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...

Do you ever wish you had more time to change your teaching? Do you plan to make changes each semester but eventually fall back into the same routine? What if you could make small changes now, and have a big effect on students' learning? This semester we are hosting our 2nd reading group for faculty and teaching assistants! We've chosen to read, Small Teaching , by James M. Lang. The reading group's first meeting will be held on Monday September 9th, from Noon - 1pm in LSE 232. If you're interested in joining us and would like a copy of the book, it's not too late, so please RSVP here . In preparation for this dive into Lang's topic of small teaching, check out these resources: Get started on reading the book by accessing the e-book from the ASU Library . The Chronicle of Higher Education gathered a series of articles by the author of the book. Topics include ideas on making small changes to teaching, such as the first or last 5 minutes of class, and hel...