Module 1 Introduction & Planning your REd Course

WELCOME!!

Module 1: Pre-Face-to-Face (F2F) Work: to be done online before you attend the F2F zoom session. This module includes an introduction to the flipped classroom and beginning to plan for online teaching

Take the Pre-Course Survey so that I learn more about needs for teaching online and adjust topics and content as we go through the course

At the end of this module you will have:

- Reflected on your own past teaching experiences and goals as an instructor
- Articulated a Dream Goal (BHAG) for your Research Education Course(s)
- Wrote learning objective(s)/outcome(s) for your Research Education course that align to your dream
- Aligned content, teaching and learning activities, and/or assessments with your course objectives/outcomes

Each module will focus on a different aspect of the course design process and you will do this by working through a 3 step-by-step process with provided resources to help you along the way. Have a question? Post your question in the revised FAQ Discussion Forum.

Step 1: Introduction to Flipped Online Teaching

In these difficult COVID-19 times it is easy to see why we need to re-think and re-tool our training and teaching approaches. We can also use this time to beef up our teaching toolboxes and streamline our teaching practice so we have more flexibility and options for our courses for no matter what is down the road.

In this course, you will learn how to combine 2 different alternative teaching formats (teaching online AND flipped) for your Research Education course. Each approach has advantages and disadvantages and one may seem more appropriate than the others for the topic you teach. So in this module you will plan a strategy for teaching in an online flipped approach based on your course objectives/outcomes.

Review the 2 attached documents below to familiarize yourself with the online and flipped teaching approaches before going onto step 2 of module 1

UTEP_Dispelling the myths of teaching online Download UTEP_Dispelling the myths of teaching online
(U Texas El Paso )
- Advantage: flexibility -
  - No synchronous (real time) F2F time
  - No schedules and class times to adhere to
  - Can design a synchronous event (live lecture in zoom) or record lectures (kaltura) if needed that students watch at their convenience
  - Sometimes students who do not participate in a classroom will be more active online
- Disadvantages:
  - Could be missing the personal contact component
  - Participants have the tendency to put things off - no physical F2F deadlines to meet
  - Takes time upfront to get your materials all online
The Flipped Approach to Teaching Download Flipped Approach to Teaching
- this could be the best of both worlds; a chance to see participants F2F but also integrates the flexibility of pushing off some of the instruction online
- Advantages:
  - Design information exchange part of your course for online learning (does not require discussion of application) and can be done at the convenience of the learner
  - Can dedicate a shorter amount of F2F time to interaction with learners to apply or discuss what they learned online
  - Learners can go back to the recorded lecture when they have questions at a later time
  - Provides online flexibility with intermittent human interaction (less difficulty with scheduling hours of time to meet F2F)
- Disadvantages:
  - Still need to schedule some F2F time
  - Getting people to do pre-class work before coming to a F2F session can be challenging
  - Will need to rethink your course content - what works best online - what works best F2F - and then have a plan to connect the 2 different formats

Step 2

A. Articulate One Big 'Dream' Goal: What YOU will plan for your learners

Find your Research Education course description Links to an external site. in the course catalog. You can use the written in narrative form of your course description to write 1 big dream goal and also more measurable outcomes/objectives.
L Dee Fink (2013) calls this reflection about your intentions as an instructor as the 'Dream Exercise'.
- Dream big, even if you teach a short topic course, there may be something nagging at you about what you hope learners will learn, be able to do, or be after they take your course
Your Dream is NOT something that can be measured; it is aspirational.
- It is what YOU HOPE TO ACHIEVE as the instructor. In this module we will use your Dream as a foundation to write measurable objectives/outcomes for your course
Objectives/outcomes are what the LEARNERS WILL ACTUALLY ACHIEVE.

Before going onto part B use this Dream Exercise worksheet Download Dream Exercise worksheet

to help you reflect on and write down your big goal for your course before you start writing objectives.

