Judith V. Boettcher is a nationally known consultant and author on online distance learning. She has led faculty support organizations at Penn State University, Florida State University, worked with faculty at the University of Florida and Duquesne University and is the founder and principal of Designing for Learning. She is a frequent keynoter at teaching and learning conferences, conducts faculty workshops on best practices in online learning, consults on program designs, and coaches individual faculty.  

Rita-Marie Conrad is an experienced online educator, award-winning author, and digital learning strategist. She has had the privilege of working at three outstanding institutions --- Florida State University, Duke University, and the University of California, Berkeley --- to help them develop online programs, evolve pedagogies, and provide faculty development. She also has taught numerous online courses and workshops on topics such as engaging online learners, designing online instruction, and developing online learning strategies.  

Preface ix

Acknowledgments xi

Foreword xxiii

Introduction xvii

1 Teaching Online: The Big Picture 1

Preparing to Teach in the Online and Blended Environments 2

Uh-Oh. What Did I Say I Would Do? 2

Is This You? 3

The Definition of a Course 4

How Do Online and Blended Courses Differ from Traditional

Courses? 6

Types of Online and Blended Courses 8

The Four Phases of a Course 10

Learning Theories and Theorists 11

Lev Vygotsky (1896–1934): Theory of Social Development 11

John Dewey (1859–1952): Experiential Learning 13

Jean Piaget (1896–1980): Theory of Genetic Epistemology or

Origins of Thinking 14

Jerome Bruner (1915–2016): Constructivism 14

John Seely Brown (1940–): Cognitive Apprenticeship 15

Roger Schank (1946–): Schema Theory 16

Albert Bandura (1925–): Social Learning Theory 17

Jean Lave (1939–): Situated Learning Theory 17

K. Anders Ericsson (1946–2020): Expert Performance Theory 18

Ellen Langer (1947–): Theory of Mindful Learning 18

Daniel Goleman (1946–): Theory of Emotional Intelligence 18

Other Theorists and Influencers 19

Summary—and What’s Next 19

Pause, Reflect, and Integrate 20

2 Pedagogical Principles for Effective Teaching and Learning:

10 Core Learning Principles 21

Background of the 10 Core Learning Principles 23

Ten Core Learning Principles 24

Principle 1: Every Structured Learning Experience Has

Four Elements, with the Learner at the Center 25

Principle 2: Learners Bring Their Own Personalized and

Customized Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes to the Learning

