This site provides examples of instructional resources created in the Humanizing Online STEM Academy, a professional development program funded by the California Education Learning Lab and administered by the Foothill DeAnza Community College District.
In 2018 I began a multi-year journey to transform myself as an educator. By then I had been teaching at HSU since 2011 and felt my pedagogic methods were feeling a little flat. Compounded by large equity gaps and poor student success rates, I set out to change! My goal was to be equitable, inclusive, and improve student success for ALL of my students.
My transformation began by attending the Escala faculty development workshop for Hispanic Serving Institutes. I enjoyed my experiences so much that I became a faculty coach for the Escala Educational Services group. I thoroughly enjoy my involvement with this group and I continue to learn every year that I interact with new faculty training groups.
Little did I know I would soon become an on-line educator. The COVID pandemic threw us all into a new state of working and existing; therefore, I rolled up my sleeves again and decided it was time for more professional development.
My "crash course" into becoming an on-line instructor during the COVID pandemic made me realize there are some real opportunities to improve equity and inclusion in teaching in an on-line format. I still enjoy teaching in a face-to-face format; however, I am seeking out becoming the best on-line and face-to-face instructor that I can be. Giving students both options (provided both options are equitable, inclusive, and successful) provides us as educators an even better means to help our students achieve the American dream: to better ourselves and society through education and opportunity.
A liquid syllabus is a simplified version of a traditional course syllabus. It guides students through the most pertinent course information in an easy to digest way. All of the highlights, such as contact info, expectations, surviving the first week, etc.; are front and center.
I have never used a liquid syllabus before; therefore, I'm very excited about this! I am guilty of dispersing extremely text heavy syllabi to my students and then getting upset when they ask me to repeat information in the syllabus ("Did you even read the syllabus!!!?? ggrrrr"). I hope this helps students internalize important course information (or access it easily if they forget) straight from the get-go!
A course card is a great way to make your course stand out in your learning management system (LMS).
I used a modified version of the required text book cover art for my course card. Not only is it a great image, which conveys chemistry as "the central science", but it also will help students connect their course materials with the course LMS. I have been using course cards for several years and I really like using these. They also help me organize my Canvas dashboard as I often am teaching multiple classes with multiple sections.
An organized course homepage is key to your students successfully navigating the course LMS page.
I wanted the students to see the same theme throughout the course; therefore, I used the same image as I did on the liquid syllabus. I also included a very brief welcome note, which serves as a kindness cue and helps students understand the layout of the course page. I have been using humanized homepages in my Canvas course for a few semesters now; however, this is the first time I will have a consistent graphic theme throughout my course. I look forward to hearing feedback from students!
Getting to Know You Survey
A "getting to know you survey" is a great way to start the semester and demonstrates to students that you care about their learning. All students will have a different learning style and a different background; thus, administering a survey like this is a great way to eliminate the guess work and identify problem areas a student might have.
I have used surveys like this in my courses before and I particularly like asking students if they have previously taken a chemistry class. Most students who have not are extremely intimidated. Even the students who have previously taken a chemistry course are a little worried about remembering previous material. Thus, asking students at the beginning of the semester provides an opportunity for re-assurance, whether they have or have not previously taken chemistry.
Ice Breaker
Ice breakers are ubiquitous in college! Some of my fondest memories as a student are when professors took the time to provide us an opportunity to get to know each other through an ice breaker activity.
Many of my students in General Chemistry are either first time freshman or transfer students; therefore, I like to provide them with an opportunity to get to know each other as well as the area. Most of our students come from L.A. or the S.F. Bay Area, so they are a long way from home up here! In my ice breaker activity (that I have been doing for several years) I like to ask them to tell the class about a hobby they enjoy. Many students relish this opportunity and often a nice conversations starts up about where to go hiking or surfing, for example.
Wisdom Wall
"Do you wish you could start the semester with a crystal ball?"
A wisdom wall is the crystal ball of a well-run college course. It provides students an opportunity to hear advise and wisdom from students that have already taken the course. I have never used a wisdom wall so I'm very excited by this!
Bumper Video
A bumper video is a brief, yet impactful video that fulfills a specific instructional purpose.
I have shared various bumper videos from STEM "youtubbers"; however, I have never made my own. The number one thing I demonstrate to students (yet don't have any instructional material for) is how to use their scientific calculator. I was really excited to learn how to use Adobe Spark and start creating my own content for bumper videos. I imagine creating an entire series of brief videos on how to use a scientific calculator and why you don't need to spend $100 on a graphing calculator!!.
Microlecture
College is hard and let's face it: nobody wants to sit through a 50 minute lecture... especially on-line! When the pandemic first hit I went into a full-on recording frenzy. On the rare occasion my family was gone I would setup my recording station and lecture to my computer for hours on end! The result would be 5 or 6 lectures, 45+ minutes each, that would take nearly an entire day to upload!
Microlectures are a great way to combat the mundane, impossibly long, college-style lecture. A well-done microlecture lasts between 5–10 minutes and covers one learning goal. Luckily I had already organized my lecture content into learning goals several semesters ago; thus, breaking down my long lectures videos into microlectures has been easy! With some slightly awkward editing (hey, we're not going for a Oscar Award here!) and Canvas magic I am working my way through previously recorded content and breaking them down into microlectures.
