By: Steven Goss, Robin E. Hummel, and Laura Zadoff

Steven Goss is clinical faculty and chair of the graduate programs in the Department of Management and Technology at New York University’s School of Professional Studies. Robin E. Hummel is codirector of online teaching and learning and program director of Leadership in Mathematics Education at Bank Street Graduate School of Education. Laura Zadoff is codirector of online teaching and learning at Bank Street Graduate School of Education. Together they are the authors of Transforming Online Teaching in Higher Education.

Introduction

After outlining a progressive approach to transform online teaching practice in our book, Transforming Online Teaching in Higher Education: Essential Practices for Engagement, Equity, and Inquiry, we made a surprising discovery. While we intended our framework as a guide for higher education, we have since had several corporate trainers and coaches tell us that our online teaching and learning framework helped them take another look at their practices for teaching and learning in the workplace.

Through these conversations, we discovered that our framework could also be instrumental for those leading corporate professional development online. We heard how our framework provided them with a language of pedagogy that they didn’t have before. By examining their practices using the core of our framework for developing an enlightened online experience (engagement, inquiry, equity, presence, communities, and time and space), they acknowledged that they were inspired to think more deeply about how they reach employees in digital work-related learning spaces.

We wanted to understand this further, so we shared our approach with two colleagues who work in corporate spaces and asked them to reflect on the framework and how it supported them in their practice. We interviewed Lori Greene, Founder of LPG Edu and the former Global Education Manager at Netflix, and Todd Cherches, CEO, Leadership and Executive Coach at BigBlueGumball. Both professionals consult on training and coaching in the corporate space. We asked them to share examples of practices that demonstrate online pedagogy in action, and illustrate how engagement, inquiry, and equity played a role in their professional practice.

What They Said

In our framework, we define engagement as an invitation to learners to be involved in the discussions and activities of an online course, and as an interaction that cannot be measured in magnitude, but instead by the way learners encourage one another to contribute to a sustained, thoughtful, and purposeful discussion. Lori shared how she discovered the importance of engagement while working as a Global Education Leader for Netflix, where she developed online training to teach filmmakers and storytellers worldwide. She discussed the importance of understanding engagement. “I was consulting with a trainer, and he showed me a curriculum he was developing. I said, ‘You are talking at them too much. Start by asking them a question.’”

The curriculum Lori described was for a photography class, and she suggested the trainer start by asking, What makes a great photograph? She told him to tell the trainees to remember the question and to continue to refer back to the list they composed in response. She explained, “Now they’re building the learning. You aren’t building it for them.” She encouraged the trainer to ask the trainees about their opinions on photography and what makes a photograph worthy of attention. To us, she said, “It’s hard for people to think like that if they’re not educators.”

“Now they’re building the learning. You aren’t building it for them.”

Todd agreed that what’s often missing from a trainer’s knowledge is the ability to ask themselves the right questions about what engagement means for the learning experience. “Are you involving your trainees? Do you care what they think? Do they feel heard and part of it?” Lori added that trainers often “start a class by just talking, talking, talking, and the trainees will sit back and listen but not engage, yet the best way to learn is when learners are participating and when they’re excited.”

Lori and Todd also shared their thoughts on inquiry. Todd defined inquiry for himself as “the art and science of questioning.” He added, “There is a lot written on asking good questions. People often ask, ‘Does anyone have any thoughts on that?’ And the response is dead silence. So the trainer may assume that no one has any questions.” Our framework explores the online classroom as a space guided by inquiry, where student questions, interests, and wonderings inform experiences. Teachers can adapt their lessons, activities, and assignments to respond to and expand the inquiry of the learning community.

Lori provided an example of the impact of an inquiry mindset for the online professional development experience. “Netflix has trained the crew who produce the content for the streamer. People from six continents were part of different training schemes. The trainers for Netflix worked with subject matter experts at the studio to develop curricula.” While the curriculum guided the trainers, Lori also cautioned them to be aware that the participants may have different needs because of the region in which they live. She encouraged them to ask the local Netflix staff in that country, “What is missing from the curriculum for your region? What should we do differently for your country?” She observed that “inquiry is knowing your audience and understanding the culture of the groups you’re working with.” She observed that the questions asked should drive the learning, along with the templated curriculum.

“It’s the whole package to being an amazing educator.”

Finally, Todd shared his thoughts on equity. Our framework holds that equity is essential to online learning and emphasizes the importance of building an environment where all voices are heard, learners can lead and guide discussions, and all learners support one another in ways that strengthen learning and access to knowledge. Todd offered,

Are we giving everyone a chance to be seen, a chance to be heard, a chance to contribute, and a chance to be recognized for their contributions? That isn’t always the case, especially in corporate training. A lot of times, the most senior person in the room is the dominant voice, and other people will not speak up or speak out. So, are we creating a climate where everyone has a seat at the table? Are we giving everyone an equal voice? I often work with Wall Street clients, such as traders and portfolio managers. And there is a hierarchy inherent in those roles because they pay the bills and people’s salaries. However, incorporating your framework can help with the awareness that creates more equity within the training space, whether you’re in person or online.

Final Thoughts

Before Lori learned about our approach, she didn’t have the words to describe her practice online. For example, in talking about presence, another aspect of our framework, she shared,

I’ve been working on my presence in the classroom for 14 years. I know how to make things interesting. I know when I’m talking too much and when to stop talking and say, ‘Okay, your turn.’ I know that, but I never had a word for it. I never had a concept like ‘presence.’ When I first started teaching, I wasn’t very good. I wondered how I could get better. Your approach left me thinking that if I have presence, but no student engagement, that doesn’t work. If I have presence and student engagement but don’t make room for inquiry, that won’t support the people I’m teaching. So that’s why I love the framework. It’s the whole package to being an amazing educator. And it’s the way I’ve been teaching for years, but I never had language for it. And now I do.

We couldn’t agree more, and we are grateful to Todd and Lori for showing us how our framework can transcend the higher education classroom and prove purposeful for trainers and coaches in corporate settings.

Transforming Online Teaching in Higher Education Essential Practices for Engagement, Inquiry, and Equity Steven Goss, Robin E. Hummel, and Laura Zadoff

Featured photo by Andrea Piacquadio