Issue 27 - Online Learning Model
Do you teach online?
Are you looking for ways to increase student engagement, retention and overall satisfaction?
The second of our monthly bulletins on the CSU Online Learning Model (OLM) draws strategies from two of the seven elements of the OLM: Interaction Between Students and Learning Communities.
Implementing the CSU Value INSIGHTFUL in your teaching.
In living the value of "insightful" we act respectfully and perceptively to seek to understand why people think and behave in the ways that they do. An insightful approach means we remove ambiguity, we are each clear and agreed about our goals and actions, and we better position ourselves for success.
Interaction Between Students
CSU Division of Learning & Teaching
Source: Learning Online Unit: OLM Educator Hub
Student learning is enhanced through online peer learning activities, facilitated by an online teacher, supporting the development of learning outcomes.
Bernard and Rubalcava (2000) ask us to consider the learner characteristics and the learning context in the design of online collaborative learning activities if potential benefits are to be realised.
Well-designed cooperative and collaborative learning strategies can lead to substantial learning benefits in both school and university contexts (Johnson, Johnson, & Smith, 1998; Slavin, 1996; Hattie, 2008).
Kreijns et al. (2002) suggest that social interaction facilitated by computer supported cooperative learning has the capacity to encourage shared understanding, critical thinking and the social construction of knowledge.
Activities that promote interaction embedded in your modules as part of the learning process should have a clear purpose that relates to the learning outcomes. These could be as simple as providing the opportunity for students to introduce themselves on the discussion board or providing peer feedback through tools such as Peerwise.
What are some of the strategies that might be considered?*
Asynchronous Discussions - Discussions that can utilise online technologies and take place without students having to be present at the same time.
Collaborative Group Projects - Students work together to achieve a shared goal.
Collaborative Study Groups - Groups of students working together to learn and study.
Peer Commenting - Students review, comment and critique each other's work.
Reflective Journals - Students develop the ability to express and assess their own learning & experience.
Using Media for Conversations - Take advantage of new technologies to enable rich conversations with students
* The links in this section will take you to CSULX, the Online Learning Exchange, where you will find an overview of the strategy, benefits for learning and teaching, examples in practice, guides and tools for implementation and links to further resources.
The right tools will help you to implement these strategies into your own teaching. Here are just some to explore. Try to select a mix of synchronous and asynchronous tools.
Some available tools include:
Purposeful interaction using Interact2 Blog; Discussion Board
Social networking tools Facebook and Twitter
References available from CSU Library
Bernard, R. M., & Rubalcava, B. (2000). Collaborative online distance learning: Issues for future practices and research. Distance Education, 21(2), 260-277.
doi: 10.1080/0158791000210205
Hattie, J. (2008). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. Oxon, UK: Routledge.
Johnson, D. W., Johnson, R. T., & Smith, K.A. (1998). Cooperative learning returns to college: What evidence is there that it works? Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 30(4), 26-35.
Kreijns, K., Kirschner, P. A., & Jochems, W. (2002). The sociability of computer-supported collaborative learning environments. Educational Technology & Society, 5(1), 1-21.
Moore, M. G. (1989). Editorial: Three types of interaction. American Journal of Distance Education, 3(2), 1-7. doi:10.1080/08923648909526659
Slavin, R. E. (1996). Research on cooperative learning and achievement: What we know, what we need to know. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 21(1), 43-69. doi:10.1006/ceps.1996.0004
Learning Communities
By: Michelle Wilkinson, Vicki Jordan & Alissa Brabin
CSU Division of Learning & Teaching
Source: Learning Online Unit: OLM Educator Hub
Learning Communities supported through online communication tools, subject design, and teacher facilitation ensure the student feels part of, and actively contributes to, a learning community, factors which link directly to student motivation and resilience.
What are some of the strategies that might be considered?
These are just some of the learning communities strategies that could be considered:*
Sub-cohorts - The creation of smaller-sub cohorts within large cohorts, facilitated by a tutor who guides the community building, provides formative feedback through discussion forums and is responsible for the marking of summative assessment tasks;
Facilitated Socialisation - Learning activities that support students through orientation to the online environment, socialisation and personalisation of the environment, prior to undertaking curriculum focused community learning activities;
Shared Activity - Community building through contribution to a shared resource such as a gallery of photos containing examples of a concept or experiences from professional placement;
Social Media - Establishment of social media streams supporting the sharing of ideas and resources, using tools such as Twitter, Instagram or shared bookmarking tools.
* The links in this section will take you to CSULX, the Online Learning Exchange, where you will find an overview of the strategy, benefits for learning and teaching, examples in practice, guides and tools for implementation and links to further resources.
