Description
Book SynopsisTable of ContentsPreface ix
Acknowledgments xi
Foreword xxiii
Introduction xvii
1 Teaching Online: The Big Picture 1
Preparing to Teach in the Online and Blended Environments 2
Uh-Oh. What Did I Say I Would Do? 2
Is This You? 3
The Definition of a Course 4
How Do Online and Blended Courses Differ from Traditional
Courses? 6
Types of Online and Blended Courses 8
The Four Phases of a Course 10
Learning Theories and Theorists 11
Lev Vygotsky (1896–1934): Theory of Social Development 11
John Dewey (1859–1952): Experiential Learning 13
Jean Piaget (1896–1980): Theory of Genetic Epistemology or
Origins of Thinking 14
Jerome Bruner (1915–2016): Constructivism 14
John Seely Brown (1940–): Cognitive Apprenticeship 15
Roger Schank (1946–): Schema Theory 16
Albert Bandura (1925–): Social Learning Theory 17
Jean Lave (1939–): Situated Learning Theory 17
K. Anders Ericsson (1946–2020): Expert Performance Theory 18
Ellen Langer (1947–): Theory of Mindful Learning 18
Daniel Goleman (1946–): Theory of Emotional Intelligence 18
Other Theorists and Influencers 19
Summary—and What’s Next 19
Pause, Reflect, and Integrate 20
2 Pedagogical Principles for Effective Teaching and Learning:
10 Core Learning Principles 21
Background of the 10 Core Learning Principles 23
Ten Core Learning Principles 24
Principle 1: Every Structured Learning Experience Has
Four Elements, with the Learner at the Center 25
Principle 2: Learners Bring Their Own Personalized and
Customized Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes to the Learning
Experience 28
Principle 3: Faculty Mentors Are the Directors of the Learning
Experience 30
Principle 4: All Learners Do Not Need to Learn All Course
Content; All Learners Do Need to Learn the Core Concepts 31
Principle 5: Every Learning Experience Includes the Environment
or Context in Which the Learner Interacts 33
Principle 6: Every Learner Has a Zone of Proximal Development
That Defines the Space That a Learner Is Ready to Develop into
Useful Knowledge 34
Principle 7: Concepts Are NotWords but Organized and
Interconnected Knowledge Clusters 35
Principle 8: Different Instruction Is Required for Different
Learning Outcomes 36
Principle 9: Everything Else Being Equal, More Time on
Task Equals More Learning 37
Principle 10:We Shape Our Tools, and Our Tools Shape Us 38
Summary—and What’s Next 39
Pause, Reflect, and Integrate 40
3 Best Practices for Teaching Online: 10 Plus 4 41
Best Practices for Online and Blended Teaching and Learning 42
Best Practice 1: Be Present at Your Course 42
Best Practice 2: Create a Supportive Online Course Community 45
Best Practice 3: Develop a Set of Explicit Workload and
Communication Expectations for Your Learners and for Yourself 46
Best Practice 4: Use a Variety of Large Group, Small Group, and
Individual Work Experiences 48
Best Practice 5: Use Synchronous and Asynchronous Activities 49
Best Practice 6: Ask for Informal Feedback Early in the Term 50
Best Practice 7: Prepare Discussion Posts That Invite Responses,
Questions, Discussions, and Reflections 50
Best Practice 8: Think Digital and Mobile for All Course Content 52
Best Practice 9: Combine Core Concept Learning with Customized
and Personalized Learning 53
Best Practice 10: Plan a Good Closing andWrap Activity for the
Course 55
Four More Best Practices for Online and Blended Teaching and
Learning 55
Best Practice 11: Assess as You Go by Gathering Evidences of
Learning 56
Best Practice 12: Rigorously Connect Content to Core Concepts
and Learning Outcomes 56
Best Practice 13: Develop and Use a Content Frame for the Course 57
Best Practice 14: Design Experiences to Help Learners Make
Progress on Their Novice-to-Expert Journey 58
Conclusion 58
Summary—and What’s Next 59
Pause, Reflect, and Integrate 59
4 Technology Tools to Support Teaching and Learning 61
Guidelines for Choosing and Using Technology Tools 62
Guideline 1: Pedagogy First, Technology Second 62
Guideline 2: Keep It Simple 62
Guideline 3: Involve Your Learners in Choices and Use of
Digital Tools and Resources 63
Guideline 4: Have Choices and Backups for When the Cloud
Disappears 64
Guideline 5: Review Your Technology Tool Set Every Two to
Three Terms 64
Set One: Basic Technology Tools for Online and Blended Teaching
