Category: Teaching & Learning

Posted on

Reflection And Change

Tips for Faculty: Reflection and time to consider change

The pandemic resulted in a dramatic shift in instruction and learning models for college faculty. What began as temporary measures in response to an emergency may end as a catalyst for the transformation of higher education. The end of the fall semester is an opportunity to review and reflect on what is and is not working as institutions continue to navigate uncertain times.

Most campuses will welcome students back for full-time, in-person learning this fall. As a result of continuing COVID outbreaks, many courses are still being offered as a mix of in-person and online learning. The seismic disruption to higher education has resulted in the largest adoption of technology ever, allowing faculty to reconsider how they teach and explore new ways to teach, mentor, and coach students.

For all the upheaval, this has been a time of experimentation. Institutions have had to shake up every process and policy to respond to the needs of faculty and students. It is time to fully embrace technology, particularly with routine tasks. Technology can support faculty in spending most of their time in direct engagement with students in person or online.

This break between semesters is a good opportunity to reflect on new practices that promise flexibility in how instructors teach and assess their students. Questions to consider include:

  • Are there frequent opportunities for students to collaborate and learn from one another?
  • Are feedback loops between students and faculty open and productive?
  • Is course content and pedagogy still relevant after all this change?
  • Have new practices to stimulate student engagement been implemented?
  • Are equity and student success embedded in new practices?
  • Has the focus shifted from instructor-led to student-centered learning?
  • Do students have agency in how they manage their own learning process?
  • Are courses and topics connecting to students’ personal and career goals?

Faculty should be encouraged to take time to review and reflect on how the last 14-16 months have changed their teaching practice.

-RG

Posted on

Top 5 List: Unique Study Habits

Top 5 List

A crucial part of the successful completion of any degree program is studying. And knowing this so many things still get in the way of a successful study session. Finding the right groove that works for each individual can be challenging. The study tips that are provided by advisers and counselors may just not do the trick. Yes, it helps to have a quiet space free of any distractions where the focus can be prioritized. But what else can be added to maximize the use of this time?

Here are a few study habits that may help to get studies back on track:

Video – one of the trending items in higher education today is the use of “study along” or “study with me” videos. These videos don’t exactly teach you how to study, these are videos that have been created by others showing themselves simply studying. These video creators might suggest some ambient noise or soft music in the background to help enhance the environment. These videos simply show others reading, taking notes, reviewing notecards, etc. Those that use these types of videos report that seeing others in the act of studying find that studying becomes contagious and helps them make the best use of their time.

Sing – at one time or another we’ve all had a song get stuck in her head and simply can’t get rid of it. Take the same idea and put it into use during your next study session. You can make up a few lyrics or a simple jingle about the fact you want to remember or even the key points that could help you on a test. This could be a lifesaver when you need it the most. Turn to your favorite track or a familiar melody to help you memorize different skills it’ll be much easier than you might imagine. Have some fun with it!

Music – many students report that simply listening to some type of study music and letting that same music play why they sleep has helped them improve their academic performance. Try some new style of music. Perhaps some ambient noise or simply some instrumental music that you may not normally listen to.

Rewards – consider rewarding yourself after a study session. Just like a high-performing athlete may have one cheat day where they can enjoy a slice of pizza. Perhaps as a hard-working student, you can set aside your favorite dessert when the studying is done. This can even be a small reward if you enjoy a favorite candy, reward yourself with a piece after reading a few pages in that textbook required for your class. If creating notecards is part of your process for studying, consider setting aside a handful of your favorite snacks once you’re done.

Accessorize – creating a Study area includes more than just setting the mood that applies to your desk arrangement or the lighting. This can apply to your study implements. Perhaps having a special set of pens, notebooks, planners, and stationery will help you visualize success and will support your study sessions. Setting up your surroundings including accessories can go a long way towards putting you in the right state of mind to begin your successful study session.

-RG

Posted on

Effective Communication Strategies For Students

Faculty often tell me…when students reach out they often express their concerns about their courses, they confess their shortcomings as students and writers, and they ask for some advice. The conversation might look like this:

Student: “What’s the one thing I can do to increase my chances of doing well?”

Faculty: “Simple, keep the lines of communication open.”

The most successful students are the ones who aren’t afraid to reach out to the faculty members with questions, concerns, and comments. As a student, if you’re not used to communicating with your instructors, here are some helpful tips to help you get the most out of each interaction:

Reach Out Early – Most universities and colleges require their instructors to respond to student inquiries within 24 – 48 hours. So, if you have a paper due by 11:59 PM on Sunday, you don’t want to wait until 11:00 PM to email your instructor. Look over the assignments in the beginning of the week and send questions as soon as they arise!

Avoid Vague Comments and Questions – If you ask vague questions, you’ll get vague answers. If you ask clear and specific questions, then you’ll get clear and specific responses.

