Presentation Topic: Cases and Techniques Used in the Pandemic

OMG My Orientation Was Fantastic!

Simon Strudwick and Marci Araki, STEMCELL Technologies

Track: Learning experience design/ Volet: Conception des expériences d’apprentissage

Type: Case study in innovation

Name of the case: Redesigning a Remote New Hire Orientation

Focus of the case: Design

Background:

When our new hire orientation moved online the initial focus was on providing as much information as possible in a lecture format. The participants complained that there was too much information, the presenters complained that important information was getting lost, and the program sponsor complained that none of this met her requirements which were about delivering a great experience and not a knowledge dump.

Problem addressed by the case:

Participants felt overwhelmed by too much information delivered during a three day remote new hire orientation, and the orientation did not meet the goals of the program sponsor.

Solution devised:

I designed a five-part presentation format that emphasized storytelling and hands-on activities, and was simple for all presenters to follow.

Process for developing the solution:

I used a step-by-step process to identify key messages in existing presentation and remove "nice to know" information (which reduced the average length by 50%), redesign the curriculum to create a logical flow to the order of presentations, identify gaps in the curriculum where additional presentation were required, and map opportunities for fun, wow, and inclusive experiences onto the curriculum.

Digital Learning Exchange: A Case Study in Transformative Communities of Practice

Échange d'apprentissage digital : une étude de cas dans les communautés de pratique transformatrices

Diane Janes, Thompson Rivers University; and James Beres, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology

Track: Partnering with Faculty and administration/ Volet: Partenariat avec le corps professoral et l'administration

Type: Case study in innovation

Name of the case: Digital Learning Exchange: A Case Study in Transformative Communities of Practice

Focus of the case: Other - Digital Communities of Practice as a way to mitigate Faculty support in a global pandemic

Background

In March 2020, the world became drastically different due to the arrival of a global pandemic called COVID-19. Educational and other institutions found themselves pivoting to remote operations, quarantine, and technology-enabled strategies for work, everyday living, and learning

Problem addressed by the case

Faculty, staff and leaders needed support to make this transition and fast.

Solution devised

The actions taken by one polytechnic in Western Canada worked to ensure the techno-resiliency (Fox, 2004; Graham, 2016; Janes & Carter, 2020; Weller & Anderson, 2013) of its instructors through innovative use of a community of practice model (Wenger, 1998) and a digital learning exchange was created - it has proven to be effective in empowering post-secondary educators master this difficult transition.

Process for developing the solution

SAIT’s Centre for Academic Development and Innovation (CADI) implemented the Digital Learning Exchange for Faculty and Staff (DLE) using MS Teams. Constructed around a Community of Practice (CoP) model, the DLE (or DigEx) enabled instructors with remote teaching experience to support other teachers through highly relevant mentoring. As the new-to-online (and experienced) instructors acquired new knowledge and strategies, they assisted others. 

The MS Teams space was dedicated to exploring digital learning generally while channels (or discussion spaces) were used for specific topics and purposes. As the DLE evolved, further channels were created, and video chats and asynchronous discussions occurred involving novice and expert online teachers. The use of the DLE was shared via email, newsletters and ‘word of mouth’ to encourage membership across the campus.

Supporting Self-Regulated Learning in Hybrid Environment to Mitigate Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic: 

An Autoethnography

Lukas Liu, Columbia University

Track: Evidence-based practices in teaching/ Volet: Pratiques de l'enseignement fondées sur des preuves 

Type: Research presentation

Rationale for the study:

As we are moving into the recovery and mitigation phases of the disaster management cycle (Alexander, 2002), universities have implemented numerous strategies to support students’ learning and accommodate various needs (Dennen et al., 2022). Although learning remotely is no longer a mandate, the remote option has been available to students if necessary (Ali, 2020). However, this hybrid learning is a fait accompli because the instructors need to provide accommodations to students per institutional policy, which proposes challenges to teaching and learning in this “post-Pandemic” world. This autoethnography aims at reviewing and evaluating the strategies and instructional design decisions made to support students’ self-regulated learning in such hybrid environments from a reflective perspective. The findings should shed light on designing and managing a hybrid learning environment to support students’ self-initiated, self-regulated, and self-sustained learning experiences.

Research questions:

• What were the challenges of self-regulated learning in a hybrid environment? 

• How were the challenges addressed to support self-regulated learning in a hybrid environment?

Methodology:

First, this study is an autoethnography study that aims at leveraging the researcher as a reflective tool on the personal narrative and lived experience (Mallet, 2011). In this study, I describe my teaching a graduate-level introductory course on learning analytics (i.e., auto-), my approach to facilitate the self-regulated learning community (i.e., enthno-), and my reflections and evaluations of the effectiveness (i.e., -graphy). In addition, this study draws on the rich literature of self-regulated learning (cf., Zimmerman & Schunk, 1989, Pintrich, 1995, Boekaerts, 1999) to systematically analyze the challenges in a hybrid learning environment.

References:

Alexander, D. (2002). Principles of emergency planning and management. Terra Publishing. 

Ali, W. (2020). Online and remote learning in higher education institutes: A necessity in light of COVID-19 pandemic. Higher education studies, 10(3), 16-25. 

Boekaerts, M. (1999). Self-regulated learning: Where we are today. International journal of educational research, 31(6), 445-457. 

Dennen, V. P., Bagdy, L. M., Arslan, Ö., Choi, H., & Liu, Z. (2022). Supporting new online instructors and engaging remote learners during COVID-19: a distributed team teaching approach. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 54(sup1), S182-S202. 

Li, Q., Li, Z., & Han, J. (2021). A hybrid learning pedagogy for surmounting the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic in the performing arts education. Education and Information Technologies, 26(6), 7635-7655. 

Manti, P., Henderson, J., & Watkinson, D. (2011). Reflective practice in conservation education. In J. Bridgland Ed., ICOM-CC 16th Triennial Conference. 

Pintrich, P. R. (1995). Understanding self‐regulated learning. New directions for teaching and learning, 1995(63), 3-12. 

Zimmerman, B. J., & Schunk, D. H. (1989). Self-regulated learning and academic achievement: Theory, research and practice. Springer.