Over the past sixty days, since the call went out to send students home and move to online teaching, the EthicsGame team has listened to many faculty and friends who are concerned that they are being asked to completely change their core identity—from one who teaches in front of a class to one who facilitates online learning. Amidst the consternation, the one constant is the certainty that no one will return to “normal” any time soon.
As many have been thrust into unexpectedly having to rethink education, I’m reminded of the transformation of the butterfly—that marvelous symbol of regeneration and rebirth, an insect coming out of the chrysalis and stretching its multi-hued wings. But, according to the Scientific American, to get to that reborn state, the caterpillar must completely dissolve and reform itself from what are called imaginal discs—cells that hold all the information needed to become a butterfly.
As I listen to seasoned online faculty who have been pressed into service to help those who have never taught online as well as those who find themselves navigating unfamiliar territories, I remember my own learning curve when I was asked to design and teach an online class. The hardest task was imagining how to replicate what I considered the hallmarks of a good faculty member—identifying the imaginal cell clusters of the classroom experience in order to create a whole new way of teaching and learning. Here’s my list of those imaginal discs we formed when we joined the ranks of professors.
Organizer of Information: A primary function of a faculty member is to provide a path through the thicket of information that is our discipline. In addition, we’re expected to point out landmarks along the way, providing structure and meaning for our students. In the past ten years, we’ve seen an explosion of online tools that support that venture. For example, the EthicsGame faculty site (as well as many other learning management systems) allow the faculty to seamlessly link learners to YouTube videos, external articles and references, as well as notes. The primary function of a faculty member’s choosing the content does not go away.
Dispenser of Knowledge: Many faculty have well curated slide decks that provide the connective tissue for students. As we present our lectures, we scan the audience for signs of understanding, pivot if our students appear bored or lost, and adjust on the fly to keep our learners engaged. This function is the hardest to replicate. I had to learn that the imaginal disc was the information itself not my skill as a presenter. Moving myself off of center stage, I could then thoughtfully chunk the information into ten- to fifteen-minute videos, where the information considered essential was matched to the attention span—and availability—of the learners.
Facilitator of Conversations: Another core skill is facilitating an evolving conversation with students as they discover and explore new ideas. Back in the day, before Zoom or any other technology that allowed for synchronistic teaching other than a classroom electronic bulletin board, I learned that students were actually better at engaging with each other than I thought. Even on what we would now call rudimentary chat rooms, I learned that well-framed questions could get a lively conversation going and my sparkling live repartee was not particularly needed to facilitate learning.
Creator of Classroom Experiences: Many faculty use a wide array of tools to generate conversations and practical experiences in the classroom. If we think about what we want that shared experience to be, we find we can use the break-out functions of the various classroom tools or asynchronistic assignments that allow students to meet in groups, do the work together, and then report their findings back to the classroom—a different means of getting to a similar result as before.
Designer of Enriching Assignments: Back in the day, we would have our students read a text or book, write a term paper, and call it a day. However, as we’ve explored ways to give students a more immersive and practical experience, those of us fascinated with technology have designed whole new ways for students to learn about our discipline, engage with the material, and demonstrate their understanding. This is where partners like EthicsGame shine. We’ve created engaging web-based learning experiences that help students apply their knowledge in a practical, measurable way.
Evaluator of Learning: One of the expectations of the new environment is that we cannot rely on the ubiquitous “classroom participation” as a primary driver of evaluation. As we seek new ways to evaluate learners, the method needs to be easy while giving consistent and accurate results. Further, as several faculty members may teach the same classes, this commonality of evaluation is important.
While this season of chaos is no fun, and many are grieving that the classroom experience they have loved and nurtured over their career may never return, we can perhaps use this time to reimagine our classes. Reflecting on the challenge that faculty face over the next months, I was also reminded of Boeing’s complacency. The evaluation process for aircraft put in place by the FAA many decades ago rewarded them for making small adjustments to existing plane models rather than reinventing the plane as it got larger and larger. This failure to reimagine the plane to meet the new challenges was a factor in the Boeing 737 Max crashes. Similarly, a caterpillar cannot become a butterfly through incremental changes—it must be completely remade.
The small silver lining of the pandemic may be an opportunity to reimagine how we present and deliver classroom content. As you consider your role as a faculty member in reconstituting the imaginal discs of the learning experience, remember that the EthicsGame team has experience to support you on your transformational journey. Whether you’re an experienced online faculty or a newcomer to this emerging reality, please feel free to call on us for conversation or ideas about how you can come out of this experience as light and shining as a butterfly.