Perspectives In Learning Perspectives In Learning
Volume 20
Number 1
TiLT Special Issue
Article 10
2-27-2023
Promoting Student Success with TiLT in Asynchronous Online Promoting Student Success with TiLT in Asynchronous Online
Classes Classes
Sabrina Wengier
Middle Georgia State University
Lorraine Dubuisson
Middle Georgia State University
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Recommended Citation Recommended Citation
Wengier, S., & Dubuisson, L. (2023). Promoting Student Success with TiLT in Asynchronous Online
Classes.
Perspectives In Learning, 20
(1). Retrieved from https://csuepress.columbusstate.edu/pil/vol20/
iss1/10
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WENGIER & DUBUISSON
104
Promoting Student Success with TILT
in Asynchronous Online Classes
Sabrina Wengier
Middle Georgia State University
Lorraine Dubuisson
Middle Georgia State University
Abstract
Research has shown that the Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TILT)
framework is an equitable practice that promotes student success by emphasizing
the purpose and real-world applicability of academic work (Winkelmes et al.,
2019). Most of the research on TILT has focused on in-person instruction. In this
article, the authors discuss their implementation of TILT as a “guiding
philosophy” (Carpenter et al., 2021) to (re)design their asynchronous, online
classes. As instructors, they note that TILT made a tangible, positive difference in
student ownership and engagement in classroom tasks. To understand TILT’s
impact on students, the authors conducted a small-scale study in which they
surveyed their students about their experience of the assignment instructions in
their courses in terms of clarity, helpfulness, and other factors that affect student
learning. The results of the study corroborated the authors’ idea that TILT had a
positive impact on student learning in their asynchronous, online classes. The
authors conclude by arguing that TILT is a valuable framework that enhances
other best practices for online teaching.
From Fall 2019 to Spring 2021,
Sabrina and Lorraine participated in a
Faculty Learning Community (FLC) at
Middle Georgia State University. Sabrina led
the FLC as a Chancellor’s Learning Scholar
(a University System of Georgia faculty
development initiative) and invited Lorraine
to join as a participant along with four other
faculty from a variety of disciplines across
their five-campus institution. Faculty from
English, foreign languages, history,
interdisciplinary studies, and
communications were represented in the
group. The FLC concentrated on teaching
online but swiftly narrowed in focus to
Transparency in Teaching and Learning
(TILT), a method of course design that is
gaining in popularity as an evidence-based
teaching practice that promotes student
success. Over the course of these two years,
Sabrina and Lorraine conducted
extensive pedagogical research, participated
in thoughtful and fruitful discussions about
their teaching practices, and redesigned their
courses to utilize the TILT framework.
Sabrina and Lorraine concluded the
experience by conducting an Institutional
Review Board-approved, qualitative study in
two, asynchronous, online courses in which
they had utilized TILT.
Asynchronous, online courses present
some of the same difficulties for students as
face-to-face courses while magnifying them
because of the course delivery method; in
WENGIER & DUBUISSON
105
addition, they possess some unique
challenges. One challenge that is common to
both modalities is the need for course content
and assignments to align with student
learning outcomes (Darby & Lang, 2019;
Zehnder et al., 2021). For example, an
instructor might become invested in an
exciting assignment or an interesting text and
import it to another class without examining
whether it is a good fit for the particular
student learning outcomes of the course.
Another challenge in both modalities is
ensuring that course content and assignments
scaffold properly; an initial assignment
should provide the skills and practice
necessary for subsequent assignments. As a
result, sequencing of course content and
assignments becomes key to student success
(Darby & Lang, 2019). One challenge that is
unique to the asynchronous, online
environment is the lack of immediate
communication between students and the
instructor that can lead to confusion and
frustration for students (Swan, 2002).
Sabrina and Lorraine spent a great deal of
time discussing these issues and potential
solutions at the beginning of their FLC but
quickly realized that TILT addresses most of
them.
After redesigning their courses to
utilize the TILT framework, Sabrina and
Lorraine believe strongly that doing so has
made their courses more effective. They
examined all their course content and
assignments to align them with student
learning outcomes. They made an effort to
scaffold their courses so that they contain
enough opportunities to practice skills before
proceeding to the next stage in the sequence.
They included information about the real-
world relevance of their course content and
assignments, a fundamental element of TILT.
