Read on Twitter
For non-uni folx, I did a range of teaching for my students during lockdown, including live sessions, recorded sessions, 1:1s and small group classes. I *hope* my students felt supported and like they had access to a range of resources. Just know it takes tons of work and prep.
Itâs really complicated and could be VERY exclusionary for (staff and) students with SpLDs. I reckon most committed teaching staff are braced to do a considerable amount more work if/when we go partially online for 2020/21.
My favourite thing is spontaneous questions in class. Itâs where I learn and improve and where students bring their knowledge and experience enhancing the whole experience. Recording doesnât allow for this. Lots of learning tools need reevaluating and thereâs no time.
I enjoyed running âreaction sessionsâ which lots of students took part in. We watched a clip independently but simultaneously in âreal timeâ and then basically had a series of discussion threads steered by starter questions. A bit like sharing a video on Facebook with direction.
I also did Q&A threads on Teams which remained visible for refer each for whole modules.
I did âMark with Meâ videos where I talked through an intro, a body paragraph, and a conclusion. There were consolidated slides so you didnât have to watch the video for the overviews but also get micro details by watching me restructure sentences for clarity.
The really important thing is to find manageable ways to incorporate several styles of teaching and engagement. Itâs not as straightforward as it sounds and highlighting stimuli/focus points, providing summaries, + not relying entirely on just chatting to a camera alone is vital.
I teach with a broad range of âmaterialsâ from scores to blurbs on costume patterns to YouTube videos so I made lengthy referencing and formatting cheat sheets. This is not because students âcanâtâ find answers but because there is something valuable in seeing patterns evolve
Different teachers and modules will require different adjustments but believe me, the infrastructure behind these few examples took a lot of thought and planning as well as consideration of the feasibility/adaptability for students with different needs.
This thread has not covered considering/supporting current students now on different time zones. I didnât deliver a single live teaching session in term that wasnât at a time that all my students could make. This meant I ended up teaching between 2:30-5pm rather than at 9am.
However, I was fortunate that the time zones lined up that way. This may not work for other people. Where some âin personâ small group teaching is going to continue, what happens for those shielding or abroad in this time? Thatâs then a double resource situation.
