Week 15: A Final Practicum Reflection

Image Credit: J. McPeek

Well... we are at the end of the practicum and I have spent a lot of time working through the course I designed and implemented for this practicum. I must say, it has been way more helpful than I thought.

When I chose to teach this Microbiology course for this practicum assignment, I thought "what will I actually gain from this experience since I have taught online for years". I actually gained a lot. What I did not realize at the beginning (and last semester when I was planning my practicum experience with the program coordinator) was how much I would gain from just the reflective process. Actually having to take the time every single week to reflect on what my students were doing, what I was doing, and what I needed to work on really helped me see some areas that I need to improve and/or "firm up" in the course. The reflective process was way more helpful than I could have ever imagined.

Reflection in an Online Course is like seeing the Full Iceberg for the First Time
Image Credit: @PCWallArt

What I will say, at least for me, is that this was not a easy process. Not only did I fully set up and design the course before the semester started, I also taught a total of 60 students and reflected on the process throughout the term. The design of the course is time consuming. Some colleges and universities have master courses and pass the "course shell" for other instructors to teach the course. While my institution is moving in that direction, currently it is the responsibility of the faculty teaching the online course to design the course and then teach it. While I have taught online Microbiology for about 4 years now, the design before the semester starts still takes no less than 30 hours before the class even begins. So, much of my breaks (summer and holiday) are spent improving resources, setting up the modules, redesigning student activities, and making general improvement based on previous feedback. I almost feel like that could have been the practicum in and of itself. But, that would not have really helped me develop as an online instructor. So, teaching 60 (now 57) students in a semester and reflecting on it really was an added benefit to this experience. Even though this was not my first experience, it was almost like a first experience with regard to all the reflection I did.

As I reflect on what this process was like, I can only think of an iceberg. Before, when I taught these online courses I reflected on my experience and tried to always make my courses better. But, having to set aside time every week to really think about what I was doing made me realize the online course is like the iceberg in the image above. We really only see a small slice of the issues on the surface. The reflective process allows you to dig deeper (or dive deeper) to see all that is there and all that is needed. I feel like taking the time each week to look back and reflect allowed me to see things I might normally miss. I has been eye opening.

So, in keeping with the iceberg metaphor, this is what I found under the surface when I dove deep into the waters...

Beginning the Course...

Image Credit: @hillononlineacademy 

The course did not actually begin until two weeks into this practicum because our online courses are 14 weeks instead of the traditional 16 week course. I believe this worked well for me because I was able to reflect on the design process and to lay out a plan for the practicum at the beginning before the course started. Not only was I able to reflect on the process, I was able to make notes about the process and see where I needed improvements. The one area I discovered that needed improvement was the course orientation. While I did not reflect on that in an early reflection (I wanted to save that until now), I noticed that I need to build up my orientation to my course. We are required to give an orientation quiz at the beginning. As I was going through the orientation and the quiz, I realized I need to focus the questions of my quiz more on my policies and expectations instead of the college policies and expectations. Because students are required to take the quiz to stay in the course, it will force the student to become more aware of the course policies... even if they like to skip reading the syllabus and other information.

I think starting this summer (the next time I teach the course) I will be improving my orientation quiz so that it includes more expectations of my course. An example of this is the Voice Thread posting. With the graded Voicethread design, I cannot grade the post without the student hitting the blue "submit assignment" button. This means that a student can complete the posts, but I cannot grade it. Although I provide a video explanation, a step-by-step diagram, and announcements on how to do this, students still miss clicking that button. Perhaps if I dedicate a question on the orientation quiz, it will ensure students are getting that little detail. While there are other examples I can give, this is one that is minor in detail, but takes a long time to explain and to "regrade" when the student fixes the issue. I think it will help save me and the student time in the end.

While I already include information on the quiz about not accepting late work, I think I want to change up the questions to make sure students must "write out" the policy (in their own words) instead of answering a true/false question about it. I think it will help students realize the importance
of the policy instead of glossing over it in the orientation.

