Distance Education
Regular & Substantive Interaction (RSI)
AP 4105: RSI means frequent, proactive, academically meaningful engagement initiated by the instructor and documented in Canvas for all fully or partially online classes.
What is RSI?
- Regular: Predictable, prompt, proactive, weekly, and clearly communicated in syllabus/policies.
- Substantive: Academic in nature and tied to outcomes (instructor-created content, facilitated discussions, targeted guidance, rubric-based feedback).
- Interaction: Faculty-to-student and, when in the COR/DE addendum, student-to-student.
Instructor-Initiated Contact
- Announcements: Weekly summaries, goals, short videos, answers to common questions.
- Individual Outreach: Email/phone check-ins and nudges tied to progress.
- Lead Discussions: Follow-ups, curated examples, summaries, connections to objectives.
- Small Groups: Roles, checkpoints, deadlines with instructor coaching.
- Feedback on Work: Timely, actionable comments (written/audio/video) plus rubrics and next steps.
- Instructional Materials: Instructor-prepared overviews, slides, mini-lectures (not publisher-only).
- Facilitate Student-to-Student: Peer review, collaborative annotation, structured interactions.
2 + 2: Use two different interaction types at least twice per week.
Student-Initiated Contact
- Asynchronous Messages: Respond within your published timeframe (often 24–72 hours, excluding holidays).
- Discussion Follow-ups: Reply within stated windows; public answers help the whole class.
- Synchronous Office Hours: Predictable times (Zoom/chat/phone) for personalized support.
Reminder: Prompt replies matter, but RSI also requires instructor-initiated interaction weekly.
Frequency of Regular Contact
- Virtual equivalence: Match on-campus contact frequency, distributed across the week.
- Blend discussions, announcements, feedback, and synchronous/asynchronous touchpoints.
- Publish your RSI plan (initiation cadence, feedback timelines, office hours) in syllabus and Canvas Home Page.
- Absences: If away 3+ days (excluding holidays), post an announcement with when contact resumes; inform leadership for longer absences.
- Substantive vs. procedural: Reminders/grade posts are not substantive without personalized guidance.
Sample Types of Contact
- Interactive Tools: Discussions, collaborative docs/wikis, chats, social annotation with active instructor presence.
- Email/Messages: Keep essential interactions within Canvas to document RSI (Title 5 §55204).
- Announcements: Weekly goals, clarifications, study tips.
- Feedback: Timely, rubric-aligned SpeedGrader comments with next steps.
- Lectures & Materials: Instructor-prepared videos, slides, overviews, curated OER.
- Instructor Videos: Short, targeted clips to humanize and focus learning.
- Additional Options: Orientation/review sessions, study groups, virtual field trips, library workshops.
Leveraging Canvas Tools
- Announcements — Summaries, tips, real-world connections.
- Message Students Who — Targeted kudos/support via Gradebook.
- Inbox — Individualized messages using preferred names and specific progress.
- SpeedGrader — Rubric criteria + personalized comments and revision guidance.
- Discussions — Summarize, redirect, extend, and model quality posts.
- Office Hours — Weekly drop-ins using your preferred modality.
RSI Weekly Recipe (Example)
- Monday: Weekly announcement (overview, outcomes, exemplars).
- Wednesday: Instructor discussion summary + extension prompt.
- Thu/Fri: SpeedGrader feedback with rubric criteria + next steps.
- Ongoing: “Message Students Who” for kudos/support + one hour office hours
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