What is Good Practice in the e-Learning Classroom?

As educators, do we even need to change our teaching approach if put in the situation where we need to work in an online environment or can we continue to deliver the same way we always have?  Can we use the same methods that we do to motivate our students in the classroom, in the online classroom?  These are all questions that any provider needs to discuss if they decide to enter the world of online learning.  Unfortunately it seems that this is usually not the case and discussions are mostly focused on teaching staff the technological aspects of online learning but not the pedagogical approaches they need to adopt (Morris & Finnegan; Oomen-Early & Murphy as cited in Bailey & Card, 2009) .  Therefore it is the aim of this post to look at some of the research around what good practice in the e-learning classroom is. 

Bailey and Card (2009), in their article on effective pedagogical practices for online teaching cite three pedagogical theories and principles which they used to form the basis of a study undertaken with e-learning instructors.  They are as follows:

·         Andragogy or self-directed study

·         Constructivism which encourages students to construct their own meaning of their learning

·         Transformative learning which focuses on critical thinking

Findings of their study with e-learning instructors highlighted eight pedagogical practices for effective online teaching:

·         Fostering relationships between faculty and students

·         Engagement through emails, class discussion boards, student biographies and student group projects

·         Timeliness with regards to grading assessments, checking emails and responding to questions, and assessing the amount of time needed for teaching online classes

·         Good communication by providing timely feedback on assessments, questions, communicating requirements and teacher availability.  Instructors should also be aware of communication styles and words used.

·         Instructors should have knowledge on the technology they are using within their online course

·         Flexibility and patience

·         Having high expectations through goal setting and learning objectives set at the beginning and throughout the course.

Brinthaupt, Fisher, Gardner, Raffo and Woodard draw (2011) on Bain’s book, What the Best College Teachers Do to explore some of the methods of classroom teaching which can be transferred into the online learning environment.  They focus primarily on:

·         fostering student engagement

·         stimulating intellectual development

·         building rapport with students

Chickering and Gamson’s seven principles of good practice have not only been recommended for use in the online classroom but also when evaluating effective online teaching (Bangert, 2004).  The principles include:

·         Encouraging contact between students and faculty in and out of classes

·         Encouraging cooperation between students

·         Active learning using structured exercises, challenging discussions, team projects, and peer to peer critiquing

·         Encouraging prompt and appropriate feedback on performance

·         Time on task for both educators and learners

·         Communicating high expectations

·         Providing diverse ways of learning

Bangert’s study on evaluating online teaching using the seven principles concluded that the majority of students felt that the teacher adopted the constructivist approach in their teaching.

Much of the literature suggests that best practice in the classroom environment can be transferred into the online environment.  However, more effort is required especially around building a community which encourages active communication through different modes and ensuring that there is a positive relationship between instructor and student.

Bailey, C. & Card, K. (2009). Effective pedagogical practices for online teaching. Perception of experienced instructors. Internet and Higher Education (12), 152-155.

Bangert, A. (2004). The seven principles of good practice: A framework for evaluating on-line teaching. Internet and Higher Education (7), 217-232.

Brinthaupt, T., Fisher, L., Gardner, J., Raffo, D. & Woodard, J. (2011). What the best online teachers should do. Journal of Online Learning and Teaching 7(4), 515.