Online Teaching Philosophy – Part 1: Course Design

My philosophy for teaching in an online learning environment is similar yet different from my style as an
instructor of face-to-face learning interactions. As with any form of instruction, I believe that clarity,
organization, communication, flexibility, evaluation, and engagement are critical for student success and
even more so in an online learning environment. As an online instructor, creating a space in which
students feel individualized supported is important to me as well. Due to the lack of in-person
interactions some students may feel invisible in an online classroom and my goal is to ensure
community is built among the students and teacher to student interactions. I believe a thorough and
informative syllabus that clearly communicates the interaction expectations, as well as the course
structure for week-to-week participation prepares students for success. Students and instructors alike
do not like surprises mid or at the end of a learning experience, so being as upfront, transparent, and
communicative as possible is my style as an instructor. To achieve this, effective course design is critical.

I believe that online instructors should utilize a Quality Matters rubric as a method for assessing quality
and guiding development efforts for effective course design. Using such a tool ensures intentionality
while designing learning outcomes, learning materials, policies and procedures, evaluation, and careful
revision of your online course (Florence et al, 2019). My approach to designing an online course that
meets the Quality Matters standards is to first ensure proper time to construct, evaluate, and potentially
revise the design plans in advance of launching the course. Elements such as a course overview, learning
objectives, assessment, instructional materials, learner activities, course technology, support
mechanisms, and usability should be considered thoughtfully while designing an online course (Quality
Matters, 2020). My personal approach to integration of all of these components is to start with the
learning objectives of the online course. Everything else in the course design and structure should
strategically tie back to these objectives and impact the overall outcomes of the course. While this
should be true for face-to-face instruction, it is even more important in an online environment given the
difference in communication of the instructional materials, engagement with learning activities, and
how learners may access support at a distance or perhaps from different time zones or countries.

Along with clear learning objectives, my philosophy of course design is to adopt universal design and
ensure usability that meets the needs of diverse learners, ensuring that corresponding learning
materials and planned learner interactions account for differences among learners. The universal design
for learning framework is important to me in designing courses and online curriculum to ensure
engagement, representation, and multiple means of action and expression are embedded throughout
my online courses. Using this framework can help to improve teaching and learning to be inclusive of all
learners (CAST, 2021). As I design policies, procedures, instructional materials, rubrics, assessments, and
such – a lens for inclusivity will enhance the overall instruction and learning experience for students.

After careful consideration of the course learning objectives and instructional strategies for meeting
those objectives, strategic assessment and facilitation is important to design so that evaluation is not
forgotten. As an online instructor, my role is to assume multiple facilitation roles as outlined by Berge’s
Instructor Roles Model (Martin, Wang, & Sadaf, 2020) such as managerial, social, pedagogical, and
technical as strategies to enhance student learning. While these functions may overlap with student
engagement strategies, my opinion is that using an online facilitation framework must be thoughtfully
planned out and communicated to students as part of the overall course design. Furthermore, the
course design should be established yet flexibility based on the feedback provided to me by learners.
Online Teaching Philosophy – Part 2: Course Facilitation and Interaction
As an online instructor, my preference is to communicate information in multiple modalities through
written, video, audio, and visual instruction to enhance course facilitation as well as interaction. I
believe presenting multiple methods of communication can enhance the learning experience as
students vary in learning preferences. Furthermore, as noted in my course design online teaching
philosophy, I believe there are key roles that online instructions should become well verse in based on
Berge’s Instructor Roles Model (Martin, Wang, & Sadaf, 2020) such as administrative/managerial, social,
pedagogical, and technical as strategies to enhance student learning. The syllabus is a tool that should
be used not only at the start of the instruction but continuously referred back to during a course to
facilitate adherence to policies, procedures, answer student questions, and offer guidance to learners.

