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Discussion Boards: Should They Stay, Go, or Revamp in the AI Era?

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“Discussions are boring”, “it is so hard for students to truly engage,” “the linearity of the discussions doesn’t help to navigate and find the threads”, “posts could be AI-generated.” If you’ve voiced one of these about discussion boards, you’re not alone. Oftentimes, I hear instructors express these concerns. Discussion boards were once considered spaces for bringing students together to engage in authentic and genuine conversations. However, in today’s AI world, the concerns are compounded by the risk that discussion posts could be generated by AI, lacking students’ own voices and personal investment in building community.

What is not working with discussion boards?

Discussion boards have been the default tool in online courses to create a space for students and their instructors to build community, engage in conversations, develop a sense of belonging, and learn from one another. The discussion board is the online counterpart of the physical classroom space.

However, over the years, it seems discussion boards are limited in that they hardly promote student engagement and expand conversations. For many instructors, discussions have become a formulaic “post one and reply twice” approach that lacks the features to truly motivate students to participate beyond that formula. It has even become more challenging to create an engaging asynchronous discussion in the AI era, as some students might feel tempted to use AI to generate posts.

What can work better?

Designing discussions that are meaningful and engaging may require evaluating their use and structure. The design of discussions sets the foundation for students to be in community, understand the value of the activity, and actively engage with others. This foundation should respond to a clear structure where the purpose, tasks, and criteria for success are clear.

There are multiple ways in which discussion boards go beyond that formula, becoming spaces that hold the community of learners together. It is possible to design and facilitate online discussions that are engaging and meaningful, and that serve as dynamic learning spaces where students get to know their peers, engage in community, and build trusting relationships with each other and with their instructor.

How to redesign discussions in the AI era?

An AI policy should be clearly articulated so that students know whether AI can be used or not in their discussion posts and replies. Instructors could opt to co-create an AI policy and involve students in identifying actions and tasks that could benefit from, or not benefit from, the use of AI in their discussions (and other assignments). However, given that discussions are one of the few course activities where the process of student-to-student interaction matters more than a polished product, an AI policy alone may not help address the concern that posts could be entirely generated by AI.

In response to the AI era, it becomes even more important to ensure that the discussion board has a clear purpose and meaning for students. A purpose statement highlights the importance, relevance, and value of students’ own work and voices, and shows students that their instructors are eager to read their contributions. AI cannot replicate students’ own thinking and authentic voices. A clear description in the purpose statement and instructions that repositions the value of authentic student voice and contributions would make it visible to students that their instructor is interested in what they bring from their own context, lived experiences, or observations.

To make discussion prompts more engaging and tempting for students to bring their own voices, ask students to bring an artifact such as a news item, a course reading annotation, or a real-world example to share with peers. Then, ask them to respond to peers’ artifacts rather than to peers’ opinions. The input is the student’s own context, which sidesteps the AI temptation and makes the engagement more natural, relevant, and genuine.

Don’t feel discouraged by the shortcomings of discussion boards; these are great tools for creating the social interactions and community so desired in an online environment, even in the AI era and its challenges for teaching and learning. The key to using discussion boards is to rethink them as spaces for genuine engagement rather than as superficial, perfunctory tasks. Rethinking and redesigning discussions could start with small steps, for example, if you do nothing else:

  • Articulate clearly why students need to contribute and participate in the discussion. What is the value they will get from being in the conversation and community with others?
  • Describe your AI expectations in the discussion instructions, not just link to or add them in the syllabus. How would students benefit from using or not using AI when posting and replying?
  • Make one discussion prompt more meaningful, connected to students’ lived experiences. How do the topics discussed relate to students’ lives and communities?
  • Add reflection questions to the factual/descriptive prompts. How do students’ thoughts evolve as they engage in the discussion? How would students apply the concepts in other scenarios?

If you have tried something else or different, I would like to hear about it.

End of Term – Time for Reflection and Self-Kindness

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Once the term begins, you and your students enter into a full motion of course activities—getting connected with one another and moving along the education journey together. Then, when you realize it is the end of the term! I have heard many instructors saying things like “I can’t believe how fast this term has gone!”, “It’s already week 10, and I don’t know where time went!” And with the term at its conclusion, it is an opportunity to debrief, reflect, and take time for self-kindness, for both instructors and instructional designers.

Debrief

A debrief is an activity that helps close out the course development project. A debrief can help instructors more intentionally discuss how the course development process worked in a particular course, identify the challenges that took place while teaching, and outline future improvements and more effective course design approaches (Chatterjee, Juvale, & Jaramillo Cherrez, 2023). If you are an instructor who worked with an instructional designer to develop the course that you just finished teaching, it is important to meet with them and discuss how the course went, what worked well, what items presented challenges for students as well as for the instructors that immediate changes or improvements can be addressed as these are fresh in mind, and what major updates or changes are required before the course is taught again. These debriefs can take place during the last weeks of the term (e.g., finals week or the week after) and be initiated by the instructional designer as a way to close out the course development project, or by the instructor to seek additional instructional design assistance for improvements.

Reflection

Why would you want to reflect as an instructor? Generally speaking, reflection can serve as a mechanism to deliberately process and examine your actions, thoughts, and experiences in developing and teaching the course. For reflection after the term, we will focus on reflection-on-action, which is engaging in this deliberate process after the fact (Brookfield, 2017; Schön, 1987)—after you have taught the course. In reflecting about your course development and teaching experience at the end of the term, you may have the opportunity to not only describe what those experiences were like but also the opportunity to question and evaluate design and teaching choices, identify additional challenges presented in the context of the course, and reviewing student feedback to better understand the instructional design decisions that were successful and those that failed to accomplish your goals and the goals of the course. Reflection can be part of the debrief, but also a regular practice to look back at the course development and teaching experience for future improvements.

