Category: Pedagogy

Photo by lucas law on Unsplash

By Julieth Baracaldo

My name is Julieth Baracaldo. I am a second-year international student from Colombia. Currently, I am enrolled in the Post Baccalaureate Diploma in accounting in TRU, and I am part of the Intercultural Ambassadors team.

In light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and all the uncertainty, switching from the traditional face to face classes to virtual delivery was not a choice for us, so we had to do it and adapt to it. For me it has been a big challenge: in order to deal with online education, I had to set an schedule and be more disciplined, which involves lots of dedication and self study!  Some teachers provide valuable resources, such as video recordings, live Q&A sessions, and Moodle work; in my experience, a combination of all those tools was effective for me. However, we had to manage those resources, improve our time management skills, and get used to dealing with technology. In my case, I just keep a positive attitude toward the whole situation we are living through in the educational environment. As we already have a lot of stress from all things happening from the last year 2020, changing the mindset is a big challenge for sure.

During the pandemic, lots of international students went back home and continued their studies through a virtual delivery format. Apart from all the stress caused by the COVID outbreak, some of them still struggle with online learning: they use different methodologies when it comes to completing assignments, quizzes, etc. Some of them are very good at adapting to technology, while others have to learn how to use tech resources; some students don’t have access to a strong internet connection in their own homes in order to get through the online courses’ requirements, and thus they fail to catch up with their virtual sessions or miss some deadlines. According to them, being engaged is difficult sometimes because the lack of interaction and time difference between their home countries and Canada.

As the COVID crisis is growing, instructors realize this a great concern to most people and is clearly interfering with their studies–they understand about technical issues and other problems.  In response, they have been quite helpful by delaying due dates, re-arranging a time for quizzes, etc. We all know that online learning has been a big challenge for instructors as well, as they have had to adjust to and rely on technology. Overall, they try to be more flexible and available to the needs of students and understand their concerns; in that regard, they should always be open to having individual video appointments or engaging with students in many ways. Every professor has a different teaching style, but they can try to adapt to the general needs of all students. This is a learning process for everyone, but it depends on each one of us to embrace the change with positivity!!

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By Ben Lovely

“You want us to do what?!”

I’m sure in March 2020, Trades and Technology was not the only school having emergency meetings regarding a mandatory shift to remote delivery. With much collective effort, TRU made the pivot to digital in record time. Below I’d like to discuss some lessons I’ve learned regarding assessment in an online world. These suggestions have worked well in Trades, but are certainly not limited to Trades courses.

The traditional go to assessment for Trades—multiple choice—has turned out to be rather ineffective in an online environment. In an effort to maintain academic integrity, faculty have attempted short timelines, creating multiple versions of tests, and using exam proctoring software. These have had the effect of causing extreme stress for students, large workload for faculty, and additional costs. In the end, it is still very possible for resourceful students to cheat multiple choice exams.

I propose the following: multiple choice, alternate response, and short answer questions should be limited to low stakes formative assessment. Due to our certification exams being multiple choice, students definitely need practice with this style of exam. I am merely suggesting that we reduce their weighting in favor of better assessment methods.

High stakes summative assessments, such as unit and level exams, should be as authentic as possible. Projects, scenarios, simulators, labs, and case studies are best. If assessing math skills, I like to assign the right answer as 50% of the mark, and the other 50% towards showing all work and the process of solving the problem. For conceptual understanding, a detailed directed paraphrasing assignment can work well. In short, I try to assess students’ learning by asking them to show me how they use that knowledge.

Benefits to this approach include potentially easier grading, difficulty in plagiarizing, and less concern over exam integrity as the assignment is assumed to be open book. Without a doubt, it is more work to create authentic assessments and their associated rubrics for grading. However, once completed, you will have an assessment that can be given many times over which will more accurately reflect student learning.

By Cael Field

A large part of classes I have taught in this lovely pandemic era has been asynchronous delivery. When I initially started back in September, my thinking was to use audio-only, or podcast, format. Podcasts allowed for flexibility in how (mp3 files are very flexible) and where (could be running or cooking) students accessed the content. After about four weeks, I asked students in one course (about 80 or so) did they prefer I keep going with podcasts only format, switch to video format (say Kaltura), or did it really matter? As one may expect, it came to around 33% for audio, 33% for video, and 33% for whom it didn’t really matter! I thought it would be lovely to do both video and audio, but I also thought it would mean a dramatic increase to workload in getting both formats out. After testing an approach, I found in the end that it didn’t really add that much more overall.

The approach was running two programs at once: one for screen capture and one for audio capture. I used Kaltura Capture for video, as I found the My Media access point in Moodle very useful. I then used an open software called Audacity for the audio recording. Audacity is quite easy to use quickly, even though it does have a lot of other features. When I want to record, I start the Kaltura and the Audacity recordings at the same time. I am lucky to have two monitors, so one monitor looks like this:
The top program is Audacity, while the bottom is Kaltura. I start and stop at the same time, which means both video and audio files contain the exact same content.

