Teaching Dynamics Online - generalised 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

Teacher: Subject Code & Session:

Overview of Learning Experience(s) being evaluated

  1. Preliminary questions

What would you like to gain from this evaluation?
What is the student base? e.g. internal, DE, World-wide?
How many students in the activity?
Which subject objective/s relate to this activity?
What are the learning objectives for this activity?
Where is this activity described, and is it part of the assessment?
What resources do the students require to complete the activity and how do they access these resources?
If group work was part of the activity, how were the groups formed?
What is the timeframe for the activity and do students have to be present at the same time?
Have you identified any limitations with this teaching strategy?
Other background information?
  1. Alignment and activity design
  1. Are the task/s requirements clearly expressed?
  2. How does the task/activity enable the achievement of the specified learning objective/s?
  3. What are the features that encourage student participation or active learning?
  4. What strategies are in place to ensure that all students are participating?
  5. What feedback mechanisms are in place tosupport student learning?
  6. How does the design facilitate interactivity?
  7. How does this activity and its resources align with assessment tasks and objectives?

Item / SA / A / U / D / SD / NA
The activity aligns with the learning objectives
The activity facilitates active learning and interactivity
Comments on the alignment of the activity to the learning objectives
Recommended enhancements to the design of the activity
  1. Learner Engagement
  1. How does the design of the activity provide opportunities for learners to develop connections and rapport with other learners and with the lecturer?
  2. How does the design of the activity take account of learners’ prior experiences and understandings with regard to content, language, terminology, type of task, technology-used, etc?
  3. How does the design of the activity enable students to experience the concepts/ideas/issues of the subject in a variety of different ways?
  4. What range of opportunities does the design of the activityallow for peer interaction and feedback?
  5. In what ways does the activity support and enable learners to draw from and reflect upon their experience?
  6. How does the design of the activity engage students affectively i.e. with regard to feelings and emotions?
  7. What mechanisms are available to give learners a sense of control over their engagement with the activities?

Item / SA / A / U / D / SD / NA
The design of the activity supports Learner Engagement
Comments on how learner engagement is supported by the design of the activity
Recommended enhancements to the design of the activity
  1. Learning context
  2. Is the activity based on real life problems or authentic tasks?
  3. How does this activity encourage students to build connections between theory and practice?
  4. Is the activity appropriately embedded within the subject design?

Item / SA / A / U / D / SD / NA
The activity acknowledges the learning context
Comments on the context and nature of the activity
Recommended enhancements to the design of the activity
  1. Learner extension (Challenge)
  2. Does the activity question the student’s knowledge base and highlight any gaps?
  3. How does the activity provide opportunities for the student to extend and build their knowledge as well as higher order thinking skills?

Item / SA / A / U / D / SD / NA
The activity challenges the learner
Comments on how the students learning is extended
Recommended enhancements to the design of the activity
  1. Practice for learners
  2. How does the activity encourage demonstration of student skill/knowledge?
  3. How is feedback (lecturer and/or peer)provided to the student progressively at key points?
  4. Does the activity encourage learner practice?

Item / SA / A / U / D / SD / NA
The activity provides practice for the learner
Comments on how the activity facilitates and/or demonstrates practice for learners
Recommended enhancements to the design of the activity
  1. Integration
  2. Does the activity relate and/or link with other activities and/or resources?
  1. If so, is this connection apparent?
  2. How does the activity relate to the assessment?

Item / SA / A / U / D / SD / NA
The activity is integrated and related to the subject
Comments on aspects of the integration of the activity
Recommended enhancements to the design of the activity
  1. Technology suitability
  2. Does the tool or combination of toolsfacilitate and support the activity?
  3. Does the technology chosen require special skills
  4. If so is student support provided?
  5. Does the environment and its resources download without lengthy delays (short activity – 2 min max, major activity 5 min max)
  6. Is 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)

Item / SA / A / U / D / SD / NA
The technology selected is suitable
Comments on the suitability of the technology selected
Recommendations

Summary report

Comments and recommendations

Teacher comments

How was the student experience?
What was achieved through the activity?
What would you do differently next time?

Would you be interested in creating an Interact Exemplar or Learning Design to share with other academics at CSU?

YesONoOMaybe laterO

Signature/s: ______Date: ______

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, EdithCowanUniversity. Retrieved from

Reeves. T. (Presenter). (2008). Eight Dimensions of Effective eLearning Environments [Podcast lecture]. WollongongUniversity. Retrieved April 4, 2008, from

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Teaching Dynamics Online - generalised question format, LTS, 2009.