Being Intentional
Something that has been surfacing a lot lately in what I have been reading, listening too, and just in general and that is the idea of being intentional. Being intentional with your finances, your health, your job, and your faith. This ideal impacts every aspect of your life and impacts the way you teach, especially, online.
Over the last decade of teaching online I have learned that I have to be intentional if I am going to impact my students success. There are two areas where intention is a big deal. The first is in how you facilitate the online class. I will admit that hasn't been the case in every semester I have taught. I have got behind in grading, following up with students, and just keeping up with the class. The best semesters have been those where I have logged in everyday, spent 30+ minutes grading, responding to messages, and looking through interaction logs for my students. Those intentional moments have gone a long way to helping my students succeed. This semester has probably been the best so far and I think it is because I have put in the time to stay caught up on grading and have reached out on a regular basis to the students who are struggling with the course. I only have a few students who aren't doing very well, but the majority of the class is passing. This isn't usually the case.
The second area is in the design of the course. I have met and worked with many faculty who seem to put the course together as they go and to students these are the hardest to follow. A student should log in on a regular basis to be able to keep up with the course, but they also need to be able to know what to expect and have an idea of what is required of them from the beginning of the course. That is why I am intentional not only in how I design each module, but why I list out all assignments the student will need to complete in the getting started module. A student in my class has an idea of the entire course schedule the first week of the class. They know they will have two homework assignments for each chapter, 1-2 labs per unit, and a unit exam. Every unit has the same setup. Every unit is 2-3 weeks long. Every assignment is due the last day of the unit and it is the same day of the week. Nothing is inconsistent and students know what to expect. In a future post I will go into more detail, but the intentionality of design also pertains to building the course around a set of learning objectives. This means there isn't any content, technology, or assignment that isn't based on the learning objectives of the course.
Whether you are trying to lose weight, get out of debt, or be an effective online teacher you need to be intentional. You need to log in every day and interact with your students, grading assignments, answering questions, and being available to help them. You also need to provide them with a consistent design from the beginning of the semester. They have to know what to expect.
Until next time ... be an effective online teacher!
Over the last decade of teaching online I have learned that I have to be intentional if I am going to impact my students success. There are two areas where intention is a big deal. The first is in how you facilitate the online class. I will admit that hasn't been the case in every semester I have taught. I have got behind in grading, following up with students, and just keeping up with the class. The best semesters have been those where I have logged in everyday, spent 30+ minutes grading, responding to messages, and looking through interaction logs for my students. Those intentional moments have gone a long way to helping my students succeed. This semester has probably been the best so far and I think it is because I have put in the time to stay caught up on grading and have reached out on a regular basis to the students who are struggling with the course. I only have a few students who aren't doing very well, but the majority of the class is passing. This isn't usually the case.
The second area is in the design of the course. I have met and worked with many faculty who seem to put the course together as they go and to students these are the hardest to follow. A student should log in on a regular basis to be able to keep up with the course, but they also need to be able to know what to expect and have an idea of what is required of them from the beginning of the course. That is why I am intentional not only in how I design each module, but why I list out all assignments the student will need to complete in the getting started module. A student in my class has an idea of the entire course schedule the first week of the class. They know they will have two homework assignments for each chapter, 1-2 labs per unit, and a unit exam. Every unit has the same setup. Every unit is 2-3 weeks long. Every assignment is due the last day of the unit and it is the same day of the week. Nothing is inconsistent and students know what to expect. In a future post I will go into more detail, but the intentionality of design also pertains to building the course around a set of learning objectives. This means there isn't any content, technology, or assignment that isn't based on the learning objectives of the course.
Whether you are trying to lose weight, get out of debt, or be an effective online teacher you need to be intentional. You need to log in every day and interact with your students, grading assignments, answering questions, and being available to help them. You also need to provide them with a consistent design from the beginning of the semester. They have to know what to expect.
Until next time ... be an effective online teacher!
Hello Sir,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your post. Sometimes we just do things like on autopilot. Being intentional means you are actively engaging.