Making digital teaching accessible

1. Timing of the event

Table 1: Comparison of timing options

2. Social forms 

What is that?

"Social form" refers to the constellation of learners working (together).

The form has an effect on communication, activity and relationships in the learning group.

The form is often related to the course format (e.g. lecture, seminar, practical course).

A distinction is made: Individual, partner, group and plenary work.

When do you choose what?

The decision depends on the objectives and content of the event.

The decision should be based on the following questions:

• “Is the method related to a content and a goal?
• Does it take account of the learner's individual situation?
• Can teachers and learners deal with this form?
• Can the social form be legitimised pedagogically and didactically?
• Is the social form realisable under the respective circumstances in physical or online space?" (Gudjons et al. 1982, p. 20, quoted from TU Darmstadt)

Why change the social form?

• In a course, the teacher should change the required social form at regular intervals because...
• the motivation of students varies. à Motivation can, but does not have to be sponsored by individual social forms
• This increases opportunities for learning and participation, as individual needs and different types of learners are given greater consideration, e.g. social anxiety.
• a change of social form can create breaks in interaction and thus increase the ability to concentrate, especially in the case of physical or mental impairments.
• a change of social form often also implies a (digital) change of media, so that students have other opportunities to participate if they are denied this due to a technical barrier.

How often it makes sense to change the social form depends on the learning group, the content and the teacher. In a 90-minute session, there are often around 4-5 phases, each of which is introduced by a change of social form.

Overview of social forms

The following overview is very general and does not focus on digital teaching or accessible teaching in particular. However, potentials and risks for accessible teaching can be derived from the advantages and disadvantages.

Table 2: Tabular overview of social forms

3. Selected teaching methods

The following table provides an overview of selected methods for synchronous teaching. The list of methods is sorted according to their area of application - introductory phase, working phase, final phase. The social form - individual work, partner work, group work, plenary - is noted next to the name of the method. In the following column, you will find a brief description of the method, often supplemented with information on analogue, digital or hybrid variants. This is followed by the advantages and disadvantages of the respective method with a focus on approval for everyone and the implementation of an inclusive classroom.

The UDL (Universal Design for Learning) forms the basis for assessing the approval of a method. The advantages and disadvantages mentioned mainly relate to digital formats and the use of digital tools. It is always a prerequisite that the tools used are accessible and that approval can be obtained from the Internet.

This overview is based on Brinker, T. & Schumacher, E.-M. (2022). Digital, analogue and hybrid empowerment. New ideas for university teaching. Bern: hep. The page numbers in column 5 also refer to this publication.

Further suggestions for teaching methods, but without an overview of their advantages and disadvantages, can be found on the Internet, e.g. in the collection of methods of the University of Landau.

List of abbreviations 

• S. = page
• EA = individual work
• PA = partner work 
• GA = group work 

Tabular overview of the selected learning methods (Word)

4. This is how I choose my method: A step-by-step guide 

1. Ask your students (anonymously) about existing needs.
2. Realise how large your learning group is.
3. Consider whether a synchronised meeting makes sense. You are welcome to use the overview above with advantages and disadvantages.
4. Think about what phase of a meeting it is: Entry, development, degree.
5. Think about what goal you are pursuing in the selected phase: Development of new content, consolidation of existing content, reflection/ further development of content, (cognitive/ physical) activation of the learning group, ....
6. Now compare your considerations with the tabular overview of selected teaching methods.

Example:

1. 2 staff, people can only participate digitally, 1 person is severely visually impaired, 1 person has contact anxiety, 1 person will not participate.
2. My study group consists of 25 staff, people in total.
3. Previously, there was an asynchronous phase to work on the components of an animal cell and their functions. In today's meeting, the students will be able to discuss the research, ask technical questions and visualise the interaction of basic cell mechanisms together.
4. This is the introduction to the lesson.
5. The aim is to cognitively activate the learning group in preparation for the development phase.
6. (Word cloud is omitted because of the visually impaired person.) I decide in favour of the yes/no question in plenary via the Kahoot! tool. Reason: The person with contact anxiety is not obliged to make direct contact, Kahoot! can also be used by the visually impaired person, the staff, people participating from home can also take part in the survey via a link, I do not ask for any personal data.

