Weeks 2-8

Weekly communication

As the lead instructor, post a weekly announcement to the whole class that recaps the course content thus far and frames the upcoming lesson/module content and activities.

Communicate with your own group via email at least 1-2 times during each lesson/module to review trends and address common questions or misconceptions. For step-by-step instructions on sending an email to your group, see the Tutorials page.

Provide guidance for the next lesson/module and reiterate expectations. Additionally, provide useful tips for studying and completing assignments as they go through the lesson materials. Add two or three sentences of reminders of specific due dates and any expectations for the lesson/module that might be helpful. Send this email at the end of one lesson/module and the start of the next.

Review the student performance on the previous lesson/module and address common group questions or misconceptions (if any) that you saw in the previous lesson/module assignments and discussions. If there are any tips for improvement or any words of encouragement that are timely, that would be nice to state. This email should supplement the individual feedback you provide to students via the Gradebook. Send this email when you finish grading the lesson/module assignments. Close your email correspondence with your individualized statement indicating something along the lines of, "You can always contact me if you need any assistance..."

Grading and feedback

Each lesson/module, you will be responsible for the following in your own group:

• Grade discussions and written assignments.

• Review quiz responses, if there are fill-in-the-blank or open-ended questions.

• Monitor group/team work. If there are milestones students are supposed to complete for a group/team project (for example, in an online discussion forum), review the group/team activity and follow up with students as necessary.

• Enter a zero for any missing assignments.

Throughout the class, monitor co-instructors' grading and feedback for the following:

• Co-instructors should personalize all feedback using the student’s name.

• The amount and type (e.g., using a general rubric that is filled out and returned to the student, copying and pasting frequently repeated comments from a central template of sample comments, or writing more detailed, analytical comments on an assignment) of feedback provided to students should be proportional to the complexity of the task assigned.

• Feedback should provide both supportive and corrective comments.

• Co-instructors are required to use any rubrics provided by the lead instructor to assess assignments and provide the type of feedback (including supportive and corrective).

• When the co-instructors have finished grading each module assignment, they should send an email to their group to let them know that grades and feedback have been posted. If there is a delay in the time frame by which grading is usually completed (within 3-5 days of the assignment due date), they should inform students about the delay and let them know when they can anticipate receiving grades.

• Ensure that a zero is entered for missing student assignments.

It is important that students receive feedback in a timely fashion so that they can incorporate feedback on their next assignment. For this reason, all grading and feedback on assignments that build or repeat weekly (such as lesson reflections, discussions, etc.) should be posted within 3 days of the assignment due date so that students have at least 3 days to incorporate the feedback into their next assignment. Grading and feedback of all other assignments should be completed within one week (7 days) of the assignment due date. Programs may have specific requirements; confirm with the program coordinator any program-specific guidelines and deadlines.

Grades and feedback to students on assignments should be provided only through the grading tool in the course management system as this provides the most secure method for students to receive grade information. Please do not send grade information or feedback via email.

Monitor student progress

At the end of each lesson/module, please review the progress to date of all students in your own group. Request your co-instructor(s) inform you of any non-participatory or underperforming students.

In particular, if a student in your group has not participated or submitted work for:

• • the last lesson/module

  • the last two lessons/modules or longer

Involve the academic advisor regarding any students who have not submitted timely work or are considering withdrawing from the class.

Please communicate regularly with your co-instructor(s) about their role and responsibilities regarding student issues, class materials, etc.

Request special exceptions to due dates

Due dates, acceptable circumstances for submitting late work, and any associated penalties for submitting late work should be described in the course syllabus and/or course schedule.

If a deadline has passed, you will need to work with your instructional design team to provide the student access to the quiz or assignment. Send an email to your instructional design team with the request and copy the co-instructor if applicable.

If the course policy requires that the points for any late work (including quizzes) be manually modified (for example, the student can only receive 50% of the final score because it was submitted late), then you will need to manually adjust the student’s points after the student has taken the quiz. You may have the opportunity to note this change in the student feedback section.

