"Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars"
Humanized Online Teaching Showcase
Fiona Chin, Art Academic Instructor, Butte College
This site provides examples of instructional resources created in the Humanizing Online Teaching Academy, a professional development program at Butte College, funded by the Culturally Responsive Pedagogy & Practices grant from the California Community College Chancellor's Office.
Reflections
Where I was
At the start of the Academy, I was coming in having taught 2 fully-online courses with different interfaces, one using Blackboard at a different school and one using Canvas at Butte College. The 2 interfaces and courses did not really build on each other and both courses were developed through learning the respective platforms from the educator side for the first time while juggling other academic/professional responsibilities. Although both groups of students did very well, I knew those courses needed humanizing. I made sure I communicated information and organized the course websites well, but as a friend would describe them, to me they seemed "sterile."
Where I am
The most valuable takeaway from this Academy is that it put me in the place of a fully-online student, which is exactly the perspective I needed to identify what needed improvement and to feel why a course needs humanizing. I found myself in a few situations in which I needed grace and understanding from the facilitators to complete my assignments. I experienced many of the reasons that my students had for missed deadlines: technical difficulties, illness, and scheduling conflicts. In my case and in most cases among my students, we are capable but we need to think our instructor believes that we are. Students are more likely to persevere - instead of quit - if they know there's a warm, supportive person on the other side who will give them a chance to pull through. Students are bound to be imperfect at some point (because they're human!) but a few hiccups shouldn't ruin consistency and a genuine effort.
Where I am going
I used to think that I had to set a strict, academic tone at the beginning of a course to convey expectations of professionalism and performance. I've come to learn that, even though it's been working for the most part, that approach can intimidate some students and cause them to doubt their abilities. I'm learning to be more of a partner in their learning and less of a guide. My students shouldn't think that if they don't immediately grasp the format of my course or if they run into challenges that they're going to be left behind. They also shouldn't think that just because I'm the educator, that I can't relate to them and only see them as grades and percentages. I'm in my position because I have the skills to help students get to wherever they're going. I'm not going to be as helpful along their journey if my course isn't engaging, if they don't feel like I'm invested in their progress/success, or if they don't feel like I'm going to be approachable or understanding if they need help.
Liquid Syllabus
I will use my Liquid Syllabus to establish trust by giving them a general understanding of what to expect of the course and the kind of effort I'm looking for. It provides clarity and I hope they get the sense that there will be no surprises. It's straight-forward and they won't be blind-sided by unreasonable/unspoken expectations. I will use my Liquid Syllabus to demonstrate that I care about my students' learning before my course begins by providing them a glimpse into who I am as a person, who I am as an instructor, how I'm able to help them succeed, and resources that may be beneficial to them.
Course Card
I think this image sends a warm, welcoming cue to students because it shows a diverse group of people looking at art and being depicted in art. I think it extends a welcoming invitation to my students because it shows that people of any age, gender, or race may observe, create, and be represented in artwork. This image also shows that art can be appreciated in different ways: People are able to look at it, photograph it, or sit to meditate on it.
Homepage
My homepage serves as a kindness cue of social inclusion for students in two ways. First, through pictures showing me as a student and my life outside of academia. I hope it shows my students that I remember/understand/empathize with the challenges of being a student and that I acknowledge that all of us have lives outside of the course. Secondly, my homepage is clear and concise. There are headers, descriptive links, and it's not cluttered. It gives students the information they need in a format that I hope is not intimidating.
Getting to Know You Survey
My survey serves as a kindness cue of social inclusion for students because the questions show that I want to get to know them, address them respectfully, create an open line of communication, and treat them as individuals instead of a generalized group. I also added a personal, fun touch with a current events pop culture reference and sprinkled in anecdotes so students also learn about me and my vulnerabilities as a student while completing the survey.
Ice Breaker
My ice breaker assignment fosters a sense of belonging by welcoming different responses. I model two possible types of responses and acknowledge that my students' responses are not limited to these examples. My ice breaker assignment connects students with each others' real-world experiences through reflecting on differing personal experiences. There's no correct answer and watching other students' responses is meant to demonstrate that there are many ways to interact with art.
The instructions for my ice breaker assignment are clearly and concisely listed, as well as, verbally explained in the short introductory video. To earn full credit for this assignment, students must fulfill the following criteria:
Response: A voice or video response is left that explains their first memory of art.
Comments (Replies): Two voice or video comments are left for peers that address the peer by name and discuss why they resonate with those first memories of art.
Bumper Video
This video fits into my course because it introduces the prompt for a discussion board assignment. The instructional purpose it serves is to give students an idea of where to look to find artwork to submit as their response. I expect this video to improve my students' learning experience by bridging the gap between the theme of a chapter (public art) and a more focused exercise exploring the theme.
Microlecture
The learning objective of my microlecture is to learn the 6 Elements of Design for a quiz. This microlecture fits within the design of my course because before attempting the Visual Analysis assignment, my students must learn the 6 Elements of Design and the 5 Principles of Design. Instead of having them learn it in one go, I would have 2 microlectures on the respective topics, corresponding quizzes, and 1 recap microlecture about the content of both. Each microlecture would build upon the previous.
The 6 Elements of Design microlecture identifies the learning objective(s) with which it is aligned through listing the 6 Elements of Design then reiterating it by explaining each with examples according to their order within the list. I expect this microlecture to improve my students' learning experience because it breaks up a lot of information into smaller, manageable chunks and utilizes repetition. It also pairs information and definitions with visual examples.
The Humanized Online Teaching Academy is adapted from the Humanizing Online STEM Academy, by Michelle Pacansky-Brock, Mike Smedshammer, and Kim Vincent-Layton. This website was created by Fiona Chin and is shared with a Creative Commons-Attribution-Non-Commercial 4.0 license.