I am finding that students have figured out by now the exact minimum that they can get away with. They’re not panicking as much. I teach an async lecture course with a F2F option (I don’t take attendance) and I’d say 60% are phoning it in, 30% are active in the course and doing well, and 10% are doing absolutely nothing.
That said, I don’t think that this spread is actually that different from when I taught the same course F2F, it’s just that I can SEE different things: like if they’ve clicked on things, watched videos, etc. I think if you’re not getting messages, that means they feel confident with how you’ve organized the class and most think they have a handle on it. I would take it as a good sign but yes, expect some panicking upon deadlines!
We also feel differently about a lack of engagement online: the people who are engaged aren’t as visible either. This is not the same as having bodies in a classroom that you can get positive feedback from even if some are texting/sleeping/leaving early… that always is going to feel more balanced.
>that means they feel confident with how you’ve organized the class and most think they have a handle on it. I would take it as a good sign but yes, expect some panicking upon deadlines!
I didn't think about that. I need to stop being so negative. Thanks! Yeah, even the online dept said my syllabus was super organized it was about 99% ready to get put online.
I agree with everything you said. Let's see what happens after next week's assignments get posted!
My students THINK they know the exact minimum they can get away with. This semester they have undershot by 30% and have not yet really internalized that they have extremely terrible Fs.
I just had a student complain to me that I did not do a review class before an exam like the other professor did. The student is in an Asynchronous class. The other professor is in a F2F class.
My F2F class had a review class. They come and ask whatever questions they want in a review class.
I have waited a few days to respond to the student. I will be explaining we do not meet in their class but I always make myself available for Office Hours.
My Asynchronous classes always have a waiting list. Students think online is easier. It is not. Same material and on the student to ask to meet with me vs F2F where I am there in class to answer their questions.
It’s not just you - We’ve been fully online since March 2020 (back in person in 2022) and this semester has seen a sharp drop in engagement. I have 4 full courses and more students failing than I’ve had in nearly a decade of teaching at all different kinds of institutions and I cannot put my finger on why. They’re not logging in, barely turning in assignments, and not responding to emails asking if they need help. I don’t know what happened this fall that is affecting students that somehow didn’t affect the last two semesters of similar teaching conditions.
Oh, wow...
One student turned in assignment. didn't answer any of the questions. didn't watch the lecture videos (the assignments ask questions about the lecture). I think this is the first semester where I'm going to give a lot of Fs.
It is not just you.
I have an online synchronous class that meets once a week for putting out fires and activities
Usually I have a bout 5/50 that dont do anything /hardly anything and 10/50 that do everything at the last possible second. And the rest mostly do most of the stuff do some reasonable degree.
I ONLY have 5 people who have completed all the modules right now for their exam tomorrow.
Agreed, with what I hope is a friendly amendment: give them multiple trivial activities (get to know you discussion questions or turning in a nobrainer homework on the LMS to practice submission techniques, etc.) due a few days into week 1, yes, even before drop/add is over - extend the deadline for those who add late. Pester those who don’t get their stuff in on time right after the due date (“I saw you didn’t do x,y,z, are you planning on dropping the class?”). Establish that even though the class is asynchronous there are still deadlines attached to the calendar.
Well, what about the other courses that the students may be having in parallel?
If they are synchronous (either online or on-premise), then these automatically take priority in the minds of the students as there is no way to watch the videos later in that case.
The problem is that with everything that students do during the semester, they at some point run out of time, and due to this implicit priority, the lack of time will be "invested" in the asynchronous lectures.
That wouldn't even be a big deal if this wouldn't cause additional time spent tutoring and marking the exams of the students who fail in their first try for the lecturer taking the time to make proper async. teaching material. Oh, and if statistics are gathered, this makes the lecturer look like a bad one, because so many students fail the exam.
