Creating conditions for teaching online

In this post, the interest will be on how do we create conditions that will facilitate online teaching in way that is authentic and formal. The input for this post will come from some of the readings for this week and my own experiences facilitating online. 

According to Baran and Thompson (2013), four areas in which teachers experience a pedagogical transformation in an online environment were identified: (1) increasing structure and planning during course design (2) increasing organization in course management (3) increasing teacher presence for monitoring students' learning and (4) reconstructing student-teacher relationships. The role of the Teacher in teaching in general and in teaching online in particular stood out. The teacher, in the various roles (Facilitator, Manager, Coach, Designer, etc) has responsibility to ensure that learner engagement happens. And the ability of the teacher to create learner engagement will be determined by the teacher's philosophical orientation - how do I see my role in the learner-teacher relationship.

In my experience facilitating online with leaders from both the private and public sector, I have used a combination of formal and informal instructional style. For example, sending the welcome email and inviting participants to share their intentions / expectations ahead of time shows a formal (welcome and outline the objectives) and casual (Invite participants to introduce themselves playfully and share their intentions). The design of the session plan is another formal process to ensure that we co-initiate, sense, create and co-evolve the outcome of the online session (to draw from Otto Scharmer's Theory U (2019) framework for change. During the session, I found that retaining the flexibility to 'go anywhere' with the participants is helpful in creating a safe space for learning. And I saw a great example of this during a particular online session on coaching which happened a few days after the election of President Trump. Check in was on how people felt about the election. How we approach, formal and casual should have flexibility to attend to the learner in real time.

In another experience with a large financial institution (client) during the pandemic, a group of 20 or so Facilitators were trained in facilitating online. The client wanted to ensure that there was consistency in the online delivery across the various regions in Africa. Here the process was very formal and facilitators were evaluated based on adherence to the principles and practices. Some of these principles were covered in this week's readings and videos. Some of the practices on engagement like use of whiteboards, chats, and breakout rooms were mandated. Facilitators received feedback from the Master Facilitator and participant post workshop level 1 assessments. 

In summary, to teach online, we should pay attention to (1) the design of the session, (2) how we show up (3) flexible approaches to delivery (formal and casual) and (4) opportunity to get feedback from learners. And we do these in a way that incorporates the five faceted model of authenticity (Cranton and Causetta, 2004), these are:

1. Having a strong self awareness of who we are as teachers and as people

2. Being aware of the characteristics and preferences of learners and others

3. Developing a relationship with learners that fosters our own and their ability to be genuine and open

4. Being aware of context and constraints

5. Engaging in critical reflection and critical self reflection (aware of the assumptions and values we hold and where they originate

Using peer to peer learning to sustain community

HOW have you learned from your colleagues or mentor? How might you make use of Peer to Peer, PLN, or COP in the future? 

One of the things I have learned from Adult Learning and Leadership program is the opportunity to learn from peers as much as one learns from the readings and professor. The collaborative nature of how new knowledge is created, shared and extended has been deep and enriching. It confirmed George Siemens assertion in one of the videos for this week, that learning happens in a socially connected way and that knowledge is produced in a networked way. This process of collaborative knowledge creation taps into, what Clay Shirky mentioned in his TED Talk, into human generosity and digital technology.

The example of USHAHIDI - the online bulletin board created in 2008 as a response to the political violence on the streets of Kenya after the elections, reminded me of the use of WhatsAPP groups during the Nigeria presidential elections of 2023. Of note, it is the reporting from the various groups on election day that showed the widespread voter intimidation, violence at polling stations and ballot box stuffing. I found the up to date reporting by citizen journalists to be essential in keeping us informed.

How might you support these concepts in the capacity of a teacher or facilitator?

I have used peer to peer learning in workshops where we use Padlet to enable interaction before, during and after the sessions. I found the informal interaction to be fun while encouraging sharing of ideas and building better connections. I can use the tools to facilitate learning - share assignments, invite input and keep a continuing log of learner participation. 

One of the challenges I see is how do I keep the community connection long after the work session is done. I learned from the reading that creating an environment where people feel safe to share and tell their story of how they apply the learning will be one way of keeping the alive.