Getting Started
Right Now
We are living in incredibly unusual times. Mental and physical health challenges and the need for social reform have added tremendous stress and trauma to our lives. Stress and trauma directly affects your ability to learn. I will be flexible throughout our course to support you towards your academic success. Give yourself grace as you try your best and work within your personal situations.
I welcome your questions any time and I'm happy to help you think through your ideas so you can successfully complete an assignment. Sometimes just a five minute conversation in Zoom or on the phone is all you need. Struggle is a natural part of learning, but if you're feeling frustrated that means it is time to reach out for some assistance. You know how to reach me, right?
No significant learning can occur without a significant relationship. ~ James Comer, Psychiatrist
My Teaching Philosophy
I am here to help you. My favorite part about teaching is watching you learn. I love the realization when you understand and the questions when you don’t. Please don’t be a stranger. Visit me during office hours, talk with me before and after class, and let me know more about you. I strive to make my classes interesting and relevant, and sometimes that includes personal stories, so you’ll learn about me too.
I believe that every single one of you can succeed in this class. That's right - EVERY SINGLE ONE. I expect you to be ready to learn, to try your best, to put as much in to this class as you can and get as much out of this class as you can, to ask me for help when you need it, to ask for and offer help to your classmates, and to work with me to ensure your success.
I also understand that you have lives and responsibilities outside of school, and am willing to work with you should the need arise. If you have such responsibilities or other potential barriers to completing the work for this course, please come talk to me as soon as possible. Don't wait until it's too late to get help.
A very big challenge with at-home or distance learning is the motivation to complete the work and the potential for interruption. We have so much in our lives to distract us, especially at home, and trying to learn a new concept may be weighed against taking care of family or going to work. It is most helpful if you can make a schedule and create a routine, but if you cannot, pledge to yourself to work at least 1.5 hours per day. I know that seems like a lot, but to learn, it is best to break the learning into smaller chunks into regular intervals. If you need help setting a schedule, I'd be glad to provide resources.
If you have any disability, either temporary or permanent, which might affect your ability to participate fully in the course, please let me know right away. We can determine together what accommodations will be necessary to provide equitable participation. Your voice matters and is important. I have worked to make my course accessible and intentionally created assignments to capture your thinking, your voice, and your perspective. If there is any problem with accessing course content, please notify me immediately.
Finally, I want to stress that ALL students are welcome in my class, and I want to create a course environment that supports the diversity of experiences and perspectives you bring to the classroom. An academic environment requires that we all demonstrate respect for the intersectional identities of everyone; this includes but is not limited to sex, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, nationality, immigration status, skin color, religion, ability, gender identity, gender expression, chosen name, pronouns, sexual preference, and sexual orientation. This course has no room for racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, or any other form of prejudice or discrimination. Every effort will be made to ensure that I provide an equitable classroom where systemically marginalized voices are heard, and privileged individuals learn how to be better allies. If you would like, please message me or talk with me during office hours to let me know if there is anything I can do to make our classroom environment a safe and comfortable place for you. If anything is ever said in our course that makes you feel uncomfortable and/or that shows disrespect for one of your identities, I encourage you to talk with me during office hours or send me a message through the Canvas Inbox so that I can address the situation. Let us work to make our classroom an environment marked by kindness and mutual respect. Our differences, more than our similarities, offer the richest opportunities for learning.
Classes for Fall 2023
Class Content for My Classes
A class has three main requirements for interactions. These are accomplished by the following activities:
Student and content: Reading the textbook, participating in lessons, completing focused notes, practicing with homework, practicing with labs
Student and student: annotating the textbook, group work, helping each other with homework or labs
Student and instructor: grading, feedback (both ways!)
Computer Skills
Courses require adequate computer skills. You must be able to:
Navigate the learning management system (Canvas)
Receive and respond to email
Download and upload files to Canvas
Use a word processor (such as Microsoft Word or Google Docs)
Use a spreadsheet application (Math 40 only; such as Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets)
Share Google Files appropriately (video and instructions will be provided)
Technical Requirements
Although you can use late-model mobile devices (such as Android or iOS phones and tablets) for some things, you should plan on doing the majority of your work from a reasonably late-model notebook or desktop computer (Mac or PC, have Chrome and Firefox installed; Chrome is the preferred browser). If you do decide to use your mobile device for some of your class work, use the free Canvas app (called “Canvas by Instructure”) available in iTunes (for iOS) and the Google Play Store (for Android). Either way, you will need high-speed internet access.
If you are in need of any equipment or internet access in order to complete this course effectively, please complete this Google Form. The school has items on loan for students, and I'm happy to get you in touch with the right people to make sure that your learning is not severely impacted by lack of resources.