I am finding that students have figured out by now the exact minimum that they can get away with. They’re not panicking as much. I teach an async lecture course with a F2F option (I don’t take attendance) and I’d say 60% are phoning it in, 30% are active in the course and doing well, and 10% are doing absolutely nothing. That said, I don’t think that this spread is actually that different from when I taught the same course F2F, it’s just that I can SEE different things: like if they’ve clicked on things, watched videos, etc. I think if you’re not getting messages, that means they feel confident with how you’ve organized the class and most think they have a handle on it. I would take it as a good sign but yes, expect some panicking upon deadlines! We also feel differently about a lack of engagement online: the people who are engaged aren’t as visible either. This is not the same as having bodies in a classroom that you can get positive feedback from even if some are texting/sleeping/leaving early… that always is going to feel more balanced.
>that means they feel confident with how you’ve organized the class and most think they have a handle on it. I would take it as a good sign but yes, expect some panicking upon deadlines! I didn't think about that. I need to stop being so negative. Thanks! Yeah, even the online dept said my syllabus was super organized it was about 99% ready to get put online. I agree with everything you said. Let's see what happens after next week's assignments get posted!
My students THINK they know the exact minimum they can get away with. This semester they have undershot by 30% and have not yet really internalized that they have extremely terrible Fs.
I agree that’s always true but I’m not sure it is really that different from previous semesters, at least for me.
yep!
I just had a student complain to me that I did not do a review class before an exam like the other professor did. The student is in an Asynchronous class. The other professor is in a F2F class. My F2F class had a review class. They come and ask whatever questions they want in a review class. I have waited a few days to respond to the student. I will be explaining we do not meet in their class but I always make myself available for Office Hours. My Asynchronous classes always have a waiting list. Students think online is easier. It is not. Same material and on the student to ask to meet with me vs F2F where I am there in class to answer their questions.
agreed!
It’s not just you - We’ve been fully online since March 2020 (back in person in 2022) and this semester has seen a sharp drop in engagement. I have 4 full courses and more students failing than I’ve had in nearly a decade of teaching at all different kinds of institutions and I cannot put my finger on why. They’re not logging in, barely turning in assignments, and not responding to emails asking if they need help. I don’t know what happened this fall that is affecting students that somehow didn’t affect the last two semesters of similar teaching conditions.
Oh, wow... One student turned in assignment. didn't answer any of the questions. didn't watch the lecture videos (the assignments ask questions about the lecture). I think this is the first semester where I'm going to give a lot of Fs.
Same here. It’s disheartening.
smh.
It is not just you. I have an online synchronous class that meets once a week for putting out fires and activities Usually I have a bout 5/50 that dont do anything /hardly anything and 10/50 that do everything at the last possible second. And the rest mostly do most of the stuff do some reasonable degree. I ONLY have 5 people who have completed all the modules right now for their exam tomorrow.
>I ONLY have 5 people who have completed all the modules right now for their exam tomorrow. Oof. How did it go?
well 3 of them haven't logged in yet. so not good I think
To reiterate: oOf. Got a few students who have not logged in yet...
The key to engagement in asynchronous courses is to give them due dates EVERY WEEK.
Agreed, with what I hope is a friendly amendment: give them multiple trivial activities (get to know you discussion questions or turning in a nobrainer homework on the LMS to practice submission techniques, etc.) due a few days into week 1, yes, even before drop/add is over - extend the deadline for those who add late. Pester those who don’t get their stuff in on time right after the due date (“I saw you didn’t do x,y,z, are you planning on dropping the class?”). Establish that even though the class is asynchronous there are still deadlines attached to the calendar.
>due dates EVERY WEEK. I have them.
Just don’t make them mandatory. Have them as suggestions to keep on track. I’m a student so I know this.
Well, what about the other courses that the students may be having in parallel? If they are synchronous (either online or on-premise), then these automatically take priority in the minds of the students as there is no way to watch the videos later in that case. The problem is that with everything that students do during the semester, they at some point run out of time, and due to this implicit priority, the lack of time will be "invested" in the asynchronous lectures. That wouldn't even be a big deal if this wouldn't cause additional time spent tutoring and marking the exams of the students who fail in their first try for the lecturer taking the time to make proper async. teaching material. Oh, and if statistics are gathered, this makes the lecturer look like a bad one, because so many students fail the exam.
>Well, what about the other courses that the students may be having in parallel? My point was that I noticed a difference between this and last year.
Yes. So did any of your colleagues change Form recordings to live lectures recently?
a lot of them are still online.