Episode 183 of the Tea for Teaching podcast discussed student workload this week. Dr. Betsy Barre, Executive Director of the Center for Advancement of Teaching at Wake Forest University was on the show. Barre wrote a blog post about workload recently and discussed how at Wake Forest results from a student survey frequently mentioned work load. Breaking big assignments into smaller assignments after course redesign over the summer of 2020 could be a contributing factor, as mentioned by Barre. The hosts and guest discussed that now technologies allow us to track progress more closely, instructors redesigned to include more scaffolding and lower-stakes assignments during the pandemic, and moving online resulted in different maybe more time-consuming assignments. Barre also mentioned that writing discussion posts, for example, take more time to write than speaking up in class. This comment made me think: I have been encouraging responses in the form of audio or video, and few have done this. Barre explained that students are very strategic in how they approach academic work, and faculty have to rethink about what informal expectations about time spent are realistic. I do appreciate that Barre warned that we as faculty sometimes expect too much and multiple complex issues are at play.
Barre has updated their workload estimator for assignments. The new version has been adapted for asynchronous online courses. Barre talked about how the tool can be used to help faculty better communicate expectations. Gathering feedback from students about how much time they are spending on course tasks informs course design and helps identify barriers. In addition, Barre suggested including information about time management information for students. One other suggestion I really liked was creating a template Google Calendar for students to copy and have blocks for time dedicated to assignments. Barre also recognized that an average expected time may not help neurodiverse learners estimate their workload and time constraints. For this, clearly communicating that these are estimates for how much time should be devoted to the course tasks. Reaching out for help or adjusting time management priorities should be options available to learners. Interestingly, Barre mentioned that students during the pandemic appreciated working with peers not only for the social aspect but also for building confidence with the skills and content. The hosts and guest also discussed the discrepancy between perception of learning gains during active learning and actual gains compared to more traditional approaches. Faculty also have increased grading tasks with more lower-stakes assignments. The group discussed screen fatigue. At the end of the episode, Barre highlighted that once the pandemic ends, higher education will need to discuss workload expectations, credit hours, online courses, and various other topics that need to be revisited.
