Abstract:

According to B.J. Mandernach, key characteristics of a successful online course, defined as one that promotes “optimal student cognitive engagement,” include that the course “integrates active learning environments with authentic learning tasks,” “fosters a personal connection with the class,” and “facilitates the process of learning in an online learning environment.” Towards the goal of designing and implementing a course that incorporates these characteristics, instructors are faced with myriad decisions regarding what content to include, how best to organize and provide access to content, as well as what types of activities, tasks, and interactions to include as means of effectively facilitating the learning process and generating a sense of community in the online course environment. While these decisions are typically guided by research and faculty perceptions of best practices for optimal online learning environments, students bring their own perceptions and expectations to a course, which often are not in alignment with instructor perceptions.

As instructors of online courses in the academic disciplines of music and in teacher education, we will share some of what we have learned about the discrepancies that sometimes exist between faculty and student perceptions of online teaching and learning at both the undergraduate and graduate level. These issues include time frames for assignments within course modules, number and types of learning objects and, most importantly, the question of added value and rigor resulting from interaction among students within each course. The session will present sample comments received from students through a formal course evaluation process, as well as a discussion of how this feedback, and our own analysis, influenced changes that were made in the subsequent redesign of the courses.

Keywords:

Asynchronous, student perceptions, faculty perceptions, course design.