Self-Kindness

Self-kindness is not a new concept, but it may well be in the context of education. Applying this concept to your online course development and teaching experience means that you engage in kind actions to yourself—actions to treat yourself with care, compassion, and consideration (Denial, 2023). At the end of the term, as you debrief and/or reflect, think about the teaching actions that went well and consider how they made you feel. Give yourself grace and compassion because you are a human being and capable of so many great things, while acknowledging that the context and experiences may shape us in multiple ways. Also, because you have created an excellent online course and your teaching presence has elevated its quality. In exercising self-kindness, you may feel vulnerable as you may start recognizing the challenges and struggles in your academic and personal lives. Consider giving yourself the same compassion that you can give a loved one or a close friend, recognizing that the challenges, struggles, and failures are part of the human experience—even in teaching. Self-kindness is a way to direct your attention and actions away from judgments and shortcomings. Take care.

I’m curious, how do you conclude a term? Are there specific self-care actions that you take besides grading and submitting final grades?  

References

Brookfield, S. 2017. Becoming a critically reflective teacher. 2nd ed. Jossey-Bass

Chatterjee, R., Juvale, D., & Jaramillo Cherrez, N. (2023). What the debriefs unfold. A multicase study of their experiences of higher education faculty in designing and teaching their asynchronous online courses. The Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 24(1), 25-41.

Denial, C. J. (2024). A pedagogy of kindness. University of Oklahoma Press

Schön, D. A. 1987. Educating the reflective practitioner: Toward a new design for teaching and learning in the professions. Jossey-Bass

Pedagogy of Kindness in Online Teaching and Learning – Part 1

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The saying “students may forget what we teach, but they’ll remember how we made them feel” is such an important idea that could help us start thinking about how to make online learning a space that fosters belonging, connection, respect for individual differences, and authentic participation. In support of instructional design practices and teaching approaches that can accomplish these aspects, online course design and teaching can be transformative for students (and instructors) when more human-centered strategies are built into the courses, strategies that go beyond cognitive tasks and challenges, and attend to the well-being of students and instructors. What if these practices and approaches are built upon kindness? Cate Denial’s (2024) “A Pedagogy of Kindness” invites us to explore ways in which we can do that.

In this first blog, I will share the foundational notion of “A Pedagogy of Kindness” and its main components. I will also offer a brief example to illustrate a step in applying this kind of pedagogy in an online course.

Denial’s View of Academia and Teaching

In the book, Denial shares her own journey through academia, as a first-generation student and as an academic navigating the intricacies of higher education in the U.S. At the same time, Denial is critical of the culture of higher education that poses many challenges to all to be more caring and kinder to themselves and each other. Through accounts of her own experience as an undergraduate, graduate, and academic in higher education, Denial argues that academia socializes individuals into a culture of power dynamics that emphasizes competition, the pursuit of individual excellence, ableism, and exclusion. This socialization made Denial question the vision, perceptions, and warnings about students: they cheat, won’t do their assignments, want easy ways to pass a course, challenge professors, and should be under suspicion all the time. However, through a process of reflective practice and being asked to defend pedagogical choices, Denial realized she could not defend the indefensible. The choice was clear: why not be kind to students and, through kindness, make a difference in their lives and their educational journeys?

Kindness and Pedagogy

But what does kindness have to do with pedagogy and with online teaching and learning? The short answer is “everything.” Kindness helps to direct our attention, actions, and thoughts to being compassionate and considerate to those around us, physically and virtually. But what is kindness in the first place? Denial defines it in terms of what it is not: It is not about being nice because being nice is hypocritical, underscores power imbalances, presupposes a traditional view of rigor, and leads to burnout—all because of the efforts to disguise actions and thoughts as pleasant when they are less so. Kindness, instead, is a more genuine way to care for others—an approach that makes all see opportunities to bring equity, embrace accountability for our actions and thoughts, and remind ourselves that we live and thrive through compassion even in darker times.

Pedagogy of Kindness Framework

In the Pedagogy of Kindness framework, Denial presents three intersecting elements: a vision for justice, believing students, and believing in students. And these three elements point to considering students’ personal responsibilities, work commitments, financial obligations, disabilities, and attitudes toward the world around them (e.g., politics, climate change), and meet them where they are. In addition, Denial posits that “[w]e must take a hard look at what we’re asking students to do and then identify if there is value in it….If there is, we need to be able to explain that value to students as clearly and directly as we can.” (p 17) Denial’s framework for a pedagogy of kindness rests on three intersecting principles:

Justice: In this element, we should consider:

  • Who our students are
  • Give students the benefit of the doubt when something outlandish occurs
  • Believe in what students share about their educational experiences

Believe Students:

  • Cultivate trust
  • Be ready to deal with a situation or crisis rather than putting all under suspicion
  • Discuss with students ethical decisions

Believe in Students:

  • Students want to learn—they have creativity, capacity, and thoughtfulness
  • Establish collaboration for mutual learning

Pedagogy of Kindness in Online Education

This framework can be integrated into a course in multiple ways, through the teaching approach, syllabus, class practices, and overall interactions with students. For instance, in one online course I helped design, the language in the Artificial Intelligence policy said something to the effect of “If the assignment is written with AI, you will receive a zero.” In order to cultivate trust and help the instructor prepare to deal with any academic misconduct, we revisited the description of the policy, highlighting the value of students’ own work, ideas, and reflections. The policy language also acknowledged the challenges in completing the assignment and reinforced the importance of the learning process more than the product of the assignment. This example speaks to the believe students and believe in students elements of the pedagogy of kindness.

Now, how might you make kindness visible in your own online teaching?

