recommendations on how to improve a course

1. Plan. Are you looking to make evaluations easier and aren’t interested in difficult, paper-based feedback?
2. Collect. The goal of course evaluation is to gather information from students. Course evaluation software allows you...
3. Distribute. Save time and money through digital evaluations with customizable questionnaire. Invite participants with...

Full Answer

How can I use the enhancement period to improve my course?

Course writers can also use the enhancement period to increase engagement through the use of interactives or multimedia pieces. Each lesson could have additional multimedia (beyond the video intro) and/or an interactive element that makes it stand out.

How do I enhance an online course?

Add instructional material options. When enhancing an online course, you don’t necessarily have to replace instructional materials (or other course elements) unless they’re outdated or incorrect. Instead, you can add options.

How to improve training effectiveness and the learning experience?

The more information you have about each work team operations and the employee’s profiles, the more accurately you can make suggestions to improve training effectiveness and tailor the learning experience. In this way, you can identify the main gaps and focus on designing a program that solves them.

Should we work to improve undergraduate instruction?

Harry Brighouse shares instructional practices that undergraduates say they have rarely encountered and think should be more widely shared. The first recommendation of the American Academy’s recent report "The Future of Undergraduate Education" is simple: we should work to improve undergraduate instruction. But how?

How to make Round 2 online better?

1. Build a personal connection with your students. Instead of simply introducing yourself, consider conducting a student survey.

How to help students with attention span?

Help your students. Make sure each class session is purposeful. Let students know each session’s goals and structure and your expectations for them .

How to teach empathy to students?

Encourage your students. Provide them with scaffolding: rubrics, check lists, sample responses to test questions, background information, glossaries. Offer some flexibility on deadlines and opportunities to re-do assignments. And provide prompt feedback.

Is project based learning impossible?

Even in our socially-distanced environment, project-based learning is not impossible.

How to enhance online courses?

When enhancing an online course, you don’t necessarily have to replace instructional materials (or other course elements) unless they’re outdated or incorrect. Instead, you can add options . For example, if you’ve written an article on a topic you’re asking your students to read, consider creating a video based on that topic and adding it as an equivalent option. Doing so is one way of incorporating Universal Design for Learning principles into your course. Adding variety to your instructional materials helps students leverage their preferred type of learning, meaning you increase the chance that you’re meeting all students’ needs.

What is course enhancement?

Course enhancement is a tremendous opportunity to add value to your course. Whether you use one of the suggestions above or find advice elsewhere, remember to use the data available to you—student satisfaction data, instructors’ anecdotal data, or your own observations—to make informed decisions that will create a better learning experience for your students. The most well-intentioned enhancements can fall short if they’re not in direct service to your course’s needs, so it’s important to take time not only to incorporate the ideas above, but to do so in a way that supports your course’s unique needs.

What is enhancement period?

The enhancement period can also be an opportunity to upgrade assignments to be authentic, faculty-created assignments (as opposed to textbook-based). Although assessment is a massive topic with a wealth of opportunities, consider some of the following types you can include in your next enhancement:

Why use rubrics in LMS?

It may also be worth discussing your rubrics with your departmental colleagues to see if you’re expecting the same things from your students on common assignment types, such as discussion board responses. Consider leveraging your LMS’s features, such as the ability to upload rubric templates so that others can benefit from the work you put into designing your rubric. Using rubrics will also serve to create a sense of common expectations within your program.

What is course design?

Course design is fundamentally a process of continual improvement. After an institution has initially developed and taught a course at least once, it should go back into development for updates, enhancements, and sometimes corrections. After all, once an institution has offered a course, it can collect a wealth of information on ...

Why are textbook free courses so popular?

Textbook-free courses have grown increasingly popular in recent years because of their ability to lower course costs for students and add flexibility to a course writer’s curriculum. The course enhancement period can be a good time to include them in an online course.

What are supplemental resources?

These types of resources are aimed at providing students with optional course elements that might help them meet the course’s learning objectives. Practice activities can be a great way of helping students prepare for an assessment or gauge their understanding of progress toward a particular objective, while supplemental resources can provide students with related information or present previously covered information in a new way. If you employ either of these in your course, however, do so carefully, and make sure that students know that they’re optional course elements (as opposed to required readings or activities).

What should students know about the course?

Students should know what they’ll be able to do when the course is complete at the BEGINNING of the course. They should know WHY materials and activities are included in the course. Activities should help them master/meet course learning objectives. Outcomes should be relevant, measurable and on grade level.

How can technology help students?

Technology can help create a flexible plan to measure student progress and accommodate different learning styles. Virtual presentations, digital collages and video are just some of the ways to leverage technology in student assessment.

Why is technology important in education?

Technology offers the opportunity to create new methods of instruction. Make sure the latest and greatest application helps your students to engage with the materials actively so they can master the learning objectives.

How to maintain high quality response rates?

The most effective method to maintain high quality response rates is to make automated evaluations and deliver results in quick turnaround time to faculty and students, and develop action plan based on the feedback. Online course evaluations can handle substantive feedback from students.

What is a student course evaluation?

Student course evaluation is purposeful, systematic and careful collection of insightful feedback, conveying the effectiveness and impact of programs and courses that needs a change and improvement.

Why is student feedback important?

Student feedback is critical to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the courses, programs and instruction to drive improvement institution-wide. Course evaluations enable faculty and administrators to measure the classroom experience.