The Modules

Learning Outcomes for Module 7
Image Credit: P. Williams

Another aspect that I evaluated and reflected on in the course was the structure of the modules and the connections of the material to the learning outcomes. So, on top of designing the course, teaching the course, and managing the course day-to-day was my goal to better connect my learning outcomes. This was something that took me a lot of time. While I completed that task I set for myself, in doing it, I discovered more ways to link outcomes to assignments and how to make more of the learning outcomes "tiered". I do not think I would have seen the need for these new ideas if I had not taken on the goal in the first place. Linking each module to specific learning outcomes really helped me identify other areas that can benefit from learning outcome connections. I am very thankful that I stuck through that "extra" goal and finished it because I now have new ideas for other areas of my course with regard to learning outcomes. Sometimes I think that a lot of teaching online is centered around "playing" with ideas in order to come up with more ideas. It sounds weird to say that, but I feel like you have to tackle one idea in order to come up with more.

I also restructured the modules, as I mentioned in my Week 14 reflection, to have a lighter load in

Module Navigation Bar
Image Credit: P. Williams 

module 1 and module 7. While I am not sure if the students will realize this was a change from previous semesters, I do think that is has been well received so far. We just entered the last module this week and I have already received thoughtful messages from some students thanking me for only have one chapter in module 7. That makes me very happy and I am so glad that that seems to be working for my students. Students do not take have to take the final all on the same day, they have a total of two weeks to take it. So, I will not be able to see all the student scores by the time this practicum ends, but those that have taken it already (only about 5 students so far) have done really well. I am not sure if that is due to the fact that top students tend to work ahead and do things early so the grades are higher by default or if it is due to the structure of the module. I can only speculate.

Other things that I learned from various parts of this practicum and reflective process was things I need to add to the modules based on student feedback. Students reported they wanted more videos, but I am not totally sure what they mean by this. I already have personal videos, lectures by me, lectures by others, short animations, and mp3 files of mini lectures to listen to in the car or at home. So, I think I am going to try and add a few more personally made short summary videos to help students. I hope this helps the students and gives them what they need. 

Practicum Wrap Up

Now that I am typing up this last post and reflecting on the entire term and all the weekly reflections I posted, I realize just how much I learned throughout this program (Online Teaching and Instructional Design) and how much I have learned throughout my years of teaching online. This program has given me many new tools as well as confidence in using tools I was hesitant to use. In the course I taught for this practicum, I used a variety of tools to help with instruction (Camtasia, Voice Thread, Late Nite Labs, Wordle, ToonDoo, and others). Hopefully this helped students connect with me and the material in the course. I know that this program gave me a lot of information to move forward with and not all of it could be used and applied in this one practicum, but I have gained a lot of information to take with me. I am excited to see how my courses develop as I continue to make improvements. 

Image Credit: @webneel

Reflecting back, I still cannot believe all I accomplished in this practicum and in the OTID program. While a lot of it I do every semester, I think the reflective process gave me time to really see what all I actually do. From creating videos and media, to search and evaluating resources, providing individualized and differentiated instruction, making personal contact, creating announcements, and grading (oh the grading). So many things were accomplished and there is no way for me to express all that I completed throughout the semester. The biggest thing I will take from this practicum is that reflection really helps me see what I am doing and what I need to do. I realize that when teaching, I get into the grind of the everyday and do not spend enough time reflecting on what I am doing for my students and finding ways to get them what they need. I think the reflective process really helped me see what I am doing right and what I need to do as I take steps forward. I think I will make sure to include a reflective process at least once a month to make sure I am providing all I can for my students. I am now sold on the importance of reflection. The key is to make a habit out of it. It is not helpful to skip reflections or miss parts of the reflective process. There were times this semester when I was sick or tired and really wanted to just skip the reflective part, but still pushed on. I think this is important and I need to take that with me. I must always keep reflecting... even if I am busy, tired, or sick. Just do it and in the end, my students will have a better experience. That is what all of this is for... my students. 

Now my journey takes me to a different program and further learning... but I will use the knowledge I gain from this practicum and the OTID program for as long as I teach (and even beyond). I am so glad I chose to start this program. It has improved my instruction and hopefully the experience for all my students. 

Now... on to graduation. haha ;)