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Snapshot

Name and Title: Jenn Ahrens; Clinical Associate Professor
Class that will be showcased: ESS 2320 Motor Development
Is this an undergraduate or graduate class? Undergraduate Course for Students seeking teacher certification
What is the size of the class? 50
Is there anything else we should know before we keep reading? This is my first semester to teach online/hybrid or to use Canvas. Let’s just say there were some sleepless nights…

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My Class

This course (Motor Development) is a course for students that will eventually apply to the College of Education Teacher Certification Program. It is extremely important that they not only learn the information that is relevant to the course, but also learn through a multitude of different methods. In my doctoral program, I was taught that adult learners do not learn through only one method, and I took that to heart.

I taught this course in a hybrid format; we did not meet every week, but we did meet when the information could be taught in an active yet socially distanced way. I have engaged in many hours of active learning (AL) trainings on campus, and it was my goal to provide students with an AL experience even with the challenges brought by 2020.

The hardest lesson was having to be flexible in every situation and not take it personally that students felt like staying in bed for my 9:30 am class. Making accommodations for something as little as a runny nose or as big as a clinically positive COVID-19 test was extremely difficult. Basically, I (not unlike any other F2F teaching faculty) had to have 2 lesson plans for in-class instruction days. This was the most challenging semester out of my 11 years teaching in higher education.  However, I can say I have learned the most about myself and the types of students that call themselves Bobcats!

How to make the most of a HyFlex classroom – A Few Examples

Being that this was my first semester to teach online/hybrid, I relied upon a flipped instruction style. This provided the liberty to “rely” on the students to look over the material before the F2F class meeting. In most cases, I would upload the PowerPoint notes with a voice over for them to listen to before we met in class. Before engaging in any partner work, I would take students temperature to make sure that at that given point, they did not actively have a fever.

Example 1: Advertisement

Students came to class with knowledge of how the five components of fitness impacted motor skills and functional living of different age groups. Upon entering the classroom, I had students stop by the front desk to pick up an assignment sheet that had a highlighted age group. There were 2 of each age groups, so students were matched in partnerships by their highlighted color. In this classroom, there is a large space, so we have plenty of room for social distancing. Students partnered up (or had the option to work alone) to get further information and begin the activity.

This activity was about applying the information that they had learned outside of class about the five components of fitness and create an “advertisement” for a program that would fit the developmentally appropriate needs of their age group. Students brainstormed, created, designed, and made their advertisement. After class (by 8pm on the class day) one student in the partnership, took a picture of the advertisement and uploaded it on the discussion board in Canvas. The student added 5 bullet points about how they addressed the components of fitness.

Students in the class were required to comment on at least 1 advertisement about how, what, and why they chose what they did. FINALLY, I took questions from their advertisements for their exam! If a student were absent due to being sick or for another excused reason, they could easily do this on their own, at home. I got many points of great feedback from this activity, so I will certainly use this this method again next semester.

Example 2: Video Assessments

Perhaps one of the most challenging aspects to make up in this course, is the Service-Learning component. In a “normal semester”, students would engage in Service-Learning, either at Henry Bush Head Start or Bonham Pre-Kindergarten. During this component, students get to create and facilitate a lesson as well as assess motor skills. This is the most defining moment in this course, the time when they get to bring it all together. In Jowers Center, we have just opened an “active learning space” that holds 100 students. In this space, there are screens at every 8-person table.

With the use of this room, we were able to view videos that I found/gathered/collected to do evaluations and assessments of children of differing abilities and ages. Even though we are not able to have access to real children, the use of an active learning classroom and videos of children doing the skills, brings life into our classroom. In many cases, undergraduate students have not taken the time to watch children walk, run, hop, skip, catch, etc. It is extremely important that they do this and can assess these skills appropriately. This has been a compromise, but one that worked well.

Example 3: Matching Activity

Another lesson that I created is a matching activity for the lesson/chapter that is being covered for that week. Once again, this is based on a flipped instructional method. From the most important 8-12 concepts of the chapter, I develop a question and answer. For example:

(Question) It is important to present stimuli during these time periods to give the best chance to make a durable imprint on the brain

(Answer) Critical Periods

These are typed in colorful ink, printed, laminated, cut, and placed in paper envelopes. This semester, due to COVID-19 restrictions, I made one for every student, so they did not have to share. Due to the lamination, they could be sanitized. Many of them still chose to work in partners to discuss their answers. After students matched their questions and answers, I had the same (very large) on the front board. In lieu of lecturing from Power Point, I used the questions and answers as a guide for the discussion. Although this method takes some prep work, I will have this for future semesters.

You’re probably wondering…

How do I handle academic integrity in my class?

I have given online exams for this course. At the start of the exam page, I have a clear and concise statement that tells students that they are NOT allowed to leave the exam page. I let them know that I will be able to tell if they leave the exam and if they do, their grade will result in a zero. I was pleasantly surprised that students were conscientious and would email if they had a “pop-up” or anything else that would make me think that they left the exam page.

How do I keep students engaged with me, with each other, and with the course?

I have Zoom office hours that students can sign-up for via Canvas. I have scheduled these at varying times, hoping to meet the various schedules of students. I am also available for in-office meetings or additional zoom meetings, if needed.

To gain a “pulse” of how things were going; mid-semester I sent out a word cloud survey asking if students preferred more “in-class” days or more “remote” days. Based on the results of this survey, there was a resounding “in-class” response. I added a few more F2F days that were not originally scheduled. I think if content is approachable and more than “just a PowerPoint” (from a student), students will want to be F2F. I understand that as a whole, they want to feel a connection to the campus, the instructor, and other students.

In Conclusion….

I never wanted the feeling that students were saying or thinking “we could have just done this by ourselves online”. I wanted to make each F2F meeting beneficial and not something that could have easily been accomplished without coming to campus, especially during a pandemic.

I have had to make some compromises with myself and with students. In a typical semester, late work is not an option. I would not accept late work, even with a point deduction. This semester, given the current conditions, the policy has changed. I decided early on that because I was learning Canvas and online/hybrid teaching, that I was going to make mistakes. I have made my fair share. Dates not matching, documents not opening on time, quizzes closing early have been an Achilles heel for me. Because of this, I have accepted late work, basically on a case by case basis. It has caused more work for me, but I feel that it has been fair as I have been learning. Next semester, I will have a much better grasp on of Canvas, therefore the expectation from students will be higher.

I am excited for future semesters; I feel like I have learned so many things this semester, and I cannot wait to build upon this foundation!