The CourseCheck Resource Bank was created to provide foundational information and examples of how you can incorporate each Principle of Good Practice into your teaching practice. While many of these ideas and resources can apply to any teaching and learning situation, the emphasis of this Resource Bank is on applying the Principles to web-based courses. While there are unique challenges to engaging students at a distance, there are also great benefits. We hope these web-based resources can be easily adopted into your distance courses. We’ll be updating the Bank as time goes on.

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Principle 1: Encourage Contact Between Student and Faculty

Principle 2: Develop Reciprocity and Cooperation Among Students

Principle 3: Use Active Learning Techniques

Principle 4: Give Prompt Feedback

Principle 5: Emphasize Time on Task

Principle 6: Communicate High Expectations

Principle 7: Respect Diverse Talents and Ways of Learning

Principle 1: Encourage Contact Between Student and Faculty

The role technology can play: Computer-mediated communication provides efficient, open, and reflective communication between faculty and students. Examples of asynchronous and synchronous online approaches that can be effective in applying this principle are email, listservs, chat rooms, blogs, bulletin boards, or videoconferencing. Contacting students about their comfort level with required technologies and course expectations sets a positive tone about your dedication to student success.

OVERVIEW of the Principle:

• Overview provided by OLN resources.

• Interactive course syllabi can be constructed to students are immediately aware of course design, learning expectations, assessment methodology, and the level of technology utilization expected.

EXAMPLE Interactive syllabi in a variety of disciplines.

• Build relationships with students early through chats, listservs, photos, & videos to communicate issues about critical success items such as technology requirements, accessing library resources, course expectations, and student performance.

EXAMPLE An example of clear tech expectations @ Wright State University.

IDEA: Share library resource info by directly linking to your own institution’s library resources and link to OhioLINK’s student help page.

EXAMPLE : Wright State has created a very helpful page for distance students that includes library support and more. If your institution has such a resource, link to it in your syllabus.

• BLOG!! Deepen trust through authentic communication.

RESOURCE: Wikipedia on 'What is a blog?'

RESOURCE: OLN’s BlogMania.

EXAMPLE : Check out Laura Little @ Marietta College’s BLOG.

Principle 2: Develop Reciprocity and Cooperation Among Students

The role technology can play: Computer-mediated communication facilitates group interactions, problem solving, and building communities. Technology enables the establishment of online study groups and collaborative work projects. Use synchronous student chats as well as audio/video conferencing. Email and blogs can successfully enable student communication and cooperation.

OVERVIEW of the principle:

• Overview provided by OLN resources.

Info, strategies, and examples

• Use a variety of techniques and reinforce students’ ability to collaborate effectively. Determining how effectively students are developing skills in cooperation and teamwork, providing them helpful formative feedback, and eventually assigning group and individual grades are challenging and important success issues for those teaching courses online.

RESOURCE: Here’s a list of 44 benefits of collaborative learning.

EXAMPLE : Bill Peltz provides screen shots and descriptions of strategies used for student collaboration.

RESOURCE: Here’s a rubric to assess effective student collaboration.

RESOURCE: Kent State University’s “Faculty and Future Faculty Learning Community” developed a great rubric resource. In it are rubrics to assess student participation and interaction, team preparedness, evaluation group work, and how well each member collaborated and participated within the team.

RESOURCE: Expect students to collectively enforce good netiquette.

EXAMPLE: Have students take a pledge to develop their group skills. Several times during the course, have them assess their growth.

RESOURCE: Instructors and students at Ohio State were asked what advice they would give to those who use electronic class discussions. Here’s the advice they gave.

• Establish student learning communities.

EXAMPLE: The Learning Communities Office @ University of Cincinnati explains how learning communities can enrich learning and provides helpful resources.

EXAMPLE : Evergreen College has become a national center of information about student learning communities.

• Utilize blogs to strengthen student communication and cooperation.

RESOURCE: Wikipedia on what is a blog?

RESOURCE: OLN’s BlogMania

Principle 3: Use Active Learning Techniques

The role technology can play: Technology enables online, inquiry-based approaches to learning. Significant ways to enable active learning include having students utilize databases and reference tools; use organizers such as concept maps, and bookmarks; access expertise around the world with email; establish mentor and partner relationships; use case studies; and engage in eService learning.

OVERVIEW of the principle:

• Overview provided by OLN’s resources.

Info, strategies, and examples

• Integrate active learning techniques.

