A 5-Step Process for Preparing for Fall Teaching
By: Carrie Diaz Eaton, Associate Professor of Digital and Computational Studies, Bates College, @mathprofcarrie
When I talk to colleagues about preparing for fall*, it all feels more overwhelming than in the past. So I took a step back and thought: how could I break this daunting task down into just a few steps? I hope the ideas here will sketch a possible path and a place to start for those that are overwhelmed (myself included). The bullet points provide considerations for you to make along the way.
Step 0: Reflect on the situation and yourself
I know it is cheating to index at 0 (computing joke!), but this step is more like “do this step alongside all the others.”
Do this work in community with others.
Don’t reinvent the wheel where possible.
Learn some new things.
Be flexible.
Keep it as simple as possible.
Think about how your choices reflect your philosophy as an educator.
Most importantly, don’t forget to give time to yourself, your family, and the things you love - especially if you are not on contract and/or have caregiver responsibilities.
For example - I will spend some time learning about social justice and teaching, but I will put aside earlier, pre-pandemic, ambitions to learn Python.
Step 1: Revisit learning goals and objectives
I put revisiting learning goals and objectives as step one to channel some backward design principles! COVID-19 has created new academic calendars, but this isn’t the only reason you might be reassessing priorities - perhaps you are thinking about an experience from a previous iteration, reflecting on conversations with new good ideas, implementing new department initiatives, or putting into practice other ways you are growing as an educator.
Create and/or revisit course learning goals - ask how they reflect your philosophy as an educator.
Consider adding caring for students in trauma to your list of goals and/or create an educational experience for recovery (though I personally recommend sensitivity to implementing COVID related exercises where students may be personally impacted).
Reprioritize course learning goals.
For example, I just looked at my learning outcomes again and rephrased them to say “During this course, together we will” instead of “By the end of this course students will.”
Step 2: Reassess your assessment
Now that you’ve thought about course learning outcomes - how are you assessing them? Mastery grading is one evidence-based approach, but not the only option.
Does this assessment respect the integrity of the learner (and avoid putting you in the middle of punitive honor code hearings)? Does it make them want to invest time in your class? See this James Lang interview for an overview and this Jeffrey Moro blog for a perspective.
Does your assessment employ universal design principles - offering multiple options and/or options make it unnecessary for students to use their accommodations? For example, does having additional time accommodated mean they have to visibly leave the classroom?
Are you providing formative feedback?
Is your assessment at a scale (relative to class size) so that you can give meaningful and rapid feedback?
Are you scaffolding large summative assessments?
Does your cumulative summative assessment enable you to see their full learning with respect to your prioritized learning outcomes?
For example, this year I am going to have a much more structured self-assessment component, inspired by a colleague at Bates, Dr. Konoeda, who teaches Japanese. In the past, I’ve asked for a self-reflection essay, but this semester, I’ll ask students to fill out a template that they add to every couple of weeks. The template makes it clearer, and maintaining the same learning reflection document throughout the semester adds an element of metacognition to what they are learning.
Step 3: Ask questions about the content and pedagogy
Since we are reflecting broadly on our courses, now is the perfect time to bring social justice and equity lens into your course. Center the learner on the margins of a traditional education, and ask if this content frees them to bring their whole selves into the classroom. I highly recommend the following article on social justice in open education and Rochelle Guitierrez’s article on Rehumanizing Mathematics.
Are concepts presented using multiple modalities? Time for me to pitch Rule-of-Five!
Is your course already designed for accommodations, for example, screen reader accessibility?
Are you using redistributive justice, in which the content is financially accessible, e.g. do you use open educational resources, software, and other tools?
Are you using recognitive justice, in which diverse socio-cultural knowledge is part of the experience? This includes validating and incorporating student knowledge.
Are you using representational justice in which marginalized people are narrating their own experiences?
Related to the above, who are you showing is the “face” of mathematics through the set of author works and histories you are showing?
For example, our department has made a commitment this fall to a no hidden costs classroom. All texts will be available free online and use software freely available through the college. In addition, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and Asian American voices will be a regular part of my course via guest lectures, podcasts, articles, and books.
