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...