#UoRWay: Online learning has created a space for less-confident students, says literature associate professor
03 February 2021
While there may be many challenges associated with online learning, one English literature associate professor suggests that it has encouraged engagement from students who may not have spoken up during face-to-face discussions.
Dr Maddi Davies, associate professor of women鈥檚 writing at the 黑瓜吃料网, recently shared her positive teaching experiences in a piece for , revealing that the shift to online learning has prompted less-confident students to express their views.
Dr Davies said:
鈥淲hen I call a student鈥檚 name, everyone else is 鈥榤uted鈥� and the space is reserved for the student who wishes to add an idea. There is no need to try to find a gap in someone else鈥檚 monologue or to struggle to make a softer voice heard amid booming baritones: there is time to frame an idea and there is space in which to present it.
鈥淔or those relatively few students who feel uncomfortable speaking on mic, the 鈥榗hat鈥� provides an alternative route for expression. It is the ideal function for the socially anxious and it is a space designed to help the quieter voices be heard.
鈥淲e are used to saying that online teaching is no 鈥榬eal substitute鈥� for classroom teaching, but, as in this case, it is equally true to say that the online environment offers functions which the 鈥榬eal鈥� classroom cannot replicate.
鈥淥nline delivery also seems to defeat self-consciousness, the enemy of seminar debate. My camera is switched on during online sessions, but I make no such demands on my students. Some like to use the camera but most do not; with my image contained in a tiny box at the bottom of the screen, few students visible, and with no eyes turning towards them, students seem to feel free to speak without the fear of negative judgement. As with the 鈥榗hat鈥� function, there is little possibility of replicating this in the 鈥榬eal鈥� classroom.鈥�
"My experience within Maddi鈥檚 class has been both memorable and enjoyable"
And it would appear that Dr Davies鈥� students reflect her sentiment, agreeing that her teaching has worked well online, and have praised her for managing to keep lessons personal.
Third year student Martha Walliss said:
鈥淢y experience within Maddi鈥檚 class, Virginia Woolf and Bloomsbury, has been both memorable and enjoyable. Maddi鈥檚 engaging and inclusive ways of teaching encouraged participation from all students, whilst her passion towards the author was clearly transmitted on screen.
鈥淒ue to my position as a joint honours student, I experienced some clashes with my timetable at the beginning of term. Maddi went the extra mile and scheduled a one-to-one class with me, meaning that I could continue with the module.
鈥淚 am entirely grateful for her efforts and was sad to leave the class behind this term. I could not have asked for a better lecturer and am extremely pleased with the grade I received for my final portfolio.鈥�
Fellow third year student Kitty Hawkins said:
鈥淏efore term, Maddi uploaded a weekly roadmap outlining questions and topics focused on in seminars, including secondary resources that prove useful for wider context. Maddi sends prompt email replies and runs a weekly 鈥榮urgery鈥� session answering any worries or queries students may have about the assessed portfolio.
鈥淎longside the invaluable lecture screencasts which can be watched and paused at student convenience, I feel fully supported in my studies.鈥�
Dr Davies hopes that the lessons learned through online teaching, both metaphorically and literally, will not be forgotten once face-to-face teaching resumes in earnest.
She said:
鈥淲ith much conversation within the sector currently geared towards inclusion, it might be a good idea to take forward what we have learned about the inclusive potential of online teaching, particularly for those students who have traditionally struggled to have their voices heard in the 鈥榗hilly classroom鈥�.
鈥淩eturning to 鈥榥ormal鈥� should involve responding actively to these lessons in engagement and inclusion and trying to find equivalents for online functionality within the physical domain.鈥�
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