Category Key:
BP = General best practice for all courses
LC = Proactive strategy for large courses and growth; Best to incorporate early in course design to prevent rework later
Principles | Practical Applications | Category | Additional Resources |
---|---|---|---|
Assessment Management |
Visual assessments allow faster evaluation of learner thinking about relationships/classifications. |
BP
BP
BP
LC
BP, LC
BP, LC
BP
LC |
Best Practices for Large-Enrollment Online Courses Part I (Arizona State University)
Tips for Designing and Moderating Large-Enrollment Online Courses (Wiley Education Services) |
1. Provide specific evaluation criteria for each type of assessment (e.g., rubric, checklist, guidance).
2. Utilize the built-in rubric feature of the LMS and work as a program or department to create standard rubrics for use that can be tweaked for specific assessments. Some LMSs enable sharing of rubrics across courses.
3. Use different grading scales for different assignments (e.g., not every piece of student work may need your full attention and you could use simplified scale for preparatory work).
4. Share exemplary student examples to supplement the evaluation criteria (e.g., provide examples that represent excellent and unacceptable work).
5. Train your TAs on the use of your evaluation criteria and maintain grading consistency and reliability across all the graders. o Be sure to continue to leverage the rubric feature within the LMS and not re-create rubrics in Word. Keeping rubrics in one place will help with consistency.
6. Simplify your grading process and leverage the power of student feedback. For example: o Require peer review before final submissions. o Encourage your TAs to moderate the discussion forums. o Encourage students to sign up as online discussion facilitators with extra credit. |
BP, LC
BP, LC
BP, LC
BP
BP, LC
BP, LC |
Grading Student Work (Vanderbilt University)
How to Provide Meaningful Feedback Online (Inside Higher Ed) |
|
Communication Management |
1. Post announcements in the LMS on a regular basis to remind students of important deadlines and clarify some common questions.
2. Create due date reminders a few days before assignments are due that give students an extra push by using the LMS calendar.
3. Post hidden “coaches notes” at the beginning of each module. For example:
4. Clarify in your course policies about how to communicate with the instructor/TAs. For example:
5. Commit to using discussion boards on a regular, consistent basis. For example:
6. Provide detailed guidance on how and when to reach out to the instructor and/or TAs with questions to avoid getting inundated with the same questions via email.
Consider including a syllabus quiz at the beginning of the course to ensure students are reading the syllabus. |
BP
BP
BP, LC
BP, LC
BP, LC
BP, LC |
Survivor Strategies: Teaching Large Enrollment Classes (University of Colorado Boulder) |
Community Building |
1. Set aside specific hours to be available to students online (email, chat, or phone).
2. Set up regular office hours by using video conference tools (e.g. Zoom, Skype, or Google Hangout).
3. Utilize a variety of online discussion tools to encourage peer interaction. For example:
4. Build “outside class” spaces. For example:
5. Open a dialogue between inside and outside perspective. For example:
|
BP
BP
BP
BP, LC
BP, LC |