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13 tips for talking to students about academic integrity
Do you wonder how best to speak with students about academic integrity?Here is a great resource from Kwantlen Polytechnic University, developed by Dr. Kristie Durkewich (thanks again for creating this, Kristie, and for the CC-BY license). Watch this eight minute video for 13 tips of “pure academic integrity gold”, as one of our USask Educational Development Specialists put it. Kristie makes a particular point about the ways we “signal” to students our commitment to fostering and developing students’ academic integrity. This is an overview of Kristie’s 13 tips, with some USask resources added. Have a dialogue about the importance of academic integrity and review the policy. (here is the USask…
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7 Tips for Using Group Work
Group work can be highly effective in the remote and in-person teaching context. It is important to use strategies that require interaction among students. In groups, they can check their understanding with peers and develop a sense of belonging that helps engage and motivate. Tip 1: Be clear on purpose and process. Make it crystal clear to everyone what the learning goals or outcomes are for group work. Provide students with clear descriptions and criteria that will be used to determine grades. Tip 2: Set up the groups for students. You may need to survey students or ask them to submit information by email or discussion boards to allow for…
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Academic Integrity ‘Talking Points’ for Instructors
In addition to pointing students to the USask academic misconduct policy (a minimum requirement as part of your syllabus), it’s important to talk about academic integrity and academic misconduct with students. Students need to know that: You know about academic misconduct and the temptations students face; You respond to the suspected academic misconduct; You prevent academic misconduct in multiple ways; and You care about students’ learning and a fair environment for assessment. Core ideas What you can say to your students I know sites that facilitate or deliver academic misconduct exist unpermitted collaboration occurs I am aware of sites that make it possible for students to cheat on…
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The “What if…?”s of Live Zoom Sessions
Interested in using Zoom for online, synchronous learning? Here are some basic ‘what-ifs’ to consider before you start using Zoom. What if a student refuses to mute themselves? To start, tell students that you will have specific times during your live session where they will be able to speak and that they should wait to be prompted, or wait for other cues, to unmute themselves. Set the tone from the beginning of the session that there are appropriate times to share and other times to not. If this is repeatedly a concern, you can use the Host Tools (Shield Icon) in the meeting controls to secure the meeting and minimize…
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Remote Breakout Rooms – Facilitating Small Group Discussions and Interactions with Zoom
The move to remote learning has created challenges for actively engaging students in our classes. A simple think-pair-share activity now requires extensive descriptions of who is partnered with whom, how will you communicate, and how much time do you have – not to mention how to use the available technology to complete the activity. The truth is – facilitating learning activities and interactions remotely is different, but with some planning still provides our learners with valuable opportunities to engage, think, create and do – to practice and improve the things you want them to learn. If you are considering delivering any part of your class synchronously – consider actively engaging your…
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Considerations for Hosting Guest Lecturers Remotely
You may have had guest speakers or guest lecturers into your class before. Typically, they brought their own material, spoke live to your class, and answered any questions before they left. You, as the instructor, were not responsible for recording the talk, storing the files of the talk, sharing the talk for students outside of the classroom, or saving the presentation materials for others. In remote teaching, you will need to consider many of these factors. Will the presenter be live during a Zoom call? What happens if the bandwidth is insufficient for good dialogue with students? If you record the presentation, where will you store the files of the…
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Deterring Exam Collusion Using the LMS Tools
Some exam cheating occurs as a “crime of opportunity.” That is, the situation has made it so easy to cheat, that some (not all) students think everyone must be doing it and then some (not all) are tempted. This is not what you want. You have multiple tools to address this. When students know that you have set up the quiz, test, or exam in Canvas in such a way that it makes cheating more difficult most will appreciate that you care enough to add this preventative measure. Videos have been created to show you how to use some of the tools in Canvas. Here you will find instructions on:…
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Canvas Commons Opens New Ways to Share Materials With Colleagues, and Beyond
As part of our move to the Canvas LMS, the U of S gains the use of the Canvas Commons. The Canvas website describe it as: Commons is a learning object repository that enables educators to find, import, and share resources. A digital library full of educational content, Commons allows Canvas users to share learning resources with other users as well as import learning resources into a Canvas course. As an instructor who is a Canvas user at USask, you will be able to find materials in, and share materials to the Canvas Commons. In addition, there are institution-wide documents, such as a U of S Canvas template available in…
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Why Is My Syllabus Public?
Syllabi within the learning management system (LMS) have long been set to public as the default at the U of S. There are a number of reasons for this, including allowing students to view course syllabi prior to registering for courses. We encourage you to leave your syllabi public for the benefit of students, and to help promote your course (think of your syllabus as the equivalent of the abstract in a journal article. With this in mind, please remember: Do not include any copyrighted material within your syllabus (e.g. images) Do not include contact information for anyone, such as your teaching assistants without their approval Instructors, however, have always…
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Why Open Educational Practices in Our Context?
In the previous post about open educational practices (OEP) at USask, I explained what they are. In this post, we will explore why so many people are already engaging in OEP, and why you should consider integrating these practices into your own teaching and research. Our beliefs make us Open supporters Open allows students to participate in the co-creation and sharing of text on current major issues (BLM / Indigenous lives, the pandemic, climate change, struggling small businesses) in their learning, demonstrating that USask is engaged with addressing major issues shaping the world and giving students relevant career skills they can demonstrate for potential employers. When students create materials to…