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The Distance Learning Playbook for College and University Instruction

Teaching for Engagement and Impact in Any Setting

By: Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, John Taylor Almarode, John Allan Hattie

First, let’s commend ourselves: how in the midst of a pandemic we faculty stepped up at record speed to teach in such a foreign learning environment. Try we did, adapt we did, and learn we did. But to be clear, and we already recognize this, this past spring was less about distance learning and more about crisis teaching.

This time around we have the opportunity to be much more purposeful and intentional, and that’s where The Distance Learning Playbook for College and University Instruction will prove absolutely indispensable.

Much more than a collection of cool tools and apps, The Distance Learning Playbook for College and University Instruction mobilizes decades of Visible Learning® research to reveal those evidence-based strategies that work best in an online environment. Supplemented by video footage and opportunities to self-assess and reflect, the book addresses every dynamic that must be in place for students to learn, even at a distance:

Faculty-student relationships from a distance
Teacher credibility from a distance
Teacher clarity from a distance
Engaging tasks from a distance
Planning learning experiences from a distance
Feedback, assessment, and grading from a distance
Keeping the focus on learning, from a distance or otherwise

What does our post-COVID future hold? “We suspect,” Fisher, Frey, Almarode, and Hattie write, “it will include increased amounts of distance learning. In the meantime, let’s seize on what we have learned to improve post-secondary education in any format, whether face-to-face or from a distance.”

“We are all still active faculty members, committed to teaching, scholarship, and service. The unexpected transition to remote learning doesn’t mean we no longer know how to teach. We can still impact the lives of our students and know that we made a difference. The Distance Learning Playbook for College and University Instruction will show you how.”

~Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, John Almarode, and John Hattie

Product Details

Grade Level: PreK-12
ISBN: 9781071838679
Published By: Corwin
Year: 2020
Page Count: 200
Publication date: September 10, 2020

Price: $32.95

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Description

Faculty-student relationships from a distance
Teacher credibility from a distance
Teacher clarity from a distance
Engaging tasks from a distance
Planning learning experiences from a distance
Feedback, assessment, and grading from a distance
Keeping the focus on learning, from a distance or otherwise

~Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, John Almarode, and John Hattie

Author(s)

Douglas Fisher

Douglas Fisher, Ph.D., is professor and chair of educational leadership at San Diego State University and a leader at Health Sciences High and Middle College. Previously, Doug was an early intervention teacher and elementary school educator. He is the recipient of an International Reading Association William S. Grey citation of merit and an Exemplary Leader award from the Conference on English Leadership of NCTE. He has published numerous articles on teaching and learning as well as books such as The Teacher Clarity Playbook, PLC+, Visible Learning for Literacy, Comprehension: The Skill, Will, and Thrill of Reading, How Tutoring Works, and How Learning Works. Doug loves being an educator and hopes to share that passion with others.

Nancy Frey

Nancy Frey, Ph.D., is a Professor in Educational Leadership at San Diego State and a teacher leader at Health Sciences High and Middle College. She is a member of the International Literacy Association’s Literacy Research Panel. Her published titles include Visible Learning in Literacy, This Is Balanced Literacy, Removing Labels, and Rebound. Nancy is a credentialed special educator, reading specialist, and administrator in California and learns from teachers and students every day.

John Taylor Almarode

Dr. John Almarode is a bestselling author and has worked with schools, classrooms, and teachers all over the world on the translation and application of the science of learning to the classroom, school, and home environments, and what works best in teaching and learning. He has done so in Australia, Canada, Egypt, England, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, South Korea, Thailand and all across the United States.

He is an Associate Professor of Education in the College of Education. In 2015, John was awarded the inaugural Sarah Miller Luck Endowed Professorship. In 2021, John was honored with an Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council for Higher Education in Virginia. At James Madison University, he continues to work with pre-service teachers and graduate students, as well as actively pursues his research interests including the science of learning, the design and measurement of classroom environments that promote student engagement and learning.

