Practice and a Few Thoughts

In my last post, I talked about how I spent half of my childhood sitting on the curb at recess because I was a chatty little thing who had difficulty focusing on my lessons. When we look at theories and ways to develop syllabi that are learner-centered, but that also hold students to a standard, it is easy to lose sight of how people learn in the frenzy of fitting copious amounts of content into the curriculum. Although online learning received criticism in the beginning, it is becoming increasingly popular and widespread. Along with the increase in students wanting online classes comes more debate about how those classes should be designed to ensure students are receiving an equitable, inclusive, engaging, and sound educational experience. So, how can we structure courses that can meet all of these needs while providing students with different opportunities and ways to learn?

Greenhow et al. (2022) stated that "research has shown online environments provide unique ways for students to engage with content, peers, and instructors; asynchronous interactions has allowed greater opportunities for participation as well as a greater emphasis on personalization of instruction." I have seen this accomplished in several ways over the course of my online college experience. Often, instructors will give students a choice between two different projects so that they can play to their strengths. For example, a student could choose between designing a website or writing a paper. I have also had instructors give the option of recording a video or writing their response on discussion posts. Even presentation of material can be done differently. Sometimes instructors post a weekly video lecture but have the PowerPoint presentation available to be read. Some instructors post in a blog-like format and provide videos to watch that explain the content. And others use a pedagogical approach and have students present the material each week and lead discussions. Limperos et al. (2015) talked about the need to understand how variations in teaching strategy and technology affordances in online courses impact student success. They talk about understanding modality and how a mode (videos, pictures, audio) is processed affects student learning. The way we process information has a direct impact on cognition and recall and is reflected in positive perceptions of the course and instructor.

Yang et al. (2024) discussed how Social Cognitive Theory "highlights the pivotal role of self-efficacy in comprehending students' learning experiences." But what is self-efficacy? (And in case you are wondering, it is pronounced e-ffik-acy...yes, I looked it up). Self-efficacy is an individual's confidence in their capability to proficiently accomplish tasks they aim to undertake (Bandura, 1982). When instructors build students' confidence in their abilities by providing tutorials or demonstrating the use of unfamiliar technology, they can reduce the frustration of technical difficulties and boost self-efficacy. Self-efficacy can also be fostered through instructor confirming messages, course clarity, and feedback. However, self-efficacy can also be cultivated through experiences, observations, and interactions with the environment. Within the context of the learning environment, students are able to interact through the design and facilitation of online courses. Martin et al. (2023) said that the design of online courses influences student engagement and motivation and is linked to students' experiences and positive learning outcomes. But back to self-efficacy. Yang et al. (2024) noted that self-efficacy positively predicts the motivation to learn, course satisfaction, and affect in the learning experience (affect for the course, future enrollment, and the instructor). Also related is the fact that course modalities have a significant association with learning experiences, whether positive or negative. Other factors to consider are socioeconomic gaps and the impact on access, and diversity factors. Instructors need to be cognizant of barriers and the need for diversity when structuring the design of the course. Just as learning styles can vary, students' ability to learn can be impacted by external factors that need to be addressed in order to create a bridge to student success.

In response to some of the criticisms about online courses, blended learning provides a hybrid choice for instructors. Blended learning allows for both online learning and in-person learning. Bichronous online learning "focuses on the intentional blending of synchronous and asynchronous components to creative novel learning sequences and methods beyond what can be accomplished with a single method" (Martin et al., 2023). Choosing activities and experiences to accomplish anytime/anywhere and enriching those with real-time support and guidance has been shown to improve learning outcomes, decrease withdrawal rates, and with positive student perceptions of learning. It combines flexibility with immediacy while allowing for quicker response in terms of assessments to examine students' progress towards course objectives and immediate feedback. However, Juvonen et al. (2019) argued that physical proximity contact with dissimilar peers can contribute to social exclusion, but it can also bring more learners of varying backgrounds into contact with learners in the physical classroom. This allows instructors to examine blended learning in relation to socioemotional learning interventions. Juvonen et al. also noted that conceptualizations of social and emotional learning processes may be problematized by blended and online learning environments (2022). Regardless of which learning environment is used, problems can arise. Instructors need to be able to overcome these obstacles by structuring their courses using the five lenses of learning: community, engagement, pedagogy, equity, and design-based research (Greenhow et al., 2022). So much can be added to this discussion in terms of social inclusion theory, immediacy, social presence, perceptions of instructor credibility, and clarity but as Collins et al. (2004) pointed out, "design research" is a methodology needed to test design variants and targeted understanding of variables at all levels of complex social systems. Love it or hate it, online instruction is here to stay. Instructors just need to provide students with the opportunities for an inclusive, engaging, supportive, and learner-centered educational experience.