Chapter 7: Engagement and Critical and Ethical Thinking—Effective Online Teaching with Large Online Student Cohorts: Anti-Racist Pedagogy and First Nations Studies

Large online cohorts can have minimally engaged students who feel unengaged and isolated. This chapter indicates how the large online environment can be a very effective and rewarding teaching context. It provides proven strategies and techniques to foster student engagement and to promote deep critical and ethical thinking. The chapter identifies four critical periods; these are (a) Preparation (the most important); (b) Engagement and Week 3; (c) Assessment & Feedback; and (d) Final 2 Weeks & Improving Evaluations. The context is a discipline noted for student resistance—a mandatory 12-week unit in First Nations’ Studies where 85% or more of students are non-Indigenous. The strategies and insights described have been acquired and refined over 10 years of tertiary teaching, brought into large scale online teaching contexts and received university awards. The chapter enables those new to large scale online teaching as well as skilled practitioners to extend their pedagogical efficacy.