A second part of this blog will provide examples and practical ways of how Pedagogy of Kindness grounded the design and facilitation of online courses.

References

Denial, C. J. (2024). A pedagogy of kindness. University of Oklahoma Press. 

Core Education Launch – Summer 2025

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Core Education Curriculum Reform and Implementation

The summer of 2025 marks a new era in general education at Oregon State University. After years of collaboration among faculty, students, and community partners, OSU has crafted a forward-thinking general education program designed to empower the next generation of global leaders. 

The Core Education Curriculum will be implemented starting June 23, and students enrolling in this term and beyond will begin their academic journeys at OSU by gaining knowledge and skills through two major curriculum areas: the Foundational Core and the Signature Core.

Re-envisioning Education

OSU has undergone a multi-year curriculum reform in which faculty, students, staff, alumni, community partners, and administrators came together to develop a state-of-the-art, 21st-century-focused general education program. The Core Ed curriculum underscores students’ potential to become global innovators and critical agents of societal change. By integrating real-world problem-solving and social responsibility, Core Education embodies OSU’s land-grant mission to serve communities locally and globally.

The new curriculum incorporates high-impact practices intended to support student learning and prepare them to meet challenges, solve problems, adapt to a rapidly changing world, and become proactive members of society, advancing their fields of study. These practices—defined as strategies that promote deeper learning, meaningful engagement, and a positive impact on historically underserved student populations (Kuh & O’Donnell, 2013)—are central to Core Education. As stated in the Core Education mission, the curriculum also “addresses the ever-changing needs of our learners and graduates in our global society and promotes critical thinking, information literacy, social and environmental justice, interdisciplinary teamwork, and communication.” (Core Education)

Uniqueness of Core Education

The Core Ed curriculum is defined by two main areas: the Foundational Core and the Signature Core, which offer students a variety of learning opportunities. The Foundational Core helps students build essential skills and broad knowledge, fostering lifelong learning and creative problem-solving, while preparing them to engage with complex topics in academic and professional settings. The Signature Core empowers students to apply critical thinking to create positive change in their field and society, while strengthening the skills needed to navigate a complex, interconnected world.

The Foundational Core includes the following categories:

  • Writing Foundations (4 credits)
  • Arts and Humanities – Global and General (6–8 credits; 2 courses)
  • Quantitative Literacy and Analysis (4 credits)
  • Communication, Media, and Society (3 credits)
  • Social Science (3–4 credits)
  • Scientific Inquiry and Analysis (8 credits; 2 courses from two different designators)
  • Difference, Power, and Oppression Foundations (3–4 credits)

The Signature Core includes the following categories:

  • Transitions (2 credits)
  • Beyond OSU Career Integration (0 credits)
  • Difference, Power, and Oppression Advanced (3–4 credits)
  • Seeking Solutions (3–4 credits)
  • Writing Elevation (3 credits)
  • Writing Intensive Curriculum (In Major)

A standout feature of Core Education is the Beyond OSU Career Integration component, which equips students with NACE-aligned competencies for lifelong career success. This component offers students opportunities to explore and apply career-related practices, including career readiness and advancement. It focuses on building core skills for workplace success and lifelong career management, based on the NACE Career Competencies.

Preparing to Launch Core Education

The Core Education reform process dates back to 2002, when OSU initiated a review of the Baccalaureate Core Curriculum. Since then, the OSU community has worked intensively to design, develop, and implement the new general education curriculum. Ecampus has been no exception—each Ecampus team (e.g., Course Development) has actively strategized its work to support this transition. Specifically, the Instructional Design (ID) Team at Ecampus has launched iterative course design initiatives to inform, test, and evaluate the course design process and resources. These initiatives include:

  • Difference, Power, and Oppression Working Group: A group of four instructional designers (IDs) met regularly during Winter 2025 to review the DPO learning outcomes, criteria, and rationale and to draft a DPO Course Design Guide. This guide provides questions and considerations IDs can use during course intakes, development, and resource support.
  • Outcomes and Alignment Working Group: Two IDs led the creation of a guide and template to support the alignment of Core Education outcomes (CSLOs) with course assignments. The template includes a spreadsheet to document the alignment of exam questions with outcomes, offering instructors a clear and structured strategy for maintaining consistency.
  • Seeking Solutions Professional Learning Community: A group of eight IDs tasked with designing Seeking Solutions courses launched a professional learning community (PLC) in late Fall 2024 and continued into Spring 2025. The PLC reviewed the learning outcomes, criteria, and rationale and developed a detailed Course Design Guide to assist the ID team in planning course intakes and providing follow-up support to instructors.
  • Core Ed Outcomes and Alignment Review Group. A group of five IDs served as peer reviewers for a guide on the Alignment of CSLOs to the Essential Assignment(s) in Canvas. This resource guides IDs step-by-step through the process of linking the appropriate CSLOs to the course Essential Assignment(s) so that samples of student work can be used for Core Education category assessment. With this guide, IDs can support course developers in making the alignment visible in Canvas. 
  • Core Education Course Development Guide. This guide provides the ID team with a comprehensive guide on the development of Core Education, Baccalaureate Core, and Writing Intensive Courses. 

Although the course design guides are fully drafted and available to the ID team, the working groups continue to communicate regularly for updates and improvements.

The OSU community—especially Ecampus’s dedicated teams—has worked tirelessly to bring Core Education to life. Their collaborative spirit and innovation have been instrumental in shaping this transformative curriculum. I’m very proud of the initiatives we’ve undertaken, and it has been an honor to lead them. This blog highlights my colleagues’ work and the Ecampus leadership team’s guidance, especially the Course Development and Training Unit leaders, who have fully supported the initiatives.

I invite you to explore the full Core Education Curriculum or contact Karen Watte karen.watte@oregonstate.edu for online course development.

