Connect & Engage: Effective (and Efficient) Asynchronous Instructional Strategies

Watch This Session

Brief Abstract

The lack of synchronous interaction often leaves faculty struggling to get students to actively (and consistently) participate in course activities. Presentation offers 10 concrete instructional strategies to create a more dynamic, personalized asynchronous learning experience that fosters students’ engagement and participation.

Presenters

Lead Presenter: B. Jean Mandernach, Grand Canyon University

B. Jean Mandernach, Ph.D. is Executive Director of the Center for Innovation in Research and Teaching at Grand Canyon University. Her research focuses on enhancing student learning in the online classroom through innovative instructional and assessment strategies. In addition, she has interests in the development of effective faculty evaluation models, perception of online degrees, and faculty workload considerations. Jean received her B.S. in comprehensive psychology from the University of Nebraska at Kearney, an M.S. in experimental psychology from Western Illinois University and Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.

Extended Abstract

When teaching in the asynchronous online classroom, faculty often report that students are disengaged and disconnected. Simply put, the lack of synchronous interaction often leaves faculty struggling to get students to actively (and consistently) participate in course activities. Rather than addressing this challenge by shifting to synchronous requirements, it can be more effective to incorporate instructional strategies that remove barriers to course engagement while simultaneously creating a more personalized, value-added learning experience. For students, lack of engagement often results from a combination of cognitive overload and lack of intrinsic motivation. The problem is compounded when students feel disconnected from the learning community or lack confidence in their ability to successfully complete course requirements. Presentation offers 10 concrete instructional strategies to create a more dynamic, personalized asynchronous learning experience that fosters students’ engagement and participation.The lack of synchronous interaction often leaves faculty struggling to get students to actively (and consistently) participate in course activities. Presentation offers 10 concrete instructional strategies to create a more dynamic, personalized asynchronous learning experience that fosters students’ engagement and participation.

Presentation will address challenges getting students to consistently login and truly engage in the learning activities. The focus is on creating a learning experience in which students are intrinsically motivated to participate in asynchronous activities (rather than only engaging to meet minimum grading requirements). Key strategies include:

  1. Be clear
    1. reduce cognitive load
    2. consistency
    3. redundant instructions
    4. respond quickly
  2. Be proactive
    1. push communication
    2. FAQ
    3. course and assignment guides
  3. Humanize
    1. personalize
    2. share videos
  4. Provide multiple opportunities for practice and success
    1. formative assessment
    2. mastery learning
    3. motivate and monitor
    4. feedback
  5. Make it manageable
    1. use modules
    2. integrate examples and exemplars
    3. use rubrics
    4. provide benchmarks
  6. Connect
    1. office hours
    2. texting
    3. social conventions
  7. Emphasize relevance, value & authenticity
    1. create dynamic online discussions
    2. integrate videos, case studies, current events, etc
  8. Allow for choice
    1. personalize learning options
    2. emphasize on learning objectives
  9. Student-friendly policies
    1. due dates
    2. expectations
    3. multimedia
  10. Be purposeful
    1. intentional course design
    2. avoid busy-work
    3. focus time and attention

For each strategy, instructors will be provided with effective, efficient techniques that can be implemented without burdening instructor workload.