When Laudan Jahromi decided to create a fully online master鈥檚 degree program in Developmental Disabilities, her logic was simple: The field already had a foot in other disciplines, so why not make its content fully accessible to psychologists, health practitioners, lawyers, policymakers and others working fulltime jobs 鈥� including those in other countries?
In her own online courses, Jahromi, Professor of Psychology & Education, did worry about her ability to check in on students鈥� levels of reflection and understanding about a field that has evolved so rapidly.
For example, in Jahromi鈥檚 course Working with Families of Children with Disabilities, students reflect on the changing role of parents in this field. 鈥淭he experiences of families of children with disabilities have changed dramatically in the United States over the past several decades,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 that long ago that parents played a secondary role. Practitioners would say, 鈥楶ut your kid in an institution 鈥� that鈥檚 the best option.鈥� Today, parents drive the decisions for their children in special education. Schools need their participation to ensure positive outcomes.鈥�
When I teach on campus, I meet with my class for an hour and 40 minutes, and then I hold office hours at set times. But when I teach online, asynchronously, students respond to course materials on their own time. The discussion goes on all week, and if I want to be part of it and help keep it going, I have to chime in.
鈥� Laudan Jahromi
Jahromi worries that many of her students 鈥渃ome from the current mindset and take it for granted.鈥� Only by appreciating the importance of how far we have come, she says, can students understand the need to be fierce advocates for those parents whose voices are still not heard.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not done yet ensuring that parents in this country have agency,鈥� she says. 鈥淢any still face poverty and ethnic discrimination on top of their child鈥檚 diagnosis, and as a result they may have less access to services.
鈥淲hen I teach in person, I often realize, 鈥楬mm, they may not have thought about it this way,鈥欌�� she says. 鈥淚鈥檒l stop and ask, 鈥楬ow do you think about parents鈥� experience of disability historically in the U.S.?鈥� That way, I know whether I need to place greater emphasis on how much has changed. And then at the end of class I might ask, 鈥楽o where are you now with your thinking, relative to where you were earlier?鈥欌��
Thanks to a tool called PlayPosit, recommended by ODL, Jahromi can still achieve the same dynamic process of teaching in her asynchronous course.
鈥淚鈥檒l pre-record my lecture, but at different points I鈥檒l still say, 鈥楾hink about what this concept means to you right now.鈥� And through PlayPosit, a window pops up for the students asking: 鈥榃hat do you think about that topic?鈥� They type in their answers, and later I see their responses. So, they鈥檙e engaging with me even though I鈥檓 not there. I can measure changes in their thinking and I can give them feedback.鈥�
In fact, like Angel Wang, Jahromi believes that discussions in her class have, if anything, become richer and more rigorous.
鈥淥nline, the students who don鈥檛 usually speak up in class tend to come out of their shells,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hey can go in-depth, and I know them more intimately.鈥�
The only caveat: To get that kind of interaction, the instructor may have to be willing to put in more time.
鈥淲hen I teach on campus, I meet with my class for an hour and 40 minutes, and then I hold office hours at set times. But when I teach online, asynchronously, students respond to course materials on their own time. The discussion goes on all week, and if I want to be part of it and help keep it going, I have to chime in. ODL really helped me to adapt to this structure.鈥