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I am fascinated by the human nature and by our
enormous potential to relate, contribute, and lead
fulfilling and joyful lives.
I believe that being compassionate with one another
and intentional about our own continued growth
helps us make the world a better place, together.
This philosophy has guided my teaching at the
University of British Columbia (Medicine, Education),
Simon Fraser University (Health Sciences, Education),
University of Victoria (Health Information Science),
and currently the Justice Institute of British Columbia
(Leadership).
Like you, I am energized by teaching and by
continuing to discover how better to serve others.
My vision is to help us all bring more of our unique,
creative selves boldly to the world, playfully.
Michal
PLAYFUL: The Art of Teaching Virtually
Michal Fedeles, PhD
Copyright © 2020 Michal Fedeles
All rights reserved. Except for attributed non-commercial educational purposes, and as permitted under
Canadian Copyright Act of 2012, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior
written permission of the publisher.
Leader.Studio
41-123 Seventh Street, New Westminster, BC V3M 6Y2, Canada
www.leader.studio
Photo by Kathy Harms Photography
Cover art by Petra Fedeles
Cover photo by Michal Fedeles
ISBN 978-1-7771965-0-9
First Edition
June 2020
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To Mrs. Vanková, my eighth grade English teacher and great inspiration: caring, fair,
and intriguingly confident that all of us can learn to dizzyingly high standards.
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Contents
Designed to offer food for thought to teachers in a range of areas and settings, Playful unfolds as follows:
Introductions
Be super clear on purpose
Serve your learners
Structure learning to drive performance
Are the results what you had intended?
Go play!
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Invitation
Hello! To help us build some comfort around each other as we walk through these pages together, let’s
start with introductions. My writing will give you a sense of who I am: the values I hold dear, my beliefs
about teaching, and the approaches I find useful in seeking to teach in ways that are comfortable (not
scary or distressing), powerful (effective at helping learners learn and advance their practice), and
personally satisfying to the teacher. As you continue reading, you will get the sense why I believe that
these aspects are worth considering when we teach. Now, as you read and reflect, perhaps you will find
value in articulating, in your mind, who you are as teacher and person, what your teaching philosophy is,
and what about helping your learners make a difference in the world energizes and fulfills you.
I approach teaching as a deeply human endeavour. Not all teachers in my life exemplified this, yet I have
learned important life lessons in my teachers’ presence, at times despite their approach. However we
choose to go about teaching, we impact learners and leave an imprint. We have the ability to affect our
learners’ points of view and mindsets, even shift their life journeys. What truly matters in teaching is not
presenting the curriculum, or ensuring that learners show up and submit assignments on time. At its core,
teaching is about the human connection: developing a deep appreciation for our life experience and how
each of us chooses to make a difference in the world. I have come to believe that we bring the most value
when we teach by being ourselves: honestly, openly sharing who we are, curious about one another, and
vested in making a difference in whatever we are drawn to in life, however small that difference may be.
Bring a purpose and caring connection. I stepped into my first teaching role when an elementary school
in my hometown asked me to take on a class of wonderfully playful (and yes, testing-the-boundaries
natured) fifth-graders. The experience was humbling and exciting, inspiring me to pursue graduate studies
in education, and embark on a journey of supporting the learning of high school and university students,
second language learners, health professionals, educators, community leaders, and executives. And while
each group of learners brings its own flavour, what helps each of them learn and develop is the caring
connection and sense of purpose that we, their teachers, contribute. So whether your employer or client
refers to you as professor, instructor, trainer, teacher, learning facilitator, or teaching assistant, you make
a difference by seeing the potential in people around you to create amazing things in life, and you become
fulfilled and continuously inspired by helping them learn and grow.
Share your life journey and your passions. You have become who you are as a teacher through some
combination of study (observing, reading, thinking) and practice. You may have completed academic
studies in education, or you may simply have found joy in showing others how to do something safely.
You may have found a passion for teaching while ice skating with your kids, helping a colleague figure out
new software, or mentoring a paramedic student as she or he saves someone’s life. Tell them. Share your
life journey and your passions. What makes your teaching impactful is how energized and fulfilled you are
about serving and supporting learners, so that they can bravely create an even more amazing world for
themselves and others.
Be yourself. I suspect that at one point or another, every teacher has been caught in the act of performing
the teaching task – perhaps driven by the desire to comply with what we perceive to be non-negotiable
traditions (such as that classes ought to feel formal), or please a boss (who believes in changing attitudes
by lecturing on policies), or allow ourselves to be perfectionist (so we create fancy slides but run out of
time to make learning applied). At the other end of the spectrum is teaching by being ourselves – present
to our learners, thoughtful about serving them, and guided by our instincts. The former option tends to
put us under stress and into a reactive mode, compromising our results. By relaxing into teaching the way
that comes naturally to us, we can be more authentic and imaginative in our approach, creating better
results and greater impact. Also, when we attend more closely to the human side of our learners, we can
serve them more fully, instead of focusing our energies too narrowly on course contents or on technical
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aspects of teaching. Practice being yourself as a teacher, guided by proven principles of effective teaching.
