Best Practices for Encouraging Instructor/Student Communication and Partnerships in Online Learning

Presenter Information

Amanda W. Joyce, Murray State UniversityFollow
Jennifer Morrison, Murray State UniversityFollow
Tanya Romero-González, Murray State UniversityFollow
Martin Kane, Murray State UniversityFollow

Publication Date

2021

Abstract

When students and instructors communicate well, students’ GPAs, GRE scores, educational engagement, personal development, and satisfaction with their learning experience all improve. Similarly, when instructors are transparent in their course decisions and involve students as partners in their education, student retention, academic sense of belonging, student-instructor interactions, and networking opportunities all improve. However, face-to-face techniques for student/instructor communication, like informal before-class conversations or in-class question-and-answer sessions about assignments, can be challenging to implement in an online environment. The purpose of this piece is to discuss evidence-based strategies for improving transparency and communication in an online learning environment.

Author Biography

Dr. Amanda Joyce is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Murray State University. She teaches courses in Introductory Psychology and Research Methods as well as several courses in her specialty area of Development Psychology and more. Her research interests include childhood cognitive development as well as best practices for teaching and learning in the college classroom.

Dr. Jennifer Symonds Morrison is an Assistant Professor of Public Administration and Political Science at Murray State University. She teaches graduate courses in public sector human resources and public organizations in the MPA program. Her research interests include employee satisfaction in the federal government and developing quality and engaging MPA courses.

Dr. Tanya Romero-González is an Associate Professor of Spanish at Murray State University. She teaches Spanish. Her research interests include 19th- through 21st-Century Peninsular Literature and Film, Spanish Civil War, Interdisciplinary studies (including film, cultural, and gender studies), and Technology-Mediated Teaching and Learning.

Martin Kane is a Lecturer of Spanish at Murray State University. He teaches Spanish language and culture courses and has developed a new online course entitled Basic Spanish and Culture for Healthcare Professionals. His research interests include Twentieth-Century Latin American Literature, Language Assessment, Second Language Acquisition.

Author's Notes

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Amanda W. Joyce, Department of Psychology, Murray State University, 204 Wells Hall, Murray, KY 42071. Email: awatson22@muraystate.edu .

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.