Distributed Learning Resources | Department of English

Three Principles of Effective Online Pedagogy

From: Bill Pelz,

"(My) Three Principles of Effective Online Pedagogy"

Let students do 'most of' the work
Interactivity is the heart of asynchronous work
Strive for presence

Best Practices

Compiled and revised from: Best Practices in Online Teaching. Retrieved from the Connexions Website.

Effective online instructors determine a course’s learning objectives (each assignment, each activity…) and tailor their use of technology accordingly.
Effective online instructors challenge their students’ thinking and foster active, constructive participation in learning.
Effective online instructors provide a good role model for active participation and interact frequently with their students, in varying forms, to create a sense of learning community.
Effective online instructors plan for their specific student audience while recognizing different student learning styles, instructors monitor student progress, identify lagging students, and help them minimize their procrastination through appropriate individual monitoring and encouragement.
Effective online instructors pay attention to online voice: be positive, personal, professional, approachable and mindful of tone.
Assessing students’ messages in online discussions encourages their participation and helps improve the quality of discussion as well. Set specific assessment criteria and make the criteria available to students in the beginning of the course.
Effective online instructors use appropriate teaching strategies to support, guide, and motivate students to learn actively in the online environment and use questioning techniques rather than providing answers.
Effective online instructors provide timely, quality, and appropriate feedback to support and facilitate students’ learning process.
Effective online instructors provide support and guidance to encourage students to become self-regulated learners.
Effective online instructors conduct course evaluation, formally or informally, during teaching and use the evaluation data to improve their teaching or for future course improvement.