Do you feel disconnected in online spaces? Do you feel like it is difficult to connect with your students online and create community? This week we learned from Courtney Plotts, Ph.D. who shared small changes you can make to your online course that can make a big difference for you and your students.  The presentation featured discussion around the standards from the Council for At -Risk Student Education and Professional Standards (CASEPS) . Dr. Plotts shared  three strategies to increase a sense of community in the online space: Identify what your students are missing most and support them Define and share the online community culture and values Create a common experience Missing Community We began by defining the online space, and understanding the community, especially how both faculty and students can feel isolated. One example of how you can connect, is by asking your students what they miss most or if they are feeling disconnected in the online space. This can be made ...

As we arrive at the middle of the Fall semester, the Teaching Innovation Center team wants to share the upcoming events that have been planned for you. This semester we have partnered with the RISE Center to learn more about inclusiveness and how we can improve. We also recognize in this COVID era, the need to shift from what we have always done to making adjustments to our course design. This means rethinking assessments! Below is an overview of the upcoming events, and we hope to see you there!  Language Matters: Considering Racial Microaggressions in Science Thursday, October 8th 11:30am-12:30pm PST Zoom:  https://asu.zoom.us/j/97235381892    Facilitated by Colin Harrison ,Georgia Tech and Kimberly Tanner , San Francisco State University Join us for an interactive session where we will explore ways in which racial microaggressions manifest themselves in science. We will discuss what microaggressions are and how they affect underrepresented individuals in an acade...

What  makes a good question? How do you write effective answer distractors? Is feedback really used on exams? What tools can be used  to engage students with questions and answers? These questions and more were addressed in this week's Teach Talk Webinar, presented by Katrina Fogelson and Sarah Prosory .  What Makes a Good Question? We need better questions to go beyond simply assessing a student's understanding. As instructors, we should be checking a student's ability to apply the material in a meaningful way.  Starting with Bloom's Hopefully you’ve learned about objectives by now, but in brief: learning objectives help answer the question, "what do I want students to be able to do upon completion of this lesson/topic/module?" Learning objectives are one of the foundational pieces to designing and developing a learning experience. Everything in the course should tie back to them, especially assessments. So, why do we need to think about objectives when we a...

As the semester is upon us, being prepared to teach on Zoom is essential. The synchronous time you spend in Zoom with your students should be reconsidered to provide the best learning experience possible. We encourage you to do so! This week we hosted our first Teach Talk webinar for the Fall 2020 semester, presented by School of Life Sciences Instructional Designers, Lenora Ott and Sarah Prosory .  We discussed the process of teaching using Zoom, by focusing more specifically on using Google Slides and its features, live captioning, as well as creating activities for students to do during the synchronous session within breakout rooms in Zoom. The key take-away is to plan for what the students need to do before , during , and after the synchronous sessions, and that will guide you in the preparation for your class meetings too.  The Process Before Class: Share on Canvas any links that students will need for the sync session. Pre-assign breakout rooms if needed, otherwise ro...

Despite the best efforts of the instructor or designer of a course, instructional efforts can often fall flat due to poor planning and implementation. Courses are often designed around learning materials rather than around what skills or knowledge students should have at the end of the course. This can potentially lead to disengagement from students, content bloat, burdened student cognitive loads, and ineffectual or sub-premium learning experiences. Backward Design, formalized and outlined by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe , aims to alleviate this issue through planning and consideration designed around student learning outcomes. In this TeachT@lk, Jeremy Hopper and Haily Tyler discuss the benefits of the Backward Design framework. Where to Begin? As the name would suggest, backward design starts at the end and works backward. In this case, the end is the learning objectives or learning goals. In other words, what the students should know or be able to do by the end of the course. ...

Videos in the online space are now more important than ever. With the move to teaching remotely, many instructors have started wondering how to implement videos in their course or revisit the ones they have created that are already there. In this TeachT@lk, Kena Ray and Sam Miquirray from The College Dean’s Office touch on using videos to maximize lecturing and learning. Why do we use videos? What makes them effective and, once we have them, how do we reach our student audience? Why we use them Videos create connection and, as social creatures, humans look for those connections. Students feel more connected to their instructor(s) when they know a real human is behind the screen looking at the work that they are submitting. They can pick up on social cues through videos and interaction and, in turn, are able to meet and enhance the learning outcomes of a course. How we make them effective When instructor-made videos are aligned with learning objectives, students learn exact...

Do you know what sources your students are using to get their information? Do you feel you're on the same page with students about factual information, whether for current world issues or simply the information shared in class?  Can you determine what is real or what is fake? Will your students be able to? This week's webinar focused on building digital media skills with your students.  Presented by Kristy Roschke , Ph.D, Managing Director of the news Co/Lab at the Cronkite School, and hosted by Joshua Caulkins , Assistant Director of Undergraduate Programs in the School of Life Sciences, this presentation is timely to our current situation, with misinformation being shared every second.  Digital Media Landscape & Media Literacy At the start of her presentation, Roschke explained that with an increase in consumers of news and the opportunity to create media, we are headed further down the path for misinformation. Yet, when everything looks the same we relax into ...

Feedback takes many forms.  This week's Teach Talk webinar focused on the gathering of feedback from your students as well as colleagues, to enhance the overall learning experience.  Sarah Prosory , Instructional Designer in the School of Life Sciences, shared  different techniques that can be used to gather feedback, and why you should ask a colleague for feedback about your course.  Enhance Learning There are many reasons to gather feedback from students, with a few being: checking for their understanding of a topic, generating ideas, and discovering concerns or issues so you can find a solution. Student engagement occurs as well, when students are asked about their learning.  Adult learners especially like to feel they are a part of their learning. By asking them about teaching or classroom activities, students will feel more included in how the course continues. This leads to better engagement, and can create a feedback loop in which students can comfort...