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Online Teaching Resource Center
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Instructional Strategies
Developing a Learning Community Virtual Communities Often people are stumped when it comes to online communication
strategies that extend beyond email. The goal you should think about
moving toward is a learning community. There are four elements
that define a traditional community:
These four elements are easy to transfer to Virtual Communities – all of them are still applicable. But there is an added dimension when moving online. The traditions, customs, and mores that people are used to using in the real world don't always translate into the virtual world. Body language is missing, customs of how to act when entering the classroom are missing, the physical classroom no longer plays a part. Even when an online class starts and ends is often a source of confusion. And this lack of a point of reference occurs for faculty as well as students. Administrators need to recognize this and assist students and faculty in their adjustment to this new environment. So why do we care about developing a learning community? First, research shows that people process information into knowledge better through interaction with others. This happens through verbalization of ideas, explanation of concepts, and answering questions that others have. How many of you have thought about the fact that you really learn material when you teach it or explain it to someone else? Well that is what this is about. And it works best when the interaction occurs between peers – not just between the instructor and the student. Accrediting Agencies This understanding of how learning occurs is also reinforced by the accreditation agencies. The Southern Association of Schools and Colleges issued guidelines for online degree and certificate programs in 2002, "Best practices for electronically offered degree and certificate programs". These best practices were developed by the accrediting commissions in response to the emergence of technologically mediated instruction, so they refer not only to programs offered completely at a distance but may, in fact, be used for any instruction that uses technology as the delivery mode. These guidelines are not new criteria, but reflections of the essential characteristics that the accrediting agencies have published in the past. Of particular importance with regard to developing a community of learners are: Section 2e "The importance of appropriate interaction (synchronous or asynchronous) between instructor and students and among students is reflected in the design of the program and its courses, and in the technical facilities and services provided" Section 4d "The institution recognizes that a sense of community is important to the success of many students, and that an ongoing, long-term relationship is beneficial to both student and institution" Section 1h "The institution provides students with reasonable technical support for each educational technology hardware, software, and delivery system required in a program" Section 3b "The institution provides an ongoing program of appropriate technical, design, and production support for participating faculty members"
For faculty, participation in an online class can be excellent preparation for teaching online. It allows you to see a model of one way that it can be done; it gives a firsthand look at difficulties (technical, cognitive, and personally, such as time management) that students may encounter; it can provide an opportunity to experience an online community (perhaps for the first time), and it provides a glance at the technical requirements for computer mediated instruction. Participation in an online course can also give you a reference point for developing your own learning community online; either through a positive experience or a negative one. If you have the opportunity to participate in an online class, give it a try.
For students, it's important to supply cues to appropriate behavior for the online classroom as well as to develop exercises that build interaction. You shouldn't assume that they have taken an online class before, or, if they have, that it was run the same way that you choose to run your course. Always supply information to students at the beginning of class. And then use techniques such as modeling appropriate behavior and storytelling to assist them in participating in this new experience. Prior to class beginning, or at the very beginning of the class, you may want to send a letter to enrolled students that details:
Many students are not aware of how an online course will proceed so you want to provide as much information as possible to let students begin the course with the same level of comfort that they would have walking into a physical classroom. If your class is a hybrid course where you will meet occasionally on campus but the majority of the class is over the Web, then you can supply this information at the first class meeting and offer a quick tutorial to those students who aren't familiar with Blackboard so that they can see how to log in.
SACS, in section 4b states that "Prior to admitting a student to the program, the institution:
Although SACS defines these at the program level, you can use the same guidelines at the course level. An example would be to provide students with technical and prior knowledge assumptions in the course syllabus. EXAMPLE:
This presents, in black and white, elements that a student needs to successfully begin the course. If they don't have these skills, then they are asked to contact the instructor so that an individual evaluation can be done of whether or not this is the most appropriate course for them to be taking.
In the beginning of the semester it is important to inform students (whether face-to-face or online) what the expectations of them are, as well as what they can expect of the instructor. For example: The following course contract is based on an article by Deborah A. Byrnes in the November 2001 issue of The Teaching Professor*. EXAMPLE:As a student in this course, you have a right to expect:
*Byrnes, D.A. (2001). Course contract encourages student responsibility and civility. The Teaching Professor, (15, no. 9), Madison, WI: Magna Publications.
In particular, it is important to stress the last two items. The time students spend in an online class is different from the time they spend in a face-to-face class. If face-to-face is what they are used to then they realize they need to spend a certain amount of time reading the material, preparing for class, completing assignments, and then they spend a certain amount of time physically in the classroom – usually for 3 hours per week. But when they move to an online environment, that distinction between "individual" time and "class" time becomes blurred – it all becomes one big block of time. This may be why students report that they feel they spend more time in on online class than they do face-to-face. It may not be that more time is spent but that the distribution of hours simply differs. Does this mean that all students will adhere to all of these guidelines? No. But at least they are informed upfront what the course will be like.
