The Online Teaching Survival Guide

Chapter 1: Teaching Online: The Big Picture

• • Preparing to Teach in the Online and Blended Environments
• • Uh-Oh. What Did I Say I Would Do?
• • Is This You?
• • The Definition of a Course
• • How Do Online and Blended Courses Differ from Traditional Courses?
• • Types of Online and Blended Courses
• • The Four Phases of a Course
• • Learning Theories and Theorists
• • Lev Vygotsky (1896–1934): Theory of Social Development
• • John Dewey (1859–1952): Experiential Learning
• • Jean Piaget (1896–1980): Theory of Genetic Epistemology or Origins of Thinking
• • Jerome Bruner (1915–2016): Constructivism
• • John Seely Brown (1940–): Cognitive Apprenticeship
• • Roger Schank (1946–): Schema Theory
• • Albert Bandura (1925–): Social Learning Theory
• • Jean Lave (1939–): Situated Learning Theory
• • K. Anders Ericsson (1946–2020): Expert Performance Theory
• • Ellen Langer (1947–): Theory of Mindful Learning
• • Daniel Goleman (1946–): Theory of Emotional Intelligence
• • Other Theorists and Influencers
• • Summary—and What’s Next
• • Pause, Reflect, and Integrate

Chapter 2: Pedagogical Principles for Effective Teaching and Learning: 10 Core Learning Principles

• • Background of the 10 Core Learning Principles
• • Ten Core Learning Principles
• • Principle 1: Every Structured Learning Experience Has Four Elements, with the Learner at the Center
• • Principle 2: Learners Bring Their Own Personalized and Customized Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes to the Learning Experience
• • Principle 3: Faculty Mentors Are the Directors of the Learning Experience
• • Principle 4: All Learners Do Not Need to Learn All Course Content; All Learners Do Need to Learn the Core Concepts
• • Principle 5: Every Learning Experience Includes the Environment or Context in Which the Learner Interacts
• • Principle 6: Every Learner Has a Zone of Proximal Development That Defines the Space That a Learner Is Ready to Develop into Useful Knowledge
• • Principle 7: Concepts Are NotWords but Organized and Interconnected Knowledge Clusters
• • Principle 8: Different Instruction Is Required for Different Learning Outcomes
• • Principle 9: Everything Else Being Equal, More Time on Task Equals More Learning
• • Principle 10:We Shape Our Tools, and Our Tools Shape Us
• • Summary—and What’s Next
• • Pause, Reflect, and Integrate

Chapter 3: Best Practices for Teaching Online: 10 Plus 4

• • Best Practices for Online and Blended Teaching and Learning
• • Best Practice 1: Be Present at Your Course
• • Best Practice 2: Create a Supportive Online Course Community
• • Best Practice 3: Develop a Set of Explicit Workload and Communication Expectations for Your Learners and for Yourself
• • Best Practice 4: Use a Variety of Large Group, Small Group, and Individual Work Experiences
• • Best Practice 5: Use Synchronous and Asynchronous Activities
• • Best Practice 6: Ask for Informal Feedback Early in the Term
• • Best Practice 7: Prepare Discussion Posts That Invite Responses, Questions, Discussions, and Reflections
• • Best Practice 8: Think Digital and Mobile for All Course Content
• • Best Practice 9: Combine Core Concept Learning with Customized and Personalized Learning
• • Best Practice 10: Plan a Good Closing andWrap Activity for the Course
• • Four More Best Practices for Online and Blended Teaching and Learning
• • Best Practice 11: Assess as You Go by Gathering Evidences of Learning
• • Best Practice 12: Rigorously Connect Content to Core Concepts and Learning Outcomes
• • Best Practice 13: Develop and Use a Content Frame for the Course
• • Best Practice 14: Design Experiences to Help Learners Make Progress on Their Novice-to-Expert Journey
• • Conclusion
• • Summary—and What’s Next
• • Pause, Reflect, and Integrate

Chapter 4: Technology Tools to Support Teaching and Learning

• • Guidelines for Choosing and Using Technology Tools
• • Guideline 1: Pedagogy First, Technology Second
• • Guideline 2: Keep It Simple
• • Guideline 3: Involve Your Learners in Choices and Use of Digital Tools and Resources
• • Guideline 4: Have Choices and Backups for When the Cloud Disappears
• • Guideline 5: Review Your Technology Tool Set Every Two to Three Terms
• • Set One: Basic Technology Tools for Online and Blended Teaching and Learning
• • Communication Tools in Learning Management Systems
• • More Thoughts on the Basic Tools
• • Set Two: Enriched Basic Technology Tools
• • Set Three: Tools for Applying Knowledge in Authentic Contexts
• • Staying in Sync with Tools
• • Pause, Reflect, and Integrate

