Teaching Toolbox: Teach Students How to Learn; Guidance from IT team; Tips from our Faculty; SUNY Remote Teaching Clinic

Provost William McClure’s syllabus template (ADA compliant) and syllabus requirements, including information and policies for academic year AY 2023-2024

Dr. Saundra McGuire, Chancellor, Louisiana State, Teach Students How to Learn

Here is a link to some video resources made by our Faculty Mentors.
SUNY ALBANY – Institute for Teaching, Learning and Academic Leadership
AI – Artificial Intelligence Resources:
University of Maine Learning with AI Initiative

Recording Archive

SUNY Otter trainings on Course Development and Design (Spring 2021) RECORDINGS HERE
Trainings on Course Delivery (August 2021) RECORDINGS HERE
Missed an OIT (Office of Instructional Technology) workshop or want to review one you attended?  Find them on our recording archive on support.newpaltz.edu.

Providing Feedback on Writing Assignments across the Disciplines with Jackie George, Nikki Wilson & Rachel Rigolino

FDC discussion  FDC Communication & Community Building

Accessibility info:  SUNY Accessibility Week programming recordings on our YouTube channel has a lot of “point and click” workshops for you to review: recordings here.

The Course Delivery Webinar Series recordings are now available both on the OTTER Institute website and the CPD YouTube Channel.

EPortfolios with Nikki Wilson Clasby, Director of Composition Program, English Department

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TIPS FROM OUR FACULTY

Autumn Joy Florencio-Wain (School of Education, SUNY NP) shared her Group Discussion/Project form.

Florencio-Wain Group delegation and feedback form

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Rachel Rigolino (English, SUNY NP) shared her Discussion Board rubric.

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Indiana University, Plagiarism Tutorials & Test (for both faculty and students)

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Maintain an online presence for your students. Kiersten Greene, PhD, Education SUNY NP shows us how:

Kiersten Greene, PhD | she/her/hers

Regular & Substantive Interaction Backpack by Rich McElrath & Kate Bohan

Great Icebreakers to build community & connection from day #1:

  • Describe the world you would like to see in the year 2030
  • Tell us the story of your name – (how you got it, what it means, etc.)
  • Introduce us to your pets or other study companions
  • Make an acrostic poem that describes you, using the letters of your name
  • Point us to a news item (link) and comment on it
  • Tell us 3 things about yourself: 2 that are true and 1 that is not true (we will guess)
  • What is your favorite meal, animal, movie, song, place, etc. Provide images/links
  • What would you be doing if you were not participating in class at this moment?
  • Show us a picture of the study space where you focus and work
  • Tell about something you are proud of that happened this week
  • Report on an act of kindness you noticed this week

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SUNY New Paltz remote teaching resources

  1. Matthea Marquart:Engaging Adult Learners by Creating Inclusive Online Classroom Communities
  2. Jesse Stommel: Open Pedagogy: How to Build More Compassionate Spaces for Online Learning
  3. Amy Collier: Critical Digital Fluency: Agency and Activism in Today’s Polluted Digital World

Brian Arao and Kristi Clemens:  From Safe space to Brave space: A New Way to Frame Dialogue Around Diversity and Social Justice.

Recording of workshop with Jessica Delaney, New Paltz Center for Student Success: Supporting Students Studying Online, March 1, 2021

Great teaching resources from our colleagues at Binghamton & Oneonta

Binghamton professional development resources:

https://www.binghamton.edu/clt/events/past-events-content.html

SUNY Oneonta professional development resources:

https://teaching-learning-technology-center.sunycreate.cloud

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General advice for taking an online class (Rebecca A. Longtin, Ph.D. Philosophy, SUNY NP )

