Author: Dr. Sarah Learman, Teaching and Learning Consultant, Office of Curriculum and Instructional Support
Differentiating between CMU’s now official modality types (as approved by the Academic Senate1) has proven confusing for students and faculty alike. Here, we’d like to clarify the different modality definitions and help you apply this understanding to your own course design and delivery. Over the next few weeks, we’ll look at each modality (as defined at CMU1), discuss how courses taught in each modality may look, and provide resources as you prepare for your next course offering.
While instructional modalities and how we deliver our content may vary, the quality of the learning experience should not. Although courses offered in different formats will look different, they should be equally as engaging and rigorous so that students enrolling in a course offered through any modality will get a consistently high-quality experience. Of course, as in every CMU course, in any modality, students are still expected to engage with and complete their coursework as directed by their instructor.
Defining your modality:
Online Synchronous courses are completely online with required specific meeting days and times where students are expected to be actively engaged in a virtual setting. All formalized instruction and coursework are completed online. Proctored or monitored exams may be required.1
(1Definitions were developed by the Academic Senate’s Course Modality Definition Committee, a sub-committee of the CMU Academic Senate, and were approved on 12/7/21).
Many courses are appropriate for delivery in several modalities with appropriate course design; however, the Online Synchronous modality is especially effective for:
- Courses in programs where students are known to value flexibility with real-time communication and instruction.
- Classes that have interaction but not hands-on or lab components
- Classes that are primarily focused on direct instruction with the added benefit of flexibility for students
- Large classes where providing regular and quick feedback to every student would be challenging.
Defining the definition: Incorporating elements from both face-to-face and online asynchronous courses (see our previous blog articles on these subjects), online synchronous learning experiences are created to be delivered and completed virtually (like online asynchronous courses). Unlike online asynchronous courses, however, online synchronous courses include real-time virtual sessions as a required component. Much like face-to-face class meetings, these synchronous sessions take place on pre-scheduled dates and pre-determined times, through a web-conferencing platform (such as MS Teams or Webex) but without assigned classrooms or expectations to meet at the same physical location.
Like other modalities, instructors might include pre-recorded videos, independent assignments, collaborative work, discussions, virtual office hours, textbook readings, or other learning activities to be completed inside or outside of synchronous sessions. During the synchronous sessions, instructors might deliver content as they would in a face-to-face lecture, they might guide students through a learning activity designed to apply content, much like a “flipped” class session or they might utilize the synchronous meeting time for resuscitation, Q&A, or similar discussion based opportunities.
Within the context of the online synchronous modality, assessment design can vary based on instructor preference, discipline, or other specified criteria. Many assessment methods can be used to measure learning in online synchronous courses, from a follow-up application activity to a large-scale project or a midterm exam. That said, administration of formal assessments in online synchronous courses, such as tests and exams may require students to engage in person at pre-determined locations within pre-assigned timeframes (e.g., proctored or monitored through an official, CMU-approved method, like at our Certified Testing Center or one of our satellite campuses).
Considerations as you prepare to teach your online synchronous course:
- Communicate your expectations and address student assumptions. To position our students for success, we must ensure that they understand what the course will look like and what is expected of them. Going into the semester, clearly communicate specifics about your course, including your modality and how the modality parameters will be implemented. Providing such expectations will help to mitigate any assumptions that students bring into our course and quickly align your expectations with those of your students.
- Apply best practices for converting from face-to-face, developing new, and facilitating content online. With the pandemic push to online and remote instruction, more and more research has shown which instructional practices are more (or less) effective for teaching and learning in these modalities. Follow the research within the context of your preferences and capabilities, and reflect on how established course design frameworks apply to your course development. For example, learner-centered practices support high-quality learning experiences in any modality, and the Community of Inquiry includes components that apply to both synchronous and asynchronous online learning. Review the resources we offer to guide faculty in implementing synchronous sessions and holding virtual office hours. Consider creating high-quality learning media, including asynchronous interactive videos, and establishing productive discussions, which can be quite effective in the remote learning space when thoughtfully implemented.
- Reflect and let your past inform your future. Throughout your course design and implementation process, continuously reflect on past experiences, and let what you learn to inform what you do next. A recent article Reflecting on Remote and Online Teaching: Making Meaning and Moving Forward, summarizes this well:
“Given that online learning continues to expand and that more and more faculty are engaging with it on a regular basis, it is a good time for instructors to take a moment to pause and reflect on what they have learned from the remote teaching experience and subsequent online teaching experience and consider how they can continue to make instructional improvements going forward. Reflection on teaching means individual instructors invest effort to think about their experience in order to gain new insights that can enhance their professional practice… Reflection offers an opportunity for our development as educators that can lead to innovation and better teaching. Reflection can make instructors better at their instructional roles and responsibilities” (Reflecting on Remote, 2022).
- Partner with CIS to develop your course and outsource building content in Blackboard. As with all modalities, teaching and learning consultants and/or online course development experts within the Office of Curriculum and Instructional Support (CIS) can help support your course design and facilitation. Our instructional support staff is available year-round to assist in any aspect of your online course preparation and teaching in whatever capacity works best for you. Request a consultation to learn more.
Additionally, instead of spending time doing the tedious legwork of clicking and building content into your Blackboard shell, take advantage of the various support services offered through CIS’ CoursePro team. Such services include copying content between shells, building/deploying assessments, and rubrics, enhancing visual aesthetics and presentation of materials within the shell, verifying accessibility, and more. With advance notice, CIS staff can even carry out a Blackboard Review or proofread your course shell and offer recommendations to enhance, streamline, and support the effective and efficient delivery of your content. Watch this short video to learn more about the CIS CoursePro Services (6:13). For help with all things Blackboard, submit a CoursePro ticket.