One of the benefits of an online class is that students may log into the course at different times and days and carry on a conversation about the subject content. But online conversation doesn't occur without the instructor providing structure to the students and requiring them to participate. It is up to the instructor to post an open-ended question, usually concerning the readings for a particular section, as well as a timeline for students to respond. It is also important to supply instructions on how to use the Discussion Board for students who may be new to online learning. This section specifically addresses how to use the Discussion Board in Blackboard to conduct asynchronous conversations online. Topics covered will be:
Guidelines for acceptable behavior in discussion forums should be provided at the beginning of the semester. While you will want to customize the list to fit your particular class, some items you may want to include are:
It is also important to provide a guide which gives students the grading criteria for class participation. Decide at the beginning of the semester how important the online discussion will be and assign an appropriate percentage of the final grade to participation. Keep in mind that if something isn't required (and rewarded through grade points) few students will participate. Many instructors require everyone to participate in the discussion and make it a substantial portion of the students' grade – they can't pass the course if they don't participate. EXAMPLE: Class Participation Grading Level 1 - 20-25 points
Level 2 - 14-19 points:
Level 3 - 7-13 points:
Level 4 - 0-6 points:
All of this, provided in the beginning and referred back to during the semester, helps students to feel "grounded" – to feel like they aren't entering alien space and that they actually know what is expected of them in this new environment. Some of them may not like it – but at least they know. For assessing participation, you may want to use a spread sheet for grades. At the end of a module go into the appropriate discussion forum in Blackboard and sort the discussion thread by author (this is a feature of Blackboard located down at the bottom of the web page for the forum). This provides an easy way to look through the postings. Review them and assign a level to the module twice – once for initial posting and once for responses. So Ann might have a Level 1 for posting but didn't respond to any posts so she gets a level 4. Too many non-responses and all of those level ones disappear because it states in the rubric that they have to participate in at least 6 of the modules and participation works 2 ways – initial posts and responses. At the beginning of the semester, if a student isn't working at a high level send an email to that student explaining what is missing and give examples. This way they know immediately what they need to work on and how to improve. If you notice improvement, then follow-up with an additional email congratulating them and urging them to continue in their new ways. This gives affirmation that they are doing well and increases motivation to continue to do so. At midterm, send a class participation grade so that they can see if they need any improvement. Or post their participation grades to the Blackboard gradebook. Again – they need to know if they are doing well and if they aren't – otherwise how can they improve?
A Cybercafe (sometimes called "coffee break", "break room", "student lounge") is a discussion forum space reserved for chatting and non-class related socializing. It is mirroring what students do in the classroom when they arrive a little early and chat with the students sitting near them. The literature suggests that when members of a learning community begin to know each other on a level outside of the classroom they feel greater responsibility to the other members of the community, they identify with the other members of the group, they feel their opinions are important, and they are more likely to participate in discussions. For more information see: Hanna, D.E., Glowacki-Dudka, M. and Conceicai-Runlee, S. (2000). 147 practical tips for teaching online groups: Essentials of web-based education.Madison, WI: Atwood Publishing: Tips 110, 115, 117.
It is important in an online class to model the behavior you want to see; again, students aren't familiar with this environment and look to the instructor for cues on how to behave. At the beginning of a course, have students introduce themselves in a discussion forum. Your own introduction would naturally be posted first to set an example of what you would like to see in the students' posts. Perhaps go beyond simply listing your academic credentials and provide humorous or personal information; students will follow your lead in what to post When you response to student introductions, try to make a connection to each; again, this leads to other students doing the same. For example, if someone says they grew up in St. Louis, you could respond that you have been there and really enjoyed the botanical gardens. You may also want to post a reminder to students after most initial introductions have been posted that they should also be responding to each other. An analogy of being at a party can help to reinforce how important responses are -- how would they feel if they walked up to a person and introduced themselves and the other person just stood there and looked at them?
How you, as the instructor, act in the online environment may be the first model students have seen of appropriate online behavior.
These tips were gathered from a review of the literature as well as from instructors teaching online.
Don't be afraid of utilizing strategies that build community by encouraging interaction between members:
But remember that you will need to provide your students with the means and directions to accomplish these methods. Even if you aren't using these strategies in the classroom give them a try online. What many instructors are finding is that they try something new online and end up adopting it for their face-to-face classes.
