Fostering Student Engagement in an Upper-Level, Online Seminar on the History of Sexuality: Lessons Learned about Pedagogy and Course Design to Deepen Students’ Learning Kristine Rabberman, Ph.D.

© 2012 SAS Presentation Outline 1.GSWS 422 History of Sexuality Course Set-Up 2.Challenges & Goals 3.Fostering Student Engagement Online 4.Threaded Discussions & Blogs: reflective writing 5.Summer 2013 Pilot: Embedded Reference Librarians 6.Questions

© 2012 SAS Online Credit Course: GSWS 422 Hist of Sexuality Asynchronous course site Read, discuss, reflect, collaborate, write Focus on student engagement & critical reflection

© 2012 SAS  Student engagement  Live class discussions  Student presentations  Alignment with Penn culture Live Synchronous Sessions Online Credit Course: GSWS 422

© 2012 SAS GSWS 422 History of Sexuality 1.Advanced seminar, mixed population of students 2.Covers wide span of time; no prerequisites 3.Goals: Enhance student engagement; Explore rich themes between and across class sessions; Develop critical and analytical skills; Provide experience with some primary sources

© 2012 SAS Ways to Think About Student Engagement Students identifying topics and questions they want to learn more about; Students making connections between course material and topics/debates outside the classroom; Students actively engaged in critical thinking and analysis throughout the class – within and between class units; Students being empowered to critique historians’ interpretations of the past; Students personally invested in discipline.

© 2012 SAS Online Course Components and Student Engagement Helping to structure students’ engagement in class material between real-time class meetings; Achieving balance between adhering to scheduled readings and providing students with supplemental materials to address emerging questions and interests; Providing students with platforms to develop and demonstrate their expertise to each other as well as to faculty.

© 2012 SAS Discussion Forums: extension of synchronous class discussions

© 2012 SAS Discussion Forums: encourage reflection & critical analysis

© 2012 SAS Discussion Forums: replace synchronous discussion

© 2012 SAS Discussion Forums: deepen learning

© 2012 SAS Student blogs: critical reflection & personal interest

© 2012 SAS GSWS 422: Rubric for threaded discussions 1.Students awarded 0-5 points every week 2.Categories Critical analysis of course readings: thoughtful, rigorous Critical, engaged, appropriate responses to classmates’ posts Demonstrated understanding of course content Demonstrated ability to make connections in class themes across readings, sessions, topics Effective use of supporting evidence and citations Quality of writing: clarity, style, grammar, spelling Timeliness and number of posts

© 2012 SAS GSWS 422: Rubric for Blogs 1.Students awarded 0-5 points every week 2.Categories Critical analysis of course readings and themes Creative reflection on specific theme or question Demonstrated ability to make connections across readings, sessions, topics, experiences Demonstrated understanding of course content Effective use of supporting evidence and citations Quality of writing: clarity, style, grammar, spelling Timeliness

© 2012 SAS GSWS 422: Engagement and Learning Outcomes 1.Critical understanding of key concepts 2.Knowledge of specific historical periods 3.Engagement in critical reflection individually and as a class 4.Ability to make thematic connections across historical periods and regions 5.Student involvement in shaping class according to their interests 6.Extra Credit: deeper understanding of historical analysis through primary source discussion forums

© 2012 SAS Summer 2013 Pilot: Reference Librarians Embedded In GSWS 422 Goals of initiative Interacting through blogs Observing real-time class sessions Creating the Library Lounge Moving use of library beyond research papers

© 2012 SAS Questions?