Dr. Marie Allsopp from Purdue University recorded at least two sessions for the 2020 Lilly conference online. A session entitled “Covidly” So – Pandemic Perspectives of Pupils and a Professor” was the second one I watched. This session was short (16 min) and really well organized. I appreciate how Allsopp organized the presentation by describing session objectives and how they relate to the course they teach. Importantly, student voices were included and analyzed. Allsopp surveyed students in a nutrition course with 29 participants. The student responses were then analyzed by Allsopp and a student reflection was used to learn what worked best for students. Responses about what students missed from in-person education included learning as a group, asking questions directly, seeing friends, and in-person discussions. Allsopp also asked what students preferred about remote learning, and now responses emphasized flexibility. An extra credit assignment Allsopp used was a reflection using Flipgrid. One video shared helped see and hear a student’s perspective on remote learning. Allsopp then reflected on their goals for the online transition and how things worked. Allsopp wanted to “integrate active-learning activities into an asynchronous online environment, foster a sense of community through social media, and provide a high-quality remote learning experience without shortchanging students.” Allsopp was honest and reflected. They shared student course evaluation comments. Students commented on the participation activities perceived as busy work, wanted less discussion, and the overall workload. Allsopp then paused and asked the audience to think about one thing we could tweak that would improve the learning for students in the courses we teach. I was still thinking about workload and how to better determine expectations and actual time on assignments for the courses I teach. Allsopp shared lessons from the comments and experience: be intentional about using active learning activities in asynchronous environments, incorporate breakout rooms in synchronous online learning environments, invite students to use the chat, take advantage of polling software to facilitate discussions, and embrace “less is more” during the pandemic. Allsopp converted think-pair-share activities for Hot Seat software. I didn’t know about Hot Seat and will look into it. I agree with Allsopp that students do miss social interactions and perceived efficient use of class time. Our expectations and the perception of assignments as busy work may cause resistance. Allsopp continued emphasizing less is more. We are all learning and appreciate the honesty from Allsopp. I have made some pedagogical decisions that were not the best, and I hope I have learned from the experience. I do think simplifying is important, yet how much is too much is still difficult to assess. I am trying to learn as much as I can by listening to student feedback.