Teaching is not about perfection – I believe it is about being genuine and curious.
Get inspired. The purpose of this guide is not to introduce you to everything there is to know about
remote/online/virtual learning. Its aim is to inspire you to powerfully recreate the aspects of your
teaching that involve connecting with, relating to, and supporting, learners – the sorts of things you and
your learners do in ‘real’ classes – with the same passion for exploration and thrill of discovery, online.
And while the ideas discussed here will apply primarily to teaching virtually in real time (synchronously),
you may find yourself inspired to playfully evolve your teaching in a range of directions.
Come try something new. If you are finding yourself teaching virtually for the first time, or if teaching at a
distance is not your go-to approach or style, be kind to yourself and your learners, while allowing yourself
to be playful. A simple, honest approach will likely help your learners become more comfortable and open
minded in the new learning format. And you may discover new ways to make learning powerful, online
and off. Some of my ideas may come to you at just the right time; others may strike you as relevant later.
Either way, by the time you are done reading, you will get to know me a bit – and you will likely discover a
few things about you and your teaching, prompting you to wonder about new possibilities. If you choose
to accept it, this is your invitation to explore teaching in ways that makes it playful.
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Be Super Clear on Purpose
Meaningful teaching is driven by purpose. Being super clear on your course’s purpose will help you in at
least three ways: First, it will help you make sure that your course is of value to the learners. Second, a
sound purpose will offer you a clear focus as you plan, prepare, and implement the course. Finally, a
thoughtfully designed, purpose-driven course that prepares learners to handle new, real-world situations
will result in a more interesting, energizing, and ultimately more satisfying experience for everyone. A
stronger purpose will benefit all your teaching, while being a particularly powerful driver in virtual classes.
Focus on the real world. As is the case with many pursuits, being clear on the ‘why’ of your course will
make your planning, preparation, and implementation smoother, as well as more focused, meaningful,
and rewarding. With clarity of purpose, you can proceed to articulating or refining the intended learning
outcomes so that you and your learners will be clear on the big picture of the course, and the learners will
become curious about the journey that you are about to take them on. Help your learners see how
learning in your course can help enable them to think through, and solve, real world situations in new
ways, and they will reward you with higher motivation and energy to engage and contribute.
Contextualize for meaning. Learning takes on its meaning in real world contexts. So, as you read these
pages, relate each idea to your learners, the purpose of your courses, the culture of your organization,
and the ways in which you as the teacher can make powerful learning happen. If you are currently
planning or preparing to teach a particular course – virtually or not – keep in mind all you know about that
course as your context for applying new ideas. In doing so, you may find fresh ways to look at teaching,
and you may discover surprising possibilities for yourself, your learners, and your organization.
Start with the end in mind. Ask yourself: Why is this course being offered? How are the learners intended
to be different as a result of the experience? What is the course meant to enable the learners to do,
under what conditions, and to what standard? Yet, go beyond the obligatory learning outcomes (“By the
end of this lesson, learners will be able to …”), and consider how by being successful in your course,
learners can bring new value to their organization or business, as well as its clients and society. On top of
developing a new understanding, skills, or appreciation of the subject at hand, how will your learners
evolve? How can you help equip them for thinking better (more critically, deeply, inclusively, globally,
environmentally, systemically)? Considering both the short and long term, what will make your course
most valuable? What would be lost, or not possible, if learning in this course did not take place?
If something is worth doing, it is worth doing well. Being clear on how your course can inform practice
beyond the virtual classroom will help you nail down the approach you will take – focusing on helping
advance your learners’ thinking and performance on the job, and the sense of self-actualization and
fulfillment as a result. Beyond thoughtful lesson design and effective facilitation of learning, you can help
make the course powerful and impactful by intentionally aligning your learners’ experience with both
their realities and the organization’s vision and goals. Consider as well what success will look like in this
course, and how you and the learners will be able to tell that success has been achieved.
Get personal. Even before you set foot in the virtual classroom, consider sharing with your learners a
story or two from your practice that offered inspiration and fulfillment to you. That way, by the time you
and your learners meet virtually, they will know a bit about you, and building connections will be easier.
Do get personal, and link your passion for the subject to your course’s purpose. Your learners may
discover that the most valuable aspect of your classes is how you are – what you are passionate about,
how you care about learners, how you select, weave and integrate essential contents into lessons, and
how you inspire learners to apply new insights to their practice – and keep learning beyond the course.
