How to Teach Online

1. How to Teach Online Week 2 Supporting Participants Through the Learning Process Johns Hopkins University Center for Technology in Education Early Intervention Leadership Academy MSDE/CTE

2. Introduction • Welcome to Week 2 of How to Teach Online! • In this presentation you will learn: • How to encourage critical thinking especially in chats and discussions • Being Strategic in the Use of Your Online “Voice,” Structuring of Participants, and Questioning • The 4 P’s: • Provide Timely Feedback to Participants • Preserve a Positive Communication • Promote Critical Reflection • Practice Ongoing Evaluation Early Intervention Leadership Academy MSDE/CTE

3. Critical Thinking • When Planning for Critical Thinking, think about: • 1. Where does Critical Thinking Take Place? • 2. Preparing for a Chat • 3. Preparing for Discussion • 4. Being Strategic in Your Planning: • Strategies for Critical Thinking • Strategic Use of Voice • Strategic Structuring of Participants • Strategic Use of Questioning • Strategic Synthesizing Early Intervention Leadership Academy MSDE/CTE

4. 1. Where does critical thinking take place? Where does Critical Thinking Take Place in an Online Environment? • Whenever a person is deconstructing knowledge in order to build onto it, critical thinking is taking place. • This can certainly happen individually, but as a facilitator, you will want to foster it and see it happening throughout your community. • The best place to see evidence of group critical thinking is within the chat and discussion tools. The tools offer participants the opportunity to collaborate (synchronously or asynchronously) and archive a log of their group’s cognition. • The log is key reference for the participants as they continue to build knowledge and is invaluable for you as a facilitator. You will refer to it as you reflect on and evaluate their critical thinking processes as well as the sophistication of the content they are discussing/creating. Early Intervention Leadership Academy MSDE/CTE

5. 2. Preparing for a Chat In order to promote critical thinking in an online chat, you, as the facilitator, must be prepared. • On Your Marks! CTE has taken the mystery out of preparing for a chat by creating easy to follow, step by step instructions and clearly laying out what conditions need to be in place to have an effective online chat. Additionally, CTE offers facilitators a checklist to review when planning for a chat. • Steps to Structuring an Online Chat • Conditions for an Effective Online Chat Early Intervention Leadership Academy MSDE/CTE

6. 2. Preparing for a Chat • Get Ready! As you read in the step by step instructions, before starting a chat, a facilitator must get prepared by filling out chat prep and directions templates. • Check here to see the chat prep template (for facilitators use only) • Click here to see the chat directions template (to be distributed to members prior to the chat) Early Intervention Leadership Academy MSDE/CTE

7. 2. Preparing for a Chat • Go! CTE has created a chat checklist to review to be sure you’ve followed all of the steps necessary to having a successful chat. Click here to see the chat checklist. Early Intervention Leadership Academy MSDE/CTE

8. 3. Preparing for a Discussion In order to plan for critical thinking in discussion, facilitators should consider: • Instructional Objectives • Assessment • Class Size • Subject Matter • Time Allotment • Format of Discussion • Discussion Etiquette Early Intervention Leadership Academy MSDE/CTE

9. P.R.E.P. 3. Preparing for a Discussion Facilitator responsibilities for maintaining effective discussions: • Plan topics well in advance • Set a tone that encourages students to communicate • Reinforce early attempts at participation • Model expected behavior • Ask open-ended questions • Synthesize responses and themes • Encourage students to expand and build on comments • Compose a synthesis statement at the end of the discussion Early Intervention Leadership Academy MSDE/CTE

10. 3. Preparing for a Discussion How to guide and encourage critical thinking in discussion forums: • Redirect divergent discussions • Summarize conversations • Initiate another point-of-view • Provide real-world examples and/or connections • Point out key issues • Encourage students to “think outside the box” • Offer new ideas • Remain neutral Early Intervention Leadership Academy MSDE/CTE

11. 4. Be Strategic… Strategies for generating critical thinking in chats and discussion threads: • Strategic Use of Your Online “Voice” • Strategic Structuring of Participants • Strategic Questioning and Synthesizing Early Intervention Leadership Academy MSDE/CTE

