Barbara Islas

Facilitating an online course requires much planning and thought. This is especially true when one has become comfortable with a F2F method of teaching. There are several methods that can be used to encourage student engagement. Each method must meet the overall objectives and outcomes of the course.

Computer literacy is essential to today's educational experiences. To complete an assignment, computer technology is used to gain knowledge through research.

I have students participating in group work frequently. The groups will present their findings, which helps them to process the concepts so that the information sticks. It also helps them to practice their verbal and non-verbal communication.

Formulating a writing assignment allows students to learn about a topic and formulate their knowledge about what was researched. When students do the research rather than drafting an assignment with the bare minimum of information, they are better prepared to develop clinical judgment as their critical thinking skills become more advanced. It is exciting to read assignments that demonstrate an interest in a topic. The students who go the extra mile to adequately research a topic are showing a better understanding of the concepts.

The development of critical thinking is a lifelong skill. It can be communicated to students in various manners, such as group work and providing diverse case studies to foster reasoning skills. The soft skills need to be reinforced in the classroom and can be encouraged by teaching students to formulate socratic questioning and asking open-ended questions.

There are several types of testing questions. Some types are easier to create. However, it is important to choose the type of question based on the purpose and content the student is being tested on. The objective test items include multiple choice, true/false, matching, and completion questions. The subjective test items include short answer, and essay questions. 

Subjective questions are more difficult to grade and require more preparation on the part of the student. Whereas objective test questions are easier to grade but can encourage guessing more often than the objective test questions. 

Creating a test is demanding but can… >>>

Classroom Assessment Techniques (CAT's) are formative and/or summative assessments to determine what the student currently knows and what the students have learned. It can identify gaps in learning. CAT's must be chosen carefully and align with the objectives and goals of the course. Some examples of CAT's would be: a one-minute paper and Muddiest Point. 

Personally, I have found entrance quizzes to be effective. This helps the students to identify what knowledge they have gained prior to class time. At the end of the class, the students review the content from the quiz to identify areas they need to still… >>>

It is important to include questioning within our teaching practice. By integrating questioning, we promote critical thinking. It also will assist in gaining knowledge of the learners' understanding of the concepts presented. Socratic questioning is a type of questioning that helps the learner to think deeper and provides an opportunity for higher learning. Questioning is important. It is equally important that the teacher provide opportunity for silence after the question has been posed. It is also very important to listen until the learner has completely finished answering. Once the learner responds, provide immediate feedback in such a manner to promote… >>>

There are four major learning styles. By incorporating a variety of teaching modalities, the activities are more likely to meet the needs of each of the learners.