References

  • Oregon State University. (2025). Core Education
  • Kuh, George D. & O’Donnell, K. (2013). Ensuring quality & taking high-impact practices to scale. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges & Universities.

Improving the Feedback Cycle, Part 2

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chart describing the steps in the feedback process

In part one of this two-part blog series, we focused on setting the stage for a better feedback cycle by preparing students to receive feedback. In part two, we’ll discuss the remaining steps of the cycle- how to deliver feedback effectively and ensure students use it to improve.

In part one, we learned about the benefits of adding a preliminary step to your feedback system by preparing students to receive suggestions and view them as helpful and valuable rather than as criticism. If you haven’t read part one, I recommend doing so before continuing. This first crucial but often overlooked step involves fostering a growth mindset and creating an environment where students understand the value of feedback and learn to view it as a tool for improvement rather than criticism. 

Step 2: Write Clear Learning Outcomes

The next step in the cycle is likely more familiar to teachers, as much focus in recent decades has been placed on developing and communicating clear, measurable learning outcomes when designing and delivering courses. Bloom’s Taxonomy is commonly used as a reference when determining learning outcomes and is often a starting point in backwards design strategy. Instructors and course designers must consider how a lesson, module, or course aligns with the learning objectives so that students are well-equipped to meet these outcomes via course content and activities. Sharing these expected outcomes with students, in the form of CLOs and rubrics, can help them to focus on what matters most and be better informed about the importance of each criterion. These outcomes should also inform instructors’ overall course map and lesson planning. 

Another important consideration is ensuring that learning outcomes are measurable, which requires rewriting unmeasurable ones that begin with verbs such as understand, learn, appreciate, or grasp. A plethora of resources are available online to assist instructors and course designers who want to improve the measurability of their learning outcomes. These include our own Ecampus-created Bloom’s Taxonomy Revisited and a chart of active and measurable verbs from the OSU Center for Teaching and Learning that fit each taxonomy level.

Step 3: Provide Formative Practice & Assessments

The third step reminds us that student learning is also a cycle, overlapping and informing our feedback cycle. When Ecampus instructional designers build courses, we try to ensure instructors provide active learning opportunities that engage students and teach the content and skills needed to meet our learning objectives. We need to follow that up with ample practice assignments and assessments, such as low-stakes quizzes, discussions, and other activities to allow students to apply what they have learned. This in turn allows instructors to provide formative feedback that should ideally inform our students’ study time and guide them to correct errors or revisit content before being formally or summatively graded. Giving preliminary feedback also gives us time to adjust our teaching based on how students perform and hone in on what toreview before assessments. Providing practice tests or assignments or using exam wrappers, exit cards, or “muddiest point” surveys to collect your students’ feedback can also be an important practice that can help us improve our teaching.

Step 4: Make Feedback Timely and Actionable

Step four is two-fold, as both the timeliness and quality of the feedback we give are important. The best time to give feedback is when the student can still use it to improve future performance. When planning your term schedule, it can be useful to predict when you will need to block off time to provide feedback on crucial assignments and quizzes, as a delay for the instructor equates to a delay for students. Having clear due dates, reminding students of them,  and sticking to the timetable by giving feedback promptly are important aspects of giving feedback.

To be effective, feedback must focus on moving learning forward. It should target the identified learning gap and suggest specific steps for the student to improve.. For a suggestion to be actionable, it should describe actions that will help the student do better without overloading them with too much information- choose a few actionable areas to focus on each time. Comments that praise students’ abilities, attitudes, or personalities are not as helpful as ones that give them concrete ways to improve their work.

Step 5: Give Time to Use Feedback and Incentive it

The last step in the cycle, giving students time to use the feedback provided, is often relegated to homework or ignored altogether. Feedback is most useful when students are required to view it and preferably do something with it, and by skipping this important step, the feedback might be ignored or glanced over perfunctorily and promptly forgotten. To close the loop, students must put the feedback to use. This can be the point where your feedback cycle sputters out, so be sure to make time to prioritize this final step. Students may need assistance in applying your feedback. Guiding students through the process, and providing scaffolds and models for using your feedback can be beneficial, especially during the initial attempts.

In my experience, it never hurts to incentivize this step: this can be as simple as adding points to an assignment for reflecting on the feedback given or giving extra credit opportunities around redone work. As a writing teacher, I required rewrites for work that scored below passing and offered to regrade any rewritten essays incorporating my detailed feedback. This proved to be a good solution, and while marking essays was definitely labor intensive, I was rewarded with very positive feedback from my students, often commenting that they learned a lot and improved significantly in my courses.

Considerations

A robust feedback cycle often includes opportunities for students to develop their own feedback skills by performing self-assessments and peer reviews. Self-assessment helps students in several ways, promoting metacognition and helping them learn to identify their own strengths and weaknesses. It also allows students to reflect on their study habits and motivation, manage self-directed learning, and develop transferable skills. Peer review also provides valuable practice honing their evaluative skills, using feedback techniques, and giving and receiving feedback, all skills they will find useful throughout adulthood. Both self-assessment and peer review give students a deeper understanding of the criteria teachers use to evaluate work, which can help them fine-tune their performance. 

Resources for learning more:

Feedback

Learning Outcomes

Self-assessment

Peer review

Improving the Feedback Cycle, Part 1

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graphic image of the five steps in the feedback cycle

Giving and receiving feedback effectively is a key skill we all develop as we grow, and it helps us reflect on our performance, guide our future behavior, and fine-tune our practices. Later in life, feedback continues to be vital as we move into work and careers, getting feedback from the people we work for and with. As teachers, the most important aspect of our job is giving feedback that informs students how to improve and meet the learning outcomes to pass our courses.  We soon learn, however, that giving feedback can be difficult for several reasons. Despite it being one of our primary job duties as educators, we may have received little training on how to give feedback or what effective feedback looks like. We also realize how time-consuming it can be to provide detailed feedback students need to improve. To make matters worse, we may find that students don’t do much with the feedback we spend so much time providing. Additionally, students may not respond well to feedback- they might become defensive, feel misunderstood, or worse, ignore the feedback altogether. This can set us up for an ineffective feedback process, which can be frustrating for both sides. 

