Creative Teaching Strategies, Adapted For Use Online

Student biographical information

At the beginning of the course, students are requested to post a brief bio to a bulletin board or discussion area to introduce themselves to the rest of the class and also become familiar with the course technology.  The instructor can provide guided questions for students in writing their bios.

Student home pages

Students can create personal home pages for the course, where they can publish their personal information, homework assignments, project information and other resources they collect for the course. The instructor can suggest a template for student home pages or leave it to students to decide their page format.  The instructor can also provide guidelines, goals, and expectations for home pages.

Team or Group Project

The instructor divides students into groups and each group selects a leader for an assigned project.  If there are multiple small projects for the course, students can rotate to lead group projects.  Students will apply course concepts to solving a problem the instructor has given them and report back to the instructor and the entire class.  Other students may be encouraged to comment on the final projects of each group.  Discussion and chat could be used to facilitate students’ group work.

Depending on the design of the course, students may be asked to design and/or build a project/model that illustrates the concepts they are learning.

The instructor can also assign students a project that they will build as they progress through the course and turn in towards the end.  The students can be given either partial instructions along the way or complete instructions up front. This might be a written assignment, organization of material, a structure they build, or some other item they put together.

Peer Assessment

Individuals or student groups may be asked to complete an assignment that will be assessed by their peers. This is an effective learning assessment tool when the assignment has no single right or wrong answer and when several methods may be used to solve a problem or address an issue.

Jigsaw

Jigsaw is good for teaching complex concepts that have a number of pieces.  For a basic Jigsaw activity, you would separate students into "expert" groups.  Each "expert" group is assigned a different piece of the concept to present to the rest of the class. The class first meets to discuss their individual learning needs. Then each group member goes to his or her "expert" group.  In the "expert" group, the students work on ways to present their piece of content effectively so that the rest of the class "gets" it.  Once their presentation is ready, the "expert" groups teach their concept to the class. You can assess this learning activity through peer review or through a quiz that shows the success of the individual presentations within a group. Jigsaw is a good way to ensure individual responsibility while using collaborative learning.

Interview

Students are asked to interview an expert in the field and write a report on it. They can post the report to the course site. The instructor can guide the interview in various ways by giving questions or suggestions. Permission must be asked and obtained if the results are to be shared.

Guest speaker or Expert in the field

The instructor invites a noted expert to speak at a designated time, e.g., in an asynchronous discussion session or a class chat.  Both the expert and students should receive the discussion topics ahead of the discussion time.  Rules for discussion should also be distributed if needed.

The instructor can also ask students find an expert in the field and communicate with the expert, e.g., asking questions, advice, opinions, etc.   The student can share the results of communication and the reflection of the activity with the instructor and the entire class.

Students As Teachers

Students are given a simple teaching assignment. The instructor can encourage students to use various technology tools to aid their teaching.

Instructor's Guide: An Outline of How to Proceed
Online Lecture Strategies
Online Discussion Strategies
Emergency Teaching Home
CRLT Home

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