Instruction and Pedagogy

Summary of themes from discussion at RC GAA Team meeting, November 13, 2020. Questions to prompt the discussion:

What strategies have worked well in your workshops?
What would you like to improve or change?
Think of a particularly effective online class or presentation (in any setting). What did you like about it?

Interaction in workshops

Has become far more important now that we are online. Much harder to read audience than in person, especially since not all share video.
Attention to pace.
Gaps to check for comprehension.
Gaps for questions, even if someone is monitoring the chat.
Gap if you know a section is confusing.
Confirmation that your audience knows how to use the features of Zoom you will use for interaction.
Use features such as Yes/No, Thumbs Up, Polls, Whiteboard in Zoom. Polls lead to great discussions.
Use break-out rooms to get into smaller groups that can be sorted by areas of interest - example, MAC versus PC, or can simply facilitate smaller group discussions.
Co-teach to have two voices / conversational style
Regulation of the volume that you are trying to teach in the workshop (perhaps cut back and provide some parts either before or after)
Let the students play around during the workshop, such as with code or by trying examples.
Warn participants that there will be participation aspects in the workshop but that it is not mandatory.
Ask questions but hide answers so that participants can respond.
Getting participants to problem-solve during workshops increases their interaction and attention.
Use remote desktop in Zoom for consultations.

Having a backup is great because then you have someone you trust that can provide you with feedback right away.
When teammates are new, it takes time for both the new and experienced person to figure out exact roles. Right now the new person is the backup answering questions, but there is some balancing that takes place live in the workshop when questions come up the new person cannot yet answer.
Some clarity around exact roles is helpful to the new person.
Evan can review your content if you are trying to refine it.
Looking for more ways to share our ideas together in a central place, perhaps in addition to the Teaching Peer Support Community of Practice mentioned above.

Evan offered that he is willing to review workshop content if you want to try some changes.
Albina - attended a consult with Amir
- Let remote control of the participants. Amir takes control of the participants software and it really helps the students understand how to use the software.
- Reza - asked are there privacy issues. Amir is doing it through Zoom. You just need to have Zoom for it to work. Someone needs to share their screen and then remote control will work. https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362673-Requesting-or-giving-remote-control
Sarah Parker encourages use of polls to create discussion.
Question: can you see the Chat for the whole meeting if you join late? We are not aware of a way to do this. Strategies to help latecomers:
- one of the co-hosts saves the chat and sends it to the participants (if someone joins late they can’t see the chat that precedes their joining).
- Sarah Parker reposts the links in the chat.
- Evan has notepad open and tracks all of the links and adds everything into the chat as late people enter.
Tomoko has the Teaching Peer Support Community of Practice - they have a listserv where they share all of this info. There is also a confluence page. If you would like to get on the listserv and gain access to the confluence page, please email tomoko.kitayama@ubc.ca. This community of practice meets every Thursday.