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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Bildung
- Sprache: Englisch
A timely update to the best-selling, practical, and comprehensive guide to online teaching The Online Teaching Survival Guide provides a robust overview of theory-based techniques for teaching online or technology-enhanced courses. This Third Edition is a practical resource for educators learning to navigate the online teaching sector. It presents a framework of simple, research-grounded instructional strategies that work for any online or blended course. This new edition is enhanced with hints on integrating problem-solving strategies, assessment strategies, student independence, collaboration, synchronous strategies, and building metacognitive skills. This book also reviews the latest research in cognitive processing and related learning outcomes. New and experienced online teachers alike will appreciate this book's exploration of essential technologies, course management techniques, social presence, community building, discussion and questioning techniques, assessment, debriefing, and more. With more and more classes being offered online, this book provides a valuable resource for taking your course to the next level. * Understand the technology used in online teaching and discover how you can make the most of advanced features in the tech you use * Learn specialized pedagogical tips and practices that will make the shift to online teaching smoother for you and your students * Examine new research on cognition and learning, and see how you can apply these research findings your day-to-day * Adopt a clear framework of instructional strategies that will work in any online or blended setting * Learn how to make the most of your synchronous online class meetings using flipped model techniques integrated with asynchronous conversation Recently, schools across the globe have experienced a shift to online courses and teaching. The theories and techniques of synchronous virtual online teaching are vastly different from traditional educational pedagogy. You can overcome the learning curve with this theory-based, hands-on guide.
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Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
About the Authors
Dedication
Preface
Acknowledgments
Foreword
Introduction
Intended Audiences and Uses for This Book
Book Overview
How to Use This Guide
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 Phases of a Course
Learning Theories and Theorists
Summary—and What's Next
Chapter 2: Pedagogical Principles for Effective Teaching and Learning: 10 Core Learning Principles
Background of the 10 Core Learning Principles
Ten Core Learning Principles
Summary—and What's Next
Chapter 3: Best Practices for Teaching Online: 10 Plus 4
Best Practices for Online and Blended Teaching and Learning
Four More Best Practices for Online and Blended Teaching and Learning
Conclusion
Summary—and What's Next
Chapter 4: Technology Tools to Support Teaching and Learning
Guidelines for Choosing and Using Technology Tools
Set One: Basic Technology Tools for Online and Blended Teaching and Learning
Set Two: Enriched Basic Technology Tools
Set Three: Tools for Applying Knowledge in Authentic Contexts
Staying in Sync with Tools
Chapter 5: Four Phases of a Course: Themes and Happenings
Phase 1 Course Beginnings: Starting Off on the Right Foot
Phase 2 Early Middle: Keeping the Ball Rolling
Phase 3 Late Middle: Letting Go of the Power
Phase 4 Closing Weeks: Pruning, Reflecting, and Wrapping Up
Summary—and What's Next
Chapter 6: Phase 1: Course Beginnings
Overview of Tips for Course Beginnings
Preparing Your Syllabus and Course Site
Launching Your Course
Creating Meaningful and Stimulating Discussion Forums
Managing Discussion Forums
Summary—and What's Next
Chapter 7: Phase 2: Keeping the Ball Rolling in the Early Middle
Overview of Tips for the Early Middle
Monitoring and Managing Communications
Memory, Metacognition, and Learning Skills
Building the Cognitive Presence
Strategies and Tools for Building Community
Chapter 8: Phase 3: Letting Go of Power in the Late Middle
Overview of Tips for the Late Middle
Going Deeper: Leveraging the Power of Questions
Feedback for Cognitive Growth
Assessing Learning as You Go with Projects
Community Empowerment and Social Networking
Summary—and What's Next
Chapter 9: Phase 4: Pruning, Reflecting, and Wrapping Up
Overview of Tips for the Closing Weeks
Meaningful Projects and Presentations
Preparing for the Course Wrap
Conclusion—and What's Next
Chapter 10: Teaching Accelerated Intensive Courses
Overview of Tips for Intensive Courses (IC)
Conclusion—and What's Next
Chapter 11: Flexible Learning Models and Experiences
Overview of Tips for Flexible Learning Designs (FL)
Conclusion—and What's Next
Chapter 12: What's Next: Reflecting and Looking Forward
Reflecting and Looking Forward Using the Four Course Phases
Reflecting and Looking Forward with the Learning Experiences Framework
Advice from Fellow Online Instructors
Conclusion: Innovation as a Three-Phase Process
References
Index
End User License Agreement
List of Tables
Chapter 1
TABLE 1.1 Types of Courses
Chapter 2
TABLE 2.1 Ten Core Learning Principles
Chapter 3
TABLE 3.1 Best Practices for Teaching Online
Chapter 4
TABLE 4.1 Strengths and Limitations of Digital Learning Modes (Adapted from Hew ...