Experience 28

Principle 3: Faculty Mentors Are the Directors of the Learning

Experience 30

Principle 4: All Learners Do Not Need to Learn All Course

Content; All Learners Do Need to Learn the Core Concepts 31

Principle 5: Every Learning Experience Includes the Environment

or Context in Which the Learner Interacts 33

Principle 6: Every Learner Has a Zone of Proximal Development

That Defines the Space That a Learner Is Ready to Develop into

Useful Knowledge 34

Principle 7: Concepts Are NotWords but Organized and

Interconnected Knowledge Clusters 35

Principle 8: Different Instruction Is Required for Different

Learning Outcomes 36

Principle 9: Everything Else Being Equal, More Time on

Task Equals More Learning 37

Principle 10:We Shape Our Tools, and Our Tools Shape Us 38

Summary—and What’s Next 39

Pause, Reflect, and Integrate 40

3 Best Practices for Teaching Online: 10 Plus 4 41

Best Practices for Online and Blended Teaching and Learning 42

Best Practice 1: Be Present at Your Course 42

Best Practice 2: Create a Supportive Online Course Community 45

Best Practice 3: Develop a Set of Explicit Workload and

Communication Expectations for Your Learners and for Yourself 46

Best Practice 4: Use a Variety of Large Group, Small Group, and

Individual Work Experiences 48

Best Practice 5: Use Synchronous and Asynchronous Activities 49

Best Practice 6: Ask for Informal Feedback Early in the Term 50

Best Practice 7: Prepare Discussion Posts That Invite Responses,

Questions, Discussions, and Reflections 50

Best Practice 8: Think Digital and Mobile for All Course Content 52

Best Practice 9: Combine Core Concept Learning with Customized

and Personalized Learning 53

Best Practice 10: Plan a Good Closing andWrap Activity for the

Course 55

Four More Best Practices for Online and Blended Teaching and

Learning 55

Best Practice 11: Assess as You Go by Gathering Evidences of

Learning 56

Best Practice 12: Rigorously Connect Content to Core Concepts

and Learning Outcomes 56

Best Practice 13: Develop and Use a Content Frame for the Course 57

Best Practice 14: Design Experiences to Help Learners Make

Progress on Their Novice-to-Expert Journey 58

Conclusion 58

Summary—and What’s Next 59

Pause, Reflect, and Integrate 59

4 Technology Tools to Support Teaching and Learning 61

Guidelines for Choosing and Using Technology Tools 62

Guideline 1: Pedagogy First, Technology Second 62

Guideline 2: Keep It Simple 62

Guideline 3: Involve Your Learners in Choices and Use of

Digital Tools and Resources 63

Guideline 4: Have Choices and Backups for When the Cloud

Disappears 64

Guideline 5: Review Your Technology Tool Set Every Two to

Three Terms 64

Set One: Basic Technology Tools for Online and Blended Teaching

and Learning 65

Communication Tools in Learning Management Systems 66

More Thoughts on the Basic Tools 71

Set Two: Enriched Basic Technology Tools 72

Set Three: Tools for Applying Knowledge in Authentic Contexts 75

Staying in Sync with Tools 77

Pause, Reflect, and Integrate 78

5 Four Phases of a Course: Themes and Happenings 79

Phase 1 Course Beginnings: Starting Off on the Right Foot 79

Course Beginnings: Themes and Best Practices 79

What’s Happening in Course Beginnings 83

Phase 2 Early Middle: Keeping the Ball Rolling 85

Early Middle: Themes and Best Practices 85

What’s Happening in the Early Middle 89

Phase 3 Late Middle: Letting Go of the Power 90

Late Middle: Themes and Best Practices 90

What’s Happening in the Late Middle 95

Phase 4 Closing Weeks: Pruning, Reflecting, andWrapping Up 97

Closing Weeks: Themes and Best Practices 97

What’s Happening in the Closing Weeks 101

Summary—and What’s Next 102

Pause, Reflect, and Integrate 102

6 Phase 1: Course Beginnings 103

Overview of Tips for Course Beginnings 104

Preparing Your Syllabus and Course Site 104

Launching Your Course 105

Creating Meaningful and Stimulating Discussion Forums 105

Managing Discussion Forums 105

Preparing Your Syllabus and Course Site 105

CB Tip 1: Essential Elements of an Online or Blended Course

Syllabus and Course Site 106

CB Tip 2: More on the Essential Elements of an Online or

Blended Syllabus 114

CB Tip 3: Designing Learning for All 117

CB Tip 4: Creating a Syllabus That Jump-starts Learning 119

CB Tip 5: Using “Bookending” to Add Structure and Meaning 124

CB Tip 6: The Faculty Role in Blended and Online Courses 128

Launching Your Course 131

CB Tip 7: Hitting the Ground Running: How Not to Lose

the First Week 131

CB Tip 8: Launching Social and Cognitive Presence 132

CB Tip 9: Generating Energy and Purpose with Specific

Learning Goals 137

CB Tip 10: Getting to Know Students’ Minds: The Vygotsky

Zone of Proximal Development 140

CB Tip 11: Getting into the Swing of a Course: Is There an

Ideal Weekly Rhythm? 142

Creating Meaningful and Stimulating Discussion Forums 145

CB Tip 12: The Why and How of Discussion Forums: Their

Role in the Online Course 145

CB Tip 13: Four Types of Discussion Forums: Purpose,

Structure, and Assessment 148

CB Tip 14: Characteristics and Examples of Good Discussion

Questions 152

CB Tip 15: Power Questioning for Meaningful Discussions 157

CB Tip 16: Guided Student Response Posts—A Three-Part

Structure 161

Managing Discussion Forums 162

CB Tip 17: Discussion Wraps: A Useful Cognitive Pattern or

a Collection of Discrete Thoughts? 163

CB Tip 18: Using Discussion Postings to Gather Evidence of

Learning 166

CB Tip 19: Feedback in Discussion Posts—How Soon,

How Much, andWrapping Up 168

Summary—and What’s Next 170

Pause, Reflect, and Integrate 170

7 Phase 2: Keeping the Ball Rolling in the Early Middle 171

Overview of Tips for the Early Middle 171

Monitoring and Managing Communications 172