They rewrote assignment instructions until
expectations and procedures are clearer for
students, and they provided a section of tips
and commonly asked questions for each
assignment. After doing so, the number of
questions they received about assignments
decreased considerably, and the number of
students misunderstanding the purpose or
other components of assignments also
decreased. From their perspective, TILT was
working incredibly well in their
asynchronous, online courses, but Sabrina
and Lorraine wondered about its success
from their students’ perspectives. The
present study was conducted to examine
student perceptions of TILT in two
asynchronous, online, undergraduate courses
in which they had already implemented the
TILT framework.
The following research informs
Sabrina and Lorraine’s teaching, their
courses, and the construction of the study
they designed to solicit student feedback on
TILT.
Literature Review
Online Learning
Singh and Thurman (2019) define
online learning as “learning experiences in
synchronous and asynchronous learning
environments using devices with internet
access. In these environments, students can
be anywhere (independent) to learn and
interact with instructors and other students”
(p. 290). In a synchronous online class,
students and faculty meet virtually through a
platform such as Zoom while in
asynchronous, online classes, students work
independently on the course material and
course activities the instructor has prepared
and made available usually on a learning
management system (like Canvas or
D2L/Brightspace). Other online options
WENGIER & DUBUISSON
106
include hybrid classes where part of the work
is handled asynchronously and some sessions
are synchronous (whether in person or
online), and hyflex classes in which students
can elect to come in person or attend online
synchronously or asynchronously.
Prior to 2020 and the COVID-19
pandemic, online classes had gained
momentum because of the convenience and
flexibility they offer students (Bolliger &
Inan, 2012; Darby & Lang, 2019; Howard et
al., 2019; Londino-Smolar & Hansel, 2021).
Current research shows that students are
electing to continue learning online post-
pandemic (Anderson, 2021; Morris &
Anthes, 2021). As Londino-Smolar and
Hansel (2021) report, research studies show
that student performance in online courses is
comparable to traditional classroom settings
and that online education can be as effective
as brick-and-mortar education. Notable areas
of challenge for online education include
lower completion rates compared to in-
person classes (Bollinger & Inan, 2012;
Nilson & Goodson, 2018) and “lower
completion rates and poorer grade
performance” for historically
underrepresented groups, such as minority
and nontraditional students (Howard et al.,
2019, p. 2).
As Bolliger and Inan (2012) show,
students can often feel lonely and
disconnected in online classes because they
are not physically in the same room as their
instructor and their peers. Swan (2002) notes
that there is a “heightened need for instructor
activity and interaction in online
environments” in order to develop an online
learning community (p. 26). Garrison et al.
(2000) propose a community of inquiry
framework that centers the online learning
environment around the concept of
community. For Garrison et al. (2000),
learning occurs at the intersection of three
forms of presence: teaching presence, social
presence, and cognitive presence. Teaching
presence is understood as the design of the
course material and learning activities, from
their curation to the way they are presented
and organized, and as the facilitation of the
learning in the online environment. Social
presence is summed up as the socio-
emotional aspect of the class where students
get to know their instructor and their peers
and where the feeling of connection to others
is created; social presence is about
“presenting themselves to the other
participants as ‘real people’” (Garrison et al.,
2000, p. 89). Finally, cognitive presence is
the learning process that occurs in the class.
Boettcher and Conrad (2021) sum up the
concept of presence as “being there” (p. 81)
and argue that it is “the most important best
practice for an online course” (p. 81). In this
article, we will show that transparent
teaching methods help establish and sustain
the three forms of presence recommended in
building a community of inquiry in online
learning environments.
Another best practice for online
learning concerns course design: course
materials should be accessible (following the
principles of Universal Design for Learning),
easy to find, and consistent (Asgarpoor,
2019; Darby & Lang, 2019; Nilson &
Goodson, 2018; Riggs & Linder, 2016). In
addition, clear channels of communication
between the student and the instructor and
amongst students are vital (Boettcher &
Conrad, 2021; Darby & Lang, 2019; Nilson
& Goodson, 2018).
