Teaching and Learning at Vol State

Differentiated Instruction in an Online College Classroom Differentiated Instruction: Providing students opportunities to learn content using different resources, employing varied strategies, and/or allowing students to demonstrate their learning in different ways based on their individual learning needs and interests. --Natalie Milman, Differentiating Instruction in Online Environments Are we still thinking about differentiated instruction now that we're online? It's a core instructional principle that we all believe in, but in an overwhelming race to digital learning, it can easily be pushed to the side in a to-do-later-pile by even the very best and the brightest. How can we make an online learning environment engaging for our students while maintaining the integrity of the academic content and without further complicating the process? Creating an engaging course is as easy as focusing on the 3 main principles: Course Clarity, Student Communication, and Timely Student Feedba...

Hello, campus community!  In October 2021, I had the opportunity to participate in an online nursing mastery series focused on enhancing online instruction utilizing interactive activities and an understanding of learning theories to optimize student learning in the online environment. The program lasted through December 2021, with meetings one week each month and supplemental assignments, discussion, and collaboration in the remaining three weeks. Overall, the opportunity provided me with an improved understanding of online learning while providing me the opportunity to recognize areas of improvement in my current course delivery. For many of you, I am sure the concepts I learned are “old news”; however, as a new instructor, I found the discussion engaging and enjoyed the opportunity to explore ways to improve the classroom experience for my students (especially in this virtual environment). As you all know, the pandemic has changed the way in which we teach and learning occurs; t...

That’s right, I said it! Teaching via Zoom CAN be as engaging as teaching in the classroom! Additionally, online synchronous classes provide an opportunity to teach students digital technology and teamwork skills they will need in their careers, while having a little bit of FUN! Admittedly, educational technology (ed-tech) can feel overwhelming if you do not know where to begin. At first, I was worried students would struggle or feel more overwhelmed. I was honest upfront by telling students we were trying something new and I wanted their feedback after we tried it. Most students were excited to try something new. One student even commented it was nice that to see a faculty member trying new things and asking for feedback, it demonstrated that faculty members do care about student learning.   One student literally said, “I’m understanding the material and learning a skill I could use at a job.” Yes, that is my goal! We want students to learn the material to meet course learning o...

By Star Boe, Senior Instructional Design Specialist  Objectives can go by many names. Learning Objectives, Outcomes, Learning Outcomes, Student Learning Objectives (SLO), Student Learning Outcomes (also SLO) are just some of the terms you will hear. While some educators feel strongly about one term over another, I am going to just proceed with the generic term "objectives." Let me explain what I mean when I use the term objective. Dictionary.com defines objective as "something that one's efforts or actions are intended to attain or accomplish; purpose; goal; target." The connection to effort and intention go well with the expectations we have for students as they engage with our material. However, I don't like the connection that is drawn to "goal." Instructors often start with a goal. Goals are broad and often aspirational, such as:  Students will appreciate art from a wide variety of time periods, styles, and techniques. Students will acquire an ...

The year 2020 has been an extraordinary and challenging year, to say the least.  However, as educators teaching chemistry, a subject that requires problem-solving and critical thinking, we were abruptly forced to solve the problem of delivering course content for lecture and lab amid the pandemonium of a pandemic, COVID-19.  A year ago, neither of us would have thought it was possible to deliver an online version of chemistry that was equivalent to our on-ground course.  However, the silver lining of the pandemic was the innovation, collaboration, and modification as we agreed we will not do our students a disservice in the continuation of a quality education. March 2020, as we departed campus for our annual spring-break we never imagined what was to come; NO ONE CAN RETURN TO CAMPUS?  We had a week to get our courses ready to be completely online. But did online have to mean the traditional format that so many of our students refer to as “teaching themselves” (asynchronou...