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Caroline Toy

Mar 18 2020

Real-Time vs Asynchronous Instruction: A Reflection

By Caroline Toy, CLT

Important update: we have added additional consideration of student workload that we strongly suggest you read in the blue box below. Updated 3/31/20, 10:30am.

As you work to shift your classes to remote instruction (thank you!), you may be contemplating using real-time (synchronous) teaching, asynchronous strategies, or a combination. What do those terms mean? What’s the difference? Which is better?

Those are all questions I was asking about eight months ago, as I designed my first all-online course. I began my teaching career as an outdoor educator, and then moved to teaching in-person college classes in the humanities. I was nervous about maintaining engagement and interaction with students I would not meet face-to-face. Spoiler: there have been some hiccups, which is natural. But overall, it’s turned out really well.

In my experience, the success of remote instruction really depends on interactivity. (We talk about that in the COVID-19 response materials here.) Content mastery is important, as are assignments and other forms of assessment. But interaction is the foundation on which other successes sit. That’s where the synchronous-vs-asynchronous question comes in.

What do Synchronous and Asynchronous mean?

You actually already use both synchronous and asynchronous learning strategies in your classroom. Synchronous simply means that all your students (and you) are participating in learning experiences at the same time. Asynchronous means people participate at different times, but still interact. The vast majority of in-person instruction is synchronous, but if you’ve ever had students collaborate through a Google Doc or email, participate in a Canvas discussion board, or do peer reviews outside of class, you have used interactive, asynchronous teaching strategies.

In remote instruction, synchronous teaching takes place through real-time interactions. The strategy we’re all hearing about right now, and that many of us will use next week, is videoconference lecturing and discussion at your usual class time. There are others; for example, you could invite all of your students to participate in a text-based chat, or you could have students meet synchronously in breakout groups for part of your class time, and then rejoin for full-class follow-up.

Asynchronous teaching, on the other hand, involves a range of ways students and the instructor can interact without being present in real time. Using discussion forums is a prime example. So are group collaborations, peer review tasks, video lectures or clips followed by reflection questions, reading quizzes, thought-provoking surveys, and feedback videos from you. (Canvas is designed to facilitate all of these, and that’s one reason it can seem difficult to learn to use.)

Which is better?

The short answer is that it depends. What are you trying to achieve? What is your class about? What materials do you need to deliver? How much time would you need students to gather synchronously? What are your students already used to? Do you have students with disabilities that make videoconferencing difficult, technological limitations like not having the right devices or good internet, or unusual responsibilities during the pandemic like picking up a new job or taking care of kids?

There’s no straightforward answer to this question, and there are good arguments for prioritizing both. There are probably more good pedagogical arguments for prioritizing asynchronous learning (which I’ll explain), but right now, some students want to stick as closely as possible to the in-person format they already know. I currently teach an online course that is 95% asynchronous, an approach I believe in strongly. However, given that students want to be comfortable, instructors are learning many new technical skills very quickly, and we are adapting on the fly, more synchronous teaching may be needed. Nonetheless, it’s important to include some asynchronous elements, and to understand that some students simply cannot participate synchronously under current conditions.

Synchronous Instruction: Pros and Cons

Synchronous learning has one very big pro, and it’s the same one that deters some faculty from teaching online in general: there’s something about face-to-face, real-time instruction that motivates many students, establishes relationships, enables instructors to “read the room” and adapt on the fly, and is just fun. All of those things can be accomplished asynchronously, but there’s no denying that it’s trickier. The second, and in our situation almost equally important, advantage to synchronous instruction is that we already know how to do it. Learning to use Meet or Zoom might be a technological challenge, but once you’re in the “room” with students, you know how to lecture, how to quickly and clearly answer questions, and ways to prompt discussion.

However, synchronous learning has some serious disadvantages too. There are accessibility problems with some videoconferencing platforms for students who have auditory and/or visual disabilities. Now that students are at home, possibly in lockdown, they may not be able to consistently meet during class time, get access to a computer, or have sufficient internet for videoconferencing. (Live text-based chat sessions can help a lot, especially for students who can’t do streaming video or who have kids or parents making noise in the background.) For some students, sitting in front of a screen, even a live feed, for an hour is not the most engaging–and that’s magnified for longer classes.

