Faculty Focus

JANUARY 9, 2024

Reflecting on our approach to course design—particularly with attention to how we build community and cultivate belonging—couldn’t come at a more crucial time. Intentional course design, it turns out, emphasizes many of the very same things that support student well-being (Slavin, Schindler, & Chibnall, 2014).

Course Design 111

Course Design Feedback Instructors Students 111

eSchool News

APRIL 23, 2020

Most teachers don’t have prior experience or professional development in teaching online courses effectively. Related post: Leading eLearning and a Future Ready library opportunity. Online education is fairly synonymous with asynchronous learning.

eLearning 274

eLearning Quizzes Textbooks Fairness 274

Faculty Focus

OCTOBER 29, 2024

The Assignment: Exploring Leadership Through Superheroes In this assignment, students are asked to compare five leadership styles—autocratic, democratic, laissez-faire (sometimes called free-rein style), transactional, and transformational—with the leadership qualities of at least three superheroes.

Assignments 114

Assignments Teaching Ethics Textbooks 114

Faculty Focus

MARCH 18, 2025

While many of our conversations have focused on what generative AI means for student assignments and learning outcomes, there’s another question faculty are askingoften individually and quietly: How can we leverage AI in our own academic and administrative work? Then, share the assignment prompt. And more importantly, should we?

Assignments 79

Assignments Testing Course Design Writing 79

Faculty Focus

DECEMBER 8, 2024

Instructors are encouraged to take small steps to start building HIPs in their curriculums, and there are some HIPs which are easy to incorporate into an existing course. One of the most accessible practices on this list might be collaborative assignments and projects. Emphasize the importance of each component or stage.

Assignments 106

Assignments Instructors Critical Thinking Activities 106

eSchool News

MARCH 9, 2023

To build a strong, meaningful grading policy, instructors must choose the approach that best fits the course design and student learning outcomes. A teacher’s fallback practice may be to grade on a curve; however, curved grading is philosophically flawed in most course level applications.

Grades 267

Grades Teachers Instructors Exams 267

Faculty Focus

OCTOBER 29, 2024

The Assignment: Exploring Leadership Through Superheroes In this assignment, students are asked to compare five leadership styles—autocratic, democratic, laissez-faire (sometimes called free-rein style), transactional, and transformational—with the leadership qualities of at least three superheroes.

Assignments 97

Assignments Teaching Ethics Textbooks 97

Edsurge

APRIL 26, 2018

On Tuesday, April 24 the #DLNchat community got together to discuss and debate: How Can Alternative Assignments Effectively Assess Student Learning? Where there’s an alternative there must be a standard, so we started our chat creating a list of what those standard assignment are: exams, quizzes, essays, reports, lab manuals and the like.

Assignments 97

Assignments Exams Instructors Learning 97

Faculty Focus

MARCH 18, 2025

While many of our conversations have focused on what generative AI means for student assignments and learning outcomes, there’s another question faculty are askingoften individually and quietly: How can we leverage AI in our own academic and administrative work? Then, share the assignment prompt. And more importantly, should we?

Assignments 64

Assignments Testing Course Design Writing 64

Faculty Focus

DECEMBER 8, 2024

Instructors are encouraged to take small steps to start building HIPs in their curriculums, and there are some HIPs which are easy to incorporate into an existing course. One of the most accessible practices on this list might be collaborative assignments and projects. Emphasize the importance of each component or stage.

Assignments 87

Assignments Instructors Critical Thinking Activities 87

Edsurge

APRIL 8, 2020

For instance, instructors can ask students to post a one-sentence summary or brief reflection after going through an assigned reading or watching a short video lecture. Experts in online teaching have been debating and researching the question of synchronous versus asynchronous for decades.

Teaching 218

Teaching Instructors Distance Learning Lecturing 218

Faculty Focus

JUNE 2, 2024

Most of our grade was supposed to come from a single class project, but no assignment instructions were ever posted. But what about this assignment that was worth so much of our grade? When students know the purpose of the work they’re being asked to do, they have greater buy-in than if they see the assignment as mere “busy work.”