Finally, Akella et al. (2021), drawing
on existing research, note that while
technology is at the foundation of the
learning experience online, “technology by
itself cannot take up an independent role or
WENGIER & DUBUISSON
107
even replace teachers. Ultimately, it is the
teachers, their choices and decisions, their
relationships with students which all affect
student performances” (p. 44). Nilson and
Goodson (2018) also remind us that
“excellent teaching is excellent teaching—
and conversely, ineffective teaching is
ineffective teaching—whether the
environment is classroom based, online, or
hybrid” (p. 1).
Transparency in Learning and Teaching
(TILT)
The concept of transparent teaching
emerged in the early 2000s (Biggs, 2003;
Harden, 2001) and was formalized into a
pedagogical framework by Winkelmes in
2013. TILT makes explicit for students and
faculty the relationship between the
assignment, the course learning outcomes,
and the real world, including students’
personal and career goals. Faculty who
subscribe to TILT explicitly present those
connections to students and explain why
they ask them to complete a specific
assignment. TILT assignment instructions
are typically divided into three sections:
purpose, where the connection between the
learning outcomes, career and personal goals
is made clear; task, the description of the
assignment; and criteria, detailing format
requirements along with a rubric. It is also
common and recommended to provide a help
section with exemplars of successful
assignments and other tips.
The goal of transparent teaching is
“to advance equitable teaching and learning
practices that reduce systemic inequities in
higher education” (Winkelmes, 2014).
Winkelmes et al. (2019) explain that
“students who received transparent
instruction that emphasizes the purposes,
tasks, and real-world applicability (or
problem-centeredness) and criteria for
academic work experienced elevated
confidence, belonging, and metacognitive
awareness of skill development” (p.17).
Winkelmes et al. (2016) also showed that
transparent assignments had especially
positive outcomes for underserved students
and could lower the attrition rate in at-risk
student populations. Other studies have
corroborated and expanded those initial
findings in a variety of disciplines; for
example, Bhavsar (2020) recorded better
reading compliance in TILTed assignments
in a science course and better metacognition
on the part of students who reported that “the
assignment was valuable in helping them
learn the material” (p. 34). Kang et al. (2016)
implemented TILT in a variety of college
courses (communication, genetics, and
general biology among others) and saw
increases in students’ success on the
assignments, more metacognition on the part
of students, and a greater number of students
feeling they had received more meaningful
feedback.
More recently, the concept of
transparency has been expanded to course
design and teaching as a whole rather than
just as a way to frame assignments. For
instance, one of the authors of “Faculty
Development for Transparent Learning &
Teaching,” Travis Martin, states that TILT is
not a framework for him, but rather that it is
“a guiding philosophy” and “a testament to
the instructor’s commitment to student
success” (Carpenter et al., 2021, p. 60). In
this broader understanding, the following are
examples of transparent teaching practices:
A “Start Here” orientation module
that contains essential information
about the class—such as the syllabus
WENGIER & DUBUISSON
108
and tech support (Londino-Smolar &
Hansel, 2021);
Course policies and expectations that
are explained in jargon-free language
and are easily accessible (Carpenter
et al., 2021);
A predictable structure with the
content broken down into modules,
each containing the course material
for a specific class session along with
the assignments due written with
transparent instructions (Boettcher &
Conrad, 2021; Eblen-Zayas, 2021;
Londino-Smolar & Hansel, 2021;
Nilson & Goodson, 2018);
Scaffolded assignments that make
tasks manageable and support student
learning (Darby & Lang, 2019;
Londino-Smolar & Hansel, 2021);
Course material that clearly states the
learning goals for each module,
including academic, personal, and
career goals (Darby & Lang, 2019);
and
Active communication from the
professor (Carpenter et al., 2021).
Through these various practices,
transparent teaching is presented as an
inclusive practice that benefits all learners
and helps them shift the focus from the
“how” or “why” of a course and assignment
to the “what,” leading to more engagement
with the course and the learning process
(Carpenter et al., 2021; Eblen-Zayas, 2021;
Zehnder et al., 2021).
TILT in Online Learning
TILT in online learning is an
emergent field with little existing research. A
foundational article by Howard et al. (2019)
focuses on the implementation of transparent
assignments (and a transparent syllabus) in
an online political science course. Although
the study expected to find that students
performed better in in-person courses, the
research findings show that students in the
transparent online class outperformed
students in the nontransparent online class
and nontransparent in-person class,
corroborating Sabrina and Lorraine’s
understanding of the value of TILT for the
online teaching modality.
