for Effective Teaching through Online Environments

Workshop: "Good Practices" for Online Education
Karen Hornsby, North Carolina A&T University
Wade Maki,University of North Carolina Greensboro

Overview

Chickering and Gamson’s “Seven Principles for Good Practices in Undergraduate Education” have helped shape classroom pedagogies and improve student learning for the past three decades. With the rise in online education offerings, how might we transfer these valuable “good practices” to a virtual learning environment? How can instructors facilitate cooperation among students who never meet each other; what types of activities facilitate active learning in online education? In this activity we will consider several methods for converting “good practices” pedagogies to an online learning environment.

Initial Activity

Record your responses to the following:

  • Name three ways that teaching online differs from a traditional classroom.
  • What are the advantages of online learning that must be maintained for students?
  • Indicate what you think is the biggest barrier to student learning in an online course.

eClip - "Good Practices" for Online Education

Reflection Activity

During the next five minutes, consider the following questions and record your responses. Then pair with a partner and share your thoughts.

  1. Which principle discussed in the eClip do you think would most facilitate student learning?
  2. How might you implement one of the principles into your online course?
  3. What are some of the prospective challenges to incorporating these “good practices” into a virtual learning environment?

Follow-up Resources

A Learner-Centered Online Course Design
Hornsby, K. (Winter 2008)
(A conversion of traditional “good practices” classroom pedagogies to an online environment. Academic Exchange Quarterly, Vol. 12, Issue 4, p. 28-33. Retrieved, June 15, 2009 from http://www.rapidintellect.com/AEQweb/cho4182z8.htm.)

Online nation: Five years of growth in online learning
Allen, I. E. & Seaman, J. (2007)
(A Sloan Consortium report exploring fundamental questions about the nature and state of online education. Retrieved, June 15, 2009 from http://www.sloan-c.org/publications/survey/pdf/online_nation.pdf.)

Seven principles of effective teaching: A practical lens for evaluating online courses
Graham, C., Cagiltay, K., Lim, B., Craner, J. & Duffy, T. (2001)
(An application of Chickering and Gamsons’ “Seven Principles” to an online learning environment. The Technology Source. Retrieved June 15, 2009 from http://sln.suny.edu/sln/public/original.nsf/0/b495223246cabd6b85256a090058ab98)

Learning Online with Games, Simulations, and Virtual Worlds: Strategies for Online Instruction
Aldrich, Clark (2009)
(A practical guide to identifying when and what kind of games, simulations, and virtual environments should be used, how to get them, how to deploy them, and how to measure their effectiveness. San Francisco: Jossey Bass)