Online Teaching Strategies Research Articles

Teaching and Learning with Telecommunications: Instructional Discourse in a Hybrid Russian Class

Where learner discourse has been the focus of much recent research on asynchonous online instruction, the specific forms of instructional discourse used by online educators has yet to be examined. Indeed, the majority of work in the area of foreign language and telecommunications has concentrated on student-student, student-peer interaction, and the kinds of language these contexts encourage. No research to date has tackled the real and potential scripts for educators in online conversations that are potentially instructional in nature. Our study examines the online teaching strategies employed by the teacher of a second-year Russian class that integrated computer mediated communication (CMC) for extended language practice and additional “embedded” instruction through the teacher's careful interventions. Techniques such as saturating the discourse with target forms, recasting, and corralling learning were successfully incorporated as instructional discourse and responded to as such by learners. Such instructional interventions mimic those of the ideal communicative classroom where instructors attempt to direct a focus on form while engaging learners in the active negotiation of meaning in the target language. The advantages of CMC in this regard include the opportunity for both teacher and students to stop the clock, examine the language being used in the online conversation, determine teachable and learnable moments, and respond accordingly.

Early childhood intervention: web-based training for transformation

In the last decade the number of distance learning programs locally and internationally has escalated as academics explore the use of the Web and its impact on learning. However, very little has been done in relation to the evaluation of students and trainers' learning on the Web. Literature is available on Web-based learning, but the understanding of the impact of Web-based learning and the efficiency with which it addresses set goals for teaching is in its infancy. This article describes the evaluation of the first module of the Masters course in early childhood intervention (M ECI) as part of a formative evaluation process to facilitate critical reflection on methodology and content related issues. This is achieved by evaluating students' learning in terms of content (prior- and post knowledge), comparing students' and lecturers' ratings on individual assignments and evaluating online teaching and learning strategies (general class B and small group discussions). (South African Journal of Higher Education: 2003 17 (1): 185-199)

Constructing and Implementing a Web-Based Graduate Social Policy Course

Abstract This article reports on the construction and implementation of a Web-based graduate social policy course. In developing the online teaching strategy, the framework of a constructivist model of computer-mediated instruction was used to conceptualize the design of the course. The author used formative and summative approaches in pilot testing this course in cyberspace, with the intent of teaching it online later as a regularly scheduled semester course. The author contends that careful planning and critical thinking are paramount in computer-mediated instruction, if this method of delivering courses in higher education is to be successful and meaningful.

From the Field: Characteristics of Successful Tertiary Online Students and Strategies of Experienced Online Educators

Online learning, now a popular method of education at the tertiary level, creates new challenges for students and educators. Faculty members may know little about how to assist students in succeeding in this new learning environment, and students may be ill prepared to tackle the new demands put upon them. This research sought to identify dimensions of successful online learners by examining primary screening documents and mapping them to the literature base, and then invited experienced online educators to review the dimensions and provide strategies they use to ensure student success. Seven dimensions were identified and confirmed as significant, each dimension with slightly different importance, including access to tools; technology experience; learning preferences; study habits and skills; goals or purposes; lifestyle factors; and personal traits and characteristics. The experienced educators provided several online teaching strategies including students' posting biographies; frequent interaction; collaboration; required participation; question-asking forums; topical flexibility; and minimizing technology requirements.

Teaching and Learning Online

To prepare U. S. preservice teachers for online teaching and reaching diverse learners and to provide English instruction to Taiwanese students, American and Taiwanese university students corresponded by e-mail. U.S. preservice teachers explored theory and practice of online instruction, corresponded as tutors to teach English language and American culture, and reflected on their experiences. Taiwanese students practiced English and exchanged cultural information. This research explores documentation of the online teaching and learning experience to identify benefits and limitations of online teaching and learning, online teaching strategies, and cultural aspects associated with cross-cultural collaboration.