Category: Teaching News

Dedicated to news and announcements for the CELT community.

9 points to remember when building your online assessments

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At a recent ISU Online Learning Community, three faculty discussed how they tackle assessments in their online courses while upholding academic integrity that focuses on their students and instructional objectives. As you begin to build your online final exams, consider these tips:

Elizabeth Stegemoller (Kinesiology) shared,

  • Remember, not all students are as tech-savvy as you may think. So, step by step instructions on how to navigate various online learning tools is beneficial. This action also eliminates a large portion of emails on this topic.
  • Accommodations are challenging. Have options prepared in advance, just in case, because students often make requests at the last minute. Also, know that some requested accommodations are not feasible given your class makeup, and this is o.k. Students will understand if you clarify your rationale.
  • Let things go and focus on what you want students to learn in your course. Reduce activities if needed but maintain your expectations for what they need to learn. Communicate your expectations and trust that students will do the right thing (academic honesty).

Monica Lamm and Karen Burt (both from Chemical and Biological Engineering) shared,

  • Communicate clear expectations during the assessment. Ask students, “Given the established ground rules for the assessment and the fact that no one is watching you, what choices are you making? How are you conducting yourself?”
  • Have students sign an academic integrity pledge. As an example, use this language, “I understand that academic integrity is expected of all Iowa State University students at all times. My submission of this assessment for grading certifies that I have read and understood the ground rules. By my signature below, I pledge that I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid on this assessment.”
  • Build critical reflection within each assessment. For example, “This question must be answered to receive any credit for the rest of the assessment. Reflecting on how you completed this assessment, in less than one page, describe how you adhered to the academic integrity standards of this course, the ethical standards of the Am. Inst. of Chemical Engineers, and the dignity of the profession. Be specific in your response.”

Sayali Kukday(Genetics, Development and Cell Biology) shared,

  • Keep it Simple. Avoid making drastic changes to your assessments. A sudden radical change in the format and nature of assessments might add to student anxiety. Maintain consistency as best as you can.
  • Be Flexible. Make appropriate adjustments to grading policies and incorporate flexibility in terms of providing extra credit activities that still achieve your learning objectives, but may take some pressure off of your students.
  • Communicate expectations. Be transparent about how you expect your students to maintain academic integrity when completing formative and summative assessments.
For next steps in planning your final exams, use the following resources:

4 factors to prepare for remote assessments (Teaching Tip)

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So much of the spring semester 2020 is different. As you prepare for your final exams, consider the following factors, and consult the CELT Remote Assessments page for more information.

1. Determine the acceptable evidence of learning

  • Your learning goals are an excellent place to start when considering alternative assessments. Consider:
  • What can I do to promote student learning while we all are coping with COVID-19?
  • What do I hope students will be able to do by the end of my course?
  • What ways can they demonstrate what they know?
  • How can I make it more meaningful/authentic?
  • How can I incorporate knowledge creation?
  • How can I leverage the online context?

2. Consider the impact of proctored exams at this time

Traditional timed, proctored exams are possible using the tools available in Canvas along with remote proctoring tools (e.g., Lockdown Browser with Respondus Monitor) or proctor it yourself with Webex. However, proctored remote exams have several drawbacks, including increased stress and setup challenges (Woldeab & Brothen, 2019). Consider Canvas exams (quizzes), open-book exams, or the other assessment strategies (listed below) that are relatively easy to grade.

3. Choose the suitable remote assessment method

Changing a course from face-to-face to online teaching poses particular challenges. Go to the CELT Remote Assessments page and review the following options as alternatives to proctored assessments:

  • Annotated anthology or bibliography
  • e-Portfolio
  • Fact sheet
  • Group project
  • Non-traditional paper (essay)
  • Open Book or “Take-home” Exam
  • Peer- and self-review activity
  • Professional presentation or demonstration
  • Series of quizzes
  • Student-developed quiz question

4. Finally, be sure to communicate clearly your expectations to students!

Provide an announcement that contains information about the exam and ensure that students contact you with any questions. Use the guiding questions on the CELT Remote Assessments page to help outline your communication with them, clarify essential details, along with promoting academic integrity.

With a joy for teaching,

Sara Marcketti, Director
Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching

References

  • Woldeab, D., & Brothen, T. (2019). 21st Century Assessment: Online Proctoring, Test Anxiety, and Student Performance. International Journal of E-Learning & Distance Education, 34(1), 1-10.
  • Information adapted from Rutger’s University Remote Exams and Assessments website.

