In the Spring 2020 term, Brown students were located around the world in over 25 distinct time zones. Therefore, it is not surprising that a frequent comment (69 responses) focused on ways that faculty were able to transform course interactions into time- and space-independent learning experiences.

Most frequently, this shift happened through distributions of Zoom lecture recordings, but in some cases, faculty used text. For example, Laura Bass (Hispanic Studies) and Evie Lincoln (History of Art and Architecture) posted minutes after each discussion for students who could not attend their Collaborative Humanities graduate seminar. (Although they typed up the minutes this term, they noted that the task of composing the minutes could be rotated among students and instructors.) Similarly, Joan Copjec (MCM) wrote a short lecture each week which she distributed to the students, along with specific questions she hoped the students would discuss. The TA for the class discussed with the students the lecture and questions and formulated questions of their own, which Copjec then responded to in writing.

In ideas about what faculty would do differently next time, asynchronicity surfaced as the most frequent theme (17 responses). As Dixa Ramírez D'Oleo (American Studies and English) remarked, this approach has the benefit of “accommodating students in various home environments and time zones.”

A study of millions of students who engaged in MOOCs (Massive Online Open Courses) found that the following strategies were most effective for online lecture recordings (Guo, Kim, & Rubin, 2014):

• “Chunk” videos into shorter increments. In this study, students’ engagement waned after just six minutes.
• Videos do not need to be high production. Simple videos work well, as do whiteboard-style videos (e.g., recording problem-solving in STEM or marking up a text in the humanities) (Costa, 2020).
• Although this study of MOOC learners suggested that images of the instructor speaking and making “eye contact” can help with student engagement, it’s also OK if you are not comfortable recording yourself. One careful study of a more natural environment (a physics classroom) found that this image is not necessary to impact learning outcomes (Dey, Burn, & Gerdes, 2009).

Additionally, embedding short low- or no-stakes quizzes into the recordings can help increase student engagement and performance on later course assessments (Kinsella, Mahon, & Lillis, 2017). This Panopto quizzes article describes a recommended approach for integrating quizzes into videos. If recording over slides, this resource offers research-based principles for effective multimedia presentations.

Second most frequently named, faculty indicated that Zoom breakout rooms worked effectively (57 comments). These mirrored small-group discussions in a face-to-face classroom, often using Google Docs or screen sharing for students to document the outcomes of their work. For example, inspired by a technique used by Cindy Nguyen (History) in pre-pandemic teaching, Amy Remensnyder (History) gave students creative whiteboard tasks to complete in small groups, such as making collective drawings of key ideas in the readings. Prof. Remensnyder observed that this approach “allowed students the freedom to engage creatively with analytic materials at a time when their abilities to concentrate on more traditional forms of analysis were under considerable strain.”

Breakout rooms can be effective tools for helping students build community, engage deeply with course material, and decrease anxiety about the class discussion (Berry, 2019; Chi & Wylie, 2014; Clark et al., 2019; Eddy, et al., 2019). Like with face-to-face small-group activities, it is useful to offer clear guidelines (task to be completed, time students will be in the small group, reporting out expectations, and student roles) for students before they enter the breakout rooms (Brown et al., 2016). Small-group activities should also be intentionally facilitated because evidence-based approaches for online breakout discussions are often counterintuitive:

• While 5-6 students is often the recommended number for face-to-face small-group discussions, the optimal size for virtual breakout groups is likely much lower -- about three students per group -- to help maintain high discussion quality (Lowry et al., 2006).
• While mixing up groups throughout the term is a common practice, research on equity in group discussion suggests that it may be more useful to maintain membership over the term, to allow group members to build connections (Eddy et al., 2015).
• While many instructors encourage small groups early in the term to allow students a chance to get to know each other, it is equally or more important to highly structure breakouts later, because student networks tend to dissolve over the term (Brown, 2019).

Additionally, if using small groups for higher-stakes collaborative projects or papers, it can be helpful to have group members regularly self-evaluate their own interactions, processes and procedures. Martin et al. (2019) offer useful questions for group members to examine their team practice on four justice-related dimensions: distributive, procedural, interpersonal, and interactional.