Baby steps. This guide is designed to help you get started playfully, building on what is already working
for you, taking delight in each step. On the pages that follow, you will find ideas to try, questions to
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ponder, and encouragement to keep going. In essence, you are on the journey of discovering your new
self, gradually gaining experience and confidence in teaching virtually. Start easy, taking baby steps, trying
one or two new ideas at a time, then reflecting and refining. Sketching out an action plan for your playful
experimentation, to be used alongside your course outline and lesson plan, may help you get started.
Embrace the science as well as the art. A lot has been written about effective teaching, often from the
science perspective: There are the principles of adult education, theories and models of learning and
memory, techniques, tools, and templates. Many are available online, and you may find some of them
helpful as you plan, prepare, and implement your vision for your course. As you ponder ways to serve
your learners, though, remember that teaching is also an art – where your personality, your passions, and
a bit of your soul will enable you to create more personal, powerful, and deeply inspiring learning
experiences. This is where Playful may offer some food for thought.
Make virtual learning as real as learning in person. Many of the principles and ideas introduced here will
apply to teaching a range of learners (children, adult novices, experts) across a range of groupings (oneon-one, small teams, large groups), configurations (a short class, a series of check-ins, a multi-week
course) and settings (in person, online, blended). As you prepare to teach online, consider ways in which
the virtual environment can inspire learners to share perspectives, hypotheses or estimates anonymously,
contribute to the more intimate breakout conversations, or visually create knowledge or solve scenarios
as a group. Your mission is not to make your virtual classes look and feel the same as in-person classes.
But you can make it your mission to make virtual classes real, powerful, and meaningful for your learners
– starting with being super clear on purpose.
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Serve Your Learners
Get to know your learners. Once you are clear on the purpose of your virtual course – what benefit it is
intended to bring to the learners, the organization, and beyond – you may be tempted to start creating
slides, searching for videos, imagining interactive activities, and writing quiz questions. Yet, while it may
be handy to write down creative ideas for your course as they come to mind, it is vitally important that
you first examine deeply what you know about your learners. Who do you imagine the typical – as well as
not-so-typical – learner in your course will be? What will they know, need, and expect? How can you find
out?
Partner with the learners. The sense of being the one ‘in charge’ of your course should not stop you from
partnering with your learners in the pursuit of the course’s purpose. The key here is to be sincere,
intentional and persistent in evolving a caring connection with the learners. This may involve building the
course with significant input from your class, strengthening class interactions by engaging learners in
facilitating discussions, stepping up in thinking through case scenarios, leading application activities, or
coming up with ideas for making the course better. Partnering in creating class experiences can be a
powerful way to engage learners in making learning worthwhile on both professional and personal levels.
‘See’ your learners. Maintaining a personal connection with your learners will take more effort and
practice in the virtual environment. With a lot of your attention consumed by making sure that the
technology is working as intended, and that everyone can see and hear one another as well as any media
or class activities (slides, videos, a shared document or whiteboard, polls, surveys, chat, Q&A), it may
prove challenging to stay on top of group dynamics. Seeing only your learners’ faces on your screen (and
in many cases, just some of them at any given time) will not give you the same reading of your learners’
understanding, reactions, energy, or desire to ask questions as you would get by seeing everyone in
person. Pause often to check in with the class, allow time for questions, introduce simple scenarios or
quick quizzes to check for understanding. In many online platforms, learners can raise a hand when they
wish to speak, or share questions and perspectives with the whole class (or just with you) in a virtual chat.
Keep an eye on the chat box to stay on top of your learners’ needs and queries, so you may respond
promptly. (With a bit of practice, or with the help of a co-teacher or assistant, you can also reach out
privately to individual learners as needed, with personalized comments to help apply learning to their
experience or context, or perhaps to prompt a learner to contribute a valuable point they had shared with
you earlier.) And, remember frequent stretch breaks – they will benefit you as much as the learners.
Be attentive to states of mind. Consider what mind space your learners may be in when you meet them.
What will they feel? The virtual environment may evoke responses that are different from how learners
present in person (the keener, the know-it-all, the disengaged, the challenger, the joker). Those new to
virtual learning may be unsettled by the unfamiliar format, unsure about the technology, unclear on your
expectations, or uncertain about their ability to succeed. Some learners may be unhappy, stressed, or
otherwise not fully ready to engage. How will you relate to the learners, create meaningful opportunities
for all, treat everyone fairly, and ensure that each learner benefits in ways that they will uniquely value?
Set aside time for personal connections, remain attentive to changes in moods, and offer assurances that
you (and your co-teacher or assistant, if you have one) are there to support everyone along the way.