TABLE 4.2 Pedagogical Uses of the Basic Set of Tools
TABLE 4.3 Pedagogical Uses of the Enriched Basic Set of Tools
Table 4.4 Pedagogical Uses of Tools for Applying Knowledge in Authentic Contexts
Chapter 5
TABLE 5.1 Phase 1: Course Beginnings—Starting Off on the Right Foot
TABLE 5.2 Phase 2: Early Middle—Keeping the Ball Rolling
TABLE 5.3 Phase 3: Late Middle—Letting Go of the Power
TABLE 5.4 Phase 4: Closing Weeks—Pruning, Reflecting, and Wrapping Up
Chapter 6
TABLE 6.1 Course Site Elements
TABLE 6.2 Deconstructing a Syllabus
TABLE 6.3 Phases of Engagement with Activity Categories
TABLE 6.4 Sample Weekly Schedule for an Online or Blended Course
TABLE 6.5 Four Types of Discussion Forums: Purpose, Structure, and Assessment
TABLE 6.6 Rubric for Discussion Forum Postings
Chapter 7
TABLE 7.1 Assessment Plan
Chapter 9
TABLE 9.1 Checklist for an Effective Learner-Led Activity
Chapter 11
TABLE 11.1 Table of Pre-Class, In-Class, and Follow-up Activities for Synchronou...
TABLE 11.2 Example of a Block Synchronous Class Plan
List of Illustrations
Chapter 1
FIGURE 1.1 Influential Learning Theorists
Chapter 2
FIGURE 2.1 Learning Experience Framework
FIGURE 2.2 Customizing Content Resources
Chapter 6
FIGURE 6.1 Graphic Overview of CB Tip 3
FIGURE 6.2 Photo of Depression Mother by Dorothea Lange
FIGURE 6.3 Bookending Visual
Chapter 7
FIGURE 7.1 Steps and Processes in Memory Making
FIGURE 7.2 Practical Inquiry Model
FIGURE 7.3 Bloom's Cognitive Taxonomy Updated by Krathwohl, 2002
Chapter 9
FIGURE 9.1 A Concept Map Showing the Key Features of Concept Maps
Chapter 10
FIGURE 10.1 Kolb's Four-Stage Learning Cycle
FIGURE 10.2 Fractal Image Showing Complex Patterns
Guide
Cover
Table of Contents
Begin Reading
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The Online Teaching Survival Guide
Simple and Practical Pedagogical Tips
Judith V. Boettcher
Rita-Marie Conrad
Third Edition
Foreword by Pam McQuesten
Copyright © 2021 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. | McQuesten, Pam, writer of foreword. | Jossey-Bass Inc., publisher.
Title: The online teaching survival guide : simple and practical pedagogical tips / Judith V. Boettcher, Rita-Marie Conrad ; foreword by Pam McQuesten.
Description: Third edition. | San Francisco, CA : Jossey-Bass, [2021]
Identifiers: LCCN 2021007443 (print) | LCCN 2021007444 (ebook) | ISBN 9781119765004 (paperback) | ISBN 9781119763185 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781119763178 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Web-based instruction. | Computer-assisted instruction. | Distance education. | Education, Higher—Computer-assisted instruction.
