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Inclusive Language
Use inclusive language across course content and communications to reach every learner. “Inclusive education must be cultivated deliberately if we want to advance in its implementation” (Márquez & Melero-Aguilar, 2022, p. 842). Inclusion entails creating an environment of open participation for all individuals. Inclusive course design works to ensure that all students feel heard, valued, and validated. The thoughtful use of language can establish an environment of inclusion in online learning.
No Sweat Alt Text
What is “alt text”? Alt text is descriptive text linked to an image, graph, or other visual content that allows users to understand the visual without viewing it. Any image online should contain alt text, but guidelines differ depending on whether the image is simply decorative or related to other content on the page.
Five Instructor Feedback Essentials
Providing student feedback is a key component of an instructor’s role and an important part of effective instruction. Research shows that ongoing feedback keeps students engaged and improves their morale, motivation, and learning (Best, et al, 2014). Yet, providing high quality feedback can be a time-consuming commitment, especially in courses with large class sizes or numerous written assessments. Instructors should keep in mind the tools, structure, and best practices that can help them provide feedback.
Presentation Best Practices Guide
Many online courses focus on written communication skills, featuring discussion posts, papers, and case study reports among other assignments. However, oral communication and presentation skills are just as integral to students’ success, and, indeed, many employers list presenting as one of the most desirable skills for job candidates (Suhadi et al., 2021).
Group Work Best Practices Guide
Group work in online courses can facilitate student learning in unique ways. In particular, group assignments can provide students with opportunities to engage in authentic tasks and develop collaborative skills applicable to their future careers. Williams, Duray, and Reddy (2006) argue that team learning stimulates student thinking at the higher levels of Bloom’s taxonomy, including application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Group projects can serve a variety of different purposes across a wide range of academic programs and subjects. Additionally, group projects can foster interaction and community building amongst students, which can be especially valuable in an asynchronous online classroom (Martin & Bolliger, 2018).
Representation Matters: Guest Speakers to Support DEIB
Guest speakers can support diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) initiatives while promoting students’ academic and professional growth across disciplines. When designing courses, identify ways to integrate speakers into the curriculum, tap established networks, and ensure that any readings and assignments align with these efforts.
High-Impact Practices to Support Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging in STEM
When you think of a scientist, who comes to mind? If it’s Albert Einstein or Charles Darwin, you’re not alone. Gender stereotypes and a lack of inclusive role models in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) have contributed to spaces that have not always been welcoming for African American, Indigenous, and Latino students or those from other historically underserved groups (American Association of University Women, n.d.). Kimberlé Crenshaw’s concept of intersectionality, a term she coined in 1989, provides a framework for understanding Black women’s lived and overlapping experiences of racism and sexism (Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, n.d.; TED, 2016). Crenshaw, a law professor and Black feminist scholar, explains that “intersectionality is a lens through which you can see where power comes and collides, where it interlocks and intersects” (Columbia Law School, 2017).
Instructor Presence in Online Courses
Consistent and meaningful instructor presence is one of the most important drivers of student success and satisfaction in online courses (Roddy et al., 2017). However, establishing instructor presence online can be challenging. In fact, studies have shown that many online students feel their instructors are largely invisible (Tichavsky et al., 2015).