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.
I've been teaching the Intro to Wildlife Conservation and Administration course online for a few years now, as a hybrid - with mini-lectures, activities and reading and reflection discussions on Canvas during the week. Then on Fridays, we meet in three smaller sections for one-hour discussions/seminars, which were on zoom during lockdown. Since Spring 2022, the Friday discussions have been in an outdoor classroom, in the forest on the edge of campus. We typically have ~25 in each discussion and split into groups 8 groups of 3 or 4 classmates. Smaller 'discussions' allow us to practice building a little 'wildlife' community.
A class moto: "We are in this together!"
While attending the Humanizing STEM course (March 2023), I was teaching the online portion of wldf 210 asynchronously on Canvas, including ~15-minute mini-lectures (voiceover powerpoint slides), which are too long and with no interactive highlighting. Five point quizzes assessed a grasp of key words and concepts and students were encouraged to retake as many times as necessary to achieve a 5 points. Two readings per week included summary and response prompts. Replying to classmates within each of the 3 discussion seminar sections was required after weekly readings and responses.
"If you agree (or disagree) with a post, then say why--and support your statement with concepts from the online lecture or assigned readings, or by sharing a related example or experience."
Based on lessons learned during this Humanizing STEM course, in addition to introducing a Liquid Syllabus in the week prior to the semester, I will revise my course in the following ways:
All my mini-lectures (~15 mins) will become micro-lectures (~ 5 mins, and none more than 10 min).
Micro-lectures of powerpoint slides will be revised to include embedded video, highlights and engaging features, using Adobe Express and ScreenPal.
Micro-lectures will be paired with 'bumper videos' that home in on key concepts.
My mini-quizzes will be transformed into Learning Quizzes with language like: "This is not meant as a "Gotcha!" quiz! It's here to help you consider the material in different ways so that it sticks more deeply in your mind. It's a study aid, not a performance exam. To earn a completion on this quiz, you must earn at least 90% and you may take the quiz as many times as you would like!"
All course materials - from start to finish - are already being revised in the spirit of a 'warm demander.'
I'm glad to include this more welcoming aspect to my course. This will go out in the week before class begins. This looks good on a phone and a laptop!
The Wild Goose Pact includes 5 statements for what I expect of students and what students can expect of me, the "warm demander!"
The image of the Barnacle Goose is the course logo used on the syllabus and on the Front Page of the course. I added a big "Welcome wldf 210!" at the top of the image. wldf 210 is the name of the course.
Here's a little tour of the home page to wldf 210! This includes links to a Start Here (welcome), Syllabus (with how this course works video), and 10 FAQs.
Some of this introductory 'welcome' content also appears in the Liquid Syllabus, so students may see it a second time.
One way to let students know they are welcome is to ask some warm, friendly questions signalling 'kindness cues' right from the start. The early information might come in handy as you keep an eye on students' progress through the course.
Here's an assignment for the very last week of the course.
"This is where you can provide some friendly advice to future students!"
A Foundational Knowledge goal for the course is: Interpret scientific information - leading to solutions
This 'bumper' is about the 'currency' that scientists use to share discoveries.
The written word.
Set to a 'fun' musical jingle.
Each week begins with a quote, the Student Learning Objectives (and Key Terms), and a mini-welcome video explaining what to expect. Here's an example from the 'shores of Humboldt Bay.'
This 'welcome' precedes the micro-lecture about endangered species (below).
The SLO for this micro-lecture: Upon successful completion of this module, you will be able to:
Identify and describe the process of endangered species 'listing', as applied by the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature)
Notice the underlines and highlights on each of the powerpoint slides, enabled by the new-to-me tool, ScreenPal.
Finally, the biggest take home lesson for me was an opportunity to revise my 'teaching philosophy' for a student readership, rather than for peers or reviewers of my T&P files. This was all based on the idea of a 'warm demander.'
