Checklist for Meeting Quality Matters Standard 5
Learning Activities and Learner Interaction
5.1 The learning activities help learners achieve the stated objectives.
5.2 Learning activities provide opportunities for interactions that support active learning. 5.3 The instructor's plan for regular interaction with learners is substantive ways during the course is clearly stated. 5.4 The requirements for learner interaction are clearly stated.Active Learning: Active learning occurs when learners engage by "doing" something, such as discovering, processing, or applying concepts and information.
Learning Activity: Any form of learner participation that serves to reinforce course content. Often, an activity allows for practice, discovery, and trial-and-error.
Designing Learning Activities and Learner Interaction
- The course design includes opportunities for students to interact with you through active learning activities (5.2)
- The course design includes opportunities for students to interact with each other through active learning activities (5.2)
- The course design includes opportunities for students to interact with the content through active learning activities (5.2)
- Somewhere in the course or syllabus you have explained how you will provide feedback on assignments and how quickly students can expect that feedback (5.3)
- Somewhere in the course or syllabus you have explained what days/times and how quickly you will respond to student emails as well (5.3)
- If the course uses discussion board assignments, you have explained how often you plan to reply to student posts (5.3)
- The course or syllabus clearly states the requirement and expectations for student interaction (5.4)
Alignment
- Course learning activities promote the achievement of course and module learning objectives, and the relationships are clearly stated (5.1)
Tips (Recommended strategies to consider)
- Provide opportunities for students to practice new skills through ungraded activities or low-stakes assessments
- Provide students time and opportunity for reflective thinking
- Create a numbering system for course level objectives to include in activity descriptions, to demonstrate alignment
Download Standard 5 Checklist (PDF) Download Standard 5 Checklist (DOCX)
Developed by the Northern Illinois University Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning | Adapted from © 2014 New Mexico State University Board of Regents | Quality Matters https://www.qmprogram.org | Revised 10/2/2023
