10.1 Best Practices for Teacher-Student Interaction in the Online Classroom
Next to clear, predictable course design methodology, teacher-to-student interaction is the second-most important factor in ensuring student success in an online or hybrid course. So far, you have learned to communicate with your students through announcements, discussions and messages, but timely feedback is another important part of instructor-led communication in online and hybrid courses. This chapter is about creating opportunities for teacher-to-student interaction through the assignment tool in Blackboard.
Best Practices for Assignments in Blackboard
In online and hybrid classes, explanations for assignments must be explicit. Since your students are not in front of you, and do not have the benefit of your body language and vocal tonality, all they have are your words. Make sure your words include:
If you can, include screenshots to illustrate complicated points in the assignment. If the assignment is very complicated, try making a video to illustrate how to perform the tasks in the assignment.
We use project-based assessment in most of our instructional designs. Projects are often long and complicated, with many parts and many ways to reach the same goal. These projects are often completed over a series of weeks. So, to give students everything they need to complete the projects, we often make a folder in the Course Documents section of the course that holds the assignment and all instructions, tips, hints, examples and other relevant information, and then link to the folder in the weeks where students should be working on the project.
For example, in the award-winning Humanities: Renaissance to Modern Times course, students are asked to produce a video about a modern artist. They know they have this project from the very first day of class, and it must be finished by the last week of class. The project has both a "checkpoint" where students declare their topics, and an optional peer review, where they can receive feedback from their instructor and peers. Of course, it is a best practice for instructors to participate in peer reviews.
The project instructions also include instructions on several ways to complete the videos, ranging from narrated PowerPoints to using Blackboard's Collaborate tool. The folder containing all of the instructions for this project looks like this:
- Clear parameters for assignment
- Word count/page count instructions
- List of what to do/what to avoid
- Instructions on how to turn in the assignment
- Rubric detailing how the assignment will be graded
- Examples of "good" assignments
If you can, include screenshots to illustrate complicated points in the assignment. If the assignment is very complicated, try making a video to illustrate how to perform the tasks in the assignment.
We use project-based assessment in most of our instructional designs. Projects are often long and complicated, with many parts and many ways to reach the same goal. These projects are often completed over a series of weeks. So, to give students everything they need to complete the projects, we often make a folder in the Course Documents section of the course that holds the assignment and all instructions, tips, hints, examples and other relevant information, and then link to the folder in the weeks where students should be working on the project.
For example, in the award-winning Humanities: Renaissance to Modern Times course, students are asked to produce a video about a modern artist. They know they have this project from the very first day of class, and it must be finished by the last week of class. The project has both a "checkpoint" where students declare their topics, and an optional peer review, where they can receive feedback from their instructor and peers. Of course, it is a best practice for instructors to participate in peer reviews.
The project instructions also include instructions on several ways to complete the videos, ranging from narrated PowerPoints to using Blackboard's Collaborate tool. The folder containing all of the instructions for this project looks like this:
When you leave feedback for assignments, be sure to reference rubric, but also try to leave personalized feedback for your students. Students respond best to feedback when instructors:
For example:
Hi Katherine! You chose a great topic for this assignment. Your visuals fit the assignment very well, too. Next time, try using a better microphone so we can hear your narration more clearly.
Keep your interactions as positive as possible, but don't shy away from giving students the feedback they need to grow and improve. When a student does not meet the expectations of the assignment, remind him that you are always available to assist him though email.
- Call them by name
- Tell them the best part of their assignment
- Leave constructive feedback listing things they can improve
For example:
Hi Katherine! You chose a great topic for this assignment. Your visuals fit the assignment very well, too. Next time, try using a better microphone so we can hear your narration more clearly.
Keep your interactions as positive as possible, but don't shy away from giving students the feedback they need to grow and improve. When a student does not meet the expectations of the assignment, remind him that you are always available to assist him though email.
Next Steps
When you are ready, continue to 10.2 Creating an Assignment in Blackboard.