ELATED - Kristie's Page

Ever found yourself snarkily replying to a question with "per the syllabus..."? There are thousands of memes about how students don't read them, so what can be done? Check out this hyperdoc to make the syllabus interactive, increasing the likelihood that students will actually use it as a tool.

Tired of lecturing in courses that really should be focused on skill practice? Want to give students autonomy and responsibility while you become more of a facilitator or instructional coach? Check out this sample English composition unit that is self-paced and accomplishes all of these goals.

Building community is an essential part of any course. That is more difficult to do when the class is asynchronous and only "meets" online. Check out this simple weekly survey that can help you check in with each of your students.

Harvard on Flipped Instruction

“Flipped Classrooms.” The Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, Harvard University, 2022, https://bokcenter.harvard.edu/flipped-classrooms.

While this concept isn’t new, at the college level, flipping instruction really became essential during the pandemic. Many instructors were at a loss when they were forced to teach in new formats to meet the needs of students. This article is useful if flipping instruction is new to you, or if you are trying to decide whether or not it really can work for your content area. Additionally, Harvard offers some excellent resources to help you get started if you’re willing to try it.

Hyperdocs: Worth the Hype?

Carpenter, Jeffrey P., Torrey Trust, and Tim D. Green. "Transformative instruction or old wine in new skins? Exploring how and why educators use HyperDocs." Computers & education 157 (2020): 103979.

It is easy to get excited about new tools for instruction, but sometimes they don't actually make instruction easier or increase positive outcomes for students. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the uses of hyperdocs in various instructional settings and the researchers examine critical questions, such as whether or not the effort to create hyperdocs is worth it.

Community Matters

Berry, Sharla. "Teaching to connect: Community-building strategies for the virtual classroom." Online Learning 23.1 (2019): 164-183.

The shift to the online, often asynchronous learning environment has cut out much of the community-building activities that college instructors formerly used to create safe, engaging learning spaces for their students. This has left many instructors scratching their heads as to how this can be transferred to an online classroom. This article provides some practical ideas.

Self-Directed Learning

Robinson, Jennifer D., and Adam M. Persky. "Developing Self-Directed Learners." American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education 84.3 (2020).

As the researchers in this article point out, self-directed learning is a concept that has been around in other disciplines since the 1960s and is a desirable skill for students to gain before graduation. While this is written from outside of the English Language Arts field, much can be gained from it if you’re considering a self-paced or self-directed approach to teaching and learning.

Less Lecture, More Learning

Terada, Youki. “Students Think Lectures Are Best, But Research Suggests They’re Wrong.” Edutopia, 16 October 2019, https://www.edutopia.org/article/students-think-lectures-are-best-research-suggests-theyre-wrong.

While published pre-pandemic, this is an interesting article that will make you consider how passive lecture-driven classrooms really are and why students generally say they prefer a more lecture-based learning experience. The fact is, they really don’t have to do anything in a lecture. If you’re considering flipping your classroom, check this one out for sure.