Category: Teaching Tip
Quick and short tips on teaching practices.
Grab Your Virtual Pen and Help Spread Some #CyThx Magic
Iowa State Online Launches New Professional Development Website (CELT Teaching Tip)
AI Across the Curriculum: Miller Faculty Fellowship Opportunities! (CELT Teaching Tip)
SoTL is Research! (CELT Teaching Tip)
Level Up Your Course (re)Design (CELT Teaching Tip)
An ‘odyssey’ in quality course design: Professor details experience with CELT resources
By Kelly McGowan, Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching
Picture a run of dominoes. Each topples to set off the next in an elaborate and meticulously planned design. Dr. John Monroe, a professor in the Department of History, sees an analogy between that and teaching an online course.
“It starts, and then it runs steadily to the end along a fixed path,” Monroe said. “Students learn by following a process: engaging with materials, doing activities, and taking assessments in a prescribed sequence, ideally at a prescribed pace.”
Key for a successful online instructor, he said, is “laying out that domino course from beginning to end with as much care as possible, making sure that each domino is positioned so it tips the next in exactly the right way.”
This reflection came during what Monroe called a professional development odyssey this summer through CELT-facilitated resources: Course Design Institute, Applying the Quality Matters online workshop, and Improving Your Online Course 3-week asynchronous course.
CELT provides faculty across campus with engaging professional development programming throughout their careers. These resources help to improve instruction for students and can lead to faculty seeking external certification from Quality Matters, a global organization dedicated to quality assurance in online education.
A shifting perspective on online instruction
As teachers and students quickly moved to online formats in 2020, Monroe said he “always felt a bit behind the eight ball, like there were some basic principles I was having trouble seeing clearly because of how I’d been trained in pedagogy — absorbing by example rather than explicitly being taught how to teach.”
He found guidance through CELT’s resources.
“What I discovered this summer is that the Quality Matters system not only spells out those basics in a useful way,” he said, “but also provides a detailed framework for the intensive pre-planning that good online course design requires.”
Monroe started the summer by enrolling in the CELT Course Design Institute, where seasoned instructors explored options for (re)designing their Canvas courses in partnership with CELT instructional designers. That’s where he first learned about Quality Matters. He went on to take a two-day online synchronous workshop on applying the Quality Matters rubric to online courses. Mid-summer, he engaged in a three-week online course called “Improving Your Online Course” taught by Dr. Olga Mesropova, a certified Quality Matters facilitator, Quality Matters Master Reviewer, and CELT Faculty Affiliate.
The most important takeaway for Monroe was a clear sense of how online pedagogy differs from the face-to-face instruction he has practiced for more than two decades. While in-person classes allow real-time reactions and interactions, online instruction’s different landscape requires a different approach.
Monroe had support as he put that into practice, and he appreciated the individualized feedback from CELT experts along the way.
“While it’s possible to get a lot out of reading through the Quality Matters literature and looking at CELT’s online resources, having a chance to engage directly with multiple experts is invaluable,” he said. “Thanks to that feedback, I’ve been able to dig into my course design much more deeply than I’d have been able to if I were working exclusively on my own.”
Four instructors achieved Quality Matters certification for their course over the summer.
-
Kevin Kasper, STAT 305, Engineering Statistics
-
Daniel Dobill, AGRON 502, Chemistry, Physics, and Biology of Soils
-
David Cantor, SCM/MIS 440, Supply Chain Information Systems
-
Jacqulyn Baughman, ME 270, Introduction to Mechanical Engineering Design
Ready to engage in these CELT resources for yourself? Sign up for the programming below.
-
Intro to Quality Matters
Online, asynchronous course runs between Sept. 25 and Oct. 9. Sign up before noon on Sept. 18. -
QM: Improving Your Online Course
Online, asynchronous course runs between Oct. 17 and Nov. 7. Sign up before noon on Oct. 10.
-
Applying the Quality Matters Rubric
Virtual workshop meets via Zoom from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Oct. 19 and 20. Sign up before noon on Oct. 12.
Teaching Evolv(ing): AI Resources and the Teaching and Learning Experience (CELT Teaching Tip)
CELT Restructuring Update (Teaching Tip)

As the rhythm of the fall semester takes hold, we wanted to share a CELT restructuring update with you.
As you know, Iowa State developed a comprehensive strategy for online education – Iowa State Online – that brings together talented staff from across campus (and beyond) to create a seamless unit focused on quality online instruction and student experience, as well as online program growth and innovation. This new structure, which is embedded in CELT, will help promote a consistently high level of quality across all course modalities.
Where are we today?
Much of the work since announcing the CELT expansion with the formation of Iowa State Online has focused on bringing everyone together into a (much larger) CELT family in preparation for the full launch on January 3, 2023.
Key leaders have been identified for the primary functional areas of the unit:
- Susan Arendt, Director for Iowa State Online
- Matt Carver, Senior Manager for Enterprise Instructional Technology
- Clark Coffman, Interim Director for Instructor Development
- Lesya Hassall, Senior Manager for Course Design and Quality
We’re also still hiring, with several positions available.
What’s happening now?
The CELT leadership team continues gathering important information from key stakeholders and diligently works on operational and logistical details. Be on the watch for a CELT survey or town-hall style meeting soon to gather your input and feedback.
What happens next?
You’re probably wondering how things may change in January, or even now as you prepare for your spring classes.
- If you are planning your winter session or spring semester classes, continue working with the same person and office you have in the past.
- Iowa State Online will take a strategic approach to program offerings with decisions made as an institution. We will continue to offer robust instructor development and support for instructors across all modalities.
- Programs and services such as the Miller Faculty Fellowship, #CyThx, consultation and observation services, Online Learning Community, and programming will continue with little change – but more people to support this work!
- Further details about CELT’s services are forthcoming and will be well-publicized within the CELT teaching tip, Inside Iowa State, and through college communications.
And, of course, if you have never taught online but are ready to jump in or are looking to optimize your current or future classes, please email celt@iastate.edu or call 515-294-5357. We’re ready to help and have the expertise and resources you need to succeed.
With a joy for teaching,
Sara Marcketti, Assistant Provost and Executive Director
Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching
Full Teaching Tip
View the published CELT Teaching Tip: CELT Restructuring Update (October 13, 2022).
Prefer a Print Version?
To view the Teaching Tip as a printable document with web addresses, download the CELT Teaching Tip for October 13, 2022 (PDF).