TRANSLATING TEN FOUNDATIONAL FACETS TO ENHANCE TEACHING IN THE VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT

The engaged teacher in a virtual environment recognizes their responsibility for enhancing student learning; subsequently they must explore resources to move beyond primary content delivery. There are many methods to assist instructors in managing course content, facilitating interaction with students, providing guidance and feedback, and promoting student engagement. Adult learners in the online classroom require innovative approaches to promote both an educational and engaging experience. Foundational strategies must be multidimensional and multifaceted in order to facilitate multi-level learning. Utilizing an existing framework regarding ten foundational facets to enhance teaching in the virtual environment (Bonk and Khoo, 2014), various approaches clearly emerge. These facets include: Tone/Climate, Encouragement, Curiosity, Variety, Autonomy, Relevance, Interaction, Engagement, Tension, and Yielding (TEC-Variety). Translation of these assets requires thoughtful identification of strategies for implementation in the classroom environment. Examples from the field will be highlighted in this presentation, demonstrating the usefulness of each facet of the TEC-VARIETY framework.