Exploring Best Practices for Online STEM Courses: Active Learning, Interaction & Assessment Design

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine effective design practices for online courses in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields at a large four-year public university in southeastern United States. Our research questions addressed the influence of online design practices on students’ perception of learning and learning satisfaction. An online survey was completed by 537 students from 15 online STEM courses in spring 2016. The survey results indicated that effective online STEM courses integrated active learning activities, interactive engagement strategies, and robust assessments. In particular, assessment design significantly impacted students’ self-perceived learning and learning satisfaction for students of all populations. The findings inform instructors and instructional designers on how to design effective, inclusive, and engaging online STEM curriculum. Online STEM instructors are strongly encouraged to utilize the Universal Design for Learning principles in course design, which benefit all students including students with disabilities.

Emergency Online Learning in Low-Resource Contexts: Student Perceptions of Effective Engagement Strategies

“…Previous research presented several student-teacher interaction strategies that can increase students' engagement. Chen et al showed that providing a clear set of due dates was perceived as very important for students [29]. This finding was confirmed by Martin & Bolliger [21] who showed that, on average, students perceived this student-teacher strategy as effective.…”

“…Several strategies allow students to interact more effectively with the content and lead to better engagement in online classes. For example, practice tests in online classes are correlated with students' learning satisfaction [29]. However, Poon et al [33] suggest that it may not be valid to assume that practice tests would be equally effective in the Global South and in limited computing contexts.…”

Adapting Mixed-Mode Instructional Delivery to Thrive within STEM Curricula

“…Another common challenge that blended learning may improve is building the students' sense of community [28]. The same challenge is amplified in the STEM fields where students have reported that collaborating with peers is a common success strategy [19]. Online discussion forums may be used to foster student-student interaction.…”

“…When information transfer is moved to the online environment, students can engage with the content at their own pace, which then frees up in-class time for more instructor interaction and problem-solving activities. For example, instructor generated videos allow instructors to provide their own explanation of complex topics just as they would have in lecture, but by providing them online students have the added benefit of pausing, rewinding, and replaying the initial delivery [19,20]. Then classroom time may be used more efficiently for clarifying complex concepts and implementing active learning strategies, which are widely supported in STEM education [8,[21][22][23].…”

Supporting high school math and science teachers with universal design for learning implementation

“…With the increased national focus on STEM education at the post-secondary level, high school educators and administrators must seek to provide meaningful professional development on pedagogical best practices that specifically address STEM curricula for all students but specifically those with the largest gaps, meaning those in special education, to ensure that all students have options for success upon graduation (Chen, Bastedo, & Howard, 2018). Further, with the advent of online schools, administrators and professional developers of high school educators must provide STEM teachers with digital tools and resources to support teachers in traditional brick-and-mortar high schools in order for them to prepare students for their future (Graber & McLeod, 2019;McLeod & Shareski, 2018;Richardson, Beck, LaFrance, & McLeod, 2016).…”