finding out what information they may have that is

inaccurate and using those existing understandings to construct more

complete accurate understandings.

How can faculty get to know their students’ knowledge structure? The

best approach is to increase the number of ways that information flows

from the students back to the instructor. At the launch of a new topic or

experience, ask students what they know or think they know about the

topic. Or provide simple problem‐solving challenges, questions, scenarios,

and case studies to assess their knowledge and skills they can bring to the

learning. Some of the tools that can be used for these kinds of activities are

discussion forums, simple inquiries, and stories.

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Principle 3: faculty Mentors are the Directors of the

learning experience

The learning experiences framework affirms the importance of learners by

placing them at center stage of any learning experience. The framework

also affirms the critical role of the faculty mentor, who provides direction

and purpose by doing the following:

• Designing and structuring the course experiences

• Directing and supporting learners through the instructional experiences

• Assessing learner outcomes

To continue the theater metaphor, the faculty mentor is the director of

the learning experiences, helping students develop and practice their

knowledge. The faculty mentor is not a sage on the stage transmitting

knowledge or a guide on the side. When the faculty member takes center

stage, a learner may retreat and be more passive unless the faculty is

encouraging interaction and engagement with the content every few min-

utes while also providing time for reflection and integration.

An important goal is for students to be engaged with the content at the

same level of intensity as the faculty mentor. Strategies that support this

shift in responsibilities include assigning students roles in moderating

forums; preparing concept explanations, summaries, and examples for

other students; conducting peer reviewing activities; and occasionally

assuming responsibility for being the forum moderator.

The role of the faculty member in this learning experiences framework

is to mentor, monitor, examine, affirm acquired knowledge, and challenge

the thinking of students doing these types of teaching and learning

activities.

The learning experiences framework assumes that the designing, man-

aging, and assessing functions are the responsibilities of a faculty mentor.

This does not mean that all these functions are necessarily embodied in one

person. Many education models unbundle these responsibilities, so that an

instructor can concentrate on the best use of his or her expertise, or to

ensure consistency of instruction across many instructors or environments.

For example, the design and development of online courses might be done

by an instructional designer collaborating with one or more faculty mem-

bers. In this case, an instructor who is new to online teaching and learning

will be teaching a course that is designed with a significant portion of the

teaching facilitation and direction materials prepared. The instructor is

then responsible for teaching the course, including the functions of direct-

ing, supporting, and assessing the learning of students.

Ten Core Learning Principles

33

Most courses are still being taught in the bundled mode, with one fac-

ulty member responsible for all major tasks of design, teaching, managing,

and assessing learners. The need for technical support 24/7 is accelerating

a shift away from this “lone ranger” faculty member to the model of learn-

ing supported by an instructional team. With a team, the faculty member

has more time to mentor the learning processes of students. Less time is

spent on addressing technological, administrative, and content access

issues and more time on the formation of thought and knowledge.

Mobile and collaborative technologies free a faculty mentor from the

need to be physically in any particular place at any particular time.

Synchronous collaborative tools are accelerating this flexibility. A faculty

mentor can monitor student learning and facilitate discussions from any-

where in the world with a high‐bandwidth connection: a home office, a

coffee shop, or a hotel or office. Members of the extended instructional

team can also support students for the faculty member for selected periods

of time as well if schedule or emergencies occur.

Principle 4: all learners Do Not Need to learn all

Course Content; all learners Do Need to learn the

Core Concepts

This core learning principle focuses on course content, usually described in

the desired learning outcomes. These are the knowledge, skills, and per-

spectives to be learned, acquired, or developed. The essential idea here is

that not all content is equal. Only a portion of the content of any course is

core concept knowledge; the bulk of course content is in the application

and use of core concepts in simple to complex scenarios.

It helps to imagine course content arrayed as a set of concentric circles

similar to a pie (see Figure 2.2). The innermost circle represents the core

concepts; the next circle represents the content resources that learners use

in initial practice experiences as they apply the core concepts to relatively

straightforward problems with known solutions. The third circle repre-

sents content resources that learners use to solve more complex problems

that may have a variety of solutions. As students move outwards from the

core, students apply the core concepts in ever more complex and novel

scenarios. By the time students reach the content resources in the fourth

layer, the students select and direct much of their own experience and

work on applying concepts to complex problems where solutions may or

may not be able to be known.

In brief, the goal for each student is to master a slice of the pie, but to be

sure that the slice includes the whole of the center with the core concepts

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The Online Teaching Survival Guide

figure 2.2

Customizing Content resources

Resources for

Learning Core Concepts

and Principles

Resources for Applying

Core Concepts

Resources for Analyzing and

Solving Problems

Resources for Customized and

Personalized Projects

Source: Boettcher, 2003, 2007, 2010.

and principles. The slice of the course content that the student masters is

illustrated by the dotted lines creating a pie slice. As students develop

expertise in the use of content, they increasingly customize their learning

according to their own needs, interests, and priorities.

There are many challenges to implementing this model in learning: (1)

identifying the core concepts in a course (Roediger et al., 2007), (2) finding

and selecting a range of resources to support learners, (3) structuring learn-

ing experiences appropriate to learners’ knowledge, and (4) managing the

time available in a course model so learners can construct the knowledge

representations for the concepts and skills. Let’s briefly address the task of

identifying and finding the content resources.

In this content model, the faculty member is not responsible for defin-

ing and making all the content accessible. It is a team effort that includes

the campus resource infrastructure—the library team and information

technology team—and the student. Designing a learner‐centered course

means providing access to a rich database of content and experiences to

meet students’ needs and interests. Instructors will want to select and iden-

tify content for each of the categories just described in the content pie.

These include core/required content that students will make their own and

integrate into their knowledge structures, core-shared content that pro-

vides common experiences for community building, content that supports

Ten Core Learning Principles

35

use and application of core concepts, and content that supports custom-

ized and personalized learning.

A good rule of thumb for faculty is to select required course content

focusing on the core concepts that are available in digital form, as this

increases the likelihood that students will use and learn the content.

Principle 5: every learning experience includes the

environment or Context in Which the learner interacts

This core learning principle completes the four elements of any learning

experience: the environment in which the learner interacts with the con-

tent, knowledge, skill, fellow learners or expert. The environment might be

simple, as in a learner using one resource independently, at home, or out

and about while jogging or driving, or working in a popular “third place”

(Oldenburg, 1999) such as a coffee shop. Alternatively, the environment

might be more complex. Several learners may be gathered together work-

ing on problems or a project in a face‐to‐face study group, or several may

be on a conference call or in a collaborative virtual setting. Or learners

might be gathered at the same time in a virtual meeting place using a col-

laborative web place, sharing documents on cell phones or laptops. An

instructor may or may not be present.

The types of environment questions to be anticipated by a faculty mem-

ber when designing a set of course experiences include the following:

• Where, when, with whom, and with what resources is this particular

instructional experience likely to occur?

• What are the expected learning outcomes or interim points of learning?

• Will this experience be an individual experience where the student is

working through a complex and lengthy simulation?

• Will the learning experience be a small team meeting using synchro-

nous tools?

• Will this event be a face‐to‐face experience, such as one or two learners

interviewing restaurant workers about public health regulations, or vis-

iting a museum?

An interesting and effective course balances the three dialogues of fac-

ulty to learner, learner to learner, and learner to resources (Moore and

Kearsley, 1996) and also includes a variety of individual, small, and large

group activities. Different groupings and dialogues bring stimulating and

varied interactions with people and with content resources.

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Principle 6: every learner has a Zone of Proximal

Development That Defines the Space That a learner is

ready to Develop into useful Knowledge

Vygotsky’s theory of the zone of proximal development (ZPD) is one of the

foundational concepts within the school of constructivist thought. It is a

concept that sheds significant light on the characteristics of effective learn-

ing experiences. First let’s review the definition of the zone. According to

Vygotsky (1978), a learner’s ZPD is “the distance between the actual devel-

opmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the

level of potential development as determined through problem solving

under the adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers” (p. 86).

It is relatively easy to link this definition to the four elements we just

discussed. The learner experiences the zone of development during his

learning experience; the distance to be traveled refers to the knowledge,

skill, or attitude to be developed; the adult guidance or collaboration with

more capable peers is the mentor guiding the learning. The fourth element

of environment is not specifically included in the definition, but it is safe to

say that the learning has to happen somewhere and at some time.

The definition of the ZPD posits the learning or growth that is to hap-

pen, echoing the familiar dictum of John Dewey that all learning is

growth. The concept of the ZPD emphasizes that all learning experiences

need to pull learners forward and “that the ‘only good learning’ is in

advance of development” (p. 89). It means that students should be

encountering problems and concepts beyond that which they already

know, which is their actual developmental level and helping them to

work on their “potential development.” So the ZPD is the space between

what students can do independently and what they can do successfully

with the help or guidance of a person who might be an expert or simply

a more capable peer.

The concept of the ZPD is very similar to the concept of learning readi-

ness used in instructional design, positing the probable level of readiness

of a set of learners. The ZPD focuses on an individual learner and suggests

that a learner’s zone of openness to a particular learning experience might

be fairly narrow. In other words, the window of learning opportunity may

be smaller than we think. When students say they are “totally lost,” they

are probably expressing the feeling of being outside their effective ZPD.

When they sit back and obviously disengage, they have probably lost the

link—the relationship of one idea to the other. When this happens in a

group situation or a discussion board, the learning community needs to

support the student in asking a question and having someone back up to

Ten Core Learning Principles

37

where the student got lost so that he can get linked up again. Otherwise the

time will probably be lost to the learner; the learner will disengage and

have difficulty catching up to what might be called the “group zone.”

The concept of the ZPD is simultaneously comforting and overwhelm-

ing. What are the elements of the learning community that support stu-

dents’ comfort levels in asking questions or in the mentor checking in with

each learner? How do faculty mentors determine a learner’s ZPD, and how

do they determine what kinds of problems students can solve now?

This ZPD principle and its companion, readiness for learning, empha-

sizes the need to be continually alert to students’ state of understanding

and capabilities. This principle encourages embedding feedback and

demonstrations from students earlier and more consistently throughout a

course experience. Student questions, comments, participation, and out-

puts are means of determining more precisely the progress or state of con-

cept development in learners.

Principle 7: Concepts are Not Words But organized and

interconnected Knowledge Clusters

This principle, also inspired by Vygotsky’s writings, is simple but pro-

found. Concept formation is not a one‐time event. Vygotsky, for example,

describes concept formation as a series of intellectual operations including

the centering of attention, abstracting, synthesizing, and symbolizing

(1962). Similarly, neuroscientist Walter Freeman observes that meanings

are assimilated as a process of “successive approximations in conversa-

tion” (2000, p. 15). Freeman’s work focuses on how the brain puts a priority

on meaning rather than data and notes that meanings reside only in observ-

ers, not in objects. This work affirms the role of interaction and dialogue in

the creation of meanings.

What are the implications about concept formation being a “series of

intellectual operations” for designing learning experiences and courses?

Consider, for example, learners who are encountering a new discipline.

These learners often focus, almost in desperation, on learning the vocabu-

lary of that discipline. They struggle, however, as they are often grappling

with the vocabulary in isolation from the concepts that give the words

meaning. Without the underlying richness of the full concept, words are

akin to isolated seeds likely to be blown away by the winds of time, usu-

ally mere hours after an exam. Learners can in fact become quite profi-

cient at using vocabulary while not having the ability to really think with

the words (Bloom, 2002). They have the words but not the underlying

rich concepts.

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Activities using discussion forums, blogs, wikis, journals, and small

group work are all excellent strategies for engaging learners in clarifying

and enriching their mental models and concepts and identifying and estab-

lishing meaningful links and relationships. Blogs and forum spaces are

particularly helpful in supporting the building of concepts because they

provide a public, continuous space in which the cumulative, step‐by‐step

process of concept formation, refinement, application, and revision is fully

visible to student peers as well as their mentors. These different communi-

cation forms can provide a detailed, comprehensive record of how con-

cepts take form as integrated clusters of knowledge and promote the

development of more complex and lasting knowledge and competencies

in students.

Principle 8: Different instruction is required for Different

learning outcomes

Robert Gagné, widely considered the father of instructional design,

observed that all instruction is not equal and that different types of instruc-

tion are required for different learning outcomes. This is not a ground-

breaking concept today, but the idea was quite novel when Gagne wrote

The Conditions of Learning in 1965. This principle means that what an instruc-

tor or mentor does makes a difference in what students learn and what con-

cepts and skills students may or may not develop. This principle reinforces

the recommended instructional design practice of planning student assess-

ments at the same time that one plans the learning experiences. Designing

instruction and assessments simultaneously helps to ensure congruency

and to manage expectations as to learning outcomes.

This principle affirms this fundamental instructional design question:

“What knowledge, set of skills, and perspectives do you want your stu-

dents to develop competence in through their participation in the instruc-

tional experiences of this course or program?” Once that question is

answered, the instructional designer or faculty member’s task is to design

and develop the teaching and learning events to accomplish those goals.

The matching of learning experiences to learning outcomes increases, but

obviously does not guarantee, the probability that learning goals will be

achieved by the majority of the learners.

A simple and effective example of this principle is the apprenticeship

model. If the desired outcome is for students to be great chefs, they need to

cook; if the desired set of skills is to become an entrepreneur, learners need

to practice entrepreneurial activities or apprentice themselves in an entre-

preneurial environment. This principle is also at work with pilots training

Ten Core Learning Principles

39

on simulators and students’ practicing of lab techniques in a model envi-

ronment. The types of learning experiences do affect what is learned and

what students feel competent in doing. In short, courses designed to trans-

mit knowledge do just that: courses designed to develop competencies

must design experiences in which students will be practicing use of the

knowledge. Knowledge can sometimes be transmitted, but experience and

competence must be developed.

Principle 9: everything else Being equal, More Time on

Task equals More learning

This is one of the best known of all learning principles. It is basically the

time‐on‐task principle: that as learners spend more time interacting with,

creating, and using knowledge and skills, the more facile, accomplished,

and confident they will be (Carroll, 1963; Bloom, 1964, 1976; Carroll, 1989).

Time on task is what is required for learners to make knowledge their own,

creating the structures, links, and connections within their own knowledge

structures. A key belief promoted by Bloom, an American educational psy-

chologist, is that of mastery learning. Mastery learning posits that time is

an important variable in learning; that is, that some students will take more

time than others, but that all can learn (1976). Learning and developing

new ideas and skills is intrinsically rewarding and enjoyable. Imagine the

delight of a one‐year‐old at repeatedly pushing light switches on and off,

or a fifteen‐year‐old with a driver’s permit and her excitement at driving

and driving and more driving. On college campuses, students find it excit-

ing to practice and apply skills at creating and making robots, manipulat-

ing biology objects, or devising strategies for helping small businesses.

These experiences create excitement and a learning zone in which we can

lose ourselves and all sense of time. When we design engaging learning

experiences, learners spend more time interacting with and developing

more complex, better‐structured knowledge bases and efficient automatic

behaviors.

A corollary of the time‐on‐task principle is that learning can be more

efficient if we chunk information. Chunking, according to psychology, is

the process of taking small units of information and grouping or chunk-

ing them into larger units so that we can store more information in our

short‐term memory (Miller, 1956). Miller’s work is the classic reference

acknowledging limits on short-term memory. It is interesting to note that

the term “chunking” has been evolving to include cognitive strategies of

any kind that make information easier to remember, such as using the

acronym ROYGBIV to remember the names and sequence of the eight

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The Online Teaching Survival Guide

colors of the rainbow. The traditional chunking example notes that divid-

ing phone numbers into three chunked units reduces the number of units

to remember from 10 to 3. Another rule of thumb is to keep bullet lists

manageable by not exceeding seven, and ideas are often captured in

groups of three. In today’s environments, simulations, animations, and

“living worlds” such as the Minecraft, Warcraft, and SimCity games are powerful learning chunkers of many discrete facts. Chunking is one reason games and role‐ playing scenarios are popular and valuable. Other

valuable features of games and simulations are their unpredictability

and infinite variety. These are the kinds of challenges students enjoy

working to master. In contrast, canned, predictable, and static learning

resources are less interesting and less engaging and, dare we say, tiring

and boring.

Principle 10: We Shape our Tools, and our Tools Shape us

The fact that we are shaped by our tools and that we shape our tools may

appear at first to be a strange design and learning principle. The essence of

this principle is that learning always occurs within a particular context that

influences the learning. Simply put, learning tools make a difference.

Where we learn and what we learn with makes a difference. This contex-

tual aspect of learning—that it occurs only through a process of a person

interacting with the environment—is a key conceptual element of the theo-

ries of Dewey (1933) and Vygotsky (1978), the more recent work of Damasio

(1999), the How People Learn work (Bransford et al., 2000), and the situ-

ated and embodied cognition theories of Brown, Collins, and Duguid

(1989) and Shapiro (2011). The environment as envisioned in these theories

includes all the tools, resources, and people who form the context of any

particular learning experience.

Learning tools are part of our environment and often dictate how our

brains engage with a context and content. An environment in which all

learners and instructors have their own personal digital devices makes a

difference in the kinds of teaching and learning experiences that are pos-

sible. These tools create an environment powered, literally, with personal-

ized psychological learning tools. The current wave of social media,

virtually synchronous “friending” applications help you find your bud-

dies and the coffee shop where you may be meeting. These tools have dra-

matically changed the traditional communication patterns and relationships

between learners and faculty, supplanting the traditional two or three

weekly meetings.

Ten Core Learning Principles

41

Many faculty remain daunted by the shift in learning dynamics and

relationships created by these tools, and many are still struggling to adapt.

In an environment infused with these tools, the faculty member moves

from the center of the class communication pattern, as was common in the

traditional transmission mode of learning, to the periphery or, in the stage

model, to the wings.

A second far‐reaching impact of these tools is the ease by which stu-

dents can customize their own learning experiences because courses no

longer have content boundaries. Students now live and move in a

community‐building state of always being connected. The anywhere, any-

time, any while access to communication tools makes it easy for students

to go outside the organized course structure.

Communication tools support information access and flow in real time,

enabling current events, global perspectives, and far‐flung resources to be

brought into immediate and fresh relief. Every statement by a faculty mem-

ber is subject to challenge or confirmation from a student as searching and

verification tools are at their fingertips. This means that faculty need to

adapt the course and the content to students who bring in ideas and con-

tent that might be quite unfamiliar to them, and to defend, support, and

expand their own mental models.

Summary—and What’s Next?

The research on how we learn illuminates in new and significant ways the

processes of teaching and learning. This research, integrated with core

learning principles, can help guide our design of learning so that teaching

and learning can be efficient and effective. A major insight is the unique-

ness of each brain in its structure and its accumulated experiences. We each

experience and remember events just a little differently from everyone else.

This richness of perspective is a challenge as well as a potent creative force.

The combination of the uniqueness of each learner and the richness of per-

spective argues persuasively for much more emphasis on teaching and

experiencing community, culture, and ethics in combination with knowl-

edge, content, and skills.

These ten core learning principles provide the theoretical context and

inspiration for the many tips that follow in the next chapters. You may

want to refer back to these frequently.

The next chapter is designed as a companion chapter to this chapter in

that it describes ten plus four best practices that together apply many of the

ten core learning principles from this chapter. Instructors who use these

42

The Online Teaching Survival Guide

practices can significantly increase the probabilities of an initial satisfac-

tory teaching and learning outcome. However, following these practices

without a deep appreciation and use of the core principles and many of the

tips in the book is a bit like students knowing the words but not the con-

cepts of new knowledge. So aim for the deep understanding and lifelong

learning of teaching and learning. Aim high, dig deep, and enjoy our new

world of teaching and learning.

exercise—Stop, reflect, integrate

If you are using this book for a course in faculty 2. Developing a deeper understanding of development, here are two activities to consider

pedagogy, the science of teaching and learning

using to have faculty think more deeply about these Which of the ten core learning principles piques core learning principles and to share their ideas and your curiosity about how it might help you design a beliefs with their colleagues.

new learning experience for your course? Is it the

1. exercise for design thinking

principle on content (#4) that pushes you to really

Refer to Table 2.1, summarizing the ten core learn- identify the core concepts of your course? Is it the ing principles. Which of these principles is the most principle on the zone of proximal development (#6) familiar to you? As you design learning experiences that causes you to reflect on how you can increase in your course, what question do you like to focus the richness of resources for your students? Or is it on? Do you refer back to the goal of what skills your the principle of the role of the environment or students will be working on? What types of assign- context (#10)? Are you wondering how you might ments or discussions will prepare your students for increase the power of the tools that can support building a particular skill?

student’s learning? Share your questions, ideas, or

possibilities with a colleague or friend.

Chapter 3

best Practices for teaching

Online: ten Plus Four

Our knOwledge abOut best practices in online and blended learning

environments continues to grow rapidly. That is the good news. On the

other hand, the amount of available knowledge quickly overwhelms any-

one teaching in the array of online and blended environments. Where does

one begin?

This chapter describes fourteen best teaching and learning practices for

online and blended environments. Ten of these best practices, as published

in the first edition of this book, were developed to assist faculty who were

thrust into online teaching somewhat unexpectedly. Over the years we dis-

covered that we were constantly recommending four additional practices.

So now there are ten plus four, depending on your state of readiness and

anticipation.

Research and experience suggest that these types of practices contribute

to an effective, efficient, and satisfying teaching and learning experience for both faculty and students. Using these practices can help faculty develop

confidence, comfort, and experience in teaching online quickly and easily.

This particular set of best practices originated from a number of

sources. We have developed and selected these practices from our expe-

riences working with faculty and colleagues since the early 1990s. Most

importantly, these best practices are rooted in the research and educational

theories of cognitive and experts such as those discussed in Chapters

One and Two. These practices are also rooted in articles by Chickering

and Ehrmann (1996), sets of best practices by WCET (Krauth, 1996), and

books on moving instruction to the Web (Boettcher & Conrad, 1999, 2004;

43

44

The Online Teaching Survival Guide

Sherron & Boettcher, 1997). Other sets of best practices that affirm and

support similar practices are those of the Online Learning Consortium

(Swan, 2004; Moore, 2011) and the Quality Matters Rubric, now in its fifth

edition (www.qualitymatters.org, 2015).

Many other writers (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2001; Garrison, 2006;

Swan, 2004; Swan & Ice, 2010; Palloff & Pratt, 2007, 2011; Lehman &

Conceição, 2010; Bain, 2012; Conrad & Donaldson, 2012; Vaughan,

Cleveland‐Innes, & Garrison, 2013; and Miller, Benke, Chaloux, et. al., 2013)

have affirmed and recommended similar practices.

Just as the ten core learning principles in Chapter Two are not neces-

sarily “the” best set of core learning principles, this set of practices is not

necessarily “the” best set; rather, it captures much of what we now know

about effective and efficient teaching online and, in most cases, teaching in

any environment. These practices will likely continue to evolve with ongo-

ing research and practice. Instructors who follow these practices increase

the probability of an effective, efficient, and satisfying teaching and learn-

ing experience for themselves and their students.

We hope you enjoy getting to know and using these best practices as you

work to develop and expand your expertise in online and blended learning.

best Practices for Online and blended teaching and learning

Table 3.1 lists the ten plus four best practices to guide your online teaching

experiences. You may want to keep the list handy and prominent as remind-

ers to your design plans and your interactions with your students.

best Practice 1: be Present at Your Course

Being present digitally for your course is the most fundamental and most

important of all the practices. Your students want to know you as a person

and as an expert. They want to know what you think, based on your

expertise and experiences. They want to know that you care about them

and that you care they are learning. Since they can’t always see you in

person, they want to see and hear you through your words and audio and

video messages.

Liberal use of communication tools such as announcements, unit intro-

ductions, discussion forums, feedback, and generally “being there” fre-

quently communicates to learners that you care about their learning, their

questions, and their concerns. Liberal use of these tools means that you are

present to your students, to do the guiding, mentoring, and challenging

that teaching is all about.

Best Practices for Teaching Online: Ten Plus Four

45

table 3.1

best Practices for teaching Online

best Practice

description

Best practice 1

Be present at the course site.

Best practice 2

Create a supportive online course community.

Best practice 3

Develop a set of explicit expectations for your learners and yourself as to how you will

communicate and how much time students should be working on the course

each week.

Best practice 4

Use a variety of large group, small group, and individual work experiences.

Best practice 5

Use synchronous and asynchronous activities.

Best practice 6

Ask for informal feedback early in the term.

Best practice 7

Prepare discussion posts that invite responses, questions, discussions, and reflections.

Best practice 8

Search out and use content resources that are available in digital format.

Best practice 9

Combine core concept learning with customized and personalized learning.

Best practice 10 Plan a good closing and wrap activity for the course.

Best practice 11 Assess as you go by gathering evidences of learning.

Best practice 12 Rigorously connect content to core concepts and learning outcomes.

Best practice 13 Develop and use a content frame for your course.

Best practice 14 Design experiences to help learners make progress on their novice‐to‐expert journey.

We have begun to quantify just what it means to be present in digital

learning for our learners. The best online faculty—according to students—

are faculty who are present in some way, every day. The concept of daily

presence may be alarming to you, as it might fuel the widely reported

perception that online courses take significantly more time than

classroom‐based courses. One way to create presence without consuming

too much of your time is to focus on group discussion areas and avoid

one‐to‐one e‐mails. Time‐released announcements that remind learners of

due dates and audio containing additional content are other ways to let

the learners know you are there while conserving your time. Video/audio

mini‐ lectures made on your smart phones also create positive presence

and energy.

Of course, there is the danger that too much faculty presence will stunt

the discussion as well as delay the development of learner self‐direction.

So while you may check in on each course daily to see if there are ques-

tions, you should by no means feel that you must add significant daily

46

The Online Teaching Survival Guide

comments to the discussion forums each day. Be sure to communicate this

philosophy to learners, as they may wait for you to kick off the discussion

and lead it.

Students who feel alone and isolated from faculty or other learners are

likely to quietly disappear; others who are more engaged may post ques-

tions, such as “Is there anybody out there?” Such statements are clear and

unambiguous signals that an instructor is not communicating regu-

larly or well.

If a faculty member has a life or career event that requires their full

attention away from a course for more than just one day, it is good practice

to alert students about this change in schedule and to encourage the stu-

dents to be particularly alert to helping each other during this time.

Why is presence so important in online or blended environments?

When faculty actively interact and engage students in a face‐to‐face class-

room, the class evolves as a group and develops intellectual and personal

bonds. This same group or community bonding happens in an online set-

ting if the faculty presence is felt consistently. Regular, thoughtful, daily

presence plays a significant role in learner satisfaction with learning

experiences.

three types of Presence

Research on presence suggests three types of presence: social presence,

teaching presence, and cognitive presence (Garrison, Anderson, &

Archer, 2000). Here are brief descriptions:

• Social presence creates connections with learners based on who we are

as three‐dimensional persons with families, lives, and favorite ideas,

people, and places. Pictures of ourselves and our hobbies and interests

convey these many dimensions of ourselves and help to build connec-

tions and trust.

• Teaching presence guides students’ learning experiences. Teaching

presence is the sum of all the behaviors faculty use to direct, guide, and

design the learning experiences. Teaching presence is conveyed

through, first, the design of courses and materials prior to teaching the

course, and second, the mentoring, guiding, and directing during

the course.

• Cognitive presence supports, mentors, and guides students’ intellec-

tual growth, ideas, and challenges. Cognitive presence is conveyed by

all the interactions with learners that an instructor has to support

the development of skills, knowledge, and understanding in his or

her students.

Best Practices for Teaching Online: Ten Plus Four

47

Cultivating these three types of presences supports effective learning

and the development of a mutually respectful and intellectual community

that often lasts well beyond any learning experience.

Research on presence and its framework model, the Community of

Inquiry (CoI), was the focus of a Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities

project. The seminal paper (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000) launched an

ongoing research agenda that has produced many prominent papers and

books (such as Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2004; Garrison & Cleveland‐

Innes, 2005; Garrison & Vaughan, 2008; Akyol & Garrison, 2008; Swan &

Ice, 2010; Lehman and Conceição, 2010; Shea et al., 2012; and many more).

best Practice 2: Create a Supportive Online

Course Community

Nurturing a learning community as part of a course is almost as important

as being present for your learners. We often assume that a learning

community in a face‐to‐face environment develops spontaneously, as stu-

dents generally have opportunities to get to know one another and

develop friendships. In digital environments, more explicit nurturing and

planning is required.

Community building has been one focus of research in online learning

since its inception (Brown, 2001; Rovai, 2002; Shea, 2006; Palloff &

Pratt, 2007, 2011). Some of the research seeks to define a community; other

research examines the stages of a community and the faculty and student

behaviors that facilitate community building at these different stages.

Building a supportive online community requires using a set of diverse

and balanced dialogue patterns. The traditional teaching dialogue is that of

faculty to student. But that is gradually changing. Building an online com-

munity that supports individual and group learning means designing a

course that promotes a high proportion of student‐to‐student dialogue.

The time devoted to the three basic dialogue patterns—faculty to student,

student to student, and student to resource—should be about equal in any

course design (Newman, 1853; Pelikan, 1992; Moore & Kearsley, 1996). So

a good question to ask is, “How do I achieve this type of dialogue bal-

ance?” Let’s look at some examples.

In online and blended courses, the dialogue of faculty to student is

often provided with these types of resources:

• Module introductions and mini‐lectures in text, video, or audio podcasts

• Announcements that remind, coach, suggest, inspire

• Explanations and interactions with the students via e‐mail, forums, and

live classroom events

48

The Online Teaching Survival Guide

For example, an instructor might use the following three types of com-

munications for the faculty‐to‐learner dialogue: short mini‐concept intro-

ductions, thrice‐weekly announcements, and interactions with the student

postings. In another course, an instructor might use written mini‐lectures,

audio and video podcasts, and announcements and discussion postings,

with a heavier reliance on audio messages and resources. Whatever com-

munication a faculty uses to direct, support, coach, or mentor learners is

part of the teaching presence.

Designing for learner‐to‐learner dialogue requires other types of com-

munication activities. Numerous books are devoted to providing activity

examples, such as those by Barkley, Major and Cross (2014); Conrad and

Donaldson (2011, 2012); Bonk & Khoo (2014); and Shank (2011). These

authors provide descriptions of collaborative learning techniques that

include small teams and groups forming for problem‐solving, gaming

activities, and collaborative writing. Activities that encourage learner‐to‐

learner engagement are detailed in the tip sections.

A note of caution about the need for flexibility regarding expectations of

community: Learning collaboratively with fellow learners in the setting of

an online and blended course community will work better for some stu-

dents than for others. Some students may choose not to participate very

actively with other students. Other students enjoy the collaboration, feel that

it improves their learning, and find it overcomes some of the isolation that

learners feel when they don’t gather in real time. The learning theories of

Vygotsky and John Seely Brown in particular remind us that the social con-

text of learning strengthens connections and meaning. The learning com-

munity is part of what makes this happen, and this should be shared with

students to maximize their understanding of the purpose of communities.

best Practice 3: develop a Set of explicit workload and

Communication expectations for Your learners and

for Yourself

This best practice helps your work‐life balance and models good habits for

your learners as well. Developing and communicating explicit expecta-

tions reduces uncertainty and encourages good time and learning manage-

ment. Post prominently on your course communication spaces a set of

expectations for how often students will communicate and dialogue online

and how they should communicate with you. For example, many faculty

have a rule that they do not answer content‐focused e‐mails. This is a good

practice because content‐focused queries belong in the public spaces of the

course site. Queries and responses posted in open course spaces benefit all

Best Practices for Teaching Online: Ten Plus Four

49

the learners, as students see both the questions and the responses. You can

also encourage students to answer each other’s questions as appropriate.

Of course, e‐mail remains a good choice for personal and confidential

communications.

What about a policy on response time for questions posted on a course

site or to e‐mail? Institutions have varying policies on this question. Some

institutions have a policy that faculty are expected to respond to learners

within twenty-four hours during the week. Expectations for responses

during the weekend can vary, but as most working professionals work on

their online courses during the weekend, faculty should establish a general

rule as to weekend windows of opportunity. It is also good practice to plan

and do more frequent communications during the first week or two of a

course while everyone is getting started, getting materials, and puzzling

out access and tool processes.

Another common effective practice is for faculty to schedule virtual

office hours, specifying windows when they will be available for text mes-

saging, chat or live classroom, e‐mail, or phone. Learners particularly

appreciate almost real-time response times when they are likely to be

working on an important assignment.

Many faculty often set these “available times” concurrently when they

are likely to be reviewing postings or assignments. In the interests of time

and community, it is best to use a communication tool where responses

and content can be shared with everyone and archived for flexibility in

access and review.

The expectation of a twenty-four‐hour response time during the week

can be modified, provided this policy is communicated to the students and

any change is consistent with an institution’s policies. It is important to

develop your own policies or rules of thumb if the institution does not

have them in place. Think about the students as family for the duration of

a course or program. Students are very accepting of a faculty member’s

time and life requirements IF they know what is going on. And students

often step in and help each other even more when they know a faculty

member is sick, traveling, or engaged in significant professional or family

obligations. Often students can agree to monitor course questions posted

in the open forum or in the discussion boards, for example.

Teaching and learning experiences in any environment are demanding

of both teachers and students, and the time to do the work needs to be

scheduled and planned. Being clear as to how much effort and time will be

required on a weekly basis keeps surprises to a minimum (Anderson, 2008;

Lehman & Conceição, 2014).

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The Online Teaching Survival Guide

How much time should learners be expected to dedicate weekly to an

online course? A good rule of thumb is that a fifteen-week online course

will generally require an absolute minimum of six productive hours of

learning time each week, and an eight-week course a minimum of twelve

hours a week. This includes time for activities such as reading and process-

ing content, as well as participating in online discussions. For many learn-

ers, it can take ten scheduled hours to achieve six productive hours, due to

dealing with interruptions, and focusing on transitioning tasks and chal-

lenges, as in “Oh, yes, I need to warm my coffee, feed my children, get

laundry started, or find the support materials for the document I was

working on.

best Practice 4: use a Variety of large group, Small group,

and Individual work experiences

A learning community has more ways to develop when learners partici-

pate in a variety of learning experiences. Many students enjoy the oppor-

tunity to brainstorm concepts and work through assignments with one or

two or more fellow students, particularly when they don’t gather in a

physical space very often. At the same time many students really enjoy

working and learning independently. Building in options and opportuni-

ties for students to work together and individually is a key characteristic of

good learning design. Variety gives students ways of tapping into their

own varied skills and abilities.

For example, developing skills and knowledge can be more stimulat-

ing when students immerse themselves in course content by working

through cases and challenging problems and discussing stimulating ideas

with fellow students. Teams are particularly effective when students are

working on complex case studies or scenarios for the first time. Research

(Light, 2004; Bernard et al., 2009; Abrami et al., 2011; Bain, 2012) confirms

that talking through problems with others, as in study groups, and other

collaborative work, increases learning. In his book What the Best College

Students Do (2012), Bain noted stories of students who had studied together,

quizzing and probing one another, each person taking a turn at teaching

the others (p. 246).

Early in a course, students often respond positively to working with

just one or two other students. Later in the course, with more complex

projects, groups of three or four can work well. Smaller teams generally

offer more time for full participation. It is also invigorating to build in

whole-class activities such as the live classroom Q&A sessions or events

with invited experts.

Best Practices for Teaching Online: Ten Plus Four

51

Here are some starting points for designing learning experiences using

different size groups:

• Individual work: Tools such as journals and personal blogs support

individual creation, reflection, and review. Combined with small group

work, these tools can also support sharing of ideas and innovative and

critical thinking. We like the reminder that “Reflection is a form of

retrieval practice” (Brown, Roediger, & McDaniel, 2014, p. 66).

• Small groups: Working in small groups is particularly recommended

when working on problem‐solving scenarios and more complex

case studies.

• Large groups: The now‐ubiquitous mobile and synchronous tools allow

us to spontaneously plan large group activities such as expert visits and

virtual conferences and do real‐time project planning, brainstorming,

and presentations.

It is tempting to design one type of weekly learning module and then

just create a set of similar modules for the other weeks or units of your

course. We believe that this can save time and energy in designing and

preparing a course. However, student feedback from personal communica-

tions suggests that online courses can quickly become too predictable, con-

sisting of reading, posting on discussion boards, and writing papers.

Students share that they begin to suffer from a week‐to‐week sameness

factor, as early as after only two or three weeks. Consider including an

activity that is based on student feedback or is student‐determined, such as

using a discussion question they write, to break up the sameness of course

activities.

best Practice 5: use Synchronous and asynchronous

activities

Another way of providing variety in your course design is to balance asyn-

chronous activities with synchronous activities. When online courses were

initially offered, they were almost totally asynchronous. In many ways,

they represented a new generation of the correspondence distance learn-

ing courses so widespread in the middle of the twentieth century (Sherron

& Boettcher, 1997). Now we have tools supporting entirely new genera-

tions of online and blended courses. We have social media tools and the

“Internet of things” connecting everyone with everything. We have learn-

ing management and course management systems, real‐time synchronous

classrooms, massive open online courses (MOOCs), spontaneous collabo-

ration tools, and an almost infinite number of web tools, smart phones,

52

The Online Teaching Survival Guide

and wearables that support synchronous chat, video messaging, and

more. These tools make it possible to do almost everything that we have

been accustomed to doing in face‐to‐face classrooms, and discussions and

events can be recorded and archived for later and multiple views. In addi-

tion, we can engage learners in more extensive collaborative and reflective

activities, from anywhere, at any time we choose to be awake and

communicating.

Sometimes there is nothing better than a real‐time interactive brain-

storming and sharing discussion; other times, the requirement to think,

plan, write, and reflect is what makes learning most effective for an indi-

vidual. The variety of activities now possible makes it easy to create many

types of effective learning experiences and environments. Many problem‐

based courses, such as financial, statistical, or engineering courses, use live

classroom tools for interactive, real‐time problem‐solving. These same

tools can be used for virtually any discipline for real‐time Q&A review ses-

sions, project reviews, virtual coaching, or office hours.

While working professionals often choose to complete advanced

degrees online so that they can make use of the asynchronous, anytime,

anywhere features of a program, these same learners enjoy getting together

at a specific time to interact in real time. When getting together synchro-

nously doesn’t work for reasons such as multiple time zones or travel

requirements, the recording and archiving features make it possible to feel

as if one has actually “been there.”

Some of the most robust synchronous tools are set up and run by insti-

tutions and accommodate small to large groups. Informal tools such as

Google Hangout and Skype, as well as the simple telephone service that is

essentially free with smart phones, are excellent tools for small group col-

laboration, team work, role plays, debates, and presentations.

best Practice 6: ask for Informal Feedback early

in the term

Course evaluations have been called “postmortem evaluations” because

they are done after the fact. This means nothing can be changed to increase

satisfaction or facilitate more learning and engagement. Early feedback

surveys or informal discussions are effective in getting students to provide

feedback on what is working well in a course and solicit suggestions and

ideas on what might help them have a better course experience. Often early

feedback can alert you to students having difficulty with something as fix-

able as access to materials, or some minor technology glitch.

This early feedback is done in about week 2 of a fifteen‐week course so

time is available to make corrections and modifications while the course is

Best Practices for Teaching Online: Ten Plus Four

53

ongoing. For the many popular shorter courses, as six‐ or eight‐week terms,

informal feedback can be done as early as midweek of the first week.

best Practice 7: Prepare discussion Posts that Invite

responses, Questions, discussions, and reflections

One of the primary differences between the online and blended classroom

and the classroom of the campus‐based course is how students and faculty

communicate and the range of tools that they use to do so. After all, we

don’t see the students as often; rather, we get to know them by what they

write and say in the discussion boards and their assignments and, to a

lesser degree, in e‐mail, phone, and collaborative online classrooms.

The communication space that is the heart and soul of the online course

community is the discussion board. This is the primary place where faculty

talk to students and students talk to other students. This is also the place

where students and faculty get to know one another, and the tool that helps

a widely dispersed group of students and faculty become a learning

community.

Discussions in an online course are the equivalent of class discussions

in a face‐to‐face class. A key difference, of course, is that these discussions

are asynchronous, meaning that students have time for thought and reflec-

tion. Another key difference is that discussions, blogs, and other tools

require written or audio comments that are captured and become part of a

course archive.

Discussions are often designed for one of the following learning

purposes (Painter, Coffin, & Hewings, 2003; Goodyear, Jones, Asensio,

Hodgson, & Steeples, 2003, cited in Grogan, 2005):

• Provide a place for an open question‐and‐answer forum

• Encourage critical or creative thinking

• Reinforce domain or procedural processes

• Achieve social interaction and community building so learners get to

know each other personally and intellectually

• Validate thinking and experiences

• Support students in their own reflections and inquiries

Here are a few hints for discussion postings culled from many conver-

sations with experienced online faculty:

• Create open‐ended questions that learners can explore and apply the

concepts that they are learning.

• Model Socratic‐type probing and follow‐up questions: “Why do you

think that?” “What is your reasoning?” “Is there an alternative strategy?”

54

The Online Teaching Survival Guide

• Ask clarifying questions that encourage students to think about what

they know and don’t know.

• Stagger due dates of the responses, and consider a midpoint summary

or encouraging comments.

Provide guidelines and instruction on responding to other students. For

example, suggest a two‐part response: (1) “Say what you liked or agreed

with or what resonated with you,” and (2) “Conclude with a follow-up

question such as what you are wondering about or curious about.”

best Practice 8: think digital for all Course Content

If course content is not digital, it is as if it does not exist. If it is not digital,

we can’t access it from our phones, tablets, and laptops, or the cloud.

Students turn first and most frequently to the content and applications that

are available with their digital devices.

Learners today want to be learning anywhere, anytime, and often while

they are doing other things, such as driving, taking care of children, or

exercising. While paper and physical books are still handy and convenient

and can be restful for our eyes, most students expect to be able to access

course content from wherever they happen to be and whenever they have

even five to fifteen minutes to read, think or reflect. Smartphones, tablets,

the Internet, and the cloud provide a digital environment that means learn-

ers do not have to worry about the physical location or carry‐weight of

course content.

E‐textbooks, replete with animations and study tools, are becoming

widely available, so it is now easier to design a course with options for

digital content while also providing physical text options. Selecting a text-

book available in multiple formats can be a boon to students, particularly

working professionals. Another reason for thinking digital is that digital

content often includes audio and video resources, adding a dimension

above and beyond text that can engage and help learners with core con-

cepts, and provides links to a world of professional examples and tools.

Digital resources such as animations and immersive simulations can pro-

vide practice in building skills and increase the types of learning outcomes

that learners can achieve.

A reference document with instructions on remotely accessing library

resources is a must for online courses. In addition, a key member of the

instructional team is the library reference person assigned to support online

learners. Make friends with your library personnel.

Students enjoy seeing how what they are learning links to current

events. Thus building links to current events into discussions, blogs, and

Best Practices for Teaching Online: Ten Plus Four

55

announcements supports the exploration stage of early grappling with

core course concepts. So this best practice includes encouraging students to

make good use of Internet resources.

Another effective practice is to enlist student help in finding and iden-

tifying relevant and engaging resources. Students often are better than

their instructors at discerning which resources will be of interest and use to

themselves and to their peers. Enlisting students in this task also means

that students will find resources that illustrate course content in action,

helping them make more connections to the content and to their lives.

best Practice 9: Combine Core Concept learning with

Customized and Personalized learning

This best practice integrates a number of core learning principles. Briefly,

this practice requires faculty, as part of their course design process prior to

the course, to identify the core concepts, questions, and performance goals

for a course. Then during the course a faculty’s responsibility is to mentor

learners through a set of increasingly complex and customized questions,

problems, and projects to help learners apply these core concepts and

develop their own knowledge structures.

In practical terms for online courses, it means designing options and

choices within learning experiences, assignments, and special projects.

Supporting learners with their personal and professional goals that are

closely linked to the performance goals of a course and even beyond the

course parameters benefits the learners individually and as a group. It

enhances the meaningfulness of the learning and infuses learner enthusi-

asm for completing the assignments.

A key principle supporting concept learning comes from psychologist

Lev Vygotsky (1962, 1978). He noted that concepts are not words, but rather

organized and intricate knowledge clusters. This simple but profound

truth means that while we usually teach in a linear fashion, presenting

concepts individually and in small clusters, we need to continually reapply

core concepts within differing contexts, such as those in case studies, prob-

lems, and scenarios. The wealth of research studies on the brain and the

mind confirms this practice (Brown, Roediger, and McDaniel, 2014).

Effectively learning concepts, as studies of novice and expert learners

demonstrate, requires a knowledge of patterns and relationships. Individual

facts and vocabulary are part of a knowledge structure, but they require

connections to make them meaningful (Ericsson, Charness, Feltovich &

Hoffman, 2006; Chi, 2006).

When faced with a new field or discipline, students initially focus on

learning the vocabulary of a discipline, but this activity is often done in

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The Online Teaching Survival Guide

isolation from an understanding of the concepts that give the words mean-

ing. Without the underlying concepts, words are akin to isolated weeds

and seeds likely to be blown away by the winds of time, usually mere

hours after an exam or other learning experience. Learning individual facts

and vocabulary is just one of the early steps in learning concepts.

One effective teaching and learning strategy advocates making

students’ thinking visible (Collins, Brown, & Holum, 1991; Ritchhart,

Church & Morrison, 2011; visiblethinking.org). Making our thinking visi-

ble requires students to create, talk, write, explain, analyze, judge, report,

and inquire. These activities make it clear to students themselves, the fac-

ulty, and fellow learners what they know or don’t know, what they are

puzzled about, and what they might be curious about. Such activities stim-

ulate students’ growth from concept awareness to concept acquisition,

building in that “series of intellectual operations” that Vygotsky believes is

required for concept acquisition. Such a series of activities also maps the

development of knowledge as described in Bloom’s taxonomy.

Discussion forums, blogging, journals, wikis, and similar social net-

working type tools provide excellent communication channels for engag-

ing learners in clarifying and enlarging their mental models or concepts

and building links and identifying relationships.

This best practice builds flexibility into learning experiences to meet

the needs of individual learners while designing to ensure that all students

reach competency in the learning outcomes of a course. This practice means

that an instructor is continuously referring to and building in relationships

of core concepts, as expanded in Best Practice 12, rigorously connecting

core concepts to learning outcomes, while also focusing on learners as

individuals.

Customizing practices asks students how they plan on using the learn-

ing experiences. If they are to talk or share any particular facts, examples,

or stories with others, just which ones would they share? We build these

questions into forums and assignments, always ensuring that the learners

elaborate, apply, relate, and share knowledge with others.

As noted in the content best practice, the best learning experience is a

shared learning experience that meets the individual needs of each of

the learners.

This practice is a way of implementing three of the core learning

principles from Chapter Two: Principle 2, “Learners bring their own per-

sonalized and customized knowledge, skills, and attitudes to the experi-

ence”; Principle 4, “All learners do not need to learn all the course

content”; and Principle 6, “Every learner has a zone of proximal

Best Practices for Teaching Online: Ten Plus Four

57

development that defines the space that a learner is ready to develop

into useful knowledge.”

best Practice 10: Plan a good Closing and wrap activity

for the Course

As a course starts coming to a close and winding down, it is easy to focus

on assessing and grading students and forget the value of a good closing

experience. In the final weeks of a course, students are likely to be stressed

and somewhat overwhelmed by the remaining work. In this state, they

often do not pause to make the lists and do the planning that can help

reduce stress and provide a calming atmosphere. A useful image for reduc-

ing stress is in David Allen’s book Getting Things Done (2015). Allen notes

that making a list helps us to clear the “psychic ram” of our brains so that

we feel more relaxed and more in control. Once we have made lists and

prepared our schedule, we don’t have to continually remind ourselves of

what needs to be done and when.

End‐of‐course experiences often include student presentations, sum-

maries, and analyses. These reports and presentations provide insights

into what useful knowledge students are taking away from a course. At the

same time, these learning events can provide a final opportunity for fac-

ulty to remind students of core concepts and fundamental principles. These

end‐of‐course experiences are a good time to use live classrooms, YouTube,

and other synchronous collaborative tools. Chapter Nine is devoted to

course wrapping (CW) tips and ideas.

Four More best Practices for Online and blended

teaching and learning

These additional best practices started their lives as tips in the 2010 version

of this Survival Guide. However, the power of these practices to help ensure

meaningful learning suggests that they touch on overarching themes that

should have higher visibility as we design learning experiences. In the

years since the first edition, these practices kept coming to the fore as we

coached faculty.

As noted earlier, the last few years has witnessed a flowering of

research on teaching in a multitude of online and blended environments.

While the ten best practices are really still the absolute beginner’s set of

best practices, these four additional best practices go beyond the basics

and contribute significantly to the design of experiences that learners

savor and enjoy.

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The Online Teaching Survival Guide

Tips on how to implement these practices are expanded significantly in

the tip section of the book.

best Practice 11: assess as You go by gathering evidences

of learning

This best practice makes sense for everyone—for learners, for instructors,

and for administrators. It keeps a focus on what the learner is doing and

thinking throughout a course. This practice supports the gathering of evi-

dences of learning throughout the course and also provides additional data

for program accountability (Banta & Blaich, 2011; Suskie, 2009). This prac-

tice is one of the Principles of Good Practice for Assessing Student Learning,

published by AAHE in 1996 and updated over time (Astin, et al., 2012;

Hutchings, Ewell, & Banta, 2012).

What does this best practice mean? Rather than pushing all assessment

toward papers, exams, and/or a final project, this practice recommends

distributing assessment throughout a course. One of the key elements of

course design is an assessment plan, showing the relative value and impor-

tance of assignments, project milestones, and other course contributions

and participation.

One feature of emerging assessment practice that supports “assessing

as you go” is expanding the audience for a student’s work. In addition to

the classic approach of assessment being a one‐way street between an

individual learner and an instructor, this practice recommends having

learners work in small teams that work collaboratively on peer review and

peer consulting on assignments such as project proposals. Outside experts

can also play a role and participate in review and evaluation of student’s

work (Moallem, 2005). Public exhibitions, as they are traditionally done in

media classes, can lead the way. Also consider providing options for stu-

dents to create many types of experiences beyond just writing papers.

(Boettcher, 2011)

Applying this practice means we gather evidences of learning through-

out the course. This relieves the end‐of‐course stress and burdens. Another

stress‐reliever is also giving learners more choice in how they demonstrate

knowledge.

best Practice 12: rigorously Connect Content to Core

Concepts and learning Outcomes

This best practice is rooted in learning principles such as distributed review

practices and elaboration of facts and concepts. We know that learning

takes time. We know that learning takes practice. We know that deep

Best Practices for Teaching Online: Ten Plus Four

59

learning depends on seeing and using concepts in different contexts and

scenarios and relationships. This best practice means “always coming back

to how knowledge is embodied in the core concepts, patterns, relation-

ships.” Repetition and use of knowledge is what helps learners construct

a meaningful knowledge representational structure in their minds

(Kandel, 2006; Brown, Roediger, & McDaniel, 2014).

We spend a great deal of time developing learning outcomes, but then

these outcomes are tucked away in a section of the syllabus that is mostly

invisible. A best practice in the first week of the course is to assign your

students a task to read the section, review the learning outcomes, and

identify the ones that make the most sense to them; then, to customize

and personalize some of the learning outcomes, have them answer this

question, “How do I want to be different in my person, in my mind after

this course?”

best Practice 13: develop and use a Content Frame for

the Course

This best practice involves two steps: first, designing a content frame for

the course, and second, developing a habit of using and referring to that

cognitive map, while teaching the course. The biggest danger generally

faced by students is the feeling of being totally overwhelmed by all the

content and as a consequence getting lost in the forest of details and not

developing confidence in the really important ideas.

What is a content frame? Content frames are also called cognitive maps,

visual graphics, and overviews. We like to use the term content frame

because preparing a frame for a course helps learners get a holistic sense of

a course. It presents a clear picture of what is to be learned in a course and

what can be learned later as interests develop and time permits.

Adventurous, curious students can always delve more deeply into course

content, but they know at what point they can stop and still know what

they need to know. Providing a clear overview of the core concepts, key

knowledge, and types of problems competent learners should be able to

handle provides a focus for the term of the course. Additionally, being able

to refer back to the content frame regularly and see the content visually

helps students to construct their own knowledge representations in

their minds.

One of the tips (CB Tip 3 in Chapter Six) focuses on strategies and ideas

for creating a syllabus with this type of content frame. Don’t miss it. This

tip suggests that creating a syllabus that really jump-starts learning is a

fantastic investment. Think of the choices our students have before them.

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The Online Teaching Survival Guide

How do we pull them in? How do we make working on our course some-

thing that they look forward to? The goal is to create a content frame that

causes students to say, “Wow, thanks so much. I can really see what we are

going to be doing and how everything all fits together.”

best Practice 14: design experiences to Help learners

Make Progress on their novice‐to‐expert Journey

This best practice views students as learners, working their way along a

path from novice to expert. It suggests strategies and approaches that

assume the learner wants to develop knowledge, skill, and expertise in a

field of inquiry and to do what it takes to help the learners move forward

toward that goal.

It is sometimes assumed that motivating students is a problem. But

while learning takes time, effort, and energy, the positive feelings that

result from developing confidence in using knowledge to solve problems

is intrinsically very motivating.

An entire body of research literature examines and describes the vari-

ous steps and stages on the way from being a novice to becoming an expert.

This body of literature includes work by researchers and theorists we have

examined earlier: Piaget, Bruner, Brown, and more recently, Ericsson and

Chi. The most of t-quoted “fact” about developing expertise is that it takes

about 10,000 hours. If that is the case, then what are the steps, and how do

we structure and design courses to help students on their preferred exper-

tise journey? As we design the learning experiences, what stage of their

journey is each learner on and how can the learning experiences help them

move forward?

Briefly, here are the major milestones in a journey to expertise: novice,

advanced novice (initiate), apprentice, journeyman, expert, and master

(Chi, 2006). Each of these milestones represents from 1,500 to 2,500 hours of

knowledge, skill, and acquisition investment. To be useful at the course

level, it will be important for an instructor to identify core concepts and set

specific competency goals that link the learning outcomes to the develop-

ment of expertise. The research on deliberate practice initiated by Ericsson

and Charness (1994) is particularly useful for graduate‐level profes-

sional studies.

Conclusion

Course designs have traditionally focused on content questions, such as

what content to present, in what order and what depth. Then in response,

instructors have focused on covering the material, getting through the

book, and meeting expectations so that faculty in other courses wouldn’t

Best Practices for Teaching Online: Ten Plus Four

61

muse and wonder, “Didn’t you learn these concepts in this earlier course?

And didn’t you study the work and contributions of [fill in your favorite

important person]?”

A major drawback with course designs that prioritize content is that

this approach focuses attention on what the faculty member is doing,

thinking, and talking about and not on the interaction and engagement of

students with the core concepts and skills of a course. Trends in higher

education since the late 1990s have encouraged a focus on learners as a

priority, resulting in many publications such as Launching a Learning‐

Centered College (O’Banion, 1999) and Weimer’s Learner‐Centered Teaching

(2002, 2013). This movement refocuses instruction on the learner and away

from the content, a shift that encourages faculty to develop a habit of ask-

ing questions such as, “What is going on inside the learner’s head?” “How

much of the content and the tools can he or she actually use?” “What are

learners thinking, and how did they arrive at their respective positions?”

This focus on the learner has evolved to trends on accountability, student

success, personalized learning, and analytics to capture what works

(Johnson et al., 2015).

We have much more to learn about effective and joyful and meaningful

teaching and learning, and more about teaching and learning in the variety

of online, blended, and face‐to‐face environments. The good news is that

we now know much more than what we did and have much more research

evidence on what works.

Summary—and what’s next

This set of best practices is really just the tip of the iceberg in developing

expertise in effective teaching and learning, but we hope you find it a use-

ful set of practices as you get started in whatever new environment you

will be using. Chapters Five through Nine provide tips and examples, as

well as summaries and themes for what is happening in the four phases

of a course.

exercise and reflection

If you are using this book for a course in faculty 1. What top three best practices resonate with you?

development, here are two activities to consider

What would you add to this list as your personal

using to have faculty think more deeply about these

best practice?

best practices and to share their ideas and beliefs 2. Spend time reflecting on these best practices.

with their colleagues.

Where do your weaknesses lie? How will you

strengthen those areas?

Chapter 4

Technology Tools to support

Teaching and Learning

This was an intimidating chapter to write, as digital tools are chang-

ing faster than we can describe them. To avoid mentioning or describ-

ing specific tools that will be obsolete before the book is published, we

primarily discuss tool categories. We describe the following three sets of

technology tools for teaching in online, blended, or enriched classroom

environments:

• The basics—the essential set of tools for teaching and learning wher-

ever you are

• An enriched set of tools, building on the basic set

• A set of tools for practicing contextual knowledge and emerging

possibilities

A high percentage of the tools mentioned and recommended in the tips

are likely part of the learning management system (LMS) at your institu-

tion. These systems are so full‐featured that it is possible to design almost

any learning experience similar to those you may have designed for a face‐

to‐face environment. A good strategy is to pick the three to four essential

tools that are best suited for your learning goals and discipline and use

those well. Then with each succeeding term you can expand your use of

the tools. Remember, too, that while tools are constantly changing, they are

often (though not always) getting easier to use, and many are free.

Choosing which technologies to use can be daunting. The next section

of this chapter provides five guidelines to help you make initial choices for

choosing and using technology tools. This is followed by descriptions of

the three sets of tools.

62

Technology Tools to Support Teaching and Learning

63

Guidelines for Choosing and Using Technology Tools

Guideline 1: Pedagogy First, Technology second

This guideline reminds us that learning design decisions take priority over

decisions about technologies. In other words, technology should serve

pedagogy. Dewey’s philosophical core, that all learning is growth (1938),

suggests that the most important decision of any learning experience

design is the end goal, the desired outcome of the experience. This means

that in designing a course, the starting point is clearly identifying and stat-

ing the desired learning outcomes. Once the learning outcomes are deter-

mined, we design the experiences for achieving the learning outcomes

appropriate for our learners. At this point we make decisions about the

technologies to best achieve the results.

Of course, it doesn’t always work this way. Sometimes the technology

decisions are mostly all in place. Institutions create the learning infrastruc-

ture and the technologies that learners are expected to have, and instruc-

tors are expected to design within this set of tools. This guideline encourages

a mindset of designing your course with an eye on the available and best

tools. In practice, all design is iterative, an interaction of design goals,

expected students, and probable learning environments.

Guideline 2: Keep it simple

The first time you teach in any new environment or with a new set of learn-

ers, it is wise to keep it simple and use the basic set of tools well supported

by your institution.

If you focus on the essential tools and build your course around those

tools, you can branch out later as you teach a course a second or third time

and gain experience, confidence, and a sense of exploration.

Guideline 3: involve Your Learners in Choices and Use of

Digital Tools and Resources

We often forget about another resource for tools that is readily available:

our learners. Many times our students will have experience with a tool that

is an excellent fit for the learning experience. Or you might not have much

experience with one of the tools, and feel a little apprehensive. Ask your

learners for help and let them help you. They will feel part of the process

and proud to be part of your learning too.

Your students can also be sources for rich media materials and tutorials

and websites that might be effective supplements or alternatives for core

concept or choice learning experiences. Students can be very resourceful in

finding free materials and even developing learning materials themselves.

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The Online Teaching Survival Guide

Guideline 4: have Choices and Backups for when the

Cloud Disappears

Always have a Plan B for when the technology you need the most fails.

And yes, we’re saying “when,” not “if.” It’s inevitable that sometimes

technology doesn’t work as it should. Be ready to postpone or adjust a

test, an assignment, or an expert event until the technology is available.

For example, if a technology interruption is impacting assignment sub-

missions, allow students to submit their work later, or in another way—

by e‐mail, text, or blog. Above all, assure students that their grades will

not suffer because of the technology failure. Also, be open to solutions

they may propose. This will help everyone relax and stay focused on the

learning tasks, not the technology glitch.

Another element of providing technology choices is making certain

that essential technology tools are readily available and affordable for

learners. Sometimes it makes sense to let learners choose their favorite

technology for producing important course products so they don’t have

to lose learning time using a course‐mandated tool they won’t be

using again.

Guideline 5: Review Your Technology Tool set Every Two

to Three Terms

After you have taught a course for two or three terms, it is good to look

at it with a fresh eye, using feedback from your students to see if there

are resources or tools that can energize or better facilitate your desired

learning goals. It is always good to also refresh your thinking about the

expectations of your students and their experiences coming into

your course.

As technologies appear that you think have possibilities for your course

or for your students, evaluate them in light of the learning experiences

framework. It is wise to introduce new technologies slowly to give you

time to become comfortable with a tool. Introducing one new tool at a time

is usually a good strategy.

When using a tool for the first time, it can be prudent to use it in the

early middle or late middle of a course, when course processes are well

established. This gives everyone a chance to try something new with mini-

mal risk. Introducing new tools at the beginning of a course can interrupt

the flow, affecting how well your course gets off the ground, and can impact

the tone of the course more than at any other phase.

Technology Tools to Support Teaching and Learning

65

Basic set of Technology Tools for Online and Blended

Teaching and Learning

Teaching learners in any environment requires a core set of essential skills,

tools, and habits. The primary task for any instructor is to develop and

nurture a set of habits and skills to achieve the goals of guiding learners’

growth within a community of learners. Digital technology tools help to

achieve these goals.

When it comes to technology tools, there is good news and bad news.

Tools help us accomplish teaching and learning communications much

more easily and more efficiently than in the past. At the same time, tools

are similar to pets, plants, and cars. They require investments of money

and training, and regular updating to keep them in sync with the world

around us.

In this section, we describe the basic set of technology tools and their

purposes. A minimalist might say that the only tools anyone needs for

teaching and learning are tools for communication and building relation-

ships. Communications tools support presence, dialogue, and community.

As we look at the basic tool set, communication and relationships are the

purposes we will be focusing on. Everything else is enrichment, enhance-

ments, icing on the cake. Fortunately, most basic communication tools for

teaching and learning are now included in institution‐provided learning

management systems (LMS). Many communication tools are integrated as

well, in less complex systems used for learning, such as blogs, and social

media tools. Let’s look now at the communication tools bundled into many

large institutional teaching and learning systems.

Basic set of Digital Technology Tools with Their General Teaching and

Learning Purposes

1. Communication tools for supporting instructor

postings, discussion forums, and social media

presence (social, teaching, and cognitive) as

places, such as Facebook, and meeting places

described in Best Practice 1, and for building

such as Blackboard Collaborate and Skype, and

community, as described in Best Practice 2.

GoToMeeting. Also consider smartphones. How

These communication tools include all

do we categorize these? Are they communication

the tools for talking to each other: e‐mails,

tools, creation tools, cameras, watches,

announcements, texting, tweeting, blog flashlights, encyclopedias, or all of the above?

( continued)

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The Online Teaching Survival Guide

Smartphones even support individual and small

two or more using tools such as Skype and Google

group meetings with e‐mailing, messaging, or

Hangout as well as tweeting and other social

air-dropping photos, text, and media documents.

media tools for just staying in touch and sharing

Communication tools also support explicit

ideas. Learners may be the ones who lead their

communication expectations (Best Practice 3),

instructors and fellow learners into use of new

different size groupings (Best Practice 4), syn-

tools. This is a great engagement opportunity

chronous and asynchronous activities (Best Prac-

and should be welcomed as appropriate.

tice 5), and getting feedback early (Best Practice 3. Physical devices of all shapes and sizes for con-6). Discussion forums support informal and for-

tent access, sharing, creating, and unlimited fast

mal sustained intellectual communications (Best

connections to the Internet. These physical

Practice 7).

devices include laptops, tablets, smartphones,

2. Communication tools for supporting learner dia-

watches, and wearables and are essentially multi-

logue with the instructor and with fellow learners,

purpose communication, content resource, and

including all those already listed for instructor

content-creating devices. These devices are

communication and presence and more. Learners

essential for learners and instructors and to sup-

may choose to create and use small groupings of

port Best Practice 8 on digital content resources.

Basic set of Digital Technology Tools: Their Teaching and

Learning Purposes

Communication Tools in the Learning

Management system

The primary tool that you want to become very adept and familiar with is

the learning management system (LMS) at your institution or organiza-

tion. These systems are a bundled set of integrated tools that support

almost any type of teaching and learning experience.

What are the key communication elements of an LMS? The sidebar

“Basic Communication and Media Tools in the LMS” lists the primary

teaching and learning communication features of these systems. These

tools support teaching presence with ways of communicating with stu-

dents and providing direction and access to content resources.

Most courses now have an online course site that is used as the primary

gathering place, similar to a physical classroom. The course site is an online

space for announcements, documents, peer‐to‐peer discussions, assign-

ment submissions, and grading for online courses. It may also serve as the

online space used to supplement the management of a course offered in a

physical classroom. These systems now can do almost anything that you

want to do in a traditional classroom with the advantage that the LMS is

always “open” and available to students.

Technology Tools to Support Teaching and Learning

67

Basic Communication and Media Tools in the LMs

1. announcements: This is perhaps the best tool

responses. These discussions play the same role

for staying in touch with students on a daily or

that face‐to‐face discussions play in classroom

almost daily basis and helping to keep them

gatherings. The potential uses of these discussion

focused and engaged. Announcement tools sup-

forums are almost limitless, but a good starting

port basic text, audio, or video messages. They

practice is one discussion forum for each week of

are ideal for short messages, ideas, and highlight-

the course. More on using discussion forums can

ing patterns, relationships, insights, and surprises

be found in Chapter Seven.

in readings or forums. Announcements are essen- 5. Gradebook: This tool is used to record and captial for emergencies and late‐breaking changes.

ture the points awarded for each of the course

2. Course Menu and navigation: The course menu

assignments. A good aid to using the gradebook

is usually on the left side of the home page of

is to develop an assessment plan with these five

your course. Most institutions provide a blank

features of each course assignment: (1) assign-

course template, customized to that institution.

ment name, (2) purpose of the assignment, (3)

Templates help students by providing consist-

due date, (4) number of points, and (5) location of

ency across an institution’s courses. Students

the assignment rubric. Examples of these assess-

then know where to find the syllabus and other

ment plans are in Chapter Seven.

course elements, such as unit resources, discus- 6. Tests and Quizzes: These tools administer tests sion forums, assignments, content resources,

and quizzes that are very useful as practice and

rubrics, gradebooks, and academic policies and

self‐review assignments. Tests and quizzes can be

procedures. When you start preparing your

time‐consuming to develop initially, but over

course, a template also guides you as to where to

time they will prove a great time‐saver. Developed

put all the materials you will be using to teach the

tests and quizzes are often part of a textbook

course. If you need to prepare all the course mate-

offering. Depending on your course level and

rials, rather than using a course designed by

content, it can be helpful to adopt a textbook that

someone else, the tips in Chapter Six will be

provides these resources.

very useful.

7. E‐mail Communications: E‐mail tools can be

3. Content area: This is usually one subsection of

used in the traditional ways. As a basic tool, they

the menu just described, where the major course

are useful in handling private or confidential one‐

content parts are usually located. The course

on‐one messages between a faculty member and

parts, which reflect the sequence and organiza-

student. Group e‐mails are no longer as useful as

tion of the course and often correspond to the

they once were, as faculty are tending more

organization of books or other resource sets, are

toward using the announcement or discussion

usually called either modules, units, topics,

forum for questions affecting larger groups of

chapters, or weeks. Visualize eight to fourteen or

students. Students seldom use these tools for

more folders, each focusing on a key course

communicating with other students, as texting

content area.

and other social media tools may be preferred.

4. Discussion Forums: This tool is for discussing 8. Collaboration Tools: Small teams of students and sharing ideas asynchronously so that discus-can use these tools for brainstorming and collab-

sions can carry on 24/7, wherever students or fac-

oration on small assignments or projects. These

ulty might be. Faculty post a question, challenge,

tools provide a way to meet in real time as on a

or task for students, and students post their

conference call or phone call. They are scalable

( continued)

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The Online Teaching Survival Guide

for small teams or large class meetings for Q&A,

are simple audio, video, and note‐taking apps

review, or project discussions or presentations.

for smartphones. Other, more-sophisticated

They can be used asynchronously by faculty or

tools include screen capture programs for lap-

students to prepare mini‐lectures on core con-

tops and web apps such as VoiceThread (www.

cepts as well. More about these tools is in the

voicethread.com). Some of these audio and

enriched set of tools discussion later in

video tools are integrated with large systems so

this chapter.

you can use audio and video in your discussion

9. audio and Video Tools: These support record-

forums and other tools. Other stand‐alone

ing, mixing, and editing audio and video. Some

apps support mixed-media storytelling and

of the current tools that feature recording audio

project work.

The sidebar “Basic Skills and Tools—Twelve Action Skills to Know”

lists the action skills you need to learn to get started using an LMS. If you

are associated with an institution, many institutions have workshops and

tutorials introducing faculty to the particular LMS at their institution.

Attending even one or two of these workshops is highly recommended, as

they will often have additional documentation and tips and you will meet

the support staff that you may need to call upon. If you are more independ-

ent, many tutorials and hints are widely available from vendor sites and

also from publicly available resources at various university teaching and

learning centers. A search often will reveal many useful resources on any of

these topics.

Basic skills and Tools—Twelve action skills to Know

When you attend a workshop or tutorial on the

5. Create, edit, arrange, and delete folders.

institution’s LMS or meet with a support desk staff

6. Upload images.

person, use this list to be sure you master these

7. Update and revise documents.

twelve actions.

8. Use the announcement tool.

1. Request or arrange for a course site.

9. Set up and create discussion forums.

2. Access the course site.

10. Set up assignments and major milestones.

3. Know whom to contact for help for using

11. Know how to access and manage course

the LMS.

resources.

4. Upload documents.

12. Set up teams and groups.

These “how to” basics are your survival skills for teaching with a LMS

or online for the first time. Give yourself a break and don’t expect perfec-

tion of yourself the first time you teach a course in this new‐to‐you envi-

ronment. Just as your students are learning a new set of knowledge ideas,

you are learning new digital tools, what they can do, and how to recover

when things don’t always go as expected. You are developing new habits

Technology Tools to Support Teaching and Learning

69

of communicating and new strategies for teaching and developing rela-

tionship in a new environment.

Recall Guideline 2: Keep it simple. Use tools and teaching strategies as

you are ready and as it makes sense for your course. If a tip suggests a tool

or strategy that is not available to you or you are not quite ready for, simply

adapt the tip as it makes sense to you if needed, and come back to it for

further consideration at a later time. The set of basic tools in Table 4.1 are

highly recommended for use in any teaching and learning situation.

TaBLE 4.1

Basic set of Technology Tools and Their specific Pedagogical Uses

Pedagogical Uses and Purposes

Tip number

Tools and applications

1. Communicate with individual learners

CB1, CB10, EM1,

Announcement tool, e‐mail,

and groups of learners to guide learning

EM13. LM13, LM14

text messaging, discussion

and build a learning community.

forums, voice apps for

synchronous exchange,

such as Skype

2. Create a media‐rich learning environment CB1, CB2,

Audio and video lectures and

to provide variety, choices, and depth of

EM16, LM9, IC1

resources, such as TED Talks

processing opportunities.

3. Create audio or video announcements,

CB1, EM12, EM16

Audio and video apps on

short mini‐lectures, or concept

smartphones, tablets,

introductions.

laptops, collaboration tools

4. Capture and record students’ reflections,

CB1, CB8, CB10, CB14,

Blogs, online journals,

thinking, brainstorming, and peer‐to‐

EM 2, LM2, CW2

discussion forums,

peer commenting.

presentations, wikis

5. Support student collaboration and

EM4, EM12,

Wikis, or other collaborative

teamwork on projects.

EM13, LM2, CW3

project tools, and apps on

smartphones and tablets

6. Introduce core concepts, demonstrating

CB 1, CB2, CB3, EM16

YouTube, Flickr, Tumblr, other

processes, showing visual examples.

apps for posting, sharing

photos, videos

7. Provide a place where learners can ask

CB 1, CB 6, CB 7, EM2,

Discussion forums, blogs,

general questions of the instructor or

LM1, LM6, CW 1

wikis, cyber cafés within

other students; reserve one place for

LMSs, such as Blackboard,

general course questions and another for

Desire2Learn, Canvas

student social interaction—a place for

learners to gather, meet, think out loud,

learn, and practice.

( continued)

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The Online Teaching Survival Guide

TaBLE 4.1

(Continued)

Pedagogical Uses and Purposes

Tip number

Tools and applications

8. Remind students about assignments,

CB2, CB6, EM1, EM8

Announcement tool, text

emergencies, changes; give quick

messages, Twitter, Facebook

responses to critical questions or simple

inquiries, or arrange meetings.

9. Describe expectations for a forum

CB1, CB16, EM2, EM4,

Rubrics—scoring tools that

posting, learning assignment, project, or

LM3, LM8, LM11

lay out the grading criteria

team collaboration so that students

explicitly, often in a matrix

understand the characteristics and

using three or four criteria

features of the expected learning product.

on a scale of 1 to 3 or

4 points

10. Help students to develop community and CB5, EM13,

Social networking sites:

support each other and build networking

EM14, LM14

Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter,

with other students after courses

Google Plus, Tumblr, Flickr,

and programs.

SlideShare

11. Meet with students synchronously in real

CB2, EM15, CW8, CW9

Synchronous collaboration

time for Q&A sessions, project discussions,

tools and online classrooms:

review, and presentations. Students can

Blackboard Collaborate,

use these for scheduled or spontaneous

Acrobat Connect,

meetings. Good for inviting experts in for

GoToMeeting,

special sessions.

Google Hangouts

12. Give students practice in learning Bloom’s CB1, EM2, EM5

Quizzes: testing subsystems

lower‐level learning objectives such as

within an LMS

vocabulary and basic discipline

knowledge and concepts.

More Thoughts on the Basic Tools

No matter who your students are or what content you are teaching, it is

good to have a favorite, easy tool for creating short audio and video

introductions. These might be introductions at the beginning of a course,

module, or chapter, or topic overviews and expectations of learning, con-

cept overviews, project introductions, or assessment summaries. These

introductions can be text, of course, and a good way to get started, but

with a little experimentation, energy, and time, you can take advantage

of the audio and video tools that are so readily available today. Audio can

even be more efficient, as you don’t have to worry about spelling or

formatting.

Technology Tools to Support Teaching and Learning

71

Our favorite audio, video, and image tools are in our pockets most of

the time. They are the apps on our smartphones. A favorite audio tool for

simple recording is easy to remember—AudioMemos—but there are many

others. For video and image recording the camera app on most smart-

phones works very well. The only additional tool that makes recording

easier is some type of tripod or selfie stick to position your phone to get a

good angle when you are talking. Most computers also have audio and

video tools, making audio and video lectures easy to create as well. All you

need to do is find a quiet space and prepare some notes. Do this when you

are ready and feeling adventuresome and can take a little time with it. You

might even encourage your students to try it first and then learn from them.

Once you have recorded audio and video files or captured a set of

images, it is easy to upload or e‐mail these files to your course site or to a

site such as YouTube. YouTube is one of many social networking sites that

make it easy to upload and share videos. If you travel to a conference dur-

ing the middle of a teaching term and want to stay in touch with your

students and share insights from your conference, you can capture a short

three- to five‐minute interview with an expert or colleague and send it

back to your students.

Most LMSs have built‐in voice tools that also make it easy to record

audio announcements, provide audio feedback, and have asynchronous

audio discussions. When you are ready, look into your LMS’s voice tools.

Blogs and wikis are mentioned in a number of tips for all phases of a

course. Blogs are online journals or diaries that are organized with the lat-

est postings appearing first. They can be used as reflective or outreach doc-

uments by individuals or groups. Blogs often have many levels of access,

with opportunities for commenting and review so that you can customize

the blog to your teaching style. Free blogging tools are widely available,

and many LMSs have built‐in blogs. Microblogs, smaller versions of blogs,

might be great for status reports, thoughts, and questions on assignments

or projects.

Wikis are web applications that support modification, extension, or

deletion of their content and structure by individuals or groups. Wikis are

particularly well suited for organizing and storing information that might

be helpful for managing and producing collaborative group projects. The

most famous example of a wiki is the modern encyclopedia project

Wikipedia. Suggestions for teaching strategies using blogs and wikis are

sprinkled throughout the tips.

Instant messaging is a text‐based communications method that enables

real‐time conversation using pop‐up windows on mobile smartphones and

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The Online Teaching Survival Guide

similar devices. The language of instant messaging can sometimes appear

in discussion boards, such as LOL for “laugh out loud” or ?4U for “I have

a question for you.” Most online courses have a policy of discouraging

instant messaging vocabulary in forum postings, but it is acceptable for

text messaging and Tweets.

Facebook and LinkedIn are also mentioned in a number of tips, includ-

ing CB Tip 4. On these social networking sites, users find and communicate

with friends using pictures, blogs, videos, profiles, and “What I am doing

now” messages. Many of your learners will be very familiar with these

sites and can probably suggest ways to use some of the techniques from

these sites in your course.

Synchronous online tools, such as GoToMeeting and Blackboard

Collaborate, are real‐time web conferencing tools useful for a wide range of

teaching and learning real‐time interactions. Some of the most popular

uses are live discussions, presentations by faculty and students, Q&A ses-

sions, and general collaboration. These tools make it easy to prepare asyn-

chronous short lectures or concept demonstrations as well.

