Moving a Large-Lecture Organic POGIL Classroom to an Online Setting

As part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring 2020 semester, a large-lecture organic POGIL classroom was moved completely online. Normally the course involved daily group work that was facilitated by undergraduate teaching assistants, and these TAs would also assess student process skills such as critical thinking, information processing, teamwork, and communication. After the move to online instruction, the format of the course dramatically changed. In this communication, we describe the ways in which we attempted to maintain the basic structure of the POGIL classroom in a virtual environment. Changes to the course included the implementation of several online structures to provide students with opportunities to learn in ways that best fit their individual home situations. On the basis of survey data from the students and teaching assistants, we discuss the challenges that these two groups faced, including motivation, organization, and technological issues. We also describe how an online environment requires TAs to play a more active role in encouraging crosstalk between students than a face-to-face setting. Finally, we provide insights into how instructors can address these concerns in future online learning environments, including the use of synchronous and asynchronous activities and changes in assessment practices.