Full Teaching Tip

View the published CELT Teaching Tip: 4 factors to prepare for remote assessments (April 21, 2020 – Constant Contact) website.

Prefer a Print version?

To view the Teaching Tip as a printable document with web addresses, download the CELT Teaching Tip for April 21, 2020 (PDF).

Take a moment to celebrate the end of this semester! (Teaching Tip)

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Congratulations on the end of this historic semester in which we shifted from face-to-face to virtual teaching this spring semester!
To guide you through the grade submission process, follow the seven steps outlined on the End of Semester Checklist page. As a reminder, grades are due Tuesday, May 12 at 2:15 p.m. (Note: Due to the COVID-19 Temporary Pass/Not Pass policy, timely submission of final grades is essential.)
For summer session courses or future semesters, consider how to make your classes even more engaging for yourself and your students:
It’s never too early to prepare for the next semester. Use the Start of Semester Checklist to get a head start on your future courses.
Best wishes on the end of the semester,
Sara Marcketti, Director
Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching

Full Teaching Tip

View the published CELT Teaching Tip: Take a moment (April 30, 2020 – Constant Contact) website.

Prefer a Print version?

To view the Teaching Tip as a printable document with web addresses, download the CELT Teaching Tip for April 30, 2020 (PDF).

Guidance for virtual classes summer 2020

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Iowa State University nameplate in red with Office of the Associate Provost for Academic Programs written in black below it

(May 1, 2020) As virtual instruction evolves from the spring semester to summer, it is appropriate to review the best practices for delivering online education, in particular how faculty interact with students. Students’ relationships with instructors is a hallmark of the Iowa State academic experience. This document shares new federal guidelines regarding interaction between instructors and students, and offers tips and resources to help students achieve course outcomes. Updated guidance will be provided for Fall 2020 virtual courses prior to the start of fall semester.

What are some ways in which faculty can meet these requirements?

  • Hold online office hours during different, regularly scheduled time periods in which you have an open Zoom, Webex, etc. video conference tool that students can join. (Use the Virtual Student (Office) Hours guide)
  • Activate ‘Canvas Chat’ for immediate feedback. Use it to provide quick, text-based consultations, as well as to post course-wide announcements, give feedback on cumulative test results, or explain a confusing concept students are struggling with.
  • Ask students to comment on a subject-related video using the commenting feature in ‘Studio’.
  • Use the PIAZZA app in Canvas to easily set up a Q&A format.
  • Create peer-review assignments and monitor the quality of peer feedback.
  • Use the ‘Message Students Who’ feature in Gradebook to give substantive feedback to groups of students who performed at different levels. Students included in the groups will not be able to tell who else is receiving the message.
  • Create multiple practice quizzes and example problem sets that students can complete in their own time, then spend part of your synchronous time demonstrating problems students had the most difficulties solving, as determined by the Canvas Quiz Statistics. (Use the Quizzes and Exams strategies guide).

Do simple adjustments to traditional teaching methods qualify as “substantive interaction” between the student and instructor?

  • No. Posting a video of pre-recorded lectures or providing lecture materials online does not count as substantive interaction. To be considered as such, the instructor might:
    • Require students to watch the lecture ahead of time and then participate in a live text or video chat.
    • Include self-assessment questions for a set of pre-recorded lectures. Use these assessments to guide content covered in an office hour session based on students’ performances.
  • Simply assigning a grade to an assignment does not constitute interactive feedback. The instructor should also do one or more of the following:
    • Provide each student with comments unique to their submission and which refer back to the specific materials contributing to this concept;
    • Utilize mastery paths in Canvas to help students explore additional materials related to the topic;
    • Summarize common issues students are experiencing using a video, announcement, email or discussion, and distribute to the whole class.

Best Practices for Online Course Design

  • In an online format, students lack the structure of “going to class.” You can help structure the student learning process by ensuring that your course learning objectives, content delivery, and assignments are aligned and all assignment due dates are posted at the start of the semester.
  • Ensure that your course layout contains clear and consistent navigation.
  • Make sure that your course is accessible.
  • Structure your course content in a Module Format and ensure that each module starts by introducing students to the module learning objectives and ends with an assessment to help students gauge their understanding of concepts covered.
  • Use a variety of methods to deliver course content including: mixing short discussions, collaboration exercises, video clips, and hands-on exercises with text or brief video lectures. To get started, use CELT’s Teaching with Technology page.
  • Be mindful of the amount of work you assign to students. Sometimes, efforts to increase engagement inadvertently significantly add to students’ workload. (CELT suggests that One way to determine the workload is to use the Rice University Course Workload Estimator web tool.)
  • CELT has detailed a number of online instructional strategies and engagement strategies to help you involve students in the learning process.
  • Create a feeling of community through acknowledging student contributions, providing positive reinforcement, sharing personal experiences, helping students share ideas with peers, encourage networking.
 
