Teaching Presence

Teaching Presence is the design, facilitation, and direction of cognitive and social processes for the purpose of realizing personally meaningful and educationally worthwhile learning outcomes (Anderson, Rourke, Garrison, & Archer, 2001).

Teaching presence begins before the course commences as the instructor, acting as instructional designer, plans and prepares the course of studies. It continues during the course, as the instructor facilitates the discourse and provides direct instruction when required (Anderson, et al, 2001).

You develop your teaching presence in three main ways:

1. In the planning of your course, where you decide how your course works in terms of activities, assessment, and communication strategies.
2. In the delivery of your course when your course is in session, and can be expressed and enhanced when you facilitate discourse through asynchronous and synchronous means.
3. In the delivery of your course when you directly teach, both in the synchronous spaces, as well as through pre-developed presentations, assessing student work, and providing instructive feedback, clarifying concepts, and referring students to additional resources or practice opportunities.

A strong online teaching presence makes for a strong online learning experience and a sense of community for your students.