Appropriate Information
All assignment questions, practice exercises, discussions, scenarios, studyguides and test should all relate to the learning objectives in the course. If the content doesn't map correctly will the course overall academic averages decrease?
Romanda
Romanda,
Averages may not decrease but your assessments will not be valid and students will not have mastered the objectives of the course.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Averages may not change, but students will wonder WHY they are learning a topic that is not part of the course objectives. It is important to look at your course objectives and update or change them as new topics become important and need teaching.
Linda,
That is true, but for many educators, there can't be changes without going through a formal process. The may very from institution to institution.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Hi Romanda...curriculum alignment is essential in every type course…and the most important point to keep in mind is that if your curriculum is not aligned, then what the students are studying will not align with the unit outcomes, and the program outcomes. Thank you. Mike Crowley
Michael,
You are so right. You have to make sure outcomes match your assessment match your content. That is what keeps the course relevant.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
How can we manage appropriate information inserted into discussion board?
Lisa,
The first way is to have expectations and hold students to it. Another way is to provide students with examples of good discussion board posts and bad discussion board posts. Students have to know what is expected of them
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I give my students examples of good discussion questions and answers. However, I find that they do not improve when asked to do so. I often wonder if the discussion board is hard for them because they feel it is a waste of time and just something they must do to complete the course.
krystal,
Great post. I make discussion my "class participation". I also make students lead the discussion. This does make them participate and they will engage if they are required. I also provide them with a good example of a discussion entry and a reply entry.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I will agree. Information that deviates from overall course objective can run the risk of losing student attention. Yes?
Rudolph,
Yes, I don't know why you would use anything that deviates from the message. The design of online learning is so important. It should work in concert with the content.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I have found that the averages do not change so much term to term. However, I have found that students become increasingly confused regarding the relation between the learning outcomes and the class material to achieve the learning outcomes. This hinders the learning process because it causes unnecessary frustration and confusion in what should be a seamless learning process (as much as possible). Objectives and content should be aligned in order to allow the students to consistently building on what they learn each week.
Aundrea,
What an interesting post. This is something to ponder. I used to not go over the outcomes in a course but now I do. I want them to understand, there are reasons why we do certain things in the course. Students should understand the outcomes and what it means for them.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