Although faculty reported increasing their use of asynchronous approaches for inclusivity, many faculty (56 responses) also indicated that it was important to enhance personalized, synchronous interactions with students through increased outreach and office hours. For example, Charles Morton (Chemistry), noted that the “critical move” in his CHEM0330 and CHEM0350 courses (Organic Chemistry) “was redistributing both the professors’ office hours and the TAs’ problem-solving sessions to cover more time zones.” This outreach is helpful for the student experience because increased instructor communication is associated with persistence in online courses (Hart, 2012).

While these meetings often took place via Zoom, some faculty noted that students preferred other modalities for checking in. For example, David Christensen (Philosophy) indicated that some students in his 72-person PHIL0100 (The Place of Persons) course preferred to speak with him by phone. (A Jabber account can be requested from the university, allowing instructors to use their Brown phone numbers for calls to students.)

Many faculty noted that they changed assignment modalities and their approaches to grading (56 responses), and when asked what they would do differently, this was the second most frequent theme (16 responses).  While there was a wide range of approaches to faculty’s rethinking of their course assessment practices, the most frequent change was to allow students more choice and flexibility in their assignments. For example, David Laidlaw (Computer Science) “maintained expectations, but flexibly, [which] kept students engaged and productive.” Ruth Colwill (Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences) offered “a lot of variety and choice in online assignments,” with options such as a FFP (Fun Final Project), which asked students to get creative with course material (e.g., create a game, write a children’s story or Public Service Announcement, create a new course assignment). Opportunities to exercise some choice in assignments helps to heighten student motivation to learn deeply through them (Deci & Ryan, 2008; Pintrich, 2003). 

A number of faculty also modified the type of assignments and assessments, most frequently changing high-stakes exams or large projects into more frequent, lower-stakes quizzes or papers. Indeed, one of the most powerful ways to help students learn is by offering them more opportunities to practice key ideas and skills, with opportunities for feedback (Dunlosky, et al., 2013; National Research Council, 2000; Schrank, 2016). Neuroscience professor Monica Linden used an online portfolio to collect smaller assignments over time and allow students to reflect on their work cumulatively at the end of the term (see textbox below).

Others used contract (e.g., Inoue, 2019) or specifications grading (Nilson, 2015) strategies to adjust assessment approaches. Other modifications to assignments included changing the types of assessments. For example:

• Virginia Krause (French Studies) used a creative media assignment in lieu of an exam.
• Jessica Stair (History of Art and Architecture) asked students to co-curate an online exhibition.
• Jonathan Conant (History) had students create and post artwork about texts instead of written papers.

Because “people learn better when multiple modalities are used” (Bruff, 2020, p. 111), these assignments all exemplify effective ways to promote student learning.

Use of writing, to prime verbal discussions or in lieu of them, was mentioned by 47 faculty. Multiple faculty reported that the Zoom chat feature allowed for broader engagement, and in-class silent writing can have that affordance as well.

This DLD guide offers useful guidance for planning, facilitating, and assessing written discussions. If grading online discussions, clear guidelines, such as a rubric, can be helpful for students to understand expectations. Common criteria include cognitive dimensions (e.g., use of critical thinking and problem-solving capacities), mechanical aspects (e.g., clarity of language and use of citations), procedural considerations (e.g., timeliness of posts), and interactive components (e.g., synthesizing or prompting classmates' posts) (Penny & Murphy, 2009).

While this newsletter describes the most frequently reported instructional changes in Spring 2020, many other types of adaptations were also described. These include use of:

• Zoom’s whiteboard feature 
• New tools like Piazza or text annotation tools (like Hypothes.is)
• Collaborative learning strategies like group projects
• Heightened structure or organization, like using Canvas modules or more clearly defined breakout discussion tasks
• Student presentations
• Student-directed approaches, such as having students be discussion leaders
• Increased use of multimedia 
• Bringing the “outside in” through guest speakers
• New approaches to labs

(All of these responses were named by more than 10 faculty each.)