FACULTY INSTRUCTIONAL INNOVATION STUDIO
WEEK TWO: Thursday May 4, 2017
Learning Innovation Panel
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
PANELISTS I Open the e-Handout
Jennifer Singleton
Ph.D Student, Biology
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Research Area / Specialization
Behavioral ecology of reptiles, social behavior in familial groups, sexual selection and sexual conflict, kin selection
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Teaching or learning problem/challenge that made you rethink your learning model or approach or try something new
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Being the teaching assistant for the online Evolution Online course taught in conjunction with UCOP Online Courses.
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How you addressed that challenge (if applicable, what technology, learning strategy, etc. you integrated to do so)
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Online discussions for BIOL 105V were usually 12-15 people, with a number of people using phones or tablets. Their tech choice didn't seem to matter, though their individual connection speed varied (mostly good).
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Jennifer used zoom for office hours as well, though she had very few attendees during the times
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In terms of organization, each discussion had a separate "room" with a recurring meeting. Office hours were held in a specific room that Jennifer would open and wait in. This seemed like the simplest way, so students didn't need to receive new links each week.
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How students responded, any challenges, and lessons learned
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Jennifer felt that the class went very well
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Zoom was great for discussion - the students had little trouble with it and there were no major concerns; it handled many students very smoothly
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Screen-sharing was very valuable during discussion
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Use of the remote control feature to solve technical problems for students was convenient
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Would highly recommend to fellow TAs .
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Media
Teaching or learning problem/challenge that made you rethink your learning model or approach or try something new
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The performance of teaching as it intersects with the infrastructure of the classroom space
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Teaching online presents different issues in terms of student/TA engagement, and one of these issues pertains to how the TA operates in the digital classroom
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Webcams can flatten and diminish physical affect, so TAs must find a way to “perform” their teaching duties in a more deliberate way. This includes electronic correspondence as well. Students are also taken “out” of the physical classroom, where they have a particular learned code of behavior. This code often is jettisoned when students transition to an online environment: students leave their seats, walk around, have conversations with people in the room while others are speaking -- all things that they would not (usually) do in the physical classroom.
How you addressed that challenge (if applicable, what technology, learning strategy, etc. you integrated to do so)
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Madeleine watched people stream content on Twitch.tv, a platform for streaming creative content (primarily video games). Using this research, she applied how the more successful streamers interacted with their viewers through their webcams to her students
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Madeleine utilized the tools of my classroom - private chat to check in with students who appear distracted, digital whiteboards to help articulate information in a visual way
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How students responded, any challenges, and lessons learned
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Continues to be a work in progress
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Learned that students are often unsure of how to react in digital spaces
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The lack of traditional infrastructure can be helpful: there is no back row in the Zoom Room
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Similarly, the instructor no longer occupies pride of place at the front of the room, which can foment student-to-student discussions rather than student-to-TA question and answer.
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Clear guidelines and structure, which may mean articulating assumptions that remain understood in an “offline class”, help students to orient themselves to the online class. Prompting students to interact with each other in smaller groups (“breakout sessions” in Zoom) helps students to get over the awkwardness of digital interaction.
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Media
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Madeleine St. Marie
Ph.D Student, Ancient Mediterranean History
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Research Area
Late Antique Roman History, Early Christianities, Digital Humanities, Critical Theory. I am currently working on Sidonius Apollinaris and the Decline and Fall of the Western Roman Empire in the late 5th century.
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Teaching or learning problem/challenge that made you rethink your learning model or approach or try something new
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The online environment of a classroom is different in important pedagogical and critical ways. From a TA perspective, the assessment used to measure the success of TAs, the online iEVAL, is an inappropriate and invalid measure to assess the quality of online TAs. Furthermore, the iEVAL was first used in 2006 for faculty members – prior to when UCR offered online classes as part of the main campus.
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In terms of students, there are virtually no resources outside the online class to ensure their success
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Many students struggle with the online environment and are unaware of how to utilize sites like iLearn to the best of their advantage. Some students struggle with checking grades and/or do not know how to check for feedback on assignments
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Students email the instructor as late as week 6, expressing that they did not know how to check their grades and were unaware that they were underperforming
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In addition to issues surrounding navigating an online environment, course expectations between instructor, teaching assistant, and students vary. Frequently, students are not equipped to take an online course and may have expectations including but not limited to: online courses are easier than in-person classes, online courses will be more flexible, etc.
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Through personal experience, evaluations through TADP were centered around grading, especially in an online course
How you addressed that challenge (if applicable, what technology, learning strategy, etc. you integrated to do so)
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Modifications to the syllabus were made, including more transparent grading and examples of online assignments
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Creating an online evaluation specifically regarding the class can generate student feedback regarding course structure as well as accessibility
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The TADP office “solutions” are typically short-term such as scheduling workshops, one-on-one observations, and observations of TAs that fit the mold of TADP-defined success. This method is problem-oriented and trainings revolve around “how to fix the problem.”
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The TADP office assumes that background characteristics such as the incorrect vocabulary, a lack of background knowledge in connection with teaching, and inattentiveness are the reasons why TAs fail. Thus, responsibility is placed directly on the TA for “failing” in classroom settings (in-person and online) with no input from professors, TAs, or students regarding barriers that prevent TAs from fulfilling their duties.
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Many TAs that gives “easy As” are rewarded for this behavior by students, students that have agency, and some exercise their agency by giving TAs good or poor evaluations based on their grades in the course. There is no way for the TADP to control for this and other measures must be used to triangulate their determination if a TA is meeting expectations. I suggest speaking to the professor, the department, the individual TA, etc. prior to scheduling mandatory workshops and observations. This is another barrier TAs encounter.
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We should consider TAs’ funds of knowledge whether they teach online or in-person. This would involve valuing the strengths of individual TAs, reflecting on what the TADP office can do to remove barriers that impede on success, redefining what “success” is with input from TAs, and understanding that TAs have answers and knowledge that should be valued by TADP.
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How students responded, any challenges, and lessons learned
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In the current system, TAs and students do not have a voice concerning online infrastructure. Concerning TAs, the TADP office should move towards strength-based thinking and re-evaluating their evaluation system.
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This re-evaluation should involve working in partnership with the community they serve – Teaching Assistants.
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Furthermore, online courses should have a separate evaluation system that reflects their unique challenges. This should include questions regarding navigation, content, and accessibility.
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For students, it is highly recommend that they have the opportunity to attend workshops concerning navigating iLearn, Zoom, and other online resources
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Media
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Teaching or learning problem/challenge that made you rethink your learning model or approach or try something new
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Some students have treated zoom meetings very casually. In the beginning, some students would chat while sitting outside and their friends would stop by and distract them, some were in bed, eating, or even not wearing a shirt.
How you addressed that challenge (if applicable, what technology, learning strategy, etc. you integrated to do so)
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The course professor addressed this problem to the group, reminding students that they should come to discussions as if they were abiding by typical classroom etiquette
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How students responded, any challenges, and lessons learned
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The students have responded accordingly
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Media
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Casey Avaunt
Ph.D Student, Critical Dance Studies
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Research Area
Dance Studies, Asian Studies
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