Teaching and learning under emergency remote, online conditions: ‘Let’s Connect’ with our students

In the swift move from in-person lectures to online learning, most universities hurriedly composed resources which helped lecturers move content online and supported students with access to the online environment (Le Grange, 2020). However, little attention went towards online measures to help lecturers gain insight into the students’ comprehension of content. Having insight into the students’ foundational knowledge, on which lecturers build is considered part of good pedagogic practice (Biggs and Tang, 2007). Moreover, less attention was focused on the affective domain and the creation of a social space for lecturers and students to connect in; this has particular relevance for large, first-year classes who are new to this academic environment. Thus, while the technical aspects of enabling students to access the online content received consideration, areas associated with the affective and cognitive domains needed responsiveness.


The challenge
In the swift move from in-person lectures to online learning, most universities hurriedly composed resources which helped lecturers move content online and supported students with access to the online environment (Le Grange, 2020). However, little attention went towards online measures to help lecturers gain insight into the students' comprehension of content. Having insight into the students' foundational knowledge, on which lecturers build is considered part of good pedagogic practice (Biggs and Tang, 2007). Moreover, less attention was focused on the affective domain and the creation of a social space for lecturers and students to connect in; this has particular relevance for large, first-year classes who are new to this academic environment. Thus, while the technical aspects of enabling students to access the online content received consideration, areas associated with the affective and cognitive domains needed responsiveness.
As a lecturer, I wanted my first years to know that I was available for them even if our physical interaction was limited. My concern with the move to the online platform was that I was not able to easily identify concepts my students found challenging. During the inperson lectures, the mannerisms of the students and questions that they posed gave an indication of their understanding, and this helped to shape instruction. This communication was limited in the online environment, where pre-recorded lectures became the norm and discussion forums were a place only a few students ventured. One focus of this article is to provide a way in which lecturers can establish contact with students in large online classes, and the other focus is to propose a way for lecturers to identify the cognitively challenging concepts that students experience on the course. To get to know my students I gave the following statements to them in week 1: • Tell me about yourself • My personal and/or academic goal this year is to… • I think a typical day this year will involve … • My fears for this course/year are … • My expectations of myself in this course are … • I hope my lecturer … Over the weeks that followed this document focused on uncovering the content that students had difficulty understanding. The following stems were posed: • I didn't understand this material that was covered this week … The question which probed the students' expectations of assessments was: • If you were the lecturer, what questions would you ask to find out whether the students understood the most important material for this week?
The main affirmation for the value of the 'Let's Connect' document came from the class representatives, who reported that the responses the class received helped them better understand the layout of topics and how they should work with the material that was

Recommendations
First years need to feel part of the learning environment for quality engagement to occur.
Lecturers need to find ways to create a space for this connection between the students and lecturer within the online learning environment. responses, I provided the class with feedback on common areas of concern. Going forward, I will allocate students to small groups of about five students each. Once students have completed the Let's Connect document individually, they could discuss their responses within their group, and a group representative could then list the key responses and concerns. This collated response could then be sent to me. During class I will provide general feedback based on their response as a cohort and show how these are addressed in the lecture structure. Thereby students should still feel heard and be aware of the connection that exists between them and the lecturer.