Seven Ways of Engaging the Online Learner to Develop Self-Regulated Learning Skills

Dylan Barth

doi:10.14434/jotlt.v9i1.29165

Abstract

This paper provides several strategies for using a learning management system to engage online students and to promote the development of self-regulated learning skills in a four-week accelerated summer course.

Highlights

Engaging students in an online course can be challenging without the verbal and visual interactions that take place in face-to-face classes
A discussion-based course, the enrollment was capped at 25 undergraduate students, most of whom were Women’s & Gender Studies (WGS) majors or minors interested in gaining additional credits in the field to apply toward graduation
In 2018, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) began the transition from the Desire2Learn to the Canvas learning management system (LMS) as part of a wider University of Wisconsin System initiative, and as of Spring 2020, all UWM courses that use a learning management system are offered in Canvas

Summary

Seven Ways of Engaging the Online Learner

To engage the learners in my WGS 302 online course, I used seven specific strategies that were chosen in light of my prior experience teaching online courses and the feedback students expressed in midterm and final evaluations in previous semesters. Context-Based Readings Students in face-to-face courses benefit from having instructors contextualize content and readings within the rich medium of the classroom Such contextualization can improve student learning by helping them zero in on what the most important concepts, ideas, or passages for a required reading or text are. While it is common for instructors to upload PDFs of scanned course readings for students to access, many LMSs, including Canvas, prevent instructors from assigning due dates or providing framing contexts when directly uploading files, yet due dates and context are essential components related to student success and self-regulated learning skills. “Estimated time” gave students a general sense of how much time they should expect to spend on the reading and the assessments for that day While this is highly dependent upon the individual, reminding students to set aside a significant amount of time to accomplish these tasks— in an accelerated course such as WGS 302— helped them manage their time and work

Recursive Quiz Design

Escalating Discussion Prompts

Reflective Student Surveys

Findings

Student Success and Feedback

Conclusion