Faculty Focus

FEBRUARY 27, 2025

Importantly, building classes that contain these elements for both students and instructors can lead to benefits for all. Below, I outline details about the five components and ideas for both students and instructors. In a class, an example might be only having students submit a discussion board post for every assignment.

Course Design 87

Course Design Teaching Instructors Motivation 87

eSchool News

MARCH 9, 2023

Are students allowed to retake tests on which they did not do well? It is essential that teachers have a clear and supportive grading system in place to address the scrutiny of today’s students, parents, and other stakeholders. Instructors who choose a normative approach will grade based upon relative performance.

Grades 269

Grades Teachers Instructors Exams 269

eSchool News

JUNE 11, 2015

Are any of us better than Google as an instructor? The point is, of course, that you probably can Google every single concept you currently teach and your students know this well. An added challenge is to grapple with the informal course designs that are popping up all over the net. area similar questions.

Teaching 279

Teaching Course Design Internet Instructors 279

eSchool News

DECEMBER 16, 2015

According to a new report, incorporating Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in online courses not only benefits students with disabilities, but can have significant benefits for all students, ultimately increasing retention and improving learning outcomes. Knowing Where to Start. Next page: The 10-Step Guide.

Accessibility 189

Accessibility Disabilities Universal Design Instructors 189

eSchool News

APRIL 23, 2020

To keep students engaged in STEM learning during school closures, Vernier Software & Technology is offering a robust collection of free remote learning solutions for teachers and students. Students can perform their own analysis of the sample data and answer questions based on their results.

STEM 213

STEM Laboratory Teachers Mobile Devices 213

Edsurge

APRIL 8, 2020

for all of her students. She’s in Tennessee—where she is an assistant professor at Vanderbilt University—but some of the students she’s teaching are now taking the class from California, where it’s only 8 a.m. And a couple of students are back home in China, where it’s midnight. When Elizabeth Self starts teaching her 11 a.m.

Teaching 218

Teaching Instructors Distance Learning Lecturing 218

Faculty Focus

MAY 15, 2025

This article includes a free, open-access resource for educators: What Your Students Arent Telling You: Listening, Learning, and Leading with Empathy. The book, co-authored with students, offers actionable strategies and insights to help create more inclusive and humane learning environments.

Disabilities 53

Disabilities Course Design Lecturing Students 53

Faculty Focus

OCTOBER 6, 2024

As we prepared for the start of fall semester 2024, there was buzz around our campus about administration raising the caps in our condensed 8-week online courses to match the high enrollment caps for our 16 week in person courses. As an educator and instructional designer, I find this problematic.

Instructors 116

Instructors Course Design Students Authentic Assessment 116

Edsurge

MAY 16, 2024

She’s also director of the Center for Teaching Excellence there, which provides faculty with support for instruction, edtech, course design, classroom management and grading. EdSurge: Why is student disengagement or absenteeism something that you’re thinking about? So that stuff is really important.

Students 203

Students Instructors Lecturing Participation 203

Edsurge

MAY 29, 2020

A new “playbook” aims to strike the middle ground between offering higher ed instructors and institutions too much information about teaching remotely and offering too little. Here are summaries of the four essential elements of successful online courses, according to the playbook. We know, EdSurge has published plenty of it.)

Course Evaluations 196

Course Evaluations Instructors Evaluation Universal Design 196

Faculty Focus

OCTOBER 27, 2024

Connecting with students is a step towards increasing engagement in the classroom—whether face-to-face or online. Connecting with students shifts the obligation from the instructor working singularly to create an inclusive environment to one where the class works collectively to build the community.

Instructors 115

Instructors Students Minute Papers Course Design 115

Faculty Focus

JUNE 2, 2024

My first and only fully online class taken as an undergraduate student was a complete disaster. The class was a required course in my field that I would go on to be responsible for teaching as a graduate student and, later, as a professor. Kind of wild that I never actually received instruction in the course, myself.)

