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December has become the month when we reflect on the pastyear and make lists of bests. Here are the top five article choices by readers ofFaculty Focus, an ezine for college professors. In ascending order, here they are:
5. Five Common Pitfalls of OnlineCourse Design Much ofwhat passes for an online course these days could more accurately be describedas the electronic version of class hand-outs. These courses usually consist ofa course description, a syllabus, lecture notes, reading lists, and assignmentchecklists. In other words, whatever materials a student might have viewed onpaper in the past are now read onscreen, and whatever presentations a studentmight have watched in the classroom are now observed on their screen
4. Questioning Skills to Engage Students The right questions enable theteacher to more accurately evaluate if the students are truly attentive and ifthey understand the material. In addition, open-ended questions motivatestudents to share their ideas, thereby allowing active, collaborative learningto take place. This illustrates the need to be able to ask the right sort ofquestions to engage students.
3. Giving Students More EffectiveFeedback Doyou pass back exams, a set of papers or grades on some other student projectand offer generic comments on what the class did and didn't do well on theassignment? Most of us do, and for good reasons. The feedback gives studentsthe chance to compare their work with that done by the rest of class, which canbuild more accurate self-assessment skills. But do students listen attentivelyas you provide this feedback?
2. What Students Want:Characteristics of Effective Teachers from the Students' Perspective Researchersasked their students what characteristics they think are essential foreffective teaching. Analyzing and combining reasonably synonymouscharacteristics, researchers then isolated the top nine for online and forface-to-face students. Can you guess the number one trait?
1. What Does Your Syllabus SayAbout You and Your Course? Syllabi can convey messages that buildrapport between the teacher and students, and they can help create communityamong students. I know courses need policies, students need guidelines, andsome students take advantage of teachers, but I wonder if we don't err on theside of being too defensive in our syllabi.
Thisezine is directed toward college teaching, and often emphasizes distancelearning. I recommend it for all teachers of upper elementary age and above. Thearticles give a positive blend of philosophy and how-to.
Which of these articles interest you the most?
