Each year, 40-50 students participate in OSU’s Secondary Double Degree Program, a year-long program that combines student teaching with coursework and requirements for a middle/high school teaching certificate. ED 340 is course is a required course for students completing the Double Degree Program, and focuses on philosophies and strategies related to classroom management and differentiated instruction (differentiated instruction is instruction that accommodates and adjusts for different student needs).
Initially, I thought I would “hybridize” my course primarily by a) moving some of my lecture content (which is minimal to start with) online and b) finding ways for students to analyze videos of other teachers’ work within Canvas (this is work we have typically done as a group in person). As I’ve given this more thought and seen some of the available resources, I’ve decided to try moving some of the more support- and problem-solving aspects of the course online. In the past, I have devoted some f2f time to student reflection and sharing of classroom successes and challenges. This time is important for supporting the student teachers during what can be a stressful year, and helps build the community of the cohort. We know this community is a tremendous support for a lot of them during this year. I’ve warmed up to the idea of doing some of this work in the online classroom. We’ll see what happens. If I structure it incorrectly, I fear it has the potential to turn my online classroom into something resembling Facebook more than a classroom. However, structured correctly, it could be very positive for all of us (including me!)
I like your idea about moving student reflection and sharing to the online format. I would like to discuss how this works for your students. I, too, worry about a Facebook format. It may not encourage the students to think deeply about their teaching and how to discuss solving problems together.