When the government announced the first MCO in March 2020 and all teaching needed to be done online, I saw this as an opportunity to explore new ideas amid the challenges ahead. I am always open to the idea of having class fully online. I thought It was not that of a big change for me. I have been doing blended learning with my classes anyway, so I don't think this was going to be a problem for me.
The Challenges of Remote Teaching
For the first few months, it was manageable. The students and I made it through the semester. In the next two semesters, teaching got really challenging. Teaching online is just mentally exhausted. In class, you can move around. That reduces the stress a bit but not when you are teaching online. I also miss the "human touch" in class. In class, I can see the students face-to-face. I am always moving. I can make activities that allow students to interact. I can see their expression and body language. This would give me a hint on they receive the lesson. Definitely, I miss the interaction with the students.
While student's engagement is an issue to many lecturers, Alhamdulillah, I don't have that issue. For the past two semesters, I got the same group of students and they know my style of teaching. With this group of students, I have no issues with student engagement even though, all of the students prefer to chat rather than open their mic. Nonetheless, it is nice to hear the student's voice sometimes.
What MCO Taught me as a Lecturer?
I believe that if you want to students to learn, you need to engage and interact. In class, I always interact. There should be more interaction rather than lecture. I ask questions, get opinions on anything that requires them to respond. Speaking of engagement, I think that the students need to know the flow of the lecture so that they know what to expect and when to expect it. This is something that I learned from Dr Noreen on how she organized her Ulearn. When students look at the flow of the lecture today, they can gauge when they should be ready for activities.
I also feel that if you want the students to learn, I need to understand the students. I need to put myself in the student's shoes. In other words, empathy. The MCO remote teaching has taught me a lot about empathy. I feel that if I am tired, the student's are tired too. If I feel bored, the students are bored too. So, my teaching approach in class during MCO is more about discussion with students and less lecture.
I also ask myself what excites me in learning the topic today? and what excites the students to learn? One thing is for sure, my students love Kahoot! even though Kahoot! is not really cup of tea but if that is what the students want, the students will get. At least, it gets them excited to get involved, have fun and learn in the process.
After going through two semesters conducting remote teaching, I realize that learning should not be confined to the sessions stated in the timetable. Remote learning allows students to learn at their own pace. I post bite sized content (and activities as well) on Instagram or Telegram for the students to ponder. If I post an activity, I told the students, no rush just do this activity at your pace. The last thing that I want to stress the students out with activities.
Conclusion
As a conclusion, remote teaching during the MCO is tiring and to an extent less fulfilling. Despite being able to connect with students online, the human touch that makes the relationship between lecturer and student richer is missing. The missing of the human touch or what we call now as humanizing makes us forget about being emphatic towards our students. But I learn about being empathy because of the MCO. That is one of the positive side of teaching remotely for me. I believe that if I want to make remote teaching work, I must allow students to learn at their own pace, I only to use the timeslot in the timetable for activities, discussing or even chit chatting with the students. This way, I can make the students engaged because there is always something for the students to do. I only lecture when it is necessary like if the topic is difficult for the student to grasp. For me, it is not about the use of tools and technologies in remote teaching. It is about being emphatic and understanding to the students towards their learning regardless of styles or methods used.
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