Articles published in the May 2021
issue of The Journal of Faculty Development
show that transparent teaching has emerged
as a strategy for faculty to help students learn
successfully during the challenging time of
the pandemic. Most of these articles reflect
on the fact that transparent methods allow for
adaptability in various ways.
Instructors can make changes as
needed through a transparent and
dynamic syllabus and through
reflective assignments which allow
for “bi-directional transparency to
remain responsive to the unique
situations” of students (Villalobos &
Jessup, 2021, p. 76).
The learning environment is more
inclusive for students from various
backgrounds and abilities (Londino-
Smolar & Hansel, 2021).
One of the main foci is on
communication through making sure
that faculty convey intent (Carpenter
WENGIER & DUBUISSON
109
et al., 2021) and provide “more
personalized student-instructor
interactions to emerge successful in
an online environment” (Akella et al.,
2021, p. 69).
Instruction is focused on students and
student learning outcomes (Carpenter
et al., 2021).
Such research findings dovetail with
the best practices for online education
previously mentioned. In addition, the
research suggests that transparent teaching
methods can enhance such best practices in
so far as they can “reduce the cognitive
resources that online learners have to expend
on tracking course organization” (Eblen-
Zayas, 2021, p. 69) and, in the authors’ view,
on understanding assignments. Transparent
teaching methods merge the three forms of
presence recommended by the community of
inquiry framework: teaching presence, as
instructors are intentional in their course
design and in the connections they establish
between the course material, the course
goals, and the students’ academic, personal,
and career goals; social presence, as
transparent teaching is an inclusive and
caring practice that shows respect for
students’ varied abilities and allows them to
focus on being creative with assignments and
to personalize course goals for themselves;
and cognitive presence, as transparent
teaching helps “develop and enhance
analytical and critical thinking skills and
deepen student learning” (Howard et al.,
2019, p. 2).
Study Purpose
Sabrina and Lorraine redesigned their
asynchronous, online courses to utilize the
TILT framework and have seen clear
indications via grades, informal
conversations, and other markers that TILT
is having a positive impact on student
success in their courses. The purpose of this
study is to examine students’ perceptions of
TILT and provide more concrete data to
support their use of TILT in their
asynchronous, online classes. Sabrina and
Lorraine wanted to confine their initial
research inquiries to asynchronous, online
courses since they both teach a significant
number of courses online each academic
year and because so little research about the
impact of TILT on asynchronous, online
courses has been conducted.
Methods
Participants
The study participants consisted of
the 13 students enrolled in Sabrina’s
undergraduate, asynchronous online
Methods in Interdisciplinary Studies course
and 13 of the 14 students enrolled in
Lorraine’s undergraduate, asynchronous,
online English Composition 1 course. One
student in Lorraine’s course was excluded
for being under 18 years old, per the
Institutional Review Board (IRB) guidelines.
Methods in Interdisciplinary Studies is a
required, junior-level course in which
students learn how to conduct
interdisciplinary research, and English
Composition 1 is an introductory writing
course focused on developing argumentative
writing skills.
Research Design
Sabrina and Lorraine administered a
qualitative survey to students about their
experience of the assignment instructions in
their courses in terms of clarity, helpfulness,
WENGIER & DUBUISSON
110
and other factors that affect student learning.
Surveys were anonymous, consisted of five
open-ended questions, and were delivered to
their classes separately using Microsoft
Forms. The survey prompted students to
read the assignments for the class and
answer various questions about the clarity of
the instructions, the purpose of the
assignment, and the effectiveness of the tips
or resources section (see Appendix A).
Sabrina and Lorraine posted
announcements to their courses explaining
the research project, the anonymity of the
survey, that no compensation or extra credit
was attached to student participation, and
that only students 18 and older could
participate. Finally, the announcement
included the link to the Microsoft Form and
indicated the two-week window students had
to complete the survey. A reminder to
complete the survey was posted shortly
before finals.
After the survey closed, Sabrina and
Lorraine collected student responses and
analyzed the feedback.
