What contributes to “successful” teaching in any venue?

According to Shanti Kerr in Tips, Tools and Techniques for Teaching in the Online High School Classroom, “The successful online course is a result of teachers and students maximally utilizing the tools afforded to them. ” I would argue that this point is equally as important in a traditional classroom and does in all instances lead to successful teaching.  In addition to utilizing resources, Kerr also summarized some “best practices” which I believe, apply in any teaching venue. Some key points include using a variety of resources, providing timely and thorough feedback, giving students a choice of medium to demonstrate proficiency, allowing students to  self-assess their learning, providing rubrics, modeling and providing examples, and creating an authentic learning environment.  I would consider all these tips beneficial to any and every learning environment, demonstrating the many similarities between F2F and online learning. This is simply good teaching!

KLC