Adapting to Virtual Learning

ADAPTINGTO VIRTUALTEACHING:

An Interview with Sarah Ruckman, online TA for Experimental Biology: Insect Ecology & Animal Diversity Laboratory at FSU.

WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES OF ONLINE TEACHING?

As a Teaching Assistant (TA), one of the biggest challenges about teaching online is the lack of in-person feedback from students. Although at the beginning of the online conversion students would have their cameras on, and I could see some of their reactions, later none of them would use their cameras. So online teaching felt like talking to a wall and having no idea if anyone is even there let alone listening to you. In face-to-face teaching, you generally scan the room as you are speaking and can see students taking notes and hopefully engaging in what you are discussing or if they are confused about what you are talking about.

are discussing or if they are confused about what you are talking about.

Due to this immediate feedback, generally I will then either reexplain the information and ask for questions about where they might be lost when they are confused or move on to the next subject if the students seem to be following along. Online, however, without the ability to see students ’ reactions, it is difficult to tell if students have any idea of what you are talking about or if they understand what you are going over so you can move on to something else that they may need more help with.

HOW HAS ONLINE LEARNING BEEN A POSITIVE CHANGE?

One positive change that I have seen is that participation has increased during

Apositiveaspectforme asaTAisthatIdidgetto knowmystudentsmore thanInormallywould throughmoreone-ononeinteractions before/afterclassor duringofficehours.

synchronous meetings as students are more willing to ask questions using the chat function. I have received countless questions and answers to questions in the chat, both shared with the main room where all students can see the comments as well as to me personally through an anonymous message.

WHAT CHANGES DID YOU MAKE TO YOUR TEACHING STYLE TO FIT THE VIRTUAL SETTING?

Personally, when I teach, I like to be very animated and talk with my hands. That, however, is very difficult to do when you are trying to stay in the view of the camera. I also like to point at my PowerPoint or write while I teach and that is a very difficult habit to change when you are used to teaching in person. Now, I tone it down a bit and am a little less animated when presenting, but I still use my hands a lot and have gotten a lot better about using the cursor to point at my PowerPoints. I also really enjoy the background feature on Zoom, and I think it helps show my

personality and allows me to better connect with my students since they cannot see my earrings or outfits that may show my favorite movies or tv shows.

Over the summer, I tired to have a new fun themed background every week. I then asked the students to change their zoom photo to correspond to the background of the week. We did superheroes one week and Star Wars and even Disney movies. Afterwards, while students where in break out rooms, I would have a short conversation with everyone about their photos to get to know everyone a little better in the hopes that they will be more comfortable with me and will be more willing to ask questions.

HOW DO YOU KEEP YOUR STUDENTS ENGAGED ONLINE?

Over the past year, I have tried a lot of different things to keep my students engaged. I generally always use humor, even if the students do not laugh, as it helps break the monotony and they can at least relate more with me. I also like to poll the class unofficially by having everyone use reactions or emojis to let me know if they are still with me or if they agree or disagree with a statement. I usually also talk about my dogs (I have two corgis) and new movies or TV shows people might be watching since everyone is at home, this provides a more relatable ground and allows students to open up to me. I also like to use themed zoom backgrounds. Onlinelearninghasmade studentsmoredisconnected... theydonothavetheabilityto chitchatbeforeclassand meetnewpeopleintheir classes,whichIbelieveare interactionsthatare essentialforthestudents’ learningprocess.

DO YOU FEEL THAT ONLINE LEARNING HAS DONE MORE TO CONNECT OR DISCONNECT STUDENTS FROM THEIR LEARNING ENVIORONMENT? WHY?

I think that online learning has made students more disconnected in the sense that they do not have the ability to chit chat before class and meet new people in their classes, which I believe are interactions that are essential for the students ’ learning process. They only get a few minutes to chat in breakout rooms but are usually working on the class work. A positive aspect for me as a TA is that I did get to know my students more than I normally would through more one-on-one interactions before/after class or during office hours. This makes them more connected to me, but not necessarily more connected with their peers.