Virtually Autumn: Communicate now

As I suggested yesterday, clear communication with thoughtful content is critical in virtual instruction. By thoughtful, I mean, in part, having reflected on what questions and concerns student might have and proactively addressing their needs. Of course, instructors could spend a lot of time on this and still not accurately think about the class from the student perspective! So, I always advocate for actively asking students for feedback. I suppose some faculty might see doing this as a weakness; that it either shows they are not "in command," relinquishing some course decision-making to students, or that they don't have enough experience as a teacher to know what students need to succeed in their course.

Instructor introduction

Instead, I routinely introduce myself on the first day of class as imperfect, just to get that fact out into the open! Of course nobody is perfect. I spend time on that first day explaining that I'm the instructor of the course not because I have all of the answers. I tell the students that I'm standing in front of them (or, now on a computer screen in front of them) because I'm farther along the educational journey than they are, and that I have developed skills in helping learners approach content from different perspectives; that I have enough knowledge of the subject to be able to explain difficult concepts in multiple ways. I explain that I will definitely make mistakes and that I will appreciate it if students are paying close enough attention to spot them! I also mention that they might ask me questions I don't know how to answer, and that I value those opportunities to show them how to go about finding or developing an answer to a question in my discipline.

I believe that this approach helps humanize me and make me more approachable. Again, building community is difficult in online courses, and it is imperative that we do as much as we can to stimulate participation and willingness to talk during and outside of our classes. So, I suggest making this part of your communication to your students as early as possible; maybe even before the academic year begins! Add this to the video introduction of yourself that you're going to post on the front page of each course webpage. You can design a generic version that you can use for each class each semester, so it is a good investment of your time.

Course introduction

Likewise, be honest and transparent about what the class experience will be like. I am already communicating with my students, through a discussion board, about the general structure of my virtual course, like when they will need to participate synchronously and what technology they will need to do so (items that are also provided in the course syllabus). It is also wise, I think, to be clear that not all decisions have been made yet, and that plans will very probably change during the semester. I've mentioned that I'm preparing to be as flexible as possible, and I'm asking students to be as patient and flexible as well. The goal here is to advance the idea that we are all in this together! These are useful communications to have now with your students.

Solicit feedback

To know what your students' needs are, the best approach is to ask! Across an academic term, I routinely use anonymous surveys to obtain feedback about student perspectives and ways they think class can be improved. One reason I do this is to develop student buy-in to the pedagogical practices I use. For example, I normally teach "flipped" (blended learning) classes, where students access the material before a class meeting, and then we spend our valuable in-person time practicing using that information, discussing it, and doing question-and-answer to help clarify alternative conceptions. My virtual courses will work the same way, and I know from experience that some students think this approach is "lazy" teaching. They expect me to actively lecture for fifty minutes a day to earn my salary, and they might think it is a cop-out for me to have video recorded parts of those lectures for the students to watch.

Of course, educational research suggests that the active learning we do during our face-to-face meetings (now online "synchronous" time) helps improve learning, and of course the students don't know that unless we explain it! So, because of what I perceive as a widespread opinion that online instruction is inherently lower quality that face-to-face, I deliberately invest time at the start of each academic term describing how the course has been designed to improve the student experience and dispelling myths about the instructional approach.

To help me explain the benefits of course design to students, it can also be very valuable, on (or before!) the first day of class, to survey your students about their attitudes and perceptions on your pedagogical approach. This way, you will find out what sort of concerns you will need to explicitly address at the beginning of the academic term. Some questions for virtual instruction might include:

• How much do you like being able to ask questions during class? (a little, some, a lot)
• What percent of class time do you prefer be spent on lecture? (0-25%, 25-50%, 50-75%, 75-100%)
• How much time do you expect to spend outside of class preparing for class?

This process can be very eye-opening about differences between your expectations for student activity/involvement and their expectations. With these types of data, you can best help your students understand the value of adapting their schedules/expectations/activities to your pedagogical approach.

Communicate the course design: How and Why

After getting this student feedback at the start of the semester, I spend at least a few minutes each class for the first couple of weeks explaining how I designed the course for virtual instruction and why I made those choices, with student success in mind. To address student sense of satisfaction in the course, I address topics like:

• how what you are doing is probably going to be new to them
• how you know that your changes have been shown to be effective (i.e. that you're not necessarily testing unproven strategies on them as "guinea pigs")
• how their participation and regular preparation is absolutely critical and essential for the class to work and for every student to do their best

For me, this has been effective at helping students appreciate (or at least understand) that each element of the course was purposefully designed to help them and that their experience will be most effective if they actively participate in the class.

Now is a great time to start communicating with your students. Introduce:

1. Yourself
2. Course mechanics (syllabus and more)
3. A survey of their expectations
4. The how and why of your course design

Give your students a rudder: steer them toward what they can expect your class to be like and show them that you're on their side; that you have their interests at heart; that you've designed the class with their success in mind.