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American History Through Baseball is a unique course that uses baseball as a way to examine American history and society.  When taught in person, this class is all about participation and interaction. Almost everyone knows something about baseball and can contribute to the conversation, but the same goes for those who have no knowledge at all of the sport.  The key is an interest in history and society. As an instructor, Professor Tom Zeiler enjoys hands on teaching, feeding off of the energy of his students.

So how does this course translate to an online only course? What happens to instructor-student and student-student interaction? What do you have to do to get a course ready for delivery in a completely online format?

These are just a few of the questions that Professor Zeiler addressed when sharing his experience teaching American History Through Baseball last summer in an online five-week course.  Though Professor Zeiler missed seeing his students face-to-face in the classroom, the online course had its own unique kind of energy.

Discussions did not go away in the online format. In fact, they became even more central to the course. Students responded (as required but also voluntarily) to discussion questions every week online and unlike the face-to-face class, almost everyone participates.  Professor Zeiler believes that some students who may be quieter in class get more opportunities to participate online.  As a result, discussion online was “much more deep and much more extensive.”

Though discussion quality improved, Professor Zeiler did have to make adjustments to his teaching. He learned very quickly that he had to be more clear and precise. In particular, expectations and assignments needed to be much clearer. This need for additional clarity online also means that there is less ability to make changes on the fly.  Once he started the online course, Professor Zeiler had less flexibility in changing the expectations or the content.

Professor Zeiler found that the need to be precise and clarify every aspect of the course up front actually helped him reflect on his own teaching in the classroom. “It’s a different way of teaching and you learn something about your teaching.”  He has taken the lessons he has learned back to his regular teaching. His experience with discussion online now informs his outlook on discussions in class. “I’ve been able to take back to my regular teaching to have more faith in really challenging my students to discuss.”

The move from teaching in the classroom to teaching online has its benefits and drawbacks but Professor Zeiler thinks it is worth trying. “I think the challenge for anybody new to it is it’s new. And you do not know what is going to work online. But you have a pretty good idea of what works in your classroom. So it’s not that big of a reach. You just got to realize that.”

--Written by: Amanda Porter, ASSETT Staff