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...

In these challenging times, students are experiencing additional stressors exacerbating their anxiety and depression. As instructors who want students to succeed, how can we support our students with anxiety and depression in order to foster belonging and maximize learning? In this week's Resilient Teaching webinar, we talked with SOLS assistant professor Katey Cooper, Ph.D , who shared her research examining what worsens and alleviates anxiety and depression in biology undergraduates. Dr. Cooper discussed two overarching research questions during the presentation that relate to creating inclusive biology learning environments: How does depression and anxiety impact students' affective learning experiences in biology learning environments? What strategies can be implemented to improve the cognitive and affective experiences of students with anxiety and depression in biology learning environments? We began by discussing the percentages of undergraduates who have anxiety and depr...

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. ...

Faculty and students come together in a course with assumptions and judgments that have been formed from our own experiences, as well as how we were taught in the past and how we learned. Often we forget to reflect upon the idea that no one has the same experience as we do, so we assume others are understanding or able to do the same things as we can. Especially in this remote time, we need to pause, ask questions, and seek out feedback in order to make improvements: “Does this work for you?” and “How can I make this work better for everyone?” Through reflection and implementation of changes to your course, you can begin to make your course accessible and inclusive for all. This post summarizes a virtual lunch and learn we hosted on Wednesday, April 29th, 2020. The webinar included two presentations: one from Dr. Sara Brownell , associate professor in the School of Life Sciences , and the other presentation was from Julie Allen , Instructional Designer with ASU Libraries . Future we...