Online teaching: state of the art

As instructor-led online classes become increasingly prevalent at colleges, universities and school systems around the world, the issue of online teaching quality is becoming a major topic. There are a lot of sides to this issue including: (1) impact on student achievement; (2) faculty satisfaction; (3) assessing online teaching effectiveness; and (4) how to improve online teaching. Let me say a few words about each of these in turn. Although I haven’t seen any studies that directly correlate instructor actions with student outcomes, I have reviewed hundreds of course evaluations of online courses over the years and one of the most frequent complaints from students is lack of instructor feedback or involvement in the class. Students expect to get timely and substantive feedback from their instructors on their assignments and they also expect instructors to participate actively in discussion forums, chat sessions or whatever form of interaction exists in the class. While the consequences of a “hands-off” instructor may not affect learning directly, it certainly influences student motivation to do well in an online class and affects their overall performance and attitudes. This is particularly true for students who need extra help with the subject matter or keeping up in an online class.

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