Insights on Online Course Design, Assessment, Evaluation, and Facilitation from Award-Winning Faculty
Insights on Online Course Design, Assessment, Evaluation, and Facilitation from Award-Winning Faculty
What is this Research About?
As online education grows, faculty and support staff need guidance in designing effective online courses. Even though online education is getting more popular, many teachers still hesitate to embrace it. They worry about whether students will do well in online classes, how they'll be seen as online teachers, the support they'll get with technology, and how they'll manage their workload and class size. Meanwhile, award-winning online teachers can offer valuable insights. This study identified the most effective practices for online course design, assessment, evaluation, and facilitation according to award winning faculty in online teaching.
What did the Researchers Do?
The research project proceeded in three phases: reviewing existing literature to establish a conceptual framework, creating an interview guide based on this framework, and conducting interviews with award-winning online faculty. Eight faculty members participated in online interviews, selected based on recognition from U.S.-based professional associations. The researchers developed a protocol for online interviews with 14 open-ended questions, focusing on course design, assessment, evaluation, and facilitation. Then they qualitatively analyzed the interviews to reveal common trends and individual characteristics in online teaching strategies among participants.
What did the Researchers Find?
Award winning faculty in online teaching use a systematic design process, starting with the course description and objectives, drafting a syllabus, and then developing the online course. They employ “backward design,” creating learning activities based on the intended learning outcomes. Additionally, they take into account learner needs and design learner interaction with each other and the course content (collaborative projects, discussion forums, or peer review activities). Faculty recommend a variety of assessments, including traditional (quizzes and examinations) and authentic (real-world tasks to demonstrate application of knowledge and skills, such as creating digital content and also reflecting through a creative project) methods, and use rubrics for assessing students. They utilize course templates, quality assurance processes, surveys, learning analytics, and peer reviews for assessment and evaluation. Timely response and feedback, availability and presence, and periodic communication are among the facilitation strategies employed. Therefore, a key discovery from this study is that an online instructor must fulfill various roles, including those of a course designer, assessor, and facilitator. Furthermore, award-winning online faculty report spending considerable time and effort thinking about how best to deliver the learning experiences online, demonstrating their high level of "willingness to learn" and "willingness to experiment."
→ How to Implement this Research in Your Classroom
To implement the most effective online course design, assessment, evaluation, and facilitation practices, it is recommended to:
- Start with clearly defined course objectives and then design learning activities aligned with those objectives.
- Take into account the diverse backgrounds, learning styles, and preferences of students: offer multiple formats for accessing course materials (text, video, audio), provide opportunities for collaborative learning, and offer flexible assignment deadlines to accommodate different schedules.
- Design learning activities that promote interaction among students and between students and course content. This could include discussion forums where students can share ideas, collaborative projects where students work together to solve problems, and peer review activities.
- Use a mix of assessment methods to evaluate student learning. For example, in addition to traditional quizzes and exams, incorporate authentic assessments such as case studies, projects, portfolios, or presentations that demonstrate real-world application of knowledge and skills.
- Provide clear grading criteria using rubrics for assessments. This helps students understand expectations and facilitates fair and consistent grading.
- Implement quality assurance processes to ensure course materials and activities are of high quality and meet learning objectives. This could involve peer reviews of course materials, regular updates based on student feedback, and adherence to accessibility standards.
- Provide timely feedback on assignments and assessments to guide student learning. Additionally, maintain regular communication with students through announcements, emails, or virtual office hours to address questions and concerns.
These straightforward approaches are helpful for current and prospective online instructors and ensure the most effective online learning experience for students.
→ Citation
Martin, F., Ritzhaupt, A., Kumar, S., & Budhrani, K. (2019). Award-winning faculty online teaching practices: Course design, assessment and evaluation, and facilitation. The Internet and Higher Education, 42, 34-43, https: doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2019.04.001.
→ Keywords
- Award-Winning Faculty
- Online Teaching
- Course Design
- Online Assessment
- Evaluation and Facilitation Strategies
- Qualitative Research
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Canada License
Snapshot Writer: Olga Burenkova
Snapshot Publication Date: 2024
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