5. How I set tasks for everyone 

Framework condition

• The task is relevant to the bigger picture: What knowledge and learning outcomes does it build on? How does it help in perspective? Is the task authentic?

Goal: Motivation

• The task and the learning process behind it pursue a clear goal: What should the students know/be able to do at the end?

Objective: To keep discipline processes transparent, motivation

• The task follows one (or more) methods: How should the students proceed?
• The task is worked on in a specific social form: How many staff, people should the students work with?
• The task is clearly limited in time: Which work steps should be carried out in which time frame?
• The task allows for various working and auxiliary materials: Which ones? Where can they be found?
• The task specifies the form(s) of documentation and possibly presentation: When and where will the documentation take place?
• The task shows how results are discussed and reflected upon: What form does feedback take? 
• The task contains clear assessment criteria (if required): Which results are assessed and how?

Formulation 

• The task uses clear, defined operators.

e.g.: Name, Describe, Analyse, Justify, Compare, Evaluate, Design...

• The task does not contain any unnecessarily complicated educational or foreign language words or confusing synonyms.

e.g. better: "Graphically illustrate how the three roles influence each other." instead of: "Graphically illustrate the interdependence of the three roles."

• The task has a simple syntax and a clear structure.
• The task is nevertheless demanding in terms of content and appropriately technical.
• Complex tasks are divided into several smaller tasks.
• Complex tasks contain detailed steps.

Contents

• The task is challenging and complex.
• The task enables a learning gain.
• The task calls for strategies.
• The task offers approval for everyone. 

Creating approval for all

The task takes into account different interests, learning types/styles, by being at a comparable level:

• Offers different contents/topics.
• Allows different approaches, e.g. in the social form or the presentation of results. 
• Social background, cultural background, gender aspects taken into account.
• Admission to the use of various (digital) media and tools.
• Allows different forms of the product/result, e.g. mind map, concept map, table, (flow) diagram, flow chart, scenic play, still image, email, blog, chat, Facebook entry and many more.
• flexibility in terms of time.

Sample task:

How I set tasks for everyone - sample tasks

6. Literature

Brinker, Tobina/ Schumacher, Eva-Maria (2022): Digital, analog und hybrid befähigen. Neue Ideen für die Hochschullehre. Bern: hep. Last accessed on 23.11.2022.

Center for Teaching and Learning (2018): Aufgabenstellungen. In: Infopool besser lehren. Universität Wien. Last accessed on 23/11/2022.

Jost, Monika (2015): Verschiedene Möglichkeiten zu Differenzieren. In: Bildungsserver Rheinland-Pfalz. Heterogenität. Last accessed on 23/11/2022.

Kaufmann, Ramona (2020): Barrierefreiheit in der Online-Lehre – Eine Handreichung. Last accessed on 23/11/2022.

Mandon, Sunita/ Praß, Maren/ Weber, Annette (o.J.): Selbstlernphasen unterstützen. In: Universität Bremen. Informationsportal Hochschullehre. Last accessed on 23/11/2022.

Mercator Institut für Sprachförderung und Deutsch als Zweitsprache (2019): Aufgabenstellungen verständlich formulieren: Maßnahmen zur Verbesserung des Unterrichts als Element der sprachsensiblen Schulentwicklung. Last accessed on 23/11/2022.

Studienseminar Koblenz (2018): Aufgabenstellungen I: Aufgaben formulieren und analysieren. Last accessed on 23/11/2022.

Tobin, Thomas J. (2022): 31 Days of Universal Design for Learning. Last accessed on 23/11/2022. 

TU Darmstadt (n.d.): Einzel-, Partner- oder Gruppenarbeit. Wann ist welche Sozialform effektiv?. Last accessed on 23/11/2022.