Lara Wallace, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, USA

Between the pandemic-induced need for online classes and university budget crises (Chronicle Staff, 2020; Pettit, 2020), many programs that serve international teaching assistants (ITAs) have been forced to make changes. At Ohio University, the ITAs can no longer rely on the support of the Presentation and Speaking Labs provided by the Academic and Global Communication program. This sudden defunding and closure of the labs meant that the Classroom Communication for ITAs course that I teach would need to be completely restructured since one-on-one pronunciation tutoring and organized conversation opportunities were an integral part of this course. These components helped hundreds of ITAs to speak more effectively and pass the spoken English assessment.

Although the loss of these labs (used as professional development and intercultural communication resources for both ITAs and tutors) is disappointing since the labs were integral to student success, I used the opportunity to adjust the ITA course in a way that is more suitable for these times. The virtual meet-ups and the webinar series hosted by this TESOL ITA Interest Section over the last several months were influential as I redesigned the course, which is simplified and even more immediately practical for ITAs. Particularly insightful was Cynthia DeRoma's webinar entitled “An Overview of HyFlex and Other Distributed Learning Models.” This new mode of delivery allows for an alternative solution through the format, assignments, and attendance policy, which are described below.

Format

Traditionally, the ITA course met face-to-face, twice weekly. Thanks to safety precautions around COVID-19, it is now online only, and it is designed so that part of the course can be HyFlex. That is, students choose whether to participate synchronously or asynchronously for the weekly all-group meeting opportunities (for more on HyFlex design, see DeRoma's article in this newsletter, and Beatty, 2019). To entice those who were able to meet synchronously to participate, I also adjusted the attendance, as described in the “Attendance” section of this article. In this semester’s course catalog, the class is listed as meeting twice weekly.

During the group meetings, we have discussions about course content and topics, check in with each other on any questions or doubts about the activities, and have ample practice with pronunciation that is rooted in the Color Vowel© Approach (Taylor et al., 2016) and the prosody pyramid (Gilbert, 2008) for speaking more effectively. Some course topics are “tricky teaching assistant situations” (classroom culture components with which ITAs commonly struggle), finding answers to difficult questions, giving advice so that students will listen, promoting effective interactions during office hours, identifying and repairing communication breakdown, organizing content clearly, using signposts effectively, and creating and explaining visuals.

The students who choose to complete the week asynchronously instead learn what they need to watch and do in each week’s module. They watch the recording of the group meeting, doing any of the activities that were done synchronously. Some of the activities, such as the Color Vowel© exercises with words and phrases that arise that week, can be completed along with the video as “listen and repeat.” Other activities are translated to listening comprehension “tests” that share answers with the students, along with discussion board postings or Flipgrid videos for sharing their thoughts, completing activities, and applying concepts.

I meet with students individually for the second class meeting. Depending on how many students enroll, this could be a weekly or biweekly meeting that lasts around 30 minutes per student. These individual meetings take the place of the tutoring sessions. I use these sessions to assess the students’ communication weaknesses and progress, coach the students on their pronunciation targets, point students to tools and resources, and answer their questions. If student numbers are too high to allow for each student to meet biweekly, I schedule additional appointments outside of the designated class meeting time.

Assignments

Prior to this academic year, the Classroom Communication for ITAs course was comprised of a number of components inside and outside of class meetings that worked together to help meet course learning objectives. There were regular, informal presentations where a different student (chosen at random) would briefly summarize the course material, weekly tutoring sessions for individual pronunciation improvement, weekly speaking lab sessions for students to apply new pronunciation patterns in the context of safe conversation, regular quizzes to give students feedback on their progress, and two teaching demonstrations graded according to a standardized rubric. While outcomes were met in this format, it was challenging for the students to follow and for the teacher to grade with so many moving pieces.

The changes that I made to the course simplify the assignments for both the students and myself, and add a practical element for the ITAs in the creation of rubrics, peer evaluation, and self-scoring. To start, there are only four components that are graded: weekly online activity completion (40%); a giving advice presentation (20%); a teaching demonstration (20%); and a personal progress demonstration (20%). The presentation and demonstrations can be prerecorded or presented live during class.

