Instructor Contact and Written Explanations to Communicate High Expectations - Principle 6 - Promising Practices 1.1 2008/06/30 13:40:03.849 GMT-5 2008/06/30 13:50:11.771 GMT-5 Keith A. Restine krestine@twu.edu Keith A. Restine krestine@twu.edu Blackboard Distance Education Faculty Development Online Teaching This module discusses the importance of frequent contact between the student and the instructor through written explanations and detailed feedback. Use your syllabus and specific course elements to clearly communicate your expectations for students. Many of the elements found in the QualityMatters program are used to establish clear expectations for daily tasks, communication standards, assignment quality, etc.Use the tools available in Blackboard to encourage students to expand and extend their thinking. Use your ability to communicate to motivate and encourage students to move past the easy answers to ponder more complex solutions. The discussion board is one location where instructors can easily communicate increased expectations while responding to student postings. The ability to ask critical and probing questions on the board can motivate students to respond in more complex and thoughtful ways. Email is a more individual forum that allows you to push students toward more thoughtful responses and solutions.