Asynchronous Instruction: Pros and Cons

Asynchronous instruction has the great advantage of offering more strategies for teaching and learning, and a wider range of ways for students to demonstrate participation and competence. That means it can serve a wider range of learning styles. It is also generally more accessible for students with disabilities, students with family or work responsibilities, and students in other time zones. As such, it is probably more equitable; Ellen Zeman and I have written about equity and accessibility in the time of pandemic here.

In my experience, being able to participate on their own schedule gives students more flexibility to participate well. The quantity and quality of participation from almost all students in a well-structured asynchronous discussion forum can easily exceed a good day in the classroom (I am consistently astonished by the level of participation I see online compared to in-person). And for the simpler asynchronous activities, like discussion forums, the learning curve for participation is pretty easy.

On the other hand, asynchronous learning does not have face-to-face contact. Some people find this de-motivating. It is harder to assess whether students are “getting it” in the moment. It’s definitely harder to adapt on the fly.

So what should I do?

Short answer, part one: in the first week back after Spring Break, you should start with whatever strategy you think you can reasonably manage.

You may be feeling like your course has become this, and that’s OK. The goal right now is continuity. This horse may have a stick-figure leg, but she’s still standing!

You are still learning and navigating remote instruction, and so are your students. If your strategy is not ideal, you can adapt (and the CLT can help). You might start out synchronously and decide that technical snafus are too annoying, or that it’s easier to have students discuss in a forum than try to call on people in a videoconference. Or you might start asynchronously and find that your students are getting listless and need a synchronous session every week to liven things up.

Short answer, part two: for the remainder of the semester, once you feel a little more comfortable, try to use a mix of both! While in a natively online course, we would recommend focusing on asynchronous strategies, right now you have a lot of flexibility alongside your challenges. You can weight synchronous or asynchronous more heavily.

If you are weighting asynchronous learning (by using peer interactions, discussion forums that both you and your students participate in, pre-recorded videos, reflection assignments, and/or other activities), it’s great to have a weekly short-ish synchronous session, in which you cover content, do Q&A, have a discussion, or review. Record these sessions so students can review them asynchronously. Offering live office hours also makes you accessible to your students.

If you are weighting synchronous learning (by delivering most of your class live), make sure you include asynchronous follow-up strategies. For example, shortening your weekly in-person time by forty-five minutes and adding a discussion forum students must post to twice, interacting with each other and with you, provides a participation opportunity for students who cannot be present for some or all of the live meetings. Record all the live meetings (Meet makes this easy) so those students still have access to them. While you can require students to be present, we encourage you to be very flexible with students who have difficult circumstances. And we strongly recommend asynchronous assessments, so no one is unable to take a test because they cannot guarantee access to a computer during class time.

Important Update: As of 3/31, we are receiving reports that some students have experienced a substantial increase in their workload as a result of remote instruction. Please consider the following as you incorporate asynchronous and synchronous strategies:

  • The workload of synchronous instruction may not be limited to the hours students are present in a videoconference or watching a recording of it, because for many students, it is more difficult and time-consuming to review and practice lecture material delivered remotely.
  • Substantive discussions posts take time to create. When students need to review their peers’ posts and create their own original comment, each discussion post is equivalent to about half an hour of work.
  • At present, many students are struggling to find uninterrupted work time and space and are also under enormous stress. A normal amount of time for coursework can be difficult; an increase can be impossible

This does not mean that you should not incorporate multiple strategies! You can address the workload problem by cutting down synchronous session time; for example, if you ask for three discussion posts a week (90 minutes of work that would usually happen in class), go down to an hour and a half of synch time by having one live meeting per week or multiple shorter meetings, aiming for three hours total. Or you can limit the number of posts (two per week, with two hours of synch sessions).

Ask for support

The CLT staff, the wonderful members of the Library and SMARTspace staff, and faculty members who are currently assisting us have rich and varied experience with in-person and online teaching, and with using Canvas. Whether you question is in the family of “I have to do this to successfully teach my course and I don’t know how” or “I think my students would benefit from this new strategy, and I’m wondering if there’s a way to do it easily,” we can advise you. Please do not hesitate to contact us at clt@champlain.edu.

