Section B: Interaction
Interaction addresses instructor-initiated and student-initiated communication. Key elements of quality course design covered in this section include regular and effective interaction, both between and among instructors and students.
Instructor-to-Student Interaction
There are a number of ways to stay in communication with students. An important part of this is to make sure you've let them know how and when they can expect to hear from you.
Pre-Course Contact
- The purpose of this communication is to welcome the students, establish a comfortable class environment, introduce the class syllabus, schedule, protocols, and/or establish a weekly routine.
- It's recommended this initial message be sent using WebSMART since not all students may have confirmed their Canvas accounts and so won't receive messages/announcements sent via Canvas.
Student-to-Instructor Interaction
Making sure your contact information is easy to find and in multiple locations means students will be able to contact you when necessary.
Places you might put your contact info:
- Home Page
- Syllabus
- Communication Plan
- Orientation/Getting Started module
There are many reasons why some students may feel reluctant to get in touch with "the teacher" (shy personality, cultural norms, bad previous experiences). Simply adding a welcoming statement like "I look forward to hearing from you" along with your contact info can do much to ameliorate their hesitation.
Student-to-Student Interaction
In the face-to-face classroom, students often interact with one another as a natural part of the learning experience. They chat before and after class, they participate in informal discussions, and they build relationships through study groups and other course-related interactions.
These off-the-cuff (informal) interactions where students are sharing in a more social, impromptu manner—sometimes termed "proximal discovery”—can get lost in an online course when students aren’t physically in each other’s presence. This rubric item is asking you to explicitly include course design elements that encourage meaningful student-initiated interactions.
- Set up “Student lounge” or “Class Q&A” open discussions
- Arrange voluntary “study buddy” pairings
- Use Collaborations as a class blog
- Use groups to set up special interest groups or "get ready for the mid-term" study groups
Meaningful Interaction Among Students
Meaningful interaction has an impact on student achievement and satisfaction, as reflected by test performance, grades, and student satisfaction (Roblyer & Ekhaml, 2000).
Students tend to learn and retain content better when they have the opportunity to discuss it with classmates as opposed to just learning through lectures and readings. (The New Science of Teaching and Learning, Tracey Tokuhama-Espinosa, 2010)
Here are some ideas to build on the asynchronous nature of online learning in order to facilitate structured student-to-student engagement.
- Craft meaningful discussion prompts
- Effective: Assume one of the characters from this unit's novel, The Grapes of Wrath. Speak from their point of view about one of the internal conflicts depicted in the story.
- Ineffective: Share your thoughts about The Grapes of Wrath.
- Keep discussion groups small to promote meaningful conversation and connections that can grow.
- Sprinkle "get to know each other" activities throughout the course rather than just in the first week or two.
- Encourage supportive (rather than competitive) student-to-student interactions: peer review, "share a tip" discussion, well-structured "real world" group projects.
Defining Student Participation
Include a description of expectations for student participation (both quantity and quality)
- in your Syllabus or Orientation module
- within the specific discussion assignment
- using the Canvas rubric tool
When appropriate, consider including an example discussion post/reply for students who would benefit from more guidance.
Adapted from the CVC-OEI Course Design Resources.