Classification: LCC LB1044.87 .B64 2021 (print) | LCC LB1044.87 (ebook) | DDC 371.33/44678—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021007443
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021007444
Cover Design: Wiley
Cover Image: © Jagrutiben Patel/iStock/Getty Images Plus/Getty Images
THIRD EDITION
About the Authors
Judith V. Boettcher earned her Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from the University of Minnesota, and is a nationally known consultant and author on online and distance learning. In addition to reaching hundreds of faculty through workshops, articles, and conferences, and the website, www.designingforlearning.info, she has worked closely with faculty at Penn State University, Florida State University, the University of Florida and Duquesne University.
Judith is the author of seminal articles in higher education publications on online learning. Her column in Campus Technology (formerly Syllabus) was a regular feature for over fifteen years. She has co-edited books on planning, design, and implementation issues of higher education technology and was a member of the editorial team for two editions of the four-volume Encyclopedia of Distance Learning, 2005/2009 Idea Group. Judith also edited the book of 101 Success Stories of Information Technology in Higher Education: The Joe Wyatt Challenge (1993).
Currently, Judith is founder and principal of Designing for Learning. She does faculty workshops on best practices in online learning and consults on program and course designs. 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, and the first two editions of The Online Teaching Survival Guide: Simple and Practical Pedagogical Tips (Jossey-Bass, 2010; 2016). Judith consulted on the online learning program offered by The Association of College and University Educators (ACUE).
Judith completed her undergraduate and master's programs at Marquette University.
Rita-Marie Conrad is an experienced online educator, award-winning author, and digital learning strategist. She has had the privilege of working at three outstanding institutions—Florida State University, Duke University, and the University of California, Berkeley—to help them develop online programs, evolve pedagogies, and provide faculty development.
For nearly two decades she interacted with thousands of educators nationally as lead faculty for the course Designing Online Instruction in the Certified Online Instructor (COI) program sponsored by the Learning Resources Network (LERN). She has also taught numerous online courses for various universities on topics such as online collaboration, learning theories, designing online instruction, and developing online learning strategies.
Rita-Marie is a frequent presenter, invited speaker, and keynoter at national conferences and currently provides faculty development workshops on engaging remote and online learners.
In addition to the books co-authored with Judith Boettcher, Rita-Marie wrote Engaging the Online Learner (2004; 2011) with J. Ana Donaldson, as well as Continuing to Engage the Online Learner (2012) and Assessing Learners Online (2008) with Albert Oosterhof and Donald Ely. Engaging the Online Learner received the IAP Distance Education Book Award in 2012. The Online Teaching Survival Guide and Engaging the Online Learner were on the 2018 and 2019 lists of Books Every Aspiring Chief Learning Officer Should Read by TalentLMS.
Rita-Marie holds a Ph.D. in instructional systems from Florida State University and M.Ed. in educational media and computers from Arizona State University.
To our families for their understanding and belief in us.
To all faculty dedicated to re-envisioning new learning experiences for themselves and their students.
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 their 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 increased. Then the idea of organizing these course tips in a more permanent and easily referenced format took hold. The library of tips continued to grow after the first edition and by 2015 had grown to 100 tips; it seemed time for a second edition of the guide. The decision to write a third edition came as the world was struggling with a pandemic and the demand for how to do remote, online, and flexible learning exploded.
We have been colleagues for over 25 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 two prior editions 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 changing 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 helping to build quality learning experiences.
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 as early as the mid-1990s. This includes Benjamin Hodes, Boris Vilic, Dorothy Basset, and Michael Forlenza; and director of technology David McGeehan, leader of the leadership faculty Jim Wolford-Ulrich, and faculty consultant Mark Prestopnik. Thanks also go to Dean William Riffee and Diane Beck of the University of Florida for their online faculty development initiatives that inspired many of the tips.
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. Faculty from institutions large and small, public and private, graduate and undergraduate, and degree and certificate programs alike inspired the questions.
Many thanks also go to friends and colleagues over the many years of stimulating conversations and challenges. First, thanks to Pam McQuesten, higher education futurist and chief information officer and director of the Morse Library, Beloit College in Wisconsin for her captivating foreword. Thanks also to colleagues who provided feedback on chapter drafts of this third edition—Anne Moore, Kathy Christoph, and Linda Jorn, members of a very special Santa Fe women collegial group. And last, but not least, to my (Judith) granddaughter Emma Patterson, who helped ensure accuracy of all the references.
