Please read the case studies below and answer the questions that follow each one.
Case Study 2A
Managing the Classroom-Disruptive Students
Mr. Rivera has been teaching for 5 years in a face-to-face classroom. He recently taught his first course online and was surprised that a few of the students were disrespectful to each other in the discussion boards. He had not encountered this issue in his face-to-face classes. As he prepares for his next online class, he is trying to determine how best to approach the issue of disrespectful students.
1. Why might students in an online classroom exhibit behaviors that differ from a face-to-face classroom?
2. What other disruptive behaviors might be encountered in an online course? What disruptive behaviors might occur in a face-to-face course?
3. What suggestions do you have for Mr. Rivera as he prepares for his next online course?
4. Develop a list of rules for online etiquette that you would expect from your online students.
Case Study 2B
Managing the Classroom- Low Performing Students
Dr. Jones is in her first year of teaching at a four-year university. She primarily teaches undergraduate psychology majors, and her main courses include psychological well-being, lifespan development, and psychology of aging. The psychological well-being class is a 200-level course that students can take with only introductory psychology as a pre-requisite. While students seem to enjoy the course, half of the students in the class have demonstrated difficulty with writing assignments. For example, the students are unfamiliar with APA format and do not seem to know how to locate appropriate references for the assignments. She has also noticed that many students have difficulty with writing assignments in the 300-level courses that she teaches.
1. Why might Dr. Jones’ students have difficult with writing assignments?
2. What resources are available to help students with APA format?
3. What resources are available to help students locate peer-reviewed resources?
4. Develop a plan that Dr. Jones can implement that will help her students with writing.
Why might students in an online classroom exhibit behaviors that differ from a face-to-face classroom?
Students in online classrooms may feel anonymous and thus less accountable for their actions, leading to disrespectful behavior.
Distance can make it harder to pick up on social cues, leading to misunderstandings and miscommunications.
Technical difficulties can also contribute to disrespectful behavior.
What other disruptive behaviors might be encountered in an online course? What disruptive behaviors might occur in a face-to-face course?
Online course: cheating, plagiarism, lack of participation in discussions and assignments, technical difficulties, and impersonation.
Face-to-face course: talking out of turn, disruptive behavior during lectures, cheating, lack of participation in discussions and assignments.
What suggestions do you have for Mr. Rivera as he prepares for his next online course?
Clearly state the course expectations and consequences for disrespectful behavior in the course syllabus and throughout the course.
Encourage and facilitate positive interactions among students through discussions and group assignments.
Monitor and moderate the discussion boards regularly and take appropriate action when necessary.
Provide clear guidelines and instructions for online discussion etiquette.
Offer alternative ways for students to express their thoughts and opinions in a respectful manner.
Develop a list of rules for online etiquette that you would expect from your online students:
Be respectful and courteous to classmates and instructors.
Use proper language and tone in online discussions.
Avoid engaging in personal attacks or hate speech.
Do not plagiarize or engage in any form of academic dishonesty.
Respond to messages in a timely manner.
Follow the instructor’s guidelines for online discussions and participation.
Avoid using all capital letters in messages, as it is considered shouting.
Proofread messages before posting to minimize typos and grammatical errors.
Avoid posting irrelevant or off-topic messages.