As an instructor, I like to nudge students to seek guidance through the syllabus when questions arise as
part of my administrative role. If something administrative arises that has not been outlined in the
syllabus it is my role to make an adjustment for future courses and work to find a solution for my
students. Along with setting the stage for policy adherence for effective course facilitation, I see the
pedagogical, technological, and social roles as all extremely supportive of interaction, along with a
strong instructor presence. The specific actions and behaviors taken by the instructor to project
themselves as a real person (Florence et al, 2019) is important to me in being authentic and transparent
with my students. As an instructor, my goal is to help students feel comfortable using online
technologies to engage in the planned interactions as well as develop the supportive materials related
to the course topics that maintain student interest. I believe learning occurs and interactions are
enhanced when students feel like they belong, understand expectations of assignments and
instructional materials, and receive constructive feedback in a timely manner from the instructor, as
well as peers. Furthermore, my goal is to facilitate a friendly environment and community feeling which
have been remarked as effective in supporting student cognitive learning processes (Liu et al, 2005). My
philosophy for facilitating an inclusive, welcoming, supportive, and goal-oriented course is to focus on
authenticity while remaining structured. My style is to provide a support yet challenging environment
for learners that facilitates growth through encouragement of critical thinking and engagement with the
learning community. Serving as a feedback-giver, providing timely and high-quality feedback is a top
priority to help students achieve the course learning objectives and enhance instructor presence.

Additionally, designing hands-on experiences in the course design can help to facilitate real-world
learning and application of the learning materials. Ultimately, all of the learning interactions –
synchronous or asynchronous – should relate back to achievement of the measurable learning
objectives. Although there is little evidence that students prefer one method over the other, courses
that incorporate synchronous sessions have resulted in increased activity in asynchronous course
components (Olson & McCracken, 2014). Regardless, my personal preference as an online instructor is
again to provide multiple modalities for engagement and interaction with students. Thus, my approach
is to design and facilitate primarily asynchronous interactions for students for week-to-week
participation but include synchronous options for my learners. Integrating educational technologies to
facilitate these interactions enhances the facilitation of learning and helps to supplement the lack of in-
person engagement. Technology is definitely a tool that can enhance education and should be planned
carefully to ensure equitable access and understanding of its use in the online classroom. In closing,
while there are many technologies to assist instructors in course facilitation and engagement, we should
not forget the simplicity of an email exchange or offer to phone/video chat during virtual office hours as
an equally important exchange and interaction between students and instructors.

Work Samples
• Sample: Course Syllabus in Learning Management System
• Title: Careers in Instructional Systems & Learning Technologies
• Event: Online Course
• Date: Fall 2021
• Abstract: this syllabus was designed for a graduate level course at a #1 top ranked instructional
design program in the country and added to the Canvas LMS Syllabus section. The course
facilitates career management and post-graduation planning activities for current ISLT students
and connects students to employers in businesses, government agencies, universities, schools,
and military organizations. The instructional activities that will occur to meet learning objectives
are outlined in the course schedule and course policies for this online class are seen below.

Sample
Course
Schedule
designed
using
Syllabus tool
in Canvas
Sample
course
policies
designed
using
Syllabus
tool in
Canvas
• Work Sample: LMS Set-Up
• Title: Module Outline and Discussion Activity
• Event: Online Course
• Date: Fall 2021
• Abstract: This course was designed using the Canvas learning management system and includes
announcements, syllabus, modules, discussions, grades, and zoom in the navigation for
students. In the example below, you will see the homepage, module layout, and first graded
discussion activity designed to engage students in getting to know their peers and colleagues to
start building community within the online course.