Table 4.2 provides an enriched basic set of tools that you can choose to

add to your repertoire of skills when you are ready. In fact, you may want

to scan this table for any tool that might be particularly suited to your

course and level of students. However, it is important to be comfortable

with determining the point at which to start using specific tools. After

teaching a course only once, you may just be developing a level of comfort

with the course management system; thus it may not be worth your time

or energy to test out any new tools. This is a personal choice. The basic set

will serve you well. However, if you are fairly confident, the second time

you teach a course is a good time to explore the enriched basic tool set.

When you are ready, identify a tool from the enriched basic set that

makes sense for you, your students, and your discipline strategies. Once

you select a tool, you can focus your energy on reading and finding ways

to use it. The tips can help you with ideas and strategies. For example, you

may choose to experiment with adding audio or video or images to your

teaching. Choosing a tool or teaching strategy specific to a teaching goal is

good practice, as it often energizes your thinking and your passion for

your discipline.

One learning strategy that many faculty enjoy is learning from other

faculty or from your students. You may hear about other faculty using

these tools, or your own students may ask about or use these tools for their

own learning and communication purposes. You can also encourage stu-

dents to use graphics and audio and video media in their work as it fits the

content and their own comfort and skill level.

Technology Tools to Support Teaching and Learning

73

TaBLE 4.2

Enriched set of Technology Tools and Their Pedagogical Uses

Pedagogical Uses and Purposes

Tip number

Tools and applications

1. Help students develop

CB3

Software for detecting plagiarism,

understanding and awareness of

such as Turnitin and SafeAssign.

plagiarism and how to avoid it.

Many institutions have a site

license linked to the LMS.

2. Learners need a suite of productivity EM9, EM12, LM9,

Students probably already have a

tools for writing essays, papers, and

suite of productivity tools on

blogs, and for creating projects and

their devices. Institutions often

presentations. Creating and

have a site license for a standard

producing content stimulates

set, such as the Microsoft or

learners’ engagement with and

Apple suite. Other docs are

understanding of content.

freely available on the Web.

Students might want to expand

their set of tools for writing and

creating to include audio and

video capture and editing.

3. Learners engage more vigorously

EM13, EM15,

Popular options for synchronous

with the content when they talk and

LM10, CW8, CW9

collaboration tools include

discuss assignments and readings

Skype, Google Hangout, and live

with others. Using collaboration

classrooms in LMSs. These can

tools supports feelings of

be used synchronously for

relatedness and deeper processing

live‐action brainstorming and

of content ideas. Collaboration tools

discussion, and reviewed

can be particularly helpful when

asynchronously if they have

working on team or group projects,

been recorded.

as they provide tracking and

revision history.

4. Podcasts are a great content

EM10, EM16, LM9, LM14

Podcasts are audio or video files

resource. They can provide variety

that can be created by using

and choices for required and

apps on smartphones, tablets, or

recommended materials to support

laptops or within LMSs. Free

learning anywhere, anytime, and

podcasts are also available using

any while. Many tools support

these same apps. Podcasts are

learners’ creating and sharing their

available on almost any topic

own podcasts.

from many discipline sites, and

general public sites such as NPR,

TED Talks, NASA, Smithsonian,

and the Kahn Academy.

( continued)

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The Online Teaching Survival Guide

TaBLE 4.2

(Continued)

Pedagogical Uses and Purposes

Tip number

Tools and applications

5. As we encourage learners to use

CB5, EM16, LM9,

Flickr is one of many photo sharing

audio, image and video tools for

LM14, CW5, CW6

sites; YouTube is a major video‐

their projects and for collaboration,

sharing site; Dropbox is a useful

learners need places and

cloud tool, as are the social

applications for creating and storing

media sites of Facebook and

these content assets.

others. Concept maps are useful

for graphically organizing and

representing ideas, relationships,

and patterns.

6. Faculty have management and

CB15, CB17, EM2, EM6,

Performance Dashboard is an

assessment tasks in addition to

EM10, LM12

example of a subsystem within

teaching and mentoring. Systems

Blackboard that provides a

that support these tasks often

concise, up‐to‐date report on

provide at‐a‐glance statistics about

student activity. Other systems

student presence in a course,

have similar features that can be

grades, and discussion board

valuable for managing,

participation and status of

supporting, and helping to track

assignments.

student engagement

and progress.

7. Soliciting informal feedback is

EM3

Polldaddy/Survey Monkey

especially valuable early in a course

survey tools

to identify the small changes that

can make a big difference in

learning and satisfaction; these tools

make it easy.

Tools for Practicing Contextual Knowledge and

Exploring Possibilities

The next set of tools focuses on two teaching and learning goals: practicing

new content knowledge in a variety of contexts and staying alert to emerg-

ing possibilities with new tools. Table 4.3 describes some tools that are par-

ticularly useful for embedding practice of core concepts into more complex

and sophisticated contexts. For learners to really make knowledge their

own, they need to see the concepts applied in a variety of contexts, which

requires problem‐solving and critical thinking and anticipating and

dealing with consequences, both expected and surprising. This practice is

Technology Tools to Support Teaching and Learning

75

TaBLE 4.3

Tools for Contextual Practice and Emerging Possibilities

Pedagogical Uses and Purposes

Tip number

Tools and applications

1. Demonstrate and practice the use of

EM8, EM14, LM4,

Gaming apps that embed the

core and applied knowledge using

CW1, CW2,

complexities of design, operation,

problem solving in increasingly

CW6, IC1, IC3

and decision‐making in various

complex authentic learning scenarios.

disciplines can be a rich source of

complex practice scenarios. These

gaming apps can have literally

hundreds of levels, creating infinite

possibilities for analysis and

critical thinking. Other apps that

support simulations are also

attractive options.

2. Content resources that explain core

EM8, EM14, LM4,

Open educational resources (OERs)

concepts or ideas or demonstrate the

CW1, CW2,

consist of any types of useful

thought processes that experts use in

CW6, IC1, IC3

learning resource, such as short

solving math, engineering, or any type of

concept tutorials and videos and

problem can be invaluable in providing

image libraries for just about

contextual practice. These can be open

anything, such as bugs, plants, skin

source resources; published resources

rashes, weeds, hospital rooms,

available as part of a purchased set of

children with speech problems.

course resources; or part of the lecture

Search yourself or have your

resources.

students search for resources to

expand practice experiences and

contextual examples. YouTube is a

good place to go to for resources,

as well as a place for posting videos

and demos so students can see you

and see process demonstrations;

students can also post videos of

practice and presentation on

YouTube to reach a larger audience.

3. Give students practice in solving

EM8, EM14, LM4,

Animations that can be manipulated

problems and working with multiple

CW1, CW2,

can be powerful aids to developing

variables using virtual three‐dimensional

CW6, IC1, IC3

true and useful concept knowledge

worlds that can be used for what‐if

because the patterns and

scenarios. Assumptions and variables can

relationships become much clearer.

be changed in these virtual worlds, either

Data from wearable devices is sure

intentionally or randomly.

to become a rich resource for

understanding people’s behaviors,

feelings, and creative processes.

( continued)

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The Online Teaching Survival Guide

TaBLE 4.3

(Continued)

Pedagogical Uses and Purposes

Tip number

Tools and applications

4. Visual representations can capture and

EM8, EM14, LM4,

Concept maps such as CmapTools

communicate difficult‐to‐observe

CW1, CW2,

and iMindmap can be used for

patterns and relationships. Challenge

CW6, IC1, IC3

problem solving using focus

students to prepare a graphic

questions and to support

representation of their developing

organization and framing of

knowledge by showing integration of

knowledge.

new with existing knowledge.

5. As students often work on projects

EM8, EM14, LM4,

YouTube is only one of many websites

throughout a course, it is good to

CW1, CW2,

for posting short videos; Flickr is

recommend a place for students to

CW6, IC1, IC3

one site for posting photos. Many

share and keep images, photos,

students are now using Facebook

and videos.

as well for all types of

media sharing.

6. Learners often want to learn the

EM8, EM14, LM4,

MOOCs are massive online open

basics of a topic or advance their

CW1, CW2,

courses that encourage enrollment

knowledge of a topic without being

CW6, IC1, IC3

of hundreds, if not thousands, of

part of a long or overly structured

students simultaneously. MOOC

educational experience. Other learners

courses are free and open to

do not have the money to attend a

anyone interested in a topic.

formal university program.

Processes are developing so that

these courses include interaction

among the students. Processes are

also evolving so that more formal

assessment and credit can be

awarded to those successfully

completing a course. This is good

to see, as lowering the cost of

higher education is a worthy goal,

and this effort may inform our

other systems.

7. Engaging in problem‐solving and

EM8, EM14, LM4,

Some of the emerging edge tools to

exploring tools with hands‐on

CW1, CW2,

watch for are robotic tools and

environments such as workshops and

CW6, IC1, IC3

applications, 3D printing to support

campus both support deeper learning.

design and prototype experiences,

Some of the emerging edge tools can

augmented reality with Google

provide stimulating, innovative learning

Glass, and literally thousands

experiences.

of apps.

note: The Centre for Learning and Performance Technologies (C4LPT) at http://c41pt.co.uk conducts and publishes yearly surveys on the Top 100 Tools for Learning.

Technology Tools to Support Teaching and Learning

77

consistent with a novice‐to‐expert journey in any discipline or in the acqui-

sition of any skill.

Some of the tools in Table 4.3 are just emerging as learning tools. They

are what we call “emerging edge” tools, still on the periphery of the main-

stream. We list these so you’re aware of their potential to help your stu-

dents in your discipline. Add them to your “alert list” and watch for them

to become more widely available. All disciplines are changing with the

advances in technology, and it is useful to see how these advances can help

us bring our students greater convenience and deeper learning.

staying in sync with Tools

Staying in sync with technology tools in the twenty‐first century is now

part of all that we do. And as technology is totally integrated into our daily

lives, it will continue to impact, change, and energize our teaching and

learning experiences. Here are a few resources for monitoring new devel-

opments and tools.

1. Your own campus faculty support organization. They will be a great

resource for staying aware of what you need to know about the tools on

your campus.

2. The organization of your own discipline. It is highly probable that your

discipline site will be recommending apps and resources and tools for

your specialty.

3. The website run by Jane Hart—the Centre for Learning and Performance

Technologies (C4LPT) in the UK. Jane also publishes a blog, Learning in

the Modern Workplace, that adroitly addresses generic‐learning issues

as well: http://www.c4lpt.co.uk/blog/.

4. The website by Kathy Schrock for apps and Bloom’s taxonomy: http://

www.schrockguide.net/bloomin‐apps.html.

5. The yearly NMC Horizon Report, published jointly by the New Media

Consortium (NMC) and the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI). The

Horizon project was begun in 2001 and continues to identify and

describe “merging technologies likely to have a large impact over the

coming five years in education.” This is our go‐to yearly report to help

keep our eye on current and future challenges and projects.

6. The Pew Research Center (www.pewresearch.org), a think tank that publishes reports on a wide range of issues, attitudes, and trends shaping America and the world. Their reports on access and use of technol-

ogy and the Internet are particularly helpful in gaining a good measure

of students’ level of access to and knowledge about technology tools

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The Online Teaching Survival Guide

and their associated behaviors. For example, their June 26, 2015 report

on technology access finds that 84 percent of adults now regularly

access the Internet. One of their conclusions is that for the young, highly

educated, and affluent, Internet access is all but a given. This is good to

know when designing and planning programs.

7. Friends, family, especially young adults ages 18 through 27.

8. Let’s not forget checking Facebook and Twitter topics regularly with

colleagues and friends. Identify some leaders or innovators in your

field whom you might want to follow on Twitter.

self‐Directed Exercise/application

1. What tools are supported by your institution?

2. Choose two or three tools that will support the

learning outcomes of your course.

Chapter 5

Four Phases of a course:

themes and Happenings

As introduced in Chapter One, every course—or planned sequence of

learning experiences—has a natural ebb and flow. This flow generally has

four phases: beginnings, early middle, late middle, and wrapping up. Each

phase has specific goals and tasks for the learner and for the instructor.

Each phase has recommended teaching and learning behaviors that can

help to achieve those goals.

This chapter describes the themes and happenings of the four phases.

For each phase we first describe the guiding themes, followed by its key

happenings and goals and the recommended behaviors for achieving the

goals. A table summarizes the learner experiences, key goals, supporting

principles, best practices, and relevant tips for that phase.

Phase 1 course Beginnings: starting off on the right Foot

course Beginnings: themes

The guiding themes for course beginnings are presence, community, and clear expectations. These themes capture the basics of the teaching and learning goals

and relationships that are essential features of any course. Some faculty like to

post these words as a mantra on their cell phone, watch, or calendar. Some

faculty like to add patience and energy as important guiding themes in the

first weeks as well, as it takes a good measure of both to launch a course well!

Keeping an eye on these themes during course beginnings can help

you feel confident about your teaching in the first weeks of an online or

blended course. In fact, these themes are of continuing importance through-

out any course. See Table 5.1 for a summary of the themes and desired

actions in Phase 1.

79

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The Online Teaching Survival Guide

tABle 5.1

Phase 1: course Beginnings—starting off on the right Foot

Four elements of

Key Goals, Activities,

supporting learning

supporting Best

learning

and events

Principles*

Practices

experiences

Learner

Posting background and

LP1 Learner is at center.

BP1 Social presence;

pictures and getting to

cognitive presence

know fellow learners

Familiarizing self with course

LP2 Learner brings

BP2 Supportive

goals, setting personal and

existing mind

community

customized objectives

to learning.

Understanding course

LP6 Learner’s zone of

BP3 Clarify

framework and

readiness may

expectations

requirements

be narrow.

Faculty‐Mentor

Establishing quick trust,

LP3 Faculty/mentor

BP1 Social presence;

promoting social presence

directs and

cognitive presence

supports learning.

Getting acquainted with

LP8 Instruction should

BP2 Supportive

learners’ backgrounds,

match goals.

community

points of readiness, and

personal learning goals

Ensuring that all learners are

BP3 Clarify

present and engaged

expectations

Making course expectations

BP6 Early

clear and explicit

informal feedback

BP11 Assess as you go

Content knowledge Access to supplemental

LP4 Learners must learn BP7 Discussion

content resources

core concepts.

forums that

is in place.

challenge, inspire,

provide practice

Learners have core required

LP7 Concepts are

BP8 Think digital for

resources.

organized,

all content

interconnected

knowledge clusters.

Learners have access to and

LP8 Instruction should

BP9 Resources for

are familiar with rubrics.

match goals.

core concepts and

customized work

BP12 Connect content

to concepts

BP13 Content frame

for course

Four Phases of a Course: Themes and Happenings

81

tABle 5.1

(Continued)

Four elements of

Key Goals, Activities,

supporting learning

supporting Best

learning

and events

Principles*

Practices

experiences

Environment

Learners have required tools

LP5 Environment and

BP3 Clarifying

and know how to use them.

context influence

expectations

learning.

Institutional tools for the

LP9 More time on task

BP4 Variety of

learning experiences are in

generally equals

experiences

place, and learners know

more learning.

how to use them.

Learners know how to use,

LP10 Tools shape us; we BP5 Synchronous and

access library resources.

shape tools.

asynchronous

activities

Learners know how to meet

BP14 Experiences to

and collaborate with peers.

support novice‐to‐

expert journey

*This table is built around core learning principle 1: “Every structured learning experience has four elements, with the learner at the center.”

Presence

Presence is the most important best practice for an online course. This is

the first of the best practices described in Chapter Three. Many course

beginnings (CB) tips in Chapter Six describe specific actions and behaviors

for achieving social, teaching, and cognitive presence in a course What is

“presence” in the context of a teaching and learning experience? The sim-

plest description of presence is “being there.” Here are descriptions of the

three presences and how they interact and work within the teaching and

learning experiences of a course.

Social Presence

One of the best ways to get an online course off on the right foot is to ensure

the social presence of the instructor and all the learners. Social presence is

“achieved in the community of inquiry (CoI) model by faculty and stu-

dents projecting their personal characteristics into the discussion so they

become ‘real people’” (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2001; Swan &

Shih, 2005). It is imperative that you establish trust so that content discus-

sions can be open and substantive. One of the first tips (CB Tip 7) focuses

on strategies for getting acquainted at the social level, sharing personal

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The Online Teaching Survival Guide

favorites such as drinks, food, ideas, books, or movies in the first week.

This encourages expression of feelings, perspectives, and openness.

Cognitive Presence

A good companion to social presence in the first week of the course is a

forum at which the learners identify their learning goals for the course,

discuss their thinking about the course content, and share their personal

learning goals. Finding out about each learner’s personal goals helps an

instructor gain insights into learners’ knowledge, confidence, and experi-

ence with the content. It is a way of gaining insight into learners’ individ-

ual zones of proximal development (ZPD). This question also encourages

relatedness and connections as learners discover their shared and comple-

mentary experiences and goals.

Cognitive presence is defined as the “extent to which the professor and

the students are able to construct and confirm meaning through sustained

discourse (discussion) in a community of inquiry” (Garrison, Anderson, &

Archer, 2001, p. 89). Cognitive presence is cultivated by students’ express-

ing a desire to understand ideas more deeply and by dialogue that discerns

patterns, connects ideas, and identifies relationships. Getting a sense of

what students know and how they know it lays the foundation for the

learning experiences that follow.

Teaching Presence

Teaching presence in an online course consists of at least two major catego-

ries of teaching direction. The first consists of all the course materials that

are prepared before the course begins: the syllabus, concept introductions,

discussion forums, assessment plans, and lists of resources. The second

category consists of all the monitoring, mentoring, questioning, and shap-

ing of the growing knowledge of particular learners in a course. The first

category of teaching presence is developed based on the assumptions of

what students probably know and understand—the “mythical” student

for design purposes. The second category, “facilitating reflection and dis-

course for the purpose of building understanding” (Garrison, 2011, p. 58),

is customized to the particular set of students. A potential third category of

teaching presence includes the work of direct instruction coaching and

clarifying any intellectual issues with individual students (Garrison,

Anderson, & Archer, 2010).

community

Building a sense of shared understandings, knowledge of one another, and

mutual support, even if values are not shared, are elements of community.

The goal of community in an online course is twofold: building knowledge

Four Phases of a Course: Themes and Happenings

83

and competencies in learners and building a network of mutual respect

and sharing of ideas and perspectives (Brown, R. E., 2001; Rovai, 2002).

clarity of expectations

Clear and unambiguous guidelines about what is expected of learners

and what they can expect from an instructor make a significant contribu-

tion to ensuring understanding and satisfaction. Watch for how this

theme of managing expectations surfaces in many of the tips. Teaching

and learning at a distance and sometimes over time zones, plus using a

set of tools and systems that might not always work quite right, carry the

potential for many misunderstandings. Clarifying how all this will work

and sometimes might not work can help create a smooth and trusting

learning environment. In the initial week of a course, it is particularly

good to have procedures in place for what to do when tools and life don’t

work as expected. This is also true for weeks with key milestone and

grading events.

Patience

It is important to be patient with yourself and with your learners in the

beginnings of any learning experience. Everyone needs to develop a mutual

understanding regarding content expectations, goals, and tools. If you are

new to online or blended learning, you have a number of new skills and

habits to develop. Also, your students may need to adjust to unfamiliar

processes and to assuming more responsibility for what they know and the

skills and values they want to develop.

energy

Energy and enthusiasm are infectious. As you share your own excitement,

knowledge, curiosity, and questions within your discipline, learners will

respond. As learners, we crave innovation, novelty, questions that we can

test ourselves on, and cool surprises. See what you can do to design these

into your courses’ learning experiences.

What’s Happening in course Beginnings

Getting off to a good start in any learning experience means creating

enthusiasm for the learning to come, clarifying expectations, and creating

an atmosphere of trust and support. Social presence is getting to know

others as people with hearts, minds, and personal interests. Getting

acquainted at a social level creates a trusting and understanding environ-

ment that makes it safe to step out intellectually and risk stating beliefs

and thinking in the forum discussions. Think of the social gatherings

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you’ve attended. You enter the room, introduce yourself to various peo-

ple, and find connections with one another before revealing any of your

personal beliefs and values.

A similar process happens in a course. If we expect learners to be open

and vulnerable in expressing what they do or do not know, especially with-

out seeing one another, encouraging social interaction first is a must. Only

then can learners shift to a content and knowledge focus. The importance

of social presence means the getting‐acquainted postings by faculty and

learners have great value and meaning. Recall the suggestion for also get-

ting acquainted intellectually, with cognitive presence, sharing our think-

ing about the course content and personal learning goals.

During the course beginnings, one of the instructor’s responsibilities is

to ensure that all learners are engaged, present, and participating. The role

of the faculty member at this time is sometimes referred to as a “social and

cognitive negotiator” (Conrad & Donaldson, 2011). The faculty member

focuses on providing positive, supportive, and encouraging comments

about the overall course process and clarifies course expectations and the

types of learning experiences in the course requirements. The instructor

also introduces other members of the instructional support team.

Another major goal of the course beginnings phase is launching the

course community. This means ensuring that students are engaging in the

core concepts of the course and “thinking out loud” about the course con-

cepts. One characteristic of community is identifying and sharing common

values and being respectful of others’ ideas, even if they are quite diver-

gent. The instructor helps to guide this process with a combination of

social, teaching, and cognitive presence activities.

In summary, during the first week or two of a course, this is happening:

• Learners are getting acquainted with each other, examining and dis-

cussing course requirements, getting acquainted with the course con-

tent and resources, and setting personal and working learning goals.

• In the week or two prior to the course launch, the instructor is finalizing

the course and ensuring that all is ready for the learners. Once the course

begins, the instructor focuses on creating a comfortable and trusting

learning environment and begins implementing the course plan for the

first weeks. The instructor models thinking behavior by making con-

nections among the learners, the content, and the desired learning out-

comes. Other important actions are making course requirements and

processes for communicating explicit, leading the launch of the course

learning community, and ensuring that all students are engaged.

Four Phases of a Course: Themes and Happenings

85

• The content resources are in place, and students have acquired the con-

tent resources required for the course. If there are problems with access

to these resources, the community comes together with ways to address

the problems.

• Institutional tools for the learning environment are in place. Learners

have the tools they need and know how to use the required applications

and tools and whatever help they might need.

Phase 2 early Middle: Keeping the Ball rolling

early Middle: themes, Best Practices, and Principles

The themes for the early middle phase of a course intensify the themes of

the course beginnings. These themes include ensuring that social presence

is well established, your teaching presence is working for all your students,

and you are nurturing the growth of community. On a personal develop-

ment level, the early middle is also a good time to expand the set of tech-

nology tools for the online and blended environment.

In the community of inquiry (CoI) model developed by Garrison and

others (Garrison, Anderson, and Archer, 2001), there are three presences—

social, teaching, and cognitive—all of which have a role to play in each

stage of a course. The roles that these presences play, however, ebb and

flow throughout the course, as do the dependencies between them (Akyol

& Garrison, 2008; Garrison, Cleveland‐Innes, & Fung, 2010; Kozan &

Richardson, 2014). In the first phase of a course, establishing social pres-

ence and teaching presence is a very high priority. Establishing social pres-

ence, getting to know each other, and building trust launches the

community; the teaching presence provides the framework for guiding

learning and setting out the goals and expectations for the course learning

experience. The third presence, cognitive presence, is launched with the

discussion of learning goals and is less prominent, but quickly gains

importance.

In the early middle of a course, the emphasis shifts into a higher gear of

teaching presence and cognitive presence as learners begin deeper engage-

ment and learning of the course content and develop group cohesion. In

the two later phases, 3 and 4, the teaching presence becomes even more

specialized as learners receive direct guidance from the community, the

instructor, and fellow learners on their projects. At the same time the over-

all cognitive presence of the community grows and deepens. This shift in

emphasis parallels the development of how the faculty role shifts during

the stages of a course.

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Let’s take a closer look at the themes for the early middle. See Table 5.2

for a summary of the Phase 2 themes.

tABle 5.2

Phase 2: early Middle—Keeping the Ball rolling

elements of

Key Goals, Activities,

supporting learning

supporting

learning

and events

Principles*

Best Practices

experiences

Learner

Actively engages in forums

LP1 Learner is at center

BP1 Social presence;

and assignments with core

cognitive presence

course concepts

Settles into a weekly rhythm

LP2 Learner brings existing BP2 Supportive

of readings, postings,

mind to learning

community

collaborating with

fellow learners

Intensifies work on personal

LP6 Learner’s zone of

BP14 Novice‐to‐expert

learning goals

readiness may be narrow

journey practice

Faculty‐mentor

Continues strong teaching

LP3 Faculty/mentor directs BP1 Social, teaching,

presence, guides practice

and supports learning

and cognitive

of core concepts

presence

Supports community and

LP6 Support learners’

BP2 Supportive

work in small teams

personal zones of

community

readiness and interest

BP11 Assess as you go

BP12 Connect content

to concepts

Content

Learners are intensely

LP7 Concepts are

BP7 Forums that

knowledge

exploring, engaging, and

organized,

challenge,

identifying more content

interconnected

inspire, practice

resources and sharing with

knowledge clusters

community.

Faculty‐mentor increases

LP8 Instruction should

BP9 Resources for core

focus on cognitive

match goals

concepts and

presence, supporting

customized work

learners’ practice,

exploration, and

testing of ideas.

Course community

BP12 Connect content

collaboratively builds

to concepts

knowledge base of content.

BP13 Content frame

for course

Four Phases of a Course: Themes and Happenings

87

tABle 5.2

(Continued)

elements of

Key Goals, Activities,

supporting learning

supporting

learning

and events

Principles*

Best Practices

experiences

Environment

Community has settled into a LP9 More time on task

BP4 Variety of

routine of using a set

generally equals

experiences

number of tools for

more learning

collaboration, teaming,

LP10 Tools shape us; we

BP5 Synchronous and

and learning.

shape tools

asynchronous

activities

BP14 Experiences

supporting novice‐

to‐expert journey

*This table is built around core learning Principle 1: “Every structured learning experience has four elements, with the learner at the center.”

social Presence

By the early middle of a course, learners should be relatively comfortable

with their fellow learners. In particular, after some small group work with

two or three students, learners may have identified one or two others with

whom they feel some particular kinship, and they feel a general kinship

with the larger group, based on their shared experiences with required

readings and work. With this type of trust and community developed, it is

a good time to take advantage of assigning additional peer review and

peer consulting and to continue collaborative work in the discussion

forums and other short assignments. By this time learners should feel that

it is safe to inquire, share, and challenge comments in a positive and

inquiring way.

teaching Presence

Teaching presence in the early middle of the course is in high focus as

learners navigate through readings, assignments, and interactions with

peers. Recall that the first category of teaching direction is embedded in the

course materials prepared before the course begins, and the second cate-

gory of teaching presence includes those activities that arise spontaneously

based on actual student skills, interests, and needs. The mantra that we

“design for the probable learners and teach to the actual students” suc-

cinctly captures the major work of teaching presence. This category of

teaching presence includes the communication and activities associated

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The Online Teaching Survival Guide

with directing, monitoring, and mentoring the particular community of

students. As any veteran teacher knows, each group of students develops

a unique personality as it moves through the course.

cognitive Presence

As noted earlier, cognitive presence is launched in the first week, using an

assignment to review course learning outcomes, to identify one or two key

learning outcomes important to the learner, and to customize at least one

of the learning outcomes so that it is a very specific, focused, and achieva-

ble goal. Work on cognitive presence, started in a general soft immersion in

the course beginnings, deepens through discussion and practice of core

concepts in discussion forums and short assignments.

One approach to achieving cognitive presence in your course builds on

the strategies for problem formulation and resolution strategies: think of it

as a process of inquiry with four phases as described in the practical inquiry

model (Garrison & Vaughan, 2008), beginning with a triggering event. We

like to think that setting specific goals is one example of a triggering event.

Learners develop a knowledge structure of core concepts as they progress

through the stages of inquiry: a triggering event, exploration, integration,

and resolution.

In the early middle, if not before, is the time that students identify a

major course project and begin serious exploration of the question or prob-

lem of their project.

nurturing of the content and learning community

Cultivating and nurturing the learning community is a high priority con-

tinuing during the early middle. In this phase of the course, the learners

and the learning community itself might be compared to seedlings, striv-

ing to root themselves using an appropriate combination of water (teach-

ing direction), light (reflection), and wind (dialogue). Part of the teaching

presence task is to provide a sheltered and safe place for this rooting. You

will have many questions about your teaching presence during this time.

How little presence is too little? How much presence is stifling? Will learn-

ers feel alone, or will they feel too directed? There are no easy or “this

always works” answers here. Just as in the classroom, you will develop a

sense of what is right for a particular group of students. Recall the follow-

ing core understandings about community and cognitive presence:

• Developing community means building a sense of shared understand-

ing, knowledge of one another, and mutual support, even if these val-

ues are not shared (Dede, 1995; Sergiovanni, 1994).

Four Phases of a Course: Themes and Happenings

89

• Cognitive presence is the process of constructing meaning through col-

laborative inquiry (Garrison, 2006).

• “We use the concept of cognitive presence to describe the intellectual

environment that supports sustained critical discourse and higher‐

order knowledge acquisition and application” (Garrison, 2011, p. 42).

• Cognitive presence is sharing how our brain is adapting, integrating,

thinking and sometimes struggling with concepts, ideas, and structure

(Boettcher, 2007).

What’s Happening in the early Middle

After you have made a good start on launching your course and getting to

know your students, both in their heads and as whole persons, the early

middle is the time that the focus on content, concepts, and application of

concepts begins to get intense. Your top two teaching goals during this

early middle are as follows:

• Ensure that all students are engaged with, learning, and using the

course content knowledge to grow their own knowledge base

• Nurture the growth of the course community so the communication

and support of the community strengthens and encourages curiosity

and learning

By the early middle weeks, learners have generally settled into their

weekly rhythm, are feeling comfortable about the course content, and are

developing relationships with some of the other learners. The learning

community is evolving, with all the learners participating.

During this time, it is essential that the faculty member continues a

strong teaching direction presence. The faculty role in this stage of the

course is evolving to assume the role of a structural engineer, overseeing

how learners are supporting and querying each other in discussion forums

(Conrad & Donaldson, 2012). This is also a time for teams of two or three to

work on collaborative assignments or peer review or consulting.

The course content is at center stage as learners are actively exploring

and learning new concepts. This is also the time when learners are apply-

ing core concepts in various scenarios and problem settings.

One barrier to community development can be the pressure of needing

to cover content. A feeling of community often arises following a “long,

thoughtful, threaded discussion on a subject of importance after which

participants felt both personal satisfaction and kinship” (Brown, 2001,

p. 18). Pressure to keep moving into new content can short‐circuit the time

for exploration and for sorting through issues and ideas. Sometimes it

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The Online Teaching Survival Guide

makes sense to introduce small changes in content readings in the middle

of a course to accommodate the spontaneity of learning.

In summary, this is what is happening in the early middle:

• Learners are engaging with the course concepts and applying the con-

cepts within relatively accessible scenarios and problems. These can be

ill‐structured or well‐structured problems. Well‐structured problems

are those that have right or wrong answers; ill‐structured problems are

more complex and mirror problems in real life, meaning that students

need to formulate the question and examine the possibilities and

assumptions within the problem. You may want to refresh your think-

ing about Learning Principle 4 (learners do not need to learn all the

course content, but all learners need to learn the core concepts) and the

slice of content pie.

• Learners are establishing their personae within the community and

sharing what they are thinking and why. They are working on small

teams on various assignments and sharing ideas and comments within

the community.

• The faculty member is in high gear, focusing on the core concepts and

ensuring that all students are engaged with the content problems. This

means that the instructor is exerting a relatively strong teaching pres-

ence but is also encouraging the learners to be clear about what they are

understanding and to take the lead on course experiences such as

reporting out, sharing, and wrapping up discussions.

This early middle period is a very intense time, but less so than the first

weeks. This is the time to nurture the learning community and guide and

mentor learners as their personal interests and goals begin to emerge.

Phase 3 late Middle: letting Go of the Power

late Middle: themes, Best Practices, and Principles

The themes for the late middle—questioning, assessing, project coaching,

and empowerment—capture the essence of the work for this phase. This is

where the learners come into their own as to what they are thinking and

knowing about the course content. This is also the place in the course where

they use their questioning and thinking skills to integrate the course knowl-

edge into their personal and customized knowledge base. Almost all cur-

ricula goals include critical thinking as a desired learning outcome. Critical

thinking is also one of the cross‐functional skills recommended by the

well‐known report, Building a Nation of Learners: The Need for Changes in

Four Phases of a Course: Themes and Happenings

91

Teaching and Learning to Meet Global Challenges (Business‐Higher Education

Forum, 2003) and a similar report, Framework for 21st Century Learning

(2015) from the Partnership for 21st Century Learning Planning. Doing

course projects is another strategy that encourages student learners’ indi-

vidual content integration, resolution, and critical thinking processes.

A 2013 report, Promoting Effective Dialogue Between Business and

Education Around the Need for Deeper Learning, also affirmed the need not

only for critical thinking but also for “deeper learning.” The report defined

deeper learning as “mastery of core content knowledge in a given field

and well‐developed workplace competencies, such as the ability to think

critically and solve complex problems, work collaboratively, communi-

cate effectively, and learn how to learn (e.g., self‐directed learning)” (p. 1).

These are the fundamental skills that will prove valuable to students in all

segments of their lives as well as being most valuable to business and our

country’s competitiveness. Watch for the tips that emphasize critical

thinking, questioning, problem‐solving, and working with ill‐structured,

messy real‐life scenarios.

Let’s take a closer look now at the late middle themes. Table 5.3 pre-

sents a summary of themes and suggested faculty actions for Phase 3.

cognitive Presence

Cognitive presence begins to take center stage following the phases in the

process of inquiry: a triggering event, followed by exploration, integration,

and resolution. In the late middle, the exploration phase for one’s key

course project is drawing to a temporary close as the focus on integrating

the knowledge into a meaningful structure begins to take shape, with the

goal of reaching a resolution point by the end of the course.

As noted in the literature (Swan, Garrison, & Richardson, 2009; Rourke

& Kanuka, 2009), we reach the resolution phase of the inquiry process less

often than we would like. It may be our course structures, teaching strate-

gies, lack of reflection time, or administrative constraints that limit these

possibilities. Capstone courses that focus on projects and complex scenario

building are the courses that probably come closest to the goal of complet-

ing a process of inquiry cycle.

Questioning

Questioning is at the core of teaching and learning. It is through question-

ing that we learn what students know, why they think what they do, and

what they want or need to know next. Questioning is one of the tools that

enables us to learn each learner’s ZPD, that is, what he or she is ready to

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The Online Teaching Survival Guide

tABle 5.3

Phase three: late Middle—letting Go of the Power

elements of

Key Goals, Activities,

supporting learning

supporting

learning

and events

Principles*

Best Practices

experiences

Learner

Works on applying and

LP1 Learner is at center

BP1 Social presence;

using core concepts in

cognitive presence

increasingly challenging

problems and scenarios

Actively searches for

LP2 Learner brings

BP2 Supportive

examples of patterns and

existing mind

community

relationships

to learning

Reviews, consults, supports,

LP4 Learners focus on

BP4 Variety of

challenges others’ ideas

core concepts

experiences

and proposals

Contributes to and becomes LP6 Learner’s zone

BP5 Synchronous and

a member of the

of readiness

asynchronous

course community

may be narrow

activities

BP14 Novice‐to‐expert

journey practice

Faculty‐mentor

Monitors processes, which

LP2 Supports learners’

BP1 Social, teaching and

are well‐established

personal zones of

cognitive presence

readiness and interest

Supports community

LP3 Faculty/mentor

BP2 Supportive

interaction and dialogue

directs and

community

that is mostly working

supports learning

well; monitors and

challenges and clarifies as

appropriate

Shifts from large group

LP8 Instruction should

BP7 Forums that

teaching presence to more

match goals

challenge,

personalized and small

inspire, practice

group teaching presence

Supports more learners‐as‐

BP11 Assess as you go

leaders experiences

Reviews, mentors

BP12 Connect content

learners’ projects

to concepts

Provides feedback on

BP14 Experiences

assignments

support novice‐to‐

expert journey

Four Phases of a Course: Themes and Happenings

93

tABle 5.3

(Continued)

elements of

Key Goals, Activities,

supporting learning

supporting

learning

and events

Principles*

Best Practices

experiences

Content

Learners are creating content LP4 Learners don’t have BP7 Forums that

knowledge

as they learn and sharing

to learn all content

challenge,

with others in wikis,

inspire, practice

blogs, projects.

Learners are applying

LP7 Concepts are

BP8 Think digital for

knowledge in assignments

organized,

all content

and peer consulting

interconnected

review and forums.

knowledge clusters

Learners are actively

LP8 Instruction should

BP9 Resources for core

creating knowledge

match goals

concepts &

representations of the

customized work

course content.

Content frame for the course

BP12 Connect content

helps organize data,

to concepts

examples, experiences.

BP13 Content frame

for course

Environment

Learners are actively using

LP5 Environment

BP4 Variety of

course tools and may be

affects learning

experiences

expanding beyond and

personalizing tools and

bringing examples and

tools back to the

community.

Learners have identified and LP9 More time on task

BP5 Synchronous and

are using their most

generally equals

asynchronous

effective learning

more learning

activities

environments.

LP10 Tools shape us; we BP14 Experiences support

shape tools

novice‐to‐expert

journey

*This table is built around core learning Principle 1: “Every structured learning experience has four elements, with the learner at the center.”

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The Online Teaching Survival Guide

learn. Effective questioning also reveals misconceptions and sources of

possible confusion. By hearing students’ thoughts, voices, and questions

through text, audio, and video postings, we come to know their minds and

their knowledge structures. Some of the tips for this phase address how

questioning makes students’ knowledge visible to us. The techniques

include turning questioning upside down and inside out by having stu-

dents pose the questions to try to stump the instructor. The tips offer refer-

ences for classic resources such as Bloom’s taxonomy and the updated

Bloom’s taxonomy by Krathwohl (2002) and examples of the categories of

Socratic questioning.

Assessing

Assessing is a major management and administrative task that we some-

times avoid because of the potential conflicts and disappointments that can

occur. One major difference between campus and other digital courses is

that an online course design plans for continuous and multiple points of

assessment (Moallem, 2005): individual, small group, and larger group

team assignments; feedback cycles and self‐review; and peer and expert

review. Continuous feedback and assessment means that assessment grad-

ing usually brings few surprises. With continuous and ongoing feedback,

students should have a fairly clear idea of how they are doing throughout

the course. Assessment tasks that focus on a combination of core concept

practice and customized learning goals create enthusiasm and energy that

often promote very satisfactory learning.

Project coaching

For us, projects are where the rubber meets the road. In most of the first

half of a course, students are encountering and experiencing resources in a

domain of knowledge that may be quite unfamiliar to them. Learners are

being exposed to content at a rate that can seem as if it is coming at them

through a fire hose. There is usually insufficient time for pausing, reflect-

ing, and thinking. We hope that the course design recommendations in the

first chapters encourage a more realistic and practical, while still challeng-

ing, approach to acquiring course knowledge and achieving the perfor-

mance goals of a course. It is one thing to have the goal of covering a certain

amount of content, but it is even more important for students to engage

with and process course content.

Projects are excellent knowledge integration tools; projects are also

excellent tools for supporting personalization and customization goals.

Projects should be designed with multiple assessment points so learners

Four Phases of a Course: Themes and Happenings

95

start their projects early, staging their project work throughout the course.

With multiple assessment points—such as an initial proposal and concept

review, an initial draft and a final paper and presentation—you, other stu-

dents, and potentially invited experts get to know the students and the

problem that they may be grappling with or focusing on. With multiple

assessment points, students can review, discuss, and provide feedback on

other learners’ ideas and projects. Projects can be individualized so that

students have an opportunity to focus their learning on topics of interest to

themselves while still learning the core content. An additional value is that

every course expands your own expert knowledge as you coach students

through the design, selection, and execution of projects that the learners

really care about.

empowerment

The subhead of this Phase 3 section on the late middle, “Letting Go of

the Power,” captures what should be happening as the learners progress

through their growing acquaintance with core content. The ideal mentor

coaches his or her apprentices so that they outgrow their master. A learn-

er’s performance goals should challenge the learner to grappling with

real‐life complex problems. We know that simulating real‐life disaster

scenarios prepares people to respond automatically when met with real

disaster. For example, pilots practice in flight simulators so they are pre-

pared for complex real‐life challenges. The same is true for the learning

environment. We want to simulate, as much as possible, the types of

scenarios that learners will encounter in life and prepare them for those

situations and problems. The theme of empowerment means encourag-

ing students to think about, respond to, and analyze each other’s work.

By supporting each other with problems, learners get multiple opportu-

nities to practice and apply the course content. One of the future learn-

ing shifts may be to include the learner within a more hands‐on

community context resembling past apprenticeship models (Hagel,

Brown, & Kulasooriya, 2014).

What’s Happening in the late Middle

With the arrival of the late middle, you and your students are likely well

acquainted with each other from both a social and cognitive perspective.

Your teaching direction is actively guiding both group and individual

learning goals. Use of collaborative tools, such as blogging, wiki, and meet-

ing tools, is increasing to support desirable learning outcomes, such as

critical thinking and effective problem solving.

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Interaction and assignment processes are established; a certain equilib-

rium and rhythm is in place. The course learning community has a history

of trust, and a feeling of comfortable camaraderie has been established

from the work learners have been doing in supporting, challenging, and

helping each other. With these processes operating smoothly, you can relax

a little and continue your shift from directing the learners’ activities to

increased facilitating and mentoring. Rather than focusing on actively

directing learning experiences, you are devoting more of your time and

energy to responding to questions and supporting learners as they engage

with and apply the content. Time on project work is intensifying, and this

is the time to individualize the mentoring and coaching for personalizing

learning. Learners need to be progressing well on their course projects and

interacting with the other learners on those projects.

The growing confidence of the learners makes it easier for faculty to

begin letting go of power and sharing it with learners. While an instructor

continues to make key course decisions—such as the timing of certain

events in a course, appropriateness and fit of projects, and major grading—

learners can share other responsibilities, such as conducting peer review,

expanding learning outcomes, helping others to develop knowledge, and

leading in the development of activities in the course.

During the late middle, a key teaching responsibility is to encourage

students’ movement from exploring and researching ideas to integrating

knowledge and producing knowledge products that capture some of their

new knowledge. This follows the stages of the practical inquiry model

referred to earlier: a triggering event, exploration, integration, and resolu-

tion. This is the time to support students as they complete the exploration

stage and begin integrating that explored knowledge into a usable knowl-

edge representation. Course activities should help students move beyond

integrating core concepts to defining problems and brainstorming

resolutions.

Other important cognitive teaching responsibilities during this stage

are to highlight patterns and relationships in the content and cycle back as

appropriate to earlier course content. New core content is often concen-

trated in the first three‐quarters of a course, and the last part of the course

focuses more on the integration and application of content in solving prob-

lems. The late middle can be the best and last time to identify and correct

misconceptions.

In summary, this is what is usually happening in the late middle:

• Learners are moving from the rapid and expansive knowledge explora-

tion stage to working with problems and scenarios that require the inte-

gration of some of the core course concepts. They are responding to

Four Phases of a Course: Themes and Happenings

97

others and providing comments and suggestions on other students’

proposed projects. Learners are generally working in small groups dur-

ing this stage.

• The instructor is focusing on providing feedback to learners on the

shaping and fit of learners’ projects and how the projects are progress-

ing. The role of the faculty is shifting to being primarily a facilitator of

learning experiences and supporting the learners as they lead, summa-

rize, and integrate content experiences. Faculty are striving to encour-

age the building of relationships, patterns, and connections and spiraling

and layering the core content concepts. The instructor continues in high

gear, focusing on the core concepts, but also shifts to challenging the

learners even more, sometimes with complex discipline problems for

which there are no known answers.

Your task as an instructor in this late middle phase of the course is to

subtly shift the responsibility for directing learning more and more to

the learners, their projects, and their learning outcomes, while at the

same time ensuring that the course core concepts are well integrated into

their knowledge frameworks. The tasks for students in this phase of the

course are to move aggressively to complete the exploration stage of

their learning, refine their course project plans, and complete sections of

their projects while assisting and supporting the projects of their fel-

low learners.

The late middle is our favorite part of the course: the learners are

actively engaged, the community is functioning well, we are developing

insights spontaneously with our learners, and the stress of the final weeks

is still in the future.

Phase 4 closing Weeks: Pruning, reflecting, and Wrapping up

closing Weeks: themes, Best Practices, and Principles

The principal themes for learners in the closing weeks are learner inde-

pendence, learners’ reflecting on course knowledge, and completing the

course projects and assignments. The major themes for the instructor are

mentoring the students in how they apply core concepts and relationships,

and coaching the learners in their projects and assignments. By this time,

work on course projects is well under way, and discussions in the project

forum should reflect learners’ growing sophistication and understanding

of course knowledge and concepts. Course projects and related complex

scenarios generally reflect learners’ progress toward identifying potential

strategies for addressing difficult course or discipline issues. Table 5.4 lists

the themes and behaviors for the closing weeks.

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tABle 5.4

Phase Four: closing Weeks—Pruning, reflecting, and Wrapping up

elements of

Key Goals, Activities,

supporting learning supporting

learning

and events

Principles*

Best Practices

experiences

Learner

Digs deeply into core

LP1 Learner

BP1 Social presence;

concepts and resources to

is at center

cognitive presence

support project work and

complete assignments

Actively reviews materials for LP2 Learner brings

BP2 Supportive

relevance to projects and

existing mind

community

assignments

to learning

Contributes to and becomes

LP4 Learners focus

BP4 Variety of

a member of the

on applying

experiences

course community

core concepts

Leads some of the learning

LP6 Learner’s zone

BP5 Synchronous and

activities

of readiness

asynchronous

may be narrow

activities

Reflects, secures personal

BP14 Novice‐to‐expert

knowledge outcomes

journey practice

Faculty‐mentor

Continues shift of teaching

LP3 Faculty/mentor

BP1 Social, teaching,

direction to role of

directs and

and cognitive

mentor and coach

supports learning

presence

Keeps a focus on core

LP6 Supports learners’ BP2 Supportive

concepts and their

personal zones of

community

relationships and

readiness

applications

and interest

Supports community and

LP8 Instruction should BP10 Plan a good

work in small teams

match goals

closing and wrapping

and pruning activities

Continues a strong cognitive

BP11 Assess as you go

and teaching presence,

supporting learners’

projects and the

course community

Clarifies course wrap‐up

BP12 Connect content

activities and requirements

to concepts

Manages wrap‐up

BP14 Experiences

experiences

support novice‐to‐

expert journey

Provides feedback on

assessments

Four Phases of a Course: Themes and Happenings

99

tABle 5.4

(Continued)

elements of

Key Goals, Activities,

supporting learning supporting

learning

and events

Principles*

Best Practices

experiences

Content knowledge

Learners focus on

LP6 Supports learners’ BP7 Forums that

relationships, patterns, and

personal zones of

challenge,

use of core concepts.

readiness

inspire, practice

and interest

Faculty/mentor increases

LP7 Concepts are

BP8 Think digital for

focus on cognitive

organized,

all content

presence, supporting

interconnected

learners’ practice,

knowledge clusters

exploration, and

testing of ideas.

Course community

LP8 Instruction should BP9 Resources for core

collaboratively builds

match goals

concepts and

knowledge base

customized work

of content.

Content resources used by

BP12 Connect content

learners go beyond the

to concepts

basics to support their

personalized and

customized learning goals

and projects.

BP13 Content frame

for course

Environment

Community has settled into a LP5 Environment

BP5 Synchronous and

routine of using a set

and context

asynchronous

number of tools for

influences learning

activities

collaboration, teaming,

and learning.

Learners are using whatever

LP9 More time on task BP10 Plan a good

tools make the most sense

generally equals

closing and wrapping

for the work and

more learning

and pruning activities

their projects.

LP10 Tools shape us;

BP14 Experiences

we shape tools

support novice‐to‐

expert journey

*This table is built around core learning Principle 1: “Every structured learning experience has four elements, with the learner at the center.”

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learner independence

By the closing weeks of the course, we sincerely hope that learners are

familiar with the core concepts of the course knowledge and are able to say

how these concepts relate to one another and to core concepts outside the

boundaries of the course knowledge. Ideally, they can apply these core

concepts in their projects and in the ideas they are contributing to other

learners’ projects. They also know how to make their contributions to their

peers in a constructive and helpful manner. The learning community is

operating smoothly, with the goal of everyone helping others in achieving

the course goals. Learners are independent in their learning tasks, but

strong links within the course community encourage them to help each

other as appropriate as well. While these are a lot of optimistic expectations

for learner independence and success, these expectations may need to be

adjusted to fit individuals’ readiness and skill levels.

reflecting and Pruning Knowledge

Memory research confirms that we retain only a small percentage of our

experiences (Schacter, 2001). Rather than railing against this natural mem-

ory process, it is best to work with it, identifying the specific and explicit

core concepts that we want learners to take forward into their lives and

careers. In other words, what will the learner be likely to use and remem-

ber after the course is over? Recall that each learner begins the course with

his or her own particular area of interest and readiness. This means that the

particular integration work of core concepts and examples that the learner

will grapple with most often will be unique to each learner.

The probability is high, given appropriate study and experiences, that

most learners will develop mastery of the core concepts, the center of the

content pie described earlier. However, there is also a high likelihood of a

fair amount of divergence in the learners’ knowledge, especially in the

application of the concepts. This divergence is natural and rooted in the

processes of encouraging learners to customize and personalize course

knowledge. At the end of a course, an assignment specifically asking stu-

dents what they have learned and how they plan on using the knowledge

is beneficial. This strategy is similar to the technique of a one‐minute sum-

mary (Angelo & Cross, 1993; Light, 2004; Barkley, Major, & Cross, 2014)

recommended for use in lecture classes. A one‐minute summary asks stu-

dents to respond to a question, such as “What was the most important

thing that you learned in this [class, paper, reading, podcast]?” or “What

important question do you have that has not been answered?” This can be

the focus of one of the closing forums.

Four Phases of a Course: Themes and Happenings

101

course Project completion

Ideally, course projects and other creative assignments are the expression

of the integration of the course content and the newly acquired knowledge

skills of the learner. The project is where it can all come together. Course

projects enable the creative expression of course knowledge. The steps in

creating a course project require the full range of learning experiences:

reading, writing, research, listening, and revising and restructuring ideas.

Rather than just covering content, this is where students use and apply

content in their projects and help other learners do so. Thus, time dedi-

cated to projects—such as proposals, design, draft, review, revision, and

presentation—is a period of active learning. Be sure to think broadly about

the possibilities of project expression. The project doesn’t have to be a

paper (Boettcher, 2011)!

coaching

Some instructors feel that the closing weeks of a course are easier than the

early weeks. During the closing weeks students are actively engaged in

projects and, ideally, supporting and helping each other. The role of the

instructor during these closing weeks is most similar to the work of a coach

or mentor. To coach well, instructors need to balance providing their guid-

ance and encouragement with providing neither too much nor too little

help. That means staying in close touch with what each of the learners is

doing. It also means keeping the learning community moving forward

with individuals or teams helping each other. This is also a good time to

review the literature on cognitive apprenticeship (Collins, Brown, &

Holum, 1991; Brown & Adler, 2008) and the steps in helping learners

develop expertise: modeling and observation, scaffolding, and increas-

ingly independent practice (Ericsson, 2000; Ericsson, Prietula, &

Cokely, 2007). While this time may be easier for some instructors, it is prob-

ably more appropriate to say that the focus of teaching practices is differ-

ent. Faculty work now is directed to coaching, to ensure learner

independence, and assessing, to provide feedback and closure.

What’s Happening in the closing Weeks

The closing weeks of a course bring a mixture of feelings, often ranging

from concerns and worry about getting everything done to feelings of

relief, satisfaction, joy, and camaraderie. As an instructor, you want your

students to be feeling confident about the new skills and knowledge they

have acquired. And you want to be fair and efficient in your assessment of

their learning.

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Your role as a coach should be front and center as the students direct

more of their own learning and contribute to the learning of others. Your

goal is to help your students know how they will likely use the skills and

knowledge they are acquiring in their lives and careers. In these closing

weeks, support your learners as they integrate their knowledge and reach

some level of resolution with what they know now and want to know in

the future.

Some of the tips in these closing weeks could be put to good use much

earlier in your course, but just as the content for a course needs to be

sequenced in some way, so too it is not wise to try to do too many things at

any one time. When we started planning this book, we decided that it

would be great for new online teaching faculty to move from a novice to an

expert online teacher state in a twinkling. Without that as an option, we

had to make some choices as to which tips, which tools, which ideas might

best be introduced or used in each phase of the course. Also, some tips may

well favor certain disciplines. For example, problem‐solving strategies are

essential for more hands‐on courses such as mathematics, statistics, and

practicum types of courses. We decided to trust your judgment and your

book‐scanning skills.

In this phase, the course is pretty much in the hands and minds of the

learners, and the key tasks of the faculty member are to direct, mentor, and

support learners as they integrate and frame their new knowledge and fin-

ish projects and other course requirements. The major cognitive push is to

ensure that the learners receive feedback on their knowledge work and

hear, see, and benefit from the results of the creative work of the other

learners. The students want to bring their learning together in a form that

leaves them with a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment at what they have

gained. They should be clear about what concepts, skills, perspectives, and

goals they have developed. In addition to bringing the current session to

an end, it is also desirable for faculty and students to reflect on the course

collaboratively, determine what elements worked best in this course, and

consider what changes might be good for the next set of learners.

In summary, this is what is usually happening in the closing weeks:

• Learners are finishing up the course projects and requirements. They

are taking the lead in community discussions and integrating their

knowledge by grappling with difficult problems and working on chal-

lenging tasks such as concept mapping, scenarios, and integrating feed-

back from learners and possibly experts beyond the course. They may

be feeling stressed and a bit overwhelmed with what they need to do.

Four Phases of a Course: Themes and Happenings

103

• The instructor is directing learning at the community level and at the

individual or small team level. The instructor is also coaching and

encouraging the learners through the final weeks and what needs to be

done. A high priority is to provide customized and personalized feed-

back on projects and other assessment tasks in a timely and efficient

manner to ensure that students have time to reflect and act on the feed-

back. The faculty member also supports the learners in establishing

appropriate follow‐up and future networking with learners, particu-

larly important in online courses and programs.

• To‐do lists are important for both learners and faculty to ensure that the

work of teaching and learning is well coordinated.

summary—and What’s next

As noted earlier, these four phases of a learning experience apply irrespec-

tive of the length of the learning experience. If you think about a workshop

you have designed or attended, the workshop cycles through the phases of

initial getting acquainted and setting the rules, and continues through set-

ting expectations, some demonstrations, and then hands‐on and closing

activities. What is unique and different is what learners are able to learn

and the experience they will have to help them on their learning journey.

The next chapters of the book provide tips to guide, inspire, challenge,

and support you as you continue in your own particular novice‐to‐expert

journey of becoming an expert in teaching in both online and blended

environments.

exercise and reflection

If you are using this book for a course in faculty 1. What top three themes resonate with you? Why?

development, here are two activities to consider 2. Which of the themes will be challenging for you?

using to have faculty think more deeply about the

How will you strengthen those areas?

themes of each phase.

Part Two

Simple, Practical,

and Pedagogically

Based Tips

Chapter 6

Phase 1: Course Beginnings:

Starting off on the Right foot

GettinG off to a good start has a positive impact on an entire course

experience. Students are excited; all learning seems possible. Launching

well can energize students through many difficult tasks. This is a good

time to refer back to the summary of the themes and tasks for course beginnings as described in Chapter Five. Table 5.1 highlights the tasks essential for an effective online course launch and the beginnings of building a course community.

The first set of tips for course beginnings guides you through the steps

in getting ready for teaching your online and blended course. It is important to complete these steps in advance of meeting with your students.

The second set of tips describes the types of interactions, experiences, and

behaviors for achieving success in the course beginnings. These tips focus

on the first days of your course, getting to know students, and the three

types of presence. The third set focuses on discussion forums, creating

questions, managing the forums, and the faculty role.

tips for the Course Beginnings

There is much to do before your students arrive at your course. Preparing

for an online or blended course requires more preparation than a face‐to‐

face class, because the content, directions, and plans for student interaction, assessment, and experiences ideally should all be present in the course management system a week prior to the course launch. Online students

generally expect to see a holistic view of a course right at the beginning of

a course so they can plan their work and personal responsibilities around

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the course assignments and major projects. This means you must do more

planning before the students “arrive” at your course site.

Getting your course ready can seem overwhelming, but as with any

new and unfamiliar task, it is manageable if you first get an overview of

the work and then break it into actionable tasks. Also, if you’re like most

instructors you have taught in other face‐to‐face environments and can leverage the habits and processes you use in preparing any course.

The first set of tips in this chapter walks you through these basic tasks

in preparing and launching an online or blended course. Good instructional design practices are embedded in these tasks of preparing your syllabus and your course site, but many more tips on instructional design

are described in the standards for quality online learning in the special section at the end of the first tip (CB Tip 1).

For planning purposes, these preparation and design tasks require a

minimum of twenty to thirty hours if you are familiar with the tools and if

you have taught the course before in a face‐to‐face mode. If the tools are

new to you, this preparation time will usually be a little longer because you

will be learning new habits and processes. If you are learning and preparing simultaneously, it is not unusual for this preparation to take forty, fifty, or even sixty hours over two, three, or more weeks. And if you like to feel

very ready, it can take even longer. During the first cycle of a fully online

course, the time in preparation and delivery is similar to the first time

teaching a new course in the face‐to‐face environment, plus time for learning new tools and developing new working habits and strategies. Learning the tools can involve attending classes or workshops and then getting help

with the staff at technology help desks.

The first phase of any course is generally from two to four weeks, depending on the total length of your course term. If you are teaching short courses, you will want to adjust these phases to your particular course structure.

Entering into the world of online teaching and learning can create

uncertainty and trepidation, and even a feeling of being overwhelmed as

you encounter unfamiliar tools and getting to know students at a distance.

However, if you have been an effective instructor in the face‐to‐face environment, you will find ways to work and teach in the online environment, given a little time and practice. Your first step is to work on the preparations and establish a goal of creating a set of learning experiences that engages and challenges your students. For a new online instructor, this can

be the most work‐intensive time.

Phase 1: Course Beginnings: Starting off on the Right Foot

109

Course Beginnings tips overview

This chapter provides 17 tips for course beginnings. The first set of five tips

guide you through preparing the essential elements of your course. The second set of four tips focus on launching your course well. The most important initial goals in the first weeks are getting acquainted with the learners, establishing trust, and launching the learning community. These getting-acquainted experiences lay the trust groundwork for the teaching and learning relationship (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2001).

The third set of eight tips focuses on strategies for creating and developing meaningful discussions, with tips on developing good questions.

Creating engaging discussions is one of the highest priorities for any online

or blended course. Engaging discussions draw students into the content,

encourage deep processing of ideas, and support the building of a course

community. Meaningful and sustained discussions are critical for effective

online socialization and cognitive engagement. Discussion forums and

other types of dialogue spaces such as blogs, wikis, and journals create the

sense of inviting gathering spaces for sharing experiences that are part of

a community. The difference is that these are online virtual classroom

spaces rather than a face‐to‐face classroom. The final tip (CB Tip 17)

describes how your role as an instructor changes over the four phases of

the course.

Each of the tips begins with the questions commonly asked by online

faculty and addressed by the tip. The tip then suggests practical steps and

actions supported by theory, practice, and research. Here is a list of the

course beginnings (CB) tips in this chapter.

Getting Started—Preparing Your Syllabus and Course Site

• CB Tip 1: Essential Elements of an Online or Blended Course Syllabus

and Course Site

• CB Tip 2: More on the Significant Elements of an Online or Blended

Syllabus

• CB Tip 3: Creating a Syllabus that Jump‐starts Learning

• CB Tip 4: Using “Bookending” to Add Structure and Meaning to Your

Course

• CB Tip 5: Generating Energy and Purpose with Specific Learning Goals

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Getting Started—Launching Your Course

• CB Tip 6: Hitting the Ground Running: How Not to Lose the First Week

• CB Tip 7: Launching Your Social and Cognitive Presence

• CB Tip 8: Getting to Know Students’ Minds Individually: The Vygotsky

Zone of Proximal Development

• CB Tip 9: Getting into the Swing of a Course: Is There an Ideal Weekly

Rhythm?

Creating and Managing Discussion Posts

• CB Tip 10: The Why and How of Discussion Boards: Their Role in the

Online Course

• CB Tip 11: Characteristics of Good Discussion Questions

• CB Tip 12: Power Questioning for Meaningful Discussions

• CB Tip 13: Response Posts—A Three‐Part Structure

• CB Tip 14: Discussion Wraps: A Useful Cognitive Pattern or a Collection

of Discrete Thoughts?

• CB Tip 15: Managing and Evaluating Discussion Postings

• CB Tip 16: Feedback in Discussion Posts—How Soon, How Much, and

Wrapping Up

• CB Tip 17: The Faculty Role in the First Weeks: Required and Recommended Actions

Getting Started—Preparing Your Syllabus and Course Site

The first set of tips in this chapter describes the tasks involved in creating a

syllabus and a course site that is ready for online and blended teaching and

learning experiences.

CB tip 1: essential elements of an online or Blended Course

Syllabus and Course Site

This tip answers questions such as these:

• Which course elements, such as the syllabus, discussion questions, and

assessment plans, are essential to have ready for students before the

start of a course?

• What is the most important design element to ensure a good course

design for effective learning for my students?

Phase 1: Course Beginnings: Starting off on the Right Foot

111

• Is there a checklist or set of standards to help me evaluate the design of

my course site?

Chapter One defined a course as “a set of learning experiences designed

to guide learners as they acquire and are assessed on a specific set of knowledge, skills, and attitudes.” Thus designing a course means creating a set of learning experiences appropriate to learners and designing processes for

gathering evidence for assessing learners. This leads to the question, “What

course elements are essential to be designed and developed before launching a course?” This tip identifies those essential course elements and the steps in getting them ready.

essential Course Pieces

Just as a new face‐to‐face course goes through a gradual process of refinement, faculty can anticipate that it generally takes about three cycles of teaching an online or blended course for it to become optimally designed.

During the first three course cycles, faculty are very busy developing a

new set of teaching behaviors for guiding, mentoring, and assessing students in a new environment. Faculty also need time to identify, select, and prepare effective learning resources and experiences that challenge and

support learners.

But first one has to start. The course elements that are absolutely essential are the syllabus, weekly plans, discussion postings, and preparation of the course site. The syllabus, a familiar part of any course preparation,

includes well‐known elements such as learning goals, assignments, and

institutional policies. Developing the online course components is less

familiar, but almost all have an analogue in the face‐to‐face class. Table 6.1

lists these critical course pieces with capsule descriptions; you can use this

as a checklist as you develop your course.

Syllabus

The syllabus for any digital course performs the same functions as for a

face‐to‐face class, but even more critically. Learners appreciate a bird’s‐eye

view of the entire course with key dates and responsibilities so they can

integrate their learning, work, and personal lives. This is essential to online

learners having a sense of control and optimism.

The best place to start in creating any syllabus is to use the syllabus

template recommended by your institution. Most institutions or departments have a syllabus template set up within a course site. This template shows the required syllabus elements, for example, beginning with the

learning goals, learning outcomes, and course requirements.

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The Online Teaching Survival Guide

taBLe 6.1

Course elements

elements of an online or

Description

Blended Course

Syllabus

The overall plan for the course, with performance goals and

requirements. It usually includes an overview of the course goals, a

description of the core content resources (textbook, readings, other

resources), the course schedule, and the assessment plan. A syllabus

may also contain boilerplate information on policies and procedures,

library access, technical support, and contact information for

non‐course‐specific questions. Check and see if your institution has a

syllabus template.

Content resources, often

Required and recommended resources for core content and initial

including textbook

application of core concepts, plus starting points for resources for

description and bibliography

more complex customized and personalized learning experiences.

of resources; often a section

These content resources may include a series of prepared mini‐

of the syllabus

lectures or selected playlists of podcasts and videos.

Assessment plan; often a

Summarizes the activities for assessing student learning and ideally

section of the syllabus

maps the assessment experiences to performance goals and

requirements. Online assessment plans include multiple assessment

experiences, including low‐stakes quizzes, peer responses and

reviews, concept integration papers, and high‐stake projects.

Papers, projects, and quiz

The usual components of an assessment plan. These are the products

assignments listed in the

of students’ learning and creative efforts. The requirements for each

assessment plan

of these are in the assessment plan. The directions, specifications,

and rubrics for projects and papers are often separate documents;

the quizzes, if any, are within the quiz section of the course

management system.

Schedule of class activities

The overall course calendar that summarizes the course activities. This

and events

course calendar usually needs fine‐tuning to ensure a balanced

course design: balanced dialogue, a range of individual and group

activities, and synchronous and asynchronous events. Learners use

this course calendar to integrate their life events over the course term.

The course website, a place

Where learners and faculty gather for the course experiences and

where resources are

activities. Getting a course site ready means getting the syllabus

provided and where

ready and preparing the resources and activities. The resources

interactions take place

include the teaching guides, the discussions, and all the assignment

materials.

Teaching guides

A set of introductions and guides for each of the course topics and

modules that describe the requirements and specifications for

student action and learning. These teaching guides are part of the

prepared teaching presence.

Phase 1: Course Beginnings: Starting off on the Right Foot

113

taBLe 6.1

(Continued)

elements of an online or

Description

Blended Course

Discussions and interaction

The set of catalyst discussion questions for the forums, usually a plan

activities

for each week that focuses on the course core concepts and

performance goals. These discussions are the means by which

community grows, develops, and flourishes.

Individual work and reflection

The learning work that students complete mostly on their own:

activities

reading, writing, researching, or collaborating with one or two other

learners. The resources, learning outcomes, and goals of these

activities are designed in broad terms by the instructor, but can be

personalized and customized by learners.

A syllabus for an online and blended course is generally more detailed

than the syllabus for a face‐to‐face course. It needs to include the following:

a description of the course schedule and activities for each week of a term,

the assessment plan with dates and rubrics, policies and procedures, and

content resources (textbook, readings, audio and video resources), requirements, and locations. A syllabus template may also contain the boilerplate information specific to an institution on library access, technical support,

and contact information for non‐course‐specific questions.

It is useful to think of a syllabus as having two major sections: (1) the

policies, procedures, and resources specific to an institution, and (2) the

outline of the course itself. Because of its length and contractual features,

students often ignore much of the content in the syllabus. What we want to

achieve is an engaging syllabus that serves as an exciting course launch

introduction and overview. More on how to jazz up syllabi is in CB Tip 3.

Weekly teaching Guides

In planning a face‐to‐face course, many faculty devote significant time to

creating and developing lectures. For online classes, the time spent in preparing lectures morphs into preparing short text, audio, or video introductions and mini‐lectures, developing and managing threaded discussions, and monitoring student discussion and reflection spaces, such as forums

on the course site. Lectures in the face‐to‐face class are the primary channel

for faculty‐to‐student dialogue. This is important to the teaching presence

(Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000), as these lectures convey the special

expertise and personality of the instructor. In the online classroom, the

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equivalent teaching presence is expressed in the weekly plans, teaching

guides, discussions, and faculty comments and observations.

Weekly teaching guides are critical elements in the syllabus. These

guides list the text, audio, or video resources that introduce and describe

the goals and activities for the week. Expanded guides—which are on the

course site, but not in the syllabus itself—also provide the rationale for

the choice and design of the learning experiences and brief introductions to the

core concepts.

Discussions and Rubrics

Preparing the discussions for each week of an online or blended course is

one of the key differentiators between planning an online course and planning a campus course. The discussion forums play a major role in the organizing and experiencing of the content of a course.

The discussion forum in an online course is the equivalent of whole

class or small group discussions in a campus class. The forum is the primary place where dialogue, discussion, and peer‐to‐peer interaction take place. The student postings in discussion forums and in blogs, wikis, and

journals are where you can “see” and get to know your students. Rather

than seeing their students’ eyes and faces, the discussion postings are a

way of seeing your students’ minds. These postings are even more revealing of what the students know or think they know and may be about to think.

The time you invest in developing good questions for the discussion

boards and planning out the scoring rubrics and evaluation of the discussion boards makes a difference in how quickly a learning community starts to form in a course. Experienced online faculty will plan out all of the discussions before a course begins. This is absolutely recommended for your first online course. You may find that you want to make changes as you get

to know your students, but having the discussions planned raises your

confidence and lowers your stress. Since you may decide to make changes

in the specifics of the discussions, counsel students not to work too far

ahead of the group as a whole. It is possible that you would like to know

more about rubrics as you are developing your discussion questions. For

more about rubrics, see EM Tip 4 and LM Tips 8 and 9.

Course Site

The campus classroom serves as a gathering place for interactions and

sharing of learning experiences, and for small and large class activities. In

an online course, these gatherings take place online, often in a learning

management system (LMS) such as Blackboard, Canvas, or Moodle.

A course site is the “physical virtual space” for the online and blended

Phase 1: Course Beginnings: Starting off on the Right Foot

115

classroom. This is where the instructor and students gather, share thinking

and ideas, and complete the course requirements. You, as the course director and learning mentor, serve as the hub, the host, the glue of the learning community. Putting all relevant course content up on the course site is a

major task to be completed.

In getting a course site ready, your first step is to complete the administrative request with the information technology services group at your institution for a course site to be set up. At some institutions, this may be

done automatically, but a good rule is to leave nothing to chance. Physical

textbooks are often ordered many months before a course launches. For

online programs, this might be done by a departmental administrative

staff member in the middle of the previous term. If physical textbooks

haven’t been ordered or received and it is time for the course to begin,

work with the support staff to offer alternatives such as digital textbooks

and other digital online resources. In some cases, it might be wise to use

open and free resources for a week or two to keep students moving forward in the course until they receive their textbooks.

This is also the time to review the work that needs to be done to prepare

the course site. If you have enough time prior to the first offering of a

course, you may find it helpful to have a practice site set up months in

advance or to use an online course site with a campus class.

The other items that a faculty member is responsible for becoming

familiar with are the institution’s information on library access, technical

support, and contact information for non‐coursespecific questions for

online students. One rule of thumb that is a time saver is making certain

this information is prominent, so that the students know whom they should

contact for a variety of questions. This is a highly effective way of building

loyalty to the institution as the students develop relationships with a

broader instructional team.

Checklist for Preparing for an online Course

You may find this summary to‐do list useful as you develop your course.

Note: this assumes that someone else is in charge of finding and recruiting

students for your class, just as for a regular campus class:

1. Find the person who is responsible for setting up the template for the

course site. If you don’t know where to start, start with the person who

assigned you the task of teaching the course.

2. Make a request for a course site. While that is under way, work on the

syllabus. Pay special attention to ensuring that learning outcomes,

learning experiences, and assessment plans are all aligned (Fink, 2004).

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3. If you have taught this course before as a face‐to‐face campus class,

start with your existing syllabus.

4. Review and select textbooks. If the option is available, choose a textbook available in both physical and digital formats with a set of rich expanded materials online.

5. Arrange for textbooks to be available quickly for students. Post this

information at least a week or more before the course begins to give

students time to acquire the books.

6. Inquire about the source of the course syllabus template for your college or institution. These templates contain the standard boilerplate information regarding library access, the standard institutional tool set,

and other help desk and administrative help information.

7. Prepare the syllabus, using this tip and other syllabus tips such as the

graphical and bookending ideas in CB Tips 3 and 4. Part of preparing

your syllabus will be to divide the content into a set of topics, modules,

or chapters. Then you will use these content divisions as a way of

organizing the course content on the course site. You will also use these

content modules to prepare a concept map of patterns, relationships,

and core concepts.

8. Be sure you can access your course site and that the template for your

institution and program is in place for your site.

9. Prepare your assessment plan, being sure to have multiple points of

assessment and including points for discussion, assignments, quizzes,

and projects. Examples of assessment plans are in CB Tip 2 and

EM Tip 12.

10. Plan out the full course schedule, being sure to take note of universal

holidays and events particular to your institution. Plan assignments so

you can get feedback to your students in a reasonable time. Think in

terms of a regular weekly rhythm. More on weekly rhythms is

in CB Tip 9.

11. Prepare discussion postings and post them in the course site. Prepare

the rubrics for posting. Tips on discussion postings and rubrics are later

in this chapter.

12. Once your syllabus is complete, return to the first weeks and review

the plans and expectations for the first weeks of your course, and for

questions and expectations that will occur in the week before the

course starts. Consider whether the student workload is too heavy or

too light.

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13. If you have any time during the process of syllabus development, share

your syllabus draft with another instructor who has taught an online or

blended course before and ask for feedback. Also, using a checklist of

standards of excellence for online courses can help you review the readiness of your syllabus and course site. The Quality Matters rubric is highly recommended. More on that rubric follows later in this tip.

In the midst of getting your course content ready, it is easy to forget how

important it is to prepare your own getting‐acquainted posting for the

introductory forum. The purpose of this posting is for your students to get

to know you both as an expert but as a person. Consider including a formal

and informal picture of yourself, also other trustbuilding information about

your field of expertise and informal notes such as your favorite foods and

the books that you are currently reading.

aligning outcomes, experiences and assessment

How do you know if you have developed an effective syllabus and course

site? The most important criteria for a quality course is the concept of

alignment. Alignment means that the intended learning outcomes, assessment strategies, and learning experiences to achieve the outcomes are consistent with each other. This concept of alignment, designing for significant and meaningful learning, is well described by Fink (2013). Before going further, the key questions to ask about your course syllabus is “Will

the learning experiences you have planned support student achievement

of the desired learning outcomes?” and “Will your assessment strategies

provide evidence of that learning?” Related questions from the Quality

Matters Rubric that you can use to help evaluate your alignment success

are: “Are all learning objectives or competencies stated clearly and written

from the learner’s perspective?” and “Is the relationship between learning

objectives or competencies and course activities clearly stated?” (see

qualitymatters.org).

Quality Matters Standards for an online Course

If you are under a great deal of time pressure, you may want to return to

these quality standards at a later time. A very useful detailed rubric is

available from the Quality Matters organization. This rubric was developed as part of the Quality Matters project, funded by the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE). The goal of this project

is to provide tools for assessing and ensuring the quality of online courses.

It is a “faculty‐centered, peer review process that certifies the quality of

online and blended courses.” (Shattuck, Zimmerman & Adair, 2014, p. 25).

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The rubric currently has eight general sections with fortythree specific

review standards that evaluate the design of online and blended courses.

The eight general sections address the key elements of online courses:

• Course overview and introduction

• Learning objectives and competencies

• Assessment and measurement

• Instructional materials

• Course activities and learner interaction

• Course technology

• Learner support

• Accessibility and usability

The rubric is now part of a for‐profit entity that certifies online courses

with the Quality Matters Rubric. Full access to the Quality Matters Rubric

(https://www.qualitymatters.org/rubric, 2015) is limited to institutions

with a subscription to the project.

Many other valuable lists of standards of excellence are available from

higher education consortia, universities, and organizations worldwide. Let

us mention just two. For standards on course design and excellence, the

report Elements of Quality Online Education: Practice and Direction, by the

Online Learning Consortium, is a classic (Bourne & Moore, 2002). This

report highlights five areas for quality: learning effectiveness, cost effectiveness, access, faculty satisfaction, and student satisfaction. Also, a list of standards endorsed by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern

Association of Colleges and Schools in 2000 (http://www.sacscoc.org/

pdf/commadap.pdf) is still quite relevant.

Other tips address key issues in designing quality and engaging

courses. If you are an experienced teacher and have the basics of your syllabus well in hand, check out these tips now: CB Tip 3 on creating a great launching syllabus and CB Tip 4 on “bookending” your course.

CB tip 2: More on the Significant elements of an online

or Blended Syllabus

This tip answers these questions:

• What are the most important sections of a syllabus or course site for an

online or blended course?

• Should I really develop all the postings for the weekly discussion forums

before the course starts, as part of my course design?

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• What changes should I make in my testing and assessing procedures

when proctored exams are not possible or convenient?

• Should the syllabus contain information and policies about netiquette

and plagiarism tools?

If you are modifying an existing campus course for the online learning

environment, most of the core components of a course syllabus are the

same. Here are the items with minimal changes:

• Course description.

• Performance goals and learning outcomes. It is good to review these,

however, for ways that learning goals and desired outcomes might

benefit from the digital environment.

• Content resources such as textbooks and access to supplementary recommended resources. Don’t overlook the abundance of audio, video, and interactive digital content now available. Instructions about cost

and options for acquiring the textbooks or other required resources are

essential. Online courses, particular intensive courses, move along very

quickly, and students can get into trouble quickly if they don’t have

resources in hand.

Syllabus Sections

Now let’s consider the sections of an online syllabus that are more particular to the online or blended environment:

• Discussion postings: As noted previously, discussion postings are the

backbone of an online course. The discussion forum space is the place

and space for writing, thinking, reflecting, and conversing with other

students. It is a major venue for students to engage and struggle with

the course content. Review your discussion postings. Do they require

thought, reflection, and expression? Do they encourage substantive

exchange and conversation? The set of tips on discussion posts later in

this chapter is a great resource for developing good postings. For now,

check that your postings support discussion of the issues, core concepts,

and learning outcomes for your course.

• Assignments: A major difference between campus and online courses

is in the area of assessment. Online assessment morphs into a continuous and broad‐based set of assignments rather than mid‐terms and final exams. Examples of assessment plans are in the tips focusing on

assessment. Instructions on how to submit the assignment online are

critical. It is a good idea for students to practice submitting a low‐stakes

assignment in the first week. A broad‐based assessment plan includes

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points for discussion postings and comments and review on the postings of fellow students. Participation in discussion boards and forums is a significant source of information on what a student knows and his

or her understanding of course content. In the early days of online

courses, a colleague of ours conducted a small action research project

in which the instructor did not say anything about the value of participation and just let the learners participate as they felt moved to do so.