Here is an example of my Dream for this course Download Dream for this course
.

B. Writing Outcomes Articulate at least 2 outcome(s)/objective(s) for your course (What STUDENTS will take away from the course)

Once you have articulated your big overarching goal you will write objective/outcome statements for your course. Fink refers to are what we would call objectives/outcomes. Fink's Taxonomy of Learning (6 pieces of the pie) may give you some ideas for different types of objectives you can incorporate into your course based on your content. Here is a handout that articulates verbs to use when writing outcomes from Bloom's Taxonomy, another model for thinking about different levels of learning Download Bloom's Taxonomy, another model for thinking about different levels of learning

(lowest level of learning - understanding and the highest level of learning being able to create, or analyze or synthesize) what you have learned.

What are objectives/outcomes? Many people use the 2 words, objectives and outcomes, interchangeably. I use objectives most often and outcomes if I am talking about competencies. It varies by discipline. So let's just use objectives from this point out.
- Objectives must be measurable - these are how you will know the students have learned what they should have learned.
- Objectives usually start with an "action verb" that explicitly describes what students will do. Do not use vague words (Links to an external site.) like understand and know (see the Fink and Blooms handouts above)
- Objectives are a single sentence statement.
- Objectives should focus on what the student will do not what the instructor does.
- Objectives should focus on different levels of learning, not just on acquiring content knowledge. For example, one of the objectives for this module is that by the end of this module you will have: "Wrote learning objective(s)/outcome(s) for your Research Education course that align to your dream". You learn how to write objectives by doing it. I will provide feedback to help you tweak your objectives.
Here are some resources that will help with writing objectives:
- Beyond Blooms Taxonomy Links to an external site. - as you think about what objectives/outcomes best match your content - BYU website that combines, Bloom's, Fink's and another model Wiggins & McTighe model
More action verbs Download action verbs
for your objectives

Before going onto step 3 - take a stab at writing objectives.

Use your course description as a foundation or Fink or Bloom's model as a guide
Don't worry about the word smithing - get the gist of the objective down we will use these objectives in step 3 - the assignment for this module

Step 3 Developing an Alignment Grid

The Alignment Grid you will create in step 3 of this module will the assignment you need to complete before you come to the F2F module 2 of this course. In online teaching you really need to have a plan before starting to add things to your course. Having an alignment grid complete, showing what teaching and learning activities connects to what outcomes, and deciding what can be done online in recorded lectures or learning activities and what needs to be done in person will help you structure your course.

Brainstorming and Chunking: By Creating a Visual Alignment Grid

Brainstorming and Chunking of Course Content into an Alignment Grid will help you create a visual map for your course.

The grid will help you:
- Visualize what is really important in your class
- Align your objectives to possible teaching and learning activities
- Make sure that your are assessing what you say is important - the objective(s)
- Identify gaps or redundancies in your objectives or learning activities.

Before coming to the F2F class, complete an alignment grid and post to the Discussion Forum 1 link the day before the F2F class you are planning to attend is scheduled

When you come to the F2F class you will start planning out videos to record, learning about video tools, or planning what learning activities you will incorporate to meet a course objective

- Download this copy of a blank alignment grid Download copy of a blank alignment grid
  and copy and paste your objectives into the first column of the grid (one objective on each row of the grid)
  1. Brainstorm ideas for assessments that might align to those objectives.
  2. How will you teach (present the content)? How will you engage the students in applying the content?
  3. Here is an example of a grid Download example of a grid
    that I developed for for a semester long course I have taught about teaching online. Here is my alignment grid for this RED training course.

Submit your grid in the Module 1 discussion forum as an attachment for peer review. Browse the posted alignment grids and provide feedback for at least one of your peers. Post questions you have so you can engage with the other Research Education instructors and see what they are planning for their courses.

1. 1. 1. Do you need an idea for an assignment/learning activity that aligns to their objective?
    2. Do you need recommendations for tweaking wording of their objective?