Helping students to better manage and balance their time in the Online environment. This covers both working on actual assignments and spending time researching the concepts we are covering each week.
Students can best in part on the activities by the facilitator. The more the participation by the facilitator the more interested the student may become. I've found that by posting questions related to the material help students to become active in the discussion board. Also on the announcement board I post related questions to help the discussion along for the student learning process.
I think that all seven are important.
Since there is no F2F interaction in the online environment, establishing regular communication with the student is important. This allows the student to feel that someone is watching out for them & has their best interest in mind.
It is important too that the instructor provide prompt feedback with enough depth and detail. This will enable the student to realize if he as good understanding of the material and ask additional questions if need be.
Chanda Ghose
While I think all seven are equally important I do like these two the best:
1. Encourage active learning. It is essential that students are engaged especially on the discussion board as this is where they will digest the learning objectives for the week...
2. Emphasize time on task. Students need to learn time management skills and have to schedule enough time for their reading and home work. ..
Theresa
All seven principles of learning are important. With our online student population, I would say the following three are the most important to their success.
1. Encourage contact between students and instructor. This principle is often overlooked by students. Often times the student is so used to being in a f2f classroom that they forget about the delay in communicating online – waiting for an email response or leaving a message on a cell phone and waiting for a response. It is also very important for the instructor to remind the student to write down the contact information to have it handy at all times.
2. Encourage active learning. I equate this statement to developing an independent learner. Encourage the use of all online tools so the student gets the most out of their education.
3. Emphasize time on task. Students do underestimate the time needed for an online course. Students are especially challenged when they come across a course where they are not as familiar with the subject matter.
Thomas ,
Great idea. You do have to remind students that they must be realistic with their time planning. I have begun to create an Outlook calendar and treat projects in a more project management format.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Roberto,
True, and you want to make sure they interact with each other.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Madhuchanda,
You are right. You have to make sure that communication always at the forefront of your learning.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Theresa,
You are correct; time management is crucial. This is part of active learning and engagement.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Mary,
Great post! You make a great point that all of these principles are interrelated . Independency is the key.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I believe good principles of learning are interacting with students and good quality feedback. Students need encouragement and motivation to feel a sense of purpose while taking online courses. Keeping the lines of communication active is an important tool that cannot be emphasized enough. I find that even though I may not have interaction with every single student, I make a conscious effort to leave positive comments to each student so they know I am present not only as their instructor, but as someone who continually motives and encourages them to excel and exceed what their own expectations are.
Lori
I think they are all important. I don't think you can put one higher of importance than another. They all go "hand in hand" and are needed to achieve maximum success in a course. I don't think missing one or not focusing on one will provide you an opportunity to be effective. I think if you dismiss one it will have a rippling affect on other areas...they are all equally important and should be identified as high priority.
Loriann,
Great post. It is important to leave those positive comments as well as constructive ones. It is important for students to know they are doing something right along with something that is wrong.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Reggie,
I agree with your post. They do go hand in hand. We may all do them differently but all are needed and work together for student learning.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
It would be difficult to choose just one Principle of Learning. And often I see that each class needs a specific Principle of Learning.
The Principle of Learning skill that I see most violated or not understood is "emphasizing time on task".
Because of the asynchronous learning, students often are not held accountable to 'chair time' to complete their studies. And often students in an online environment have chosen online because they either have busy life styles or prefer a more independent setting.
It is important that we continue to instill in our students 'self-discipline' to truly take adequate time to study AND complete their assignments in a timely manner.'
Principle number one, encouraging contact between students and instructors, is particularly important because often times, students have not worked independently in the online learning environment and therefore the instructor needs to provide additional structure over that provided in a face-to-face classroom setting. The second principal—developing cooperation among students—helps students get more of a sense of community. Group projects is a good example of this. The third principle, encouraging active learning, can be done through giving interactive examples. I try to do this in my online chat sessions. The fourth principle, proving prompt feedback, is very important in an online classroom since I believe students learn better when we assess their performance quickly. I try to grade as quickly as possible after the due date deadline and I feel it is important to respond to student emails within 12 hours the latest.
This was difficult for me to respond to because all of the principles discussed are important in learning. Since I need to choose one, I would have to say "Provide prompt feedback".
I think it is very important for online instructors to assess students' existing knowledge and competence and provide them with consistent feedback on their performance.
One of the school I teach for requires that their faculty provide substantive feedback to all students for each assignment and discussion each week. When points are deducted, instructors must provide detail explanation to the students and let them know what they can do to improve. The result is that students are showing significant improvement when they can understand why they receive the grade they did and suggestions for improving it.
Edna Murugan
I have used the seven principles that we covered in this course. The seven principles of good practice include:
1.Encourage contact between students and instructor
2.Develop reciprocity and cooperation among students
3.Encourage active learning
4.Provide prompt feedback
5.Emphasize time on task
6.Communicate high expectations
7.Respect diverse talents and ways of learning
I have included them in my teaching philosophy that I post in my online classes when I introduce myself to students. Thanks, Tom
The most important Principles of Learning in my online teaching include time management, applying real world experience to course unit concepts, and the The Seven Principles of Good Educational Practice:
"Encourages student-faculty contact.
Encourages cooperation among students.
Encourages active learning.
Gives prompt feedback.
Emphasizes time on task.
Communicates high expectations.
Respects diverse talents and ways of learning"
(from Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education by Arthur W. Chickering, George Mason University and Zelda F. Gamson, University of Massachusetts--Boston)
Melissa:
1. Encourage contact between students and instructor. This is crucial in an online course because there is little or no face-to-face interaction.
Andrea: Hi Melissa, Agreed. Students need to feel comfortable in communicating with their professor. Without communication, the online classroom would be difficult to manage.
