Inspire Blog Tag: feedback

Academic Honesty in Online Assessment

There are two sides to the story of security of online assessments. On the one side, cheating does exist in online assessments. Examity’s president Michael London summarized five common ways students cheat on online exams: The old-school try of notes; The screenshot; The water break; The cover-up; and The big listen through devices such as Bluetooth headset (London, 2017). Newton (2015) even reported the disturbing fact that “cheating in online classes is now big business”. On the other side, academic dishonesty is a problem of long history, both on college campuses and in online courses. The rate of students who admit to cheating at least once in their college careers has held steady at somewhere around 75 percent since the … Academic Honesty in Online Assessment
by · April 22, 2019

Audio feedback: What does the research say?

First, let’s start by considering the characteristics of effective feedback in general. What comes to mind? Perhaps you hear in your head (in the authentically authoritative voice of a past professor) the words timely, frequent, regular, balanced, specific. Perhaps you recall the feedback sandwich–corrective feedback sandwiched between positive feedback. Perhaps you consider rubrics or ample formative feedback to be critical components of effective feedback. You wouldn’t be wrong. As educators, we understand the main characteristics of effective feedback. But despite this fact, students are often disappointed by the feedback they receive and faculty find the feedback process time consuming, often wondering if the time commitment is worth it. As an instructional designer, I hear from faculty who struggle to get … Audio feedback: What does the research say?
by · April 15, 2019

Take the sting out of grading

“…expertise is learned from prolonged experience with good feedback on mistakes.” – Daniel Kahneman Students are eager to receive meaningful feedback quickly. With hopes of improving their class performance, timely and substantive feedback is essential to helping students get on track before it is too late. Yet, knowing this doesn’t change why feedback and grading sometimes gets put off, despite our best intentions – it can appear daunting and time consuming. 8 ideas on how to take the sting out of providing feedback: Self-checks Not all feedback requires your intervention or even a grade. Can you set-up an activity where students can check their understanding and get immediate feedback? A simple solution is to create a short practice activity (e.g. … Take the sting out of grading
by · October 18, 2018

Curating Instructor Presence in Online Education

Whether you are a new or seasoned online instructor, understanding how to establish and maintain instructor presence is a commonly shared challenge. What is known about online learners is they want to know their instructors are engaged and regularly interacting in the course. Students also express how important it is to know that their instructors care about them. There is a natural distance inherent in online classrooms which necessitates purposeful actions and intentional structures to prevent isolation and to foster connection. There is great news… this distance can be overcome!  Moreover, research has indicated that instructor presence has a relationship with perceived student satisfaction and success. Being there for your students can make a difference! Being present goes a step … Curating Instructor Presence in Online Education
by · August 17, 2018