Teaching Dynamics Online - boxed question format
Aspects to be explored in the Teaching Dynamics Critique
Design for learning, Alignment with learning objectives, Learner engagement,
Learning context, Learner extension, Practice for learners, Integration, and
Technology suitability
Overview of Learning Experience(s) being evaluated
The learning experience is a group assessment task in XYZ500. Students are
allocated to groups, given an Interact project site (with wiki and other tools activated)
and asked to collaborate (using Interact workspaces and other web communication
tools) on the preparation of a PowerPoint presentation.
A.
Preliminary questions
What would you like to gain from
this evaluation?
Feedback on the value of the task as an exercise
and advice on improvements that can be made.
What is the student base? e.g.,
internal, DE, World-wide?
All DE students, some situated overseas.
How many students in this/these
cohort/s?
151 students completed the subject.
Which subject objective/s relate
to this activity?
Subject objective five is addressed by the task,
also, the subject of the task had to relate to one of
the first four objectives.
See above and in the Subject Outline.
What are the learning objectives
for this activity?
Where is this activity described,
and is it part of the assessment?
Described in Subject Outline, it is an assessment
item.
What resources do the students
require to complete the activity
and how do they access these
resources?
Interact project site. Digital library resources. All
students given access to their group site by subject
coordinator.
If group work was part of the
activity, how were the groups
formed?
Allocated to groups alphabetically.
What is the timeframe for the
activity and do students have to
be present at the same time?
Timeframe is the first eight weeks of session.
Some synchronous communication is desirable but
not essential.
Have you identified any
limitations with this teaching
strategy?
Limitations are technological. For instance, some
students have never made a PowerPoint
presentation.
Other background information?
Similar project existed in subject before, but used a
web-based wiki, not suite of tools as available in
Interact.
Alignment and activity design
Sample evaluation - TD Online – boxed questions format
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Item
The task/s requirements are clearly expressed
The task/activity enables the achievement of
the specified learning objective/s
There are features to encourage student
participation or active learning
There are strategies are in place to ensure that
all students are participating
There are feedback mechanisms are in place to
support student learning
The activity is designed to facilitate interactivity
This activity and its resources align with
assessment tasks and objectives
Agree
Uncertain
Disagree
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Comments on the design of the activity and its alignment to the learning objectives

The tasks in general are clearly expressed - in the first offering of the activity some
students did not fully understand the requirements. This was addressed via CSU Interact
and the task information was then rewritten to take account of misunderstandings for
future sessions.

The activity is designed to be an active learning experience in which students must
participate in order to meet the requirements of the task.

Strategies that ensure student participation are: manual checking by the two lecturers
who visit the chat room, group email and forum about every 10 days; and peer support
(small groups mean that a non-participating student will be noticed by other group
members).

Lecturers provide feedback by adding to individual groups’ wikis or to the class as a
whole on the forum. Feedback responds to students’ expressed needs and is also
provided based on the lecturers’ assessment of students’ progress.

The activity is interactive in that students must all contribute to a wiki, and interact with
each other to produce a final PowerPoint presentation.

The activity is an assessment task that directly aligns with two of the subject objectives.

The activity clearly enables students to meet two of the subject’s learning objectives.
Recommended enhancements to the design of the activity

While the requirements of the task appear to be clearly expressed it is suggested that
student response to instructions in the next offering are monitored to be sure that they are
all understanding the task requirements. It is suggested that adding a simple explanation
or non-specific example of what you mean in the self reflective task when you ask
students to ‘determine appropriate criteria from their readings about collaboration,
teamwork and communication’. Setting criteria is a ‘second nature’ activity for academics,
but for many students it will seem complex and may distract them from the self-reflective
nature of the task [see part B, point 3 in assessment item].

The strategy of manually checking student participation is time consuming for lecturers
and either a more automated process for doing this, possibly using Site Stats, or perhaps
a self reporting method by each group of students should be investigated.
Sample evaluation - TD Online – boxed questions format
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Learner Engagement
Item
The design of the activity provides
opportunities for learners to develop
connections and rapport with other
learners and with the lecturer
Agree
The design of the activity allows for
range of opportunities for peer
interaction and feedback
The activity supports and enables
learners to draw from and reflect upon
their experience
N/A
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The design of the activity engages
students affectively i.e. with regard to
feelings and emotions
The activity gives learners a sense of
control over their engagement with the
activities
Disagree

The design of the activity takes into
account the learners’ prior experiences
and understandings with regard to
content, language, terminology, type of
task, technology-used, etc.
The design of the activity enables
students to experience the
concepts/ideas/issues of the subject in a
variety of different ways
Uncertain

Comments on how learner engagement is supported by the design of the activity

The nature of the activity is such that learners must develop connections with other
learners in order to complete the task. Rapport does not necessarily follow from
connection but in the ‘spirit of this endeavour’ it does appear to have occurred in most
cases. Even where there was initially some conflict between students, resolution was
achieved. While not leading the activity, the presence of the lecturer in a small group
allows connections and rapport to develop that may not in a large forum.

The activity does take into account student’s prior experiences and understandings in
terms of content, language and terminology – as an assessment task it brings together
students’ cumulative experience of the subject to that point. However, the task does not
particularly take account of students’ experience and understandings of the type of task
and the technology. For many it is a first encounter with both. Some extra support may be
needed for these students.

The design of the activity enables students to experience the issues of the subjects
through the application of their own knowledge to a problem, and through the need to
collaborate with others on a ‘real’ problem.

The activity is designed to enable students to interact and give feedback using a variety of
online communication tools.

Part B of the activity is an exercise in self assessment that enables students to draw from
and reflect upon their experience.
Sample evaluation - TD Online – boxed questions format
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
Students seem to be engaged affectively. The online communication media appears to
encourage an openness to share their ‘feelings’ about the task. This is quite hard to
measure though.