Questions about the Guidance for virtual classes? Contact your Department Chair.
 
Need support implementing these practices? Find support via the Where to go for help page or email celt@iastate.edu
 

Implement online course essentials and guidance for virtual classes summer 2020 (Teaching Tip)

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Online Course Essentials (ONCE) is a simple ISU Course Template in Canvas and a straightforward process to assist instructors in including the must-have elements in their online courses. Whether a course is taught entirely online or as a combination of face-to-face lectures with online instructional materials, activities, and assessments, it can benefit from including these essential components. Both the ISU course template and the Plan Your Course Worksheet contain a reference to the following online course essentials:

  • Direct relationship between the course’s learning objectives, assessments, learning activities, instructional materials, and technologies
  • User-friendly, consistent, and accessible course navigation
  • Transparent learner expectations
  • Technical and academic support resources
  • ISU-branded course elements (not a necessary feature, but a nice option)

Built around the Essential 3-point Standards (PDF)  of the  Quality Matters rubric, ONCE gives instructors all the online course essentials. Focus less on the technicalities of creating an online course in Canvas and more on what matters the most – student learning.

To begin, visit the CELT’s Online Course Essentials (ONCE) page.

Host a CELT Online Course Essentials (ONCE) course design virtual workshop. Upon participating in this workshop, attendees will be able to:

  • Build a Canvas course using ISU Template
  • Recognize the online course essentials
  • Map out the essentials for your online Canvas course
  • Locate CELT online teaching and learning resources

Submit a request via the CELT ONCE Course Design workshop form.

Need assistance? Contact CELT by emailing celt-help@iastate.edu and including “ISU Template” in the subject line.

Full Teaching Tip

View the published CELT Teaching Tip: Implement online course essentials and guidance for virtual classes summer 2020 (May 14, 2020 – Constant Contact) website.

Prefer a Print version?

To view the Teaching Tip as a printable document with web addresses, download the CELT Teaching Tip for May 14, 2020 (PDF).

Download the New Playbook for Delivering High-Quality Instruction Online

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Delivering High-Quality Instruction Online in Response to COVID-19 is a faculty-focused playbook intended to improve course design, teaching, and learning in online environments. With special attention to the needs of instructors teaching online for the first time, the guide offers strategies for getting started and improving over time.

Developed by the Online Learning Consortium, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, and Every Learner Everywhere, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the playbook provides a path for continuous improvement of instruction along a quality-oriented continuum.

  • Design guides immediate and basic needs for moving a course online. It is useful for translation of face-to-face or blended courses for fully-online delivery.
  • Enhance provides options to strengthen the student learning experience. It is useful for improving face-to-face course elements that do not translate easily to online modalities.
  • Optimize offers ideas and resources for online teaching that aligns with high-quality, evidence-based instructional practices. It is useful for continuous improvement of the online learning experience and student outcomes.

In addition, Delivering High-Quality Instruction Online in Response to COVID-19 addresses online teaching and learning in both emergency and non-emergency contexts with special attention to course design, course construction, course management, course evaluation, and strategies for continuous improvement.

The Every Learner Everywhere network includes Achieving the Dream, the Association of Chief Academic Officers, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, the Digital Learning Research Network, Digital Promise Global, EDUCAUSE, EdSurge, Intentional Futures, the Online Learning Consortium, SxSW EDU, Tyton Partners, and WCET (the WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies).

Learn more and download the Faculty Playbook from Online Learning Consortium.

Learn more and download the Faculty Playbook.

The Online Learning Consortium (OLC) is a collaborative community of higher education leaders and innovators dedicated to advancing quality digital teaching and learning experiences designed to reach and engage the modern learner – anyone, anywhere, anytime. OLC inspires innovation and quality through an extensive set of resources, including best-practice publications, quality benchmarking, leading-edge instruction, community-driven conferences, practitioner-based and empirical research, and expert guidance. The growing OLC community includes faculty members, administrators, trainers, instructional designers, and other learning professionals, as well as educational institutions, professional societies, and corporate enterprises. Learn more at onlinelearningconstorium.org