Sharing a bit about yourself and creating space for everyone to say a few words (share how they feel, talk
about a favourite cartoon) will help initiate more intimate, safe connections where learners feel welcome,
and they know that their contributions are valued. Attending to others in more deeply personal ways is
always valuable – and it becomes critical at times of change, uncertainty, fear, and elevated emotions.
Learners benefit in unique ways. Keep track of who is actively participating and who is not, so that you
can reach out privately to those who may welcome a more personal touch or words of encouragement. A
shy learner may easily develop a sense of being invisible in the virtual classroom – and while some may
cherish being left alone to learn their own way, the whole class will benefit when you find a gentle way to
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bring all perspectives into the conversation. That said, each of us ‘frames’ learning our own way, based on
our personality and experience, and we are motivated by different things. We value our experiences,
habits, even biases, and we appreciate a degree of autonomy in deciding whether, how, and when to
engage with others. Imagine yourself in the shoes of the quiet, more introverted learner – what ways of
processing, engaging, and expressing would feel safe and validating? Might responding to prompts
anonymously, having time to formulate a perspective before sharing it in a small group, or being able to
pass on a question do the trick? What about an invitation to the class to create assessments together by
putting forward a wide range of questions on the matter at hand?
Create a healthy challenge. Whether learners join your course as a job requirement or out of their own
interest, examining their perceived needs (maintain professional certification, keep current on effective
practices in the industry) and wants (get better at project management, become a more effective
communicator) can help make the experience more ‘real’ – and thus more meaningful – for everyone. In
addition to the relevant domains of learning (cognitive, affective, psychomotor), explore the level at which
the learners would be applying new thinking, attitudes, or skills on the job. Engage the class in a healthy
challenge where the learners ‘pull’ themselves up beyond merely knowing and understanding new things,
to applying learning to real world situations and analyzing it from different angles, towards evaluating its
effects on practice, and creating new possibilities (better solutions) in their work. A curious exploration
will drive motivation and enthusiasm for learning, and a feedback or assessment loop will help your
learners appreciate how the new ways of thinking, relating to problems, and performing enable them to
be more capable, productive, or effective.
Start strong together. Having a strong sense of the purpose of the course and its value (to them, the
organization, and beyond) will energize and spark your learners’ curiosity. Additionally, having a powerful
experience from the first moment will keep the group engaged and supporting one another. Consider how
you can enable the experience of starting strong together. How can you convey your own enthusiasm
about the subject matter? What might be the impact of a short video depicting what your learners will be
able to do, or create, during the course and as a result? What if you invited one of the course’s graduates
to stimulate a virtual conversation about, or to give a demonstration of, real world applications of what is
to come in the course? What questions might your learners bring to the first virtual class, if you invited
them to consider a challenging or provocative scenario related to your course? Might a little game or
mystery challenge at the start of your virtual class activate the learners’ curiosity and competitive spirit?
What activity could help the learners form ‘tribes’ quickly for mutual support, driving performance? Solicit
the input of some of your more introverted learners, to make the activity inclusive and fun for all.
Make learning dynamic. Keep the energy high to help make learning dynamic. Twists and turns in the
story line, reconfigured groups, varied activities, and provocative questions all help our brains remain
curious. Consider how learning occurs in steps, spurts, and spirals: Small steps can help build knowledge
incrementally, develop clarity, and refine and advance understanding. Exposure to a range of perspectives
and applications over time can prompt a spurt – that ‘aha’ moment when something clicks, and what was
confusing and overwhelming suddenly makes perfect sense. Revisiting same concepts from progressively
greater ‘heights’ – once learners have developed new ways of looking at things – can lead to a perspective
or mindset that is qualitatively different and more profound, enabling learners to successfully tackle a
new level of challenges. (Imagine pulling your learners up an imaginary spiral over their street, examining
the road from different angles, with new patterns becoming visible as the viewpoint changes and the
complexity of the wide urban area emerges. The learners would be revisiting some of the same aspects of
urban design, yet each time from a more advanced level of understanding and with a greater appreciation
for the broader picture.) Finally, keep going back and forth between focusing on learning and assessment
by incorporating questions, quizzes, and playful puzzles – to help your learners (and yourself) see the
progress they are making, and to help you make necessary adjustments as you go.
Offer options. Do not expect everyone to be excited about learning in front of a webcam, participating in
virtual discussions, typing questions into a chat box, or sketching ideas with others using the virtual
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whiteboard. Be selective and intentional as you contemplate which of these features to use, to what end,
how, and when. Some features can be enabled/disabled at different points in the class, as needed. That
said, offer options, and ensure your learners have the autonomy to decide when, and in what ways, they
contribute. If a particular format or tool is not serving its intended purpose, explore alternatives.