Chapter 5: Four Phases of a Course: Themes and Happenings

• • Phase 1 Course Beginnings: Starting Off on the Right Foot
• • Course Beginnings: Themes and Best Practices
• • What’s Happening in Course Beginnings
• • Phase 2 Early Middle: Keeping the Ball Rolling
• • Early Middle: Themes and Best Practices
• • What’s Happening in the Early Middle
• • Phase 3 Late Middle: Letting Go of the Power
• • Late Middle: Themes and Best Practices
• • What’s Happening in the Late Middle
• • Phase 4 Closing Weeks: Pruning, Reflecting, andWrapping Up
• • Closing Weeks: Themes and Best Practices
• • What’s Happening in the Closing Weeks
• • Summary—and What’s Next
• • Pause, Reflect, and Integrate

Chapter 6: Phase 1: Course Beginnings

• • Overview of Tips for Course Beginnings
• • Preparing Your Syllabus and Course Site
• • Launching Your Course
• • Creating Meaningful and Stimulating Discussion Forums
• • Managing Discussion Forums
• • CB Tip 1: Essential Elements of an Online or Blended Course Syllabus and Course Site
• • CB Tip 2: More on the Essential Elements of an Online or Blended Syllabus
• • CB Tip 3: Designing Learning for All
• • CB Tip 4: Creating a Syllabus That Jump-starts Learning
• • CB Tip 5: Using “Bookending” to Add Structure and Meaning
• • CB Tip 6: The Faculty Role in Blended and Online Courses
• • CB Tip 7: Hitting the Ground Running: How Not to Lose the First Week
• • CB Tip 8: Launching Social and Cognitive Presence
• • CB Tip 9: Generating Energy and Purpose with Specific Learning Goals
• • CB Tip 10: Getting to Know Students’ Minds: The Vygotsky Zone of Proximal Development
• • CB Tip 11: Getting into the Swing of a Course: Is There an Ideal Weekly Rhythm?
• • CB Tip 12: The Why and How of Discussion Forums: Their Role in the Online Course
• • CB Tip 13: Four Types of Discussion Forums: Purpose, Structure, and Assessment
• • CB Tip 14: Characteristics and Examples of Good Discussion Questions
• • CB Tip 15: Power Questioning for Meaningful Discussions
• • CB Tip 16: Guided Student Response Posts—A Three-Part Structure
• • CB Tip 17: Discussion Wraps: A Useful Cognitive Pattern or a Collection of Discrete Thoughts?
• • CB Tip 18: Using Discussion Postings to Gather Evidence of Learning
• • CB Tip 19: Feedback in Discussion Posts—How Soon, How Much, andWrapping Up
• • Summary—and What’s Next
• • Pause, Reflect, and Integrate

Chapter 7: Phase 2: Keeping the Ball Rolling in the Early Middle

• • Overview of Tips for the Early Middle
• • Monitoring and Managing Communications
• • Memory, Metacognition, and Learning Guides
• • Building Cognitive Presence
• • Strategies and Tools for Building Community
• • EM Tip 1: Tools for Teaching Presence: Announcements, E-mails, Discussion Forums, and Texting
• • EM Tip 2: Monitoring Student Progress Using Analytics
• • EM Tip 3: Early Feedback—It’s a Two-Way Street
• • EM Tip 4: Tips for Making Grading Time Efficient and Formative
• • EM Tip 5: Dealing with Difficult Students—What Do You Do?
• • Memory, Metacognition, and Learning Skills
• • EM Tip 6: Steps in Memory Making: What Behaviors Make a Difference
• • EM Tip 7: Promoting Metacognitive Skills—Activities for Thinking About Thinking
• • EM Tip 8: Student Guides for Course Reading and Listening Resources
• • Building the Cognitive Presence
• • EM Tip 9: Building Cognitive Presence Using the Practical Inquiry Model
• • Conclusion
• • EM Tip 10: Core Concepts of a Course—Do You Know Yours?
• • EM Tip 11: Assessment Plans for Online and Blended Courses
• • An Assessment Plan That Is Distributed and Continuous
• • EM Tip 12: Three Best Assessment Practices
• • EM Tip 13: Assignments for the Evaluating and Creating Levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy
• • EM Tip 14: Collaborating with Groups of Two or Three—Micro-Teaming
• • EM Tip 15: Projects in Online Courses: Setting Up and Structuring Groups
• • EM Tip 16: Using Synchronous Gathering Apps
• • EM Tip 17: Using Audio and Video to Create Engaging Learning Experiences
• • Summary—and What’s Next
• • Pause, Reflect, and Integrate