Submit Academic Status Reports

An Academic Status Report (ASR) is a method of providing early, personalized feedback regarding a student's progress in a class, and it is not part of the student's official transcript. When a status report is submitted for a student, there are three ways students are offered assistance: they receive a notice on their My ASU page and an email and call from their advisor to determine if there is any support that can be provided. The submission of ASRs is highly recommended for all undergraduate courses; if you are the lead instructor of a graduate course, you should communicate with your program coordinator to determine if these should be submitted for the course you are teaching.

All instructional personnel affiliated with a course should receive an email from ASU notifying them when the ASR system opens, along with information on how to submit the report via My ASU. Communicate with your co-instructors how you would like them to proceed (i.e., they compile information and send to you as the lead instructor, or they enter the information and you review and submit as the lead instructor). The college recommends ASR submission during week 2 of the course, and then as needed throughout the course.

Review students in your group who may not be meeting expectations and determine which ones should be alerted about their performance in the class.

You will submit the ASR via the class roster in My ASU. Because online classes are on an accelerated schedule, it is very important that students receive feedback on an ongoing basis regarding their academic status in the class.

The information you will need to submit the ASR includes:

• Student's current grade/status in the course

• Specific reasons and corrective actions for the student (see the ASR Job Aid for specific reasons and corrective actions)

Communicate with and plan the contract experience for students seeking Honors Enrichment Contracts

NOTE: This information is relevant primarily for undergraduate honors students enrolled in iCourse sections of courses included within the online BAE Educational Studies program.

Undergraduate students in Barrett Honors College may request to complete an Honors Enrichment Contract in the course you are teaching. Please note, students must complete Honors Enrichment Contracts only with full-time ASU faculty and not with teaching assistants, faculty associates, co-instructors, or staff. If you are not a full-time faculty member and a student wants to complete a contract for the class, they must find a full-time faculty member willing to oversee the contract.

If you are a full-time ASU faculty member serving as the lead instructor of the course and would like to support the student, please visit Honors Enrichment Contracts or contact the Barrett Advising Office for information and guidance.

Monitor student wellness

If you are concerned about a student who is exhibiting behaviors that are indicators of someone in need of assistance, it is necessary to intervene and seek consultation for determining the best course of action in responding to these situations. For information about behavioral indicators and connecting with the appropriate college and university contacts and resources, please review the Faculty and Staff Guide for Assisting Students with Behavioral Concern, MLFTC Students in Distress Protocol, and the Student Resources information on this site. To submit an incident report, complete the form and send it to the Office of Student Services, or you may send it directly to the Dean of Students Office at deanofstudents@asu.edu.

For all students, including those online, in cases of potential harm to self or others—for immediate assistance, call 911. Additionally, feel free to consult with:

• • ASU Counseling Services at (480) 965-6146 during business hours, or EMPACT at (480) 921-1006 after hours.

  • Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities on any campus.

For non-emergencies—and as follow-up to emergency situations—submit an SOS Referral with the MLFTC Student Success Team via online form. Before submitting the form, be sure to let the student know you are concerned and that they can expect to hear from one of the Student Success Team members. Additionally, students may explore MLFTC success coaching and schedule an appointment with academic, career, wellness, or financial coaches.

Meetings with your co-instructors

Throughout the class, continue to meet and communicate regularly with your instructional team. As you continue to meet, you can:

• Review the previous lesson/module (such as grading trends or feedback and academic or student issues).

• Preview the upcoming lesson/module (such as common questions students ask about the material or assignments and guidelines for grading and providing feedback).

Share any exemplary student work

If a student submits exemplary work that might be used as a model for future students completing an assignment, you may find it useful to share the example with your co-instructor(s). Please have the student provide consent using our Student Coursework Release form so their work can be shared with others (instructional personnel, other students, external audiences).