Ten Principles of Effective Teaching and Practical Examples for the Classroom and Blackboard

"Demand Quality"

"Expect more and you will get more. High expectations are important for everyone-- for the poorly prepared, for those unwilling to exert themselves, and for the bright and well motivated. Expecting students to perform well becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy" (Chickering & Ehrmann, 1996, p. 5).

Examples of Blackboard use
1. Provide a rubric or grading criteria by which students will be evaluated. Make sure the criteria are available from the beginning of the course. If a specific format is expected, indicate or provide the format.
2. Post examples of what you consider unacceptable work, minimum standard work and excellent work. Use un-editable formats such as PDF or screen captured images to prevent direct copying.
3. Allow students to evaluate and "grade" an assignment. This will give them a chance to take the instructor's perspective in evaluating work.
4. Identify and highlight components of exceptional current student work and share this with the class.
5. Ensure integrity. Post course policies for citing other work. Indicate that work must be original from the student's own efforts. Provide a link to the student handbook (http://www.bradley.edu/ccd/stuhndbk99.pdf) "Standards of Conduct", p. 32.
6. Post Frequently Asked Questions about the handling of the course or the course content.
7. Make expectations very clear in the beginning – dates, deadlines, late work, plagiarism, etc. Perhaps issue a “contract” at the beginning of the course to outline responsibilities and expectations.
8. Alert students as to the system and software requirements. Some will not be able to use some tools if they do not have the correct version of Java. They can find the system requirements through the Bradley Blackboard homepage. Use applications supported by the University whenever possible.

General best practices of expecting quality from current educational models
1. "Begin by finding out what students expect of themselves in your class, letting them know what you expect, and discussing those expectations. Begin the course with assignments that diligent students can succeed in to build confidence. Have learners interview successful former students, or invite them to class, to illustrate in flesh and blood that high expectations can be realized" (Angelo, 1993, p. 7).
2. Maintain the same high quality expectations of student performance and output when putting the course online. Online courses should be as challenging as traditional courses.
3. Clearly articulate the criteria for evaluating performances through samples of excellent, average, mediocre, and faulty performance. The examples can provide a basis for peer evaluation.