Syllabus 131

Syllabus Course Design Learning Students 131

Edsurge

NOVEMBER 22, 2017

But Chatterjee, an international student from India, did not feel confident about the assignment, and thought it was Western-centric and focused on physical powers associated with attractive males. Based on that feedback, the professor, Julia Parra, says she changed the assignment to make it broader, and more inclusive.

Culture 152

Culture Teaching Syllabus English 152

Edsurge

MARCH 7, 2024

That’s an approach that’s grown over the past decade or so where colleges try to harness the digital breadcrumbs left by students as they move through digital platforms and online course materials to find patterns that can improve course design and even personalize material for individual students. “AI

Intelligence 212

Intelligence Syllabus Feedback Assignments 212

Edsurge

MAY 6, 2020

When it comes to learning, engagement is influenced by a learner's level of motivation, focus and cognitive ability as well as online course design and a teacher's decisions regarding facilitation style. Group assignments: Learners can create collaborative group projects through a shared Google doc or Google site.

Motivation 218

Motivation Education Learning Feedback 218

Edsurge

NOVEMBER 20, 2018

Students cheating on assignments is hardly a new or surprising problem. In research and surveys conducted by Dr. Donald McCabe and the International Center for Academic Integrity over the span of 12 years, 68 percent of undergraduates who responded admitted to cheating on tests or written assignments.

Academic Integrity 148

Academic Integrity Exams Assignments Instructors 148

Faculty Focus

MAY 7, 2024

With a commitment to ensuring educational excellence and student success, in 2020, UF CJC Online developed a comprehensive course design strategy to elevate its online courses, a mission mandated by the State University System of Florida’s 2025 Strategic Plan for Online Education.

Feedback 120

Feedback Course Design Instructors Education 120

Faculty Focus

NOVEMBER 27, 2022

2011) into all parts of our courses (see Saucier et al., 2022 for a discussion of the empathetic course design perspective). This ranges from our syllabi to our course structures and policies, to our assignments and assessments. This empathetic course design perspective is important to us. Miller, S.

Course Design 142

Course Design Assignments Teaching Philosophy Instructors 142

Ask a Tech Teacher

FEBRUARY 7, 2022

All classes follow an easy-to-use course design: establish goals–what students will learn by the end of the class. You can watch the video, rewatch, submit assignments and assessments when you’re ready. Your dashboard tells you how much time you’ve spent and how much remains before you must complete the course.

Teaching 179

Teaching Education Learning Assignments 179

eSchool News

JULY 19, 2016

Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education has launched a short online course designed specifically to help educators create rich and meaningful opportunities for communication within the classroom. The course, Effective Conversation in the Classroom, launches this August with three online sessions.

Critical Thinking 146

Critical Thinking Education Communication Lecturing 146

Ask a Tech Teacher

JULY 12, 2021

One, all assignments were created so that students could have access 24/7. I made sure that there were only two assignments a week with the final assignment being a type of assessment. Integrated in the instructions were screen recorded examples of what I wanted students to achieve in the form of the assignment.

Distance Learning 167

Distance Learning Assignments Feedback Course Design 167

Faculty Focus

APRIL 18, 2023

All sections of bi-modal courses receive a copy over of the asynchronous LMS master course. The faculty team could be consulted as to what materials should be placed in the master course. Every educator has the same course design and materials. Flexible (UDL) assignment design.

Exams 111

Exams Course Design Assignments Learning 111

eSchool News

JULY 20, 2016

Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education has launched a short online course designed specifically to help educators create rich and meaningful opportunities for communication within the classroom. The course, Effective Conversation in the Classroom, launches in August with three online sessions.

Teaching 186

Teaching Exams Learning Disabilities 186

Faculty Focus

MAY 7, 2024

With a commitment to ensuring educational excellence and student success, in 2020, UF CJC Online developed a comprehensive course design strategy to elevate its online courses, a mission mandated by the State University System of Florida’s 2025 Strategic Plan for Online Education.

Feedback 110

Feedback Course Design Instructors Education 110

Faculty Focus

JUNE 2, 2024

Most of our grade was supposed to come from a single class project, but no assignment instructions were ever posted. But what about this assignment that was worth so much of our grade? When students know the purpose of the work they’re being asked to do, they have greater buy-in than if they see the assignment as mere “busy work.”