Step 4: Rebalance traditional and digital tools
New content and modalities may mean reassessing the way you help learners interact with the content.
Make a list of what you need to engage students in a meaningful classroom process that gets them to where they should be by the end of the semester.
Prioritize this list.
Which can be moved asynchronously where possible (skip this step if you are teaching 100% asynchronously)?
Which asynchronous and synchronous digital tool(s) and pedagogies can be employed to support students to meet course outcomes and objectives (i.e. think about the rhetorical choices of digital tools and pedagogies)? Which tools are appropriate for the resources and access of your students?
Here’s the hard part… Go through and trim the fat, the frill, and the fancy of digital tools in favor of streamlining expectations for all.
Choose a minimal number of digital tools to support your class.
Balance the rhetorical choice of each tool with the need to minimize the overall number of tools new to students. (PS. This is hard!)
Get to know your school’s friendly instructional technologist!
Share practices around the tools you choose with other instructors.
When possible, I recommend choosing digital tools supported by your college IT for a few reasons :
As a parent of a middle school student during emergency COVID-19 teaching and multiple subjects, each teacher had different tools, different ways of communication, and different ways of posting assignments and grades. We spent weeks just trying to sort through it all and getting some sort of routine. I don’t want to create that issue for my students, so hopefully using common tools with common practices across the college where possible will help.
Tech issues are bound to arise and using a college supported tool may help you divert crises to IT instead of always directly with you. Depending on how many students you have, this support could be invaluable.
Be kind to yourself. There is a lot to keep track of already, so be mindful of adopting too many new things for you as well (remember Step 0).
For example, this semester, I’ve prioritized synchronous time for: 1) community-building activities, 2) setting class norms together, 3) guest lectures with interactive Q&A, and 4) having students report on their project benchmarks and talk through challenges together. I will use Zoom (which my college supports) to manage in class time and Google Docs/Drive (my college supports Google accounts) for recording collaborative ideas. As an aside, Google Slides has an easy auto-closed captioning option that works pretty well. Asynchronous activities will be 1) learning reflections, 2) readings, and 3) project group time, can all be managed on the course’s learning management system (LMS) with Google Docs and Perusall (though I may reject the automated grading feature). I’ll have to introduce other tech as part of the content of the course, so keeping the rest as simple as possible is important.
Step 5: Create a communication plan for care and consistency
Students at my college overwhelmingly appreciated good communication as information shifted online. But I know even I was experimenting with a few communication modalities, which I’m sure had some students confused.
Take care to foster a community of learners (including you!) that will support each other through the semester from the beginning of the semester.
Set up and model communication norms and routines early.
Make clear how students can get the support they need when they need it, and in ways that also help you effectively manage communication.
Include communication plans in the syllabus, your course’s learning management system, and any other communication platform you use for communication.
Consider a “look at the week ahead” email/communication on Sunday night or Monday morning - I really liked when my son’s teachers did this!
For remote asynchronous courses, best practice suggests setting up the whole course online before the beginning of the semester. I would suggest at least a few weeks minimally if you can - 2020 has been unpredictable and giving students everything upfront will help everyone be more prepared should unforeseen events arise.
Related to the above point, consider whether, if necessary, you could pass the course to someone else and minimize the disruption to your students (which of course doesn’t mean make the teacher role irrelevant).
Remember, streamlined and consistent communication are good for everyone!
For example, I adopted and modified a visual communication key for students (and I welcome you to adopt and modify as needed). A big thanks to the BioQUEST team who used these as part of their virtual conference communication plan!
Finally, again, go don’t forget to sprinkle in Step 0 everywhere. Support each other*, care for yourself, remember why you love teaching, and just go for it. We can do this!
*A note: During the writing of this article I found out that many of my former colleagues have been laid off and furloughed and will not be teaching this fall. I write this article with humility and privilege to be given the opportunity to teach remotely in the fall with only some salary/benefits reduction and ask for mindfulness about the inequities within our broader professional community.