A question I have been asked using this setup is “what if you have to edit?,” which is a great question. Ultimately, my response is . . . I don’t really edit that much anymore. I try to approach recordings as if I were delivering them in front of a live class. If I made an error then, I couldn’t really turn back time and re-do it. If I fumble my words or mispronounce something in a recording, students are pretty good at letting me know, and I make a correction (such as sending out an announcement). I definitely relate to the desire to want to edit, but I found for the time I had to put in (even if it was only one format), I wasn’t really seeing a great return. Letting go a bit allowed me to spend time elsewhere, such as creating more options for students.

I am sure there are other approaches out there to accomplish what I am trying to do, but I have found this process to work well.

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By Carolyn Ives and Catharine Dishke Hondzel

As the fall term comes to an end, we’re reflecting on all of the amazing things we’ve witnessed over the last several months. So many faculty worked incredibly hard to ensure their students would have an opportunity to learn as well as virtually as in a face-to-face classroom. We’ve seen boundless energy, commitment, and care go into this work. But we’ve also seen how tired many people are now as a result—including students.

If we’ve learned anything over these last few months, it’s this: Less is more. Simple is better. It’s better for faculty, and it’s better for students. We learned this through offering the Facilitating Learning in Moodle course this summer. Each of the three iterations was simplified and pared down from the one before, but still each one contained elements that were overwhelming for some participants. If we were to offer it again, it would include far less content.

What might “Less is More” look like in your course?

• It might look like the elimination of any “nice to know” information. You may opt to stick to the essential content that students absolutely need to be able to achieve the course’s learning outcomes.
• It may look like integrating as much asynchronous activity as possible for your context. While this may not work in every course, students will appreciate the flexibility. You may also appreciate it as the winter term gets busier.
• It may look like simplified course Moodle sites. You may opt to reduce content, but add clear instructions when appropriate. Also, you don’t have to use every awesome technological tool possible to create a solid course.
• It may also look like the creation of recognizable patterns within your course. You may find it helpful to repeat content and activity patterns for each week; regular routines and class rituals can be reassuring for your students and use less of your own bandwidth, as you won’t have to make as many decisions throughout the term.
• It may look like flexibility for assignment deadlines. If this is something that works for your context, you might find it helpful, as it reduces pressure on students and helps spread out your marking load.
• Most of all, it might look like compassion—for yourself and your students.

Compassion can look like many different things, too. It might mean you have to acknowledge that mistakes are going to happen; deadlines might be missed; and instructions might be misinterpreted. But everyone is carrying a heavier load right now, so reach out to people who care about you to help you unburden and maybe even find humour in the situation.

So simplify if you can. We’ll be working on doing the same.

by Carolyn Ives

Part of the reason I decided to return to Thompson Rivers University after a nearly 10-year absence has to do with values: I believe TRU’s explicit commitment to equity, inclusion, and diversity closely match my own ethical stance about teaching and learning. In an institution that values student access above the elitism apparent at some other universities, teaching well is paramount. Who wouldn’t want to work in a teaching and learning centre that could help faculty achieve their big dreams about reaching as many students as possible? And since arriving a year and a half ago, I have not been disappointed. Faculty here value teaching and learning, and most go above and beyond to support students.

The recent shift to alternative forms of delivery (remote, distance, online) has been a bit of a mixed bag in terms of student support. On one hand, this shift has the potential to allow students extra flexibility about when they log in, access materials, engage in discussion and activities, and complete assignments and exams; on the other hand, though, it can also marginalize students who face limited internet access, limited working space, language barriers, and other learning challenges. It can also lead to extra work for both students and instructors when assessments have to be changed to accommodate an online environment. Furthermore, a crisis can serve to magnify already present classroom dynamics and reveal whether an instructor perceives their students as allies or adversaries. If they are allies, as Kevin Gannon in his book Radical Hope: A Teaching Manifesto (2020) reminds us, we have to demonstrate to them—not simply tell them—that we trust them fully. If we don’t, then we are telling students that we do not trust them, that they are our adversaries.

How do we unknowingly signal to students that we are suspicious of them? We do this, perhaps unintentionally, by opting for heightened measures of surveillance in our new remote classrooms for the purposes of academic integrity, by insisting on very limited time frames for online testing, by failing to acknowledge the stressful situations many of our students may be in—including being ill or looking after someone who is, losing their jobs, and not having sufficient working space—and by failing to acknowledge their humanity, or our own. Conversely, by being flexible, especially now in a less than ideal learning environment, we can signal to students that we are on their side, that we know they are doing their best, that we trust them. And why shouldn’t we? It’s not likely any student comes to university with the intention of failing, cheating, or dropping out. Research shows that if we believe in students and communicate that belief to them, they will rise to the occasion (Weimer, 2013; Bain 2004).

So in light of the current COVID-19 crisis, let’s try to be flexible and kind to our students and ourselves and accept we are all doing the best that we can. If you find yourself needing support in terms of creating alternative assessments that don’t increase work or stress for you or students, facilitating good online discussion, or supporting students who are struggling, please reach out to us in Centre for Excellence in Learning & Teaching (CELT). Our goal is to help you reach yours.

References

Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Harvard University Press

Gannon, K.M. (2020). Radical hope: A teaching manifesto. West Virginia University Press.

Weimer, M. (2013). Learner-centered teaching: Five key changes to practice (2 edition). Jossey-Bass.