Class Email
By default, your college Zonemail account will be used in Canvas. You can change this to your personal email account or set up forwarding in Zonemail. Learn more about email in Canvas.
Login Instructions for Canvas
Open your web browser, and go to https://clpccd.instructure.com. (Be sure to bookmark this page.)
Enter your W number, and if you haven’t used Canvas before, your initial password will be in the format of the first two letters of your first name, followed by the first two letters of your last name (all lowercase), followed by the last four digits of your W number. Example: Maria Valdez with a W number of W98765432 would enter password mava5432.
After logging in, change your default password by going to Account – Settings – Edit Settings – Change Password, then clicking Update Settings.
Get Started in the Class
While logged into Canvas, click Dashboard, and then enter this class. Follow the instructions to get started. To help ensure a successful beginning, explore how I have the Canvas supplement set up so far.
Available Help
Contact LPC’s technical support desk during weekdays to get any Canvas problems solved. During nights and weekends, you can contact Canvas directly at 1-844-600-3467.
Students with Disabilities
If you are a disabled student and need special accommodations this semester, please let me know. Visit the LPC Students with Disabilities page. You should also be registered with LPC’s Disabled Students Programs and Services.
Our Mutual Agreement
What you can expect from me
I will provide you with a clear, organized course that is designed to ensure you meet our course outcomes in a meaningful manner.
I will provide a variety of assignments to ensure your learning needs are met.
I will be actively present in your learning.
I will provide a supportive and safe environment for you to share and discuss ideas with your peers.
I will celebrate mistakes as integral to the work we do together, not a cause for judgment or impatience.
I will reach out to you when I sense that you need support.
I will treat you with dignity and respect and be flexible to support your individual needs.
I won't be perfect. I am human and will make mistakes at times. I will willingly accept critical feedback or suggestions and consider them seriously.
I will provide you with timely feedback on assignments so you are better able to gauge your learning.
Is there anything else you would like to add to this list?
What I will expect from you
You strive to be an active participant in this course and strive to meet due dates.
You will maintain an open line of communication with me so I understand how to support you.
You will contact me if you have a concern with meeting a due date.
You strive to regularly contribute to collaborative activities to ensure other members of the community have ample opportunity to read/listen, reflect, and respond to your ideas.
You will treat your peers with dignity and respect.
You will do your best to have patience with technology. There will be hiccups, expect them. We will get through them together.
You will give yourself grace. We are in an unusual time, and this adds stress. Take care of yourself.
Expect to make mistakes. Mistakes are important to learning, and we need to learn from them to make the learning stick.
You will provide your own work on assignments and only use allowed material.
Is there anything else you would like to add to this list?
Learning and Success
Success is an Iceberg
Every success is like an iceberg. People only see the success, not ALL THE HARD WORK to get there!
Check out Medium.com's article on The Iceberg Illusion, which has some great examples of "what people don't see" of the different groups of people behind AirBNB, Pinterest, Instagram and Angry Birds.
You may only see a person's success, but realize ALL that goes behind that success! This is no different in education. You may only see the good grades of one student, but you don't see the hours that student spent reading, studying, practicing, sacrificing, redoing because of failure, and continued persistence to achieve the grade they earned.
The Curve of Forgetting
Hermann Ebbinghaus, a German psychologist, studied memory. He developed the "Curve of Forgetting", which describes how we retain or get rid of information that we take in, based on a one-hour lecture.
If you never review what is learned in class, you lose about 50% of what you learned after one day. But the next day, if you take 10 minutes to review what you learned, you can get back to 90% of what you learned, then each successive day of studying, you will need to study less and less each day to be able to recall what you learned. If you study a little every day, then you don’t have to study so hard the night before exams.
Here's another great article on Medium to learn more.
The blue curve shows how quickly you forget information. The pink curves show with quick reviews daily, you can get your retention back to high levels. It is important to take small steps every day to help you learn a new concept, instead of trying to cram everything the day before the test.
It takes time to move information from short-term to long-term memory, and long-term memory retention is the goal for higher education classes.
Do not sell yourself short - you CAN succeed! Just know it takes effort, good strategies and help from others to make it happen. These plus productive struggle help lead to success in your learning.
Don’t worry about failure. Worry about the chances you miss when you don’t even try. ~ Sherman Finesilver
Media Credits:
Top Banner: Colored Pencils, Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash
Quote Background: Colorful Bubbles Photo by David Clode on Unsplash
The Iceberg Illusion, by Sylvia Duckworth
The Curve of Forgetting, from Medium.com.
Bottom Quote Background: Woman Playing Cards, Photo by Malcolm Lightbody on Unsplash