The Skillful Teacher

Clear Expectations and Requirements
Online learning can be a bewildering experience, particularly for
first-time learners (not to mention first-time teachers!). Conse-
quently, instructors need to create and maintain a sense of stability
and order from the very beginning. In any teaching situation, it is
disconcerting when the instructor is constantly shifting the require-
ments and expectations. In an online environment, this is doubly
distressing. The construction of the chief outline of an online course
should be completed by the time of the initial course orientation.
In this way, students are not “ambushed” by additional assignments
and can map out their time for the run of the course. They can read
the syllabus, access the online calendar, and review all the content
modules to find out when everything is due and what criteria are
applied to evaluating learning. If online discussion participation is
graded, the criteria for this should be stated up front.