Q&A with Abbie Wrights

Faculty Feature

How long have you been teaching online?

Like many of my colleagues at Wake Forest, my first online teaching experience was during the COVID-19 pandemic.  I had the opportunity, in the Summer of 2020, to lead the Health and Exercise Science Department’s Peer to Peer Learning Community.  I learned so much about online teaching through that experience. Since then, I have continued to teach online in the summers.

What do you enjoy most about teaching online?

What I enjoy most about teaching online is that it encourages me to think about engagement in a different way.  In a traditional classroom we have a physical presence and we can see the students facial expressions and body language. In an online course, it’s harder to gauge engagement, especially in an asynchronous online course. This is where creativity comes in. Here are some things I have tried in my asynchronous classes that have seemed to work well to enhance engagement:

1. Allow for assignment submissions in video form (rather than written form). This allows you to “see” the students and get a better sense of who they are.
2. Give oral (rather than written) feedback on assignments. This way students can hear directly from you and it allows you to give more personalized feedback.
3. Add more videos to the course.  I like to substitute some of the written text for “mini lectures” where they can see me presenting for a more personal touch.
4. Check in with students regularly.  Especially in an asynchronous course, I find that sending out regular “just checking in” emails makes students feel cared for and often creates a rapport with the students that may otherwise not happen.

What do you find the most challenging?

One thing I find challenging is the lack of immediate feedback from students.  In a traditional classroom it’s fairly easy to tell if an activity isn’t working or if you need to pivot from the original plan.  That feedback is often delayed in an online course (if we receive it at all). This is where I think reflective teaching becomes so important.  I try to solicit feedback from students (both course evaluations and informal feedback) so that I can make adjustments either within that course or the next time I teach it. 

What have you learned about yourself as an instructor through your online course?

Truthfully, the biggest thing I have learned about myself is just how much I enjoy teaching online! I am constantly learning new things and experimenting with new teaching methods and I like that challenge. Also, I have never been the most technologically savvy person but I have learned that experimenting with new tech tools and platforms can actually be a lot of fun!

What advice do you have for other online instructors?

My biggest advice is to plan ahead and stay organized.  I like to build out my whole Canvas site in advance so that during the course I can focus on engaging with students and providing robust feedback.  I even go as far as scheduling my weekly email reminder to send automatically!  If you can plan those small tasks in advance, it frees up your time to be as “present” as you can with your students!