Stealth theory through instructional scaffolding in the covid-19 era and beyond

Abstract

Information systems classes often separate theory and practice such that they present the theory via lectures and practice via demonstration and assignments. These classes present theory to help students connect to prior knowledge (instructional scaffolding) while introducing new material. In the wake of the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, educators may find it difficult to transfer this duality into an online setting with separate theory and demonstration videos. Most students, even the better ones, admit to skipping theory videos and going straight to the demonstration videos. If demonstration videos do not adequately cover theory, then they lack a critical component of instructional scaffolding. In this paper, I describe techniques to interleave theory with practice to produce what one might call stealth theory. The inspiration for these techniques comes from varied sources.