Author: Kristina Wilson

5 Ways to Group Adult Students for Teamwork Online

by Feb 12, 2019

Introduction In the School of Professional Studies (SPS), group projects are our bread and butter. That means team case studies, small group discussions, peer review, and other collaborative assignments. One question I’ve heard faculty members frequently ask their peers in course presentations is, “How do you group your students?” Everyone has a technique for doing it differently, based on any number of factors. How many students are in your class? How many students should be in each group? What if you have students “left over”? Should I group them with teammates they know? Teammates they don’t know? Teammates they choose?

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Building Up to Big Assignments and Complex Tasks: Making the Case for Assignment Scaffolding

by , Jan 28, 2019

Introduction Do some topics or skills seem too large to approach in your course? Are your students struggling with time management? Do you want to provide students with thorough, meaningful feedback but find it difficult to keep up with all the grading? Do you want your students to learn more effectively? Assignment scaffolding could be the answer. Source: Pixabay What is assignment scaffolding and why is it important? Simply put, assignment scaffolding helps break down large ideas or tasks into smaller steps that build on each other. Consider the analogy at the root of the term. Scaffolding, like the multi-level,

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A Few Big Changes, Lots of Little Ones: Updates to the Quality Matters Higher Education Rubric

by Jan 07, 2019

Introduction In the summer of 2018, Quality Matters (QM) released the Sixth Edition of the Higher Education Rubric along with a Rubric Update course to help reviewers brush up on the changes. For the Distance Learning team in the School of Professional Studies, that’s a big deal. We use the QM rubric, a research-based set of standards for quality in online courses, to guide the design of new classes and help revise existing ones. At the end of each development cycle, all courses are reviewed by peer Learning Designers on our team as a way to provide feedback and ensure

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What Should I Do With My Slides Now That I’m Teaching Online?

by , Jul 02, 2018

Introduction If you’ve taught face-to-face before, there’s a good chance you’ve developed slides to help give lectures in your classroom. You may even have structured your course around them: ten slide decks for ten weeks of class. There’s no shame there–keynote speakers and conference presenters use slides as an important part of their practice, and when properly designed they can make for engaging in-person presentations. Now you’re designing an online or hybrid class, and you’ve got your slides in hand. These worked great in my face-to-face class, you’re thinking. I’ll just put them online for students to read. But wait!

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How (and Why!) to Write a Pre-Course Survey or Questionnaire

by Apr 09, 2018

Introduction Have you ever wished that you knew a little more about your students, beyond what is shared in an introduction discussion? Have you ever hoped that students might take a moment to reflect on success strategies before your course begins? Would you like to be certain that students have reviewed the materials needed to get started in your class? If so, a pre-course survey or questionnaire may be just the way to get started in your online or hybrid class. Check out three different types of pre-course surveys and questionnaires, including rationale, approaches, and question types, Learning About Your