Most recent public comments by Thomas Dolan https://nowcomment.com/users/148368 https://nowcomment.com/documents/377143?scroll_to=3341402 https://nowcomment.com/documents/377143?scroll_to=3341402 Properly defining “online teaching and learning” is a task I feel confident in completing, as I have an extensive professional history in this topic. However, I also acknowledge a personal bias in this topic skewing towards K-12 settings and admit to ignorance of post-secondary education and professional online teaching in learning, which I hope to remedy with more discussion and experience in these learning environments. Having taught for three years at an asynchronous Pennsylvania cyber charter school and remotely during the COVID-19 school shutdown, I have a well-rounded idea of teaching and learning. I can go back even further by saying I had multiple online and distance learning classes as a student during my undergrad and graduate studies. Where I need help finding the correct words to define online teaching and learning concisely. While traditional definitions of learning were largely written assuming learning occurs in synchronous, brick-and-mortar classrooms, the behaviorist and cognitivist learning theories still fit within online learning settings with slight adjustments. My experience has shown the most substantial challenges to learning theory definitions; however, when applying Bandura’s social cognitive theory to asynchronous learning settings, specifically in how one can adequately account for the environmental variables, which are core to the theory’s definition of learning. The most challenging variable for online teachers to account for when creating and delivering synchronous and asynchronous lessons is the environment in which a learner receives and participates in said lessons. An online teacher cannot control the learning environment in online settings to be same degree one can control the learning environment in traditional classrooms. Thus, acknowledging this minimized control must be considered when determining a definition for online teaching and learning. So, If I were to distill my experience, thoughts, and opinions into a definition of online teaching and learning, it would probably read something like this:  Online teaching and learning are no different than in-person teaching and learning. The goal is for teachers to deliver effective and efficient lessons and activities in which learners can display proficiency and mastery of delivered content. Online teaching and learning differ, however, in that teachers must count for the absence of direct social communication and environmental control of the learning setting, and thus must deliver lessons in content with clear, concise, and direct messaging and design in mind while still promoting social aspects of learning in as many ways as possible. Sun, 18 Aug 2024 18:29:52 -0700