Audience: Undergraduate students at a local community college
Duration: 10-week term
Learning design involves troubleshooting issues and redesigning courses to improve outcomes. An asynchronous online course showed low interaction and high dropout rates. The analysis aimed to identify engagement barriers and propose strategies. Key barriers included limited instructor presence, weak alignment between course activities, assignments, and learning goals which hurt engagement and increased feelings of isolation and disconnection. Well-designed asynchronous courses can be engaging experiences where students feel connected to their peers, their instructor, and the learning environment. Effective design requires using active learning principles to align activities, content, and assignments with learning goals. Interactive tools and good communication strengthen instructor presence and facilitate student interaction. Learners that feel supported, connected, and motivated are more likely to be engaged and less likely to drop out.
Analysis Summary Examples
| Barrier | Strategy | Example Practices |
|---|---|---|
| Limited instructor presence and engagement | Enhance teaching presence by increasing instructor involvement |
|
| Passive course design | Redesign course with active learning strategies |
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