Syllabus 131

Syllabus Course Design Learning Students 131

Edsurge

JANUARY 4, 2019

There’s a lot that goes into innovation efforts on campus—think curriculum design, technology training for instructors, and bureaucracy. But too often, a critical element is left out of the process: student voice. You can find the full report here , and a snapshot of highlights below.

Fairness 164

Fairness Education Students Disabilities 164

Edsurge

NOVEMBER 1, 2023

Leveraging AI in the classroom can enhance teaching while preparing students for a future where AI is integral to the workforce. ISTE U serves as a digital hub offering top-tier professional learning courses designed to assist educators in developing fundamental skills for teaching and learning in a digital world.

Teachers 207

Teachers Intelligence Essay Social Studies 207

Edsurge

OCTOBER 19, 2023

Stuart Blythe teaches writing courses at Michigan State University that are officially listed as in-person only. But he makes it clear to students that they are welcome to join any class session remotely via Zoom if they can’t make it in on any given day. Students discovered the flexibility,” he says, “and now they're demanding it.”

Teaching 208

Teaching Instructors Lecturing Blended Courses 208

Faculty Focus

OCTOBER 27, 2024

Connecting with students is a step towards increasing engagement in the classroom—whether face-to-face or online. Connecting with students shifts the obligation from the instructor working singularly to create an inclusive environment to one where the class works collectively to build the community.

Instructors 105

Instructors Students Minute Papers Course Design 105

Faculty Focus

OCTOBER 6, 2024

As we prepared for the start of fall semester 2024, there was buzz around our campus about administration raising the caps in our condensed 8-week online courses to match the high enrollment caps for our 16 week in person courses. As an educator and instructional designer, I find this problematic.

Instructors 98

Instructors Course Design Students Authentic Assessment 98

Edsurge

MARCH 19, 2020

So she whipped up a few online forms, messaged colleagues on Twitter and together they created the Instructional Design Emergency Response Network. It’s a simple system that matches instructors who need help teaching online with instructional designers willing to assist. PhD students in instructional technology.

Teaching 194

Teaching Instructors Course Design Language 194

Edsurge

JANUARY 2, 2019

Every new version of Microsoft PowerPoint allowed instructors to embed more and more media and wow students with visually appealing graphics. These advancements are worth celebrating, but it leaves me wondering: Why should students still show up to a physical classroom?

Technology 167

Technology Teaching Intellectual Development Instructors 167

Faculty Focus

OCTOBER 13, 2024

Instead of thinking about the LMS as simply a repository for course essentials (syllabus, contact information, etc.), consider how it might be used as a tool for enhancing student learning and engagement. Students now expect the use of this tool by their professors for more than simply providing lecture slides or links to readings.

Syllabus 122

Syllabus Instructors Assignments Faculty Development 122

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 119

Feedback Course Design Instructors Education 119

Edsurge

NOVEMBER 21, 2018

What do you think is important for an instructor to do when using classroom response systems (polling software or clickers)? A) Choose questions that most students will be able to answer correctly. C) Ask students “Please discuss your answer with a neighbor.” D) Stress that students answer questions independent of their peers.

Instructors 140

Instructors Multiple Choice Questions Course Design Discussions 140

Faculty Focus

JUNE 2, 2024

My first and only fully online class taken as an undergraduate student was a complete disaster. The class was a required course in my field that I would go on to be responsible for teaching as a graduate student and, later, as a professor. Kind of wild that I never actually received instruction in the course, myself.)

Syllabus 106

Syllabus Course Design Learning Students 106

Faculty Focus

JULY 4, 2023

Classic online course standards emphasize the value of three types of interactions: student-instructor interaction, student-content interaction, and student-student interaction. Of course, student contempt for a pedagogical tool shouldn’t ground its dismissal.

Exams 116

Exams Students Instructors Evaluation 116

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 109

Feedback Course Design Instructors Education 109

Edsurge

DECEMBER 27, 2021

In the wake of this decision, the University of Florida also made explicit its new goal of high-quality pedagogy and individual advising to produce a better student experience. In-house course design and fiscal responsibility alone, though, will not be enough to create really robust online programs.

