Adapted from Effective Online Teaching, Tina Stavredes, 2011
The table below provides a number of different approaches to establishing and maintaining your presence in an online course.
| 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 email 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
|
References
Stavredes, T. (2011). Effective online teaching: foundations and strategies for student success. Jossey-Bass.
