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Since so many of us are teaching online this fall (or hybrid), I thought I'd share some tips I have learned over the years from teaching both models in the humanities. Hopefully new teachers learn from my fails and seasoned teachers can chime in with their own tips. Here we go!
FOR HYBRID CLASSES:
I found that a flipped classroom worked best for me in that students did all the lower Bloom's stuff (recall basic facts, explain them, etc.) on their own online and then worked on the analysis, evaluate, and create in the classroom with me & in groups.
I found that a flipped classroom worked best for me in that students did all the lower Bloom's stuff (recall basic facts, explain them, etc.) on their own online and then worked on the analysis, evaluate, and create in the classroom with me & in groups.
I put content lectures, reading quizzes, & basic comprehension activities online. Sometimes I'd add upper Bloom's activities if it was something we talked about in person from a previous class. Mostly, I wanted to save the precious classroom time for guided discussions/projects.
The stuff I put online had to be easy for me to grade since I had to do it weekly and wanted to save time for grading big projects and papers. Therefore, I used auto-scoring reading quizzes, pass/fail grades for some activities, and rubrics for short essay answers and forums.
FOR ANY ONLINE CLASSES:
Learn from my fail. While we want to mimic a F2F classroom online, these are NOT THE SAME. Early on I made the mistake of having students answer all the same questions online that I would ask F2F. It ended up being 1000+ items a week to grade. It SUCKED.
Learn from my fail. While we want to mimic a F2F classroom online, these are NOT THE SAME. Early on I made the mistake of having students answer all the same questions online that I would ask F2F. It ended up being 1000+ items a week to grade. It SUCKED.
I now have one forum a week where students have to answer some writing prompts and respond to one another. Sometimes they can pick from a list of prompts. Other times they have no choice. I always provide a detailed rubric and give an example of a poor vs. solid reader response.
The idea is that I want to create assignments that hit multiple teaching points with the least amount of items to grade. By having multiple prompts for them to answer in one long post, I can grade them across several areas holistically in one fell swoop. RUBRICS ARE EVERYTHING.
Grades are feedback. I tell students this on the first day. Written comments only go on a few select things like papers and projects. In forums, I tend to only give brief feedback if points were lost (if it isn't something obvious), otherwise they can go look at the rubric.
For forums, sometimes I have an open response system where students can comment on anyone's posts. Other times I assign students to groups where they have to post on a select few. We use Moodle so I use the sum of ratings feature on the forums to grade.
The key to a successful forum is to be very clear with the expectations. I found that, despite my rubrics & detailed response examples, students still turned in minimal crap until I added a word count minimum. It doesn't ensure A+ responses, but it does encourage more substance.
(I always grade forum posts on content BTW not just a word count. It's a length goal I want them to hit but the robustness and accuracy of the discussions is what I am looking for.)
A word to the wise about assigning groups in an online format: Assign bigger groups than you would F2F. Students are much more likely not to show up and do the work online. This is why I will assign them to groups of 5 or 6 and tell them to respond to 3 of their groupmates.
I also have a plan B for groups with missing members. For instance, I will make all forum posts visible so students can respond to someone in another group if 3 of their 5 groupmates don't post for some reason (and yes, it has happened before!)
I also assign students to new groups each unit so the active students don't stay in a group with less active students all semester.
When it comes to the assigned reading, I have had very little luck with students actually doing the reading without some skin in the game, so I assign reading comprehension quizzes. I use the auto-scoring question banks from the textbook authors or I create my own.
My quizzes aren't designed to test them on the material but to force them through the reading. I use a large question bank and create quizzes that randomly pull from it. Students get three tries so each quiz is different and I take their highest grade.
When giving written feedback to student forums, if I use groups I will write a paragraph to the whole group about what their strengths and weaknesses were as a whole. This way they all get pats on the back and good writing advice, and I only have to do this a few times.
I've given both synchronous & asynchronous lectures. I limit both to 20 minutes tops. Students struggle with online lectures. The shorter the better. If I must go longer, I break it up into 10 to 15 minute chunks. I like the live Q&A that happens in synchronous settings.
At my school, synchronous classes are not mandatory, so I can get away with one short lecture session a week that I record and post for students who couldn't make it. They have to either attend the lecture or watch the recording.
I hold weekly office hours online, which amounts to my sitting in an open chat room on our course website. I'll turn on the notifications then bury it behind other open windows so I can grade or answer emails while waiting. I get a notice when someone pops into the chatroom.
I like the live lectures because it forces me to keep a work schedule at home when otherwise I might be doing work just whenever. This makes me get out of bed, put on a somewhat decent shirt, and do the professor thing. My new work outfit: business up top, yoga pants down below.
Starting next semester, I will keep the synchronous live lectures going, but I will be adding a listening quiz to it for those who did not attend live. This will add another layer of incentive to get to the live lectures, but it also ensures the recording gets watched later.
@TEDTalks and the OWL @LifeAtPurdue continue to be my trusted guest speakers. When teaching about world heritage sites, I like having students look at 360 videos on their cell phones. I plug in as many online teaching tools as I can.
In the words of one of my education professors:
As a teacher, you want to beg, borrow, and "steal" as much of your curriculum as possible.
In other words, if someone put a lot of time and effort into making a great educational resource, better to use it than reinvent the wheel.
As a teacher, you want to beg, borrow, and "steal" as much of your curriculum as possible.
In other words, if someone put a lot of time and effort into making a great educational resource, better to use it than reinvent the wheel.
Pro tip: Students succeed less online than in F2F classes, your grading online increases 10x, and your email will increase at least 4x. Really think through what you assign. A 5 minute idea can become 25 hours of grading hell.
I have found that students today expect professors to be online 24/7. It is absolutely CRITICAL that you manage these expectations early and often. Twice this semester students have gone over my head because I didn't email them back within 12 hours ON THE WEEKEND.
I talk about what are considered "normal" email, phone call, and grading turnaround times. I reserve the right to take off evenings and weekends. I now have an away message set for this to protect my "home" time.
I use a Google number as my office number. This protects my private life, and I can also set it so that it goes straight to voicemail when I'm not "at work." Same goes with texts (which students prefer). Google voice is great for this as well!
I use the Remind app. I make it optional, but I will frontload the app with all the important due date reminders, and it will send texts to the students all semester long reminding them of what's coming up. I also send out a monthly plug for our Writing/Tutoring center.
You will get a crapton of labor-intensive asks like tracking down assignment links for them or reposting grading scales. I redirect them to the syllabus, assigned folder, college directory, etc. They have to learn these online skills themselves!
I am also more blunt in my emails. I get it now. The less I say, the more I can answer. I have tossed old writing conventions aside and will respond with a quick yes or no; formal niceties and salutations sometimes have to take a back seat to efficiency.
ALWAYS know how to check student logs. Many a "dropbox malfunction" can be solved by looking where and when students started and posted assignments. Take screenshots. DOCUMENT EVERYTHING. In a way, online teaching makes things much easier.
Also, please remember that many students actually do struggle with internet access. It used to be that mostly students who have reliable access online signed up for online courses, & with C19 this is not the case anymore. Have plans in place for students who struggle connecting.
If I think of any more tips I will let you know. Please let me know what you have been doing that has worked in your classes online! I'm always up for new ideas! Good luck with the fall semester, everyone. We are going to need it.
Oh...I thought of another tip: Try to do a one-on-one conference with each student in the first quarter of the semester. I do conferences on their first paper. It is a hellish week but it makes a human connection & the class more personal. You become a human, not grading machine.
