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Co-Constructing Digital Pedagogies: Leveraging Learning Assistant and TechTA Support
Shannon Rathod, CU-Boulder & Brad Hinson, CU-Denver
The Online Classroom: How to Improve Student Interaction? How to Improve Student Engagement?
Student Retention and Engagement:From the Beginning of the Course
“Effective communication occurs not only during the course, but also before it begins.”(Clapper, 2012)
“Develop orientation materials that introduce students to online expectations and provide points of contact before courses begin.”(Betts & Lanza-Gladney, 2010)
“Too often, the sense of community is not established right at the beginning of the course because of a lack of social presence by the facilitator.”(Poll, Widen, & Weller, 2014)
“Recommendation: All advisors should meet individually or in small groups with first year student within two weeks of the start of the semester. Sooner is better!”(“Twelve Best Practices for Student Engagement and Retention,” 2012)
Yet too often this need for immediate engagement can result in individual instructors attempting to rein in and control all aspects of communication.
“Curriculum […] is constructed and negotiated in real time by the contributions of those engaged in the learning process.”
-Dave Cormier, “Rhizomatic Education: Community as Curriculum”
How to provide students with a more foundational and lasting voice in the course conversation?
How to provide students with a more foundational and lasting voice in the course conversation?
Hire a Learning Assistant or TechTA!
Background: The Colorado Learning Assistant (LA) Model
The LA Model:
❖ Focuses on large-enrollment, on-campus STEM courses
❖ Hires talented undergraduates to facilitate small-group interaction
❖ Better prepares students for careers in STEM teaching
❖ Transforms STEM courses to incorporate research-based teaching
Background: The Colorado Learning Assistant (LA) Model
Roles and Responsibilities of LAs:
❖ Encourage dialogue among students
❖ Assist students in understanding course expectations, concepts, and content
❖ Work approximately 10 hours per week
❖ Communicate weekly with the instructor
❖ Act as an LA, not a TA
Benefits of LAs
❖ Students have increased understanding of content working with LAs
(Otero, Pollock, & Finkelstein, 2010)
❖ Peer discussion improves student performance
(Smith et al., 2009)
❖ Students respond more actively when peers moderate discussions
(Seo, 2007)
❖ Increased communication and interaction positively impacts student performance in learning
(Davies & Graff, 2005)
The Online Learning Assistant Program
Based on the success of the original program, University of Colorado at Boulder’s Independent Learning Program has instituted LAs for its online courses.
In working with an LA, online Instructors:
❖ Redesign their courses
❖ Create alternative spaces for student interaction
❖ Emphasize collaboration
❖ Champion interactive, student-centered content
The Online Learning Assistant Program: Beyond the Classroom
The Online Learning Assistant Program
In working with an LA, online Instructors:
❖ Redesign their courses
❖ Create alternative spaces for student interaction
❖ Emphasize collaboration
❖ Champion interactive, student-centered content
Redesigning the Course: General Process of Working with a Learning Assistant
1) Hire a talented, interactive student, preferably one who has already taken the course
2) Establish an alternative space for the Learning Assistant to interact with students
3) Co-construct the alternative space.
4) Communicate weekly with the LA
5) Monitor the progress of the alternative space
Redesigning the Course: The Homepage
Redesigning the Course: The Homepage
Redesigning the Course: The Homepage
Redesigning the Course: The Syllabus
Redesigning the Course: LA Modeling Assignments
Redesigning the Course: LA Modeling Assignments
Alternative Spaces for Course Interaction
Alternative Spaces:
Alternative Spaces:
Alternative Spaces:
Alternative Spaces: Connected through the Course Widget
Alternative Spaces: Connected through the Syllabus
Alternative Spaces: Google Drive
Collaboration: Co-Constructing the Google Drive Page
Collaboration: Co-Constructing an Assignment
Interactive, Student-Centered Content
Interactive, Student-Centered Content
Positive Feedback from Online Learning Assistants
❖ “The best thing about being a learning assistant is being able to witness all the behind the scene workings of a class.”
