Professor Clare Johnson discusses the transition she needed to make to move into teaching online, and the strategies she has used in creating a connected space in her units.

*Although this case study is for an online unit (rather than blended unit), we have included it because the topics covered are applicable to blended units.

Highlights:

• ‘Meet and play’ webinar sessions to familiarise students to the tools of the course
• Synchronous online classroom/activities
• Collaborative discussion using online tools

In this clip, Professor Clare Johnson discusses the development and challenges of moving to online.

ACU Case study: Creating a sense of connection in liturgical studies (THCP514)
Many thanks to the Faculty of Law and Business for the use of their Pop-up Studio equipment to record this interview.
Length: 8 mins

Unit design

While much of the content is delivered in a written format in modules and readings, these are supplemented with information provided in live interactive online classes.

The students are expected to attend and participate in these class sessions so that they:

• can interact with the lecturer and fellow classmates
• contribute to discussions and in-class exercises
• ask questions about the material covered in the unit and other issues that arise.

Another important feature of this unit is regular participation in online discussions (which in LEO are known as ‘Forums’). Invitations to contribute to the discussion Forums are embedded in the unit modules.

These activities help to guide and focus student's reading, and foster discussion among the group. While most of the Forum postings are not assessed formally in this unit (only the online postings are assessed – see scrolling carousel), it is expected that students participate in the Forums, much as they would contribute to a class discussion in a face-to-face tutorial group.

Structure

Assessment

The above assessments may have been designed before the latest update to the ACU Assessment Policy. See Assessment Policy for up-to-date advice on designing your assessments.

Here is an example of how the unit outline captures online posting and Adobe Connect sessions.

Educational approaches

The following are two example strategies used in this unit:

Week 1 familiarisation session

In the first week of the unit, Clare runs a ‘meet and play’ session to give students an orientation to the unit. It’s a chance for students to familiarise themselves with the tools available and test them out in a risk free environment within Adobe Connect. It is also an opportunity for the students to introduce themselves and get to know their lecturer.

Constructive alignment

The principle of constructive alignment was applied to make sure every activity aligns with a learning outcomes, and has a purposeful reason for being.

Backwards design

This unit was designed using the ‘Backwards design’ approach.

This approach is from Wiggins and McTighe (1998) Understanding by Design.

The design process involves teachers planning in three (3) stages, each with a focusing question:

Adapted from Understanding by Design, G. Wiggins and J. McTighe, 2005, Alexandria. p. 18.

Image Source: Plan for designing and delivering learning outcomes (Huba and Freed, fig. 4-7, p.108).

Technology

This is a list of some of the major tools used in this unit.

Support

These are examples of the kinds of support the academic staff building this unit drew on.

• FTP Faculty eLearning coordinator assisted in the planning of the delivery of the online unit and gave academics support in building their skills in the best practice use of online tools and communication.

Lessons learned

• Planning out the whole unit/semester is important so that you know how the content, readings, activities/exercises and assessment tasks relate to each other.
• Including frequent low-stakes assesment tasks (or sections that build toward a larger task) and preparatory exercises to help them prepare to complete the assessment tasks, can help students to gain a sense of confidence in their learning of the unit materials under consideration.
• Set high expectations of students.

Student feedback

• "Loved the way the online group worked I really felt like I got to know people so it means I think that the pacing of Adobe classrooms was just right".
• "Being able to access the course materials online and the thought provoking readings and tasks."
• "Feedback on assessments was very timely and insightful the design of the unit and the handling of the online environment was the best of all my units so far".

Next time

Clare would like to focus on the following for future iterations of the unit:

• Including more Adobe Connect sessions during the semester as a response to the requests of students more.

References

Biggs, John B.; Tang, Catherine 2011, Teaching For Quality Learning At University, e-book, accessed 28 June 2016, <http://ACU.eblib.com/patron/FullRecord.aspx?p=798265>.

Dawson, P 2012, Constructive alignment and learning outcomes [video], 10 October, viewed 19 July 2016 <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs4WLm0uC2k>.

Huba, M and Freed, J 2002, Chapter 4: Setting direction with intended learning outcomes, Learner-centred assessment on college campuses: Shifting the focus from teaching to learning, Allyn and Bacon, Needham Heights, MA.

Salmon, Gilly 2012, E-Moderating : The Key to Online Teaching and Learning, e-book, accessed 19 July 2016.

Tasmanian Department of Education 2004, Principles of Backward Design, accessed 20 July 2016 <http://www.wku.edu/library/dlps/infolit/documents/designing_lesson_plans_using_backward_design.pdf>.

Wiggins, G, & McTighe, J 2005, Understanding by Design (Expanded), Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development (ASCD), Alexandria, US, viewed 19 July 2016.