My course requires students to learn and apply retail math. To avoid “Online Course Design Pitfall #4: Expect your students to consume knowledge rather than create it,” I plan to incorporate both content delivery and application activities (with “help” as needed) within each module. I also plan to incorporate a final activity that students would complete to synthesize what students learn within each module.
For example, in my current lecture format class, I spend two lectures reviewing concepts and math involved in profit and loss statements (Gross Sales, Net Sales, Cost of Goods Sold, Gross Margin, Indirect Operating Expenses, Direct Operating Expenses, and Net Profit/Loss). Rather than “lecture” on the concepts and how to do the math, the hybrid online component will incorporate a series of five mini-modules. Each mini-module will include content delivery [overview of the concept(s) and instructions regarding how to do the math] and practice problems that students will complete after receiving no more than five minutes of instruction. Students who struggle with a practice problem can click on a link that will take them to the solution key for that specific practice problem. After students have completed the mini-modules and practice problems, they will then be directed to a website that provides them with access to companies’ financial statements. Students will access the financial statements of a few companies they are interested in and enter the information from the financial statements into a skeletal profit and loss statement (using Excel). They will bring these skeletal profit and loss statements to class (physical classroom) to with classmates while during an in-class activity.
