An Analysis of Effective Online Teaching

Late 2019 saw the emergence of Coronavirus from Wuhan, China. Within the space of a few months, the virus had spread to almost every country on Earth, bringing with it economic and social devastation. By March 2020, Coronavirus had reached Peru, resulting in the Peruvian government issuing a directive to close all schools with immediate effect.

Schools in Peru and elsewhere, had to adapt quickly to online learning; with some schools having no long term online learning plan nor adequate resources or staff training. The switch to online learning was on a scale never seen before in education.

At Markham College, we immediately implemented our online learning action plan which aimed to support students and parents and reduce any negative impact on our students’ attainment. Through the use of online surveys, we sought the feedback of students, parents and teachers and used the responses to guide and alter our practice. The surveys were conducted in April and May of 2020.

The analysis below is my interpretation of the results of these surveys. In addition, I have included non survey data which I have received from informal conversations with students, parents and staff members. The analysis below is my own and not necessarily the views of Markham College.

The aim of the analysis is to start conversations about how we can best support our learners and to offer insight into the feedback we received from our stakeholder groups. It is not necessarily best practice, only my interpretation of the survey results along with feedback received during informal conversations with staff, students and parents.

Understanding the context

Managing each groups of stakeholder interests is crucial to the success of online learning. 67% of parents were initially supportive of our online learning efforts and this increased to 72% as we modified our practice. Student satisfaction started at 46% at the end of week 1, however as we modified our practice we saw over 80% registering and improvement within the space of a month. Informal discussions indicate that almost all students and parents are satisfied with our approach to online learning.

Although the ultimate aim of all stakeholders is the same, competing priorities and other factors may cause conflict. It is essential that you are aware of these conflicts prior to devising an online learning plan to manage, mitigate or eliminate them.

The key stakeholders identified were Students, Teachers, Parents and IT Infrastructure. The bullet points below represent some of the key concerns raised. Of course, this is not an exhaustive list.

The way in which each school responds to the disruptive elements shown above will depend on localized issues, tools available and staff skillsets. What is important is that they are identified and rectified within the available framework.

Administration of Lessons

It is essential that one platform is used for all school related activities. Personal emails should be kept to an absolute minimum, with the exception of automatic notification emails, in order to reduce opportunity for misunderstandings, lost emails, lack of clarity and so on. Markham College uses Google Classroom, however there are multiple options available.

Avoid providing any lesson guidance, materials, assignment, grades or anything else related to school outside of this platform. I found that students could focus more on lesson content when they had less anxiety concerning lesson administration. In short, everything related to lessons is administered through the platform.

There must be only one location for all information. This will significantly reduce administration and the chance for error and confusion. It will also reduce the amount of excuses available to students who are not fully engaging with online learning.

Structure of Lessons

What students value the most were techniques that most closely resembled teaching in the classroom. This may provide students with a sense of comfort and familiarity.

Students and parents provided a wide range of valuable feedback, however there were two themes stood out more than any:

(1) Teachers should be available in real time throughout the entire lesson, from start to finish. Not available via email, but available in person via video link.

(2) The structure of the lesson should resemble, as much as possible, what is delivered in the classroom.

Below, I have provided examples of successful lesson structures.

*see note (2) below.

Whilst the structure of each lesson will vary, and the examples above are for guidance only, there are some themes that were consistent amongst most students:

1. The teacher should be available throughout the lesson. Logging off and allowing students to work through tasks by themselves is not recommended. A teacher led introduction and availability of teachers were, by far, the most valued features of online learning. Students, and their parents, want to know you are available, as you would be in a classroom.

2. Any media used should have the teacher’s “stamp” on it. For example, pre recorded screencasts with the teacher narrating or slides with instructions created by the class teacher. Links to YouTube videos or general websites should be avoided, unless they are part of a specific topic and are not the main body of the lesson. Students are more likely to respond positively to a task if they feel connected to it.

3. Whole Class discussions are not valued by students or teachers at KS3 level. Due to bandwith problems amongst students and the inability of the teachers to effectively monitor participation, they have little benefit with a large class. As class size decreases, their benefit probably increases. Try breaking a larger class into smaller groups to facilitate effective discussion or employ the use of alternative media.

4. Clear lesson objectives and solid lesson structure were very highly valued by parents and students. Students must know what they are doing, why they are doing it and where to get the relevant materials. This is true for every lesson at all grades.

5. If you post any links onto the learning platform, ensure all links are active and you have provided each student with the necessary permissions to access documents, if applicable. Do not wait until the beginning of the lesson to conduct these tasks. Be responsive in the event of students being unable to access material relevant to the lesson. Have a backup.

In lesson example #2, the teacher should be available through video link, not via email.

Student feedback indicated that they did not value written instructions posted on the learning platform followed by long periods of screen time. The impact of the teacher logging off and leaving them to work by themselves was quite significant. The value of having the teacher present and online throughout the lesson cannot be overstated.

Preparing all stakeholders for success

Effective pre planning and flexibility after the fact, were key to the successful implementation of our distance learning program. From analysis of responses, I have been able to segment four key areas on which all management should focus their efforts: Communication, Professional, Personal and Technical.

Successful management of these key areas will provide a solid framework from which to build a distance learning program. The areas listed below indicate prominent responses, however this is in no way an exhaustive list.