8.5 Student support: Hanging on through the Midway Blues
| Contributor | Prajakta Parag Girme |
| Title | Hanging on through the Midway Blues.
|
| Aim | To check on/facilitate student engagement halfway through the module. |
| Learning Outcomes | Reassurance that everyone is in the same boat (loss of enthusiasm)
Renewed interest in online learning, motivation for coping with the course while boosting interaction, communication skills. Bringing the essential human element to teaching and learning online. |
| Timing | 30 minutes. (10 minutes for the discussion forum, 10 minutes in the breakout room and 10 minutes for a collective session.) |
| Activity Description | Two options for choosing the topic:
Academic: Topic is relevant to the course (like an assignment feedback) however, the discussion is casual like a coffee meeting (that sounds fun and more people will join) practical discussion of students dealing with stress of online learning, motivations and self-evaluation. Non-academic: Topic is chosen through discussion forums in Loop before the scheduled Zoom meeting (current affairs, common topics; health, fitness, exercise, food, music, etc.). This will assure engagement of students who are avoiding academic topics for the fear that they are the only ones lagging on the course. For Academic sessions: breakout room activities that are general enough to include students at every level of learning. For Non-academic sessions: current topics with fun quizzes, etc. The only purpose is interaction with classmates and installing a sense of belonging. |
| Tools | Discussion forums, Zoom (breakout rooms), polls. |
| Resources | A netiquette resource as well as one for zoom usage for beginners. |
| Instructions | Take a poll on the discussion forum and decide on a topic (or multiple topics and assign different breakout rooms according to student preference of topic.) Have fun, interact and be inspired to continue with renewed enthusiasm. |
| Feedback | Tutors typically only use this as means to casually interact and motivate students without academic pressures and deadlines. (Think school picnics) |
Feedback/Errata