The shift to online delivery of content has necessitated the adaption of various techniques to connect with the students and connect the student with the learning materials. I have employed several different approaches to help engage the students and aid in their learning.

Pencasts, storytelling and analogies

A ‘pencast’ is a video recording with a narration of the teacher writing or drawing on a piece of paper but can also involve the use of other objects to make models.  I have employed this approach in some of my lecture recordings.  I made a homemade lightbox-camera stand from a cardboard box with a hole cut in the top, a torch and my phone camera.  The insertion of short pencasts within my lectures achieves a couple of aims. It regains or retains the students’ attention as it visually breaks up the lecture delivery from just using PowerPoint slides and it changes the pace. Studies have also shown that the use of pencasts can also improve retention and recall of information over narration of pre-made graphics and text (Fiorella, L., & Mayer, R. E. 2016. J Educ Psychol 108, 528–546).

A feature of my lecturing style has always been storytelling and analogies. With the move to online teaching, this has become even more important to maintain the students’ interest in the content being delivered, to give the content context and meaning, and to make a more personal connection with the students.

 Student comments myExperience 2021:

• The use of cute analogies / mnemonics to remember what was taught – e.g. the beta and alpha adrenergic receptors
• I liked that she didn't just read her lecture slides as it helped my to stay engaged and actually listen to what she was saying.
• I like how she was able to summarise the content nicely for us and gave us a good table to work with as well! I particularly like the analogy of the cave man for sympathetic and parasympathetic responses.. have been using it ever since!

Example pencast using visual mnemonics

Pre-recorded lectures and follow-up Q&A online synchronous sessions

The move to pre-recorded lectures has removed the opportunity for students to ask questions during the lecture as well as the lecturer asking the students questions. The asking of questions by the lecturer during the lecture, allowed for changes from passive participation to active participation by the students. It allowed the lecturer to check that the students were understanding a concept before building on that concept or moving on to the next concept. I utilised in-class questions and discussion to great effect in face-to-face teaching (see summative peer review comments below), but this was lost in pre-recorded lectures. To compensate for this loss, I have inserted questions within my lectures for the students to self-check their understanding.  In addition, I now provide a one-hour online Q&A session where students can ask questions and check the answers to the questions I posed in the lectures.

Student comments myExperience best features:

• PHAR2011 2021: “Including questions in lectures so that students can learn to apply their knowledge”
• 2021 PHAR3101: “Very appreciative of the Q&A sessions”, “Angela gives great explanations in her lectures and was great at answering questions in the Q&A sessions”.
• 2021 PHAR3102:"chances to ask questions via Q&A”, “Q&A sessions were helpful for revision and clarification of lecture content”. “…there was always plenty of opportunities for students to get their questions answered through the Q and A's”

Term 1 2019, Summative Peer Review comments:

Reviewer 1: Dr Finch frequently asked questions to challenge discrepancy in knowledge in numerous Q and A sessions, and then followed up on student responses. It was clear that seeking feedback is a feature of Dr Finch's teaching (and not unique to this lecture) as students were comfortable and confident in their responses, and her interactions with her students were quite personal referring to students on a first name basis.  

Reviewer 2: Dr Finch conducted numerous Q and A sessions in her class and then followed up on student responses to elaborate and expand their conceptual understanding. She took time to explain concepts clearly and evolved her responses based on verbal and non-verbal feedback from her students