UCPE Pedagogical Approach to Online Programs
Recommended Tools and Strategies for Remote Learning
Asynchronous Teaching
Synchronous (Live Session) Teaching
Additional Resources
Asynchronous Teaching
- Examples: Community discussion boards or forums, annotated PPT slides with speaker notes, recorded video lectures (screencast, videos) posted to Canvas, email the instructor for support, course resources (books, journal articles), written reflections, and out-of-class group work.
- Recommended Tools: Zoom, Canvas, Panopto, PowerPoint, Prezi, Hypothesis, Google Docs.
- Benefits:
- Provides students with the opportunity to reflect on the content before contributing to the discussion. This is beneficial for building critical thinking skills.
- Increases accountability and dialogue from a peer-to-peer perspective through participation in discussion forums and threads.
- Provides flexibility for students and faculty to access the materials at their convenience, both in terms of time and location.
- Facilitates the exchange of discussion and ideas regardless of the time lapse and different locations.
Synchronous (Live Session) Teaching
- Examples: Interactive live discussions, lectures that are broadcast at the same time they are delivered on Zoom, breakout rooms via Zoom, and chat-based online discussions.
- Recommended Tools: Zoom
- Benefits:
- Allows students to foster a greater sense of connection to their peers and instructors. We encourage students and instructors to keep their cameras on to help facilitate face-to-face interaction.
- Provides the opportunity for inquiry-based learning and dialogue.
- Facilitates the opportunity for real-time collaboration in small groups
- Students can pose questions and problems to guest speakers who attend synchronous sessions.
Additional Resources
- Synchronous Online Classes: 10 Tips for Engaging Learners
- Garrison, D.R., Anderson, T., & Archer, W (1999). Critical Inquiry in a Text-Based Environment: Computer Conferencing in Higher Education. The Internet and Higher Education, 2 (2), 87-105.
- Garrison, D.R. (2017). E-Learning in the 21st Century: A Community of Inquiry Framework for Research and Practice (3rd Edition). London: Routledge/Taylor and Francis.
If you have questions related to the tools or strategies mentioned above, please contact us at online@uchicago.edu.