12. 4. Be Strategic…Online Voice There are proven best practices you can employ that model effective use of voice in a chat or discussion. They include: • Using people’s names when you are referring to something that they said, • Keeping comments concise and to the point, • Considering how responses will be ‘read’ by recipients before posting, • Avoiding using inflammatory language or words, • Starting a new thread, or begin a new portion of a chat, for each new topic introduced, and • Staying open to new ideas and opinions! Find our more about Voice by reading, Using Voice to Promote an Extended-Level of Discussion Early Intervention Leadership Academy MSDE/CTE

13. 4. Be Strategic…Structure Participants . There are innovative chat formats and strategies designed to elevate the exercise of the online chat from an unstructured, free-for-all -- to an organized, effective and inclusive endeavor. Some of those strategies include: • Virtual teaming • Brainstorming • Debating • Engaging in chapter and peer reviews Read more about CTE’s bag of “chat” tricks by checking out the Chat Formats document. Early Intervention Leadership Academy MSDE/CTE

14. 4. Be Strategic…Structure Participants . Just as there are structuring strategies facilitators may use to create effective chats, there are also proven group frameworks and systems that can be used to ensure meaningful discourse in discussion threads. We touched on some of these earlier. They include: • Keeping discussions open-ended to elicit learners true reflections • Inviting inquiry • Validating multiple perspectives • Keeping discussions positive • Keeping discussion moving and in-line with course objectives To find out more, check out CTE’s Discussion Strategies Early Intervention Leadership Academy MSDE/CTE

15. 4. Be Strategic…Questioning Bloom’s taxonomy of learning divides the way people learn into six different levels beginning with knowledge and progressing through to evaluation. To learn more about Bloom’s taxonomy of learning visit the following website: • Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum Home Page (Bloom’s Taxonomy) When composing questions for a chat or discussion thread that invite higher level thought it could be useful to consider Bloom’s taxonomy. The following two websites provide sentence starters and key words for developing questions that stimulate thought and reflection. • Higher Order Thinking Strategies for the Classroom • Bloom’s Taxonomy- Model questions and Key Words Early Intervention Leadership Academy MSDE/CTE

16. 4. Be Strategic…Questioning Examples of questions for engaging higher level thoughtand reflection: • What would you cite as examples for proving that technology can be used to foster meaningful learning experiences that include learning style? • Can you think of an original way to use technology for integrating learning styles? • What is the relationship between assessment that includes technology, and assessment that does not? • What changes would you make to solve the challenges of using technology for teaching with a consideration of learning styles? To learn more about questioning strategies for online discussion, read Questioning Strategies. Early Intervention Leadership Academy MSDE/CTE

17. P.R.E.P. 5. The 4 P’s …How do We Support Learners in the Learning Process Online? • Provide Timely Feedback to Participants • Preserve a Positive Communication • Promote Critical Reflection • Practice Ongoing Evaluation Early Intervention Leadership Academy MSDE/CTE

18. P.R.E.P. 5. Provide Timely Feedback • It is important to provide both formative and summative feedback to participants during your online course so you give them an opportunity to improve. • Formative feedback is provided along the way and summative is offered at the end of the course. • Opportunities for feedback include: • Instructor Feedback • Peer review • Self-assessments • Online surveys • Computer simulations Early Intervention Leadership Academy MSDE/CTE

19. P.R.E.P. 5. Provide Timely Feedback A few tips for providing feedback in your online course: • How – Let students know how you will be sharing feedback (e-mail messages, postings in the discussion forums, etc.) • When – Learners should be given a general idea as to when they should expect feedback. Most feedback should be given within 1-3 days. • Why – Inform students why they will be assessed for online participation (discussion forums and chats.) • Where – Provide an explanation as to where students will find feedback from you. • What – Identify the types of assignments that you will be providing feedback on. Early Intervention Leadership Academy MSDE/CTE

20. P.R.E.P. 5. Provide Timely Feedback • Effective feedback communicates the expectations of the facilitator in a way that students can interpret and apply the information. The following steps can be followed when providing feedback to your students. • Start by reading the entire document/posting/product. Try not to comment until you have read the entire assignment. It can be helpful to read all of the assignments submitted once before commenting on any of them. • Focus on the positive first. Direct comments to the specific elements of the assignment that were done well. • Comment on the large issues next. Consider the following: Does the response meet the criteria in the assignment? Is there a clear focus? Are ideas adequately addressed? • Go on to smaller issues next such as grammar and formatting. How might the document be revised? Early Intervention Leadership Academy MSDE/CTE