Syllabus 108

Syllabus Course Design Learning Students 108

Edsurge

OCTOBER 14, 2022

Not surprisingly, courses that are online or blended use the LMS more heavily than those that are fully face-to-face. In addition, courses that have few graded assignments have little data on which to base a prediction until weeks into the semester, making early intervention difficult.”

Students 178

Students Course Design Study Coaching 178

Edsurge

SEPTEMBER 26, 2019

I spent the next four years in my assigned seat among the rows of desks, trying to listen to the teacher at the front of the room, completing homework assignments from textbooks, and preparing for tests by making countless flashcards. Twenty years ago, I was a freshman in high school.

Students 164

Students Attention Textbooks Assignments 164

Faculty Focus

OCTOBER 13, 2024

In a recent survey, undergraduate students reported several concerns around Canvas use, including: Too much variability and lack of consistency across instructors and courses – all faculty use it differently which leads to challenges in finding information, resources, assignments, etc. So how do we begin to address these concerns?

Syllabus 122

Syllabus Instructors Assignments Faculty Development 122

Edsurge

NOVEMBER 5, 2018

University of Michigan marketing professor John Branch rebuilds the learning experience by taking a precision engineering approach to course design. Source: Course Hero. He engineers every aspect of his courses, down to which students he’ll shoot the breeze with before class. Why did it fail?

Quizzes 167

Quizzes Failure Culture Students 167

Faculty Focus

APRIL 18, 2023

All sections of bi-modal courses receive a copy over of the asynchronous LMS master course. The faculty team could be consulted as to what materials should be placed in the master course. Every educator has the same course design and materials. Flexible (UDL) assignment design.

Exams 98

Exams Course Design Assignments Learning 98

Edsurge

JANUARY 2, 2019

In addition to using technology in my own biology courses, I also work with faculty across the country on how to teach with technology through an inclusive lens. Student reflection assignments have been shown to produce cathartic effects on academic performance and even health. Provide opportunities for students to reflect.

Technology 167

Technology Teaching Intellectual Development Instructors 167

Faculty Focus

JANUARY 9, 2025

When our students overcome obstacles in their learning due to our support and encouragement, or experience transformations from our well-constructed course design and subsequent instruction, we succeed in cultivating spaces where their success is made possible. Student success is teacher success.

Students 122

Students Motivation Feedback Communication 122

Faculty Focus

NOVEMBER 1, 2022

My rationale here is to not make it a mandatory assignment, but an extra credit opportunity to know more about their current learning experiences. I specify how I plan to respond once I collect their feedback; for example, adding more clarifications on assignments or identifying themes and concerns.

Student Engagement 131

Student Engagement Lecturing Students Feedback 131

Edsurge

FEBRUARY 12, 2019

You enter and on the board is your first assignment: create something—a drawing, a model of a house, a sketch of a new product, a sculpture. And tells you your next assignment is to pick up the pieces (including yourself) and make something new. You’re not taking English or history or pre-calculus; the sign on the door says “Obstacles.”

Education 167

Education Schools Art History 167

Faculty Focus

JANUARY 9, 2025

When our students overcome obstacles in their learning due to our support and encouragement, or experience transformations from our well-constructed course design and subsequent instruction, we succeed in cultivating spaces where their success is made possible. Student success is teacher success.

Students 111

Students Motivation Feedback Communication 111

Faculty Focus

JANUARY 21, 2024

Flexible policies such as dropping the lowest quiz/assignment score and offering one free pass for a “no-questions-asked” due-date extension can reduce anxiety and logistical rigor. This type of intellectual rigor is desirable in course design. Lastly, we map the various due dates onto a calendar.

Syllabus 132

Syllabus Exams Students Motivation 132

Faculty Focus

OCTOBER 13, 2024

In a recent survey, undergraduate students reported several concerns around Canvas use, including: Too much variability and lack of consistency across instructors and courses – all faculty use it differently which leads to challenges in finding information, resources, assignments, etc. So how do we begin to address these concerns?

Syllabus 105

Syllabus Instructors Assignments Faculty Development 105