Teaching online isn’t always easy, especially in the middle of a global pandemic! However, it can be a fulfilling experience for educators and students alike. Here are a few scenarios you may encounter, and some guidance around how to deal with them successfully. These scenarios and solutions were generated by CRWR Instructors Sara Graefe and Annabel Lyon, as well as practicing CRWR TAs.
Case study 1: Chatty Cathy / Charles
An engaged, enthusiastic student has a lot to contribute to each workshop. They are always bursting with feedback and ideas but routinely go over the recommended word count and bog down the flow of the online conversation by posting unwieldy walls of text. Rather than being selective in their responses, they often make replies to each and every post, dwelling on every point raised. After a few weeks of class, you notice other students becoming increasingly quiet and/or withdrawing from the conversation altogether.
A few suggestions:
– Let the student know that they are spending more of their time than necessary contributing to class discussions. Encourage them to scale back their participation for the sake of their own time management.
– Take it as a good sign that the student is very invested in the class! Remind them that they will get the most out of the class if they take the opportunity to learn from other students, as well as sharing their own ideas. You could also try giving them the “job” of encouraging quieter students to speak up.
– Send the whole class a reminder about expectations around word count and number of comments for discussion board contributions (e.g., “Comments should be around 150 words each”; “Aim to participate in the discussion twice each week” or similar). Then, if one student’s excessive participation remains an issue, speak with that student one-on-one.
– Ask the student to keep each comment focused on ONE aspect of the topic.
– Any time an issue arises in an online classroom, you can draw a comparison with the bricks-and-mortar classroom. Remind students that they (hopefully!) would not dominate a verbal conversation, and that the same rules apply online. Point out that they can most likely make their point just as effectively through a brief, succinct post.
Case Study 2: Quiet Classroom
A BIPOC student has a piece up for discussion that explores experiences of their minority community, highlighting the impacts of racism and cultural genocide. The rest of the class is very quiet and hesitant during the discussion. You sense some underlying tension, but no one is addressing it directly. You aren’t sure whether the class is holding back out of fear of saying something insensitive and/or if students are made uncomfortable by the assertion that Canada is a racist country that committed cultural genocide against its Indigenous peoples.
Some strategies that might help:
– This is a situation in which it’s appropriate for the TA to provide a bit more guidance and structure than they might in another workshop, e.g., by offering specific craft-based questions for the class to discuss (“What are your thoughts on how the piece is structured?”; “How do you think the pacing is working?” etc.).
– Do not let the conversation turn into a debate about the legitimacy of a class member’s lived experience.
– Acknowledge the tension in the room and let students know that discomfort is okay within the safer space of the workshop.
– Point students to further readings and resources. A recommendation from Annabel Lyon: Indigenous Writes by Chelsea Vowel. You can also check out the “Craft and Identity” section of this Big (Working) List of Literary Resources to Inspire Teachers and Learners.
Case Study 3: Defensive Daniel / Danielle
The author of a piece is highly defensive in their own workshop. Their submission is problematic, containing LGBTQ+ content not handled with authenticity or sensitivity (i.e. perhaps written outside the student’s own experience). Classmates offer positive comments on what’s working well as well as generous, supportive, constructive criticism. An LGBTQ+ classmate respectfully broaches the topic of tokenism, attempting to articulate why they find the student’s representation of the LGBTQ+ character problematic, and discloses their own traumatic coming out story to underscore their point. The author of the piece accuses the classmate of attacking them and abruptly leaves the online discussion.
How you might handle the situation:
– Briefly validate the writer’s feeling, especially if they seem to have a high-conflict personality; yet, at the same time, avoid engaging with them too much so that you don’t inadvertently escalate the situation.
– Thank the LGBTQ student for their bravery in sharing their story! Check in with them to see how they are feeling and if they need any support.
– Remind the whole class of expectations in the workshop without singling out the defensive student. Also have a one-on-one conversation with the defensive student because they’ll probably be more receptive that way, and because it’s important to avoid making students feel as though they are being publicly shamed.
– Again, remind students that if something is not okay in a physical classroom, it’s not okay online. Would they storm out of class in Buchanan? We hope not!
– You might consider pre-reading students’ submissions before sharing with the rest of the workshop in order to identify content that may be controversial or even harmful to some.
Most of all, remember: the course instructor is your best resource. Please don’t ever hesitate to reach out to them and ask for guidance around a challenging situation. Chances are, they’ve been there, and they’ll know how to help. And they’ll be glad to have such a proactive and communicative TA!