21. P.R.E.P. 5. Provide Timely Feedback Effective feedback communicates the expectations of the facilitator so that students can interpret and apply the information. The following steps can be followed when providing feedback to your students. • Start by reading the entire document/posting/product. Try not to comment until you have read the entire assignment. It can be helpful to read all of the assignments submitted once before commenting on any of them. • Focus on the positive first. Direct comments to the specific elements of the assignment that were done well. • Comment on the large issues next. Consider the following: Does the response meet the criteria in the assignment? Is there a clear focus? Are ideas adequately addressed? • Go on to smaller issues next such as grammar and formatting. How might the document be revised? • Review your feedback. Consider your feedback to other students for the same assignment. Is it consistent? Is it fair? • Post your feedback for the participant to see. Arrange a time to discuss the feedback if students request it. Early Intervention Leadership Academy MSDE/CTE

22. P.R.E.P. 5. Provide Timely Feedback When composing constructive feedback consider the following: • Tone – The tone of the feedback should always be kept positive. • Specificity – Feedback should be as specific as possible. Cite specific examples within the student’s work. • Balance – Provide a balance of positive and negative comments. • Structure – Structure the format of feedback so that it is easy to grasp and apply. • Clarify – Clarify what was done or needs to be done to meet the expectations for the assignments. • Connection – Feedback should link to the assessment criteria (scoring tools, rubrics, checklists, etc) that should link to the learning outcomes of the course. • Privacy – Grades should be communicated privately between the facilitator and the student. Before posting student work for the whole group to see—contact the student first! • Critical Thought- Include comments that encourage students to take their thinking to a higher level of thought and reflection. Make interpretive and descriptive comments. Early Intervention Leadership Academy MSDE/CTE

23. 5. Preserve Positive Communication • You’ve already established a positive online learning community through modeling a positive tone, employing community and teambuilding strategies, motivating your participants through engaging learning opportunities, and generating momentum to carry your community. • You’ll see over time that many factors will influence the dynamic of your community. One factor is the personalities and relationships of your participants. Conflicts will arise between participants, and conversely, others will form lasting bonds. Early Intervention Leadership Academy MSDE/CTE

24. P.R.E.P. 5. Preserve Positive Communication • Nipping conflict in the bud is paramount online. Since you are not able to see body language or hear vocal inflections, a tense situation can escalate quickly because people can easily misinterpret communication and assume the worse about another if they are already irritated. • There are proven, effective strategies you can use to be proactive stop conflict and re-set a positive tone. Click here to find out more. Early Intervention Leadership Academy MSDE/CTE

25. P.R.E.P. 5. Promote Critical Reflection What is Reflection? • Reflection is more that “just thinking hard about what you do” (Bullough and Gitlin, 1995), Reflective practitioners give careful attention to their experiences and how meaning is made and justified. They analyze the influence of context and how it shapes human behavior. • The reflective process includes the recognition of educational dilemmas, the identification of similarities to other situations as well as the unique qualities of a particular situation. A reflective practitioner frames and reframes the dilemma and experiments with various solutions and their implications. By examining the various consequences—both pros and cons—the reflective practitioner tests outcomes prior to implementation. • Reflection is a learned activity. In order to improve on any newly acquired skills or to refine existing skills—one must practice. Reflection is not an innate skill possessed by all those in the teaching profession nor is it uniformly achieved Merely writing reflective narratives without feedback from mentors, facilitators and peers will not make you more reflective. Early Intervention Leadership Academy MSDE/CTE