References available from the CSU Library:
Akyol, Z., & Garrison, D. R. (2011). Understanding cognitive presence in an online and blended community of inquiry: Assessing outcomes and processes for deep approaches to learning. British Journal of Educational Technology, 42: 233-250. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2009.01029.x
Johnson, D. W., Johnson, R. T., & Smith, K.A. (1998). Cooperative learning returns to college: What evidence is there that it works? Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 30(4), 26-35. doi:10.1080/00091389809602629
Slavin, R. E. (1996). Research on cooperative learning and achievement: What we know, what we need to know. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 21(1), 43-69. doi:10.1006/ceps.1996.0004
Our Twitter feed includes links to further hints, tips and resources in the broader field of teaching in higher education. https://twitter.com/TeachingTuesday
Link to: Folder with all previous issues of Teaching Tuesdays
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1. Teaching support resources at CSU
You have access to a range of quality CSU resources to help you incorporate educational resources and techniques into your teaching. Check out the following:
- Teaching at CSU - the Division of Learning and Teaching website with links to resources for Teaching Staff, Online Learning, Assessment, Curriculum, Indigenous Curriculum, Workplace Learning, Technologies, Feedback and Analytics, and Learning Spaces.
- Resources for Learning and Teaching Academic and Professional Staff - searchable CSU database
- Learning Technologies - the starting point for a range of learning design options
- CSU Learning Exchange: Technologies in Context - a searchable database to promote online learning and teaching strategies
- The CSU wiki - a faculty-based source of learning and teaching information and strategies
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2. CSU Professional Learning Calendar
Regular seminars on teaching-related topics are listed on the
DLT Professional Learning Calendar - accessed directly here
or from the Division of Learning and Teaching front page - accessed here
CSU Professional Learning Calendar:
Evaluation of the CSU Online Learning Model Methodology Results and Implications for Practice: A SOLG workshop Zoom online session 18 September 2018 at 1:30 pm OR
Drop In for Sessional Staff Adobe Connect session 21 September 2018 at 11:00 am
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3. Contemporary Approaches to University Teaching MOOC
Contemporary Approaches to University Teaching is an
open access COURSE for the Australian Higher Education Sector.
This teaching induction course provides key introductory learning and teaching concepts and strategies for those who are in their first few years of university teaching. The self-paced course is comprised of 11expert-developed modules, and several specialty modules and resources.For more information on how to enrol, please contact
Sheeja Samuel- email: ssamuel@csu.edu.au ph: +61 2 6051 9742, or
Kellie Smyth - email: ksmyth@csu.edu.au ph: +61 2 6272 6270NOTE: Completion of this course will provide some credit and a pathway into the CSU Grad. Cert. in Learning & Teaching in Higher Education (GCLTHE). It can provide a basis for commencing preparation for Associate Fellowship (HEA).
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4. Bonus CSU resource - Lynda.com
A search for "student interaction" with a filter for "higher education" returned 372 results. As is common with many Lynda.com resources, many of the results were for different software, hardware and mobile options that you can consider for use in your teaching. Well worth a look!
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5. Magna Commons Subscription
All staff with a CSU email address have free access to our annual
CSU subscription to the Magna Commons series of online seminars
Presentation handouts, full transcripts and supplementary resources are available for download if you don't have time to listen to the seminar.
How to subscribe
Staff with a CSU email address can obtain the Magna Commons CSU subscription code from Ellen McIntyre elmcintyre@csu.edu.au
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6. Links to previous bulletins
Folder with all previous issues.
Issue 1 Group Work; Issue 2 Engagement; Issue 3 Engagement;
Issue 4 Academic Integrity; Issue 5 Feedback; Issue 6 Feedback;
Issue 7 Active Engagement; Issue 8 Building on Prior Learning;
Issue 9 Student Diversity; Issue 10 Learning Outcomes;
Issue 11 Deep Learning; Issue 12 The Teaching-Research Nexus;
Issue 13 Improving Student Learning; Issue 14 Planning for Effective Student Learning; Issue 15 Feedback for Teaching; Issue 16 Gamification;
Issue 17 Activities for Effective Learning; Issue 18 Dialogic Feedback;
Issue 19 Student Evaluation; Issue 20 Enhancing Learning;
Issue 21 Rationale for Assessment; Issue 22 Motivating Learning; Issue 23 Peer Learning; Issue 24 Improving Online Learning and Teaching; Issue 25 Teacher Presence;
Issue 26 Teaching Current Content
FoBJBS Newsletter: BJBS-News
FoA&E Newsletter: NeXus
Learning Academy, Division of Learning & Teaching, Charles Sturt University
Email: elmcintyre@csu.edu.au
Website: https://www.csu.edu.au/division/learning-and-teaching/about-us/learning-academy
Phone: +61 2 6933 4726
Twitter: @TeachingTuesday