Ways of making online teaching more successful: An autoethnographic study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12928/tefl.v2i2.539Keywords:
online learning, student engagement, boredom, challengesAbstract
This article is the author’s professional reflectivity as a TESOL lecturer at an Australian University over the past sixteen years. Observing and responding to students’ interests, concerns, and challenges has allowed this work to take shape. It signifies a range of issues that shape student learning with a strong focus on problematic features of online education practices. These issues include the absence of non-verbal cues, responsive latency, the pressure of teacher multiple-roles, and digital learning boredom. Thanks to collected data from student feedback, conversation with colleagues, and field notes, the author has put together a set of principles and strategies for making teaching and learning in the virtual space a more rewarding experience for both teachers and students. The strategies inclkude making learning content interesting and useful, personalised communication, clear participation protocols, mediation of student workload and participation, scaffolding online learning, organising choices, diversifying approaches to tasks, encouraging student voices, and collaboration with non-teaching staff.
References
Adedoyin, O. B. & Soykan, E. (2020). Covid-19 pandemic and online learning: The challenges and opportunities. Interactive Learning Environments, 1–13. DOI: https:// doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2020.1813180.
Agyekum, K. (2002). The communicative role of silence in Akan. Pragmatics, 12(1), 31–5. Aitken, J. E. & Neer, M. R. (1993). College student question-asking: The relationship of classroom communication apprehension and motivation. The Southern Communication Journal, 59, 73–9. https://doi.org/10.1080/10417949309372923
Anderson, T. (2004). Towards a theory of online learning. Theory and practice of online learning, 2, 109-119. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-59140-178-0.ch006
Angelino, L. M., Williams, F. K., & Natvig, D. (2007). Strategies to engage online students and reduce attrition rates. Journal of Educators Online, 4(2), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.9743/JEO.2007.2.1
Baran, E. & Correia, A. P. (2014). A professional development framework for online teaching. TechTrends, 58(5), 95–101. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-014-0791-0
Bates, M. (2004). From knowledge to action and back again: Building a bridge. International Journal of Work-Integrated Learning, 5(1), 7.
Bawane, J. & Spector, J. M. (2009). Prioritization of online instructor roles: Implications for competency-based teacher education programs. Distance Education, 30(3), 383–97. https://doi.org/10.1080/01587910903236536
Bell, B. S. & Fedeman, J. E. (2013). E-learning in postsecondary education. The Future of Children, 23(1), 165–85. https://doi.org/10.1353/foc.2013.0007
Bell, P. D. & Akroyd, D. (2006). Can factors related to self-regulated learning predict learning achievement in undergraduate asynchronous web-based courses? International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, 3(10), 5–16.
Betts, K. (2009). Lost in translation: Importance of effective communication in online education. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 12(2), 1–17.
Betts, K. (2011). Online faculty and adjuncts: Strategies for meeting current and future demands of online education through online human touch training and support. International Journal of Online Pedagogy and Course Design, 1(4), 20–38. https://doi.org/10.4018/ijopcd.2011100102
Blocher, J. M., Montes, L., Willis, E. M. & Tucker, G. (2002). Online learning: Examining the successful student profile. Journal of Interactive Online Learning, 1 (2), 1–12.
Burton, L. J., Summers, J., Lawrence, J., Noble, K. & Gibbings, P. (2015). Digital literacy in higher education: The rhetoric and the reality. In M. Harmes, H. Huijser, P. Danaher & M. U. Haq, eds., Myths in Education, Learning and Teaching. London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 151–72. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137476982_9
Chang, H. (2008). Autoethnography as method. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press.
Cheung, A. (2021). Language teaching during a pandemic: A case study of Zoom use by concept, state of the evidence. Review of Educational Research, 74(1), 59–110. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688220981784
Cooke, C. (2022). Online Learning Statistics: Top facts and stats in 2022. Upskillwise, 22 August. Available at https://upskillwise.com/online-learning-statistics/.
Dahlstrom, E., Boor, T., Grunwald, P., Vockley, M. & Oblinger, W. A. (2011). The ECAR National Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology. Boulder, CO: EDUCAUSE Centre for Applied Research.
