Online Teaching at Its Best

Bring pedagogy and cognitive science to online learning environments Online Teaching at Its Best: A Merger of Instructional Design with Teaching and Learning Research is the scholarly resource for online learning that faculty, instructional designers, and administrators have long been awaiting. Over 70 percent of degree-granting institutions offer online classes, and while technical resources abound, the courses often fall short of integrating the best practices in online pedagogy, even if they comply with online course design standards. Typically these standards omit the best practices in teaching and learning and the principles from cognitive science, leaving students struggling to keep the pace, understand the material, and fulfill their true potential as learners. This book fills the gap, providing evidence-based practices for online teaching, online course design, and online student motivation integrated with pedagogical and cognitive science to help you build the distance learning courses and programs your students deserve. As more and more students opt for distance learning, it's up to designers and instructors to rethink traditional methods and learn to work more effectively within the online learning environment, and up to administrators to provide the needed leadership. Online Teaching at Its Best provides practical, real-world advice grounded in educational science to help online instructors, instructional designers, and administrators deliver an exceptional learning experience. Adopt new pedagogical techniques designed specifically for online learning environments Ensure strong course alignment and effective student learning for online classes Increase student retention, build necessary support structures, and train faculty more effectively Integrate research-based course design and cognitive psychology into graduate or undergraduate programs Distance is no barrier to a great education; what do stand in the way are inadequate online course design and implementation and deficient faculty training and support all of which administrators can mitigate. Online Teaching at Its Best will help you ensure that your online classes measure up to the rigor and quality of excellence in teaching and assessment, build in the personal touch for developing a learning community and equip your students to succeed in the next challenge.

Bring pedagogy and cognitive science to online learning environmentsOnline Teaching at Its Best: A Merger of Instructional Design with Teaching and Learning Research is the scholarly resource for online learning that faculty, instructional designers, and administrators have long been awaiting. Over 70 percent of degree-granting institutions offer online classes, and while technical resources abound, the courses often fall short of integrating the best practices in online pedagogy, even if they comply with online course design standards. Typically these standards omit the best practices in teaching and learning and the principles from cognitive science, leaving students struggling to keep the pace, understand the material, and fulfill their true potential as learners. This book fills the gap, providing evidence-based practices for online teaching, online course design, and online student motivation integrated with pedagogical and cognitive science to help you build the distance learning courses and programs your students deserve.As more and more students opt for distance learning, it's up to designers and instructors to rethink traditional methods and learn to work more effectively within the online learning environment, and up to administrators to provide the needed leadership. Online Teaching at Its Best provides practical, real-world advice grounded in educational science to help online instructors, instructional designers, and administrators deliver an exceptional learning experience.* Adopt new pedagogical techniques designed specifically for online learning environments* Ensure strong course alignment and effective student learning for online classes* Increase student retention, build necessary support structures, and train faculty more effectively* Integrate research-based course design and cognitive psychology into graduate or undergraduate programsDistance is no barrier to a great education; what do stand in the way are inadequate online course design and implementation and deficient faculty training and support--all of which administrators can mitigate. Online Teaching at Its Best will help you ensure that your online classes measure up to the rigor and quality of excellence in teaching and assessment, build in the personal touch for developing a learning community and equip your students to succeed in the next challenge.

The Authors viiPreface ix1 Teaching at Its Best, No Matter What the Environment 1Teaching Quality as Key 1The Special Challenges of Online Learning 2The Special Challenges That Online Faculty Face 4Teaching and Learning across Environments 7Reflections 152 Setting Significant Outcomes 21The Need for Reflecting on What We Teach 21How Content Becomes the Wrong Driver 23A Meaningful Destination for the Learning Enterprise 23Examples of Significant Learning from Instructional Design 24Examples of Significant Learning from College Courses 25Examples of Significant Learning from Adaptive Learning 28The Process of Reflection 29Reflections 303 Designing a Coherent Course 37Online Course Design Standards 37Phases of Course Design 39Structuring Your Course 40Course Templates and Maps: Aids to Course Design 43Writing and Sequencing Learning Outcomes 46Developing Valid Assessments 49Mapping Learning Activities to Outcomes 56Choosing Online Course Content 58Online Copyright Guidelines 59The Syllabus: What to Include 63Organizing Your Files for Yourself and Your Students 66Reflections 684 Applying Cognitive Science to Online Teaching and Learning Strategies 79Twenty-Five Principles of Learning from Cognitive Science 79How These Principles Can Inform Online Course Design and Teaching 82Reflections 965 Motivating Elements: Course Policies, Communications, Assessments, and More 107Motivation, Effort, and Achievement 107Too Much of a Good Thing? 109Categories of Motivators: Intrinsic and Extrinsic 109Reinforcing and Punishing 110Capturing Attention 110Ensuring Relevance 112Encouraging Goal Expectancy and Self-Efficacy 115Creating Satisfaction 120Fostering Social Belonging 121Motivating as Our Major Task 122Reflections 1236 Developing Interactivity, Social Connections, and Community 131The Effects of Interactions on Learning 131Student-Instructor Interaction 133Student-Content Interaction 136Student-Student Interaction 150Interactions with Technology 156Reflections 1587 Making Accessibility for Everyone Much Easier 165Why Use Student-Centered Design? 165Sources of Obstacles 167Overcoming Obstacles 167Guidelines and Standards for Designing Accessibility 169The Specific How-To's of Ensuring Accessibility 171Additional Resources and Advice 187Reflections 1888 Creating a Supportive Culture for Online Teaching 195The Importance of Quality in Online Courses 195Faculty Challenges in Transitioning to Online Teaching 197Faculty Incentives and Support for Online Teaching 200Designing Effective Professional Development 206Models for a Professional Development Program 210Summary 214Reflections 215Appendix A: Online Course Development Checklist 221Course Beginnings 221Technology 224Assessments and Grading 225Course Materials 227Student Interactions with the Content, Instructor, and Peers 228Appendix B: Accessibility Resources 231Strategies to Make Access to Course Materials Easy 231Ways to Make Accessible Document Files 233Ways to Design Accessible PowerPoint Presentations 236Captioning Resources 236Accessibility Checks 237Resources for Students 237Index 241