and Learning 65
Communication Tools in Learning Management Systems 66
More Thoughts on the Basic Tools 71
Set Two: Enriched Basic Technology Tools 72
Set Three: Tools for Applying Knowledge in Authentic Contexts 75
Staying in Sync with Tools 77
Pause, Reflect, and Integrate 78
5 Four Phases of a Course: Themes and Happenings 79
Phase 1 Course Beginnings: Starting Off on the Right Foot 79
Course Beginnings: Themes and Best Practices 79
What’s Happening in Course Beginnings 83
Phase 2 Early Middle: Keeping the Ball Rolling 85
Early Middle: Themes and Best Practices 85
What’s Happening in the Early Middle 89
Phase 3 Late Middle: Letting Go of the Power 90
Late Middle: Themes and Best Practices 90
What’s Happening in the Late Middle 95
Phase 4 Closing Weeks: Pruning, Reflecting, andWrapping Up 97
Closing Weeks: Themes and Best Practices 97
What’s Happening in the Closing Weeks 101
Summary—and What’s Next 102
Pause, Reflect, and Integrate 102
6 Phase 1: Course Beginnings 103
Overview of Tips for Course Beginnings 104
Preparing Your Syllabus and Course Site 104
Launching Your Course 105
Creating Meaningful and Stimulating Discussion Forums 105
Managing Discussion Forums 105
Preparing Your Syllabus and Course Site 105
CB Tip 1: Essential Elements of an Online or Blended Course
Syllabus and Course Site 106
CB Tip 2: More on the Essential Elements of an Online or
Blended Syllabus 114
CB Tip 3: Designing Learning for All 117
CB Tip 4: Creating a Syllabus That Jump-starts Learning 119
CB Tip 5: Using “Bookending” to Add Structure and Meaning 124
CB Tip 6: The Faculty Role in Blended and Online Courses 128
Launching Your Course 131
CB Tip 7: Hitting the Ground Running: How Not to Lose
the First Week 131
CB Tip 8: Launching Social and Cognitive Presence 132
CB Tip 9: Generating Energy and Purpose with Specific
Learning Goals 137
CB Tip 10: Getting to Know Students’ Minds: The Vygotsky
Zone of Proximal Development 140
CB Tip 11: Getting into the Swing of a Course: Is There an
Ideal Weekly Rhythm? 142
Creating Meaningful and Stimulating Discussion Forums 145
CB Tip 12: The Why and How of Discussion Forums: Their
Role in the Online Course 145
CB Tip 13: Four Types of Discussion Forums: Purpose,
Structure, and Assessment 148
CB Tip 14: Characteristics and Examples of Good Discussion
Questions 152
CB Tip 15: Power Questioning for Meaningful Discussions 157
CB Tip 16: Guided Student Response Posts—A Three-Part
Structure 161
Managing Discussion Forums 162
CB Tip 17: Discussion Wraps: A Useful Cognitive Pattern or
a Collection of Discrete Thoughts? 163
CB Tip 18: Using Discussion Postings to Gather Evidence of
Learning 166
CB Tip 19: Feedback in Discussion Posts—How Soon,
How Much, andWrapping Up 168
Summary—and What’s Next 170
Pause, Reflect, and Integrate 170
7 Phase 2: Keeping the Ball Rolling in the Early Middle 171
Overview of Tips for the Early Middle 171
Monitoring and Managing Communications 172
Memory, Metacognition, and Learning Guides 172
Building Cognitive Presence 172
Strategies and Tools for Building Community 172
Monitoring and Managing Communications 173
EM Tip 1: Tools for Teaching Presence: Announcements, E-mails,
Discussion Forums, and Texting 173
EM Tip 2: Monitoring Student Progress Using Analytics 176
EM Tip 3: Early Feedback—It’s a Two-Way Street 178
EM Tip 4: Tips for Making Grading Time Efficient and Formative 182
EM Tip 5: Dealing with Difficult Students—What Do You Do? 185
Memory, Metacognition, and Learning Skills 190
EM Tip 6: Steps in Memory Making: What Behaviors Make a
Difference 190
EM Tip 7: Promoting Metacognitive Skills—Activities for
Thinking About Thinking 194
EM Tip 8: Student Guides for Course Reading and Listening
Resources 198
Building the Cognitive Presence 201
EM Tip 9: Building Cognitive Presence Using the Practical
Inquiry Model 201
Conclusion 204
EM Tip 10: Core Concepts of a Course—Do You Know Yours? 204
EM Tip 11: Assessment Plans for Online and Blended Courses 208
An Assessment Plan That Is Distributed and Continuous 210
EM Tip 12: Three Best Assessment Practices 211
EM Tip 13: Assignments for the Evaluating and Creating
Levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy 215
Strategies and Tools for Building Community 218
EM Tip 14: Collaborating with Groups of Two or