Foreword
FOR MORE THAN two decades, people worldwide increasingly adopted online modalities as part of their everyday lives. Yet far too many education institutions—and teachers themselves—continued to treat online learning as an afterthought, rather than as an opportunity to implement new approaches to student learning. Early in 2020, a global virus pandemic abruptly jolted everything, creating an erratic, fast-moving present and an unpredictable future. Lives were disrupted. Businesses were upended. Healthcare was in crisis. Governments struggled. The threat of COVID-19 instantaneously shifted the educational experience for hundreds of thousands of students and teachers from traditional in-person instruction to learning and teaching online. The magnitude of that shift was unprecedented and, for the majority of educators, unimaginable.
The initial temptation to frame this rapid pivot to remote teaching as a poor substitute for face-to-face instruction was too strong for many to resist. Often portrayed as if it had been born in that very moment, online teaching was positioned as a hurried, ad-hoc emergency response to the pandemic with little value for anyone beyond that. To be sure, educators everywhere moved quickly into this new instructional environment and performed heroically. Yet as the academic year came to an end, many teachers recognized that online teaching would continue to be necessary. With that realization, they knew that students deserved more than online teaching delivered as a crisis response. Students and their teachers would now need lessons and classes intentionally designed to take advantage of the possibilities and affordances that online formats provide. From that moment forward, online teaching would no longer have second-class status as an instructional method.
In this, the third edition of The Online Teaching Survival Guide: Simple and Practical Pedagogical Tips, Boettcher and Conrad build on their previous work and respond to the rapid adoption of online tools, technologies, and practices that emerged worldwide as emergency remote teaching became the norm. This updated edition provides insightful guidance for all teachers seeking to redefine their pedagogy and approaches to enhance student learning in online, blended, hybrid, and hyflex environments.
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 differ significantly from the physical classroom. While the past several months have made that conclusion evident to most teachers, many do not yet know that online teaching and learning—should—differ from what happens in the in-person classroom. The opportunity to teach online presents those special teachable moments that all good teachers recognize. It is a chance for mindfulness, for a theoretical framework that the authors note hinges on discerning the difference between one environment and another.
The authors identify 10 core principles and 14 best practices grounded in learning theory and brain science that empower teachers to create quality learning experiences, whether in traditional face-to-face settings or anywhere along the continuum from hyflex to a completely online course. By grounding what they will do in the philosophies of learning and updated best practices, those who teach online, blended, or in a hyflex environment will be better prepared to reimagine their work considering 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 phrasebook that lets you function immediately 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, they will develop a mindset for applying the core learning principles, best practices, and tips effectively to create highly relevant teaching and learning that meets the ongoing 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. Despite the recent dramatic plunge that educators have taken into remote teaching, we're still learning how to do this well. Current events have accelerated the evolution of our technologies and our processes for online instruction, and we expect that new products, services, and practices will continue to develop as new insights emerge from our online and blended teaching.
While the rapid shift from in-person classes was disconcerting for everyone, it provided a grand challenge of sorts as teachers and students experimented with different technologies and learning modes, discovering new advantages to online instruction and blended models. Consider a faculty member's responsibility to prepare students to do a collaborative project. Most students have done collaborative work face-to-face, but there is still a good chance they had not had this experience in an online setting. Yet, in the online model, the faculty member doesn't have to supply everything the student may need. Shareable digital tools—like computer-generated planning calendars, electronic journals, and online course resources—as well as the online availability of librarians, subject and writing tutors, and other academic support staff create room for the role of faculty to change. They may choose to work more as a mentor/guide/director, as well as maintaining their traditional role as the expert voice students want to hear.
Profound changes are possible for students as new online learning options help us focus more acutely on learner needs and success. Students are individuals, and we want to support that. Now we can align educational experiences with the students' goals and individual traits and build on their desires and choices. At the same time, we are growing their transferable skills like creative thinking and problem solving and assuming more responsibility for learning. These are the outcomes we truly want for our students. The flexibility of online instructional programs that may incorporate elements like multiple starts, recommendation engines, and competency-based assessment strategies allows us to customize the student's educational experience. Faculty insight and invention will take all this even further. At the heart of a liberal education is gaining the ability to connect disparate concepts and insights. What if we could expand the instructional team based on what the recommendation engine learns about the student and help the student build research skills to support their interests aligned with 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 on the many ideas presented here to modify your strategies.