Help your learners focus. Think through the flow of the learning, and make deliberate choices about what
contents your learners need to review on their own ahead of your synchronous class (definitions,
explanations, simple applications found in the textbook), what elements you will present synchronously
(slides with case scenarios or provocative questions), what resources the learners should have in front of
them in another format (a working handout printed in advance, instructions for small group breakouts,
tables or charts with data for reference while solving scenarios, a paper pad for taking notes), and what
additional materials you may wish to post online for your learners’ later review. During synchronous
classes, be explicit about what you are showing on the screen (perhaps using a virtual laser pointer), what
additional document you are referring to, and what additional resources exist (and where those can be
found). Slow down often, and use pauses strategically to bring focus to the essential bits. To keep classes
interesting and your learners actively engaged, remain playful – such as by inviting the learners to
complete partial sentences or formulas right on your slides, or by including a matching activity or puzzle
(as an informal assessment) that the learners can complete by annotating your slide.
Minimize distractions. When everyone is connecting with video from home, little surprises like an
unannounced visit from a family pet are pretty much to be expected. In a way, such moments help us
normalize the experience of a focused, collective pursuit – learning – while remaining present to our
individual humanity. That said, co-constructed guiding principles such as ‘no side conversations’ and ‘no
phones’ can go a long way in helping everyone stay focused and engaged in the task at hand. Do not be
shy to revisit these playfully when your gut prompts you to do so. Help your learners stay engaged by
using a full range of activities, as well as ways for the class to interact (all together and in smaller groups).
Stay present to the learners’ experience. How are your learners making sense of the course experience?
What emotions is the virtual class evoking for them? Are they keen, energized, focused? Is anyone starting
to feel lost, confused, or overwhelmed? Keep a close watch on the learners’ faces, body language, and
their input into the class. Quick, structured breakout activities (with a couple of prompt questions for
discussion, or a small case to which to apply learning) will allow the learners to check in with one another,
see how they are doing relative to one another, and formulate questions to ask you. Pop into each of the
virtual breakout rooms to see how the activities are going, and what support the small groups might need.
Strategic pauses, combined with encouraging the class to ask questions, may also help you stay on top of
group dynamics, see where you may need to spend more time, and refine your approach for the benefit
of the whole class. Ensuring that everyone continues to feel included and looked after is as important to
learning as is delivering a purposeful, well structured, valuable class.
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Structure Learning to Drive Performance
Structure determines performance. This is as true in the virtual classroom as it is in our daily lives. Driven
by your course’s purpose and clear on the learners’ intended performance on the job, how do you
structure the learning experience? How much time will you allocate for different activities (to facilitate
sharing, clarifying, exchanging experiences, hypothesizing, estimating, deciding, solving cases, responding
to quizzes), and what grouping will best support each of these (each learner on their own, pairs, small
groups, the whole class)? If you want your learners to actively engage in the virtual class, how much – or,
how little – airtime will you take for yourself? Being deliberate about structuring learner groups,
interactions, and time allocations – while remaining present to the class dynamics so you can flexibly
enable it to do its best work – can significantly affects both learning and performance on the job.
Make it safe. To take advantage of the structures you thoughtfully built into the course, your learners
need to know that it is OK to wonder, hypothesize, experiment, discover, and grow through successes as
well as failures. How will you help all learners present their thoughts without the fear of judgment, and
how will you support groups of learners in doing their best thinking? To engage learners safely, take
advantage of anonymous polling or voting built into your virtual learning platform. You can also run an
advanced anonymous poll, survey or game on a separate platform (which is also a way to ensure that
learners use their cell phones for learning, rather than as a distraction). You can encourage the open
sharing of opinions in a chat by setting your virtual learning platform to remove the names of contributors
when saving chat transcripts. How else will you help the group experiment and explore ideas, while
embracing mistakes as a crucial aspect of learning? Would co-creating a set of guiding principles with your
class help normalize acting respectfully, speaking freely, and contributing (to class conversations but also
to the design of the course, assignments, and assessments) creatively?
Essentialize. Chances are, you are well versed in your subject matter, and there is a lot you can share in
your course that would benefit the learners. That said, being intentional and selective can help you make
the learning experience focused and powerful. Think of your task not as to ‘fit it all in,’ but to decide what
contents are truly essential in the pursuit of your course’s purpose and intended learning outcomes. Then
build the virtual learning experience around those essentials. Everything that you and your learners spend
time on during your class interactions – theories, examples, applications, exercises, case discussions, tests
– should reinforce these. Leave out fine details and personal experiences initially, and wait until the end
of your virtual class to see if it adds value to include some of these selectively, or to post them online as
optional resources.