I taught ESL to international students from around the world for more than 10 years and have given a fair amount of feedback. Over many cycles, I developed a detailed and systematic approach for providing feedback that looked like this.

Gaps in this cycle can lead to frustration from both sides. Each step in the cycle is essential, so we’ll look at each in greater depth in this blog series. Today, we will focus on starting strong by preparing students to receive feedback, a crucial beginning that sets the stage for a healthy cycle.

Step 1: Prepare Students to Receive Feedback

An effective feedback cycle starts before the feedback is given by laying careful groundwork. The first and often-overlooked step in the cycle is preparing students to receive feedback, which takes planned, ongoing work. Various factors may influence whether students welcome feedback, including their self-confidence going into your course, their own self-concept and mindset as a learner, their working memory and learning capacity, how they view your feedback, and whether they feel they can trust you. Outside factors such as motivation and working memory are often beyond our control, but creating an atmosphere of trust and safety in the classroom can positively support students. Student confidence and mindset are areas in which  teachers can play a crucial supporting role. 

Researcher Carol Dweck coined the term “growth mindset” after noticing that some students showed remarkable resilience when faced with hardship or failure. In contrast, others tended to easily become frustrated and angry, and tended to give up on tasks. She developed her theory of growth vs. fixed mindsets to explain and expound on the differences between these two mindsets. The chart below shows some of the features of each extreme, and we can easily see how a fixed mindset can limit students’ resilience and persistence when faced with difficulties. 

graphic of brain with growth mindset hallmarks on the left and fixed mindset ideas on the right.

Mindset directly impacts how students receive feedback. Research has shown that students who believe that their intelligence and abilities can be developed through hard work and dedication are more likely to put in the effort and persist through difficult tasks, while those who see intelligence as a fixed, unchangeable quality are more likely to see feedback as criticism and give up. 

Developing a growth mindset can have transformative results for students, especially if they have grown up in a particularly fixed mindset environment. People with a growth mindset are more likely to seek out feedback and use it to improve their performance, while those with a fixed mindset may be more likely to ignore feedback or become defensive when receiving it. Those who receive praise for their effort and hard work, rather than just their innate abilities, are more likely to develop a growth mindset. This is because they come to see themselves as capable of improving through their own efforts, rather than just relying on their natural talents. A growth mindset also helps students learn to deal with failure and reframe it positively. It can be very difficult to receive a critique without tying our performance to our identity. Students must  have some level of assurance that they will be safe taking risks and trying, without fear of being punished for failing. 

Additionally, our own mindset affects how we view student effort, and we often, purposefully or not, convey those messages to students. Teachers with growth mindsets have a positive and statistically significant association with the development of their students’ growth mindsets. Our own mindset affects the type of feedback we are likely to provide, the amount of time we spend on giving feedback, and the way we view the abilities of our students. 

These data suggest that taking the time to learn about and foster a growth mindset in ourselves and our students results in benefits for all. Teachers need to address the value of feedback early on in the learning process and repeatedly throughout the term or year, and couching our messaging to students in positive, growth-oriented language can bolster the feedback process and start students off on the right foot, prepared to improve. 

Here are some concrete steps you can take to improve how your students will receive feedback:

  • Model a growth mindset through language and actions 
  • Include growth-oriented statements in early messaging
  • Provide resources for students to learn more about growth vs. fixed mindsets
  • Discuss the value of feedback and incorporate it into lessons
  • Create an atmosphere of trust and safety that helps students feel comfortable trying new things 
  • Teach that feedback is NOT a judgment of the person, but rather a judgment on the product or process
  • Ensure the feedback we give focuses on the product or process rather than the individual
  • Praise effort rather than intelligence
  • Make it clear that failure is part of learning and that feedback helps improve performance
  • Provide students with tools and strategies to plan, monitor, and evaluate their learning 

Resources for learning more about growth mindset and how it relates to feedback:

Stay tuned for part 2, covering the remaining steps in the feedback cycle. 

Boosting Student Success: Proactive Outreach Strategies with Canvas (Part 1)

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As we design and plan the facilitation of our online courses, identifying strategies that help to foster an inclusive learning environment is essential. One effective strategy to achieve this goal is through proactive outreach, which helps to build strong relationships and ensure that all students receive the support they need to succeed.

Canvas provides a variety of tools that make it easier and quicker to connect directly with students who need support. In this post, we will look at a component of the Gradebook called the “Message Students Who” feature.

This messaging feature is a tool that allows instructors to send targeted messages to students based on specific criteria. Targeted, proactive messages not only enhance engagement but also align with the principles of inclusive design by addressing the diverse needs of students in a timely and personalized manner.

Accessing the Message Students Feature From the Canvas Gradebook

See the steps below for a guide on how to access this feature and the options available.

Open Gradebook

In Course Navigation, click the Grades link.

Open Gradebook

Open Assignment Menu

Hover the cursor over the assignment or assignment group column header and click the Options icon.

Open Assignment

Message Students

Click the Message Students Who link to open a message.

Message Students

View Compose Message

In the Compose Message window, you can select a category of students to message [1], manage the recipients [2], enter a message title [3], and compose a message [4].