Help them with how to get started:
Guest speakers are an asset in classrooms and they can also be used online. It may actually be easier to schedule them for online classes since they don't have to be located near your campus and they have more flexibility with their time commitment. To do this, you set up a discussion forum and establish guidelines for student and guest participation. EXAMPLE: In an instructional design class, one instructional designer from the military and one instructional designer from a corporate setting were invited to talk to the students about their daily work. The students had assigned readings from the textbook that talked about these environments and then had the opportunity to interact with people in the field when they might not know anyone in that field. Students were required to post initial questions to the experts by Monday at 8 am. The experts had agreed to log in sometime Monday or Tuesday and answer student questions. Students then had an opportunity to respond and/or ask follow-up questions and the experts had agreed to read and respond to posts on Thursday or Friday. This arrangement allowed a specific time commitment on the part of the experts and let them know what they were getting into – after all, it was a new environment for them as well! You can also have guest speakers in a chat session although you really need to limit the number of students involved since too many people (generally more than 5) in a chat session gets very complicated.
With discussion forums we are talking about asynchronous communication – students don't need to be logged on at a particular time. But synchronous communication can also be used in online communities. Blackboard includes an online chat feature for students and instructors to use. You can include PowerPoint slides and draw pictures as well as type in text conversations. Chat sessions are particularly good for individual assessments; if you feel that a student may not be grasping a concept you can arrange a day and time for a chat session. Meet in the chat space and question that individual in "real time" with follow-up questions and asking for clarification of points. Of course, you can also use this technique by setting up a telephone appointment with them! Not everything has to be online. Again, you want to provide instructions for using the tool, and model the behavior you want to see. Expectations for typographical errors and grammar are generally more relaxed in a chat than they would be in a discussion forum – it is a more informal form of communication. You also need to remember the differences in speed – both typing speed and Internet connection speed. This can result in postings that get out of order – it helps to answer direct questions using the person's name. Chats can also be used for online office hours. Conclusion As you can see, there are many ways to facilitate an online learning community. The trick is getting out and experimenting with what is available and deciding what will work best in your class with your particular students and your content area. For further information, check out the following resources:
Conrad, R.M and Donaldson, J.A. (2004). Engaging the online learner: Activities and resources for creative instruction. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Fink: L.D. (2003). Creating significant learning experiences: An integrated approach to designing college courses. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Hanna, DE, Glowacki-Dudka, M. and Conceicai-Runlee, S. (2000). 147 practical tips for teaching online groups: Essentials of web-based education. Madison, WI: Atwood Publishing Salmon, G. (2003). E-tivities: The key to active online learning. London, UK: Kogan Page Limited. Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Wenger, E., McDermott, R. Snyder, W.M. (20020: Cultivating communities
of practice: A guide to managing knowledge. Boston, MA: Harvard
University Press.
The following resources were used in the development of this web page: Nitko, A.J. (1996). Educational assessment of students. 2nd ed. Englewood, NJ: Merrill. Jonassen, D.H. (1991). Evaluating constructivist learning. Educational Technology, September, 28-33.
To select and use assessment results meaningfully you need to be clear about the learning targets you want to assess and be sure that the assessment techniques you select match the learning targets. The specific tasks or procedures you use in an assessment should always permit the student to display the skill or knowledge stated in the learning target. The also need to be valid and reliable. Nitko (p. 103) suggests three criteria for selecting an assessment procedure:
He also suggests (p. 124) three fundamental principles for crafting assessment:
Each assessment type has its own advantages and disadvantages. This chart supplies an overview of assessment types.
Nitko's emphasis on objective reality contrasts with the subjective reality which is the basis for constructivist learning. Constructivists believe that learners can only interpret information in the context of their own experiences and that what they interpret will, to a certain extent, be individualistic so evaluation guidelines such as those established by Nitko are less useful. Jonassen (1991) suggests the following criteria for evaluating constructivist learning:
"Evaluation from a constructivist perspective should be less of a reinforcement and/or behavior control tool and more of a self-analysis and meta-cognitive tool" p. 32
Assessment in Blackboard Blackboard provides several ways to assess student progress during a course. Surveys record answers anonymously. This option is used for informal assessments of an entire class, opinion polls, or course evaluations. Survey results are non-graded and anonymous so they aren't suitable for summative evaluation. Quizzes and tests are available for assessing individual student knowledge. They can be set up for automatic grading, immediate feedback of answers, and/or submission for grading by the instructor. Types of questions supported by Blackboard:
Creating a survey or test is very easy. As the instructor for your course:
You can type in all of your questions and reorder them after they are all in. You can also go back and edit the questions. If you are creating a test, you'll have the opportunity to provide the correct answer to a question. Surveys do not have correct answers associated with them.
Also called a question pool, this feature allows instructors to
give exams and quizzes from a bank of questions. So questions are
posted to students randomly. To use this feature you'll need to
develop a bank of questions to pull from. Instead of clicking on
Add Survey as described above you'll click on Pool Manager and then
follow the instructions.
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