Instructor/Student interaction
The on-line instructor must be available at consistent times on a daily basis and insures that he/she keeps a consistent schedule. The instructor must also promptly answer any student questions and attend to student needs in a timely manner.
If the student is having problems with course material the student must also interact with the instructor in a timely manner.
What can the instructor do, on-line to encourage the students to interact with the instructor before problems arise
james,
Having a consistent schedule is a positive enforcer with teaching time management to the students as well!! An instructor can always throw out a general announcement about tasks that could become difficult. Such as, "in this chapter pay close attention to xxxxx as it can be confusing. Let me know you understand this point." or something in that general area. Students love a heads up!
Shelly Crider
You are right, James, prompt instructor intervention can help to avert students who fall far behind. One thing I do very often is to check the activity of the students at the beginning of each week and monitor it throughout the week. I do this before the mandatory start date of Wednesday so that I can call/email students who seem to be lagging behind. This can sometimes help jumpstart them to greater participation.
Maureen O'Connor
Thank you for the good ideas.
We also have a good student services department here at our school. I am now having the Student Services Department intervene when a student ignores my messages or instructions.
I have found that students who are interested and involved want to know what is being covered in a course (have read the syllabus) and ask the instructor what is required in the papers/tests thay will submit. So we have an ongoing dialogue about content; I can assess from the questions which students are understanding the material AND the instructions. Those that are not, I interact with "off-line" to make sure they do not fall behind or not understand the materials. Basically the motivated learners are self-asseesing the course and content. The challenge is always to motivate the ones that do not interact. That reqires vigilance on the instructor's part and the instructor needs to find ways to reach out to those students.
James,
Providing timely and thoughtful feedback on work assignments including the proactive approach of reviewing work in progress goes a long way with students in keeping them engaged and moving in the right direction for a successful course completion. Yes this does increase the level of mentoring and coaching demands placed upon the instructor, but it accentuates the learning experience for the student and promotes the general feeling of being valued personally as opposed to just being a number in the crowd. Getting a perspective on the classroom composition and course familiarity through a self assessment survey has helped me refine the assignments and offer additional reference materials for a more focused instructional delivery. The use of announcements to easily locate the materials along with frequent tracking and monitoring on the level of interest (References accessed and percent reviewed) has been a proven technique to continuously improve the distance learning experience overall. Has anyone else offered similar methods for improving student interaction and engagement?
Herschel,
Nice post! This is how real life is as well. You will have co-workers or employees that will fit this very description! Some will come right in and be totally ready each and every day, others will fly by the seat of their pants!
Shelly Crider
I agree! THis is even more important in an online course because this may be the only human interaction students have, other than with peers. I feel I can still mentor my students, even in this capacity...so important!
Juliet,
If you have not created a YouTube video or use other types of visual media.....I highly recommend it.
Shelly Crider
