Transitioning to Online Teaching: Tips on being a Successful Teacher

Know yourself As a teacher, you must know yourself, your assumptions, your learning and teaching preferences, and your strengths and weaknesses. By understanding your own perspectives and abilities, you’ll be able to better assist and contribute to the learning of others. Hanna, et. al., 2000

Tips for teaching Be prepared and flexible Clarify your expectations of your students Expect your students to create, share, and hold knowledge through experiences

Tips for teaching Understand the online environment – developing an online environment using technology isn’t easy Recognize the absence of physical presence Create multiple spaces for work, interaction, and socializing Hanna, et. al., 2000

Design learning activities for building interpersonal relationships and for information exchange that requires feedback Design learning activities to promote analytic reflective thinking Design assignments in ways that can help students manage time and keep up with the course schedule, especially nontraditional students with family and job commitments Tips for Teaching

Carefully plan the inclusion and placement of external resources to keep learners concentrated on the learning tasks and not overwhelm them with excessive amounts of additional information Make assessment an integral part of the learning experience, and make it meaningful and valuable to the learners. Nontraditional students like to use case studies and field experiences with their own professional development, real life, practical application of learning Tips for Teaching

Use communication for socializing, feedback, to encourage reflection and revision in learning Avoid discussion that have a clear correct answer to encourage diverse views and multiple perspectives. Using asynchronous communication technology provides distributed communication between shy and outgoing students, gives students control over speed and timing of responses Tips for interaction

Expect that learning styles do change over time, with experience and with learning task. Expect that younger adults might learn best in ways that differ from the ways in which children and older adults learn most effectively. Expect that environment and experience may have an impact on how people prefer to learn and how efficiently they are able to learn. Coates, 2007 Learning Styles

Baby Boomers – 1946 – 1964 Generation X Generation Y – 1980 – 2000 Millennials Generation Z – For Reference

They want to know what is expected of them up front – like structure They want choices and options Be efficient – they do not like to “waste time” – be organized Be relevant – it must serve their educational goals Work to make the classroom come alive – make it fun Be visual Teaching the younger generation

Use technology Like learning by doing and have practical outcomes, experiential learning Not always big readers Provide lots of feedback Present the big picture Allow for creativity and offer multiple options for performance Teaching the younger generation

Best practices in student engagement Encourage staff-student contact Encourage cooperation among students Encourage active learning Give prompt feedback Increase time on task Respect diverse talents and ways of learning

Best practices in online assessment Bring a new mindset to online assessment Publicize content, format, rules, and honor codes to students in advance Ask questions that require application of knowledge Only use memory-testing questions to facilitate student progress Use software with test administration features

Best practices in online assessment Design alternate forms of the test, use question pools, randomize questions Learn the writing style of students before testing Use questions that require personal input from students Set a reasonable time limit for completion Security is critical, use of proctoring Don't worry too much

Learner centered Collaborative, not competitive Relevant Time appropriate Outcomes based Customized Interactive Incorporate technology Visual Clear expectations Pedagogy for the 21 st Century

Questions Sources: Coates, J., (2007) Generational learning styles. River Falls, WI: LERN Books. Hanna, D. E., et. al., (2000) 147 practical tips for teaching online groups: Essential of web- Based education. Madison, WI: Atwood Publishing

Contact Information Deb Gearhart Director of eTROY Troy University