Dania, A., & Griffin, L. L. (2021). Using social network theory to explore a participatory action research collaboration through social media. Qualitative research in sport, exercise and health, 13(1), 41-58. https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2020.1836506
Denzin, N. K. (2013). Interpretive autoethnography. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The Sage handbook of qualitative research (4th ed., pp. 486-499). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Derakhshan, A., Kruk, M., Mehdizadeh, M. & Pawlak, M. (2021). Boredom in online classes in the Iranian EFL context: Sources and solutions. System 101, 102556, 1–16. Derwing, T. M., Munro, M. J. & Thomson, R. I., eds. (2022). The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition and Speaking. New York: Routledge.
Diaz, D. P. & Cartnal, R. B. (1999). Students’ learning styles in two classes: Online distance learning and equivalent on-campus. College Teaching, 47(4), 130–5. https://doi.org/10.1080/87567559909595802
Dixson, M. D. (2015). Measuring student engagement in the online course: The Online Student Engagement Scale (OSE). Online Learning, 19(4). [no page number} Retrieved from https://onlinelearningconsortium.org/read/online-learning-journal/. https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v19i4.561
Duran, L. (2020). Distance learners’ experiences of silence online: A phenomenological inquiry. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 21(1), 82–99. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v20i5.4538
Dyrud, M. A. (2000). The third wave: A position paper. Business Communication Quarterly, 63(3), 81–93. https://doi.org/10.1177/108056990006300310
Ellis, C., Adams, T. E., & Bochner, A. P. (2011). Autoethnography: an overview. Historical social research/Historische sozialforschung, 273-290.
Fivush, R. (2010). Speaking silence: The social construction of silence in autobiograph- ical and cultural narratives. Memory, 18(2), 88–9. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658210903029404
Furlich, S. (2013). Enhancing online teaching with verbal immediacy through self-determination theory. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 16 (2), 1–3.
Gautreau, C. (2012). Video conferencing guidelines for faculty and students in graduate online courses. Unpublished PhD thesis, California State University, Fullerton.
Glazier, R. A. (2016). Building rapport to improve retention and success in online classes. Journal of Political Science Education, 12(4), 437–56. https://doi.org/10.1080/15512169.2016.1155994
Hermasari, D. (2018). The effectiveness of online brain-writing compared to brainstorming as prewriting strategies in teaching writing to students with high frequency and low frequency of Language Learning Strategies (LLS). In Madya, S., Hamied, F. A., Renandya, W. A., Coombe, C., & Basthomi, Y. (Eds.). ELT in Asia in the Digital Era: Global Citizenship and Identity: London: Routledge.
Hess, R. D. & Azuma, H. (1991). Cultural support for schooling: Contrast between Japan and United States. Educational Researcher, 9, 2–12. https://doi.org/10.2307/1176242
Hu, J. (2021). Toward the role of EFL/ESL students’ silence as a facilitative element in their success. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 1-4. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.737123
Kalman, Y. M., Ravid, G., Raban, D. R. & Rafaeli, S. (2007). Are you still waiting for an answer? The chronemics of asynchronous written CMC. At Chais Conference on Instructional Technologies Research, Raanana, Israel.
Keller, L. S. (2013). Computer-mediated communication and success in educational collaboration. American Communication Journal, 15(3), 40–55.
Kozar, O. (2016). Teachers’ reaction to silence and teachers’ wait time in video and audioconferencing English lessons: Do webcams make a difference? System, 62, 53–62. Krashen, S. D. (1976). Formal and informal linguistic environments in language acquisition and language learning. TESOL Quarterly, 157–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2016.07.002
Lenkaitis, C. A. (2020). Technology as a mediating tool: Videoconferencing, L2 learning, and learner autonomy. Computer-Assisted Language Learning, 33(5–6), 483–509. https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2019.1572018
Maki, R. H. & Maki, W. S. (2007). Online courses. In F. T. Durso (eds.) Handbook of Applied Cognition. Boston, MA: Wiley-Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470713181.ch20
McBrien, J. L., Cheng, R. & Jones, P. (2009). Virtual spaces: Employing a synchronous online classroom to facilitate student engagement in online learning. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 10(3), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v10i3.605
Mico-Wentworth, J. M. (2014). Cultural concept: Is silence golden. Unpublished PhD thesis, Gonzaga University.