I'm delighted to see the 2021 revision of this valuable guide. Given the recent, rapid shift throughout all of our educational systems and the ongoing evolution of online technologies and teaching practices, it is much needed. This resource will come at just the right time for so many. Many of you have had your first experience with online teaching, and most likely, many of you will continue to teach online. Teaching online can be done well and become a rewarding educational experience for you and your students. Take advantage of the wisdom and advice in this guide and enjoy putting it into practice.
Pam McQuesten, Ph.D. Chief Information Officer and
Director of the Morse Library, Beloit College
Introduction
THIS BOOK IS a practical resource for higher education educators 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 new teaching models takes time, energy, patience, and a willingness to try different teaching strategies using digital tools. While instructors new to online and blended teaching need many kinds of support, from technology to course design to simple encouragement, faculty often appreciate help in the form of best practices and simple, practical tips.
This book meets the needs of faculty by providing 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 environments. 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' or even days' notice. They may be expected to redesign the course without 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 successful 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 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 essential tools. This book combines theory- and practice-based pedagogy with the associated tools for effective and enjoyable teaching and learning experiences. When learning principles inform teaching practices, faculty design learning experiences that grow rich mentor-learner relationships, 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 campuses—to quickly transition to 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, flexible, or fully online environments. Even faculty already experienced in online and blended teaching will find practical tips for developing more expertise and expanding their repertoire of effective teaching and learning practices. Over the years, this guide has also been a popular choice for professional development programs.
Research about teaching practices for online and blended courses has been proceeding concurrently with the development of voice, video, and mobile technologies and digital resources. Online courses as we now recognize them first started being available in the early 1980s. A timeline for online learning in higher education is available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_learning_in_higher_education.
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 (Austin & Sorcinelli, 2013). In addition, more faculty development is critically important, as the percentage of instructional staff, such as part-time faculty, adjuncts, and graduate students, hovers around 50% of all instructional staff (National Center for Education Statistics, 2020). A report from EDUCAUSE (Becker et al., 2018) offers recommendations for faculty development regarding the need for modeling best practices in assessment, active learning, new instructional delivery modes, and/or deeper learning. This guide provides a means for helping many faculty where they are today and where they want to go.
Book Overview
Part One provides an overview of essential online teaching and learning 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 then describes how faculty and learner roles change over the term of a course as community develops and learners assume increasing responsibility for directing their learning. Very importantly, this chapter profiles key theories and theorists that inspired the integrated view of constructivism and social learning behind the tips.
Chapter Two encourages design thinking using a learning experiences framework composed of the four elements of learner, mentor, knowledge, and environment. This framework simplifies the design and development process of any teaching and learning experiences, but with an emphasis on blended and online learning. This chapter then examines each of these elements and their role in learning experiences. This 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 influence how a learning experience happens. This chapter is organized around 10 core learning principles, drawing on the disciplines of instructional design, constructivist teaching and learning theory, and practical uses of technology tools. These 10 principles serve as the foundational thinking for all the tips.
Chapter Three provides a set of best practices of online and blended teaching and learning. This set of best practices was expanded from 10 to 14 for the second edition and is absolutely the best chapter to introduce faculty to who are beginning teaching in any model of online teaching and learning. Chapter Four focuses on the digital tools and devices. 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 learning management systems of some type; these are 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 applying knowledge in authentic contexts.
Chapter Five describes the themes and happenings and desired behaviors of the four phases of a course. This is very helpful for developing a sense of the cyclical nature of any structured instructional experience. We first describe the guiding themes for each phase, followed by the key happenings, goals, and behaviors for each phase.
Part Two is the largest section of the book: six chapters of practical theory-based tips mapped to the four stages of a course, plus tips on intensive accelerated courses and flexible blended models. Here is a bit more detail on each of these chapters.
