To support CMU instructors on your continued journey, we hope this series has helped you explore what effective teaching and learning looks like in these new and diverse settings as we shared practical information and valuable insights from our Multi-Modal Teaching Methods Certification (or MTMC) faculty development opportunity.
Support in any Modality
The necessity for all higher education stakeholders to embrace practices that support student confidence, well-being, and overall success in our classes and their time at our institution is undeniable. Thus, it is imperative that strategies explicitly supporting student success be embedded in the design of our courses, in the materials we provide, and in how we present ourselves (as instructors and as humans). Building such support elements into your course, in any instructional modality, can be successfully implemented with low instructor investment and high support output. For example, simple practices, such as smiling and greeting students wherever they are (in class or remote) are a great way to start establishing social presence in your class.
Direct students to support services. One strong recommendation to support students in their academic experience through your course(s) is to provide straightforward access to support services on campus (e.g., phone numbers, website information, and other access opportunities). As instructors, our primary role is to guide learners toward knowledge (and applicable skills) within our disciplines; we are neither equipped nor prepared to carry out the support activities designated through many offices on campus. Thankfully directing students to seek these offices and services can be fast and easy. For example, adding the Student Services Module to your Blackboard shell connects your students with a listing of student-facing services and resources available at CMU that support academic success, financial security, and physical/mental health and well-being.
Maximize your modality and keep it simple. Elements of new(er) instructional modalities (such as hybrid and flexible modes) can dramatically improve the experience and learning for students by reducing or even eliminating some of the systemic inequity we see in traditional higher education delivery formats (Beatty, 2019). The benefits of incorporating components or tools that accompany these modes are also valuable for instructors, for example, the efficiency of virtual office hours or increased asynchronous accountability for students. Additionally, ensuring clarity and consistency in expectations, instructions, technologies, and/or modes of engagement are particularly helpful in navigating the student experience, especially for traditionally underserved and underrepresented students (O’Keefe et al., 2020).
Prioritize responsiveness. Responsiveness is a valuable strategy to build a community that supports students in any class modality. Berkeley College professor Dr. Byron Hargrove (2021) describes how implementing immediacy behaviors during the [Covid-19] pandemic yielded positive outcomes that permanently changed his practices. One change, increasing his frequency of communication, made the difference: “I made sure that responsiveness was my guiding principle…I often got messages of appreciation like, ‘thanks for getting back to me so fast,’ and many students documented the effectiveness of this approach in my course evaluations. My students felt heard, attended to, and respected. Simply communicating in a timely manner can make a world of difference for anxious or confused students” (para. 14).
Lead by example. How you project yourself in online, blended, and face-to-face settings sets a climate of engagement, which is linked to student motivation and persistence (Swan, 2018). Why is social presence so vital to achieving positive community, learning, and student success? Wei & Chen (2012) posit that social presence “enhances the learning quality because…[it]…considers that people learn not only through their own experiences, but also by observation, imitation, and modeling of others” (p. 530). As the teacher (or instructor, facilitator, educator, assistant, however your role may be defined), we set the example for what we can expect from our students. You are the model. You set the climate of the class. With this, consider the power you hold in creating a safe, professionally intimate, and empowering classroom where students learn through not only what you say but how you say it.
Along with supporting instructors in promoting social presence, community, and learning in their diverse spaces, the Office of Curriculum and Instructional Support strives to connect CMU instructors with practical and applicable instructional strategies that explicitly support student success. Send us an email, enroll in the MTMC, and check our recent blog pieces Hidden Rules and Serving Our At-Risk Learners and Alternative Views: Student Cameras in Virtual Sessions, for more on these topics!
Reference(s):
Beatty, B. J. (2019). Hybrid-Flexible Course Design (1st ed.). EdTech Books. https://edtechbooks.org/hyflex
Hargrove, B.K. (2021). Two principles guiding this professor’s pandemic teaching. eCampus News. Retrieved from https://www.ecampusnews.com/2021/04/21/two-principles-guiding-this-professors-pandemic-teaching/2/
O’Keefe, L., Rafferty, J., Gunder, A., Vignare, K. (2020, May 18). Delivering high-quality instruction online in response to COVID-19: Faculty playbook. Every Learner Everywhere. http://www.everylearnereverywhere.org/resources
Swan, K. (2018). The Community of Inquiry framework, blended learning and the i2Flex classroom model. In Management Association (Ed) Online Course Management: Concepts, methodologies, tools and applications. IGI Global. http://doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-5472-1
Wei, C. & Shing-Chen, N. (2012). A model for social presence in the online classroom. Educational Technology Research and Development, 60(3), 529-545. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11423-012-9234-9