Be deliberate and choiceful. A three-day in-person course may not be as powerful if delivered in the same
format online. Consider carefully each learning outcome, each activity, and the format of each resource –
how are these going to benefit the learners the most in the virtual environment? If you were creating
your virtual course from scratch, how would you want it to unfold? Are there readings or videos that
everyone should review (preferably at their own pace, perhaps multiple times) before coming together?
What about reflecting on experience and formulating questions to discuss with peers? Once you have
connected with your learners on a personal level in the virtual classroom, is there a case scenario you can
jump right into that will quickly illuminate the scope of what is to be learned? How might a short breakout
discussion guided by a set of pointed questions help the group get creative? At which points will stretch
breaks (during which everyone can process new learning on their own, and re-fuel for more with water
and fresh air) be of the most value, and how long should they be? You have choices to make here.
Enable everyone to succeed. Once you have determined what success (the intended outcome, or end
result) and the flow of learning (your learners’ experience, as it unfolds) in your virtual course look like,
consider how you (with a co-teacher or assistant, if you have one) can best help your learners be
successful. Would a global overview of the course – with its clearly articulated purpose, applied examples,
and situated in the context of the organization – enable your learners to grasp the ‘why,’ and come
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curious and energized to discover what is possible in the virtual environment? Would quick individual
check-ins with your learners ahead of the class help reassure them of your commitment to their success?
Would a brief note to each learner following each class help them feel valued and appreciated? Might
virtual office hours provide a safe space to follow up with questions that learners did not get a chance to
formulate or put forward in class? Your learners can help you figure out what supports would be most
valuable. Ask them.
Reach out for help. What supports are available to help orient learners to the virtual learning platform
you are using? Does everyone know how to get started with video and sound, raise their hand to ask (or
answer) a question, or use a virtual whiteboard? And how about you – are you comfortable handling
questions and offering support as you go along, or should you get help (from a fellow teacher, a paid
assistant, or a couple of advanced learners who may be eager to step up to the role)? Who can you
consult with about managing virtual breakout rooms, running an online slide show, or using a whiteboard
for creative brainstorming or problem solving? Be adventurous with formats and tools, practice and
rehearse (paying attention to timing), but know your limits and reach out for support.
Build a pyramid. Let your learners in on what the essential outcomes of each class are, and then organize
the logic and flow of classes around those essentials. Being clear on how learning is designed to progress
from the basics towards more advanced knowledge, skills or affect, or from simple towards more complex
applications, will give your learners a framework that will help focus their learning. Visualize your class as
a pyramid with the overarching outcome at the top. Then break that top-level outcome into three or four
essential outcomes, each representing a part of the pyramid. Start the class by introducing the top-level,
overarching outcome, and then take the learners on a tour of the parts of the pyramid one level down
from the top, one by one. Always relate learning back to the overarching outcome at the top, before
moving on to examine the next part of the pyramid. Some parts of the pyramid may comprise smaller
parts at the next level down. The key idea is that for any contents or activity to be meaningfully included
in your class, it is to be linked to one of the essential objectives, and you should relate it to that objective
before moving on to other contents. Structuring the flow of classes this way can help learners make sense
of, and organize, even highly complex contents. To help reinforce, and assess the learners’ understanding
of, the ideas and the links between them, you can also invite the class to represent the contents in a
concept map.
Experiment and revisit. Chances are, the learners’ experience of your lesson will differ from the way you
had envisioned and planned it. Tap into the learners’ varied experiences and ask for feedback. Do not
accept “Great” or “I don’t know.” Prompt for specificity, and provide ample time to answer pointed
questions such as, “What did you find most powerful?,” “What left you wondering?,” and “What one
enhancement will make the greatest difference?” (Again, anonymous polling and surveying applications
may help supplement the features of your virtual learning platform here.) Tell your learners openly that
you are trying some things for the first time, and you are asking for their feedback to help you improve.
Having established a more personal connection with your learners at the start of the course, and sharing
an example or two of how you reflected past feedback in your teaching, will go a long way towards
helping your learners trust your intentions – and becoming comfortable with helping you out. Keep in
mind that teaching – virtually or not – is not about being perfect (or blindly compliant, or pleasing your
learners). It is about connection, effectiveness, and impact. If you make one small change towards a more
powerful learning experience each time you teach, pretty soon you and your learners will find yourselves
enjoying the exchange with one another, rather than worrying much about how exactly things are done.
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Are the Results What You Had Intended?
Establish the intended results with the class. You or your organization may have built your course around
a set of intended learning outcomes aligned with the company’s vision or goals, written from the
organization’s perspective. Understanding the learners’ perspective and expectations – through a short
survey or informal assessment – can help you convey the purpose of the course to the learners in a way
that boosts curiosity, and creates enthusiasm about achieving results that learners value as meaningful.
