transitioning a STEM course online

Are you now teaching a course online? In preparation for the unique challenges I anticipated in teaching my first online course, I pursued training opportunities from the University of Florida’s (UF) Center for Teaching Excellence and Center for Instructional Technology and Training and completed certification in following three programs:
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• The UF First Year Faculty Teaching Academy is a workshop series designed for faculty in their first years of teaching at UF to learn how to create a great learning experience.
• The UF Great Teaching for New Faculty Certificate Program is a program composed of workshops and faculty learning communities, including topics in developing an inclusive culture, innovative teaching for learning differences, and strategies for humanizing your course.
• The UF Best Practices for Teaching Online Program is composed of assignment-based workshops covering the needs of diverse learners, tips for student engagement in transitioned-online courses, and accessibility issues.

Below, I share advice that helped transition my Radiation Biology course online and also provide some examples of how I applied the principles in action.

1. Redesign your course to promote student success
​in the new online learning environment

I started by restructuring my lectures and assignments to clearly align with the course’s measurable student learning objectives. In an online course, the video lecture is not necessarily meant to recreate how you’d teach in-person in a classroom setting. My synchronous video lectures became components of the class, but did not fully cover everything the students were expected to learn. I used the Canvas shell as the class, incorporating additional pre-recorded shorter videos to review example problems, supplemental readings and YouTube videos, as well as independent and collaborative student assignments. With the additional course material, it was important to clarify expectations and due dates through organized modules and regular communication through lectures and email.


2. Incorporate opportunities that enhance
student engagement and interaction

The greatest challenge in an online learning environment is that students can feel a lack of connection. I placed great importance in incorporating activities that promote interaction between the instructor and students, as well as between the students themselves. In the first lecture, we aimed to build a community by having everyone introduce themselves along with their background, a hobby, and a fun fact. To continue humanizing the course in subsequent lectures, we took periodic breaks to get to know each other, where students were asked to share facts about themselves, such as their favorite TV show or their greatest fear. Also, having the instructor speak in an encouraging manner with a supportive and enthusiastic tone helps reinforce a friendly space for students to engage in.
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Furthermore, offering student-centered assignments were key in establishing a collaborative learning environment. I had students split into pairs in breakout rooms, learn new material on their own through a guided assignment, discuss the topic together, summarize their learnings on a collaborative platform, and teach it to the entire class. Below is an example of an MRI safety activity conducted in Padlet. Furthermore, I introduced activities during the synchronous video lectures where students had to brainstorm ideas on a Google Jamboard. Below is another example of sticky notes students posted to list perceptions of radiation-induced health effects. I also assigned collaborative brainstorming sessions where students had to work in groups outside of class to create a list of questions and answers covering past course materials.

3. Regularly assess understanding

When we were teaching in person, we were better able to read students’ facial expressions and body language to grasp their understanding – we tend to lose that in the online environment. Therefore, it becomes important to offer moments to check in by pausing and prompting for responses during live lectures.
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I provided quizzes to verify whether key points were clear and to identify common misunderstandings. Afterwards, each answer was discussed to serve as a topic review during live lectures. In addition, I created a “Jeopardy” game for us to play together in class with questions centered around the course material.

​4. Show compassion

While caring about the students’ learning has always been important, it holds true now more than ever. In the current virtual times, students may feel isolated as they lack their typical peer environment, and are facing new challenges that requires organization, discipline, and time management to effectively participate in an online course. There’s also additional challenges like anxiety with internet speeds, submitting assignments electronically, and finding a comfortable learning environment at home. To ease some of these issues, I modified my courses to promote online accessibility and ADA compliance for all students.
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Also, it’s important to acknowledge students are human beings. Before responding to a situation, I consider something in their lives may be interfering with their learning, and approach all students with empathy. With the current COVID-19 situation, everyone is working on modifying their daily lives to enforce safe practices, and many are facing financial hardships, anxiety, long-term distancing from at-risk family members, and more.