Strategies for Instructor Presence in Online Courses

Purpose 

Strategies 

Encourage participation 

• Introduction activities 

• Welcome messages or videos 

Encourage knowledge construction and critical thinking 

Discussion posts that: 

• Stimulate more conversation 

• Include personal opinions and real-world examples and encourage students to do the same 

• Ask for elaboration 

• Ask for clarification 

• Weave together topics 

• Take or ask for alternative perspectives 

• Ask students to follow a line of reasoning further 

• Ask students to examine the assumptions in a line of reasoning 

• Ask students to examine the implications/effects of a line of reasoning 

• Summarize a long debate or conversation 

Monitor progress 

• Mid-week or end-of-week checks on student activity or progress in CarmenCanvas 

• Announcement or discussion message with additional resources or clarification on items or problems students are struggling with 

• Proactive phone call or e-mail communication to students who are not participating actively or performing well 

Communicate feedback on performance 

• Actionable feedback during the first few weeks on each student’s discussion participation 

• Prompt and actionable feedback on all assignments 

• Rubrics for all assignments, including participation in discussions, with encouragement for students to review these ahead of time 

• Prompt gradebook updates 

Encourage self-directedness  

• Weekly “roadmap” or module overview that introduces the content and assignments 

• Due dates listed in the calendar for each assignment 

• Links to just-in-time resources for major assignments (technical help, style guides, secondary sources) 

• Weekly question-and-answer forums where students are encouraged to ask any questions