While it is important to test your students' knowledge in a course, it is even more important to do formative, or low stakes, assessments. Formative assessments assist you in gauging student comprehension and identifying those areas that need re-teaching. And they don't have to be complicated or time-consuming for you as the instructor, or for your students! This week's TeachTalk webinar was presented by Mark Fogelson and Katrina Fogelson , Instructional Designers from Arizona State University's College of Health Solutions. In addition to discussing best practices for incorporating formative assessments into courses, Mark and Katrina shared a helpful guide that rated the effort needed by the instructor and the potential reward for the students for each type of formative assessment. Specifically they provided ratings that considered: creation time, ease of delivery, turnaround time, level of engagement, and utility. Mark and Katrina also showcased a too...

Online textbooks and simulations have become commonplace in online courses. However, there is an increased need to review online content from an "inclusive lens". More research has helped instructors understand the value of embedding case studies and role models into their traditional courses that depict different genders and diverse ethnicities. Too often, computer-generated simulations use stereotypes and implicit bias to create narratives and visuals, and professionals that design the simulations are rarely educated in inclusion and diversity issues. However, students using virtual-reality headsets found themselves completely immersed in the storyline, and often empathetic to the avatars. Under-represented communities need to be able to see themselves as scientists, researchers, leaders in science, and our simulations needed to reflect the diversity of our school. At the School of Life Sciences, we created a team that would review all new simulation content with...

ASU’s fully online B.S. in Biological Sciences: What it is and how it is inclusive? ASU is known for its mission to be inclusive; as ASU’s charter states “ASU is measured not by whom it excludes, but whom it includes, and how they succeed.” To further this mission, ASU launched the first fully online Bachelor of Science degree program in Biological Sciences in Fall 2017- one of the first online Biology degree programs in the nation. Similar to ASU’s in-person biology degree, students complete a general biology curriculum, except that coursework is completed solely online, including biology lab instruction which is offered through Labster's virtual reality platform. ASU’s online biology degree program is gaining national attention because it is accessible to students who may face difficulty in accessing an in-person program; it provides students with the flexibility and the convenience to complete their coursework anytime and anywhere. This program is setting the groundw...

Our webinar today was facilitated by Joshua Caulkins from the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University. The agenda included: Defining metacognition;   Identifying components of the process for metacognition;   Exploring strategies that promote metacognition Josh showed participants the Cycle of Self-Directed Learning, and had them discuss how they learned to learn. He shared multiple activities from "Promoting student metacognition" by Kimberly Tanner, PhD, that would help students learn to think about their learning. He also showed examples of how to do an "exam wrapper", that could start with a Pre-survey asking students to assess their studying and preparation for the exam. Then afterwards, a Post-survey would ask them if they received the grade they expected, and ask how they might to change the way they study for the next exam. For more information, browse the resources below: Slide Deck   Recording link Key Articles: (...

Are you finding that you're repeatedly asking your students to attend office hours, but still see low attendance? You are not alone. Office hours are often conducted in-person, on a scheduled day and time that the instructor is available. Typically these hours are posted online and in the syllabus. Yet, most students do not attend. Below are some options to try, that may encourage more students to attend your office hours! Have you tried virtual office hours?  This option does not have to be for online courses only. To do this you can use Zoom, and link it to your Canvas course. Instructors who have tried virtual office hours have been impressed with more students attending. This could simply be because students were unable to make it to campus on the scheduled day/time for office hours, but instead could join virtually. Here are some instructions to get you started (requires ASURITE log-in). Share a funny video with students about office hours. Another option to con...