Tina Terpening

It is important to give timely feedback to students and make sure transcripts become part of records. Intervene in conflicts early to avoid escalation of the problems.

Synchronous discussions are discouraged as they tend to be dominated by just of few people. Asynchronous discussions are very good to help students use critical thinking if the questions pertain to the objectives of the course and encourage students to share insight into the course and its objectives. 

Having a video biography is more effective in the online learning environment. Having each student post a biography that other students read can help them interact together. Be sure and create a relationship with each student through things like personalized e-Mail or discussion boards. 

Knowing the CMS is a vital part of an online course for both the instructor and the instructor and the student. It is important to verify all students have access to it and know how to get support if needed. If additional technology is required, the same applies. 

Cooperative learning and problem based learning are important active learning models to help develop critical thinking skills. It is important to find a balance between traditional lecture and active learning to ensure students develop the necessary skills to identify and sold real world problems in their chosen field. 

There are many activities that can be used for active learning in online environment. The instructor must put in the time to create/plan implementation of these activities as well as create rubrics for grading, so that they are seamlessly integrated into the course. Making expectations known up front is vital and need to provide guidelines and support for students with time management, as active learning takes more time. 

I agree that students need active learning to achieve learning. The difficulty is that many of today’s students are looking to “get the degree/diploma they paid for” while not necessarily wanting to learn all they can. Many are there for the minimum so they can have a degree, often not in what they want to do. Herein lies the difficulty with online activities. Students appreciate the easy access but want the easy”A”. So to bridge this gap, we really need to drill down the “what’s in it for me” for the student and the expectations. Use technology well and make… >>>

Active learning puts the accountability for the learning process onto the student with the instructor as a coach in the process. I struggle with the volume of information in our courses and the ability to help students actively engage in the course  so that they can be competent in the material learned. I incorporate think pair share, case studies, presentations, etc., but look forward to more recommendations in this course. 

The culture of the institution is a driving force to success. It is very important that each of the departments understand that they are apart of a whole working to educate students. None of us are in a silo.

EQ is a powerful driving force. As educators we need to really help students see the vision to help them push through difficult times. Turning negative self talk into positive is an important part.