Written by Caroline Toy · Categorized: Uncategorized · Tagged: Covid-19, fall 2020 prep, flex-hybrid, remote instruction

Jan 16 2020

Faculty Reading and Writing Groups, Spring 2020

The CLT is pleased to sponsor two professional development groups this spring for faculty who want to learn more about disrupting racism or get work done on scholarly writing!

Faculty Reading Group

Cover of a book titled "How to Be an Antiracist" by Ibram X. Kendi. Cover is black and white with colorful type.Our reading group this semester will focus on Ibram X. Kendi’s book How to Be an Antiracist. It follows up on last semester’s group, which covered Robin DiAngelo’s White Fragility. If you have read White Fragility either in the group last semester or on your own, you are welcome to join.

This group will focus on developing practical resources for disrupting racism on the campus of Champlain College, and members of the group will be preparing to lead additional book study groups in the 2020-2021 academic year. Join us if you are willing to be part of creating practical solutions and leading discussion groups on our campus in the future.

This group is facilitated by David Mills, Professor and Dean in the Core Division, and meets Wednesdays 2-3 pm.

 

Faculty Writing Group

Come as a regular or as a drop-in! Get quiet time in a quiet space dedicated to writing your book, dissertation, article, grant proposal, or other projects for publication or presentation. Get feedback from peers, and as much of an accountability check-in as you may or may not want. Come and write!

Facilitated by Miriam Horne, Associate Professor in the Core Division and Faculty Lead in the CLT, this group meets Wednesdays 2-3:30pm in the CLT conference room (enter through MIC 211).

Written by Caroline Toy · Categorized: Workshop Series

Jan 16 2020

Transformational Learning: Exploring Place-Based and Experiential Education – Faculty Learning Community

Announcing the Transformational Learning Faculty Learning Community!

The Center for Learning and Teaching is excited to launch one of our two Spring 2020 Faculty Learning Communities! Hosted by CLT Senior Director Rebecca Mills, the Transformational Learning group features faculty, staff, and guest facilitators with a wide range of expertise, from service learning to study abroad to the ongoing significance of land theft from Indigenous peoples. Group members will learn how to plan learning experiences outside the classroom, outside the state, and outside the country, taking place-based excursions in addition to regular weekly meetings. In addition, all members will use and contribute to the new Transformational Learning Toolkit, building a Canvas resource for faculty.

In May, this cohort will be able to use professional development money to experience Place-Based Experiential Learning for a week in Dublin, Ireland, hosted by Champlain College Dublin faculty and staff. Individual supplementary events in the Burlington area will be open to all Champlain faculty. Regular meetings are Wednesday mornings at 8:15am in Aiken Hall’s Morgan Room, except as otherwise announced.

Sessions:

  • Introduction to Transformational  Learning Theory and Design (Rebecca Mills and David Mills)
  • Place-Based Experiential Learning – Dublin Examples and Experiences (Stephen Robinson and Lilly Johnsson)
  • “Let Us Serve” service learning experiences (Christina Erickson and Nadia Mitchell)
  • Walking and Mobile Methodologies: Place-based Research Design (Katheryn Wright)
  • Introduction to Service Learning (Christina Erickson)
  • Integrate Design-Thinking & Experiential Learning into Your Courses (Jen Adrian and Sarah Jerger)
  • Exploring Experiential Learning Tools and Technology (Katheryn Wright, David Mills, and Caroline Toy)
  • Place-Based Education Burlington I (Nina Ridhibhinyo, Director of Programs & Strategy at ECHO, and Christina Erickson)
  • Place-Based Education Burlington II @ ECHO
  • Travel Courses and Celtic Culture (Stephen Robinson and Kerry Noonan)
  • Taking Care of Place by Off-Setting the Environmental Impact of Study Abroad (Val Esposito and Tatum Robinson)
  • Shelburne Farms trip
  • Beyond Logistics: Diversity & Inclusion in the Study Abroad Planning Process (Noah Goldblatt)
  • Meaningful Connections with Local Communities – Dublin Experiences (Stephen Robinson and Tony Langan)
  • Place-Based Acknowledgements: Stolen Land and Honoring Indigenous People (Jen Cirillo, Director of Professional Learning, Shelburne Farms)
  • On Track, Off the Beaten Path: Designing and Leading Outdoor Experiences to Support your Classroom (excursion with Erik Shonstrom and Caroline Toy)

Written by Caroline Toy · Categorized: Workshop Series · Tagged: learning community, workshop series

Jan 15 2020

Empowering Ourselves and Others in a Changing Climate – Faculty Learning Community

The CLT is excited to announce a Faculty Learning Community for Spring 2020 titled “Empowering Ourselves and Others in a Changing Climate”!