What should students understand about the content of a course?

Students should understand what content they will learn, what skills they will develop, and what attitudes, values, and feelings may change as a result of taking the course. Including such information will help you develop some well considered course objectives, if you have not already done so.

Why are course syllabi important?

Your course syllabi are an important teaching legacy. They often provide the only permanent record of your teaching philosophy, commitment to teaching, and pedagogical innovations. If you keep old copies of your course syllabi and read several years’ worth at one sitting, you can easily see how you have developed as a teacher.

Why is a syllabus important?

In addition to informing your students, a good syllabus provides a record of your course for colleagues who may teach it later. It can also aid departmental and institutional curriculum planning, and assist outside agencies in assessing your program’s goals and effectiveness.

What does the tone of a syllabus mean?

The tone of your syllabus can indicate how approachable you are, and students often form an immediate impression of whether they will like you— and your course—from reading the syllabus. Needless to say, it is better if the impression is positive.

What is a good syllabi?

Good syllabi fulfill specific purposes, possess essential components, and answer crucial questions. However, few syllabi perform all these functions equally well. My advice is this: try to write syllabi that are as brief and focused as possible, but that communicate the nature of your course to students in a clear and understandable manner. The better your students understand the purposes and procedures of your course, the more likely they are to enter enthusiastically into the learning partnership you offer them.

What is the process of writing a syllabus?

The very process of writing a well-constructed syllabus forces you to crystallize, articulate, organize, and communicate your thoughts about a course. This thought and writing produces what Gabbanesch (1992) calls the enriched syllabus, which compels you to publicly reveal your previously well concealed assumptions.

When should a syllabus be available?

This brings up the need for prompt distribution of syllabi. They should be available on the first day of class, not a week or a month into the semester.

What to do when students pass a milestone?

If your students pass a milestone, make an achievement or push through a barrier share it with the class or send a personal message of congratulations.

What are the topics of the course?

All Topics 1. Set Expectations and Model Engagement 2. Build Engagement and Motivation with Course Content and Activities 3. Initiate Interaction and Create Faculty Presence 4. Foster Interaction between Students and Create a Learning Community 5. Create an Inclusive Environment Resources References and Further Reading

What is the most important aspect of a student's learning?

One of the most important aspects—if not the most important aspect—of any student’s learning is you, the instructor. Short introductions to content and course activities from you the instructor can draw attention to important concepts and provide purpose and clarity.

How long does it take for a student to grade a paper?

Allow students to track their progress and improve their work through timely grading and constructive feedback. If possible, grade papers within one week of students submitting assignments. Longer than that, students begin for forget what they have turned in.

How can you complement theory?

You can complement theory with competitions, role-plays, tests, or interactive games related to the program. Presenting the training process as a game helps employees compete with greater motivation, leading to increased retention and absorption of learning material.

How long should a student be in a learning session?

Research suggests that between 15 and 30 minutes is the optimal time for a learning session, either face-to-face or e-learning; if that period is exceeded, the student begins to lose concentration and productivity decreases.

Why are companies moving to video training?

It’s no wonder that it’s a strong trend, with companies moving to video solutions to save cost and increase flexibility. Smart training companies are starting to use technology to their advantage however. The advantages can help differentiate your service and allow you to meet a larger range of your customer’s needs:

Who shares instructional practices that undergraduates say they have rarely encountered and think should be more widely shared?

Harry Brighouse shares instructional practices that undergraduates say they have rarely encountered and think should be more widely shared.

How long does it take to introduce a class?

But in small classes, introductions take just three to five minutes. Large lectures are more difficult, but TAs can effectively administer that process in discussion sections. Just taking time at the start of each class to have students introduce themselves can have invaluable effects in and beyond the classroom.

Do faculty give feedback on assignments?

In many classes, faculty members give comments on assignments in writing along with the final grade. While that kind of feedback can be a tool for improvement, it is too easy for students to brush comments off and simply keep those things in mind for next time rather than consider how they might be addressed.

Is personalized criticism a valuable resource?

Personalized criticism from professors is a valuable resource, one that is too rarely used. Whether through multiple drafts or in-person discussions, engaging with negative feedback can benefit students in any area of study.

How to make your training better?

Make it good. Invest in the best quality instructors and programs, even if it means you have to do less training to keep within your budget. The last thing you want is for your employees to feel like you’ve wasted their time or insulted their intelligence with silly, amateurish training exercises. Do it yourself.

What is important in designing a training program?

Employees will likely have a pretty good idea of where their skills deficits might lie. And, if they have a hand in shaping training and development programs, they’ ll have a much better attitude about participating.

Why do you want employees who value training programs?

Employees who value training programs are the ones you want because it means they are always seeking ways to improve themselves and learn new skills in this rapidly changing world. If you’re looking to attract and retain the very best, it’s worth it to invest in training and development.

Add Video.

Add Interactives and/or Multimedia.

• Course writers can also use the enhancement period to increase engagement through the use of interactives or multimedia pieces. Each lesson could have additional multimedia (beyond the video intro) and/or an interactive element that makes it stand out. Although this type of media presence can be great in an online course, it’s important to make sur...

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Enhance Assessments.

Consider Textbook-Free Alternatives.

Add Practice Activities and Supplemental Resources.

Add Instructional Material Options.

Include (More) rubrics.

Conclusion