MAKING FACE-TO-FACE LECTURE TUTORIALS WORK FOR ONLINE TEACHING

The use of Lecture Tutorials worksheets has become a popular method for actively engaging students and reinforcing newly covered concepts during the lecture portion of introductory geology courses (Kortz et al., 2008). The preferred method of use is for students to attempt to complete these worksheets on their own or with a partner during a break in lecture, followed by instructor-led review with the entire class. To accommodate the move to online teaching in spring 2020, these worksheets have been recreated using Google Forms. Students still complete the worksheets on paper during synchronous class meetings, but this is now coupled with simultaneous electronic submission of their answers using the Form. Several advantages of this dual entry method have been uncovered, including: 1) the student retains their original worksheet and can correct any errors during review, 2) the instructor can easily generate a spreadsheet of all student answers (particularly useful for grading, if desired), and 3) answers from all students are immediately collated in the Form and results from the entire class can be presented to the students graphically (e.g. pie charts) in a manner similar to the real-time feedback provided by the use of “clickers”. During synchronous online class meetings, the instructor still has the choice of having the students work on the worksheets individually, with partners / small groups in break out rooms, or working through the worksheet with the entire class simultaneously. Given the ease of filling out Google Forms using smartphones, this dual method of paper worksheet and online entry may also be advantageous in face-to-face classroom settings and does not need to be only for online classes.