Sailing Toward Success: Navigating Online Instruction to Promote Students’ Well being and Success
Concurrent Session 10
Brief Abstract
Presenters will share practical strategies to promote engaged online learning and to foster student well-being. Participants will engage in some of the interactive strategies shared in this presentation. Strategies will be applicable to before a course begins, during online instruction, and supports we’ve used to keep students sailing on course.
Presenters
Extended Abstract
Background
Every faculty member wants to develop engaging courses that will guide students through the learning process and to see them successfully complete their courses. We strive to design courses that nurture an inclusive learning environment in which our students feel valued and empowered to share their thoughts, experiences and learning with each other. We also recognize the importance of helping students stay organized and develop a healthy balance of their responsibilities in work, life, and school.
Session Goals and Outline
In this session, we’ll share how we organize and plan our courses to maximize our students’ learning by getting to know them before a class begins, promoting interactive meaningful learning during the course, and ways we troubleshoot to help students be successful as they navigate both academic and personal lives.
Even before a course begins, we promote student success by providing easy access to technical support, an orientation for new students, and using a consistent structure/layout for course content (Bloomberg, 2021).
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Technical support and help
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Orientation for new students
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Consistent organization of modules
During an online course, we use a variety of interactive tools and strategies to promote learning module content. To help students respond to topics, we’ll share some best practices for organizing effective online discussions that allow students to apply and engage with the content in real-life situations.
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Exit slips
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Polls and Surveys
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Jamboards
We’ll also think about alternatives to online discussion boards that allow students to engage with the content in a meaningful way. We have learned that students want more opportunities to engage with each other and the instructor in real time. We will share several ways that we have built flexibility into the way we run our classes so that we are not relying solely on written discussion boards.
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Annotation of documents, images (Hypothesis)
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Live Zoom with alternatives for students who cannot attend
Even with thorough plans and clear communication, there will always be a few students who need additional support in an online course. Reaching out to students before they fall too far behind is critical. Additionally, we have found that it is important to check in with students to see how they are doing. Many of our students are adult professionals who work full-time and juggle work and family. It is important to get the pulse on how students are managing the workload and feeling about the course content. We’ll share some examples from our practice that we have used to check in with students to support their well-being:
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Jamboards
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Exit slips
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Surveys
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Tokens for emergencies
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Office hours / appointments / question boards
Key Takeways
Utilizing synchronous and asynchronous tools will allow participants to interact with each other in discussing content and applying it to their own instructional design. Online learners appreciate opportunities to discuss concepts with their colleagues and connect it to their own contexts. The tools presented will help faculty members reimagine pedagogical approaches and consider ways to adapt it to their own online instruction.
References
Bloomberg, L. D. (2021). Designing and delivering effective online instruction: How to engage adult learners. Teachers College Press.