Faculty Resources

Getting Learner Centered

These online educational modules support the application of Health Sciences' collaboratively developed “best practices" for learner-centered teaching, whether online or in the classroom.

Raising the Bar: Standards and Strategies for Learner-Centered Online Instruction. The online teaching environment can promote learner-centered instruction in a variety of ways. From chat rooms and asynchronous discussions, to collaborative presentations and productions, the opportunities for meaningful, authentic learning are endless. This toolkit is intended to promote creativity by providing practical guidelines and strategies to maximize the learning potential of the online environment.

Building Community. We know that isolation is a common complaint among distance education students; and that student satisfaction and success in distance education courses is related to interaction and interpersonal connection. This learning module explores strategies to help develop a sense of community among learners and foster a safe and supportive learning environment. This learning module supports several areas of Best Practice, in particular Cooperation, Diversity, and Interaction.

Establishing Expectations. Establishing expectations is essential in any course, even more so when students are separated from faculty and each other in time and place. Writing clear goals and objectives that truly reflect the purpose and content of a course, developing a syllabus that provides a clear and concise roadmap to success, and providing thorough instructions and rubrics for learning activities and assignments are the foundation of a successful course. Establishing learner-centered expectations also means tuning into students' personal goals and expectations and facilitating their ownership of the learning experience. This learning module provides information, guidelines, examples and resources to support the Best Practice category Expectations.