As part of my reflections about the last few months of teaching, I have found myself reading and revisiting a number of blog posts. I thought I’d share 3 here with a few notes.
Michelle D. Miller’s article 5 Takeaways From My Covid-19 Remote Teaching is a fabulous reflection on the ‘pivot’ to online teaching that many of us undertook sometime in February or March. Whilst the 5 takeaways strike a chord with me, I really like the positive elements that she has incorporated: being required to teach in new ways has forced many of us to work in ways that we might previously have resisted. This experience has also, critically, highlighted some issues which we might have previously either not seen, or not looked for.
Sean Michael Morris’ piece for Hybrid Pedagogy is not new (it’s from 2013). However, it is a very useful reminder to all of us that are thinking about the possibility of online, or blended, delivery in September about what Digital Pedagogy is not. Critically, pedagogically-driven online teaching is not just about recoding a presentation, creating a discussion board and posting a quiz. The core focus of the article, his discussion about the Learning Management System (LMS), is a challenging read, suggesting that it sells us false hope - that online teaching is ‘easy’ if we only use the LMS effectively.
The approach that Robin DeRosa outlines in her piece on Values-Centered Instructional Planning offers a practical approach to developing a thoughtful framework for teaching. I particularly like the clear articulation of the guiding principles behind the approach, and the way she presents implications at multiple levels (assignment, course and institution). Even if the details don’t work in every organisation, the approach is replicable and one which I will think about for my own programme.
There are, of course, lots of articles being written about the ‘pivot’ to online teaching, the need to rethink pedagogies and to design teaching for online delivery rather than seeking to replicate existing models of face-to-face delivery. These three pieces have stood out for me in the last couple of weeks as ones I would encourage everyone to read and to think over (preferably as you take a walk through your favourite green space).