Course homepage
with banner
designed in Canva

Module Outline
that includes
weekly overview,
learning materials
to explore, and
assignments due
Discussion
activity for first
day attendance
and instructions
• Work Sample: Webinar
• Title: Using LinkedIn to Build your ISLT Network
• Event: Synchronous Lesson
• Date: October 2021
• Abstract: this 15 minute synchronous lesson was designed for learners interested in optimizing
LinkedIn to location professionals in the instructional systems and learning technologies career
field. A presentation was developed using Slide Carnival and converted to Power Point for the
synchronous presentation. Engagement tools including Kahoot, Zoom chat, and annotations
were utilized during the presentation

Sample slides presented during the webinar, sample slide with Kahoot poll, and full
presentation available online here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Yv2n75SJRg
• Work Sample: Asynchronous Activity
• Title: Beekeeping Basics
• Event: Weekly Discussion Activity
• Date: November 2021
• Abstract: this is an asynchronous activity that was designed and facilitated for a week-long
learning activity using a discussion forum and Padlet. The learning objectives, discussion
prompts, rules of interaction, and facilitator expectations were developed to create an
interaction space for learners. Two videos were found on YouTube and embedded into the LMS
and the third video was an original production to enhance discussion during the week.

Sample videos presented in the learning materials and overview of

learning objectives for the lesson topic title Beekeeping Basics

Video that I
created mid-week
to further engage
students and
answer questions
about bee safety

Walking the bee yard - YouTube

Reflection

My portfolio reflects the learning that occurred in Online Pedagogy and Course Design including best
practices for syllabus construction, learning management systems and course development, accessibility
considerations, synchronous and asynchronous learning, facilitation and assessment, and lesson
planning. As I reflect on the specific skills, strategies, and software that was explored through my
portfolio, I believe that my next steps for future use would be to expand my understanding of other
learning management systems. I have grown quite comfortable and skilled in Canvas course design over
the past few years and this course taught me new strategies for syllabus, discussion, and interaction
design. While there is always more to learn in learning management systems, as a future elearning
professional, I believe it would be beneficial to enhance my skills in other LMS platforms.

For example, I have limited working experience in Blackboard as an instructor and through my
classmates’ work, saw integrations of Articulate Storyline embedded into LMS courses this semester.
This is an area of growth for me and continued exploration. As I prepared my portfolio, I reviewed my
peers’ synchronous and asynchronous lesson plans once more and found so much value in doing so. My
desire moving forward is to continue to observe other instructional designers and online course
designers as a strategy for learning more about best practices and interactive learning environments. It
was helpful to articulate my own teaching philosophy in relation to course design, facilitation, and
interaction. Although, I admit it was difficult still being new and knowing that my online teaching
philosophy is in development. Often, in looking at the work of other designers it is easy for me to
develop imposter syndrome and wonder if I am implementing things well as a learning designer and feel
as though there is still so much to learn. In closing, I am grateful for the opportunity to build a portfolio
of work this semester and look forward to applying what I have learned in this class in my daily work and
potentially in a new setting as I approach graduation.
References

Florence, M., Albert R., Swapna, K., & Kiranb, B. (2019). Award-winning faculty online teaching practices:
Course design, assessment and evaluation, and facilitation, The Internet and Higher Education, Volume
42, 2019, Pages 34-43, ISSN 1096-7516, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2019.04.001

Martin, F., Wang, C., & Sadaf, A. (2020). Facilitation matters: Instructor perception of helpfulness of
facilitation strategies in online courses. Online Learning, 24(1), 28-49.
https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v24i1.1980

Specific Review Standards from the QM Higher Education Rubric. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2021,
from www.qualitymatters.org/sites/default/files/PDFs/StandardsfromtheQMHigherEducationRubric.pdf

About Universal Design for Learning - CAST. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2021, from
https://www.cast.org/impact/universal-design-for-learning-udl

Liu, X., Bonk, C.J., Magjuka, R.J., Lee, S., & Su, B. (2019). Exploring four dimensions of instructor roles: a
program level case study. Online Learning.

Olson, J., & McCracken, F. (2014). Is It Worth the Effort? The Impact of Incorporating Synchronous
Lectures into an Online Course. Online Learning, 19(2). doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.24059/olj.v19i2.499