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Creating Community

• Student-to-Student Interaction

• Faculty-to-Student Interaction

• Tone

When learners interact with one another, with an instructor, and

with ideas, new information is acquired, interpreted, and made

meaningful. Such interactions form the foundation of a community

of learners. If students feel they are part of a community if

learners, they are more apt to be motivated to seek solutions to

their problems and succeed. The challenge for distance educators

is to develop strategies and techniques for establishing and

maintaining ‘learning communities’ among learners separated by

space and/or time.

-An Emerging Set of Guiding Principles and Practices for the Design and Development of

Distance Education. Available at www.outreach.psu.edu/de/ide

In an environment where instructors do not necessarily meet students face-to-face and

where students may never have an opportunity to meet their peers in a physical

classroom, developing a sense of community can be particularly challenging. At the

same time, a sense of a community–where students are able to work cooperatively

with peers on course material, have the opportunity for positive interaction with the

instructor, and where the learning environment is respectful and motivates students to

do their best–is key to a positive and successful learning experience.

This section provides a number of solutions for creating community in the online

classroom. The Online Fellows are quick to point out, however, that creating

community is a challenge, and classroom dynamics must be monitored throughout

the semester to ensure that students continue to engage thoughtfully in course

content and continue to work together productively.

Teaching and Learning Online • University of Massachusetts 29

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“A sense of group

and community

among electronically

assembled

individuals can be

created by a

combination of

facilitation skills,

team-building

activities, and

conferences for

specific groups and

tasks.”

-“Teaching at an Internet

Distance: the Pedagogy

of Online Teaching and

Learning.”

Student-to-Student Interaction

As the Principles of Good Practice in Undergraduate Education make clear, student

learning in any classroom is enhanced when students have the opportunity to connect

with each other about their academic work. For the online instructor, facilitating

student-to-student interaction is made particularly challenging because students do

not naturally have a chance to get to know each other before class or in face-to-face

conversations. Therefore, it is important to structure opportunities where students

“have” to interact with each other. It is also important, however, that the instructor

develop methods for monitoring the success of these interactions. The Online Fellows

offer the following recommendations:

• Limit the size of discussion groups

Rather than having an entire class talk in one large group, break the class into

smaller discussion groups of four or five students. That way, students can get to

know each other in a more intimate way.

• Allow students to post student-to-student communication (as well as

student-to-teacher) to get answers to questions

Encourage students to discuss among themselves. Do not respond to every

comment—interject and guide the discussion. Encourage students to introduce

themselves to the group at the beginning of the semester.

• Pair each student with a “buddy” in the course

The buddy system gives students a source of support in the online classroom.

Some instructors match students with varying technological experience. Other

instructors prefer to match students who possess similar technological skills. Pair

students according to the goals of your course or the assignment.

• Encourage peer response

Post student papers online and ask each student to select a partner to critique

each other’s work. Be sure that students know their paper will be posted.

• Structure opportunities for personal interaction

Incorporate opportunities for students to tell you something about themselves in a

"student lounge” or meeting place. A “student lounge” can also be a place where

students can share with each other, meet each other virtually, and learn more

about each other without your presence. See the “Student Conference Center” at

the end of this chapter for an example of how to set up such a location on your

course website.

30 Teaching and Learning Online • University of Massachusetts

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Faculty-to-Student Interaction

The Principles of Good Practice highlight the importance of faculty-student interaction

in promoting learning. The online environment is not necessarily conducive to this goal,

because neither the instructor nor the student can rely on regular face-to-face

interactions to reinforce one’s willingness to be helpful and approachable. Experienced

online instructors, however, have identified the following ways to help enhance faculty-

student interactions:

• In your written communication, present yourself as accessible to students

Students in an online course must feel that you are approachable. Often the

demands on teachers are greater in online courses, so it is important to explore

the variety of ways you can send a message of availability. One way to bridge the

distance between faculty and student is to address students by name. Praise

student-initiated contact.

� Tip: To make yourself seem approachable to students, try using a more

informal tone. For example, “Today, as you all are well aware, our class

officially begins. Please begin working on the assignments for July 15-21.

You have a couple of assignments due tonight (and kudos to those of you

who have already posted!)”

• Schedule an in-person meeting of the entire class

If possible, meet with students in person for one session at the beginning of the

semester. Meeting in person helps students associate names with faces and can

be an effective, timely way to accomplish many of the administrative tasks central

to your course.

• Generate frequent communication

Students need to have a sense the instructor is really “there,” not “missing in

action.” This means responding in a timely manner to individual questions or

issues that are raised in discussion groups. It also means making your presence

known by participating in online discussions, giving students regular feedback on

their work and their comments, and being flexible enough to make changes to the

course mid-stream based on student feedback.