Only 20 percent of the class posted anything in the discussions. The

next time the course was offered, the instructor wrote guidelines and

based about 30 percent of the course grade on participation. Participation in the discussions shot up, with 80 percent of the class posting. So if you are thinking that “If you post it, they will participate,”

we suggest rethinking that strategy. A scoring system or rubric can let

learners know the difference between superficial and meaningful

participation.

• Communication policies and procedures: Learning and communicating effectively in online and blended courses can take time to master.

Just as there are effective practices for faculty, there are effective practices and habits that learners may need to acquire. Here are resources to consider including in your syllabus if they are not in your template for

the institution.

• Netiquette guidelines cover how to communicate effectively and

courteously online. Here are a couple of starting points:

• The Core Rules of Netiquette by Virginia Shea (http://www.albion.

com/netiquette/corerules.html)

• Top 26 Most Important Rules of E-mail Etiquette. These are also

applicable to discussion posts (http://email.about.com/od/

emailnetiquette/tp/core_netiquette.htm)

• Emoticons: Consider how you will use Emoticons. These symbols are

used to indicate emotion in text. The most popular is the colon‐dash‐

close parenthesis, which becomes a happy face. Two sites describing

emoticons and their meanings are http://emojipedia.org and http://

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/emoticon. Some faculty discourage the use of emoticons, but as long as they are used tastefully, they help to express

what body language and facial expressions do in face‐to‐face settings. The dictionary of emoticons keeps growing. Here is the classic

“happy face”: ☺

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• Communication patterns: Follow the principle of being very clear

about course processes. Briefly describe your preferred communication patterns and times. For example, let students know your preferred weekend day for questions, when necessary, and the expected turnaround time for questions during the week. Communication patterns in all teaching environments are changing. In the very traditional face‐to‐face environments, the instructor is in front of the students, and most questions are directed to him or her, so communication patterns flow predominately between the one faculty and the many students. In online and blended environments, communications are primarily conducted in the discussion forums going between one student or more and the faculty member, or among the students

themselves. The purpose of the online question forums is to encourage whole class or group participation in content discussions. All content comments are public to the class members and the instructor, unless exceptions seem prudent. This communication pattern of one

to many and many to one, regardless of role, encourages community,

course discussion, brainstorming, and mutual help. A separate space,

such as an open forum area, can be established strictly for socializing.

Other communication patterns can be used in wikis or blogs. Private

emails between the instructor and one student are to avoided except

for confidential communications.

• Plagiarism: A section on plagiarism, particularly what it is and how to

avoid it, can be helpful. If your syllabus already includes an institutional academic honor policy, it may not address the ease of plagiarism today and how to avoid inadvertent plagiarism. Here are some sites to

consider directing your students to on this topic:

• Definition of plagiarism: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/plagiarism.

• Self‐detection and checking plagiarism services: Turnitin is one

subscription service for use by instructors and students (http://turnitin.

com). Another service is SafeAssign within the Blackboard LMS.

• Other small free tools are available on the Web. Here are two starting

points: http://www.paperrater.com/plagiarism_checker and

http://www.plagium.com

• Expectations: You may currently have a section on expectations; it’s a

good idea to make sure this section includes information on

communication turnaround time—for example, “I’ll reply to most

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e‐mails and discussion posts within twentyfour to fortyeight hours

during the workweek. I’ll check for urgent messages on the weekend.” In addition, participation guidelines provide specifics on how often to log in to the course, how often to post in the discussions,

length of posts, and depth of posts. These can be specific to assignments and activities. One good rule of thumb to state is that students should plan to dedicate a minimum of six to ten hours a week to a

course, excluding transition times.

• Troubleshooting: In the event something goes wrong in a course,

learners need to know whom to contact. If you do not specify whom to

call for what, students will contact you in a panic when any technical

glitch occurs. This information can be in a separate troubleshooting section or a subset of the policies and procedures section of your syllabus.

Stating ahead of time the contact information for the help desk and

what to do in the event the course site is down and an assignment is due

helps the students and helps you. Remind students to post in the question forum if something is going wrong.

Adding these sections will not ensure a trouble‐free course, but it will

prepare students to participate fully and effectively in the course and to be

able to resolve problems without involving you every step of the way.

CB tip 3: Creating a Syllabus that Jump‐starts Learning

This tip answers these questions:

• What can I do to get my students to actually read my syllabus?

• Is there an activity that encourages my students to set their own personal learning goals for the course?

• What can I do to create a syllabus that jump‐starts the learning of my

course content?

Consider your syllabus. Do your students read it? Do they use it? Even

small changes in your syllabus can jump‐start their learning. This tip suggests creating a graphic overview as one way to change a traditional, possibly tired‐looking Word document into a vibrant and welcoming introduction to your course.

As you are preparing the information for your syllabi, challenge yourself to make some changes to your syllabus that will have students saying,

“Wow, and thanks so much!” To get you thinking, Figure 6.1 is a graphic

overview of this tip.

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fiGuRe 6.1

Graphic overview of CB tip 3

Tip - Create a syllabus

with a graphic overview

Why a Graphic Overview

Examples of syllabi with

is valuable – Provides a

graphic overviews

framework and big picture

US History II

Types of graphic

overviews

Philosophy

courses (3)

Concept

Simple table

map

or graphic

Fundamentals

of Biological

Anthropology

Tools:

Tools: Word,

Inspiration,

Powerpoint

Cmap

etc.

Graphic overview: Building a framework

and Setting Boundaries

One of the most useful additions for your syllabus is a graphic overview of

your course content. A graphic overview clearly lays out core concepts and

relationships as well as expected boundaries for your course. It helps to

communicate your expectations and can welcome your students to an

intellectual adventure and community experience.

What is the value of a graphic overview? It provides a bird’s‐eye view

of your course as a whole. This helps students build a mental framework,

a mental model, a mental picture of your course. Graphic overviews can be

powerful in setting course boundaries as well. Why are boundaries helpful? Boundaries serve your students by helping them to focus on the core concept essentials while also enjoying the information that is nice to know.

Boundaries help your students “see” the types of content and the types of

problems or scenarios they should focus on understanding and dealing with.

We live in an information knowledge world without boundaries, yet

the time to learn and develop skills in our courses is definitely bounded.

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So boundaries remove stress; students understand that we do not expect

them to become experts in eight or ten or fifteen weeks. At the same time,

concept maps show what kinds of knowledge structures, problems, or

scenarios we do expect them to develop, understand, and process.

Choices for Graphical overviews

Concept Maps

A good choice for a graphical overview is a concept map, which provides

a graphic representation of a “mountain” of verbal text. (Note: Another

option is a mind map, which can be useful as a reflection activity, but mind

maps lack the formal structure for knowledge‐building preferred in course

launching activities.) The familiar adage of a picture being worth a thousand words applies here. A graphic overview lays out the knowledge and problem space that your learners will want to become knowledgeable and

confident about. A concept map provides a visual look at the learning outcomes and is an efficient way of embracing the sense of the whole.

Roger Sperry, a 1981 Nobel Laureate for his work on left‐right brain

specializations, observed that our academic systems tend to be very left‐

brain oriented, with a focus on verbal, quantitative, and analytical inputs

and experiences (Sperry, 1980). As a consequence, we often leave our right

brain, with its dominance in the creative, visual, and spatial abilities, out in

the cold. It’s like learning with only half our brain. Rather than using

graphics, pictures, and rich media to aid in learning, we introduce and

welcome students to our courses with ten to twelve to sometimes fifteen

pages of text, often wearying and overwhelming learners before they even

get started. University of Illinois neuroscientist Kara D. Federmeier stated

in a 2013 interview that according to more recent research, right brain/left

brain characteristics are much more nuanced (Federmeier, 2013). We now

understand that it takes the workings of both brain hemispheres to be logical—or to be creative. Logically speaking, it makes sense to make much greater use of visual information in all areas of our course content, starting

with the syllabus.

Much more on the cognitive benefits of concept maps and graphic syllabi is detailed in the graphic syllabus and the outcomes map: communicating your course (Nilson, 2007) and other resources (Nilson & Pyser, 2012; Clark, 2015; Smith, 2014).

Using concept mapping tools requires learning another application,

but that can be very useful long term for student learning. To get started

with concept mapping many faculty use familiar tools such as Microsoft

Word and PowerPoint, Keynote, and Prezi. More sophisticated free tools

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for concept mapping include the CmapTools from the Institute for Human &

Machine Cognition (IHMC) and the Visual Understanding Environment

(VUE) from Tufts University. Well‐known commercial tools include

Inspiration and Mindmap. As this field is still in flux, we highly recommend doing some research on the net and among friends when you are ready for a more sophisticated tool.

Can i Start with a Simple Picture?

Developing a graphical overview or concept map can take time, but it is

time that reaps many benefits. You can start with a simple drawing, table,

or course framework.

Here’s how to get started. Prepare a table with three headings: (1) your

core concepts—those big ideas that are captured in your learning outcomes; (2) examples of the kinds of problems and scenarios that require understanding of the core concepts; and (3) knowledge topics that support

the building of understanding and skills for dealing with the problems.

Around the periphery of your table are links to the world of information beyond the course context. These links lead to additional content resources that learners may find interesting and useful individually.

This simplified course graphic can provide the big picture of a course

and potentially serve as the basis from which students can develop their

own more detailed concept maps. Look again at the graphic overview of

this tip. Did you find it helpful in grasping a sense of the whole tip and its

structure? Did your brain prepare you for what is coming next—three

examples of graphic syllabi?

examples of Creative and Graphic Syllabi

Here are some examples of creative syllabi from posts in the ProfHacker

blog at the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Dr. Tona Hangen. US History II. Spring 2011 Worcester State

University. Tona’s syllabus is dramatic, as it launches with an iconic image

by photographer Dorothea Lange of a thirtytwo‐year‐old mother of seven

from the Depression at the top of the first page. It is hard to miss the impact

of this period with that image.

Another characteristic of Hangen’s makeover syllabus is that she talks

directly to her students as if they were right there with her. She goes over

the course requirements, provides a schedule of topics and readings, and

provides a grading scale in a format resembling a magazine layout. There is

none of the third‐person voice and dense, heavy text so characteristic of

syllabi submitted to curriculum committees. By the way, research on the

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fiGuRe 6.2

Photo of Depression Mother by Dorothea Lange

https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/list/128_migm.htm

“personalization principle” (Clark & Mayer, 2007) has shown that learners

actually feel closer to online faculty who address them in this more

conversational tone. http://www.tonahangen.com/wsc/us2/wpcontent/

uploads/2015/07/112.Fall15.pdf. Note: Tona has shared her thought pro

cesses in making over her syllabus in her blog at http://www.tonahangen.

com/blog/.

Dr. W. Mark Smillie. Three Philosophy Courses. Carroll College,

Helena, M T. http://www46.homepage.villanova.edu/john.immerwahr/

tp101/prep/graphic_syls.pdf. Smillie has developed graphic overviews

for three courses: Philosophy of Human Being (August 2008), Perspectives

in Philosophy (August 2008), and Medieval Philosophy (January 2009).

These three examples use a fairly straightforward concept mapping

approach showing course topics and the relationships among topics. For

example, the medieval philosophy concept map uses a three‐column presentation showing the era (i.e., early Christianity); the key figure (such as St.

Augustine) in the era; and the philosophical problems (such as human and

divine action) that philosophers grappled with during that era. The value

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is that it offers a structure or a frame for holding a great deal of new and

unfamiliar information. It provides a way to organize, interpret, and chunk

the course content.

Dr. Susan Sheridan. Fundamentals of Biological Anthropology.

University of Notre Dame. https://ltlatnd.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/

bioanthsheridan.pdf. This ten‐page syllabus is enlivened by skeleton action

figures sprinkled throughout and with interesting newsletter type formatting

with bold headings, white space, and quotes highlighting her philosophy,

such as “Remember that grades are not given by me, they are earned by you.”

Two more examples of a graphic syllabi include one by Greg Haake at

the University of Notre Dame on advanced French composition and another

on composition by Anne‐Marie Womack of Texas A&M. The syllabus by

Haake on French composition (https://ltlatnd.files.wordpress.com/2015/

08/advfrenchcomp.pdf) uses photographs, references to playlists of music videos and is written completely in French. The syllabus by Womack on

English composition (https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/610087/fall_

2011_en120018.pdf) uses an attractive visual page layout featuring core questions and requirements that frame the writing projects for the course.

Womack focuses the work of the course by setting out these questions front

and center: (1) Why do we write? (2) For whom do we write? (3) How do we

write for meaning for ourselves and our readers?

Conclusion

Your syllabus is the welcome mat for your course. It communicates many

dimensions of you as an expert, a teacher, and a learning coach. Make a few

changes and ask your learners what they think. Then in the next term,

improve on those changes until you make great use of graphic organizers

and visual treats.

CB tip 4: using “Bookending” to add Structure and Meaning

to Your Course

This tip answers these two questions:

• What does it mean to “bookend” my course?

• What types of activities are effective “bookends”?

imagining Your Course

How do you imagine your course? As a series of topics or problems? As a

set of concepts or ideas? As a time to reflect and think and ask fundamental

life questions? This tip suggests looking at your course as a compact

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knowledge structure that provides confidence in an area of knowledge or

skill. CB Tip 3 encourages using a concept map to show visually the structure of knowledge in a course; this tip encourages the use of a strategy called bookending.

What is Bookending?

Briefly, bookending extends the idea of a discussion or course wrap

described in other tips to the packaging and structuring of an entire course

so that it feels whole, with a beginning, an ending, and a set of learning

experiences in the middle that help learners develop a satisfying set of concepts and competencies.

The term bookending is used in many writing and speaking professions,

such as screenwriting, storytelling, essay writing, and public speaking. In

fact, bookending is often recommended to novice screenwriters as a strategy to “package” the film experience (Dyer, 2010). Bookending, used as a storytelling strategy, often helps viewers feel satisfied because they feel as

if they experienced a whole of something, such as a meaningful and significant life experience of someone, or a whole episode, or simply a good story with a beginning, middle, and end.

How do writers achieve bookending? Writers bookend their stories by

placing an interesting anecdote or scenario in their initial scene and then

wrapping up the story with a resolution of that scenario or echoes of that

anecdote. An example of the opening bookend from the popular 2009 film

Julie & Julia, is the early scenes when both Julia Childs and Julie Powell

are struggling with what to do with their lives. Julia’s statement captures

the opening problem statement for the story: “But what am I going to

do?” Then the writers’ closing bookend is the scene that shows Powell

and her husband visiting Child’s kitchen at the Smithsonian Institution and

Julia Child in the same kitchen receiving a first print of her cookbook

and celebrating the event with her husband. In between these two scenes

is the story of how Julia Child’s search for her life in the cooking profession parallels Julie Powell’s challenge as she blogs about cooking her way through all the recipes in Child’s first book, Mastering the Art of French

Cooking.

The power of the opening and closing bookend provides a gentle and

memorable wrap to how two women find a meaningful purpose for their

creative talents. If you haven’t seen it or would like a quick reminder look,

there is a 2.5minute movie trailer on YouTube (https://www.youtube.

com/watch?v=ozrk7vxql‐k).

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examples of Bookending Your Course

How might you use bookending in your course? First, you can build on

two elements that you probably already have in place: the customized

course project and your closing events. All you need is the initial problem

scenario or sets of cases for launching the course that is convergent

with the learning outcomes. With that simple add‐on you can bookend

your course.

Here’s an example. In a course on managing a small company, your

initial problem scenario might be a company that desperately needs to

update its product line to improve its financial position. Or the company’s

challenge might be to diversify its sales channels.

Some of the learning outcomes from this course probably include

finances, sales and marketing principles, human resources, and strategies

for updating or launching new products. For an opening bookend the

instructor can provide one, two, or possibly three case studies about different size and product companies and discuss possibilities and strategies for dealing with the challenges. Students might work on this in informal teams

of two and record their observations and possible strategies, thereby creating a record that you and the students can refer and return to over time to see which strategies may have been a good idea. Some capstone business

courses use management simulation software to see the results of some of

their decision‐making over the course. The closing bookend focuses on elements of those initial challenges and how they are addressed and handled in the readings and in course projects.

Let’s think about an example for an undergraduate course, such as history. We know that some of the key learning outcomes of a history major are assembling evidence and then interpreting it (Glenn, 2009). A history

course is particularly amenable to being designed as a sequence of topics.

(I never made it past WWI in any of my courses, as the instructors wanted

to start at the beginning of time.) Turning a history course into a scenario‐

based analysis of issues, people, and ideas requires that learners develop

skills such as finding supporting or conflicting data, critical thinking, and

an understanding of widely different perspectives. Other courses, such as

leadership courses, can similarly use scenarios of leadership challenges

and learning about oneself as a leader.

Closing course events generally include sharing, presentations, and

finalizing projects. These are opportunities to look at a learner’s growth

over time. Phil Dyer, who writes a blog on screenwriting, notes that it’s

“a good idea to show how much your protagonist has grown by the end of

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the story by writing a bookend scene at the end of the script that demonstrates that she has overcome her internal flaw.” He notes that even if the protagonist has not overcome her internal flaw, the bookend scene can capture how far she may have come. In a similar way, since all learners progress on a path of their own learning as supported by Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development (ZPD), the amount of growth, change, and thinking

can indicate to students how far they have come during the course.

So the course wrap itself serves as the finishing bookend to the course

experience.

Conclusion

Of all the variables impacting learners’ intellectual growth, course design

is close to the top of the list. Try bookending and see how it can engage you

and your students in creating growth experiences in your learners. More

on content framing is in Chapter Ten, on intensive courses. Bookending

affirms many of the core learning theory principles, including situated and

authentic learning and a focus on core concepts.

CB tip 5: Generating energy and Purpose

with Specific Learning Goals

This tip answers these questions:

• What is a good strategy to encourage students to read, process, and

understand the learning outcomes?

• What learning principle supports setting very specific learning

outcomes?

Do you make good use of the learning goals for your course? Or are

they sitting ignored in an unused section of your syllabus? For effective

learning we should be featuring, discussing, and analyzing the learning

outcomes. How can we move learning outcomes into the light and put

them to work in learning? An important task for students early in a course

is an activity to process and discuss those goals.

Is this hard to do? Not really. In the pre‐week or very early in the first

week, students complete a getting‐acquainted posting. This is the forum in

which you and your students share who you are, where you live, and what

is important to you in your work and daily life. This tip recommends a

companion discussion forum that focuses on learning goals. In this forum

students discuss the learning goals for the course and what these goals can

and might mean for them, and they identify one or two learning goals that

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they customize to their own life or work purposes. The students are encouraged to restate the most important learning goals in very specific and personal terms.

This tip provides more detail on how you can accomplish this, and why

setting specific learning goals is so powerful, useful, and energizing to the

student learning experience.

Note: In this tip we use the terms learning goals and learning outcomes to refer to what students hope to learn and achieve during the term of a

course. Other literature uses the term learning objectives.

Here are three examples of discussion forums focused on the learning

goals for a course. This forum also begins the work of cognitive presence,

described in greater detail in CB Tip 7.

three Ways to focus a Discussion forum

on Learning Goals

Your instructions to the student might look something like the following:

• Example 1: “Examine the learning outcomes for the course and rewrite

in your own words the two outcomes that are most important to you

and why they make sense to you. It helps if you envision yourself talking to a friend, spouse, colleague, or mentor about what you are going to be learning and doing.”

• Note 1: This activity encourages the students to translate the learning

outcomes into expressions of purpose and statement that have real

meaning to them. This instruction also encourages conversation about

their learning goals with people who are important to them, opening

up possibilities for more discussion about learning.

• Example 2: “Think about the time and effort you are going to be investing in the content and work of this course. How do you want your time and effort to make a difference in your life? Answer this question: How

do I want to be different when this course is over?”

To help your students, you might give a couple of example statements

relevant to your course content and purposes, such as:

• “I want to develop a personal code of ethics that will guide me in my

life and in my work as a marketing executive.”

• “I want to develop and discuss with confidence my personal philosophy about the meaning of life.”

• “I want to be able to compose and write a business memo with the

confidence that I am communicating effectively.”

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• “I want to be confident about approaching a work of art” or “I want

to understand why art is important to people, and what difference it

can make to me.”

• “I want to develop a beginning level of expertise in a specific period

of history, economics, math, music.”

• “I want to be able to read a research report and be able to judge with

some accuracy whether the research was well done and what the

research means to the discipline.”

• “I want to be somewhat knowledgeable about how to be successful in

business leadership and business processes in another part of the

world, such as Indonesia or China.”

• “I want to be ready to lead in a particular context at a particular

time.

• Example 3: “Select one of the learning goals and state why achieving

that goal is really important to you.”

One of your goals as a mentor, guide, and coach of learning is to find

out where the students are coming from and where they want to go for

their life and work. A discussion forum focused on learning goals helps

to illuminate just what students already know and what they are ready to

learn. Remember Vygotsky’s statement that a learner’s ZPD is what

that student is really ready to learn. A forum on learning goals/ cognitive

presence attempts to gather these two data points: Where are the student’s head and desires on this topic at this time? Where do the intended learning outcomes intersect with where the student is coming from?

the Power of Specificity: Why it Works!

Let’s think about why having students write down very specific learning

goals for themselves works so well. The power of writing things down is a

major component of the approach used by the guru of stress‐free productivity, David Allen, author of Getting Things Done (2015). Allen stresses that the very best question any of us can ask ourselves, when faced with a seeming mountain of complexities is “What is my next step?” In working with learning goals, the first step is to be very clear about envisioning the desired

result. Then the readings, activities, and learning experiences in a course

have a purpose. Each activity, each assignment is a step toward achieving

that goal.

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the Benefits of Specific Personal Goals

Faculty frequently ask, “But how do I get my students to read the assignments?” or “How do I get my students to engage with the content?” The answers come partly from having the students themselves choose, articulate, and discuss their own learning goals. This is not a magic bullet, but it helps students to consider and think about why they are taking a specific

course, other than to meet the goal of earning another three credits

toward a degree.

Over the course of our careers we have had an opportunity to see many

faculty introduce learning goals and outcomes to students. Far and away

the most frequently used approach goes something like this. If it is a campus‐

based course, the faculty member may use a “butterfly approach.” They put

the learning goals up on a slide, wave their hands, say, “These are the learning goals for the course, be sure to read them,” and click, they are gone.

All too often in an online course, faculty may breezily say in an introduction to the first unit, “Be sure to read the learning outcomes, which are in the syllabus, a very important document as you all know.” Another nonapproach to learning outcomes is to never mention them, thereby missing a very valuable learning opportunity. Students remain generally clueless

as to the course expectations, or purposes, other than that the course is

required, it is a prerequisite, or their mother told them they had to take the

course (an actual comment heard from a student).

As we start a course, we really want to invest time in discussing the

questions, “What is the greater vision for the course?” and “What makes

sense for our students to hope to achieve in this course?”

Conclusion

Being specific about learning goals has other benefits, such as preparing

one’s brain for what is to come by creating a framework, an open structure

for knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Creating a structure for recall is a technique used by orators for thousands of years. St. Augustine in Confessions (Book X, about 399 A.D.) referred to this technique as a “memory palace.”

Having a mental place prepared for the issues, questions, and problems of

a discipline creates hooks and nodes in one’s mind. It is also helpful to

revisit the course learning goals, particularly at the beginning and close of

important learning activities. Journals and blogs are good places for students to track their progress on their customized goals. This recurring focus keeps goals and core concepts front and center in your course.

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Getting Started—Launching Your Course

The second set of tips in this chapter describes actions that help to ensure a

smooth launch for your course. Key contributors to a smooth launch are

the initial gathering experiences. Many of the tips describe strategies for

developing a social and cognitive presence so that students and faculty get

to know one another as people and as learners.

CB tip 6: Hitting the Ground Running: Maximizing the first Week

This tip answers these questions:

• Should I contact students prior to the course start date?

• How do I ensure that students have the right set of tools and know how

to access their courses, the library, or technical help?

• How should I interact with the technical support staff and the other

members of the instructional team?

Students new to a campus generally arrive a few days early to settle in

and become familiar with their physical surroundings. A similar recommendation applies to digital learning; students should sign into their course site a few days before the course start date to check that they have

what they need. This means that a course site needs to be ready with “getting ready for the course” information. Using the course site for this information is best, as it is available 24/7. This information should include data on the required learning resources, such as books, as well as learning tools,

both hardware and software. Some institutions make information on textbooks and related required resources available as soon as students sign up for a course.

Most online programs require a laptop and/or some handheld mobile

device with camera, high‐bandwidth network access, and headphones.

Basic software requirements generally come bundled with purchased

devices, or are available through institutional licenses. Alternatively, the

hardware and software requirements can be stated elsewhere on an institution’s site for online courses and programs.

The learning skills and technical skills expected of students in online

and blended courses are now simply assumed. But it is good not to leave

these expectations to chance. Highlight technical expectations on your

course site. Faculty find it useful to provide a list of contact numbers and

descriptions of the people and resources prominently on the course site.

This information is usually available on a general informational site, but

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the closer it is to the students when they need it, the more likely they are to

contact the support personnel rather than you. Online learning is a 24/7

activity, but faculty need to sleep, and have a profusion of other professional and personal responsibilities.

Some institutions have instituted an official pre‐week. During the pre‐

week students can access the course site, review the course requirements,

post their getting‐acquainted note, and get to know the other students by

reading their postings. This can be a very useful time to post sample activities that check the following:

• Are the students able to get their passwords and access the course site?

Are they able to navigate their way through the university portal to the

course site?

• Do the students know how to access the library resources?

• Are the students encountering challenges with acquiring the textbook

and other required resources? Do they need any help with this?

• Do the learners know how to post on the discussion board? Have they

posted their getting‐acquainted posting? Students are more relaxed at

this time and often explore their abilities to post audio or pictures.

• Will the course schedule work for students? It is a good time to discuss

preferences for any planned synchronous experiences.

Some experienced online faculty contact their students by e‐mail a

week prior to the course start date and invite them to the course site to

check out access, complete the getting‐acquainted posting, and generally

ensure that they are ready for the course. If a student doesn’t have a getting‐

acquainted post up by the end of the pre‐week, contacting that student can

be a good idea. Another strategy is to post an announcement reminding all

students to post their getting acquainted note. A text message to any student who has not appeared at the site or communicated in some way can help to ensure that the course starts well.

If you don’t have an official pre‐week, take time during the first days of

a course to ensure your students’ familiarity with your preferred communication processes and resources. It is good practice to create an open discussion space on your course site such as a cybercafé or learner corner, similar to a physical student union, for informal interactions and support among

students. Of course, the policies and procedures section of the syllabus

includes your schedule indicating when you are going to be online and

available for phone, e‐mail, or chat. Post this information prominently in your

course site, either in a general posting area or in a couple of announcements.

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With all these preparations you and your students can begin to get

acquainted personally and be ready to start engaging with the course content with a minimum of technical or resource problems.

CB tip 7: Launching Your Social and Cognitive Presence

This tip answers questions such as these:

• Why is presence so important? What is social presence? What is cognitive presence?

• What can I do to establish social and cognitive presence?

• What are good examples of getting‐acquainted postings for discussion forums?

interaction and Presence as a Key Point of Satisfaction

for Learners

Regular and timely interaction of faculty with students is one of the key

quality indicators of online courses. A number of studies (Richardson &

Swan, 2003; Burnett, Bonnici, Miksa, & Joonmin, 2007; Gould &

Padavano, 2006; Young & Norgard, 2006) suggest that learner satisfaction

with their online learning courses is directly related to the presence of their

faculty member. Research on the community of inquiry model identified

three types of presence: social, teaching, and cognitive. Just as the three

most important things in real estate are location, location, location, the

three most important things in online learning are presence, presence, and

more presence. Here are some ways to be present for your students.

a Getting‐acquainted Social Post

A getting‐acquainted posting helps to build social presence and launch the

feeling of community. It also helps to establish connections and trust

between faculty and students through knowing “where you are coming

from” (Coppola, Hiltz, & Rotter, 2004). Not only do students want to know

you, but they also want to know something about their fellow students.

The getting‐acquainted discussion post is an opportunity to tell a story

about yourself and encourage students to share something personal about

themselves. This can be done by simply asking students to complete a

statement, such as, “My favorite movie, or book, or learning place is . . .”

You can also ask students to share or post one or two of their favorite pictures. Students often choose pictures of themselves on vacation, with pets, with family, or even a hobby, such as refurbishing an antique car. Sharing

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at this level elicits a wealth of information, so that everyone connects with

each other on several levels.

Many faculty forget how important it is for them to post their own rich

and substantive getting‐acquainted postings about themselves. You may

wish to share with your learners the many places you’ve traveled or lived.

For example, I (Judith) grew up in Minneapolis and lived in Milwaukee for

six years while doing undergraduate and master’s work at Marquette

University. Then I had brief sojourns in Huntsville, Alabama, and

Birmingham, Alabama, where my four children were born. I later lived in

Orlando, Florida, and State College, Pennsylvania, and then in Tallahassee,

Florida, because of my association with Florida State University. Rita grew

up in Chicago and also landed in Tallahassee at Florida State University by

way of Arizona and California, and as of this writing lives in California again.

What is fun about sharing this personal information is that you can

almost visually see and feel the connecting threads that you and your students are weaving among the group as you discover common points of life experiences. Part of the power of social media sites such as Facebook,

LinkedIn, and Twitter is derived from this feeling of closeness that comes

from sharing personal, often inconsequential information that builds social

links and an ongoing social ambience between people. Part of the challenge

of understanding people from other cultures is that we do not share as many

common data points, and thus links between minds can be more difficult.

Online courses that are international in character want to be sure to recognize this and find ways of bridging those gaps and creating those connections.

Here are elements of getting‐acquainted postings that you might use:

• Picture—a formal professional photo and a fun photo with family, on

vacation, at a conference

• Short bio with links to published papers

• Link to your favorite professional publication

• Sharing your personal current research question that shows your curiosity about learning Other favorite personal photos could feature family, pets, music, cars,

vacation spots. The “getting acquainted” forum is also a great place to use

short audio segments. We learn a lot by hearing each other’s voices!

This initial posting focuses on creating social presence in your course,

that is, the “ability of learners to project their personal characteristics into

the community of inquiry, thereby presenting themselves as ‘real people’”

(https://coi.athabascau.ca/coimodel/descriptionsocialpresence/).

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a Getting‐acquainted Cognitive Post

Another good practice is to have a companion posting to the getting‐

acquainted‐socially posting: a getting‐acquainted‐cognitively posting. Its

purpose is to get to know your students’ minds. This posting focuses on

what is in a learner’s mind at the beginning of a term. The first week is a

good time to discuss and process the course goals, objectives, and projects.

We often develop ambitious syllabi, assuming that students will read and

digest the information. A discussion forum that requires students to review

the course learning goals and to develop some personal and customized

goals helps to focus students and give them something specific and personal to grow toward. You may want to ask students to select the most important learning outcome for them in their current/future plans, or to

ask them to identify the learning outcome that they believe is most

fundamental/difficult/easy for them.

One of the core learning principles (Principle 6) focuses on Vygotsky’s

theory of the ZPD (Vygotsky, 1978). Applying this principle requires that

we know what students know as individuals. How do we know what students know? How do we know the kinds of experiences they have had? We ask them to tell us in various ways.

the announcements tool and Just Being

on the Course Site

A simple and very useful strategy for staying in touch with your students

and being present is to use the announcements tool three or four times a

week. These messages can be used for a quick hello inquiring how the readings are going, a reminder of a discussion posting content or challenge, a comment about the relevance of a current event, or a quick‐check quiz. We

often forget how intellectually stimulating a Jeopardy‐like question can be!

Faculty often ask, “How often and for how long should I be on my

course site each week?” Although there are no hard‐and‐fast rules, the best

practice is to start being present every weekday and one of the weekend

days. Most online learners do much of their learning work during the

weekend, and thus your checking on how things are going can make a

huge difference to them. Seeing if any critical questions have been posted

can usually be done in fifteen to twenty minutes. You might also consider

using text messaging for any assignment‐related emergencies, particularly

in the days before a major task assignment.

Being there every day is most important in the first week or two of a

course. In those first days in particular, learners tend to panic if no one

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answers their questions in what to them is a timely manner. Be sure to let

your students know when you can be reached in real time if needed.

Convey the message that you are interested in how they are doing with

their assignments, readings, and general progress. Your presence, as conveyed by messages and responses to postings and questions, encourages conversation among the students to think aloud, so that they can process

information and link ideas and concepts. Students, like colleagues and

friends, often just need to hear an occasional “uh‐huh” to feel as if their

efforts are being recognized and to keep going.

For faculty accustomed to teaching a face‐to‐face class and meeting students one, two, or three days a week for a fixed time, the demands of teaching an online course can be shocking. Students often expect faculty to be available all the time. This is why setting policies and expectations for

feedback and presence is essential to student satisfaction. This is also why

a question forum space is a good practice. The expectation for a question

forum space is that all questions unrelated to course forums are posted

there and all members of the course community can post and answer questions. The faculty mentor then answers questions and shares suggestions and comments in a public space. Use of a general public question forum

increases faculty presence while minimizing, and even eliminating, all

e‐mail associated with content questions.

Some online faculty find it a useful practice to schedule virtual meeting

times on the course site—for example, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, or

Saturdays when they will be available for questions. In the first week or

two it is good to schedule these times every day, if possible.

Faculty presence and involvement change over the weeks of a course.

According to the phases of engagement (Conrad & Donaldson, 2012) in a

course, your role in the first phase is that of a social negotiator. Later you

shift to being a structural engineer, designing opportunities for students to

form teams of two or three and having the students engage in critical thinking and sharing of ideas. More on how your presence changes over the course of a term is in CB Tip 17.

Presence on the Discussion forum

The discussion forum is the online gathering place for the course, and faculty’s presence is essential to the overall teaching and learning experience.

Regularly posting substantive questions, challenges, and comments related

to assignments or discussions is an extremely important part of the cognitive presence and creation and support of intellectual community.

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Live Synchronous Collaborative Gatherings

We now have many ways of meeting with learners in real time. Designing

synchronous sessions into your course contributes to community building

and intellectual curiosity building. Having a live collaborative time with

your students early in the term is a good practice. It can be a very informal

question‐and‐answer session about the course and what the class as a

group will be doing. If your students are located in widely varying time

zones, such as military serving around the globe, this can be an optional

activity that is recorded. The many synchronous meeting tools include

Blackboard Collaborate, GoToMeeting, WebEx, and public tools such as

Google Hangout and Skype. These tools are powerful for conveying presence and caring.

Conclusion

It is hard to overstate the importance of communication in the beginning of

the course. Recall Best Practice 1: “Be present at your course.” This practice

means using multiple communication channels early, regularly, and

consistently.

Communication and collaboration foster strong learning communities,

counteracting the often isolating nature of online, digital, or blended

learning (Rovai, 2002). Providing a variety of communications channels—

messaging, e‐mail, discussion forums, online chats—encourages student‐

to‐teacher and student‐to‐student interaction and communication, essential

for learning.

CB tip 8: Getting to Know Students’ Minds: the Vygotsky Zone

of Proximal Development

This tip answers questions such as these:

• How do I get to know my students individually when I can’t physically see them?

• What are some strategies for having students set their own learning goals?

• What is an example of a getting‐acquainted‐cognitively posting and

sample responses?

One of the core learning principles (Principle 2) states, “Learners bring

their own personalized and customized knowledge, skills, and attitudes

to the experience.” If that is true, getting to know our students and what

they know is essential to mentoring them. In the tip on getting acquainted

socially (CB Tip 7), we recommend a forum on getting acquainted cognitively.

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Why do we do this in the first week? Because nurturing the growth of a

learner’s knowledge structures is the end‐goal of all learning experiences.

This means that the best way to help them grow is to find out what they

know. In other words, you want to know sooner rather than later what is

actually in their minds, what they think they know, and what they

want to learn.

When the concept of the zone of proximal development was introduced, you may have been asking yourself, “Just how do I get to know my students’ ZPDs? How do I find out what they know now?” One example

of a getting‐acquainted‐cognitively post is to ask the students to review the

course learning outcomes and have them respond, in 250 to 400 words, to

how and in which contexts they hope to use the knowledge, skills, and

perspectives. The discussion post may be as simple as asking the students

to complete this sentence: “What I hope to be able to do as a result of taking

this course is . . .” The responses to this statement might be “Be a better

leader in a non‐profit or tech organization” or “Read and understand a balance sheet” or “Solve differential equations and recognize when I need them.” If they don’t know how or when or why they will be using the

information, encourage them to take a day or two to think about it and

then propose some ways it could be important.

The syllabus states the expected general learning outcomes. The purpose of a goal‐focused forum is to ensure that students examine those goals and personalize and internalize them. These getting‐acquainted posts help

us learn more about the students and make it easier and more natural to

build associations and relationships, developing core concepts based on

what students already know.

Keeping the Students Straight in Your Mind

The tricks of the memory trade work online as well as in the physical face‐

to‐face settings. The best strategy is linking something personal, unique,

and unusual about the learner to the learner’s name, personal goals, or

something else. Learners can be encouraged to post something that will

help you individualize them by asking them something that will likely

result in a memorable posting.

Here are a few suggestions for questions to include in the getting‐

acquainted postings:

• What do you think is particularly unique about how you think?

• What is your most memorable “Aha!” learning moment?

• What is your highest‐priority goal for the course, and why?

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• What’s your best secret for being a successful online learner?

• What do you have in common with at least one other learner in

the course?

And remember that learners individualize themselves to you and

others through their writings.

Summary

The concept of cognitive presence, part of the community of inquiry model

(Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000), is often described as the extent to

which the professor and the students are able to construct and confirm

meaning through sustained discourse (discussion) in a community of

inquiry. Reading a student’s postings on how he or she thinks provides

baseline information for the faculty mentor. This information helps a faculty provide teaching direction based on what students already have in their heads.

CB tip 9: Getting into the Swing of a Course: is there an ideal

Weekly Rhythm?

This tip answers questions such as these:

• Should I have a weekly rhythm for my course?

• What are the different types of activities that need to be scheduled and

planned for?

• How much time should I estimate for monitoring and responding to

discussion posts in the first weeks?

• When should learner‐to‐learner engagement be started?

A weekly schedule for campus classes usually revolves around scheduled face‐to‐face classes. These classes serve well as pacing events for students. Regular weekly assignments and activities keep students engaged with the course content. Students find that a weekly rhythm for an online

course provides similar benefits. Is there an ideal weekly rhythm? Not

really, but a predictable weekly rhythm helps to set clear expectations that

an online course requires regular commitments and interaction.

Students have schedules for many competing responsibilities, such as

working, parenting, and personal chores; thus a predictable schedule is a

useful planning aid for everyone. Many faculty like to use the discussion

forum as one of these pacing activities. For example, the discussion forum

might open with a problem, question, or challenge on Monday, requiring

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an initial posting or progress response by Wednesday and comments on

other students’ postings by Friday or Saturday. The faculty member then

commits to commenting on the posts by the following Monday. Readings,

assignments, projects, and other content assignments can orbit around

these class discussions.

Table 6.2 provides a sample weekly schedule for students in an online class

based on a six‐day schedule. This schedule anticipates that most online learners will be using one of the two weekend days for their learning. It also assumes about five to seven hours a week for one online course, or about an hour a day.

Although it is not necessary for students to work on a class every day, learners

should plan on logging in to their online course at least two or three times a

week. This sample schedule encourages this level of participation.

This schedule may change in the second half of the course when project

and team work are more intense. When group work is required, it is useful

in the first phase of a team project for learners to identify a time that works

for synchronous or almost synchronous collaborative activity.

Note that the schedule categorizes activities into individual and group

activities and also suggests weekly collaborative times when the instructor

might be available by phone, e‐mail, instant messaging, or live classroom

time. Of course you determine the days and times for your monitoring and

scanning of students’ work, responding to students’ questions, and providing feedback to students. Note the insertion on the schedule of Tuesday as “Special availability hours.” This might be a time for you to schedule an

audio or audio and video question‐and‐answer time. Remember that these

sessions can be recorded and archived for students who are not able to

participate in a synchronous event. Faculty using synchronous online sessions often schedule these events on different days—alternating Tuesdays and Thursdays, for example, or even offering them twice a week, but

always in consideration of their own schedule and perhaps special considerations of students’ family and work schedules.

The tasks and activities for a course are primarily of three types, each

corresponding to the three types of dialogue in a course (Moore &

Kearsley, 1996; Moore, 2007). One dialogue type is the tasks and assignments that students do by themselves when engaging in a learner to resource experience. Examples of these dialogues are reading assignments,

watching or listening to streaming lectures or presentations, analyzing and

solving problems, reading and responding to online discussion forums,

online postings in blogs or wikis, online quizzes, sending or receiving

instant messages, e‐mail, and general research or thinking. Although these

activities can be done at any time, a time to do them needs to be scheduled.

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Experience suggests that if something can be done anywhere and anytime,

it usually never gets done.

Other types of learning activities are learning events that students do

with other students or with the instructor. The dialogue between students

is expressed as learner‐to‐learner (L‐L) or peer‐to‐peer dialogue; dialogue

between students and faculty is expressed as faculty‐to‐learner (F‐L) dialogue; individual learners’ private resource use is expressed as learner‐to-resource (L‐R) dialogue. Examples of L‐L activities include participation in

team or group meetings and study or review sessions. Examples of F‐L

dialogue include participation in review or presentation sessions as well as

all the asynchronous monitoring and commenting. Examples of L‐R dialogue are reading of textbooks or researching online information.

Creating and Managing Discussion Posts

The third set of tips for the course beginnings focuses on the purpose and

effective use of discussion boards. One of the tips describes the characteristics of questions that elicit engagement, reflection, and community, followed by a tip on strategies for managing and evaluating discussion postings as one tool in assessing student learning. The last tip in the section

focuses on the faculty role in the threaded discussions and how the faculty

role changes over the phases of a course.

CB tip 10: the Why and How of Discussion Boards:

their Role in the online Course

This tip answers questions such as these:

• What kinds and types of learning goals are discussion forums good for?

• How many discussion questions should be posted in a course each

week?

• Are there guidelines or requirements for student responses to discussion questions?

• Are there any other digital tools, such as wikis and blogs, that can be

used for engaging in course discussions?

The purpose of discussion forums in online and blended learning is

similar to that for discussions in a face‐to‐face course, only much more so.

We like to think of discussion forums as the “campfire” around which

course community and bonding occur at the same time that learners are

engaging in content processing and knowledge development. Discussion

forums are threaded, meaning that learners post their comments and

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respond to one another in the same space, asynchronously over time.

Learners can see how thoughts develop, diverge, and converge while

determining what they believe or think.

This means that discussion forums are a valuable expressive space for

learners. Discussion forums are a place for learners to process, analyze,

and make connections among ideas. Sometimes a large percentage of

course activities are receptive or passive. Learners are reading, listening, or

watching. By contrast, discussion forums require learners to reflect on the

ideas in the content resources or the ideas expressed by other students, and

then to write about what they think, know, and reason. It is this cycle of

reading, reflecting, considering, and making connections that actually

changes the knowledge structure inside the learner’s brain.

Often it is only when students are responding to a question or to another

student’s ideas that they begin to know what they think or know—or, sometimes more important, what they don’t know. Discussion activities give students a way to describe how they are integrating incoming knowledge with their existing knowledge structures. The discussion boards provide time

and opportunity to explore and develop ideas collaboratively and recognize and build shared values. These expressive activities help crystallize students’ thoughts and increase confidence in what they think and why.

Bonk and Zhang (2008) discuss a similar cycle: read, reflect, display, and do.

Best Learning Goals for Discussion Boards

One distinction between online discussion questions and class discussion

questions is that the instructor plans out the discussion forums in more

detail with more specific goals in mind. Why is this important? Planning

questions in advance helps to ensure congruence with the desired performance goals, skills, and behaviors.

A good design strategy is to focus discussion questions on core concept

topics. The purpose of forums is for learners to develop awareness and

understanding of core concepts in contexts that are close and personal to

learners. Rather than asking questions for which answers are readily discovered, ask questions that can direct students to the application of concepts in various contexts.

Research (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000; Haskell, 2000; Donovan,

Bransford, & Pellegrino, 1999; Byrnes, 1996) suggests that learners do not

easily transfer knowledge from one setting to another. In other words, they

can be incredibly literal; this means problem‐solving in particular contexts,

particularly for novice learners, is invaluable. Research on developing

expertise also requires deliberate practice applied in many contexts

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(Ericsson, 2009). Discussions targeting core concepts help students build

knowledge frameworks around the core concepts and link this new knowledge to existing knowledge. In the process, they can also personalize and customize their learning. Keep in mind how unique learners are and how

each builds his or her own knowledge structures.

the number of Discussion Questions each Week

How many discussion questions should you put up each week? As with so

many things in life, it depends. It depends on whether the questions are

short answer essay questions that require students to apply core concepts

in relatively simple problem situations, or complex questions requiring

students to think deeply about what they can confirm, or problem‐solving

questions that require students to search out new information and develop

or work with scenarios. Also, some discussions will require students to

respond to and evaluate postings from the other students.

Another consideration is the number of other assignments and activities due in a particular week. For short‐answer essay questions seeking responses to readings or ideas, a general rule of thumb is no more than two

or three discussion questions each week if there are no other assignments

due at that time. For more complex questions, one or two discussion questions per week is probably realistic. For weeks when major projects or exams are scheduled, there may be no discussion questions requiring reading or research. In those weeks, students may use the general class posting areas for giving and receiving help on their projects.

Requirements for Student Responses

to Discussion Questions

Faculty also want to know when learners should post responses and how

often. In general, learners should be encouraged to post early in the week

to maximize the opportunity for peer and faculty response and dialogue.

For example, one strategy for short‐answer essay questions is for learners

to post a response to the question by midweek and then respond to the

posts of one or two peers in the latter part of the week.

Here are additional guidelines to share with students about their

responses to discussion questions.

• Postings should continue a conversation and provide hooks for additional continuous dialogue. For more ideas on encouraging substantive postings, see the Course Beginnings (CB) Tip 13 which encourages

learners to respond with answers to “What?” “Why?” and “What do I

wish I knew?”

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• Postings should be evenly distributed during the discussion forum

time, rather than concentrated on one day or at the beginning or end of

the discussion time.

• Postings should be a minimum of one short paragraph and a maximum

of two to three paragraphs for short‐answer essay questions.

• Postings that are limited to “I agree,” or “Great idea” are not specific

enough. If you agree or disagree with a posting, say why by supporting

your statement with concepts from the readings or by bringing in a

related example or experience.

• Address the question or topic as much as possible, keeping on topic and

not letting the discussion stray.

• Incorporate, where possible, quotations from the articles that support your

statements in the postings, and include the reference and page numbers.

• Recognize and respond to others’ responses to create threads of thought

in a discussion, showing how ideas are related and linked.

• Weave into your posting, where possible, related prior personal knowledge gained from experience, prior course work or work experience, discussions, and readings.

• When posting, use proper language, spelling, and grammar, similar to

the tone and manner of expression that you would use in a professional

environment. Refer to netiquette resources.

a Rule of thumb for the Length of Discussions

One week is the most common length of time for discussions, although a

discussion board or conference involving an external expert may be shorter.

Discussion boards with complex topics might be open or run for longer, up

to two weeks.

CB tip 11: Characteristics of Good Discussion Questions

This tip answers questions such as these:

• What are some basic do’s and don’ts for good questions for discussion forums?

• How do I develop good questions for discussion forums?

• Is using Bloom’s taxonomy of questions as a guide a good idea?

• Is it practical to use problem‐solving questions in discussion forums, or

are those better used in written assignments?

• What types of questions should be avoided on discussion boards?

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Getting Started on Developing Great Questions

This tip describes the characteristics of good questions for discussion

forums and provides many examples as inspirations.

Developing good questions for discussion forums takes practice. Often

the most important thing to do is to start and then refine questions over

time. Students themselves are good sources of feedback and questions.

Most importantly, good discussion forum questions are open‐ended and

exploratory. Open‐ended questions require learners to apply and integrate

information from multiple resources, including their own work or life

environments. Questions to be posted early in the course might focus on

how core concepts can be discerned within one’s particular work or life

experiences.

In a public health course, for example, questions might direct students

to research water or air quality in their local area. This requires learners to

develop skills in how to find the information they need and understand the

measures used to evaluate the air or water quality. The results of these

mini‐research questions can be shared with other students and used to create a regional or national map with those specific data points. In a course on leadership, learners can be asked to state their personal leadership philosophy along with the story of how it has evolved. Or learners can work in teams to develop an ideal philosophy statement with teams commenting

on one another’s final statements. A course on conflict scenarios can leverage personal experiences and have the benefit of rich contextual information.

Here are some additional starting guidelines:

• Good discussion questions are open‐ended and exploratory. They

require learners to “inquire within” about what they currently believe

and know and then to provide evidence to support their beliefs.

• Avoid objective, factual questions that have a single answer. Once one

student answers a question, there is not much left for anyone else to

contribute. If you do want discussion of core knowledge objective facts,

have students apply them in personal and local situations.

• Good discussion questions require understanding and use of core concepts, applying the new knowledge to varied scenarios, preferably researched and customized to learners’ interests.

• Factual questions can best be practiced in automated quizzes. For example, according to Peter Senge, factual knowledge in a course on organizational development might entail knowing that systems thinking is the fifth discipline that integrates the other four disciplines of any learning

organization: personal mastery, mental models, building a shared

vision, and team learning (Senge, 1990). Other examples might be the

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formulae in a math course, such as the area of a triangle, or the laws of

thermodynamics in a physics course.

Developing Questions using Bloom’s Cognitive taxonomy

The dilemmas about developing questions that faculty face often sound

something like this: “I have tried to use a range of questions, from those

that are very objective—such as definitions and core processes—to those

more complex, following Bloom’s taxonomy of the cognitive domain (1956)

and the revised cognitive taxonomy of Krathwohl (2002). But I am still

struggling to find the best balance for a question: one that elicits thoughtful

and substantive discussion without overwhelming the students. Is there a

set of guidelines somewhere?”

First of all, Bloom’s and Krathwohl’s revised taxonomy is an excellent

starting point for developing questions, as they provide a step‐by‐step process by which we build our knowledge structures. It is a useful sequence as we journey from a novice state to an expert state of knowledge. Here are

the five levels, from Krathwohl’s revised taxonomy that focuses on cognitive processes: remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and create.

The following is a description of three question categories linked to the five

levels of the taxonomy:

1. Factual content questions, which often represent multiple data elements and knowledge bits required for developing core concepts.

Remember that “concepts are more than words; they are organized and

intricate clusters of knowledge bits” (Vygotsky, 1978). Learning concepts is a complex multistage process.

2. Questions using the Socratic method, requiring students to inquire

within themselves.

3. Problem‐solving questions that intersect three areas: a learner’s zone of

proximal development, core concept development, and complex and

customized learning.

factual Questions

Factual questions are generally those with a known answer. This includes

short‐answer essay questions, such as the pros and cons of different leadership types. These are often straightforward questions and facts that are part of more complex concepts. Students can sometimes apply these

straightforward questions to their own experiences. These questions can

include basic principles, guidelines, and accepted practices. For these types

of questions, students can also be asked to identify or find ideas from

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relevant topic resources. A good way to ensure the learner’s attention to

these fundamental enablers is to use the quiz function within LMSs and

provide a low point value to a completion requirement.

Socratic Questions

Questions based on the Socratic method encourage students to go within

themselves and do the following: (1) clarify what is known to them,

(2) provide the assumptions behind their reasoning, and (3) provide the

data behind those assumptions (Paul & Elder, 2008). Here are some typical

clarifying questions that can be incorporated into discussion questions and

into question debriefings:

• What is your main point? And how is it related to x?

• What do you think is the main issue here?

• How does this relate to our discussion, problem, or issue?

• What do you think John meant by his remark? What did you understand John to mean? Jane, would you summarize in your own words what Roberto has said? Roberto, is that what you meant?

• Could you give me an example?

With these types of Socratic questions, learners often shift easily into

the roles of questioner, summarizer, and encourager. Much more on

Socratic questioning and the analysis and assessment of thinking is at

the Center for Critical Thinking and Moral Critique (http://www.

criticalthinking.org).

Problem‐Solving Questions

Problem‐solving experiences are generally good for the following

situations:

• Serious thinking about complex issues

• Customizing learning and making it relevant and meaningful

• Incorporating challenges from current events using multidimensional issues

• Getting learners involved and grappling with real‐world issues such as

access to water and technology

• Working on learner projects, either individual or group

Problem‐solving questions can range from relatively straightforward

scenarios in which the recommended strategies and solutions might be

known or well accepted, to very complex scenarios in which answers

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and solutions are not known and call for truly creative and innovative

thinking.

As faculty, we also get inspired and enthusiastic when we challenge

our students to work on questions for which there are no known answers

or strategies. Examples of problem‐solving questions for specific disciplines follow.

Discussion Questions on Core Concepts in a Course

A good design approach is to develop questions that incorporate or use

one or more core concepts. These discussion questions can map directly

back to the general and personal performance goals and learning outcomes of a course. These concept‐focused questions can provide opportunities for students to see how the core concepts reveal themselves in very different scenarios, researching and citing examples from real life. The

goal is to structure questions that lead students to think through the

applications of those core concepts, resulting in more transferable

knowledge.

The following are some brief examples of discussion questions focusing on core concepts.

Business case studies

• What types of marketing programs work best for small businesses? For

technology innovation companies?

• What are the different ways of translating a good idea into a

company?

Biology and genetics

• What if your doctor could choose medical treatments based on your

genetic makeup that are guaranteed to be effective?

History/environment/anatomy

• Students assume the role of an osteologist and are tasked with identifying the bones a farmer found in a field.

Microbiology

• Students attempt to cure a sick paramecium.

• Students analyze the crud from a field, shoe, or baseball.

Tech and society topics

• Feasibility of driverless cars

• Global climate change

• Recycling

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More Resources for Discussion Questions

One of the modern classics in using discussions for learning is Discussion as

a Way of Teaching (Brookfield & Preskill, 2005). Brookfield and Preskill have

found the following categorization of questions to be useful for starting

and maintaining momentum in discussions:

• Questions that ask for more evidence

• Questions that ask for clarification

• Open questions

• Linking or extension questions

• Hypothetical questions

• Cause‐and‐effect questions

• Summary and synthesis questions

Here are more ideas on all levels of questioning selected from a much

larger set developed for encouraging reasoning across the curriculum

(Peirce, 2001):

• Conduct brief opinion or thought polls related to course readings to

arouse interest in topics and assess and estimate students’ prior

knowledge.

• Create cognitive dissonance. Provoke discomfort, unsettle confirmed

notions, uncover misconceptions, inspire curiosity, and pose problems.

• Present activities that require considering opposing views.

• Assign a mediatory argument promoting a resolution acceptable to

both sides.

• Ask students to evaluate Internet resources.

• Ask students to reflect on their responses to the course content and on

their learning processes in private journals.

One of these strategies might be particularly well suited to your content and desired skills and behaviors and knowledge of your students.

Core assumption of Constructivism

In developing questions, keep in mind a core foundational assumption of

the constructivist educational philosophy: that we know the world through

our existing mental framework and bring in, transform, and interpret new

information as it fits into this framework. An “Aha!” insight experience can

shift and reshape areas of this knowledge base. This assumption highlights

how important it is for us and for students to think deeply about what we

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know or believe we know, because new knowledge is built on and integrated with what is already in our heads.

CB tip 12: Power Questioning for Meaningful Discussions

This tip answers questions such as these:

• How do I develop questions that encourage critical thinking?

• What kinds of questions stimulate learner curiosity?

This tip offers four questioning strategies with “thinking power” to

encourage more interesting discussions. These questions are derived

from the critical thinking work of Paul and Elder (2008) and from

research on increasing the quality of discussion in discussion forums

(Beuchot & Bullen, 2005; Baran & Correia, 2009; Hull & Saxon, 2009;

Brookfield, 2012; James & Brookfield, 2014). The set of questioning strategies is followed by three facilitation strategies for encouraging expansive discussion forums.

The research on dialogue and discussions is suggesting that we need to

pay greater attention to matching the content and learning purpose to the

types of questions and activities in discussion forums. See if one of these

questions or strategies might be a better fit for one of your discussion

forums, given your particular students and learning goals.

Power Questioning Strategies

Here are four power‐questioning strategies that you can use immediately

with only slight revision. These questions can refer to assigned readings,

videos, or recommended resources.

1. Ask students to provide evidence and justification of their thinking

from course readings or other relevant resources. For example, one of

the statements in your rubric might include some of the following

requirements: “Be sure to include evidence and justification in your

rationale. Evidence means quoting and citing relevant phrases or sentences. Then state how and why you agree or disagree with the author or with your peer.” Providing evidence and justifications encourages

accuracy in thinking.

2. Include questions on motivation and purpose. This means answering

questions such as “Why did x choose to do y?” You might ask, “Why

did Socrates choose to die rather than go into exile? What did he state

as his reasons? What else might he have chosen to do? What would you

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have chosen to do?” Questions on motivation and purpose encourage

clear and logical thinking.

3. Encourage reflection on actions and consequences of actions. For example, ask students to debate the short‐term and long‐term consequences of a leader’s decisions, or the consequences of the leader’s actions.

Questions on actions and consequences encourage breadth and depth

of thinking.

4. Encourage comparisons and contrasts with the thinking of peers. For

example, ask students to highlight how the perspectives of others differ

from or overlap with the perspectives of others. These types of questions encourage fairness and breadth of thinking.

facilitation Strategies for expansive Discussion forums

Depending on the characteristics of a concept or course topic, there may be

times when it is beneficial to have a discussion forum span a two‐week

timeframe.

Each of the following three facilitation strategies (Baran & Correia, 2009)

describes a multiphase design for a discussion topic. These longer discussion designs can provide more time for reflection and co‐construction of meaning that invites students to integrate multiple ideas and perspectives; they go beyond simple message‐posting to exploration and problem solution.

1. “Know, want, learn” structure

In the know, want, learn facilitation approach, the discussion leader, who

could be a student, selects a core topic, idea, or principle. Students are then

asked to reflect on this topic from three perspectives, in sequence, during

the discussion forum period. This is a framework that is best used for difficult and comprehensive concepts, because it requires tapping into what is already known and then using new data and information to integrate and

construct the concept.

In the first posting, which can be done at the end of a week’s cycle before

the formal forum begins, learners answer these kinds of questions:

• What do they or others think or know about a particular topic, philosophy, or person?

• How, when, or from whom did they acquire this knowledge?

• How have they used this knowledge in the past?

• What images and words come to them in their mind about this concept?

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The results of this first phase reveal what students think or know about

a topic before they do a lot of reading or research on the topic. This is a way

of learning, of discerning what students’ ZPDs are, what they are

ready to learn.

In the second posting, students focus on these kinds of questions:

• What do they want to know about the information, encouraging them to

specify the importance or rationale for wanting to know? For example,

they may want to know how to solve a particular problem, or what strate-

gies are recommended in certain areas. Getting to a specific question

almost always focuses the mind toward a specific action or response.

In the third posting, learners reflect on what they have learned after

completing the unit readings, or other resources. Learners post a comment

or reflection that might do one of the following:

• Describe how what they know has changed from the readings and

conversation.

• Share how the knowledge might impact future decisions, or actions.

• Consider what their next question might be as it relates to them

personally.

At this point, you may be asking, “Where does the interaction between

the students and sustained conversation happen?” In the first know posting, students can be encouraged to notice the sources of their knowledge information, the potential impact of such beliefs or knowledge, and how

that knowledge relates to other experiences or life demands. Students can

work individually or in teams to identify potential misconceptions, challenges, and knowledge sources. By the time of the third posting, on wha t they have learned, students might specify why the information is important to them, and how they expect or want to use the information.

2. Dream initiative strategy

This facilitation strategy invites students to go beyond the content and

beyond traditional thinking, to propose innovative solutions, raise challenging questions, search for inner goals, develop idealistic scenarios, and discuss ways to achieve them. Here are some example dream initiative

strategies. (Baran & Correia, 2009):

• A question from an instructional design course might be, “If you had

the opportunity to design and teach a dream course, or classroom lesson, “How would you go about implementing it at your institution?”

(Baran & Correia, 2009).

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• A dream question from a course on web technologies might be, “What

business app would you like to develop that would solve a pressing

daily problem?”

• A dream question from a course in basic philosophical questions might

be, “What philosophy would you like everyone to be guided by or base

their decisions on?”

3. Practice‐focused discussions

This facilitation strategy focuses discussions on examples of real‐life scenarios. With this strategy, the faculty member or student presents a case and students immerse themselves in the case, analyzing it from a number

of perspectives. Over the course of a discussion forum, students might be

asked questions such as the following:

• What other questions or data might be relevant to this case?

• Have you heard about or experienced cases that share some of these

characteristics or might have implications for this case?

• What actions are definitely not to be recommended?

• What actions might be recommended from your experiences or readings?

Discussion forum Research and Questions for Reflection

The research on discourse has many characteristics with implications for

designing conversations for discussion forums. An important design question to ask is whether we are using discussion forums for gathering evidence of learning or for stimulating thinking about issues and exploring more creative and innovative ideas (Dennen & Wieland, 2007). In the first

case of gathering evidence for grading, the discussion forum is a learning

product that we may want to use for individual evaluation. In the second

case, the message discourse may illuminate the process of thinking and

learning, revealing how students’ thinking evolves as they gather and

organize new information. It is the second case that is sometimes referred

to as the negotiation of meaning and co‐construction of knowledge.

Criteria for Rubrics

Researchers are making progress on clarifying issues that help us create

more substantive dialogue and discussion exchanges. Research by Nandi,

Hamilton, and Harland (2012) resulted in a framework for evaluating

interaction quality between students. This framework identifies eleven

posting criteria and suggests the characteristics of a poor, satisfactory,

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good, and excellent message or posting. You might find these criteria

helpful in creating or enhancing your rubric for discussion forums.

Asking questions

Answering questions

Providing justification

Clarification posts

Critical discussion of contributions

Ideas from interactions

Posting opinions

Providing feedback

Sharing knowledge and experiences

Relevance

Using social cues to engage other participants

CB tip 13: Response Posts—a three‐Part Structure

This tip answers these questions:

• What makes a good discussion post?

• How can post responses grow community?

• How can real conversation be sustained, avoiding routine turn‐taking?

Discussion Boards is Where Community Happens

The major question for this tip is what makes a good discussion post. As

has been suggested in other tips, the discussion forum is where we express

what we know and why, what we don’t know, and occasionally what we

wish we knew.

One of the authors of the Community of Inquiry model, D. Randy

Garrison of the University of Calgary, has observed that a key advantage of

online learning is that the interaction pattern of online courses tends to be

“group‐centered” rather than “authority‐centered.” This observation

encourages thinking about course behaviors at the level of groups rather

than individuals. In other words, we want to supplement learner‐centered

teaching with group‐centered teaching and occasionally focus attention on

how the group as a whole is moving toward key understandings.

Individual learners, of course, have important roles in community as

was suggested in Brown’s (2001) study. Each individual has responsibility

to “make the group and the learning happen” by (1) embracing the content

that is brought to the course, (2) integrating with their own knowledge,

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and then (3) creating and contributing ideas in a process of knowledge

creation and discovery. Community depends on each of the learners’ fulfilling these responsibilities.

Shift from turn‐taking to Reflective

and Developed Conversation

Garrison also observed that asynchronous online discussions allow time

for reflection and can usefully shift groups away from the frantic turn‐

taking atmosphere that often characterizes discussions. Thoughtful posts

and responses to posts can build on the thoughts and knowledge that the

learners bring to the conversation. It is this type of discussion post, thoughtful and reflective and building on what others have expressed or inquired about, that makes for good discussion posts. It is these types of posts that

create sustained conversation about important ideas.

Does this happen naturally? We don’t think so. As with most new types

of communication, effective use of tools requires practice and analysis.

Also, how many of us know how to have sustained conversation, responding to and building on others’ thoughts when we are face to face? How do we then encourage students to not just post what they believe, but to read

and “hear” what a fellow student is saying and to integrate those thoughts

with their existing thoughts and mental models?

This may mean that a faculty member needs to not only observe, monitor, and comment, but also to model and describe the process of how the content is being taken in, absorbed, and integrated. This may be an elusive

goal for many of us. So what is the answer?

Here are two suggestions for encouraging discussion posts that support sustained conversation and more community thinking.

three‐Part Post—What, Why, and What i Wish i Knew

When you have posted an open‐ended question that asks students for their

recommendations and ideas about a particular problem, challenge, or idea,

encourage them to create postings with these three parts.

• Part 1: State what your considered thought or recommendation might

be. In other words, answer the question, “What do you think?”

• Part 2: State why you think what you think. This is a good place for

learners to dig inside their heads, their experiences, their beliefs. It is a

good place for learners to provide references and links to experts,

events, or belief statements that share and support their thinking.

• Part 3: State what you wish you knew or what problem or challenge will

follow or result from the original question.

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CB tip 14: Discussion Wraps: a useful Cognitive Pattern

or a Collection of Discrete thoughts?

This tip answers questions such as these:

• How do you close out a weekly discussion? Do you summarize key

points? Restate a core concept? Highlight an innovative relationship

or pattern?

• Do you get your students involved in bringing a discussion to a close?

Closing or Wrapping up Discussions

These most recent tips have focused on how to make discussion forums

work well in engaging students, building knowledge, and nurturing community. Remember, the primary purposes of discussions are to gather evidence of learning and to stimulate thinking. This means that discussion forums play an important role in showing what students know and what

they think they know. Closing out discussions well is just as important if

not more so.

One question to ask yourself and your students is “What idea or

thought do you take forward from a week’s discussion of ideas?” Do the

weekly discussions often just end in a flurry of thoughts and ideas on the

last day of the week, with no clear outcomes, resolutions, or direction?

Envision having a conversation with a colleague: you are enthusiastically talking about how wonderful the last week’s discussion forum has been. Can you distill into one or two sentences what you believe your students are going to remember or think about or question from that discussion?

Here are two teaching practices for making discussions more memorable and useful in building knowledge.

1. Summarize the Key ideas from the Discussion forum

What are our minds doing when we are learning? Our minds are growing

by making new and stronger connections among the neurons in our brains.

We are identifying patterns, finding hidden relationships, delighting in

new insights, and pondering challenges and questions.

As students are discussing ideas in the weekly conversations, their

responses, perspectives, questions, and ideas tend to be broad‐ranging and

dispersed. Often, just as the conversation gets to the point of identifying

key challenges and interesting relationships emerging, the week ends and

a new topic begins. Often the students are left with questions such as these:

• What have I learned? What do I know now that I did not know before?

• Have I changed how I think about these ideas, or about this problem?

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• What is next? Are there actions that we should pursue at some point?

• Where has this conversation taken me? Taken our group?

• What are the new challenges ahead?

• What are the experts’ opinions on this question?

• What does our faculty leader think? Note: it is not important for students

to agree with their faculty leader, but it is important for students to know

their instructor’s thoughts as a representative of an expert in the field.

A summary of the week’s discussion forum helps to address some of

these questions and bring some closure or direction. This does not mean

having answers, but rather identifying the ideas to go forward and pruning to the essential concepts. We know from memory research that we remember very little of what we experience, with good reason (Damasio, 1999).

Continually searching for meaning and discarding irrelevant information

helps to grow an organized and useful knowledge base. Summarizing a

discussion is an opportunity to help the students focus and reflect on the

essential ideas and key concepts, to help isolate out key issues and develop

useful knowledge, rather than be left with vague recollections. Who should

prepare the summary wrap? When? And how long should it be? Some of

these questions are addressed next.

effective formats for Discussion Summaries

The discussion summary can take one of many formats. Here are a few

popular ones.

• Create a closing discussion forum labeled “summary,” “wrap‐up,” or

“key ideas” or labeled with a core concept for the week. These forums

will help students with course reviews. Faculty who teach a particular

course each term can create a template for reinforcing some of the core

concepts and then deftly weave in comments and observations from

current students.

• Create a separate summary document that captures the key postings of

the week, integrating these statements with the core concepts.

• Create a group summary by asking each student to identify the core

concept from the week’s discussion. The students’ concepts can be an

insight, challenge, relationship, pattern, or next step idea.

• Hold a live synchronous session with your students and review key

ideas from a unit of two to three weeks; then create a summary from

that activity.

• Have a summarizing discussion and review the concepts from the readings and comment on the discussion and conclusions that ensued.

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2. involve the Students in Wrapping up Discussions

Keep in mind that the creative process of preparing a summary from a week’s

discussion requires advanced thinking skills such as analysis, synthesis,

questioning, linking ideas, and identifying patterns. These are just the types

of critical thinking skills that we desire for our students. So finding ways for

students to do some of the summarizing is also an effective learning activity.

Summarizing as a Small Group activity

Summarizing a week’s worth of discussion ideas can be somewhat daunting

the first time around. This is where models and examples can be very useful.

To start this process you can model the first two or three examples of a discussion wrap. A next step can be to form teams of two students to develop future weekly wraps. This works particularly well in smaller graduate seminars.

The timing of the summary work is important, as it provides a transition and bridge to the next topic. So, if your students take on the role of summarizer, remember that your teaching or expert voice must be present

in the complementary steps of providing confirmation, affirmation, or

enhancement of the students’ summary. Your opinion is a key element of

the community summary from that week’s discussion work.

Wrap up

Summarizing work or guiding the development of discussion wraps is

part of your teaching presence. It is an effective way to use insights and

comments from your students and affirm your students’ intellectual

growth. Summarizing is also a major element of cognitive presence, as the

summaries pull together many discrete pieces of information into a cohesive and useful knowledge structure that each student is constructing. As you or your students create these summaries, you are likely to create new

knowledge as well. This is an engaging and exciting process.

CB tip 15: using Discussion forums to Gather evidence

of Learning

This tip answers questions such as these:

• How do I manage discussion postings so that everyone responds in a

timely manner with substantive comments?

• How do I support the students without squelching brainstorming ideas?

• How do I grade or evaluate discussions?

• How many points for a course should be allocated for discussion postings?

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Purpose of Discussion Postings

One of the benefits of the discussion forum being asynchronous and requiring every learner to post is that it encourages more learner‐to‐learner dialogue and encourages the instructor to “talk and tell” less. This means that discussion boards support the creation of teaching and learning communication patterns in which the instructor’s voice is more in the background, guiding, observing, challenging, and monitoring the discussions.

As has been noted earlier, reading, commenting on, and evaluating student postings all provide a window into a student’s knowledge structure.

A student’s conceptual development becomes very clear, sometimes wonderfully so and sometimes painfully so. But it is a way of seeing “mind‐to-mind” rather than simply “eyeball‐to‐eyeball.” Thus discussions in this

asynchronous and thought‐captured space in text or audio can be many

times more effective than a classroom discussion.

three Basic Communication Models

Three basic communication models built on the transactional distance theory (Moore, 2007) are seen in discussion forums. The first model is basic and quite straightforward: student‐to‐faculty and faculty‐to‐student

communication. In this model students respond to one or more questions

or tasks in the discussion forum, while the instructor reviews and analyzes

the responses and summarizes the major ideas or insights. This model can

seem quite familiar to an experienced classroom instructor who is coming

from the lecture model.

The second model is a communication pattern of learner‐to‐learner or

peer‐to‐peer communications. In this model, students read, respond, and

post responses to other students. This establishes communication strands in

which the faculty member is more of a coach and observer, ensuring that

students are on track and confirming what is going on, but not being in the

forefront. To maintain the teaching presence, the faculty member might question, comment, suggest links in wrapping up the discussion at the end of the week, or make comments on the discussion summary if students prepared it.

The learner‐to‐learner model can also be used by advanced and mature

online learners. In this model, students might work in teams to review,

analyze, and stimulate thinking. In this model students can also act as surrogate faculty, summarizing, monitoring, and tracking responses.

The third model is a self‐directed communication between a learner

and resources, as learners use any type of resource or tool or combination

of resources to teach themselves. The most common mode of learner to

resource is that of a learner to a book, article, or video. With the abundance

of YouTube videos showing how to do almost anything, learners can be

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very independent and then bring their new knowledge to the class

discussion forums.

Monitoring Discussion Boards

The design of discussion boards makes managing multiple themes and

ideas easy. The subject lines (topics or themes) of the discussions drive the

postings by the students and encourage exchange, analysis, and synthesis

of ideas. The design encourages a thought product, which can be text as

well as audio enriched with pictures, including links to other resources. If

a student wants to start a new conversation, or thread, it is a matter of

making a decision and clicking a button. All comments related to that

topic then flow under that topic heading. This threaded feature makes

sustained conversations over time possible and makes tracking, monitoring, and engaging in multiple conversation threads quite easy. The visual layout of the discussion forum is also helpful in providing a quick visual

look at how many students are participating and when. These features

encourage topic‐driven, multivoice discussions. Other tools such as blogs

and wikis share some of the characteristics of discussion boards, but these

tools may be better suited to individual or group reflection and in‐depth

thinking over a longer period of time. (For more about blogs and wikis,

see LM Tip 14.)

How to ensure Lively Participation

One way to ensure that students do not participate in discussions is to not

allocate any assessment points to discussion forums. To avoid this pitfall,

be sure to allocate points to discussion postings and participation. If you

are reluctant to assign points to the discussions, start by providing bonus

points for the discussions; however, we highly recommend that you move

quickly to the required mode. The minimum number of points for discussion board participation is about 15 percent, increasing to 35 percent, depending on the complexity and requirements of the postings.

allocating Points and using Rubrics for evaluating Postings

Table 6.3 presents a draft rubric for evaluating postings that you can adapt

to your teaching style and your content. A rubric is a scoring system set up

as a matrix with the two or three desired characteristics in the left‐hand

column and a three‐point scale for each of those desired characteristics in

the remaining three columns. In the Table 6.3 example, the rubric includes

measures of time (when and how often postings are posted), quantity

(a length appropriate to the discussion topic), and content (resource related,

Phase 1: Course Beginnings: Starting off on the Right Foot

165

taBLe 6.3

Draft Rubric for Discussion forum Postings

Desirable Characteristics

Poor: 1 point

Good: 2 points

excellent: 3 points

Timely and quantitative

One to two postings

Two to three postings

Three to four postings

discussion

per discussion;

per discussion;

per discussion; well

contributions

somewhat

postings distributed

distributed

distributed, with first

throughout the

throughout the

posting later

week, with first

week, with first

in the week.

posting occurring

posting midway

early in the week.

through week.

Responsiveness to

Postings had

Clear that readings were Very clear that

discussion;

questionable

understood and that

readings were

demonstration of

relationship to

concepts and insights

understood and

knowledge;

reading material or

were incorporated

ideas were

understanding gained

topic under

into responses.

incorporated well

from assigned reading

discussion, with little

into responses;

or no evidence of

postings continued

understanding.

the comments and

insights of

other learners.

Followed online protocols

Two to three online

Most online protocols

All online protocols

for clear communications;

protocols were not

were followed;

were followed;

correct grammar, spelling,

followed;

statements were

statements were

and understandable

organization unclear.

mostly organized

well organized

statement flow

and clear.

and clear.

thoughtful, and substantive) that factor into the points earned. Another

measure often used in rubrics is format, which includes adherence to

appropriate written English. Instructors often invite or assign students to

take a supportive monitoring role for some discussions, such as the role of

evaluator or summarizer with additional points.

For more ideas and hints about building rubrics, the section on discussion rubrics at the pedagogical repository at the University of Central Florida is a good starting point; you may also find the resources in the

Guide to Rating Critical and Integrative Thinking at the Washington State

University website useful.

Here are links to a few additional sample rubrics. Most are from a web

page—https://topr.online.ucf.edu/index.php/discussion_rubrics—at the

University of Central Florida; the last is in the cited article. You might find

using one of these rubrics as a starting point good for your needs.

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• Online Discussion Rubric—Farah Cato, instructor in UCF’s Department

of Writing and Rhetoric at the College of the Arts & Humanities. https://

topr.online.ucf.edu/index.php/file:cato_2110_discussion_rubric.pdf

• Online Discussion Rubric—Dr. Susan Wegmann, Professor of Education

and the Director of Program Development and Special Programs at the

Baptist College of Florida. https://topr.online.ucf.edu/index.php/

file:wegmann_online_disucssions_rubric.pdf

• Online Discussions Participation Rubric—Dr. Kelvin Thompson, Adjunct

Instructor in UCF’s College of Education and Human Performance.

http://ofcoursesonline.com/wp‐content/uploads/2011/11/weekly‐

online‐discussions‐rubric‐eme5050.pdf

• Online Discussion Rubric—IDL6543, Instructional Design Team, Center

for Distributed Learning, UCF. https://topr.online.ucf.edu/index.php/

File:IDL6543_Discussion_Rubric.pdf

• “Designing and Orchestrating Online Discussions” (Baker, 2011).

http://jolt.merlot.org/vol7no3/baker_0911.pdf

CB tip 16: feedback in Discussion Posts—How Soon, How Much,

and Wrapping up

This tip answers questions such as these:

• How do your students want feedback?

• When do your students want feedback?

• What are the three most important goals of feedback?

Most Pressing Questions about feedback

The most pressing questions about feedback usually revolve around how

and when to provide it for the discussion postings. Students in general

seem to desire more feedback earlier and more frequently. Yet striking a

balance between too much and too little feedback and presence can be difficult. Some faculty feel that jumping in too early with feedback dominates and skews the dialogue. Other faculty share that it is hard to know just

what to say when.

