This post developed from a Blog Contributor who presented for the Talking Teaching discussion series hosted by the APA Committee on Teaching.
On March 22nd nine people gathered together through the technology of Zoom to discuss building a community in our online classes but we expanded our focus to include online course design and teaching in general. This session is part of a pilot series sponsored by the APA Committee on Teaching Philosophy. As the facilitator of this session, I wanted it to first and foremost be an opportunity for the participants to ask questions and share ideas. Some were experienced online instructors while a couple were planning for their first online teaching experience in the near future. Some teach classes of over 100 students while others’ online classes are capped at 18-25. We tended to agree that an online philosophy class of 25 and up borders on the unmanageable. Discussion should be the centerpiece of the online philosophy class experience.
Some of the topics that were explored collectively were:
- Helping students to get to know one another: encourage them to post a picture or make a short video introduction. Create a “water cooler” or “chat discussion” area where they can share personal information such as their major, work, or hobbies. Those who were teaching hybrids (online combined with class meetings) reported the face to face contact really helped when discussions moved online.
- Getting to know your students: some of us missed the face to face contact with students but others pointed out that many students are more comfortable “speaking up” online because they do not have to worry about speaking in public. This can help instructors get to know their online students far better than a class where some of them may sit in the back and contribute.
- The advantages of an asynchronous environment: students have time to ponder their responses and craft them before “speaking.” However, we agreed that offering them tips to avoid forgetting about their online class and to develop independent self-monitoring was key. Some of our participants schedule particular times where everyone is online together as a way to build community. The feasibility of this will depend on your student group’s availability.
- The role of the instructor: here we varied from being cautious to not dominate the discussion to being actively involved so that students know you are present. We recognize that different instructors will take different tactics here. Apart from responding to every “Meet and Greet” post, we did agree that the instructor wants to be sensitive to allowing the students to form a community without an overbearing presence of the instructor. But you do not want to look as if you are absent from the class.
- The challenges of helping students to recognize a philosophical argument: in the classroom an instructor can walk through a passage to highlight its argumentative structure. Student feedback is immediate and allows for instructors adjusting their presentation on the fly. Online, this becomes more of a narrative to read and may not have the immediacy of gauging student’s comprehension and responding to it. We acknowledged this as a real challenge with no easy solution. Here again, any opportunities to meet with your students in person or online may help.
- Moving an on-ground class to fully online: this will definitely take some careful crafting and rethinking of your material and modalities of presentation. For discussions, some participants use Reddit or Zoom while others used the LMS of their institution. Most institutions have a course designer or a Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning that can assist in this transition and offer suggestions for new technological mechanisms for enhancing an online class.
In the end, we did not come to a magic answer to the challenges of building online communities of learning, but we did appreciate the chance to discover that we shared similar challenges, and that some participants had creative techniques to share. One participant commented on the feedback form of the session, that it would be valuable to continue these sessions, but ideally open them up to more people. The Committee on the Teaching of Philosophy welcomes suggestions of programs to offer APA members.
Here are some links to explore regarding online teaching:
General Tips for Building an Online Community
Steps to Building an Online Course
A quick search will reveal many more and often your own Center for Teaching and Learning can offer excellent advice on teaching a fully online class. Good luck!
Wendy Turgeon
Wendy C. Turgeon teaches philosophy at St. Joseph’s College in Patchogue, NY. Currently she is also serving as Interim Executive dean. Her major focus is on philosophy of childhood and philosophy with children. She is serving on the APA Committee on Precollege Instruction in Philosophy, is on the board of PLATO and is also the current editor for Questions, the PLATO journal for young people and children.