Chapter Six addresses the first phase of a course, the course beginnings. This chapter provides tips for course design and getting a course site ready for students; the essential elements of a syllabus for any digital environment; launching 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 in applying their new knowledge. It concludes with a tip on inviting experts to the course. Chapter Nine addresses the last phase of a course, the closing weeks. It provides hints and strategies for projects and presentations, and ideas and practices for closing out course experiences. Chapter Ten provides tips on teaching intensive accelerated courses, describing the strategies and practices that work best with compressed and focused learning times. Chapter Eleven provides tips for what to do when the unexpected happens, with tips on moving quickly to flexible teaching and learning models. These flexible learning models can evolve into regular practice when circumstances dictate.
Part Three looks to the future as to how faculty might want to proceed after completing their initial online teaching and learning experiences. Chapter Twelve describes a process for: first, reflecting on and analyzing the success of a course; and second, for making changes and plans for the next offering of a course.
In summary, this book describes a four-phase organization of courses within a framework based on traditional pedagogical principles integrated with current memory and brain research, instructional design, and online learning research. The current and emerging sets of tools now make possible deeper and more lasting collaboration, 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 individual teaching an online or blended course will likely find their 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 through the four phases of a course. It is also designed as a resource for adapting existing courses to blended and flexible models, 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 difference 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 environment. Many will find this book a useful resource as they develop expertise in teaching online, which takes time, energy, and patience.
An instructor new to teaching online may have time only for scanning 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, an instructor may be ready to apply many more of the tips. Subsequent to those initial experiences, the instructor 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 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 faculty and the students they teach.
Chapter 1Teaching 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 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 faculty is a foundation in teaching and learning principles and practices. This chapter will help you build that foundation, a foundation that will have lasting impact as you journey toward becoming confident and an expert in online and blended teaching and learning.
The first part of the chapter focuses briefly on a big-picture perspective of higher education and its near-term future. This perspective will be valuable for understanding the context in which to evaluate and possibly adapt the new tools and movements that promise silver bullet solutions. Some of the new emerging ideas are grounded in solid pedagogical theories, holding great promise. Other ideas are simply variations of traditional practices that still need refinement and adaptation. Unfortunately, some new trends are ineffective strategies, grounded in outmoded and ineffective teaching practices.
Secondly, this chapter provides a quick look at the most influential 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 learning practices and principles not of their own professional discipline, but knowing just a little about these theorists will help build an effective personal philosophy of teaching. The brief sketches of key constructivist learning theories and theorists illustrate the thinking that has shaped and inspired many of the tips, principles, and practices in this book.
To encourage thinking about the future of learning environments, one section highlights the differences between a mostly digital course and one that is mostly face-to-face. 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 for each of these phases.
In summary, this chapter serves as a foundation to Chapters 6 through 11, where you will find tips, suggestions, and guidelines on how to create and deliver an efficient, effective, and satisfying course.
Preparing to Teach in the Online and Blended Environments
As the demand for online learning has increased, deans and department chairs have often turned to their faculty and assigned them to online courses without much support or training. The expectation is that faculty will use whatever resources are available from technology centers or teaching centers and learn to use the necessary tools: learning management systems, synchronous meeting tools, and tools and processes for working with audio, video, and image media. Many institutions do acknowledge the need for time and 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 face-to-face. This is not the case. Teachers who are effective face-to-face can be effective as online teachers, but it is not automatic and it does not happen 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. Faculty are no different: they agree to teach an online or blended course, and minutes later, they often wonder what they have agreed to do. They can also experience confusion and even fear, feeling clueless about what the first step might be. Even experienced faculty feel a little nervous about teaching online for the first time. Some faculty may feel alone, thinking that everyone else knows exactly how to prepare and teach online, while they don't seem to know what questions to ask or of whom. This experience can be truly traumatic when directed to take their courses online midterm with only days' notice.
Well, how hard can it be? A common practice for teaching face-to-face is to use the syllabus and notes from someone who has taught the course before. This happens—as it did with me—when a mentor hands a new instructor a large binder with his notes and says, “Go forth and teach.” When preparing a new course, the strategy is a bit more complex. The instructor must determine the goals and learning outcomes for the course, define the content of the course, review textbooks or resources that map to the learning outcomes, and plan the assessments, assignments, and experiences so that students achieve the learning outcomes. Do the steps in preparing an online or blended course 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: 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. Which are you? Check below.
