Abstract
The mission of this chapter is to provide principals and teachers with an understanding of how to create a positive learning culture within an online classroom through utilization of the engagement triangle: students, teachers/school staff, and outside community members. The chapter introduces student agency through online instructional strategies and techniques for teachers to increase student motivation. Further, assessment practices are addressed in ways that can add to a positive classroom culture. At the end of the chapter, case study scenarios and reflective questions will be shared for practicing P-12 teachers to consider when designing learning opportunities in their online courses.
TopBackground
Learning in our K-12 classrooms can be strengthened or weakened by our teachers and school structure. The procedures, policies, and classroom interactions all enhance or detract from the classroom and school culture. As you have likely experienced, in a face-to-face setting, the school culture can be seen and felt upon entering the school building. Sometimes, the classroom culture is more difficult to read immediately, but by spending time in the class, adults can often perceive how the students and teacher feel about one another and whether the learning culture is positive or negative. In an online classroom, there are additional barriers such as technology and course design that can also impact classroom culture, making it more difficult to immediately perceive and requiring intentional forethought to the community design of the online learning spaces.
There are several types of online learning environments that have existed over the last few years, if not decades, at the K-12 school level, ranging from fully asynchronous programs to completely synchronous. While doing school fully synchronous, the live video conferencing all day scenario can quickly burnout a teacher and the students in terms of screen time on the computer. However, it can often be easier to develop a sense of community within the synchronous classroom because students and the teacher can interact simultaneously and read one another’s body language and /or tone of voice. In the asynchronous classroom, where students and the teacher work on their own times, not in a live setting via video streaming, the opportunity to connect can be more difficult if not built intentionally into the course delivery mechanisms. In the online classroom, “if a learner feels alone or isolated in the course, they will quickly disengage with the content and assessments. However, when a sense of community is present the learner feels more comfortable engaging with the content, asking deeper questions to the instructor, and discussing [learning material] with their classmates” (Carlson, 2021, p. 155). Purposeful teacher engagement and classroom community building activities need to be added to the online course. With the increase in collaboration tools found on the internet, this is easier than ever to do asynchronously if planned for in the course design.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Connectivism: A learning theory expanded upon constructivism where students work collaboratively amongst themselves to create new knowledge and understanding.
Student-to-Content Interaction: The student interacts with the course instructional materials, such as a video lecture, reading the textbook, or using adaptive learning materials.
Teacher-to-Student Interaction: The teacher interacts with an individual, small group, or whole class of students to communicate information. This can be through video or text class announcements, discussion board posts, video lectures, or electronic communications.
Engagement: Students interact with course material and regularly communicate with the teacher and other classmates.
Student Agency: The student has opportunity for shaping his/her own learning and is comfortable communicating and expressing himself/herself creatively to reflect on the learning process.
Learning Environment: A space, virtual or physical, in that the teacher and /or student has created for learning to occur.
Extrinsic Motivation: An outside influence, often teacher-driven incentives, for a student to engage with the course learning material.
Student-to-Student Interaction: Students interact with one another during a course via communication methods such as discussion boards, video messages, and collaborative class projects.
Intrinsic Motivation: A student’s internal drive to engage in the course learning.
Authentic Assessment: Summative assessments where the students create or construct their learning for the teacher or other viewer. It often allows for creativity and shows relevance to the students’ lives.