Results and Discussion
Description of TILTed Courses
In order to present their findings in
the most useful light, some explanation of
Sabrina and Lorraine’s course design and
implementation of TILT is necessary. In
2019, Sabrina was introduced to TILT
through a faculty development workshop
offered by the Office of Faculty
Development of the University System
where she and Lorraine work. For Sabrina,
this was a revelation and a turning point in
her pedagogical approach. Shortly after the
workshop, Sabrina was asked to turn her
Methods in Interdisciplinary Studies course
into an asynchronous, online class because of
increasing student demand for online classes.
TILT proved to be a valuable “guiding
philosophy” (Carpenter et al., 2021; p. 60), to
transform a face-to-face class for an online
learning environment.
TILT allowed Sabrina to take a step
back and evaluate the class, and she noted
that several aspects could be improved: the
alignment of the assignments with the course
goals, the real-world connection, and the
scaffolding of the assignments. Sabrina made
changes to all the assignments for the course
and will discuss here the final project. The
final assignment for the class is a project that
Sabrina designed to focus on a real-world
application of interdisciplinary studies (see
Appendix B). The unit leading to the final
project examines common socioeconomic
and cultural obstacles to a healthy lifestyle.
To improve the scaffolding of the project,
Sabrina maintained the project pitch from the
existing in-person iteration of the course,
which ensures she can give feedback on the
topics students select and the formats they
choose for their projects. But she added a
summary of the research students use to
inform their projects. In course evaluations
for the in-person iterations of the class,
students had asked for more feedback
opportunities. Therefore, Sabrina also added
a peer review step where students receive
feedback from classmates and herself on a
draft of their projects. Finally, Sabrina
assigned a short reflection paper in which
students identify strengths and areas of
improvement for their projects. For each step
of the project, Sabrina included a purpose
section detailing why she asked students to
complete that step. Her hope is that students
see that the steps in the assignment are not
busy work but rather her way of ensuring
they practice the skills they need and receive
WENGIER & DUBUISSON
111
the feedback they need before they move to
the next phase of the project.
TILTing the assignment also helped
Sabrina improve the real-world aspect of the
assignment. The students’ projects must raise
awareness of the importance of healthy
living for their communities, and they must
have a plan to share the project with the
members of their communities. Some
students shared their podcasts on online
platforms, others shared their videos or
websites with their coworkers, and others
organized garden planting days with their
communities. The self-reflection papers
show that students enjoyed the creative
freedom of the assignment and the fact that
their projects made an impact on their
communities. The real-world dimension of
the project led to more personal and focused
projects than in previous years.
Lorraine has been teaching English
Composition 1 online for over a decade; the
course has naturally gone through multiple
iterations and refinements over such a long
period of time, and assignment alignment
with student learning outcomes and
assignment scaffolding already functioned
well in the course. However, examining the
class through the framework of TILT led
Lorraine to more explicitly articulate the
real-world purpose of the assignments in the
course than she had in the past (see
Appendix C). Students often do not
understand that the skills they learn in one
class are transferable to other courses and to
situations outside their college careers.
Students in English composition courses
often mistakenly believe they are only
learning how to write papers for English
courses rather than learning the reading and
writing skills they will need for all their
college courses, their careers, and their lives
as private citizens (see Appendix C). TILT
requires instructors to highlight how the
skills assessed in a particular assignment will
be used in the future, but Lorraine took that
concept further in this English Composition I
course; she also explained to students why
she assigned each reading—to serve as a
model for a particular element of writing, for
example—and underscored the
transferability of skills in discussion
assignments with the class. She hoped that
reinforcing the relevance of each assignment
beyond the finite bounds of the duration of
the course would help students become more
invested in their success on those
assignments. Because Lorraine has been
teaching English Composition I online for
many semesters, she was already aware of
the most common errors students make on
assignments for the course. The TILT
framework for constructing assignments
includes a tips section in which Lorraine
listed those most common errors and specific
advice to avoid them in the hopes that more
clarity would lead to higher quality student
work (see Appendix C).