You can then tailor the course to the learners with examples that resonate, and with activities and
assessments at the appropriate level. Regularly revisiting the course’s intended outcomes and learner
expectations will help the class focus on the course’s essential contents and progress.
Encourage reflection. Prompting learners to reflect frequently on their learning and performance helps
reinforce the developmental nature of learning, encouraging learners in their efforts and strengthening
their self-esteem. A combination of learner reflection and teacher (or peer) feedback on performance
helps calibrate the accuracy with which individual learners view (and appreciate) their progress in relation
to stated standards, as well as in relation to the performance of their peers.
Offer generous feedback. We develop new knowledge, skills and attitudes gradually, over multiple
experiences. This applies to formal learning as much as it does to the process of improving our
communication skills, or getting better at surfing. The two keys to progress are: clear and genuinely
embraced goals, and meaningful developmental feedback. So, once you have helped your class
understand the standard to which they are to demonstrate new learning (through an observable
behaviour such as calculating, assembling, or explaining), your focus should turn to giving ample feedback.
This involves being fully present and attentive to your learners’ attempts to apply new learning (analyze a
new protocol, calibrate a measuring tool, refine an appreciation of a particular style of music) in practice
situations where it is safe to make mistakes. Specific and timely feedback that validates a learner’s effort
and helps focus his or her further learning can be invaluable. Having established a caring rapport with
your class – so the learners know that you have their learning and success at heart – will make giving
feedback easier. Where appropriate, peer feedback may be as valuable as teacher feedback, as long as
the target behaviour is well understood by all.
Use formative assessments to support learning. A targeted question, short quiz, and simulated practice
session are all examples of formative assessments – non-marked activities through which learners can
demonstrate (to you as well as to themselves) how they are progressing in their learning, and what they
can and cannot do at a point in time. Including such formative assessments (and associated feedback) in
your virtual classes frequently will help establish such tools as valuable learning supports. Formative
assessments can also help you make sure that your learners have fully mastered the foundations of a
topic, before you challenge them on a higher level. Advanced polling or survey tools can help give a quick
sense of the proportion of the class that has yet to master a concept, or illuminate an incorrect answer
that continues to confuse some learners.
Focus on collective results. Inviting a dialogue on how your learners envision their work performance
being better (safer, easier, more valuable) as a result of their actively engaging with the course can help
the whole group focus on advancing their collective pursuits in the organization. Return to this point at
opportune times, perhaps in combination with progressively applied group tasks or informal assessments
(knowledge checks, applied examples, scenario practice). Doing so will help keep the group’s learning
fresh, relevant, and meaningfully connected – enabling new ways to help advance the organization’s
efforts, as a collective.
Record the class. Recording virtual classes may take everyone some getting used to. The value for the
learners is in being able to go back and review classes (and catch up on those they missed). The recordings
will also help you refine your teaching and gain confidence through new insights – how the learners are
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seeing and hearing you, what their faces convey about their engagement and learning, what the flow of
each class is like, and where transitions between activities could be smoother. Be clear with your learners
on whether or not you will be recording your classes – if the answer is yes, a PostIt note on your screen
will help remind you to hit the ‘record’ button at the appropriate time. As you view the recording, take
notes on what stands out for you, and decide what you will try differently next time around. Consider
saving the contents of the chat and Q&A windows as well, so that you may review your learners’ input,
respond as needed, and make the transcripts available online for reference by everyone. If your virtual
learning platform supports it, consider providing a space where post-class discussion can continue and
where your learners can post their subsequent insights, discoveries, questions, or applied projects.
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Go Play!
Playful is the new name of the game. All the ideas about teaching that you read, hear, or think up, are
just that: ideas. It is up to you to decide which of them you will pay attention to and, more importantly,
which you choose to act on. As you experiment with new ideas in your teaching, pay attention to the
energy and emotions they create in you. Trying on any idea, however playfully, will take effort – yet those
select ideas that bring you the most joy, while inspiring your learners and helping them develop, are
probably the ones to keep doing more of, and experimenting with. Enjoy becoming a more playful you.
Set a new intention. Our initial experiences teaching in a new format can bring new emotions. Whether it
is excitement, cautious optimism, disappointment, or exhaustion, we all experience these at times. Be
kind to yourself. Also, take the time to reflect – or debrief with a trusted colleague – after each class. You
likely used a lesson plan outlining the intended activities, resources, and timing – now is the time to
review it and decide on any changes for next time. Where were you in your element, and where did you
feel lost? When were your learners most engaged, and what was of the greatest value to them? What are
they finding most challenging? Where would a different activity or group structure, clearer instructions, or
more time, be useful? What tweaks to your planning, preparation, or delivery would make the biggest
difference both to you and to your learners? What will you try next?