You have been teaching for 5, 10, or even 20 to 30 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 an online course. You wish you knew which of your face-to-face teaching strategies and behaviors will work well online and what tools, behaviors, and strategies you need to learn.
You are a tenure-track faculty member who must focus on meeting 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. You have been assigned to teach your course online as part of a larger program degree online offering. Are there ways to teach online but within defined time and technology knowledge parameters?
You are an adjunct faculty member who will be teaching an occasional 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 pedagogy, the study of teaching and learning, 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 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 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 three essential elements of teaching and learning: (1) a learner, (2) someone or something appropriate who is guiding 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, or even robots. This will be very common in the future. It is also worth noting that pedagogy, as defined here, requires a sustained process, which assumes a context, 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 6 and 15 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 competencies required to earn 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 question 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 20–25% of a full-time faculty's workload, or about 8–10 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 8–10 hours a week of a faculty member's time. Is this possible? Yes.
Some of the preparation and required tool learning is dependent on the percent of a course that is online and the percent that uses the traditional face-to-face model with an online 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 are also dependent on the teaching and assessment strategies used in achieving student outcomes.
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, online meeting tools have made synchronous meetings and gatherings much easier. Faculty and students can interact in real time, mimicking many of the interactions in a traditional classroom. Secondly, knowledge about how we learn from brain research has spurred the development of effective active teaching and learning strategies, no matter where we are teaching or learning.
There still are significant differences that we need to address, however. These differences are discussed in the following section focusing on the four key elements of teaching experiences—learner, faculty mentor, content, and environment, plus the assessment element.
First of all,
the faculty role shifts to increased coaching, guiding and mentoring.
In online remote experiences, there is much less “telling” on the part of the instructor. Rather than preparing 50-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, mentoring, guiding, and directing role. Constructivist theory posits—and research supports—that learners must construct their own knowledge structure. It is more effective for students to follow their own lines of thinking and inquiry by immersing themselves in resources and collaborating and talking with peers, rather than listening to the delivery of content from an instructor for long periods. Research supports that lecturing alone, without periodic questioning, interaction, or discussion, is an ineffective way of learning. In most lectures, learners are too passive for much higher-level learning to occur (Wieman,
2008
,
2014
; Svinicki & McKeachie,
2013
; Freeman et al.,
2014
; Dede, Richards, & Saxberg,
2018
). This shift means that you as an instructor do not have to invest time preparing in-person lectures. Your teaching prep time shifts to preparing recorded or written mini-lectures, resource introductions, facilitation and community-building experiences, and monitoring and guiding students.
Learners are more active in directing and choosing their own learning experiences.
Course design is the major influencer of how actively students direct their own learning, and online course designs encourage 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 hide passively. If they have not prepared and processed the content prior to posting their discussion responses, that lack of reading preparation is evident to everyone. Learners are therefore motivated to complete at least a portion of the readings to interact well with the others.
Content resources are flexible and almost infinite.
This content characteristic is now shared with most campus courses. The main distinction is that students in online and blended courses likely use a greater variety and sourcing of content resources. This is probably linked to the self-direction and choice options described earlier. The reality of almost infinite resources for content 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 effective building of their own knowledge structure. At the same time, the abundance and diversity of content of all types can lead students to process specific course content less deeply. Also, as most content resources are digital and mobile, learners have many more options. 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 desirable resources, students may be identifying and creating additional resources. The core learning principle on content in
Chapter 2
discusses strategies for dealing with this abundance of content.
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 than synchronous in real time at the instructor's location. Since online discussions are asynchronous and dependent on learners' work, 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 real-time gatherings for consensus-building, question-and-answer sessions, peer critiques, collaborative project work, and presentations.
Assessment is continuous.
The best type of assessment in online courses is continuous and multi-phased rather than episodic and concentrated (Moallem,
2005
; Conrad & Openo,
2018
). 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 ideally benefit from other students' learning work. Most online course assessments are open book tests and do not require proctoring, which eliminates a whole range of administrative and technological challenges. Assessment in online and blended courses generally uses low-stakes automated quizzes; frequent, regular postings in discussion forums; short papers; case studies; and customized projects.