Memory, Metacognition, and Learning Guides 172

Building Cognitive Presence 172

Strategies and Tools for Building Community 172

Monitoring and Managing Communications 173

EM Tip 1: Tools for Teaching Presence: Announcements, E-mails,

Discussion Forums, and Texting 173

EM Tip 2: Monitoring Student Progress Using Analytics 176

EM Tip 3: Early Feedback—It’s a Two-Way Street 178

EM Tip 4: Tips for Making Grading Time Efficient and Formative 182

EM Tip 5: Dealing with Difficult Students—What Do You Do? 185

Memory, Metacognition, and Learning Skills 190

EM Tip 6: Steps in Memory Making: What Behaviors Make a

Difference 190

EM Tip 7: Promoting Metacognitive Skills—Activities for

Thinking About Thinking 194

EM Tip 8: Student Guides for Course Reading and Listening

Resources 198

Building the Cognitive Presence 201

EM Tip 9: Building Cognitive Presence Using the Practical

Inquiry Model 201

Conclusion 204

EM Tip 10: Core Concepts of a Course—Do You Know Yours? 204

EM Tip 11: Assessment Plans for Online and Blended Courses 208

An Assessment Plan That Is Distributed and Continuous 210

EM Tip 12: Three Best Assessment Practices 211

EM Tip 13: Assignments for the Evaluating and Creating

Levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy 215

Strategies and Tools for Building Community 218

EM Tip 14: Collaborating with Groups of Two or

Three—Micro-Teaming 219

EM Tip 15: Projects in Online Courses: Setting Up and

Structuring Groups 221

EM Tip 16: Using Synchronous Gathering Apps 224

EM Tip 17: Using Audio and Video to Create Engaging

Learning Experiences 226

Summary—and What’s Next 228

Pause, Reflect, and Integrate 228

8 Phase 3: Letting Go of Power in the Late Middle 229

Overview of Tips for the Late Middle 229

Going Deeper: Leveraging the Power of Questions 230

Feedback for Cognitive Growth 230

Assessing Learning as You Go with Projects 231

Community Empowerment and Social Networking 231

Going Deeper: Leveraging the Power of Questions 231

LM Tip 1: Questions and Answers: Upside Down and

Inside Out 231

LM Tip 2: Three Techniques for Making Your Students’

Knowledge Visible 233

LM Tip 3: Developing Rigor in Questioning: Eight Intellectual

Standards 235

LM Tip 4: Moving Beyond Knowledge Integration to

Defining Problems and Finding Solutions 240

Feedback for Cognitive Growth 242

LM Tip 5: Timely Feedback on Assignments and Using Rubrics 243

LM TIP 6: Substantive Feedback: Doing It Wisely andWell 248

LM Tip 7: Rubrics for Analyzing Critical Thinking 252

Assessing Learning as You Go with Projects 254

LM Tip 8: Customizing and Personalizing Projects 255

LM Tip 9: Managing and Facilitating Group Projects 258

LM Tip 10: Assessing Group Projects 260

LM Tip 11: Four Coaching Practices During Project Time 263

Community Empowerment and Social Networking 266

LM Tip 12: Course Middles and Muddles: Souped-Up

Conversations to Spark Energy 266

LM Tip 13: Using Social Networking to Build Community 268

LM Tip 14: Experts: A Touch of Spice 270

Summary—and What’s Next 273

Pause, Reflect, and Integrate 273

9 Phase 4: Pruning, Reflecting, andWrapping Up 275

Overview of Tips for the Closing Weeks 275

Meaningful Projects and Presentations 276

Preparing for the Course Wrap 276

Meaningful Projects and Presentations 276

CW Tip 1: Using What-If Scenarios: Flexing Our Minds

with Possibilities 277

CW Tip 2: Stage 3 of a Learning Community: Stimulating and

Comfortable Camaraderie 279

CW Tip 3: Learners as Leaders 281

CW Tip 4: Course Wrapping with Concept Mapping:

Capturing Course Content Meaningfully 284

CW Tip 5: Using Case Studies: Making Content Real 288

Preparing for the Course Wrap 292

CW Tip 6: Pausing, Reflecting, and Pruning Strategies 293

CW Tip 7: Gaming Activities for Energy, Learning and

Engagement 295

CW Tip 8: Closing Experiences: Wrapping Up a Course

with Style 298

CW Tip 9: Debriefing Techniques: What One Change Would

Students Recommend? 301

Conclusion—and What’s Next 302

Pause, Reflect, and Integrate 302

10 Teaching Accelerated Intensive Courses 303

Overview of Tips for Intensive Courses (IC) 303

IC Tip 1: Designing Intensive Courses Using Content Framing

and Case Studies 304

IC Tip 2: High-Impact Practices for Short Courses: Reflections,

Patterns, and Relationships 306

IC Tip 3: Developing Expertise in Intensive Courses: Can It

Be Done? 310

Conclusion—and What’s Next 313

Pause, Reflect, and Integrate 313

11 Flexible Learning Models and Experiences 315

Overview of Tips for Flexible Learning Designs (FL) 315

What Are Flexible Learning Designs? 316

FL Tip 1: Incorporating Online Elements Quickly—Five

Essentials 317

FL Tip 2: Making Large Online Classes Feel Small 322

FL Tip 3: Structuring the Synchronous Online Class Meeting 326

Conclusion—and What’s Next 330

Pause, Reflect, and Integrate 330

12 What’s Next: Reflecting and Looking Forward 331

Reflecting and Looking Forward Using the Four Course Phases 331

Design and Preparation Phase 332

Reflecting on Phase One, Course Beginnings 333

Reflecting on Phase Two, Early Middle 334

Reflecting on Phase Three, Late Middle 335

Reflecting on Phase Four, Closing Weeks 336

Reflecting and Looking Forward with the Learning Experiences

Framework 337

Learner 337

Faculty Mentor 338

Content and Knowledge Resources and Goals 338

Environment and Context 339

Advice from Fellow Online Instructors 340

Advice 1: Just Do Your Best 340

Advice 2: It’s Kind of Fun to Do the Impossible! 340

Advice 3: Be Prepared to Learn a Lot 341

Advice 4: Don’t Underestimate the Value of Connection 342

Advice 5: Let Go of What Used to Be 342

Conclusion: Innovation as a Three-Phase Process 343

References 345

Index 369

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