Topic outline

◄Communication
►The Online Classroom

  • The Art of Teaching in an Online Classroom


     Goal: The online teacher plans, designs, and incorporates strategies to encourage active learning, application, interaction, participation, and collaboration in the online environment

     

    Objectives:

    • to understand the value of instrinsic motivation
    • to apply learning about instrinsic motivation to an online learning experience
    • to describe methods or strategies to motivate a student who is unlikely to complete a course

    What is motivation and how does it impact learning? What does it mean for my online students?

    Let's try our own little experiment and see how it impacts your motivation!


    In this exercise you will have three choices related to your exploration of this topic. You may select from the following options:

    1. Read several research articles provided for you about motivation and be ready to comment on your connections.
    2. Watch Daniel Pink's video on motivation and its relationship to a business model. Relate his key points to education and how they intersect. Predict how the parallels will impact your online course.
    3. Find resources online or in the library about motivation. Share common elements with participants.
    4. Create a combo of several options! (for overachievers only!!)

    In any case, your job is to collect evidence on the value of intrinsic motivation. You will also be asked to talk about the impact of choice in this exercise and how it affected you.

    • Option 1:

      Quickly preview the articles, chart, and URLs below. Select several that meet your needs. Print out the resource and mark up the text. Consider what questions you have as you read and annotate the text with comments, connections and thoughts you have about this information. Compare and contrast the resources for similiarities and differences.

    • File icon
      Choice and Motivation File
    • File icon
      Classroom Structure, Strategies, and Motivation File
    • URL icon
      How Choice Theory Impact Instruction URL
    • File icon
      Six Reasons Why Students Are Unmotivated (and What Teachers Can Do)- Jim Wright File
    • URL icon
      Motivating Unmotivated Students by Doug Reeves URL
    • URL icon
      Increasing Interaction in Online Learning Environments URL

    •  

      Option 2:

      Watch New York Times Bestselling Author, Daniel Pink, talk about the  theory behind motivation and specifically the impact of the candle problem in the TED network video below.

      Although Pink talks about research on motivation related to business, these studies are applicable to education. Listen to see how this speaker shares evidence from studies and the results of extrinsic rewards. You may be surprised at the outcome. Consider the appropriateness of extrinsic motivation in your online environment.

       

    • Option 3:

      Fire up the search engines! Poke around the Internet and see what articles you'd like to cite. Look for two or three powerful and compelling resources on motivation. Please include critical theories, strategies or evidence and the location of the information (in case other participants would like to find out more to deepen their understanding.)

      When your search is complete, post your findings to the Connections and Comments Forum below.

      *A link to Google has been included for your convenience below.

    • URL icon
      Google Search Engine URL

    • Our group has gathered a significant amount of information on motivation by exploring these 3 options. Share your thoughts, post your questions, and make connections with others' ideas in this forum. Have you located supporting or contradicting information? Based on your expertise and new learning, what's your advice?

    • Forum icon
      Connections and Comments on Motivation Forum
    •  
       
      Scenario

      Student 2 is enrolled in my Participation in Government class. She is extremely ill, barely able to leave her bed. Due to her condition, she completes a small amount of work at a time. She works very sporadically and I notice that she skips around when she is logged in. Although she has a tutor, I often feel out of touch. She does not respond to all of my  messages / emails. I am very concerned because the course deadline is rapidly approaching, and she has only completed half of the required work. How can I address this situation?

      Respond in the forum below.

    • Forum icon
      How would you motivate and engage Student 2? What are some strategies that might encourage the student to finish? Forum
◄Communication
►The Online Classroom