Research Projects

To improve the quality of EVC instruction, an evaluation was initiated of the modality to further investigate the sources of negative feedback and comments; and to identify strategies and best practices gathered from recent EVC faculty and students suggesting improvements needed in the EVC modality.

Distance and online education have been growing in popularity over the past decade. However, synchronous, distance education still faces a number of challenges with respect to student engagement and effective teaching and learning. To help improve this modality, this study investigates best practices for teaching in a synchronous Virtual Classroom (VC). This evaluation identifies 48 classroom strategies; all of which can help engage students and make the VCs more effective. Where some strategies were ranked as “least” effective by survey participants, nearly all of them were also ranked as “most effective” by another instructor or student. These strategies are meant as a guide to help improve the VC experience. This research will organize and outline the identified practices and make recommendations for instructional designers and for instructors teaching in this modality to make the most of the experience.