Feedback is one of the most valuable tools available to instructors, designers, and students. When students invest their time and creativity in an assignment, instructor feedback provides them an opportunity to know what they excelled in, as well as what still needs improvement. Authentic feedback between an instructor and student creates a conversation that is conducive to learning and growing. Similarly, after countless hours are spent designing a curriculum and developing a course--whether online, on-site, or a hybrid of the two--feedback provides instructors a path to continue improving the course for an impactful student experience. When we bring students into the conversation by requesting their feedback on specific elements of a course, we have the opportunity to showcase more diverse backgrounds and voices, employ current applications and content, and establish an environment that makes students feel valued and heard. This article explores how to create space for feedback, what...

Imagine you’re a student in an introductory biology course. On an exam, your professor asks: " What is a byproduct of photosynthesis as exhibited by Figure 1.1 below? " Could you answer the question? Figure 1.1 Now imagine you are a student who has a visual impairment and you were asked the same question. Could you provide the answer then? Chances are you may not be able to answer the question based on Figure 1.1 alone. What seems like a well-written question, is actually only accessible to students who are sighted or otherwise have functional vision. For students with visual impairments, assessment questions based solely on scientific images or graphs may create a barrier in the learning process. Being web inclusive means that course content and associated materials are equitably available to all students regardless of their abilities, or type of technological device that they are using. Instead of relying only on scientific images and graphs to showcase data, you can im...

Singular job titles comprise a composite of identities; no one is just one “thing.” How people self-identify not only has a direct effect on how they see themselves and how others see them, but it also drives the various ways they engage with colleagues and stakeholders to achieve common goals. To wit, to help faculty members and instructional designers productively exchange opinions and ideas during course design and development, it can be particularly useful if they consider themselves writers and editors, respectively. This article, " Who ARE You? Faculty as Writer, Instructional Designer (ID) as Editor, " from  ASU’s Teach Online , operationally defines “writer” and “editor” for higher ed, and clearly demonstrates how the reciprocity between these two identities, when assumed by faculty and IDs, can benefit everyone involved, especially learners. Check out the full article here:  Who ARE You? Faculty as Writer, Instructional Designer (ID) as Editor Post-Author: Jill Rote...

Why are some courses a dynamic, meaningful, and lasting experience, while others inspire lukewarm engagement and results despite the instructor’s best efforts? In his excellent new book, Super Courses: The Future of Teaching and Learning , higher-education and pedagogy expert, Ken Bain, goes beyond typical course checklists and explores how teachers foster a natural critical learning environment, where activities and collaborations are designed around questions and challenges that students are intrinsically curious about and find deep and emotional value in solving. The book is filled with stories and syllabi of real-life examples of these super courses and begins with a concise analysis of 18 characteristics that were consistently observed in Bain’s research. Here are the 18 characteristics, paraphrased for brevity, and supplemented with examples that could be used in face-to-face, hybrid, or fully online courses: Core course design and policy: The course is centered around big, inte...