It’s Quality Matters Monday! Each Monday, we highlight a Quality Matters standard and review its importance in an online course and how we evaluate this
standard.

Today, we are reviewing Quality Matters Standards 5.4.

General Standard 5 addresses course activities and learner interaction to meet the learning objective goals.

Click here to view Quality Matters Standard 5.4 in the Quality Matters Rubric.
This standard specifically addresses that the requirements for learner interaction are clearly stated.

A clear explanation of the requirements for learner interaction helps learners plan and manage their class participation and is important for promoting
learners’ active involvement in the course. The statement of requirements also provides a basis for the instructor to evaluate learner participation. The
more specifically the expectations are explained, the easier it is for the learner to meet the expectations. Clearly explaining the role of the instructor
and expectations for interactions with the instructor and with other learners is especially helpful to learners from cultures in which deference to the
instructor is customary and who may need encouragement to “speak up.”

AP Guidance: If you have discussion boards in your courses, it’s important to state the requirement for responding to other students. Be clear about your
expectations for student participation in required course interactions (frequency, length, timeliness, etc.). The expectations help students plan and
manage their class participation and provides a basis for you to evaluate student participation. You should also consider adding information about your
requirements for student interaction to the syllabus and on each discussion board. Please see:

http://facultyecommons.org/discussion-board-dos-and-donts-a-handout-for-your-students/

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Click here to access Quality Matters eLearning Marketplace.
The Quality Matters eLearning Marketplace is a free, searchable database built to serve the broad QM community with an easy-to-use eLearning
product/service directory organized within the 8 general standards of the rubric as well as by user and product categories.