Online learning is at an all-time high right now, and students are therefore expecting more from their online courses. While most of us know the importance of basic tips (like addressing students by name in the discussion board, or offering students substantive feedback on assignments), there are many more options for elevating online learning. Here are 6 online teaching tips that can lead to a more positive experience for both teacher and student. 1. Welcome…
In the age of modern literacy, independent reading and student choice can easily take a back seat to having students take on more challenging texts. Motivation and choice play key roles in successful literary programs, however, and strong readers are those who read a wide variety of genres and text types. In the quest to build capable readers, promoting independent, self-selected reading remains key. Creating ravenous, lifelong readers doesn’t just happen; it takes a school-wide…
Any teacher can tell you that making group work fair is no easy feat. The benefits of group work are as well recognized as the many reasons students hate working in groups. Ideally groups would operate smoothly, with group members bringing out each other’s strengths and helping each member shine. In reality, it’s far more likely for group work to fail miserably when members do not get along, or do not pull equal weight in…
Every classroom has its fair share of quiet students, and it’s all too easy for them to fade into the background. Quiet students tend not to participate in group discussions, but always deliver their homework on time. Clearly it’s not that they don’t know the answer–they just lack the confidence to express themselves in front of others. In one study, a staggering 1 in 5 school-age girls admitted to avoiding raising their hand in class…
Teaching in virtual classrooms can be much like the widely circulated YouTube video you may have seen called “A Conference Call in Real Life.” If you watch it, you’ll recognize the familiar awkwardness of online meetings, where the rhythm of conversational interaction is thrown wildly askew by technological hiccups and the absence of visual cues. Virtual space is not always easy, so how do you teach in it? While virtual classrooms are not without challenges,…
In the era of fake news and Internet misinformation, ensuring that students know how to find reliable sources of information online is essential. Thanks to the relative ease of creating and sharing content online, students are confronted with publications created solely to entertain, persuade, and incite via incorrect or incomplete statistics. Students diving into the world of academic and professional-level research often have no awareness of the gaps in their understanding when it comes to performing…
It’s the time of year when spooky stories emerge and haunted traditions appear! Every family is sure to have their own traditions for autumn–from pumpkin-carving to harvest rituals, there’s something for everyone. Halloween traditions aren’t reserved for home alone, however. Some spooky teachers were willing to share the Halloween traditions they have started in their own classrooms here. Cemetery Trek On or around Halloween, Dr. Carter, an associate professor in Virginia, takes his class to meet…
As we’ve discussed previously, cheating is a concern even with online learning. Technology is an essential tool for the modern classroom, but with technology comes many more ways for students to take advantage of the system, especially since students can know more about the technology they are using than their teachers. For many, it is hard to envision a scenario where students complete online exams without using their smartphones, tablets, and other devices to look…
Studying is a part of every student’s school experience, but it doesn’t have to be done alone. In fact, studies show that students benefit greatly from participating in study groups with their peers. There’s all sorts of research documenting how students can learn from each other, but that learning doesn’t happen automatically, and some worry that it’s not likely to occur in a study group where there’s no supervision and distractions abound. Recent findings should…
Students always have questions, but they rarely ask them, especially at the beginning of the year. They might feel awkward or embarrassed to ask questions, or perhaps it’s just inertia. Whatever the cause, the vast majority of student questions go unasked, and for teachers this can be wildly frustrating. Teachers can’t answer the questions students don’t ask, and in many cases, the unasked questions represent anxieties and uncertainties that negatively affect students’ performance in class…
