Group items tagged

Six Sigma stresses elements that are critical to quality, such as reducing manufacturing defects. Lean Speed strives to eliminate seven kinds of waste. What happens when Six Sigma and Lean Speed merge? You end up with faster processes and fewer defects in your business.

Congratulations and Welcome Calls:

Using Names in All Correspondence:

Individualized Feedback on All Graded Assignments:

Learners should be required to participate (and their grade should depend on participation). Discussion groups should remain small. Discussions should be focused on a task. Tasks should always result in a product. Tasks should engage learners in the content. Learners should receive feedback on their discussions. Evaluation should be based on the quality of postings (and not the length or number). Instructors should post expectations for discussions.

Student Created Rubrics: Ask students to contribute to the creation of a rubric that defines success. A reading response task, a multi-modal presentation, or a group discussion leads to higher levels of learning when students are included in defining success.

Nameless Voice: Ask students to anonymously submit sample work to share with the class. Sample paragraphs on the overhead, a visual vocabulary card, or a ticket out the door quick write can all be samples of student work that the class or individual students can use. Ask students to write or discuss how the nameless voice is similar or different to their understanding

I realized the students expected me to always be online — including at 3 a.m.!  By not establishing a clear response time expectation, I set myself up for poor evaluations by some students. Having been treated to instant answers early in the course, they expected that to continue throughout.

Did I mention receiving tons of email that first semester? Three weeks with 25 students had yielded more than 300 emails.

I decided to use a question and answer forum to handle the more generic questions.

Student learning ought to be at the heart of any pedagogical strategy or technique, regardless of whether the class is delivered online or in a more traditional classroom setting.

there is little doubt that online teaching and learning requires more time in both preparation and delivery; however, the point was previously made that this should not necessarily be the case. Good teaching in traditional classrooms, when done well, also requires a significant amount of time to prepare and deliver. We argue here that both teaching and learning would improve if many of the considerations inherent in the preparation and delivery of online learning were given priority in courses delivered in traditional classrooms.

It is hoped that the key issues addressed here will assist faculty in the preparation and delivery of their traditional courses. In summary, the benefits for traditional instruction in statistics through the use of online pedagogy are: 1) Improved ability to know what material is “essential” to the students’ understanding and learning. A focused delivery of traditional pedagogy minimizes student confusion and misunderstandings and leaves time for additional activities that can be used to enhance student learning. 2) Improved ability to logically and consistently organize and deliver course material. The use of weekly modules containing an overview that summarizes the lecture topic and objectives is helpful to both the instructor and the student in organizing course material 3) Improved willingness to seek out and complete training on how to teach in the traditional classroom. While some colleges and universities require training to teach online, few, if any, require training to teach in the classroom. Many colleges and universities provide both individual and group training to instructors who are new to teaching, and the experience of teaching online can enhance an instructor’s desire and ability to be a better teacher in the traditional classroom. 4) Improved ability to create multiple strategies for the submission of student work and clarification of misunderstandings. The experience of teaching online enables instructors to devise varied strategies for the submission of course work, and provides additional arenas for the instructor to clarify misunderstandings in a forum in which all students can participate. 5) Improved ability to use new technologies for the development and delivery of instruction. Knowing what tools are available for course development and delivery can broaden an instructor’s ability to prepare course materials and deliver them in creative, stimulating ways. 6) Improved ability to maintain the course schedule. 7) Improved ability to maintain contact with all students in the course. In traditional classrooms, students can sit quietly for weeks, engaging little, if at all, with the instructor, the material, or their peers. Teaching online exposes instructors to a wide variety of strategies for enhancing student engagement because they must participate. 8) Improved pedagogical versatility. Being proficient teaching in multiple venues increases one’s own instructional flexibility, and also increases the flexibility of a department to deliver instruction to students. 9) Improved student access to the course material during instructor absences. Having the course material created by the instructor available during the instructor’s absence facilitates student learning and helps maintain the course schedule. 10) Improved student learning due to the repetitive availability of course material, including practice problems and solutions. Once voice-over lectures have been created, they can be uploaded to Blackboard for use in any course.

Interactivity—whether it is with a computer, a professor, or a classmate.

They want it; they crave it.

cond, studen