Ensuring Learning and Understanding
I used this module as an action research piece in a course I am currently teaching. It is an effective writing course which is part of a post graduate Project Management program. Typically, this course is a 100% international and generally the students are mostly from India. I am very used to dealing with the cultural differences, especially in the educational expectations between institutions in their home countries and our expectations in Canada. If I was teaching this course in the classroom, I would have students start and sometimes complete their writing assignments in class so that I can walk around and give immediate feedback I have found this approach works well in countering the cultural issues. In the Zoom environment, this is hard to replicate. I also think with all the working on line, I have lost my true teaching approach as I am inundated with admin including emails and a lack of time.
The issues I wanted to address were:
- Students not following assignment instructions or the academic writing structures taught in class and therefore submitting substandard work.
- I was also concerned there might be some contract cheating but was having a hard time finding it except for the fact the same incorrect structure was used in five assignments with a different scenarios inserted.
For the empathize step and the prototype development, I actually asked the class what they thought the issues were. The responses can be summarised as:
- Culturally acceptable to copy and paste work and no need for referencing. There is no emphasis on learning only on rote memory of some information to be reproduced in an exam format.
- It is expected that students write and write and write and it doesn’t matter if the actual assignment is completed correctly.
- Not used to following instructions for an assignment.
- If allowed a little “freedom” within the assignment, will complete it in whatever manner they want.
In my planning ( https://www.spiderscribe.net/app/?77c7b772f0bcbed33dafeb7c3a425b91), I decided to take the H5p slideshows that I am currently using and update them to include several interactive components. I have been using H5p for a year now and have moved almost all my course content to this platform. For the most part, it is easy to use and my only issue is that there is no auto save so if you hit the wrong button or something happens with the internet, you lose all your work. It is very annoying to constantly have to safe your work! The platform is great for addressing accessibility issue and I believe it fits my love of active learning pedagogy which is great for increasing student engagement. I also like it because it can be accessed in parts of the world where there is a firewall and apps like Padlet or You Tube would be blocked.
My goal for updating my work was to:
a. Try and recreate the teaching approach I would use in the classroom
b. “Force” (student’s words of advice) the students into actively doing and learning.
I was really wanting to ensure the student could take onboard the information, and use it effectively as this would be very helpful in the remainder of their courses.
c. Find a way to ensure they take note of my announcements and instructions.
My prototype included adding the following to my slideshow:
Introduction
- Drag and drop exercise to reinforce the introduction writing structure
- Multiple choice exercise to reinforce the key components of a thesis statement
- Exportable text to practice writing an introduction
- Checklist of key concepts
Body Paragraph
- Drag and drop exercise to reinforce the introduction writing structure
- Exportable text to practice writing an introduction
- Checklist of key concepts
Integrating Quotes Using APA Formatting
- Drag and drop exercise to reinforce the introduction writing structure
- Exportable text to practice writing an introduction
- Checklist of key concepts
As I am teaching this course, I have actually tried out the first part of this idea – the introduction in an adapted format yesterday and received very positive feedback from the students. They felt heard and noted that they appreciated that the fact that care was being taken to ensure they understood the course content. Also, the updated assignments I have received today have been much improved. Here is the link to the updated first part: https://h5pstudio.ecampusontario.ca/content/20189
I think the main roadblock to this whole process is time. Finding resources is time consuming to make up the various quizzes. Also, reading the exportable texts would also take time, however, I am thinking next semester, that I may have the students review their own exportable texts in breakout rooms and then I can just “pop” into the rooms, and that will simulate the classroom experience. I am also thinking of adding videos because this might be useful for students who prefer this and this would also take on board the UDL approach.
Finally, in relation to the instructions, I am inspired by Gary’s post and am going to start making short videos which will hopefully will engage students more with the announcement portion.
I have really enjoyed this module which also came at a very timely moment for me. I think going through this process has reminded me of how I really want to teach and to go back and start to try and find ways to institute my vision of teaching into this online world.
TweetExample for "Ensuring Learning and Understanding":
https://h5pstudio.ecampusontario.ca/content/20189
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