Skip to main content

Set Discussion Expectations

April 9, 2015
Selecting an effective discussion topic is important, but does not guarantee an interactive, fruitful discussion. It is crucial for instructor to set the stage and establish clear expectations for how students should participate in the discussion. Learning Objectives Before designing an online discussion, think about what you want your students to learn from the discussion.…

Press Release Spring 2014

April 9, 2015
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: New Online Teaching Practices Added to Open Repository Orlando, Florida, US – April 4, 2014 – The editors of the Teaching Online Pedagogical Repository (TOPR) are pleased to announce the new entries accepted for publication from the Spring 2014 TOPR Call for Submissions. Entries were received from faculty and designers in multiple…

Use Group Evaluation to Assess Group Work

April 6, 2015
In team-based learning, students work in groups on outcome-based or problem-based assignments. Assessing the work produced by teams, however, presents a significant challenge, and this difficulty is especially prominent in online environments. Developing and implementing a transparent assessment process that both supports and recognizes individual and group learning can generate a powerful combination of interdependency…

Establish a Group Discussion Strategy

April 6, 2015
Description Working in groups can be challenging if groups don’t take the time to outline each member’s strengths and potential contributions and also the guidelines for how the group will act and react to situations as the project develops. This is especially true for large-size classes. Link to example artifact(s) UCF professor Susan Jardaneh clearly…

Manage Discussions in Large Classes

April 6, 2015
Description Holding effective, engaging discussions in large classes can be a challenge. However, they provide an opportunity for online students to engage with each other and the instructor in a way not possible with other kinds of assessments. Here are some ideas to structure this effectively. Instructor Testimony LIT 3313: Science Fiction is taught as…

Course Content

April 6, 2015
Course content refers to the various materials and resources used to facilitate learning in an online or blended course.

Organize Content by Chunking

April 2, 2015
How should you organize your content? Based on cognitive information processing (CIP) research (Mayer, 2001 & 2005), it is recommended to break down information into smaller, more manageable pieces or “chunks.”