Results
Student responses to the survey in
both courses indicated that students
recognized obvious benefits of the TILT
framework. A handful of themes emerged
from this feedback: clarity of instructions
and purpose coupled with an abundance of
tips and resources led to students feeling
more prepared to attempt assignments
because they better understood the
expectations. All responses to the question
regarding clarity stated that the instructions
are clear. One student in Sabrina’s course
commented, “I like the simplicity of the way
the instructions are written, it is almost in a
‘step-by-step’ form which allows us to foster
creativity in a simple way without
overthinking the topic too much.” This
WENGIER & DUBUISSON
112
comment validated Sabrina’s hope that the
assignment instructions she provides are
clear but not so stifling that they harm
students’ creativity. One of Lorraine’s
students commented, “I like the fact that the
instructions are written clearly. There is
little room for assumptions as to what the
teacher is looking for in the assignment.”
The other wrote that “the instructions are
clear, simple, and thorough.”
Comments about the purpose section
of the TILTed assignments also corroborate
Sabrina and Lorraine’s perception of the way
that section functions in their courses. One
student commented to Sabrina’s survey that
the purpose section “helps us understand
‘why am I writing about this and who is this
for,’” and another also stated that “it helps
you understand why you are doing it.”
Lorraine’s student commented that “it makes
you incorporate what we are learning in class
to the world around us. It opens our eyes to
what is right in front of us.” Another of
Lorraine’s students responded, “The purpose
section of the assignment does give a clear
understanding as to why the assignment was
give [sic] in respect to the material and the
course.”
Lorraine’s students confirmed that
the tips section of TILTed assignments
helped them to succeed on those tasks. One
commented that “the tips and resources/help
section of the assignments were a great
tool,” and the other said, “I use the tips as a
sort of checklist to help me make sure I am
staying on track with my assignment.”
Lorraine also saw support that the tips
section works in the decreased number of
questions she received about assignments
over the course of the semester and the very
small number of students making errors
addressed by that section. Sabrina made a
similar observation and noted that student
questions focused on the substance of the
assignment (narrowing down the scope of
the paper or project, for instance), rather than
on clarifying the instructions.
Conclusions
This study has led Sabrina and
Lorraine to several conclusions. Using TILT
in their online classes has allowed them to be
more intentional regarding assignments,
course content, and real-world application,
and they believe it has made them better
online instructors. Redesigning their online
courses to utilize TILT has reignited their
passion for teaching and rekindled their
enthusiasm for pedagogical experimentation.
Devoting a significant portion of
instructional space—whether that is a
specially labelled section of assignments or
instructor comments made in a video
announcement to the class—to ensuring that
students understand the purpose of course
elements seems to have made a positive
difference in student ownership and
engagement in classroom tasks. TILT has
provided Sabrina and Lorraine with a
valuable way to be present for their students
by relating the content of the class to the real
world and by laying down clear expectations
along with tips and helpful tools for the
assignment.
One improvement Sabrina would like
to make that would increase the transparency
of the class is to indicate to students how
much time each assignment and reading will
take them to complete. She would also like to
improve her tips for success section. To that
end, she has started asking students for
permission to share their work. However,
Sabrina is hesitant as she wonders whether
sharing too many examples could lead to
what Torrance (2007) calls “criteria
WENGIER & DUBUISSON
113
compliance” (p. 282) when students believe
their work must fit into a particular mold. For
Sabrina, TILT is currently striking a balance
between providing the tools needed to be
successful while also offering the breathing
room to be creative with the assignments.
Lorraine would like to focus on enhancing
her communication of the purpose of
assignments. The same student in Lorraine’s
course who commented that the purpose
section “gives a clear understanding” also
said, “Sometimes it is really useful, other
times not so much.” This ambivalence about
the value of the purpose section, even from a
single student, demonstrates a clear need for
Lorraine to continue refining that aspect of
her courses. One way to improve
communicating purpose to students might be
to consider adopting a low stakes assignment
entirely devoted to purpose.
Finally, both Sabrina and Lorraine
conclude that TILTing assignments is a good
start but not enough, and that is why they
think the idea of extending TILT as a
“guiding philosophy” is a fruitful approach.
Sabrina’s student course evaluations
overwhelmingly mention the in-depth
feedback she provides and the fact that she
responds to inquiries in a timely manner.
Sabrina does not believe in being chained to
her work email, and she does not respond to
emails at all hours of the day and night, but
she does respond promptly. Lorraine also
believes strongly in grading quickly,
responding to student emails quickly, and
providing extensive feedback that allows
students to improve on subsequent
assignments. Students comment on the fact
that Sabrina is approachable, and she thinks
this stems from the ways she establishes
presence in the class: she posts video
announcements every week to recap the
work they have done, clarify concepts, and
talk about upcoming activities; and she uses
a variety of modes (written, video, and
audio) to leave feedback on assignments.
