An effective online pedagogy is one that emphasizes student-centered learning and employs active learning activities. La Salle’s online and blended learning instructors are enthusiastic, imaginative educators working at the forefront of online teaching and learning. They work closely with the University’s instructional designers to develop and facilitate courses that exemplify best practices of student-centered design and inquiry-based learning.
Because online courses have fewer opportunities for the spontaneous, real-time exchanges of the face-to-face classroom, online instruction requires a deliberate approach to design and facilitation. You can improve your online course by:
Vary the learning experiences-Assignments should move students from the lower levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning Domains (remember and understand) to higher levels (apply and analyze), and highest levels (evaluate and create).
Have successful discussions-The instructor needs to design the discussion to give students a way to enter the conversation with newly learned knowledge so faculty can assess student comprehension. Consider the following questions when developing an open-ended question:
Provide personal feedback-Students crave interaction with their instructors, particularly personal interaction, such as emails, feedback on an assignment or replies in discussions, acknowledging their performance, and offering faculty expertise.
New mandates for Title IV from the Pennsylvania Department of Education, require proof on student engagement in a Direct Contact Hours chart in your syllabus and in the online course. Please use the latest version of the online-syllabus-template with the chart already in place. And use the Online Instructional Equivalency and Substantive Interaction Grid to assist with designing your course within these expectations. (Requirements include at least two activities with substantive engagement.)
To get started on learning how to design and develop an online course in Canvas, contact the ID Team to enroll in our hands-on, self-paced training course and check out the other pages in this category: