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.
I was only teaching in-person classes in my college and I was taking courses on culturally responsive teaching and educational technology. I also had experience with Canvas for some of the class activities. Then COVID happened and we all had to teach online. To learn how to teach online courses, I completed two training programs. One of them, DEFT program in Southwestern college, had some similarities with this course. I learned how to use Canvas tools more efficiently, create videos, and make my content accessible though DEFT program. After switching back to in-person classes, I continued creating Canvas pages for my courses so I already had experience with making a course card, welcome page, homepage and instructional videos. However I didn't have a liquid syllabus. I saw the liquid syllabus of one of my colleagues last semester and I really liked it but I didn't know how to make one. I also had hard time making videos. I saw an email about the academy and we talk about it in our department meeting so I decided to attend this course.
The main different between the Academy and the other training I had was its specialization for STEM classes. Some of the strategies that were introduced in other programs were not completely applicable to STEM courses. This course however introduces many real applicable techniques that I can use for creating better connections with my STEM students. Now, I made my liquid syllabus, and I plan to use it in the Fall. I already have an ice breaker activity in a form of discussion in my courses and it is working well. I am also getting more comfortable with recording and using videos. I knew about Padlet and Flip before but I also learned about other tools like ScreenCast and Adobe Express that I can use as well.
Creating connection and establishing proper relationships with my students is important to me. I used to send a welcome email a week before the class. I am planning to include the link for my liquid syllabus in that email. I am also planning to replace the video I had for the discussion with a new updated one that I made in this class. I learned about Padlet and Flip in other training courses, but I didn't use it in my class. I have a minimalistic approach about using new tools. I only use them if there is a visible benefit and if they are fully accessible to all students. I may use Flip and Adobe Express next semester. Overall, I will try to make my biology course more friendly and humanize as much as I can.
I used to send a welcome email a week before the class and include my syllabus. However, throughout the semester I notice students don't read the syllabus or refer back to it when they needed. The problem was the lenghth of the syllabus. There are many sections that we are required to include in our syllabus which makes it very long. My syllabus is between ten to fourteen pages. The liquid syllabus is shorter and more visually appealing. It has all the important information and it is easy to navigate. It create a positive first impression of the class and reduces students' stress about the starting a new science course.
I always create course cards for my classes. It makes is easier for me and my students to find our course page when we open the Canvas. I usually chose an image of an animal or plant but after learning about the impact of the images that we use in our course, I used this picture that shows a female scientist. I want to address the false notion of "men are better in science than women" by using this image. I teach general biology for non-majors and I hear a lot from students who tell me they are not good in science or biology. I think this image shows everyone can do science and be good at it, especially girls.
I always set up the homepage for my class. This is the first page they will see when they open the course on Canvas so it is their first impression. I tried to keep a friendly tone throughout the page and chose a nice picture of myself with relaxing background and a good smile. I welcomed my students and added the necessary information. This was a sandbox homepage, in the actual homepage for in-person classes, I also include the time and location of the class. For the first year students it is important to know where to go on the first day. On the top I have an image which is a collage of pictures of animals, plants, microbes, and the environment because in general biology we will learn a little about everything and I wanted the image to show that. Another important part to consider was accessibility. I added alternative text for the images and used the proper fonts. I tired my best to make the first impressions of my class warm, friendly, and accessible.
I already had a discussion in my courses as an ice breaker and it is working well. I set it up in the orientation module. It is less formal than a survey and since it is a discussion all students can see each others posts. It not only help me to know my students it also help them to start getting to know each other. Using a survey seems like a good option too, especially for the students who may not comfortable to share some of the information with everyone in the class. I had 8 questions. Asking their preferred name and pronouns. In past, I had some students who came to me and asked me to use a different name (usually gender neutral names) than what was in the roster. Having that in the survey make them more welcome in the class and they don't have to come to me to ask. I also try to give them an opportunity to describe themselves to get an idea about their major, their likes and their dislikes.
In past I used to set up a discussion in my courses as an ice breaker activity but here we were using Flip. I think the advantage of flip is the option of using video. Students will also learn to use a new tool. The disadvantage might be some students are not comfortable with recording video. Voice recording in flip is a good option for students who don't want to show their face. Also all students can see each others posts and it helps them to take a first step toward knowing their classmate. If the class is fully online it is very important to include these types of activities. Other than including the instructions and grading criteria, I did the assignment myself so students have an example and they also can see me which is important part of instructor presence in online classes. For in-person classes I may still use the discussion because students have a chance to see the posts and form connection but for online classes Flip is a better option.
For bumper video I chose a discussion. Many first year college students don't have any experience with Canvas so we cant just assume they know how to submit their assignments. I made this video to provide instructions for them. I have a similar video in the beginning of the first discussion in all my Canvas courses. It is a step by step instruction for posting text, images, and videos on Canvas. There might be already some instructional videos on Canvas for students but a first year student may be not be aware of that or don't know where to look. This way they have the instruction included in their first discussion. Plus I use silly pictures of myself to make it more personalized because it is more friendly and less structured. It is also a better option for instructor's presence and creating connection with students. I think it make me look less strict and more approachable.
My microlecture is about solving genetic problems. Genetics is a big part of our biology course. Students are more interested in this topic than the other topics in biology because it is more connected to daily life. They usually don't have any issues with learning the concepts but when it comes to problem solving some of them struggle with different scenarios and patterns of inheritance. In this video I tried to provide examples of four common types of genetic problems and explain the step by step problem solving techniques. I explained the proper order of answering, important parts that need to be included, and the common mistakes.