One important teaching goal is to provide enough reflecting and thinking time early in the week so that learners can think through what they think and why. Faculty often wish they could simply nod their head or say

“Keep going.” Or simply “Good.” And then invite another to comment. So

the question arises: how do we do that with our virtual presence tools?

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167

Here is a feedback model that corresponds to key time points in a discussion forum. This model builds in time for reflection and exploration while also acknowledging and encouraging thinking and sustained conversation.

a feedback Model for a Discussion forum: early, Middle,

and Late Points

In the early part of the discussion week your feedback goal might be just

simple acknowledgment: letting your students know that you are listening

and considering their thinking and the questions or difficulties that they

may be having in completing the readings or the postings. Simple acknowledgments let the students know you are present and that you are aware of what thinking and sharing is going on. This can mean feedback such as,

“Scott, thanks for getting us started this week,” or “Christina, thanks for

stating your position so clearly; you might also think about extending your

thinking to a similar or related pattern in X’s thinking,” or “Andrew, keep

thinking along these lines and also think about how this experience might

relate to x or y or to Scott’s thinking.”

As the week progresses, the goal of your feedback might expand to

encourage the students to be listening to each other, and to note similarities

or contrasts in the thinking or experiences of others. Your feedback at this

point is to gently channel or shape the learners’ thinking and their expression of that thinking. Remember that it is often effective to include requirements in your rubrics for learners to provide feedback to one another on their thinking. This helps to create a participatory sustained conversation,

rather than just turn‐taking of isolated unrelated postings. This is a good

time to question, challenge, or suggest patterns in a concept, with a link to

a current happening or event.

Providing significant “expert” feedback is probably best done later in

the week. At the same time, it is important not to wait so long that the

expert feedback does not serve to shape and channel thinking and provide

time for reflection and integration of the core concepts and significant

groundings. As always, it is the learner who must be doing the work of

thinking and integrating, and there must be time for this.

feedback to Wrap up a Discussion forum

One of the closing postings in the discussion forum should be from the

faculty member in his or her role as the course expert and facilitator. (See

CB Tip 14.) This post serves two purposes: to wrap up and summarize the

thinking and ideas generated by the group, and to provide a bridge and

transition to the next set of learning experiences.

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Value of Rubrics for feedback

Another very important tool for feedback in discussion postings is rubrics.

Rubrics are very efficient and effective. They are particularly valuable in

providing models of excellent postings and thereby communicating expectations. Remember that it is almost impossible to be too clear about expectations. While rubrics can initially take a little time to develop, they can then be readily modified for other assignments.

It is hard to overstate the value of rubrics in (1) codifying the criteria

and standards for an assignment, thus making grading easier; (2) communicating the academic and professional expectations of an assignment or project; and (3) providing a tool for self‐review and peer‐review. They can

range from a simple three‐point rubric for discussion postings to more

complex rubrics for projects and for emphasizing specific skills such as

critical or innovative thinking.

Summary: three Purposes of feedback

It is tempting to think of feedback primarily in the context of assessing or

grading. However, the purpose of feedback is more multidimensional. In

fact, the goal of feedback is to help learners grow in their knowledge and

their expertise, and is thus forward‐looking. Here is a three‐point summary of the purposes of feedback.

• Convey the sense of caring, relationship support, and “being there”

• Guide the development of skill, knowledge

• Guide metacognitive and lifelong learning competencies

For example, providing feedback on what is standard written English

shows that you care about and wish to support the student’s professional

competency. By encouraging self‐assessment and peer review, faculty can

help guide a student’s development as a skilled writer. By providing

resources for good writing and keeping expectations high, faculty can

encourage awareness and lifelong competency in writing.

CB tip 17: the faculty Role in Blended and online Courses

This tip answers questions such as these:

• What is the role of an instructor in an online or blended course? How do

I convey content without lecturing? How do I cover content?

• What is my role in the first weeks of a course, and how does it evolve

over the phases of a course?

A framework described by Conrad and Donaldson (2011) defines four

stages of faculty and learner roles throughout a course. Table 6.4 describes

Phase 1: Course Beginnings: Starting off on the Right Foot

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taBLe 6.4

Phases of engagement with activity Categories

Phase

instructor

Student Role

Process

activity

Role

Categories

1.

Connect

Social

Newcomer

Activities are

Icebreakers,

negotiator

(individual

interactive and allow

individual

student)

learners to become

introductions,

acquainted.

discussions re:

Instructor provides

community

expectations for

issues (such as

engagement and

netiquette)

orientation to the

course and keeps

learners on track on

a one‐to‐one basis.

2.

Commu nicate Structural

Peer partner

Instructor forms student Peer reviews,

engineer

(two‐student

dyads and provides

activity

pairing)

activities that require

critiques,

critical thinking,

pro‐and‐con

reflection, and

discussions

sharing of ideas.

3.

Collaborate

Facilitator

Team member

Groups of three to five

Content

(three‐ to

students form. Groups

discussion,

five‐member

collaborate, solve

role playing,

groups)

problems, and reflect

debates,

on experiences; also

jigsaws*

establish a group

contract on group

expectations, and

determine final

group project.

4.

Co‐Facilitate

Community

Initiator or

Activities are learner‐

Group

member/

partner

initiated or learner‐

presentations

subject

(continued

led. Learners direct

and authentic

matter

member of

discussion and

projects,

expert

same group)

facilitate interaction.

learner‐

Projects are

facilitated

developed

discussions

collaboratively with

instructor guidance.

*In a jigsaw activity, the content is broken into parts with each team member of a group responsible for learning one of the parts and then teaching it to the rest of the team (Sellers et al., 2007).

Source: Conrad and Donaldson (2011).

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the four stages. Notice that as learners become more actively engaged in

working the content, the instructor moves from more direct instruction

and interaction to participating and facilitating in activities as needed. As

students assume more independent and collaborative roles and responsibilities, a faculty member can step back from being the leader of the learning community to being a co‐community member.

Recall that one of the goals in faculty communication in any course is to

balance the three dialogues of faculty‐to‐learner, learner‐to‐learner, and

learner‐to‐resource dialogues. A campus classroom often has a high percentage of faculty‐to‐learner dialogue, with the faculty at the center of many classroom activities. One of the goals in increasingly learner‐ centered experiences is to move from a transmission‐of‐knowledge mode to a coaching-and‐mentoring mode. Increasingly, instructors are shifting to the role of a

coach, a mentor, and a director of learning. In that coaching role, instructors

help learners build, reshape, and extend their knowledge structures. When

instructors are talking, learners assume the role of listening, which is a less

active role than talking, writing, and discussing; more learning occurs when

learners are processing, writing, analyzing, and questioning.

One of our favorite stories is from an online instructor who was somewhat frustrated with what he perceived as sterile and almost pro forma postings on the discussion boards. Then he had a family emergency that

required him to be away for a few days. He told the students to continue

the class discussions while he assumed a less visible, but still affirming and

monitoring role during the week he needed to be away. To his surprise and

delight, the learning community that he had been striving to achieve

started to happen. The discussion postings took on a new vibrancy of intellectual inquiry and analysis. It is this level of involvement that you want to achieve in your course. As always, the value of a faculty’s presence and

confirmation of content accuracy and intellectual vigor cannot be overstated, but there must always be room for learners to step forward, take a stance, and be heard.

Guidelines

Here are a few simple guidelines for refining your decisions as to when to

be in the foreground and when to be in the background:

• Provide a virtual forum or space in your course site for learners to talk

to and help each other that is totally faculty free. Think in terms of a

social gathering place or a residence hall environment for your learners

to freely comment, wonder, and ask for help. If students want or need

your input, they can post it in the general course area.

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171

• Be specific about your role for each of the discussion board activities.

For example, for the getting‐acquainted discussion postings during

week one of a course, you might want to state that you will be reviewing these postings but not commenting on them until all have responded.

You might also encourage learners who post later in the week to share

or note common interests and experiences. In this way, you are building

in some natural grouping or processing of these postings. Later in the

course, for a more concept‐oriented discussion, it might be appropriate

for small groups of two or three learners to review or grade each other’s

postings according to the prepared rubrics. Your role would be to read

the reviews and summarize and comment on the evaluations completed

by the learners. This is often a good time to plan to comment on the

links, relationships, and applications as noted by the learners.

• At times, your appropriate role may be the active Socratic questioner on

a more complex topic requiring analysis and problem solving. In this

case you would be more of a facilitator, encouraging learners to search

within themselves for what they know and think. This means asking

questions such as, “What do you think is the main issue here?” and

“How does this relate to other core concepts?” With Socratic questioning, an instructor is present, asking questions but not proposing or suggesting the answers.

• Design some course activities where you are in the background, off

stage center, and students take over the role of questioner, summarizer,

and encourager.

Summary—and What’s next

The first few weeks of a course are time intensive. By the close of the first

weeks, everyone should be acquainted, engaging in conversations, and

interacting with the content resources and core concepts. It is time to stop

and breathe deeply and feel satisfied that you have gotten off to a good

start. In the next chapter we explore strategies that further community

growth and move learners forward in achieving the learning outcomes.

exercise and Reflection

If you are using this book for a course in faculty 2. Which of the tips stimulate your excitement that development, here are three activities to consider.

you want to use in your next course?

1. Identify two of the tips you are using now that 3. Which of the cognitive presence ideas would you have been very effective.

like to explore more deeply?

Chapter 7

Phase 2: Keeping the Ball

rolling in the early Middle

Congratulations! By the beginning of Phase 2, you have likely made a

very good start on launching your course, getting to know your students,

and engaging your students with the course content. Your teaching goals

during this early middle are twofold: ensuring that students are engaging

in activities that will help them achieve the learning outcomes, and sup-

porting your students’ project work. Another major goal during this time

is to nurture the growth of the course community, expanding learners’ con-

fidence in knowing and sharing course content with their peers.

tips for the early Middle

The early middle tips focus on three main topics: managing your course

well, ensuring the cognitive growth and presence of all learners, and strat-

egies and tools for building community.

The first set of tips, Managing Your Course, focuses on your role as a

manager, directing and supporting learners through the course experi-

ences. This set of tips answers questions about how and when to use basic

communications tools. It includes reminders of the tools that make track-

ing and mentoring students efficient and effective.

The second set of tips focuses on engagement with the course content.

These activities have the most direct impact on students’ learning out-

comes and performance goals for the course. The tips in this set describe

strategies for encouraging learners’ growth from problems they can handle

confidently at the beginning of a course and the problems they can handle

competently later in the course.

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Phase 2: Keeping the Ball Rolling in the Early Middle

173

The third set of tips focuses on the strategies and tools best suited for

the early stages of building community. These strategies describe ways to

promote peer interaction, including the use of small teaming and

peer review.

Here is a list of the early middle (EM) tips in this chapter.

Managing your Course

• EM Tip 1: Tools for Teaching Presence: E‐mails, Announcements, and

Discussion Forums

• EM Tip 2: Monitoring Student Progress Using Learning Management

Systems

• EM Tip 3: Early Feedback Loop from Learners to You

• EM Tip 4: Early Feedback Tools: Rubrics, Quizzes, and Peer Review

• EM Tip 5: Steps in Memory‐Making: What Teaching Behaviors Make a

Difference

• EM Tip 6: Tips for Making Your Grading Time Efficient and Formative

for Learners

• EM Tip 7: Dealing with Difficult Students—What Do You Do?

Building Cognitive Presence

• EM Tip 8: Building Cognitive Presence Using the Practical Inquiry

Model

• EM Tip 9: Core Concepts of a Course—Do You Know Yours?

• EM Tip 10: Designing Assessment Plans for Online and Blended Courses

• EM Tip 11: Three Best Assessment Practices

• EM Tip 12: Assignments that Tap into the Evaluating and Creating

Levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy

strategies and tools for Building Community

• EM Tip 13: Collaborating with Groups of Two or Three—Casual

Grouping

• EM Tip 14: Group Projects in Online Courses: Setting Up and

Structuring Groups

• EM Tip 15: Using Synchronous Collaboration Tools

• EM Tip 16: Using Audio and Video Resources to Create More Engaging

Learning Experiences

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Managing your Course

This set of tips focuses on your role as manager of the course teaching

and learning experiences. Paying attention to the engagement and pro-

gress of each of your students and contacting and encouraging them as

needed is essential. Students have higher expectations of support and

attention from instructors in online and blended courses than in more

traditional campus courses (Harris, Larrier, & Castano‐Bishop, 2011;

Bork & Rucks‐Ahidiana, 2012).

eM tip 1: tools for teaching Presence: e‐mails, announcements,

and Discussion Forums

This tip answers questions such as these:

• Will teaching an online or blended course require seemingly endless

hours of communicating by e‐mail and other social media?

• How can I manage my time well when teaching online and blended

courses?

• What course policies help manage learner expectations? Will I need to

be accessible twenty-four hours a day?

• When and how often should I use the announcement feature?

e‐mail, announcements, and Discussion Forums

Many questions about teaching online and blended courses deal with when

to use which communication tools for what. In this tip we consider four useful communication tools: e‐mail, announcements, texting, and discussion

forums. More questions will arise soon with social media tools. For exam-

ple, you may have questions about using Facebook and Twitter. One way

to help decide which current and future tools are good for what is to think

about the characteristics of these tools, how students use the tools, and

what you are hoping to achieve.

Here are a few simple rules of thumb. Keep in mind that these rules

may evolve as the technologies evolve.

• E‐mail and texting: If you absolutely must reach all students quickly and

without exception, e‐mail sent as text messages is a great choice. Texts

are push technologies, meaning that students do not have to actively

“go to” anywhere. A text message lands in the student’s mailbox on

whatever their favorite tool is: computer, smartphone, or tablets. If a

message is particularly urgent, repeat it in an announcement on the

course site. So in this case, it is not either/or, but both.

Phase 2: Keeping the Ball Rolling in the Early Middle

175

• Announcements: The announcement tool is good for general messages

and reminders, such as the following:

• General schedule reminders, such as holidays, assignments, and

project deadlines

• Reminders or descriptions about the week’s activities

• Announcements about special resources and events

• Reminders about general course processes, such as the importance of

making discussion postings early in the week

Be sure to keep announcements short, even Twitter‐short. Many stu-

dents send alerts and announcements to their smartphones and other

mobile devices, and long announcements can be unwieldy. If the announce-

ment refers to a longer message or resource, providing a link to that

resource is the way to create a welcoming, useful announcement. Also,

consider using the release features of announcements, which can be a time

saver and reminder for yourself as well.

The best tool for private and confidential one‐on‐one communication is

e‐mail. This is the tool of choice for providing individual feedback on

assignments or responding to personal questions. The telephone is also an

effective and convenient tool that we often neglect, and the free phone and

video applications such as Skype work very well. You may want to sched-

ule a phone meeting with a student when personal life events are imping-

ing on a student’s course work or if you need to discuss a particularly

sensitive issue, such as exceptionally poor‐quality work. Whenever the

message might come across as harsh or unfeeling without voice inflection,

use the phone.

What about using e‐mail for general course updates, answering ques-

tions, or shaping students’ responses to postings? This is where experience

comes into play, as these are the cases when the right answer is, “It all

depends.” Here are three considerations to help guide your choice of com-

munication tool.

• One primary teaching goal in the online environment is building a

learning community. This means creating an environment in which

ideas are shared, knowledge is created, and dialogues of one‐to‐many

and many‐to‐many are encouraged. With this goal in mind, the discus-

sion board, the announcement tool, or a dedicated faculty discussion

forum are first choices for answering questions. These postings become

part of the captured course resources and are always available. An early

teaching practice was to use e‐mail as a way of wrapping up discus-

sions, summarizing ideas, or touching on important current events.

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However, this practice separates this content from the course site and

thus is no longer recommended.

• A second goal is faculty efficiency. A good general rule is that any ques-

tion worth answering for one student is probably worth answering for

all of them. Much of the value of a teaching presence concerns the spi-

raling of content, relating ideas to previous revelations and possible

future contributions. As an expert, you can enlighten students with sub-

tleties and nuances that develop over time with many experiences.

Sharing these observations in the open space of the discussion forum

means the questions and responses are seen, if not read, by everyone.

• A third goal is to encourage peer‐to‐peer communication. Networking

is one element of a course learning community. Most course templates

create an open forum space for students to post questions. As appropri-

ate, you can establish a policy that students should first respond to each

other. Depending on the class and the students, this approach can work

very well, as students learn and confirm what they know and think by

responding to others, and it saves you time for responding to more dif-

ficult and challenging questions.

text Messaging, tweeting, and Whatever short Messaging

system is next

Text messaging has features similar to e‐mail or announcements in that it is

a push technology that goes out to all learners. The rapidly increasing use

of text messaging for informal conversations has become part of the cul-

ture; indeed, text messaging may already be getting old. Teenagers and

young adults in particular have embraced the near‐synchronous capabili-

ties of text messaging, chat tools, and Tweeting. While most knowledge

exchanges of any significant nature require more time and sophistication

than what is usually available with instant tools, such as the 140‐character

constraint (under pressure) for tweets, these tools can be useful for quick

questions and for setting up times and venues for longer discussions

or meetings.

The use of short messages of all kinds is emerging as a favorite tool of

daily life and thus can be a useful tool to support learning communica-

tions. In a study on the use of messaging in teen life, one subject, an under-

graduate teaching assistant, used text messaging to communicate the times

that he would be available for discussing computer programming prob-

lems with students (Grinter & Palen, 2002). The authors of the study noted

anecdotal evidence that faculty were using messaging to “field questions

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177

from students.” A Pew Internet study on smartphones (Smith & Page, 2015)

suggests that cell phones are now almost ubiquitous among older teenag-

ers; they are used by 85 percent of those 18 to 29, and 79 percent of those

30 to 49. This means that students are in almost constant contact with each

other—and that reaching students with important reminders is easier than

ever before.

Making a Choice

The most important guideline for which tool to use for a particular pur-

pose is that it depends on you and your students. The goal for communica-

tions in any course is to cultivate a sense of curiosity and a search for truth

and wisdom and to do it regularly and meaningfully, while being as acces-

sible as appropriate. Tools are just tools. Your student group as a whole

may have preferences. So adjust as you go, and consider the benefits of the

tools as they become mainstream.

eM tip 2: Monitoring student Progress using learning

Management systems

This tip answers these questions:

• What tracking and managing tools can help me monitor my students

efficiently?

• What types of questions should I ask myself about how my students

are doing?

Learning management systems (LMSs) provide a sophisticated set of

tools for tracking student engagement in course activities. Getting a quick

look at how your students are progressing gives you needed information

quickly and can help you determine whether any adaptive action might be

in order. This tip describes some of the features of LMSs that can be used to

track and evaluate student progress.

Monitoring student engagement and Progress

Monitoring student engagement and activities within LMSs is easy and

useful, but the systems can take time to learn. Time spent exploring and

using these systems helps develop good practices in getting to know your

students and in assessing their progress. These monitoring systems can

provide at‐a‐glance statistics about student access, grades, and discussion

board participation. Early warning tools allow you to set rules for expected

performance and to monitor students based on those rules. You can also

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retrieve reports showing the number of times and the dates on which each

student accessed individual course components, course content, discus-

sion forums, and assignments. Other tools offer a student‐centric view of

one student’s postings if you want to focus on one student in more depth.

In short, the tool makes it easy to answer, quickly and with little time or

mental effort, questions such as the following:

• Have all my students started accessing the course site regularly? (This

is particularly useful to know in the first ten days or so of a course.)

• Are all my students actively working on their course assignments?

• Has a particular student, Mario, begun accessing the course regularly?

How many days has it been since his last course access? Has he been

able to address his access and work schedule issues?

• How is Sharmayne doing with the required discussion postings? Do her

postings reflect increased sophistication and understanding over time?

(You can determine this by looking at a collective view of her postings

over time.)

• Is the class as a whole progressing on schedule for the course assign-

ments and check tests?

• Does the overall learner engagement picture for the course suggest the

need for any adjustments in the course in the next week? The next two

to three weeks?

If you are a Blackboard user, you’ll know the monitoring system mod-

ule as the Performance Dashboard. The Performance Dashboard can show

you a roster of your students showing the date of last access, the number of

days since last access for each student, how many items they have marked

as reviewed, and direct links to that student’s postings on the discussion

boards and the student’s grades in your gradebook. This feature can save

you time in watching your students’ progress and knowing how they are

doing both overall and individually. A tip sheet from Hunter College of the

City University of New York discusses these features in more detail.

(www.hunter.cuny.edu/it/blackboard/repository/files/blackboard‐9.1‐

documents/trackingstudentperformance.pdf).

eM tip 3: early Feedback loop from learners to you

This tip describes in more detail how to practice Best Practice 6: Ask for

Informal Feedback Early in the Term. It answers questions such as these:

• How early can I ask for some feedback from students?

• How formal or informal should this feedback be?

Phase 2: Keeping the Ball Rolling in the Early Middle

179

• What are some typically effective questions that seem to draw out

feedback?

• What should I do with the feedback?

Ten days into a fifteen‐week term, you may be wondering about your

students’ perceptions of how their course experience is going. A student’s

experience usually falls into one of three categories:

1. The content of the readings. (Are they enjoying the content? Do they

find it interesting, stimulating?)

2. The overall design of the course and the course requirements. (Is the

structure clear? Does it make sense to them? Are the course expecta-

tions realistic, doable, and personally enjoyable, despite the work

to be done?)

3. The communications from the faculty member. (Is the instructor respon-

sive, present, caring?)

Next, we discuss some ways to gather that information.

using a survey

Your institution may have survey tools at the ready for you to use; in fact,

a survey tool may be part of your course template. Surveys work best if

some of the questions are simple and direct. Providing for open‐ended

comments is also recommended and often leads to unexpected, and

enlightening comments. Here are some questions that you might want to

include in an early feedback survey ranked on a Likert‐scale of 1 to 5:

• I understand what the course requirements and assignment due

dates are.

• The instructor responds promptly to student questions and concerns.

• I have a clear idea how to make a substantive contribution to the weekly

discussion through my postings.

• I understand how the rubrics work.

• The weekly discussion questions posted by the instructor are stimulat-

ing and cause me to think about the content.

• I feel free to voice an opinion that my instructor may not agree with.

If your institution provides a prepared survey, you may want to mod-

ify it and make it shorter or longer to focus on getting feedback on a new

activity or process that you are using.

Many survey tools are readily available. Two of the survey tools listed

in the Top 100 Tools for 2015 by the Centre for Learning and Performance

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Technologies (http://c4lpt.co.uk) can be useful for early term feedback.

One is SurveyMonkey (www.surveymonkey.com), an online survey tool

that allows users to design surveys, collect responses, and analyze the

responses of their created surveys. Another survey tool in the 2015 list is

Quizlet (www.quizlet.com). This website provides learning tools for students, including flashcards, study and game modes. One other survey tool

to consider is PollDaddy (https://polldaddy.com).

using a Discussion Forum

Another way of getting early feedback is using a feedback forum that is

active for only a week. Ask students to comment on what process or activ-

ity has been working particularly well, changes they might suggest, or

questions they might have. Here are some sample stimulus questions for a

feedback forum. You probably want to pick the top two or three or four that

fit you, the course, and your students:

• Do you have any “just wondering” questions?

• Are the directions and expectations for the discussion forum clear?

• Are the course expectations and assignments clear?

• How intellectually stimulating and interesting are the selected readings

and resources so far?

• What communication tools do you use every day or almost every day?

Can students’ responses Be anonymous?

Students may or may not want to be identified with their responses.

Responses to survey items are generally automatically aggregated and

anonymous unless students choose to provide their names. Sometimes

allowing anonymous posting is an option you can select when creating a

new forum. Remind learners you are looking for constructive feedback

that is actionable.

Obviously the purpose for asking for feedback either early in the course

or after the course is to ensure that students are having a quality course

experience. An end‐of‐course questionnaire looks to the future; this early

feedback loop focuses on the present, making changes for the current

students.

A key element of feedback is closing the loop back to the students about

their comments and making any changes as a result. Sometimes students

suggest a different time or a different process for an activity. Small changes

in course activities that complement work and life schedules and goals can

Phase 2: Keeping the Ball Rolling in the Early Middle

181

make a difference in learning and overall satisfaction. Summarizing the

forum results, indicating what you will be changing or not, sends a signal

that you take their feedback seriously and are listening.

eM tip 4: early Feedback tools: rubrics, Quizzes, and

Peer review

This tip answers questions such as these:

• What are some good simple rubrics for discussion posts?

• How much individual feedback do I need to provide?

• Should discussion posts be worth any points for grading?

• Should rubrics be part of the original posting or assignment?

• How should I use quizzes? Should quizzes be worth points for grading?

• How can peer review help in the early phases of a course?

All students want to know how they are doing. Yet providing feedback

can be time‐consuming, making time management difficult. These two

competing goals can be balanced by using rubrics, quizzes, and peer review.

The basic rule of thumb regarding assigning points for discussion

forums or quizzes or peer review is this: If you feel it is important for stu-

dents to do, it is wise to have some points associated with the action or

behavior. Remember that online learners, although they are motivated for

learning, can be ruthless in doing only what is truly needed to satisfy

course requirements. Assigning points to discussion forums and peer

reviews is your way of telling the students that engagement and participa-

tion in these activities make a difference in learning and in building

relationships.

rubrics

As discussed in the tip on Managing and Evaluating Discussion Postings

(CB Tip 15), rubrics are very valuable in communicating expectations about

learning to students. We recommend using simple rubrics for discussion

forums. The primary goal of discussion forums is to generate interest, criti-

cal thinking, and engagement with the content and with each other. These

are the activities that support learning. Gathering evidence of learning

from the forums is secondary in most cases. Table 7.1 shows a very simple

zero to three (0–3) point rubric. This rubric can be part of the discussion

forum’s instructions, and students can even self‐grade themselves. With a

rubric such as this, you can focus on content references or comments in

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taBle 7.1

three‐Point rubric for evaluating Weekly Postings

1 point: Minimal response 2 points: Posting responds to the

3 points: Posting fully responds to

to the forum discussion

discussion or question but does

the question or discussion and

or question

not stimulate further class

stimulates at least one substantial

discussion

follow‐up posting

Source: Adapted from early postings on discussion board rubrics. This table and other rubrics are available at Illinois Valley Community College website. http://www2.ivcc.edu/eng1002/rubric_

online.htm.

taBle 7.2

rubric for Participation and levels of thinking

Points

Criterion

thinking levels

0 points

Minimum number of postings not met

Level I—Introduces problems or

poses questions

7 points

Minimum postings met; discussion at Level I thinking Level II may identify assumptions

8 points

Minimum postings met; at least one example of

Level III may draw conclusions

discussion above Level I thinking

“based on evidence”

9 points

Minimum postings met; at least one example of

Level IV may include expressing an

discussion above Level I and a second

opinion on the relevance of

above Level II

an argument

10 points

Minimum postings met; at least two examples of

Level V may propose solutions

discussion above Level I with at least one

above Level III

Source: Palloff and Pratt (2003, p. 91).

your feedback to students. Students often hold themselves to a higher

standard than the faculty member does.

Another example of an approach to assessing online discussion board

participation and levels of thinking is offered by Palloff and Pratt (2003) in

their book The Virtual Student. This rubric uses the quantity of postings

combined with a thinking measure (Table 7.2). Palloff and Pratt use five

levels for measuring critical thinking. For example, level I introduces prob-

lems or poses questions; level II may identify assumptions; level III may

draw conclusions based on evidence; level IV might include expressing an

opinion on the relevance of an argument; and level V might propose

solutions.

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183

Quizzes

The quiz tools in LMSs are excellent for keeping students on track,

increasing learning, and minimizing instructor time on grading. Quiz tools

are really robotic assistants for you. If you have been using quizzes of any

sort in your classes, it is usually a relatively straightforward task to move

those quizzes online. The quiz tools in most LMSs are sophisticated, and

once you have quizzes in the system, creating and setting them up is

quickly done. Of course, straightforward does not mean that it doesn’t

take any time.

What about issues of proctoring and ensuring that the students regis-

tered in the class are the ones who are actually taking the quizzes? Let’s

address each of these issues. First, most quizzes should be low stakes. This

means that they are worth points, but not many. Students are most likely to

cheat and find ways around doing the work if the point value of an assign-

ment is quite high, they are behind in their work, or they are finding the

work too difficult. Quiz questions usually focus on facts, discipline‐specific

knowledge, and core concepts. When unproctored online quizzes were

introduced in a very large lecture campus course, students commented that

they could find ways to cheat, but they really did need to know the material,

and the point value was not worth the trouble to get someone else to do it.

There are other strategies to encourage learning rather than cheating:

be clear about the purpose and content of the quizzes, set strict time limits

for the quizzes, and provide sufficient but low point value. Also, providing

students options to retake the quizzes for a higher point value can encour-

age the twin goals of competency and self‐competition. The goal is for all

students to do well. So the bottom‐line recommendations on quizzes are to

use them for important core concepts, factual knowledge, and beginning

concept applications; provide a low point value for completion; and let the

course management system do its work after you have done your work,

which is creating worthwhile and effective quizzes.

Peer review

One of the challenges in online learning is that we really don’t get a chance

to be in the same physical space with our fellow learners. The synchronous

tools at our disposal do reduce the distance for interacting, but it is not

quite the same. Peer review and consulting both encourage online learners

to work and learn with one another and have meaningful discussions with

one another. Early in the course, as students are getting acquainted and

establishing trust in one another, setting up learning tasks and experiences

that students can do jointly has many positive dimensions. Peer review

sets the tone that learning is a social and collaborative experience.

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eM tip 5: steps in Memory‐Making: What teaching Behaviors

Make a Difference

This tip answers questions such as these:

• What activities help students remember new and unfamiliar content?

• What activities encourage deep processing of content so that it becomes

useful knowledge?

• What are the steps in learning new content?

Do you know what actions of your teaching or cognitive presence make

a difference in what students learn? This tip suggests some behaviors that

can make a difference.

If you had to estimate the percentage of the key concepts in your course

that your learners integrate into useful knowledge, what would you say?

Do you think it is only 10 percent, 30 percent, 50 percent, or 80 percent?

How confident are you about your estimate?

Data on exactly what students master during a course is difficult to

obtain, but we do have a couple of data points. One data point is the sum-

mary data from a test on core physics concepts from students in fourteen

different traditional lecture‐based courses. This research suggests that the

mastery of core concepts from lecture‐based physics courses is consist-

ently about 30 percent or less (Hake, 1998, cited in Wieman, 2008). Are you

surprised that it is that high? Or surprised it is that low?

Does this mean that students’ memories aren’t working very well?

Would you agree with the Red Queen’s observation to Alice in Lewis

Carroll’s Through the Looking‐Glass, that we all have poor memories, par-

ticularly if they only work backward? Recall that the queen’s memory

worked both forward and backward. While that is a bit hard to get our

heads around, the truth is that our memories work in very specific ways

and not always best for our particular needs.

While this data is from students in lecture‐based courses, do you think

we would get similar results about concept mastery in online courses? As

we move forward in teaching online and blended courses we do want to

think about how memories work and consider how much of a course con-

tent it is important to commit to memory.

using a Memory Process Model to increase learning

This tip is about the steps in creating long‐term memories and a memory

process model to increase the percentage of learned concepts in our stu-

dents. This is the question for you: What change(s) might I make to the

Phase 2: Keeping the Ball Rolling in the Early Middle

185

learning experiences in my course to increase the likelihood that students

will integrate and apply core concepts?

a look at a Memory‐Making Process Model

How does memory work? Is it a one‐time event or a series of events? Here

are two useful definitions:

• Memory is the acquisition, storage, and retrieval of information

(Gleitman, Reisberg, & Gross, 2006).

• Memory is a linear process beginning with “sensory registration and

finally leading to the consolidation of some information into long‐term

and/or remote memories” (McLeod, 2007b). During the first stage—

acquisition—an event is perceived and information about it is initially

stored in our short‐term memory. In the second stage— storage or

retention—information is resident in long‐term memory. In the final

stage— retrieval— memory is searched and pertinent information is

retrieved and communicated.

So what does this mean? It definitely means that memory of a particu-

lar data item is not a one‐time event. It also means that reviewing, inter-

leaving (presenting a mix of problems), and practice is key to useful

acquisition of knowledge (Brown, Roediger, & McDaniel, 2014). Acqui-

sition of knowledge—whether declarative or procedural knowledge—

begins with a stimulus to our visual, auditory, or touching senses that

results in sensory registration or memory. If we don’t pay any attention to

the sensory input, it usually goes away. Moving the sensory data into

short‐term memory requires attention to the sensory inputs. Once the

data is in short‐term memory, we need to encode and organize the data

and move it into long‐term memory. This step results in the knowledge

being integrated and connected with other memories in long‐term mem-

ory (McLeod, 2007a; 2007b; Roediger, Dudai, & Fitzpatrick, 2007). Once

data is in long‐term memory it may or may not be available for retrieval,

depending on how much it is used. Figure 7.1 shows the steps in the mak-

ing of memories.

Note the approximate time for data to reside in sensory memory,

and then be encoded in short‐term memory and moved into long‐term

memory (Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1968). Since making memories takes time,

attention, and processing, it reinforces the need to build attention and

processing time for encoding core facts, concepts, and applications.

This research underscores the core learning principle that learning

takes time.

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Figure 7.1

steps and Processes in Memory‐Making

Attention

Encoding

Visual-

Iconic

Sound-

Short-term/

Sensory

Echoic

Working

Long-Term

Memory

Memory

Memory

1–3 secs

Sensory Stimuli

15–30 secs

1 sec - Lifetime

Touch-

Haptic

Retrieval

Steps in creating memories start from initial sensory stimuli that creates sensory memory.

In the next step the sensory memory is moved into short-term memory by virtue of attention.

The next step is encoding of the information into long-term memory for longer-term retrieval.

Source: This diagram adapted from Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) and Huitt (2003).

teaching strategies with the Memory‐Making Model

At this point, let’s return to one of the main questions for this tip. What

teaching strategies are important for mastery of concepts? We often design

our online courses on a weekly basis, setting up a weekly rhythm for the

course, mapping to the topics and modules within a course. Thinking

about memory as a linear process with at least three to five steps suggests

strategies such as the following:

• Structure the initial learning of core concepts into steps emphasizing

the sensory aspects of the learning, creating experiences that ensure

processing time for stimulus and sensory registration steps. This

approach supports the acquisition step, requiring attention to the stimuli.

• Ask questions such as, “What caught your eye? Had you heard or

talked about ideas such as these before?”

• Engage the learners with the concepts, helping them in making

connections and relationships to existing or earlier concepts. These

activities help to move knowledge into short‐term memory and to

organize and encode the information so that it moves into long‐term

memory, supporting the retention stage.

• Ask questions such as these:

• “Can you describe how these concepts might be linked or related to

other memories or knowledge that you have? What do you know

already that is similar or different from these ideas?”

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187

• “Do you see a pattern emerging in this data? Can you draw a map

with a fellow learner showing the relationship of these data?”

• “Is there anything that is confusing or strange about how these

ideas, processes, actions relate to each other? Are there cause‐effect

relationships here? Or other possible associations?”

• Consolidate ideas with opportunities for creative use of the concepts in

complex unstructured contexts

• Ask questions such as, “Can you reproduce, write, or describe what those

ideas mean to you?” This is a great use of the student blogs, by the way.

• Have the students apply the ideas in a simple to more complex sce-

nario, so they can see the application of the concept and its probable

relationship to earlier, similar concepts.

As an ongoing practice throughout the course, remind students and

yourself to refer to key concepts. Each time the concepts are applied or

discussed as occurring in other contexts helps to build a richer concept.

Can sleeping help the encoding of Memories?

Eons ago or so it seems, scientists vehemently rejected any possibility that

we might be able to learn as we sleep. It now appears that while we might

not learn new things while we sleep, sleeping is very important to learning

and memory. Researchers are still working on determining precisely how

the brain strengthens and enhances memories, but it appears certain that

“Sleep does something to improve memory that being awake does not do.”

Research seems to suggest that “Sleep makes memories stronger, and it

even appears to weed out irrelevant details and background information so

that only the important pieces remain” (Stickgold & Ellenbogen, 2008, p. 24).

This finding suggests that we can increase our mastery of concepts by

getting more sleep. That is a welcome finding for all of us. Imagine this

instruction to our students: Read the instructions on solving quadratic

equations, solve or work on two or three of these problems, and then take

a 20‐minute nap.

summary

Our memories work in complex ways. We are still learning exactly how

they work. But we do know that memory and learning take time with

repeated exposures and practice and a mix of problems. We also know that

our memories work more or less well most of the time, but that they don’t

always work the way we wish they might. And they definitely only work

backwards, unlike Carroll’s queen, who gets giddy from working with her

memories that go forward!

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eM tip 6: tips for Making your grading time efficient and

Formative for learners

This tip answers questions such as these:

• How can I make the most of my grading time?

• What are some assignments that make grading go smoothly?

• What kinds of feedback are more used, appreciated by learners?

On another planet in a galaxy far, far away, we might have lots of time

in which to read and review forum postings, provide feedback on project

proposals, and individually mentor and coach our students. Teachers with

a passion for teaching want to provide useful feedback and mentoring to

their students, but the reality is that time is scarce and limited. Here are

some ideas on assessing students’ work quickly and well.

First, keep in mind that there are different types of student work to

assess. Student work includes items such as (1) straightforward objective

tests that can be graded by LMS quiz robots, (2) slightly more complex

forum postings, (3) community participation, (4) shorter concept or reflec-

tion papers, and (5) multiphased projects.

This tip focuses on strategies and suggestions for grading concept or

reflection papers, blog sections, and various project segments, including

the proposals and final projects. First of all, be sure to use rubrics. Rubrics

generally guide students so that assignments come closer to meeting

expectations and thus are a more pleasant and rewarding experience

to assess.

Rubrics can help in three ways. First, rubrics set clear expectations and

standards. Second, learners can peer review each other’s proposals or

insight papers and provide feedback to each other before you read them.

Third, students can evaluate their own work with rubrics. Self‐evaluation

is an important skill that can become part of an assignment as well. Let’s

move on now to some tips that focus on the actual process of grading.

how to Make grading Pleasant, Fast and effective

In our efforts to put students first, we sometimes don’t make enough effort

to be good to ourselves. Here are a few practices to help you be good to

yourself while also doing a better job on grading.

• Set yourself up in a pleasant spot, perhaps with great music and some

treasured tea or coffee. Using a quiet place reduces distractions, and

working with full concentration saves a lot of time. Another benefit is

that you can think of grading as a pleasant experience.

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189

• Do an attitude adjustment on yourself, if need be. Rather than thinking

about how much work it is, think about how much you can learn about

your students during this time. This can be very satisfying in confirm-

ing or setting plans for subsequent teaching.

• Before grading any one paper, scan a few of the papers to get a sense of

how the students as a whole did. As appropriate, record a few of your

thoughts about how well the students seemed to be meeting the expec-

tations and standards of the assignment.

• Don’t start editing the papers. The purpose of reviewing and grading

papers is to provide feedback and help students improve their writ-

ing and to guide their learning. However, many faculty do find that

it is valuable to keep a record of common writing or expression errors

and suggest tools to support their improvement. This can be a list

that evolves over time as well as one specific to a particular

assignment.

• Once you have reviewed the papers as a whole, start reading/review-

ing and grading the papers using the assignment rubric. For example, if

the rubric calls for references or quotes to a reading or developing a

research question, you can provide x points on that particular dimen-

sion without the need to provide much detail. The detail more often

than not will be in the rubric.

• Set a time limit for each paper. Is this possible? Not always. But it helps

one to focus and be realistic.

• If you find a paper with particular difficulties, set it aside for a bit. The

goal is to provide students with ways to improve. Make any feedback

reasonable and doable.

• Include some self‐evaluation as part of each assignment. This self‐

evaluation can be in the form of a rubric, which might be a simple

checklist. See the example below.

The final step of your grading event should be the creation of a feed-

back statement to the students as to how they as a group did on the assign-

ment. The best time to do that is just as you finish the grading of the

papers. This consolidates your own understanding of how and what they

are learning, and possibly suggests follow‐up activities or changes. This

summary statement will probably include some insights and innovative

or challenging ideas from the student’s works. Another strategy is to pre-

pare this summary statement and then sleep on it, and review it before

posting it.

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a Checklist for students

Here is a checklist for students to complete and attach to their papers

(Walvoord & Anderson, 2009). Adapting it to any particular assignment

would be even more useful.

• I read the short story at least twice.

• I revised this paper at least once.

• I spent at least five hours on this paper.

• I started work on this paper at least three days ago.

• I have tried hard to do my best work on this paper.

• I proofread this paper at least twice for grammar, spelling, and punctua-

tion. I know that I cannot trust just using a spellchecker.

• I asked at least one other person to proofread the paper.

Another section has a few questions that you might ask yourself when

writing comments. Here is a sampling.

• What were the strengths in this piece of work? What were the

weaknesses?

• What stands out as memorable or interesting?

• Does the author provide sufficient evidence or argumentative support?

Another resource that you may want to explore is by B. G. Davis, author

of Tools for Teaching. An excerpt on grading practices is available at http://

facstaff.necc.mass.edu/wp‐content/uploads/2012/01/Grading_

Practices_Barbara_Gross_Davis_article.pdf.

One of the strategies that Davis recommends is to “consider allowing

students to choose among alternative assignments.” This suggestion is

similar to what we have encouraged as a way of customizing and personal-

izing learning. Davis suggests a contract approach to a course grade or

section of a course. She starts by developing a list of activities, with the

possible earned points based on the educational value, difficulty, and likely

amount of effort required. Students are told how many points are needed

for an A, a B, or a C, and they choose a combination of assignments that

meet the grade they desire for that portion of the course. Here are some

possible activities from that excerpt:

Writing a case study

Engaging in and reporting on a fieldwork experience

Leading a discussion panel

Serving on a discussion panel

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Keeping a journal or log of course‐related ideas

Writing up thoughtful evaluations of several lectures

Creating instructional materials for the course (study guides, exam

questions, or audiovisual materials) on a particular concept or

theme

Undertaking an original research project or research paper

Reviewing the current research literature on a course‐related topic

Keeping a reading log that includes brief abstracts of the readings and

comments, applications, and critiques

Conclusion

Making the best use of grading time means taking care of yourself in two

ways: Don’t go overboard with too much feedback, and create assignments

that mean that you are learning too.

eM tip 7: Dealing with Difficult students—What Do you Do?

This tip answers questions such as these:

• How do you handle students who are only marginally participating?

• What do you do when a student makes inappropriate posts to forums?

• What do you do when a student posts suggest serious underly-

ing problems?

There are several behaviors that can cause deep concern and worry for

online faculty, such as:

• Postings that elicit disquieting or uncomfortable feelings

• Off‐topic postings with little relevance to the learning assignment

• Chronically late postings or assignments

• Postings that are only minimally participatory

• Postings that suggest serious underlying problems of potential harm to

self or others

As a director of student services (Leister, 2014) observed in a personal

communication, “Difficult students can be disheartening for every-

one . . . and it is very important that instructors know they have the

support and backup from the entire student services team.”

What actions should instructors take in the face of such events? Are

there ways to discourage and prevent these behaviors? Is it possible to

create an environment that encourages positive focused learning?

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types of Difficult students

The literature (Braxton & Bayer, 2004; Bart, 2012; Sorcinelli, 2002; Sull, 2012)

on challenging behaviors of students describes student behaviors in cate-

gories such as disturbed, disrespectful, or difficult. Disturbed students are the most worrisome; they could be a danger to themselves or others.

Disrespectful students are those students who display rebellious, contrary,

or openly combative behavior, distracting other learners from the learning

experiences. Difficult students might best be described as time‐consuming,

annoying, or just plain worrisome. Difficult students do not fully engage in

the course experience, are frequently late with their work including their

postings, and do not interact or encourage support and learning with their

peers. They stall, make up excuses, and can take up a great deal of time

from an instructor.

A primary difference between disrespectful students and difficult stu-

dents is that the conduct of disrespectful students impacts the entire learn-

ing community, whereas difficult students primarily hurt their own

learning while also creating more work for the instructor. The lines blur, of

course, as both disrespectful and difficult students can cause distressing

ripple effects within a learning community.

unique Challenges of Difficult students

Much of the literature on difficult students describes troublesome behav-

iors of students in physical classrooms. In fact, many of the problems

encountered by faculty in online situations pale in comparison to the prob-

lems faculty might face in classrooms. In online courses, faculty don’t have

to worry about inappropriate behaviors such as arriving late, leaving early,

talking on cell phones, eating pizza, reading newspapers, or sending text

messages, or even unpleasant odors or inappropriate dress. In this respect,

what we can’t see while in virtual online synchronous or asynchronous

gatherings can be a real blessing!

In synchronous online gatherings when only the video of the person

talking is visible, uncivil or inappropriate behavior is neither seen nor (ide-

ally) heard. In fact, side conversations in the chat room are encouraged and

can support engagement by more than two or three students simultane-

ously. On the other hand, if students are trying to multitask their presence

and try to also read, write, or even parent during the online gathering, the

learning community eventually notices and is impacted by that partial

presence of their peers.

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Prevention is the Best and First strategy

As with any difficult human behaviors, the best strategy is prevention.

Prevention strategies generally consist of actions such as (1) clarifying

expectations up front with codes of conduct and appropriate learning

goals, (2) creating an environment that invites and rewards positive behav-

iors, and (3) modeling appropriate conduct and expectations (Tarr &

Lang, 2006, 2015). This means ensuring that course materials describe

expected rules of conduct for online and blended courses. And it means

that students review a code of conduct that includes netiquette, course

expectations, and descriptions of how to relate and interact with the

instructors and peers. Depending on the context and the level of student

experience, a forum where students state their expectations and recom-

mendations can be useful.

The diversity of students, particularly at the undergraduate level, can

make prevention difficult. One academic advisor (M. Barefoot, personal

communication, May 7, 2014) noted that while some students are really on

top of things, other students might have problems that are persistent and

deeply embedded.

how Can i recognize Disturbed students?

The following are some of student behaviors that suggest more serious

underlying problems that can benefit from professional counseling. These

types of behavior merit immediate attention.

• Discriminatory, abusive, or bullying language directed toward another

student, instructor, or staff member

• Obstruction or disruption of the teaching or learning experiences

• Negative or flaming postings that persist over time despite gentle or

not‐so‐gentle intervention

• Failure to respect the rights of others to express their viewpoints

• Out‐of‐context unusual, strange, or bizarre remarks

In many cases, the first step to take is to contact the student’s academic

advisor. Most universities have offices dedicated to responding and man-

aging these types of behaviors.

how Can i recognize Disrespectful students?

Disrespectful students can impair community cohesiveness and support in

an online course. A weak online course community detracts from effective

learning and the joy that we hope to cultivate in course experiences.

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Responding to these types of behaviors often requires a multistep

process. If the comments are particular inflammatory or distressing or sim-

ply merit deletion, an instructor has the right and probably should delete

the posting immediately and follow up privately by phone or e‐mail with

the offending student. This action can be handled between the instructor

and the student and may not need to go any further. As noted by M. Leister

(personal communication, April 10, 2014), “there is a fine line between

freedom of opinion and not being sensitive to the other students in the

class, and this is hard for some students to understand.” Most useful might

be her advice, “If it raises an eyebrow in the instructor we should probably

look at it. I would rather be safe than sorry.”

Students who have recently experienced traumatic or very challenging

life experiences may still be working through issues and processing all that

they have experienced. Their postings can sometimes cause concern and/

or discomfort in others. Such situations call for early and gentle interven-

tion to differentiate what is appropriate in a learning context from what is

appropriate in other types of group settings.

recognizing students with Difficult Behaviors

It’s an unusual course that doesn’t have one or two difficult students. These

students provide the most angst to themselves and the instructor and by

extension minimize the potential richness of the learning community.

The reasons why students might be difficult can vary considerably.

Students may have signed up for too many courses. They may feel unpre-

pared, outflanked, or overwhelmed. Family and work responsibilities may

have mushroomed unexpectedly or problems with their health may have

surfaced. Or the course turns out to be a poor match for what they expected.

Processes for Dealings with Difficult students

So what is one to do? Depending on the type of situation, here is a seven‐

step strategy for managing difficult and disrespectful students.

• Contact the student privately by phone or e‐mail or in person. It is

always best to act quickly, particularly if you have had to delete a post-

ing. Acting quickly helps to stop problems before they fester or escalate.

Acting quickly is also good for the community as a whole, as you rein-

force a code of conduct and expectations. It is good to err on the side of

encouraging and modeling good behavior.

• Describe the student’s behavior as explicitly as you can and its impact

on their learning success and that of others.

• Listen to the student’s perspective and response.

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• Discuss appropriate behavior and suggest helpful resources as

appropriate.

• Agree on next steps and consequences if the desired change is

not achieved.

• Summarize the conversation.

• Document the meeting or conversation.

• Set up a follow‐up conversation and checkpoint as appropriate.

(Adapted from Brian von Brunt as in Bart, 2012)

Some disturbed or very difficult students need to be encouraged to

meet with their advisor sooner rather than later. This is also the best route

for students who have serious underlying health or emotional problems or

who are displaying real problems with getting course work done.

More Preventive strategies in your hands

One of the more important prevention strategies for preventing incivilities

is creating a positive and supportive course community. We already men-

tioned one strategy, that of modeling the kinds of posting and interactions

that support learning and communicate a sense of caring to all the stu-

dents. Some of the other strategies suggested by Sorcinelli (2002) include

the following:

• Decrease anonymity by getting to know the students as individuals

with specific course goals and expectations. We do this through the use

of the social introductions and specific course goal setting in the early

weeks of the course.

• Engage students one‐on‐one so that each student feels as if they are

contributing to the overall learning of the course community. One way

of achieving this is for each student to be working on specific learning

goals that are of personal importance, but also useful to the overall

community.

• Encourage active learning. This reinforces the goal of having students

be personally responsible for their learning and engages their

creativity.

Building the Cognitive Presence

This set of tips describes strategies for continuing a strong focus on build-

ing cognitive presence—the process by which faculty and students work

on increasing knowledge and expertise in the content. The tips provide

more background on cognitive presence and discuss the need to keep a

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focus on the core concepts fundamental to course knowledge. Other tips

focus on assessment strategies and practices, and design practices to make

learning interesting and meaningful to the learner.

eM tip 8: Building Cognitive Presence using the Practical

inquiry Model

This tip answers questions such as these:

• What is cognitive presence?

• What are some of the behaviors that help to create the stages of cogni-

tive presence?

Presence—social, teaching, and cognitive—is fundamental to any

teaching and learning relationship. The most important presence for

knowledge creation is cognitive presence. As noted earlier, cognitive pres-

ence is “the extent to which the participants in any particular configuration

of a community of inquiry are able to construct meaning through sustained

communication” (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000, p. 89).

As research on the community of inquiry (COI) model has progressed,

the processes involved in creating cognitive presence and the stages of the

process have been further defined. Garrison and Vaughan (2008) offer a

definition of cognitive presence that includes four stages of a knowledge‐

building process: “a recursive process that encompasses states of puzzle-

ment, information exchange, connection of ideas and creation of concepts,

and the testing of the viability of solutions” (p. 22). They called this recur-

sive process the “practical inquiry model.”

Practical inquiry Model

Applying this practical inquiry model to knowledge‐building requires time.

And often, depending on the state of knowledge‐building on the part of

learners, only a partial process may be completed during a course. If we look

at knowledge‐building as a recursive process, what should we be doing in the

early middle phase of a course? Let’s answer this question by mapping

the four stages of the practical inquiry model to the four stages of a course.

Puzzlement Stage or Triggering Event

In the course beginnings, the focus may be on the initial set of questions

students have about the core concepts of the course. This set of questions

would include the personalized and customized questions developed by

the students.

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Exploration Stage

In the later weeks of course beginnings, continuing into the early middle,

the focus is on gathering information and exchange of ideas. We also like to

frame this stage as the initial and ongoing data‐gathering stage.

Integration Stage of Connecting Ideas and Theory‐Building

In the middle of a course, the work of cognitive presence might be connect-

ing and relating the ideas within the course framework, which includes

theory‐building and identifying patterns and relationships.

Resolution Stage through Problem‐Solving and Testing

The closing weeks are for theory‐testing, problem‐solving, and scenario‐

building. Figure 7.2 presents the practical inquiry model that graphically

shows its four stages (http://cde.athabascau.ca/coi_site/documents/

practicalinquiry.pdf).

using the Practical inquiry Model in a unit

Another way of applying this knowledge‐building process is to use the

four stages in a unit or module of a course. Use the puzzlement, explora-

tion, theory‐building, and problem‐testing cycle with simpler problems,

and complete a cycle in one or two weeks. This can build confidence in a

Figure 7.2

Practical inquiry Model

Deliberation

(Applicability)

Exploration

Integration

Perception

Conception

(Awareness)

Experience

(Ideas)

Triggering Event

Resolution

Action

(Practice)

Source: Garrison and Vaughan (2008).

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core concept while also teaching the process of problem‐solving and

knowledge‐building.

tools and Behaviors for Building Cognitive Presence

Knowledge‐building requires reflection, discussion, and confirmation of

meaning. This means going beyond repetition and awareness of ideas to an

understanding of relationships and confidence in issues. This also means

that deep processing and problem‐solving is to be favored over simple

conceptual awareness. Here are some behaviors that help to create and sus-

tain cognitive presence and learning growth by the learners:

• Faculty set high expectations for student inquiry.

• The faculty member examines student responses and probes, chal-

lenges, and questions, encouraging analysis of ideas and content.

• Learners participate thoughtfully in the discussions, responding to con-

tent and thoughts and questions from other learners so that a sustained

communication occurs.

• Faculty and students strive to ensure that project outcomes are long‐

lasting and meaningful.

striving for Cognitive Presence

Achieving cognitive presence requires significant and ongoing emphasis

on core concepts. In evaluating student responses, it is helpful to explicitly

refer to the states they may be experiencing, such as Garrison and Vaughan’s

puzzlement, information exchange, connection of ideas, creation of con-

cepts, and testing of the viability of solutions.

eM tip 9: Core Concepts of a Course—Do you Know yours?

This tip answers questions such as these:

• What exactly are core concepts?

• How do I identify the core concepts in my course?

• What is the difference between a core concept and a learning outcome?

• How do I reinforce and build core concept knowledge?

This tip returns to the topic of concepts. Have you identified the core

concepts of your course? Are you confident in your selection? Do your

course readings and assignments help your students develop their knowl-

edge and understanding of core concepts?

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It is generally assumed that faculty know what the core concepts of

their course—or discipline—are. Unfortunately, this is seldom the case.

Identifying core concepts, and then designing experiences for learners to

grow in their knowledge of them, is a complex design process that requires

digging deeply into the foundational thinking, beliefs, and models of our

disciplines.

A common question from faculty goes something like this: “I have

designed my course with the goal of helping my students achieve the

learning outcomes. What is the difference between a learning outcome and

a core concept?”

Let’s define our terms and see if that helps. A learning outcom e is a skill

or knowledge set that enables students to use knowledge well. A concept,

on the other hand, is a building block for learning outcomes. In most cases,

developing a skill requires learning concepts and then practicing applying

those concepts.

Two of the core learning principles—Principle 4: All learners do not need

to learn all course content; all learners do need to learn the core concepts and

Principle 7: Concepts are not words but organized and interconnected knowledge

clusters—provided a definition of concepts and a stage process (initial con-

cept awareness, concept formation, refinement, application, and revision)

for teaching concepts. This tip provides examples of core concept discov-

ery and application from two faculty.

a Concept is . . .

Let’s review the definition of a concept. Our personal favorite is Principle

7 expanded: “Concepts are more than words; they are organized and intri-

cate clusters of knowledge bits.”

It is easy to recognize when we experience “getting” a concept. It hap-

pens when we hear ourselves say, “Ah, it is all coming together” or “Now

it finally all makes sense. I see how this is all connected.” Cognition experts

refer to this as an “Aha!” experience. Detectives in mystery novels often

experience a related phenomenon, as a final piece of a puzzle falls into

place, and suddenly all the disparate, seemingly unrelated elements of a

case make sense. Similarly, although students entering a new discipline are

often overwhelmed with terms, examples, and unfamiliar expressions and

ideas, after multiple experiences with the content it all begins to come

together into a meaningful and useful knowledge set.

Memory researchers Roediger, Dudai, and Fitzpatrick (2007) define

concepts as “mental representations that encode sets of attributes that

describe real or imaginary classes of items, processes or relationships” (p. 2).

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This definition is helpful in affirming that a concept is a real object,

neurologically speaking, and providing examples of concepts.

The definition from Harvard psychologist Susan Carey (2009) is simi-

lar: “Concepts are units of thoughts, the constituents (building blocks) of

beliefs and theories.” Carey also suggests a possible categorization of con-

cepts as either sensory/perceptual, as in what things in the world look like,

feel like, sound like, smell like; or conceptual, as in those representations

that describe objects for which we have little sensory evidence, such as

electron, galaxy, and wisdom. Many of the concepts in courses fall into this second, nonsensory category.

Process of identifying Core Concepts

Identifying core concepts in your course requires stepping back and think-

ing critically about what skills the course is hoping to develop. While we

often do this when submitting courses for review by curriculum commit-

tee, the focus is usually on learning outcomes, and not as often on skills. To

illustrate how the process works, here are descriptions of interviews with

two faculty as they work through the process of identifying the core con-

cepts of their course.

experience of an information science Faculty

The first example is a course in information literacy for adult learners, or

using a library well in the twenty‐first century. This course focuses on

developing “information literacy skills for academic success and lifelong

learning.” As we talked about identifying the concepts in her course, the

faculty member (we will call her Dr. Search) noted that information literacy

is not a discipline but a skill. Given the absence of disciplinary content, we

shifted in our interview to talking about the core ideas behind the course-

work. This led Dr. Search to observe that one of the most important beliefs

that she works to develop in her students is that “research is an iterative

process.” Any research process involves proposing a question, identifying

potential big ideas, making changes based on the initial research, and refin-

ing one’s focus over time. She went on to say that developing research

skills requires knowing how to access, interpret, and evaluate information

and information resources. One of her teaching strategies involves each

student’s meeting with her to discuss and brainstorm their topic, and in the

process, to refine it. This discussion led to the realization that the research

process requires learners to think critically about information. Yet we did

not yet feel we had identified a core concept.

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201

We continued our discussion, wending our way through skills such

as problem‐solving, evaluating, interpreting, and ethical use of informa-

tion. These were all thinking skills. We challenged ourselves with the

question, “What is the core idea, big idea of the course?” We gradually

arrived at considering an important chapter in the textbook, called

“Lateral Thinking,” and there we paused. For under the skill of thinking

laterally is a very big idea, core to everything we do in research. That big

idea is that all information is linked to everything else. We felt as if we

had it. The following two core concepts probably link all the other aspects

of the course together:

• Research is an iterative process, requiring time, critical evaluation, and

caring about the information.

• All information and bodies of information are linked to others. What

may not appear to be relevant initially is often worth a second look.

Before moving on, Dr. Search wanted to share one of her assignments

that focus on evaluating information. In this assignment, students select an

urban legend and then search out and analyze information sources to dis-

cern the elements that may or may not be true. One of the critical questions

is, “How does the knowledge contribute to your project, if at all?” Students

enjoy this assignment and often suggest other urban legends or assump-

tions for analysis.

experience of a leadership Faculty

The second faculty member we interviewed taught a graduate foundation

course in leadership. Her pseudonym is Dr. Vision. In contrast to

Dr. Search’s course on information literacy, Dr. Vision’s course had the

entire field of leadership to examine for core concepts.

Learning outcomes are always a good place to start, so Dr. Vision talked

about what knowledge, skills, and abilities were important for her students

to develop.

Dr. Vision started discussing a leadership model called the Leadership

Diamond, developed by Peter Koestenbaum. This model introduces the

idea of one’s leadership capacity as defined by four leadership orienta-

tions: ethics, vision, courage, and reality. Roediger, Dudai, and Fitzpatrick

(2007) note that concepts are “products of mental models and theories.”

This suggests that the idea of one’s leadership capacity might be a core

concept, and part of that core concept is that it depends on those four

orientations.

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Dr. Vision shared that she and colleagues have struggled for years with

the task of identifying the core concepts of the field of leadership. In fact,

she commented that it is one of the oldest arguments in the discipline. Part

of the challenge, she explained, is that leadership is so ubiquitous. This led

us to posit that a working core concept for her course might be as follows:

“Leadership is a highly adaptive activity that manifests itself somewhat

uniquely in various human contexts.” This concept can serve as a linchpin

for examining the broad spectrum of leadership research, theories, case

studies, and models in disciplines as disparate as education, business,

communication, engineering, and science, to mention a few.

This concept provides a framework for a broad, encompassing view of

leadership. At the same time, going back to Koestenbaum’s model,

Dr. Vision noted a companion concept: Leadership, no matter how diverse,

shares certain elements. The elements that she focuses on are slightly dif-

ferent from Koestenbaum’s four—communication, vision, ethics, and

followership.

Conclusion

Time invested in identifying core concepts is time well spent in becoming

an expert teaching and learning professional in your discipline. As demon-

strated by the search for core concepts with Dr. Search and Dr. Vision, it can

serve you well in clarifying the goals and purposes of your teaching and

learning. After you have identified your core concepts, the next step is to

review your course design and assignments to ensure that your course

activities promote the learning and integration of these core concepts.

eM tip 10: Designing assessment Plans for online and

Blended Courses

This tip answers questions such as these:

• What does an assessment plan look like?

• Should discussion forum postings be part of my evaluation plan?

• When should learners start on their course projects?

• What are some guidelines for designing projects and tasks that really

matter to the learner?

Designing assessment Plans

Assessing our learners is a task critical to all teaching and learning experi-

ences, but all too often it is a task we like to avoid. We equate assessing

tasks as judging and tough decision‐making choices with potentially

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203

difficult consequences if students don’t agree. Assessing learners’ progress

can often mean reading lengthy papers, ranging from dreadful to inspir-

ing, or reading hundreds of forum postings. Is there a better way?

The focus of assessment in online learning often shifts from a set of two

or three proctored tests or quizzes to multiple assessment activities. The

most important of these activities are the creative projects, or what might

be called learner performance tasks. Some online courses are now totally

structured around the project that the students design and complete dur-

ing a course. These courses demonstrate an important shift toward an

apprenticeship model of learning and a focus on doing well in addition to

knowing well.

the assessment Plan

The assessment plan summarizes the points of assessment that generally

include four or more types of experiences for gathering evidence of learn-

ing. For example, most assessment plans will have points assigned to these

types of learning activities.

• Participation in discussion forums—the class conversation

• Automated, low‐stakes quizzes

• Individual projects that include the steps in the practical inquiry model

as well as communication of those ideas to others in a final product,

such as a paper, interview, report, podcast, or presentation

• Short essays, papers, or tasks such as moderation of forums

• Peer review and consulting projects of various sizes and purposes

a three‐step Process for Developing your

assessment Plan

Your assessment plan is an essential part of your course design, and the

easiest way to develop one is to go with your previous plan, simply updat-

ing the dates. But it is good to rethink your assessment plan on a regular

basis. Learners change, technologies change, and learning outcomes and

teaching strategies shift. Wiggins & McTighe (2005), authors of The

Understanding by Design Handbook, suggest a three‐step process for design-

ing or rethinking an assessment plan. These three steps are as follows:

1. Return to your course goals and prioritize the results that you want for

your learners. These desired results will probably include goals such as

the following:

• Developing enduring understandings or core concepts

• Knowing the framework and vocabulary of a discipline domain

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• Developing knowledge and use of the “exemplars of a discipline,”

which might include the most famous representative articles, cases

or theories

• Developing competencies in applying and using the core concepts

and key understandings

2. Determine the acceptable evidence with which the learners will demon-

strate their knowledge, understanding, and integration of each of the

top goals and results.

3. Design the series of course experiences, including assignments, to

ensure learner accomplishment of these understandings and the activi-

ties and experiences for demonstrating their learning.

This process can help ensure that your assessment plan supports an

integrated course design linking goals with experiences and with

assessments.

an assessment Plan that is Distributed and Continuous

Learners like to see the assessment plan in a table that gives a bird’s‐eye

view of the course experiences that require them to provide evidence of

their learning. Table 7.3 is an example of an assessment plan in this format.

A discussion of the various types of assessments follows.

taBle 7.3

assessment Plan

assessment Plan elements

Percent of grade

1

Automated quizzes and tests

10 to 20

2

Discussion forums participation and contribution

10 to 20

3

Discussion wrap/summary/other leadership work

5 to 15

4

Blog, journal, or wiki entries

5 to 15

5

Short concept papers, small team review

15 to 20

6

Project Phase 1 (plan/proposal/concept)

5 to 10

7

Project Phase 2 (resources, sections)

15 to 20

8

Project Phase 3 (paper, media, presentation for sharing)

20 to 30

9

Project Phase 4 (final submission)

20 to 30

note: Percentages in the right‐hand column total over 100%, as you will probably develop an assessment plan with only a subset of the listed elements.

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205

The value of using a variety of experiences means that assessing is done

over time and in some cases by automated robots—as in automated quiz-

zes and tests—and in some cases, in collaboration with peers.

Take note of the assessment points dealing with a course project. A

course project is best designed with a minimum of three or four milestones.

The first is a proposal that can be vetted and discussed by peers as well as

by the instructor. A second milestone captures some progress point in the

project, and a third milestone is a presentation, sharing or session with

other learners. In the example above, a fourth milestone is the submission

of the final evidence.

eM tip 11: three Best assessment Practices

This tip answers questions such as these:

• How can my assessment plan capture the competencies in the six levels

of Bloom’s taxonomy?

• How do I assess the core concepts of my course?

• How can I design an assessment plan that helps my students succeed?

This tip reviews three of many possible best practices in assessing stu-

dent learning. The last section of the tip suggests other resources to explore.

These three best practices range from simple recall assessment strate-

gies to complex and sophisticated knowledge creation. If you are creating

your first assessment plan, keep your assessment straightforward while

focusing on core concept development. Experienced online faculty might

be particularly interested in the ideas on expanding student choices for

course projects. These choices can include creating podcasts, webinars, talk

show interviews, wikis, and blogs.

Best Practice in assessment 1: assess across the six levels

of Cognitive skills of Bloom’s taxonomy

This best practice suggests framing your assessment plan with activities at

three levels: (1) facts and concepts, (2) simple “doing” applications, and

(3) more complex “creation” projects. These three levels are readily dis-

cernible in a course in math or biology. The first level of facts and concepts

requires learning core vocabulary, concepts, and discovery stories; the sec-

ond level generally includes hands‐on exercises with relatively simple

problems; and the third level is grappling with more complex problems,

even including those problems with no known answers.

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Bloom’s 1956 cognitive taxonomy and the updated version by

Anderson, Krathwohl, et al., in 2001 have six levels of cognitive processing.

One important difference between the two taxonomies is that the revised

taxonomy uses verbs rather than nouns to describe the cognitive process-

ing. A second important difference is that the top level in the revised tax-

onomy is creating, rather than evaluating. As we all enjoy the creative

process and usually the results of that creative process, this is a fitting

top‐level experience.

The updated taxonomy is illustrated in Figure 7.3. Reading from the

bottom up, the two foundation processes, remembering and understand-

ing, might be compared to the assessing of facts and concepts. The middle

process, applying might be compared to the simple “doing” applications,

which includes manipulating and working with content. The top processes,

analyzing, evaluating and creating, are involved when learners are plan-

ning and creating complex objects or course projects. These processes are

also in play when learners review the work of peers and respond with cri-

tiques or commentary.

The pyramid depiction of the six core cognitive processes also serves as

a good reminder that acquiring new skills requires a series of steps, and

each step involves developing links or making changes to our existing

knowledge base. Recall the discussions about concepts and that core con-

cepts are clusters of elements that require time and experiences to get

firmly in our neuronal structures.

How can you effectively assess the range of Bloom’s taxonomy? Here

are a few strategies.

Figure 7.3

Bloom’s Cognitive taxonomy updated by Krathwohl, 2002

Analyze

Evaluate

Create

Apply

Understand

Remember

Source: Anderson and Krathwohl et al. (Eds.) (2001).

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207

assess Facts and Concepts:

• Use the quiz function for basic vocabulary, discipline‐specific seminal

facts, concepts, ideas, quotes, story lore, or biographies. Story lore can

be part of learning when, where, how, and why a story became part of a

discipline’s history.

• Consider soliciting questions from each group of students or having a

Jeopardy‐like game contest.

• Develop a discussion forum assignment that encourages integration of

basic content knowledge with existing knowledge. You can encourage

this type of thinking by asking students why and how they know con-

tent or concepts and how they have used or will use the information in

the future.

assess with simple “Doing” tasks:

• Students enjoy “doing” rather than just listening, reading, or watching

content resources. So short assignments can be very effective and can

be assessed with simple rubrics and guidelines. Examples of short

assignments include evaluating web resources; doing research to find

similar, alternative, or comparative content ideas; and preparing short

reports/news reports, podcasts, or short blogs. These short assign-

ments can include elements such as sharing the tracking of how ideas

evolve and identifying links with others’ ideas. These types of assign-

ments require students to analyze, categorize ideas, and detect rela-

tionships and patterns. These are all examples of good middle layer

assessment activities.

• Individuals or small teams can also create graphical representations or

mind maps of important processes and then explain the processes with

current examples or objects.

assess with Complex “Creating” Projects:

• This level of assessment continues the theme that students enjoy “hands‐

on” activities that often include interaction with others. A major part of

online or blended assessment is often a course project. Projects can be

designed as individual, team, or group projects with appropriate modi-

fications. Course projects are examples of the higher level of analyzing,

evaluating and creating activities.

• Most course projects follow a traditional pattern of either a paper or a

report of some type. Today’s students enjoy alternative projects such as

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creating radio, television or YouTube videos, interviews, webinars, or

contributions to Wikipedia or course resource databases. For additional

ideas, explore the kinds of film projects that students create in the

Campus MovieFest (CMF), the world’s largest student film festival.

This project started in 2001 at Emory University with camcorders and

laptops in the hands of students. Their assignment: make a movie in

one week. Since that beginning more than 1 million students at colleges

and universities worldwide have “told their stories” via the big screen,

learning movie‐making skills such as writing, editing, and filming with

current software and technology tools.

• Higher‐level assessment projects generally require more sophisticated

assessment rubrics. Providing the rubrics in advance enables learners

to self‐assess and peer‐review along the creative path. The rubrics also

serve to remove some of the subjectivity out of the final grading. This

is particularly useful as projects become more personalized and

customized.

Best Practice in assessment 2: assess the Core Concepts in

your Course

This best practice requires thoughtful analysis of the course content. It is

essential to design recognizing that learners will learn and take away

only a limited amount of knowledge and skill from your course.

Determining your core concepts and then relentlessly focusing on them

from multiple perspectives is what drives student’s acquisition of those

core concepts. Reviewing just what those core concepts are and how the

course experiences and requirements assist the learners in achieving them

is part of the assessment design process. See if you can answer these three

questions:

1. What are the four, five, or at the most (probably) ten core concepts to

which you can link everything else in your course? Can you build a

concept map linking these core concepts and differentiate concepts

from methods, procedures, and categories? These concepts should

serve as a frame for the knowledge domain of your course and, possi-

bly, your discipline.

2. How do the course experiences assist the learners in making those core

concepts their own and integrating them into their knowledge base?

3. What assessment tools will you use to gather evidence of your students’

grasp and understanding of those concepts?

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209

Best Practice in assessment 3: help students succeed on

assessment tasks

This best practice is #8 in the set of ten recommendations in Best Practices in

Assessment from the American Psychological Association (APA) (Pusateri,

Halonen, Hill, & McCarthy, 2009). It is worth quoting in full.

Students will fare best in assessment activities when faculty make

expectations explicit, provide detailed instructions, and offer samples or

models of successful performance. They will benefit most with

opportunities to practice prior to assessment and when given detailed

feedback about the quality of their performance.

This best practice reminds us of the value of (1) explicit expectations,

(2) detailed instructions, and (3) samples and models of successful perfor-

mance for the assessment activities. This best practice also encourages pro-

viding opportunities for practice and detailed feedback. In other words,

the best assessment is ongoing, and embedded into the learning experi-

ences with no surprises. This means rubrics and feedback with multiple

reviews (self, peer, and expert). We want our learners to succeed.

Classic resources on assessment

Googling the term “assessment” is a sure fire way to be overwhelmed.

Here is a short set of annotated resources on assessing student learning as

starting points:

• This website Internet Resources for Higher Education Outcomes Assessment

is probably best described as the granddaddy of all assessment resources

on the net. It is hosted at www.assessmentcommons.org and currently contains about 1,600 links, including over 500 college and university

assessment sites.

• The most cited list of assessment principles is 9 Principles of Good Practice

for Assessing Student Learning. These principles were originally devel-

oped in 1992 under the auspices of the AAHE Assessment Forum, with

support from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education.

Authors of the principles include Alexander W. Astin, Trudy W. Banta,

K. Patricia Cross, Elaine El‐Khawas, Peter T. Ewell, Pat Hutchings,

Theodore J. Marchese, Kay M. McClenney, Marcia Mentkowski,

Margaret A. Miller, E. Thomas Moran, and Barbara D. Wright. (Note:

These assessment principles often combine principles assessing individ-

ual student learning within a course with principles assessing the learning

of student cohorts. The set of best practices listed next is a good comple-

ment to this set.)

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• The Assessment CyberGuide for Learning Goals and Outcomes (Pusateri,

Halonen, Hill, & McCarthy, 2009) is available at the APA website. A

brief listing of Best Practices in Assessment: Top 10 Task Force

Recommendations is on p. 4 of this guide.

eM tip 12: assignments for the evaluating and Creating levels

of Bloom’s taxonomy

This tip answers questions such as these:

• Why do students like assignments at the evaluating and creating levels

of the cognitive taxonomy?

• How can I design learning experiences that encourage the use of knowl-

edge as well as the acquisition of knowledge?

Designing learning experiences for learners to use knowledge as well

as acquire knowledge is somewhat of a challenge because such use‐of‐

knowledge tasks tend to be “messier.” Yet these are the levels of work that

most directly engage and absorb learners. Demanding cognitive levels

require learners to integrate knowledge from readings and discussions

with their existing knowledge and use this combined knowledge in check-

ing, judging, generating, planning, and creating, all higher level cross‐

functional skills.

A faculty member who favors the use of case studies in introductory

leadership courses shared his observation that learners get most engaged

when they make connections between the content knowledge and some of

their own life experiences. Students get excited and feel they are “making

new meaning” by making these connections. So how do we design these

more engaging learning experiences?

evaluating and Creating—Cognitive Processes

As you are designing your course, a good question to ask is, “How do I

envision my students using the knowledge they are hopefully acquiring

from the combination of resources and my expertise? Assignments that

embody the evaluating and creating processes are good steps toward effec-

tive knowledge use.

First, let’s take a closer look at differentiating evaluating and creating

experiences. The focus of evaluating experiences is on a process, product, or

design developed by someone else, including other learners; the focus of creating experiences is on a process, product, or design developed or being lived by the learner or learner group.

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211

What Does evaluating Demand of learners?

Evaluating is “making judgments based on criteria and standards.” For

evaluating experiences, the criteria can be identified or selected by the stu-

dent; in other cases, the criteria, such as professional standards of research

or practice, might be provided to students.

For historians there might be standards or criteria for assembling and

interpreting information; for scientists, learners might use the accepted

standards or criteria for experiments; and in business courses, learners

might be expected to apply standards and practices for pricing or market-

ing strategies.

Two cognitive processes frequently used in evaluating are checking

and judging. Examples might include experiences where learners are

expected to detect inconsistencies or fallacies or determine if a process has

internal consistency or is effective. Examples of judging or critiquing expe-

riences might be having learners judge the merits of a product or operation

based on specified criteria or judge the appropriateness of a procedure or

solution to a problem (Meyer, 2002). The essential element of evaluating

experiences is the use of standards or criteria. Fortunately, these standards

or criteria often map to the core concepts or essential learner outcomes.

More examples of checking experience might include these types of

activities:

• Check consistency of a leader’s behavior with stated beliefs

• Identify logical flaws; affirm logical consistencies of a scientist’s conclu-

sion following from data and research

• Check internal consistencies of reports, project plans, marketing plans,

mathematical solutions, plot lines, or crisis responses

Examples of critiquing experiences include these activities:

• Critique websites based on criteria, such as design, communication,

inclusivity

• Critique a CEO’s responsiveness and handling of crises

• Critique plans, solutions, or approaches to challenges such as change,

global business, local community development

• Critique podcasts or blogs on effectiveness of communications and suit-

ability for various audiences

example of evaluating assignment in a leadership Course

Another leadership faculty member whom we will call Dr. Holly shared

her evaluating assignment. This assignment asked learners to evaluate,

in a three‐page essay, one of their recent managers on qualities such

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as

effectiveness of leadership style, communication skills, managing

relationships, teaming, implementing strategic actions, political behaviors,

modeling organizational behaviors, articulating organizational mission

and vision, and lastly, valuing workers.

The instructions directed learners to provide examples of the manag-

er’s behaviors when assessing his/her effectiveness in those functions.

Dr. Holly emphasized that her learners often need to find common ground

before attempting this evaluating assignment and that she establishes that

common ground by means of shared experiences from the readings and

discussions in the first three to four weeks of the course. In particular,

Dr. Holly noted, learners need to learn how to suspend judgment and

become objective in applying standards of effectiveness.

What Does Creating Demand of learners?