The work of John and his colleagues has been presented to the United States Congress, Virginia Senate, at the United States Department of Education as well as the Office of Science and Technology Policy at The White House.

John began his career in Augusta County, Virginia, teaching mathematics and science to a wide-range of students. Since then, John has authored multiple articles, reports, book chapters, and eleven books including Captivate, Activate, and Invigorate the Student Brain in Science and Math, Grades 6 - 12 (Corwin Press, 2013), From Snorkelers to Scuba Divers (Corwin Press, 2018), both with Ann Miller, and Visible Learning for Science, with Doug Fisher, Nancy Frey, and John Hattie (Corwin Press, 2018). He recently finished a book focusing on clarity, Clarity for Learning, with Kara Vandas (Corwin Press, 2019), as well as Teaching Mathematics in the Visible Learning Classroom, Grades 6 - 8, and Teaching Mathematics in the Visible Learning Classroom, Grades 9 - 12 both with Doug Fisher, Joseph Assof, Sara Moore, Nancy Frey, and John Hattie (Corwin, 2019), all with Corwin Press. Teaching Mathematics in the Visible Learning Classroom, Grades K - 2 and Teaching Mathematics in the Visible Learning Classroom, Grades 3 - 5 with the same author team plus Kateri Thunder hit the shelves in March of 2019. He is also the past co-editor of the Teacher Educator’s Journal.

In 2019, John and his colleagues developed a new framework for developing, implementing, and sustaining professional learning communities: PLC+. Focusing on sustained change in teacher practice, the PLC+ framework builds capacity within teacher-led teams to maximize student learning. The books, PLC+ Better Decisions and Greater Impact by Design, The PLC+ Playbook, Grades K - 12, The PLC+ Activator’s Guide will support this work in schools and classrooms.

John and his colleagues have also focused a lot of attention on the process of implementation – taking evidence-based practices and moving them from intention to implementation, potential to impact through a series of on-your-feet-guides around PLCs,Visible Learning, Visible Teaching, and the SOLO Taxonomy. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, John and his colleagues developed the Distance Learning Playbook for College and University Instruction (SAGE). In November of 2020, Student Learning Communities (ASCD) was released, followed by Great Teaching by Design (Corwin Press), The Success Criteria Playbook (Corwin), an educational textbook on teaching science in the inclusive early childhood classroom, Inclusive Teaching in the Early Childhood Science Classroom (Routledge), and A Quick Guide to Simultaneous, Hybrid, & Blended Learning (Corwin).

Continuing his collaborative work with colleagues on what works best in teaching and learning, How Tutoring Works, Visible Learning in Early Childhood, and How Learning Works, all with Corwin Press, were released in 2021.

John Allan Hattie

John Hattie, Ph.D., is an award-winning education researcher and best-selling author with nearly 30 years of experience examining what works best in student learning and achievement. His research, better known as Visible Learning, is a culmination of nearly 30 years synthesizing more than 1,700 meta-analyses comprising more than 100,000 studies involving over 300 million students around the world. He has presented and keynoted in over 350 international conferences and has received numerous recognitions for his contributions to education. His notable publications include Visible Learning, Visible Learning for Teachers, Visible Learning and the Science of How We Learn, Visible Learning for Mathematics, Grades K-12, and 10 Mindframes for Visible Learning.