  • Use a notebook. Keeping detailed notes will help you keep up with the work and stay organized.  Take notes when you read, listen to online lectures, search for examples online, brainstorm for a writing assignment, analyze a work of art, and work on your posts or responses for the discussion boards. Writing—especially by hand with pen and paper—helps with remembering information, drawing connections, and discovering new insights.
  • Annotate the readings. Make sure you download all the readings to your computer or tablet and save them in a file so you can highlighting and take notes as you read. This practice helps with comprehension and retention.
  • Focus and avoid distractions. Make sure your family, friends, and loved ones respect your study time and do not interrupt or distract you. Don’t try to multitask: close all other tabs on your computer and put your cellphone on airplane mode and hide it. Instead, clear your physical and mental space to focus your full attention on the reading, video lecture, discussion board, or writing assignment. It might help to find a space where you can focus and avoid interruptions.
  • Manage your time carefully. Pay attention to what time of day you work best and make sure you carve out enough time in your schedule to complete assignments by the deadlines.
  • Think for yourself. Online classes require independent learning. Ask yourself questions, challenge yourself to think more deeply about your answers, and develop the ability to look at an idea from multiple perspectives.
  • Immerse yourself in the subject. If you use social media regularly, there are many ways to immerse yourself in the [art world]. See Blackboard for a list of blogs, websites, Instagram accounts, etc. to follow if you want to discover new art or find inspiration for this class.

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As New Paltz faculty, you are automatically enrolled in this course: Training: Developing a Blended Learning Course which you can find under “my courses” when you log onto Blackboard.  You can also find the Accessible Classroom: Faculty and Staff Toolkit on Blackboard under “my community” to learn about how you can make your materials ADA compliant (Americans with Disabilities) and thereby accessible and user friendly to all students.

Kate Bohan and Rich McElrath’s Instructional Design course_planner_template

blended_learning_plan_template_accessible

Review your own courses using the OSCQR Rubric

OSCQR Guide 2020 with_links

SUNY Remote Teaching Clinic

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Online Proctoring Best Practices

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DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION concerns

Virtual Keynote Dr. Tyrone Howard: Why Equity Matters! 

A follow-up to Dr. Howard’s keynote at the 2019 NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising’s National Conference in Louisville, KY.

Dr. Tyrone C. Howard is a professor in the Graduate School of Education and
Information Studies at UCLA. Dr. Howard is also the inaugural director of the new UCLA Pritzker Center for Strengthening Children and Families, a campus wide consortium examining academic, mental health, and social emotional experiences and challenges for California’s most vulnerable youth populations. He is also the former Associate Dean for Equity, Diversity & Inclusion. Professor Howard’s research examines culture, race, teaching and learning.

MESSAGE FROM SUNY PROVOST TOD LAURSEN re DEI

SUNY Provost Tod Laursen has asked us to consider additional resources to help insure our online courses include all student voices and a range of perspectives:
Below are links to best practices for inclusive instruction that address accessibility concerns as well as issues of micro-aggressions in the classroom.  We want to proactively address issues of inclusion and equity that may arise in the online and distance learning environments.

·       This is a link to instructional resources from San Diego University presented in a NADOHE (National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education) webinar focused on maintaining equity in a virtual classroom. https://diversity.sdsu.edu/resources/inclusive-pedagogy

·       This link is to a website maintained by the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California that focuses on tools and strategies for inclusive teaching. It is organized around different facets of diversity – gender, sexual orientation, race, social class, disabilities, etc. — and includes web resources and scholarly articles from a variety of leading institutions. https://rossier.usc.edu/tools-for-inclusive-teaching/

·       This link from Appalachian State University offers insight into “humanizing” on-line instruction. https://cae.appstate.edu/inclusive-excellence/inclusive-online-teaching

·       This blog from Rice University’s Center for Teaching Excellence offers tips on how to create a more inclusive learning environment while teaching remotely. https://cte.rice.edu/blogarchive/2020/3/13/inclusion-equity-and-access-while-teaching-remotely

·       This website for general audiences focuses on identifying and responding to bias incidents and offers 10 tips for identifying bias and 7 tips for responding to bias. https://www.tolerance.org/professional-development/identifying-and-responding-to-bias-incidents

In addition, we welcome volunteers from SUNY faculty already well-versed in these practices to develop a webinar for faculty colleagues as part of the SUNY Remote Teaching Clinic.  Those interested should contact the Office of the SUNY Provost Tod Laursen by email, provost@suny.edu.

