Scenarios
Scenarios
Lectures and guest lectures
Replace the lecture with a combination of self-study content and synchronous (live) Q&A and knowledge expansion session with students.
This option involves following the recommended model for remote delivery.
Deliver the lecture as a whole-cohort online live (synchronous) event.
Use this option when Option 1 is not possible and make the live online session as interactive as possible. Use audience response tools (like Mentimeter), ask questions, give students tasks to complete individually or in groups (in breakout rooms), create opportunities for students to ask their questions – via the chat/Q&A or verbally.
Replace the lecture with self-study (asynchronous) video content (a recording of the lecture content).
This option should only be considered in special circumstances, e.g. for expert guest lecturers who are unable or unwilling to deliver a live online session, but there is still considerable benefit in students listening to their expertise. In general, if self-study (asynchronous) delivery is used, Option 1 is a better approach pedagogically.
This content could be a pre-recorded video talk, a narrated PPT or an interview with an expert.
Asynchronous self-study materials:
- Consider how much time students have for self-study and plan your materials accordingly. Bear in mind that students typically take longer to go through the materials in detail than the summative length of the videos and readings.
- Avoid uploading existing Powerpoint slides without additional narration (screencast). Slides intended for lectures are unlikely to be suitable for independent self-study.
- Divide the material into smaller parts, each corresponding to a clearly delineated chunk of the content (e.g. one learning outcome, one concept/related group of concepts, one procedure etc.) and think about the best ways of delivering each part (which can be a combination of different methods). Typically, less complicated content can be effectively delivered through text and figures, but more complicated concepts may be better explained in a screencast in which you can point to, e.g. parts of a figure, with your cursor, just like you would do in a lecture. Don’t make the sections too long – a screencast of 10 minutes is considered long! (3-6 minutes is perfect.)
- Make sure the self-study materials are not purely didactic (one-directional), and include quizzes, knowledge self-checks and other activities where students need to pause, think and interact with the content rather than simply passively receive it (e.g. Mentimeter polls, interactive wordclouds etc.). Provide meaningful feedback to knowledge checks.
- Give students ample opportunities to check their understanding of the content. For example, create frequent unassessed quizzes and knowledge checks, and implement a process for students to ask you questions about the content (e.g. via a live Q&A session or a discussion forum).
- Give students clear guidance as to what they need to do and when. For instance, add a checklist at the end of your materials detailing what the students needed to have learnt/done.
- Be mindful of the need for teaching presence in the materials – use signposting, provide explanatory text, introduce resources – give the materials a voice. Keep the tone conversational.
- Once your materials for a given session are ready and in the right sequence, they can be added to the relevant delivery platform (Blackboard, Coursera). Contact your support team if unsure what to do.
- Never author materials directly on a platform in case of technical issues. Always have a back-up.
- Don’t overcomplicate: simple is beautiful!
- Always make sure you follow the relevant copyright and accessibility guidelines.
- Examples: PPT screencasts, talking head videos, interviews with experts, readings, curated external resources, knowledge self-checks
Check out these guides:
Tutorials / Small group teaching
Modify the tutorial by providing self-study materials followed by a small-group interactive live online session.
Follow the remote teaching hybrid model[linkto] The self-study materials could include any ‘didactic’ content and extensive readings (e.g. case studies) that will help students prepare for the interactive live event.
In the live event, students can work in small groups (in breakout rooms) on various tasks, benefitting from peer learning/collaboration and instant tutor feedback.
Deliver the tutorial as small-group interactive live online session.
In this scenario, the purpose of the online tutorial is to emulate a face-to-face tutorial (in as much as possible) in terms of group discussions, problem solving, case studies etc. Students can be divided into smaller teams (in breakout rooms) to work on specific tasks.
Synchronous (live) tutorials:
- Plan your session carefully. Consider the timings. You may need to simplify what you would normally do in a face-to-face session.
- Consider delivering some of the content as independent self-study (readings, pre-recorded talks, screencasts, interactive online resources – see the Lectures and guest lectures section above for more details). Signpost this content appropriately: always make it explicit what students need to understand and remember from a given reading or video.
- Always bear in mind that live sessions need preparation, including technical set-up. It is typically recommended that a live session is run by two people, the main presenter and another person who monitors participants’ questions, looks after the technical aspect and helps with the timings among other things.
- Pre-session content may also include tasks for students to complete individually or in groups (and then report back during the main session). Always consider when students can do these tasks – is there space in their timetables?
- Always make sure you follow the relevant copyright and accessibility guidelines.
Check out these guides:
Lecture + Tutorial
This is a scenario when on-campus teaching would consist of a whole-cohort lecture followed immediately or shortly after by small group tutorials which expand on the topics covered in the lecture.
This scenario assumes that didactic content typically delivered in a traditional lecture can be studied by students independently as a scaffolded collection of short videos, readings, curated resources, knowledge self-checks, and other interactive online activities.
This is then followed by an online small-group online live tutorial, the purpose of which is to emulate a face-to-face tutorial (in as much as possible) in terms of group discussions, problem solving, case studies etc. Students can be divided into smaller teams (in breakout rooms) to work on specific tasks.
