This Postsecondary Teaching with Technology Collaborative report examines how faculty and staff at nine institutions reconsidered students’ online learning needs in the midst of the pandemic, and it explores how supports were offered to help students strengthen their self-directed learning skills.
This Postsecondary Teaching with Technology Collaborative brief discusses some of the challenges with online teaching reported by STEM instructors, describes a self-directed learning (SDL) framework to address these challenges, and highlights support strategies that can be integrated into teaching practices.
The COVID-19 pandemic gave college faculty and instructional support staff a crash course in online teaching and course design. Educators and students alike discovered certain benefits of online courses, but the shift to “online all the time” bore out the warning in past research that online learning—particularly asynchronous, self-paced courses that lack live interaction between faculty and students—puts more demands on students to manage their own learning and is associated with lower pass rates. The shift also revealed that many faculty have not been adequately prepared for the challenges of teaching and learning online, and that faculty often lack access to resources and institutional support for using technology effectively to foster student learning.
Overview Motivation Metacognition Applied Learning Glossary Instructional Strategies to Support Students’ Applied Learning Definition of applied learning: Learning techniques and self-discipline strategies that help students take greater ownership of achieving specific learning goals. Strategies to set the foundation: Instructors can provide guidance on how students can engage in self-quizzing and share best practices on note-taking. … Continue reading Applied Learning
Overview Motivation Metacognition Applied Learning Glossary Instructional Strategies to Support Students’ Metacognition Definition of metacognition: Understanding how to manage learning and actively adjust to the demands of any learning task. Strategies to set the foundation: Instructors can ask students to reflect on past courses and set goals for the current course. Strategies to encourage practice: … Continue reading Metacognition
Overview Motivation Metacognition Applied Learning Glossary Instructional Strategies to Support Students’ Motivation Definition of motivation: Emotions and beliefs around learning—such as a student’s feelings of control and self-efficacy and their sense of belonging. Strategies to set the foundation: Instructors can provide information on growth mindset and share past students’ testimonials. Strategies to encourage practice: Instructors … Continue reading Motivation