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Field Work in the Classroom – Remote Context
Field work is important to your course because it provides a way for students to meet experiential outcomes, build a professional identity, feel engaged in their learning, and can help students retain knowledge and understanding. Some programs may rely on fieldwork for attracting new students and for maintaining outreach with community partners. Can students meet experiential outcomes this semester in a remote context, independently? Do students need this outcome to meet the course objectives? Take Inventory of what you already have. How might students build a professional identify outside of the fieldwork context? How might we engage students with their profession to build knowledge and understanding, outside of fieldwork? In…
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Remote Lab Experiences
Download: Planning for Modules with Labs Lab experiences are often rich, hands-on elements of courses that build on learning outcomes from lectures or achieve a different set of outcomes. There are typically three key buildings blocks to any lab experience. A problem or task Active completion of a procedure or process Documenting the process and results As we plan to offer our labs remotely, there are a number of important questions to consider. What do you already have? Are there existing online or blended versions of this course that you can draw upon? Are there individuals experienced with online instruction in your department or unit who could help smooth this…
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Why You Should Use Modules When Planning Your Course
DOWNLOAD: Planning for Modules Excel Template LINK: Module Checklist Take a look at your course syllabus. What do you want learners to be able to do by the end of the course? Review your learning outcomes and consider these questions: What type of learning activities are needed? What type of assessment activities are needed? How will students practice? How will they receive feedback? How will they demonstrate their abilities (to get a grade)? In standard 13-week term, you would likely have one module every 1-2 weeks. Modules replace thinking about a course in units of time, but instead, as units of content or objectives. Modules can be thought of as…
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Building Community, Remotely
In an online remote context, virtual learning communities (VLCs) allow us to plan for: Interaction Communication Collaboration This video highlights some of the reasons we might want to develop rich VLCs in remote teaching. Below are some strategies framed from instructor competencies. Some strategies for developing interaction: Model participation and practice good nettiquette Use Discussion Forums and participate actively Steer conversations in the right direction Motivate and encourage Create a safe and supportive environment/network Moderate Discussion forum Temper the dominant voices in the forum Set the tone by being positive Encourage and motivate students Use introductions, online office hours and e-mail to promote interaction Incorporate collaborative learning and increased opportunities…
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Start Here…Pick Two
Let’s boil this down. What’s most important for us to rethink as we use our precious hours to redesign our courses for remote learning? Work with a colleague, friend, or student to talk through your answers after you fill this out. Still stumped? Contact gmctl-support@usask.ca PDF Version: Start Here – Break it Down – Pick Two First, let’s take a breath and focus on the big picture. What are two GUIDING PRINCIPLES that you want to keep in mind as you redesign and teach during this time? 1. 2. Next, let’s settle on some technologies or processes that feel comfortable to us. What are two TOOLS that you might use to…
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Sequencing an outcome
Summary: Align your course with clear goals! Learn how to sequence learning outcomes effectively to enhance student success and engagement. Date of publishing: May 14, 2020 How do you breakdown a course outcome into manageable sections, or chunks, of information or action for students? What do students need to be able to do with automaticity before they can meet this learning outcome? Here is a template to help you in docx form: Sequencing Template blank Sequencing Template A. My end goal is to have students be able to meet this specific learning outcome: B. Therefore, I need students to be able to do these three (or more) sub-components, in this…
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How to get students to hand in quality work by planning for choice
In my course, at this level, at this place of progress in their learning, what do students need to demonstrate to me? Handout version for USask Instructors What do I expect of my students? Offering choice in how students meet course objectives is rooted in inclusive education and that by providing choice we acknowledge and respect that there are many ways to demonstrate learning and students have the agency, when appropriate, to pick the one that motivates them. These checklists might help you think about “shifting the ‘locus of control’ from the teacher to the student” (Jopp & Cohen, 2020) There are three methods described: when students pick the medium…
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Inclusive Teaching Strategies: Reflecting on Your Practice
Summary: How do you engage with students? How do students see themselves in the content of your course? How are students expected to engage with each other? Date: August 30, 2024 Here are some strategies compiled from the University of Michigan with permission. Which ones do you do already? Which ones might you try? Instructor-Student Interactions Learn and use students’ names they choose to be called. Clarify how you want students to address you, especially if you teach students from a range of educational and cultural backgrounds. Distribute a student background questionnaire early in the term to learn about students’ experience with the course topics, educational background, professional ambitions,…
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Assessment Equity and Alignment with Experiential Learning
When I met with Sandy and Harold I was stressed. I was worried that I was falling behind. After coming from a very busy workplace with many competing deadlines and defined work hours, starting a PhD program and having to manage my time independently is a huge challenge. Most days feel chaotic and I’m often overwhelmed. Being a student has given me space, mentally and emotionally, to think and to focus on my health. But this “room to think” can also be a dangerous thing. Sometimes hours, even days, slip by in an unfocused haze of meandering reading if I’m not careful. This skill of balancing time and energy is…
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Virtual Poster Presentations – Recommended Tools
Note: This list assumes student work is already coming in the likely poster formats (PDF, image as JPG or PNG, PPT, DOC) as opposed to being presented using some unique platform (e.g., Prezi, Sway). Please investigate the help pages linked below first. If you require additional help with one of these tools, email itsupport@usask.ca. Tool Strengths and Challenges Canvas Discussions · Asynchronous (students can access at any time ahead of a given deadline) · Students attach their poster to a thread which classmates can view · Classmates can add comments / feedback to the thread · Simplest tool that enables student interaction! Panopto assignment · Asynchronous · Students produce…