“Pedagogical Principles and Practices for Asynchronous On-line Sociology Courses”

This paper will discuss some pedagogical principles and practices that can be employed in a particular type of distance learning that I refer to as asynchronous learning networks (ALNs). ALNs are courses offered exclusively on-line via the internet or a remote server in an asynchronous mode that involves no face-to-face interaction and no conventional classroom sessions. The pedagogical techniques described below were developed while participating in a Sloan Foundation supported distance learning project at the State University of New York at New Paltz (under the auspices of the SUNY Learning Network) and teaching a ALN sociology course titled "Social and Economic Development". Many of the ideas and strategies presented stem from conversations with, and the advice and comments of, teaching colleagues in the SUNY Learning Network and instructional developers at the Center for Learning and Technology at Empire State College.