Teaching an online class can present a whole series of unique challenges different from teaching a class to students in person. Some of these challenges include student engagement with the materials, keeping them motivated remotely, and ensuring that their learning is similar to in-person classes. Both first-time and seasoned professors face these challenges and a few other surprises in the online environment. When you add mastery-based teaching to this, things can get even more complicated without the right textbooks and learning management system (LMS). The Hawkes Learning system’s unique tools for all classes can help improve all of these issues.
We’ve all had students postpone their coursework until the last minute. I often hear that I knew the material and just needed to knock out the assignment. Usually, these students fail to do well as they rush to their work and put in too little study time. While in the classroom, we can prompt students to finish their work. This is harder in the online environment, where we’re limited to posting assignments and emailing the students. The Hawkes system helps with this in several ways. First, using the mastery-based learning Hawkes is built around, students must get a passing grade to complete the assignment. I’ll be honest. In the first week or two of classes online, a few students still wait until the last minute and then don’t do well. Something I do is let them fail the first time or two, then have a quick Zoom meeting to discuss how to improve their scores. Almost universally, students respond well to this and find the success-based mastery idea appealing. Sometimes, the natural consequences of failure can be used as a strong motivator.
Another feature of the Hawkes system is the assignment reminder system for students. At least at my college, students sometimes tell me they get too many emails from the college and choose only to read some of them. With the email coming from the Hawkes system, students know this is coursework-related, and reading responses are much higher.
A word of caution here– change your message from time to time as students start just to ignore the same one over and over again.
Some of what I discussed above about the reminder system, from the Hawkes system to assignment-related elements, applies to keeping students motivated. I find engagement drops mid-semester most often. This is a time to change things up a bit to catch students’ attention. Rather than email students their instructions in text form, I record short video segments and send these to students. I also include a meme or other humorous element to catch their attention. When I started this, students often commented that they checked the email to see what humorous element I included. In a two-year review, the number of non-completed assignments dropped from 18% mid-semester to 3% after making these changes. It could be argued to do this all semester, but changing things occasionally promotes better overall engagement. Another element I occasionally use is a point or two of extra credit for finding an error in my emails. This encourages me to check my work and allows students to see their professors as human and fallible. Scared of that last part? Don’t be. Let your students see you’re not perfect. It helps everyone.
The last major hurdle I find in online courses is making the learning similar in the online arena to the classroom. There are a few things that can be done to help here. One that I’ve had mixed success with is open Zoom hours for students to get online with me and fellow students. Finding a time to do this can be tricky. At least for me, many of my online students have families and jobs. Finding a time that works for all students is challenging. I find that one-on-one Zoom meetings for students can be a better fit. Where possible, I schedule three or four students at the same time. A second feature I use that I doubt is revolutionary is recorded video lectures that students can watch when and where it fits their schedule. Hawkes provides great PowerPoint slides for the entire book (at least for psychology). I show the slides as I narrate the material for my online students. Student reviews often cite this as a favorite way to learn the material. I also include relevant personal stories or examples to highlight the slides’ points further.
There are always other surprises when teaching online students. I practice patience and understanding for all but the most obvious attempts at getting out of work. What I do find works is good early and frequent communication with online students. This sets the tone for the semester. I also encourage students to ask questions as they go through the material. One example is if they have questions while reading their book or reviewing the PowerPoint slides. I give lots of praise for asking questions and often share the responses with the whole class so that even if a different student doesn’t want to ask, they still get the new information. On this last point, ask your students if they like to be named for asking the question that you share with the class. Some are fine with it, others not so much.
Another element I use online is having students do corrections for their exams. In a mastery-based system, students get used to not making errors and can sometimes feel bad when they don’t do as well on an exam as they do their weekly chapter reviews. I make the corrections procedure somewhat punitive and time-consuming. I learned this element when I noticed students not putting as much effort into the exams. A common response was, “I miss the extra chances” that the chapter reviews provide. They responded much better by giving students room to make a mistake or two but not risk their grades.
Undoubtedly, teaching an online class is different from teaching a live, in-person class. I encourage you to consider as many ways as possible to increase student engagement and persistence in the online world. Hawkes has several features that help you accomplish this.
By adding the mastery-based learning Hawkes is known for, students do better in online classes and feel better about the learning they achieve.
Professor Mark Johnston
About the Writer
Mark is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Neosho County Community College in Chanute, Kansas. Mark has served in this role for five years. His teaching experience extends another six years at Labette Community College Parsons, Kansas. Prior to beginning teaching, Mark held executive leadership positions in several healthcare roles. This included both hospital-based roles and long-term care settings.
Mark is married and has two adult children and seven grandchildren. Mark resides in Parsons, Kansas, and commutes to Chanute to teach his classes. Outside of teaching, Mark enjoys cooking, fishing, and playing strategy board games with a group of other professors at other area colleges. Mark has master’s degrees in Psychology from Pittsburg State University and Human Development from the University of Kansas.
Mark’s professional affiliations include being a member of the American Psychological Association and the Kansas Psychological Association and a negotiator for NCCC’s Professional Educators Association.
Recent posts