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.
At the start of the semester, I had thought a few online classes and was already certified to teach distance education courses (online courses). However, I wanted to learn new teaching techniques to make my science courses more welcoming, accessible, and increase my student success rate.
I have learned how to use new teaching tools, such as Flip and Adobe Video Express. I have also learned how to create a liquid syllabus, which can be presented to students before the course begins. I have also learned how to make microlectures, which introduce a topic using a short video. These tools will help me present my material in a friendly and modern fashion.
With the tools that I have learned I hope to make my courses more accessible and reach more students than before. These tools not only humanize my course, but they also increase student confidence allowing them to believe that they can succeed!
I’m excited to share my liquid syllabus. It not only allows me to introduce my course before it begins, but it also allows students to see that I am a human who cares and wants to see each student succeed. The liquid syllabus also allows me to demonstrate that my course is not designed to be competitive to “weed out” students. Instead, students will see that my course is “student centered” where teamwork is valued. That they will have all the tools they need to succeed. The liquid syllabus also allows me to set clear goals and high expectations, which establish trust before my course begins.
The course card I selected shows students exploring biology. The reason why I selected this picture is because the students are working as a group, having fun, and learning biology at the same time. This is a good first impression and sets the classroom teamwork culture from the start.
My homepage serves a kindness cue of social inclusion for students because it provides an enthusiastic welcome note, my information, and helpful resources. It also provides a link with instructions to start the course and a way to reach me if they have any questions.
The getting to know you survey is one of my favorite tools. I have learned that allowing my students to express themselves allows them to feel included in the classroom. It also allows me to show kindness and acknowledgment when I connect with them using information they shared in the survey.
My former students’ wisdom wall fosters a sense of belonging by allowing them to express how they overcame challenges. It is a great way of reminding students that they are not alone and provides them with words of encouragement. It also reassures future students that they can also succeed in the course. Finally, it also reminds students of the supplemental material available in the course, which is sometimes overlooked.
One of my favorite tools I learned this semester was the bumper video tool, which I will use when sending announcements on Canvas. Every Sunday I release "Weekly Checklist" via the announcements. However, I’ve noticed that many students don’t check their announcements. My hope is that by providing video announcements my students are encouraged to check them. I can also quickly add the bumper video to the top of their Weekly Module in case they miss the announcements. By doing this, I will be able to reach more students.
In human biology there are structures that students need to master before they can understand their function. The goal of microlectures is for students to understand and remember the structures (such as the chambers of the heart). This is an important step before they can analyze the function (such as blood flow through the heart), which would be covered in a full lecture.
