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> Is there anything you do differently, relative to in person? I call on students more systematically rather than just waiting for volunteers to raise their ha

> Is there anything you do differently, relative to in person? I call on students more systematically rather than just waiting for volunteers to raise their hand. When I taught in-person, it was usually the same few students who spoke up a lot, while others never said anything. Now everyone contributes, making for an overall better discussion. With my larger online classes, I will sometimes throw out a discussion question and give the students five or ten minutes to write up their responses, which they submit through a Google Form. I then display those responses on screen and respond to them. Having the time to write up their responses, and knowing that their responses might be shared with the entire class, seems to make students respond more thoughtfully than if they were just making an ephemeral spoken comment. I sometimes ask all students to submit questions to me through an online form, too. In in-person classes, many students seem embarrassed to ask questions in front of their peers. That doesn’t apply to online forms. (When I display the students’ questions on the screen, I don’t show the students’ names.) Some of these ideas come from workshops I attended years ago on “active learning” and could be implemented in the classroom as well. But I began using them only after I started teaching online. > If you are teaching grad students that is also not going to be representative of the overall population. Those guys are definitely in the right tail of motivation. You’re absolutely correct.

leaflets2 5y ago
Thanks for explaining! (I'm a different person) I can understand why this gives a better learning experience and results (for most students). Hmm, also depends on the subject -- they're saying and discussing things? Eg social sciences? Whilst in maths, maybe there is less to discuss and talk about, and the positive effects you're seeing wouldn't be there? Seems to me all this can be done in real life too -- but requires more discipline, since the "default", that the more talkative students speak out loud when they want, is what comes naturally? Rather than writing questions and thoughts on paper and handing in, and you read them. Would be interesting to try IRL with pencils and paper :-) I'm not a teacher though. Edit: what do you teach? / What do the students study
- tkgally 5y ago
  I teach courses on various topics related to language and second-language education. Recent course titles include Ideology and Language Education, Ethics and Language Education, Language and Society, and Topics in Second-Language Education. I start the semester with only a general outline of each course, and the specific topics covered week by week are decided based on where our discussions go. Nearly all of the students are themselves multilingual and many have studied linguistics or related subjects, so they have the interests, experience, and backgrounds that enable them to contribute productively to the discussions. I learn as much from them as they do from me. You’re right that the same method wouldn’t work with some other subjects and some other types of students. I did take a mathematics class as an undergraduate, though, in which our teacher—Paul Halmos—had us work together in small groups on problems throughout the semester, with guidance from him only when we got stuck. That could presumably be done online, too.
  - leaflets2 5y ago
    Ok :-) > I learn as much from them as they do from me. Sounds like a nice job :-) Paul Halmos, cool to have had such a person as one's teacher. (Was that in the US? I wonder how he was like, as a teacher and person)
    - tkgally 5y ago
      I seem to have bragged before about studying with Paul Halmos: https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=tkgally%20halmos&sort=byPopularity&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu... He seemed a bit formal and intimidating at first, but he turned out to be a warm, considerate person. He and his wife had me and several other students over to their house for dinner a couple of times, and he enjoyed talking with us about whatever youthful nerdish topics we were interested in. I was about twenty years old then. I just realized that he was in his early sixties, a couple of years younger than I am now.
      - leaflets2 5y ago

leaflets2 5y ago

Thanks for explaining! (I'm a different person) I can understand why this gives a better learning experience and results (for most students). Hmm, also depends on the subject -- they're saying and discussing things? Eg social sciences? Whilst in maths, maybe there is less to discuss and talk about, and the positive effects you're seeing wouldn't be there? Seems to me all this can be done in real life too -- but requires more discipline, since the "default", that the more talkative students speak out loud when they want, is what comes naturally? Rather than writing questions and thoughts on paper and handing in, and you read them. Would be interesting to try IRL with pencils and paper :-) I'm not a teacher though. Edit: what do you teach? / What do the students study

tkgally 5y ago
I teach courses on various topics related to language and second-language education. Recent course titles include Ideology and Language Education, Ethics and Language Education, Language and Society, and Topics in Second-Language Education. I start the semester with only a general outline of each course, and the specific topics covered week by week are decided based on where our discussions go. Nearly all of the students are themselves multilingual and many have studied linguistics or related subjects, so they have the interests, experience, and backgrounds that enable them to contribute productively to the discussions. I learn as much from them as they do from me. You’re right that the same method wouldn’t work with some other subjects and some other types of students. I did take a mathematics class as an undergraduate, though, in which our teacher—Paul Halmos—had us work together in small groups on problems throughout the semester, with guidance from him only when we got stuck. That could presumably be done online, too.
- leaflets2 5y ago
  Ok :-) > I learn as much from them as they do from me. Sounds like a nice job :-) Paul Halmos, cool to have had such a person as one's teacher. (Was that in the US? I wonder how he was like, as a teacher and person)
  - tkgally 5y ago
    I seem to have bragged before about studying with Paul Halmos: https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=tkgally%20halmos&sort=byPopularity&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu... He seemed a bit formal and intimidating at first, but he turned out to be a warm, considerate person. He and his wife had me and several other students over to their house for dinner a couple of times, and he enjoyed talking with us about whatever youthful nerdish topics we were interested in. I was about twenty years old then. I just realized that he was in his early sixties, a couple of years younger than I am now.
    - leaflets2 5y ago