-: Hi, I am Cynthia Cress.
I am associate professor of communication disorders
in the department of special education
and communication disorders.
I am sharing my screen and I am inviting,
this is a course about how to do hybrid instruction,
or a session about how to do hybrid instruction.
Some of which involves people being present
both in an electronic format and in an in-person format.
So I'm going to invite all of you to turn your cameras on,
and if you have anything you wish to contribute
in the session I'm going to counteract Amy just slightly
add invite you to also if you wish verbally
unmute your mics to contribute
as well as contribute in chat.
Because part of hybrid instruction
as I see it is to make sure that you are giving
as much opportunity for interaction in a electronic form
of participation as you are giving
to the in-person students.
You are finding ways of managing student engagement
when you've got people in both sessions.
So let me, you do not have to, but I do require
that for my students unless they contact me ahead of time
to say that they have a reason why they cannot
or do not wish to have their videos on.
So I invite you to do so.
I have no grading opportunities to make you do so,
but let me move ahead with the, oh boy.
And one thing that I always do
is keep my entire screen available.
Not everyone likes to do that,
when you're doing PowerPoint presentations.
I tend to move a lot between video,
and interpersonal and demonstrations and activities.
We're actually going to start with an activity
after I've finished this introductory slide.
And I like to have students be able to see each other
to build relationships
as well as to have relationships with me.
So that's the reason I have my system in this format.
It also allows me to move back and forth between videos
and other activities.
For starters, I would like to see a show of hands
and you are welcome to give me a hand on chat or otherwise.
How many of you have already seen something in the annual
amplify sessions today that you found daunting
or slightly intimidating?
Anybody else?
Okay, a few of you.
I found many of the things that I was watching
to be technologically intimidating.
I hate technology.
I really, really hate technology.
As of May, 2020, I've been teaching for 27 years
and May, 2020 was the very first time
I created a Canvas page.
So I don't know how,
I didn't know how to do anything technological.
When we went online in March of 2020
the only thing I could think of to do was to record
my lectures and to make everything asynchronous.
And it really didn't suit my style of interaction.
So hybrid in the way that I'm describing this in response
to the chat question from Sharon,
hybrid in my version was that the class was split.
I have classes of 70, where we had people
in three different days to fit into the classroom.
So you're a Monday student in person and then Wednesday
and Friday you would Zoom in or alternate that way.
And so students would alternate
between those different formats.
There were the occasional student that for health
or other reasons were Zoom only,
but I made that the exception rather than the rule.
And if you, this semester, this past spring semester
I have added a little teeth to that.
That say, if you are signed up to be in person,
if you do not contact me ahead of time
that you will be changing formats,
even if you log in to Zoom late you are considered absent,
and you're gonna have to do a make-up activity,
even if you're participating.
That's to give some teeth to say,
if you are in person you need to be in person,
and you need to be developing those relationships.
So part of what's on this slide is that I want classes
to feel as live as possible, even when you're on Zoom.
That's my teaching strategy.
I'm teaching about speech therapy,
which is interacting with people.
I usually am doing demonstrations of things in class.
I'm doing live activities.
And I simply want to make that a live experience
as much as possible.
If we can't be physically present
then I ask my students to be as present as possible.
So by fall of last year my students had recommended me
as being a good hybrid instruction teacher.
And it floored me because I was punting
and making things up as I went.
And so I asked my students in that fall class
that had recommended me, what am I doing well?
And hands went up all over the room and all over chat.
And they were chiming in all kinds of ideas,
which said maybe I have been doing good hybrid instruction,
because they felt comfortable being present.
So let me give you just a very quick example
of how I use interaction in this kind of a session.
Again, I'm gonna ask for a show of hands.
So I'm gonna have some gestural.
Everyone participates as well as in chat.
So Shannon and Sidney have already participated in chat.
In my language development class,
I am teaching about strategies
of children learning language.
So we play a game for usually a day and a half of class
called, are you smarter than a two-year-old?
Which means I set you into a situation
where you're going to learn language
in the same ways that two-year-olds learn.
First, learn the word like you are a two-year-old,
and then tell me how did you know this?
So we're gonna set you up in a situation
just like a two year old does.
And presumably you can see me.
This is a little hard to do
when I don't have a stable surface.
So can everyone see the objects?
Do I get a thumbs up, thumbs up.
All right.
So I'm going to label an object.
Look, koopa, koopa,
look, koopa, okay?
