On June 30, 2020, Flower Darby, Assistant Dean of Online and Innovative Pedagogies at Northern Arizona University, facilitated a talk at Colgate University entitled Small Teaching Online: Practical Strategies to Increase Student Engagement and Learning. An abstract of the session, a video recording of the talk, and suggested readings are available below:
Session Abstract
Online courses present unique challenges for both students and faculty. Small teaching can help. We’ll explore practical, evidence-based changes you can make in your online teaching practice, small but impactful adjustments that result in significant gains in student engagement and learning. Whether you’re new or experienced online faculty, you’ll gain brief learning activities, minor course design modifications, and simple changes to your communication with online students, based on the approach outlined in Small Teaching Online: Applying Learning Science in Online Classes (2019). If you teach in blended and face-to-face formats you’ll also gain strategies to make better use of your Learning Management System to enhance your efforts in the classroom. Together we’ll discover how rewarding online teaching and learning can be.
Session Recording
Small Teaching Online: Practical Strategies to Increase Student Engagement and Learning (Colgate login required)
Suggested Readings
Flower Darby has also written the following articles in the Chronicle of Higher Education to help faculty navigate the transition to teaching online.
- How to Be a Better Teacher Online (Advice Guide)
- How to Recover the Joy of Teaching After an Online Pivot (March 2020)
- 5 Low-Tech, Time-Saving Ways to Teach Online During Covid-19 (April 2020)
- Sorry Not Sorry: Online Teaching Is Here to Stay (June 2020)
- 5 Ways to Connect with Students Online (June 2020)