1. Standards of Good Practice For Teaching Online Christina Sax University of Maryland University College

2. Instructional Models Transmission of information Transmission of information wtraditional view of education wclassroom based education l Mentoring of students l Creation of a learning community

3. What should I do... l to insure student learning & success... l to make the process go smoothly... l to manage the class effectively... … in the absence of face-to-face contact with students? with students?

4. What should I do... … to be a really successful, dynamic, and creative online instructor and inspire my students … without spending all my time online and without losing my sanity in the process?

5. More Questions... l How much time should I expect to spend online? l How often should faculty members communicate with students? l How quickly should faculty members respond to student questions/work?

6. And More Questions... l How often should students interact with instructor and/or each other? l How much time should students spend on course work? l What kinds of activities should students engage in?

7. And Still More Questions ?

8. Seven Principles of Good Practice Chickering & Gamson June 1987 7 Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education

9. The Seven Principles 1. Encourage student-faculty contact and interaction interaction 2. Encourage cooperation among students 3. Encourage active learning 4. Give prompt feedback

10. The Seven Principles 5. Emphasize time on task 6. Communicate high expectations 7. Respect diverse talents and ways of learning learning

11. Two Additional Principles 8. Let students know what to expect - from you and in the course from you and in the course 9. Make effective use of the technology

12. How to do I Put Best Practices into Action?

13. 1. Encourage student-faculty contact l Use e-mail for announcements, news, updates, reminders, etc. l Encourage student questions, inquiries, feedback, input l Refer to students by name l Hold virtual office hours l Instructor input into discussions

14. 2. Encourage cooperation among students Activities that promote cooperation Activities that promote cooperation team learningteam learning asynchronous problem solvingasynchronous problem solving group projects, presentations, debatesgroup projects, presentations, debates peer reviewspeer reviews chatschats l Students exchange phone numbers and email addresses

15. 3. Encourage active learning Learning is not a spectator sport l Pose questions that foster thinking and problem solving l Interrupted Discussion method l “Each one teach one”

16. 3. Encourage active learning l Students provide and critique URLs l Students design/create Web pages l Students develop knowledge artifacts and concept maps l Encourage opinions as well as facts

17. 4. Give prompt feedback l Hold virtual office hours l Return graded work in one week l Post grades regularly l Acknowledge all student questions

18. 5. Emphasize time on task l Let student know time-on-task is important to success l Award points for all work l Require discussion participation l Provide specific learning objectives for each unit l Use assignments that allow students to apply learning

19. 6. Communicate high expectations l Course goals and objectives in Syllabus l Post examples of excellent, average, and poor work l Model through example

20. 6. Communicate high expectations l Make your expectations of students clear with respect to: wfacts, concepts, critical thinking, analysis, writing, format, quantitative reasoning, internet usage, frequency of check-ins, frequency of interaction

21. 7. Respect diverse talents and ways of learning l Recognize that online classes are not the preferred environment for some l Allow options for demonstrating student achievement l Recognize, respect and reward creativity

22. 7. Respect diverse talents and ways of learning l Be sensitive to possible cultural differences l Understand and appreciate the distant learner’s lifestyle

23. 8. Let students know what to expect - from the instructor l Response time from instructor l Lecture, support, mentor, facilitator? wWhat replaces seat time/contact hours of the face-to-face class?

24. 8. Let students know what to expect - in the course l Total amount of time per week l Interactive vs. independent l Rigor l Schedule and due dates

25. 9. Make effective use of technology l Does your discipline have specific requirements? l What technologies/materials are available in your discipline? l What technology/materials are available to your students?

26. 9. Make effective use of the technology l Is it an effective means of content delivery and instruction? l Where are your students located?

27. Is Online Teaching Really That Different? l student-faculty interaction l student-student cooperation l active learning l prompt feedback l time on task l high expectations l diversity l communication l effective use of materials

28. Future Questions, Comments, Suggestions, Ideas …. Chris Sax UMUC301-985-7625csax@umuc.edu “Teaching Science Online” Discussion Group - www.mdfaconline.org/ Group - www.mdfaconline.org/ mdfaconline/facfellows.html mdfaconline/facfellows.html