Uncommon Sense Teaching: Teaching Online from Coursera

In Uncommon Sense Teaching: TEACHING ONLINE we’d like to help you to move toward fresh approaches to online teaching that build on the latest insights from scientific research. We’ll use insights from movie-making—not to mention from odd visual tricks in Barb’s kitchen—to see how students learn, both independently and together. We all know, for example, that social learning is valuable in helping students grapple with tough concepts as well as in making learning more fun. But if you understand what is happening in the brain during social learning, you can also understand why certain approaches commonly used in online learning, such as discussion forums, can sometimes pose a challenge. As you will see, we can use insights from neuroscience not only to motivate our students, but to help them change their very identity.

Our course is designed for university professors, vocational instructors, K-12 teachers, coaches, business trainers, parents, and in fact, anyone who is trying to teach concepts or skills online. We're not just talking about traditional academic materials—if you’ve ever considered teaching a course on Udemy, putting up a video series on YouTube, or launching your own educational blog, this course is also for you. An essential and exciting point is that students can learn even BETTER online than they can in the traditional face-to-face classroom. That’s whether you’re teaching synchronously—that is, live, via a platform like Zoom; or you’re teaching asynchronously—that is, any time—by having videos and other teaching materials accessible to students whenever they want.

You can take this course independently from the other two "Uncommon Sense Teaching" courses in this specialization—some of the neuroscience- and cognitive-psychology-based insights we’ll mention here in simple ways are explored more deeply in those other courses. So feel free to take the other two courses in the specialization in conjunction with or after this course. If you’ve already taken the other two courses, you’ll find that this course reviews and extends the practical insights from neuroscience you’ve already received in unexpected new directions. And you’ll find even deeper insights we haven’t covered before.

In TEACHING ONLINE you'll be joining a trio of experienced online instructors who have taught millions in some of the world's most popular online courses. One of our deepest goals for this course is to help YOU to teach others to improve their ability to reach and teach students. We’ve loaded the animations and visuals we've developed for this course online in PowerPoints (licensed under Creative Commons) in the assets under the videos, as well as in the resources section. You can rework these PowerPoints as you wish to reteach this material to your colleagues and students. Your sharing and resharing of this material is one of the best things you can do to help us all move teaching and learning forward to a visionary future. YOU are the foundation—children, adults, and society as a whole can leap ahead because of your desire to learn and spread these new ideas!

What's inside

Syllabus

Schemas, Motivation, and Teaching Online

A major challenge in teaching—especially teaching online—is how to motivate your students. This week, we’ll introduce the concept of schemas—those frameworks in long-term memory that help form our very identities. As we’ll see, increasing our motivation can involve changing our identities—a process that good online teaching can spur. What is good online teaching? It’s teaching that avoids “checkbox” approaches that seem to satisfy all the requirements, but in reality, produce poor online learning experiences for students. There are many paths past these challenges—dive into the details with us in this week’s videos!

Popcorn Time! Lessons from the Neuroscience of Movie Watching

Habits form a surprisingly important role in our online teaching. This means we can learn of simple practices for good online teaching—yet ignore them when it comes time to actually implement them. But as we explore this week, there are ways around this challenge. We will also explore how slightly different camera settings and angles, lighting, and above all, sound quality, can have a surprisingly beneficial effect on our students. Finally, we’ll take a plunge into what movies can tell us about how to teach effectively online. As we will discover, theoretical techniques that can work well in traditional classrooms don’t necessarily transfer to the online world!

Retrieval & Spaced Repetition in Online Learning

Today’s online learners have no time to waste. How can you ensure that students learn as deeply and well as possible, in minimal time? That’s the focus of this week’s videos. We’ll dive into specific popular applications that can enhance students’ ability to retain the material—and also help you see at a glance how well your students are understanding what you are teaching while you are teaching. Our octopus and flocks of birds will also be at hand as metaphors that can help us understand, in surprising ways, how key concepts come together in the brain. As we’ll see, online teaching can give us a great platform to encapsulate key concepts by turning them into tight events that are easier to retrieve.

Preparing Now and for the Future through Great Online Teaching

One of the great features of the online environment is that it allows you to use simple attentional tricks that are virtually impossible to do in real life. And your friendly moving image on the screen can provide for a social partnership that becomes very real—and very encouraging—for students. This can happen even when you have classes so large that you don’t have the ability to interact individually with your students. But, perhaps surprisingly, attention isn’t ALWAYS important—creativity thrives when attention wanders. There are specific tricks in the online environment to encourage this. Learning also thrives when students can interact with one another—not only because of the exchange of mental models and of schemas, but also due to interaction with familiar faces who share eye gaze. As you’ll see, this gives us important insights related to online discussion forums. Finally, we will learn how learning itself changes the brain in therapeutic, uplifting ways. This means online teaching can provide resilience for societies through good times and bad. All this and more in our final week of Teaching Online!

