Instruction

Course instruction envelops the teaching philosophy of the instructor, incorporation of pedagogical strategies, course design, and embracing student diversity, while adhering to program and course outcomes that enhance the mission of the college. In my professional development, I completed courses through the University of Florida to learn to incorporate these elements of instruction together to evolve my ability to implement these in the classroom. Through that experience I also had the opportunity to return to the classroom as a student, which has helped me evaluate my instruction both from the perspective as an instructor and from a student-centered approach to education.

Learn more about how I incorporate these instruction strategies in my classes below.

Accessibility page from my Canvas courses explaining to students the accessibility features in the class.

Course Design

Edmonds College General Learning Outcome: Communicate and interact effectively through a variety of methods appropriate to audience, context, purpose, and field/discipline.

Connection to my teaching philosophy: Course design is critical in creating a learning environment that is accessible to all students and includes course policies that are inclusive and equitable. With a student centered focus to my teaching philosophy, my online courses are accessible, have flexible modalities, and utilize universal design for learning in designing these courses that address all students' learning needs.

Accessibility

Making a course accessible for all students is not only a legal requirement for accreditation, but is also critical for removing learning barriers for students with disabilities. It is important to me that my online courses are accessible in the course design, allowing all students to access online course content. In the development of the fully online BIOL& 175 asynchronous course, I completed the Course Accessibility Review and this course currently has an accessibility Ally score of 94%, making it compliant with accessibility standards. This course was also part of the OSCQR rubric review to analyze the course design, regular substantive interaction with students, and diversity, equity, and inclusive content and practices and is compliant in these standards as well. BIOL& 241 is a hybrid course that was also part of the OSCQR review process and is also compliant with OSCQR standards. One of my future goals is for all my courses to undergo the rigor of the OSCQR and accessibility review process. It is also important to share these course accessibility features with students in the courses. In my start here module for each course, I have an accessibility page that informs students about the availability of services for students with disabilities on campus and the accessible features of the course including screen reader capabilities, captioning of videos, the Ally score for the course indicating the accessibility standards are met, and available terminology resources in the course. This accessibility page can be viewed in the screen shot above and has also been shared with numerous faculty at Edmonds College to use in their online courses.

Universal Design

As part of my professional development over the tenure probationary period, I learned more about universal design for learning (UDL) pedagogy. These UDL strategies for course development promote accessibility by utilizing a student-centered course design, which is directly in line with my teaching philosophy. The primary principle of UDL is to provide students with choices on how they engage, learn the material, and present their knowledge. This allows diverse student populations to select the best avenue for their learning resulting in more successful student outcomes. I incorporate UDL principles in my course design and policies for each of my anatomy & physiology courses. In each module for the online content in all my courses, I use different strategies to introduce the concepts, which is in line with the UDL strategies of offering multiple means of representation for students to learn the content. I provide students with reading content in the module, supplemented with the textbook, for learners who prefer to read to gain knowledge. I include diagrams, figures, and videos for those preferring visual strategies and practice activities for students wanting a kinesthetic approach to learning. The multiple options for student learning remove barriers for students by providing the best learning strategy to meet their individual needs.

Another example of using UDL principles for students to demonstrate their knowledge is in my BIOL& 175 class on the immunology diseases/disorders assignment. In this assignment, students can decide which of the approved immune system diseases/disorders they want to research, whether they want to work individually or in a group, and have the choice to present their work either as an infographic or as a video presentation. These assignment completion strategies enable students to overcome barriers by completing the assignment in the way that is optimal for each student, while still meeting the student and course outcomes.

Select the embedded video (12:30) below to view the instructions and overview of the immunology assignment in my BIOL& 175 asynchronous course.

Select the embedded video (6:34) below to view a completed student project of the immunology assignment in my BIOL& 175 asynchronous course.

HyFlex Instruction

Initially with the pandemic we pivoted to a fully online class, including labs, which began with incorporating 'lab gab' to help students learn the lab content of anatomy & physiology (see curriculum development to learn more about 'lab gab' pandemic lab development). However, what I learned during this period was the need for student flexibility in the modality of the class, while still adhering to the UDL principles of a student-centered course design. The need for flexible modalities for our courses also came from the biology department data analysis each year. In the fall 2020 quarter, I began offering a hyflex lab instruction for my majors BIOL& 241/242 classes to allow students to attend lab in person during the pandemic while still allowing those unable to attend in person to synchronously attend class or complete the lab asynchronously. Hyflex is a modality of instruction where students can choose to learn in a grounded lecture, synchronously in a virtual format, or asynchronously. In this format, the in-class instruction was also synchronously held on Zoom and recorded to be posted to Canvas for asynchronous learners after class or for others to review. Students were actively engaged with course content regardless of the modality through interactive telemedicine based real-world applications of the content. For example, students in seat would collaborate with online students synchronously about the anatomy and this lesson was also available for students to complete asynchronously. This format not only made it easier to handle the constraints of the pandemic, but also enabled students to get the flexibility in their course instruction. In line with my teaching philosophy, I continually reflect on this student-centered flexible approach to course design and participated in the Edmonds College flexible learning pilot in the summer/fall 2022 and winter 2023 quarters to make the learning experience equitable regardless of the option students chose.