View Compose Message

Message Students Who…

You can choose from several categories to message students:

  • Have not yet submitted: Students who haven’t submitted the assignment.
  • Have not been graded: Students whose assignments have not yet been graded.
  • Scored less than [point value]: Students who earned a grade on their assignment less than a specified number of points.
  • Scored more than [point value]: Students who earned a grade on their assignment more than a specified number of points.
  • Reassigned: Students who have submitted an assignment and you have reassigned it to them.

Although one message will be sent to multiple students at the same time, each student will receive an individual message. This helps to build the relationship you have with each student, and provides them a 1-1 space to share personal concerns or needs with you.

Considerations

It’s important to be intentional with proactive outreach and consider the tone and wording when messaging students using this tool. Offering empathy and using inclusive language will help encourage students to be responsive and stay engaged with the course.

There may be information shared that requires a referral for additional student support. Faculty can reach out to Ecampus Faculty Support or Ecampus Student Services for support in identifying the correct referral.

Benefits of Proactive Outreach

  1. Timely Interventions: By identifying students who are struggling or falling behind, you can intervene early. This can prevent minor issues from becoming major obstacles to their success.
  2. Personalized Support: Tailoring your messages to address specific concerns shows students that you are attentive to their needs, which can boost their motivation and engagement. Students are more likely to utilize resources and ask for help when needed, knowing that you are present and available.
  3. Increased Engagement: Regular communication helps maintain connection and strengthens the relationship between instructors and students. The Ecampus student population is largely made up of working adults, who have dependents and outside responsibilities. Your touching base helps to encourage them to stay active and engaged in the course.

Students have shared feedback in past annual surveys that some of the most impactful experiences they had as an online student at OSU were related to their instructor reaching out to them in a time of need. The “Message Students Who” tool in Canvas helps to lower the barrier of time for faculty to reach students in need and offer their support. For more information on this tool, please see the Canvas guide: How do I send a message to students from the Gradebook?

Resources

  1. Ecampus Online Teaching Principles
  2. Improving Student Engagement and Connection in Online Learning through Proactive Support (CDT Blog)
  3. Demonstrating Care: Reach Out and Refer (CDT Blog)
  4. Behind the Buzzword: Creating Belonging For Online Students at OSU (CDT Blog)
  5. Infographic: 4 Ways To Proactively Support Online Students
  6. Canvas Guide: How do I send a message to students from the Gradebook?

Debunking Myths: Memory, Attention, and Technology in Education

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In our hyper-connected world, it’s tempting to think that technology like Google, Generative Artificial Intelligence, and our smartphones have rendered memory obsolete. But is that really true?

I recently participated in a book club offered by Oregon State University’s Center for Teaching and Learning. The book we read, Remembering and Forgetting in the Age of Technology: Teaching, Learning, and the Science of Memory in a Wired World by Michelle D. Miller, challenges misconceptions about how technology affects our memory and attention and offers valuable insights for educators. Let’s explore some key takeaways.

Memory Still Matters

There has been a growing backlash against memorization in education, with critics claiming it’s outdated and harmful to creativity and critical thinking. But here’s the kicker: memory actually supports robust, transferable thinking skills. Memory and thinking aren’t enemies – they’re complementary partners in learning.

Despite the “Google it” mentality, memory remains crucial. It’s not just about recalling facts; it’s about building a foundation for critical thinking and creativity. For one thing, it’s impossible in certain situations to stop and look things up (think emergency room doctors or lawyers during a trial). But more than that, our own memorized knowledge in a discipline allows us to consider context and practice skills fluently.

We’re all familiar with Bloom’s taxonomy and its bottom level: “Remembering”. Michelle Miller recommends that, instead of viewing memory as the “lowest” level of thinking, consider it the foundation. Higher-order thinking skills interact with and reinforce memory, creating a two-way street of learning.

The Power of Testing

Contrary to popular belief, quizzes and tests aren’t the enemy. Research shows that retrieval practice actually strengthens long-term retention, supports complex skills, and can even reduce test anxiety. It’s not about memorizing for the test; it’s about reinforcing learning.

In addition, “pre-quizzing” – that is, giving a quiz before introducing the material (ungraded or graded for participation only) – has been shown to help activate prior knowledge, integrate new information into existing schemas, and identify gaps or misconceptions that instructors can address.

Attention Spans: Not What You Think

The idea that “attention spans are shrinking” isn’t backed by solid science. In fact, in attention research there’s no such thing as “attention span”! And that “Students can only pay attention for 10 minutes at a time” idea? It’s based on outdated, poorly designed studies.

What about the idea that technology worsens our attention? There is no strong evidence that technology is affecting our ability to pay attention. While people often report this phenomenon (about themselves or others), a more likely explanation seems to be our decreased tolerance for boredom rather than our actual ability. However, smartphones can indeed be very distracting, and they can also affect memory negatively through the “I can Google it” effect – the expectation that information will be available online anytime can reduce our memory encoding.

Handwriting vs. Typing: It’s Complicated

The debate over handwritten versus typed notes isn’t as clear-cut as you might think. What matters most is your note-taking strategy. The best notes, regardless of medium, involve synthesizing ideas rather than transcribing verbatim.

Enhancing Memory in the Classroom

The good news is that there are many things an educator can do to help students remember essential content. Here are some strategies:

  1. Create meaning and structure: When we process information deeply and evaluate it for meaning we remember it better than when we perform shallow processing. Organizational schemes like narrative structures help information stick, and active learning techniques such as project-based learning ensure a deeper level of engagement with the content.
  2. Connect to prior knowledge: Ask questions to elicit information, draw explicit connections with previous material, and use pre-quizzing to help students see the gaps and stimulate curiosity.
  3. Embrace visualization: We’re visual creatures – use this to engage your audience. Create and ask students to create mind-maps, infographics, or other visual representations.
  4. Engage emotions: Both positive and negative emotions can enhance memory, but aim for a supportive atmosphere, which has been shown to improve learning outcomes. The emotion of surprise is a powerful memory enhancer.
  5. Connect to goals: Show how information is relevant to students’ immediate objectives.
  6. Use the self-reference effect: Relating information to oneself boosts memory. Ask students to bring their own experience or interests into the learning process through personalized assignments.
  7. Implement retrieval practice: Regular quizzing with immediate feedback can significantly boost retention.
  8. Space it out: Distribute practice over time instead of cramming.

