Julie Phillips

After a course, I realized that I need to do a better job to reflect on what went well and what may require additional improvement. I review the student evaluations but apart from thinking about how the term went in my head, I don't formalize my ideas to be more specific about what I can change or update for the next term. 

I love the idea of incorporating a formative assessment into my online courses. By asking students to reflect on the quality of their assignment and their process for completing it, I will gain additional information into what students may be struggling with while promoting self-reflection and assessment.  

The more detailed we can be in our expectations of the students, the better it will be for them. As the course mentions, if we require discussion participation, outline what is expected for the main post and the student responses, and provide an example if possible. If we expect students to support their ideas, we need to make that a clear expectation. 

There are so many different learning resources available that it's hard to know how to organize them all! I create a folder to place all my important assignment feedback, discussion responses, essential websites, videos, and images for each class I teach. This way, I can build upon my learning resources each term and improve my teaching practices and different ways of reaching students. 

Even though instructor expectations are the same, we all will get there differently based on our teaching styles and personalities. There are so many tools and techniques at our disposal, so it is important to keep updated on what is available and use a variety of different strategies to reach our students. I always feel like there is something new I could try each term to the point that it almost becomes overwhelming! Even though we have all these tools, nothing will replace an approachable and active instructor!