Resources to support these endeavors: in addition to those resources linked above, you might also consider these.
- Read these articles:
- Reflecting on Remote and Online Teaching: Making Meaning and Moving Forward discusses how reflecting on past experiences (particularly when it comes to online and remote instruction) can strengthen your perspective and your teaching practices.
- Moving on From Remote Instruction to Online Learning, and Beyond offers some candid conversations about such teaching applications.
- Access a diverse array of online course resources and instructional recommendations on our CIS Online Course Instruction
- Check out our award-winning media maker spaces! Want some individualized support on your upcoming course design (in any modality!)? Sign up for any of our TL Pro or CoursePro services
- Enroll in any of our on-demand self-paced trainings, perhaps the Designing eLearning Workshop.
Be sure to check back next week; we’ll continue this conversation, applying the same considerations as we focus on the Hyflex teaching modality. Want help with something else? Email us today!
For modality comparisons, see the key factors below: Senate Definition, Class Meetings, Best for courses that…, Benefits, and Challenges.
| Modality | Key Factor: Senate Definition |
|---|---|
| Face to Face | Face-to-face courses meet in a CMU approved location with required specific meeting days, times, and location as noted in the course registration system. Internet-based and other technology may be used to enhance instruction in and outside of class. Proctored or monitored exams may be required. |
| Online Asynchronous | Online Asynchronous courses are completely online with no required meeting days and times, but may offer optional synchronous meetings. All formalized instruction and coursework are completed online. Students will complete assignments by established deadlines. Proctored or monitored exams may be required. |
| Online Synchronous | Online Synchronous courses are completely online with required specific meeting days and times where students are expected to be actively engaged in a virtual setting. All formalized instruction and coursework are completed online. Proctored or monitored exams may be required. |
| Hybrid | Hybrid courses have required specific meeting days and times outlined in the course registration system and require face-to-face class sessions in a CMU approved location while other required class sessions can be a mixture of synchronous online meetings and asynchronous online activity. Instructors will determine which class sessions will be held in which modality within the specified course day and time range and these will be announced in the course syllabus. Proctored or monitored exams may be required. |
| HyFlex | HyFlex courses meet on specific days and times simultaneously face-to-face and synchronously online. Course meeting dates, times, and location(s) are noted in the course registration system, and face-to-face meetings occur in a CMU approved location. Students can change their mode of attendance freely according to their need or preference. At the instructor’s discretion, access to course content may be available online asynchronously. Proctored or monitored exams may be required. |
| Modality | Key Factor: Class Meetings |
|---|---|
| Face to Face | In-person |
| Online Asynchronous | None |
| Online Synchronous | Online via web meeting platform |
| Hybrid | In-person, with the option to use asynchronous activities or online synchronous meetings in lieu of some in-person meetings as identified in the syllabus |
| HyFlex | In-person and online simultaneously |
| Modality | Key Factor: Best for Courses that… |
|---|---|
| Face to Face | Courses (typically major/minor) with a lab or strong hands-on requirement
Objectives that include or are supported by collaboration and group work, most effectively executed in close physical proximity Large classes where providing regular and quick feedback to every student would be challenging |
| Online Asynchronous | Courses that require independent critical thought where additional processing time would be of benefit to the student
Courses in programs where students are known to value flexibility Courses that generally include many objective assessments that can be automatically graded Students with strong independence, and self-directed learning skills |
| Online Synchronous | Large classes where providing regular and quick feedback to every student would be challenging
Classes that have interaction but not hands-on or lab components Classes that are primarily focused on direct instruction with the added benefit of flexibility to students Courses in programs where students are known to value flexibility with real-time communication and instruction. |
| Hybrid | Classes that incorporate independent work and interactive, hands-on, or lab components.
Classes with in-depth projects or tasks and where both interaction and additional processing time would be useful. Students with strong independence, and self-directed learning skills. |
| HyFlex | Classes with interactions that may effectively take place in-person or remotely
Classes that largely focus on direct instruction with the added benefit of flexibility to students Courses in programs with online options, or significant enrollment of off-campus students |
| Modality | Key Factor: Benefits |
|---|---|
| Face to Face | Real-time communication and instruction with easy integration of hands-on learning and interaction |
| Online Asynchronous | Promotes independent learning
Most flexible schedule & location |
| Online Synchronous | Allows students flexibility of location with real-time communication and instruction |
| Hybrid | Blend of independent learning and real-time interaction; driven by most effective method to deliver specific content |
| HyFlex | Allows students flexibility of location with real-time communication and instruction |
| Modality | Key Factor: Challenges |
|---|---|
| Face to Face | Limited flexibility for students limiting inclusivity |
| Online Asynchronous | Limited or no real-time communication
Requires thoughtful planning of content delivery, instructions and quick feedback |
| Online Synchronous | Technical challenges of streaming
Intentional planning of interaction (prepare materials, directions, groups, etc.) |
| Hybrid | Requires thoughtful planning, with clear integration and communication of scheduled online and in-person components |
| HyFlex | Technical challenges of streaming and ensuring engagement of all students
Intentional planning of interaction and content delivery to ensure equal access for all participants |
References:
Reflecting on Remote and Online Teaching: Making Meaning and Moving Forward. (2022, October 2). The Patricia K. Cross Academy. Retrieved October 4, 2022 from https://kpcrossacademy.org/reflecting-on-remote-and-online-teaching-making-meaning-and-moving-forward/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=enewsletter&utm_campaign=Oct-2022&utm_content=blog-read-more.