Page 95 - EW December 2020

SPECIAL ESSAY

Experiments in Online Teaching –

Lessons from the Pandemic

he ongoing pandemic has affected engagement. Using the Socratic method,
us all. While some sectors have my classes are driven by discussion, rather
been affected more than others, than unilateral lectures. When I realized that
Tnone more so than education. simply changing the delivery of classes from a
Schools and colleges have traditionally been physical to an online mode wasn’t generating
spaces of close, intimate learning - ripe student interest and engagement, I flipped
breeding grounds for respiratory illnesses. the classroom. This process involved three
As a result, schools, colleges and other steps – creating video content for my course,
educational institutions were one of the first to offering self-assessment assignments and in-
shut down and move to online operations in depth tutorials with smaller groups of students.
March 2020. The Experiment
The Challenge I began by video-recording lectures which Professor Arjya B. Majumdar
Online teaching and learning comes with its covered the basic syllabus and enough
own set of problems, chiefly amongst which is content for the student to cover all aspects
access. Millions of families in India may not be of the subject matter. These lectures were
financially able to procure even one, let alone kept precise enough to leave room as well as the faculty because of a close-knit, intimate
multiple, internet communicators in the form of triggers for classroom discussion. One may setting. We also achieved a high level of
smart phones, tablets and laptops. As a result, intersperse the main video recording with attendance (approximately 95%) for each
we must firstly acknowledge our privilege images, other videos, slides using very basic of these tutorial meetings and students
when reading this article on the Internet. video editing software (I used iMovie for Mac). were more likely to switch on their webcams
For those of us who were privileged Then, with the help of my assistant voluntarily – my University does not mandate
enough to be able to start teaching and instructor, we put together short MCQ quizzes students to switch on their webcams.
learning online, we immediately stumbled which covered the content for each lecture. Towards the end of the course, students
into another set of problems, one of which These quizzes were not part of the formal remarked how they had participated and
was student engagement. When we started assessment of the course, but were more to engaged with this course more than others.
teaching online in March 2020, much like challenge the student as to whether they had Some mentioned that they participated more
many other educators, I quickly realized engaged with the video content and more in this course than they would otherwise, even
that students would be less than willing to importantly, understood the concepts taught. in a classroom setting. We were originally
switch on their webcams, perhaps for good Our university uses the Microsoft Office expecting students to engage with the online
reasons. Many students would prefer not to suite at the institutional level. Every week, video content only. However, students were
open up their homes and personal spaces we shared the video content on MS Stream enthusiastic about engaging with what they
for fear of ridicule. As educators, we also (equivalent to YouTube) and used MS Forms had learnt through the video in the tutorial
depend upon non-verbal, visual cues from (equivalent to Google Forms) to put up the meeting instead.
our students. The briefest of glances, the quizzes. Approximately 75% of students As a result, a combination of asynchronous
minutest nod, a smile, a tilt of a head, a pair completed the quizzes, even though they learning, coupled with weekly tutorials seems
of raised eyebrows all indicate to us whether didn’t count towards their final grade in the to have worked well. Of course, this method
the student is intellectually part of the class course! has its limitations. For educators handling
or needs additional help. This has not been We then broke the class down into smaller a large number of students, the tutorial
possible in an online class. While in physical groups – no more than 6 students each. We group sizes could be made larger which will
classes, teachers use the classroom space tend to have a significantly lowered class
and physical actions to enact, place emphasis met each of these groups on a weekly basis engagement.
where we would offer them hypothetical fact
and engage with students. In an online space, situations which required the knowledge and While we look forward to the end of this
this is near impossible. pandemic, it is also hoped that this method
As a result, student engagement and application of the concepts taught through the may prove to be useful to other educators.
intellectual attendance in online teaching video. We would also offer them short, in-class A further application of this method could be
seems to have been low. Through this article, assignments to push their understanding of useful in regular, physical classes as well. We
I’d like to share my experiences in teaching these concepts. could consider creating and sharing video
online and an experiment that seems to have The Results content in advance and then have smaller
worked. In a larger group, many students will leave physical tutorial meetings in future semesters.
I teach elective courses in law at the classroom participation and engagement to
Jindal Global Law School, O.P. Jindal Global others leading to a ‘tragedy of the commons’
University. My courses are based on the problem. We realized that smaller groups Professor Arjya B. Majumdar
practical application of corporate law and are easier to manage pedagogically and Dean, Admissions & Outreach
usually require a high level of intellectual more likely to engage with each other and O.P. Jindal Global University

EDUCATIONWORLD DECEMBER 2020