Redesign your in‐person course for online: Creating connections and promoting engagement for better learning

Abstract

As colleges and universities closed in mid-March 2020, faculty had to quickly move content that was planned for in-person teaching to an online platform. The remaining class experience followed a model referred to as (emergency) remote learning (Craig, 2020). Understandably, this emergency shift prevented instructors from undertaking the careful design process required for proven high-quality online learning (Branch & Dousay, 2015). As colleges' and universities' efforts to prevent COVID infections limit classroom densities through 2020 and beyond, online learning and hybrid course models are becoming a new normal. Yet, students, families, and faculty should reasonably expect that remote instruction and learning will improve (Maloney & Kim, 2020). While successful online courses require unique tools and strategies that differ in key ways from in-person teaching, many of the topics and recommendations discussed apply broadly to any mode of course delivery (Branch & Dousay, 2015). Among the major challenges to designing a course, especially one that is online, are creating experiences where students feel connected to each other, and creating assignments and activities that engage students and keep them motivated to learn. In this paper, we focus on three major elements that we found promote connection and engagement among students-elements that fundamentally shape the online classroom environment: (a) collaborative learning through peer group work; (b) outreach to the broader scientific community; and (c) high-value, personalized interactions with students. Motivation for learning is built when students are engaged with their peers and the broader scientific community. The presence of a faculty member that communicates effectively, listens to students,

The IAFOR International Conference on Education – Hawaii 2023 Official Conference Proceedings

“…Most of the I/R's AY2020 courses were taught in a flipped-classroom style because of uncertainty regarding students' ability to secure suitable and reliable technology (e.g., webcams, consistent internet access) and distraction-free spaces for course participation (Theodosiou & Corbin, 2020) during this exceptional academic year. Courses were taught via a mixture of synchronous and asynchronous lessons (i.e., via the use of Zoom and on-demand videos, respectively) in a way that allowed for varied content transmission, feedback, and active communication among course participants (Wilson & Stacey, 2004).…”

Predictors of a Positive Online Learning Experience

“…Macario (2019) stated, "Examination of the relationships between course delivery methodologies and students' perceptions of faculty caring behaviors and presence in online courses may contribute to a knowledge gap in this area and potentially lead to the development of strategies for improvements in online education" (p. 111). Instructor presence is one of the most influential behaviors when demonstrating concern for learners (Theodosiou & Corbin, 2020). Stone and Springer (2019) suggest creating an online presence to demonstrate online instructor caring.…”

Taking practical learning in STEM education home: Examples from do‐it‐yourself experiments in plant biology

“…Combining the increased autonomy by allowing students to do the experiments by themselves, with an inquiry‐based experimental design will increase students' academic self‐esteem (Ballen et al., 2017; Zurlifan et al., 2018). However, as with all off‐campus teaching, the lack of in‐person interaction between student and teacher, as well as student‐student collaborations, could have negative effects on the students learning outcome (Faulconer & Gruss, 2018; Theodosiou & Corbin, 2020) and social connections with the group (Creech & Shriner, 2020; Theodosiou & Corbin, 2020).…”