Conclusion

In this age of information overload, understanding how memory works is more crucial than ever. By debunking myths and implementing evidence-based strategies, we can help students navigate the digital landscape while building strong, adaptable minds. I’ve only touched on a few points, but this book is chock-full of interesting information that’s useful not just for educators but for everyone!

What myths about memory and technology have you encountered in your teaching? How might you incorporate these insights into your classroom? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

References

Miller, M. D. (2022). Remembering and forgetting in the age of technology: teaching, learning, and the science of memory in a wired world (1st ed.). West Virginia University Press.

Reducing ‘Distancing’ in Distance Learning: Insights from Student Feedback in Online Education

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In the ever-evolving landscape of higher education, online, distance learning has emerged as a dynamic and accessible platform for students worldwide. However, with this shift to asynchronous online classrooms we must prioritize inclusivity and engagement in our educational strategies. Recognizing this need, Ecampus embarked on a journey to understand inclusive course design and teaching practices through the eyes of the learners.

Survey Summary 

In 2021, Ecampus implemented an Inclusive Excellence Strategic Plan. One goal of this plan focused on enhancing inclusive teaching and learning in online courses. As part of this initiative, a pilot study was conducted during the academic year 2022-2023, to develop a mechanism for students to provide feedback on their learning experiences. The study employed a series of weekly surveys, designed to elicit responses regarding moments of engagement and distancing within online courses.

Administered across five Ecampus courses, the pilot study garnered responses from 163 enrolled students. The findings provide invaluable insights into the nuances of online learning design and offer actionable recommendations for educators seeking to cultivate inclusive excellence in their own asynchronous, online classrooms. The questions were as follows:

  1. At what moment (point) in class this week were you most engaged as a learner?
  2. At what moment (point) in class this week were you most distanced as a learner?
  3. What else about your experience as a learner this week would you like to share?

These questions were carefully crafted to elicit responses related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). By using the verbs “engaged” and “distanced,” students were prompted to reflect on moments of connection and disconnection within their learning environments. The open-ended nature of the questions allowed students to provide contextual feedback, offering valuable insights beyond the scope of predefined categories.

The results of the survey provide a multifaceted understanding of students’ experiences in online courses. Across all five courses, certain patterns emerged regarding elements that students found most engaging and most distancing. These insights served as a springboard for the development of actionable recommendations aimed at enhancing course design and fostering inclusive learning environments.

Alignment

One crucial area highlighted by the survey results was the importance of alignment. Students noticed when their courses had assessments that were aligned with course content, and they noticed when this alignment was missing. Ensuring that learning objectives are represented in instructional materials, practice activities, assessments, and evaluation criteria is key. For more on this, please see “Alignment” by Karen Watté from 2017.

Learning Materials

Another prominent theme in the survey responses was the overwhelming nature of long, uncurated lists of readings and learning materials, which tended to alienate learners. To address this, providing a reading guide or highlighting key points can alleviate feelings of overwhelm. Optimizing content presentation and learning activities emerged as a key factor in promoting engagement and inclusivity. 

Incorporating interactive elements such as knowledge checks and practice activities within or between short lectures keeps students actively engaged and reinforces learning objectives. By utilizing multiple modes of content delivery–videos, lectures, and readings–educators can cater to diverse learning styles and preferences. Providing study guides is also noted as an effective strategy for enhancing comprehension and engagement with learning materials. 

Community & Connection

Supporting student-to-student interaction is pivotal in fostering a sense of community and participation (Akyol & Garrison, 2008). Many learners noted that they enjoyed engaging in small group discussions, in fact 50% of students in one course noted that the week 1 introductory discussion was the point they felt most engaged. Additionally, students across the courses were excited to view and respond to the creative work of their peers. Community-building course elements like these foster a sense of community and collaboration within the virtual classroom. 

While some students had mixed feelings about peer review activities–voicing concerns about feeling unqualified to judge their peer’s work–distinct guidelines and rubrics can empower learners to develop critical thinking, increase ownership, and enhance their communication skills. Thus, thoughtfully crafted peer review processes can also help to enhance the educational experience.

Authentic Activities

Incorporating authentic or experiential learning activities was also highlighted in student responses as a means of connecting course content to real-world scenarios. By integrating professional case studies, practical exercises, real-world applications, and reflective activities, educators can deepen students’ understanding of course material. Survey respondents noted again, and again how they felt engaged when coursework was relevant and applicable outside the classroom. This type of authentic work in courses can also increase learner motivation. (Gulikers, Bastiaens, & Kirschner, 2004)

Timely Feedback & RSI

By offering timely feedback on student work, online educators demonstrate their active presence and assist students in understanding the critical aspects of assessments, ultimately enhancing their chances of success. One student is quoted as saying,

“I really appreciate the involvement of the instructor. In the past I’ve had Ecampus classes where the teacher was doing the bare minimum and didn’t grade things until the last minute so I wasn’t even sure how I was doing in the class until it was almost over. I appreciate the speed at which things have been graded and the feedback I’ve already received. I appreciate the care put into announcements too!”

