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.
Before the start of the program, I did understood the difference between equity and equality and tried to implement equity in all of my courses. As a faculty member with almost eight years of teaching experience across eight universities, I have had the pleasure of working alongside students from a variety of backgrounds: culturally, socially, and financially. Providing a positive, equitable learning environment is one of my greatest strengths as a professor. Employing the Socratic Method and ensuring all students receive the education they are entitled to is of paramount importance to me. Having worked at private, city, state, and community colleges has provided me the experience and knowledge to adapt and tailor my teaching method to ensure every student is provided the necessary tools and guidance to be successful in an academic as well as professional setting.
Adaptability has been vital with the recent transitions to remote teaching and continued remote teaching. Taking a traditional face-to-face chemistry class and modifying it to an online format was previously formidable. But, in completing the Humanizing Academy, this challenge was met with perseverance, patience, and understanding. In completing this program, it has been important to remind myself that students require continued presence and dedication to them and their successes, which can be achieved by holding virtual office hours and review sessions outside of normally scheduled class hours, teaching with empathy and reminding students that I, too, am human and understand the struggles inside and outside academia, and providing student-student interactions to promote a sense of community and belonging. When a student appears to be struggling, academically or personally, ensuring their success is of utmost importance to me. This means being an empathetic professor who supports them as a person, rather than simply a student. This is a quality I pride myself on and continue to foster.
In my upcoming and future classes, I plan on putting a more "human" touch into my courses, like including pictures of me outside of academia, sharing stories of my struggles and ultimate successes in academia, and providing more welcoming language in my syllabi that expresses to students that I am flexible and understanding of life circumstances and academic struggles. I look forward to implementing everything that I have learned in this program to foster the success of my students as well as continue to grow as a professor.
My liquid syllabus provides a simple, yet informative guide on how to be successful in the class. From the instructor video provided at the top of the page, in addition to my teaching philosophy, it is clear that a personal, yet professional touch is added. These components will establish trust with my students. Furthermore, the course pact and support links provided demonstrate care for my students and their successes prior to the beginning of the course.
This course card image was chosen as it shows inclusivity and acceptance of people from different backgrounds, capabilities, and identities. It is meant to convey that all are welcome in my course, regardless of their background, creed, etc. I am a member of the LGBTQ+ community and want my students to feel safe and comfortable in my course and this image certainly conveys that idea.
My homepage provides a Welcome Banner at the top that is colorful and provides a sense of encouragement. I tell the students to call me Prof. Cody to keep our interactions informal, yet professional, providing a sense of inclusion and kindness. Furthermore, I make the lives of the students easier by providing a Week One Module "Click Here" button so that the students can be successful early on in the course. Additionally, links to other Pages in the course are provided to help the students navigate effectively. I provide a photo of me at the Kia Forum to see My Chemical Romance, as well as student hours and expected response times, to provide a sense of inclusion, importance, and kindness in our course.
My survey allows the students to let me know a bit about them so I can best tailor the course to their needs and adapt my teaching accordingly. For example, in Question 9, I ask the students to make me aware of their major and educational goals. This would allow me to interact with these students one-on-one and have a sense of their career path and expectations, so that I can best tie chemistry into their learning experience as well as accommodate them based on their goals. This is futher exemplified in Question 10 when I ask the students about their dream job. I love working with students and want them to know that I am interested in them as people, not just students. Getting to learn a bit about what interests them and where they will go outside my class will allow me to connect with them effectively, providing opportunities for kindness and social inclusion.
My Ice Breaker assignment requires the students to brainstorm some values that are important to them, to choose an object that best embodies one of these values, record a video using Flip to share this object and why it's important to them, and finally respond to two other students whom they share a common value with. This type of assignment fosters a community of belonging by connecting students to each other and gives us some insight as to who these students are as people and what matters most to them.
My Bumper Video provides a quick way of distinguishing some characteristics between acids and bases using audio and visual aids. The video will assist the student in recognizing properties of acids and bases, and applying these concepts through future assessments. Acid and base chemistry tends to be a tricky concept for students, so providing the students with some visuals will help clarify the concepts and provide a smooth discussion and analysis of the material.
This microlecture provides a discussion of Lewis Structures, guidelines to drawing Lewis Structures, and finally creating Lewis Structures based on the discussed guidelines. The video provides clear learning objectives: apply the guidelines and create correctly drawn structures. Normally, this lecture is discussed in a 90-minute lecture format, with multiple other concepts tied into the topic chosen for this microlecture. By focusing on one aspect, mainly the guidelines, and practicing with some structures, this will allow the students to better digest the material and apply it more effectively. It will help the students feel less overwhelmed and more confident in their approach to the topic.