Table of Contents

List of Videos

Acknowledgments

Introduction

A Visible Learning® Primer

Visible Learning and Distance Learning

A Question of Equity

Module 1: Self-Care

Learning Intentions and Success Criteria

Conclusion

Module 2: The First Week of Classes

Learning Intentions and Success Criteria

Develop a Classroom Management Plan for Distance Learning

Establish Norms

Link Norms to Class Agreements

Identify Expectations for Synchronous Distance Learning

Develop and Teach Organizational and Procedural Routines

Design a Considerate Website

Your First Distance Classes

Learn Students’ Interests

Conclusion

Module 3: Faculty—Student Relationships From a Distance

Learning Intentions and Success Criteria

Characteristics of Faculty–Student Relationships

Judgment and Will, Not Just Knowledge and Ability

Peer-to-Peer Relationships Are Influenced, Too

A “Chilly” Classroom

Reaching the Hard to Teach

Increase Your Touchpoints With All Students

Conclusion

Module 4: Teacher Credibility at a Distance

Learning Intentions and Success Criteria

Teacher Credibility Defined

Conclusion

Module 5: Teacher Clarity at a Distance

Learning Intentions and Success Criteria

Start With the Standards and Competencies

Create a Flow of Learning: Planning for Class

Create Learning Intentions

Identify Success Criteria

Find the Relevance

Conclusion

Module 6: Engaging Tasks at a Distance

Learning Intentions and Success Criteria

Think Functions of Engagement, Not Just Tools

Set the Conditions for Engagement and Learning

Select the Tools That Meet These Functions and Conditions

Design Tasks With Engagement in Mind

Design a Considerate Schedule to Promote Engagement

Conclusion

Module 7: Planning Learning Experiences at a Distance

Learning Intentions and Success Criteria

Demonstrating

Collaborating

Coaching and Facilitating

Practicing

Conclusion

Module 8: Feedback, Assessment, and Grading

Learning Intentions and Success Criteria

Feedback to Students

The Socioemotional Links to Feedback

Feedback at a Distance

Formative Evaluation

Summative Evaluations

Competency-Based Grading

Conclusion

Module 9: Keeping the Focus on Learning, Distance or Otherwise

Learning Intentions and Success Criteria

Learning From Other Crises

Use Crisis Learning to Make Colleges and Universities Better

Make Learning Better for Students

Make Learning Better for Teachers

Conclusion

Appendix

References

Index

About the Authors

Reviews

This is an amazing book. While it is designed to build everyone’s capacity to teach in distance learning environments, it is truly a primer on effective teaching in postsecondary education. Educators who utilize these clear and practical suggestions will see their students achieve stronger learning outcomes. The Distance Learning Playbook for College and University Instruction should be a cornerstone of faculty professional development efforts.

Joseph F. Johnson Jr., PhD
Executive Director for the National Center for Urban School Transformation and Emeritus Dean and Professor of San Diego State University

The Distance Learning Playbook for College and University Instruction is a very useful guide to helping educators make the transition from onsite to online teaching. The highly respected authors skillfully demonstrate how teachers can apply evidence-based practices from more traditional learning environments to a rapidly evolving world of online learning. The result is a wonderful self-guided tour of extraordinary opportunities to close the distance for learners.

David W. Andrews, PhD
President of National University

The Distance Learning Playbook for College and University Instruction offers an innovative learner-centered approach to student achievement where self-care, social emotional learning, instructional clarity, and responsive leadership strategies converge to support faculty in facilitating learner experiences that continue to transition students from ‘passenger to active driver’ in all learning environments, including distance education.

Robert N. Corley III, PhD
Associate Vice-Provost for Academic Affairs of Virginia State University and Project Director for the Wallace Foundation UPPI

The Distance Learning Playbook for College and University Instruction by Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, John Almarode, and John Hattie is a timely and necessary addition to every faculty’s library. The authors’ considerate and experiential approach to distance learning provides a well-researched foundation, authentic vignettes of instructors’ experiences, easily accessible video and web links, and helpful techniques that can be used among most disciplines. Impressively, they envisage the distance learning environment beginning with the instructor and as an active, dynamic, and engaging space for learning and teaching.

Arlette Willis
Professor of Curriculum and Instruction at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

These authors once again exceed expectations with this thought-provoking and very practical guide to distance learning. The timing could not be better. Higher education faculty and administrators will find it extremely useful–including a much-needed chapter on self-care, a topic often overlooked in the literature. The pointers on engaging and assessing students are particularly helpful, and the learning intentions and success criteria make this an indispensable resource for new and veteran online instructors alike.

James P. Frazee, EdD
Chief Academic Technology Officer and Associate Vice President for Learning Technologies & Environments, San Diego State University