classroom Observation Form: online

Instructor: / Date:
Course/Section/CRN: / Observer:
Observer is ____Supervisor ____Designee ____Peer ____Other
Please note: The bullet points below are not meant to be a checklist; they are guidelines for observing certain aspects of teaching an online class and are neither inclusive or exclusive of the various strategies and methods that are effective for structuring and delivering online courses.
  1. Course overview and introduction
•Homepage welcomes students to the course and lets them know what to do first (QM 1.1)
•Course utilizes “standard DL Classroom Shell” to include “Start Here” module with 1) descriptions of technical requirements for the course and the technical support offered and how to access it; 2)Instructions that link to CNM accessibility policies and services; and 3) Instructions that link to CNM student support services. (QM 1.4, 1.5, 1.7, 7.1-7.4)
•Course and/or institutional policies students are expected to follow are clearly stated in syllabus.
•Instructor has posted a welcome discussion or a video about him- or herself, providing some interesting facts, eliciting curiosity about the course and/or him- or herself. (QM 1.8)
•“Instructor information” includes professional and/or personal information (hobbies, family picture, etc), as well as expectations for email response time, grade turnaround time, discussion boards, and netiquette. (QM 1.3, 1.8, 5.3, 5.4)
•Learners are asked to introduce themselves to the class. (QM 1.9) / Comments:
2. Learning objectives
•Course learning objectives are communicated at the “beginning” of the course (welcome page, “Start Here,” module 1). (QM 2.1)
•Learning objectives are articulated for each unit/learning module in clear, measurable, and “learner-centered” language. (QM 2.2, 2.3)
•Learning objectives are aligned to the course objectives (and consistent with master syllabus) / Comments:
3. Assessment and measurement
•Assessments are aligned to learning objectives. (QM 3.1)
•Provides opportunities for students to actively practice prior to high stakes assessments. (QM 3.4, 5.1)
•Course grading policy and assessment grading criteria are stated clearly. (QM 3.2, 3.3)
•Provides for a variety of assessment measures. (QM 3.4., 5.1)
•Gradebook is clear and organized and current (QM 3.5) / Comments:
4. Instructional materials
•Instructional materials are current. (QM 4.4)
•A variety of instructional materials are used in the course to include those that support multiple learning modalities (visual, auditory, linguistic). (QM 4.5)
•Instructor provides multiple examples, analogies, and/or real-life applications. (QM 4.1, 4.5)
•Closed captioning and/or transcripts are available for video/audio clips to support accessibility. (QM 8.3)
•Font size and color support ADA accessibility. (QM 8.4)
•Multimedia formats are used that reduce large
•file size to improve accessibility. (QM 8.5) / Comments:
5. Learning Activities
•Each learning module’s course work is organized in a logical manner. (QM 5.1, 5.2)
•Learning modules are structured to “gain student attention” via accessing prior knowledge, using humor/materials of interest, eliciting curiosity. (QM 5.1, 5.2)
•Learning activities provide opportunities for interaction with content, peers, and/or the “real world” that encourage active learning. (QM 5.2)
•Diverse learning activities are included through the course. (QM 5.1, 6.2)
•Learning activities are aligned to learning outcomes / Comments:
6. Instructor Presence
•Instructor participates in course discussions, blogs, group work, etc. and provides supportive feedback and engages students in critical thinking (QM 3.5, 5.2)
•Announcements, emails, and/or videos provide timely and supportive communication regarding course requirements, deadlines, etc.(QM 6.2)
•Class is promptly updated regarding any changes to course materials or deadlines. (QM 3.2, 3.3, 3.4) / Comments:
Observer’s Comments:
Instructor’s Comments:

I have read this report and/or discussed it with the observer.

Instructor’s SignatureDate


Observer’s SignatureDate


Created 6/8/2017

Appendices: DL Classroom rubric and QM Rubric standards

Distance Learning and Hybrid/Blended courses are reviewed by the DL Staff for compliance with the Dean-approved CNM Learn Classroom.

This is not a QM review, as it does not address the alignment of content and assessments to unit- and course-level measurable objectives.

To earn a "perfect score" of 5/5 a course should meet these criteria:

Welcome area:
Alignment with QM Standards: 1.1, 1.2

  • Course opens to Welcome page
  • Welcome items appropriately edited--no placeholder text, no obviously incorrect information, images relate to course and are less than 200KB
  • Directions to students to go to Start Here

Start Here area:
Alignment with QM Standards: 1.1-1.8, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, 7.1- 7.4, 8.2

  • Available and visible to students
  • Standard items reflect current version of CNM Learn Classroom
  • Course description and course-level measurable objectives are in the proper area
  • Contains link to or instructions to access current term's Syllabus

Syllabus area:
Alignment with QM Standards: 1.2-1.7, 2.1, 2.3, 2.5, 3., 5.3, 5.4, 6.3, 6.5, 7.1-7.4, 8.2

  • Updated to correct course, term, instructor
  • Unmodified Master Syllabus scores 0
  • If schedule included in this area, it is updated to current term's dates

Instructor Information area:
Alignment with QM Standards: 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.7, 1.8

  • Uses appropriate photo or avatar of instructor
  • Approximately 150x150px, less than 100KB file size
  • Has instructor contact information, and no unedited placeholder information
  • Email address is CNM Email, not personal or other institution’s account
  • Includes expectations and course information (not just "see syllabus")

Learning Modules area:
Alignment with QM Standards: 2.1-2.5. 3.1, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 4.1-4.6, 5.1, 5.2, 5.4, 6.1-6.3

Note: Unit-level objectives, content and assessments are not evaluated per QM standards.

  • Content organized into units
  • No unnecessary additional items in Learning Modules content area
  • Each unit's content in a single Learning Module or Content Folder
  • Unit content not added to course menu as individual unit links or as content type (e.g., Week 1 or Assessments)

Discussions/Blogs/Journals/Wikis in Course Content area:
Alignment with QM Standards: 5.1, 5.2, 5.4

  • No duplication of Introduction or Muddiest Points forums
  • If a tool is being used, link is not hidden
  • If a tool is not being used, link is deleted

Messages/CNM Email and Bb IM/Collaborate Ultra in Course Communications area:
Alignment with QM Standards: 1.1, 6.1, 6.4, 8.1

  • Standard names are used
  • Only one of Messages/CNM Email is used
  • If present, Bb IM/Collaborate Ultra links are not hidden

Help! area and Menu in general:
Alignment with QM Standards: 7.1-7.4

  • All current, standard Help! links available
  • Any added links match formatting and are clearly named
  • No "Useful links" or "Important information"
  • Material germane to learning units is included in units, not menu items
  • Unused links are deleted, not hidden

Grade center:
Alignment with QM Standards: 8.1. 8.4

  • No duplicated/unused Total or Weighted Total columns
  • Columns in a logical order
  • No unnecessarily hidden columns

Accessibility of standard content areas:
Alignment with QM Standards: 8.1, 8.3, 8.4, 8.5

Note: Course teaching materials are not assessed for compliance with all best practices of universal design.

  • Colors are contrast accessible, and meaning is not indicated by color alone
  • Emphasis added by accessible means (italics, boldface or header tags) and not highlighting, font color/size/type change, or all caps
  • Appropriate use of media formats
  • Images of appropriate size, format and lack of visual distractors