Over the last two weeks, we held a series of workshops that encouraged faculty to respond to a series of reports on the student perspective of remote/online learning. The reports were from across our campuses and represented student perspectives from a range of faculties and years. The reports are:
- report to Senate on Remote Teaching
- compiled by Rayna Porter, from consultations at College Cabinet and TDSA Board of Directors meeting; delivered to Senate on October 20
- interviews with Online Learning Student Assistants
- conducted and compiled by Dana Capell, after interviewing 19 third- or fourth-year students providing support to first-year courses
- report from Peer Mentors
- compiled by Craig Cameron, after consulting with peer mentors and reflecting on interactions with Trent-Durham students
- meeting with Teaching and Learning Senate Subcommittee
- on November 5, CTL and Trent Online met with this senate subcommittee, consisting of five members from across the university, one undergraduate student and one graduate student
- Fall Engagement Survey
- preliminary data, compiled one week before the close of the survey; checked against final results
At the workshop, we discussed three trends that are consistent across all reports: dissatisfaction with fall-term workload, the challenges that come with the lack of in-person contact with faculty, and the disappointment with the lack of extra-curricular and social activities or in-person contact with other students. In all three cases, we carried out a two-part discussion: i) why these trends are occurring and ii) how we as instructors should respond, as we plan our Winter-term courses.
Below, please find an organized compilation of the interpretations and recommendations that occurred during the workshops. You’ll find an explanation of the issue, some general strategies that you might consider, and some resources that we’ve developed and identified to help with Winter-term courses.
As you navigate this page, please keep in mind three reminders. First, these reports represent students’ impressions of their experience at a particular moment in time, when they are (likely) grieving the loss of a kind of education that they recognize as normal. Their ideas might serve as guides; we should also be thoughtful about our interpretation of their ideas (sorting, for example, symptoms from sources).
Second, online/remote teaching is a skill that takes practice. A lot of us are still learning how to do it – and how to do it during a pandemic (which no one has done previously). And there were a lot that has gone well – and will continue to go well! But learning to do this kind of teaching takes a lot of thought and determination and openness. Our first drafts don’t always go exactly the way we want them too; but there are still a lot that we can carry forward, be proud of, and learn from.
Third, there might be a temptation to make wholesale changes to your teaching for the Winter. Try to fight that temptation. Keep what has been working for you and for your students. Take a look at the suggestions and resources that follow in this document as well as in “Suggestions for Improving a Remote Learning Experience”; think about your particular teaching situation; and choose one or two or three things to add or make different from your courses.
Of course, at the CTL we’re always ready to talk about your teaching – and whatever appears in this document. You’re welcome to reach out to me (joelbaetz@trentu.ca) or the CTL itself (teaching@trentu.ca). You can find our growing library resources on the CTL website. And as in the Fall term, the Remote Teaching Support Teams are available; reach out to them for one-on-one consultation about your courses (remoteteaching@trentu.ca).
This is a challenging time, for everyone: our students and our faculty. I admire the willingness with which you have leapt to this challenge, and shown care for your students’ learning. I am buoyed by your willingness to be surprised by these new ways of teaching.
With admiration and appreciation,
Joel Baetz
Director, Centre for Teaching and Learning
Issue: Workload
When asked about their remote learning workload for Fall Term, 94% of students responded to Trent’s Fall Engagement Survey that they were somewhat or very challenged by the amount of work expected of them. Many returning students reported that their workloads had increased since the previous year and that they had an increased number of smaller, weekly assessments. Another indicator that students may be finding their workload more difficult to manage this year is that the average course load per student is down this fall, with a higher than normal volume of dropped courses through October.
| Student Perspective | Instructional Strategy | Resources |
|---|---|---|
|
With all their courses online, students are having difficulty keeping track of deadlines, modes of delivery, and platforms. |
Be as consistent as possible in your course format and layout including consistent spaces within the course for students to access and complete work and consistent days/times for release of new materials.
At the start of each week or module, post a checklist/to-do list to help students self-monitor and to take the place of in-person reminders.
Consider sending a pre-course orientation email to students that outlines how to access course materials and assignments.
Encourage students to use Blackboard Calendar to help keep track of due dates. |
Use Trent’s Blackboard Template for Courses to create a clear and consistent format for Winter courses.
Take a look at sample checklists from various disciplines, or use/adapt the CTL’s checklist template.
Take a look at sample welcome emails from a variety of courses.
This short tutorial provides information about how instructors and students can effectively use Blackboard Calendar. |
| Students feel that too many small assessments are “busy work.” |
Make the assessments relevant to the course goals.
Explain an assessment’s relevance to the course goals (usually more than once – in a class, during an office hour, on Blackboard, on the assessment sheet).
Show students how smaller activities scaffold toward larger assignments or exams. |
The CTL’s Guidelines for Selecting and Designing Assessments for Remote Courses and Assessments for Remote Teaching: Definitions, Guidelines, Uses, and Limitations offer guidance on how to choose appropriate assessments for a variety of courses.