• Assign discussion group leaders or project team leaders to facilitate group

work

Assigning team leaders is one way to ensure that students receive ample

feedback. Make sure that the team leader disseminates information to every

member of the team. Part of the responsibility of the team leader should be to

report to you frequently on the progress of the team.

Teaching and Learning Online • University of Massachusetts 31

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Tone

Remember that in the virtual classroom, neither the instructor nor the student has the

visual cues of face-to-face communication. This also means students have fewer

methods for determining whether their efforts are comparable to those of their peers

and for assessing how they are doing in the class. Students will use the cues that are

available (virtually all of them in writing) to help them understand the classroom

climate. Therefore, how the instructor shapes the course climate through written

comments and the tone of communications to students is particularly important.

• "Humanize" the course

“Word selection is

Remember that although you are teaching online, you are still teaching real

quite important.

people, so it helps if you and students can put names with faces. Develop a

There’s a big

portion of the course website to post pictures and brief bios of students.

difference between

‘ok’ and ‘GOOD

• Avoid general broadcast questions

JOB!’”

An online course is not a collective but many individuals all reading messages

separately. So, a broadcast message like “Are you doing the reading?” is hard for

-Jenna, student in

a student sitting at his/her own computer to interpret.

UMass online course

• Consider the tone of your own responses to students

Attitude comes through in writing. Are you sounding impatient? Supportive? Praise

and model appropriate tone.

• Use private email for sensitive communications

Use threaded discussions for group conversations. Use private emails to comment

on individual student contributions and criticism.

32 Teaching and Learning Online • University of Massachusetts

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Example:

Student Conference

Center

Purpose: Since interaction in the online environment is not as easily

guaranteed as would likely be the case in a face-to-face environment, a

virtual conference center provides a space for students to meet in a group

setting.

How to:

conference center:

In the conference center, students post comments and findings after

completing activities related to the course content. Just as a conference

center has different rooms, segmented areas are created for students to

post messages related to the different topics of the course.

Results: At the end of the course, feedback from students consistently

suggests three positive outcomes of this forum:

• The conference room reduces student isolation.

• The conference room helps students keep on task. The structure,

and the expectation of posting dialogue decrease student

procrastination.

• Student learning is enhanced through the interaction between

students and students as well as students and instructor. Moreover,

the written record of the dialogue becomes a treasure chest of

content and examples for future iterations of the course.

Students click on a icon, such as the following, to enter the

Teaching and Learning Online • University of Massachusetts 33

Teaching Tip:

Controversial Topics

Controversial topics

encourage greater

student participation in

online discussions. One

Online Fellow, a

psychology professor,

uses the following

controversial question:

“Should a person who is

diagnosed with manic

depression but who is

successfully medicated

and symptom-less be

allowed to be President

of the United States?”

Pedagogical Focus: Facilitating Discussions

One of the ways many instructors work to engage students in their learning and

develop a sense of community is to encourage student discussion online. While

discussions can be a useful tool, they need careful thought and organization. Among

the things you need to consider when facilitating online discussions is how to do the

following:

• Motivate students to participate

• Encourage substantive and relevant responses

• Determine the role of the instructor in guiding, moderating, and evaluating the

quality of student participation.

Structure discussions so that they are meaningful to students

Discussions in which students are simply asked to repeat course material do not

engage student response. Consequently, students come to see repetitive discussions

as unimportant to the learning experience. Engaging topics for online discussions

include:

• Reacting to a controversial reading

• Feedback from an exercise performed at home

• A debate

• A case study

Make discussion participation “count” in grading policies

By assigning a portion of the final class grade for “discussion,” you can provide

students an incentive to actively participate in online discussions.

Use controversial topics to facilitate discussion

Controversial topics encourage greater student participation. The controversial topic

elicits divergent opinions and promotes critical thinking.

Divide students into discussion groups and change the discussion groups

during the semester

By dividing students into small discussion groups, the class will feel more intimate.

Students do not need to read all postings in order to participate effectively in online

discussions. By changing the composition of the groups over the semester, students

will get to know many members of the class overtime, get varied perspectives, and

learn how to navigate varied online conversation styles.

Make opportunities for interaction exciting

Invite guests (experts and other professionals) to participate in threaded discussions

or chat-rooms. Adding new insights will stimulate more discussion.

Ask students to facilitate online discussions

If a student asks a question, ask other students to respond. By assigning students as

discussion facilitators, more students will be involved in the discussion.

34 Teaching and Learning Online • University of Massachusetts

Teaching and Learning Online • University of Massachusetts 35

Assessing Student Learning

Contents:

• What is Assessment?

• Evaluating Student Performance for Grading Purposes

• Assessing Whether the Course is “Working”

What is Assessment?

The word “assessment” has taken on a variety of meanings within higher education.