RESOURCE: What is active learning ?

EXAMPLE : Helpful tips for active learning in online classes.

EXAMPLE : Explore the IDDE Database for active learning applications (takes a moment to load).

EXAMPLE : Active learning teaching tips @ Cleveland State University that can be easily adapted to the online environment.

• Use problem-based learning (PBL).
  
  RESOURCE: What is PBL?

EXAMPLE : Problems presented in a variety of disciplines.

EXAMPLE : Two problems (physics and political science) and each faculty member ’s teaching notes, assessment comments, student learning goals, and more.

• Use student e-portfolios and engage students in selecting appropriate artifacts to showcase their learning and performance.

RESOURCE: Learn about the Open Source Portfolio Initiative.

• Utilize graphic organizers and concept mapping.

EXAMPLE : Here’s very good information about graphic organizers.

RESOURCE: A good explanation of concept mapping.

RESOURCE: Download this amazing free concept mapping software and browse through concept maps worldwide.

• Uitlize virtual laboratories!

RESOURCE: Check out the lab simulations created at Canegie Mellon University.

• Involve students in E Service.

RESOURCE: Here’s an EDUCAUSE Good Ideas article about experiential learning (Adobe PDF).

Principle 4: Give Prompt Feedback

The role technology can play : Computer-mediated communication provides considerable avenues for prompt and reflective feedback. Students expect immediate responses to their inquiries. Accuracy about your office hours and turn around time is critical. Provide tools for students to critique their work, even prior to submitting it to you. Post rubrics for assessment, and post previous assignments and tests with scores and explanations.

OVERVIEW of the principle:

• Overview provided by OLN's resources.

Info, strategies, and examples

RESOURCE: AAHE’s 9 Principles of Good Practice for Assessing Student Learning.

• Provide expected turn around time for assignments and assessments.

• Provide student self assessment opportunities.

• IDEA: Post previous, similar test responses and answers 24 hours after giving a test. Then, have students write how well they believe they did.

• Use rubrics and templates so students understand and stretch toward expectations.

EXAMPLE : Rubrics provide an immediate reference point for student self assessment. Here’s a critical thinking rubric.

EXAMPLE : Rubric for assessing how interactive your courses are with ideas for additional ways to provide feedback.

• POST PREVIOUS TESTS and include remarks, suggestions, and grade given.

EXAMPLE : This thorough resource from Assessing Learning in Australian Universities has a short presentation (click to download presentation in the left navigation bar) with 34 strategies for effective online assessments.

Principle 5: Emphasize Time on Task

The role technology can play: Technology provides new opportunities for creating new forms of mediated environments, which provide structure and engage the student. Any way to keep students stimulated to spend the necessary time to learn and reach course goals will help. Activities such as simulations, games, modeling, problem-solving, case studies, self-reflection, critiquing peers’ comments and thoughts engaging for students as they learn.

OVERVIEW of the principle:

• Overview provided by OLN’s resources.
  

Info, strategies, and examples

• Help students understand what it takes to succeed on online courses.

EXAMPLE : Here’s a brief survey to help potential elearners determine if they have time for taking a distance course.

EXAMPLE : Time management resources collected by OLN.

• Interactivity among students can keep students engaged and on task.

IDEA: Check in with students (calling works, too) – if they haven’t logged on, participated, or kept up… set up automatic reminders for yourself.

• Use learning technologies that inspire students to be engaged and remain on task longer.

EXAMPLE : From the Humanities Department @ Miami University.

EXAMPLE : An online biology course with animations from the Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence website @ Carnegie Mellon University.

RESOURCE: Review the Teaching and Learning with Technology (TLT) ideas for this Principle:

IDEA: Create content rich modules that students can take at their preferred time, and at their preferred pace. In this way, some students can better devote the necessary time to master required concepts.

EXAMPLE : Here is a module about ancient Eqypt that can be utilized in many courses, by many people, created by faculty and others at Carnegie Mellon University and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. It is housed at the Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence website @ Carnegie Mellon University.

• Be sure distance students can access necessary resources.

EXAMPLE : The Early Childhood Program @ University of Cincinnati provided easy access to research resources for their distance students (ignore request for a login and password - access if public).

• Provide case study approaches to real situations and distance students may be inspired to delve deeper into your course material.

EXAMPLE: A nursing case from Columbus State Community College.

RESOURCE: How to create science cases and many more resources from the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science.