Be Prepared Every now and then, faculty members get a student who will send an email like this: “I’m confused by the assignment. Explain it to me, please.” Most faculty provide assignments with detailed instructions and rubrics. So, faculty members are not willing to simply rewrite the instructions. However, they ARE willing to respond to a specific question with a specific direction or a specific piece of language from the rubric.

Use the Appropriate Communication Channels – Be sure you’re using your instructor’s preferred method of communication. If he/she encourages you to call, then call – just be respectful, and don’t call in the middle of the night! If he/she asks you to communicate via school email, do so. If you don’t use the proper communication channels, you may stall the conversation.

Be Patient – Online courses are available 24/7. Online instructors are not. If the school promises a 24-hour response time, then be sure you give your instructor a full 24 hours before firing another email.

Be Nice – Professors are people. They don’t like to be yelled at. They don’t like to be called names. They are more willing to work with people who are kind to them. So, be professional and be kind.

Bottom line: Don’t be afraid to reach out to your instructors. Good communication can make the difference between an okay learning experience and a great one.

-RG

Posted on

Ask questions – if you want success in an online class

It happens before the beginning of every session. I will receive an email from an eager student who wants to know how to complete their first assignment. As always, I direct the student to the assignment requirements and the rubric. And I am always reminded, this is the student who will be my rock-star for the class. This is the student that asks questions…weekly and sometimes daily.

I see students from a variety of academic backgrounds, the students have a broad range of interests, goals and skills. However, the one thing that stands out to me time and time again is that my most successful students have one very important thing in common: they aren’t afraid to ask questions. 

So here’s the question: why is it so important to ask questions in an online class?

Gain clarity – most students struggle in online courses because they don’t understand the expectations or the requirements of any given assignment. As a student, if you don’t understand what’s expected of you…you can’t succeed. This is why it is important to ask questions to gain clarity.

Enhance understanding of the material – many online courses require the students to read a significant amount of material in a short amount of time. Asking the instructor some thoughtful questions is a great way to develop a more thorough understanding of the material.

Take ownership of the learning experience – online instructors try to meet the unique needs of all of their students. However they can’t provide students with the support that they require. As a student if you need an example or need more resources ask for those things. As a student you’ll be pleasantly surprised how willing instructors are to assist.

Show your instructors that you care – students are hesitant to ask questions because they’re afraid to admit they don’t understand the material. They don’t want the instructors to think they’re stupid. Asking a question can make yourself appear vulnerable, that’s understandable. However, instructors see your willingness to be vulnerable as a sign of your commitment to the course. Ask your questions to show you care about the course.

Ineffective vs. effective – not all questions are created equal. We’ve all heard that there’s no such thing as a stupid question, but there are questions that are ineffective, these questions will lead to less engaged responses. When you do decide to pose a question, make sure it’s one that will get you results!

For example, avoid sending your instructor a late-night email that looks like this: “HELP! I don’t understand the assignment. What am I supposed to do?” That kind of email requires a lot of follow-up questions by the instructor. Instead, identify specific points of concern and ask about those. If you do, you’re likely to get a more engaged response.

Don’t ever be afraid to be that student, that does ask questions. Be the student who asks questions, sends emails, contributes daily….and enjoys a successful academic career!

-RG

Posted on

Check-In With Students

There are many benefits to deploying a check-in exercise with students during the semester. Soliciting input from students can influence the students view as it relates to their roles as members of the learning community. This type of targeted feedback can also be valuable for both students and instructors about the learning and teaching that is taking place.

What do you want to learn about?

Faculty should ask themselves what they want to learn more about. When creating the questions to assess students, consider the different areas about the type of information that you hope to gather. It might be helpful to revisit the course outcomes and the strategies that were implemented to determine what input from students would be the most helpful.

Also consider questions that encourage students to be specific and self-reflective. Some examples include:

  • What is working well for you in this class? 
  • What are you struggling with? 
  • What is helping you learn? What is not working? 
  • What could the instructor change to improve your learning experience in this class? 
  • What could you do differently to improve your learning experience in this class?

Faculty might also consider a series of Likert scale questions

(1-5 with 5 = Strongly Agree and 1 = Strongly Disagree):

  • I am engaged in class
  • I learn the most from the lectures
  • I learn the most from the textbook
  • I am worried about my performance in this class
  • Technology has made this class challenging
  • I understand what I need to do well in the class

This type of information can be collected in a number of ways. For example, a quiz created in the LMS or a survey tool like Qualtrics or Google forms.

Share the responses

An important part of this process is to share the findings with the students in class. When results are reported back to students, this signals that their ideas have been considered and emphasizes that their time and thoughtful feedback is appreciated. Faculty value the students’ time and place an elevated level of importance on this exercise.