The CTL’s Planning a Remote Course: Checklist can be helpful in gaging whether assessments are linked to course goals. |
|
Students see some of the learning activities time-consuming and challenging. |
Assume students have eight hours per week to devote to a course. Plan backwards and make sure to budget time for application and review.
For every activity (whether a reading, a lecture, a discussion board post), plan for all the steps that students will need to do (such as taking notes, drafting a response, reading other responses, practicing an answer, managing the technology).
Communicate the approximate time students might spend on a particular activity, especially if that activity is unmarked.
Limit students’ “Zoom fatigue” by using a mix of synchronous and asynchronous activities along with different remote platforms, such as podcasts and VoiceThread. |
The University of Waterloo offers this workload estimator as a guide.
The University of Saskatchewan offers a very thoughtful guide, How Much Should I Assign? Estimating Workload in Asynchronous Classes, which includes another version of a workload calculator.
Utica College’s Time on Task for Online Courses provides estimates for how long it takes students to complete different remote learning assignments. The CTL’s Finding a Good Balance of Asynchronous and Synchronous Learning Activities offers guidance on how to effectively combine different delivery methods. |
Issue: Lack of In-Person Contact with Faculty
When asked about their remote learning experience, 85% of students responded to Trent’s Fall Engagement Survey that they were somewhat or very challenged by not seeing faculty in person. As one faculty member put it, “they miss us.” And they do; sometimes they feel like they’re learning on their own.
| Student Perspective | Instructional Strategy | Resources |
|---|---|---|
|
Some students may feel isolated from their professors. |
Create a welcome video to introduce yourself and to explain why you enjoy teaching this course.
Host optional Q&A sessions or office hours. You can add these optional sessions to Blackboard Calendar so that students are reminded of them.
If appropriate, record and post these Q&A sessions or office hours.
If students are not logging on to Blackboard or handing in assignments, consider sending an email to check in on them.
Design assessments that bring students in close contact with someone from the teaching team. |
The CTL’s How to Be Present in a Remote Course offers many suggestions for how to engage with students throughout the term.
Take a look at a sample “check in” email that you can use and/or adapt. |
|
Some students may feel less able to ask questions or get clarification on a range of issues, from what’s covered on the next quiz to how the course is organized. |
Create a video or VoiceThread to explain an assignment sheet.
Platforms such as Padlet allow students to ask anonymous questions.
Create a FAQ page where you share students’ comments or questions. A good rule of thumb might be to put a response in the FAQ section, if you get a question more than once. |
VoiceThread files can be integrated directly into Blackboard sites. For more on how to create Voice Thread files see its Blackboard Instructors Guide.
The University of Waterloo offers a helpful explanation of how to use Padlet in remote courses. |
Issue: Lack of Extra-Curricular and Social Activities or In-Person Contact with Other Students
When asked about their remote learning experience, 86% of students responding to Trent’s Fall Engagement Survey reported being somewhat or very challenged by not being able to participate in social and extra-curricular activities and 85% of respondents reported being challenged by not being able to see other students in person. One student wrote, “I know school is for education, but it is also an important time to grow and experience life.” It seems that many students are facing a sense of loss, struggling to reconcile their experience with what they believe a normal year to be.
| Student Perspective | Instructional Strategies | Resources |
|---|---|---|
|
Students feel disconnected from one another. |
Consider incorporating some activities that will help students connect to or relate with one another, either synchronously through Zoom activities, or asynchronously through VoiceThread or Discussion Board introductions.
Start any Zoom session early and give students space to talk; encourage it with an opening slide
Create a Microsoft Teams site for your class, which will allow students to chat with one another and create study groups. |
Take a look at a sample set of instructions for students creating a personal introduction by VoiceThread.
IT offers a Microsoft Teams Quick Guide that shows how to set up and link a Teams site to your course. |
|
Students miss the way other students help them learn. |
Use breakout rooms to allow students to discuss their approach to the course: How will they complete the course work? What will their daily and weekly schedules look like?
Consider incorporating group projects or activities into your course.
Provide students with updates on frequently asked questions or on how the class as a whole did on a particular assignment. This helps students to contextualize their own academic performance and to know whether they need to improve study habits. |
Take a look at the CTL’s Guidelines for Using Breakout Rooms in Zoom.
Microsoft Teams can be used to create private channels for small group work that will allow students to chat by text, meet by video, and share files.
Take a look at a sample student feedback email one professor sent after a unit exam. |
|
Students miss the experience of being on campus. |
Listen for the ways that students are grieving the loss of what they see as normal university life.
When necessary, refer students to the appropriate support services (such as counselling).
Refer students to student clubs and groups associated with their interests and your discipline, many of which are hosting remote programing.
Trent’s Colleges continue to offer social opportunities and supports for students. |
These helpful lists compile mental health resources for students at the Symons campus and Durham campus.
This document provides a comprehensive list of Peterborough campus resources and services to which you can refer students.
The Trent Central and Durham Student Associations offer comprehensive lists of student clubs and groups in Peterborough and in Durham.
Refer students to their College Office for information and supports. |