Busting Myths in
Online Education
Faculty Examples from the Field
With
Dr. Katherine Guevara, Associate Director of Clinical & Translational Research
Education Programs, SC CTSI Workforce Development at USC
Layla Fattah, Director of Program Development & Evaluation, Mount Sinai Icahn
School of Medicine
Dr. Anamara Ritt-Olson, Clinical Assistant Professor in Preventive Medicine, USC
Keck School of Medicine

Warm Up
Which myths did you hold or
hear going into online teaching?

Objectives
Describe common myths about
online teaching
Identify specific ways online
pedagogy can be used
effectively for in-person
teaching
Plan updates to teaching
focused on empathy and social
interaction

Myth 1 Case Studies
We can transfer our in-person course design to online
• Richard Mayer: Content Creation for Effective Learning
• Lesley Litman: Faculty as Students of Online Pedagogy

Myth 1 Reflection
Realizations Transfer
What have you or your institution
learned about teaching you didn't
realize before being online?
What's a specific way online
pedagogy that's worked can
effectively be used as we transition
back in-person?

Myth 2 Case Studies
Adult learners do not need an empathetic approach
• Pai-Ling Yin: Recognizing the Student Struggle & Checking In
• Anamara Ritt-Olson: Toward a More Compassionate Approach

Reeve, 2012

How is it
done?
• Fostering autonomy: choice to learners, a range of topics
or types of projects that students can do.
• Fostering competence: clear expectations and well-
worded materials.
• I try to ask about the muddiest point at the end of
lectures and when reviewing assignments. Utilizing
assessment rubrics and fair grading practices also
help and can easily be done both online and in
person.
• Relatedness: authentic ways to acknowledge the learners
in your class and build community.
• These connections can include providing guidance
on engagement with course content.
• Opportunities for feedback
• Timely, specific, clear, and consistent feedback.
• Accessibility and responsiveness during interactions
with instructors and peers.
• Using technology to facilitate interaction.

Myth 2 Reflection
Empathy Balance
How has your capacity for empathy
changed since teaching online?
What should the balance be as we
transition back in-person?

Myth 3 Case Studies
Online teaching and learning is socially isolating
• Samira Farouk: Using Social Media to Expand Social Networks
• Rebecca O’Rourke: Keeping in Touch as Real People

Myth 3 Reflection
Connection Dynamics
How have you incorporated social
connection online?
How are social dynamics changing or
not as we transition back to in-person
teaching?

Closing
What updates are you planning
as you transition back to in-
person teaching?

Review of Objectives
Describe common myths about
online teaching
Identify specific ways online
pedagogy can effectively be
used for in-person teaching
Plan updates to teaching
focused on empathy and social
interaction

Thank You!
SC CTSI | www.sc-ctsi.org Phone: (323) 442-4032 Email: info@sc-ctsi.org Twitter: @SoCalCTSI
Cite us: This work was supported by grants UL1TR001855 and UL1TR000130 from the National Center for Advancing
Translational Science (NCATS) of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors
and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
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