And I'm deliberately not looking at any of the objects.
I don't want you to give me a thumbs up or a thumbs down.
Is this a koopa?
Ready?
Is it a koopa?
Thumbs up or thumbs down.
Get some thumbs down.
All right.
Is this a koopa?
All right, we're getting some thumbs down.
Is this a koopa?
Alright, so we have some thumbs down
for everything and we have some thumbs up for some items.
So let's get some chat or some participation why.
Why did you decide that this was not a koopa.
Because it's a ball.
There already is a label for this thing.
You already call it ball.
So it isn't a candidate for koopa.
What is this thing.
-: I had no idea, that's why I thought it was the koopa.
-: Exactly, I have no idea what this thing is.
It's a yo-yo type thing.
It's a koopa because I have no other label for it.
This is called mutual exclusivity.
I already have a label for this thing.
So it's ball.
That's a principle that children use to learn language.
Whereas this one does not have a name.
So if I hear a new name, this is a cup,
this is a book, this is a ball.
This must be a koopa, right?
That's one short demonstration of the kinds
of active learning that we do in class.
So I draw names and students get to be participants
and the student judges,
and then the class participates and votes on things.
This is interactive, this is dynamic learning.
And then I would turn to a slide
that would have this information
on it and demonstrate mutual exclusivity
and other principles of language learning.
That's what I'm talking about for hybrid instruction.
So I would alternate choosing students in class
to be participants, then the people on Zoom
would be making the judgments.
If people on Zoom were the participants,
then the people in class would be making judgements.
So that's an example of experiencing hybrid instruction.
Let me start to then in the feedback from the students
in my classes.
So things that you should already have in place
or some things we've already covered in the end,
or amplify sessions, know your teaching style.
I had one of those interactive demonstration
and happy monitoring multiple things at once.
That's what I do clinically anyway.
So this suits my style to be a hybrid instructor.
I know my teaching style, I know my course content,
I know how they learn, I know where they get confused,
and I need to be present to redirect the assumptions
that they're making in this style of teaching
and the style of content that I do.
So this is a good match for me in my instructional style.
I also have done backward design to make sure
that all of my engagement tasks are leading forward
in what we're doing, rather than being a random poll
that I throw in just to keep them
from falling asleep in class.
So things that help me, I've got synchronous class tips,
I have technology tips, I have hybrid class tips,
and I have regular general tips.
So let me just run through these relatively quickly.
Be an active destination for your students to attention.
If you're boring,
of course I'm going to be turning my camera off.
I'm gonna be doing something else.
You've got to be a destination.
And so I make sure that even when I'm lecturing
I am a destination.
Expect their cameras to be on.
So I say again, if your camera is off
and you have not cleared it with me ahead of time,
then you're considered absence
and you need to do a makeup activity.
I had a lot of discussion
when I did this for a Kassner workshop saying, oh,
but what if students don't have the technology?
Or what if they don't feel comfortable?
What if they're having a bad hair day?
I say five minutes before class, email me, type into chat
saying, look, I'm not feeling at my best,
can I leave my camera off?
And I say, of course.
That's also engagement.
So they're still engaging with me to request
that they are keeping their cameras off.
So I allow exceptions, but I expect participation
because you know your undergraduates,
a class of 70 students.
If you don't have a reason for them staying engaged
they're off doing their other homework.
At the end of class I will have students who have requested
that their camera be off,
and I finish class and they're still there.
They have actually left the room,
because their camera's not on.
And I mandate attendance, so I also mandate engagement.
That's saving them from themselves,
and I motivate that.
A vary tone of voice.
That's part of being interesting.
If you're just reading your slides,
I could read those on my own, I don't need you.
I provide examples, I provide demonstrations.
Can everyone be hybrid when they're asynchronous days?
I don't have any asynchronous days.
So you notice me moving between your live interactions
and your chat, I'm monitoring this.
So I don't have any asynchronous days.
They are either present on Zoom
in the way that you are on Zoom
or they are physically in the classroom.
And I keep changing my attention
between the class and between the Zoom.
I position my laptop or my camera so that I can see
everyone at the same time,
and do the same kind of monitoring of everyone in the class
that I would do in a large classroom,
where I am shifting my attention
Frequent opportunities for participation.
So if you don't have an opportunity to participate,
why do I need to be visually present?
I'm just listening anyway, I'm passive.
You need to have frequent opportunities to participate.
The microphone, if I turn the microphone on
and they don't speak,
so I feel it takes class time to turn the microphone off.