26. P.R.E.P. 5. Promote Critical Reflection Levels of Reflection Rubric • In order to understand and improve upon your skills in the process of reflection, it is important to understand the levels of reflection: technical, contextual, and critical (Arrington & Field, 2001) Level I—Technical Level—Focus on refining teaching strategies ·Describes specific instructional problems only from own perspective—doesn’t connect to context nor prioritize importance ·Indicates that some instructional problems are more important that others, but doesn’t explain why ·Focuses on finding answers without considering consequences ·Concerned with effective and efficient application of theoretical knowledge ·Considers own teaching performance with assistance of peers but does not propose viable actions or forsee future consequences Level II—Contextual Level—Focus on relationship between problematic situation and actions ·Situates multiple issues in classroom and/or school environment ·Uses a problem-solving process to analyzes and reframe important issues to gain greater insight into teaching ·Notes awareness of student and faculty perceptions and sensitivity to their needs ·Explains use of theoretical and personal knowledge in practical and short term actions ·Considers positive and negative consequences for actions and accepts responsibility for choices Level III—Critical Level—Focus on commitment to social justice concerns ·Examines classroom issues in relation to knowledge of the wider society ·Examines issues from multiple perspectives (e.g. teacher, student, parent, administration, community members) ·Proposes and prioritizes actions in relation to ethical, moral and caring outcomes ·Views self as a change agent and advocate for students, parents, colleagues, and the wider community ·Contrasts negative and positive consequences for various feasible long term actions Developed by Arrington & Field, 2001 Early Intervention Leadership Academy MSDE/CTE

27. P.R.E.P. 5. Promote Critical Reflection Levels of Reflection Rubric Explained • The Technical Level is where those reflecting are only concerned with refining teaching strategies. • Those at the Contextual Level concentrate on the relationship between the problematic situation and the actions. • At the Critical Level, narratives exhibit deep contemplation and commitment to social justice concerns. • These levels are developmental, and initial studies show that not every person will progress through the levels ultimately reaching critical reflection. Early Intervention Leadership Academy MSDE/CTE

28. 5. Promote Critical Reflection –Using Activities Activities can be used to promote critical reflection: • Guiding Questions: Provide guiding questions with content presentations • Think-Abouts: Use think-about questions through activities • Templates: The use of templates to guide individual activities Early Intervention Leadership Academy MSDE/CTE

29. P.R.E.P. 5. Promote Critical Reflection –Through Communication Communication tools can be used to promote critical reflection: • Use the Individual Reflection Forums: Each participant is provided an individual discussion forum with permissions set for just the participant and facilitator. This is a forum for reflection on learning with respect to the goals of the course. The facilitator monitors this forum and provides individualized coaching, feedback, and support through the learning process. • Provide synthesis statements: Synthesizing of the discussions • Application: Encouraging participants to apply concepts to their work setting • Voice: Use of different “voices” to encourage participants to see other points of view • Philosophy: Having participants articulate their philosophy and values of the topic Early Intervention Leadership Academy MSDE/CTE

30. P.R.E.P. 5. Promote Critical Reflection –Through Feedback Feedback can be used to promote critical reflection: • Rubrics: Rubrics should be used for participant self-assessment and facilitator assessment. Constructive feedback should be provided, in narrative form, by the facilitator. • Peer review: Provide opportunities and guidelines for peer review • Individual Contributions: Allow participants to assess individual contributions through the learning experience. • Support: Support participants as they implement strategies learned. Use the individual reflection forum and emails, where appropriate, to provide ongoing feedback and support. Early Intervention Leadership Academy MSDE/CTE

31. P.R.E.P. 4. Practice Ongoing Evaluation A sign of a terrific facilitator (on or off-line) is one who can and is willing to be flexible within a course to meet the needs of the students. • Create an environment and plan in which you can evaluate your course during and at the close of your course. • View ELC usage statistics for your participants • Closely monitor the progress of each participant • Evaluate individual contributions to team activities • If you evaluate during your course, you have the opportunity to re-calibrate your facilitation and meet more needs of your participants. Early Intervention Leadership Academy MSDE/CTE

32. P.R.E.P. 4. Practice Ongoing Evaluation • The use of personal discussion threads is a strategy used to create an environment that encourages on-going participant feedback and support. • Some facilitators have had great success with setting up a discussion thread for each community member that has permissions set only for the facilitator/s and that member. That way, if a member has feedback, questions, or concerns, they know just where and how to connect with the facilitator/s. • CTE has had great success with setting up a discussion thread for each community member that has permissions set only for the facilitator and the member. Facilitators might be assigned to monitor particular members. This individual discussion forum is where participants submit assignments, receive ongoing feedback form the instructor, and get individualized support. • If a participant has feedback, questions, or concerns about the content or process of online learning, they know just where to connect with the facilitators. • This is a fantastic tool for keeping your fingers on the pulse of your participants and maximize the learning experience. Early Intervention Leadership Academy MSDE/CTE