I am going to draw upon time when I was a learner taking an online course in order to address the following questions:
- Why was this an effective practice for you?
- What are some of the key ingredients that underlie the experience you had?
- If you could do it over again, what would you change to improve your experience?
What made this particular experience effective for me was that the instructor of the course I was taking took the time to provide individualized feedback, comments, and questions that would often result in further thinking, growth, and awareness. Some of the key ingredients were being challenged to think deeper, question my own & others responses, and become more curious. I believe the top key ingredient to all of this was I felt that a non-judgemental and safe environment had been established and created earlier on in the course. The instructor created group norms & guidelines that everyone was able to participate in creating and this set a tone of safety.
I don’t think I would change anything to improve it. It was what it was. Well, if I could wave a magic wand and have not had to work FT while also going to school in order to put more energy towards my studies, sure, I would change that.