Analysis of Hyflex Modality

I was able to not only effectively teach lessons online virtually, but successfully implemented what I learned during the pandemic instruction and began teaching a Hyflex learning modality. Below are two separate lecture class observations by two different committee members over the same content showing my ability to effectively teach in multiple modalities and adjust my teaching pedagogy.

Read this course evaluation from Tom Fleming from my ARC committee based on his observation of my virtual synchronous lesson regarding the brain during the pandemic in BIOL& 241. (Fall 2020)

Read this course evaluation from Tiffany Ledford from my ARC committee based on her observation of my Hyflex lesson regarding the brain as I transitioned during the second year of the pandemic to synchronous grounded and virtual lectures with asynchronous content in BIOL& 241. (Fall 2021)

Image of terminology support tools: Google translate and A&P word bank.

Embracing Student Diversity

Edmonds College General Learning Outcome: Explore and apply multiple perspectives in order to examine cultural differences and influences; maintain effective professional/working relationships; and/or interact effectively in multicultural settings.

Connection to my teaching philosophy: It is important to value each student's individuality and culture while also addressing challenges that may be a barrier to learning. With a student-centered focus to my teaching philosophy, I incorporate cultural diversity in the course content and recognize learning barriers by adjusting my instruction to make my courses inclusive and equitable for all students. (Learn more about development of diversity content in the curriculum development section of this portfolio.) One example of a barrier that exists for students in A&P is the challenge of learning vast, new medical and scientific terminology.

Terminology Support

Much of the terminology in my classes are based on Latin or Greek origins and can be challenging for students to learn, regardless of their English language skills. Many students at Edmonds College are from diverse international backgrounds and speak more than one language, often with English as a second language. Students enrolled in the anatomy and physiology majors classes in particular represent a large proportion of this diverse population and are pursuing healthcare careers. (See the Courses Taught page to learn more about the student diversity in BIOL& 241/242 courses.) Based on data from 2020-2022, 27% of pre-healthcare students taking BIOL& 241/242 begin college by taking pre-college English with 48% of African American and 36% of Asian students starting with pre-college English classes. One of the ways I strive to include multilingual students and continue language support for pre-college English is to provide contextualized terminology support when learning anatomy & physiology. I have incorporated various terminology strategies to assist all students in learning the vocabulary in my classes.

In all my classes, when available, I link new terminology with Google translate links in the online portion of the class. This allows students to not only learn the pronunciation and definition of the word in English, but also any translations in their native language. An example would be the word fascicle, which is a bundle of muscle or nerve fibers.
Once I introduce terminology, it is also important to use it as it applies to the concepts. For example, in the lesson about learning what a fascicle is, students also get a demonstration of the muscle tissue structure using these words as a real-world application by watching a video of a chicken leg dissection and then modeling the vocabulary and anatomical concept in an interactive activity and video lesson (below). This interactive activity can be part of active learning in the classroom or as an asynchronous activity for online students. Students can then practice using an online labeling game to apply these words to the actual muscle anatomy.

Select the video lesson (3:29) below about muscle models where I explain terminology of the fascicle as it applies to the gross anatomy of muscles.

I also incorporate a learning terminology tip page in my online classes that includes various glossaries with terminology in different languages, prefix & suffix word origins, and medical dictionary support for students to identify words they are unfamiliar with. As we learn words with these word origins, I reintroduce these in the module to apply this to the concepts we are learning. This also reinforces concepts learned in BSTEC 104-Medical Terminology for students who have taken this course.
There is also a study guide for students with a list of new terminology for each unit of the content we are studying each week. For example, in BIOL& 175, students participate in a discussion forum where they define the vocabulary words and write a practice question and answer the questions as a class to build a glossary of terms.
For assessments (i.e lab practicums) where students fill-in-the-blank with terminology, students have access to an A&P word bank to help students spelling the vocabulary words. This tool removes a barrier for all students and also makes it accessible particularly to students with dyslexia. Spelling is a critical course learning objective for A&P because one letter difference can change the word meaning, and in the clinical setting can affect the type of drug administered. For example, uvula is located in the back of the oral cavity and the vulva is located in the female reproductive system.

