I really like how you indicated that calling students who do not respond to CATs can help. These particular students are most likely doing only what is required, and typically do not want to do anything extra in the classroom other than what is earning an actual grade. Instructors can let students know that participating in the CATs exercises can take the place of another participation post in order to motivate them to respond to the CATs. Once they get involved with the CATs, they will most likely continue to do it each week. Nice job on the presentation!
Great presentation, Andrea! It is true; when we have the opportunity to speak with a student via phone, we increase our knowledge about that student's learning process. I have been a fan of phone contact with students since I was on the receiving end of a phone call from an instructor when I was taking an online course. The extra effort lessened any feeling of isolation. Additionally, I was able to express what I knew and what I didn't quite grasp during that short chat.
Using CATs in phone calls can be very hard with a large class size! I have found that with a full course load it is nearly impossible to reach all your students and have a meaningful conversation focused on a specific CAT. Luckily, not every student needs it! When calling students I try to focus on the students who seem to need the help. Sometimes I will even reference this conversation in the weekly DQ forum. For example, when responding to that student I may say "When we spoke the other day you and I talked about refining your thesis statement. What advice did you learn from our conversation that you can share with your classmates ?"
This allows the conversation to continue in the weekly DQ forum and the student can gain participation points!
I completely agree! When on the phone with the student I always tell them where this information is located and encourage them to respond in the DQ forum in future modules. I also inform the students where to find my CATs during our welcome call.
I have had this same experience. When I was taking Statistics I had a great adjunct instructor who called me to clarify my understanding of the material. This really made a difference in my success in his course!
This is great, Andrea! I can see the significance of speaking on the telephone to an online student. This gives them the sense that there is someone on the other end of all of the posting and creates community for all students. I think calling the struggling students to assess their learning voice to voice is an effective strategy. Thanks for sharing!
You mentioned the benefits (and challenges) of using phone calls with large classes. Have you ever tried texts? I have not... but I wonder if we could get similar advantages with less work? Hmmm... not sure. :)
Jean - that is a great idea! I don't know if it would work for a specific CAT - However, I like the idea of using text messages to direct the student to the CAT in the DQ forum. Maybe we can use texting as a type of notification system?
9 Comments
I like the idea of using CATs in phone calls. Do you find that this is effect with large classes?
I really like how you indicated that calling students who do not respond to CATs can help. These particular students are most likely doing only what is required, and typically do not want to do anything extra in the classroom other than what is earning an actual grade. Instructors can let students know that participating in the CATs exercises can take the place of another participation post in order to motivate them to respond to the CATs. Once they get involved with the CATs, they will most likely continue to do it each week. Nice job on the presentation!
Great presentation, Andrea! It is true; when we have the opportunity to speak with a student via phone, we increase our knowledge about that student's learning process. I have been a fan of phone contact with students since I was on the receiving end of a phone call from an instructor when I was taking an online course. The extra effort lessened any feeling of isolation. Additionally, I was able to express what I knew and what I didn't quite grasp during that short chat.
Ted,
Using CATs in phone calls can be very hard with a large class size! I have found that with a full course load it is nearly impossible to reach all your students and have a meaningful conversation focused on a specific CAT. Luckily, not every student needs it! When calling students I try to focus on the students who seem to need the help. Sometimes I will even reference this conversation in the weekly DQ forum. For example, when responding to that student I may say "When we spoke the other day you and I talked about refining your thesis statement. What advice did you learn from our conversation that you can share with your classmates ?"
This allows the conversation to continue in the weekly DQ forum and the student can gain participation points!
Andrea
Kristen,
I completely agree! When on the phone with the student I always tell them where this information is located and encourage them to respond in the DQ forum in future modules. I also inform the students where to find my CATs during our welcome call.
Andrea
Cheryl,
I have had this same experience. When I was taking Statistics I had a great adjunct instructor who called me to clarify my understanding of the material. This really made a difference in my success in his course!
Andrea
This is great, Andrea! I can see the significance of speaking on the telephone to an online student. This gives them the sense that there is someone on the other end of all of the posting and creates community for all students. I think calling the struggling students to assess their learning voice to voice is an effective strategy. Thanks for sharing!
Rick
You mentioned the benefits (and challenges) of using phone calls with large classes. Have you ever tried texts? I have not... but I wonder if we could get similar advantages with less work? Hmmm... not sure. :)
Thank you Rick!
Jean - that is a great idea! I don't know if it would work for a specific CAT - However, I like the idea of using text messages to direct the student to the CAT in the DQ forum. Maybe we can use texting as a type of notification system?