Learning Dialogues orchestrated with BookRoll: A Case Study of Undergraduate Physics Class During COVID-19 Lockdown

Abstract

With COVID-19 pandemic forcing academic institutions to shift to Emergency Remote Teaching strategies, teachers worldwide are attempting several strategies to engage their learners. Even though existing research in online learning has proven that effectiveness of the online session is more dependent on pedagogical design rather than technology features, most teachers still focus on the intricacies of the technology. In this paper we present the adaptation of an active learning pedagogy - Learning Dialogue (LeD), for an undergraduate physics classroom. We used the eBook reader BookRoll to orchestrate an LeD along with the support of a video conferencing tool and a dashboard that provides immediate input on the engagement. The adaptation of the strategy utilized the appropriate affordance of each tool available in generating an engaging session for the students. Comparison of the student artefacts (memos in BookRoll) between regular face-to-face classroom session and online session indicated that there is a sustained engagement in the online class. Preliminary qualitative analysis also shows that the students were posing good conceptual clarifications/questions aligned with the session agenda.