So if I give them an opportunity to participate
I will give them some advanced notice.
So I told you already if you want to participate
in this hybrid class, you may either type into chat
or you may verbally turn your microphone on.
So when I call on students
I don't call on them out of the blue.
I may pull their name out of a hat for participation.
But if they want to verbally participate,
I give them a little advanced warning,
so that they're ready to unmute their mics if they need to.
Hope that answers your question Yonah.
Developing a strategy that suits my style.
I expect participation, but I cannot grade participation
for 70 students.
There is not enough time for 70 students to participate
actively in a group class,
unless I'm sending you to breakout sessions.
And for my undergrad classes
I want to build that classroom environment.
So I'm not usually sending them to breakout sessions.
So I give them live problem-solving activities in class.
I'll watch a videotape, video, excuse me,
I'm showing my age.
And everyone in class will be systematically moving through
to make an observation.
So there are few everyone participates activities
where I'll say, look,
I'm gonna go alphabetically down the list,
and you're gonna tell me what you observed
about this video until everyone's done.
Then we'll show another one,
and then we continue down that list.
So occasionally I will have everyone participate,
mostly it's an option to participate.
In order for them to feel like they're able to connect
I've got to know their students.
They've got to be real to me.
So I had them create introductory videos for themselves,
I do the same for myself.
I require that they watch and respond
to other people's videos.
So we have like a chain letter, where someone starts
and then you every time you post you have to respond
to someone before you to build interactions.
In a normal year, in my class of 70 or 75 students
I know their names by the end of the second week.
I drill it, I work it, I make sure that they know
that I know them and that they know me.
So now when they participate I can call on David,
who's been participating.
Or I can call on Amy, who's been participating.
And they know that I am aware of them.
So I know them as people
and communicate with them as people.
With masks situations I've had to work harder at that.
So I've talked about some of these already.
The last point here is that I have now,
with our Husker power survey
I've learned that there are students who feel disengaged
because they don't feel like they can connect
with a professor.
So I set up Google Docs, which again was a new experience.
I don't do Google Docs, I hate technology.
But I set up a calendar so that I had 15 minutes slots
at times that I was available.
And just set out an announcement saying,
would you like an informal chat with Dr. Cress?
Show me your dog trick, show me,
ask me questions about class.
Tell me what you're doing for summer vacation.
Anything you want to chat you get 15 minutes slots to chat
one-on-one with me.
Within 60 seconds of posting
that I had three people signing up.
I've now, I did it for this past semester
and I had about a quarter of the students sign up
for informal chats.
Some of them were just to connect,
some of them had questions.
It was really very powerful.
And it wasn't a ton of time,
and it ended up being the kinds of conversations
they would have emailed me about anyway,
but now they felt comfortable signing up for these times.
So be a destination, and then record and post your sessions.
There are students who miss and it's a good opportunity
for students who have disabilities or other strategies.
Technology.
I don't do complicated technology.
Look at me, I've got black and white slides for heaven sake.
I'm not a visual learner.
I have graphics that I do use,
but I demonstrate things for visual learners.
I give examples for visual learners.
Practice your technology ahead of time.
Make the technology work for what you need.
As I say, I find it important to build a community,
so I make sure that the community of students are here.
When I need to monitor attendance, I'm moving back and forth
between the people who I can see on summary and not.
Be ready to work around, technology, I have audio glitches.
So that's why having multiple ways that students
can participate matters.
I did a lot of review sessions for my class
and it seemed like it worked really well
in creating informal but educational moments.
So yes, review sessions so that students can feel
comfortable chiming in,
so that they can use their technology.
I've had to teach downtown in different classrooms,
and I made sure I knew how to contact
the tech support people.
The center for transformative teaching saved my life.
Get together with your instructional designer
for your class.
I sat down with Megan all last summer
and I went from dinosaur to baby steps,
and by fall I've gone zero to 60, I think.
But I only use as much technology as I find useful.
I am not going to do the Quizlets and other strategies,
because I don't allow computer technology in the classroom.
If unless you have arranged it with me ahead of time
for disabilities or other purposes.
So if you're on Zoom be engaged in class
and be ready to respond to activities.
If you're in class I don't want you using technology,
I want you to be present.
So all of the technological engagement strategies
are not going to work with me because I don't want students
surfing the web while they're in class.
And as undergraduates, thank you,
I find that it is easy for them to get distracted.
So in my classes technology is not the way to engage.
