Greg Beatty writes:I think that this is the hardest thing to articulate in any classroom, and often becomes a subvocal feel for what's happening in a class.
I'm not yet sure how to teach it, but I find myself "reading" my classes online differently. I respond to what is said, but I also "listen" for trouble signs. The practice is sort of like the hovering attention practiced by a traditional analyst practices during free association (or at least the descriptions I've read of it). If certain types of questions aren't asked, I often prompt them. I also attach backchannel queries to the regular grade reports, and ask students to check in regularly. When they do, I put a bit of pressure on their answers, asking, essentially, what about this, what about that? I haven't yet found a way to not be a little clumsy about it, and I think face to face I'm pretty subtle about it. I've had the experience of looking up when students are a beat slower to answer, seeing their faces, and asking, "Are you really still thinking about the paper that's due soon?" and finding that I've hit it. I can only do that online in courses I've taught several times, and even then I tend to "paper over" holes that aren't there. I post notes that say things like, "In previous classes, when we've gotten to this point, students have been confused about X and Z. This is
what you need to know about those things--how are you doing with them?" Sometimes I've gotten explosions of gratitudes as a result, but other times...not.