The question and answer pairs alternate asking and answering questions on the assigned reading. This allows me to give feedback to all of the students. Progress checks are similar to quizzes, but not graded. Students individually complete the progress check and compare the answers with a partner. Then, they retake the progress check in groups to broaden the discussion of each question.
Phone lines are open to permit and encourage open communication.
Intermittent Pair Discussion. During my first few distance education classes, when I attempted to solicit students' participation through questioning the whole class, only students physically present in the on-campus classroom responded. Later, a very small minority of the students at one of the distant sites tended to dominate. I needed a way to get more students to participate. Retroactive interference occurs when the information processed toward the end of the lecture interferes with the retention of the information processed at the beginning of the lecture.