We are educators, we are therapists,
we're going to be present.
So you have to do what you see me doing here,
which is constantly monitoring the chat,
listening and saying that it is okay to chime in.
If you have people on chat I verbally say
what they're saying.
If there are people in class saying things
people in class are not audible to those on Zoom.
So you have to then restate those comments.
And these are all messages from my students.
I tell you how to engage, I monitor and take you seriously.
The second thing that my students said
that made hybrid class instruction work
was that they had their cameras on.
And I said, you admitted this, and they're like, yeah.
Otherwise we don't feel like we're actually here.
We feel like we can drift or do something else.
So monitoring different ways
and taking Zoom participants seriously.
So that's not just the end people class
that get the attention or vice versa.
You really have to have a style that can alternate back
and forth between activities.
So I deliberately will solicit things from Zoom.
Now I have a Zoom question, okay?
Now class has asked the question,
so Zoom is going to answer it.
And I will make sure that they know
they are expected to participate.
I stay in front of the camera.
People have said that people doing hybrid instruction
will pace, and then they're no longer accessible
to Zoom people.
It's more likely to say that the Zoom people
feel less connected.
So I watch for people unmuting their mics
as I cycle back and forth between things to see
if they look like they might be wanting to participate.
I also type on my PowerPoints and things, new notes.
So that makes people engage with the materials
that I'm showing here,
and keeps them writing notes rather than just, oh,
it's a PowerPoint, I have PowerPoint kinds of things.
I teach them how to learn from my kinds of classes,
and I allow interruptions.
So I don't say you have to wait until the end of class
to raise things.
And they have my notes already printed on paper
so that they're not having to madly copy down everything
that's on my notes.
They're listening for and responding to live examples,
live interaction, live illustrations.
I had them do gestures and things together.
So illustrate the concept between expansions and extensions.
Everyone would be doing that just along with me.
I give them individualized feedback.
So when they do assignments
I respond to each and every assignment
that they have to build that relationship with students.
And so they've heard my voice in their assignments,
they've heard my voice in response to their participation.
As they get into class I noticed my hybrid class this fall
was a bunch of freshmen who didn't know each other
from different majors.
So I would occasionally as I was taking roles, say,
all right, everyone turn to your neighbor or post on to chat
your favorite dessert,
and why you like your favorite dessert.
And they would just post and respond to each other
just to get used to engaging.
And then people in class started to meet each other
on their hybrid days.
So making it clear that participation is necessary
you give them a few warm up activities where participation
is easy, and then it becomes easier to chime into class.
I still hate technology.
I'm willing to be a learner.
I'm willing to try new things.
I am perfectly happy if students say, excuse me,
but chat's not up.
Can you turn chat on, my video is not working.
I'll be like, okay, this video is supposed to start,
and how do I do it?
I know how I wanna teach,
and I'm making technology suit the way I wanna teach,
rather than saying, wow, here's this cool technology,
And isn't a fit for me.
One minute left for questions, I think or comments.
How many of you have done hybrid instruction?
Yeah, not many.
There are a few hands raised, thank you.
I see Trisha also raising hands.
It is something that taxes your attention as an instructor.
And so it's again, not a fit for everyone,
but I've found that this is a system that works for me.
-: Well, thank you so much Cynthia.
You have such an engaging style.
I really enjoyed listening to you talk,
and you've given me inspiration for my,
beginning attempts at teaching.
So I put the link in the chat for the feedback survey
for this session.
Thank you everybody for joining, and we would appreciate
if you would go to that link, fill it out,
give us some feedback about the sessions
in the spring conference.
So thank you so much.
-: And if anyone would like to see the handout,
I am happy to send it.
There didn't seem to be a central place to post it,
but if these black and white slides would be useful
you're welcome to them.
-: All right, have a great rest of your day.
Enjoy the next sessions that you attend.
So thank you everybody.
Yeah, truly, Cynthia I really did enjoy
your engaging presentation style.
I strive to do similar things when I present,
like very my voice, right?
And try to keep it visually interesting.
So they're not just visually audio, interesting.
So I thought that that was insightful.
-: Thank you.
Like I said, I'm quoting my students.
-: Do you teach graduate or undergraduate
speech path classes?
-: Both. -: Both, okay.
-: The graduate classes are more likely to be in person,
because we have smaller classes.
And so it's the large, 70 to 100 person undergrad classes,
where I've needed to use the hybrid alternating
who's accessible when.