Compassionate Pedagogy Has Rules, Right?

Pivot Point: Which Delivery Method Meets Your Need

Most of us are either waiting to hear from our institution that we are to take our teaching online, or have gotten that message to get to it.  Many are also getting information on how to make that happen, with links and instructional videos, and directions and ......... so much to take in as we also respond to communication from anxious students. We are officially at the pivot point. 

Just like the basketball player pivoting back and forth on one foot to protect the ball, you are now asked to do the same to ensure your students meet their learning outcomes.  You are the the learning expert and you now need to decide which way you will do that.  

Transition Time Tip: You are not designing an online class.  You are taking a face to face class online.  You are pivoting to get the job done during an emergency.  

To Go Live or Not To Go Live

How many weeks or sessions of material do you have to cover?  Most likely, you have anywhere from 4-6 weeks of materials, am I right? You most definitely have lesson plans documented somewhere  - even if it is in  your head because you are such an outstanding expert in your field! So most likely you are thinking that you can record what you were going to share in class and plop it into your LMS.  On the other hand, you may believe that you absolutely must see your students each week at a minimum and lecture. And there is your fork in the road: Do I hold live sessions or do I post materials and have students work through the content? 

This post will focus on putting your content online, creating deadlines and opportunities for interactions without live meeting sessions.  

Translation: The Asynchronous Online Classroom

Your Asynchronous Classroom

I've recently came across this important point that I want to share with you: "What you do not need is to recreate the face to face classroom experiences online during this time."  One quick example to clarify: In my classroom students are learning how to write clinical case reports.  In the face to face classroom they would review a case study, work in teams to develop the clinical report, teams share their results with the class, and the class would discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each clinical report.  I'd go to the white board and list those in columns. I'd share my write up of the clinical case report for review and their feedback. 

What do I need them to do? Learn how to write clinical case reports. 

Does that need to happen in teams? NO  

Do I need to write on the white board and make charts? NO

Do they need to share their work, provide feedback to each other or get feedback from me? YES

Do they need to see a correctly completed report ? YES

See how I did that? There you have your simple content delivery assessment tool. 

Content Delivery Tools

Once you've used the content delivery assessment tool for your class session(s), you can determine how to use some parts of your LMS to help student reach the learning outcomes you have for them. 

Discussion Boards

In the clinical case report example, we could post the case study on a discussion board.  We would ask the students to read the case study, and write the clinical report.  We would include a list of components that are included in the report and ask students to post their report.  We could even ask them to share what seemed easy to do and areas they found difficult. 

We then would ask them to provide feedback to two of their classmate's reports, outlining strengths and areas of improvement. 

Finally, after the discussion is complete, you would provide them with the correctly completed report in an announcement in your LMS system. 

Suggested Learning Activities Using Discussion Boards

• Discussion Board For Student Questions 
• Reading Response Questions 
• Pro and Con Debate 
• Weekly Summaries: What have you learned?

Lectures & Videos

These are a life saver in this situation we find ourselves in. These can be uploaded to your LMS and are often quite easy to do.   Do inquire as to the type of videos you can upload to your LMS.  Can you create videos on your phone and upload them? Do you need to use a specific video or conferencing platform in order to create your videos? 

Coaching Moment 1:  If you often lecture for one hour of a three hour class session - find a way chunk these into mini lectures that focus on chunks of information.  None of us like to sit and watch a 1 hour video at our desk.  I recommend 5-15 minute lectures. Remember that your students may also be watching these on a smartphone. Who wants to hold their phone for an hour at at time? 

Coaching Moment 2: If you have multiple sections of a class you can use your videos in multiple sections. 

Coaching Moment 3: Open Access Videos: You know of Khan Academy its wonderful content.  Open access videos can allow you to mix things up so you are not the "sage on the video stage" but the leader of the learning community, bringing great content to your students. YouTube, PBS Video, Math TV, Ted Talks, and your school or university library video databases all offer great content area options. 

Housekeeping in Your Online Classroom

• Address Assignments Submission and Due Dates: How will student submit assignments to you? Will you have them email them to you or use the LMS system? If you're using the LMS, head over to the assignment section and fill in the required data pulled from your course syllabus. 

• If you haven't already, load any readings or handouts that students need that they don't currently have access to. 

• Review how to use the Announcement tool in your LMS.  Remember you're going to be doing a lot of communication with your students and this is one tool you'll really want to know how to use. 
• Determine if, when and how you will have office hours.  When can students definitely count on you to be available for their needs?

Next: Another Option? Or Not? Preparing for Synchronous Sessions 

Resources & References

10 Tips for First Time Online Faculty

So You Want to Temporarily Teach Online