Keep an open mind. There are so many ways to go about teaching online! You may set some aspects of
your course as synchronous online (where the class comes together for a virtual conversation or to solve
problems in real time), synchronous offline (where learners are working on the same activity at the same
time but independently of each other, before sharing aspects of their work with peers or with you),
asynchronous (with each learner completing activities on their own time, at their pace), self-directed (that
give learners more control over what activities they complete and when), individualized (where learners
may work on different levels of challenges in small groups or individually), dyads/triads (where learners
work through challenges collaboratively as a small group), one-on-one (where you provide personalized
support to each learner). Be open minded. Often, the best way to find out whether a different approach
to teaching online, or a different structure, might produce better results, is to try. Trust your intuition.
Step up your game. As you keep playing, seek opportunities to take your teaching to new heights. As you
reflect on your classes, review learners’ feedback, and watch class recordings, what is coming up for you?
Where are you the most effective? What feels unsettling or hiccupy? What else is possible? What
structures, activities, challenges or examples have you thought of, but not yet tried – and what is stopping
you? What are your most effective peers doing – and how can you learn more from one another, perhaps
even come up with new ideas together? As you become more comfortable with teaching online, consider
giving this guide a fresh read to see what further possibilities you may discover for your teaching.
Define your next big move. Congratulations – you have planned, prepared, implemented, and reflected
on your (maybe first ever) virtual course! There is a good chance that you have discovered something new
– about virtual learning, supporting learners’ development, and yourself. You likely have fresh ideas, and
you may be curious about what else is possible – you bet there are a ton more approaches to explore, try,
and refine! The question is, how will you challenge yourself to continue to grow? With clarity of purpose
and a daily practice of reflection and setting new developmental intentions (stretch goals), teaching will
continue to bring you satisfaction – and even more new ideas – as you serve your learners and your
organization powerfully. What is going to be your next big move?
Share your ideas! If reading this little guide helped spark or renew your enthusiasm about teaching
playfully, and you are getting excited about putting some of the ideas into practice, share them with other
teachers in your circles – whether they are teaching virtually or not. Why not pay it forward by telling
them about Playful and inspiring them to try some new ideas in their teaching? You may enjoy having
each other to bounce ideas off!
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Stay in Touch
Reach out for a chat. Would you like to connect and discuss a particular teaching challenge you are facing
– and your fresh, playful ideas? Reach out using one of the means below for a (virtual) conversation over
tea or coffee to brainstorm some possibilities. We may come up with an idea to work together on that
helps make your virtual (or in-person) teaching more powerful and more deeply satisfying.
Help your organization rethink learning and development. If your company is seeking a systematic
approach to developing and supporting its people that is truly aligned with the organization’s purpose,
structured for performance, effective, impactful, and the right investment, please ask a member of the
executive team to reach out for a complimentary consultation or visit.
All the best – and stay playful!
Michal Fedeles, PhD
Chat: www.leader.studio/contact
Email: michal@leader.studio
Website: www.leader.studio
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Some Technical Considerations
Space. Use a quiet location with minimal interruptions. A desk or table is often best for classes.
Background. Aim for something neutral and not overly busy (wall, bookcase, closed closet, fireplace).
Virtual background. Use a neutral and not overly busy image (against a neutral wall). Not all combinations
of colours (of the virtual background, the wall behind you, and what you are wearing) will work well. Test
in advance.
Light. Face a window for soft natural light (not direct sunlight), or place a couple of soft light sources (desk
lamps) in front of you, a bit to the sides. Test for eyeglass glare that others may find distracting. Try
turning the light sources towards the ceiling or the wall in front of you and let the light ‘bounce’.
Wear what you would to the office or school.
Computer/tablet. Keep it connected to a power source and a strong Internet connection. If your
connection is slower, ask other users not to use streaming on their devices during your classes.
Software/app. Install the latest version of your virtual learning platform (BlueJeans, Collaborate, Skype,
Teams, WebEx, Zoom) and test it. Installed apps often come with additional features, and they tend to
work better than browser-based versions.
Webcam. Place it at eye level. Look straight into the camera (not the screen) when talking. Keep your
video turned on (except when you need to step away). Sit a full arm’s length from the webcam, so others
can see your upper body (not just your head) – this helps people interpret body language.
Sound. Use earphones/buds with a microphone for best sound. Keep your microphone on mute when not
speaking.
Your workflow. Before each class, decide what resources (lesson plan, activity sheets, notes, slide deck,
notepad and pen) you will want to have in front of you. You may find it handy to have your notes up on a
separate device. If you use paper materials, be mindful of the noise that shuffling paper can make.
Phone. Keep your phone off, and avoid reaching for it during classes. This helps keep everyone focused on
learning.
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