Reflections

Where I was.

Before I started the Academy, I honestly felt lost about how to even approach equity gaps in my courses in general, let alone in an online version of my course. Teaching a science class like human anatomy, the content didn't lend itself to explicitly addressing equity issues, unlike the content in a history course, English course, or other liberal arts courses. That said, I was and am still very well aware that STEM fields, both academically and professionally, suffer from egregious equity gaps. And so I started the Academy hoping to find answers on just how to start addressing those issues in STEM.

When I was an undergraduate student, I certainly was "tested in the fires" through a traditional STEM education - large lecture halls where I was a lonely dot in a sea of students, minimal interaction with my professors beyond listening to them lecture, and a mentality that it was all on me to figure things out and succeed. Even before I began to teach online, I knew that this traditional approach of "weeding out" was inequitable. I promised myself and my future students that their educational experiences would be different. That instead of a distant inaccessible professor, I would be someone who was both available and willing to help my students achieve their goals. By going through the Academy, I realize that the way I manifested that intent was how I conducted my in-person classes - group quizzes, interactive lab activities, and an overall environment that fostered learning communities. Yet when I initially developed my online courses through the pandemic, these elements were the last things on my mind. While this partly due to simply trying to surviving online teaching, it was also admittedly because of a lack of tools that accomplished those humanizing elements.

Where I am.

Having gone through the Academy, I can now say that I, at least, have some starting points! My general theme, while the content may not necessarily lend itself to explicit conversations about race and gender inequality, I've learned that how we approach our students in delivering the material and conducting the class may serve as the key to addressing these gaps. I can confidently say that the Academy has given me not only the tools, but a prime example of how to best implement those tools to create those learning environments - helping my online students feel like they are not isolated learners but, indeed, part of a rich and vibrant learning community.

Where I am going.

Every semester I always try and improve my courses. But in the past, I've mainly focused on updating content, creating new assignments, and improving my assessments. While those aspects can certainly still be improved, my focus for the moment is to look at these humanizing elements. Videos to help humanize me to my students, making me more than just some random instructor on the other side of the screen posting videos and putting grades on assessments. Videos for discussions boards, helping students realize they are not alone in tackling these difficult concepts. And, of course, taking the time for meaningful feedback. Admittedly, my grading practices have been merely assigning a number score with little to no feedback on how to improve. Now, I know that I should take the time to invest in my students' success and give them meaningful feedback that helps to foster a growth mindset not only for my class, but their academic career altogether!