As we think about the differences (and possible similarities) between formats, let’s also try to focus less on pros vs cons and more on the notion of affordances. No teaching modality is necessarily “deficient”; instead, each one offers us different possibilities for our teaching and our students’ learning. Take some time during this module to think about the different formats you’ve taught in. Were there certain activities, topics, interactions, and assessments that worked more naturally and authentically in certain formats? If you struggled, is it possible you were trying to strongarm something that worked well in one format into another, instead of rethinking your approach more holistically?
What about the technologies you use in different modalities? Do they support the possibilities of that format or thwart it? Do they help or hinder you as you try to teach authentically? If you feel like the technology is getting in the way, is there an opportunity to rethink what you’re using or how you’re using it?
Often the concepts of community and connection are what we struggle with most when we move out of a modality we’re comfortable in. Is that because we’re only thinking about and valuing the kind of community and connection we’re familiar with in face-to-face contexts? What are some authentic ways of thinking about these concepts in other modalities?
As we move further from the spring of 2020 and things begin to return to something more “normal,” it’s easy to forget the lessons we learned. Some of those lessons were hard-won, and we may not feel like we came out of them unscathed. But we have an opportunity to reflect upon what we learned and incorporate it into our teaching going forward — doing so will serve us well the next time we face uncertain contexts in our classrooms.