The purpose of the online activities is to learn and interact with course material and one another. The following list is typically what students prepare for class: course readings; Flipgrid video exercises and demonstrations; comprehension “tests” (Blackboard content that gives instant feedback to students); and discussions. Each week, I tally up their activities and give a grade based on percent of completion.

The “Giving Advice” presentation’s content is based on real concerns that their classmates have around teaching, or “tricky teaching assistant situations” that we uncover during the first 2 weeks of class. The purpose is to troubleshoot, research, then advise their peers, applying what we have learned in the course regarding delivery. As a class, we create the grading rubric for this presentation collaboratively, and the students self-score using the input from the instructor and their peers.

In the teaching demonstration, ITAs organize and deliver an engaging and interactive session around a topic of their choosing. ITAs define a term or explain a concept and answer questions related to the topic from their classmates. For prerecorded presentations, this is done asynchronously via Flipgrid. As with the previous presentation, we create the grading rubric for this presentation collaboratively, and students self-score using the input from the instructor and their peers.

For the individual progress demonstration, ITAs demonstrate clear, intelligible pronunciation in the speaking context of their choosing. Throughout the semester, ITAs work with me through regular coaching sessions and on their own to identify and improve any weaknesses they may have when it comes to speaking so that others can understand. The demonstration can be any speaking event of their choosing, especially one they might need to prepare, such as part of a class they will teach, an office hours role-play for a difficult conversation, or preparation for a spoken English assessment. We design the assessment together to make sure that it measures the areas each ITA has been working on. This, too, is self-scored using input from me and their peers.

Attendance

The department’s pre-pandemic attendance policy took a mandatory approach, docking points from the students’ final grades for missed classes beyond what was permitted. While this approach likely contributed to the high attendance in class, something different was needed in our new HyFlex environment.

Though participation—whether synchronous or asynchronous—is crucial for student success in this course, it would be prudent to reduce the number of required synchronous hours they meet during this global pandemic. Thus, in an attempt to encourage students to attend the synchronous group meeting, I flipped the previous policy on its head.

Now, students are awarded one percentage point toward their final grade each time they attend the synchronous group meeting in full. Should students have a 77% at the end of the term (an F) in this Credit/Fail class, but they attend all 15 group meetings, their final grade percentage will be 92% (CR). This buffer will help those who self-score low, do not complete enough online activities (40% of their final grade), or skip individual coaching sessions without prior notification (a 2% reduction from their final grade for each instance). At the same time, it will not penalize students who might need to take time off from the class but who can make up the work. Additionally, it rewards students for their efforts as they take the time needed to improve their classroom communication skills, each at their own rate. As of the third week in the semester, we have had a 100% attendance rate.

Final Thoughts

At the time of writing, I have only begun teaching in this new format, but I am confident that it will provide students with what they need to succeed while streamlining my own work. Best wishes to all of us as we embark on new ways of teaching, giving feedback, and interacting during this historic moment.

References

Beatty, B. (2019). Teaching a hybrid-flexible course: The faculty experience in HyFlex. In B. Beatty (Ed.) Hybrid-flexible course design: Implementing student-directed hybrid classes (Unit 2.1). EdTech Books. https://edtechbooks.org/hyflex/teaching_hyflex

Chronicle Staff. (2020, May 13). As Covid-19 pummels budgets, colleges are resorting to layoffs and furloughs. Here’s the latest. The Chronicle of Higher Education. https://www.chronicle.com/article/faculty-cuts-begin-with-warnings-of-more-to-come/

Gilbert, J. (2008). Teaching pronunciation: Using the prosody pyramid. Cambridge University Press.

Pettit, E. (2020, May 15). Faculty cuts begin, with warnings of more to come. The Chronicle of Higher Education. https://www.chronicle.com/article/faculty-cuts-begin-with-warnings-of-more-to-come/

Taylor, K., Thompson, S., & Barr, R. (2016). The Color Vowel approach: Resources for connecting pronunciation to vocabulary, reading, and spelling. ELTS.