The term can refer to:

• standardized measures imposed on institutions as part of increased pressure

for external accountability,

• the process faculty use to grade students’ course assignments, or

• activities designed to collect information on the success of a course, a

program, or a university curriculum.

The suggestions in this chapter focus on the latter two components of assessment:

1. Testing/evaluating student performance and providing feedback to students for

grading purposes

2. Assessing whether the course itself is “working” for student learning:

what is going well, what isn’t, and how do you know?

Assessment?

What is

This second definition of assessment – determining what’s “working” in the classroom

– is particularly important in the early stages of innovative course design (like online

courses) because assessment makes it possible to:

• Make informed improvements to current practices

• Document success to share with funding agencies, department chairs, etc.

At its best, assessment should be valuable to the teaching/learning process and not

another add-on or “make work” of little use to instructors. In fact, assessment activities

can be helpful in promoting all of the Principles of Good Practice (as you look through

the recommendations in this section, note how many of them directly address the

principles discussed in Chapter 2).

Assessment is the

systematic collection

and analysis of

information to improve

student learning.

36 Teaching and Learning Online • University of Massachusetts

"I have learned that

providing a range of

assessment

opportunities beyond

traditional tests

permits students to

feel that their

strengths are being

assessed."

-Robert Feldman,

Professor of Psychology

Teaching Tip:

Immediate

Feedback

In online

discussions, you

can offer immediate

feedback. A simple

“good job, Scott” or

“I haven’t heard from

you recently, Scott”

is helpful for

students.

Evaluating Student Performance for Grading

Purposes

In assessing online learning, it is important to create a “mix” of assignments that cover

the multiple dimensions of learning that online courses can employ. Traditional tests

become a smaller part of the grade as you move towards encouraging student

interaction on group projects and other activities.

Different forms of assessment include:

• End of semester paper

• Weekly tests

• Group projects

• Case study analysis

• Journals

• Reading responses

• Chatroom responses

• Threaded discussions participation

Communicate expectations

As was suggested in the previous chapter, students in online courses are in particular

need of clear information about course requirements and instructor expectations.

Therefore, develop specific grading guidelines for course assignments and activities

ahead of time so students know in advance what is expected of them. For example,

articulate what are appropriate responses to questions in online discussions, what is a

substantive answer versus a superficial response, etc. Providing students with specific

examples of the kinds of work you are looking for is also helpful.

Keep track of student performance

The gradebook option in online software packages makes it possible to store all

information about students’ performance in one place. Many also make it possible for

students to look up their own progress on assignments.

Give prompt feedback

• At the start of the semester, clarify the type of feedback you will be giving

(regarding discussion participation, writing assignments, group work, etc.) so

students have a clearer sense of what to expect from you.

• Students want feedback on assignments, but it is often difficult to provide much

feedback when you use a number of varied assignments throughout the semester.

One instructor uses a

�

- system to provide a quick response to students.

• A number of gradebook features have a comment section where the instructor can

give specific feedback to a student on an assignment that can only be seen by the

instructor and that student.

Teaching and Learning Online • University of Massachusetts 37

Teaching Tip:

Collaborative

Assessment

The online classroom

provides a great

opportunity for

students to complete

research projects and

even tests

collaboratively.

Collaborative

assessment reduces

isolation in online

courses.

the sense of

Design effective tests

• Be clear from the start about what is allowed and what is not permitted when

students take a test online (e.g., is the test “open book,” are there time limits on

how long they can take to complete the test, etc.).

• Because it is difficult to ensure that students taking an online exam are not using

their books, some faculty encourage open book exams but place a time limit on

how long students have to complete the test. These instructors believe that if a

student knows where to go in the text book to get the information they need in a

timely fashion then that student has clearly done the reading, and the issue of

memorizing the information is less important. Some online course software allows

you to limit the time that students may view test questions and post test answers.

• Unlike many traditional classes where students never see their completed exams

after they hand them in, students in online courses can usually go back and look

at the exam questions at a later date. While this can be a useful learning tool for

students, it can lead to additional questions from students about exam content or

the wording of a question.

Encourage active learning

• Help students become more reflective learners by asking them to set their goals

for the course at the beginning of the semester. At the end of the course, ask

them to return to their goals to reflect upon what they’ve accomplished.

• The majority of students focus their academic effort on those elements of the

course that will affect their grade in the course. Be sure that your grading policies

reinforce the activities and assignments you value and that you take advantage of

learning activities that are particularly suited for an online course. For example, if

you want students to meaningfully participate in online discussions, be sure to

include participation as part of the grading scheme.

Evaluate participation in threaded discussions

• Require students to participate in specific numbers of threaded discussions.

• Have interactive learning activities (e.g., threaded discussion) account for a high

percentage of the course grade.

• Identify the qualities you look for in discussions and grade students according to

those criteria (See sample rubric on next page).

38 Teaching and Learning Online • University of Massachusetts

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