Three—Micro-Teaming 219
EM Tip 15: Projects in Online Courses: Setting Up and
Structuring Groups 221
EM Tip 16: Using Synchronous Gathering Apps 224
EM Tip 17: Using Audio and Video to Create Engaging
Learning Experiences 226
Summary—and What’s Next 228
Pause, Reflect, and Integrate 228
8 Phase 3: Letting Go of Power in the Late Middle 229
Overview of Tips for the Late Middle 229
Going Deeper: Leveraging the Power of Questions 230
Feedback for Cognitive Growth 230
Assessing Learning as You Go with Projects 231
Community Empowerment and Social Networking 231
Going Deeper: Leveraging the Power of Questions 231
LM Tip 1: Questions and Answers: Upside Down and
Inside Out 231
LM Tip 2: Three Techniques for Making Your Students’
Knowledge Visible 233
LM Tip 3: Developing Rigor in Questioning: Eight Intellectual
Standards 235
LM Tip 4: Moving Beyond Knowledge Integration to
Defining Problems and Finding Solutions 240
Feedback for Cognitive Growth 242
LM Tip 5: Timely Feedback on Assignments and Using Rubrics 243
LM TIP 6: Substantive Feedback: Doing It Wisely andWell 248
LM Tip 7: Rubrics for Analyzing Critical Thinking 252
Assessing Learning as You Go with Projects 254
LM Tip 8: Customizing and Personalizing Projects 255
LM Tip 9: Managing and Facilitating Group Projects 258
LM Tip 10: Assessing Group Projects 260
LM Tip 11: Four Coaching Practices During Project Time 263
Community Empowerment and Social Networking 266
LM Tip 12: Course Middles and Muddles: Souped-Up
Conversations to Spark Energy 266
LM Tip 13: Using Social Networking to Build Community 268
LM Tip 14: Experts: A Touch of Spice 270
Summary—and What’s Next 273
Pause, Reflect, and Integrate 273
9 Phase 4: Pruning, Reflecting, andWrapping Up 275
Overview of Tips for the Closing Weeks 275
Meaningful Projects and Presentations 276
Preparing for the Course Wrap 276
Meaningful Projects and Presentations 276
CW Tip 1: Using What-If Scenarios: Flexing Our Minds
with Possibilities 277
CW Tip 2: Stage 3 of a Learning Community: Stimulating and
Comfortable Camaraderie 279
CW Tip 3: Learners as Leaders 281
CW Tip 4: Course Wrapping with Concept Mapping:
Capturing Course Content Meaningfully 284
CW Tip 5: Using Case Studies: Making Content Real 288
Preparing for the Course Wrap 292
CW Tip 6: Pausing, Reflecting, and Pruning Strategies 293
CW Tip 7: Gaming Activities for Energy, Learning and
Engagement 295
CW Tip 8: Closing Experiences: Wrapping Up a Course
with Style 298
CW Tip 9: Debriefing Techniques: What One Change Would
Students Recommend? 301
Conclusion—and What’s Next 302
Pause, Reflect, and Integrate 302
10 Teaching Accelerated Intensive Courses 303
Overview of Tips for Intensive Courses (IC) 303
IC Tip 1: Designing Intensive Courses Using Content Framing
and Case Studies 304
IC Tip 2: High-Impact Practices for Short Courses: Reflections,
Patterns, and Relationships 306
IC Tip 3: Developing Expertise in Intensive Courses: Can It
Be Done? 310
Conclusion—and What’s Next 313
Pause, Reflect, and Integrate 313
11 Flexible Learning Models and Experiences 315
Overview of Tips for Flexible Learning Designs (FL) 315
What Are Flexible Learning Designs? 316
FL Tip 1: Incorporating Online Elements Quickly—Five
Essentials 317
FL Tip 2: Making Large Online Classes Feel Small 322
FL Tip 3: Structuring the Synchronous Online Class Meeting 326
Conclusion—and What’s Next 330
Pause, Reflect, and Integrate 330
12 What’s Next: Reflecting and Looking Forward 331
Reflecting and Looking Forward Using the Four Course Phases 331
Design and Preparation Phase 332
Reflecting on Phase One, Course Beginnings 333
Reflecting on Phase Two, Early Middle 334
Reflecting on Phase Three, Late Middle 335
Reflecting on Phase Four, Closing Weeks 336
Reflecting and Looking Forward with the Learning Experiences
Framework 337
Learner 337
Faculty Mentor 338
Content and Knowledge Resources and Goals 338
Environment and Context 339
Advice from Fellow Online Instructors 340
Advice 1: Just Do Your Best 340
Advice 2: It’s Kind of Fun to Do the Impossible! 340
Advice 3: Be Prepared to Learn a Lot 341
Advice 4: Don’t Underestimate the Value of Connection 342
Advice 5: Let Go of What Used to Be 342
Conclusion: Innovation as a Three-Phase Process 343
References 345
Index 369
