Humanizing Online STEM Showcase
Shaunte Griffith-Jackson, PhD., Professor of Biology at Southwestern College
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 Distric
Reflections
Where I was.
On Empty! I literally came into online teaching with no tools outside of “Read this chapter, view the slides, and take the quiz”. My previous trainings with teaching online focussed on mastering the learning system, such as Blackboard or Canvas, but I never considered much else outside of posting material and providing the bare minimum; and even the bare minimum seemed demanding. I truly did not know that there was a different approach to facilitating online learning where an interactive, adventurous, and exciting learning community could be created for the benefit of all involved.
Where I am.
On Full! I have learned more in this course within six weeks than I have over many years. I transitioned from not having any tools to enhance learning, to having several. In addition, I have moved from providing mundane instructions to setting up an approach where students are more interactive with the material, each other, and with me. Most valuably, I put a lot of thought into everything that I do now. The academy has taught me to not waste a moment... every interaction is an opportunity to build community, trust, and a solid foundation for online learning success.
Where I am going.
With a full tank, the possibilities are endless when it comes to the places where one can go! I must start this portion of the reflection with reference to Mike Smedshammer! He was an excellent example of how to provide support, encouragement and warmth to an overwhelmed learner, such as myself, and he truly brought out the best in me. He made me want to learn; I was always excited for what was next, and his feedback was skillfully provided. There were times that he would point out positive value in my work when I did not even know it myself, even though I did the work! It is my hope to keep his example in mind as I relate to my students moving forward. His interaction with me made most of the difference in my being able to complete this Academy. I have already made changes to my online class, but for those classes that are not designated as "online", I still implemented what I have learned in the academy, and overall, the feedback from my students has been encouraging. At one point I was dismissive of the idea of introducing new tools into my space because it felt like "one more thing on my plate". This Academy has since changed my approach, where I feel empowered to introduce new experiences into my classroom, and I have already shared much of the information with other instructors as well. Lastly, if I could have make it happen, this would be a required course for all online instructors in my department, and certainly highly suggested for remote instructors.
Liquid Syllabus
A liquid syllabus is an abridged version of a course syllabus. It is a wonderful tool that I would use, even for face to face classes as well, because it allows me to present essential information without the clutter and the punitive, deficit language that is required by the district, which often induces fear in students.
My goal was for the students to perceive warmth and support from my welcome video and the information contained within. I even included a snippet of a song that I performed for the college in my welcome.
Please take a look at my liquid syllabus!
Course Card
Before students enter into the online class, the course card is the first image they will encounter that is representative of my class, and it is important that it is inclusive and makes all students feel welcomed.
For my course card, I imposed an image of a young Hispanic kid on a computer screen. Since my college is a Hispanic Serving Institution, I chose an image with whom the majority of my students could relate. Most importantly, I chose a happy, smiling kid, who seemed thrilled about his involvement in science. Children are generally non-threatening, and I felt that imposing a kid on the computer screen who was enjoying science could set a great tone for my students. I was hoping to convey the message of "If a small child can enjoy and learn biology, then so can I". The person who is looking at the computer screen could be any race, gender, religion, etc. In other words, it is neutral, so my students stand a greater chance of identifying with the student in the picture. Even if they do not immediately identify with the student, there is still no "Sterotype" that is readily presented through the student on my course card.
Homepage
For my home page I included a welcome video and contact information as well as a zoom link. I must admit, at first I felt that my home page was not informative enough. In the past it was robust with information, but I learned that in this case, less is more. Students are not confronted with an overabundance of information, and it is easy to navigate as well.
Getting to
Know You Survey
Know You Survey
I have decided to use the "Getting to Know You Survey" as one of my early points of contact to establish a warm and caring environment. The questions are designed to gain more insight into their worlds, so I can better connect with them and meet their needs.
Some questions included within are "What name would you like me to use when addressing you?" This question establishes respect, and it takes into account factors such as gender and cultural expressions.
Another example is, "What is the one thing that is most likely to interfere with your success in this class?" This question provides insight into any challenges a student may face, and it would allow for open dialogue on how their needs can be best addressed.
Ice Breaker
My icebreaker was an idea provided by my 15 and 16 year old children. They are constantly changing their homescreens on their phones, and when I asked them why their reply was, "You can tell a lot about a person from their homescreen". We each shared our homescreen with each other and explained its importance. I decided to use what we shared amongst our family as an icebreaker in the online community, but also included an option for students to share an object in their surroundings if they do not want to share their homescreen.
Amongst the 5 Trust Building Communication Strategies, my icebreaker brings 3 of them into play. These are:
1. Selective Vulnerability
2. Familiarity
3. Similarity of Interests
Utilizing this icebreaker allows students to pinpoint something meaningful in their lives, and in the discussion a common ground can be found, relationships are built and strengthened, and everyone feels that their voice is heard and their interests have a place of value amongst the group.
Wisdom Wall
A “Wisdom Wall” is a space where the lessons learned by students in a previous class are collected and presented to students in a current class.
The Wisdom Wall I created encourages students to reflect on their preparation for Exam 1, after they took the exam and knew the outcome. This serves to benefit both the current student, because they can make adjustments from their shortcomings for the remaining exams, and the future student, because they can learn from the experience of past students. Overall, the wisdom wall helps the student become aware of themselves as a learner and a problem solver, and helps them put a plan in place to be successful.
Bumper Video
In any Biology class, the Theory of Evolution is a key concept that is a major key theme in the course. This bumper video was made to focus on Natural Selection, which is a mechanism of evolution, and the different modes in which it promotes adaptability to the environment. This video is just under 3 minutes, and it hones in on natural selection in a way that helps students see more clearly how favorable traits can increase in a population, how adaptability is promoted, and using the same population in different examples, it emphasizes the important role that the environment plays in selection.
Microlecture
The "Microlecture" is probably one of my favorite tools in my box from the Academy. I created one where I recorded a 10 minute video on Cellular Respiration.
It addresses the following course objective:
Student will analyze and explain the major processes involved in organisms using and transforming energy (glycolysis and cellular respiration).
In my experience, cellular respiration has historically been a daunting topic for my students, and it would take at least 2 class periods to lecture on the topic. To condense it to a 10 minute video where students can selectively listen, pause, rewind, and access it infinitely are certainly some of my favorite features of this tool. In the future I will rely more heavily on microlectures to help prevent students' working memories from being overwhelmed with long detailed lectures. Using this format, the load is less heavy, and the student is in a better position to retain the information.