Teacher TALC: Exploring Online Teaching Lisanne Grant, Susan Bontly & Krista MacDonald April, 5th, 2019 Dona Ana Community College East Mesa Campus DAAR 100Q
Make a list of the characteristics and attitudes of the average DACC online student.
Data says…. VLIT Spring 2018 Online Student Survey (144 responses) ● 52% were taking 12 or more graded credits ● 47% need online classes to complete a degree or certificate ● 97% attend in-person courses while taking online courses at DACC ● 46% access their online courses daily (40% several times daily) ● 97% would recommend a student, family member, friend, or work colleague to take a DACC online course ● 65% feel they learned as much from their DACC online course(s) as they would from a DACC in-person version of the same course(s)
Understanding Student Needs “instructors who experience what it’s like to be an online student are more sensitive to student needs in terms of reasonable course loads, need for regular feedback and interaction , and a robust and engaging learning experience ” (Palloff & Pratt, 2011, p. 106)
Your responses... Did you need the class for a degree or certificate?
From your ● What were your concerns as a student? view as a ● Did you have technical difficulties? ● Were you engaged? student... ● What motivated you to learn? ● Did you feel a connection with your instructor? classmates? ● Did you feel like you were part of a learning community? ● Was the class easy to navigate? ● Did you know why you were being asked to complete certain tasks? ● Were you comfortable communicating with your instructor? ● Did you feel you received useful feedback? ● Did you feel your instructor placed importance on creating a high quality course?
What do Online DACC Students say? In 2015, during a focus group of online DACC students who had taken over 10 online courses, they shared what their least favorite part about online courses were… “Instructors should ask the students about their lives, picture, something funny, so everyone can be in it together.” [Lack of Connection] “...not getting feedback on something. Say more than ‘good’ on an 18/20.” [Poor Feedback] “Instructors should have specific time to communicate with you.” [Poor Communication] “Teaching online classes, it feels like a pet project, like the online class is not important. I don’t like feeling like I’m not on top of the list.” [Lack of Priority]
Transforming least favorite to favorite Connection Feedback Communication Make the Class a Priority ● Short messages of ● “Personalized In Canvas encouragement feedback” ● Inbox messages ● Deadline reminders ● Additional ● Formative ● Discussion replies ● Weekly and/or Video announcements information based comments on ● Announcements ● “Be available” on individually graded assignments ● Chat ● Establish expressed interests ● Summative Other Channels expectations ● Occasional jokes, feedback ● Email cartoons, or ● Detailed rubrics ● Skype inspirational quotes ● Prompt email ● In-person office responses hours ● Telephone ● Social Media *Developed based on data collected annually (2016-2018) from DACC online student surveys
93% (N= 100) Online students who completed the Spring 2017 DACC Online Student Survey indicated that instructor responsiveness was the greatest influence on the quality of their educational experience as a DACC online student.
Best Practices
What does the research say... According to the “Community of Inquiry” Framework first published by Garrison, Anderson and Archer in 2000, faculty should address three categories of student needs in online learning environments: ● Teaching Presence: Classroom management strategies Social Presence: Personal connection & Correspondence vs. online course ● ● Cognitive Presence: Sharing your expertise & encouraging critical thinking Garrison, D.R., Anderson, T., & Archer, W. (2000). Critical inquiry in a text-based environment; computer conferencing in higher education. The Internet and Higher Education. 2 (2-3), 87-105.