A collage of five images, featuring a larger central image of honeybees crawling on wood, surrounded by four smaller images: a group of ten Champlain community members in beekeeping suits, two people in beekeeping suits interacting with bees, three white hives on the grass beside a brick building, and two glass jars of pale yellow Champlain-branded honey.
The Champlain College Apiary, an example of responding to environmental crisis through local action and empowering education.

Description

Headlines tell us we are in a climate crisis and the 6th mass extinction, and subject to forest fires, famine, and floods. Science tells us we have 10 years to deal with climate change, but for the most part we go about our lives as if nothing is wrong. Often, we want to do something to help, but feel powerless or ineffective. Sometimes referred to as ecological or climate grief, these feelings are widespread. They can be debilitating, but with some conscious effort can be the fuel for meaningful action.

Through this workshop, shared readings, and conversations, we will look at ecological issues facing us today, why they are so challenging to deal with personally and socially, and techniques to empower ourselves, our students, and our community to make a meaningful difference.

This learning community will be facilitated by Ariel Burgess, Core faculty member, artist, naturalist, and exhibit designer for Vermont Fish and Wildlife. To join the community, please email Ariel at aburgess AT champlain DOT edu.

 

Meetings

Structured as a series of workshops, the community meets once a week on Monday afternoons, 1-2pm, in MIC 301, the Vista Room.

INTRODUCTION

The first meeting will be an introduction. We will talk about the workshop, meet each other, and map out our hopes and goals for the semester.

THE SITUATION

Science & Implications: What is the Situation?
We will look at the science of the ecological crisis we are in and the implications. Topics may include climate change, extinction, Vermont, inter-relations and justice, health and safety, (un)natural disasters, and what is and is not being done.

Psychology: How we react
How and why climate change, and global ecological breakdown, is a uniquely difficult thing to understand and work with psychologically. How and why understanding this can help us.

Active Hope: How might we want to react
How can we be proactive in our interpretation of the science and implications? If we understand the science, implications, and our own psychology, can we actively make the decision of empowerment over despair?

ETHICS

Green Ethics: A spectrum of ways to interact with the natural world
What are green ethics, which feels the most right for us, and which has the power to address the mess we’re in? We will explore how we can use these to help guide us in making decisions that align with our values and goals.

Deep Time & Intergenerational Justice
How does deep time play into this situation, our understanding of it, and our ethics of what action to take? If we retune to 7th generation thinking, how would that shape our actions? Looking back, as well as forward, what responsibilities do we have?

Interbeing & Interdependence: A wider sense of self
From ancient wisdom to modern science there seems to not be a clear line between where we end and the “other” begins. What can happen if we stop believing the narrative or separation and otherness, and widen our sense of “self?”

ACTION

Personal Reflection: Where are you and where are you going?
Meaningful change is next to impossible without self-awareness. Given the ecological crisis we’re in, what do you believe in, love, and fear? Are you living in alignment with your values? What holds you back?

Motivation: What will fuel your journey?
Building off of last week, we will focus on our motivations to make a change. What do we live for, what do we hope for, and what has the power to keep us motivated and fulfilled for the long-haul?

Effective Action: Making it count
We are barraged by the “10 things you can do for the environment,” and none seem to be impactful or holistic enough to solve the problem, because they are not. Getting beyond the simple lifestyle changes we can all make, what else, can we do to be an effective change-maker. What solutions address the root of the issue and not just the symptoms?

Multipliers: Action as inspiration
Building off last week, what actions can we take that can also be multipliers. How can we be influencers in our lives and in our classroom? How can we create a new norm, quickly?

Teaching: How we can bring this into our classrooms?
What wisdom have we gathered that we can take into the classroom and share with our students. What techniques, information, approaches can we share so that we can empower, rather than frighten or disempower them? Where and when can we insert any take-aways to build a stronger community.

Big Ideas: What else would we like to see at Champlain?

Written by Caroline Toy · Categorized: Workshop Series · Tagged: learning community, workshop series

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