Look for the positive things that students have shared. It is important to know what is working well. Then move on to the areas of improvement. 

As the feedback is being reviewed, attempt to sort the feedback into different categories. Are there common themes or overlapping comments being made? Identifying patterns can help efficiently make improvements. 

Let the students know that you’ve read the feedback, what you learned and that what you will be adjusting based on their input. Thank students for their comments and invite them for ongoing participation in helping to improve the course. Consider providing an overall summary of common ideas and areas where you’ve identified conflict between student perspectives. Ensure that you’ve provided a brief account of which of their comments are most common as you act upon them and also inform them that updates will be made to the next iteration of the course.

Of course there is no perfect time to deploy a check-in exercise. Many faculty have shared that a midway point of the courses is a good time to do something like this. Other faculty have shared that they do this 2 to 3 times throughout the course depending on a variety of factors.

-RG

Posted on

Help Wanted

Once you have set aside the time and have the energy to dig in and create or improve your online course(s)…don’t do it alone. Ask for help. Take advantage of the many resources and support teams within your institution. If need be, look for help from others that may be outside of your institution. Here are a few ideas to consider:

Mentor – Look for an individual who has some experience teaching online. This doesn’t need to be a formal mentor relationship, just someone who’s been down that path already who can share some words of wisdom. Teaching online courses is a skill that is unique from teaching classes in person. Take your time and find someone who is comfortable teaching online and learn from their experience. Be selective and look for someone who is thriving and willing to share not only their successes but some of their failures.

Colleagues – Remember you’re not the only one trying to create an excellent experience for your students. Look to your colleagues who are also trying to be excellent online teachers. A great way to discover new strategies and ideas is to interact with those who are also wrestling with the same teaching issues. If you have regular meetings with your colleagues you might consider adding a brief 5 to 10 minutes Block of time to simply share a tip or strategy related to online teaching. Another strategy that many faculty find useful is the idea of a shared reading experience or a book club. Other faculty have pursued workshops, faculty showcases, and conferences to learn more about what other faculty are doing within online education. The bottom line here is to commit to learning and learning and other faculty members.

Instructional Designer – While you are the expert in your field you might consider seeking help from an instructional designer or a learning designer. Individuals that work in these roles are experts in effective online teaching and learning. This relationship could consist of a conversation over a cup of coffee, a 15-minute conversation to brainstorm new ideas or a longer meeting(s) that include a complete course design or redesign. Designers can significantly improve your experience and enjoyment with online teaching. Your students will be glad that you invested the time and energy.
Teaching online for the first time may feel overwhelming. Start with the basics and take your time. Once you have that first course completed it’s time to improve. Start with small things to improve upon… pick just one thing. When you’ve completed that first thing, simply move on to the next. Experienced online faculty will tell you that your course is never perfect.

Take your time and commit to constant revisions. Seek new and better ideas…always!

-RG

Posted on

Myth Buster

There are many online teachers that are dedicated to the modality and have figured out some great strategies and best practices. However, there are a few myths about online teaching and learning that still exist. Here are a few:

**Teaching online is not an enjoyable experience

Many teachers in higher education don’t see online teaching as a rewarding experience. In fact, many teachers report that teaching in-person is a much more rewarding and enjoyable experience. Perhaps this is because teachers that have made the switch to on-line teaching find they are doing much more administrative work than expected. If teachers simply log on, grade student work, review discussion posts, and manage other basic functions it may seem that this modality is not going to be enjoyable.

Teaching online courses can be very rewarding. From my own experience and experience of some of my closest colleagues, I would say that a majority of the online students are not only working but are also caring for children or other members of their families. These students take online classes because it’s the only way for them to pursue higher education. Many online teachers report getting a closer glimpse into the personal lives of their students, those experiences, and those challenges that the students choose to overcome when taking online classes. An experienced colleague of mine recently told me that the opportunities provided by a classroom without walls and across great distances are how they find joy in teaching online.

**Teaching online classes doesn’t work

In 2017, EDUCAUSE conducted a survey on faculty and information technology and discovered that approximately one-half of these faculty didn’t agree that online learning was effective. There is plenty of evidence that online courses can produce student learning outcomes that are comparable to those in-person courses. This evidence continues to roll in year after year. Just like any in-person class, the high-quality on-line versions will require excellent on-line teachers. It is the responsibility of the teachers and the designers with which they work to create a highly engaging and effective on-line classes.

**Students that take online classes are lazy

Some students that take on-line classes may put in a minimal amount of work, and just enough to get by with. Does this mean that lazy students are more likely to take an on-line class? Or have we as educators created an environment on-line that contributes to this type of student disengagement? Things to consider:

  • Are we offering these courses to a student population that is more likely to be working and raising a family?
  • Are we offering these courses to students who do not have the adequate equipment to be successful?
  • Are we asking faculty without experience in on-line education to lead these courses?
  • Are we presenting an unorganized and confusing course design that is less than appealing to the students?