Creating experiences includes three distinct cognitive processes: gener-

ating, planning, and producing. The generating phase is a divergent

phase in which the learners are hypothesizing and considering alterna-

tive solutions and strategies. This is the phase in which learners attempt

to understand the task and generate possibilities. In social science

experiences, learners might generate possible useful solutions for

social problems.

The second phase, planning, is a convergent phase in which learners

devise or select a solution method and prepare a plan of action. In math-

ematics, for example, learners might list the steps in solving known

problems, or the steps in approaching unknown problems. The third

phase of creating is the actual producing or constructing phase. In this

phase learners implement or execute their plan. For example, in a leader-

ship course, learners might complete their personal philosophy for

leadership.

examples of Creating Projects

Radio: Theater of the Mind, a course on old radio dramas led by Duke

University faculty member Daniel Foster, was very popular when ipods

were first available. Students listened to old radio dramas and then pro-

duced their own shows using existing scripts. This meant that students

experienced all the writing, editing, organizing, and audio production pro-

cesses of producing a radio drama show. The first cycles of the course then

created a website called Theatre of the Mind to share their creative work

(Varkey, 2006).

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213

Other evaluating and creating assignments often include students

serving as IT consultants, business consultants, or instructional designers,

or creating their own web businesses.

Creating Projects for Wikipedia. Other creating projects have focused on

discipline‐specific contributions to Wikipedia. Wikipedia welcomes school

and university projects as a way of adding new entries and enhancing exist-

ing ones. A website (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:School_

and_university_projects) describes current and past Wikipedia projects.

Some of the ongoing projects focus on some of the more than 1,000 related

psychology stubs. In a cognitive psychophysiology course at the University

of Illinois, students have been creating or editing pages covering major

event‐related brain potential (ERP) components used to study neural and

cognitive functioning since spring of 2010. Students at St. Charles

Community College, Cottleville, Missouri have been contributing to this

work since the summer of 2011. Another ongoing project started in spring

of 2012 focuses on entries related to attitudes and social cognition (University

of Kent, UK).

rubrics

Just as planning and designing these higher‐level experiences can be a

challenge, assessing these experiences can require more sophisticated

assessment rubrics. Here are three rubrics that you may find useful

• Student podcasting project: https://edorigami.wikispaces.com/file/

view/Publishing+-podcasting+rubric.pdf

• Validating information: http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/file/view/

validating+rubric.pdf

• Digital publishing, including blog entries, Wikipedia, and so on: http://

edorigami.wikispaces.com/file/view/digital+publishing+rubric.pdf

strategies and tools for Building Community

This set of tips focuses on strategies and tools for building community.

Building community is launched in the course beginnings, with a heavy

emphasis on social presence. During the early middle phase of a course the

focus shifts to building community while engaging in exploration and

research activities with the course content. The last tip in this set discusses

ways of easily adding rich audio and video resources and interaction to

your course.

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eM tip 13: Collaborating with groups of two or

three—Casual grouping

This tip answers questions such as these:

• When is a good time to start teaming and collaboration activities?

• What learning purposes and activities are good for small groups?

• What is the value of small teams of two or three in different types of

casual grouping strategies?

get started on teaming with Dyads and triads

One challenge faced by online learners is the lack of connections with other

learners. The getting‐acquainted forums in the first few days of a term are

good first steps in establishing trust and community. But then individual

readings and discussion postings soon lure learners back into their own

mobile caves. Given that learning is basically social, arising from our inter-

action with people and resources, how can we build more interaction into

our online courses?

Research on community‐building affirms that sharing goals and expe-

riences builds familiarity, closeness, and overall feelings of caring. Yet how

do we shift from the focus on the individual learner to support of groups,

teams, and the larger course community? In one of our webinars, partici-

pants almost universally agreed that both learners and faculty dislike and

avoid group work. So, what to do? Is there a way to take a step toward

capturing the documented learning power of social interaction?

Here are a few ideas on incorporating very small group work into your

courses. These ideas are low‐risk steps toward social learning experiences.

Try one or two and see how it goes.

start Casually!

One step toward grouping has a simple name: casual use (Fink, 2013).

Casual grouping is, by definition, unstructured and informal. It is a good

way to explore group learning, as it can be used almost spontaneously—

with little or no advance planning. This means that you can insert a casual

grouping experience into a course without having designed it into the

course from the beginning.

Using casual grouping early in the term can build on the first week’s

introductions. This keeps the momentum for building community going.

In the getting‐acquainted postings, learners speak to everyone in the class;

in casual grouping, learners have a chance to dig a little deeper into getting

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215

acquainted with one or two other learners. And these interactions can be

accomplished through e‐mails, texting, or meeting by phone or other

social media tools over coffee or tea. (See also Michaelsen, Sweet, &

Parmelee, 2008.)

three Casual grouping opportunities

Courses often begin with seminal readings introducing core concepts, big

ideas, and new perspectives. Casual grouping can be used to get the students

more involved with each other and with the core ideas in those readings.

• Buzz Groups. Buzz groups form for a specific purpose and then quickly

dissolve. Buzz groups in the first two or three weeks of a course might

meet to exchange ideas, opinions, or recommendations about a prob-

lem, position, or principle. After a brief conversation by phone, Skype,

or e‐mail in which learners discuss their reaction to, understanding of,

or puzzlement with a reading and how it might apply or be used by

them, they individually post their response to the discussion forum.

Their posting would include describing how their “buzz” dialogue

impacted their understanding or added perspective. Feedback from fac-

ulty and their fellow learners can then help to confirm, affirm, or ques-

tion. Buzz groups can also be used for spontaneous problem‐solving,

collaborative analysis, or review of reading assignments, or for presen-

tation practice. In intensive short courses, buzz groups can be a particu-

larly valuable avenue for learners to talk and share difficult or complex

ideas such as those posed in early philosophy texts.

• Peer Consulting Groups. Peer consulting groups are groups of two or

three learners who gather for brainstorming and discussion of an assign-

ment that involves evaluation, analysis, or creation of a work. Courses

designed around a project generally require a project proposal in the

first third of the course. Learners need to identify and then describe

their thinking about their course project in a brief 150‐ to 400‐word pro-

posal. Peer consulting groups share their proposal ideas and thoughts

at an early stage of conception and then again when the proposal is

almost ready for submission to the faculty member. The faculty member

then provides input and suggestions on this learner’s project, which has

already benefited from the thinking of two or three learners. Peer con-

sulting groups thus support individuals in the early design and con-

ceiving stages. Peer consulting can also be used for reviews of projects

at different project points. This strategy helps learners to think more

deeply about projects other than just their own and gain additional

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perspective on their own project. This happens naturally as learners

consider a wider audience. Faculty can share ideas and feedback on all

the projects with the larger group.

• Structured Controversy. In this strategy, pairs or triads of students

assume a position on a controversial issue and then must argue for that

position using data and evidence from core readings or other research

(Pimple, 2002). Many variants of this strategy are possible. Some of the

key benefits support critical thinking, as it requires identifying concrete

evidence and considering perspectives that might be antithetical to

one’s own.

Ways of Pairing or grouping learners

The process for setting up casual groups is best kept simple and transpar-

ent. For example, you can simply start with the first two or three learners

in alphabetical order and go from there. Or you can take the class list and

pair the first and third learner, the second and fourth, and so on. Another

approach is to use learners’ birthday months in sequence and pair learners

or group them in triads using that data. Another strategy is to use a for-

mula based on geography or first names. In the case of peer consulting

groups, some approach to grouping based on experiences and interest

might be appropriate and valuable. More on these approaches is addressed

in the next tip.

learning Power of groups

Small groups provide space and opportunity for learners to “talk” through

their thinking with someone else. Author Joan Didion has said, “I don’t

know what I think until I write it down” in her 1976 essay, Why I Write.

Something similar holds true for many learners: they don’t know what

they really think until they are asked to explain, with their own voice, what

they know and think—and why. Casual groups provide a safe environ-

ment to “talk” through what they might be thinking and test ideas.

eM tip 14: group Projects in online Courses: setting up and

structuring groups

This tip answers questions such as these:

• What processes work best for setting up groups?

• Should learners form groups on their own, or should groups be formed

around particular criteria matching the purpose of the learning

experience?

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217

This tip focuses on guidelines and suggestions for setting up groups,

suggested optimal group sizes, and recommendations for collaboration

tools during different stages of the projects. These suggestions can be

adapted to fit the smaller teams that are often used early in a course.

setting up group Projects

Setting up group projects in the online or blended environment is similar

to setting up groups in campus courses. The primary difference is that

online group projects depend more heavily on the maturity and self‐

direction of group members. Online groups can require more initial direc-

tion and less ongoing monitoring, but it is best to leave nothing to chance.

Here are a few suggestions on setting up projects.

group Project Directions and rubrics

The best projects begin with clear, explicit directions about the purpose of

the project and its relationship to core concepts and learning outcomes. The

detail for group projects can be quite lengthy, and a rubric is an essential

element of the assignment. If the group project is less complex, such as a

short discussion summary, the directions can be simpler, but a rubric is still

recommended.

Presenting directions for group projects in different formats can also be

helpful for students. For example, the group project directions in a syllabus

may be text based. For some projects, especially significant course projects,

a synchronous Q&A discussion can help students process and understand

the purpose of the project more fully.

Students find it helpful if information about project processes, resources,

and tools is included in the project directions. For example, students may

find process suggestions useful for different stages of project communica-

tions and presentations. For example, when starting a project, students

often find synchronous tools such as phone conferences and chats work

well, providing spontaneous brainstorming and problem solving; later

stages of a project, which can involve drafts and thoughtful analyses, can

often be best accomplished through discussion forums or shared online

collaboration spaces or online breakout rooms.

Criteria and Processes for setting up groups

The criteria and processes for setting up groups can be highly dependent

on your course content or program. Some cohort programs set up groups

at the beginning of a course and keep those groups intact for the full course;

other faculty prefer to vary the groups for different types of projects and

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learning experiences. If you have no experience or requirements to dictate

otherwise, we suggest the following:

• Don’t let students set up their groups themselves; they often do not

consider all the factors that make a good team.

• Let the course goals and purposes guide the formation of groups. Ask

yourself, “With what learning or skills do I want the students to emerge

from the group experience?” For example, learners might be grouped

according to their interest in developing skills for working with for‐

profit or nonprofit organizations or for working with retail or technical

organizations.

other Factors for setting up groups

Here are other potential factors to consider in setting up groups:

• Amount of content familiarity or expertise of students

• Types of professional contexts in which the students are working

• Types and number of roles the group needs

• Learner goals for the course experience

• Culture, gender, and age (it is often beneficial to mix these)

• Students’ online work habits

• Time zones where students are located

It is easy to forget about the impact of time zones and online work hab-

its on team projects. As it turns out, there is nothing more destructive to

online teamwork than having a team composed of both members who like

to work early in the week and members who prefer to work late in the

week. As part of the group setup process, you might ask each learner to

submit information similar to that in Exhibit 7.1 before you structure the

project teams.

additional Considerations for setting up groups

Depending on the purpose and context of the groups, you may want to

form groups of learners with mixed backgrounds and experiences. In other

situations it may be useful to form groups on the basis of similar

backgrounds.

Smaller groups of three or four learners generally seem to work better

than larger ones. The reasons are many, including working out the roles

and responsibilities for the project and arranging times and places to meet

to work on the project. A team of two can also be a good choice depending

Phase 2: Keeping the Ball Rolling in the Early Middle

219

exhiBit 7.1

group availability and Contact info

Enter your available hours for group work or study.

example:

sunday

sunday

Monday

tuesday Wednesday thursday Friday

saturday

John Doe Generally

After

Before

After 6 pm. 5:30‐7:30 5:30‐7:30

After

not available

6 pm.

3 p.m.

EST

pm EST

pm EST

10:00 a.m

for meetings

EST

EST

EST

Study Habits: I log on Wed‐Fri and generally make my group contributions on Friday.

Contact Info: 555‐123‐4567 (H) 555‐123‐4568 (w)

Preferences: I prefer text messages for initial contact; and then to work by phone, e-mail, and Google hangout or Skype

on the project or the assignment. Some of the roles and responsibilities of

team members are organizational, such as project manager, note taker, and

meeting manager. Other roles and responsibilities are those focused on

content, such as researcher, writer, thinker, or reflector. Obviously, in

smaller groups learners need to assume more than one role or task.

The purpose of groups is to increase the time and space available for

each learner to express his or her ideas and for you and other students to

hear the learner’s voice. Groups also, by their very nature, can produce

more content for review and feedback. It is extremely important for the

faculty member to stay involved with each of the groups and monitor and

mentor their activities and learning outcomes and products. Without the

instructor’s active involvement and feedback, learners can discuss topics

and possibly reach conclusions without adequate expert overview and

guidance. In a classroom, faculty float and walk around, checking on how

discussions are proceeding. This same type of overview and guidance is

essential to the online group experiences.

a note about Post‐Millennial students

We know that the Millennials—those born between roughly 1981 and

2000—enjoy doing, creating, and talking more than listening or reading.

They prefer rolling up their sleeves and immersing themselves in projects;

they like to find ways to complete learning requirements as quickly as pos-

sible without too much of what they refer to as hassle. We also know that

members of this same generation are more likely to chat, use Twitter, instant

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message, play games, and create their own profiles, blogs, and wikis

(Lenhart, Madden, Macgill, & Smith, 2007). The post‐Millennial students—

those born from around 2000 onward—have grown up with Google,

Wikipedia, and Wi‐Fi as an assumed part of their environment. With these

tools, they collaborate and share freely. This generation and future genera-

tions of online learners are comfortable with online spaces (they have

always been there) and social networking tools, but not necessarily with

using these tools and spaces for learning. A very useful resource for staying

current with the mindset of your students is the Mindset resource updated

each year (Nief, McBride, & Westerberg, 2015).

eM tip 15: using synchronous Collaboration tools

This tip answers questions such as these:

• Why should I design synchronous gatherings into my courses?

• Why do learners and faculty find these types of gatherings desirable?

• What tools should I use for synchronous meetings? Aren’t they expen-

sive and difficult to use?

• Do online learners avoid synchronous time commitments?

“Where are you now? And what are you doing and thinking?” “What

is happening where you are now?” This is often the opening line of our

social exchanges. We enjoy relationships that are synchronous, social, and

interactive. Online and blended learning is no exception. We want tools

that are flexible, engaging, affordable, and instantly available. Synchronous

collaboration environments support open dialogue, Q&A reviews, presen-

tations, and project work. Spontaneous collaboration also supports learn-

ing activities such as brainstorming, producing, and revising.

Synchronous gatherings support constructivist and social learning

strategies; they support as well the social, teaching, and cognitive pres-

ences that combine to make learning effective and satisfying. And they

support students’ desires to be socially active and related while learn-

ing. These are all good reasons to design synchronous gatherings into

your course.

Web Conferencing tools

Web conferencing tools for synchronous collaborative gatherings are still

in rapid change mode. Some of the tools frequently mentioned in higher

education circles include Blackboard Collaborate, WebEx, Adobe Connect,

and GoToMeeting. Some of these tools overlap with business applications

Phase 2: Keeping the Ball Rolling in the Early Middle

221

as well. For small team or group meetings, Skype and Google+ Hangout

are good options as they are free and widely available. However, when

considering a purchase of a web conferencing tool, it is always wise to

check web conferencing software websites for the latest and greatest fea-

tures and options. The web conferencing solutions that work best have

most of these very important features:

• Audio and video capabilities

• Document sharing capability

• Ability to archive and play back

• Mobile compatibility

• Real‐time polling capability

• Breakout rooms

Full‐function synchronous collaboration tools are invaluable for

teacher‐led gatherings and smaller group project gatherings, making pos-

sible the types of synchronous interchanges between teacher and learners

that we value so highly in face‐to‐face classrooms. Once again, teachers

and learners can discuss in real time, bringing real‐time spontaneity back

into teacher‐learner interactions.

Sara Cordell, a writing professor at the University of Illinois‐Springfield

who also teaches British Victorian literature, commented that she values

her online classroom for the real‐time give‐and‐take with her students

(J. Boettcher, personal communication, January 3, 2008). She added that the

synchronous environment provides a way of “pulling things together for

her students.” She noted that the synchronous online classroom saves her

time because she can talk through an essay; for example, discussing how

the argument and flow of a student’s essay works or not, and weighing the

thoughts of other students in real time. She commented that her students

have shared with her that they feel as if there is more of a “real person

teaching the class.” (More about how Cordell uses synchronous tools for

teaching is in an NPR interview in Abramson, 2007.)

Faculty often ask how students respond to the expectation of partici-

pating in synchronous events, particularly because one reason they are

taking an online course is for the flexibility. Anecdotal data gives us some

insight. Sara Cordell, for example, requires her literature and writing

students to participate in ten of thirteen live classes and to watch the

archives of the classes they miss, setting up a separate forum discussion

for those students. These classes also extend her day: she meets with her

students for between two and three hours, starting at 6:00 p.m. After

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using the live classroom for five terms, Cordell has concluded that

although students find it difficult to participate in the synchronous

events, they enjoy the real‐time spontaneity. Other faculty provide flexi-

bility by offering a choice of synchronous sessions or by making the syn-

chronous sessions optional.

Mixing and Matching for spontaneous and Customizable

instant Collaboration

Learners can mix and match the tools to create whatever type of collabora-

tion environment is needed at the time. In other words, they can create

their own customized synchronous environment—in a sense, their own

mobile ecosystem that fits their particular needs at the time. Learners can

set up collaborative environments in these ways:

• Using their cell phone text messaging and calendaring for setting

up meetings

• Using their phones and websites for initial brainstorming of projects,

determining roles and responsibilities, and setting up time lines with

calendaring applications

• Using group text chat and documents combined with phones for creat-

ing, planning, editing, and revising reports and other learning content

The only major constraint in setting up these mix‐and‐match environ-

ments is the need for relatively good and predictable network access and

relative quiet in physical spaces. Quiet is often hard to come by in popular

“offices” such as noisy bookstores, cafés, and other public meeting places.

Particularly as a 2014 report suggests that 30 percent of web conferencing

participants are using a mobile device and may well be multitasking

including driving, walking, or doing chores to participate in the conversa-

tion (Blue Jeans Network).

What is also promising about these tools is that they are currently either

free or free for education and are readily available on the Internet, resulting

in fewer demands on IT infrastructures. Learners can be more in control

and can reach out and be productive with other learners without much

preplanning, as schedules are often so unpredictable.

eM tip 16: using audio and Video resources to Create a More

engaging Course

This tip answers questions such as these:

• Why should I use audio and video resources and tools?

Phase 2: Keeping the Ball Rolling in the Early Middle

223

• How can I prepare audio and video segments for my online course?

(I find it difficult to create quality audio and video segments in a reason-

able time.)

• How do I find quality audio and video resources if I don’t have

much time?

• How long should podcasts or other media resources be?

You probably know that your students would enjoy using audio and

video resources in your course, but wonder just how to do it within your

time and energy limits. The good news is that it is easier than ever before—

filmmakers are making headlines by making movies with iPhones.

More specifically, consider the following:

• Audio adds personality, feeling, and tone to discussions and

comments.

• Using audio can save time. It takes less time to provide feedback with

your voice than to write the same feedback. This reason alone makes it

worthwhile to do it occasionally.

• Audio makes doing learner presentations and project reports much

more realistic. This means that students can practice the skills of real‐

time discussions, reporting, and presenting.

Keep in mind that audio, as any resource, can be overdone or used

inappropriately. In other words, using audio is not an opportunity for you

to think, “At last I can lecture online.” For great teaching and learning,

long, rambling lectures are definitely out; quality mini‐lectures, concept

introductions, dialogue, and interaction are in. Podcasts and audio intro-

ductions are best if they are brief. Most teaching and learning podcasts

range from three or four minutes to twenty minutes. There are exceptions,

of course. Professionally produced webcasts are often in the range of

forty-five to fifty minutes. YouTube videos and the TED Talk webcasts are

both great resources. These sites also provide many good and bad exam-

ples for students. When you are ready to make your own podcasts, you

may want to make a podcast that is three to five minutes long by using

your smartphone. Think of it as a video selfie.

strategies for getting started

There are two choices for getting started with media resources. The first

and easiest way is to use what someone else has created. The second

way is to create your own. Here are some virtually painless ways to

get started.

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using Published audio or Video resources

The easiest way to get started using audio and video in your course is to

find and use published audio and video resources. If you don’t have time

to search out quality resources, you can enlist students to do this. Here’s

how: Begin with a text reading. As part of the assignment, require that stu-

dents do some research to find an audio or video podcast or interview on

that topic. Your instructions to the student might go as follows:

“One of the topics that we will be studying over the next week is X. This

might mean a topic such as consumer markets in China, the

characteristics of leaders, the ethics of open software, or the pros and cons

of intellectual property. To support the ideas in your posting, find an

audio or video resource from a reputable reference discussing these issues.

Include the URL and a short description of the resource in your posting.

Then other students can review these resources as part of their response

to the postings.”

This is a good initial audio experience, as it means that you and your

students need to ensure that your personal learning devices work well

with audio and video.

add audio to your Biography and introductory Posting

Our voices are another dimension of our personality and part of getting to

know someone. Think about how CNN uses audio. When correspondents

are in far‐flung and sometimes dangerous places such as war zones they

use the correspondent’s picture in an inset with the audio, frequently

accompanied by a Google Earth shot of the terrain where the correspond-

ent is. So we hear the voice, and our mind almost fills in the missing video.

You can make a voice audio file with an app on your smartphone, usu-

ally with a format such as WAV or MP3, and e‐mail it to other devices. The

same processes work for creating your own podcasts and course

announcements.

As with learning any other new tool or application, use audio in non-

critical course elements as you develop confidence and introduce your stu-

dents to this way of bringing voice energy into your course.

use audio in Course announcements or for Discussion Feedback

Two other easy starting places for using audio are course announcements

and discussion board postings. Think of announcements as ways of talking

naturally with your students and giving them reminders of what’s next,

what might be happening in the world that is particularly relevant to their

course content, and schedule changes.

Phase 2: Keeping the Ball Rolling in the Early Middle

225

summary—and What’s next

We hope these tips for the early middle will prove useful and helpful. By

now, your learning community is growing and projects are planned, if not

already well under way. Your teaching presence has likely already started

a subtle further shift into more coaching, mentoring, and deeper question-

ing which is the focus of the next phase and chapter.

self‐Directed exercise/application

If you are using this book for a course in faculty address the most important areas of growth development, here are some questions and activities for yourself?

to consider. What are the priorities for the early

Develop a particular exercise for sharing in a

middle of your course? Is it content engagement, blog or journal entry or that you might share with developing questions, firming up course projects? Is your students as part of your teaching presence.

your community developing? Which of the tips

Chapter 8

Phase 3: Letting Go of Power

in the Late Middle

You are now at the halfway point of your course. By this time, you and

your students are likely well acquainted with each other from a social and

cognitive perspective. Your teaching presence is actively guiding individ-

ual and group learning goals.

In this chapter we expand on tips and strategies for deep learning with

questioning techniques, assessing growth, project coaching, and empow-

ering learners. These tips and strategies all support critical thinking and

effective problem‐solving within a given field, accompanied by “well‐

developed workplace competencies” (Business‐Higher Education Forum

[BHEF], 2013). Obviously all of these outcomes are achieved through an

entire program, rather than one course, but each course plays a role in the

larger mastery of knowledge and use.

Take time to enjoy the late middle of a course—this is the time for deep

thought, exploration, sorting out confusions, and grappling with the core

concepts and deep unanswered questions of your discipline. Students are

coming into their own in terms of developing content knowledge and pur-

suing creative projects. Students bring a host of new perspectives, relation-

ships, and patterns from other disciplines. This can be a stimulating time

for discipline insights and for novel approaches to traditional perspectives.

overview of Late Middle Tips

There are four sets of tips for this “letting go of the power” time. The first

set, Going Deeper: Leveraging the Power of Questions, explores how ques-

tions and students’ responses provide insights into what learners know

and what they think they know. These tips provide examples of probing

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227

questions for querying learners as to what they think and why they think

what they do. These techniques encourage peer‐to‐peer dialogue that sup-

ports creating community. Of all the skills developed for online teaching

and learning, effective questioning skill is one of the most important.

The second set of tips, Feedback for Cognitive Growth, offers sugges-

tions on providing feedback to learners. These tips provide guidelines and

hints on strategies for ensuring timely, efficient ongoing feedback to learn-

ers. Ongoing assessment ensures that you get to know your students as

individuals and thus minimizes the potential for cheating or other types of

fraud. As you become familiar with the manner of a student’s expression

and perspectives, you can detect any abnormalities in his or her work.

The third set of tips, Assessing Learning as You Go, describes ways of

enhancing assessment so that the evaluation of student work emphasizes

learning growth rather than judgment. The first tip in this set describes

strategies for personalizing and customizing learning and the power that

these strategies bring to learning. Other tips focus on the tasks of managing

and assessing an individual learner’s projects as well as group projects.

These tips complement the earlier ones on projects and include a rubric for

analyzing critical thinking and a set of best practices during project time.

The last set of tips, Community Empowerment and Social Networking,

brings together hints on using social networking tools such as blogs and

wikis for putting conversations into high gear.

Going Deeper: Leveraging the Power of Questions

• LM Tip 1: Questions and Answers: Upside Down and Inside Out

• LM Tip 2: Three Techniques for Making Your Students’ Knowledge

Visible

• LM Tip 3: Developing Rigor in Our Questioning: Eight Intellectual

Standards

• LM Tip 4: Moving Beyond Knowledge Integration to Defining Problems

and Finding Solutions

Feedback for Cognitive Growth

• LM Tip 5: “Are You Reading My Postings? Do You Know Who I Am?”

Simple Rules for Feedback in Online Learning

• LM Tip 6: Feedback on Assignments: Being Timely and Efficient

• LM TIP 7: Substantive Feedback: Doing It Wisely and Well

• LM Tip 8: A Rubric for Analyzing Critical Thinking

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assessing Learning as You Go

• LM Tip 9: Customizing and Personalizing Learning Projects

• LM Tip 10: Managing and Facilitating Group Projects

• LM Tip 11: Assessing Group Projects

• LM Tip 12: Four Effective Practices During Project Time

Community empowerment and Social networking

• LM Tip 13: Course Middles and Muddles: Souped‐Up Conversations

That Help Build Community

• LM TIP 14: Using Social Networking Techniques to Build a Learning

Community

• LM Tip 15: Experts: A Touch of Spice

Going Deeper: Leveraging the Power of Questions

These four tips expand on techniques and strategies for Socratic question-

ing and for involving students in creating questions.

LM Tip 1: Questions and answers: upside Down and Inside out

This tip answers questions such as these:

• What are alternatives to the questioning model in which instructors

pose questions that students answer?

• Why are students hesitant about asking questions?

• How can we make questioning more natural and more open?

Faculty ask questions and students answer questions. Then we know

what students know. Right? Well, maybe not. We may want to turn this

questioning model upside down and inside out. In the late middle of a

course, students have been working with the course content for some time.

You want to know the state of their concept development. Remember the

principle that concept development is not a one‐time event. Research into

concepts confirms that students build knowledge over time as a result of a

series of experiences. The likelihood that students will be familiar with and

conversant with key concepts from the first part of a course is generally

low (Hake, 1998, cited in Wieman, 2008). We know it is important to revisit,

discuss, review, and reference core concepts continually throughout

a course.

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229

One technique to determine how students’ concept development is

progressing is to probe each learner’s knowledge and skills by designing

activities that require students to ask questions. Questions reveal the struc-

ture of how and what they know. The downside is that they may ask ques-

tions that show they have acquired very little. They may also ask difficult

or complex questions that may lead the course conversation in unplanned

but needed directions. If that happens, it may mean shifting gears and

revising the course to meet students where they are.

Student Questioning: Inquiry as a reflection

of Knowledge

We often can’t move forward on a problem or learn something new until

we can specify what we don’t know. By stating what we don’t know, we are

creating a holding space within the structure of our knowledge base for

that new knowledge.

Consider the thinking processes for asking good questions. Learners

need to think, review what they know or what has just been discussed, and

identify what they don’t know or wonder about. Learners are often afraid

of asking questions, with good reason. A question reveals the structure—or

lack of structure—of existing knowledge, links, and relationships.

Answering factual questions, for example, is often a simple stimulus‐

response action, requiring little deep thought or analysis. More complex

questions, such as clarifying questions, require tapping into a learner’s

state of conceptual development and examining the links and relationships

that are either formed or beginning to form.

Discussion Forums for Student Questioning

The discussion forum is often used for questions to the students—for

example, “What do you know? What do you think you know? How do you

know what you know?” and “What is the basis for your knowledge, and

what are the relationships and data required for that knowledge?” We ask

students to analyze articles, news reports, websites, or podcasts. We

ask them to respond to statements and support what they know with refer-

ences and research. We ask them to research topics specific to their own

interest area or region. The students’ task is to answer, analyze, and sug-

gest possibilities and strategies for addressing the problem or scenario.

These types of discussion requirements are excellent and can stimulate

desirable sustained conversation and inquiry. But teachers and students

like a variety of experiences, so asking students to do the questioning is a

way to provide variety.

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Here are a few specific ideas for challenging students to come up with

tough questions. These activities can also be used as team activities. The

simpler activities could be dyad activities; the more complex activities

involving scenarios might be done with teams of three students:

• Play a variation of “Stump the Faculty Member” in which the learners

generate scenarios or questions for the faculty member, hoping to “stump”

the faculty member in their area of expertise. Another strategy is to have

an external expert participate in a discussion and be available for answer-

ing questions over a few days. This variation could culminate with a

“Stump the Expert” in an interview. Either of these experiences could be

a wrap‐up activity in a synchronous event using an online classroom.

• Post a statement, article, scenario, or video news clip on the discussion

forum, and ask students to generate a set of data‐gathering questions to

help address that situation, problem, or question.

• Create a discussion forum for capturing content problems or questions

that students have or are wondering about. Students can do research for

examples of such problems.

• Establish an open forum for a week. Have the students generate ques-

tions and problems related to the readings and challenge others to find

the answers.

• Encourage students to question the information they gain from their

research. Questions that should be encouraged include: “Who asserted

this? What are this person’s credentials? Who had the opportunity

to critique this idea? Who supports and who disagrees with it?”

(Bruckman, 2005, p. 36).

Using these strategies means you turn the tables on the questioning

model and encourage deeper thinking by the students. Questioning by stu-

dents can become a form of testing and evaluation; it can also build useful

critical thinking skills, inquiry skills, and cognitive inquisitiveness about

what it is we really do know and even how we came to know something.

LM Tip 2: Three Techniques for Making Your Students’

Knowledge Visible

This tip answers questions such as these:

• What are examples of questions that reveal a student’s state of knowledge?

• What types of questions show how students are linking new informa-

tion and core concepts to what they already know?

• How can I develop a questioning mindset in my students?

Phase 3: Letting Go of Power in the Late Middle

231

• What is concept mapping, and how might this technique make stu-

dents’ knowledge visible?

Getting to know your students’ state of knowledge and zones of proxi-

mal development is an essential part of the teaching process. Knowing

what your students know helps you to match their learning experiences to

appropriate growth experiences.

Here are three techniques that help stimulate learners to balance the

input experiences of reading, listening, and watching with output experi-

ences such as reflecting, questioning, exploring, and producing learning

products for you to observe and evaluate.

Technique 1: Interviewer‐expert Modeling

As part of a reading research or listening assignment, ask your students to

develop two or three questions to ask, as if they were preparing to inter-

view an expert, leader, fellow learners, or you. For example, what in your

career prepared you for your current role?

Developing questions requires the student to pause, reflect, and assimi-

late knowledge or content. An interview questioning activity can assign

the role of interviewer to some of your students and the role of expert to

others. The interviewers’ task is to develop the questions and post them to

the discussion board, and the “expert” students then have the task of

responding to the questions as best they can. If it makes sense, students can

switch roles for a follow‐up activity.

The questions that students ask and the student responses to questions

help you to observe how students are putting things together in their heads

and whether they are creating a useful and accessible body of knowledge.

These questions can also stimulate thinking about questions for which

additional research and study is needed.

Technique 2: Identifying Patterns, relationships,

and Linkages

Making new knowledge one’s own requires linking ideas and new incom-

ing knowledge to existing neurons in our physical brain and knowledge

structures. These knowledge‐integration processes include identification

of patterns and relationships, and differentiating the characteristics of one

item from another. Here are some questions that might elicit this type of

knowledge work in your students:

• What do the ideas in [a chapter, reading, discussion, podcast, or news

article] remind you of?

• What relationships are fundamental or inherent in these ideas?

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• What patterns, if any, are you observing?

• Are these patterns or relationships present in recent or significant past

events or experiences?

Technique 3: Identifying Insights

Part of being a lifelong learner is an awareness of how our minds work;

that is, an awareness of when insights happen and when we are aware of

discrete data elements and information pieces coming together. Here are a

couple of questions that can lead students to think about their own minds

and how learning happens.

• What insights or “Aha!” experiences have you had in the past week or so?

• What do you know or understand now that you did not have at your

intellectual readiness a few days ago?

Students’ responses to these questions and your affirmation of what

they observe can help students develop their metacognitive skills—one of

the goals recommended by the How People Learn research analysis

(Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000).

LM Tip 3: Developing rigor in our Questioning: eight

Intellectual Standards

This tip answers these questions:

• What are some intellectual standards that can guide the creating of

questions and the responses to those questions?

• Can I suggest that question responses focus on just one or two intellec-

tual standards?

• What are some learning activities that can make use of these intellectual

standards?

Are you stumped for ways to ensure that you are asking stimulating

and relevant questions? Would you like to have more confidence that your

questions help your students internalize the core concepts of your course?

Here is a way to tap into the power of Socratic questioning. This tip

describes a set of eight intellectual standards. Using these standards can

help raise the level of intellectual thought, clarity, and purpose in your

communications.

As you know from previous tips, concept formation is not a one‐time

event; it takes time, thought, and a series of exposures and uses. Systematic

Phase 3: Letting Go of Power in the Late Middle

233

questioning can serve as a framework for revealing the accuracy, breadth,

and depth of how learners are doing in their process of acquiring concepts.

If a concept is really core to a discipline, learners must approach that con-

cept from a number of directions. They must experience that concept in

virtual, simulated, or even hands‐on contexts if possible.

Concepts as Knowledge Clusters

Recall that concepts are more than words; they are “organized and intricate

clusters of knowledge bits.” This means that while we must often teach in

a linear fashion, building up concept information step by step, learners

need to experience concepts in the contexts of complex problems and case

studies. Effectively learning concepts—as we know from novice and expert

studies—requires a focus on patterns and relationships, not merely learn-

ing discrete facts or vocabulary.

What are some examples of core concepts? The next part of this tip pro-

vides three core concept examples and then lists eight characteristics of

intellectual rigor with sample questions.

Core Concept examples

Here are examples of three core concepts:

In the discipline of learning: Learning is growth that occurs with the

acquisition of new knowledge and experiences associated with that

knowledge. Growth can be observed by new behaviors.

In leadership studies: Leadership is rooted in a shared, well‐ articulated,

and worthy vision.

In biology: Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid that contains

the genetic instructions for the development and functioning of liv-

ing organisms.

Now let’s move on to the eight intellectual standards that you might

use to help learners to acquire these concepts.

rigor in Questioning: eight Intellectual Standards

Developing concepts requires thought and reasoning work by the learner,

similar to the processes used in solving problems, puzzles and in detective

work. These eight intellectual standards help ensure your learners are

developing the core concepts of your course. Each standard is followed by

a generic sample question and then an example of a question applied to a

core concept.

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These standards provide an explicit system to help achieve the power

of Socratic questioning.

1. Clarity

• A sample generic question for clarity might be: Can you give an

example or illustration of your idea?

• A sample of the clarity standard for the core concept of leadership

might be: Can you give an example of a leader who articulated a

vision well?

2. Precision

• A sample generic question for precision might be: Can you be more

specific about your concerns?

• A sample of the precision standard for the core concept of learning

might be: How can we best see evidence of growth in learning? What

are the some of the possible ways to evaluate learning that has

resulted in a change in behavior?

3. Accuracy

• A sample generic question for accuracy might be: What evidence do

you have that supports your statements? Is this evidence verifiable

and from a reliable source?

• A sample of the accuracy standard for the core concept of leadership

might be: Can you verify the sources and the time, place, and occur-

rence of the clearly stated vision?

4. Relevance

• A sample generic question for relevance might be: Can you explain

how your example, statement or story is connected to the current

issue? How is it relevant? What is its relationship to the issue at hand?

• A sample of the relevance standard for the core concept of biology

might be: How is the genetic information that resides in our DNA of

particular relevance today? What are the possible future impacts of

DNA processes shared by living organisms? How has our under-

standing of DNA as the genetic material enabled us to prevent cer-

tain birth defects and cancers? What are some possible future impacts

of genetic engineering of humans and other living organisms?

5. Depth

• A sample generic question for depth might be: What makes this con-

cept so complex? What are the components of the concept that must

come together?

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235

• A sample of the depth standard for the core concept of learning

might be: Why is learning so complex? What does learning interact

with that is internal to each individual? What is shared? What

is unique?

6. Breadth

• A sample generic question for breadth might be: What other points of

view should we consider?

• A sample of the breadth standard for the core concept of leadership

might be: What are other perspectives or consideration for the vision

of this leader? Are there ethical, economic, justice issues?

7. Logic

• A sample generic question for logic might be: Does the solution make

sense? What is the line of reasoning that brought you to this point?

• A sample of the logic standard for the core concept of biology

might be: What line of research substantiates the workings of the

genetic material and how it manifests itself in different living

organisms? Why were early researchers able to exclude proteins

as the carrier of genetic information? Why does a skin cell pro-

duce different proteins than a heart cell, even though they both

contain the same DNA?

8. Fairness

• A sample generic question for fairness might be: Who has vested

interest in these issues? What assumptions is an author making?

• A sample of the fairness standard for the core concept of learning

might be: Is merit pay based on test scores an appropriate measure

for K–12 teachers? Why or why not? What does this approach assume?

Background of the Set of eight Intellectual Standards

The set of eight intellectual standards described in this tip is just one of

many resources available at the website for the Foundation for Critical

Thinking (http://www.criticalthinking.org/). This site is sponsored by a cross‐disciplinary group promoting excellence in thinking. The many small

guides available from this group are rich resources for ideas on developing

critical thinking. These same resources can be useful in developing rubrics

for discussions, assignments, and general course dialogue.

The two primary authors of these materials are Richard Paul and Linda

Elder. Richard Paul was an internationally recognized authority on critical

thinking and founder of the Center for Critical Thinking at Sonoma State

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University. Linda Elder is president of the Foundation for Critical Thinking

and executive director of the Center for Critical Thinking. Other resources

include guides on Asking Essential Questions and a Guide to Scientific

Thinking. One resource— Thinking with Concepts—loops us back directly to

the question of how concepts are related to critical thinking. In the words

of Paul and Elder (2002):

“To become a proficient critical thinker, they (students) must become the

master of their own conceptualizations. They must develop the ability to

mentally ‘remove’ this or that concept from the things named by the

concept and try out alternative ideas, and alternative names.”

(paragraph 4)

This quote is a bit complex to process, as it is a cluster of concepts itself.

It reminds us that concepts are the building blocks of our thinking, and that

people who are successful at thinking critically need to be able to reshape

their concepts as new information becomes available. This can mean

“removing” and recalibrating our thoughts. For example, we do depend

on language and memory as tools for building concepts; but in addition,

culture is a significant influence on our concepts. Our concepts are steeped

in our culture and the society of our life experiences. Critical thinkers learn

to examine their concepts and identify the experiences that resulted in

those concepts and adjust accordingly.

using Intellectual Standards in Learning activities

Individual assignments might focus on one or two of the intellectual stand-

ards. For example, the assignment instructions might coach students in

analyzing one of their course readings and ferreting out the underlying

implicit concepts and assumptions. Here are some other examples of learn-

ing activities making use of these intellectual standards.

• Use a breadth (perspective) question in one or more initial discussion

postings to help ensure a broad look at the issues.

• Use precision or clarity questions when probing with follow‐up ques-

tions on discussion conversations and reading or writing assignments.

• Design a learning activity that requires students to use two or three of

these eight standards in an analysis of an assumption.

The practice of explicitly designing excellence in thinking into our

courses supports learners in developing explicit and implicit knowledge of

the standards and means for critical thinking. These eight standards—

clarity, precision, accuracy, relevance, depth, breadth, logic, and fairness—are

tools for faculty and learner inquiry. Using these standards is a means to

higher‐level thinking and effective critical analysis.

Phase 3: Letting Go of Power in the Late Middle

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LM Tip 4: Moving Beyond Knowledge Integration to Defining

Problems and Finding Solutions

This tip answers questions such as these:

• Getting students to formulate the problem space can be difficult. Are

there any models that help in defining problems?

• What are examples of good problem definitions?

• What are examples of effective problem resolution?

• Can learners arrive at a problem resolution during a course?

The early stages of the practical inquiry model by Garrison and

Vaughan (2008) focus on clarifying the issues and challenges of a domain,

and researching and exploring ideas. By the late middle of a course, it is

time to encourage more complex use of knowledge, including active and

creative use of the content to propose solutions and strategies.

A learner’s awareness of and exposure to the content knowledge has

expanded by the late middle, but the ability to use the knowledge in any

meaningful way may not be developing. New knowledge will be lasting

only if it is used. Defining problems—getting to one or more questions—

and then deciding on a way to approach them are steps three and four in

the practical inquiry model. As a reminder, the four steps in the model are

(1) the triggering event where the issue or problem is identified; (2) explor-

ing the problem and gathering relevant information; (3) making sense of

the data and defining some possible solutions; and (4) testing the possible

solutions. These steps help develop students’ critical thinking and problem‐

solving skills and provide rich opportunities for mentoring by the fac-

ulty member.

Defining Problems and Deciding on resolution Strategies

It is helpful to recall that the underlying process of all learning is growth

(Dewey, 1916). Part of the learning process requires identifying areas of

dissonance and inconsistency in content resources. As noted in the tip on

intellectual standards (LM Tip 3), it is essential to identify dissonance and

inconsistency in learners’ own beliefs as well.

The process of identifying areas of dissonance can be difficult. A study

that defined cognitive actions and behaviors in problem formulation and

resolution is helpful. Murphy and Manzanares (2006) identified a set of

nineteen behaviors that can be used in defining and formulating problems

and working on finding a resolution. Eleven of the behaviors focused on

formulating problem statements, and eight of the behaviors were those

often used in resolving or testing solutions to problems. See which of these

you have been using and which you may want to adopt.

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eleven Problem Formulation Behaviors

In their analysis of the transcripts of online discussions, Murphy and

Manzanares identified behaviors helpful in formulating or defining a prob-

lem. These behaviors can be helpful in providing suggestions and guid-

ance for students as they proceed in their own problem formulation. These

behaviors are also useful for developing rubrics for assessment or simply

as guidelines:

• Agreeing with the problem as presented

• Specifying ways in which the problem may manifest itself

• Redefining a problem within a modified problem space

• Minimizing or denying the problem

• Identifying the extent of the problem

• Identifying the causes of the problem

• Articulating the problem outside the problem space

• Identifying unknowns in knowledge

• Accessing and reporting on sources of information

• Identifying the value of information

eight Behaviors Supporting Problem resolution

Murphy and Manzanares associate three types of high‐level cognitive

behaviors with problem resolution: identifying solutions, evaluating solu-

tions, and acting on solutions. Here is the list of behaviors they identified

as used in problem resolution:

• Proposing solutions

• Hypothesizing solutions

• Agreeing with solutions that others propose

• Weighing and comparing alternative solutions

• Critiquing solutions

• Rejecting or eliminating solutions judged unworkable

• Planning to act

• Reaching conclusions or arriving at an understanding of the problem

Developing Problem Solvers and Critical Thinkers

Many reports and books on the state of higher education stress the need for

graduates who are good problem solvers and effective team players

(Bransford et al., 2000; Business‐Higher Education Forum, 2003; Bok, 2007).

Phase 3: Letting Go of Power in the Late Middle

239

Becoming familiar with and using these behaviors helps students develop

an understanding of the processes and the knowledge needed for problem

formulation and problem solving. In many cases, the work done in formu-

lating and clarifying a problem often takes us halfway to a solution, and

this is a valuable lesson as well. Working with others on sustained and

thoughtful interaction to clarify and solve problems results in the shared

knowledge discovery and co‐creation that are also characteristics of a suc-

cessful learning community.

Feedback for Cognitive Growth

The importance of timely substantive feedback to learners has always been

recognized, but it is now being acknowledged as a key factor in deep learn-

ing. In a Chronicle of Higher Education article (2012) describing the strategy

of flipped classrooms, reporter Dan Berrett compares the professor’s role

to that of a cognitive coach. In his words, “A good coach figures out what

makes a great athlete and what practice helps you achieve that. They moti-

vate the learner to put out intense effort, and they provide expert feedback

that’s very timely.”

In this section, LM Tips 5 and 6 offer guidelines and suggestions on

providing timely feedback to learners and suggestions on efficient habits

of staying in touch with learners on their discussion posts, assignments,

and general participation. LM Tips 7 and 8 focus on rubrics as a way of

providing direction and feedback. In particular, LM Tip 7 provides a rubric

for analyzing critical thinking and LM Tip 8 describes three scenarios for

actively involving learners with rubrics, so that feedback becomes more of

a community experience.

LM Tip 5: “are You reading My Postings? Do You Know

who I am?” Simple rules for Feedback in online Learning

This tip answers questions such as these:

• How important is feedback?

• How many types of feedback are there?

• When is feedback important?

• Does feedback always have to address an individual’s work, or can it

address and summarize the work of groups?

Research is showing that mastering the art of giving students feedback

in an online course makes a substantive difference in student satisfaction

and retention (Kim & Moore, 2005). This study affirms that “students’

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interaction with classmates and their instructor have an impact on their

satisfaction with web‐based courses.” In other words, getting feedback

right often results in good feelings about a course and, by extension, about

an institution. Here are quick answers to the questions for this tip:

• How important is feedback? (Vital!)

• How many types of feedback are there? (Lots!)

• When is feedback important? (Almost always!)

• Does feedback always have to address individual’s work, or can feed-

back address the work of groups? (Both types can be very useful!)

This tip focuses primarily on traditional feedback from instructor to

learner. Other types of feedback are peer feedback, feedback from students

to faculty, automated feedback, and media‐rich feedback, including the

use of audio.

What is feedback? Feedback is a key element of any communication or

dialogue. In fact, there is no real communication or dialogue without feed-

back. Feedback continues, enhances, or closes a train of thought. The image

of a train of thought is very useful, because you don’t want to interrupt a

train that is moving along. The image of a train of thought is also useful in

thinking about how individual learners’ thoughts might diverge from each

other and follow a train of thought or inquiry important to their own

knowledge construction and integration.

In online learning, the type of feedback that first comes to mind is that

from faculty to student. This is the most important feedback from a stu-

dent’s point of view. Learners want to know what an instructor thinks

about the work they are doing. Next we will discuss the most important

rules about feedback from faculty to student, which are straightforward:

Provide feedback early and often.

Provide feedback on assignments when expected.

Provide feedback that is personal and formative for learning.

Provide Feedback early and often

Providing feedback early in a course can mean giving feedback as soon as

students begin introducing themselves. Personal data about your students

can be used to help students connect their goals and purposes to the con-

tent and goals of the course. The simple act of taking a personal data ele-

ment and incorporating it into feedback to the student sends the message

that postings are not going into a black hole. Other connections that you

Phase 3: Letting Go of Power in the Late Middle

241

might comment on can include shared working environments and similar

life experiences, such as a love of baking or biking or having roots some-

where in the Midwest. These observations create connections that build a

foundation of community.

Here is an example of how you can make connections between course

content and goals and a student’s background experiences and goals. You

might observe, “Your background in the XYZ industry may be especially

relevant to the rest of the class when we discuss ABC topic in weeks five

and six.” This observation signals to the student that you have connected

with him or her in a unique way. Making these kinds of observations

requires first noting the connections between what learners reveal about

themselves and what we know of the content and also students’ work con-

text. This personalizing and recognition of individuality helps keep stu-

dents engaged and motivated. Fortunately, everything that a student posts

online, such as the getting‐acquainted posts, is captured and can be

returned to at any time.

One technique that works for some faculty is to take the time to mine

the information about learners’ expected learning goals and purposes for

the course and create a reminder that profiles key information about each

student, such as the name of the company that he or she is working for and

his or her particular area of interest.

Feedback early in the Course—How To and when

• As in any relationship, the first interactions in a course lay the ground-

work for what follows. Students want to know about you and your

expertise; your students want you to know them.

• In the pre‐week and week one, read the students’ introductions care-

fully and respond to one or more of each student’s statements by

acknowledging where they are coming from and also to highlight

important connections between the students. Remember, too, that you

have (probably) asked them to customize at least one learning outcome

to be very specific to their interests. With that information, you can

acknowledge their goals, and sometimes their worries and anxieties,

and encourage them to find common ground with other students, while

reinforcing shared content goals. While doing this, be sure to share con-

nections between your own expertise and, as appropriate, your life

experiences, just as you would do in a face‐to‐face encounter.

• In the first two weeks of any course, making frequent postings is an

extremely high priority. How frequent? The standards suggest postings

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on four or more days of each week. Graduate students need a little less

handholding, but a focus on developing expertise is highly desirable,

and the first week is a great time to focus on core concepts to come.

• Remember that the first two weeks are special in establishing connec-

tions and relationships. As the course progresses, students will be able

to take on more responsibility for self‐assessment, peer‐assessment, and

community roles. Substantive comments in the first two weeks means

careful reading and analysis of students’ first postings. Use multiple

types of feedback, such as group feedback via announcements and

forum postings as well as individualized feedback via posting conver-

sations and first assignments. It is important, time‐wise, to make good

use of group feedback that integrates a focus on course content while

recognizing individual work.

• One strategy for saving time is to have the students use their own self‐

assessment skills by having them specify the thoughts, ideas, or obser-

vations on which they most want your feedback. For example, you

might direct them as follows: “After you complete your initial posting

on the first assigned reading, add a postscript that identifies the idea,

comment, or observation on the reading that you most want me to

respond to.”

Provide Feedback on assignments when expected

If you do not tell students when to expect feedback on their assignments,

they will expect it within minutes of hitting the send or upload button. So

state your general rules for feedback turnaround times clearly and provide

regular reminders.

Since the feedback turnaround on assignments can differ, the assign-

ment information should be part of any assignment information. This does

mean planning assignment deadlines around your own teaching and life

patterns and special events. For example, if a week’s postings close on

Saturday, you will likely need to schedule time on Monday for review and

feedback on the week’s postings and summaries.

For large projects, the turnaround time may be longer; other times you

may want to adjust deadlines, given your own schedule. Also, if you know

your final course grades are due three days after the end of the final week,

you may want to move the submission deadline for a final assignment up

a few days or a week to give you adequate time to provide feedback to

students. The average turnaround time for larger projects is around seven

days, depending on variables such as the length of a course.

Phase 3: Letting Go of Power in the Late Middle

243

Online learners are particularly concerned about the first cycle of

assignments and feedback because it is a benchmark for what will likely

follow. They will use the feedback from the first assignment as a marker for

what you think about their ideas and how they express themselves. It often

determines how much time and effort they put into subsequent assign-

ments. Some of the questions learners often have include: “How closely do

you follow the assignment rubrics?” “Do you count timeliness?” “How

much do you recognize or expect analysis, innovation, or creativity?”

“How much research do you expect?” and “Do you notice grammar and

spelling?” Rubrics included with assignments generally help answer these

basic questions.

Provide rapid response to Questions

For general discussion questions, it is important to answer questions

promptly or have a system for ensuring that questions are answered in a

timely manner. For example, you might state that your general rule of

thumb for answering any and all questions is twenty‐four hours during the

usual workweek, but that you do try to respond sooner when you can.

A good rule of thumb is that if a student asks a question, three to five

others are probably also wondering about the same issue but didn’t have

the courage or take the trouble to ask. Thanking students for their ques-

tions is feedback that says, “I value your questions. There’s no such thing

as a dumb question, so keep the questions coming.”

Provide Feedback That Is Personal

and Formative for Learning

Providing feedback to learners can be very time‐consuming. To aid you in

your effort to save time, systems with automated or embedded feedback are

available, and some of these are proving to be excellent and effective, as in

the example of using rich feedback in quizzes in large introductory biology

classes (Cooper, Tyser, & Sandheinrich, 2007). Nevertheless, these systems

do not provide personal feedback or a relationship with a live faculty member.

The best feedback is personal and formative for learning. Effective

feedback assumes that the faculty is reading or listening to a learner and

then analyzing and reflecting on his or her work and ideas. Personal feed-

back means that you are getting to know the student as a person and as a

mind, and that you are helping to shape and challenge the learning of the

student. This type of feedback creates long‐lasting and satisfying links and

connections. No wonder that feedback is an element of student satisfaction

and loyalty! Many of us have stories where feedback to a student has made

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all the difference in someone’s life or learning. Quality feedback means

that you have taken time to know an individual and to care about him or

her as a person and a learner.

LM Tip 6: Feedback on assignments: Being Timely and efficient

This tip answers these questions:

• Does feedback to students always have to be private? Can I use the

open community forum or a faculty blog for summarizing feedback?

• What are more examples of rubrics to guide learners’ self‐feedback and

peer feedback?

• How do I provide feedback that recognizes a student’s individual con-

tent and concept mastery?

The ideas in this tip are a good fit for the late middle phase of your

course when you are handling individual feedback on assignments. We

discussed feedback on weekly discussion postings that are public, open,

and part of the course community dialogue in EM Tip 4. Feedback on

assignments is more private. It is typically part of the faculty‐to‐learner

dialogue and ideally is personalized and customized to shape an individu-

al’s growth. This is the feedback that often contributes to the grading

requirements.

It is worth noting, however, that as we design more collaborative work

into courses, more feedback is shifting to the open community, where it

contributes to the intellectual growth of the entire community and advances

sustained conversation and inquiry. Blog and wiki assignments are exam-

ples of this more open work and feedback.

Timely Feedback

Always let students know when they can expect feedback on their assign-

ments; include this information in the assignment. The announcement tool

is often a great reminder tool to use as well. The standard time for provid-

ing feedback for larger or major assignments is one week. If assignments

are stacked, one building on a prior one, as happens in course project

assignments, you may be able to provide feedback more quickly. Posting a

note about the expected feedback schedule is also an opportunity to change

this time frame if your schedule requires such an adjustment.

Also tell students the process by which you will provide feedback. Will

you be making embedded comments in a Word document, with detailed

observations based on a rubric? Or will you be providing more of a holistic

Phase 3: Letting Go of Power in the Late Middle

245

grade and comments? For example, the “how” will likely change with the

phases of a project. Feedback on early phases of a project may be more

open, even soliciting input from others to contribute brainstorming ideas

in a synchronous session.

In the early parts of a project you may choose to provide two levels of

feedback: first a summary feedback for the entire group, later supple-

mented by more private feedback to individual students.

Feedback using a rubric

Using a grading rubric for assignments guides student projects and saves

you time. A rubric lays out the criteria for grading and becomes useful as a

checklist. You can counsel students to work on the assignment with one

eye on the rubric as a way of self‐assessment. (Examples of rubrics are pro-

vided later in this tip.) A grading and assessment rubric also helps to avoid

unwelcome surprises because students generally can predict their own

grade from the rubrics.

Part of the assignment direction might include a discussion of the

rubric. If the highest points are reserved for papers or presentations that

show evidence of research or deep thinking about the issues evidenced by

noting patterns, relationships, and insights, are there any examples or

models from earlier courses that students might examine? Will the grade

include assessment of communication elements, such as writing, grammar,

clarity, and citation accuracy? LM Tips 7 and 8 provide more background

and help on using rubrics.

Conceptual Feedback reminders

Here are other reminders for feedback to individual students that particu-

larly address content issues:

• Keep an awareness of a student’s particular zone of proximal develop-

ment front and center. Recall that learners cannot learn everything in a

flash until the “Aha!” moment. Our brains process information chunk

by chunk and piece by piece, depending on the knowledge structures

already in our heads, and create structures over time. As you review the

student’s assignment and prepare your feedback, structure your com-

ments so that you tap into where the student’s ideas are coming from

based on what they likely know, and then mold or shape their thinking

by reinforcing the strengths of their ideas and guiding them to the next

steps of integrating those ideas. Viewing an archive of the student’s

postings, including a personal archive, so that you refresh your view of

the student’s state of thought can help in providing effective feedback.

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• If you prefer a more holistic approach that combines simple criteria

with personal comments, create a template for feedback; for example, to

use for a brief thought paper. This template can consist of two sections:

the first section lists the criteria you are using for the assessment, the

second sets out examples of how you might encourage, challenge, and

reinforce the core concepts. Providing thoughtful conceptual feedback

can take time. Building a template that includes reinforcing concepts

and principles can make this process more efficient.

• This technique can be used with assignments or a long and rich discus-

sion forum. Review the assignment, and respond with one summative

cohesive discussion and analysis, weaving in and making reference to

contributions by students by name. This feedback technique has the

advantage of taking less time than individual responses to students

while creating a useful summary.

• Audio feedback tools offer new strategies for providing substantive

feedback to individuals or to the class as a whole. For summary feed-

back to the class, you can comment back to the public forum or discus-

sion board and highlight the strengths of the work of the learning

community. This is an opportunity to reinforce, praise, coach, and direct.

examples of rubrics

Here are two examples of rubrics that you can use for written assignments.

The first is a rubric for a significant written assignment; the second is a

simple checklist for a shorter assignment. In each case the assignment

instructions direct students to use these rubrics to check their papers before

submitting them.

a rubric for a written assignment

In this example, the final paper or project is an individual project and is

worth 20 percent of the final grade:

• The paper/media project is well organized, easy to understand, and

well written or produced. The project is presented well, with no major

grammatical or spelling errors, and citations are styled in accordance

with APA guidelines, as appropriate. The project is the right length for

the assignment. It includes a descriptive title, an introduction, a conclu-

sion, and appropriate section headings. 5 points.

• The paper/media project is responsive to the content of the assignment.

It includes a summary statement of your thoughts, the research, and the

rationale supporting your recommendations. 12 points.

Phase 3: Letting Go of Power in the Late Middle

247

• All tables and figures presented are thoroughly discussed in the paper/

media project. Additional resources are included as appropriate. 3 points.

a Checklist for a Short written assignment

This example of a checklist guides students through an evaluation of their

own writing. This can be very useful, as it increases the student’s own

judgment of his or her own work for the long term, while reducing the

amount of time for faculty in review and evaluation of the student’s work.

Directions to the student: Before submitting your assignment, use this

checklist to ensure that your assignment is complete. If you find problem

areas, revise. This checklist is used in grading your assignment, so you

can even self‐grade your work.

1. Do you have a clear introduction? Does it identify the thematic and

organizational structure of the essay? Does it indicate the point of view

you will argue?

2. Have you organized the material effectively? That is, is the sequence of

presentation appropriate for the content?

3. Is the content presentation user‐friendly? Do you “talk to the reader”

and clearly indicate the transitions from one section/argument/theme

to the next? Do you use headings and subheadings appropriately?

4. Do you make a persuasive argument to support your point of view?

Have you considered other points of view?

5. Have you used relevant source material? Have you referenced all your

sources, including those you have quoted directly and those that you

have paraphrased?

6. Do you provide a conclusion and summary?

7. Have you included a bibliography?

8. Have you spell‐checked your work and reviewed it for word choice,

punctuation, and grammar errors?

9. Is your assignment the required length?

Some faculty also direct their students to attach this checklist to their

assignment and ask students to respond or answer the questions even to

the point of self‐grading. This checklist can be adapted for use with peer

review as well, with pairs of students reading each other’s papers and giv-

ing them feedback, and then allowing time for student revision before the

formal submission to the faculty member.

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Here are two additional rubrics for your consideration among the

many that are available online. You can use these as is or adapt to your needs.

A rubric for a short paper assignment (Parsell, 2015):

http://staff.mq.edu.au/teaching/curriculum_assessment/

curriculum_design/engagement/podcasts/engagement_rubrics/

A rubric for participation in discussion postings (Frey, 2006):

http://www.udel.edu/janet/MARC2006/rubric.html

LM TIP 7: Substantive Feedback: Doing It wisely and well

This tip answers these questions:

• What is the definition of substantive feedback?

• How can I use self‐assessment and peer feedback to improve feedback

and save time?

• What are more examples of rubrics to guide learners’ self‐feedback and

peer feedback?

Feedback makes a difference in students’ learning and their engage-

ment in course content. And research suggests that feedback is one of the

key factors in student satisfaction (Yang & Durrington, 2010).

In keeping with the goal of increasing the quality of teaching and learn-

ing, standards for excellence in online teaching have begun defining what

excellence in feedback means in practice. For example, excellence might

mean “to review and respond to student posts with substantive comments

throughout the week.”

This tip suggests ways of providing substantive feedback by integrat-

ing personalized coaching. This tip also discusses ways of using personal

and peer feedback to increase total feedback to keep students’ growth on

track, while saving faculty time.

You may want to start this tip with by scanning Table 8.1, which shows

four different types of feedbacks, two purposes of feedback, and suggested

tools for each type of feedback.

what Is Substantive Feedback?

First of all, what kind of feedback can be recognized as “substantive feed-

back”? Palloff and Pratt (2003) suggest that a substantive post by a student

does one of the following: supports a position with evidence, begins a new

topic while building on the previous post, critically reflects on the post, or

moves the discussion in a new direction.

In contrast, an instructor’s substantive feedback, we believe, is indi-

vidualized and actionable. Substantive feedback clearly responds to the

Phase 3: Letting Go of Power in the Late Middle

249

individual’s work, while providing suggestions for taking action for

increasing knowledge, skills, or attitudes. If substantive feedback is per-

sonal and actionable, it is natural that we combine substantive feedback

with personalized coaching. The best coaching guides, advises, and

models the specifics of a student’s direction for growth. This type of

feedback takes time and is most appreciated by students, as it is the most

valuable to an individual. You may wonder how an online instructor can

do this within reasonable time limits. This is where student responsibil-

ity plays a role. Effective formative assessment requires the student to

share what is going on in his or her head, while sharing the results of a

created work/assignment. This means that students might submit a

statement assessing how they used and interpreted the assignment

rubric, which can help an instructor interpret the student’s level of

engagement and understanding. Obviously, this type of interaction

requires an environment of trust that the information primarily supports

a student’s growth.

use of Self‐assessment and Peer Feedback

Strategies and Tools

Two feedback types that are generally underutilized are self‐assessment

and peer feedback. Yet each of these can improve learning and reduce

instructor workload. Both, however, require a level of maturity and meta-

cognition on the part of learners. One definition of self‐assessment is “the

ability to be a realistic judge of one’s own performance” (Cornell Center

for Teaching Excellence, 2012). The benefit of self‐assessment for learners

is that they develop a greater awareness and appreciation of the created

work or production. Self‐assessment requires a rubric that clearly commu-

nicates expectations and a student who reads and understands the rubric,

who can then judge or evaluate the work based on that rubric. This can set

a relatively high bar and one that students might need help in developing

skills to meet. The benefit to the instructor, once students know how to do

this, is that a higher level of conversation about skill and content can

be reached.

Peer feedback also requires that students understand both how to use

rubrics and the content and goals of a course. When a course uses a project

with multiple milestones—such as a proposal phase, a partial develop-

ment phase, and a final published and presentation phase—peer feedback

can be used to great advantage. For example, at the proposal phase, stu-

dents can discuss and evaluate early ideas and offer and hear suggestions

and the thinking behind project proposals. This builds understanding and

an appreciation of the cognitive processes and work required for the

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expressive output of each phase of a project. This means that students and

instructors all become quite familiar with projects and students’ skills, so

that feedback and assessment take much less time, while providing much

deeper understanding and joy in the development of expertise.

Purposes and Types of Feedback and the Tools

A critical element of any course is the assessment plan. Providing feedback

for course assignments is a major time commitment for instructors. Using

Table 8.1 can help you design an assessment plan with maximum substan-

tive feedback and reasonable time expectations.

Deciding what to Do next in Feedback Practices

Developing expertise in feedback is challenging, as the demands of stu-

dents and time are so great and the literature and research can be over-

whelming. Using a mix of feedback, as suggested earlier, is the best starting

point. Here are two starting points to explore when making more decisions

about your feedback practices.

1. Cornell University Center for Teaching Excellence. Assessing Student

Learning (http://cte.cornell.edu/teaching‐ideas/assessing‐student‐

learning/index.html). This site features short descriptions of seven assessment topics, such as Using Rubrics, Self‐Assessment, Peer Assessment,

and What Do Students Already Know.

2. Center for the Study of Higher Education at the University of Melbourne,

Australia. Good Feedback Practices: Prompts and guidelines for reviewing

and enhancing feedback for students (http://www.cshe.unimelb.edu.au/

resources_teach/assessment/docs/Good_Feedback_Practices_2014.pdf).

LM Tip 8: rubrics for analyzing Critical Thinking

This tip answers these questions:

• What are the four levels of proficiency for critical thinking skills?

• How can I create instructions for assignments that encourage critical

thinking skills?

Earlier tips in the course beginnings chapter suggested that the best

discussion questions invite reflection and responses from students. Every

success is often followed by another challenge. If you have developed a

very effective post question and the students start responding thoughtfully

and expansively, your existing rubric for analyzing the discussions might

not be as robust as you would like it to be.

Phase 3: Letting Go of Power in the Late Middle

253

Three important rubrics for analyzing critical thinking follow in this

tip. Choosing which to include was difficult, but these are good starting

points. These can be used as a basis for developing or adapting your new

or existing rubrics.

The VaLue Critical Thinking rubric

The first rubric is one of the VALUE rubrics developed by teams of faculty

experts organized by the Association of American Colleges and Universities

(https://www.aacu.org/value‐rubrics). The VALUE rubric for Critical Thinking offers this definition:

Critical thinking is a habit of mind characterized by the comprehensive

exploration of issues, ideas, artifacts, and events before accepting or

formulating an opinion or conclusion.

The definition is useful in clarifying that critical thinking is a series of

steps and not just a single event. It includes exploring issues and then mak-

ing decisions. The VALUE rubric has five criteria: (1) explanation of issues;

(2) evidence—selecting and using information to investigate a point of

view or conclusion; (3) influence of context and assumptions; (4) student’s

position—perspective, thesis/hypothesis; (5) conclusions and related

outcomes—implications and consequences. This rubric is available at the

organization’s website at https://www.aacu.org/value/rubrics/critical‐

thinking. Additional rubrics addressing problem‐solving, teamwork, inquiry and analysis, and quantitative and information literacy are also at

this site. While the site states that the rubrics are “intended for institutional‐

level use in evaluating and discussing student learning, not for grading,”

they can be very useful data points for developing rubrics.

The Guide to rating Critical and Integrative Thinking

The second critical thinking rubric, A Guide to Rating Critical and Integrative

Thinking (http://www.cpcc.edu/learningcollege/learning-outcomes/

rubrics/WST_Rubric.pdf) was the result of a multiyear research project at Washington State University. It uses a four‐point scale with this range: no/

limited proficiency, some proficiency, proficiency, and high proficiency on

criteria relevant to critical thinking. Here are the seven criteria for evaluat-

ing a learner’s progress in developing critical thinking skills:

1. Identifies, summarizes and appropriately reformulates the problem,

question, or issue

2. Identifies and considers the influence of context and assumptions

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3. Develops, presents, and communicates his or her own perspective,

hypothesis, or position

4. Presents, assesses, and analyzes appropriate supporting data/evidence

5. Integrates issue using other (disciplinary) perspectives and positions

6. Identifies and assesses conclusions, implications, and consequences

7. Communicates effectively

These are the desired critical thinking skills for learners; they are

independent of any particular discipline or course of study. Here is a

link to a rubric that expands and builds on this basic set of seven criteria:

General Education Critical Thinking Rubric (short version), Northeastern

Illinois University (https://www.etsu.edu/cbat/economics/documents/

NIU_Critical_Thinking-short.pdf).

example Statements of Three Levels of Thinking on Issues

This guide to rating critical thinking goes beyond listing criteria: it expands

each criterion and lists examples of the types of evidence pointing to stages

of critical thinking skills: emerging, developing, and mastering. These

example statements can be used to measure the maturity of a student’s

critical thinking skills. Table 8.2 shows examples of these three stages for

critical thinking criterion 5.

TaBLe 8.2

examples of Critical Thinking Criterion 5: Integrates Issues using other

Perspectives and Positions

Stage 1: emerging critical thinking

• Deals with a single perspective and fails to discuss others’ perspectives.

• Adopts a single idea or limited ideas with little question. If more than one idea is presented, alternatives are not integrated.

Stage 2: Developing critical thinking

• Begins to relate alternative views to qualify analysis.

Stage 3: Mastering critical thinking

• Addresses others’ perspectives and additional diverse perspectives drawn from outside information to qualify analysis.

• Integrates own and others’ ideas in a complex process of judgment and justification. Clearly justifies own view while respecting views of others.

Source: Washington State University (2006).

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The Socratic Questioning rubric

The characteristics of Socratic questioning described in other tips are use-

ful for input into the design of critical thinking rubrics. The website of the

Center for Critical Thinking and Moral Critique (www.criticalthinking.

org) is an excellent resource. With minimal work, you can use some or all of the items in these critical thinking rubrics to develop your own rubrics

and instructions for assignments. You can include examples from the rubric

in your teaching instructions and grading rubrics to make your expecta-

tions of the students clear and explicit.

A web search on critical thinking rubrics quickly reveals many addi-

tional resources. Here is a good starting point: http://www.etsu.edu/

cbat/economics/RubricExCriticalThinking.aspx.

why rubrics are Catching on: nine advantages

The advantages of rubrics are many. Here is a list of nine advantages iden-

tified by higher education assessment expert Linda Suskie in her 2009

book, Assessing Student Learning, (2nd ed.) These advantages share a com-

mon theme of clear expectations, a focus on student growth, and efficiency

for both faculty and students.

1. Rubrics help clarify vague, fuzzy goals.

2. Rubrics help students understand your expectations.

3. Rubrics can help students improve themselves.

4. Rubrics can inspire better student performance.

5. Rubrics make scoring easier and faster.

6. Rubrics make scoring more accurate, unbiased, and consistent.

7. Rubrics improve feedback to students.

8. Rubrics reduce arguments with students.

9. Rubrics improve feedback to faculty and staff.

assessing Learning as You Go with Projects

Projects are excellent learning activities. Projects stimulate learners’ thinking

so they integrate and consolidate content knowledge into their own knowl-

edge structures. Projects are by their very nature somewhat messy, involv-

ing false starts and often requiring iterations and revisions. Acknowledging

the messiness of projects from the start helps everyone be realistic

while learning.

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LM Tip 9: Customizing and Personalizing Learning Projects

This tip answers these questions:

• How much flexibility for student choice should be designed into project

assignments?

• What are some guidelines for project teams?

• What are the three components of a task model for a course project?

During a faculty workshop celebrating ten years of a faculty support

center, a faculty member in charge of an online master’s degree program in

nursing administration had a question regarding teams. His program had

been online for almost five years and was doing very well, but he was look-

ing for ideas on the design of team projects. One of the courses had a sig-

nificant team project, with the students working in groups of five. The

feedback from the students was that the team project didn’t work well.

Some of the problems centered on communication challenges and how dif-

ficult it was to coordinate the team across distance, work, and family

responsibilities; other problems centered on appropriate sharing of roles

and responsibilities; still others focused on the choice of topics that didn’t

quite fit. And then of course there is the ever‐present challenge of team

evaluations.

Have you faced similar quandaries? How might you change project

requirements to accommodate learners’ interests and learning conditions

while still respecting the performance goals of a course? Here are some

guidelines and hints for developing project requirements with built‐in

flexibility.

Guidelines for Developing Project requirements

reduce the number of Team Members or Vary the Size of the Teams

Striving for consistency and fairness is important, but there is no reason

that all groups need to be the same size. Projects can usually be adapted

quite easily to varying sizes, and the learners can be responsible for pro-

posing how they will do that. So the default project team size might be

three or four learners, but those who want to do projects in groups of two

or five, or even alone, can propose a revised project for approval.

One good place to communicate flexibility regarding teams is in the

project description. The project description provides an overview of the

course project, including the learning goals for the project, dates, and

reporting processes. As part of this overview, you can indicate flexibility in

Phase 3: Letting Go of Power in the Late Middle

257

the team size, giving students the responsibility of preparing a revised pro-

ject team plan for approval by a specified date—probably a week earlier

than the initial proposal date, to leave time for a conference or negotiation

with the instructor. Recall that your directions to the students are a key

component of your teaching presence, and that it is hard to be overly

explicit about processes and requirements.

We like to recommend team assignments of just two or three members,

as this reduces the challenges of communications, meetings, and roles, and

also increases the input from each of the members.

Broaden the List of Possible Topics for the Project

Many online and blended learners are working adults and have prefer-

ences and interests that influence their choice of project and commitment

to course requirements. Just as providing flexibility in team size is impor-

tant, so is flexibility in the choice of a topic. Early in the course, even in the

first two weeks, focus the students on choosing a topic and developing a

proposal for their course project. One strategy that increases dialogue is to

have the students post their project proposals in a forum, blog, or wiki.

This makes it easy to invite comments and recommendations from the

other students.

For faculty, the most important reason for having a course project is

that a project is a focused and complex type of learning experience that

engages students in the course content, helping them to consolidate con-

cepts and make meaningful connections, and aiding in their achieving the

course performance goals. A course project is also a primary tool for assess-

ing online learning because high‐stakes proctored tests are not generally

part of an assessment plan for online courses.

For students, the most important part of a project (other than meeting

course requirements) is doing something that will be meaningful to them in

their current or future lives. A student working on a meaningful, relevant

project usually willingly and enthusiastically expands the time and energy

invested in it. For employers who are providing tuition aid, project choices

that have positive and visible ripple effects in the workplace are also a win‐

win scenario, creating a closer relationship with a program or institution.

Describing the Course Project: The Task Model

Task model is a term that captures the three variables of any assessment task:

(1) the key features of the task, such as the content area and the level of dif-

ficulty or complexity; (2) the directions provided to the learner; and (3) the

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expected work product that “allows one to observe the students’ perfor-

mance” (Gibson & Swan, 2006). Effective task models describe the expected

work product in general terms, leaving room for learners to customize and

personalize learning by selecting how and by what means they will com-

plete the work product. The task model requires that directions be clear

and explicit about the need for a professional end product while still pro-

viding flexibility and choice for learners.

Complement the Task Model Guidelines with Process Guidelines

Course projects have many purposes relating to content acquisition and

integration, but another important goal is developing the cross‐functional

skills of project planning, teamwork, and project management. Thus, pro-

viding guidelines and coaching for the process of completing projects is as

important as the directions and explicit guidance on the task model for the

project. The skills developed from a process model are often among the

most useful learning outcomes.

encourage Course Projects That Combine Challenge, Confidence,

and Interest

Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development (ZPD) is a good principle to

guide us in how flexible we might want to be in the design of course pro-

jects. Recall that the ZPD defines the space that the learner is ready to

develop into useful and independent knowledge and skill. Ideally, if the

project task model is sufficiently flexible, learners can define and select a

project that fits their personal zone of proximal development. Because this

zone of learning readiness combines a confidence level with a challenge

level, learners naturally gravitate to a project that more or less fits their

learning needs. A key role of the faculty mentor is to ensure a good choice

and guide learners to a project fit that combines challenge and know‐how.

The time it takes to ensure this fit will be well spent.

To determine whether a project is a good fit, ask if the learners are

doing it mostly for the teacher or for themselves and whether the stu-

dent cares enough about the work to make a significant investment in it.

These questions help to balance the trade‐off between gathering evi-

dence of learning and a product that will be of lasting value to learners

(Gibson & Swan, 2006).

The process of fitting the project to the learners and to the course goals

and content simultaneously takes time and energy, but the result is com-

mitted, enthusiastic, and customized learning that can also be shared with

the other students.

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LM Tip 10: Managing and Facilitating Group Projects

This tip answers questions such as these:

• What are some simple guidelines for facilitating group projects to ensure

that all students contribute to the project?

• How many project checkpoints are recommended?

• What communication and presentation tools work well for students

when working on projects?

• What should I do if teams aren’t working well together?

This tip provides suggestions for matching the appropriate tools for

different stages of group projects and techniques for helping to ensure that

students stay on schedule.

Monitoring and Guiding Group Projects

With project work, it is important to check regularly with each project team

to ensure that everyone is participating and that the project is moving

along. Here are a few suggestions for doing this monitoring and guiding.

The suggestions also work well for individual projects.

• If students are working in groups on a project, set up a group space

online as a place for students to share ideas, resources, and drafts of

their projects. This group space might be a blog, a wiki, or a group dis-

cussion forum. If you have offered the flexibility of learners to do a pro-

ject on their own, it is still recommended that the learner have a personal

space such as a blog or discussion space for capturing and tracking pro-

ject progress. Learners can then invite classmates to this project space

for comments, suggestions, and brainstorming.

• Establish a minimum of three checkpoints. The first checkpoint is a

project proposal that describes a project’s goals and purposes; the sec-

ond is a project design or definition that serves as a blueprint for the

project, plus a set of initial or probable resources for the project; and the

final checkpoint is the project paper or presentation. Other useful check-

point products might be a team task schedule, an ongoing summary of

discussions and decisions, and an outline of final project components.

