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Innovation Approaches to Improving the Quality of Online Education

Delightful. Relevant. Collaborative. Is that how you would describe your online teaching or learning experiences? It’s what my team at the University of Pennsylvania strives to achieve, whether in graduate courses in health care innovation, continuing medical and interprofessional learning activities or noncredit offerings. Education is an iterative process; we have more opportunities to improve than examples of perfection. With each iteration, we can increase quality for both instructors and learners, so it is not surprising to see outstanding retention and enthusiasm for online programs. 

Together, how might we raise the quality bar for online education through incremental changes to provide more delightful, relevant and collaborative learning and teaching experiences online? Start with any of three interconnected areas: instructional design, user experience and learner-centered pedagogy. 

Instructional Design 

Collaborate with people who specialize in bridging subject matter expertise and learning online.  

To raise the quality bar, let’s ask for advice from people who specialize in helping subject matter experts translate their knowledge into effective online education: instructional designers. Their roles vary from program to program. To complement the faculty member’s role, they may serve as a sounding board, offer templates built on best practices, consult on course structure or design assessments based on learning objectives the faculty member develops. They can also inform evaluation touchpoints to assess if a course is on track as a relevant, delightful and collaborative learning experience, then recommend adjustments. 

When instructional designers collaborate with each other, they can amplify the quality of online education. Gathering from around campus or across institutions creates opportunities to share successes, struggles and ask for help and advice. Such sessions nurture the relationships you rely on when, for example, you want to share support and expense for piloting a new tool.  

And if you don’t have an instructional designer? Tap a trusted colleague with a keen eye for detail who can catch what you have missed. A fresh review of material from a learner’s perspective can identify manageable changes to improve a course. You might ask them to review slide design, assignment instructions, course announcements or even the ways students can ask for help. Incremental changes make a difference. 

User Experience 

Create a supportive learning environment to improve learners’ experiences. 

Learners and instructors need sufficient capacity to meet course learning objectives, which requires understanding users’ needs and minimizing extraneous cognitive load. Even with little influence on the look, feel and features of your institution’s learning management system, you can create a comfortable technological and social environment that improves user experience and raises that quality bar. 

Improve usability through deliberate attention to design. Consider learners who may use assistive technologies or human supports to learn best. Be aware of the changes in accessibility regulations. Our learners tell us captions and transcripts are valuable, not only for people with hearing loss but also for people who listen in an open, noisy space or who speak a different native language. 

Build community through inclusive and intentional design. Online education, even if asynchronous, need not be solitary. We provide our learners with guidelines on giving and receiving effective feedback, then, through specific prompts for discussion replies, encourage peer-to-peer learning and teaching. We also invite them to follow up outside of class through their own communication channels. The experience of learning together can reduce frustration, curb attrition and foster positive learning. 

Provide supplementary support. Your learners may have various levels of proficiency and would appreciate support materials when coursework requires using a tool in an unfamiliar way. For example, one of our courses teaches how to forecast workflow with Excel—a new world for some of our learners. We asked a TA to record an example as a screencast. A downloadable PDF and step-by-step guide on a web page provide similar material in additional modes. And office hours or peer-to-peer study sessions give learners somewhere to turn when they feel stuck or apprehensive. Not all these measures need to be implemented at once. Even incremental changes add up to a better course. 

Collect data to inform future iterations. When trying a new tool or type of exercise, ask students to rate its educational effectiveness and ease of use. Monitor how many help requests relate to the new tool or activity to assess if extra support is needed or if the tool is even worthwhile. In course evaluations we ask students, “What was the most valuable aspect of the course?” and “What would improve your learning?” Our instructional designers identify actionable insights and translate them into the next course iteration. 

Learner-Centered Pedagogy 

Leverage the virtual classroom as a boundless space where learners contribute to the teaching. 

The physical classroom can be a transformative place for discovery, challenge and connection, yet the space itself doesn’t guarantee the learning will be delightful, relevant or collaborative. Online learning can extend beyond the walls of a Zoom video box or a Canvas page. Approach course design with an innovation mindset, piloting ways to create an environment where learners can learn from each other as well as from the instructor and the classroom expands to anywhere.  

We recently developed a continuing education workshop grounded in concepts a faculty member teaches through brief lecture videos. Yet small groups of learners drive 75% of the workshop, with the guidance of a facilitator, objectives and support tools, to explore applying the concepts to their workplace. Their final deliverable is a plan that they may choose to implement. Learners appreciate the relevance of the material and value even more with their time in focused discussion, exploring together how to tackle a challenge. All education occurs online—at first asynchronously, then through virtual discussion sessions. 

Another style of course may adapt that model to a synchronous class session: Faculty present concepts, then learners meet in breakout rooms to apply them to work or life scenarios. Reporting back to the larger group closes the teaching loop and offers insights to the rest of the class. Also, teaching is a proven way to cement new knowledge. Follow-up resources or sessions can further develop ideas or skills raised in this class. 

Collaborative learning can be asynchronous, too. For example, ask learners to cocreate educational resources such as a glossary or annotated bibliography or job aids for professional development. Faculty provides the framework and learners drive the relevance within the scope of the learning objectives and course topic. They can leverage the assignment to conduct contextual inquiry with outside subject matter experts, including those whose expertise comes from lived experience, further expanding the classroom’s reach into a work setting or community. 

So, what will your first step be? Consider what could yield a small win. Ask how you might collaborate with an instructional designer, improve user experience with a supportive learning environment or stretch your learners beyond the classroom. Create ways to pilot an idea, then gather feedback and iterate. Novel approaches could lead to delightful, relevant and collaborative learning experiences that nudge the quality bar ever higher.