S C H O O L O F I N F O R M AT I O N S C I E N C E A N D L E A R N I N G T E C H N O L O G I E S ( S I S LT ) @ C O L L E G E O F E D U C AT I O N

ZOOM Webinar

Teaching Online Courses: Basic Principles for Asynchronous Learning

Dr. Isa Jahnke & Dr. Jane Howland

April/30, 2020

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Introduction

• Learning Technologies Master’s program fully online since 2003https://sislt.missouri.edu/certificates/online-educator/

• Dr. Jane Howland, Teaching Professor, Program Director, 20+ years of Online Teaching

• Dr. Isa Jahnke, Associate Professor, 20 years of hybrid/blended learning, 5 years of Online Teaching

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Target Audience & Goals for this webinar• Educators, faculty/instructors in higher education and

teachers in K-12 schools

• Learning goals: Basic principles for Asynchronous Online Learning

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Now what? We design for active learning…

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Active Learning increases positive student learning outcomes and student performance

Why active learning?What is active learning?

Freeman et al. (2014)

Chi (2009)Hodges, L.C. (2018)

Activity-based model of instructionStudents don’t learn because the instructor does some activity but students learn through their own activity

Passive Active, student centered Active, teacher centered

Lecture Video recordedlecture

Students produce learning artifacts

What course designsupports active

student centered learning?

Active and student centered learning

Examples

Lower order thinking skills, e.g., recall, understanding

Skillslearned

Video recordedlecture gamified(e.g., iClicker)

Higher order thinking skills e.g., analyzing, creating

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1

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From passive learning ( inner ci rcle=1)to

act ive student-centered pract ices (outer ci rcle=5)

Construct ive al ignment of the f ive elements!

Use tools and technologies meaningfully

Develop assessment asformative process

Develop learning activities (through assignments)

Develop learninggoals

Develop a plan for how to fostering social relationships (learner communities)

Readings:https://www.isa-jahnke.com/teaching

Jahnke, 2015Jahnke et al. 2017

• Active• Authentic• Articulative/Reflective• Cooperative• Intentional

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BASIC PRINCIPLES

How to do active student centered learning online?

à asynchronous learning

• Syllabus with learning goals / outcomes

• Each module with learning objectives

• Assessments with rubrics

• Design for a community of learners / build relationships

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1. Make key adaptations to your existing syllabus for online environments.

2. Clarify the overall learning goals (e.g., After the course, students are able to understand/ analyze/ create/ …

3. Detail how you will communicate with your students (e.g., via Canvas message, email, or announcements).

– Let students know how soon to expect a reply (within 24-48 hours is reasonable). Tell students how quickly they can expect feedback on their work (within 7-10 days is reasonable).

4. Include a paragraph describing the active learning approach. For example, “Students do not learn because of the instructor’s activities but because of their own activities and reflection.”

5. Make sure to support (scaffold) student activities through the design of assignments. See Scaffolds-for-Learning for more information about guided instruction.

DEVELOP SYLL ABUS

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Activity-based model ofinstruction

“Plan Ahead”

After course completion, students are able to do …

Weekly modules

Assessment

Syllabus - elements

• Structure your course into units or modules. Typically, a module is 1-2 weeks.

• Each Module: Include one or two learning objectives

– that relate to the overall goal

– add the description of student activities.

• Start each module with an overview

– what students can expect to do in this unit/module

– add readings as PDF files or link to them in MU Libraries.

CREATE MODULES AND ASSIGNMENTS

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• Assignments can include discussion boards where students are asked to apply something from the readings or lab work.

– Clearly define discussion expectations regarding length, content, responses to others, and quality of posts.

– Let students know that you want them to ask questions or discuss viewpoints where they do not agree with each other by adding evidence or rationale.

• Other assignments might include:

– Group work in which student teams create or apply knowledge from previous modules.

– Individual projects.

CREATE MODULES AND ASSIGNMENTS

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ASSESSMENT WITH RUBRICS

ALIGN learning objectives, student activities (through assignment design) and assessment.

– Begin with learning objectives.

– Determine what evidence students will provide to demonstrate they have achieved those outcomes.

– Design a scoring guide or rubric for each assignment to help your students know what’s expected and what you will consider as you grade their work. (site).

– You may choose to allow students to improve their work and be re-graded within a specific time. Depending on the assignment’s scope, students might be given 3-4 days to re-submit.

– Finally, create activities that will support students in that learning.

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• Engage students! Create a Social Presence!

– Students feel the instructor is ‘there’ through an online social presence.

• Add short video messages in some modules.

• Post Announcements at least weekly

• For an interactive video experience, use VoiceThread (available in Mizzou Canvas).

– Upload slides and record audio or video on each one.

– Students can comment on slides after listening to the instructor.

– Include questions in your Voicethread or ask students to discuss content in the context of relevant literature, personal experiences, etc.

– Use for student groups to present their work. Teams can comment on other teams’ VoiceThreads – a kind of peer review. Then teams might use the comments to revise and improve their original work.

BUILD A PL AN TO FOSTER SOCIAL REL ATIONSHIPS

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MODULES

Mod-1Introduction

Mod-2Your first ideas

Mod-3Team work(2 weeks)

Mod-4Design for learning

Mod-5Project(2 weeks)

Mod-1a) My Word discussion

Mod-1b) VoiceThread introduction

Week 1

Week 1: Students use VoiceThread

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MODULES

Mod-2Social Presence

Mod-2Virtual Schools and the importance of Social Presence in Online Teaching

Week 2

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MODULES

Mod-3Effective Strategies for supporting Collaborative Learning and online discussion

Week 3

Mod-2Your first ideas

Mod-3Effective Strategies

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MODULES

Mod-4Engage the learnerAssess learning

Week 4

Mod-2Your first ideas

Mod-3Team work(2 weeks)

Mod-4Instructional Strategies

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Mod-5Management and leadership issuesTeams create a class wikiStudents teach a lesson in Zoom

Week 5-6

Mod-2Your first ideas

Mod-3Team work(2 weeks)

Mod-4Design for learning

Mod-5(2 weeks)Management and Leadership

MODULES

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Mod-6: Growth as online instructor

Week 7-8

Mod-2Your first ideas

Mod-3Team work(2 weeks)

Mod-4Design for learning

Mod-6Synthesize

MODULES

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https://sislt.missouri.edu/certif icates/online-educator/

ONLINE EDUCATOR GRADUATE CERTIFICATE

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In the end, your students need to know that you are ‘there’ and available for them, supporting and helping them in their learning trajectories.

The building of relationships and learning communities are crucial for both in-person and online learning.

In online learning, however, it can be easier to forget this part. Thus, don’t forget to humanize the online space!

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Thank you and contact us if you need more … !

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Dr. Isa Jahnkejahnkei@missouri.edu

Dr. Jane Howlandhowlandj@missouri.edu

Mod-3Team work(2 weeks)

Mod-4Design for learning

RESOURCES

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MU SISLT Online Educator https://sislt.missouri.edu/certificates/online-educator/

Scaffolding http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/111017/chapters/Scaffolds-for-Learning@-The-Key-to-Guided-Instruction.aspx

Rubricshttps://teaching.berkeley.edu/resources/improve/evaluate-course-level-learning/rubrics

Team contract templates https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/teaching-resources/teaching-tips/developing-assignments/group-work/making-group-contracts