Any one of these items can make on-line learning a challenge. A combination of two or more of these items can be a disaster.

Successful online learning requires a certain level of skill that some students simply do not possess. This means that on-line students must be able to manage their time well, motivate themselves, direct their own learning, and seek help when it is needed.

Successful online teaching requires that faculty make an extra effort to help those students persist. This takes awareness of the challenges of on-line education as well as careful thought, expert planning, empathy, and a high level of comfort with technology. 

**Online courses can run on auto-pilot

Some on-line teachers subscribe to the idea that on-line courses, once created, can simply be run by themselves and students can successfully meet the objectives. Maybe this is because online courses take such a tremendous effort to prepare before the very first day. In theory, all assignments, activities, discussion prompts, and the gradebook should be created in advance so that students can see everything from the first day. Unfortunately, some online teachers feel that students should be able to walk themselves through the on-line course without much engagement or guidance from the teacher.

On-line teachers should plan to guide their students through the course by being active and engaged weekly. Best practice includes blocking out time on the weekly calendar as if you’re attending the class in person. Be available, post announcements, reply to discussions, and grade students’ work on a regular basis. Just like an in-person course, teaching online requires continuous involvement from the teacher.

-RG

Posted on

Continue To Improve

Good teaching, like any other profession, requires continuous improvement in order to create the best experience for students and faculty. A small investment of time and energy will help faculty develop as a professional, regardless of the modality in which they teach. The smallest of efforts can lead to BIG impacts.

Teaching online is still a relatively new method of delivery when compared to teaching in person, here are a few things to consider to improve the experience:

  • Use a RSS feed or email to subscribe to articles related to teaching and learning
  • Seek out best practices be used by other faculty members – ask what others have done 
  • Read books and consider joining a book club that reviews effective strategies to be used with students
  • Enroll & participate in workshops that are offered by your institution or technology vendor
  • Get Help – ask for student volunteers to help run discussions, manage technology, and assist other students that may have questions

Pursue your own professional development as a commitment to yourself and student success. Sharing what you have learned with other faculty and your students will not only engage those involved, but will also energize you.

-RG

Posted on

Invite Students to a Pleasant Place – Your Online Class

Faculty are faced with a few hard questions about the online classes that they lead. If being honest, many would admit that they do not enjoy being online as much as the in-person environment. This might explain why less than 10 percent prefer to teach online exclusively.  Here are a few of those questions:

  • Do you enjoy being online?
  • Do you prefer interacting with students in an online environment?
  • Do you look forward to communicating with students online?

If you don’t enjoy working in an online learning environment, imagine what this might be like for some of the students.

Faculty that teach in-person do many things to help make students feel comfortable in the physical classroom. Smile, greet students, use eye contact, and answer questions. Even when the physical space may be less than attractive, there are many ways to make the space more welcoming and comfortable for all.

The same strategy can be applied to online learning environments. Making the effort to ensure an inviting, comfortable, and  pleasant online learning space will create a more favorable learning environment.

Students will be comfortable and enjoy being in your online class if you:

  • Use interactive tools for engagement such as media and visuals.
  •  Minimize the amount of text being used in general. Streamline course navigation and organization. Less is more.
  • Encourage participation and create a positive/optimistic experience that speaks to student success.
  • Show compassion and care for your students in both a private and public way.
  • Be respectful of the students’ time by being present, engaged, and punctual.

-RG

Posted on

Examples

Faculty that have taught an in-person course(s), have had the experience of students raising their hands when they don’t understand something. It is during these times that faculty rely on examples to help the students better understand the content. Faculty come up with examples from different areas of life. For example, their own personal experience, professional experience, or current events that are taking place. These examples help the students to better understand the information in a way that is meaningful to them. The examples used in online teaching are even more important to your students.

A variety of examples can also benefit students that are completing their courses online. A couple of suggestions are:

  • Locate existing videos that present topics from a different perspective.
  • Record a brief conversation with a guest speaker that allows students to hear from an expert in the field.
  • Create opportunities for students to explain/explore the content together. Students are more likely to develop explanations that make sense to their peers A good example of this is to create small semester-long study groups (or community of learning groups) that will allow the students to discuss course concepts along the way.

Faculty will need to find the right balance, when it comes to the numbers of examples provided. Whether the examples are presented in the form of videos, slide presentations, or additional readings faculty should make it clear what is required and what is optional material. There will be need to be careful so this isn’t received simply as “busy work”.

Showcasing the work of students that have taken the course previously is another way to help students better understand the content. Examples of work submitted by students in previous semesters can be done in a couple of different ways. Perhaps, the less complex projects can be shown in full, while the more complex projects can show examples of certain segments of the overall project.

-RG