This ePortfolio serves as a collection of teaching artifacts that I have generated over the past year. These artifacts are centered around a 25-student undergraduate Human Genetics course that I taught in the Spring of 2024. The artifacts have been guided by Inclusive Pedagogy. The buttons below link to the specific artifact in question. On this page, feel free to read the following Statements of Growth. These are reflections that highlight how the framework of Inclusive Pedagogy has informed my teaching over the past year, and its influence on the development of my artifacts.
One of the frameworks learned in Reflective and Effective Teaching (RET) that has resonated most with me is Inclusive Pedagogy. This is a framework that emphasizes creating a welcoming environment for students and allows each student to demonstrate proficiency in the material. For example, one strategy in inclusive pedagogy is to vary the types of assessments for students to show learning. While some students may benefit from a written assessment, others may perform better in oral presentations. This can be in spite of both students understanding the material.
Through meetings with my project group leader and faculty mentor, I have learned of key strategies to employ in my teaching. For example, in the Lesson Plan Authentic Artifact, I note that the class is broken up by two sets of Canvas Questions, which are practice questions for students. Inspired by shadowing my faculty mentor’s genetics class, the questions have two purposes: to facilitate active learning, and to break up the monotony of the class. This helps students to stay engaged throughout the class. From my project group leader, I learned how to effectively use the minute paper, a short assignment that asks students to reflect on what they learned. During my teaching, I found a second benefit of assigning a minute paper - for students who may not want to ask questions aloud in class, the minute paper provided an opportunity to ask me directly. Research has shown that anxiety around “looking dumb” in class can prevent students from asking questions, so it is good to have another avenue where students can get clarification on class content.
After receiving feedback on my artifacts, and from students at the end of the quarter, I have identified some areas of future growth. Firstly, I would like to add an option for verbal assessment (i.e. powerpoint) as an alternate form of final assignment. While the final paper gave students liberty in choosing the topic, it did not give flexibility in how they demonstrated that knowledge. It may have also been exclusive to students who are not well versed in writing essays. Secondly, I would like to spend more time on how I will grade certain assignments. I do not feel that I scaffolded instructions for the paper clearly enough, so in the future I will spend more time outlining the expectations.
Inclusive pedagogy requires the instructor to be intentional about the content delivered, and the structure of the class. This framework is highlighted in my Diversity and Inclusion Syllabus Statement. My teaching context is in the Biological Sciences, a field where diversity is not always given priority. Prior to my participation in the Reflective and Effective Teaching Program, I too did not always appreciate the value of inclusion in the classroom. I was under the impression that teaching science was about teaching concepts, with little regard to creating an inclusive environment. Through RET, I have learned how to incorporate inclusivity in a way that can enhance student learning. In the Diversity and Inclusion Syllabus Statement, I highlight this idea by stating that science is done by people, and it is important to highlight these contributions. I also note that it is my role as an instructor to ensure that the environment is welcoming to all students. I discuss how to execute these values more concretely in my Preliminary Narrative on Teaching. For example, I note the value in using assessments, and using different types of assessments. I also discuss the purpose of Office Hours, which have been known to be intimidating for some students. By outlining why I host office hours, it gives the impression to students that they are open and accessible to anyone.
There are still areas where I need to improve and grow with this framework and its applications. When I taught Human Genetics in Spring 2024, I feel I could have done a better job in highlighting scientists from marginalized identities. While I always discussed the scientists behind a concept, I did not always take as much care to highlight those who may have done significant work, but did not win the Nobel Prize for it. Secondly, I would like to update my Preliminary Narrative on Teaching based on what worked and did not work in Human Genetics. While I still plan to use evidence based practices in the classroom, I’d like to highlight the experiences employed and how students received the content. Overall, I see inclusive pedagogy and a key framework that will allow me to be a better science instructor.
One component of effective teaching is to outline expectations for the course in a student facing manner. In my Planning for Assignments and Assessments, I outline the expectations for learning objectives and student grading. In this artifact, I incorporate the value of transparency. In teaching contexts, students have appreciated knowing what the requirements are, and how they will be assessed. As a result, in this artifact I break down step by step how students will be evaluated, and the learning objectives to grasp. The learning objectives were heavily influenced by Bloom’s Wheel, in that I learned how to use clear and specific terms to convey what I want students to get out of the class. In this plan, I also discuss the varied types of assessments that will be administered during the quarter. Varying assessments is a useful tool for promoting an inclusive course. This technique allows students to showcase their strengths in how they interact with material. As a result, the assessment plan notes a mix of exams and a paper assignment, as well as in class questions to help practice the material.
In this artifact, I also incorporate some advice on how to keep assessments student centered. In Human Genetics, I administered a final writing assignment due at the end of the term. I designed it in a way that allowed students flexibility in what they wrote about, which will help students feel a sense of agency to promote learning. The students were given a rubric that outlined all criteria and the grading breakdown. This gave students ample opportunity to do well on the assignment. My faculty mentor also gave the advice to add a peer review session. This ended up being helpful in two ways. Firstly, the students received feedback from peers and myself that resulted in better papers. Secondly, it gave students an opportunity to work on their assignments early on, which helped to avoid rushing at the end of the quarter.
In my assignment and assessment planning, there are several opportunities for growth. While I generated a rubric for students to be graded on, this did not translate as well to the peer review session. Students left good feedback, but there could have been clearer expectations on how to give feedback. When it comes to the assignments outlined, adding an oral presentation would add another layer of inclusive pedagogy, to cater to students who may not have done as well on written assignments but are great presenters. Finally, I struggled originally to use Bloom’s Wheel to craft learning objectives. With more teaching practice in various contexts, I hope to become comfortable using Bloom’s Wheel as a guiding principle to enhance student learning.