Strategies for Equitable Learning in High-Enrollment Remote and Online Courses

November 13, 2020

As institutions swiftly converted to remote learning in Spring 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the integration of equitable practices for student learning may have been overlooked. In this session, the presenters will share how they used course-level enrollment data, such as student access to technology, and the four dimensions of readiness for online learning to inform and align course design to create equitable student learning outcomes in a high-enrollment (450+ students) online course. The session will feature multiple, practical examples to foster equity and promote access for all learners in high-enrollment online courses at large, public, research-intensive universities.

Visualizing Design: Scaffolding faculty engagement in course (re)design

November 13, 2020

Teaching centers can help faculty engage in thoughtful teaching approaches by providing resources that facilitate ideation and planning around teaching and learning. Faculty often have multiple competing demands on their time; therefore, customizable templates may prove effective in supporting faculty course redesigns, particularly when rapid modifications to course design are needed. This presentation highlights an approach to scaffolding faculty engagement in course (re)design using visual organizers that guide faculty as they articulate learning outcomes, create and align learning activities and assessments, and write instructional plans. Participants will receive information and resources that will help them create templates for their settings.

What’s in a Grade? Supporting Faculty in Grading for Equity

November 13, 2020

Grading has become a prominent topic in our field (specifications grading, ungrading, most recently, pass/fail grading), noting its limits with respect to student motivation, accuracy, rigor, etc. Grades themselves serve as powerful levers for student learning and success. Symbols of academic performance, they often close doors of opportunity for underserved students. Yet educational developers are often wary of discussing grading with faculty, which can elicit defensiveness and angst. Participants will reflect on the challenges and opportunities associated with supporting faculty in grading for equity and generate strategies, guided by Feldman's (2019) pillars of equitable grading: accuracy, bias-resistance, and motivation.

Culturally Responsive Pedagogies: It’s More than Teaching

November 12, 2020

In culturally responsive classrooms, faculty regard students' cultural identity as an asset by making course material relevant to them, their identities and experiences. Culturally responsive pedagogies; however, are about more than teaching. These methods support students to maintain their cultural integrity and succeed academically as they work to understand and critique the existing social order. Geneva Gay's (2011) model of culturally responsive pedagogy informs this presentation. Her model focuses on genuine caring (accountability with support); relevant communication (language as social and cultural constructs), a culturally appropriate curriculum (non-biased, robust and critical), and teaching congruity (aligned procedures and methods for teaching).

Learning Lab Grant Discussion Focusing on Online STEM Courses

November 13, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has elucidated the need to improve the quality of online education, especially considering existing equity gaps. The University of California, Irvine, a large research-intensive institution, and Santa Ana College, a small community college, were awarded the California Learning Lab Grant to create a three-part STEM faculty development program. The aim of this program is to reduce equity gaps in STEM online education by teaching faculty how to create a sense of community and facilitate active learning in online introductory STEM courses. In this roundtable discussion, we will explore program components, best practices, and assessment strategies.

Mining for Information: Reporting and Consulting Techniques for Formative Assessment

November 12, 2020

The use of a mid-semester feedback (also known as a Small Group Instructional Diagnosis) can help faculty obtain a deeper view of their teaching. While a decent amount of research has been conducted on the process as diagnostic tool, little has been shared on how the feedback is presented and used in the consultation. In this roundtable session, participants: 1) are asked to bring samples of mid-semester feedback reports to share; 2) will describe how the reports can be used as a tool for reflection; and 3) will generate ideas about how to organize, present, and use reports during consultations.

Applying Student-Faculty Partnership Lessons in a Negotiated Course Redesign

November 12, 2020

The principles of reciprocity, mutuality, and respect that characterize student-faculty partnerships build civic capacity and increase student agency. Including students in curriculum decisions incorporates these principles of equity and inclusion and deepens learning. This workshop will explore the lessons learned in a student-faculty partnership and examine their application in a sustainability education classroom by inviting students to negotiate the curriculum. Participants will reflect on the challenges and opportunities inherent in enlisting students in course design and consider the student agency that comes from that process.

FacultyConnect: Creating community in the era of Zoom

November 11, 2020

This poster presents a large public, research-intensive university's approach to supporting faculty in the move to remote teaching via a weekly online discussion series on Zoom. The series' goals were to support faculty use of evidence-based practices in remote teaching while providing a space for faculty to create community in a time of social distancing. Each session featured a faculty guest speaker, an article providing evidence-based online teaching practices, and opportunities for faculty to discuss online learning in small groups using Zoom breakout rooms. The poster features multimedia to demonstrate program development and lessons learned.

Difficult Dialogues Online: Effectively Engaging Critical Conversations using Alternate Delivery

November 12, 2020

Engaging students in discussions on critical -- and often controversial - issues is a central role of higher education. Doing so can be challenging enough face to face, let alone online. Now most faculty and students are under considerable stress, working in unfamiliar online teaching and learning environments, and the pandemic has exacerbated and exposed the inequities of our society. Faculty need ways to help students in online contexts discuss critical topics while still maintaining healthy learning environments. In this interactive workshop, participants will focus on strategies to effectively engage students on controversial topics while teaching in online/alternate delivery contexts.

Developing strong faculty-student relationships to support learning and belonging

November 12, 2020

Scholars have documented how relationships with peers, faculty, and staff profoundly influence learning, belonging, and achievement for all students, and particularly for new majority students. Educational development typically focuses on building strong faculty-faculty and faculty-developer relationships, and also supporting active learning pedagogies that encourage constructive student-student interactions. This discussion will concentrate on the important but perhaps under-addressed area of faculty-student relationships, drawing on participant experiences and new research to consider how educational developers can - and should - enable faculty-student relationships that enhance learning and belonging.