In response to the coronavirus, college instructors are shifting their in-person courses online.
Zachary Herrmann and Penn GSE’s Center for Professional Learning have some experience making this work. For the last two years, Herrmann’s Project-Based Learning certificate program has started with an in-person summer workshop, followed by online sessions throughout the year.
When teaching transitioned from in-person to online, Herrmann and his team had to modify how they plan lessons, communicate with students, and lead discussions. In doing so, they found new methods to establish meaningful and lasting connections with their class.
Herrmann offers guidelines that can apply to any online lesson taught synchronously—that is, with all students joining a single session—regardless of platform, including be clear and explicit with norms, get organized, and make student thinking visible.
Read more at Penn GSE.
