Diane F. Morean from Elmhurst University and Katherine H. Cassidy from Cleveland Metropolitan School District presented at the Lilly Conference online 2021 in May a recorded presentation entitled: “Enhancing Equitable Online Condensed Course Learning Through Backward Design, including Meta-Learning.” Morean teaches a neurology class and sought Cassidy’s expertise in education. They wanted to condense the course into a summer term (four terms) and wanted to be as equitable as possible for a diverse cohort of learners. The pandemic complicated cohort community building. They focused on using backward design and student-centered course design. They looked at the ability of students to transfer knowledge and to do this, scaffolded to help all students. Then, they determined authentic tasks and ways for students to self-assess their own tasks. It was clear that they carefully and methodically planned.
Keep the focus on the end result […] to make sure that the learning is happening by the students.
Katherine H. Cassidy, Lilly Conference Online 2021
Morean recorded lectures to use a flipped classroom environment with pre-recorded lectures. Three lectures were provided on Fridays for students to review. Morean also used the “jigsaw” method for group projects to allow students to make social connections. Students also had research projects that consisted of creating an outline based on a template to learn from journal articles about a topic they were interested in.
Students met synchronously using a consistent weekly schedule to establish a rhythm. Learners took an online pretest that was participation credit only: Morean emphasized how they wanted students to do the best they could AND figure out where students were. Immediate feedback was provided, allowing learners to self evaluate. Then, groups reviewed the pretest material. On the second weekly session, the class discussed “roots of misunderstanding” to think about formulating questions to get clarification: teaching the learner to learn. On Thursday, students had a summative post-test and a breathing exercise to relax and pay attention to their breath. During synchronous group work using jigsaw projects, rotating student-professor meetings occurred.
We know the teaching is happening… but is the learning happening?
Katherine H. Cassidy, Lilly Conference Online 2021
Morean mentioned that at the end, they had students that felt confident. Cassidy concluded that course design with a focus on the learner is critical. “We know the teaching is happening… but is the learning happening?” was a concluding question that they left us with. I enjoyed learning about their course design and attention to details during the planning process. The breathing exercises and completion/best effort approach to the initial content quiz resonated with me and made me think about how we could do this in our core molecular biology course. The use of jigsaws and group chats after low-stakes formative quizzes help promote collaboration and peer learning. I wonder how much we could adapt for BIT 410 and BIT 295?
