Quality Instruction
Defining Instruction
Instruction, or teaching, plays a critical role in student learning. It can be defined as “Anything that is done purposely to facilitate learning” (Reigeluth & Carr-Chellman, 2009, p. 6).
Defining Quality Instruction
Quality instruction implies a level of teaching that engages students and helps them connect to the material. In order for this connection to occur, the following elements need to be present:
- High quality course content aligned with state standards
- Strong, consistent teacher presence in the online classroom
- Active teaching in the form of both instruction and directions. Teachers should provide their students both instruction for learning lessons and directions for how to complete their assignments.
- Meaningful, instructional feedback on student submissions.
Direction vs. Instruction
View the video below to see examples of directions and instructions in an online classroom.
Face-to-face and Online Instruction
You will find many aspects of online instruction are parallel to what you provide face to face. There are differences, but often those relate to how we implement the instruction and not the actual message. Drawing from your experiences in the face-to-face classroom will help you overcome the challenges that may arise.
Online and Face-to-Face Instruction Parallels
- Teachers demonstrate mastery of their subject area.
- Teachers select course materials to further instruct students.
- Teachers provide clarifying directions for assignments.
- Teachers provide additional resources to students.
- Instructional feedback is provided to the students.
- Teachers cultivate a positive classroom environment to facilitate learning.
- Teachers and students need to be engaged in the content.
- Expectations are clear.
- Teachers must pace their students to finish on time.
- Students need to know their teacher cares about them.
Online and Face-to-Face Instruction Differences
- The online classroom provides students more flexibility with anytime/anyplace learning.
- Developing relationships and community can be more difficult in the online environment.
- Communication and feedback are asynchronous in the online environment.
- Teachers and students are not able to use non-verbal cues when communicating in the online environment.
- Methods for instruction may vary.
- Monitoring academic integrity online depends more on school personnel and LMS.
Student Engagement
One of the challenges for online teachers is that you are not present in the classroom to interact with students. You cannot see who is actively participating and who is not. You cannot reach out and refocus passive learners like you can in a classroom. As an online teacher, you may need to think more deliberately about being engaging.
Teachers should provide instruction that enhances the experience for the learner. This can be done through:
- Visual Design: Organization, color, and illustration are all part of visual design. A picture is worth 1000 words. Visuals that support content are more captivating and often increase engagement.
- Currency: Finding ways to make content relevant and connecting it to common experiences can get students more involved in the course.
- Individualization: Taking ownership of the material and presenting it in your own way shows presence and lets your students know you are a “real person,” express passion and excitement about what students are to learn, and provide guidance to students. In addition, it provides the learner multiple avenues of interacting with the content and personalizing their experience.
Summary
Through quality instruction, teachers can create a positive classroom environment, show presence, and increase the likelihood that students will be present in the course.
As a result, students will interact with the content and instructional material provided by the teacher, communicate questions and concerns with the teacher, and, most importantly, learn.