In this scenario, the lecture is delivered via a video conferencing tool and slideshare. The slides can be provided to students in advance, to help them prepare and retain the content. The lecture should be as interactive as possible. Use audience response tools (like Mentimeter), ask questions, give students tasks to complete individually or in groups (in breakout rooms), create opportunities for students to ask their questions – via the chat/Q&A or verbally.
This is then followed by an online small-group online live tutorial, the purpose of which is to emulate a face-to-face tutorial (in as much as possible) in terms of group discussions, problem solving, case studies etc. Students can be divided into smaller teams (in breakout rooms) to work on specific tasks.
Group presentations
These are typically small group sessions in which students deliver presentations, individually or in small teams, to the rest of the class.
This scenario requires more careful timing as students/teams are required to submit their presentations prior to the live session to an online gallery. The class can cast secret votes which presentation(s) they would like to see in the live event (thus increasing accountability). Or the presentations can be pre-recorded, the class watch them before the live session.
The purpose of the live session is to discuss and comment on the presentations and provide feedback.
This scenario emulates a standard face-to-face presentation session: students share their screens and deliver their presentations. This can be followed by a discussion or a peer feedback session, as appropriate.
Team Based Learning (TBL) sessions
Following a self-study preparation time, the TBL session is run as a whole-class live online session. You will need specific online applications (such as LAMS) to set up the TBL sequence. If you haven’t got access to dedicated TBL applications, you can try the following set-up:
- iRAT→ multiple choice individual quiz with no feedback
- tRAT → students in breakout rooms, one student is appointed the ‘leader’ and submits the answers on behalf of the team. Correct answers can be displayed after every question or after the whole quiz. Students can then submit queries about questions they got wrong or they were unsure of in terms of the rationale.
- tAPP → similar set-up to tRAT with students discussing solutions in breakout rooms. The instructor can call on several groups to present their solutions to the rest of the class via screen share.
Online TBL will by definition be an open-book type of activity, so questions should be designed accordingly. Questions that test basic recall of information are not effective for deep learning.
For the iRAT, time limit may be imposed to limit students’ opportunities to research answers to the questions.
Example
Click here to see how teaching staff on the Medical Biosciences programme designed and delivered a synchronous TBL session using Microsoft Teams for facilitation and group discussion.
You can also radically rethink the session and deliver it as an asynchronous or partially asynchronous activity. A dedicated TBLplatform (e.g. LAMS) will help, but it is possible to deliver the session without it.
For example, students are given a week to complete the entire sequence. The iRAT could be a time-limited quiz students do whenever they want (yes, there’s nothing stopping them from sharing the questions with others, however many students will want to complete the quiz themselves to check their knowledge).
The tRAT part could be replaced with an ad hoc video of the tutor giving group feedback on the quiz, or, if you want to preserve the group discussion element, you can ask the teams to agree their ‘team answers’ and email them to you, and you will email them the correct answers back to self-check (they should then have an option of asking you questions about the things they still don’t understand). Again, nothing will stop students from sharing the answers, but most will likely engage to test themselves.
The tAPP can be released at any point, and teams will need to submit agreed solutions, which can then be looked at by the rest of the class (who could vote for the best solution).
Lab sessions
Lab sessions are obviously impossible to replicate fully in an online environment. The first step is to identify learning outcomes that can be accomplished online. For example, students can be exposed to some lab processes and procedures via videos or interactive videos (with a view to practising them later in a real lab), introduced to safety procedures (via interactive videos or simulations), asked to draft research questions and plan experiments, or analyse results of experiments (provided to them) and draw conclusions.
The idea is to move anything that does not require physical presence in the lab into the online space: asynchronous or synchronous.
Online activities of this type need to be properly embedded within a coherent teaching narrative: they may require additional introductory content, including explanations as to their purpose and what students are expected to get form them. They may also require a live online follow-up session to check students’ understanding and emphasise the relevance of the online content to actual lab practice.
Learning outcomes related to physical presence in labolatory settings are postponed.
Clinical communication sessions
These sessions typically involve students being exposed to examples of good and bad practice with a view to developing the ability to assess their own behaviour. Students practise their communication skills in mock-up scenarios with peers or actors.
In a remote teaching scenario, students can be given videos or interactive videos where they need to assess the behaviour and communication skills and identify good and bad practices (e.g. via self-checks).
Online live sessions can include discussions over self-study materials as well as small group/breakout room activities. Actors can be involved in a similar way as in a traditional session, with one student interacting with them and the rest watching and providing feedback.
Clinical placements
Clinical placements are obviously impossible to replicate fully in an online environment. The first step is to identify learning outcomes that can be accomplished remotely. For example, students can be introduced to various aspects of clinical placements via online self-study material (e.g. videos explaining what to expect).
There are more expensive options like medical simulation programmes that emulate decision-making and other processes expected of a medical student (or nurse, or doctor) in a clinical environment, which can prepare students for the actual placement in a real clinical setting. These activities can be followed by a reflective exercise in which students reflect on their learning and identify goals for the actual placement.
Online activities of this type need to be properly embedded within a coherent teaching narrative: they may require additional introductory content, including explanations as to their purpose and what students are expected to get form them. They may also require a live online follow-up session to check students’ understanding and emphasise the relevance of the online content to actual clinical placements.
Learning outcomes related to physical presence in clinical settings are postponed.
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