Darby, F., & Lang, J. (2019). Small teaching online: Applying learning science in online classes. Arlington: Jossey-Bass. 288 pages. $17.86.
Flower Darby (Flower.Darby@nau.edu) and James Lang (lang@assumption.edu)
Small Teaching Online: Applying Learning Science in Online Classes is written by Flower Darby, an instructional designer and adjunct faculty member, and James Lang, a professor of English and author of Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons for the Science of Learning.
After reading Small Teaching, Flower Darby approached James Lang with the idea to write a “small teaching” book for online learning. Lang is familiar with small teaching concepts, but he was not as experienced with online learning. On the other hand, Darby brought her extensive online classroom experience to Small Teaching Online.
According to the authors, the purpose of the book is to successfully use the principles outlined in Small Teaching in an online teaching and learning context.
Small Teaching Online is primarily for faculty who are new to online teaching; however, experienced faculty will also benefit from many of the shared concepts. It has 252 pages spanning nine chapters. The authors laid out each chapter with similar elements. These elements include:
Introduction;
In Theory;
Models;
Principles;
Small Teaching Online Quick Tips; and
Conclusion.
The consistency in chapter design makes the book easy to read and understand. The authors introduced supporting theories and science behind the instruction principles they included. They also presented models that instructors could examine and principles that they could consider while building courses. At times, the author’s repetition of points became a noticeable distraction.
The introduction set the tone for the book. Darby and Lang highlighted the stress a student feels entering an unfamiliar environment. This stress amplifies when the student finds the course in disarray and poorly constructed. The authors used the rest of the book to share strategies and techniques to help develop successful online courses.
The book has nine chapters arranged into three parts:
Designing for Learning;
Teaching Humans; and
Motivating Online Students (and Instructors).
Designing for Learning
Darby and Lang pointed out that many online faculty have never taken an online class and have not received instruction on how to teach one. Yet, they often were given a course and expected to teach it. Ongoing research has shown that there are online teaching strategies that are effective because they align with how one learns. This book featured these types of learning strategies.
The three chapters focusing on designing for learning stressed the importance of using learning outcomes and objectives as guides for course development. The first chapter started with backward design principles. As the authors noted, you are trying to answer three primary questions:
Where do we want to go?
How will we know if we have arrived?
What will we need to help get us there?
These questions translate to objective, assessment, and instructional content. It is the essence of backward design. One must first decide what students should be able to do after instruction. Next, design assessments to measure if students have achieved the objective. Finally, create instructional content to help students meet the instructional goal.
Keeping the end in mind also helps the students understand why they are doing specific activities. Often students see the objectives in the syllabus, but that is the last time instructors mention them. Regularly referring to the objectives helps give the course meaning. As the authors noted, one should have the students start working on the final assignment on day one of the class.
The second chapter stressed the importance of learning through engagement. The authors offered strategies for managing cognitive load. It is possible to overwhelm students in online courses quickly. Basics to managing instruction are to chunk information and scaffold course content through adaptive releases. New information should build on previous knowledge. Instructors should also provide summaries of the week, module, or discussion. The authors shared ideas for managing reviews that were not time intensive.
The last chapter of this section focused on media and technology tools. Darby and Lang encouraged the creation of minilecture videos. Instructors should include learning prompts or assessments that students must complete to promote the watching of these videos. The key to selecting the right tool is its alignment with learning objectives. One must ensure that the tool best supports learning for the specific objective rather than use the tool for the sake of using the technology.
Teaching Humans
The next section of the book is teaching humans. The key to this section is to guide away from creating a correspondence course. An online course should be as much of a community as in a face-to-face course.
In chapter four, Darby and Lang highlighted the community of inquiry. The community of inquiry focuses on three different elements: the cognitive presence, the social presence, and the teaching presence. Students need the ability to construct meaning by interacting with the content, fellow students, and the instructor.
Some of the primary ways to develop social interaction in an online class is through discussions, group projects, and other interactive tools. Darby and Lang also strongly emphasize the importance of the instructor as an active participant in the course. This participation includes sharing aspects of the instructor’s personality as they would in a face-to-face class.
