Reflections on Delivery Methods in My Teaching

I have taught using a variety of models. As with many veteran teachers, most of my experience is in a traditional classroom, teaching face-to-face, also known as the “on ground” model. Although I enjoy this model, I prefer to augment this delivery with a course site and the use of digital tools, often with a digital project. Some would consider this to be a hybrid model (also known as “blended”). The definition of hybrid varies based on the teaching institution, but in my experience, most institutions define hybrid as a certain number of credit hours in a traditional classroom with a certain amount of online assignment work, such as discussion boards or digital project work as an additional credit hour. In other words, a hybrid 3-credit course may include a weekly 2-hour face-to-face class and then 1 hour of online-based course work in addition to homework. In an online course model, students may or may not experience synchronous class meetings. I have taught synchronous courses, but not asynchronous courses. Ending about seven years ago, I taught a few courses online for 10-week terms. So overall, I probably taught about 15-20 online courses over a few years.

Hybrid brings together the best of both worlds for me. I enjoy working with my students and getting to know them in a classroom setting, and then I get to know them at a deeper level when they create digital projects and build an ePortfolio. I have often been surprised by students who will barely speak in class but will compose a thoughtful response via an ePortfolio reflection. Perhaps now more than ever, many students favor polished responses that allow them time to process and revise before responding. Although this has its drawbacks, for a student who would otherwise not share his or her thoughts in class, the ePortfolio offers an opportunity to share with the class (rather than turning in a response to me only). Building their ePortfolio also gives them the space to share their passions, and I learn about their love of sports or activities as well as their major and reasons for choosing it. Finally, their thoughts are shared with the class (and possibly beyond), not just me, so I think it feels more meaningful and powerful than passing in an essay and having me as the solo audience member.

In my limited experience, teaching online felt less fulfilling for many reasons, but primarily, I disliked it for two reasons. The first had to do with the university’s expectation that I deliver their content, with very little customization. Seminars were synchronous one-hour meetings, and they were the element that I controlled in the class. All other content was assigned to me (including discussion board topics, rubrics, due dates, reading, and prompts). My grade book was monitored, so if I did not have an assignment graded within a week, I was sent reminder emails (often by administrative assistants). So a lack of control over content and delivery was the primary reason that I disliked online teaching for that institution. Of course, not all universities follow that model, but many do. While I completely disliked it, my sister (a nurse who recently completed an online graduate degree), felt that she got a better education overall because the material and the projects were consistent, regardless of the professor.

The second reason for my distaste for online teaching had to do with the limitations of the technology at the time. The platform that I had to use for seminars did not enable live video, so I could not see my class participants nor could they see me. I would show them a PowerPoint presentation and voice over it during seminar. I had to rely primarily on the chat window to get feedback from them during our seminars. I could not read body language, and I could not even tell if a participant was still attending or had gotten up and walked away. I used the polling tool frequently as a way to check for understanding, and I eventually started including small groupings in the presentation to attempt to hear from everyone in the class (ex. “if your last name begins with A-D, answer this question” or “if your birthday is in January, February, March or April, answer this question”). The disconnection I felt from my students made me realize just how much my teaching practice relied on their presence (their body language, their eye contact, even their energy) and the feeling that I knew them. Although some of my students’ personalities came through in their writing and via emails, I did not feel like I really knew them because I had so little live interaction with them.

My online teaching experience was not all bad, though. I got the opportunity to teach students from around the country, and I enjoyed that. Because this institution had multiple campuses in Iowa, I began to appreciate the variety in beliefs and understandings within their communities. My teaching improved because I had to try new tools and methods but also because I was pushed to recognize that some of my “given” assumptions were not held by my students. I also learned about topics that mattered to them and in their communities. I learned a little about the benefits and drawbacks of their experiences, and I worked with students who regularly faced natural disasters, like tornadoes. I also got to visit Des Moines for an annual training and conference, which was a fun experience.