Preparing to teach in physically distanced classrooms: advice, guidance and practical strategies

It’s been a busy summer and here we are already at the start of a new academic year facing what will certainly be a challenging Autumn semester.  As we gear up for new and continuing students to return to campus under the restrictions imposed by the pandemic, we all need to be confident about delivering high quality learning and teaching. This is not just a matter of planning online elements of delivery in modules, and it definitely is not simply a question of moving ‘large lectures’ to narrated powerpoints or pre-recorded lectures.  In this blog post we signpost some resources that can help you plan for delivery of learning and teaching in physically distanced classrooms.

A framework for organising and managing a module for blended delivery

Some ideas on basic good practice to help you and your students engage effectively with a module where the teaching is in different modalities.  Covers things like weekly intros, interactivity, managing and resenting content, directed learning, accessibility and what students said they appreciate from their experience of online learning in ‘lockdown’. Open the file in powerpoint mode 2020.09.04 A Framework for Organising and Managing a Module v4  

Top Tips for Course Leaders in Preparing for Blended and Physically Distanced Learning

Tips and Hints for Course Leaders in meeting student expectations for engaging learning in ‘blended’ modules.   Covers very practical issues about checking students’ digital capabilities, building a sense of belonging, establishing course team protocols, setting up simple buddy systems, using your course rep and monitoring engagement with Blackboard.   Top Tips for Course Leaders in Preparing for Blended 7.9.2020