• Monitor the team project space, and make comments or suggestions as

appropriate. If the group seems to be proceeding appropriately, you can

offer affirmation or challenges. If little progress is evident, you can ask

what questions they might have or suggest a conference call or live

classroom meeting. Also, there are useful team tools in most LMS that

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enable you to monitor and track team participation and activity, such as

those that track discussion participation in group areas.

• Provide reminders of the schedule using a milestones approach—for

example: “We are now halfway through the time allotted for the project,

so you should have completed the following . . .” or “The project pro-

posal or design is due by Friday of next week, so you should have met

with your team and have a draft of your sections under way” or “If you

would like feedback at this time, let’s meet in the open forum space.”

One principle for facilitating online projects is to provide enough

instructor presence to remind team members that their activities and pro-

gress are not invisible to you and yet not provide so much presence that the

project shifts from being team led to instructor led.

It is easy for students to get lost in the process of group work, especially

in larger groups. One team member could be the project or group manager;

this person directs the project and monitors to ensure that each student is

working on his or her particular role or responsibility and doesn’t get lost.

This is a good leadership role.

Communication and Presentation Tools

Synchronous tools are particularly useful in the early stages of a project

when groups need to reach consensus as quickly as possible about project

content and tasks. Simple low‐tech conference calls sometimes can be the

best tool for group formation and task negotiations. Synchronous commu-

nication tools such as the telephone and online conferencing tools such as

Skype (www.skype.com) are free, easy to use, and familiar to almost everyone.

Once the team has organized itself, asynchronous tools such as the dis-

cussion forums, wikis, and blogs are useful for sharing progress and

resources, collaborative writing, and critical reviews by team members and

other teams. Students can also use Google Docs as preliminary work shar-

ing spaces for Word documents, spreadsheets, and presentations (https://

www.google.com/docs/about/).

Many of these tools are free and readily accessible. Students may have

their favorite tools to use as well: they may want to chat, Tweet, or instant

message. So we recommend focusing on the task—the project—and letting

the students decide which communication tools work best for them.

Provide help and suggestions as needed or requested.

When learners are ready for reviews of their proposals before present-

ing projects to the larger group, asynchronous tools work well so that

Phase 3: Letting Go of Power in the Late Middle

261

everyone in the course has an opportunity to review the projects. Group

project presentations can be made synchronous with the use of live class-

rooms or a combination of audio and video conferencing tools.

Managing Groups: additional Thoughts

When problems arise with one of the project groups—and the law of aver-

ages pretty much ensures this will happen at some point—a set of guide-

lines for students as to how to proceed will be useful. The usual rule of

thumb is that the problems are best resolved within the group itself.

Resolution by the faculty member should be reserved for the most difficult

problems—those the group cannot come to terms with by itself. Faculty, of

course, can be asked general questions to help guide the students as they

work through difficulties, but the best outcome is for the group to resolve

its problems. A good resource for both faculty and students working in

teams is Building Blocks for Teams (http://archive.tlt.psu.edu/suggestions/

teams/student/) from the Teaching and Learning with Technology Group at Penn State (2001–2012). You can post this resource in the same folder or

space as the group project directions and rubrics. The resources for remotely

collaborating continue to improve in both functionality and ease of use.

The best advice for selecting technology tools today is to pick a tool that

is available and works, and simply go with it. This can avoid you or

your students wasting time making decisions concerning virtually iden-

tical tools.

LM Tip 11: assessing Group Projects

This tip answers these questions:

• How do I assess group projects?

• Is there a way to have students participate in the review and grading

of projects?

This tip focuses on strategies for assessing group projects. A common

thread among all projects, whether individual or group, is that they are

powerful and satisfying teaching and learning experiences. Projects pro-

vide an opportunity for students to customize course performance goals to

their particular life and work goals, making the learning experience mean-

ingful and satisfying. Papers, presentations, interviews, podcasts, talk

shows, and other projects also make students’ thinking and learning visi-

ble. They require students to link the new content to their existing knowl-

edge, creating a larger networked knowledge base and structure.

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Techniques for assessing Group Projects

Online and blended course group projects can be assessed in much the

same way that they are assessed in classroom environments. However, our

recommendation is to assess both the process and the final product. The

process includes the interim milestones such as a project proposal and the

project design. Assessment of these interim stages mirrors professional

processes more closely and provides an opportunity for peer review

(Moallem, 2005). Interim reviews thus become part of the dialogue of the

learning community, and comments can tap into the collective thinking

and expertise of the group. The processes in the planning and the execu-

tion of the project then become part of the course content and goals.

The most useful tool in assessing group projects is the project grading

rubric that you develop at the same time that you create and design the

task model for the project. By referring to the rubric in your reviews and

comments to the students, you help to ensure students’ awareness and

understanding and minimize unpleasant surprises. Here are some of the

criteria areas that you may want to consider; they include metrics for the

processes of teamwork and the project, as well as the completed product:

• The process of how the team worked. For example, how effective were

the team members in participating in group formation, task definition

and progress, and finished product?

• The end product. How well did the team execute the design for the pro-

ject, and how well did the project achieve the intended goals and objec-

tives? Criteria such as innovativeness, thoroughness, readiness for

action, and professionalism might be considered.

• The presentation of the product to the larger group. Encourage the stu-

dents to branch into a varied set of presentation techniques that might

feature interviews and multimedia news releases as well as websites.

• Participation in the peer reviews and evaluations of the product and

responsiveness to comments.

More about Peer reviews by Students

An effective tool for encouraging effective and appropriate participation in

teams is the peer review. Ideally, this is designed as an integral step in the

project. It can be most useful while the project is still in the proposal or

design phase. Peer review of the final project also helps with the final

assessment and grading of the students addressing both process and prod-

uct perspectives. Involving students in the process of review increases net-

working and collaboration among them and deepens the peer‐to‐peer

Phase 3: Letting Go of Power in the Late Middle

263

dialogue that contributes to a vibrant learning community. Students often

need coaching in the process of doing peer reviews, and the skills of evalu-

ation and honest and fair review of work are valuable cross‐functional

skills. Exhibit 8.1 provides a sample peer assessment form that you may

wish to adapt to the nature of the particular project in your course.

exHIBIT 8.1

Team Member evaluation Form

Team member name:

Directions: Using your best objective, fair professional analysis, complete the following evaluation form concerning your team member’s performance on your team project.

1. The LEVEL of effort this team member gave toward the project was . . .

Below Expectation

Met Expectation

Above Expectation

2. The QUALITY of that effort was . . .

Below Expectation

Met Expectation

Above Expectation

3. The INPUT this team member contributed to the team discussions was . . .

Below Expectation

Met Expectation

Above Expectation

4. How would you rate this team member’s level of participation?

Below Expectation

Met Expectation

Above Expectation

5. How would you rate this team member’s level of time on the project?

Below Expectation

Met Expectation

Above Expectation

6. This team member participated in team meetings and work:

Below Expectations

As Expected

7. This team member met team deadlines:

Below Expectations

As Expected

8. This team member’s OVERALL work and contribution to this project was . . .

Below Group Grade

Same as Group Grade

Above Group Grade

9. Additional comments regarding this team member’s work on this presentation:

Each member should submit a form for every team member as well as

themselves. Question 8 is really the crucial question. Sometimes a team

member may be disgruntled about a particular behavior of a teammate but

overall still rates the team member as having done a good job. Only in

those cases that the team feels that the grade should be lowered is it good

to consider doing so.

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A useful resource for more detail about assessing group projects is

Assessing Group Work (O’Neill, 2013) from the University College, Dublin,

Ireland. Here is a sampling of strategies:

• All students get the same mark for the product of the group; then peers

assess contributions to the process with a maximum of ten; for example,

a = 23 + 9, b = 23 + 4, c = 23 + 7.

• All students get the same mark for original task and then get different

marks for an additional or separate task or responsibility, or for their

individual contribution to a presentation event.

Another good starting point for assessing group work is Assessing

Group Tasks (Isaacs, 2002) at the University of Queensland. This document

addresses topics such as the following:

• When should group tasks be assessed?

• Best practices in the assessment of group tasks

• Examples and theory

• Assigning marks to individuals versus the group as a whole

• Self- and peer assessment

• Freeloading and plagiarism

• The logistics of forming groups

The University of Melbourne also hosts the Graduate Centre for the

Study of Higher Education (GCSHE) (http://melbourne-cshe.unimelb.

edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/1489169/Good_Feedback_

Practices_2014.pdf), another good starting point. The most comprehensive of all sites on assessment is the Assessment Commons site (www.

assessmentcommons.org). It currently contains about 1,000 links, including about 375 college and university assessment sites.

LM Tip 12: Four effective Practices During Project Time

This tip answers these questions:

• What types of support do students most value during project time?

• How flexible should the projects be in customizing and personalizing

them to learners’ interests?

• How closely should an instructor monitor project progress?

As a course reaches the halfway point and beyond, work on projects,

papers, and presentations picks up steam. Project time for students can be

stressful, as the balance of course work shifts from receptive or exploring

Phase 3: Letting Go of Power in the Late Middle

265

activities to creative, productive work. And of course learners are always

balancing work, life, and learning responsibilities. This is a time to be sure

to stay in close touch with your students. A few learners always need addi-

tional guidance, support, and encouragement at this time.

This is a good time to stop and check yourself on four best practices to

guide you and your students through these creative project and teamwork

experiences.

1. Be Proactive and Help Learners Get unstuck

on Projects

The most difficult part of many learning tasks is getting started. Large pro-

jects require skill at planning, segmenting, and organizing. Finding plan-

ning and collaborative time with other busy people can also present

barriers. For working adults and professionals, who often turn to their

course work in 15‐ to 30‐minute segments (listening to podcasts while jog-

ging, reading while waiting for children or between appointments), find-

ing time to do project work that requires a dedicated effort can be a

challenge. One of us used to enjoy flying because it offered the best unin-

terrupted thinking time.

One best practice during project time focuses on techniques for sup-

porting and encouraging students during this time. A technique recently

popularized in the business arena (Allen, 2015) is being explicit about

answering the question: “What is your next step? And then what is the

next step after that?” Often students find that their next step is something

they can do while doing other things, and that one of their next steps is

planning for learning time, getting access to a resource, or arranging

a meeting.

Another technique for getting unstuck on getting started is described

in the title of a book by Brian Tracy (2007): Eat That Frog! 21 Great Ways

to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time! The message

behind this book is, “If you eat a live frog first thing each morning you’ll

have the satisfaction of knowing it’s probably the worst thing you’ll do

all day.” We’re not certain we agree with that, but certainly finding a

way to get started on a complex task is good to do first thing in the

morning if you can. A good alternative is putting it at the top of your

“learning time” list. In fact, Tracy recommends that, when starting a

project, the instructor build a plan of all the steps in the projects and

then organize them by priority and sequence. Sometimes doing this

plan is the worst “frog” of all, but it can make the difference in getting

started well.

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Here are a few more ideas to help students get started on projects or get

unstuck if they have made a good start but then hit a wall:

• Ask students to share their questions, difficulties, and successes with

their ongoing papers and projects. Sometimes they answer their own

questions once they formulate them.

• Ask your students what their next one, two, or three steps on their

project are.

• Ask how their teams are working, what they are working on now, and

what they plan on doing next. This is a good time to reinforce the feel-

ing of a learning community. Encourage the teams to share templates,

process tools, and good ideas. The goal is for everyone in the learning

community to succeed.

• Remind students about the resources, tools, processes, and rubrics that

you developed to guide them through the tasks. As they share what

helps them, you can expand that set of resources for future students.

• Encourage learners to customize and personalize their projects.

Consider the three types of content in a course: (1) prepackaged author-

itative content (books, resources, tools), (2) director‐mentor faculty teach-

ing presence content that guides and supports learners through the course,

and (3) performance content that is generated by the learners in the process

of learning.

An ideal time to personalize and customize the performance content so

that it is maximally useful and of most interest to learners is when they are

working on projects. Encouraging them to select and perform learning

tasks that are of most interest and use to them is also healthy, because it

reduces their level of anxiety about how much time they are spending on

their course work.

2. Coach Learners on Personalizing Their Projects

If you have used a three‐ or four‐milestone approach of proposal and

design steps in the project, you have a built‐in opportunity to coach stu-

dents to be wise about their selection of their project.

Defining projects and papers so they can be most useful to an individ-

ual and to a larger, potentially external group can be an excellent commu-

nity brainstorming activity. Peer review of proposals also means open and

public discussion about how best to personalize and customize a project.

Once students have identified a project that meets these characteristics,

they may find it useful to post or otherwise share in a discussion forum

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why they have made the selection and how they feel it will be useful to

them. This can have the ripple effect of reminding the other learners in the

community about potential applications that they may not have considered.

3. ask Learners to Post Progress reports or updates

The best practice of posting progress reports complements the practice

of learners’ identifying their next step. As students are planning out a

project, creating a task list, finding a needed or seminal resource, or com-

pleting one of the steps in an assignment, openly sharing that success is

a way to build community. As they share their completed steps and

identify their next steps, other students often praise, encourage, and

suggest, building a stronger network of learners. One habit that I (Judith)

have developed over the years is to always pause before putting a pro-

ject away, whether it is an article, chapter, or teaching or quilting project,

and make some notes about my next steps. When I return to the project,

sometimes after a significant delay, my next step is right there for me.

This is not foolproof, but it works more often than not and always saves

time. In fact, sometimes my subconscious has been working on the next

step during the project pause.

4. Communicate Your availability and Schedule

Be sure to continue your use of the announcement tool and other commu-

nication channels to let students know your schedule. Another good strat-

egy is to schedule open question‐and‐answer times by phone, e‐mail, chat,

or live classroom. Students then can feel comfortable about contacting you

during those times, knowing that they are not intruding on your per-

sonal time.

Students may be so overwhelmed that they may not even be able to

frame questions with ease, but setting a time and a place to talk some ideas

through might work for them. Setting times and places when you will be

more or less available is comforting even if learners do not make use of

them. Also, be sure to be present on the discussion board. Students do want

to hear your expert perspective while exploring the perspectives of the

other students.

Community empowerment and Social networking

These next tips on community empowerment and social networking high-

light some of the networking and social learning power possible with dis-

cussion forums, blogs, and wikis.

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LM Tip 13: Course Middles and Muddles: Souped‐up

Conversations That Help Build Community

This tip answers these questions:

• How can you energize your learners in the late middle when enthusi-

asm and energies often begin to lag?

• What are some strategies for encouraging challenging questions and

substantive knowledge building?

It is easy to get bogged down in course middles. Lots of learning activi-

ties are in progress, but you may not feel the students are doing any lasting

learning. Or you may be feeling that the amount of interaction and discus-

sion is rote and uninspiring and that everyone is just going through the

motions. How can you energize your learners at this time? Here are three

ideas for stirring up your course middles.

Team up for Course Discussions for a week

Group your students into teams of two for one discussion week. Working

in a pair means that the students will collaborate and discuss a topic in

more depth. To do this, create a set of three or four open‐ended questions

for the week, and have each team select a topic to explore. Then have the

students post the results of their collaboration by Friday of that week. This

activity generally results in a set of more elaborate postings than usual. For

the following week, select one or more of those threads for the entire class

to respond to and extend.

Why do this? One of the more difficult behaviors to cultivate in stu-

dents is effectively responding to their peers’ comments. From a student’s

perspective, it is more efficient and takes less time to just prepare his or her

own post and then exit the online classroom. This pairing exercise struc-

tures a learning task that requires students to respond to, comment on, and

analyze the comments and responses of their peers.

In the three‐stage model of building community (Brown, 2001), stage 2

requires a feeling of “sharedness.” Brown found that that feeling of having

shared an experience in online classes often follows a “long, thoughtful,

threaded discussion on a subject of importance after which participants felt

both personal satisfaction and kinship.” It is this type of discussion that we

want to be working toward for students. And this often does take time.

Sometimes you need to be patient and provide time for exploration and

even for clearing up confusion.

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Plan for Time for Learners to Develop the Tough Questions

Sometimes the most difficult cognitive work is figuring out what the ques-

tion is, and this frequently happens as we approach the middle and mud-

dled part of a course. By this point, students’ heads are “getting filled up to

overflowing,” but they don’t know what they know or don’t know. There’s

a lot of stuff in their minds, but no framework or set of relationships that

helps it all come together to make sense. Students may know that they

have covered a lot of material and the multiple‐choice questions weren’t

too hard. But they probably wonder how they will be able to use this

knowledge.

This is a good time to challenge the students to propose and deal with

difficult questions. Here are some ideas:

• Post a statement, article, scenario, or video news clip on the discussion

forum and ask students to generate a set of data‐gathering questions

that might help address that problem.

• Set up a discussion forum for students to describe problems that now

seem easy and problems that still stump them.

• Establish an open forum, blog, or wiki for a week, and have the students

generate questions and problems related to the readings. Or set up a space

in Facebook, Flickr, or the latest, best video service for students to submit

photos that might help in solving a problem or answering a question.

• Encourage students to question the information from their latest inter-

net search. They might ask, “Who asserted this?” “What are this per-

son’s credentials?” “Who had the opportunity to critique this idea?”

“Who supports and who disagrees with it?” (Bruckman, 2005, p. 36).

LM Tip 14: using Social networking Techniques to Build

a Learning Community

This tip answers questions such as these:

• What are social networking tools?

• How can social networking tools help build community?

• What performance goals can blogs, wikis, and other social networking

tools help learners to achieve?

Social networking tools are digital applications that make it easy to

share and interact with others online. Some of the most popular sites are

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Facebook and LinkedIn, Twitter, and photo and video sites such as Flickr

and YouTube.

These sites use applications that go beyond the first wave of internet

applications, which mostly just displayed and organized data. These tools

are creating a new communications milieu created and extended by users.

This means that almost all learners, regardless of age or circumstance,

are familiar with how these applications make it easy to create, share, and

stay in touch with users globally. The online learning environment will

seem foreign and strange if we do not integrate some of these same social

networking techniques into our courses.

Social networking Strategy for Projects

This learning strategy incorporates a social networking component and

works well with course projects, personal or course blogs, or other more

complex assignments. This strategy can use a discussion forum, a blog

tool, Facebook, or other tool of their choice.

1. Create a personal project blog or discussion forum for each student.

2. Each student posts a project topic or abstract as the first proposed phase

of a course project.

3. Students, from a designated small group or the class as a whole, review

the project abstract and add comments, ideas, and suggestions and

offer additional resources, adaptations, or cautions. This is similar to

the comment and tagging features of the photo‐sharing sites such as

Flickr or blogs of all types. All comments become part of an individual

project as it evolves.

4. Each student responds and makes changes and tweaks to the project as

appropriate.

5. The faculty member blogs and comments on the project progress and

the learners’ input. This can be private or public or a combination of both.

6. Each student integrates the ideas and suggestions as appropriate into

his or her project. Students also post regular notes that update the pro-

ject status similar to the “What’s on your mind?” Update Status feature

on Facebook. This update can be something as simple as, “I am research-

ing some of the suggestions this week” or “I am not making much pro-

gress right now.”

7. Each student posts the completed project as required by the course

assignment.

8. Each student’s group or class members then review or see the final

product and again make comments or evaluations.

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This strategy can work for individuals or small groups. The cycle of

posting and commenting is repeated, depending on the number of project

phases or the complexity of the project. Cycles of posting and commenting

shift the project from being the sole production by one student to a collabo-

rative group project.

Characteristics of the Social networking Tools

Here are a few observations about using blogs, wikis, journals, and discus-

sion boards for building community:

• Using a blog for project planning and progress is almost like a stu-

dent’s private journal in that it is individually “owned” and created

by one student. It is the student’s own place, similar to one’s own

space in Facebook. But it is social because it can be open for review,

comment, and adaptation. The student can invite and respond to com-

ments and suggestions. With this type of blog project, there is an end

product—a project report, paper, or presentation of some ilk—just as

with a wiki.

• These tools share characteristics of a journal in that they are authored

over time and track and record activities and progress.

• Tools such as blogs or discussion forums are organized chronologically

from first posting to most recent or from most recent to earlier postings.

• Tools such as blogs, wikis, and discussion boards have the ability to

include media of all types, such as pictures, video, text, and links.

Using social networking apps and practices in your course encourages

peer interaction and community‐building. It is likely that learners are com-

fortable with these apps and pleased that they are part of their learning

environment. Social networking apps encourage regular, daily, and even

hourly checking in and commenting and seeing where everyone is and

what they are doing and thinking. This can be very useful and supportive

of project work. Sharing where they are in a project and what they are

thinking of doing next encourages awareness of their own thinking and

working strategies (Bonk & Khoo, 2014; Rinderle & Hampson, 2014;

Johnson, Adams Becker, Estrada, & Freeman, 2015).

The cycles of comments and responses also promote community

because students no longer focus solely on their own projects. Through

their review and support of their fellow learners, they develop ownership

and critical thinking about many of the other projects. The best part of this

approach is the social aspect of learning and creativity that it promotes. It

also provides an inside view of an individual’s knowledge and skill devel-

opment for formative and growth purposes.

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essential Features of Social networking Tools:

Interconnectivity and Interactivity

One of the most fundamental truths about learning is that it is active, spe-

cific, and internal to the learner. Social networking tools empower learners

to comment on and develop their own work and build on the work of peers

and experts. These tools enable real‐time and asynchronous collaboration

and encourage, stimulate, and motivate learners to create new content and

support and challenge each other in the process.

Most learning systems now have blog, wiki, and voice tools as part of

their systems. Be sure to select and try one tool to see how it can support

your course performance goals. The basic principle of these tools is that

learners add value to the community learning experience. This means that

you learn more too.

The next wave of applications, now on the horizon, is part of what is

being called the “semantic web,” or Web 3.0. The critical feature of this next

wave of apps is that applications will not only have the power to display

information and help to create information. Web 3.0 tools will also be able

to extract embedded meaning and actively select pages that are likely of

greater interest and use. This means we will be able to search and find

faster, better, and more relevant and coherent information. The apps in the

Web 2.0 wave helped build community; the apps in Web 3.0 wave will help

build knowledge (Ohler, 2008).

LM Tip 15: experts: a Touch of Spice

This tip answers questions such as these:

• What are some good times for inviting experts to a course?

• Where can I find experts?

• What types of expert learning events engage learners?

Invited experts can add a bit of spice to your course for you and your

students. Most courses by necessity are planned well in advance and often

use a textbook or a set of published readings and content in a field or dis-

cipline. These resources, together with the learning goals, provide the

framework for the set of course experiences. Yet many of our most exciting

experiences occur when we see how course content is impacting current

events. This is what guest experts can bring to a course: customized and

authentic application of course content as embodied in a real personality

within an authentic career experience.

Expert guests also provide a change of pace for a large group commu-

nity experience. Most faculty bring expertise from a particular field of

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knowledge; other authoritative voices come from the textbook and other

resources, such as readings and podcasts. Inviting an expert provides

another perspective for core concept knowledge, particularly as used

within a specific context.

Bringing an expert into your course community also creates learning

opportunities prior to, during, and after the experts’ participation. Prior to

the expert’s visit, learners can research the person, organization, and sub-

ject of that person’s expertise. During the event, students have a chance to

inquire and dialogue. After the expert interaction, learners can be chal-

lenged to integrate the expert’s perspective with the other course content.

Experts often have wisdom that clarifies why and how the content matters.

Expert events help in the community‐building process of a course as

well. We enjoy the feelings of anticipation prior to a novel event. It is stimu-

lating getting ready to be good hosts, preparing challenging intellectual

inquiries, sharing the event experience, and then following up with the

specific application of that intellectual inquiry.

By now you may be saying, “Yes, sounds like a good idea! Just how do

I go about incorporating experts into my course?” Here are a few questions

that you might have about how to incorporate experts into your course and

some starting points for answers.

Is There a Preferred Time in the Course to

Have an expert event?

Sometime in the second half of a course is usually a good time. By this time

students have developed sufficient understanding and curiosity about a topic

to prepare good interview questions. However, there are few hard‐ and‐fast

rules about inviting experts. Sometimes inviting an expert to pose significant

challenges at the first part of a course can work well for advanced learners.

How Do I Go about Finding an expert?

Experts are plentiful and often willing to participate as long as it doesn’t

take too much time. Serving as an invited expert is usually a pleasant and

rewarding experience.

Colleagues who are part of your network are always good candidates

for experts. As you become more experienced with using experts, search

out national and even international experts. With online classroom tech-

nology, plain- old telephone conferences, and asynchronous discussion

tools, experts can come from anywhere. Program graduates are an excel-

lent source of experts. Alumni often have warm feelings for their institu-

tion and a natural affiliation with future graduates. Such invitations build

ties back to the institution that are beneficial to all.

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what Type of Content Is Good for an expert?

You can set your own criteria, of course, but a good place to start is by

focusing on one of the following areas:

• A core concept application. If you are working on scenarios with diffi-

cult leadership challenges, you may want to invite an expert who has

personally experienced a difficult leadership challenge and can share

some lessons learned and reinforce the need for flexibility and

confidence.

• A current trend or development in a particular discipline. If a significant

development in your field has occurred in the past six to twelve

months—possibly in the area of impending legislation, managing

response to economic conditions, significant natural events such as

Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent support leadership, or new tech-

nology developments—invite an expert to share his or her perspective

or analysis of that trend, event, or development.

• An area in which you have a particular strength or weakness. If you

have a colleague you have worked with over time and with whom you

share expertise, hold an event where you and your students can probe

areas in greater depth with dialogue and debate. And if you have an

area of relative weakness, try to identify an expert in that area to pro-

vide greater depth.

• You might also invite an expert in to listen to, judge, or evaluate one or

two key team projects.

How Do I Set up the expert event?

The best type of event is one that both feels comfortable to and challenges

both experts and learners. Some of the possible structures are a mix of one

or more of the following:

• A simple question‐and answer‐format. If the expert is sufficiently well

known, the preparation can consist of a set of questions prepared by

students and sent to the expert in advance. Years ago, Steve Jobs of Apple

accepted a keynote invitation from a higher education technology group

on the condition that he didn’t have to prepare a talk. The format was a

simple question‐and‐answer session. Of course this did mean that organ-

izers had to prepare an appropriate and interesting set of questions.

• A magazine, journal, or other content or media resource that has been

authored by the expert or features the expert, combined with the

question‐and‐answer format.

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• A short PowerPoint presentation (about ten minutes) that forms the

basis for the conversation and dialogue.

• A podcast by an expert used as a base resource and then a conversation

and discussion with the expert after all the students have listened to it

and prepared questions.

• Experts can also be invited to be discussion forum leaders for a week. In

this scenario the instructor serves as host or moderator and supports

the dialogue of the expert with the students.

Generally it is important to prepare for the unexpected that can occur

for an expert event. Something can always go wrong, so having a backup

plan is highly recommended. This plan might be as simple as moving to a

later day or time or week or substituting an article authored by the invited

expert or a related resource, such as an equally relevant article, podcast, or

archived presentation.

are There other resources on using experts in

online Courses?

Here are the links to a two‐part resource, “Guest Lecturers in the Online

Environment,” by Virgil Varvel of the Illinois Online Network.

• July/August 2001: Guest Lecturers in the Online Environment. Part 1 of 2.

Learn the benefits of bringing in the outside lecture into your online courses

(http://www.ion.uillinois.edu/resources/ pointersclickers/2001_07/

index.asp).

• September/October 2001: Guest Lecturers in the Online Environment.

Part 2 of 2. Where can you find a good guest lecturer? What do students

think about guest lecturers? (http://www.ion.uillinois.edu/resources/

pointersclickers/2001_09/index.asp).

A professor in a graduate medical education program shared that he

liked to use guest experts because “our learners are usually ready for vari-

ety in the latter part of a course, and because they can add expertise that we

do not have ourselves” (Miller, 2014).

Summary—and what’s next

With the late middle of the course behind you, you probably have a set of

mixed feelings. You may be feeling elated that some of your students obvi-

ously are doing very well and progressing on meaningful learning pro-

jects. At the same time you may be feeling a little disappointed that some

students are still on the edge and that their projects may be only minimally

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successful. If this is your first online course, you are also probably feeling

pleased at how the course has progressed but also anxious about the final

weeks. This is all normal. Enjoy the range of experiences. In the next chap-

ter the focus shifts to resolving the challenges of the final weeks.

Self‐Directed exercise /application

Here are some suggestions for a faculty • Develop your policies for feedback on the brief development activity:

concept papers for your course and for the

• Design a collaborative activity that focuses on for- course projects.

mulating problems for your course content.

• Develop a rubric for one or more of your

• Write out the instructions for preparing to inter- assignments.

view a guest expert.

Chapter 9

Phase 4: Pruning, Reflecting,

and wrapping Up

The closing weeks of a course bring a mixture of feelings, ranging from

concerns about getting everything done to feelings of relief, satisfaction,

joy, and camaraderie. As an instructor, you want your students to be feel-

ing confident about the new skills and knowledge they have acquired. You

also want to be fair and efficient in your assessment of their learning.

In this phase of the course, your role as a coach should be front and

center. This is the time that students are more in charge of their own learn-

ing and are contributing to the learning of others. Your teaching goal now

is to help your students organize the course concepts and determine how

they will likely use the skills and knowledge they are acquiring in their

lives. In these closing weeks, you want to support your learners as they

integrate their knowledge and reach some level of resolution with what

they know now and want to know in the future.

Tips for the closing weeks

The tips in this chapter focus on complex cognitive growth, managing a

vibrant and dynamic community, and wrapping up assessment and

course projects.

There are two sets of tips for the closing weeks: Meaningful Projects

and Presentations, and Preparing for the Course Wrap.

The first set focuses on strategies for managing, directing, and support-

ing meaningful projects and presentations. The strategies include learners’

assuming leadership roles in the course community and determining how

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to tailor their learning to be most useful to themselves. The tips also address

authentic problem solving, working with what‐if scenarios, and strategies

for achieving a stimulating and comfortable camaraderie within the course

community. One of the tips describes concept mapping, also known as

mind mapping, which asks learners to create a graphical representation or

map of what they know, identifying the nodes, relationships, and dimen-

sions of the course content.

The set of tips on course wraps addresses ways of planning and cele-

brating the closing experiences. Just as it is helpful to wrap up discussions

and other assignments during the course, it is helpful to explicitly design

closing wrap‐up experiences for the course. One tip focuses on the pruning

and reflecting processes of learning. These processes are natural to inte-

grating knowledge and contributing to the cognitive growth of the course

learning community. This tip on pruning provides a number of strategies

for identifying core useful concepts that students can take away from a course.

We know that no one can possibly remember everything from a course, so

being explicit about what is known and not known helps learners organize

and put their knowledge into perspective. Two tips in this set discuss cel-

ebrating the closing of a particular community and making plans for future

gatherings and networking. The closing tip in this set focuses on the learner

experience, encouraging learners to think critically about their course

experience and in doing so, providing useful feedback for enhancing

the course.

Here are the sets of closing weeks (CW) tips:

Meaningful Projects and Presentations

• CW Tip 1: Using What‐If Scenarios: Flexing Our Minds with Possibilities

• CW Tip 2: Stage Three of a Learning Community: Stimulating and

Comfortable Camaraderie

• CW Tip 3: Learners as Leaders

• CW Tip 4: Course Wrapping with Concept Mapping: Capturing Course

Content Meaningfully

• CW Tip 5: Using Case Studies in Online Courses: Making Content Real

Preparing for the course wrap

• CW Tip 6: Pausing, Reflecting, and Pruning Strategies

• CW Tip 7: Closing Experiences: Wrapping Up a Course with Style

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279

• CW Tip 8: Real‐Time Closing Gatherings: Stories and Suggestions

• CW Tip 9: Debriefing Techniques: What One Change Would Students

Recommend?

Meaningful Projects and Presentations

This set of tips suggests teaching strategies for managing, directing, and sup-

porting meaningful projects and presentations. As learning is a constructive

process, requiring time and energy and creativity from learners, projects are

the learning activities in which students often find that it all comes together.

cw Tip 1: Using what‐if scenarios: Flexing our Minds

with Possibilities

This tip answers questions such as these:

• What are what‐if scenarios?

• What are some examples of what‐if scenarios?

• How do I design for these types of intense, collaborative activities?

Picture this. You are the manager of a large grocery store, but the num-

ber of new food products and variants—such as yogurt Cheerios, apple

cinnamon Cheerios, milk, soymilks, almond milk, and varieties of organic

products—seems endless. If only you had infinite shelf space. How would

you manage it, and how would your customers navigate the space? Or

picture a variant of our current political and philosophical worlds. In alter-

nate history studies, historians ponder and explore scenarios that might

have been if our familiar history was not so familiar. Some alternate history

scenarios explore questions such as: “What if Socrates had died before his

philosophy was written down by Plato?” (Hanson, 2002) or “What if FDR’s

life or circumstances had been different in the 20th century?” with seven

different possible scenarios (Ward, 2002). Our students might suggest these

what‐ifs: “What would have happened if Martin Luther King Jr. had not

been assassinated and become president?” “What if JFK had not been

assassinated?” “What if we had never landed on the moon?” “What if

Steve Jobs had never returned to Apple?”

In the case of the store manager wistfully desiring a world with infinite

shelf space, this wish has virtually been granted, and a new world of niche

culture is one of the ripple effects. This new world is persuasively described

by Chris Anderson, an editor at Wired magazine, in The Long Tail: Why the

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Future of Business Is Selling Less of More (2006). Anderson states that exam-

ples of infinite shelf space abound today. We have infinite shelf space for

books, music, and other media, enabling businesses to profit from low‐

volume items desired by the specialized interests of consumers. One ripple

effect of this phenomenon, Anderson argues, is that common culture will

reshape itself into an array of infinite overlapping niche cultures. How the

effects of this reshaping of mass culture will play out is unknown, but even

a partial reshaping of mass culture will have significant effects as people

become less and less familiar with the thinking of others.

Do you think that a scenario of infinite shelf space might have been

the focus of a business course fifteen or twenty years ago? What types of

scenarios might you want to use in your course today, looking out fifteen

years or so to encourage thinking in new ways and of new possibilities?

This tip examines some possible uses of what‐if scenarios in your

course and when you might want to use them.

what Are what‐if scenarios?

What‐if scenarios generally pose a question inquiring about a possible rip-

ple effects if a significant event had either not happened or happened dif-

ferently, as in the alternate history example presented earlier, or what might

happen in the future, such as varying scenarios of the future of health care

in the United States. What‐if scenarios are a specific type of problem‐

solving experience that includes role‐playing activities, simulations, and

case studies. These types of activities engage students on both an intellec-

tual and emotional level. These activities require higher cognitive work-

load as they research, evaluate and analyze, make decisions, observe

results, and then make decisions dealing with the consequences of earlier

decisions (Carnes, 2014).

why Use what‐if scenarios?

Here are four reasons for using what‐if scenarios in your course:

• Using what‐if scenarios encourages spontaneity and flexibility in think-

ing. When a group explores these scenarios, they are basically dealing

with fictionalized events. One requirement for this fiction, however, is

that once a context has been established for a scenario, the happenings

within the event must have internal consistency.

• What‐if scenarios typically have possibilities rather than right or

wrong answers. Devising scenarios is relatively straightforward

because all scenarios, real or imagined, depend on a set of assump-

tions. Change the assumptions, and you have a new scenario. Have

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Socrates die earlier, and his philosophy is not written down. Assume

that you have fixed shelf space, or assume that you have infinite shelf

space. Assume that gas will cost six dollars a gallon or, alternatively,

two dollars a gallon. Change the assumptions, and then examine the

possible consequences.

• Using what‐if scenarios in your course often helps students develop con-

fidence in what they know or don’t know or might need to know of the

course content and related areas. Exploring the assumptions behind the

scenarios requires that students examine their own assumptions and

knowledge structures, and clearly communicate what they think and why.

• Using what‐if scenarios is often an excellent device for keeping the

course content fresh for both faculty and students. It also offers ways of

personalizing and customizing content.

getting started with what‐if scenarios

Here is an easy way to get started: Search out case studies in your field

with ongoing challenges. Then change some of the variables and some of

the assumptions. This initial step can be designed as a student activity.

A team of two or three students can select a case study from a list you have

created, identify the core assumptions, and suggest a different set of

assumptions. If you want to control the design of a scenario, build your

question for a group activity around a change in an influential figure in

your discipline. In a leadership course, explore a scenario in which Al Gore

was elected president in 2004 or John McCain was elected president in

2008. In biology, examine a scenario in which significant plant life is

found on Mars.

cw Tip 2: stage 3 of a learning community: stimulating

and comfortable camaraderie

This tip answers questions such as these:

• How do I know if the learning community has reached stage 2 or

stage 3 in Brown’s (2001) three‐stage model of building community?

• Is it possible to reach the stage of stimulating and comfortable camara-

derie in a single course term?

When a course is in its closing phase, it is wise to return to fundamental

themes: community and collaboration. This tip revisits the development

stages of a community and focuses on the characteristics of stage 3: reach-

ing a state of stimulating and comfortable camaraderie.

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Three stages of Building community

One of the earlier tips (LM Tip 13) referred to stage 2 of Brown’s three‐stage

model. Here the stages are again, in summary.

Stage 1

Making friends online with students with whom we feel comfortable

communicating.

Stage 2

Community conferment (acceptance and effective communication).

Stage 3

This is characterized by camaraderie. Student engagement is even more

intense, as students are focusing, sharing, and working on projects,

presentations, and course capstone experiences. Peer reviews and

consulting on projects earlier in the course often drive a high level

of commitment and mutual support.

Faculty Behaviors That support stage 3

community‐Building

Faculty behaviors that help a class move beyond the mutual acceptance

and effective communication of stage 2 to the commitment and support of

stage 3 include variations of the following behaviors. These actions also

support the learner’s work in integrating knowledge in each learner’s

knowledge base. It is a good strategy to select one of these behaviors to

focus on one of the closing discussion forums for your course:

• Grappling with issues and problems together, including problems for

which the answers are unknown

• Encouraging learners to brainstorm and challenge each other about

innovative strategies and solutions

• Communicating with learners on the intersection of interests and core

concepts in the course content

• Sharing relevant experiences that support future networking and pro-

fessional collaboration

At this stage, your students’ postings will likely show evidence of

developing personal and professional relationships. One of the desired

outcomes of learning and sharing discoveries together is the development

of these lasting relationships. When we ask our students what they take

with them from a course, professional and personal friendships for the

future are usually mentioned.

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conditions That can hinder community Development

In striving to achieve a successful stage 3 of community of stimulating and

comfortable camaraderie, are we aiming so high that we set ourselves up

for disappointment? Here is a reality check. In her study on building com-

munity, Brown (2001) identified fifteen lifestyle conditions that might hin-

der a group of learners from developing into a vibrant learning community.

She called these “intervening conditions,” and they include many of the

familiar lifestyle and commitment issues, such as health, work, family,

logistics, and technology. Other conditions that she included might not

come as readily to mind:

• Personalities and how they manifest themselves online.

• Possible mismatch of learner and faculty teaching and learning styles.

• Varying expectations and needs from a course. Some students really just

want the credit and the grade and have no interest in networking. For

working professionals, this needs to be an acceptable option.

What does this reality check suggest? Be patient and understanding

with yourself and your students. Review the list of faculty actions for

building community. If you are doing many of them, the community that

is evolving in your course may be what makes sense for a particular group

of students. Be sure that you are enjoying the discussions and learning that

are happening, and then relax.

cw Tip 3: learners as leaders

This tip answers questions such as these:

• Why design experiences that empower learners as leaders of course

experiences?

• How can I require learners to lead forums and other activities without

appearing as if I am not doing “my” job of teaching?

Part of our challenge as instructors is managing the delicate balance

between directed and self‐directed learning. One instructional strategy

that encourages this balance is learner‐as‐leader experiences.

Providing opportunities for learners to take the lead in learning

experiences for a group or the larger course group can give learners a

sense of empowerment that is both a critical element and a desired out-

come of participation in an online learning community (Palloff &

Pratt, 2007).

Learners‐as‐leaders experiences shift the learner’s mindset away from the

instructor as the primary content authority. It encourages a learner to see

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himself or herself as a valuable resource and contributor to the learning expe-

rience of others. Learners can see themselves as knowledge generators and

connectors. Having learners lead activities also supports Vygotsky’s theory of

the zone of proximal development (ZPD). As learners develop expertise, their

ZPDs shift and expand. Ideally, course experiences are designed with flexibil-

ity to be reshaped by and for learners to adapt to these shifting ZPDs.

As shifts occur in the learner’s mindsets and ZPDs, the role of the

instructor also shifts, from directing and telling to supporting, clarifying,

critiquing, coaching, and shaping. Simultaneously with this shift, the

instructor also learns more from the students. This tip provides a few hints

on designing and implementing learner‐as‐leader activities.

learners‐as‐leaders experiences: orientation

and Planning Time

Learner‐led activities generally succeed when learners are prepared, expec-

tations are clear and purposeful, processes and procedures are explicit, and

the activities fit learners’ state of readiness and personal goals. Here are

some steps to include in your planning:

• Many learners may need to be oriented to the idea of leading a group or

class activity, such as a forum, discussion, role‐play, debate, or project.

Start talking about the concept of learner‐led activities from the begin-

ning of the course.

• Provide learners with a detailed description of the activity and the

expected outcomes and responsibilities. An overview of the activity

with a link to the detailed directions often works well.

• Encourage learners to begin making choices about their planned

learner‐led activity after the first phase of the course has been completed.

• Provide time in the course calendar for learners to begin planning the

activities around the middle of the term.

• Schedule instructor‐team discussion time for the activities before the

team is scheduled to lead an activity. Depending on the scope and com-

plexity of the activity, this discussion could be one week or many weeks

before the activity. The instructor serves as guide, director, and consult-

ant, keeping the focus on the outcomes and clear expectations.

individual versus Team‐led Activities

The adage “There’s safety in numbers” is often true for learner‐led activi-

ties. Learner‐as‐leader activities can often be very effective as team‐based

activities. The teams should be small, to minimize the likelihood of learners’

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285

opting out of an activity. Groups of three to five students can work well for

more complex projects, but experience suggests that teams of two or three

work better and encourage more activity on the part of each learner. Each

member’s voice is heard more often with smaller teams.

Making outcomes explicit

In addition to knowing the purpose and outcomes of the activity, it is help-

ful if students know how the outcomes fit into the larger context of the

course plan. If the outcomes from the instructor are clear and learners

embrace them, they can also develop additional goals or outcomes for

the activity.

choosing the Type of Activity

Gagné, Briggs, and Wager (1992) describe five kinds of learning outcomes:

intellectual skills, verbal information, cognitive strategy, attitude, and

motor skills. Of these five, the first four lend themselves best to learner‐led

activities because the activities to achieve those outcomes can be accom-

plished almost anywhere. (Admittedly, tools and strategies for achieving

the outcomes of motor skill proficiency in an online course are still early in

their development.)

Some of the most common learner‐led activities are leading a group in

a discussion, forum, or research topic. Other good learner‐led activities are

working on complex problems or projects, preparing and conducting

debates, and role‐playing key concepts or games. Again, the keys to suc-

cess are preparation, consultation, and clear expectations.

It should always be assumed that learners are novice activity leaders

and therefore should be encouraged to keep their activity simple from both

a pedagogical and a technological perspective.

Table 9.1 provides a list of elements to consider when including a

learner‐led activity.

cw Tip 4: course wrapping with concept Mapping: capturing

course content Meaningfully

This tip answers questions such as these:

• What is concept mapping?

• What are the benefits of concept mapping? How can it support the pro-

cesses of capturing and representing course content?

• Are there any software tools for concept mapping or its close relation,

mind mapping?

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TABle 9.1

checklist for an effective learner‐led Activity

Yes/

comments

no

1.

Are the objectives for the activity clearly stated in the syllabus?

2.

Is there a rubric for the grading of the activity?

3.

Is the concept of a learner‐led activity introduced at least two weeks before

learners begin planning it?

4.

Are learners provided several weeks to plan the activity?

5.

Does the topic allow a person or team to be creative in their choice and

implementation of the activity?

6.

Does the participation grade include participation in the learner‐led activities?

Source: Conrad and Donaldson (2011, p. 116).

With so many priorities competing for attention in the closing weeks of

a course, great learning opportunities can get lost in the shuffle. When the

frantic feelings are over, our learners may be tempted to wonder, What was

that all about, and how am I and my brain different?

Concept mapping is useful because it requires thinking structurally

about concepts. When we consider what we want our learners to take with

them from a course, it is usually a rich set of concepts integrated into their

knowledge base that we want most to encourage. Learners also value a set

of concepts that they can talk about, because it can be helpful in sharing

with family and friends what their course work means to them.

This tip provides a definition of concept mapping and a description of

concept mapping software. Concept mapping is a good choice for course

wrapping, as it can assist learners in framing their course knowledge for

future use and in pruning and focusing on core concepts. This strategy can

be a powerful tool for knowledge creation and consolidation.

concept Mapping

What is a concept map? Here are two definitions. First, the simplest:

“Concept maps are graphical tools for organizing and representing knowl-

edge.” (Novak & Cañas, 2006, p. 1). A complementary definition from

Wikipedia that reinforces the use of concept maps for instructional use is

“A concept map is a way of representing relationships between ideas,

images, or words.” This is important as course outcomes rely on students

constructing knowledge representations.

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The development of concept mapping is generally attributed to the

work of Joseph Novak at Cornell University as part of a 1972 research pro-

gram seeking to understand changes in children’s knowledge of science

(Novak & Cañas, 2008). Concept mapping is rooted in the theories of cog-

nitive restructuring, going back even further to the work of Ausubel in the

1960s; he stressed the importance of prior knowledge in learning.

Meaningful learning, according to Ausubel, occurs with only three condi-

tions: conceptually clear resources, a learner’s prior knowledge, and the

learner’s active choice to learn (Novak & Cañas, 2008.)

Concept mapping is generally considered to be a tool for these types of

cognitive processes:

• Integrating old and new knowledge

• Assessing understanding or diagnosing misunderstanding

• Brainstorming

• Problem‐solving

In other words, it is a useful tool for meaningful learning. And it can

also be useful for seeing how knowledge changes and evolves over time.

core concepts About concept Mapping

As defined above, concept maps are graphical tools for organizing and rep-

resenting knowledge. Figure 9.1 shows a concept map that answers the

question, “What is a concept map?” Note that concept maps are generally

read from top to bottom.

This concept map includes a definition of concepts, which can be seen

on the low middle left. Novak and Cañas define a concept as a “perceived

regularity in events or objects, or records of events or objects” (p. 10). The

concept map informs the reader about the characteristics of concepts as

well. Concepts are hierarchically structured; they are labeled with symbols

or words; and they can be combined to form propositions.

We can talk about concepts with words alone, but as the concept map

illustrates, concepts are much more than just words. Concepts are a clus-

ter of related ideas. Single words are often used as labels for complex

ideas, and we can readily think that students own a concept when in

reality they own only the word. For example, leadership is a concept and

works relatively well as a simple label, but like many concepts it is

clearer when stated as a proposition containing multiple concepts, such

as vision, influence, motivating others, ethics, and influence. Think

about the number of concepts in your course and how you might repre-

sent them graphically.

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FigURe 9.1

A concept Map showing the key Features of concept Maps

Concept Maps

help to

represent

answer

“Focus

Question(s)”

needed to

Organized

Associated

includes

answer

Knowledge

Feelings or Affect

are

is

is

comprised of

Context

add to

necessary

Dependent

for

connected

Linking

used to

Effective

Concepts

using

Words

form

Propositions

Teaching

e.g.

are

are

are

may be

Effective

Personal

are

Learning

Perceived

Units

Social

Regularities

Hierarchically

of Meaning

Crosslinks

Labeled

or Patterns

Structured

constructed in

in

begin

with

in

with

show

aids

especially

with

Cognitive

Events

Objects

Symbols

Words

Structure

(Happenings)

(Things)

Creativity

Interrelationships

Experts

begins

between

Infants

with

needed

to see

Different

Map Segments

From Novak and Cañas (2006) at http://cmap.ihmc.us/docs/theory‐of‐concept‐maps

Concept maps are organized hierarchically; however, the hierarchy of

complex concepts is not always clear. The structuring of concept maps

requires identifying the components of concepts, relationships, and

dependencies. When we identify connections, new patterns and relation-

ships among the knowledge concepts often reveal themselves. Nursing

students using mind mapping in a clinical practicum made comments such

as, “I’m finally able to make sense of all the pieces of the puzzle, and to form

relationships among the pieces of data” (Cahill & Fonteyn, 2000, p. 220).

integrating concept Mapping into a course

To start using concept mapping in a course, Novak and Cañas (2008) rec-

ommend starting with a focus question—one that clearly specifies the

problem or issue the concept map should help to resolve. This question

helps to frame the particular domain of knowledge for a learner to map.

Creating concept maps requires learners to use their generalized available

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289

body of knowledge and the course content knowledge. In other words,

concept mapping requires relating new knowledge to existing knowledge,

highlighting the fact that the course knowledge is not independent or

wholly separate from what students already know.

Developing a good focus question for a concept map is itself a useful

collaborative instructional experience. As a course is coming to a close, you

want the learners to think about what they knew initially about the course

knowledge, what they think they know now, and what they wish they

knew more about something—or how to do something. What students

wish they knew can be a rich source of focus questions. Another good end‐

of‐course activity is to modify the concept map they may have initiated at

the beginning of the course.

is There a good Tool for concept Mapping?

The list of tools for concept mapping and mind mapping is now extensive.

Novak and others offer a tool for concept mapping that is free for higher edu-

cation: CmapTools (v. 6.01.01); it is available from the Institute of

Human and Machine Cognition (http://cmap.ihmc.us). There is even a Cmap app available. A listing of concept map and mind mapping software is

available at Visual Thinking Center (http://www.mind‐mapping.org/

Visual‐Thinking‐Center.html). Another good source is Kathy Schrock’s Guide

to Everything (http://www.schrockguide.net/concept‐mapping.html).

Using concept mapping as an instructional tool does require some

rethinking about course design. Concept mapping encourages a shift from

a topical linear approach of building knowledge to a more connectionist

view of knowledge representation. Concept mapping requires proposi-

tional knowledge and knowledge of patterns and relationships rooted in

deep knowledge and expertise. It requires thinking, analysis, weighing of

ideas, and identifying relationships and patterns. This means it can be used

at a number of different points in a course.

Concept mapping can be an effective way of wrapping up a course. For

example, it can be an individual assignment with students focusing on one

or more focus questions, or a small team assignment of creating a concept

map focusing on a core concept and its connections to the other core con-

cepts. Karen R. Stout, an associate professor at Western Washington

University, likes to use concept mapping to generate class discussions, and

for capturing what students know about particular concepts. A YouTube

video (www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gm1owf0uGFM)—and script is at

http://pandora.cii.wwu.edu/cii/resources/modules/concept/#intro.

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cw Tip 5: Using case studies in online courses:

Making content Real

This tip answers questions such as these:

• How can we use problems and case studies in our courses and still

cover all the core ideas of a discipline?

• Why is using case studies so fundamental to deep processing of content?

Do you shy away from using situations, problems, or case studies in

your course? Do you do this because you worry that you have so much to

tell, to cover, to share? This is a very natural response, because we, as

experts, have brains chock full of a lifetime of knowledge. We worry, we

wonder: How can our students learn what they need to learn about this topic in a

mere 8 weeks or even 15 weeks?

Yet we know the following: for students to construct their own knowl-

edge structures, we must immerse them in examples, scenarios, problems,

stories, and case studies situated in real contexts (Dewey, 1938; Bruner, 1963;

Brown, 1989; Ericsson, 2007). So when planning our teaching, we have a

dilemma: How to we balance “telling” with “student thinking and discuss-

ing”? How can we get students to deeply process course content while

ensuring that we at least acquaint them with all the core ideas of a discipline?

start with stories

The short answer is this: start with stories. If you are teaching biology, start

with the story of solving the problem of cholera in London in 1832, or the

countries where cholera is still a problem today, or the current challenge of

how flu vaccine–making scientists can keep up with mutating strains of flu

viruses. If you are teaching business leadership, consider starting with a

company facing a corporate challenge, such as how to come up with a

whole new category of product every three or four years. Or how to handle

company succession when a founding father dies suddenly, or the question

of why oil prices are dropping so rapidly and the effects and consequences,

including employment, types of cars being purchased, and future oil

exploration.

John Seely Brown, noted scientist, thinker, and former director of the

Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), affirmed the role of stories when he

described his theory of situated cognition in 1989 (Brown, Collins, &

Duguid). What is situated cognition? It is the belief that “knowledge is

‘situated,’ being in part a product of the activity, context, and culture in

which it is developed and used” (p.32). Thus studying knowledge in

context is essential to learning well.

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what This Tip Does

This tip suggests ways of integrating stories, problems, and case studies

into digital learning experiences. Situating content within a particular con-

text helps students see why, where, when, and how content is important.

Stories illustrating the usefulness of course knowledge draw students in to

how the content is relevant to their lives, now and in the future. Exposure

and discussion of a broad set of stories and cases develops confidence and

expertise in a discipline or skill.

Situating content in real‐life contexts can be done with the use of sto-

ries, examples, and cases such as those populating the headlines on a daily

basis. Another source are the examples and scenarios in discipline resources.

Integrating case studies into your courses does not mean that you abandon

your textbook. Rather, it means taking advantage of our current media

environment, where students can research the stories behind the headlines

and bring those questions, problems, etc. to the class for discussion and

then apply the content to these real life events, with the guidance and inter-

pretation of you, the discipline expert.

So, how do you start?

Definitions of content Resources containing stories

When talking about case studies, we often think about the long, complex

case studies that require many hours of work, discussion, and reflection

developed by a team of scholars. However, there are many other options.

Lengthy case studies are only one type of resource for bringing complexity

and context into a course. Here is a list of other story type resources to con-

sider. They are all similar to case studies in that they are rich, contextual, and

multidimensional. They are listed in a rough approximation of increasing

complexity.

Example

An illustration of a principle, or model, or a specimen or instance typi-

cal of the set of which it forms a part (dictionary.com). Illustrations,

instances, samples, and specimens are all examples. Sprinkle liber-

ally throughout the course.

Situation

Describes a series of events leading to an event that needs to be resolved.

Story

“An account or recital of an event or a series of events, either true or

fictitious” (thefreedictionary.com).

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Case study

For instructional purposes, “student‐centred activities based on topics

that demonstrate theoretical concepts in an applied setting” (Davis

& Wilcock, 2003, pp. 3–4).

Game

“A system in which players engage in an artificial conflict, defined

by rules, that results in a quantifiable outcome” (Salen &

Zimmerman, 2004).

Problem

“Something that is difficult to deal with: something that is a source of

trouble, worry” (Merriam‐Webster). Problem‐based learning (PBL)

is a student‐centered pedagogy that strives to “teach content by

presenting the students with a real‐world challenge similar to one

they might encounter were they a practitioner of the discipline”

(Gallow, 2001).

Simulations

A learning environment in which the student can practice difficult,

exacting, life‐threatening, or mission‐critical skills (Epper,

Derryberry, & Jackson, 2012). “Online simulations engage students

with real‐life management situations that require them to make

critical decisions” (Harvard Business Publishing, 2011)

Scenarios

“Consistent and coherent descriptions of alternative hypothetical

futures that reflect different perspectives on past, present, and

future developments, which can serve as a basis for action” (Van

Notten, 2006).

As can be seen, the ways in which “deliberate practice,” as recom-

mended by Ericsson (2009), can be integrated into courses range from a

very short, simple story or example to more complex, demanding, and

lengthy cases. It is well worth searching out stories and cases or having

your students identify relevant examples and stories.

Mix Up stories and cases

What are some ways you can use stories and cases in your courses? Here

are a few ideas. But first, an important note: Be sure to select stories, prob-

lems, and cases that reinforce your course’s core concepts, skills, and learn-

ing outcomes. You want to be prepared to guide the students’ analysis and

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293

understanding of the cases. Students will likely make unusual connections

and suggest surprising insights, but the case must be a good exemplar of

the core concepts.

Launching a Course or Topic

1. Start with a simple, but dramatic story in which someone uses course

content with great results, or ignores course content with disastrous

consequences. Have students respond with thoughts, insights, and

suggestions.

2. Start with a problem or case study representative of the types of prob-

lems experts in the field face or grapple with. Gather ideas, strategies,

thoughts, and recommendations from the students.

3. Stories or case studies can be discussed in a forum or a simple written

team assignment. Ideally, this discussion can be revisited later in the

course. The goal is that students will intuitively establish more purpose

for learning course content, answering the question of what knowledge

or skills they might need to deal with complex issues presented by such

cases and stories.

4. Note: Sometimes it is effective to couch a simple story or case with the

classic beginning of, “One day in the life of a leader, manager, scientist,

professor, marketer, CIO.”

Reading Assignments

1. When assigning a reading, assign a companion story, problem, or case

for evaluation, analysis, question, reflection, or action.

2. Provide a choice of two or three stories, problems, or cases and have

students research, respond to one of them. This is a great two‐person

team assignment, as students can assume different perspectives

or roles.

3. The next step in this assignment, can be discussing the assignment in a

forum for whole class sharing. This is an efficient way of exposing stu-

dents to more cases and problems based on course content.

Creating or Writing Assignments

1. Create a writing, audio or media production assignment that requires

evaluation or analysis of a case or problem.

2. Create an assignment for students to find stories that exemplify the

problem, or maybe even search out Tweets that exemplify the concept

going right or wrong.

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3. Evaluate a crisis, how it evolved, and possible strategies for deal-

ing with them.

4. Analyze or debate issues raised in a story, relying on course content for

rationales and principles.

Earlier, we posed the following question: How can we get students to

deeply process course content while ensuring that we at least acquaint

them with all the core ideas of a discipline? The way to bridge the gap

between the theory presented by course readings and the practice provided

by cases, stories, and problems is to guide and support students in identi-

fying and using the core concepts. It is a discovery, rather than a telling.

conclusion

The power of stories, problems, and cases is that they reside in a complex

context. The power of linear chapter‐by‐chapter content lies in its abstract

simplicity. Constructing meaningful knowledge requires joining of the

abstract concepts with the complexity of life. Stories, problems, and cases

are one way of helping students deal meaningfully with course content.

For more about the case method of teaching, Harvard Review Publishing

has many resources available to faculty. They sponsor a blog on case

method teaching (http://teachingpost.hbsp.harvard.edu/questions/368/

criteria‐for‐evaluating‐class‐participation.html).

Preparing for the course wrap

This set of tips has suggestions for preparing you and your students for the

closing weeks of the course and focusing on meaningful experiences to

wrap up the overall course experience.

cw Tip 6: Pausing, Reflecting, and Pruning strategies

This tip answers questions such as these:

• Why is pausing and reflecting so important?

• How can we integrate these processes into course designs?

• What do researchers say about how memory works?

Pausing, reflecting, and pruning are elements of the learning process

that are often neglected. Yet our brains and memories are not designed for

remembering everything. Daniel Schacter (2001), a professor and chair of

Harvard University’s Department of Psychology, has identified seven

“sins” of memory. One of these “sins” is well known to all of us: the “sin”

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of transience, or the tendency to forget things over time. While this mem-

ory trait might be considered a negative, Schacter suggests that transience

and other memory traits of omission, such as blocking and absent‐

mindedness, are not flaws in the architecture of memory but costs we pay

for benefits in memory that make it work as well as it does most of the time.

Many of the new technologies—smartphones, cameras, GPS trackers,

and social media apps—are going beyond the traditional capturing of key

life moments to life‐logging, a term used to describe systems that document

every conversation and movement. Twitter services, for example, enable

us to share what we are doing each moment in messages to all our follow-

ers. Just as we may cringe at the thought of every moment of our lives

being captured and recorded, we may well cringe at every moment of our

teaching and learning processes being recorded. Learning, like life, can be

messy. And a large percentage of the activities of learning are best

left behind.

The big challenge for students is discerning which concepts, ideas, and

examples are keepers. How do students identify the real takeaways of a

course? Pause‐and‐reflect learning strategies help students identify and

encode the core concepts and skills that are the foundation for subsequent

learning. Pause‐and‐reflect strategies encourage elaborate encoding pro-

cesses for the key important content and help to move content elements

from short‐term memory into long‐term memory and to find a place for the

knowledge in the knowledge structure we call mind. Here are a few pause‐

and‐reflect strategies.

• Plan pausing, reflecting, and summarizing times into your course on an

ongoing basis. One technique useful for this reflection strategy is the

discussion‐wrapping tip. You will recall that discussion wrapping is

used to summarize the key points of a discussion topic and to transition

to the next. When directing students to prepare summaries of the dis-

cussion, one technique is to use terms such as the bottom line, core con-

cepts, and implications for next steps.

• Hold synchronous online question‐and‐answer sessions as concept

summary sessions. With synchronicity, you can hear in real time what

students are thinking and understanding. Faculty who use synchronous

sessions in online and blended courses report that it is their—and their

students’—favorite way of gathering and thinking out loud together.

• Ask your students to generate questions. Ask them to record, talk about,

or think out loud about what is potentially confusing to them. The prac-

tical inquiry model (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000) affirms that

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two processes in developing useful knowledge are integration and reso-

lution. Integration refers to reaching some group or team convergences

by connecting ideas, identifying relationships and patterns, and pro-

posing solutions. With resolution, the group or larger community

applies and tests solutions in the real‐world scenarios.

• Plan other activities that challenge students to describe, define, and use

the core concepts in various contexts. These can be compare‐and‐

contrast activities and scavenger hunts for how the core concepts are

expressed in classic and current scenarios.

• Plan a lessons‐learned paper or discussion by asking learners to discuss

what they learned and why it was important to them. This technique is

sometimes termed a reverse exam.

Pause‐and‐reflect activities are so important because they encourage

the elaborate encoding of knowledge by identifying and seeing relation-

ships, categories, and unique application examples.

Here are the seven sins of memory identified by Schacter (www.apa.

org/monitor/oct03/sins.aspx):

1. Transience—forgetting that occurs with the passage of time

2. Absent‐mindedness—forgetting probably caused by lack of attention

or divided attention and preoccupation

3. Blocking—inability to recall a bit of information that we know we know

4. Misattribution—errors in recall; we remember events that never hap-

pened, attribute features of an event to a different time or place, and

remember events, but find they happened to someone else

5. Suggestibility—a tendency to incorporate misleading information from

external sources into personal recollections

6. Bias—the tendency to be influenced by factors, such as consistency,

change, the present, role of the self, generic stereotype

7. Persistence—tendency to remember those things you would rather

forget

cw Tip 7: closing experiences: wrapping Up a course with style

This tip answers questions such as these:

• What strategies help students manage the stress and panic often induced

by end‐of‐course projects and requirements?

• How do I design a closing experience?

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The closing weeks of a course can often be quite stressful. Planning, list

making, and deep‐breathing exercises can be helpful in reducing stress and

calming us. A favorite image of one of us is from the productivity consult-

ant David Allen (2015). According to Allen, making a list is a powerful

strategy, as it helps us to clear the “psychic RAM” of our brain, and we feel

more relaxed and in control. With a list in hand, we don’t have to continu-

ally remind ourselves of what needs to be done and when.

Here are a few hints for closing out a course experience with style,

panache, and pleasure.

Prepare a list of what’s next and when Assignments

and Readings Are Due

This tip places the burden of creating a master “Things to Do to Complete

a Course” list for students on the instructor. Some faculty may think this

falls into the category of helping students too much. We like to think that

making such a master list benefits the instructor as much as the student.

A master list is a chance to ensure that the deadlines and assessment tasks

that an instructor must do is in sync with learner deadlines. Such a master

list helps students stay focused on learning the course knowledge and

completing their projects.

A master list is a form of teaching direction and can be posted in a

prominent place on the course site. Then your voice or text announcements

in the final days and weeks can refer to it. Another strategy is to use a com-

munity forum and have a community to‐do list, with room for hints, sug-

gestions, and reminders. This can be a way of developing students’

responsibility for list‐making.

Plan a celebration session to end the course

Remember that a course is a series of structured learning experiences.

A well‐designed course ending provides opportunities for reflection and

integration of useful knowledge. It is also a time to wrap up positive social

and cognitive experiences.

When we get together for family and holiday time, we often do a lot of

hugging as we disperse and return to our usual daily responsibilities. The

end of a course can be closed with cognitive hugging and concept pruning,

reflecting explicitly on the knowledge and skills students look forward to

using in the future.

End‐of‐course experiences can focus on one or all of these three areas:

(1) content, (2) interaction and community, and (3) the full course

experience.

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end‐of‐course content experiences

Both faculty and learners benefit from end‐of‐course content experiences.

For faculty it is an opportunity to affirm the core concepts of a course, say-

ing, “If you remember nothing else, remember ‘_________’ or ‘________.’”

(Fill in your favorite terms for what you consider the most foundational

core concepts.) Many faculty like to use a course summary that includes

discipline trends and encourages the development of lifelong career habits.

For example, an obvious goal for many graduate students is to develop the

habit of reading a specific journal, following a discipline organization, or

tracking a particular expert as a way of integrating the course content

over time.

For learners, the end of the course is a time to tie up loose ends and put

the finishing touches on new perspectives and new knowledge. Recall that

as we develop concepts, it is often necessary to identify and build relation-

ships among ideas and concepts within our existing body of knowledge.

This also requires pruning what we have learned so that we can readily

access and use essential and useful concepts.

One strategy that promotes end‐of‐course reflection is to ask the learn-

ers to share one of their most meaningful insights. The end of the course is

also a time for discussing what learners will be doing next. What courses

are next on their schedule, or what learning tasks are they going to

turn to next?

end‐of‐course interaction experiences

Learners often create a helpful, supportive, and dynamic learning commu-

nity over eight to fourteen weeks. Closing out such an experience can

sometimes be wrenching; other times it is much easier. Providing a time

and place for saying good‐bye, just as we provide a time and place for

learners for introductions, is a good thing to do. A simple way to do this is

with a closing forum where students share a closing comment, such as the

end‐of‐course content insight they gleaned from a collaborative experi-

ence, that they will take with them.

One of the most valuable parts of a successful learning is expanding

our network of colleagues, so providing a way for students to stay in touch

is also helpful. This can happen naturally in a cohort‐based program.

Another technique might be to encourage them to share where and when

they might meet again, such as which other courses they might be in again.

Other times, “until we meet again” works just fine. One faculty shared that

one of the most heartwarming comments that he remembers is a student

saying that he disliked “seeing the class come to an end!”

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A wrap‐up forum can be a good activity for the end of the last week. It

might be combined with a debriefing on the projects.

end‐of‐course Full course experience

The end of a course brings course evaluations. Although this is an impor-

tant feedback mechanism for the institution, it is often less useful for fac-

ulty. To gain more value, ask the learners for feedback about particular

elements of the course experience while it is fresh in their minds:

• What was the most useful resource or assignment for the course, and why?

• What problems, if any, did they have with the use of the learning tools—

either “operator error” or “designer error”?

• What did they notice about the course that you think might be changed

in some way? You can add your own comment here to get them started:

“Here is one thing I noticed . . .”

• Were they ready for the course content? What might have helped if

they were not?

• Include an open question for other suggestions or recommendations.

This informal feedback can be in a separate place on the course site,

and it can be unstructured and anonymous. The goal is to gather data for

ongoing updating and quality enhancement of the course experiences for

faculty and learners. Of course, you can remind the students that you

would like ideas that will improve the course for others, keeping the focus

on constructive feedback.

closing Thought

Reviewing your end‐of‐course experiences can reveal, sometimes with sur-

prise, all the tasks that learners must complete during the final weeks of a

course. Be realistic and, if advisable, modify the requirements. The last few

weeks of a course can be some of the most stimulating and creative learn-

ing time, as learners are putting it all together. So prepare a special coffee

or other favorite beverage or music and enjoy your students and their dia-

logue at this time.

cw Tip 8: Real‐Time closing gatherings: stories and suggestions

This tip answers questions such as these:

• What are the key features of synchronous meeting rooms and what are

they good for?

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• I am clueless and intimidated and too busy to use the online synchro-

nous classrooms. How can I possibly get started?

• What about the students? Are they ready to use these tools?

• Do real‐time gatherings help build community?

Synchronous meeting rooms are finally easy enough to use that they

are becoming an expected teaching and learning tool for online and blended

courses. As discussed in EM Tip 15, synchronous sessions are particularly

valuable for demonstrations, problem‐solving activities, and Q&A review

sessions. Synchronous sessions have great potential during the closing

weeks. These rooms provide a place where participants can talk and chat

interactively in real time, making them a fitting venue for presentations,

project summaries and demonstrations. Holding review activities in the

online classroom also makes the evaluation of student learning more trans-

parent and collaborative.

Using synchronous Meeting Rooms

Synchronous meeting rooms make it possible to interact in real time from

wherever you might be as long as you have a good network connection.

However, synchronous meeting room applications are a bundle of sophis-

ticated technologies, so things can easily go wrong. Moreover, they require

learners to be familiar with the use of headphones and the microphone

settings on their devices. Learners may also require some time in develop-

ing new habits of communicating and sharing. Remembering to press a

button to talk can feel strange at first. Experiences suggest that once an

instructor and students use a synchronous meeting room, they rarely want

to teach and learn without it. So how might you use this online classroom?

Is it worth the challenges?

Faculty stories with synchronous Meeting Rooms

Once faculty start using synchronous tools, they often become passionate

about them. One of the most enthusiastic faculty that we talked to about

the online classroom taught business writing. She held twice‐weekly ses-

sions in which she and her learners collaboratively analyzed business writ-

ing samples and student work pieces for effectiveness and construction.

Together they developed a comfort level with the technology that really

worked for them.

Another faculty member, Debra Dinnocenzo at Duquesne University,

used the online classroom when teaching a graduate course on leadership

in the virtual workplace. She used it for gathering her students together in

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301

real time, both as a full class and as smaller teams for content and project

discussions. The sixteen students often used the environment by them-

selves for team meetings and for project work, bypassing the challenges of

setting up conference calls, and using the archiving feature to capture their

work. Debra also highly recommends using the live real‐time environment

to invite experts to her class.

Using live classroom for a course closing experience

If we think about multiple online meeting rooms as a conference center for

the course, many possible uses for closing experiences become apparent.

Debra used the general course room for having a course celebration closing

party, complete with course trinkets, beverages, and special closing discus-

sions. This may be more than what you want to do, but it tickles the imagi-

nation. Students sent company‐logoed cups or hats to Debra, who then

mailed a “party package” to all her students. Alternatives to this approach

might be to simply determine the “party menu” and everyone bring their

own beverage or treat to the event at their computer.

likely Questions

One question you may have is whether synchronous activity reduces the

number of postings on discussion boards. As in the case of Debra’s class,

with an average of over 200 messages a week, the community that devel-

ops with the real‐time gatherings may be prompting even greater asyn-

chronous interaction. This is a question deserving of more data.

Another question you may have is about how students respond to

online courses using synchronous meetings when online courses are

designed primarily as asynchronous and independent of time and place

requirements. Informal feedback from faculty and students suggests that

these gatherings work if they are optional rather than required and if the

gatherings are captured and archived so that students who are unable to

participate in real time can still access the experience asynchronously.

Depending on the infrastructure for your online course, creating online

meeting rooms can be very easy or a little more difficult. Some questions

that you will want to ask of your contact at your institution include the

following:

How do I create and set up online meeting rooms for my course?

Setting up rooms in LMSs often appears as a simple option, just as you

might create a forum or discussion board. The best thing to do is to

ask this question of your technical support team or a colleague.

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How do I record and archive the online classroom sessions?

Press the archive button at the beginning of the session and again at the

close of it. You can post the link to the archived session anywhere it

is convenient in your course.

How do I prepare technically for an online session?

Most online classroom systems have prerecorded or live tutorials avail-

able on their sites. Or you can prepare by attending sessions offered

by your institution.

How do I prepare the content for an online session?

Preparing well for the content of online sessions is extremely impor-

tant. The goals for everyone need to be clear, and everyone who is

a leader for the session needs to be prepared—with either ques-

tions, demonstrations, or polls to make it useful and engaging.

cw Tip 9: Debriefing Techniques: what one change would

students Recommend?

This tip answers questions such as these:

• How can I know which course experiences really make a difference in

learning and which ones are duds?

• What are some strategies for encouraging students to help improve

future courses?

Wouldn’t you like to know specifically which of the course activities

and experiences really worked for your students’ learning? Which activi-

ties had an impact on their knowledge, skills, and ways of thinking? The

best way to do this is to ask.

Create a special “place” for the course debriefing—as simple as a new

discussion forum, as quick as a survey, or as complex as a wiki that you

have developed with all the course readings and resources. Once you have

selected the particular place or tool, after your students’ final projects are

completed, ask them one or more of these questions:

• What was the best, or a very good, course experience—reading, activity,

project, and discussion—for you personally? And why?

• What would you have liked to study in more detail or explore

more widely?

• What course activity do you strongly recommend to keep for the next

offering of this course? Why?

• What one change would you recommend?

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303

You might focus questions on a new activity that you introduced this

term, or imagine that a new learner about to enroll in the course wanted

advice about how to succeed in the course. Students do have a soft place in

their hearts generally for students who might be taking the course after

them. For example, you might ask one of these questions:

• What did you enjoy or not enjoy about [a new resource, the use of new

audio or video resources, or a new two‐person team assignment,

for example]?

• If you had one piece of advice for a student about to start this course,

what would it be?

A simple debriefing of this sort is valuable for students, as they focus

on what specific assignments, readings, and experiences worked for them.

This debriefing gives immediate and specific feedback that can quickly be

applied to the new course offering. Students then also feel as if they are

contributing to the program quality and that their comments make a differ-

ence. Students are often asked or required to complete other questionnaires

regarding their learning experiences, but these tools are most helpful to

administrators. The feedback is often too delayed or too generic to be of

much use to faculty in helping with course design.

When faculty use this debriefing activity, they are often pleasantly sur-

prised. Students often respond that the best parts of the course are those

that are the least work for the faculty, and that activities on which you

might spend a great deal of time are not that important after all.

conclusion—and what’s next

If you have been using this book as a guide to teaching your first online

and blended course, you are likely ready to take a deep breath, celebrate,

and give yourself a few pats on the back. Completing a new task as com-

plex and challenging as teaching and coaching students in a new environ-

ment is very satisfying. By now you probably have developed a feeling of

competence in at least a few areas. Be sure to take time to acknowledge

your success at whatever level you have reached. Stop and write a note to

yourself or a short note to a colleague, and share what you feel very good

about and what your top priorities are for when you teach a course for the

second time.

In the final chapter of this book, we’ll look at some issues you might

have faced and how to improve your next offering of this course or your

next course. The following chapter is devoted to the special demands and

constraints of teaching accelerated intensive courses.

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self‐Directed exercise /Application

Activity 1:

• Encouraging the linking of course content to

Check this list of faculty behaviors for building com-

current events and problems, with links to

munity, and put a check next to or circle behaviors

learners’ personal work and career environments

that you use consistently. Then select one of the

as appropriate

behaviors that you would like to use more fre- • Challenging students to share questions,

quently in these closing weeks:

strategies, and insights about the course content

• Supporting and encouraging peer‐to‐peer dis- Activity 2:

cussion and collaborations

•

Design one or two closing activities. If you are

Posing open‐ended questions about what stu- designing two activities, change their characteristics.

dents think, and what they think they know or For example, design one activity that is synchronous would like to know

•

and one is asynchronous; design one with a focus

Making positive observations about students’ on content learning individually and one with a participation in the learning experiences

•

small group. Perhaps one of the activities could be

Encouraging connection making and linking of learner‐led or learner‐designed.

ideas among the learners

Chapter 10

teaching Accelerated

intensive courses

AccelerAted intensive courses are a special type of learning

experience. Faculty often feel stressed—understandably so—about how

to cover all the content in a course that has been compressed from fif-

teen weeks into eight weeks or less. The feeling that there is simply not

enough time for learning the content is well‐founded. As Core Learning

Principle 9 states, “Everything else being equal, more time on task equals

more learning.” This principle affirms that, learning takes time because it

is a growing process. The neurons and synapses in our brains take time to

grow. (Kandel, 2006; Brain and Research Foundation, 2013) Assimilating

information does not often happen in a flash, and then not until after a

great deal of data has been gathered and processed.

How do we address this challenge? The tips in this chapter provide

ideas for tackling the design and teaching of intensive courses.

tips for intensive courses (ic)

The first tip, IC Tip 1, provides suggestions for designing accelerated short

courses by focusing on content framing and case studies. These designs

shift from the traditional topic‐by‐topic approach to an immersive

approach, focusing on problem‐solving scenarios that cover the content by

using core concepts to solve problems. IC Tip 2 describes some high‐impact

teaching strategies using patterns and relationships. With a compressed

learning time, big‐picture patterns and relationships are significant learn-

ing opportunities. IC Tip 3 examines how to build expertise through practice

despite the challenge of time.

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Here is the list of Intensive Course (IC) tips:

• IC Tip 1: Designing for Intensive Courses Using Content Framing and

Case Studies

• IC Tip 2: High‐Impact Practices for Short Courses: Reflections, Patterns,

and Relationships

• IC Tip 3: Developing Expertise in Short Courses: Can It Be Done?

ic tip 1: designing for intensive courses using content Framing

and case studies

This tip answers these questions:

• What can I do to quickly convey a useful sense of the content picture

of a course?

• How do I design a course with case studies at the center, avoiding the

topic‐by‐topic design?

• What resources do I need for implementing problem‐focused courses?

