There are many ways to mix the three teaching modalities (Asynchronous Online, Synchronous Online, and Socially Distanced Face-to-Face) for which we have provided separate pages of recommended best practices. Here are some general recommendations of how to better structure your courses for safety and pedagogical purposes:
Consider combining both online and face-to-face modalities for your courses. Use online modalities, whether synchronous or asynchronous for certain activities, and maximize face-to-face meeting time for active learning. For example, passive learning activities, such as lectures can be easily moved online by recording mini lectures videos (asynchronous), or using web conferencing tools (synchronous using Zoom, Collaborate Ultra, or Microsoft Teams). Using face-to-face meeting time for hands-on activities or for problem-solving activities.
If your course has been designated as hybrid, consider replacing face-to-face classes with a combination of online materials, and shorter synchronous online meetings with half the students attending each time.
For labs and studios that require on-campus activities or equipment, if your class has been designated hybrid, consider replacing all instructional components of these classes with videos in order to reduce the time that students spend in the space. Consider which labs could be replaced with virtual labs or other activities to achieve similar aims and which require a hands-on experience. Also consider options that enable students to work together but retain physical distancing or ensure that closer work is for shortened periods of time.
If your usual assessment pattern involves activities that are done in class, consider whether alternative online modes would achieve similar aims, or whether a face-to-face assessment is necessary. Changes that you might consider include:
No matter which way your course is designed, make sure you communicate regularly with students about:
To use Fishbowl as a teaching strategy, an instructor might select a subset of their students who cannot attend face-to-face instruction to be the “fish,” and discuss the topic at hand from their various perspectives, while the other students (the in-person students and any remaining students who cannot attend the classes) listen and observe and (optionally) take notes in a collaborative document. After the fishbowl discussion, the observers then paraphrase or question or argue as appropriate to the topic, perhaps using their voices, the backchannel, or one of the group work structures mentioned above. There are many variations can be done for Fishbowl activities. For example, an instructor can record the students who attend in-person discussion and post it to D2L course for students who cannot attend the in-person discussion to discuss asynchronously, and vice versa.
Updated: August 13, 2021
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