Bauer Spotlight - Dr. McMahon

On-Going "Hybrid"

To most of us in RICS, Dr. Tim McMahon is at once a trapeze artist and a wing walker. From using no technical enhancements, not even PowerPoint, to designing and teaching a hybrid course, requires a leap of faith, and the skills of an acrobat.

While looking for more flexibility in his teaching schedule, and urged on by students to consider the online medium, Dr. McMahon began looking at ways to embrace the hybrid format. He made the decision to teach the Leadership Development Summer 4 of ‘06 class as a hybrid class, and began the work needed in Fall of ‘05. However, just as the first law of trapeze states that “to swing to a new bar, you've got to let go of the bar you are on”, he was forced to rethink some of the long standing assumptions he had been making about the use of technology in teaching. “I had a very bad attitude about the material that I teach, and its adaptability to technology. You cannot do what I do online. I even have several journal articles that document the misuse of PowerPoint and how bad it is for education. I had all the rationalizations in my head. So the first biggest challenge was to be more open”.

From old bars to the new

As he began to consider the hybrid format, the split between the two modalities, face-to-face and online, brought forth yet another challenge. “In some of the courses I have been teaching for some time now, I rarely even use notes. If you give me a topic in my field, it is not difficult for me to teach a 3-4 hr class without any preparation. Therefore, the big challenge with this format was that I had to break it down and become organized. Being structured does not come easy to me. My students will attest to that. Therefore, the challenge was to figure out how I could take what I know, what I have, the simulations and cases that I use, and make it structured.”

The most fundamental skill on which wing walkers rest is, gripping on like a vice to something substantial while reaching out for something new. Once Dr. McMahon started getting familiar with WebCT, its layout and tools, “it made me think differently about what I teach. It made me think about logical order, where to put things, in a way that would substitute for my spontaneity in the classroom. Overcoming this challenge was frustrating to say the least. Finally, I had to take the little pieces and develop them”.

Support is vital

“I could not have done without it” says, Dr. McMahon. “People learn in different ways. I learn by doing. Having an Instructional Designer sit with me and show me systematically helped me tremendously. Fear is also a great motivator; you do not want to teach a bad class. I was extremely conscious that at some points in the semester I could be in a situation where I would not have the help I needed at the drop of a hat, a phone call or email or just walking into the RICS suite. Therefore, I had to learn to do it myself. We are all in the learning business, and people think older guys do not learn. But I found it very exiting, very satisfying, and everyday I am learning new things that I am incorporating into other classes.”

Swinging the bars

“I was pleasantly surprised. I had some questions in my mind. I took short video clips, 2-3 minutes in length, that related to specific readings. I asked students to turn in short assignments to explain how that particular clip did or did not demonstrate what they had read. It turned out to be more meaningful for the students than me talking about it in the classroom. It is the visual aspect of the behavioral stuff, the emotional aspect, and the facial expressions, which you cannot transmit through a lecture or discussion. I will now use videos in my other classes to initiate discussions.

The other part that gave me some insight into evaluations was discussion boards. Instructors like me who teach conceptual type of classes, where participation is important, grapple with the challenge of grading participation, specifically with respect to the group of students that fall in the middle. With a discussion board, the transcript is there. I would read the transcript, and it would give a much more valid way of assessing participation. This medium affords the shy ones, who are uncertain about something, a safe environment and time to think through their responses. I was very pleased with its outcome.

I do like the assignment submission features of WebCT. The time-release capabilities are very convenient as well. One advantage of the hybrid model is smaller, more frequent assignment and assessment opportunities, more feedback to students. My colleagues, who are much more adept at technology, will discover that there are many payoffs – more feedback opportunities, more clarity, different types of assignments -contributing to a richer experience. With WebCT, I really had a feeling of being in control of the class. I knew who was doing what, how well they were doing, who was participating, how well they were participating; there is a wealth of information about student activity that one can tap.”

Free falls

Murphy's Law; they come with the territory. “I failed to anticipate some the potential problems and questions that student may have. The first couple of weeks of the class were rocky because I was not as familiar with the platform as the students. Students are quick to take advantage of a professor's confusion. If there is a void, they will quickly rush into it. Its part of the learning curve, but it got easier as I became more comfortable with the technology. The Instructional Designers helped me know and prepare for things that students would need, like players for videos, etc. Therefore, as soon as I had the class roll before the first week, I emailed the students about requirements and expectations.

In fact, the availability of support at RICS was off the scale. I am not aware of another educational unit where faculty members have the kind of access to the services that this team provides. ”

Only just begun

It is not hard to perceive that for Dr. McMahon, this is clearly the beginning. “I have list of things to experiment with. I dive into most everything, that is the way I am. Additionally, I am at a stage in my career where I can devote more emphasis on teaching, and derive real satisfaction from it. That may explain why I dove into a technology-rich format, while other faculty-members may take a more incremental approach.”