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Harnessing the Third Space Theory for Effective Learning and Instructional Design Consultation
March 26, 2025
The Third Space theory, introduced by postcolonial theorist Homi K. Bhabha, explores a transformative space where new identities and meanings emerge through the interaction of diverse cultural elements. This "third space" is characterized by hybridity, challenging rigid, binary notions of identity and culture, and emphasizing fluid negotiations between dominant and marginalized perspectives (Burke, 2012; Lin, 2014). Bhabha’s theory builds on Ray Oldenburg’s (1999) concept of the "third place"—an informal public space where people gather to form a community that is neither home nor work—and extends it into the realms of cultural and social discourse, creating a broader framework for negotiating power, identity, and cultural exchange (Bhabha, 2012). These third spaces can emerge in a variety of contexts, including both physical locations like cafés or parks and virtual environments such as online forums or social media platforms, making the theory applicable to both in-person and digital interactions.
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Accessibility Considerations for Students With Motor Disabilities
February 10, 2025
Online courses can offer numerous advantages to students. In order for all students to benefit from these advantages, it is essential to prioritize accessibility needs in all aspects of course design and delivery. This piece focuses on considerations and recommendations for enhancing the accessibility of online courses for students with motor impairments.
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Annotated Bibliography: Competency-Based Education in Higher Education
August 07, 2025
Competency-based education (CBE) is gaining momentum in higher education as a strategy to enhance flexibility, promote workforce alignment, and improve outcomes for adult and nontraditional learners. For institutional leaders, designing or expanding CBE programs requires not only a clear understanding of core CBE principles but also a strategic approach to implementation, curricular redesign, equity, and evaluation.
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Instructor Presence in a Multimodal Course
July 31, 2024
Multimodal courses—courses that combine synchronous and asynchronous elements—offer many possibilities for instructor presence. Sometimes, however, more possibilities mean more confusion about what is best for your specific course. What does it mean to be a good instructor or facilitator? What kinds of things might an instructor do synchronously and asynchronously to showcase their personality and expertise?
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Mapping Generative AI to Tailored Outcomes
April 09, 2025
Imagine planning a trip to a new city. A quick online search highlights the usual downtown tourist spots, but as you explore more, you uncover unique neighborhoods—a financial district bustling with experts, a hidden restaurant scene, and a college area alive with bookstores and cafés. Yet, none of these appeared in your initial search for “best places to visit.”
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Best Practices to Support Students With Cognitive Disabilities
February 25, 2025
Cognitive disabilities are common among adults in the United States and are especially prevalent among young adults (Okoro et al., 2018). Such disabilities impact mental functions such as memory, attention, perception, and calculation, among others. As a result, students with cognitive disabilities may struggle with academic tasks generally—and online coursework specifically—in unique ways (Petretto et al., 2021; Reyes et al., 2022). Since online courses are often text-heavy, for example, students with dyslexia may find them more challenging to navigate than on-ground classes (Chen et al., 2015). Students with cognitive disabilities may also struggle with navigating inconsistent online course layouts, comprehending complicated directives, and engaging with non-essential course components. Finally, when online courses are large or impersonal, students with cognitive disabilities may have difficulty focusing on assignments and other coursework (The Best Schools, 2024).
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Using Data to Inform Course Updates: Personal Experience Insights
April 22, 2025
In our Personal Experience Insights series, members of the Everspring Learning Design department share first-hand accounts of creating online learning content and meaningful takeaways from their professional experiences.
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Best Practices to Support Student Well-Being
November 22, 2024
Mental health concerns are prevalent among undergraduate and graduate students and can have deleterious consequences (Chi et al., 2023; Venable & Pietrucha, 2022). In particular, students struggling with their mental health are less likely to pass their courses and more likely to drop out of their programs of study (Lister & McFarlane, 2021). While universities often provide support systems in the form of accessibility services and counseling centers, several significant issues can lead to the underutilization of available resources among students in general and online students in particular. First, students may need to be physically present on campus in order to access support systems (Lister et al., 2023). As a result, students enrolled in online programs may be unable to use them. Additionally, students may not capitalize on available resources due to logistical challenges (e.g., scheduling), feelings of discomfort in asking for help, or concerns about stigmatization (Venable & Pietrucha, 2022).
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Student Support in a Multimodal Course
August 01, 2024
Multimodal courses allow for exciting opportunities in course content and activities but can be, by design, less flexible than asynchronous courses and less predictable than synchronous courses. These opportunities thus come with needs for additional logistical support and flexibility, as students need both to be able to take advantage of the opportunities of synchrony and asynchrony equitably. How can you best support students in a multimodal course, providing guidance through multiple forms of interaction? This piece gives insight into what kinds of support benefit students in multimodal courses and how to provide them. We’ll end with five quick tips for supporting students that apply to almost any multimodal course.
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Inheriting an Online Course
January 24, 2024
Over the course of your teaching career, you may inherit an online course developed by another faculty member. While such a situation can offer many advantages, it can also provoke many questions and pose significant challenges. Inheriting a complete course with materials and assessments already in place can simplify and streamline some aspects of instruction, but it can be difficult to identify where to start and what to prioritize as you begin engaging with the course. This blog outlines a four-phase process that can lead to a successful transition.
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