2. EQUITY

Effective online teachers apply equitable methods to promote student access and success while acknowledging institutional obstacles.

As the course itself is set out to do, professional development in the area of culturally responsive teaching attempted to address an online achievement gap and the marginalization of some groups. It was important to examine the achievement gap in online courses, in some detail, to understand the impact of background and culture on the effectiveness of online teaching. Naturally, it was also important to be current on statewide and institutional approaches to reducing the achievement gap, as those are approaches we can encourage through our teaching. As noted below, all of that contributed to improvements in my teaching, and provides a framework for further improvement.

I felt that the course, at root, shone a light on the values and norms of our culture that are often invisible. The awareness magnified the myriad ways inequality is built and sustained, and the very practical things we can do to address that inequality in our teaching.

Reflections

Where I was.

Before beginning this course, cultural differences were not at all something that I accounted for in my course preparation and design. Instead, I strove to make the material as “neutral” as possible, focusing on the subject matter itself as much as I could. More than that, I was also concerned that distance education would impair the ability to adapt to the needs of different students, each of whom brings his or her own background, beliefs, and approach to the class. Distance education, by its nature, leaves less room for that type of spontaneous response.

Where I am.

I was and remain optimistic about the techniques learned through the course on culturally responsive teaching and feel that through implementing them I have narrowed the equity gap. Feedback to students tries to account for my understanding of their position and background. Moreover, I have adjusted my policy on late work. Ironically, although my policy on late work was different in practice than officially (officially, no late work but in fact I generally accepted it) my official policy now more closely matches my desire that the students actually learn the material. Naturally, it is neither possible nor desirable for me to adapt completely to the student’s unique approach as by doing so I would deprive the student of the learning opportunity to understand and accommodate my background and approach. Certainly, that is a learning point for them as well.

Where I'm headed.

I feel that the improvements to my teaching, and honestly beyond that to other types of connections, will be more rich simply from accepting the importance of background and bias. My syllabus and other course materials have been updated, to the extent possible, to account for that. Moreover, I will be more attentive to how culture shapes the principles discussed in my class, recognizing that they too, were shaped by biases that may not be evident to students now.

Examples

Copy of BUSINESS_LAW_Fall_2019_Syllabus

OLD:

The grading will be as follows:
- Weekly Chapter Quizzes. Quizzes (or Assessments) are completed through Canvas. Quizzes are due by 5:50 p.m. every Sunday. The total of all quizzes is worth six hundred points and is sixty percent of the student’s total grade.
- Final Examination. The final examination is completed through Canvas, just like the weekly quizzes. The final examination is worth three hundred points, and is thirty percent of the student’s total grade.
- Discussion Participation. Each week, one or two discussion questions will be posted in the Canvas discussion forum. Participation requires two items for each discussion question:
- Respond to the discussion question by Thursday at 11:59 p.m. The response must demonstrate that the student has read the textbook and analyzed the topic. Analysis requires a student to apply the discussion topic to a new set of facts from his or her own experience. No credit will be given for simply repeating or rewording the textbook.
- Return to the discussion forum, read what other students are posting and provide comments and feedback to at least two of them per discussion question. The response to the other students, per discussion question, is due on Sunday. The responses to other students must be substantive and go beyond a mere “good job” or “I agree.”
- This category is worth one hundred points, and is worth ten percent of the student’s total grade.
If a student misses three consecutive deliverables, he or she will be considered “non-attending” and may be dropped from the course. Deliverables include weekly quizzes, discussion participation, exams, and any other work assigned during the course. Students are responsible for all due dates. Late work is not accepted.

Copy of BUSINESS_LAW_Fall_2019_Syllabus_EDITED

NEW:

The grading will be as follows:
- Weekly Quizzes = 600 points or 60% of your grade. Quizzes (or Assessments) are completed through Canvas. Quizzes are due by 5:50 p.m. every Sunday.
- Final Examination = 300 points or 30% of your grade.
- Discussion Participation = 100 points or 10% of your grade. Each week, one or two discussion questions will be posted online in the Canvas discussion forum. Full points will be given if you do the following:
Respond to the discussion question by Thursday at 11:59 p.m. The response must demonstrate that you have read the textbook and analyzed the topic. Analysis requires you to apply the discussion topic to a new set of facts from your own experience. No credit will be given for simply repeating or rewording the textbook.
Return to the discussion forum, read what other students are posting and provide comments and feedback to at least two of them per discussion question. This response to the other students, per discussion question, is due on Sunday. The responses to other students must be substantive and go beyond a mere “good job” or “I agree.”
If a student misses three consecutive deliverables, he or she will be considered “non-attending” and may be dropped from the course. Deliverables include weekly quizzes, discussion participation, exams, and any other work assigned during the course. Students are responsible for all due dates. Late work is not generally accepted. Contact me, however, if you feel the delay was unavoidable.
*Note: All of the above is to be complete by using Canvas, the school's online classroom. Please notify me via email if you are having trouble logging in, or if you have any questions about the course.

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