Pedagogy Strategies for Online
and Blended Classes
James Falkofske
SCTC Fall 2007
Overview
•
•
•
•
•
Critical Design Factors
Accessibility and Usability
Assessments and Rubrics
Creative Use of Tools
Student Creativity
Critical Design Factors
• Overexplain everything
Students can always skim
• Provide specific examples / samples
Students will use as a benchmark
• Author content in small “chunks”
Easier to shuffle if textbook changes
• Author content to be time-insensitive
Limits materials needed to be updated each term
• Accessible formats
• Note requirements in catalog and Week 1
Content Freshness Model
• Perennials – Permanent and Policies: theories,
concepts, terminology, history, backgrounds,
and also course policies and instructor /
program expectations
• Annuals – Applications and Assignments:
update each “season” the course runs
• Cut Flowers – Current news and websites
Controlled by others (external links): place
these as news items rather than content
Accessibility and Usability
• Students cannot use documents that will not
open on their computers
• Most accessible and usable are HTML documents,
followed by PDF files.
• If you are using Word, PowerPoint, or other
specific application files, make it a requirement
that students must own and be proficient with
these applications
• Build course links to OPEN Microsoft files in a
new window (prevents security blocks of D2L)
Assessments
• Academic Honesty improved with
– More frequent assessments and feedback at lower points
– Ability to redo auto-graded assessments to points of
proficiency / mastery
– Variety of assessment techniques that can play to
individual learning styles
– Variety of methods to demonstrate meeting learning goal
(assignments with different options)
– Thorough and detailed grading rubrics
– Requiring students to explain how the concepts, skills, and
applications are demonstrated in their personal and
workplace observations
Rubrics
• Many assignments can be simple
“completion” exercises (all or nothing)
• Grid-type rubrics make quick & easy grading
Criteria
Does not meet
Minimally meets
Exceeds
Audience adaptation:
Presentation of
research and
recommendations are
appropriate to a
degreed management
professional
0 points
Language or
presentation does not
meet professional
standards and
expectations
20 points
Language and
adaptation meet
expectations for a
professional
managerial
environment
25 points
Materials structured
to use logical
persuasion to
motivate the reader
to adopt a belief or
practice
Mechanics: fewer
than 3 mistakes in
spelling, grammar,
and punctuation
0 points
More than 3 mistakes
15 points
1-3 mistakes
25 points
0 mistakes
Online Quizzing
• Online quizzing should be considered an
“online worksheet”
• Without a proctored environment, students:
– Can use multiple computers side-by-side
– Have book and notes open on their desks
– Take photos of screens with cameras or cell
phones
– Work alongside friends or call them on the phone
– Work as a group and share answers
One Possibility
• Quiz is meant to ensure that students have
thoroughly read the textbook
• 1 minute per question
• 3 attempts / average of attempts is scored
• 20 to 30 questions randomly generated on
each attempt
• Quiz worth roughly 1% to 2% of course points
Creative Use of Tools
• How might D2L be used to be more engaging
to students?
• Where can links to outside media and
resources be incorporated?
• When can students be given a “chance at
authorship” of content in the course (peer-topeer teaching)?
Content
• Lecture Outlines
(to facilitate student note taking –
have correct names, dates, places listed)
•
•
•
•
•
•
PowerPoint Notes pages
Assignment Descriptions
Grading Rubrics
Samples / Examples of Finished Assignments
Links to industry articles and websites
Other Ideas?
Discussions
• Ice-breakers and Student Biographies
(who am I, what are my hobbies and interests, what do I hope to gain from this
course, what times work best for study-groups)
• Questions and Answers about the
Course Content and Assignments
• Online Learning Journals (private or group)
• Group project “work areas”
(able to pass thoughts and files among members)
• Peer review areas
(able to pass files and critiques back and forth)
• Role-play (documented in text)
• “Where/how would I use this…” (student assignments)
• Other Ideas?
Dropbox
• Collection of homework assignments and
electronic worksheets
(no more accusations of “lost papers;” you get to retain the
papers after grading)
• Submit list of research references prior to writing
papers
• Review of Drafts
• Submission of research documents and other
support materials
• Other Ideas?
Quizzes
• Pretest to determine which areas need greater
focus in classroom sessions
• Use of publisher test banks to allow students
“practice tests” and self-assessment
• Online Worksheets (complete with book in hand)
• Randomly drawn questions; questions presented
in random orders
• “Impromptu Essays”
• Other Ideas?
Grades
• Posting of feedback / comments on
assignments
• Automatically dropping low / high grades
from a set of assignments (drop 2 lowest quizzes out of
10)
• Track topics for research papers and projects
• Better track major projects
(whole project broken into several steps with grades on each step)
Research sources submitted, topic and initial outline
submitted, first draft submitted, final paper submitted
News
• Reminders of deadlines for assignments
• Tips, tactics, and tricks for completing the
current assignments
• Links to related news and journal articles
• Links to media (Annenberg foundation, PBS,
NPR, YouTube, etc.)
• Links to related websites and resources
Student Creativity
• Could student assignments incorporate…
– Blogs (online journals with photos and links)
– Wikis (collaboratively written documents)
– YouTube / Yahoo Video (online video hosting)
– Photography (cell phone or camera images to
demonstrate concepts)
– Correspondence Overseas (through email, Skype
phone service, etc.)
– Social networking sites (music, views, opinions,
and surveys)
Summary
• Build content that is durable and clear
• Build content and activities that are accessible
and usable
• Incorporate varied assessments and
specifically explain evaluation criteria
• Explore and share new ways of using D2L tools
• Encourage students to use critical thinking and
their own strengths in meeting learning
objectives