❖ “I personally have gained some confidence in my conversation/response skills, at least online, which hopefully will pay off in grad school teaching if I do that.”
Moving Forward with Feedback from LAs❖ “I think the only bad
thing when it comes to the students is that they may find it a waste of time to ask for my help when they can just as easily send an email to the professor.”
❖ “Early in the semester students are eager and respond to me in that D2L site more, over time their enthusiasm fades and I get no responses in D2L, but Drive is still very interactive.”
Moving Forward with Feedback from Students
❖ “It really varies class to class and depends on the course and professor.”
❖ “I haven't really been able to interact very often but will find myself doing so more soon.”
❖ “She is great! She responds to everything and is very insightful.”
❖ “The most useful aspect is having somebody that is kind of half-student, half-teacher. Somebody to connect with while also progressing us academically.”
Recommendations
❖ Allow LAs to cultivate their voices and their own relationships with students
❖ Create a methodology to train and educate LAs concurrent to their work, such as a credit pedagogy course.
❖ Organize and reflect on LA and student feedback each semester
References
Betts, K. & Lanza-Gladney, M. (2010). “Academic Advising: Strategies to Increase Student Engagement and Retention by Personalizing the Online Education Experience.” NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising.
Clapper T. (2012). “Retention In Online Courses: Surviving the First Week.” evolllution.com
Cormier, D. (2008). “Rhizomatic Education: Community as Curriculum.” davecormier.com
Davies, J. & Graff, M. (2005). “Performance in e-learning: online participation and student grades.” British Journal of Educational Technology Volume 36 Issue 4, 657-663.
Otero, V., Pollock, S., & Finkelstein, N. (2010). “A physics department’s role in preparing physics teachers: The Colorado learning assistant model.” Am. J. Phys. 78 (11). aapt.org/ajp
Poll, K., Widen, J., & Weller, S. (2014). “Six Instructional Best Practices for Online Engagement and Retention.” Journal of Online Doctoral Education.
Seo, K. (2007). “Utilizing peer moderating in online discussions: Addressing the controversy between teacher moderation and nonmoderation.” American Journal of Distance Education 21(1), 21-36.
References, continued.
Smith, M., Wood, W., Adams, W., Knight, J., Guild, N., & Su, T. (2009). “Why Peer Discussion Improves Student Performance on In-Class Concept Questions.” Science Vol. 323.
“Twelve Best Practices for Student Engagement and Retention.” (2012). Mansfield University.
Images
Dooley, K. “Chihuly 2”
ebayink, “Tablet use 2”
Foco, E. “Stairs”
Schplook. “Korean High School Classroom”
Velasquez, J. “c9e42240”
TechTAsin the SEHD
A TechTA is actually a Graduate Assistant recruited from the SEHD Instructional Learning Technologies (ILT) program.
● They are paid on a semester basis - not hourly. ● They partner with faculty one-to-one, course-by-course.● They are like a “personal trainer” for online faculty.● They are instructional-designers on retainer. ● They take on projects large and small.
mostly, what we do...Extreme Makeover: Online Course Edition
One-to-One Faculty TrainingCourse Templates
Canvas Hacksmostly, where we work…
● Our Sandbox ● Our Themes
○ Co-Construction of Learning○ Personal Learning Networks (PLN)○ Building a Basecamp○ Browser Based Instruction○ Digital Media/Storytelling
● Our Gallery
challenges & opportunities
● Operational Rules, Protocols● CU Online / Canvas● Demand● Diversity of Needs/Styles/Abilities/Cooperation
challenges & opportunities
● Operational Rules, Protocols ● CU Online / Canvas● Demand● Diversity of Needs/Styles/Abilities/Cooperation
Flexibility is key
beyond the LMS
challenges & opportunities
● We reinvent ourselves every semester● We reinvent strategies with every faculty member,
every course● We use guidelines; not rules; not protocols● We work as a team - crowdsource ideas and
techniques● Adaptability + experimentation = impact
Flexibility is key