Online Learning 194

Online Learning Faculty Development Learning Instructors 194

Edsurge

SEPTEMBER 11, 2018

But it’s increasingly unclear if online learning is living up to its promise for students, even as digital learning makes its way into more institutions’ offerings. The quality of online courses still varies drastically, and research shows there are major racial disparities in digital-learning outcomes.

Instructors 130

Instructors Distance Learning Students Online Learning 130

Faculty Focus

NOVEMBER 1, 2022

Around the semester midpoint you may be noticing that some of your students are becoming overwhelmed, may lack motivation, or feel disconnected from the class. Below, let me share instructional strategies that I use in my courses (virtual, asynchronous, and in-person) to recover student engagement. Sound familiar?

Student Engagement 131

Student Engagement Lecturing Students Feedback 131

Faculty Focus

APRIL 15, 2025

With the growing demand for contemporary online education, it is crucial to analyze instructional design – a systematic process that applies psychological principles of human learning to develop effective instructional solutions. Therefore, it is evident that online learning presents a unique set of challenges.

Student Engagement 102

Student Engagement Instructors Lecturing Students 102

Faculty Focus

JANUARY 21, 2024

After four decades of such reflection, I am keenly aware that understanding effective teaching strategies, the students I serve, and how learning works requires my constant attention. When it comes to increasing rates of student achievement, satisfaction, and graduation, what really makes the difference? This is critical work.

Syllabus 132

Syllabus Exams Students Motivation 132

Faculty Focus

OCTOBER 13, 2024

Instead of thinking about the LMS as simply a repository for course essentials (syllabus, contact information, etc.), consider how it might be used as a tool for enhancing student learning and engagement. Students now expect the use of this tool by their professors for more than simply providing lecture slides or links to readings.

Syllabus 105

Syllabus Instructors Assignments Faculty Development 105

Edsurge

NOVEMBER 5, 2018

So are most of the students taking the cultural competency quiz Professor John Branch gives out near the beginning of his MBA-level International Marketing class at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. The average student gets just two of the ten questions right. Source: Course Hero.

Quizzes 167

Quizzes Failure Culture Students 167

Faculty Focus

MARCH 20, 2025

There are many approaches to designing an online course, and finding the right balance may depend on a variety of factors ranging from content topics to types of assessments. However, to determine if our assessment was correct, we surveyed virtual instructors and students gathering both quantitative data and qualitative data.

Student Engagement 90

Student Engagement Instructors Students Feedback 90

Faculty Focus

AUGUST 4, 2024

A lightboard is a large glass panel coupled with technology that allows an instructor to write or draw on a large surface (McCorkle & Whitener, 2020). Lightboards require minimal instructor training. Some lightboards can be setup to be one button studios controlled exclusively by the instructor.

Online Learning 111

Online Learning Learning Tools Instructors Learning 111

Edsurge

JUNE 5, 2017

Since launching in 2015, the New York-based startup has partnered with 21 universities to offer its programs and student coaching services. CEO and founder Dan Sommer says with the added funds, his company will be looking at growing its offerings to nearly 10 programs in subject areas like user experience and design.

Skills 143

Skills Instructors Coaching Education 143

Faculty Focus

OCTOBER 15, 2023

We firmly believe that doing so not only meets the evolving needs of today’s students but also enhances the overall learning experience. Furthermore, it places both faculty and students in a better position to adapt, should the need for another rapid shift to remote learning arise. Avoid confusing instructions.

Syllabus 126

Syllabus Instructors Peer Review Lecturing 126

Scholarly Teacher

FEBRUARY 12, 2025

Rachel Thelen , The University of Minnesota School of Dentistry Noelle Haight , Occupational Therapist and Educator Julia VanderMolen , University of the Pacific Key Statement: Four helpful tips, including backwards design, for the new instructor looking to (re)design their course. Many new instructors face this what now?

Instructors 52

Instructors Curriculum Quizzes Lecturing 52