Lorraine posts weekly announcements to her
course, maintains an active presence on
discussion boards, and makes contact with
her classes in the same variety of formats
that Sabrina uses. All the students who
responded to the survey Sabrina and Lorraine
used in this study spontaneously mentioned
instructor responsiveness and class presence
as being at least, and possibly more, valuable
than any of the elements of TILT on which
they were directly surveyed.
Limitations
Sabrina and Lorraine must
acknowledge the size limitations of this
study. They each surveyed one class, and
only three students in Sabrina’s class and two
students in Lorraine’s class responded. As a
result, they lack a significant number of
student survey answers to definitively
corroborate their understanding of the way
TILT works in their asynchronous, online
courses. They do not know for certain why
such a small number of students participated.
However, Sabrina and Lorraine administered
the survey during the last two weeks of class,
which is a busy time for students, and they
did not offer any compensation or extra
credit as incentives, factors which may have
inhibited participation. While offering
compensation and/or extra credit would
violate the terms of the IRB agreement,
conducting the study earlier in the semester
might have resulted in higher levels of
participation.
Additional limitations include the
lack of demographic information about the
students surveyed in the study. As a result,
Sabrina and Lorraine cannot substantiate any
of the claims made by other researchers
WENGIER & DUBUISSON
114
about the positive impact of TILT on the
academic performance of underserved,
underrepresented student populations. They
also cannot comment on distinctions in the
way different student populations in the
courses surveyed experienced TILT. Finally,
the terms of the IRB did not allow Sabrina
and Lorraine to compare grades in the
courses surveyed to grades in other courses
they have taught.
Future Directions
Further study is needed on the effect
of TILT on student success in the
asynchronous, online classroom. Since
Sabrina and Lorraine teach in different
disciplines and Sabrina’s teaching spans
disciplines, they have the opportunity to
include more disciplines than English and
Interdisciplinary Studies in a future study.
They also teach courses that run the gamut
from freshman, introductory courses to
upper-division level courses taken by seniors
who are about to graduate; exploring whether
the TILT framework is experienced
differently by varying cohorts may also
prove a productive avenue for future
research. In the meantime, TILT has proven
to be a valuable guiding philosophy to
promote student success in asynchronous
online classes.
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____________________________________
SABRINA WENGIER is an Associate
Professor of French and Interdisciplinary
Studies at Middle Georgia State University.
Her primary research interests include
second language pedagogy, transparent
teaching practices, asynchronous online
teaching, and 19th-century French literature.
LORRAINE DUBUISSON is an Associate
Professor of English at Middle Georgia State
University. Her primary research interests
include Victorian literature, early American
literature, and the scholarship of teaching
and learning.
Appendix A
Survey Questions
Please read the instructions for the
assignments in this class before you take the
survey. It will be helpful to have them open
in another window while you answer the
following questions.
What do you like and what do you
dislike about the way the instructions
are written?
How clear are the instructions for the
assignments in this class? If you
don’t think they are clearly written,
how could they be improved?
How does the purpose section help
you understand the real-world
relevance of the assignments? If you
don’t think the purpose section helps
you understand the real-world
relevance of the assignments, what
suggestions do you have for
improving that section?
How did the tips or resources/help
section of the assignments help you
complete the assignments? If they
weren’t helpful, what suggestions do
you have for improving that section?
This is an asynchronous online class,
and you do not have access to your
instructor in real time. How did the
instructions help you to successfully
complete assignments without
immediate access to instructor
assistance? If you did not find the
instructions helpful for completing
assignments in the online
environment, what suggestions do
you have for improvement?
WENGIER & DUBUISSON
117
Appendix B
Guidelines for IDS Project
Purpose: For their second and final case
study this semester, we are discussing
healthy living and healthy eating. My
purpose is twofold:
Professionalization As I explained
in the introduction to the class, one of
my main goals for this class is your
professionalization. One objective for
the IDS project assignment is that
this will be a helpful exercise in
designing and conceiving a project
and seeing it through.
