Best Practices in Online Learning

There are many best practices in online learning that will allow you to maximize engagement, foster collaboration, and achieve optimal learning outcomes in your online course. Some of these best practices are connected to the digital world, but many are grounded in traditional educational pedagogy.

For many instructors, the most obvious difference they feel when teaching online is the lack of immediate communication with and feedback from their students. It can be difficult to establish rapport with your students and make yourself approachable when you are at a distance. Being present in your course is more than just responding to student emails and posting assignment feedback in a timely manner. It’s you being you. It is your teaching, supporting, clarifying, occasionally redirecting, and just interacting with your students. It encourages both instructors and students to participate and deeply engage with the course content.

Chickering and Gamson’s (1987) Seven Principles of Good Practice in Undergraduate Education

According to Chickering and Gamson’s (1987) Seven Principles of Good Practice in Undergraduate Education., good practice:

• encourages student-faculty contact
• encourages cooperation among students
• encourages active learning,
• gives prompt feedback, including both summative feedback and actionable formative feedback
• provides clear instructions regarding due dates and participation
• provides clear expectations for student work and participation
• uses multiple means of instruction, engagement, and assessment to support

Chickering & Ehrmann’s (1996) Implementing the Seven Principles: Technology as Lever

Building on Chickering and Gamson’s work, Chickering and Ehrmann (1996) wrote Implementing the Seven Principles: Technology as Lever.  This essay, still widely referenced in today’s world of online teaching and learning, describes some of the most effective and appropriate ways to use technology in the higher education classroom.

Watch this video of Dr. Ehrmann reflecting on his 1996 article:

Tips and Suggestions

Take a look at this video with some tips from SUNY’s Phylise Banner, who highlights strategies for enhancing your online instructions with technology:

Course Introductions

While being present throughout the course is critical, setting the tone at the beginning of the course is especially so. One of the first things you normally do in an in-person class is to introduce yourself. In an online class, introductions are even more important online as they are likely your students’ first point of contact with you. Video introductions help your students feel more connected to you and let them know there is a real, live faculty member actively teaching the course. In fact, research on video introductions (Delaney & States, 2014) indicates that they can improve student engagement at the beginning of the course and encourage positive student perceptions of you as the instructor. By beginning the semester personally introducing yourself and sharing your background, expertise, and interests in a welcoming manner, you can show your students that you are approachable and interested in their learning.

Regular and Substantive Interaction

Being present in your online class is not only about good practice and supporting student learning and engagement. Instructor presence and communication is what makes the difference between a class being categorized as an online/distance education class versus a correspondence course. Both the US Department of Education and the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) have defined the difference between “distance education” and “correspondence education” based on the “regular and substantive interaction between the students and the instructor.”

Interaction is two-way, mutual, and reciprocal. While there is never any guarantee that students will interact with you, providing good-faith opportunities for regular and substantive interaction and responding in a timely manner when students take you up on these opportunities support student learning and engagement. As you think about how you can interact with your students, consider the following strategies

• providing formative feedback at the course or group level and encouraging discussion of ways to apply the feedback
• soliciting student feedback on assignments, activities, and materials at various points in the course and replying to the good, bad, and confusing.
• participating in discussions with formative coaching, examples, or additional resource suggestions
• building in student check-ins with you before mid-term or at the early stages of a larger project to answer questions, address concerns, and provide individual guidance (this is obviously easier for smaller classes)
• posting announcements summing up students’ contributions from the preceding module, addressing any outstanding misconceptions or confusion, and providing a segue into the following module.
• offering optional synchronous video meetings for review prior to an exam or to address questions regarding projects or larger assignments

Communities of Practice

Communities of Practice (CoPs) are groups of people who share a common interest. In the world of online teaching and learning, , communities of practice play a significant role in fostering collaboration, professional development, and the exchange of ideas. Quality teaching is enhanced by an open exchange of ideas and best practices.

Take a look at this video where SUNY instructors explain this notion of facilitating communities of practice, both online and offline. CoPs provide opportunities for members of the online teaching community to come together and share ideas and experiences.

Chapter Questions

1. Apply both Chickering and Gamson’s (1987) principles for effective undergraduate education and Chickering and Ehrmann’s (1996) Seven Principles: Technology as Lever to today’s online teaching and learning. How do you feel they relate?
2. Explain the significance of instructor presence in online courses. Highlight the impact of instructor presence on both learners and instructors.
3. Why are initial introductions crucial in online courses? How can video introductions enhance student engagement and their perception of the instructor? What benefits come from sharing personal background and expertise?
4. Differentiate between “distance education” and “correspondence education”.
5. Why is interaction a key factor in online course quality? Provide 2-3 strategies for encouraging interaction.
6. Explain how Communities of Practice (CoPs) can enhance online teaching and learning initiatives.