Teaching Presence
Teaching Presence: Areas to Explore Classroom Assessment Techniques (Carnegie Mellon University, 2016) ● Midterm course survey Murkiest point ● ● Polls --- Poll Everywhere, Google Forms, Kahoot, etc. Direct Paraphrasing ● ● Minute Paper (Used in live Webinars) Problem Recognition Tasks ● ● Documented Problem-Solution Student Generated Test Questions ●
Teaching Presence: Areas to Explore Facilitating discourse (Duquesne University Center for Teaching Excellence, 2019) Addresses all three areas of the Community of Inquiry ● Live Conferencing ● AdobeConnect Google Hangouts ● Use of Social Media (Morrison, 2014) ● Twitter Skype ●
Social Presence
“In education especially, the community connects us with…’great things’ of the world...and great teaching is about knowing that community, feeling that community, sensing that community, and then drawing your students into it.” Parker Palmer as quoted by bell hooks in her book Teaching Community: A pedagogy of Hope
Social Presence: Areas to Explore Participate in online discussions (1/9 = 12.5%) Facilitate online class discussions (6/9 = 75%) Inviting Social Connection Online “Eye contact” & “Smile” ● Ask students what they need from you to be successful in your class ● Introduce yourself and invite them to introduce themselves ● Private Check ins ● Public Check ins ● Samples of simple phrases of encouragement that can be shared in online discussions: Tell me more ● Great point! You are on the right track ● I have never thought about that--how cool! ● Wow! Excellent question ● Thanks for sharing your experience and perspective. I value... ● Tools for adding richness: Images, Memes, Emoticons, Avatars, Videos, Poetry, Inspiring Quotes ●
https://youtu.be/jNVPalNZD_I *Note that some momentary visuals in the above video "Moments" may be challenging for some viewers.
Cognitive Presence
Cognitive Presence: Areas to Explore Create/compile instructional materials that promote intellectual curiosity ● FAQs Create short videos explaining key topics ● ● Create online lectures Identify DACC Library resources & course related websites ● ● Identify YouTube videos Helping learners connect knowledge learned to everyday experience. Reflections ● ● Discussions Designing rubrics that place value on Original thought, ● ● Critical analysis, Ability to problem solve (Beck, 2009). ●
Cognitive Presence: Areas to Explore Participate in online discussions (1/9 = 12.5%) Facilitate online class discussions (6/9 = 75%) Sharing Expertise Encourage deeper thought and conversation ● That is an interesting point….tell me more ○ Share a summary of the discussion highlighting the key points ● ask follow up questions, ● Have you ever thought about…. ○ Share additional resources ● Wow. You might be interested in checking out this source…. ○
Link Between Best Practices and Quality Matters™
Community of Inquiry overlaps with Quality Matters™ Teaching Presence: Cognitive Presence: ● Standard 1: Course Overview & Introduction ● Standard 3: Assessment and Measurement ● Standard 4: Instructional Materials ● Standard 2: Learning Objectives, ● Standard 5: Learning Activities & Learner ● Standard 3: Assessment and Measurement Interaction ● Standard 6: Course Technology ● Standard 7: Learner Support ● Standard 8: Accessibility & Usability Social Presence: ● Standard 1: Course Overview & Introduction ● Standard 5: Learning Activities & Learner Interaction ● Standard 6: Course Technology
Expressed Concerns
What is your most pressing concern about teaching online or blended courses? “The students ability to resources ex. Spring 2018 Online Student Survey (N = computers, internet access” 144) ● 46% access their online courses daily (40% several times daily) ● 92% have access to internet at home that is not provided by their cell phone carrier.
What is your most pressing concern about teaching online or blended courses? Whether students are actually learning In the Spring 2018 Online Student "as much" as face-to-face students, or if Survey (N = 144) it was revealed that they are just "doing the work". 65% feel they learned as much from their DACC online course(s) as they would from a DACC in-person version of the same course(s).
Jossey-Bass guides to online teaching ● and learning (highly recommended) - http://bit.ly/2K7EqtW Available Online teaching resources available at ● DACC - http://bit.ly/2Uj2BKC Resources Online teaching resources available ● within the NMSU system - http://bit.ly/2Vqbiz8
Online Teaching and Learning Certifi ficate ● Building online learning communities Assessing and evaluating in an online ● Available setting Organizing online content ● Resources ● Different tools for online teaching
Needed Resources?
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