Instructional Strategies That Benefit Students

The four course characteristics highlighted in the table below represent strategies that UNC students reported were most beneficial to their online learning experiences during
the Fall 2020 semester. They are based on the results of student survey data collected by the Office of Undergraduate Education.

What strategies enhanced student
learning and engagement?
1. Course materials were easy to
access and navigate.
How do I do this inclusively for my course? How do I learn more?
Ideas for effectively structuring your course experience include: Trainings and Resources:
• Use a “Start Here” approach: Use the Overview page or create a “Start • CFE Course Design Institute
Here” page using the Lessons Tool to make it clear how students should • Applying the Quality Matters Rubric
begin working in the course. It’s also helpful to explain how the course is (APPQMR) Training: Contact DLL
structured, where students will be accessing materials, and any information • 1:1 Consultation
you can provide about how to navigate your course. Consider recording a
video that shows students how to navigate your course. Show them the
types of activities they’ll be completing and any important information that
will set your learners up for success. You could also have this as a kick-off
synchronous session to allow for any clarifying questions.
• Use the Syllabus Tab: Be sure you upload your syllabus using the “Syllabus”
tool. You can turn this on via “Manage Tools” within “Site Info” in Sakai.
• Provide a schedule: Organize your course into a schedule that includes
dates, topics of study, readings, and any assignments. Think of this as a to-
do list for your students and what you’d like them to complete at different
dates/times as they navigate your course. If you have synchronous Zoom
sessions, be sure to post the link(s) to those sessions here in addition to
sending them to students ahead of time.
• Create a routine: Where possible, create a consistent routine that students
can follow week-to-week to provide structure to your course. This could
include when you hold synchronous class sessions, how you will honor the 5
University-designated “wellness days” and build in appropriate student
breaks, when assignments or activities are due, and where/how learners
will access course materials like videos, readings, etc.
What strategies enhanced student
learning and engagement?
2. Students had regular
opportunities to get to know one
another.
How do I do this inclusively for my course? How do I learn more?
Techniques for building community among students include:
• Launch Zoom course meetings 15 minutes early and stay 15 minutes Resources and Guides:
beyond class. This can foster informal social time for communication among • Adjust Zoom settings in relation to your
students and between students and instructor(s) as you welcome them to scheduled class time.
the class session. • Make Breakout Rooms Work Better
• Use low-stakes, get-to-know-you questions to build community • Getting Started on Zoom and other Tips
as students become acquainted with one another. Choose from • Review pre-recorded Training events
several tools such as Poll Everywhere, Sakai quizzes, or tools within Zoom such as “Facilitating Synchronous / or
such as polls, chat features, the annotation tool, or whiteboards in breakout Asynchronous Student Interaction with
rooms. Be cautious of student privacy concerns. Remote Teaching”
• Select short-term or long-term group work to build community alongside • See the “Implementation Guides” for
one or more assignments. You can pre-assign students to recurring groups the Modes of Teaching
using Zoom breakouts, Microsoft Teams, Groups in Sakai, or other tools like
Google groups. Students can share documents, communicate, or give
presentations via screen share, emails, comments, or discussion threads.
Note that UNC students have access to many of the same tools and features
in Zoom as instructors, so they can form and schedule small group meetings
to work during or outside of class time.
• Schedule 1-on-1 or group office hours for undergraduate or graduate
students to build relationships. These can promote dialogue not only on
course goals but also in relation to career, personal, and professional
development. In small courses, early 1:1 meetings with each student often
results in more regular office hour participation and student willingness to
seek additional help from the instructor.
• Develop and negotiate ‘ground rules’ for communications to promote
respectful, equitable, and inclusive dialogue or discussions that align with
the Honor Code and Carolina values. Also, it is helpful to clarify issues of
privacy in relation to communication channels (encourage students to use
virtual backgrounds).
What strategies enhanced student
learning and engagement?
3. Zoom-based synchronous
lectures and recorded videos were
interspersed with other learning
activities.
How do I do this inclusively for my course? How do I learn more?
Techniques for interspersing learning activities into manageable segments and Making videos:
connecting pauses with deeper learning include: • Video Production and Editing
• Intersperse activities in lectures every 5-10 minutes. Activities are best • Panopto at UNC Chapel Hill
when they engage and gather responses from all students, not just a few.
See ideas below.
• Pose a question for all students to simultaneously respond through Zoom
chat. Ask students to type their answer but not hit “enter” until prompted.
Instructor and students can then take a moment to review the diversity of
ideas. (Notes: This is not an anonymous way to collect ideas and it will be
most useful for questions without one correct answer.)
• Poll all students using PollEverywhere or Zoom polling. For meaningful
learning, avoid fact-based recall questions and ask students to apply their
knowledge, such as through problem solving or comparing two ideas.
(Notes: Polling is anonymous, making some students feel safer in
responding. Zoom polling is limited to multiple choice but PollEverywhere
has a myriad of question types.)
• Play a game. Games and competitions are often highly engaging and can be
useful in solidifying concepts and disciplinary jargon. PollEverywhere has a
“competition” activity and Kahoot is another free platform beloved by
students.
• Send students to a breakout room to complete a shared document.
• Pause a lecture to ask students if there are any questions or to gather
reaction to the material presented (Zoom emojis/reactions include “thumbs
up” or “go slower”).
• Record lecture videos that align to one or two objectives at a time and are
short (under 10 minutes). It is ok to assign a few of these at a time, as the
modular nature helps students feel like the tasks are less overwhelming.
• Talk to your audience in recorded videos. Consider keeping your language
casual so students feel like they are getting to know you as person. Make
eye contact with the camera if the camera is on.
• Intersperse questions in a recorded video, asking the student to pause the
video to answer. (Notes: During the pause, students could be prompted to
write an answer in their notes or a discussion board, answer through a self-
paced PollEverywhere survey, or questions can be embedded directly via
Panopto)
What strategies enhanced student
learning and engagement?
4. Breakout rooms and forum
assignments were designed to
support meaningful interaction.
How do I do this inclusively for my course? How do I learn more?
Techniques for making small group and forum interactions more effective include: Interaction with Zoom:
• Successful Breakout Rooms
• Provide clear directions, parameters, and expectations for breakout room • 8 ways to be more Inclusive in Your
discussions. Consider creating a document that gives group instructions, Zoom Teaching
assigns roles, and offers a venue for presenting group deliverables. You can
then build-in accountability for the breakout work by requiring groups to
complete the document, poll, etc. and/or by calling on groups to share their
discussions. Also, it can help to take some time early in the term to discuss
the characteristics of effective breakout rooms & encourage students to
generate group norms for discussion.
• Create discussion groups. Many students have report that they prefer
when groups are consistent throughout the semester, and group break out
room activities encourage effective collaboration and offering opportunities
for multiple groups to work together to foster class community. Sakai
Groups also allows instructors to create small group discussion forums that
allow students to collaborate more closely together on the same or
complimentary forum topics.
• Design discussion activities that encourage students to engage
substantively and thoughtfully with each other’s work and ideas. To
encourage more conversation, aim to keep Forum prompts open-ended and
avoid prompts with “correct” answers. Providing specific prompts for initial
posts as well as replies can help student think more critically. Experimenting
with varying prompt types—including case studies, scenarios, and/or
examples from student work—can increase student interest and reduce
discussion board fatigue. Similarly, combine forum activities with other
media and activities, such as VoiceThread posts, to help students see
connections among their ideas and across course assignments.
• Ask students to take the lead. Assigning student discussion leaders can
create opportunities for collaboration and accountability. Leaders can help
create prompts, facilitate discussions in forums and/or breakout room, and
encourage peer participation.