Funnel Short Version
Strategies for Improving the in Class Experience
The Funnel
The funnel is a technique that leverages online resources such as Canvas in structurally guiding and pacing students in preparing for a physical class meeting.
The funnel can be used in traditional twice a week or hybrid (online/co-located) courses. Elements of the funnel can be used individually or in conjunction.
Affordances of Online and Co-located Learning
The online environment excels at content delivery
The co-located environment excels at applying context to course content
Issue: Productive Class Sessions
Students are: unprepared for classroom activities and procrastinate in completing required tasks
Result: Class time is less productive and frustrating for prepared students and faculty
Solution: Weekly Milestones
By providing a series of graded assignments with hard deadlines, students are structurally funneled into competing preparatory tasks in a paced and timely manner.
Much of this process can be automated or quickly graded using features on Canvas.
- Discussion Board: structured discussion, easy to assess, creates "ice breaker" on content and interaction PRIOR to in class activities.
- Quizzes: automated, self-grading, forces completion of assigned reading Prior to class meeting. Can be combined with discuss to fully process materials.
- Peer Review: automated, eliminates first draft submissions.
- Workshop/two-stage assignments: deliver content and have students complete tasks PRIOR to the class meeting. Frees up class time for more complex work.
This offloads mundane or rote content delivery or assessment and allows for higher level learning and interactivity via dialogic lecturing, discussion, or group work.
Bottom line
Students are trained to pace and prepare so when they enter the classroom there is "knowledge/information parity" that allows the entire class to participate.