Pedagogy Strategies

Edmonds College General Learning Outcome: Reason clearly using academic or professional modes of inquiry; using quantitative or symbolic reasoning; and/or using other discipline/field specific methods to explore and create ideas; identify information needs; process, evaluate, and use information; and recognize, analyze and solve problems.

Connection to my teaching philosophy: Modern pedagogical strategies allow instructors to maximize learning for all students and connect deeper to the content while developing critical thinking skills. Through reflection and a student-centered teaching philosophy, I use interactive lessons, real-world applications, and technology incorporation to engage students in learning about anatomy & physiology.

Students learning the parts of the brain through interactive lessons.

Real-world applications

Anatomy & physiology of the human body is best taught as it applies to real-world examples, such as with analyzing case studies and incorporating techniques used in healthcare in the course. Students often have some knowledge of how their bodies work and are interested in learning more about this. Research has shown that our brains learn best when applying new content with information we already know. This application of pedagogy uses a student's natural curiosity making learning engaging and utilizes multiple means of engagement, which is a universal design for learning principle. Many of these examples are also common patient diagnostic techniques used in healthcare, giving students practice in analyzing specimens and applying anatomy & physiology concepts to it. Some examples of real-world applications of anatomy & physiology lessons include urinalysis analysis, blood typing determination, blood histology, and blood pressure/pulse labs.

Here is a sample lab activity I created to help students learn how to determine blood typing and donor/recipient blood types. This presents the material as an interactive case-study for students to think about not only blood donor/recipients, but also the blood types of different ethnic groups. (The version of the activity below is a podcast for students who do not have MS Powerpoint to complete the activity. There is also a MS Powerpoint for students to complete the activity directly. Students attending lab on campus can complete the same activity and perform the blood typing tests themselves. These different versions of the lab allow flexibility in learning and also encompass UDL strategies.)

A detailed lesson plan shows how this blood typing lab activity is integrated into BIOL& 242 curriculum.

Select the button below to try the blood typing lab activity by viewing the podcast (40:44).

Blood Typing Lab

Interactive lessons

Active learning is a method of instruction where the students engage deeply in learning content with hands-on activities instead of listening passively to an instructor's lecture. Active learning strategies that I use in face-to-face classes include small group discussion and think/pair/share activities where a question is posed and students think individually, then pair with other students to discuss before sharing their answers with the class and muddiest point, in which students share topics that are confusing that are discussed with the class for clarification. (The image at the top right in this section shows students using active learning to understand the parts of the brain and their functions.)

Creating active lessons with online classes during the pandemic required some innovation to keep the student engagement and deep content group learning that was so prominent in face-to-face classes. For this I used Google Jamboard where I had students work together to complete analysis of a question. I not only used this technology in synchronous lessons, but also in self-paced online activities.

Select the button below to see student work from the (Winter 2022) BIOL& 242 electrolyte balance lesson incorporating a Jamboard activity in the synchronous Zoom lesson.

Electrolyte Balance Jamboard

Technology Incorporation

Technology can be utilized according to Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles as means of engagement, representing content, and as a way for students to demonstrate their knowledge. In my professional development both at Edmonds College and at the University of Florida, I learned a variety of pedagogical tools maximizing the use of technology as an instruction tool. (You can learn more about my professional development in the campus involvement page where I shared a technology repository with the Academy for New Faculty.)

One example of technology for content delivery is to create mini lectures to help students understand the concepts. This is also a way for instructors to have substantive interaction with students online by delivering an instructor lesson for students to review. I have created numerous mini lectures for students in BIOL& 175, BIOL& 241 and BIOL& 242. For example, the lesson below is from BIOL& 175 where I teach the students the different bones in the body and their classification as either long bones, short bones, flat bones, or irregular bones.

Select the embedded video (4:54) to view this mini lecture on bones of the body and their classifications.

In addition to creating mini lectures, there are other tools that encompass UDL strategies. Two of these technology tools I use in my class are EdPuzzle and Nearpod. EdPuzzle allows me to add questions and edit videos for students to have a more active viewing experience learning from the videos. Nearpod allows me to use formative assessments in real-time to see how well students understand the content by incorporating these assessment activities as live lecture lessons or as a self-paced lesson. Use of Nearpod is particularly useful for hyflex learning allowing both synchronous and asynchronous lessons with formative assessments in both modalities. (There area several examples of Nearpod self-paced lessons in this portfolio.)

Select the button below to continue exploring my teaching dossier by returning to the courses taught page where you can learn in the middle section about my success as an instructor by reviewing my course evaluations.

Courses Taught

Page updated

Report abuse