North, S. & Pillay, H. (2002). Homework: Re-examining the routine. ELT Journal, 56 (2), 137–45. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/56.2.137
Paas, F. G., & Van Merriënboer, J. J. (1994). Instructional control of cognitive load in the training of complex cognitive tasks. Educational psychology review, 6, 351-371. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02213420
Plank, A. G. (1994). What silence means for the education of American Indian children. Journal of American Indian Education, 34(1), 1–10.
Querol-Julián, M. & Arteaga-Martínez, B. (2019). Silence and engagement in the multimodal genre of synchronous videoconferencing lectures. Engagement in Professional Genres, 301, 297. https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.301.16que
Quinton, S. R. (2010). Principles of effective learning environment design. In M. Ebner & M. Schiefner, eds., Looking Toward the Future of Technology-Enhanced Education: Ubiquitous Learning and the Digital Native. Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference, pp. 327–52. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-61520-678-0.ch019
Reed-Danahay, D. E. (2011). Auto/Ethnography: Rewriting the self and the social. Oxford, UK: Berg.
Robertson, J. S., Grant, M. M. & Jackson, L. (2005). Is online instruction perceived as effective as campus instruction by graduate students in education? Internet and Higher Education, 8, 73–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2004.12.004
Rourke, L. & Anderson, T. (2002). Using peer teams to lead online discussions. Journal of Interactive Media in Education, 2002(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.5334/2002-1
Rovai, A. P. (2004). A constructivist approach to online college learning. The Internet and Higher Education, 7(2), 79–93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2003.10.002
Ryan, R. M. & Deci, E. L. (2017). Basic Psychological Needs in Motivation, Development, and Wellness. New York: Guilford Press. https://doi.org/10.1521/978.14625/28806
Sharp, J. G., Hemmings, B., Kay, R., & Sharp, J. C. (2019). Academic boredom and the perceived course experiences of final year Education Studies students at university. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 43(5), 601-627. https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2017.1386287
Smith, S. M. (1995). Fixation, incubation, and insight in memory and creative thinking. In S. M. Smith, T. B. Ward & R. A. Finke, eds., The Creative Cognition Approach, Vol. 156. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, pp. 135–56.
Takagi, N. (2013). Applications of idea-generating techniques to the teaching of argumentative writing. In N. Sonda & A. Krause, eds., JALT2012 Conference Proceedings. Tokyo: JALT, pp. 585–96.
Turner, W. J. (2011). Talking back: real presence: Challenges and opportunities for a wired generation: Can mediated conversation lead to meaningful dialog? Conversations on Jesuit Higher Education, 41, Article 35, 1–3.
UNESCO (2020). 1.37 Billion students now home as COVID-19 school closures expand, ministers scale up multimedia approaches to ensure learning continuity. Press release, 24 March. Available at https://en.unesco.org/news/137-billion- students-now-home-covid-19-school-closures-expand-ministers-scale-multimedia.
Vonderwell, S. & Zachariah, S. (2005). Factors that influence participation in online learning. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 38(2), 213–30. https://doi.org/10.1080/15391523.2005.10782457
Walther, J. B. (2011). Theories of computer-mediated communication and interpersonal relations. In L. M. Knapp & A. J. Daly, eds., The SAGE Handbook of Interpersonal Communication. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, pp. 443–79.
Wang, Y., Derakhshan, A. & Zhang, L. J. (2021). Researching and practicing positive psychology in second/foreign language learning and teaching: The past, current status and future directions. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.731721
Zembylas, M. & Vrasidas, C. (2007). Listening for silence in text-based, online encounters. Distance Education, 28(1), 5–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/01587910701305285
Zhou, X. (2021). Why keep silent online? Voices from stay-at-home postgraduate students. International Journal of Social Science Studies, 9, 7–16. https://doi.org/10.11114/ijsss.v9i4.5249
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Authors who publish in TEFL Journal agree to the following terms: Authors retain copyright and grant the TEFL Journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY-SA 4.0) that allows others to share (copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format) and adapt (remix, transform, and build upon the material) the work for any purpose, even commercially with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in TEFL Journal. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in TEFL Journal. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
