Guidelines for Effective Online Teaching
Ten Guidelines for Effective Online Teaching and Learning
- Time: Teaching online requires significant time and effort. Appropriate planning time and support are necessary for success.
- Professional Development: Online teaching is different from face-to-face teaching. Faculty need adequate professional development prior to teaching online.
- Peer Feedback: To ensure quality in this new way of teaching and learning, a group of trained peer reviewers should participate in systematic review of all SPU online courses.
- Student Training: Online learning is different from face-to-face learning. Students need an orientation to online learning before taking their first online course.
- Class Size: SPU online courses should be both high tech and high touch. Online class size should restricted in order to maintain high quality interactions and instruction.
- Appropriate Courses: Careful consideration should be given when deciding which courses and programs to put online. Student performance in online courses should be equivalent to outcomes in face-to-face courses.
- Teaching Presence: Instructors should demonstrate teaching presence through appropriate design, facilitation and direct instruction. This can be accomplished through appropriate professional development and peer feedback.
- Social Presence: Instructors should design courses that utilize social presence to promote effective online discourse. Courses should include interactive problem solving activities that require positive student-to-student interaction and collaboration.
- Cognitive Presence: Instructors should encourage cognitive presence by designing collaborative assignments that require students to answer real world questions through exploration, integration and reflection.
- Learning Presence: Successful online students plan, monitor, adapt, and reflect on their learning. Students need well-designed activities, training, and support to be successful.
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