In this interactive presentation, we will discuss how to actively involve students regardless of modality and delivery. We will discuss the importance of creating daily announcements, weekly videos, and posting daily in discussion forums. We will discuss substantive posting and how to facilitate and lead discussion forums that include the ABC's of…

Through the lens of the Community of Inquiry education experience (Vaughan & Garrison, 2006), this practice report provides guidance and examples for online instructors to engage students within discussion boards in the digital realm. Five elements will be discussed: embedding multi-media, affiliative humour and storytelling, Socratic…

The coronavirus pandemic exacerbated long-standing educational inequities associated with technology access, learner agency, and participation in online learning. How were preservice and inservice educators supported in their pursuit of interest-driven professional learning that critically examined the unfolding impact of these inequities? This…

Facilitating an online course in today's student population requires an educator to be innovative and creative and to have an impactful online presence. In the current online learning environment (also known as e-learning), keeping students' thoughtfully engaged and motivated while dispensing the required course content necessitates faculty…

Although it is not a new idea, discourse continues to be a topic of discussion among teachers, teacher educators, and researchers in mathematics education. The National Council of Teachers (NCTM) and the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM 2010) describe mathematics classrooms as discourse communities in which whole-class…

In this article, the authors offer strategies on how to make use of English language learners' (ELLs') linguistic repertoire and reframe their diverse skills as valuable assets to create more equitable and inclusive learning environments. The authors provide an example of a task that reframes language as an asset. The authors also discuss the…

Teachers who are concerned about introducing inherent biases into their classroom practices may find themselves turning to equity strategies to help randomize and equalize their practices. But these strategies, such as using popsicle sticks to randomize who a teacher calls on to ask a question, can also mitigate inequities in a different direction…

Reading the primary literature in a journal club format is an excellent practice where undergraduate students can develop their abilities in experimental data analysis and critical thinking, learn about new ideas and methods, and gain a foothold in scientific discourse. However, students are not familiar with the format, writing style, and depth…

Due to the global pandemic, many traditionally face-to-face courses had to transfer to online teaching. We, like many others, were faced with the challenge of replicating online our purposefully-designed mathematics content courses for elementary teacher candidates (TCs). In doing so, our aim was to preserve our pedagogical commitments of…

What does it take to make online discussions work? Educator Michael B. Sherry offers three strategies for addressing the challenges of online conversations and engaging students in going deeper in their digital discussions.

Classroom discussions represent a common learning activity for students in schools. The prevailing discourse has focused on how to encourage as many students as possible to participate actively in classroom discussions with the assumption that only vocal students are engaged learners. The present essay critically challenges this position by…

Effective class discussions are often frustrated by dual challenges: lack of participation and poor quality of contribution. To address both challenges, we describe an experiential exercise for managing classroom discussion that is based on an adaptation of a classic creativity model. It motivates student participation by generating structured…

When learning is virtual and students' webcams are turned off, interaction between students and teachers compared to an in-person classroom can fall short. The reasons some students keep their webcams off are numerous and compelling from an equity lens perspective (Yu 2020a): The history of policing in the United States points to an increased use…

Introductory science courses serve a population of students in the major (i.e., chemistry) as well as those students outside the discipline (i.e., premed, biology, engineering). In an effort to help this diverse population of students connect personally with the content of the course, we sought ways to include student-centered activities, provide…

The classrooms of the twenty-first century will require faculty to redefine and infuse active learning strategies to the online platform. The discussion forum can be much more. It can serve not only as a great tool to keep students engaged and connected to the online classroom but also as a space for students to be creative and develop deep…