Timely feedback and time-bound announcements are also notable ways to showcase Regular and Substantive Interaction (RSI). Please also see “Regular & Substantive Interaction in Your Online Course” by Christine Scott.

Scaffolding

Another noteworthy recommendation from the survey findings was the importance of providing scaffolding and support throughout the course. Respondents expressed appreciation for feedback from peers and instructors to improve their writing. One student noted, “When I used my peer review feedback to improve my draft.” Offering additional resources and tutorials for unfamiliar or complex concepts ensures that all students have the support they need to succeed.Moreover, breaking down larger, high-stakes assignments into smaller, manageable tasks, can reduce feelings of overwhelm, provide a sense of accomplishment, increase early feedback and promote overall success. 

Autonomy

Furthermore, offering choice and flexibility in assignments and assessments empowers students to take ownership of their learning journey. Whether it’s offering choice in topics, deliverable types, or exercise formats, providing students with agency fosters a sense of autonomy and engagement. One respondent noted, “I think choosing a project topic was the most engaging part of this week, because allowing students to research things that they are interested [in,] within some constraints is a good way to get them engaged and interested in the topics.” 

Note on Survey Administration

One final take away from the study underscores the importance of thoughtful survey administration. While weekly surveys offer robust results, participating faculty indicated that surveying students every week was too frequent.   Instead, it’s recommended to conduct surveys between one to three times throughout the course, striking a balance between gathering insights and respecting students’ time. Additionally, transparent communication about the purpose and use of student feedback is essential for fostering trust and eliciting honest responses. Students should understand that their feedback is valued and how it will be utilized to improve their learning experience in both the current term and future iterations of the course.

Conclusion

Engagement and inclusion in online education is multifaceted and ongoing. By listening to student feedback, implementing actionable recommendations, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement, educators can create transformative learning experiences that empower students to thrive in the digital age. Together, let us embark on this journey towards inclusive excellence, ensuring that every learner has the opportunity to succeed while feeling valued, supported, and empowered to reach their full potential.

References

Akyol, Z., & Garrison, D. R. (2008). The development of a community of inquiry over time in an online course: Understanding the progression and integration of social, cognitive and teaching presence. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 12(3-4), 3-22. 10.24059/olj.v12i3.72 

Gulikers, J.T.M., Bastiaens, T.J. & Kirschner, P.A. (2004). A five-dimensional framework for authentic assessment. ETR&D 52, 67–86. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02504676 

Scott, C. (2022, November 7). Regular & Substantive Interaction in Your Online Course. Ecampus Course Development & Training Blog.https://blogs.oregonstate.edu/inspire/2022/11/07/regular-substantive-interaction-in-your-online-course/ 

Watté, K. (2017, January 27). Alignment. Ecampus Course Development & Training Blog.   https://blogs.oregonstate.edu/inspire/2017/01/27/alignment/  


Want to create a memorable experience for your students?

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I was recently reminded of a conference keynote that I attended a few years ago, and the beginning of an academic term seems like an appropriate time to revisit it on this blog.

In 2019, Dan Heath, a bestselling author and senior fellow at Duke University’s CASE Center, gave a presentation at InstructureCon, a conference for Canvas users, where he talked about how memories are formed. He explained that memories are composed of moments. Moments, according to Heath, are “mostly forgettable and occasionally remarkable.” To illustrate, most of what I’ve done today–dropping my kids off at spring break camp, replying to emails, going to a lunchtime yoga class, and writing this blog post–will largely be forgotten by next month. There is nothing remarkable about today. Unremarkable is often a desirable state because it means that an experience occurred without any hiccups or challenges.

Heath went on to describe what it is that makes great experiences memorable. His answer: Great experiences consist of “peaks,” and peaks consist of at least one of the following elements: elevation, insight, pride, or connection. He argued that we need to create more academic peaks in education. Creating peaks, he contends, will lead to more memorable learning experiences.

So, how do we create these peaks that will lead to memorable experiences? Let’s explore some ideas through the four approaches outlined by Heath.

Elevation. Elevation refers to moments that bring us joy and make us feel good. You might bring this element into your course by directly asking students to share what is bringing them joy, perhaps as an icebreaker. Sharing their experiences might also lead to connection, which is another way (see below) to create peaks that lead to memorable experiences. 

Insight. Insight occurs when new knowledge allows us to see something differently. Moments of insight are often sparked by reflection. You might consider making space for reflection in your courses. Creativity is another way to spark new insights. How might students engage with course concepts in new, creative ways? To list off a few ideas, perhaps students can create a meme, record a podcast, engage in a role play, or write a poem.

Pride. People often feel a sense of pride when their accomplishments are celebrated. To spark feelings of accomplishment in your students, I encourage you to go beyond offering positive feedback and consider sharing particularly strong examples of student work with the class (after getting permission–of course!) Showcasing the hard work of students can help students to feel proud of their efforts and may even lead to moments of joyful elevation.

Connection. Connection refers to our ties with other people. Experiencing connection with others can feel deeply rewarding. As I mentioned above, asking students to share their experiences with peers is one way to foster connection. In Ecampus courses, we aim to foster student-student and student-teacher connection, but I encourage you to explore other opportunities for students to make meaningful connections. Perhaps students can get involved with their communities or with colleagues, if they happen to have a job outside of classes. Students could connect with their academic advisors or the writing center to support their work in a course. There are many ways to foster connections that support students in their learning!

It’s easy to focus on delivering content, especially in online courses. This was one of Heath’s overarching points. The key, however, to creating memorable learning experiences is to take a student-centered approach to designing and facilitating your course. 

I invite you to start the term off by asking yourself: How can I create more moments of elevation, insight, pride, and connection for my students? It might be easier than you think.

References:

Heath, D. (2019, July 10). Keynote. InstructureCon. Long Beach, CA.