How accessible is online education? Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, students across the globe have had to adjust to a new normal as colleges and universities rapidly transitioned from in-person instruction to online and hybrid instruction. Though many applauded the newly found flexibility of online instruction, many undergraduate students found new challenges, specifically those students with disabilities. In a recent study published in the journal CBE Life Sciences Education, researchers interviewed science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) undergraduate students with disabilities (SWDs) from large-enrollment universities about the effects of the transition to emergency remote instruction. The experiences of students with disabilities in STEM courses Disability is often overlooked in education and in STEM education in particular, even though there are legal mandates for these students to be supported. Students with disabilities makeup about 5% of STEM undergraduate programs and...

Learning is a journey. As we head into an unknown future for education, we cannot forget to include everyone along the way. Luckily, there are research-backed teaching methods we can turn to, for reminders on how to support our students as they continue on their learning pathways. One way is to differentiate your teaching practices, and consider using adaptive systems to further enhance learning adventures for students.  Last week we hosted our first virtual lunch and learn. Despite the new environment, we kept to our format of having a faculty colleague give a lightning talk about their teaching experiences, followed by a small group discussion about the topic, which also included an activity to practice what we had shared.  Differentiated Instruction Is Not What You Think We began the hour with Amy Pate , Assistant Director of Faculty Support for the School of Life Sciences, who set the stage for the topic of differentiated and adaptive learning. She explained that fo...

Our current synchronous classroom space is Zoom, and this creates new opportunities for engagement with students. Additionally when you have a large amount of students per class, it is often recommended to break them into small groups for discussions, sharing ideas, or working on an activity together. One way we've managed this in our new classroom environment is through the use of Breakout Rooms in Zoom. We may be discouraged from group gatherings, but virtually it is encouraged! What is a Breakout Room? As the host of the Zoom meeting, you can enable a feature that allows for smaller meetings to be conducted that are connected but separate from the main meeting. The best part is that while the rooms are separate, with their own chat space, shared screens, and recording options, the host and co-hosts can move between rooms and the host can be called to join a room via the Ask for Help button.  Check out these Zoom Guides about Breakout Rooms: Getting Started with Breakou...

As we move to remote instruction for in-person classes, there have been a lot of resources shared for what to do, how best to do it, and ways to make things easier for all during this transition. We've pulled the most frequently accessed resources below, as well as ones that you may not have seen yet. Hopefully this will help you feel better prepared for the upcoming weeks. School of Life Sciences faculty and teaching assistants: please feel free to reach out to us by email or Slack in The College workspace, channel #sols-teaching-support . Faculty and Student Remote Websites The main website to visit for all things remote instruction is hosted by the Provost , and is a collaboration from the University Technology Office (UTO) and instructional designers and professionals from around campus. Be sure to visit it often, as it gets updated to reflect the best information to support you teaching remotely. Also, there is a website you can share with students that will help them with...