Science Literacy & Research Basics

The first day of class is the most crucial for setting the tone and expectations for the course. As such, students begin their first day by doing. The initial activity fosters a community atmosphere from the start, encouraging students to work together, and it offers a starting point for conversation among students who may be stangers to one another. The shared experience helps contextualize the mini-lecture given later in the class session, while the time following the lecture prompts students to integrate this information and analyze their change in understanding.

If offered the chance to trial this course in the future, I would pay particular attention to the timing of these activities and to points of confusion among the students. Do they have enough time to complete the activity before moving on to the lecture? Do they need support in ways that have not been accounted for here? Are activities appropriately scaffolded from one day to the next and across each unit? Many students are used to the first day being a "write-off," as instructors spend too much time on the syllabus and class logistics, so I am particularly interested to know how their attitudes are affected by jumping right into the course on Day 1.

This module brings to life the second unit of this course design. The original iteration assumes a traditional, in-person semester, but for this module, I reimagined what it could look like online. Incorporating so many aspect of Universal Design for Learning is a big point of pride, especially with the realization that the culminating literature review did not need to be the typical, written product. It is easy to fall into comfortable conceptions of what an assignment "should" be, but breaking free of this was easier with clearly articulated objectives and a vision for how students would use these skills in the future. Once I was no longer tied to the concept of a literature review as a written assignment, building an accessible and inclusive space became easier as I questioned other norms. Does a discussion board need to be written? No. In fact, I realized, seeing each other's faces in video dialogue could even build a better community space!

As a whole, though, the community-building aspects of this course feels incomplete. The original, in-person iteration of this course uses collaborative class activities to promote connections and develop a peer-support network. In that version, the session before large assignments are due is an informal coffee hour. The coffee-hour/work-session is meant to promote a less formal learning atmosphere, more akin to colleagues discussing things over coffee, where students can get help from the instructor and from each other. However, replicating that atmosphere online is quite difficult. The peer support groups is a good start, but I would be interested to receive student feedback on what other opportunities could make them feel more connected to the learning community.