Chapter 8: Phase 3: Letting Go of Power in the Late Middle

• • Overview of Tips for the Late Middle
• • Going Deeper: Leveraging the Power of Questions
• • Feedback for Cognitive Growth
• • Assessing Learning as You Go with Projects
• • Community Empowerment and Social Networking
• • LM Tip 1: Questions and Answers: Upside Down and Inside Out
• • LM Tip 2: Three Techniques for Making Your Students’ Knowledge Visible
• • LM Tip 3: Developing Rigor in Questioning: Eight Intellectual Standards
• • LM Tip 4: Moving Beyond Knowledge Integration to Defining Problems and Finding Solutions
• • LM Tip 5: Timely Feedback on Assignments and Using Rubrics
• • LM TIP 6: Substantive Feedback: Doing It Wisely andWell
• • LM Tip 7: Rubrics for Analyzing Critical Thinking
• • LM Tip 8: Customizing and Personalizing Projects
• • LM Tip 9: Managing and Facilitating Group Projects
• • LM Tip 10: Assessing Group Projects
• • LM Tip 11: Four Coaching Practices During Project Time
• • LM Tip 12: Course Middles and Muddles: Souped-Up Conversations to Spark Energy
• • LM Tip 13: Using Social Networking to Build Community
• • LM Tip 14: Experts: A Touch of Spice
• • Summary—and What’s Next
• • Pause, Reflect, and Integrate

Chapter 9: Phase 4: Pruning, Reflecting, andWrapping Up

• • Overview of Tips for the Closing Weeks
• • Meaningful Projects and Presentations
• • Preparing for the Course Wrap
• • CW Tip 1: Using What-If Scenarios: Flexing Our Minds with Possibilities
• • CW Tip 2: Stage 3 of a Learning Community: Stimulating and Comfortable Camaraderie
• • CW Tip 3: Learners as Leaders
• • CW Tip 4: Course Wrapping with Concept Mapping: Capturing Course Content Meaningfully
• • CW Tip 5: Using Case Studies: Making Content Real
• • CW Tip 6: Pausing, Reflecting, and Pruning Strategies
• • CW Tip 7: Gaming Activities for Energy, Learning and Engagement
• • CW Tip 8: Closing Experiences: Wrapping Up a Course with Style
• • CW Tip 9: Debriefing Techniques: What One Change Would Students Recommend?
• • Conclusion—and What’s Next
• • Pause, Reflect, and Integrate

Chapter 10: Teaching Accelerated Intensive Courses

• • Overview of Tips for Intensive Courses (IC)
• • IC Tip 1: Designing Intensive Courses Using Content Framing and Case Studies
• • IC Tip 2: High-Impact Practices for Short Courses: Reflections, Patterns, and Relationships
• • IC Tip 3: Developing Expertise in Intensive Courses: Can It Be Done?
• • Conclusion—and What’s Next
• • Pause, Reflect, and Integrate

Chapter 11: Flexible Learning Models and Experiences

• • Overview of Tips for Flexible Learning Designs (FL)
• • What Are Flexible Learning Designs?
• • FL Tip 1: Incorporating Online Elements Quickly—Five Essentials
• • FL Tip 2: Making Large Online Classes Feel Small
• • FL Tip 3: Structuring the Synchronous Online Class Meeting
• • Conclusion—and What’s Next
• • Pause, Reflect, and Integrate

Chapter 12: What’s Next: Reflecting and Looking Forward

• • Reflecting and Looking Forward Using the Four Course Phases
• • Design and Preparation Phase
• • Reflecting on Phase One, Course Beginnings
• • Reflecting on Phase Two, Early Middle
• • Reflecting on Phase Three, Late Middle
• • Reflecting on Phase Four, Closing Weeks
• • Reflecting and Looking Forward with the Learning Experiences Framework
• • Learner
• • Faculty Mentor
• • Content and Knowledge Resources and Goals
• • Environment and Context
• • Advice from Fellow Online Instructors
• • Advice 1: Just Do Your Best
• • Advice 2: It’s Kind of Fun to Do the Impossible!
• • Advice 3: Be Prepared to Learn a Lot
• • Advice 4: Don’t Underestimate the Value of Connection
• • Advice 5: Let Go of What Used to Be
• • Conclusion: Innovation as a Three-Phase Process