Additional Inclusive Teaching Resources / suggestions

Pro-actively address inter-cultural competency with these resources for students, staff & faculty

Recognizing Microaggression 

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Inclusive Teaching

“Want to Reach All of your Students? Here’s How to Make Your Teaching More Inclusive,” Viji Sathy and Kelly Hogan, Chronicle of Higher Education 22 July, 2019. Making Your Teaching More Inclusive (CHE 7-22-19)

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Sojourner Truth Library Resources:

E-Resources for Online Learning http://newpaltz.libguides.com/onlinelearning

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From Kate Bohan, Shala Mills and the Information Technology team:

  • Choose the simplest format possible for your course delivery.  Synchronous delivery is seldom the simplest form.  It is almost always much easier to record in advance and post.
  • Asynchronous gives you more control.  In an asynchronous format, you can pre-record your content, post it, and test that it is working properly.  If something goes wrong, you will likely have time to resolve the problem before your students access the content.  For that reason, you may wish to rely more heavily on asynchronous content and limit the synchronous elements, perhaps by using synchronous sessions only once a week, or for short mini-lectures or Q & A sessions.
  • Get appropriate training on technology that our campus supports.  Synchronous technologies are not necessarily “hard” to use, but you do need to be familiar with them.  If you plan to use synchronous tools, and you have not done so already, please get training.  Check the OIT Events Page for upcoming events and the Campus Contingency Guide on the ITS knowledge base for documentation and recorded training sessions.  Be sure to use technologies our campus supports.  This will not only ensure that you can get the support that YOU need from OIT, but it will also reduce the number of platforms your students will have to learn and ensure that they have also access to campus support.
  • Choice #1 for you is Bb Collaborate  (students can use for group work)
  • Choice #2 for you is WebEx  (training video below)
  • Use your regularly scheduled class session. It is essential that you schedule your synchronous class for its regularly scheduled class session.  Most students are enrolled in multiple courses.  If faculty do not keep to their regular class schedule, then students may have rescheduled synchronous sessions that overlap or conflict with one another.
  • Be prepared for the likelihood that you or your students may encounter technical difficulties that disrupt or prevent the synchronous delivery.  The global move to online education is taxing broadband services.  Your own or your students’ internet connections may falter.  Some of your students may have limited internet access.  You or your students may have trouble using new technologies with which you are not familiar. 
  • Test first.  Consider scheduling one or more “test” class sessions with your students where you have no intention of delivering content, but, rather, are giving everyone a chance to become familiar with whatever system you are using for your synchronous course.  Ask students for feedback on what challenges they experienced in the test sessions and then work to resolve those issues before holding a session involving the delivery of course content.
  • Record for students who can’t access the synchronous session.  It is very important that you record your synchronous session for students who are unable to join the session.  Students may experience technical difficulties.  Students, like faculty, may be working from remote locations that are less than ideal.  Having a recording of the session will enable them to participate once their technical or other challenges have been resolved.  Knowing that the session will be recorded may alleviate anxiety they may experience over this type of remote learning.
  • Have a back-up plan and make sure that you and your students know what the back-up plan is if you experience technical challenges that require you to abandon your original plan.
    • How will you communicate that you are moving to your back-up plan?  Will you post an announcement in Bb or send an email?
    • Will you move to a synchronous “chat” space where you and your students can type your communication?
    • Will you record the intended content and post it later that day?
    • Will you move to an alternate synchronous platform?
  • Have an experienced colleague on stand-by to assist.  If you are inexperienced with synchronous technologies, you may want to consider asking an experienced colleague to be available to you by cell phone during your first foray into this learning environment.  That way you will have immediate access to someone who can help you troubleshoot any problems you or your students might be having.
  • If you have problems:
  • Check with the ITS Knowledge Base before sending in a ticket and use the search bar there to type your inquiry.  Your question may already be answered there.
  • Try to resolve your problem within your department before reaching out to OIT.  Colleagues from your own discipline or from disciplines with similar pedagogical approaches are often well equipped to help you think about what works best with the sort of content you are delivering.
  • OIT is training additional staff to assist with tickets, but OIT resources are heavily taxed right now.  So please recognize that there may be some delay before OIT staff can respond to your ticket.
  • Instructional Technology has created a link with helpful information for students they will continue to update at:

    https://newpaltz.teamdynamix.com/TDClient/1905/Portal/KB/?CategoryID=17633

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Middle States on MSCHE Reg & Substantive Interaction – Faculty Development Center’s Role in the online/hybrid teaching environment.

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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

HIGHER ED LEARNING COLLECTIVE

The Higher Ed Learning Collective has emerged as a leading resource for institutions of higher education in the time of COVID-19.
They’ve been mentioned in a few articles (including The Chronicle ), and have been linked on over twenty educational institution and organization websites.
Writer’s Handbook from U Wisconsin recommended by Jackie George
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Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives (published in 1956 and revised in 2001) provides a format to express SLOs in a way that reflects cognitive skills, affective skills and psychomotor skills. These resources are especially helpful:

Using Bloom’s Taxonomy to Write Effective Learning Objectives (University of Arkansas)

Developing Program Goals and Student Learning Outcomes (University of Florida)

Excellent webinar on Communication and Community-Building Strategies for Online Classes

(SUNY Binghamton, Andrea MacArgel and Cherrie Van Putten)

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Resources for Remote Teaching:

“Quick Start Guide to Building Online Lessons” from the Provost:  https://newpaltz.teamdynamix.com/TDClient/1905/Portal/KB/ArticleDet?ID=100508

For support using various instructional platforms like Blackboard, including video help and training request forms, visit the “Campus Contingency Guide” at https://support.newpaltz.edu.  And for help with virtual conferencing tools like Blackboard Collaborate Ultra and Webex, follow this link:

https://newpaltz.teamdynamix.com/TDClient/1905/Portal/KB/?CategoryID=17236

For additional resources, please explore the following sites: Writing Discussion Forum Questions, Designing Effective Discussion Questions, and Questions to Provoke Critical Thinking .

For more ideas, please review Community Building Through Icebreaker Discussion Forums.

Association of American Colleges & Universities: “Safeguarding Quality, Equity, and Inclusion as Learning Moves Online” (due to COVID)

presentation slides:

Quality Online amid COVID 19 AAC & U Webinar

webinar recording:

Webinar: Safeguarding Quality, Equity, and Inclusion as Learning Moves Online

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Remote Teaching in the Disciplines: Business and Accounting  —  https://sunyedu.workplace.com/groups/2926149804087039/

Remote Teaching in the Disciplines: Visual & Performing Arts  –

–  https://sunyedu.workplace.com/groups/577691076168814/

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BOOKS on PEDAGOGY under discussion at the Faculty Center and available via Sojourner Truth Library & online

Teaching With Compassion: An Educator’s Oath to Teach from the Heart by Peter Kaufman and Janine Schipper (Rowman & Littlefield 2018)

The Slow Professor: Challenging the Culture of Speed in the Academy by Maggie Berg and Barbara Seeber (U Toronto 2016)

Small Teaching Online by Flower Darby and James Lang (Jossey-Bass 2019)

What the Best College Teachers Do by Ken Bain (Harvard 2004)

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MAGNA offers free videos on online instruction.

MAGNA: Taking Your Teaching Online

Free 20 minute videos

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TEACHING EVALUATIONS Teaching Observation template Penn State

WORKING FROM HOME: article from the New York Times

Teaching philosophies FDC faculty orientation quotes

Digital Pedagogy in the Humanities. SUNY Center for Professional Development 9/25/2020 webinar: https://youtu.be/45jg-QAMq0s.