Although these are the primary differences in online and blended courses versus traditional, all courses are still more similar than different. With the growing trend 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 environment 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 types of courses that cover most variations of courses. The first type listed is the traditional face-to-face course that meets regularly in a shared physical space. In the first edition (2010) of this book, this type of course had virtually no digital components. We are now rapidly approaching a time in which there are no traditional face-to-face courses; the traditional course now uses technology tools of all kinds to communicate and distribute course documents, such as syllabi, readings, and for managing 24/7 communications. Many traditional courses now also use technology tools when normal campus operations need to be suspended due to severe weather or other emergencies. Many institutions now set up a learning management system (LMS) course site for all courses, whether an instructor plans to use the course site or not.
TABLE 1.1 Types of Courses
Source: Adapted from Boettcher and Conrad, 2004; Allen and Seaman, 2008; Sener, 2015.
Proportion of Content Delivered Online
Type of Course
Typical Description
Zero to 14%
Traditional face-to-face campus course
Course with little or no content delivered online; regular synchronous gatherings; content delivered via in-class meetings and readings, and learners are assessed with proctored tests, papers, or projects. The course may use a course site for distribution of materials and for quizzes and for communications. Traditional courses often include labs.
15 to 39%
Lightly blended or hybrid course; also called flipped, or synchronous-distributed or blended synchronous
Course that uses technology to facilitate what is essentially a face-to-face course. Uses an LMS system for distribution of course materials, assignments, and recorded lectures. Online activities augment classroom experiences. Design is similar to face-to-face courses with an emphasis on synchronous class discussions. The number of face-to-face meetings remains similar to traditional courses.
40 to 79%
Blended or hybrid or hyflex
Course that blends online and face-to-face delivery. A substantial proportion of the content is delivered online; typically uses asynchronous forums for discussions and has some, but fewer face-to face or synchronous meetings. Essential difference is the time for face-to-face synchronous meetings is reduced and replaced by online activities.
80% or more
Online/Remote
A course where most or all of the content and activities take place using technology tools. Some courses and programs feature occasional in-person gatherings to promote community and networking. With the proliferation of easy meeting tools, these courses regularly include synchronous meetings.
Note: Percentages were changed in this edition to reflect changing practices in blended, flipped, and hybrid courses and trends.
The next type of course is called lightly blended or hybrid, or other terms combining synchronous, flexible, or distributed courses. We wish we had a better term for these courses, but this category 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. Courses that are called “flipped” generally refer to a model where 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 online, often using the tools and spaces of a learning management system.
The fourth category of online courses includes those courses in which most or all of the content is delivered online and which rely very heavily on asynchronous discussions and occasional synchronous meetings. All faculty-learner dialogue, interaction, assessment, and community building are fully online.
Note that the description of the four types of courses has been shifting over the last 15 to 20 years. As noted earlier, we are rapidly approaching a time in which there are no totally traditional face-to-face courses. Rather, all courses will use some digital gathering and communications tools and spaces such as those offered by learning management systems.
The table is intended to serve only as a way of talking about the type of course you will be teaching. For example, the table defines an online course as having few face-to-face or synchronous meetings, but many graduate programs are designed with frequent synchronous digital gatherings and occasional face-to-face gatherings for introductory, assessment, or celebratory meetings. Some research (Means et al., 2010) suggests that the preferred and most effective model, if possible, is a course that combines the use of asynchronous, synchronous, and face-to-face gatherings.
The tips offered later in this book can be applied or adapted to any type of online or blended course.
The Four Phases 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 phases: Course Beginnings, Early Middle, Late Middle, and Wrap Up. Chapter 5 describes in detail what is happening in each of these phases and delves more deeply into the themes, behaviors, and tools for accomplishing the goals of each of these phases.
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 attention to in their environment, including language, people, and images; and what they process deeply. The constructivism philosophy is the foundation of how we view learning and how our minds work. Closely related to constructivism is the social theory of learning, which emphasizes the role of the context or environment of learning.
Figure 1.1