The activity certainly allows students to control their engagement with the activities. At
times this might have been somewhat overwhelming for those less experienced with
using online media.
Recommended enhancements to the design of the activity

While connections and rapport occur in most cases, remember that group work also
provides opportunities for poor interaction. Be prepared to mediate if need be.

This activity is well designed to allow students to engage with the task and fulfil the
learning objectives. I would suggest that the activity would be enhanced if further support
was provided for students who are unfamiliar with communicating online, perhaps by the
provision of some simple tutorials on PowerPoint and Wikis, these could be made
available as a resource in the Interact subject site.
Learning context
Item
The activity is based on real life
problems or authentic tasks
This activity encourages students to
build connections between theory and
practice
The activity is appropriately embedded
within the subject design
Agree
Uncertain
Disagree
N/A
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Comments on the context and nature of the activity
 This activity is based on a real life problem – to get a proposed article published – and is
an authentic task in that students have to take on the role of a writing team, come up with
a proposed article and then prepare a real presentation for its promotion.
 Students are assessed in part, through an annotated bibliography and the writing of
criteria, on their ability to connect the theory of ‘leadership, collaboration, teamwork,
communication’ etc. with their practical task.
Recommended enhancements to the design of the activity

No recommendations here, the activity is authentic, links theory and practice and is well
embedded in the subject design.
Learner extension (Challenge)
Item
Agree
The activity questions the student’s
knowledge base and highlights any gaps
The activity provides opportunities for
the student to extend and build their
Sample evaluation - TD Online – boxed questions format
Uncertain
Disagree
N/A
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knowledge as well as higher order
thinking skills
Comments on how the students learning is extended

It was evident through the conversations between students where they lacked
knowledge and the lecturer was able to offer guidance where needed.

Peer support was particularly important in this activity. Evidence of students
engaging with the activity and learning for each other was provided in the wiki,
chat and email conversations.
Recommended enhancements to the design of the activity

–
Practice for learners
Agree
Item
Uncertain
Disagree
N/A

The activity encourages demonstration of
student skill/knowledge

Feedback (lecturer and/or peer) is
provided to the student progressively at
key points

The activity encourages learner practice
Comments on how the activity facilitates and/or demonstrates practice for
learners

The nature of the activity means that students must demonstrate their skills and
knowledge in order to complete the task. Feedback is provided as needed via the
project sites, the activity encourages practice - a wiki is very conducive to this.
Recommended enhancements to the design of the activity

–
Integration
Agree
Item
The activity relates and/or links with other
activities and/or resources
The connection is made apparent
The activity relates to the assessment
Uncertain
Disagree
N/A
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Comments on aspects of the integration of the activity

The activity relates to the study done thus far in the subject, it also relates to a reflective
task, and to the next assignment.
Recommended enhancements to the design of the activity

–
Sample evaluation - TD Online – boxed questions format
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Technology suitability
Agree
Item
The tool or combination of tools facilitates
and supports the activity
The technology chosen requires special
skills
Uncertain
The environment, its resources and the
activity accessible and available to all
students enrolled in the subject
(bandwidth reqd, time zone, permissions,
time, access for impaired)
N/A
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
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If so is student support provided?
The environment and its resources
download without lengthy delays (short
activity – 2 min max, major activity 5 min
max)
Disagree


Comments on the suitability of the technology selected

The combination of tools is specially chosen to support the activity.

The technology chosen requires some special skills, but it should be noted
that these are skills that the students will require in the workplace.

Some students may require more support to learn and practice these skills

The Interact environment used downloads without delay but this may not
apply for all students, especially those without broadband.

Access for impaired didn’t arise as an issue, but the material is web-based
and should be readable by screen readers etc.
Recommendations

Perhaps some web-based tutorials could be provided for students that
need them - and the fact that these are work-related skills should be
emphasised.

Suggest some monitoring of access issues be undertaken in future
offerings.
Sample evaluation - TD Online – boxed questions format
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Summary report
Comments and recommendations
Overall this is an excellent activity which enables students to engage in many ways
with an authentic task, using authentic communication. It is especially relevant for
distance students who traditionally have had far fewer opportunities to form these
sorts of connections with their peers. Some further attention to students’ skills
development and to monitoring access issues will serve to enhance this activity
further. I have made other comments throughout the feedback report and would be
happy to work with you on any of my suggestions. Thank you for giving me the
opportunity to engage with this activity by providing feedback. It’s been a good
chance for me to investigate some of the pros and cons of this type of assessment
task.
Would you be interested in creating an Interact Exemplar or Learning Design to
share with other academics at CSU?
Yes
O
No
O
Maybe later
O
Signature/s: _____________________________________ Date: ____________
Evaluation instrument based primarily on:
Agostinho, S, Oliver, R., Harper, B., Hedberg, H., & Wills, S. (2002). A tool to
evaluate the potential for an ICT-based learning design to foster "high-quality
learning". In A. Williamson, C. Gunn, A. Young., & T. Clear (Eds.), Winds of
change in the sea of learning. Proceedings of the 19th Annual Conference of the
Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education.
Auckland, New Zealand: UNITEC Institute of Technology. pp. 29-38.
Herrington, T., Herrington, J., Oliver, R., Stoney, S. & Willis, J. (2001). An ECU
framework for assessing quality of on-line learning materials, Edith Cowan
University. Retrieved from
http://www.ecu.edu.au/CLT/docs/quality_online_wg.doc
Reeves. T. (Presenter). (2008). Eight Dimensions of Effective eLearning Environments
[Podcast lecture]. Wollongong University. Retrieved April 4, 2008, from
http://www.uow.edu.au
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