Search
There are 11 results.
Tag
Tag
All (47)
Active Learning (4)
Activities (2)
Analytics (4)
Assessments (4)
Asynchrony (6)
Backwards Design (1)
Canvas (2)
Case Studies (1)
Collaboration (3)
Communication (5)
Community (5)
Content Creation (4)
Copyright (1)
Course Maintenance (1)
Course Preparation (5)
Discussions (4)
Faculty Presence (2)
Feedback (3)
Formative Assessments (3)
Game-Based Learning (2)
Gamification (1)
Images (1)
Learning Objectives (2)
Multimodality (7)
Qualitative courses (1)
Quantitative courses (1)
Social Media (1)
Summative Assessments (1)
Synchrony (7)
Third-Party Tools (1)
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) (1)
Video (1)
Visual Design (1)
The Power of Retrieval Practice
Faculty aim to impart lasting knowledge and skills, but sometimes, learning doesn’t stick. One of the most powerful techniques for enhancing students’ long-term retention is retrieval practice, the process of actively recalling information to mind rather than passively reading or reviewing it. In this piece, we’ll dive into the evidence behind retrieval practice, provide strategies for how to incorporate it into online courses, suggest ways to frame its utility to students to ensure they fully reap the benefits of this learning strategy, and describe specific types of retrieval practice activities.
Types of Retrieval Practice Activities
By incorporating regular retrieval practice into your online course, you can ensure that key takeaways are actually being taken away by students to use in the future rather than being left behind due to lack of use. The following are some specific activities that can help move learners from a hazy recollection of something toward more clarity and permanence.
Backward Design
Backward design is, as the name suggests, a process for designing curricula, courses, and lectures by working backwards from big-picture learning goals. The concept, introduced by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe (2005), suggests that instructors create assessments, activities, and course content that are explicitly aligned with the broader learning goals of the unit. This is different from the traditional content-driven approach to learning design, which focuses on course content first and only secondarily tries to align that content with learning goals.
Creating Learning Objectives
Learning objectives help inform students about what they will learn and how they will be assessed. Objectives are meant to align with course expectations. Therefore, any assigned exercises should be guided by the course’s specific learning objectives. Everything in the course should work together to ensure students master the course objectives.
Using Hotspots
A unique way to share information, images with hotspots offer online learners the opportunity to interact with course content. Learners can click or hover on particular parts of an image and receive pop-ups giving them more information. Hotspots represent information in a particular context; thus, they fulfill the multimedia principle—use words and graphics rather than words alone—and the contiguity principle—align words to corresponding graphics (Clark & Mayer, 2016).
Game-Based Learning Experiences
Game-based learning (GBL) is a learning experience, or set of learning experiences, delivered through gameplay or game-like activities with defined learning outcomes. GBL is often confused with gamification, which is the application of game elements to a non-gaming experience. GBL engages students cognitively, emotionally, behaviorally, and socioculturally (Plass et al., 2015). Many factors should be considered when designing GBL, including narrative, player positioning, and interactive design (Dickey, 2005).
Student-Generated Content
Student-generated content — materials and tasks created by learners for other learners — can strengthen engagement by providing students an opportunity to express creativity, practice critical thinking, and increase ownership of learning. Developing student-generated content requires learners to produce an instructional artifact, demonstrating new knowledge alongside existing understanding. Student-generated content can include a variety of formats:
Engagement Series: Introduction
There are many components to consider when developing an online course; a key framework to inform course development is student engagement. The Glossary of Education Reform defines student engagement as “the degree of attention, curiosity, interest, optimism, and passion that students show when they are learning or being taught, which extends to the level of motivation they have to learn and progress in their education” (Great Schools Partnership, 2016, para. 1). Developing and evaluating course content through the lens of engagement can help instructors create an environment that is conducive to learning and mastery of course outcomes.
The Art of Storytelling in Online Course Development: Enhancing Learning Across Fields and Assignments
Storytelling is a foundational element of communication that has allowed humanity to easily transfer information for millennia. From ancient fables to modern narratives, stories have the power to captivate, engage, and inform people across generations. In the realm of online learning, where a key goal is to replicate the complexity and richness of real-life experiences as closely as possible, storytelling can be a helpful pedagogical tool. When seamlessly integrated into learning environments, storytelling transcends simple information transfer.
Engagement Series: Student-Content Engagement
This is the second in a series of pieces exploring different types of course engagement. This piece focuses on how course developers and instructors can foster student-content engagement in online courses.