5 research-based Tips for Providing Students with Meaningful Feedback

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Resource:  5 research-based Tips for Providing Students with Meaningful Feedback.  Stenger, M. (2014). Accessible at https://www.edutopia.org/blog/tips-providing-students-meaningful-feedback-marianne-stenger

The WHY:  The fact that these tips are grounded in research makes this a useful blog to read.  The presentation is straightforward and the citations are linked to the article.  The blog also highlights (in tip #3) the importance of learner goal-setting which is another aspect of student research guidance addressed in this module.  How do you help student set goals for their work.   Then this goal can also assist the instructor with providing the kind of feedback that is learner-centered and meaningful.

Peer Feedback

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Video: Peer Feedback (5:19).  Viewable on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3inp0AtDWCs

The WHY:   Guided by Julie Schell, Executive Director of Learning Design at the University of Texas at Austin, the video is recorded interviews with professors from the University of Groningen on the ins and outs of having students give feedback to each other.

How to give your students better feedback with technology

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Core reading:    How to give your students better feedback with technology.  Fiock, H., and Garcia, H. (2019).  Accessible at https://www.chronicle.com/interactives/20191108-Advice-Feedback

The WHY:  In a blog from the Chronicle of Higher Education, the authors present a substantive, but practical, guide to providing effective feedback to students with dos and don’ts as well as when to and when not to tips.  The Chronicle is always a respected source of information and the offerings related to online education are solid and well-grounded in scholarly works.

19 Student Engagement Strategies to Start with in your Course

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Resource: 19 Student Engagement Strategies to Start with in your Course, Himmelsbach, V. (2019). (Blog) available at https://tophat.com/blog/student-engagement-strategies/

The WHY:  This blog post presents brief overviews of engagement strategies for teaching, in the curriculum, for assessment, and for presenting.  It’s easy to read and to integrate into a course (very practical).  The source is Top Hat which is actually a higher education application (think of it as a competitor product for Blackboard).  It produces interesting and informative teaching resources such as this blog and an online teaching guide that is included in the resource section of this course.

Conducting Effective Online Discussions

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Video: Conducting Effective Online Discussions (6:41).   Viewable on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxzipYOGaoE

The WHY:  University professors from New South Wales offer perspectives, ideas, and talking points about effective discussion.  The variety of points offered in this video are based on the lived experiences of higher education instructors who are dealing with the similar issues of motivating, maintaining, facilitating, and evaluating discussion in their online courses.  This video is part of the Learning to Teach Online project (COFA online).

Engagement matters: Student perceptions of the importance of engagement strategies in an online learning environment.

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Core reading:    Martin, F. & Bollinger, D.

(2018).  Engagement matters: Student perceptions of the importance of engagement strategies in an online learning environment.  Online Learning 22(1), 205-222.

The WHY:  The paper reports recent research in online instruction and the importance of engagement among students, with the instructor, and with the content.  Grounded in an interaction framework specific to the online environment, the authors provide an overview of the theoretical foundations of online engagement.  The results of the survey-based research study inform online course design elements and highlight the importance of instructor presence which connects to the content of Module 2.

Best Practices for Online Pedagogy

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Resource:  Best Practices for Online Pedagogy  (Blog)available at https://teachremotely.harvard.edu/best-practices   The WHY:  This blog post unites best practices from module 1 with the pedagogical design focus of this module.  It includes some useful links to instructional strategies and the points made in the blog dovetail nicely with the Module 2 emphasis on instructor presence.  The blog is part of Harvard University’s Teach Remotely website that provides guidance and resources to faculty.  There is plenty more on this site that may be supportive of your online course design and teaching.

Why e-learning is killing education

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Video: Why e-learning is killing education.  (8:38).   Viewable on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwSOeRcX9NI  The WHY:  Fascinating counter-point perspective in a TedX talk by Dr. Aaron Barth. He argues that people are at the core, and we should be considering what motivates and engages people to shift their thinking, heighten awareness, and commit to learning more.  Interesting pedagogical design suggestion for online learning.  Would it work?  How?

(My) Three Principles of Effective Online Pedagogy.   

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Core reading:    Pelz, B. (2009).  (My) Three Principles of Effective Online Pedagogy.

Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, Volume 14: Issue 1, 103-116. 

The WHY:  Although published in 2009, this author was the recipient of a Sloan-C award winner for Excellence in Online Teaching.  Pelz’ three principles are consistent with the “best” practices presented in Module 1, and his paper is supplemented by real examples to illustrate his ideas. As a faculty member in a SUNY Community College, the paper highlights the knowledge, expertise, and insights to be gained from a critical community of faculty and students.  The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation was an early and influential voice in digital technology  https://sloan.org/programs/digital-technology.  The Sloan consortium The Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C) was the leading professional organization devoted to advancing the quality of online learning worldwide, and is now known as the “Online Learning Consortium” (OLC).

Best Practices for Jumbo Courses

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Resource:  Lake, B. Best practices for Jumbo Courses, Part I of 3

.  Downloaded from ASU at https://teachonline.asu.edu/2018/09/best-practices-for-large-enrollment-courses-in-canvas/

The WHY:  Some of the effective/best practices suggested for online teaching do not take into account a large enrollment, or Jumbo, course.  The author offers a three-part series on the nuances and adaptations of best practices for an online course with an enrollment larger than 30 students.  The resource was selected for those participants who may be teaching such courses and are wondering how the seven best practices presented in the module can be applied to their jumbo course.