Amanda Nelms from Belmont University is an Ed. D. and presented at the 2021 Lilly Conference online an asynchronous session about “Tearing Down the Virtual Walls: Reimaging Social-Emotional Learning.” We have been talking about the importance of emotions in learning, and the lsat couple of books I have heard (audiobooks) cited examples and fascinating data. Nelms started with a breathing exercise and a 3-2-1 Protocol: list three barriers to learning within your courses. My top three were time, complexity of assignments, limited specific resources on the topics and too many broader resources. I enjoyed how tranquil Nelms was when presenting the information and the numerous “stop signs” on slides to pause and reflect. I tried to follow along. The first prompt for reflection Nelms asked was: “What competencies should a graduate from your program have to be successful in the workplace and life?” I am beginning to think that being able to work collaboratively and synthesize reliable research or use available bioinformatics tools would be my responses. Nelms presented data on the importance of collaboration and interaction. Also, Nelms included learning objectives in a smaller font on the bottom of appropriate slides. Nelms talked about the hyflex learning environment in which students interact with content and each other in different modalities.
Nelms paired students together to create pods that worked together for 1/3 of the course. Pods, Nelms mentioned, are different from group work because:
- Pods meet inside and outside of class.
- Pods decide their learning environment.
- Pods continually reflect on their own learning and contribution to the group.
- Pods create their own group norms
Pods decide their activities and how to communicate. Pods also reflect on their group work and journal throughout Nelms’ course. Topics include how the process and teamwork are going and challenges of difficult conversations and group conflict. Pod members do evaluate themselves. If something negative is mentioned, students work with Nelms to resolve conflict. The pod strategy is one that Nelms uses to promote social and emotional learning. Nelms ended by posting a series of reflection questions to think about how we can engage students on different levels in the courses we teach.
Returning to the 3-2-1 activity and top three barriers, Nelms asked to think about if changing the situation is within our control. Nelms ended by returning to the outcomes of the session and mentioned that in person they review the outcomes and have students pause and reflect… and then raise their hands or tap on their benches. The pod strategy and its components could be used for BIT 410/510 online (distance education) section. Today I was also thinking about how to include Science in the Classroom annotated readings in the BIT 295 course and promote group work and peer support networks. Pods could be a useful option.