EXAMPLE: SUNY Buffalo has compiled a wonderful listing of discipline-related case studies.

• Require students to self-assess and reflect on their progress using course portfolios.

EXAMPLE: A students' portfolio from Lorain County Community College.

Principle 6: Communicate High Expectations

The role technology can play : Computer-mediated environments offer instructors a variety of avenues for demonstrating and conveying high expectations. Post your expectations and all information you can about assessments for the course. Post previous assessments. Use rubrics that explain how to achieve at high levels. Have students establish class best practices for online work.

OVERVIEW of the principle:

• Overview provided by OLN’s resources.
  

Info, strategies, and examples

• Write clear, measurable course and learning objectives.

EXAMPLE : Comprehensive info on creating learning objectives.

EXAMPLE : Developing course objectives.

EXAMPLE : Writing learning objectives based on Bloom’s taxonomy.

• Request and utilize feedback from students about your course.

EXAMPLE : Here’s a simple end-of-course student evaluation from Grinnell College.

EXAMPLE : Use the excellent Student Assessment of Learning Gains (SALG).

• Expect your students to comply with copyright laws.

EXAMPLE : Here’s a very good tutorial on copyright issues.

• Use Rubrics to clarify high expectations.

EXAMPLE : This resource from Illinois On Line describes benefits of rubrics, and how to create, use and evaluate whether a rubric is effective.

• Assess your own effectiveness periodically about making improvements.
  
  EXAMPLE: Very thoughtful, excellent resource from the Gallery of Teaching and Learning, funded by the Carnegie Foundation.

• Learn more about Critical Thinking Skills and support students’ practical application of reasoning and other related skills. Here’s a web tutorial to learn more.

Principle 7: Respect Diverse Talents and Ways of Learning

The role technology can play: Technology provides the means for instructors to build multiple pathways to learning within the same course by allowing content and discussion to be provided in multiple ways. Understand your students and attempt to address a variety of preferences. Support your students’ knowledge of their unique learning characteristics and preferences. Use graphics, photos, music, self-paced assignments, font types, sizes, and colors – use concept mapping, variety of presentation software, video/audio learning, accept multiple ways students can demonstrate learning/competence via online presentations.

OVERVIEW of the principle:

• Overview provided by OLN’s resources.
  

Info, strategies, and examples

• Assess student learning and your teaching styles. Share what you learned!

RESOURCE: Here’s a list of resources on learning styles, multiple intelligences and technology created by eduscape.

EXAMPLE: Grasha teaching styles inventory and a nice article about teaching styles).

RESOURCE: Here are several additional inventories.

• Create assignments that meet a variety of learning preferences.
  
  EXAMPLE: Technology enhanced Learning and Research at The Ohio State University met visual, aural, read/write, and kinesthetic learners' needs in teaching about Darwin's life.

• Explore Multiple Intelligences theory and integrate these principles.

RESOURCE: A brief description of the Multiple intelligences.

EXAMPLE: The College of Business @ University of Cincinnati redesigned its curriculum utilizing emotional intelligence principles. Here's an overview of UC's efforts.

RESOURCE: Resources and research from the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations housed @ Rutgers, Case Western Reserve University.

• Understand learner differences and adapt assignments, resources and expectations to support the diversity of learners in your course.

RESOURCE: Here's an excellent and comprehensive diversity in higher ed website.

RESOURCE: Tips for teaching in diverse classrooms from OLN.

RESOURCE: Info on adult learners and implications for technology.

RESOURCE: Executive Summary from an Article, Tech Savvy: Educating Girls in the New Computer Age (American Association of University Women, 2000). Geared toward K12, but a foundation of knowledge for teaching women.

RESOURCE: The Third Shift: Women Learning Online (American Association of University Women, 2001), a report that outlines expectations of women today (family, work, education) and how online learning factors in (summary).

RESOURCE: VIDEOS: Real Connections: Making Distance Learning Accessible to Everyone.

RESOURCE: A distance learning course that consists of 14 electronic mail messages that can be used for gaining information on how to meet the academic accommodation needs of postsecondary students with disabilities.

• Reflect on your teaching.
  
  RESOURCE: Explore your teaching perspectives with this great web resource and then take the Teaching Perspectives Inventory.

EXAMPLE : Test yourself for hidden biases with these resources provided at Tolerance.Org, a web project of the Southern Poverty Law Center.