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Mark Rober on “Tricking Your Brain into Learning More”

What’s the right way to frame the learning process so you don’t concern yourself with failure?

Those who don’t see failure in a negative light saw more success and learned more.

Those penalized for failure (-5 points) ultimately 52% successful

Those not penalized for failure on an assignment/task ultimately  68% successful

Zone of Proximal Development by Lev Vygotsky

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A Daily Ritual That Builds Trust and Community Among Students

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Online teaching tools recommended by Prof. Josh Korenblat (Art/Graphic Design)

Tools
  • Kahoot! for informal assessment and attendance. This is an online quiz that records student responses and creates a spreadsheet. I used this for informal assessment and for attendance, and it worked well. Educators can get Kahoot! for free.
  • Slack for reading reflections, informal conversations, and exit tickets (one thing you learned today; one thing you’re struggling to understand). I used this tool to help replicate some of the informal conversations we would have in person and as a bridge between the weekly class meetings. It also helped me manage a volume of emails from the Designed World course, which has 53 students in two sections. For example, it’s much more like texting quick responses to students, which allows them to get frequent feedback. It worked well—too well! Slack can sometimes overwhelm as the text messages pile up.
  • Notion for planning (educators can get Notion for free). Notion is like a combination of Google Docs and web publishing, but with a more expanded capability. I really like its flexibility. I also use it as a learning platform for my studio course, which is all about the process.
  •  Wordpress blog: Graphic Design using a campus press system, but Hawksites does the same thing. Great for creating a hub for the course, and for student responses that everyone can see and comment on. This can also encourage students to think about publishing their work beyond the review of just the instructor, which means making their writing interesting, illustrated, well-sourced and cited, and posted with engaging headlines.
  • Miro is a whiteboarding tool that can be used for free on its Educators Plan. I plan to use this a lot more in the future. It’s intuitive and my impression based on experience and student feedback is they love it. It could be a great replacement for the classroom whiteboard and for students collaborating visually.
  • Google Forms for surveys and self-assessment. I could imagine students could respond to advice, reflection, and assessment questions here, and even do a self-assessment with the rubric criteria to pre-flight how they performed, as preparation for one-to-one meetings with the instructor. I’m seeing the power of checklists and surveys online. While I used this tool, I didn’t use it in-depth, but I plan to do so next semester to make grading more of a dialogue and a learning opportunity. With the email change, I’m wondering if Qualtrics surveys are better?Why use this tool: What if we could get a portrait of how the student thinks about their own learning from their responses and their own scoring according to rubric criteria, then do our own evaluation, and then meet with the student about how they either under-value or over-value their own work? Informally and with notable variations, I see evidence that in general, female students under-value their work while male students over-value their work.

Links

 

https://slack.com/

Backwards Course Design – Katie Hunt (Communications)
Backward Course Design is a pedagogical design process originally put forward by Wiggins & McTighe (Understanding By Design, 2005). Teachers often tend to put courses together with an emphasis on the content first, with activities/tests that assess the degree to which students have assimilated or retained the information taught.  The “backward” part of this design model inverts that logic- instead, the teacher begins with the learning outcome and then focuses on aligning activities and assessments that allow students to achieve the goals for the course. I have used this model every time I have re/designed a course and have found it immensely helpful in keeping my focus on not only what I’m teaching but why. While some Sustainability Fellows are working with courses that already have strict learning objectives others may be starting from scratch, and many folks in our cohort have expressed anxiety about how to bake sustainability into their course as well as how to plan a project with their community partner. Community engaged projects can be challenging to execute well if not aligned with the learning expectations for the course of which they’re a part. At the least, a refresher on the function and composition of learning objectives might be beneficial for folks in the Program. As a design model that starts with the results (what students leave a course having learned), I thought Backward Course Design might be a useful way for Fellows to think about how sustainability fits into their course and what students should learn through community engagement.