While shorter courses provide less time for learning, there is no reduc-

tion in expected content “coverage” or learning. This can mean making

tough decisions about content selections and learning experiences. Here

are two design strategies that can help make accelerated courses lively and

dynamic while not dramatically shortchanging the content exposure and

awareness.

design strategy 1: create a visual Frame of the

core concepts

This design strategy focuses on creating a visual frame or map of the core

concepts of the course. We are accustomed to creating a set of learning out-

comes for a course. This usually means that we give students a list of

abstract, often verbose, formal learning outcomes for them to achieve. In

accelerated courses, the preferred strategy is to provide an organizing vis-

ual such as a map or graphic that learners can use as a frame to attach,

process, and manage the expectations of content knowledge.

Remember the four‐element learning experiences framework

(Figure 2.1; Boettcher, 2003–2016) for designing online teaching experi-

ences? While designing for learning is a complex process, it can be simpli-

fied by using the frame of the learning experience created by the four

elements of the learner, the faculty mentor, the content and the environment.

All the elements involved in making design and teaching decisions fall into

one of these four categories.

Teaching Accelerated Intensive Courses

307

That is the type of visual frame that can provide a knowledge structure

into which all the content of a course can flow. How do you build a graphic

frame for your course? The most important question guiding a course

frame is “What are the core concepts of your course?” Once you have

determined these, you can create a visual or graphic that can hold those

concepts, linking the content and relationships of your course. Don’t worry

about your course frame being perfect; it can be a work in progress, refined

Weover time collaboratively with your students.

design strategy 2: Place case studies with consequences

at course center

We like to subtitle this design strategy as the “sink or swim” strategy. This

makes it particularly fitting for intensive courses. How does this strategy

work? Find or create a set of problems, scenarios, or case studies depend-

ent on the core concepts of your course. Use your discipline knowledge to

guide the sequencing of simple to complex problems. Then, basically toss

your learners into deep enough water that they need to apply and use the

course content almost immediately in a problem‐solving mode. I also like

to call this the “jellyfish” design, with the problem on the surface and all

the core concepts dangling below, essential to solving problems and mak-

ing good decisions.

Your teaching direction responsibility is to guide your learners through

tackling of these problems or scenarios. This approach means that your

learners are simultaneously solving the problems, making decisions for

various scenarios, and discussing which of the core concepts enlighten

them or lead the way for dealing with any particular case or problem.

The timeframe in longer courses encourages what some might call a

leisurely linear approach, starting out slowly and then building to a cre-

scendo project. The sink‐or‐swim strategy is more akin to an appren-

ticeship or situated learning, wherein the learners need to apply the

concepts in an integrated way and learn by doing. This is an example of

“situated cognition” (Brown, Collins, & Duguid, 1989; Lave, 1993; and

Kirsh, 2009).

To implement this teaching strategy, you will want to have at least two

of the following course resources at the ready.

1. Visual graphic or organizer for the course that shows the relationships

of the core concepts

2. A list and description of the core concepts

3. A set of cases and problems that require use of the core concepts for

successfully addressing or solving the cases, problems, and scenarios

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If you don’t have some of these items developed for your course yet,

you might want to set a goal of creating these, with the help of your learn-

ers, in a blog, wiki, or straightforward discussion forum during this course

and then building on it for your next iteration of the course. The first two

items help to serve as a learning tool for solving problems, and learners can

take them forward to their next courses or to use in their life or career.

These items help to guide problem‐solving and support the reasoning and

thinking behind problem‐solving.

The third item—a set of cases and problems—is a resource that you

probably have somewhere but haven’t quite decided how to use. Likely

resources include current events that highlight business or leadership chal-

lenges and cases from textbooks or discipline sites.

In summary, for intensive courses, a good teaching strategy is to pose

the challenges, problems, and cases at the beginning of a course and then

work toward finding and using the core concepts needed to solve prob-

lems or analyze scenarios.

collaborative Projects in short courses: A Hint

While teaming and collaborative projects are excellent community and

learning strategies, the additional overhead of working with teams during

a short course can be overwhelming. So you may want to assign group‐

supported independent projects (Chen, 2007), which each student can

complete at his or her own pace while still collaborating with other group

members for input on improving the project.

ic tip 2: High‐impact Practices for short courses: reflections,

Patterns, and relationships

This tip answers questions such as these:

• What is Kolb’s four‐stage learning cycle, and how does reflection play a

role in that learning cycle?

• What are some examples of question clusters for stimulating reflection

activities?

• What are some examples of pattern assignments and activities?

With intensive courses, it is critical to provide practice in using core

concepts. This tip focuses on two effective practices for making the most of

the condensed time frames of intensive courses: reflections and patterns.

Try them and see what you think.

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309

reflection Practices

Reflection is an integral part of the four‐stage learning cycle in experiential

education and learning styles developed by David Kolb (1984). Where

does reflection fit in the learning cycle? It is step 2, as shown in the graphic

of the learning cycle (Figure 10.1) Reflection means processing the data or

content after a learning experience, deciding what meaning we need to

take forward.

In Kolb’s learning cycle, learning begins with a concrete experience in

the here and now, in some immediate and personal learning experience.

The experience can be sourced in readings, cases, or simulations, even

though these experiences are one step removed from direct hands‐on expe-

rience. That initial experience is followed by the stage of collecting or

recording data and making observations about the experience. The third

stage is conceptualizing—forming conclusions based on the meanings

derived from the observations—followed by the fourth stage, active exper-

imenting using those beliefs.

Intensive courses are by their very nature condensed and seldom pro-

vide room for all of the phases of this full learning cycle for deep experien-

tial learning, but there are a few ways we can deepen the reflection part of

the cycle. We do know that if we just keep pushing content at students

without designing in opportunities for reflection, learning doesn’t occur. It

flows through and around the brain without stopping.

Phil Race (2006) of the University of Leeds has developed a set of ques-

tions that you can use in developing activities and guiding the reflective

processes that are an essential part of deep learning. These clusters of

Figure 10.1

Kolb’s Four‐stage learning cycle

Concrete

Experiences

Active

Reflective

Experimenting

Observations

Abstract

Conceptualization

Source: Kolb (1984).

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questions can be catalysts for discussion forums. Keep in mind that the

overall goal of reflection is for your students to make sense of what they

are learning. These types of questions can be easily integrated into many of

your existing assignments, so you can try some of these questions almost

immediately.

Here are two clusters of questions, adapted from Race’s suggestions.

One of these clusters has been adapted for traditional reading assignments.

The second cluster can be used to guide a learner’s reflection on a brief case

study analysis.

Question cluster for a reading Assignment

How did this reading assignment move my thinking forward, or expand

my understanding? How did one of the ideas connect with, deepen, or

change the thinking that I had prior to the reading? What question do I

have that I would like to answer going forward?

Here is an example of how this might work in practice from my per-

sonal growth. I (Judith) have been pushing myself to stay current with

evolving learning theory developments by exploring a book by Lawrence

Shapiro called Embodied Cognition. This is not an easy read. Making sense

of what I am reading takes some work, similar to that which a student

might have on a difficult reading assignment. I am fortunate that I have the

luxury of reading portions of it, skipping around a bit, stopping and then

going back to it a few days later. Our students don’t have the luxury of

time; thus, for the meanings to take root, it is essential that they stop, think,

record, write, discuss, and share their thoughts with others. Questions such

as these can help them to frame their thinking and make sense of the ideas

and experiences in the assignment.

By the way, if you are wondering just what embodied cognition is, here is

a starter definition. Embodied cognition—as a theory of how we know—

suggests that our ability to know is shaped by how our bodies and senses

interact with the world. This theory reaffirms the essential role that physi-

cal environments—such as authentic contexts, cases, and simulations—

play in learning. Following this train of thought, the next question cluster

focuses on cases, problems and scenarios.

Question cluster for a case, Problem, or scenario

What did I find to be the greatest challenge in analyzing or judging the

merits of this case? Why was this a challenge to me? What do I need to

do, learn, and practice so that I will be more ready to meet a similar

challenge in the future?

Teaching Accelerated Intensive Courses

311

One or two of these questions can also be used as follow‐up questions

in discussion forums.

What Places Are good for reflection?

You may be wondering just where in the LMS reflection practices can be

used. Here are three places that often work well. It is likely that many more

will be emerging with social media characteristics.

Discussion Forums

First of all, reflection questions fit well in the discussion forums. Because

discussion forums always need to link core learning back to indi-

vidual experiences and what students already know, these ques-

tions will draw out fairly unique responses as learners make sense

of the readings based on who they are and their prior experiences.

Since we want the discussion forums to also build community and

dialogue, we can also add a guiding suggestion for some of the

forums, such as, “How are your ideas similar to the thinking of

some of your colleagues?”

Blogs or Journals

The second great place to use these types of reflection questions is as

catalysts for students’ blogging or journaling assignments.

Written Assignments

The third place to use these question clusters is in a short written assign-

ment. Or similarly, these questions can be part of the debriefing

after a larger project assignment.

Now, let’s look at two additional high‐impact, high‐engagement prac-

tices using pattern practices.

Pattern Practices

One of the earlier tips (CB Tip 14 on discussion wraps) focused on identify-

ing and affirming patterns in your course content. This is a particularly

powerful teaching approach in intensive courses because it helps to chunk

an overwhelming amount of information into more usable and memora-

ble chunks.

A helpful quote regarding the need for patterns is this quote of Marshall

McLuhan: “Faced with information overload, we have no alternative but

pattern recognition” (McLuhan, 1969).

Patterns can make your teaching easier, because learners will more

quickly develop a feeling of confidence and be less stressed. How do you

get started with pattern making? The first step is for you to identify what

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you see as the fundamental patterns and cycles in your course content. If

you have not yet done this, not to worry: ask the students to share what

patterns they see and what connections with other knowledge. It may well

be that your learners will identify patterns that you have not seen or

noticed before.

When and how might be a good time to do this? About two to three

weeks into the course, include a question on patterns in your discussion

forums or in your short paper assignments.

What patterns might get them started thinking? You can encourage

thinking in terms of visual patterns as well as connections and relation-

ships. Here are a couple of examples.

• A newsletter article at the University of Northern Iowa College of

Education provides this example of the use of patterns in a literature

class. This class studied the connections between Hamlet’s “To be or not

to be” soliloquy and the topic of the teen suicide rate. As stated, “This

activity requires students to see patterns and make connections between

the past and present, finding similarities between conditions then and

now. The insights they gain will help them better understand the pre-

sent through the past” (University of Northern Iowa, 2001).

• In the study of leadership, many patterns come to mind, such as the

transactional (exchange something of value) and transformational

(shifting of beliefs, values) leadership style concepts identified by

James MacGregor Burns in 1978 and reexamined in 2004. Examining

the patterns of behavior and outcomes that result from different

styles is one type of pattern making. Applying these leadership con-

cepts to other arenas such as social and personal relationships is

another example.

• Consider also the power of visual patterns, parallels, and echoes. In

mathematics, for example, fractals are patterns that contain self‐similar

patterns of complexity increasing with magnification. In other words,

when a fractal pattern is divided into parts you get a nearly identical

reduced‐size copy of the whole. See examples of fractals in cauliflowers,

snowflakes, and waterfalls at Wired Science (http://www.wired.

com/2010/09/fractal‐patterns‐in‐nature/?pid=162).

How technology tools can support Active learning

As the capabilities of technology tools keep expanding, it is helpful to regu-

larly ask ourselves, “What teaching strategies are improved with the new

tools?” Ryan Cordell, who teaches English at St. Norbert College and is a

Teaching Accelerated Intensive Courses

313

regular contributor to the Chronicle of Higher Education Prof. Hacker blog,

offers these suggestions. In his May 13, 2011 posting on New Technologies

to Get Your Students Engaged, Ryan lists four pedagogical goals that he

thinks technologies now can make a difference in learning well and with

purpose. These goals fit well with our focus on reflection and pat-

tern making:

• Conduct research using primary sources.

• Organize their work—Cordell suggests free tools such as Zotero

(www.zotero.org) and Mendeley (www.mendeley.org).

• Practice real scholarship.

• Work collaboratively.

Even in accelerated courses, active learning can be supported.

ic tip 3: developing expertise in short courses:

can it Be done?

This tip answers questions such as these:

• What are two core requirements for developing expertise?

• How can I help my learners practice widely and deeply in short

courses?

Remember that two of the core requirements for developing expertise

are time and deliberate practice. This is particularly challenging in inten-

sive courses. Providing the special kind of deliberate practice needed for

developing expertise always requires explicit design, but even more so in

online environments. One familiar teaching strategy is using cases and sce-

narios. Another great strategy that is not so familiar is using expert

resources.

This tip suggests ways to use expert resources as one strategy for

designing deliberate practice into your courses. While it is not truly

possible to provide deliberate practice—as ideally it is customized to

the learner—there are ways to approach it. An added benefit is that

many expert resources feature current experts describing their experi-

ences in video, adding media diversity to learning resources and

experiences.

Included in this tip that describes two expert resources is an outline of

a learning strategy for using these resources. Be sure to explore at least one

of these resources.

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How expert resources can Provide deliberate Practice

Experts’ stories and narratives give us insight into the complex representa-

tions of knowledge that experts use when solving problems. These com-

plex mental representations go far beyond the bare bones of abstract

knowledge often presented in textbooks.

These knowledge representations include the historical, social, and

practical context in which knowledge is applied. Thus access to experts’

narratives and stories provide access to complex real‐world contexts that

engage, enthuse, and challenge learners.

Access to these complex narratives also makes it possible for students

to further individualize their own learning as well (Brown & Duguid, 1995).

So using expert resources can help us approach the customizing challenge

of “deliberate practice” experiences.

What does this Mean for My course Assignments?

You, as the designer of learning, the designer of practice experiences, can

guide learners to the types of experts and deliberate practice in which your

learners can best delight and grow.

TED talks are one great expert resource for you to consider. They are

freely available, feature experts on a range of discipline issues, and are

growing by leaps and bounds (www.ted.com). Websites of professional organizations are also great sources for expert resources, such as webinars

and expert stories.

ted conferences and discussions: ideas Worth spreading

The TED (Technology Entertainment and Design) Talks—online

forums—are an expert resource not to be missed. They are called “rivet-

ing talks by remarkable people, free to the world,” and this is quite accu-

rate. TED Talks—limited to a maximum of twenty minutes—address an

impressive array of topics within the research and practice of science

and culture.

If you haven’t experienced these TED Talks as yet, do take nineteen

minutes and listen to the talk by author/educator Sir Ken Robinson on Do

schools kill creativity? from January 7, 2007. With over 36 million views, it is

one of the most‐watched TED talks. In this talk, Sir Robinson “challenges

the way we’re educating our children” and “champions a radical rethink of

our school systems, to cultivate creativity and acknowledge multiple types

of intelligence.” This is the lead talk in a ten‐talk playlist on reimagining

school. This playlist also includes a talk by Salman Khan of the Khan acad-

emy, Let’s use video to reinvent education, influential in the concept of the

flipped classroom. (Khan, 2011)

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A section of the TED website called TED Studies uses TED Talks as

jumping‐off points for a structured educational experience. Playlists have

been developed from the database of over 2,000 and growing TED Talks,

and are designed to help students, professors, and self‐guided learners

explore important topics in higher education. Here are possible expert

starting points:

• Biologist E. O. Wilson on saving life on earth

• Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action

• David Logan on tribal leadership

• Ed Boyden: A light switch for neurons

TED conversations provide a way for wider audiences to participate

and interact with others. Transcripts accompany each talk as well.

How can you use these expert talks to support learning? These talks

provide insight into the thinking of these experts and provide significant,

meaningful, and current topics to evaluate and assess from the vantage

point of the course knowledge.

Background and theory on deliberate Practice

Before closing, here is a bit of background on the concept of deliberate

practice and how it is different from simple practice.

K. A. Ericsson, one of the leading researchers in this field, and his col-

leagues define deliberate practice as “those activities that have been found

to be most effective in improving performance” (Ericsson, Krampe, &

Tesch‐Romer, 1993). Deliberate practice has also been defined as “intense,

prolonged, and highly focused efforts to improve current performance”

(Colvin, 2008). Note the emphasis on performance in both these defini-

tions. So in using expert resources, it will enhance learning if we assign

students to tasks that require doing and performing. This can mean analyz-

ing, speaking, writing, and creating as suggested by the higher levels of

Bloom’s taxonomy.

conclusion—and What’s next

We have reached the end of the chapters with tips. It has been a journey for

us, and a journey we hope you have enjoyed as well. We also hope that you

will continue to return to the various tip categories and charts for subse-

quent iterations of your course designs and offerings. Also we always enjoy

hearing from readers about their suggestions and comments.

In the next and final chapter of this book, we’ll look at some issues you

might have faced and how to improve your next offering of this course or

your next online course.

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self‐directed exercise/Application

Intensive courses benefit from fresh approaches to cases or scenarios that require use of this core con-design, given the challenges of time, stress, and cept, and then create a draft assignment for your feelings of being firehosed with content. Reflect learners for that content. Keep in mind that it is now on one section or chapter of a course that you good that the assignment relies on other concepts might redesign, given the ideas in this set of tips. In as well, so that solutions are not obvious. Also, this reflection, set these three goals: First, identify a assignments that include collaboration with a least course core concept that challenges your learners, one or two other students in a review stage can be but that is one of the concepts you feel is core to the quite effective. Good luck!

course knowledge; search out three or four possible

Part Three

Continuing Your

Journey to Expertise

Chapter 11

What’s Next: reflecting and

Looking Forward

This chapTer is similar to a course wrap for your students. By now you’ve

completed your review and grading of all the students’ work, turned in the

grades, and are probably ready for a day or two off. Do take the time to

reward yourself for taking on a new challenge and making it work.

After completing an online course and relaxing and rejoicing in your

new skill set, it is wise to reflect and debrief yourself. The best time to do

this is while the experience is still fresh.

You want to review what worked well, what may not have worked so

well, and any possible surprises that you encountered. If you will be teach-

ing this course again, now is also the time to plan revisions, possibly using

the feedback from your students as to what worked well for them. If you

will be teaching a different online course, write a note to yourself about the

particular strategies you want to use again.

reflecting and Looking Forward Using the Four course phases

Reflecting on a course and planning for the next offering of a course can be

a joy and a struggle. Very probably, there were successful moments as well

as tough ones. Preparing a summary of lessons learned and revising the

course to be more effective takes time and a bit of practice.

Here are some questions for review and descriptions of common prob-

lems for the four phases of a course. You can use these to guide the reflec-

tion of the course you have just completed and to guide the planning and

revisions for your next course.

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Design and preparation phase

Start your reflection by reviewing the course from the beginning: the design

and preparation phase. Check yourself with these questions:

• What did you not have prepared as well as you thought you had? One

area that usually takes more practice is creating the discussion forum

postings and the directions for those postings. Remember that you can

never be too clear and explicit.

• Was your syllabus clear enough on the policies and procedures for

involving the whole instructional team, including technical and

media support?

• Did your syllabus clearly map out the week‐by‐week view of readings,

assignments, and expectations, and do a good job of launching a course

with excitement and enthusiasm?

• In the assignments, did you talk to the students as if you were talking to

them face‐to‐face in a classroom? Many syllabi state, “the students will

do this” or “the students will do that.” That format is appropriate for

curriculum review but not for instructions to the students. In your syl-

labus you want to talk to the students, addressing them as “you.”

• What about your assessment plan and the rubrics for each of the com-

ponents of the plan? Did you and your students use the rubrics well? Or

would you like to refine and adapt them more to the particular content?

common problem area: Learners Were confused about activities

Learners are often confused despite herculean efforts to be clear. So it is

always good to review your instructions on readings, assignments, and

postings. Another reason for learners being confused is that they may not

be reading your instructions. If that is the case, you might want to encour-

age more student‐to‐student conversation in a student course forum. Of

course, you can also use this place to respond and clarify as well.

common problem area: some students can Be Bullies or simply

have Bad Manners

Online courses are not exempt from the challenge of difficult students.

Students can be difficult by acting or speaking inappropriately in the dis-

cussion forum, creating new topic threads when only a reply is appropriate

or inserting frivolous comments within existing discussion threads.

Students who behave this way sometimes are just looking for more

personal attention, and a personal e‐mail can sometimes help this. A good

What’s Next: Reflecting and Looking Forward

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general rule is to handle difficult students online in the same way that you

would handle them in a face‐to‐face class: take them to one side and in a

personal and confidential way provide some counsel. EM Tip 9 offers more

strategies for understanding and dealing with difficult students.

reflecting on phase One, course Beginnings

The themes for the course beginnings focused on social presence, getting

acquainted, launching the community, and ensuring that all the content

and tools for teaching and learning were in place. These questions will get

you started on your review:

• How did the initial getting‐acquainted experiences work? Did all your

students respond in a timely and appropriate manner? Did you share

enough of yourself and help to make social connections as the base for

the cognitive connections?

• Did you follow up with all students to ensure that everyone was

engaged in the course in the first few days of the course? If you lost any

of your students, this can often be the place to focus on to ensure that

students feel welcome and are in the right course at the right time.

• Launching of the learning community is often linked to course goals

and objectives. Did you have a forum that focused on the learners’ set-

ting personalized and customized goals? How did it work? Did you feel

that the students made a connection between themselves and the goals

of the course?

• Did the students acquire the core required content resources in a timely

manner? Did getting the materials pose any difficulties for your stu-

dents? Do you want to make changes in the sets of content resources for

the next course?

• Did the students—or you—have any unresolved technical issues regard-

ing the tools used in the course? Was the needed technical support in

place and responsive?

• Were there other administrative issues that created difficulties that need

to be reported to administrators?

common problem area: Discussions Were Flat or Never Got Going

If you felt as if your discussions did not take off or were generally flat

without passion or energy, review the discussion questions. Did you tend

to use one‐answer questions or those that called for a yes or no and noth-

ing more? If so, be sure to develop open‐ended questions by using such

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phrases as, “In what way . . .,” or “Based on your own experiences . . .,” or

“Using data from your particular region or discipline perspective . . .”

Another question to ask yourself is whether you were too involved too

early in the discussions. Did learners wait to read what you wrote or ask

you what you thought before posting their own response? If so, make it

clearer in the instructions that you will guide discussion and will com-

ment primarily to encourage and facilitate and to help craft a discussion

summary. Review the many tips on creating substantive discus-

sion postings.

common problem area: You are Not Feeling comfortable with the

course Management system

If there were activities that you wanted to design for students using the

course management system but didn’t quite know how to, plan to get those

questions answered before teaching another online course. For example,

you may have questions about setting up groups, using some audio tools,

or using the synchronous online classroom. The best way to ensure that

you will be ready and able to use these features in your next course is to

create a “Top Three Things That I Want to Know How to Do” list and then

write out the steps to make that happen. You may want to take a refresher

course with your institution to expand your knowledge about the system.

The second time around it will all make more sense, and you will get even

more ideas about how to make better use of the tools.

reflecting on phase Two, early Middle

One of the most important tasks for keeping the ball rolling in the early

middle is the nurturing of a learning community for your students. This is

accomplished with a strong teaching and cognitive presence. Here are

some of the questions to reflect on:

• How did you feel about the process of building the learning

community?

• Did you see the learners getting engaged with the content?

• Did you keep cycling back to the core concepts and linking those con-

cepts to the learning outcomes? Or did you not review, summarize, or

link back well enough?

• Did you focus time on getting to know the individual learners? Did you

know where they were coming from and what they hoped to learn so

that you could help them discern patterns and relationships?

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common problem area: a Learning community Never Formed

If a learning community never really came together, this might be a response

to your teaching presence. In some cases, you may need to revise your

rubrics to place more emphasis on students’ continuing the flow of a dis-

cussion and responding to other students’ comments and responding to

the ideas and assertions in the readings. Community forms only when

learners do more than simply taking turns in response to a question. Recall

that community depends on “long, thoughtful, threaded discussion on a

subject of importance after which participants felt both personal satisfac-

tion and kinship” (Brown, 2001, p. 18). A greater focus on core required

readings and case studies can provide the basis of shared experiences and

a deeper connection to the content and to the other learners.

Another aspect of community is equality. This means that your role as

an expert can overpower the learners, so you may need to be more in the

background in the discussions and reserve your more expansive expertise

for the summaries, mini‐introductions, and concept demonstrations and

for facilitating and drawing out from the learners what they know. Another

design strategy to build into your course is to assign one or two learners as

a team to lead a forum discussion for a week. Review the many tips on

community building as well.

reflecting on phase Three, Late Middle

The late middle is a time of increased exploration and engagement with the

content while also shifting into a content resolution and focus stage. Here

are some questions to reflect on:

• How were the students doing midway through the course? Were they

engaged and working well?

• Had the students identified their course projects? Did you help to ensure

that the projects were a good match for the students and the course goals?

• Were the students actively supporting and helping each other?

• How were you feeling about the course at this point? Did you feel as if

you wanted to adapt some of the course readings or requirements?

common problem area: assignments Were consistently Late

If learners were consistently turning in assignments a day or more late, you

may wish to deduct points or use a clever ticket system devised by one of

our colleagues. He gave each student a “one late assignment free” ticket

that the learner could use when an emergency arose and he or she needed

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to turn in an assignment late. In other cases, you may decide on a policy of

subtracting points for each day that an assignment is late. You may also

want to review your assessment plan and see if you have too many assign-

ments, making it difficult for learners to complete them all. When you

review your assessment plan, consider how directly the assessment plan

supports the learning of the course objectives. Some faculty also use the

announcement feature and remind students two or three days before an

assignment is due.

reflecting on phase Four, closing Weeks

In the closing weeks of a course, you are guiding and mentoring the stu-

dents in their projects. You are also finding ways to affirm and confirm the

learners’ understanding of the core concepts in the course and mentor

the learners in achieving the learning outcomes. Here are a few questions

to check how the teaching and learning in this part of the course worked:

• Were students involved in peer review of project work?

• Were the students collaborating with and challenging their colleagues?

• Were the teams working well? Or were any adjustments you had to

make working?

• Did you help the learners organize themselves for the last part of the

course, making sure that the goals, outcomes, and expectations all were

still making sense?

common problem area: The course could Use More “pizzazz”

If you are feeling comfortable in your course system and would like to add

more media or more variety to your course, you may want to consider

using one or two of the technology tools described in earlier chapters. A

good place to start is adding audio or video to your welcome message. Our

smartphones now can capture short videos quickly and easily. This can be

a way of touching base with your students with short reminders, or intros

to challenging readings or assignments. You might also want to prepare

short audio or video podcasts, with short concept introductions as mini‐

lectures. As always, keep it simple, and encourage students to let you know

how they are working.

common problem area: Final course evaluation responses

Unpleasantly surprised You

If learners are feeling unhappy or experiencing dissatisfaction with your

course, it’s a good idea to know this before the end‐of‐course evaluations.

As recommended in one of the tips on feedback, ask for feedback early in

What’s Next: Reflecting and Looking Forward

325

the course and, depending on circumstances, at other points as well, such

as feedback on a project assignment or unusual resources. If you did not

ask for feedback early in your first course, be sure to design in a couple of

feedback points for your next course.

common problem area: something is Not Quite right, But You’re

Not sure What

If you’re feeling uncomfortable about how the course went, this is a good

time to evaluate the alignment of your learning outcomes, assessments,

and activities. Do they all relate to one another, or is there an objective that

didn’t make sense for these students? Or is there a learning outcome that

should be added? If the course elements are not aligned, the course can

easily go off‐track without anyone noticing until a major assessment occurs.

One of the tips suggested asking your students for specific feedback on a

new assignment, reading, or activity. If you did that, then be sure to use

that feedback as you revise your course.

reflecting and Looking Forward with the Learning

experiences Framework

Another way of reviewing your course is to use the learning experiences

framework described in Chapter Two. You’ll recall that this framework

has four elements: the learner, the faculty mentor, the content, and the

context or environment. Here are a few questions for each of the

four elements.

Learner

• What did you learn about the learners in your course?

• Did anything about the learners in your course surprise you?

The amount of time they spent on the course? How they wanted

to interact?

• Were the learners who you thought they would be? Were they inter-

ested in achieving the designated learning outcomes that you had

planned or were they interested in refreshing or developing a different

area of expertise?

• Did they have the appropriate prerequisite skills?

• Did they interact and collaborate as expected?

• Did they successfully complete the course?

• If a learner was unsuccessful, why did that happen?

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If your learners did not have the prerequisite skills that you thought

they would have, the course description in the course catalog or program

sequence may need to be reviewed. This is a topic to be discussed with

your colleagues and department chair. If there are just a couple of core

concepts that students were grappling with, you may want to develop a

precourse unit with resources that review those concepts. If a high percent-

age of learners were unsuccessful, reexamine the alignment of objectives,

activities, and assessment. The assessment may have been a mismatch or

too ambitious.

If interaction and collaboration did not take off and blossom, review

the expectations stated about collaboration. Make sure that at least 20 to 30

percent of the course points were allocated to participation so as to send

the message that interaction is important.

Faculty Mentor

• Were you adequately present in the course?

• Did you guide, but not dominate the discussions?

• In what ways could you have helped learners be more successful?

• How do you think your instruction could be improved? Think about all

the areas you are responsible for: instruction, design, implementation,

teaching presence, and learner response. How would you improve

each of these?

If you did not develop a satisfactory relationship with the students

individually or as a group, review your social, teaching, and cognitive

presence in the course. Maybe you remained aloof from the students

and didn’t give them a chance to get to know you. Maybe your teaching

direction at the general course level was effective, but you did not shift

and provide any personal or customized mentoring or guidance. And

review your cognitive presence. Did you help the students become

knowledgeable and comfortable with the core concepts and regularly

review, facilitate, and challenge the students? Review the evaluations

from the early points of your course as well as the end of course evalu-

ations. And check with your colleagues as to what strategies they find

most successful in developing positive relationships you’re your stu-

dents. The most basic need students have is to feel that instructors care

about them. Finding ways to be sure that message comes across

is helpful.

What’s Next: Reflecting and Looking Forward

327

content and Knowledge resources and Goals

• Did your choice of required, recommended resources work for the

students? Were the resources at the right level of difficulty?

• Did the resources provide enough variety in terms of media? Did you

have a set of text, audio, video, and current resources?

• Were the materials in a mobile and digital format that made it easy for

the students to access and use?

• Were the content resources effective at helping the students achieve the

course learning outcomes?

• Did you build in opportunities for learners to add to the content you

had planned?

In the first cycle of a course, the resources may or may not be effective

at engaging the students in the way you would like. The resources might

not be a good fit, or there may not be a rich enough set to challenge, assist,

or engage the students. Be sure to review the resources and add or delete,

and perhaps annotate, recommended sources.

Copyright issues might also need to be addressed. Most institutions

have policies and staff people to help if you need to address issues of fair

use and appropriate use.

environment and context

• Where did the students do their best work at learning: individually, in

small teams, or in larger groups?

• Which tools and resources were the best fit for the content and

your students?

• Did technical issues detract from the course?

• Did the students use appropriate applications to do their teamwork and

their collaborative or synchronous work? Which of these tools might

you want to build into your next course?

• What information might learners need for resolving problems more

effectively in future offerings of the course?

These questions are a combination of pedagogical strategy, student

preferences, and the particular demands of the content and the perfor-

mance goals of the course, so answering the questions might be difficult

after your first course. But you may want to be alert in future course cycles

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to some of these questions. As for yourself, review where you do your best

teaching in an online course and record the habits, strategies, and tools that

work best for you.

advice from Fellow Online instructors

You are not alone in the triumphs and challenges you have faced in design-

ing and implementing your online or blended course. Developing exper-

tise in teaching online is a process of continuing dedication over time. Here

are a few words that may resonate with you from those who have made

similar journeys.

advice 1: Just Do Your Best

Almost every objection raised by faculty who imagine what online teach-

ing “must” be like has been answered by the actual experience of doing it

and searching for ways to make an online course the best it can be. I still

tell my students, “This is a class with no back seats,” and do everything I

can, whether high tech or low tech, to make it so. Nobody has it all

figured out, but just do your best to be better at it tomorrow than you

were yesterday, and you’ll make it fine!—David W. Forman, Ed.D.,

Graduate Education, Georgetown College, Georgetown, Kentucky

advice 2: it’s Kind of Fun to Do the impossible!

The reason I love teaching online is the challenges of working with incred-

ibly unique individuals with highly diverse backgrounds. When comput-

ers began to be used in teaching, I heard a lot of negative predictions about

them: “They will take away the human touch.” “They will be cold and

impersonal.” “They just won’t work.” I’m the type of individual who says,

“Show me!” Instead of accepting such negative predictions at face value, I

look for the silver lining. What someone else sees as impossible, I learn to

welcome as a challenge! This is what drew me to exploring the positive

possibilities of teaching (online) when a senior faculty member said, “Why

not try this? And I think you should be the one to do it!!”

I was delighted by the students’ positive response to the two online

courses I developed and taught that summer. They were far from cold and

impersonal, and the students sang the praises of its flexibility and the indi-

vidual attention that they got from me. I’ll never forget how one of them, a

student who had been somewhat fearful of statistics, excitedly printed out

all of her study notes and went to show our department chair what she was

learning. You’d think she was showing him a stash of gifts from the genu-

ine joy and excitement in her voice.

What’s Next: Reflecting and Looking Forward

329

These successes fueled my passion to keep it going. Keep peeking

outside the box. Keep pushing the boundaries of what can be done in

online teaching and learning. So from that humble beginning, I developed

more courses . . . that led to more student demand for them . . . that in turn

led to other faculty members wanting to get in on a very good thing! As

Walt Disney once said: “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible!”—Mary I.

Dereshiwsky, Ph.D, Professor, College of Education, Northern Arizona

University, Flagstaff, Arizona.

advice 3: Begin with the end in Mind

In my first semester as an assistant professor, I was given an online course,

developed by another instructor to teach. The course was Instructional

Systems Design, a project‐based course for graduate students. As a new

professor with three new preps, I tried to make minor changes to the course

rather than starting with the learning objectives I had developed. First les-

son learned: modifying someone else’s course to your objectives is almost

harder than starting from scratch.

Because I thought the course would be “reusable” as it was, I did not

plan enough time for review and revision and consequently made adjust-

ments on the fly. The lack of congruence between my learning objectives

and the existing instructional materials caused difficulty for the students’

ability to readily grasp and apply the concepts. I learned that designing

quality online courses must begin with the end in mind: what your learn-

ers will be able to do! Determine the learning objectives for your course

first, and then choose the content, assessments, and technologies! Backward

planning will also help provide an overall temporal time line for your course.

Adequate time to align the instructional materials with the learning

objectives is interrelated with what I believe is the second best practice: an

online course must be fully designed and developed before the first learner

accesses the course. I have worked with many instructors who did not fully

grasp the concept of what a complete online course entails until after they

had invested an exorbitant amount of time teaching and developing

concurrently!

The dual role of developer and instructor left little time for comprehen-

sive feedback on the discussion boards or assignments, much less for teach-

able moments! The experience was painful for both the instructor and the

students. So be sure to give yourself enough time to completely design and

develop an online course. Depending on the content, support, and technol-

ogy, the time required could range from six months for a new course to six

weeks to revise a course. When is your course complete? When another

instructor is able to teach your online course with little or no prep! — Kathy

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Ingram, Ph.D., Assistant Dean of Curriculum, Kaplan University,

Jacksonville, Florida.

advice 4: New to Online Teaching? Get to Know

Your students

If you are new to online education, don’t expect to produce the perfect

course; don’t expect to anticipate the needs of each class of students no

matter how much instructional design and media production support you

have access to. Prepare as much as you can for what you can anticipate, be

clear on what learning needs to happen and get to know your students.

I highly recommend surveying your students sometime in weeks 3 or 4

after they have had a chance to become familiar with the rhythm and work-

ings of the course. Ask them about the pace of the class and distribution of

work, about the weekly rhythm and your choice of due dates. Ask them

about what is going well and what less so. Ask them about things that you

can change and be prepared to respond where it makes sense.

My start in online education (or distance education as we called it),

back in the mid 2000s at the University of Alaska, was part of the larger

effort of the University to provide access to the geographically isolated stu-

dents in the state. Over the years, I have learned a lot about the lives of my

students who live in a wide range of cities, towns, and villages. The first

time I taught a summer course, I learned that subsistence and commercial

salmon fishing are open each week of the season from Sunday to Wednesday,

making midweek due dates out of rhythm and hard to meet. I learned that

course materials that students could use offline were much more useful on

a fishing boat or while at a fish camp and put a lot more energy and creativ-

ity into their design. Every improvement in my teaching has student

insight to thank.

While many aspects of Alaskan life may be unique, online students

respond well when you make an effort to get to know them and their life

demands, which readily offers amazing insights into their learning needs.

— Deborah Barnett, Ph.D. Adjunct Professor of Biology, University of

Alaska Southeast and Director of Online Pedagogy, School of Public Health,

University of California, Berkeley.

conclusion: innovation as a Three‐phase process

A business innovation professor at Harvard describes the cycle of innova-

tion as a three‐phase process: imitation, incremental improvements, fol-

lowed by transformational processes (Rosenbloom, 1999). These phases

What’s Next: Reflecting and Looking Forward

331

can guide our innovation journey in online and blended teaching and

learning as well. The first time you design and teach a course, you tend to

do things in much the same way you’ve always done them but using the

new technology, the new online space, the new course management sys-

tem. In your next two or three cycles of teaching, you become comfortable

with the base set of tools, add new tools, refine your use of the base set of

tools, and refine your teaching strategies and content resources. By the

third and later cycles, you venture forth and create a new course maximiz-

ing the new environment and testing innovative new strategies.

Of course, with the ever‐increasing rate of change, we don’t see an end

to innovation. We just start the three cycles again. What doesn’t change is

the fundamental relationship of a teacher to student or mentor to learner.

That is our treasure and one we always will have.

Appendix

Resources for Learning More

about the Research and

Theory of Teaching Online

BECOMING A MASTER in the art and skill of teaching and learning online

is a journey. Here are some resources to help you along the way. Becoming

an expert is a matter of years of dedication, not just months. Be patient

with yourself, enjoy the process, and invite your colleagues and students

to share and enjoy the journey with you.

As you are learning how to teach online, watch for excellent resources

on topics such as research on learning, memory, and brain development.

These are all areas that are changing how we think about teaching and

learning. It is also useful to be alert to how your learners, and people in

general, are using new technologies. This will have an impact on our teaching and learning environments, and probably sooner rather than later.

The resources listed here are just some of our favorites. In these days

of the Internet, it is not possible to be comprehensive. Thus, these are just

starting points.

Books

Teaching and Learning Online

Anderson, T. (Ed.) (2008). The theory and practice of online learning (2nd ed.).

Athabasca, AB, Canada: Athabasca University.

Bates, A. W. (2015). Teaching in a digital age. Creative Commons licensed

version available from https://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/

Beetham, H. & Sharpe, R. (2013). Rethinking pedagogy for a digital age: design-

ing for 21st century learning (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.

333

334 Appendix

Bender, T. (2012). Discussion‐based online teaching to enhance student learning:

Theory, practice and assessment (2nd ed.). Sterling, VA: Stylus.

Bowen, J. A. (2012). Teaching naked: How moving technology out of your college

classroom will improve student learning. San Francisco, CA: Jossey‐Bass.

Brookfield, S. D. (2012). Teaching for Critical Thinking: Tools and techniques to

help students question their assumptions. San Francisco, CA: Jossey‐Bass.

Brookfield, S. D., & Preskill, S. N. (2016). The discussion book: 50 great ways to get people talking. San Francisco, CA: Jossey‐Bass.

Conrad, R. M., & Donaldson, J. A. (2011). Engaging the online learner: Activities

and resources for creative instruction. San Francisco: Jossey‐Bass.

Conrad, R. M., & Donaldson, J. A. (2012). Continuing to engage the online

learner: More activities and resources for creative instruction. San Francisco,

CA: Jossey‐Bass.

Garrison, D. R., & Vaughan, N. D. (2008). Blended learning in higher education:

Framework, principles, and guidelines. San Francisco, CA: Jossey‐Bass.

Gurung, R. A. R., Chick, N. L., & Haynie, A. (Eds.). (2009). Exploring signa-

ture pedagogies. Sterling, VA: Stylus.

Horn, M. B. & Staker, H. (2015). Blended: Using disruptive innovation to

improve schools. San Francisco, CA: Jossey‐Bass.

Joosten, T. (2012). Social media for educators: Strategies and best practices. San Francisco, CA: Jossey‐Bass.

Knowles, M. (1980). The modern practice of adult education: From pedagogy to

andragogy (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Association Press.

Laurillard, D. (2012). Teaching as a design science: Building pedagogical pat-

terns for learning and technology. New York, NY: Routledge.

Means, B., Bakia, M., & Murphy, R. (2014). Learning online: What research

tells us about whether, when and how. New York, NY: Routledge.

Miller, M. D. (2014). Minds online: Teaching effectively with technology. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Palloff, R., & Pratt, K. (2013). Lessons from the virtual classroom. San Francisco, CA: Jossey‐Bass.

Smith, R. M. (2014). Conquering the content: A blueprint for online course design

and development (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey‐Bass.

Stein, J. & Graham, C. R. (2014). Essentials for blended learning: A standards‐

based guide. New York, NY: Routledge.

Tobin, T. J., Mandernach, J., & Taylor, A. H. (2015). Evaluating online teaching:

Implementing best practices. San Francisco, CA: Jossey‐Bass.

Weimer, M. (2013). Learner‐centered teaching (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA:

Jossey‐Bass.

Appendix

335

Brain, Cognition, Learning, and Memory

Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R. (Eds.). (2000). How people

learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school (Exp. ed.). Washington, DC:

National Academies Press.

Brown, P. C., Roediger, H. I., & McDaniel, M. A. (2014). Make it stick:

The science of successful learning, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University

Press.

Daniels, H., Cole, M., & Wertsch, J. V. (2007). The Cambridge companion to

Vygotsky. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Johnson, S. (2004). Mind wide open. New York, NY: Scribner.

Kandel, E. (2006). In search of memory: The emergence of a new science of mind.

New York, NY: Norton.

Moll, L.C. (Ed.). (1990/2004). Vygotsky and education: Instructional implica-

tions and applications of sociohistorical psychology. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press.

Ramachandran, V. S. (2011). The tell‐tale brain: A neuroscientist’s quest for

what makes us human. New York, NY: Norton.

Roediger, H. L., Dudai, Y., & Fitzpatrick, S. M. (Eds.). (2007). Science of mem-

ory: Concepts. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Schacter, D. L. (2001). The seven sins of memory: How the mind forgets and

remembers. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Shapiro, L. (2011). Embodied cognition. New York, NY: Routledge.

Journals

Hybrid Pedagogy: A Journal of Learning, Teaching and Technology, http://

www.digitalpedagogylab.com/hybridped/

International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, http://www.

irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl

New Directions in Teaching and Learning, http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/

journal

Journal of Educators Online, http://thejeo.com/

Journal of Interactive Online Learning, http://www.ncolr.org/

Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, http://jolt.merlot.org

National Teaching and Learning Forum, http://www.ntlf.com/

Tomorrow’s Professor Postings, Stanford University, https://tomprof.

stanford.edu

336 Appendix

Organizations, Conferences, and Certifications

Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning, CIRTL

Network, http: www.cirtl.net

EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative, http://www.educause.edu/eli

Certified Online Instructor program sponsored by the Learning Resources

Network, http://www.lern.org/events‐and‐education/online‐courses‐

for‐continuing‐education‐professionals/certified‐online‐instructor‐coi/

International Council on Open and Distance Education, http://www.

icde.org/

Online Learning Consortium, http://onlinelearningconsortium.org/

University of Wisconsin’s Annual Conference on Distance Teaching and

Learning Conference, http://www.uwex.edu/disted/conference/

Communities and Listservs

OL Daily and OL Weekly by Stephen Downes, Stephen’s Web, http://www.

downes.ca/about.htm

Online Learning Update, Ray Schroeder (Ed.), OTEL, Online@Illinois Springfield http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/onlinelearning/blogger.html

Professional and Organization Development Network in Higher Education POD,

https://listserv.nd.edu/

Other Teaching and Learning Resources

BlendKit Learning Toolkit, https://blended.online.ucf.edu/blendkit‐

course/

Boettcher, J. V. Designing for Learning‐ Tips for Teaching and Learning

Online, www.designingforlearning.info.

Canadian Institute of Distance Education Research at Athabasca University,

http://cider.athabascau.ca

Illinois Online Network Online Education Resources, http://www.ion.

uillinois.edu/resources/tutorials/

Instructional Design, http://www.instructionaldesign.org

Library of E‐coaching Tips for Teaching Online by Designing for Learning,

http://www.designingforlearning.info/services/writing/ecoach/

index.htm

MIT OpenCourseWare, http://ocw.mit.edu/index.htm

Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching (MERLOT),

https://www.merlot.org/merlot/index.htm

The Open Syllabus project, http://opensyllabusproject.org

Appendix

337

Open University at iTunes University, http://www.open.edu/itunes/

Top 100 Tools for Learning, http://www.c4lpt.co.uk

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community: Comparing faculty and student perceptions. Journal of

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Index

Page references followed by fig indicate an illustrated figure; followed by t indicate a table.

A

Bok, D., 24, 238

Abelson, R. P., 17, 19

Bonk, C. J., 48, 146, 271

Abrami, P. C., 50

Bonnici, L. J., 136

Abramson, L., 221

Bork, R. H., 174

Adair, D., 117

Bourne, J., 118

Adams Becker, S., 271

Boyden, E., 315

Adler, R. P., 101

Bransford, J. D., 21, 25, 31, 40, 146, 232, 238

Akyol, Z., 47, 85

Braxton, J. M., 192

Allen, D., 11, 57, 132, 265, 297

Briggs, L. J., 285

Anderson, C., 279–280

Briskin, L., 247

Anderson, L. W., 206

Brookfield, S. D., 153, 154

Anderson, T., 44, 47, 49, 81, 82, 85, 109, 113, 142, 196, 295

Brown, A. L., 21, 25, 31, 146, 232

Anderson, V. J., 190

Brown, J. S., 15 fig, 18, 25, 30, 40, 48, 95, 101, 290, 307

Angelo, T. A., 100

Brown, P. C., 31, 51, 55, 59, 185

Archer, W., 44, 47, 81, 82, 85, 109, 113, 142, 196, 295

Brown, R. E., 47, 83, 158, 268, 281, 283, 323

Asensio, M., 53

Bruckman, A. S., 230, 269

Astin, A. W., 58, 209

Bruner, J., 15 fig, 17–18, 30, 31, 290

Atkinson, R. C., 185, 186 fig

Bullen, M., 154

Augustine, St., 133

Burnett, K., 136

Ausubel, D., 30

Burns, J. M., 312

B

C

Bain, K., 44, 50

Cahill, M., 288

Baker, D. L., 166

Cañas, A. J., 286, 287, 288

Bandura, A., 15 fig, 19

Carey, S., 200

Banta, T. W., 58, 209

Carnes, M. C., 280

Baran, E., 154, 155, 156

Carroll, J., 39

Barefoot, M., 193

Carroll, L., 184

Barkley, E. F., 48, 100

Castano-Bishop, M., 174

Barnett, D., 330

Cato, F., 166

Bart, M., 192, 195

Chaloux, B., 44

Bayer, A. E., 192

Charness, N., 55

Benke, M., 44

Chen, S.-J., 308

Bernard, R. M., 50

Chi, M.T.H., 55

Bernstein, B., 6, 28

Chickering, A. W., 43

Berrett, D., 239

Childs, J., 128

Beuchot, A., 154

Clabaugh, G. K., 17

Blaich, C., 58

Clark, C., 124

Bloom, B. S., 21, 39, 150, 206

Clark, R. C., 25, 125

Bloom, P., 37

Cleveland-Innes, M., 25, 44, 47, 85

Boettcher, J. V., 11, 27 fig, 28, 31, 34, 43, 44, 51, 58,

Cocking, R., 21, 25, 31, 146, 232

89, 101, 306

Coffin, C., 53

359

360 Index

Cokely, E. T., 101

Gazzaley, A., 25

Collins, A., 18, 40, 101, 290, 307

Gibson, D., 258

Colvin, G., 315

Glance, D. G., 12

Conceição, S.C.O., 44, 47, 49

Gleitman, H., 185

Conrad, R. M., 11, 43, 44, 48, 84, 89, 139, 168, 169 t, 286 t

Glenn, D., 129

Cooper, S. T., 243

Goleman, D., 15 fig, 21

Coppola, N. W., 136

Goodyear, P., 53

Cordell, R., 312

Gore, A., 281

Cordell, S., 221

Gould, M., 136

Correia, A. P., 154, 155, 156

Grinter, R. E., 176

Cross, K. P., 48, 100, 209

Grogan, G., 53

Gross, J., 185

D

Damasio, A., 25, 31, 40, 161

H

Daniels, H., 6

Haake, G., 127

Davis, B. G., 190

Hagel, J., 18, 95

Davis, C., 292

Hake, R. R., 184, 228

Dede, C., 88

Halonen, J., 209, 210

Dennen, V. P., 157

Hamilton, M., 157

Dereshiwsky, M. I., 329

Hampson, K., 271

Derryberry, A., 292

Hangen, T., 125

Dewey, J., 14, 15 fig, 16, 30, 31, 40, 237, 290

Hanson, V. E., 279

Dinnocenzo, D., 300–301

Harland, J., 157

Donaldson, J. A., 44, 48, 84, 89, 139, 168, 169 t, 286 t

Harris, S. M., 174

Donovan, M. S., 31, 146

Hart, J., 77

Dudai, Y., 185, 199, 201

Haskell, R. E., 146

Duguid, P., 18, 40, 290, 307

Hewings, A., 53

Durrington, V., 248

Hill, B., 209, 210

Dyer, P., 128, 129–130

Hiltz, S. R., 136

Hodgson, V., 53

E

Hoffman, R. R., 55

Ehrmann, S. C., 43

Holum, A., 18, 101

El-Khawas, E., 209

Huitt, W., 186 fig

Elder, L., 154, 235, 236

Hull, D. M., 154

Ellenbogen, J. M., 187

Hutchings, P., 58, 209

Epper, R. M., 292

Ericsson, K. A., 15 fig, 20, 25, 55, 101, 147, 290, 292, 315

I

Estrada, V., 271

Ice, P., 25, 44, 47

Ewell, P. T., 58, 209

Ingram, K., 329–330

Isaacs, G., 264

F

Federmeier, K. D., 124

J

Feltovich, P. J., 55

Jackson, S., 292

Fink, L. D., 115, 117

James, A., 154

Fitzpatrick, S. M., 185, 199, 201

Johnson, L., 61, 271

Fonteyn, M., 288

Jones, C., 53

Forman, D. W., 328

Joonmin, K., 136

Forsey, M., 12

Freeman, A., 271

K

Freeman, W., 37

Kandel, E., 25, 31, 59, 305

Frey, B., 248

Kanuka, H., 91

Fung, T. S., 85

Kearsley, G., 47, 143

Khan, S., 314

G

Khoo, E., 271

Gagné, R., 38, 285

Kim, K. S., 239

Gallow, D., 292

King, M. L., Jr., 279

Garrison, D. R., 25, 44, 47, 81, 82, 85, 88, 89, 91, 109, 113,

Kirsh, D., 307

142, 158, 196, 197 fig, 198, 237, 295

Koestenbaum, P., 201, 202

Index

361

Kolb, D., 309

Norgard, C., 136

Kozan, K., 85

Novak, J. D., 286, 287, 288

Krampe, R. T., 315

Krathwohl, D. R., 21, 94, 150, 206

O

Krauth, B., 43

O'Banion, T., 61

Kulasooriya, D., 18, 95

Ohler, J., 272

Oldenburg, R., 35

L

O'Neill, G., 264

Lang, S., 193

Lange, D., 125

P

Langer, E., 15 fig, 20–21

Padavano, D., 136

Larrier, Y. I., 174

Page, D., 177

Lave, J., 15 fig, 19–20, 307

Painter, C., 53

Lehman, R. M., 44, 47, 49

Palen, L., 176

Leister, M., 191, 194

Palloff, R. M., 44, 47, 182, 248, 283

Lenhart, A. M., 220

Papert, S., 17

Light, R. J., 50, 100

Parmelee, D.X.E., 215

Lin, Y. G., 8

Parsell, M., 248

Logan, D., 315

Paul, R., 154, 235–236

Peirce, B., 153

Pelikan, J., 47

M

Pellegrino, J. W., 31, 146

McBride, T., 220

Piaget, J., 14, 15 fig, 16–17, 30

McCain, J., 281

Pimple, K. D., 216

McCarthy, M., 209, 210

Pintrich, P. R., 8

McClenney, K. M., 209

Powell, J., 128

McDaniel, M. A., 31, 51, 55, 59, 185

Pratt, K., 44, 47, 182, 248, 283

Macgill, A. R., 220

Preskill, S. N., 153

McKeachie, W. J., 8

Prietula, M. J., 101

McLeod, S. A., 185

Pusateri, T., 209, 210

McLuhan, M., 311

Pyser, S. N., 124

McTighe, J., 203

Madden, M., 220

R

Major, C. H., 48, 100

Race, P., 309

Manzanares, M.A.R., 237, 238

Ramachandran, V. S., 25

Marchese, T. J., 209

Reisberg, D., 185

Masia, B. B., 21

Richardson, J. C., 85, 91, 136

Mayer, R. E., 25

Riley, M., 12

Means, B., 12

Rinderle, J., 271

Mentkowski, M., 209

Robinson, Sir K., 314

Meyer, R. E., 125, 211

Roediger, H. I., III, 31, 34, 51, 55, 59, 185, 199, 201

Michaelsen, L. K., 215

Rosenbloom, R. S., 330

Miksa, S. D., 136

Rotter, N. G., 136

Miller, G., 39, 44

Rourke, L., 91

Miller, K. H., 275

Rovai, A., 47, 83, 140

Miller, M. A., 209

Rucks-Ahidiana, Z., 174

Moallem, M., 10, 58, 94, 262

Moore, J. C., 44, 118

S

Moore, J. L., 239

Salen, K., 292

Moore, M. G., 47, 143, 163

Sandheinrich, M. B., 243

Moran, E. T., 209

Saxon, T. F., 154

Murphy, E., 237, 238

Schacter, D. L., 25, 100, 294, 296

Schank, R., 15 fig, 17, 19, 30

N

Seaman, J., 11

Nandi, D., 157

Senge, P., 150

Newman, J. H., 47

Sergiovanni, T. J., 88

Nief, R., 220

Shank, P., 48

Nilson, L. B., 124

Shapiro, L., 40

362 Index

Shattuck, K., 117

Varkey, C., 212

Shea, P., 47

Varvel, V., 275

Shea, V., 120

Vaughan, N. D., 25, 44, 47, 88, 196, 197 fig,

Sheridan, S., 127

198, 237

Sherron, G. T., 44, 51

Von Brunt, B., 195

Shiffrin, R. M., 185, 186 fig

Vygotsky, L., 14, 15 fig, 17, 30, 36–37, 40, 48, 55, 56, 130,

Shih, L., 81

132, 138, 150, 258

Sinek, S., 315

Smillie, W. M., 126

W

Smith, A., 177, 220

Wager, W. W., 285

Smith, D.A.F., 8

Walvoord, B. E., 190

Smith, R., 124

Ward, G. C., 279

Sorcinelli, M. D., 192, 195

Wegmann, S., 166

Sperry, R. W., 124

Weimer, M., 61

Steeples, C., 53

Westerberg, C., 220

Stockgold, R., 187

Wieland, K., 157

Stout, K. R., 289

Wieman, M., 8, 184, 228

Sull, E. C., 192

Wiggins, G., 203

Suskie, L., 58

Wilcock, E., 292

Svinicki, M., 8

Wilson, E. O., 315

Swan, K., 25, 44, 47, 81, 91, 136, 258

Womack, A.-M., 127

Sweet, M., 215

Wright, B. D., 209

T

Y

Tarr, T., 193

Yang, Y., 248

Tesch-Romer, C., 315

Young, A., 136

Thomas, D., 18

Thompson, K., 166

Z

Tracy, B., 265

Zhang, K., 146

Tyser, R. W., 243

Zimmerman, E., 292

Zimmerman, W. A., 117

V

Van der Veer, R., 14

Van Notten, P., 292

Subject Index

Page references followed by fig indicate an illustrated figure; followed by t indicate a table; followed by e indicate an exhibit.

A

grade in the, 204 t–205; three-step process for

AAHE Assessment Forum, 209

developing your, 203–204

Absent-mindedness, 295, 296

Assignments: applying practice experiences and expert

Accelerated intensive courses. See Intensive

resources to designing, 314; description and course

courses (IC)

element of, 112 t; evaluating and creating levels of

Activities. See Communication activities; Course

Bloom's taxonomy, 173, 210–213; mixing up stories

activities; Faculty development exercises

and case studies by creating or writing, 293–294;

Adobe Connect, 220

mixing up stories and case studies with reading, 293;

American Psychological Association (APA) Best

plagiarism and, 121; projects, 94–95, 101, 112 t;

Practices in Assessment, 209

providing timely and efficient feedback on, 227,

Announcements tool (LMS): description of, 67;

244–248; reflection question cluster for a reading, 310;

developing presence through the, 138–139; enhancing

reflection questions used for written, 311; rubrics for,

teaching presence using, 174; use audio in course

245, 246–248; syllabus section on, 119–120

announcements, 224

Asynchronous activities: best practice on using

Anonymous student feedback, 180–181

synchronous and, 45 t, 51–52; comparing classroom

Apps: social networking, 271; Web 3.0 (“semantic

and online, 9–10; description of, 9–10; LMS

web”) vs. Web 2.0, 272

communication tools for synchronous and, 65–74 t;

Asking Essential Questions, 236

LMS Discussion Forums, 67. See also Communication

Assessing Group Tasks (Isaacs), 264

activities

Assessing Group Work (O'Neill), 264

Audio and Video Tools: AudioMemos, 71; creating a

Assessment: classic resources on, 209–210; comparing

more engaging course using, 173, 222–224; creating

traditional and online course, 10; group project, 228,

presence with mini-lectures, 45; LMS (learning

261–264; Late Middle to build cognitive presence, 94;

management system), 68; podcasts, 73 t; published

of learning during projects, 228, 255–267; prepare list

audio and video resources, 224

of what's next and due dates of, 297; technological

tools that facilitate, 74 t; three best practices for, 173,

B

205–210; using discussion forums to gather evidence

Baptist College of Florida, 166

of learning, 110, 162–166; as you go by gathering

Beginnings. See Course Beginnings (CB)

evidences of learning, 45 t, 58. See also Course

Best practices: assessment, 173, 205–210; Closing and

evaluations; Rubrics

Wrap Up learning experiences and supportive,

Assessment best practices: assess across six levels of

98 t–99 t; Course Beginnings learning experiences and

Bloom's taxonomy, 205–208; assess core concepts in

supportive, 80 t–81 t; Early Middle learning

your course, 208; classic resources on, 209–210; help

experiences and supportive, 86 t–87 t; Late Middle

students succeed on assessment tasks, 209

learning experiences and supportive, 92 t–93 t.

The Assessment CyberGuide for Learning Goals and

See also Teaching

Outcomes (Pusateri, Halonen, Hill, and

Best Practices in Assessment: top 10 Task Force

McCarthy), 210

Recommendations (APA), 209, 210

Assessment plans: aligning substantive feedback tools

Best practices list: 1: be present at your course, 44–47;

with, 250 t–251 t, 252; description and functions of a,

2: create a supportive online course community, 45 t,

203; designing, 173, 202–203; elements and percent of

47–48; 3: develop set of workload and communication

363

364

Subject Index

expectations, 45 t, 48–50; 4: use large group, small

stories, 292; designing intensive course (IC) to

group, and individual work experiences, 45 t, 50–51; 5:

include, 307–308; Harvard Review Publishing blog

use synchronous and asynchronous activities, 45 t,

on case method teaching and, 294; “jellyfish” design

51–52; 6: ask for informal feedback early in term, 45 t,

of, 307; making content real through, 278, 290–294;

52–53; 7: prepare discussion posts that invite

mix up stories and, 292–294; reflection question

communication, 45 t, 53–54; 8: think digital for all

cluster for a, 310–311; start with stories to integrate

course content, 45 t, 54–55; 9: combine core concept

into learning experiences, 290–291; strategies for

learning personalized learning, 45 t, 55–57; 10: plan a

mixing up stories and, 292–294

good closing and wrap activity for course, 45 t, 57; 11:

Celebration session, 297–299

assess as you go by gathering evidences of learning,

Center for the Study of Higher Education (University

45 t, 58; 12: connect content to core concepts and

of Melbourne), 252

learning outcomes, 45 t, 58–59; 13: develop and use

Centre for Learning and Performance Technologies

content frame, 45 t, 59–61

(C4LPT), 76 t, 77, 179–180

Bias of memory, 296

Child's kitchen exhibit (Smithsonian Institution), 128

Big-picture perspective of higher education, 3

Chronicle of Higher Education, 239, 313

Blackboard: Collaborate tool of, 72, 220; Performance

Chunking: description of, 39; as time-on-task principle

Dashboard on, 178; SafeAssign (checking plagiarism

example, 39–40

service) in, 121

Close phase. See Course Closing/Wrap-up phase

Blended environment, 4

Cloud storage, 64

Blended or hybrid course, 11 t, 12

CmapTools, 289

Blocking memory, 295, 296

Coaching. See Project coaching

Blogs: building community through, 271; Harvard

Cognitive apprenticeship theory, 18

Review Publishing on case method teaching, 294;

Cognitive presence: Course Beginning, 82; Course Early

learning experiences expressed through, 56; Learning

Middle, 88; Course Late Middle, 91, 94–95;

in the Modern Workplace (Jane Hart), 77; LMS

description of, 46–47, 82; striving for, 198; tips for

built-in, 71; using reflection questions in, 311

building, 173, 195–213. See also Knowledge

Bloom's taxonomy: assess across six levels of cognitive

acquisition; Presence; Zone of proximal

skills in, 205–208; assignments for evaluating and

development (ZPD)

creating levels of, 173, 210–213; developing questions

Cognitive presence building tips: EM Tip 8: building

using, 150; development of knowledge mapped in, 56;

cognitive presence using practical inquiry model,

Krathwohl's updated cognitive (2002), 206 fig; website

173, 196–198; EM Tip 9: knowing the core concepts

by Schrock for apps and, 77

of a course, 173, 198–202; EM Tip 10: designing

Bookending: CB Tip 4: adding structure and meaning

assessment plans, 173, 202–205; EM Tip 11: three

to course with, 109, 127–130; description and

best assessment practices, 173, 205–210; EM Tip 12:

functions of, 128; examples of course, 129–130;

assignments for evaluating and creating levels of

imagining your course in order to apply, 127–128;

Bloom's taxonomy, 173, 210–213

Julie & Julia (film) example of, 128

Cognitive presence growth: assessing for, 94;

Brain: memory research on learning and the, 31;

empowerment for, 95; a getting-acquainted cognitive

personal DNA of each learner's, 30

post for, 138; practical inquiry model on, 196–198;

Brain and Behavior Research Foundation, 25, 305

project coaching for, 94–95; questioning for, 91, 94;

Building a Nation of Learners: The Need for Changes in

tips on giving feedback for, 227, 239–255

Thinking and Learning to Meet Global Challenges report

Collaborative gatherings: building presence with live

(2003), 90–91

synchronous, 140; end-of-course interaction

Building Blocks for Teams (Teaching and Learning with

experiences, 298–299; group projects, 173, 216–220;

Technology Group), 261

groups of two or three–casual grouping, 173,

Building community tips: EM Tip 13: collaborating

214–216; LMS collaborative tools for, 67–68; phases of

with groups of two or three, 173, 214–216; EM Tip 14:

faculty engagement with, 169 t; reflection and pattern

setting up and structuring groups for projects, 173,

making practices supported by, 313; using

216–220; EM Tip 15: using synchronous collaboration

synchronous tools for, 173, 220–222. See also

tools, 173, 220–222; EM Tip 16: using audio and video

Group projects

resources for an engaging course, 173, 222–224

Committee on Developments in the Science of

Bullying students, 320–321

Learning, 21

Buzz Groups, 215

Communication: netiquette guidelines for, 120; online

course community, 45 t, 47–48; preferred patterns of,

C

121; presence and online, 44–47. See also Dialogue;

Campus MovieFest (CMF) film festival, 208

E-mail communication

Case studies: as content resource that contains a story,

Communication activities: course policies and

292; definitions of content resources containing

procedures on, 120; Emoticons used in, 120;

Subject Index

365

netiquette guidelines for, 120; phases of faculty

Content Area (LMS), 67

engagement with different course categories of, 169 t;

Content frame: creating a syllabus using the, 59–60;

resources for faculty-to-student, 47–48; set

description of a, 59; designing a, 45 t, 59

expectations to students and yourself on, 45 t, 48–50,

Content resource types: case studies, 292; examples,

121–122; virtual office hours, 49. See also

291; games, 292; problems, 238, 292, 310–311;

Asynchronous activities; Course activities;

scenarios, 279–281, 292, 298, 310–311; simulations,

Discussion forums; Synchronous activities

28, 292; situations, 291; stories, 291

Communication models: basic faculty-student

Content resources: comparing online and traditional

communication, 47–48, 65–74 t, 163, 170; built on

course, 9; containing stories, 291–292; customizing

transactional distance theory, 163; learner-to-learner

the, 33–34 fig; description of the, 112 t

communications, 48, 65–74 t, 163, 170; self-directed

Context of environment, 27 fig, 35

communication, 143, 145, 163–164, 170

Core concept identification: information science faculty

Communication tools: additional thoughts on using,

experience in, 200–201; leadership faculty experience

70–72; basic one in the LMS, 66–69; enriched set and

in, 201–202; process of, 200

their pedagogical uses, 73 t–74 t; group projects and

Core concepts: best practice in assessment to assess the,

presentation and, 260–261; specific pedagogical uses

208; combine personalized learning with learning of,

of basic, 69 t–70 t; used for teaching and

45 t, 55–57; comparing different definitions of,

learning, 65–66

199–200; concept mapping of, 287–288 fig; create a

Community empowerment tips: LM Tip 13: souped-up

visual frame of the intensive course, 306–307;

conversations to build community, 228, 268–269; LM

discussion questions on the, 152; knowing your

Tip 14: social networking to build learning

course, 173, 198–202; process of identifying, 200–202;

community, 228, 269–272; LM Tip 15: inviting experts

rigorously connect content to learning outcomes and,

to a course, 228, 272–275

45 t, 58–59; understanding that learners need to learn

Community of Inquiry (CoI) model: developing

the, 27 fig, 33–35, 199; understood as organized and

presence during Early Middle course, 85, 88; research

interconnected knowledge clusters, 26 t, 37–38, 55, 199

findings on cognitive presence and, 196; research on

The Core Rules of Netiquette (Shea), 120

presence using the, 47; social presence achieved in, 81. Cornell University: Center for Teaching Excellence at, See also Learning community

249, 252; Novak's development of concept

Concept map examples: French Composition, Texas

mapping at, 287

A&M, 127; French Composition, University of Notre

Course activities: checklist for an effective learner-led,

Dame, 127; Fundamentals of Biological

286 t; debriefing students, 279, 302–303; five kinds of

Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, 127; Three

possible learning outcomes for, 285; individual

Philosophy Courses, Carroll College, 126–127; US

versus team-led, 284–285; making outcomes explicit,

History II spring 2011 Worcester State

285; schedule of events and, 112 t. See also

University, 125–126

Communication activities

Concept maps: a concept map showing the key features Course Beginnings (CB) phase: description of, 13; of, 288 fig; core concepts about, 287–288; course

reflections on and common problems during,

wrapping with, 278, 285–289; description of, 124;

321–322; themes, best practices, and principles

examples of creative graphic syllabi using, 125–127;

during, 79–83; what happens during the, 83–85

graphical overviews using, 124–125; integrating into

Course Beginnings tips: creating and managing

a course, 288–289; list of tools for, 289; two definitions

discussion posts, 110, 145–171; launching your

of, 286–287

course, 110, 134–145; overview of the, 107–110;

Concepts. See Core concepts

preparing syllabus and course site, 109, 110–133

The Conditions of Learning (Gagné), 38

Course closing experiences: closing thought on

Confessions (St. Augustine), 133

potential of, 299; plan a celebration session to end the

Constructivism theory, 17–18

course, 297–299; prepare list of what's next and when

Content: Closing and nurturing of, 99 t; designing

assignments are due, 297

intensive courses and consideration of, 306; Early

Course Closing/Wrap-up phase: activity for, 45 t, 52;

Middle nurturing of the, 86 t, 88–89; as element of the

description of, 13; of discussions, 110, 160–162;

learning experience, 27 fig, 29, 306; end-of-course

meaningful projects and presentations, 278, 279–294;

content experiences on, 298; imagined as set of

preparing for the course wrap, 278–279, 294–303;

concentric circles, 33–34 fig; Late Middle nurturing

reflections on and common problems during,

of the, 93 t, 100; learning experiences during course

324–325; self-directed exercise/application on, 304;

beginnings and, 80 t; rigorously connect core concepts

themes, best practices, and principles during, 97–101;

to learning outcomes and, 45 t, 58–59; think digital for

what happens during the, 101–103. See also

all course, 45 t, 54–55; understanding that all learners

Wrap-up tips

do not need to learn all the, 27 fig, 33–35, 199; using

Course Early Middle (EM) phase: building the

case studies to make content real, 278, 290–294; what

cognitive presence, 173, 195–213; description of, 13;

type to use for expert event, 274. See also Knowledge

managing your course, 173, 174–195; reflections on

366

Subject Index

and common problems during, 322–323; self-directed

Thinking, 253254; nine advantages of using rubrics

exercise and application of, 225; strategies and tools

to analyze, 255; rubrics for analyzing, 227, 252–255;

for building community during, 173, 213–224;

Socratic questioning rubric for, 255; VALUE Rubric

themes, best practices, and principles during, 85–89;

for Critical Thinking's definition of, 253

what's happening during the, 89–90

Customizing content resources, 33–34 fig

Course evaluations: ask for informal feedback early

instead of use, 45 t, 52–53; end-of-course, 299;

D

limitations of, 52; using discussion forums to gather

Debriefing activity, 279, 302–303

evidence of learning, 110, 162–166; avoiding

Decade of the Brain initiative (1990–2000), 25

unpleasant grading surprises for students, 324–325.

Deliberate practice: background and theory on, 315;

See also Assessment; Evaluating assignments

content resources with stories applied to, 292;

Course Late Middle (LM) phase: assessing learning as

description of, 20; how expert resources can provide

you go with projects during, 228, 255–268;

intensive course (IC), 314

description of, 13; feedback for cognitive growth

Deloitte Center for the Edge, 18

during, 227, 239–255; leveraging the power of

Designing: application of learning theories to, 3–4;

questions during, 227, 228–239; reflections on and

assessment plans, 173, 202–203; assignments, 314;

common problems during, 323–324; self-directed

content frame, 45 t, 59; faculty development exercise

exercise/application on, 276; souped-up

on design thinking, 42; individual projects, 258;

conversations that help build community, 228,

intensive courses (IC), 306–308; learning experiences

268–275; themes, best practices, and principles of,

for novice-to-expert journey, 45 t, 60; learning

90–91; what happens during the, 95–97

experiences that encourage learners-as-leaders, 278,

Course management tips: EM Tip 1: tools for teaching

283–285; reflecting on course preparation and,

presence, 173, 174–177; EM Tip 2: monitoring student

319–321. See also Online/blended course preparation

progress using LMS, 173, 177–178; EM Tip 3: early

Dialogue: faculty-to-student, 47–48, 65–74 t, 143, 145,

feedback loop from learners to you, 173, 178–181; EM

163, 170; learner-to-resource dialogue, 143, 145,

Tip 4: early feedback tools, 173, 181–184; EM Tip 5:

163–164, 170; learner-to-learner, 48, 65–74 t, 143, 145,

steps in memory-making, 173, 184–187; EM Tip 6:

163, 170. See also Communication

tips for making your grading time efficient and

Differentiated instruction, 26 t, 38–39

formative, 173, 188–191; EM Tip 7: dealing with

Difficult student strategies: disrespectful students,

difficult students, 173, 191–195

193–194; disturbed students, 192, 193; prevention as

Course Menu and Navigation (LMS), 67

the best strategy, 193, 195; processes for dealing with

Course site tips: CB Tip 1: essential elements of course

difficult students, 194–195, 320–321; students with

site, 109, 110–114; CB Tip 2: more on significant

difficult behaviors, 194

elements to include in syllabus and, 109, 118–122; CB

Difficult students: dealing with, 173, 191–195;

Tip 3: creating a syllabus that jump-starts learning,

description and types of, 192, 320–321; unique

109, 122–127; CB Tip 4: bookending to add structure

challenges of, 192–195

and meaning, 109, 127–130; CB Tip 5: generating

Digital tools. See Technology tools

energy and purpose with learning goals, 109, 130–133

Discipline vocabulary learning, 55–56

Course sites: aligning outcomes, experiences, and

Discussion as a Way of Teaching (Brookfield and

assessment on, 117; checklist for requesting and

Preskill), 153

preparing the, 115–117; description and purpose of

Discussion forums: best learning goals for, 146–147;

the, 114–115; developing presence by just being on

building community through, 271; creating and

the, 138–139; as essential course element, 112 t; quality

managing discussion posts, 110, 145–171; description

standards applied to, 117–118; troubleshooting, 122

of a LMS, 67; enhancing teaching presence using, 175;

Course types: blended or hybrid course, 11 t, 12; lightly

gathering evidence of learning using the, 110,

blended or hybrid course, 11 t–12; MOOCs (Massive

162–166; involve the students in wrapping up

Open Online Courses), 11 t, 12–13; traditional

discussions on, 162; monitoring, 164; preparation of,

face-to-face, 11 t

114; presence on the, 139; research findings on, 157;

Course workload: develop set of expectations for

role in the online course, 110, 145–148; rubrics for,

student, 45 t, 50; for a three-credit campus course, 7

114, 164–166; student questioning on the, 229–230;

Courses: closing and wrap activity for the, 45 t, 57;

summarizing key ideas from the, 160–161; three

comparing online and traditional, 8–10; definition

basic communication models built seen on, 163–164;

of a, 7; definition of pedagogy in a, 6–7; four types of,

three ways to focus on learning goals in a, 131–132.

