The art of connection: Humanizing teaching and learning in online classes

This chapter showcases how the practices of two teacher educators in an asynchronous, online graduate-level summer course, Advanced Language Arts Methods, humanized the learning experiences of M. Ed Elementary Education majors to promote student success and retention. The chapter begins with a review of the literature and then leads into a description of the context of the students and the course content, practical design plans for online instruction, specific steps of course implementation, and reflection after course completion. The chapter delineates how purposeful planning to humanize the online learning environment can positively impact student performance. Finally, the chapter concludes with a discussion of the limitations of the practices and challenges faced, recommendations for educators and institutions, and the next steps for future practice of humanizing the online course.