What is Rigor?

“Academic rigor in higher education is widely acknowledged as an essential element of quality instruction. Yet, it is rarely defined, much less systematically implemented” (Straighterline).

When asked to describe or define rigor, students and Instructors often have differing responses that might address workload, challenges in the learning environment, critical thinking, or grade distribution. For example, students often describe a more rigorous class as one that would have more homework or harder tests, while Instructors have described rigor in relation to course content difficulty and grade distribution.

Research into rigor in Distance Education proposes the following descriptions of rigor:

“Rigor is a balance between course challenge, learning support, and design” (Straighterline)
“We define rigor as being present in a course when students are expected to apply their knowledge to multiple realistic contexts, monitor their own work and independently make accurate judgements on their strengths and weaknesses, and meet appropriately high expectations for meaningful achievement of the learning outcomes.” (Wiley)
“Thoughtfully chosen, clearly laid out learning goals, targeted assessments of those goals, and learning activities designed for students to reach those goals, independent of student demographic or background” (CRLT)
encourage “students to prioritize knowledge construction and collaborative intellectual engagement through small discussion groups,” emphasize “the importance of critical thinking and deep processing of information as opposed to rote memorization of facts,” and create “assignments that asked students to connect course content to their current experiences in the pandemic, increasing their sense of relevance and ownership of their education.” (Liou & Rojas)
" As we raise the stakes for rigor in a distance learning environment, we must understand the pressures teachers will be under and help to avoid traps that include more homework, more content, and more static resources. Instead, we must support their efforts through professional development, time and coaching to provide quality lesson design, teaching and learning, that assures quality not just quantity.” (CCEE)

Important Taken together, rigor in the online environment could be defined as: Quality online course design with intentional support for student success.

RIGOR THROUGH QUALITY ONLINE COURSE DESIGN

The California Community College system has adopted the CVC Course Design Rubric as the guidance for designing and facilitating a quality online class. The CVC Rubric helps faculty design a rigorous course through effective course design and the inclusion of purposeful student learning support.

Content Presentation

- Consistent clearly stated and aligned learning objectives

- Course is easy to navigate

- Course content has been chunked and sequenced to support learning

- Canvas is used correctly and effectively

- Multimedia is used to support and facilitate learning

- Clear instructions are used throughout

- Individualized learning opportunities support all levels of learners

- Student feedback is intentional and continual

- Course and institutional policies are included and infused into the course.

- Student support services and technology support are included and infused into the course.

Interaction

- Continuous interaction is an intentional and purposeful part of the course.

- Faculty communicate with students before the course begins.

- The course includes various methods to connect the instructor to the students and connect them to students, both formally and informally.

- Students are very clear on what it means to participate in the course interactions, such as using a rubric for discussion participation.

Assessment

- Students frequently demonstrate their learning in a variety of authentic ways that align to the learning objectives.

- The course includes clear grading practices and policies.

- Rubrics and “models of good work” are provided to ensure clarity in expectations.

- Clear instructions are included for all assessments.

- Helpful feedback is provided to students and students know how to access the feedback.

- Metacognitive activities are included to allow students to reflect on their learning through self-assessment.

Accessibility

- The course is purposefully designed to allow all students to participate and thrive regardless of varying abilities.

- All Canvas pages and all documents added to the course use basic accessible design practices, such as: Appropriate Headings, properly formatted lists, descriptive links, purposeful tables with headers, careful use of color, alt text on images, and captions on video/audio.

- The faculty member has used the accessibility checkers available in Canvas and other technology tools to help identify and improve the accessibility of all digital media.