10–13; intensive courses (IC), 305–316. See also Online

See also Communication activities; Student

and blended courses

engagement

Critical thinking: examples of critical thinking criterion

Discussion post tips: CB Tip 10: role of discussion

5 on, 254 t; A Guide to Rating Critical and Integrative

boards in an online course, 110, 145–148; CB Tip 11:

Subject Index

367

characteristics of good discussion questions, 110,

E-textbooks course content, 54

148–154; CB Tip 12: power questioning for

Early Middle. See Course Early Middle (EM) phase

meaningful discussions, 110, 154–158; CB Tip 13:

Eat That Frog! 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and

response posts–a three-part structure, 110, 158–159;

Get More Done in Less Time! (Tracy), 265

CB Tip 14: closing or wrapping up discussions, 110,

EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI), 77

160–162; CB Tip 15: using discussion forums to

Elements of Quality Online Education: Practice and

gather evidence of learning, 110, 162–166; CB Tip 16:

Direction report (2002), 118

feedback in discussion posts, 110, 166–168; CB Tip 17:

Emory University's Campus MovieFest (CMF) film

faculty role in blended and online courses, 110,

festival, 208

168–171

Emoticons, 120

Discussion posts: add audio to your biography and

Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ

introductory, 224; a getting-acquainted cognitive

(Goleman), 21

post, 138; a getting-acquainted social post, 136–137;

Emotional intelligence, 21

giving feedback in, 166–168; “know, want, learn”

End-of-course experiences: content experiences, 298;

structure of, 155–156; the purpose of, 163164; rubrics

course evaluations, 299; debriefing techniques, 279,

for, 114, 164–166; three-part structure of response

302–303; interaction experiences, 298–299;

posts, 110, 158–159; what, why, and what I wish

synchronous gatherings, 278, 299–302; using live

I knew three-part, 159

classroom for a, 301

Discussion questions: Bloom's cognitive taxonomy for

Energy and enthusiasm, 83

developing, 150–152; building cognitive presence

Environment. See Learning environments

through, 91, 94; characteristics of good, 110, 148–154;

Evaluating assignments: cognitive processes of, 210;

constructivism assumption of good, 153–154; on core

example in a leadership course, 211–212; rubrics for,

concepts in a course, 152; developing great, 149–150;

213; what it demands of learners, 211, 212. See also

dream initiative strategy for, 156–157; ideal number

Course evaluations

each week, 147; “know, want, learn” structure of,

Event-related brain potential (ERP) Wikipedia

155–156; more resources for, 153; power questioning

project, 213

for meaningful, 110, 154–158; practice-focused

Events. See Expert events

discussions and, 157; requirements for student

Examples (content resource), 291

responses to, 147–148. See also Questions

Exercises. See Faculty development exercises

Discussions: best practice for online, 45 t, 53–54;

Experiential learning theory, 16

community building by teaming up for, 268; dream

Expert events: how to find an expert for your, 273; how

initiative strategy to drive, 156–157; as essential

to set up the, 274–275; inviting an expert to a course,

course element, 113 t; facilitation strategies for

228–275; preferred time to have an, 273; resources for

expansive, 155–157; involve the students in wrapping

using experts and, 275; schedule for class activities

up, 162; power questioning for meaningful, 110,

and, 112 t; type of content to use for, 274

154–157; practice-focused, 157; rule of thumb for the

Expert performance theory, 20

length of, 148; shift from turn-taking to reflective and

Exploratory questions, 149

developed conversation, 159; wrapping-up, 295;

YouTube video of concept mapping a, 289

F

Disrespectful students, 192, 193–194

Facebook: building community through, 271; teaching

Disturbed students, 192, 193

and learning applications of, 72

Do schools kill creativity? TED talk (Sir Ken

Faculty: Star Trek holodeck as example of futuristic role

Robinson), 314

of, 28; teaching accelerated intensive courses (IC),

Dream initiative strategy, 156–157

305–316; teaching online and blended compared to

Duke University's Radio: Theater of the Mind

traditional courses, 8. See also Faculty-mentors

course, 212

Faculty categories: adjunct faculty, 6; tenured with

Dyads: casual use of, 214–215; getting started teaming

teaching experience, 5; tenure-track faculty, 5–6

with, 173, 214; learning power of, 216; three types of

Faculty development exercises: Closing/Wrap-up

causal grouping of, 215–216; ways of pairing

activities, 304; Course Beginning, 171; Course Early

learners in, 216

Middle, 225; Course Late Middle, 276; course themes,

103; design thinking, 42; develop deeper

E

understanding of pedagogy, 42; intensive courses

E-mail communication: Emoticons to use with, 120;

(IC), 316; reflecting on questions under best

enhancing teaching presence using, 174–176; faculty

practices, 61; technological tools, 78; three favorite

contact to students during preweek period, 135; LMS

best practices, 61. See also Reflection questions

feature for, 67; Netiquette guidelines on, 120. See also

Faculty-mentor advice: 1: just do your best, 328; 2: it's

Communication

kind of fun to do the impossible!, 328–329; 3: begin

368

Subject Index

with the end in mind, 329–330; 4: get to know your

324–325; Course Early Middle (EM) introduction and

students, 330

reflections, 13, 322–323; Course Late Middle (LM)

Faculty-mentors: advice from fellow online instructors

introduction and reflections, 13, 323–324; reflecting

and, 328–330; allocating points and rubrics for

on the designing and preparation, 319–321. See also

discussion postings, 164–166; Beginnings role of, 80 t;

specific phase

behaviors that support stage 3 community-building,

Framework for 21st Century Learning report (2015), 91

282; Closing role of, 98 t; Early Middle role of, 86 t; as

Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education

element of learning experience, 27 fig, 28–29, 306; Late

(FIPSE), 117, 209

Middle role of, 92 t; learning outcomes determined by

instruction provided by, 26 t, 38–39; monitoring

G

discussion boards, 164; phases of engagement with

Games (content resource), 292

activity categories, 169; presence and interaction as

Genetic epistemology theory, 16–17

key point of learner satisfaction, 136; role in blended

Getting Things Done (Allen), 132

and online courses, 110, 168–171; Star Trek holodeck

Google Hangout, 52

as example of futuristic role of, 28; technological tools GoToMeeting tool, 72, 220

that facilitate mentoring by, 74 t; theater metaphor of

Gradebook (LMS), 67

director role of the learning experience, 32–33; their

Grading: a checklist for students, 190–191; time efficient

stories on synchronous meeting rooms, 300–301.

and formative for learners, 173, 188–191. See also

See also Faculty

Rubrics

Faculty-to-student dialogue: communication tools

Graduate Centre for the Study of Higher Education

supporting, 65–74 t; online course balance of, 170;

(GCSHE) [University of Melbourne], 264

online course resources for, 47–48; transactional

Graphic overviews: CB Tip 3: creating a syllabus that

distance theory and model of, 163; weekly tasks

jump-starts learning, 123 fig; concept maps, 124–125;

and activities that correspond to, 143, 145

of course content included in syllabus, 123–127;

Feedback: anonymous student responses, 180–181;

examples of creative syllabi, 125–127

assignment, 227, 244–248; best practice on asking for

Graphic syllabi examples: French Composition, Texas

informal, 45 t, 52–53; developing expertise in, 252;

A&M, 127; French Composition, University of Notre

discussion forum for, 180; on discussion posts,

Dame, 127; Fundamentals of Biological Anthropology,

166–168; end-of-course debriefing of students, 279,

University of Notre Dame, 127; Three Philosophy

302–303; from learners to you, 173, 178–181;

Courses, Carroll College, 126–127; US History II

substantive, 227, 248–252; survey tools for, 179–180;

spring 2011 Worcester State University, 125–126

technological tools that facilitate, 74 t; three purposes

Group project assessment: peer reviews by students,

of, 168; use audio for discussion, 224; value of

262–264; techniques for, 262; tip on effective, 228, 261

rubrics for, 168

Group projects: additional considerations for setting up

Feedback rules: overview of simple, 239–240; provide

groups for, 218–219; additional thoughts for

feedback early and often, 240–242; provide feedback

managing, 261; assessment of, 228, 261–264;

on assignments when expected, 242–243; provide

communication and presentation tools used for,

feedback that is personal and formative for

260–261; criteria and processes for setting up groups,

learning, 243–244

217–218; directions and rubrics for, 217; Group

Feedback tips: LM Tip 5: simple rules for feedback in

Availability & Contact Info form for, 218, 219 e;

online learning, 227, 239–244; LM Tip 6: feedback on

intensive course (IC), 308; monitoring and guiding

assignments: being timely and efficient, 227, 244–248;

group projects, 259–260; a note about post-millennial

LM Tip 7: substantive feedback: done wisely and

students on, 219–220; setting up and structuring

well, 227, 248–252; LM Tip 8: rubrics for analyzing

groups for, 173, 216–220; Team Member Evaluation

critical thinking, 227, 252–255

Form used in peer review of, 263 e. See also

Feedback tools: discussion forum, 180; peer review, 183;

Collaborative gatherings

quizzes, 181, 183; rubrics, 181–182 t; surveys, 179–180

Group types: buzz groups, 215; peer consulting groups,

Feedback types: group feedback by instructor, 250 t;

215–216; structured controversy, 216

peer feedback, 251 t; personalized feedback by

Groups: casual use of, 214–215; getting started

instructor or expert, 250 t; self-review or

teaming with, 173, 214; learning power of, 216; small

assessment, 251 t

group work experiences, 45 t, 50–51; three types of

First week: maximizing the, 110, 114–135; pre-week

causal grouping of, 215–216; ways of pairing

activities, 135–136. See also Weekly rhythm

learners in, 216

Flipped classrooms strategy, 239, 314

Guest Lecturers in the Online Environment

Foundation for Critical Thinking (Sonoma State

(Varvel), 275

University), 235–236

Guide to Everything (Kathy Schrock website), 289

Four course phases: Course Beginnings (CB)

Guide to Rating Critical and Integrative Thinking

introduction and reflections, 13, 321–322; Course

(Washington State University website), 165

Closing/Wrap-up introduction and reflections, 13,

Guide to Scientific Thinking, 236

Subject Index

369

H

Knowledge: concepts as organized and interconnected

“Happy face” emoticon, 120

clusters of, 26 t, 37–38, 55, 199; as element of the

Harvard Business Publishing, 292

learning experience, 27 fig, 29; of patterns and

Harvard Business Review, 18

relationships, 55; repetition and use for constructing

Harvard Review Publishing, 294

a meaningful, 59; student questioning and inquiry as

Higher education big-picture perspective, 3

a reflection of, 229; techniques for making students'

How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School

knowledge visible, 227, 230–232; technological tools

(Bransford, Brown, and Cocking), 21

for practicing contextual, 74–77. See also Content;

How We Think (Dewey), 16

Information chunking

Hunter College (City University of New York), 178

Knowledge acquisition: importance of prior knowledge

in, 287; the learner's learning space defined by their

I

ZPD for, 26 t, 36–37; memory-making process model

Illinois Online Network, 275

and, 184–187; memory research on learning and, 31;

Individual projects: customizing and personalizing,

moving to defining problems and finding solutions

228, 256–258; guidelines for developing requirements

from, 227, 237–239. See also Cognitive

for, 256–257; the task model to describe the, 257–258;

presence; Learning

ZPD principle used to guide in the design of, 258

Kolb's four-stage learning cycle, 309 fig

Individual reflection activities, 113 t

Individual work experiences: as essential course

L

element, 113 t; suggestions for, 51; use a variety of,

Large group work experiences: suggestions for, 51; use

45 t, 50–51

a variety of, 45 t, 50–51

Information chunking, 39–40. See also Knowledge

Late Middle. See Course Late Middle (LM) phase

Innovation three-phase process, 330–331

Launching course tips: CB Tip 6: maximizing the first

Instant messaging, 71–72

week, 110, 134–136; CB Tip 7: launching your social

Institute of Human and Machine Cognition, 289

and cognitive presence, 110, 136–140; CB Tip 8:

Instructors. See Faculty-mentors

getting to know your students' ZPD, 110, 140–142;

Intellectual standards of questioning: applications in

CB Tip 9: getting into the ideal weekly rhythm,

learning activities, 236; background of the, 235–236;

110, 142–146

rigor through the, 233–235

Learner expectations: communication activities, 45 t,

Intensive courses (IC): challenges of teaching

48–50, 121–122; setting during beginning of course, 83

accelerated, 305; developing expertise in, 313–314;

learner-to-resource online course balance of, 170;

pattern practices to use for, 311–313; reflection

transactional distance theory and model of, 163–164;

practices to use in, 309–311; self-directed exercise/

weekly tasks and activities that correspond

application on, 316; strategies for designing,

to, 143, 145

306–308

Learner-students: Beginnings role of the, 80 t; bringing

Intensive courses (IC) designing: 1: create a visual

their own Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes to

frame of the core concepts, 306–307; 2: place case

learning, 27 fig, 30–31, 140–141; Closing role of the,

studies with consequences at course center, 307–308;

98 t; dealing with difficult, 173, 191–195, 320–321;

collaborative projects, 308; “jellyfish” design of case

debriefing of, 279, 302–303; design learning

studies, 307

experiences on their novice-to-expert journey, 45 t, 60;

Intensive courses (IC) tips: IC Tip 1: designing for IC

Early Middle role of the, 86 t; as element of the

using content framing and case studies, 306–308; IC

learning experience, 27 fig, 28, 306; feedback loop to

Tip 2: high-impact practices for short courses,

you from, 173, 178–181; a grading checklist for,

308–313; IC Tip 3: developing expertise in short

190–191; group projects and post-millennial, 219–220;

courses, 313–315

how learning tools both shape and are shaped by,

Internet learning resources, 28

26 t, 40–41; involve them in selecting digital tools and

Internet Resources for Higher Education Outcomes

resources, 63; keeping them straight in your mind,

Assessment, 209

141–142; Late Middle and growing independence of,

92 t, 100; as leaders of course experiences, 278,

283–285; learning experience framework and role of,

J

26 t, 27 fig–30; monitoring their progress using LMS,

“Jellyfish” design of case studies, 307

173, 177–178; peer reviews of group projects by,

Journals: learning experiences expressed through, 56;

262–264; personal DNA of each, 30; Pew Internet

using reflection questions in, 311

study (2015) on smartphone use by, 177; plan for time

Julie & Julia (film), 128

for them to develop the tough questions, 269;

presence and interaction as key point of satisfaction

K

for, 136; requirements for discussion question

Khan academy, 314

responses by, 147–148. See also Student engagement;

“Know, want, learn” structure, 155–156

Zone of proximal development (ZPD)

370

Subject Index

Learner-to-learner dialogue: communication tools

of every structured, 26 t, 27 fig–30; learners-as-leaders

supporting, 65–74 t; designing communication

in course, 278, 283–285; theater metaphor of the

activities for, 48; instructor encouragement of, 176;

mentor/director role in the, 32–33

transactional distance theory and model of, 163;

Learning goals: benefits of having specific personal,

weekly tasks and activities that correspond

133; discussion board, 146–147; generating energy

to, 143, 145

and purpose with, 109, 130–133; importance of

Learners-as-leaders: checklist for an effective learner-

applying specificity to, 132; three ways to focus

led activity, 286 t; designing learning experiences that

discussion forum on, 131–132

encourage, 278, 283–285; five kinds of learning

Learning in the Modern Workplace blog (Jane Hart), 77

outcomes of activities lead by, 285; making activity

Learning outcomes: definition of, 199; different

outcomes explicit to support, 285; orientation and

instruction is required for different, 26 t, 38–39; five

planning time to support, 284; team-led activities

kinds of possible activity, 285; making explicit the

versus individual, 284–285; Zone of proximal

desired activity, 285; rigorously connect core concepts

development (ZPD) support of, 284

to content and, 45 t, 58–59

Learning: creating a syllabus that jump-starts, 122; how

Learning principles. See Pedagogical principles

technology tools can support active, 312–313; Kolb's

Learning theories: application to designing and

four-stage learning cycle on, 309 fig; learning

teaching courses, 3–4; experiential learning, 16;

experience framework on, 26 t, 27 fig–30; pausing,

teaching tips grounded in, 13–14; theory of genetic

reflecting, and pruning strategies for, 278, 294–296;

epistemology or origins of thinking, 16–17; theory

technology tools to support, 62–78; ten core

of social development, 14, 15 fig

pedagogical principles of, 23–42; time-on-task

Learning theorists: Albert Bandura, 15 fig, 19; Daniel

principle of, 39–40. See also Knowledge acquisition

Goleman, 15 fig, 21; Ellen Langer, 15 fig, 20–21; Jean

Learning community: beginning course and nurturing

Lave, 15 fig, 19–20; Jean Piaget, 15 fig, 16–17, 30;

of, 88–89; conditions that hinder development of a,

Jerome Bruner, 15 fig, 17–18; John Dewey, 14, 15 fig, 16,

283; course beginnings and building a, 82–83;

30, 31, 40, 237, 290; John Seely Brown, 15 fig, 18, 25, 30,

creating a supportive, 45 t, 47–48; discussion boards

40, 48; K. Anders Ericsson, 15 fig, 20; Roger Schank,

are when they happen, 158–159; Early Middle

15 fig, 19, 30; Lev Vygotsky, 14, 15 fig, 17, 30, 36–37, 40,

nurturing of, 88–89; faculty behaviors that support

48, 55, 56, 130, 132, 138, 150, 258

building, 282; social networking and empowerment

Learning tools: both shaping and being shaped by

of, 228, 267–275; strategies and tools for building,

learners, 26 t, 40–41; life-logging, 295; See also

173, 213–224; three-stage model of building a, 268,

Technology tools

281–283; using social networking techniques to build, Lego programming language, 17

228, 269–272. See also Community of Inquiry (CoI)

Life-logging tools, 295

model; Student engagement

Lightly blended or hybrid course, 11 t–12

Learning community empowerment: CW Tip 2: stage

LinkedIn, 72

three of a learning community, 278, 281–383; LM

LMS communication and media tools: announcements

Tip 13: souped-up conversations to build community,

tool, 67, 138–140, 175, 224; becoming familiar with

228, 268–269; LM Tip 14: social networking to build

the, 66–69; enriched set and their pedagogical uses,

learning community, 228, 269–272; LM Tip 15:

73 t–74 t; quiz robots, 188; quiz tools, 183; setting up

inviting experts to a course, 228, 272–275

online meeting rooms for your course, 301–302;

Learning environments: Beginnings, 81 t; comparing

specific pedagogical uses of basic, 69 t–70 t; survey

online and traditional course, 9–10; context of, 27 fig,

tool, 179–180; thoughts on using the, 70–72; twelve

35; designing intensive courses and consideration of,

action skills to know about, 68; web conferencing

306; Early Middle, 87 t; as element of the learning

tools, 220–222

experience, 27 fig, 29, 35, 306; Late Middle, 93 t, 99 t

LMS (learning management system): basic set of

Learning experience elements: knowledge, content, or

technology tools for teaching and learning, 65–66;

skill as, 27 fig, 29, 306–307; learner as one of the, 27 fig,

becoming familiar with the, 66–68; communication

28, 306–307; learning environment as, 27 fig, 29,

tools for teaching and learning, 65–74 t; guidelines for

306–307; mentor as one of the, 27 fig, 28–29, 306–307.

choosing and using tools in your, 63–64; monitoring

See also specific element

student progress using, 173, 177–178; staying in

Learning experience framework: designing intensive

sync with tools in the, 77–78; technological tools

courses using the, 306–307; four-elements of the, 26 t,

included in your, 62; tools for contextual practice

27 fig–30; reflecting and looking forward with,

and emerging possibilities, 74–77; tools for

325–328. See also specific element

practicing contextual knowledge, 74–77. See also

Learning experiences: Course Beginning phase, 80 t–81 t;

Technology tools

designed to help learners on novice-to-expert

The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of

journey, 45 t, 60; Early Middle, 86 t–87 t; four elements

More (Anderson), 279–280

Subject Index

371

M

Online teaching: accelerated intensive courses (IC),

Mastering the Art of French Cooking (Child), 128

305–316; comparing traditional courses to, 8;

Memory: chunking information and, 39–40; description

memory-making approach to, 173, 184–187; reflecting

of, 185; keeping the students straight in your mind,

and looking forward to using four course phases in,

141–142; ROYGBIV (rainbow colors) acronym aid of,

319–325; reflecting and looking forward with

39–40; seven “sins” of, 294–295, 296

learning experiences framework for, 325–328.

Memory-making model: increasing learning using the,

See also Teaching

184–185; making a teaching difference with, 173,

Online/blended course elements: assignments, 112 t,

184–187; steps and processes in, 185–186 fig; teaching

119–120; communication policies and procedures,

strategies to use with the, 186–187

113 t, 120–121; content resources, 9, 33–34 fig, 112 t;

Memory research: how sleeping helps to encode

course site, 109–133, 112 t; discussion postings, 113 t,

memory, 187; on learning and knowledge

119; schedule of class activities and events, 112 t;

acquisition, 31

syllabus, 111, 112 t, 113; weekly teaching guides, 112 t,

Memory sins: absent-mindedness, 295, 296; bias, 296;

113–114. See also specific element

blocking, 295, 296; misattribution, 296; persistence,

Online/blended course preparation: aligning outcomes,

296; suggestibility, 296; of transience (tendency to

experiences, and assessment, 117; checklist for

forget over time), 294–295, 296

preparing online course, 115–117; course site,

Mendeley website, 313

114–115; overview of the essential course elements,

Mentors. See Faculty-mentors

111–114; quality standards, 117–118; reflecting on the

Minecraft game, 40

designing and, 320–321; syllabus and course site,

Misattribution, 296

109–133. See also Designing

Monitoring: Blackboard's Performance Dashboard for,

Online/blended teaching: getting over your initial fears

178; group projects, 259–260; student progress using

of, 5; of online and blended compared to traditional

LMS, 173, 177–178

courses, 8; technology tools to support, 62–78; ten

MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses): description

core pedagogical principles of learning and, 23–42.

of, 11 t, 12–13; synchronous tools of, 51–52

See also Teaching

Open-ended questions, 149

N

Oregon Health and Science University, 248

National Research Council, 31

Origins of thinking theory, 16–17

Netiquette guidelines, 120

New Media Consortium (NMC), 77

P

New York University of School of Law, 17

PARC (Palo Alto Research Center), 18, 290

9 Principles of Good Practice for Assessing Student Learning Partnership for 21st Century Learning Planning, 91

(1992), 209

Patience, 83

NMC Horizon Report (New Media Consortium), 77

Patterns: discussion wraps using cognitive, 110,

160–162; intensive courses (IC) and high-impact

O

practice of using, 311–313; learning concepts requires

Office hours (virtual), 49

knowledge of, 55; making students' knowledge

Online and blended courses: continuous assessment

visible by identifying, 231–232

during, 10; how they differ from traditional courses,

Pausing, reflecting, and pruning strategies: discussion-

8–10; increasing demands for, 4; introduction to best

wrapping up as, 295; preparing for the course wrap

practices for teaching, 43–61; introduction to the four

with, 278, 294–296; reverse exam as, 296; student-

stages or phases of a, 13; launching your, 134–145;

generated questions as, 295–296; understood as

MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), 11 t, 12–13,

elements of learning, 294–295

51–52; preparation time and workload of, 7; reflecting Pedagogical principles: 1: every structured learning and looking forward to using four course phases on,

experience has four elements, 26 t, 27 fig–30; 2: learners

319–325; reflecting and looking forward with

bring personalized and customized Knowledge, Skills,

learning experiences framework in, 325–328; teaching

and Attitudes to learning experience, 26 t, 30–31, 140;

accelerated intensive (IC), 305–316; types of, 10–13.

3: faculty mentors direct the learning experience, 26 t,

See also Courses; specific best practice; specific

32–33; 4: learners do not need to learn content but do

course phase

need to learn concepts, 26 t, 33–34 fig, 199; 5: every

Online community. See Learning community

learning experience including environment or context,

Online environment: comparing traditional course to,

26 t, 35; 6: every learner has a ZPD that defines his

9–10; preparing to teach in, 4

learning space, 26 t, 36–37; 7: concepts are organized

Online instructors. See Faculty-mentors

and interconnected knowledge clusters, 26 t, 37–38,

Online Learning Consortium, 118

199; 8: different instruction for different learning

Online program demand, 4

outcomes, 26 t, 38–39; 9: more time on task equals

372

Subject Index

more learning, 26 t, 39–40; 10: we shape our tools and

Project coaching: ask learners to post progress reports

our tools shape us, 26 t, 40–41

or updates, 267; building cognitive knowledge

Pedagogy: choosing technology tools that support, 63;

through, 94–95; coach learners on personalizing their

definition and key elements of, 3, 6–7, 28; enriched

projects, 266–267; communicate your availability and

technology tool set and support of, 73 t–74 t;

schedule for, 267; Course Closing and, 101;

technological tool set and their specific use or

description of, 94

support of, 69 t–70 t; ten core learning principles of,

Project practices: 1: be proactive and help learners get

23–42; understanding the theoretical

unstuck, 265–266; 2: coach learners on personalizing

foundations of, 24–25

their projects, 266–267; 3: ask learners to post

Peer communication. See Learner-to-learner dialogue

progress reports or updates, 267; 4: communicate

Peer consulting groups, 215–216

your availability and schedule, 267

Peer reviews, 183

Project tips: CW Tip 1: using what-if scenarios, 278,

Persistence of memory, 296

279–281; CW Tip 2: stage 3 of a learning community,

Pew Internet study (2015), 177

278, 281–283; CW Tip 3: learners as leaders, 278,

Pew Research Center, 77–78

283–285; CW Tip 4: course wrapping with concept

Plagiarism, 121

mapping, 278, 285–289; CW Tip 5: using case studies

Podcasts, 73 t

to make content real, 278, 290–294; LM Tip 9:

PollDaddy, 180

customizing and personalizing learning projects, 228,

Power questioning: facilitation strategies for expansive

256–258; LM Tip 10: managing and facilitating group

discussion forums and, 155–157; meaningful

projects, 228, 259–261; LM Tip 11: assessing group

discussions through, 110, 154–157; for reflection, 157;

projects, 228, 261–264; LM Tip 12: four effective

strategies for, 154–155

practices during project time, 228, 264–267

Practical inquiry model: applied to a unit or module of

Projects: assessing learning as you go with, 228,

a course, 197–198; description of, 196; exploration

255–267; completing the course, 101; creating for

stage, 197; illustrated figure of, 197 fig; integration

Wikipedia, 213; customizing and personalizing

stage, 197, 295–296; puzzlement stage or triggering

individual, 228, 256–258; as essential course element,

event, 196; resolution stage, 197, 295–296

112 t; evaluating assignments and, 212–213; group,

Practice-focused discussions, 157

173, 216–220, 308; social network strategy for,

Preparation. See Online/blended course preparation

270–271; using what-if scenarios in, 278, 279–281

Presence strategies: announcement tool and just being

Promoting Effective Dialogue Between Business and Education

on the course site, 138–139; a getting-acquainted

Around the Need for Deeper Learning report (2013), 91

cognitive post, 138; a getting-acquainted social post,

136–137; live synchronous collaborative gatherings,

Q

140; presence on the discussion forum, 139

Quality Matters project (FIPSE), 117

Presence: best practice of be present at your course,

Quality Matters Rubric, 117–118

44–46; communication tools supporting instructor,

Question leveraging tips: LM Tip 1: upside down and

65–66; course beginnings (CB) theme of, 79, 81–82; as

inside out, 227, 228–230; LM Tip 2: three techniques

key point of learner satisfaction, 136; launching your,

for making students' knowledge visible, 227, 230–232;

110, 136–140; three types of, 46–47; video/audio

LM Tip 3: developing rigor in questioning: eight

mini-lectures to create, 45. See also Cognitive

intellectual standards, 227, 232–236; LM Tip 4:

presence; Social presence; Teaching presence

beyond knowledge integration to defining problem/

Principles of Good Practice for Assessing Student

finding solutions, 227, 237–239

Learning (AAHE), 58

Questioning rigor: core concept examples of, 233; eight

Prior knowledge: concept mapping as tool for

intellectual standards for, 233–236; overview

integrating new and old, 285–289; knowledge

of, 232–233

acquisition rooted in, 287

Questions: constructivism assumption of good,

Problem solving: deciding on resolution strategies for,

153–154; exploratory, 149; factual, 149–150;

237–238; developing problem solvers and critical

identifying insights through, 232; interviewer-expert

thinkers for, 238–239; eight behaviors supporting

modeling, 231; open-ended, 149; pausing, reflecting,

resolution of, 238; moving beyond knowledge

and pruning with student-generated, 295–296; plan

integration to, 227, 237–239; questions for,

for time for learners to develop tough, 269; problem-

150, 151–152

solving, 150, 151–152; Socratic, 150, 151. See also

Problems: as content resource that contains a story, 292;

Discussion questions; Reflection questions

eight behaviors supporting resolution of, 238; eleven

Quiz robots (LMS), 188

problem formulation behaviors, 238; reflection

Quizlet (survey tool), 180

question cluster for a, 310–311

Quizzes: factual questions on, 149–150; feedback

The Process of Education (Bruner), 18

through, 183; reverse exam, 296

Subject Index

373

R

Smartphone Pew Internet Study (2015), 177

Radio: Theater of the Mind course (Duke

Smithsonian Institution Child's kitchen exhibit, 128

University), 212

Social learning theory, 19

Reading assignments: mixing up stories and case

The Social Life of Information (Brown and Duguid), 18

studies with, 293; reflection question cluster

Social media: “friending” applications of, 40;

for a, 310

interconnectivity and interactivity of, 272; learning

Reflection questions: description of, 157; discussion

experiences expressed through channels of, 56;

forums, blogs or journals, written assignments for,

life-logging with, 295; social networking tools

311; individual reflection as essential to learning,

of, 271–272

113 t; intensive course (IC) and high-impact practice

Social networking: building learning community

of, 309–311; Kolb's four-stage learning cycle use of,

using, 269–272; life-logging with, 295; social

309 fig; pausing, reflecting, and pruning with student-

media tools used for, 271–272; strategy for

generated, 295–296. See also Faculty development

projects, 270–271

exercises; Questions

Social networking tips: LM Tip 13: souped-up

Reverse exam, 296

conversations to build community, 228, 268–269; LM

ROYGBIV (rainbow colors), 39–40

Tip 14: social networking to build learning

Rubrics: analyzing critical thinking with, 227, 252–255;

community, 228, 269–272; LM Tip 15: inviting experts

assignment, 245, 246–248; discussion forum postings,

to a course, 228, 272–275

114, 164–166; evaluating assignments using, 213;

Social presence: community of Inquiry (CoI) for

example of criterion 5 on critical thinking, 254 t;

achieving, 81; course beginnings and, 81–82;

feedback gathered through, 181–182 t; group project

description of, 46, 47; Early Middle course, 87; a

directions and, 217; nine advantages of using rubrics

getting-acquainted social post to build, 136–137.

to analyze critical thinking, 255; Quality Matters,

See also Presence

117–118; value of discussion posting feedback, 168;

Socratic questions, 150, 151

VALUE Rubric for Critical Thinking, 253. See also

Sonoma State University, 235–236

Assessment; Grading

Star Trek holodeck, 28

Stories: definitions and examples of content resources

S

containing, 291–292; making content real by starting

SafeAssign (checking plagiarism service), 121

with, 290–291; strategies for mixing up case studies

St. Charles Community college, 213

and, 292–294; theory of situated cognition on

St. Norbert College, 312

teaching with, 290–291

Scenarios: reflection question cluster for a, 310–311; as

Structured controversy group activity, 216

type of content resource using a story, 292; what-if,

Student engagement: collaborative gatherings,

278, 279–281

67–68, 140, 169 t, 173, 214–222; learner-to-resource,

Schedule for class activities and events, 112 t

143, 145, 163–164, 170; learner-to-learner dialogue,

Schema theory, 19

48, 65–74 t, 143, 145, 163, 176; learners-as-leaders,

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)

278, 283–285; monitoring, 177–178. See also

movement, 24

Discussion forums; Learner-students; Learning

Schrock website, 77

community

Self-directed exercises. See Faculty

Substantive feedback: aligning assessment plan

development exercises

with tools for, 250 t–251 t, 252; description of,

Self-efficacy, 19

248–249; importance of giving, 227, 248–252;

Semantic web (Web 3.0), 272

self-assessment and peer feedback strategies and

Setting expectations: communication activities, 45 t,

tools for, 249–252

48–50, 121–122; during beginning of course, 83;

Suggestibility of memory, 296

student workload, 45 t, 50

Survey tools, 179–180

Short courses. See Intensive courses (IC)

SurveyMonkey, 180

SimCity game, 40

Survival Guide (2010), 57

Simulations: as content resource that contains a story,

Syllabus: aligning outcomes, experiences, and

292; learning through, 28

assessment in, 117; checklist for course site and,

Situated learning theory, 19–20

115–117; content frame used to create a, 59–60;

Situation cognition theory, 290–291

description and function of a, 111, 113; graphic

Situations (content resource), 291

overviews and graphic syllabi examples, 123 fig–127;

Skills (learning experience element), 27 fig, 29

preparing your, 109, 110–127; quality standards

Skype, 52

applied to, 117–118; sections of the, 119–122

Small group work experiences: suggestions for, 51;

Syllabus sections: assignments, 119–120;

use a variety of, 45 t, 50–51

communication patterns, 121; communication

374

Subject Index

policies and procedures, 120; discussion postings,

LMS, 62; Internet as a, 28; life-logging devices, 295;

119; emoticons, 120; netiquette guidelines, 120;

for practicing contextual knowledge, 74–77; staying

plagiarism, 121–122; troubleshooting, 122

in sync with, 77–78. See also Learning tools; LMS

Syllabus tips: CB Tip 1: essential elements of a syllabus,

(learning management system)

109, 110–114; CB Tip 2: more on significant elements

TED talks: Do schools kill creativity? (Sir Ken Robinson),

to include, 109, 118–122; CB Tip 3: creating a syllabus

314; engaging students with, 223; as expert

that jump-starts learning, 109, 122–127; CB Tip 4:

resource for intensive course (IC) teaching, 314–315;

bookending to add structure and meaning, 109,

learning through, 28; TED Studies, section on

127–130; CB Tip 5: generating energy and purpose

website of, 315

with learning goals, 109, 130–133

Terminology: development of discipline, 55–56; instant

Synchronous activities: best practice on using

messaging language and, 72

asynchronous and, 45 t, 51–52; building presence with Tests and Quizzes (LMS), 67

live collaborative gatherings, 140; end-of-course

Texting: enhancing teaching presence using, 174;

gatherings, 278, 299–302; GoToMeeting and

features and popularity of, 176–177

Blackboard Collaborate tools for, 72; LMS

Theatre of the Mind website, 212

communication tools for asynchrounous and, 65–74 t;

Themes: Course Beginnings, 79–83; Closing Weeks,

online discussions, 10; pausing, reflecting, and

97–103; Early Middle, 85–89; faculty development

pruning using question-and-answer sessions, 295;

exercise on, 103; Late Middle, 90–95

social media “friending” as, 40; synchronous

Theory of emotional intelligence, 21

collaboration tools, 173, 220–222; synchronous

Theory of genetic epistemology, 16–17

meeting rooms for, 300–301. See also Communication

Theory of mindful learning, 20–21

activities

Theory of situated cognition, 290–291

Synchronous collaboration tools: mixing and matching

Theory of social development, 14, 15 fig

for instant collaboration, 222; web conferencing

Thinking with concepts (Paul and Elder), 236

tools, 220–222

Through the Looking-Glass (Carroll), 184

Time-on-task principle, 39–40

T

Tools for Teaching (Davis), 190

Teaching: accelerated intensive courses (IC), 305–316; of

Top 26 Most Important Rules of Email Etiquette, 120

online and blended compared to traditional courses, 8; Top 100 Tools for 2015 (Centre for Learning and ten core pedagogical principles of learning and, 23–42.

Performance Technologies), 179–180

See also Best practices; Online teaching

Transactional distance theory: description of, 163; three

Teaching and Learning with Technology Group (Penn

communication models based on, 163–164

State), 261

Transience (tendency to forget), 295

Teaching presence: course beginnings and, 82;

Triads: casual use of, 214–215; getting started teaming

description of, 46, 47; Early Middle course, 87–88;

with, 173, 214; learning power of, 216; three types of

tools for building, 173, 174–177. See also Presence

causal grouping of, 215–216; ways of pairing

Teaching presence tools: e-mail, announcements, and

learners in, 216

discussion forums, 173, 174–176; how to select the

Troubleshooting, 122

best, 177; text messaging, tweeting, and short

Turnitin (checking plagiarism service), 121

messaging system, 176–177

Twitter: enhancing teaching presence using, 176–177;

Team Member Evaluation Form, 263 e

life-logging with, 295

Technology tool guidelines: 1: pedagogy first,

technology second, 63; 2: keep it simple, 63; 3:

U

involve your learners in choices and use of digital

University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), 25

tools and resources, 63; 4: have choices and backups

University of Central Florida, 165, 166

for when the cloud disappears, 64; 5: review your

University of Illinois-Springfield, 221

technology tool set ever two or three terms, 64

University of Kent, UK, 213

Technology tool sets: additional thoughts on a basic,

University of Melbourne: Center for the Study of

70–72; basic one for online and blended teaching and

Higher Education at, 252; Graduate Centre for the

learning, 65–66; communication tools in LMS, 66–69;

Study of Higher Education (GCSHE) at, 264

communication tools used for teaching and learning,

University of Northern Iowa College of Education, 312

65–66; enriched set and their pedagogical uses,

University of Queensland, 264

73 t–74 t; guideline for choosing and using, 63–64;

University of Southern California, 18

review it every two to three terms, 64

Technology tools: basic set for teaching and learning,

V

65–66; communication tools in LMS, 66–74 t;

VALUE Rubric for Critical Thinking, 253

guidelines for choosing and using, 63–64; how active

Video and Audio Tools: AudioMemos, 71; creating a

learning is supported by, 312–313; included in your

more engaging course using, 173, 222–224; creating

Subject Index

375

presence with mini-lectures, 45; LMS (learning

Workload. See Course workload

management system), 68; podcasts, 73 t; published

Wrap-up tips: CW Tip 6: pausing, reflecting, and

audio and video resources, 224

pruning strategies, 278, 294–296; CW Tip 7: closing

Virtual office hours, 49

experiences, 278, 296–299; CW Tip 8: real-time closing

The Virtual Student (Palloff and Pratt), 182

gatherings: stories and suggestions, 279, 299–302;

Visible thinking, 56

CW Tip 9: debriefing techniques, 279, 302–303.

Visual Thinking Center, 289

See also Course Closing/Wrap-up phase

Vocabulary: development of discipline, 55–56; instant

Written assignments: mixing up stories and case

messaging language and, 72

studies by creating or in, 293–294; reflection

questions used for, 311

W

Warcraft game, 40

X

Washington State University, 165, 254 t

Xerox Corporation, 18

Web 2.0 apps, 272

Web 3.0 (“semantic web”), 272

Y

Web conferencing tools, 220–222

YouTube: concept mapping class discussions video on,

WebEx, 220

289; engaging students with videos on, 223; Julie &

Weekly rhythm: CB Tip 9: on setting an ideal, 110,

Julia (film) bookending, 128; learning through, 28;

142–143, 145; description of a, 142; ideal number of

self-directed communication on, 163–164; sharing

discussion questions per week, 147; sample weekly

content through videos on, 71

schedule for an online or blended course, 144 t.

See also First week

Z

Weekly teaching guides: description of course element

Zone of proximal development (ZPD): cognitive

of, 112 t; preparation of, 113–114

presence to gain insight in learners' , 82; description

Western Washington University, 289

of, 14; a getting-acquainted cognitive post applied

What-if scenarios: benefits of using them in your

to, 138; getting to know your students,' 110, 140–142;

course, 280–281; description of, 280; getting started

as guide for designing individual course projects,

with, 281; using them for projects, 278, 279–281

258; how bookending can reinforce a learner's, 130;

What the Best College Students Do (Bain), 50

learners-as-leaders supported by theory of, 284; the

Wikipedia projects, 213

learner's learning space is defined by their, 26 t,

Wikis: description and applications of, 71; learning

36–37; setting learning goals to take advantage of

experiences expressed through, 56

student's, 132. See also Cognitive presence;

Wired magazine, 279

Learner-students

Wired Science website, 312

Zotero website, 313

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Document Outline

- Cover

- Title Page

- Copyright

- Contents

- List of Tables, Figures, and Exhibits

- Foreword

- Preface

- Acknowledgments

- About the Authors

- Introduction

- Intended Audiences and Uses for This Book

- Book Overview

- How to Use This Guide

- Part One: Core Principles and Best Practices of Online Teaching and Learning

- Chapter 1: Teaching Online: The Big Picture

- Preparing to Teach in the Online and Blended Environments

- Uh‐Oh. What Did I Say I Would Do?

- Is This You?

- The Definition of a Course

- How Do Online and Blended Courses Differ from Traditional Courses?

- Types of Online and Blended Courses

- The Four Stages of a Course

- Learning Theories and Theorists

- Lev Vygotsky (1896–1934): Theory of Social Development

- John Dewey (1859–1952): Experiential Learning

- Jean Piaget (1896–1980): Theory of Genetic Epistemology or Origins of Thinking

- Jerome Bruner (1915–): Constructivism

- John Seely Brown (1940–): Cognitive Apprenticeship

- Roger Schank (1946–): Schema Theory

- Albert Bandura (1925–): Social Learning Theory

- Jean Lave (1939–): Situated Learning Theory

- K. Anders Ericsson (1946–): Expert Performance Theory

- Ellen Langer (1947–): Theory of Mindful Learning

- Daniel Goleman (1947–): Theory of Emotional Intelligence

- Other Theorists and Influencers

- Summary—and What’s Next

- Self‐Directed Exercise—Application

- Chapter 2: Pedagogical Principles for Effective Teaching and Learning: Ten Core Learning Principles

- Background of the Ten Core Learning Principles

- Ten Core Learning Principles

- Principle 1: Every Structured Learning Experience Has Four Elements, with the Learner at the Center

- Principle 2: Learners Bring Their Own Personalized and Customized Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes to the Learning Experience

- Principle 3: Faculty Mentors Are the Directors of the Learning Experience

- Principle 4: All Learners Do Not Need to Learn All Course Content; All Learners Do Need to Learn the Core Concepts

- Principle 5: Every Learning Experience Includes the Environment or Context in Which the Learner Interacts

- Principle 6: Every Learner Has a Zone of Proximal Development That Defines the Space That a Learner Is Ready to Develop into Useful Knowledge

- Principle 7: Concepts Are Not Words But Organized and Interconnected Knowledge Clusters

- Principle 8: Different Instruction Is Required for Different Learning Outcomes

- Principle 9: Everything Else Being Equal, More Time on Task Equals More Learning

- Principle 10: We Shape Our Tools, and Our Tools Shape Us

- Summary—and What’s Next?

- Exercise—Stop, Reflect, Integrate

- Chapter 3: Best Practices for Teaching Online: Ten Plus Four

- Best Practices for Online and Blended Teaching and Learning

- Best Practice 1: Be Present at Your Course

- Three Types of Presence

- Best Practice 2: Create a Supportive Online Course Community

- Best Practice 3: Develop a Set of Explicit Workload and Communication Expectations for Your Learners and for Yourself

- Best Practice 4: Use a Variety of Large Group, Small Group, and Individual Work Experiences

- Best Practice 5: Use Synchronous and Asynchronous Activities

- Best Practice 6: Ask for Informal Feedback Early in the Term

- Best Practice 7: Prepare Discussion Posts That Invite Responses, Questions, Discussions, and Reflections

- Best Practice 8: Think Digital for All Course Content

- Best Practice 9: Combine Core Concept Learning with Customized and Personalized Learning

- Best Practice 10: Plan a Good Closing and Wrap Activity for the Course

- Four More Best Practices for Online and Blended Teaching and Learning

- Best Practice 11: Assess as You Go by Gathering Evidences of Learning

- Best Practice 12: Rigorously Connect Content to Core Concepts and Learning Outcomes

- Best Practice 13: Develop and Use a Content Frame for the Course

- Best Practice 14: Design Experiences to Help Learners Make Progress on Their Novice‐to‐Expert Journey

- Conclusion

- Summary—and What’s Next

- Exercise and Reflection

- Chapter 4: Technology Tools to Support Teaching and Learning

- Guidelines for Choosing and Using Technology Tools

- Guideline 1: Pedagogy First, Technology Second

- Guideline 2: Keep It Simple

- Guideline 3: Involve Your Learners in Choices and Use of Digital Tools and Resources

- Guideline 4: Have Choices and Backups for When the Cloud Disappears

- Guideline 5: Review Your Technology Tool Set Every Two to Three Terms

- Basic Set of Technology Tools for Online and Blended Teaching and Learning

- Basic Set of Digital Technology Tools with Their General Teaching and Learning Purposes

- Basic Set of Digital Technology Tools: Their Teaching and Learning Purposes

- Communication Tools in the Learning Management System

- More Thoughts on the Basic Tools

- Tools for Practicing Contextual Knowledge and Exploring Possibilities

- Staying in Sync with Tools

- Self‐Directed Exercise/Application

- Chapter 5: Four Phases of a Course: Themes and Happenings

- Phase 1 Course Beginnings: Starting Off on the Right Foot

- Course Beginnings: Themes

- What’s Happening in Course Beginnings

- Phase 2 Early Middle: Keeping the Ball Rolling

- Early Middle: Themes, Best Practices, and Principles

- What’s Happening in the Early Middle

- Phase 3 Late Middle: Letting Go of the Power

- Late Middle: Themes, Best Practices, and Principles

- Cognitive Presence

- What’s Happening in the Late Middle

- Phase 4 Closing Weeks: Pruning, Reflecting, and Wrapping Up

- Closing Weeks: Themes, Best Practices, and Principles

- What’s Happening in the Closing Weeks

- Summary—and What’s Next

- Exercise and Reflection

- Part Two: Simple, Practical, and Pedagogically Based Tips

- Chapter 6: Phase 1: Course Beginnings: Starting off on the Right Foot

- Tips for the Course Beginnings

- Course Beginnings Tips Overview

- Getting Started—Preparing Your Syllabus and Course Site

- Getting Started—Launching Your Course

- Creating and Managing Discussion Posts

- Getting Started—Preparing Your Syllabus and Course Site

- CB Tip 1: Essential Elements of an Online or Blended Course Syllabus and Course Site

- Essential Course Pieces

- Course Site

- Checklist for Preparing for an Online Course

- Aligning Outcomes, Experiences and Assessment

- Quality Matters Standards for an Online Course

- CB Tip 2: More on the Significant Elements of an Online or Blended Syllabus

- Syllabus Sections

- CB Tip 3: Creating a Syllabus That Jump‐starts Learning

- Graphic Overview: Building a Framework and Setting Boundaries

- Choices for Graphical Overviews

- Conclusion

- CB Tip 4: Using “Bookending” to Add Structure and Meaning to Your Course

- Imagining Your Course

- What Is Bookending?

- Examples of Bookending Your Course

- Conclusion

- CB Tip 5: Generating Energy and Purpose with Specific Learning Goals

- Three Ways to Focus a Discussion Forum on Learning Goals

- The Power of Specificity: Why It Works!

- The Benefits of Specific Personal Goals

- Conclusion

- Getting Started—Launching Your Course

- CB Tip 6: Hitting the Ground Running: Maximizing the First Week

- CB Tip 7: Launching Your Social and Cognitive Presence

- Interaction and Presence as a Key Point of Satisfaction for Learners

- A Getting‐Acquainted Social Post

- A Getting‐Acquainted Cognitive Post

- The Announcements Tool and Just Being on the Course Site

- Presence on the Discussion Forum

- Live Synchronous Collaborative Gatherings

- Conclusion

- CB Tip 8: Getting to Know Students’ Minds: The Vygotsky Zone of Proximal Development

- Keeping the Students Straight in Your Mind

- Summary

- CB Tip 9: Getting into the Swing of a Course: Is There an Ideal Weekly Rhythm?

- Creating and Managing Discussion Posts

- CB Tip 10: The Why and How of Discussion Boards: Their Role in the Online Course

- Best Learning Goals for Discussion Boards

- The Number of Discussion Questions Each Week

- Requirements for Student Responses to Discussion Questions

- A Rule of Thumb for the Length of Discussions

- CB Tip 11: Characteristics of Good Discussion Questions

- Getting Started on Developing Great Questions

- Developing Questions Using Bloom’s Cognitive Taxonomy

- Discussion Questions on Core Concepts in a Course

- More Resources for Discussion Questions

- Core Assumption of Constructivism

- CB Tip 12: Power Questioning for Meaningful Discussions

- Power Questioning Strategies

- Facilitation Strategies for Expansive Discussion Forums

- Discussion Forum Research and Questions for Reflection

- Criteria for Rubrics

- CB Tip 13: Response Posts—A Three‐Part Structure

- Discussion Boards Is Where Community Happens

- Shift from Turn‐Taking to Reflective and Developed Conversation

- Three‐Part Post—What, Why, and What I Wish I Knew

- CB Tip 14: Discussion Wraps: A Useful Cognitive Pattern or a Collection of Discrete Thoughts?

- Closing or Wrapping Up Discussions

- 1. Summarize the Key Ideas from the Discussion Forum

- 2. Involve the Students in Wrapping Up Discussions

- Wrap Up

- CB Tip 15: Using Discussion Forums to Gather Evidence of Learning

- Purpose of Discussion Postings

- Monitoring Discussion Boards

- How to Ensure Lively Participation

- Allocating Points and Using Rubrics for Evaluating Postings

- CB Tip 16: Feedback in Discussion Posts—How Soon, How Much, and Wrapping Up

- Most Pressing Questions About Feedback

- Summary: Three Purposes of Feedback

- CB Tip 17: The Faculty Role in Blended and Online Courses

- Guidelines

- Summary—and What’s Next

- Exercise and Reflection

- Chapter 7: Phase 2: Keeping the Ball Rolling in the Early Middle

- Tips for the Early Middle

- Managing Your Course

- Building Cognitive Presence

- Strategies and Tools for Building Community

- Managing Your Course

- EM Tip 1: Tools for Teaching Presence: E‐mails, Announcements, and Discussion Forums

- E‐mail, Announcements, and Discussion Forums

- Text Messaging, Tweeting, and Whatever Short Messaging System Is Next

- Making a Choice

- EM Tip 2: Monitoring Student Progress Using Learning Management Systems

- Monitoring Student Engagement and Progress

- EM Tip 3: Early Feedback Loop from Learners to You

- Using a Survey

- Can Students’ Responses Be Anonymous?

- EM Tip 4: Early Feedback Tools: Rubrics, Quizzes, and Peer Review

- Rubrics

- Quizzes

- Peer Review

- EM Tip 5: Steps in Memory‐Making: What Teaching Behaviors Make a Difference

- Using a Memory Process Model to Increase Learning

- A Look at a Memory‐Making Process Model

- Teaching Strategies with the Memory‐Making Model

- Can Sleeping Help the Encoding of Memories?

- Summary

- EM Tip 6: Tips for Making Your Grading Time Efficient and Formative for Learners

- How to Make Grading Pleasant, Fast and Effective

- A Checklist for Students

- Conclusion

- EM Tip 7: Dealing with Difficult Students—What Do You Do?

- Types of Difficult Students

- Unique Challenges of Difficult Students

- Building the Cognitive Presence

- EM Tip 8: Building Cognitive Presence Using the Practical Inquiry Model

- Striving for Cognitive Presence

- EM Tip 9: Core Concepts of a Course—Do You Know Yours?

- A Concept Is . . .

- Conclusion

- EM Tip 10: Designing Assessment Plans for Online and Blended Courses

- Designing Assessment Plans

- The Assessment Plan

- A Three‐Step Process for Developing Your Assessment Plan

- An Assessment Plan That Is Distributed and Continuous

- EM Tip 11: Three Best Assessment Practices

- Best Practice in Assessment 1: Assess Across the Six Levels of Cognitive Skills of Bloom’s Taxonomy

- Best Practice in Assessment 2: Assess the Core Concepts in Your Course

- Best Practice in Assessment 3: Help Students Succeed on Assessment Tasks

- Classic Resources on Assessment

- EM Tip 12: Assignments for the Evaluating and Creating Levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy

- Evaluating and Creating—Cognitive Processes

- What Does Evaluating Demand of Learners?

- Example of Evaluating Assignment in a Leadership Course

- What Does Creating Demand of Learners?

- Rubrics

- Strategies and Tools for Building Community

- EM Tip 13: Collaborating with Groups of Two or Three—Casual Grouping

- Get Started on Teaming with Dyads and Triads

- Start Casually!

- Three Casual Grouping Opportunities

- Ways of Pairing or Grouping Learners

- Learning Power of Groups

- EM Tip 14: Group Projects in Online Courses: Setting Up and Structuring Groups

- Setting Up Group Projects

- Additional Considerations for Setting Up Groups

- A Note about Post‐Millennial Students

- EM Tip 15: Using Synchronous Collaboration Tools

- Web Conferencing Tools

- Mixing and Matching for Spontaneous and Customizable Instant Collaboration

- EM Tip 16: Using Audio and Video Resources to Create a More Engaging Course

- Strategies for Getting Started

- Summary—and What’s Next

- Self‐Directed Exercise/Application

- Chapter 8: Phase 3: Letting Go of Power in the Late Middle

- Overview of Late Middle Tips

- Going Deeper: Leveraging the Power of Questions

- Feedback for Cognitive Growth

- Assessing Learning as You Go

- Community Empowerment and Social Networking

- Going Deeper: Leveraging the Power of Questions

- LM Tip 1: Questions and Answers: Upside Down and Inside Out

- Student Questioning: Inquiry as a Reflection of Knowledge

- Discussion Forums for Student Questioning

- LM Tip 2: Three Techniques for Making Your Students’ Knowledge Visible

- Technique 1: Interviewer‐Expert Modeling

- Technique 2: Identifying Patterns, Relationships, and Linkages

- Technique 3: Identifying Insights

- LM Tip 3: Developing Rigor in Our Questioning: Eight Intellectual Standards

- Concepts as Knowledge Clusters

- Core Concept Examples

- Rigor in Questioning: Eight Intellectual Standards

- Background of the Set of Eight Intellectual Standards

- Using Intellectual Standards in Learning Activities

- LM Tip 4: Moving Beyond Knowledge Integration to Defining Problems and Finding Solutions

- Defining Problems and Deciding on Resolution Strategies

- Developing Problem Solvers and Critical Thinkers

- Feedback for Cognitive Growth

- LM Tip 5: “Are You Reading My Postings? Do You Know Who I Am?” Simple Rules for Feedback in Online Learning

- Provide Feedback Early and Often

- Provide Feedback on Assignments When Expected

- Provide Feedback That Is Personal and Formative for Learning

- LM Tip 6: Feedback on Assignments: Being Timely and Efficient

- Timely Feedback

- Feedback Using a Rubric

- Conceptual Feedback Reminders

- Examples of Rubrics

- LM TIP 7: Substantive Feedback: Doing It Wisely and Well

- What Is Substantive Feedback?

- Use of Self‐Assessment and Peer Feedback Strategies and Tools

- Purposes and Types of Feedback and the Tools

- Deciding What to Do Next in Feedback Practices

- LM Tip 8: Rubrics for Analyzing Critical Thinking

- The VALUE Critical Thinking Rubric

- The Guide to Rating Critical and Integrative Thinking

- Example Statements of Three Levels of Thinking on Issues

- The Socratic Questioning Rubric

- Why Rubrics Are Catching On: Nine Advantages

- Assessing Learning as You Go with Projects

- LM Tip 9: Customizing and Personalizing Learning Projects

- Guidelines for Developing Project Requirements

- Describing the Course Project: The Task Model

- LM Tip 10: Managing and Facilitating Group Projects

- Monitoring and Guiding Group Projects

- Communication and Presentation Tools

- Managing Groups: Additional Thoughts

- LM Tip 11: Assessing Group Projects

- Techniques for Assessing Group Projects

- More About Peer Reviews by Students

- LM Tip 12: Four Effective Practices During Project Time

- 1. Be Proactive and Help Learners Get Unstuck on Projects

- 2. Coach Learners on Personalizing Their Projects

- 3. Ask Learners to Post Progress Reports or Updates

- 4. Communicate Your Availability and Schedule

- Community Empowerment and Social Networking

- LM Tip 13: Course Middles and Muddles: Souped‐Up Conversations That Help Build Community

- Team Up for Course Discussions for a Week

- Plan for Time for Learners to Develop the Tough Questions

- LM Tip 14: Using Social Networking Techniques to Build a Learning Community

- Social Networking Strategy for Projects

- Characteristics of the Social Networking Tools

- Essential Features of Social Networking Tools: Interconnectivity and Interactivity

- LM Tip 15: Experts: A Touch of Spice

- Is There a Preferred Time in the Course to Have an Expert Event?

- How Do I Go About Finding an Expert?

- What Type of Content Is Good for an Expert?

- How Do I Set Up the Expert Event?

- Are There Other Resources on Using Experts in Online Courses?

- Summary—and What’s Next

- Self‐Directed Exercise /Application

- Chapter 9: Phase 4: Pruning, Reflecting, and Wrapping Up

- Tips for the Closing Weeks

- Meaningful Projects and Presentations

- Preparing for the Course Wrap

- Meaningful Projects and Presentations

- CW Tip 1: Using What‐If Scenarios: Flexing Our Minds with Possibilities

- What Are What‐If Scenarios?

- Why Use What‐If Scenarios?

- Getting Started with What‐If Scenarios

- CW Tip 2: Stage 3 of a Learning Community: Stimulating and Comfortable Camaraderie

- Three Stages of Building Community

- Faculty Behaviors That Support Stage 3 Community‐Building

- Conditions That Can Hinder Community Development

- CW Tip 3: Learners as Leaders

- Learners‐as‐Leaders Experiences: Orientation and Planning Time

- Individual versus Team‐Led Activities

- Making Outcomes Explicit

- Choosing the Type of Activity

- CW Tip 4: Course Wrapping with Concept Mapping: Capturing Course Content Meaningfully

- Concept Mapping

- Core Concepts About Concept Mapping

- Integrating Concept Mapping into a Course

- Is There a Good Tool for Concept Mapping?

- CW Tip 5: Using Case Studies in Online Courses: Making Content Real

- Start with Stories

- What This Tip Does

- Definitions of Content Resources Containing Stories

- Mix Up Stories and Cases

- Conclusion

- Preparing for the Course Wrap

- CW Tip 6: Pausing, Reflecting, and Pruning Strategies

- CW Tip 7: Closing Experiences: Wrapping Up a Course with Style

- Prepare a List of What’s Next and When Assignments and Readings Are Due

- Plan a Celebration Session to End the Course

- Closing Thought

- CW Tip 8: Real‐Time Closing Gatherings: Stories and Suggestions

- Using Synchronous Meeting Rooms

- Faculty Stories with Synchronous Meeting Rooms

- Using Live Classroom for a Course Closing Experience

- Likely Questions

- CW Tip 9: Debriefing Techniques: What One Change Would Students Recommend?

- Conclusion—and What’s Next

- Self‐Directed Exercise /Application

- Chapter 10: Teaching Accelerated Intensive Courses

- Tips for Intensive Courses (IC)

- IC Tip 1: Designing for Intensive Courses Using Content Framing and Case Studies

- Design Strategy 1: Create a Visual Frame of the Core Concepts

- Design Strategy 2: Place Case Studies with Consequences at Course Center

- IC Tip 2: High‐Impact Practices for Short Courses: Reflections, Patterns, and Relationships

- Reflection Practices

- What Places Are Good for Reflection?

- Pattern Practices

- IC Tip 3: Developing Expertise in Short Courses: Can It Be Done?

- How Expert Resources Can Provide Deliberate Practice

- What Does This Mean for My Course Assignments?

- TED Conferences and Discussions: Ideas Worth Spreading

- Background and Theory on Deliberate Practice

- Conclusion—and What’s Next

- Self‐Directed Exercise/Application

- Part Three: Continuing Your Journey to Expertise

- Chapter 11: What’s Next: Reflecting and Looking Forward

- Reflecting and Looking Forward Using the Four Course Phases

- Design and Preparation Phase

- Reflecting on Phase One, Course Beginnings

- Reflecting on Phase Two, Early Middle

- Reflecting on Phase Three, Late Middle

- Reflecting on Phase Four, Closing Weeks

- Reflecting and Looking Forward with the Learning Experiences Framework

- Learner

- Faculty Mentor

- Content and Knowledge Resources and Goals

- Environment and Context

- Advice from Fellow Online Instructors

- Advice 1: Just Do Your Best

- Advice 2: It’s Kind of Fun to Do the Impossible!

- Advice 3: Begin with the End in Mind

- Advice 4: New to Online Teaching? Get to Know Your Students

- Conclusion: Innovation as a Three‐Phase Process

- Appendix: Resources for Learning More about the Research and Theory of  Teaching Online

- Books

- Teaching and Learning Online

- Brain, Cognition, Learning, and Memory

- Journals

- Organizations, Conferences, and Certifications

- Communities and Listservs

- Other Teaching and Learning Resources

- Other Articles of Particular Interest

- References

- Index

- Subject Index

- EULA

Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Contents

List of Tables, Figures, and Exhibits

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgments

About the Authors

Introduction

Intended Audiences and Uses for This Book

Book Overview

How to Use This Guide

Part One: Core Principles and Best Practices of Online Teaching and Learning

Chapter 1: Teaching Online: The Big Picture

Preparing to Teach in the Online and Blended Environments

Uh‐Oh. What Did I Say I Would Do?

Is This You?

The Definition of a Course

How Do Online and Blended Courses Differ from Traditional Courses?

Types of Online and Blended Courses

The Four Stages of a Course

Learning Theories and Theorists

Lev Vygotsky (1896–1934): Theory of Social Development

John Dewey (1859–1952): Experiential Learning

Jean Piaget (1896–1980): Theory of Genetic Epistemology or Origins of Thinking

Jerome Bruner (1915–): Constructivism

John Seely Brown (1940–): Cognitive Apprenticeship

Roger Schank (1946–): Schema Theory

Albert Bandura (1925–): Social Learning Theory

Jean Lave (1939–): Situated Learning Theory

K. Anders Ericsson (1946–): Expert Performance Theory

Ellen Langer (1947–): Theory of Mindful Learning

Daniel Goleman (1947–): Theory of Emotional Intelligence

Other Theorists and Influencers

Summary—and What’s Next

Self‐Directed Exercise—Application

Chapter 2: Pedagogical Principles for Effective Teaching and Learning: Ten Core Learning Principles

Background of the Ten Core Learning Principles

Ten Core Learning Principles

Principle 1: Every Structured Learning Experience Has Four Elements, with the Learner at the Center

Principle 2: Learners Bring Their Own Personalized and Customized Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes to the Learning Experience

Principle 3: Faculty Mentors Are the Directors of the Learning Experience

Principle 4: All Learners Do Not Need to Learn All Course Content; All Learners Do Need to Learn the Core Concepts

Principle 5: Every Learning Experience Includes the Environment or Context in Which the Learner Interacts

Principle 6: Every Learner Has a Zone of Proximal Development That Defines the Space That a Learner Is Ready to Develop into Useful Knowledge

Principle 7: Concepts Are Not Words But Organized and Interconnected Knowledge Clusters

Principle 8: Different Instruction Is Required for Different Learning Outcomes

Principle 9: Everything Else Being Equal, More Time on Task Equals More Learning

Principle 10: We Shape Our Tools, and Our Tools Shape Us

Summary—and What’s Next?

Exercise—Stop, Reflect, Integrate

Chapter 3: Best Practices for Teaching Online: Ten Plus Four

Best Practices for Online and Blended Teaching and Learning

Best Practice 1: Be Present at Your Course

Three Types of Presence

Best Practice 2: Create a Supportive Online Course Community

Best Practice 3: Develop a Set of Explicit Workload and Communication Expectations for Your Learners and for Yourself

Best Practice 4: Use a Variety of Large Group, Small Group, and Individual Work Experiences

Best Practice 5: Use Synchronous and Asynchronous Activities

Best Practice 6: Ask for Informal Feedback Early in the Term

Best Practice 7: Prepare Discussion Posts That Invite Responses, Questions, Discussions, and Reflections

Best Practice 8: Think Digital for All Course Content

Best Practice 9: Combine Core Concept Learning with Customized and Personalized Learning

Best Practice 10: Plan a Good Closing and Wrap Activity for the Course

Four More Best Practices for Online and Blended Teaching and Learning

Best Practice 11: Assess as You Go by Gathering Evidences of Learning

Best Practice 12: Rigorously Connect Content to Core Concepts and Learning Outcomes

Best Practice 13: Develop and Use a Content Frame for the Course

Best Practice 14: Design Experiences to Help Learners Make Progress on Their Novice‐to‐Expert Journey

Conclusion

Summary—and What’s Next

Exercise and Reflection

Chapter 4: Technology Tools to Support Teaching and Learning

Guidelines for Choosing and Using Technology Tools

Guideline 1: Pedagogy First, Technology Second

Guideline 2: Keep It Simple

Guideline 3: Involve Your Learners in Choices and Use of Digital Tools and Resources

Guideline 4: Have Choices and Backups for When the Cloud Disappears

Guideline 5: Review Your Technology Tool Set Every Two to Three Terms

Basic Set of Technology Tools for Online and Blended Teaching and Learning

Basic Set of Digital Technology Tools with Their General Teaching and Learning Purposes

Basic Set of Digital Technology Tools: Their Teaching and Learning Purposes

Communication Tools in the Learning Management System

More Thoughts on the Basic Tools

Tools for Practicing Contextual Knowledge and Exploring Possibilities

Staying in Sync with Tools

Self‐Directed Exercise/Application

Chapter 5: Four Phases of a Course: Themes and Happenings

Phase 1 Course Beginnings: Starting Off on the Right Foot

Course Beginnings: Themes

What’s Happening in Course Beginnings

Phase 2 Early Middle: Keeping the Ball Rolling

Early Middle: Themes, Best Practices, and Principles

What’s Happening in the Early Middle

Phase 3 Late Middle: Letting Go of the Power

Late Middle: Themes, Best Practices, and Principles

Cognitive Presence

What’s Happening in the Late Middle

Phase 4 Closing Weeks: Pruning, Reflecting, and Wrapping Up

Closing Weeks: Themes, Best Practices, and Principles

What’s Happening in the Closing Weeks

Summary—and What’s Next

Exercise and Reflection

Part Two: Simple, Practical, and Pedagogically Based Tips

Chapter 6: Phase 1: Course Beginnings: Starting off on the Right Foot

Tips for the Course Beginnings

Course Beginnings Tips Overview

Getting Started—Preparing Your Syllabus and Course Site

Getting Started—Launching Your Course

Creating and Managing Discussion Posts

Getting Started—Preparing Your Syllabus and Course Site

CB Tip 1: Essential Elements of an Online or Blended Course Syllabus and Course Site

Essential Course Pieces

Course Site

Checklist for Preparing for an Online Course

Aligning Outcomes, Experiences and Assessment

Quality Matters Standards for an Online Course

CB Tip 2: More on the Significant Elements of an Online or Blended Syllabus

Syllabus Sections

CB Tip 3: Creating a Syllabus That Jump‐starts Learning

Graphic Overview: Building a Framework and Setting Boundaries

Choices for Graphical Overviews

Conclusion

CB Tip 4: Using “Bookending” to Add Structure and Meaning to Your Course

Imagining Your Course

What Is Bookending?

Examples of Bookending Your Course

Conclusion

CB Tip 5: Generating Energy and Purpose with Specific Learning Goals

Three Ways to Focus a Discussion Forum on Learning Goals

The Power of Specificity: Why It Works!

The Benefits of Specific Personal Goals

Conclusion

Getting Started—Launching Your Course

CB Tip 6: Hitting the Ground Running: Maximizing the First Week

CB Tip 7: Launching Your Social and Cognitive Presence

Interaction and Presence as a Key Point of Satisfaction for Learners

A Getting‐Acquainted Social Post

A Getting‐Acquainted Cognitive Post

The Announcements Tool and Just Being on the Course Site

Presence on the Discussion Forum

Live Synchronous Collaborative Gatherings

Conclusion

CB Tip 8: Getting to Know Students’ Minds: The Vygotsky Zone of Proximal Development

Keeping the Students Straight in Your Mind

Summary

CB Tip 9: Getting into the Swing of a Course: Is There an Ideal Weekly Rhythm?

Creating and Managing Discussion Posts

CB Tip 10: The Why and How of Discussion Boards: Their Role in the Online Course

Best Learning Goals for Discussion Boards

The Number of Discussion Questions Each Week

Requirements for Student Responses to Discussion Questions

A Rule of Thumb for the Length of Discussions

CB Tip 11: Characteristics of Good Discussion Questions

Getting Started on Developing Great Questions

Developing Questions Using Bloom’s Cognitive Taxonomy

Discussion Questions on Core Concepts in a Course

More Resources for Discussion Questions

Core Assumption of Constructivism

CB Tip 12: Power Questioning for Meaningful Discussions

Power Questioning Strategies

Facilitation Strategies for Expansive Discussion Forums

Discussion Forum Research and Questions for Reflection

Criteria for Rubrics

CB Tip 13: Response Posts—A Three‐Part Structure

Discussion Boards Is Where Community Happens

Shift from Turn‐Taking to Reflective and Developed Conversation

Three‐Part Post—What, Why, and What I Wish I Knew

CB Tip 14: Discussion Wraps: A Useful Cognitive Pattern or a Collection of Discrete Thoughts?

Closing or Wrapping Up Discussions

1. Summarize the Key Ideas from the Discussion Forum

2. Involve the Students in Wrapping Up Discussions

Wrap Up

CB Tip 15: Using Discussion Forums to Gather Evidence of Learning

Purpose of Discussion Postings

Monitoring Discussion Boards

How to Ensure Lively Participation

Allocating Points and Using Rubrics for Evaluating Postings

CB Tip 16: Feedback in Discussion Posts—How Soon, How Much, and Wrapping Up

Most Pressing Questions About Feedback

Summary: Three Purposes of Feedback

CB Tip 17: The Faculty Role in Blended and Online Courses

Guidelines

Summary—and What’s Next

Exercise and Reflection

Chapter 7: Phase 2: Keeping the Ball Rolling in the Early Middle

Tips for the Early Middle

Managing Your Course

Building Cognitive Presence

Strategies and Tools for Building Community

Managing Your Course

EM Tip 1: Tools for Teaching Presence: E‐mails, Announcements, and Discussion Forums

E‐mail, Announcements, and Discussion Forums

Text Messaging, Tweeting, and Whatever Short Messaging System Is Next

Making a Choice

EM Tip 2: Monitoring Student Progress Using Learning Management Systems

Monitoring Student Engagement and Progress

EM Tip 3: Early Feedback Loop from Learners to You

Using a Survey

Can Students’ Responses Be Anonymous?

EM Tip 4: Early Feedback Tools: Rubrics, Quizzes, and Peer Review

Rubrics

Quizzes

Peer Review

EM Tip 5: Steps in Memory‐Making: What Teaching Behaviors Make a Difference

Using a Memory Process Model to Increase Learning

A Look at a Memory‐Making Process Model

Teaching Strategies with the Memory‐Making Model

Can Sleeping Help the Encoding of Memories?

Summary

EM Tip 6: Tips for Making Your Grading Time Efficient and Formative for Learners

How to Make Grading Pleasant, Fast and Effective

A Checklist for Students

Conclusion

EM Tip 7: Dealing with Difficult Students—What Do You Do?

Types of Difficult Students

Unique Challenges of Difficult Students

Building the Cognitive Presence

EM Tip 8: Building Cognitive Presence Using the Practical Inquiry Model

Striving for Cognitive Presence

EM Tip 9: Core Concepts of a Course—Do You Know Yours?

A Concept Is . . .

Conclusion

EM Tip 10: Designing Assessment Plans for Online and Blended Courses

Designing Assessment Plans

The Assessment Plan

A Three‐Step Process for Developing Your Assessment Plan

An Assessment Plan That Is Distributed and Continuous

EM Tip 11: Three Best Assessment Practices

Best Practice in Assessment 1: Assess Across the Six Levels of Cognitive Skills of Bloom’s Taxonomy

Best Practice in Assessment 2: Assess the Core Concepts in Your Course

Best Practice in Assessment 3: Help Students Succeed on Assessment Tasks

Classic Resources on Assessment

EM Tip 12: Assignments for the Evaluating and Creating Levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy

Evaluating and Creating—Cognitive Processes

What Does Evaluating Demand of Learners?

Example of Evaluating Assignment in a Leadership Course

What Does Creating Demand of Learners?

Rubrics

Strategies and Tools for Building Community

EM Tip 13: Collaborating with Groups of Two or Three—Casual Grouping

Get Started on Teaming with Dyads and Triads

Start Casually!

Three Casual Grouping Opportunities

Ways of Pairing or Grouping Learners

Learning Power of Groups

EM Tip 14: Group Projects in Online Courses: Setting Up and Structuring Groups

Setting Up Group Projects

Additional Considerations for Setting Up Groups

A Note about Post‐Millennial Students

EM Tip 15: Using Synchronous Collaboration Tools

Web Conferencing Tools

Mixing and Matching for Spontaneous and Customizable Instant Collaboration

EM Tip 16: Using Audio and Video Resources to Create a More Engaging Course

Strategies for Getting Started

Summary—and What’s Next

Self‐Directed Exercise/Application

Chapter 8: Phase 3: Letting Go of Power in the Late Middle

Overview of Late Middle Tips

Going Deeper: Leveraging the Power of Questions

Feedback for Cognitive Growth

Assessing Learning as You Go

Community Empowerment and Social Networking

Going Deeper: Leveraging the Power of Questions

LM Tip 1: Questions and Answers: Upside Down and Inside Out

Student Questioning: Inquiry as a Reflection of Knowledge

Discussion Forums for Student Questioning

LM Tip 2: Three Techniques for Making Your Students’ Knowledge Visible

Technique 1: Interviewer‐Expert Modeling

Technique 2: Identifying Patterns, Relationships, and Linkages

Technique 3: Identifying Insights

LM Tip 3: Developing Rigor in Our Questioning: Eight Intellectual Standards

Concepts as Knowledge Clusters

Core Concept Examples

Rigor in Questioning: Eight Intellectual Standards

Background of the Set of Eight Intellectual Standards

Using Intellectual Standards in Learning Activities

LM Tip 4: Moving Beyond Knowledge Integration to Defining Problems and Finding Solutions

Defining Problems and Deciding on Resolution Strategies

Developing Problem Solvers and Critical Thinkers

Feedback for Cognitive Growth

LM Tip 5: “Are You Reading My Postings? Do You Know Who I Am?” Simple Rules for Feedback in Online Learning

Provide Feedback Early and Often

Provide Feedback on Assignments When Expected

Provide Feedback That Is Personal and Formative for Learning

LM Tip 6: Feedback on Assignments: Being Timely and Efficient

Timely Feedback

Feedback Using a Rubric

Conceptual Feedback Reminders

Examples of Rubrics

LM TIP 7: Substantive Feedback: Doing It Wisely and Well

What Is Substantive Feedback?

Use of Self‐Assessment and Peer Feedback Strategies and Tools

Purposes and Types of Feedback and the Tools

Deciding What to Do Next in Feedback Practices

LM Tip 8: Rubrics for Analyzing Critical Thinking

The VALUE Critical Thinking Rubric

The Guide to Rating Critical and Integrative Thinking

Example Statements of Three Levels of Thinking on Issues

The Socratic Questioning Rubric

Why Rubrics Are Catching On: Nine Advantages

Assessing Learning as You Go with Projects

LM Tip 9: Customizing and Personalizing Learning Projects

Guidelines for Developing Project Requirements

Describing the Course Project: The Task Model

LM Tip 10: Managing and Facilitating Group Projects

Monitoring and Guiding Group Projects

Communication and Presentation Tools

Managing Groups: Additional Thoughts

LM Tip 11: Assessing Group Projects

Techniques for Assessing Group Projects

More About Peer Reviews by Students

LM Tip 12: Four Effective Practices During Project Time

1. Be Proactive and Help Learners Get Unstuck on Projects

2. Coach Learners on Personalizing Their Projects

3. Ask Learners to Post Progress Reports or Updates

4. Communicate Your Availability and Schedule

Community Empowerment and Social Networking

LM Tip 13: Course Middles and Muddles: Souped‐Up Conversations That Help Build Community

Team Up for Course Discussions for a Week

Plan for Time for Learners to Develop the Tough Questions

LM Tip 14: Using Social Networking Techniques to Build a Learning Community

Social Networking Strategy for Projects

Characteristics of the Social Networking Tools

Essential Features of Social Networking Tools: Interconnectivity and Interactivity

LM Tip 15: Experts: A Touch of Spice

Is There a Preferred Time in the Course to Have an Expert Event?

How Do I Go About Finding an Expert?

What Type of Content Is Good for an Expert?

How Do I Set Up the Expert Event?

Are There Other Resources on Using Experts in Online Courses?

Summary—and What’s Next

Self‐Directed Exercise /Application

Chapter 9: Phase 4: Pruning, Reflecting, and Wrapping Up

Tips for the Closing Weeks

Meaningful Projects and Presentations

Preparing for the Course Wrap

Meaningful Projects and Presentations

CW Tip 1: Using What‐If Scenarios: Flexing Our Minds with Possibilities

What Are What‐If Scenarios?

Why Use What‐If Scenarios?

Getting Started with What‐If Scenarios

CW Tip 2: Stage 3 of a Learning Community: Stimulating and Comfortable Camaraderie

Three Stages of Building Community

Faculty Behaviors That Support Stage 3 Community‐Building

Conditions That Can Hinder Community Development

CW Tip 3: Learners as Leaders

Learners‐as‐Leaders Experiences: Orientation and Planning Time

Individual versus Team‐Led Activities

Making Outcomes Explicit

Choosing the Type of Activity

CW Tip 4: Course Wrapping with Concept Mapping: Capturing Course Content Meaningfully

Concept Mapping

Core Concepts About Concept Mapping

Integrating Concept Mapping into a Course

Is There a Good Tool for Concept Mapping?

CW Tip 5: Using Case Studies in Online Courses: Making Content Real

Start with Stories

What This Tip Does

Definitions of Content Resources Containing Stories

Mix Up Stories and Cases

Conclusion

Preparing for the Course Wrap

CW Tip 6: Pausing, Reflecting, and Pruning Strategies

CW Tip 7: Closing Experiences: Wrapping Up a Course with Style

Prepare a List of What’s Next and When Assignments and Readings Are Due

Plan a Celebration Session to End the Course

Closing Thought

CW Tip 8: Real‐Time Closing Gatherings: Stories and Suggestions

Using Synchronous Meeting Rooms

Faculty Stories with Synchronous Meeting Rooms

Using Live Classroom for a Course Closing Experience

Likely Questions

CW Tip 9: Debriefing Techniques: What One Change Would Students Recommend?

Conclusion—and What’s Next

Self‐Directed Exercise /Application

Chapter 10: Teaching Accelerated Intensive Courses

Tips for Intensive Courses (IC)

IC Tip 1: Designing for Intensive Courses Using Content Framing and Case Studies

Design Strategy 1: Create a Visual Frame of the Core Concepts

Design Strategy 2: Place Case Studies with Consequences at Course Center

IC Tip 2: High‐Impact Practices for Short Courses: Reflections, Patterns, and Relationships

Reflection Practices

What Places Are Good for Reflection?

Pattern Practices

IC Tip 3: Developing Expertise in Short Courses: Can It Be Done?

How Expert Resources Can Provide Deliberate Practice

What Does This Mean for My Course Assignments?

TED Conferences and Discussions: Ideas Worth Spreading

Background and Theory on Deliberate Practice

Conclusion—and What’s Next

Self‐Directed Exercise/Application

Part Three: Continuing Your Journey to Expertise

Chapter 11: What’s Next: Reflecting and Looking Forward

Reflecting and Looking Forward Using the Four Course Phases

Design and Preparation Phase

Reflecting on Phase One, Course Beginnings

Reflecting on Phase Two, Early Middle

Reflecting on Phase Three, Late Middle

Reflecting on Phase Four, Closing Weeks

Reflecting and Looking Forward with the Learning Experiences Framework

Learner

Faculty Mentor

Content and Knowledge Resources and Goals

Environment and Context

Advice from Fellow Online Instructors

Advice 1: Just Do Your Best

Advice 2: It’s Kind of Fun to Do the Impossible!

Advice 3: Begin with the End in Mind

Advice 4: New to Online Teaching? Get to Know Your Students

Conclusion: Innovation as a Three‐Phase Process

Appendix: Resources for Learning More about the Research and Theory of  Teaching Online

Books

Teaching and Learning Online

Brain, Cognition, Learning, and Memory

Journals

Organizations, Conferences, and Certifications

Communities and Listservs

Other Teaching and Learning Resources

Other Articles of Particular Interest

References

Index

Subject Index

EULA