By Lisa Lenoir and Eve Heffron
GSIG generated a list of insightful teaching approaches and resources from eight institutions that are useful for online learning. The institutions were randomly selected from organizations represented at the 2019 AEJMC conference and statements have been synthesized to offer relevant strategies. The full statements can be found at the hyperlinks embedded in each bullet point. These recommendations were initiated during the online transitions made during COVID-19 but are undoubtedly beneficial strategies for instructors in the pandemic’s aftermath. Note: NDSU’s resource was obtained from a public Facebook post and the information was collected through student surveys distributed by multiple departments. The complete guide can be found at the DropBox link in the bullet point.
University of Georgia
During times of high stress, students have a harder time focusing on their studies. Be considerate of making accommodations with your materials, such as media, documents, or broadcasts, by including alternative text, captions, or proper formatting. PowerPoint has an “accessibility checker” under the “File” tab. Replace scanned PDF images with an accessible copy from the library. Re-evaluate the attendance policies in the context of the disruption to your classes. Remember that all students may not have equal access to technology or other resources for the revised format of your classes.
North Dakota State University
Several colleges at North Dakota State University collected survey responses from students regarding what faculty could do to help ease some of the challenges they are experiencing during the transition to online learning. The top five suggestions include: 1. Email a “To-Do” List of Tasks — everything students need to do that week — on Mondays. 2. Remind students of the best way to contact you and when they can expect a response. 3. Acknowledge the fear, uncertainty, and stress that we are all experiencing right now. Share strategies that can help people cope with these feelings. 4. Offer flexibility where you can. 5. Delete or reduce one thing each week. For more insight on these strategies, go to the Dropbox. — Dr. Carrie Anne Platt
University of California-Davis
The University of California-Davis explains that it is important to be intentional with remote instruction. When students are asked to transition their learning from one course delivery format (face-to-face) to another (remote instruction), the cognitive load increases significantly. Students must learn or become proficient in using a learning management system and digital tools they may have limited experience with; they must learn the structures and processes a particular instructor has created to support remote learning; and they must learn the content of your course. This can be more cognitively demanding for students than face-to-face classes. Therefore, the more clearly and uniformly you structure your Canvas modules for your students, the more cognitive capacity they can devote to learning the course content. Thus, it is recommended that faculty adopt a uniform and simple design for each module.
University of Tennessee
If you’re new to online teaching, or if you’re teaching a large lecture-based class, you might be more comfortable pre-recording lectures rather than delivering live sessions. Rather than recording a full-length lecture in one sitting, consider splitting your class session into smaller chunks. This could make it easier for you to produce your recordings, and it also makes it easier for students to review specific sections of your lecture multiple times. Smaller “mini-lectures” are also good pedagogy. If you’re teaching a small seminar-style class, teaching online live using Zoom might be a good fit.
Michigan State University
Hybrid educational models may be a part of our future. No matter the format, it is important that students have opportunities to interact with each other, with their teacher, and with the course content. For some programs, such as those serving learners unable to attend school in physical classrooms for various reasons, the pandemic-initiated move to virtual learning could be a welcome and permanent improvement. Future learning environments may blend asynchronous online elements, where students can go at their own pace, on their own time, have some choice over their learning and are set to engage deeply and critically with course content combined with synchronous elements. There is positive interdependence in cooperative learning and continuous formative feedback. It is suggested to be most successful for student learning. — Dr. Christine Greenhow
University of Minnesota
A unique success of online instruction is randomized breakout rooms, which allow students to work in groups without forcing people to sit according to a seating chart. Students have been very engaged during group work. Putting students in random groups inevitably makes them pay closer attention to the lectures, and not just rely on their known neighbor to do the work for them. It is also a way for students to know more members of the class and expand their study support network. — Dr. David Orser
University of South Carolina
If you have experience with online teaching, reach out to your colleagues with help in embracing the world of digital instruction. Prof. Jason Porter developed a guide to “Streaming in a Hurry,” which created and shared videos that both showed and explained how to livestream within his university’s digital framework. His first piece of advice to colleagues was simple: You are not creating an online course in a week, he cautioned; you are simply making your regular classroom course accessible to digital users. — Prof. Jason Porter
University of Maryland
Keep it simple — don’t try anything new or complex if you don’t have to. Don’t try to be perfect — this is a significant challenge for everyone. Things will not go as planned. The technology may falter. Students may have access challenges. Things will happen. Do your best and that will be enough. Be honest, transparent and respectful — communicate with your students about the challenges. Let them know what you’re trying to do and ask for help, from them, from us, from your colleagues. If you’re teaching with a Pass/Fail option or continuing with letter grades, no matter what the decision is, focus on providing students with feedback on their performance so they can improve over time.
