I've been teaching, remotely, in the MLIS program at Rutgers since 2019. I love to share that, because the program is entirely online, even though I feel deeply connected to my students, I've never actually stepped foot on campus. My schedule fluctuates, but over the years, I've taught the following courses:
Emerging Literacies: Learning & Creating With Digital Youth
YA Lit: Young Adults Reading & Literacy
Kid Lit: Children, Reading, & Literacy
As is common practice, (I think?) all of my courses feature weekly module discussions. As I tell my students, I emphasize these conversations, (and do not accept them late), because in an entirely asynchronous learning environment, they are one of the only tools we have at our disposal for building a learning community. With that in mind, it's important to me that each module discussion be meaningful and relevant to both that week's topic and my students' actual practice. Since many of my students are already working in libraries, (or as classroom teachers), I try to use each module discussion as a vehicle for introducing them to new tools or new ways of using old favorites. To achieve that goal, each week's module discussion is divided into three sections:
Part 1: Module Surveys
The module survey is an opportunity for me to "take the temperature" of the class. Often these are related to that week's topic, but sometimes they focus on more personal check-ins. Grad school is tough. Balancing that work with their personal and professional lives is tougher. Doing all of that at a time when our collective generalized anxiety seems to be at an all time high is a tall order indeed. Over the years, many students have reached out to say how much they appreciate these check-ins.
I use Mentimeter for module surveys. Mentimeter is my favorite tool for asynchronous surveys, in part, because students can participate anonymously, without an account, which I think/hope encourages honesty. Here are two examples of module surveys. (Note: these are duplicates, so you are welcome to respond to them - and I hope you do!)
Survey 1 Example: Topic Specific Check-In
Survey 2 Example: Mid Semester Check-In
Part 2: Module Activities
Module content for my courses, typically, includes the following:
a lecture
a choice board that I create for students to explore (here's an example)
additional readings when applicable
With that in mind, I have a few goals for the module activity part of weekly discussions:
First, I want students to apply and synthesize the learning from that week
Second, I want to provide examples of how to use edtech tools in meaningful ways
Third, in some cases, I'm hopeful these activities provide my students with a bit of a brain break
And, finally, because one of the cumulative projects for my Emerging Literacies course is a choice board that includes a synthesizing activity, this element of our weekly discussion helps me model that practice
I use a variety of tools for module activities, but I emphasize those that students can access for free and that don't require a login. Here are two examples.
The first is a module activity we complete at the very beginning of the semester using Tony Vincent's Shapegrams. Here are the instructions students receive (in addition to those that are in the slide deck itself).
This week's module activity uses a tool called Shapegrams- which was created by educator Tony Vincent. Shapegrams can be used for brain breaks and creative expression or, as I've done here, they can serve as a jumping off point for a learning prompt. While most module activities, moving forward, will focus on helping you apply information from that week's topic, this week we're focusing on being successful in the course more generally. With that in mind, to complete the module activity, do the following:
Read the directions in slide one
Grab a slide and add your name to it
Build your backpack
Respond to the prompt
Have fun!
The second example is a module activity we complete during the week when we explore makerspaces. (Note: I added a link to this module's choice board above). I use Padlet for this activity. Here are the instructions students receive (in addition to those in the Padlet itself).
Let's play! This Padlet features 3 virtual makerspaces. Take a minute to explore one (or more!) of your choice. While I've sorted them by age group, you are welcome to let curiosity be your guide. However, I encourage you to look at each resource as a librarian AND as a maker! Add a comment to the section featuring the board you chose that includes:
A link (or upload of) what you made during your exploration
Your thoughts about the virtual makerspace you explored
Finally, don't forget to include your name! I can't give you credit for participating if you don't "sign" your work!
Have fun!
Module activities are, consistently, my students' favorite part of the our weekly discussions. I hear from students, over and over again, about how they use these activities in their own practice AND about how they help them better understand the learning of our class.
Part 3: Reflection Questions
Because, in my experience, choice is a powerful motivator, reflection questions for each weekly module are typically organized into two groups.
A small set (1 or 2) of required questions
A larger set (4-6) of choice questions. Depending on the week, students are charged with selecting 2 or 3 of these questions to respond to as well.
Additionally (though this is a post for another day), each week I ask a single student (or pair, depending on the size of the class) to lead that week's discussion. Students leading the discussion do all of the following:
Post early with a "preassessment" survey or activity of their own design to gauge our group's familiarity with that week's topic
Respond to all of their classmates in ways that push our thinking and that generate additional conversation
Create a synthesis at the end of the week that both summarizes our learning AND that creates a toolkit (or some other resource) for continued exploration of this topic
I've found that having other students lead the weekly discussion profoundly affects participation. Students who have completed the leadership synthesis are more engaged in subsequent conversations, and those who are on deck to complete it, are motivated to support their classmates with exceptional participation. No amount of cajoling on my part has affected student participation more than this.
With that in mind, I don't require specific word counts or use other quantitative measures of assessment for weekly discussions. Rather, if a student is underperforming, I reach out to them directly with encouragement and suggestions for more robust participation. However, I should say that this rarely happens.
Here's the rubric I use to provide students with feedback each week:
You may notice that despite the robust nature of weekly discussions in my classes, each week's participation is only worth 20 points. While, module discussion and participation, as a graded category, ends up being a large percentage of their overall grade, because I do not accept this assignment late, I've intentionally weighted it such that a student can miss a week (or event two) without it being devastating to their grade.
Reflection Is Where The Learning Happens
Finally, I want to give a shout out to Kristen Mattson who inspired this post. The truth is, I've seen a lot of discussion, online recently, around module discussions as an instructional strategy - more specifically, there seems to have been a recent uptick in "hot takes" claiming that asking students to respond to module discussions is a waste of their/our time. I try to avoid this kind of engagement bait, but it's also tough not to let that messaging sink in, feeding self-doubt. Kristen's recent posts on Bluesky, in which she reflects on her own HigherEd practice have had the opposite effect. Not only do I appreciate the way she is transparent about her thinking and her own attempts to become a(n even) better teacher, but I find that transparency motivating. Earlier this morning, I began to reply to one of her posts about updating module discussions for the new semester, but realized I had more to say than would be practical in a social media post... which led me to write this blog. Big thanks to Kristen for pushing me to continue reflecting on my own work.
