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.
In our eighth grade study skills class, my classmates and I were taught that there are four levels of knowledge:
You don't know you don't know.
You know you don't know.
You don't know you know.
You know you know.
I remember this lesson often, and I have found it to be relevant in many situations. I'm going to refer to this idea now, while responding to the next three items.
At the start of this course, I was eager to learn new strategies and get out of my comfort zone. I deeply care about my students, but I'm generally not very good with technology. That is why I never wanted to teach an online STEM class. I wanted to take this class so I could learn how to make connections with students more likely, and how to engage students in STEM material.
I was between not knowing about what technology was out there for me to use as an online instructor (level 1 above) and knowing there were things out there that I didn't know how to use (level 2 above).
While taking this course, I stretched outside of my comfort zone, as expected. I learned some new things, but I still feel a little wobbly using these new skills.
There are still some things I know I don't know how to do without going back and reviewing the instructions provided in our course (level 2 above) but I bet if I had to, I would be able to figure things out on my own, without looking back at the instructions (level 3 above).
I plan to keep practicing! I want to accomplish my goals and create an online learning environment where students feel connected and engaged. I want to be able to confidently and effortlessly use the tools I've been given in this course (level 4 above).
Before my course begins I will send my liquid syllabus to students enrolled in the course so they can become familiar with the course and with me ahead of time. They will be provided with my contact information so they can ask questions or check in with me about things they would like me to know or help them with as we plan together for our course to begin.
I teach psychology statistics, and I've taught research methods in psychology in the past. At the beginning of the semester, I like to point out to students that although researchers may be doing most of their work independently, conducting scientific studies is actually a very social endeavor. Researchers around the world share ideas with their scientific community in the form of published journal articles. We rely on each other to expand our understanding of behavior and mental processes because no individual researcher would be able to explore these things on their own. It's that sense of community I was trying to get across with this Google Image search result I found.
I want students to feel welcome in our online course, so I uploaded a welcome banner for them to see right away. Under that, I included a picture of my family. I want them to know that family is important to me, and that they are a part of our course "family".
I included contact information and details about my availability to respond to questions.
I provided a link to important information they will need to know, as well as quick links to places they'll frequently navigate to in Canvas.
My hope is that by providing this information on the homepage, students will feel that I am supporting them, providing them with the tools they need, and that they have me as a partner in their success.
I used Zoom to record my tour. If the button to the left doesn't work, please try this link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/rec/share/5uX2TypPqqW43s0QdqveVd0wXFXodOlmssYkkQWExxE19_gtxH4BfuM3ypnu9tYA.U2eYM4cGG05epnF2
My hope for this survey is that students feel that they are valued, and that I am genuinely interested in getting to know them as individuals. I want to let them know that I care about their success and comfort in our course.
I used Zoom to record my tour. If the button to the left doesn't work, please try this link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/rec/share/3-zvAiMQMKzcErBV4vWZUSD-FfWpJUM9SbRgCXdX--YYONmKN-VM_NoSKtVlNXp1.1hbm5_jvH58oopdR
I wanted students to have an opportunity to hear from people who have taken the class before, and for students who have just finished the class to have an opportunity to share their wisdom with others. Student feedback in valuable to me, and I believe that collaboration between students is important. That's why I chose this option.
Because we were given the option of using something other than YouTube, I chose Zoom. If the link in the button to the left doesn't work please use the link below.
https://us06web.zoom.us/rec/share/8TNi_LFlrMNuO6BU1D1ngX9tXQEP7fXO4pOOxosUcm_BHyKzNOMG_wjSM45iNkhn.5Uz8DRHZTZw5IMnh
Students often have questions about how to create graphs in Excel, something they need to do often in our course. This video doesn't take much time for them to watch, and in it I demonstrate a skill they will use throughout the semester. My hope is that by showing them how to create a graph, they will feel supported, confident, and ready to complete their assignments involving graphed data on their own. This will be a series of many short videos to help them learn how to create all types of graphs they will need.
This microlecture was designed to help students learn about the theories of forgetting in a manner that promotes deep processing to maximize learning. By asking students to identify whether each learning theory discussed in the video could be a reason for why forgetting occurred in a given scenario (a story told at the start of the video) students are encouraged to consider and process information about each theory.
I like to provide relatable examples and stories for students to consider while learning concepts that might otherwise seem intimiating, boring, or dry.
Because we were given te option of using a platform other than YouTube, I chose to use Zoom. If the link in the button to the left doesn't work, please try the link below.
https://us06web.zoom.us/rec/share/B7fALvL_JqnRoD5mqxDdrNtGAzm5l373uwDB8PFEwan1Hu4VDY7RGEUxzErO_jI.TX5m_yuOLnYGgfW_