Chapter five focused on providing feedback to students throughout the course. The authors offered suggestions for conducting virtual office hours. Some of these suggestions included renaming office hours to something more inviting, scheduling them at a time convenient for students, and encouraging participation through incentives.
The authors also provided several ideas for using technology to make grading more efficient as well as using technology for providing meaningful feedback. Essential feedback tools include audio and video in addition to textual comments. Rubrics are also useful tools for creating assessment guidelines.
The last chapter of this section focuses on fostering student persistence and success. The authors suggested sending targeted personalized messages providing additional support and encouragement. They also encouraged the use of master quizzes before allowing students to proceed through the content. Darby and Lang reemphasized the importance of scaffolding to develop student confidence in the course material.
Motivating Online Students (and Instructors)
Darby and Lang began the final section of Small Teaching Online by pointing out that online courses can be unengaging with a high attrition rate. However, online courses can be rigorous and engaging if designed correctly. This section focuses on strategies for gaining and keeping attention throughout the course.
Chapter seven emphasized creating autonomy and using student-centric design. Many of the strategies that the authors shared are grounded in Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and adult learning theories. These strategies ring true when it comes to students deciding how they will participate. The authors advocated for allowing students a choice in which discussions they will be a participant. Emphasis is also on enabling students to tie new learning to personal experiences.
The authors also highlighted specifications grading, which is an all or nothing approach to grading assignments. It is a competency-based learning strategy. Either the student can satisfactorily complete the task or the student must continue to gain knowledge and experience to complete the assignment. Providing feedback is key to the success of this strategy.
The emphasis of chapter eight is about making connections. This emphasis is not necessarily about making connections with other participants but instead connecting with the course content. The authors included techniques to help activate prior knowledge. To do this, students may have to complete a pretest before the release of the next block of instruction. Darby and Lang also encouraged students to create concept maps to help tie knowledge together. They also wanted students to extend their learning past the classroom by developing personal learning networks.
In the final chapter, Darby and Lang shared strategies to help instructors continually improve their online teaching skills and knowledge. The authors recommended that instructors become online learners because many of them have not taken an online course. Personally, over half of my higher education courses have been in an online format. I have an informed sense of what works online and what does not. This understanding has come through this online experience. The authors also recommended seeking out others who are successfully negotiating the online world. Instructors should take what they are learning and put it into practice even if it is only one technique or strategy per course or term.
Discussion
Darby and Lang have thoroughly researched Small Teaching Online. There are detailed notes and citations throughout the book. The authors referenced many informative articles and books within the chapters. Plus, there is an extensive reference section at the back of the book.
Throughout the book, Darby presented excellent examples of how to implement small teaching practices in an online environment. These examples are ideas that any online instructor can put into practice and make their class better almost immediately.
Darby and Lang mentioned that UDL and active learning principles had influenced them. They highlighted UDL principles throughout the book and reported that they actively use them in their classes.
Several other instructional principles had a running thread throughout the book. The authors emphasized that instructors should not use technology for the sake of using technology. The learning objective must dictate the need for a tool. An instructor should not cause unneeded stress and confusion by using tools. It is also essential that technology alternatives are available so that no one is left out. However, they added that using tools like video and audio can help to humanize a course. As an element of the community of inquiry, instructors must be active participants of their courses. Instructors should also provide timely and meaningful feedback. As Darby and Lang questioned, “Would you rather attend a professional conference or complete a self-paced online professional development module” (p. 102)? Additionally, using learning management system adaptive release features can help ensure student mastery of the content.
The authors also stressed the importance of learning objectives. Everything about the design of an online course ties back to the learning objectives. Darby and Lang went further by encouraging students to reflect on why they were doing the tasks they were doing. How does the assignment help them meet the learning objective? The authors provided insightful activities that instructors can use throughout their courses to keep students thinking about the objectives.
Lastly, the authors wanted students to extend their learning beyond the classroom by creating personal learning networks. Students could then add meaning to a class by pulling in external resources as well as build lifelong learning platforms.
Small Teaching Online was an excellent find, and I enjoyed it as an instructional technologist. I would recommend this book for new online instructors to help them develop better online courses.