Real-World Problem-Solving My
second objective with this project is
to make you put together a product
that will benefit your community. We
saw when reading Repko at the
beginning of the semester that IDS is
meant to study a real-life problem
and propose solutions. I will ask that
you disseminate your project in your
communities and to MGA. This will
bridge the gap between theory and
practice.
Task: You will create a project that raises
awareness of the importance of healthy
living/healthy eating by focusing on a
specific problem.
Steps:
1. Choose your target audience: it can be
MGA students, your workplace, your church
community, a specific population. This is an
essential part of your project as this will
determine the format you pick.
2. Choose your topic: Do you want to talk
about the importance of exercise? Focus on
how to make time to cook healthy meals?
Discuss work-life balance? The importance
of educating children on how to eat healthy?
Help people make good choices when
shopping or eating out? Study the way
marketing influences their eating choices?
Understand the impact of dieting on people?
Propose a plan for your city to improve
parks, increase the number of bike paths and
sidewalks? Raise awareness of the
importance of sleep?
I want you to pick a topic that is of
interest to you and that you believe will
make the most impact on the community of
people you choose as your target audience.
3. Research your topic so that you can make
an informed product. You must have at least
2 scholarly sources (from different
disciplines) that inform the conception and
production of your project.
4. Choose the format that is the most
appropriate for your topic and your
community: a video, a website, a comic, a
social media campaign, a podcast, an
infographic, etc…Make sure that the format
is appropriate for your audience. For
instance, a social media campaign might be
appropriate for teenagers but not for
children. You cannot do an oral
presentation.
5. Complete your project. It must be
a finished product, i.e. if it's a website, it
must be functional; if it's a brochure, it must
fold correctly when printed, etc...
6. Write a reflection paper. [guidelines on
the next page]
WENGIER & DUBUISSON
118
Criteria:
The scope of your project is well
defined. Your topic is clear, your
target audience is clear, and the
format you picked suits the target
audience you chose.
The project must educate your target
audience on the importance of
healthy living/healthy eating.
Your research informs your finished
product.
Your project is polished, well thought
out, well researched, creative, and
appealing.
Your 2-3-page paper reflects on your
conception of the project, why you
chose it, and your personal
assessment of your final project –
what are its strengths? what could
you have done differently? What did
you learn from the process?
Tools & Help: Do you need help crafting a
good research question to guide your
project?
Re-read carefully Repko’s chapter
10, specifically pages 251-266.
Contact me!
Read
this: https://sites.evergreen.edu/media
works1516/wp-
content/uploads/sites/121/2016/03/Re
search.pdf
Watch
this: https://www.youtube.com/watch
?v=LWLYCYeCFak
Appendix C
Purpose Section from English
Composition 1 Narrative Essay
Assignment
The purpose of this assignment is to
demonstrate that you can successfully write a
narrative essay.
I start this class with a narrative essay
for a couple of reasons. Most students are
more comfortable writing about themselves
instead of jumping into the more complex
kind of argumentative writing right at the
beginning. The narrative is a good way to
practice using MLA formatting, following
directions, and writing an essay free of errors
before getting into more difficult
assignments. Also, narrative is an important
part of argumentation. People are often more
convinced by the "this happened to me" or "I
have personal experience with this" portions
of an argument than they are by facts and
statistics. Narrative is a strategy you will
employ in the argumentative essays you
write later in the semester, so practicing that
skill now is key.
You will likely be asked to write
narratives of some kind in your future job.
For example, annual self-evaluations are
narratives; they're the stories you tell about
your performance in a job and are key to
earning raises and promotions.
This assignment satisfies student
learning outcomes 3, 4, and 7 listed on your
syllabus.
WENGIER & DUBUISSON
119
Tips for Success Section from English
Composition 1 Discussion Assignments
Remember that the comment box
counts words to help you make sure
you are meeting the word count
requirement for your posts.
Consider posting on the discussion
board more than is required.
Students often feel more positive
about and have more fun in a class
when their level of engagement with
their fellow classmates is high.
Remember you will not be able to see
your classmates' posts to discussion
boards until you make one of your
own.
Do not wait until close to the
deadline for the discussion to make
your initial post; if most students do
that, completing the discussion
becomes very difficult as there are
few posts to which you can
respond. Waiting also makes their
discussions much less like actual
conversations.
