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Do Instructors and Students see the purpose the same?

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Do Instructors and Students see the purpose the same?

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I find checking in with students as frequently as possible to assess their thinking and inform my next step is useful. While I hope it also increases the student-instructor 'connection' and the possibility that a student uses me as a resource early and often, I don't always think this is the case. Even in person, in a large class, I am quite honestly unable to assess how the students interpret my 'checking in' in regards to anything more than gauging their learning.

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I agree with others that building community and promoting engagement are good reasons to check in. Asking students to do something up front sets the expectation that they will need to be actively engaged throughout the class.

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It is important that instructors create relations with students and foster communication among students. So much is lost in written postings: voice tone, hand gestures, facial expressions, body posture, etc. This cannot be replicated in an online course easily, so it is necessary for instructors to have a presence in their online courses through continuous and various forms of communication.

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As an f2f instructor, one of the challenges I’ve had as a composition lecturer is earning the students’ trust as a reader/guide. Some of my strategies to overcome this are 1) I’m constantly checking how they’re responding to in-class exercises or 2) asking students to come in during office hours—to talk about a homework. I believe these two strategies usually earn me their trust and forge a harmonious relationship, which help the semester flow better.

I think the same can be said with online—especially because students have to decipher tone and voice themselves; something that the untrained eye, the students’, could find challenging or put students on the “defense.” By having an instructor who constantly checks and cares for the students and their work—the rapport starts to build. Then everyone wins, and we’re all happy!

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Discourse in an online forum can be much more complicated than a traditional f2f classroom setting. In any classroom (i.e., virtual or physical), it is important to allow for opportunities to establish a rapport, both between students, and between student and instructor. Checking in via email, discussions, quizzes, etc. create those opportunities, while also providing students with feedback on their performance. There is also something to be said about students checking in with one another -- this builds a community rather than just building relationships between students and instructors.

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All these tools help to create a connection between students and with the instructor, this connection is useful because students can feel more confident to contact their instructor.

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When a student is taking an online course, it is easy to feel isolated and separate form the instructor, classmates and the university. In my experience, online students feel more satisfied and supported when instructors take the time to check-in with them.  Reaching out to each students early in the course could make a difference in your participation and overall engagement.

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Checking in is something I do even in my in person classes. I think it provides an opportunity for students to have a voice. Maybe less so in an online courses, but the classroom can become one-sided teacher talking to/at students. Checking in requires action on the student's part that is less structured than an assignment where there are right answers. I also think that checking in can create a sense of community and allows the instructor to get to know students. Finally, I use checking in as an avenue for students to provide feedback and/or ask questions in real time. This way I don't have to wait until end of semester evals to find out I spoke too fast or those powerpoints I though were online aren't downloadable or something silly like that.

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I can think of many reasons to check in with students in an online course but I will keep it short. Perhaps the most important reason is to create a connection between the student and the instructor. I find this valuable even in face-to-face classes, especially if the class is large. In a large class, students may never get to talk to the instructor but it is important for them to be able to reach out when they need help. It is important for the instructors to demonstrate that they are approachable and willing to help. It is even easier to feel distant from the instructor and disconnected from the class community online so this becomes even more important when teaching online.

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It's important to check in with students for a lot of reasons, several of which are already covered in other posts, but I also suspect that it makes the instructor of an online course more real to the students. It's very easy to feel distant or detached from someone you never see (or maybe never even meet), but this would be a way to create a sense of connection and community.

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I suspect students drop out of online courses way more often and easily than FtF courses. Checking in increases retention.  Even in FtF courses, checking in also reduces grade disputes...!

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I suspect students drop out of online courses way more often and easily than FtF courses. Checking in increases retention.  Even in FtF courses, checking in also reduces grade disputes...!

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It is important to check in with students so that there is a connection between instructor and student that can get lost when teaching online. It makes the teaching experience less anonymous which makes students feel more motivated and engaged with the course content from the very beginning.

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The purpose of checking in with online students is to humanize the learning experience.  In a face-to-face course students have the ability to quickly develop a relationship with other students and the instructor.  In an online course, students can often feel isolated and overwhelmed by the task at hand.  Checking in creates presence, and acknowledges that there is a system of support -- that online classes are not just an interaction between a student and a computer.  

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The purpose of checking in with online students is to humanize the learning experience.  In a face-to-face course students have the ability to quickly develop a relationship with other students and the instructor.  In an online course, students can often feel isolated and overwhelmed by the task at hand.  Checking in creates presence, and acknowledges that there is a system of support -- that online classes are not just an interaction between a student and a computer.  

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Doing this early gets students doing things immediately in a personal way. And it is important that students and instructors know how to contact each other and follow instructions in the course site. Because students' motivations, (mis)conceptions, work schedules are, etc. impact their learning, I want to ask about these and adjust my teaching if necessary. Checking-in can be social and/or a way to check for understanding.
nytimes.com  - I just wanted to try linking