Good to know

Know what's good

, what to watch for

, and possible dealbreakers

Teaches how to help students improve their ability to reach and teach students

Led by experienced online instructors who have taught millions in some of the world's most popular online courses

Provides practical insights from neuroscience to help you teach others

Appropriate for various teaching roles and contexts, including university professors, vocational instructors, and parents

Covers essential principles and techniques for effective online teaching, including motivation, schema theory, and retrieval practice

Course materials include animations and visuals that can be reused for teaching purposes

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Uncommon Sense Teaching: Teaching Online with these activities:

Read 'Mindset' by Carol Dweck

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This book explores the concept of mindset and how it can impact learning. Understanding mindset can help students develop a growth mindset and improve their learning outcomes in this course.

View Mindset - Updated Edition on Amazon

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Read the book.
Reflect on the key concepts of mindset.
Identify ways to apply mindset principles to your own learning.

Review Schemas

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Schemas are mental structures that organize our knowledge and experiences. Reviewing schemas can help students understand how their prior knowledge and beliefs can impact their learning in this course.

Browse courses on Schemas

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Reflect on your existing knowledge of schemas.
Identify how schemas can influence your learning.
Develop strategies to challenge and update your schemas.

Follow Tutorials on Video Editing

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Following tutorials on video editing can help students develop the skills needed to create engaging and effective videos for their online teaching.

Browse courses on Video Editing

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Identify a video editing software and online tutorials.
Follow the tutorials to learn the basics of video editing.
Experiment with different editing techniques.

Five other activities

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Join an Online Study Group

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Joining an online study group can provide students with the opportunity to collaborate with peers, discuss course material, and support each other's learning.

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Identify and join an online study group.
Participate actively in group discussions.
Collaborate on projects and assignments.

Create a Mind Map

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Creating a mind map can help students visualize the relationships between different concepts in the course material. This can improve their understanding and retention of the material.

Browse courses on Visual learning

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Identify the main topic of the mind map.
Brainstorm related concepts.
Organize the concepts in a hierarchical or radial structure.

Retrieval Practice

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Retrieval practice is a technique that involves actively recalling information from memory. This can help students improve their ability to retain the material covered in this course.

Browse courses on Retrieval

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Identify key concepts from the course material.
Create flashcards or use a spaced repetition app.
Regularly test yourself on the material.

Attend a Workshop on Online Teaching

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Attending a workshop on online teaching can provide students with practical tips and strategies for improving their teaching skills in this course.

Browse courses on Online Teaching

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Research and identify relevant workshops.
Register for a workshop that aligns with your teaching goals.
Actively participate in the workshop and take notes.

Develop an Online Course Syllabus

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Creating an online course syllabus can help students organize and plan their teaching for this course. This can improve the quality of their instruction and help them achieve their teaching goals.

Browse courses on Course Design

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Gather information about the course and its objectives.
Outline the course content and schedule.
Develop learning activities and assessments.

Career center

Learners who complete Uncommon Sense Teaching: Teaching Online will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Learning Manager

Learning Managers apply instructional design theories and practices to improve the teaching and learning process. They help students achieve their academic goals by creating and delivering effective online course content, facilitating discussions, and providing feedback on student work. By understanding how students learn, Learning Managers can help them succeed in their studies and prepare for their careers.

See salaries and explore the career path for Learning Manager

Instructional Designer

Instructional Designers create and develop educational materials and programs. They use their knowledge of instructional design principles and best practices to build effective and engaging learning experiences. This course can help Instructional Designers improve their understanding of how students learn, both independently and together, and how to use that knowledge to develop more effective online learning materials.

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Educational Consultant

Educational Consultants help schools, businesses, and other organizations improve their educational programs and practices. They can work with a wide range of clients, from K-12 schools to universities to businesses, helping them to develop and implement effective online learning programs.

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Learning and Development Manager

Learning and Development Managers plan and implement training and development programs for employees. They work with employees at all levels, from entry-level to senior management, to help them develop their skills and knowledge.

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Online Instructor

Online Instructors develop and deliver online courses and lessons. Some online instructors are full-time employees of educational institutions, while others work as independent contractors.

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Curriculum Developer

Curriculum Developers design and develop educational programs and materials.

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Education Researcher

Education Researchers study the teaching and learning process. They use their research to develop new and more effective ways of teaching and learning.

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Teacher

Teachers plan and deliver instruction to students in a variety of settings, including schools, colleges, and universities.

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Professor

Professors teach and conduct research at colleges and universities.

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Training Manager

Training Managers plan and implement employee training programs. They work with managers and employees to identify training needs.

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Education Administrator

Education Administrators manage the day-to-day operations of schools and other educational institutions.

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Principal

Principals are the chief academic officers of schools. They are responsible for the overall management of the学校.

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Education Consultant

Education Consultants help schools, businesses, and other organizations improve their educational programs and practices.

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Instructional Coach

Instructional Coaches work with teachers to improve their teaching practices.

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Education Policy Analyst

Education Policy Analysts study and evaluate education policies and programs. They make recommendations for changes to policies and programs based on their research.

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