Every Learner Everywhere (Every Learner) is a network of 12 partner organizations that collaborate with higher education institutions to improve student outcomes through innovative teaching strategies, including the adoption of adaptive digital learning tools. Evidence demonstrates active and adaptive learning has the potential to improve course outcomes and digital solutions lower the cost of course materials, particularly for low-income students, and students of color. Our network partners represent leaders and innovators in teaching and learning. We have specific expertise in the adoption, implementation, and measurement of digital learning tools as they are integrated into pedagogical practices. Learn more at everylearnereverywhere.org

The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) is a research, policy, and advocacy organization dedicated to strengthening and advancing the work of public universities in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. With a membership of 246 public research universities, land-grant institutions, state university systems, and affiliated organizations, APLU’s agenda is built on the three pillars of increasing degree completion and academic success, advancing scientific research, and expanding engagement. Annually, member campuses enroll 4.9 million undergraduates and 1.3 million graduate students, award 1.3 million degrees, employ 1.3 million faculty and staff, and conduct $44.9 billion in university-based research. Learn more at aplu.org

Get Ready for Fall Semester! (Teaching Tip)

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Fall semester, beginning August 17th, is right around the corner. As you prepare, CELT has you covered with website resources, programming, and the ISU Course Template. Of great interest:

  • ISU Course Template: Easy to use and to adapt, the ISU Course Template contains the fundamental components for a quality online course. The template is pre-loaded with a homepage, modules, and necessary information of value to you and your students. Instructors such as Professor Stacy Cordery, History, have raved “The savings to me in terms of time, energy, and anxiety are incalculable. I know it’s going to be a great tool for faculty and students, whose lives will surely be made a bit easier with some uniformity and predictability as they try to navigate all their different syllabi (online, in class, and hybrid).” See the ISU Course Template page,
    Register to attend a webinar, Online Course Essentials (ONCE) using the ISU course template,

  • Quick Start Guide: Apply these strategies to help you prioritize and communicate with your students this fall, Quick Start Guide.
  • Teaching with Technology: Whether you are teaching face to face, hybrid, or online, check out the redesigned “teaching with technology” web resources. These resources include everything from the new Canvas @ ISU site, instructional strategies about teaching, including web conferencing (yes, info about Webex and Zoom!) to instructional tool how-tos to ideas for engaging students in the online environment. Review and bookmark the Teaching with Technology page.
  • Programming: Mark your calendars for exciting CELT programming from 30-minute “choose your instructional tool adventures” to hour-long discussions of course design, engaging students, inclusion, accessibility, web conferencing (Webex, Zoom, MS Teams), managing disruptive conduct in learning spaces to semester-long teaching and learning communities, via the Upcoming Events page.

Do you have questions, concerns, ideas about teaching and learning? Or ideas about programming? Email celt@iastate.edu.

With a joy for teaching,

Sara Marcketti, Director
Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching

Full Teaching Tip

View the published CELT Teaching Tip: Get Ready for Fall Semester! (July 29, 2020 – Constant Contact) website.

Prefer a Print version?

To view the Teaching Tip as a printable document with web addresses, download the CELT Teaching Tip for July 29, 2020 (PDF).

Guidance on FERPA Implications for Virtual Learning During COVID-19

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On behalf of the Academic Continuity Working Group review the guidance for faculty on FERPA Implications for Virtual Learning and Classroom Video Recordings During COVID-19.

This guidance was developed in consultation with the Office of University Counsel and recent direction provided by the US Department of Education.

As with other communications, the document is posted on the SVPP Fall Planning Resources for Faculty and Staff website.

Please distribute this information through your respective college networks to department chairs, faculty and others as appropriate.

Encouraging thoughtful participation (Teaching Tip)

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Teaching synchronously online poses unique challenges for encouraging thoughtful participation. The ability to foster student participation is especially true if you teach a face-to-face course simultaneously with students attending the course online. We asked ISU Faculty (and surveyed the literature) to share these strategies for engaging students.

  1. Build community. It is challenging to volunteer an idea if you do not know the others in your class. Consider icebreakers where students first discuss in smaller groups of students in online breakout rooms. Then, use collaborative signals in the large group, such as thumbs up or hands raised, to cue “I agree” or “I have a question.” (Megan Myers, World Languages and Culture).
  2. Communicate expectations. Tell students in advance that you expect them to participate in the discussion. If possible, provide the prompt before the discussion. Rather than beginning discussion within the large group, start with 5-15 minutes in smaller person breakout groups. Instruct the students to determine a recorder (i.e., a student with first name closest to the letter Z or the person with the most significant number of pets) who would then share one idea during the whole class portion of the session. (Amanda Baker, School of Education).
  3. Use collaborative notetaking tools. For large or small group exercises, create a shared notetaking tool, such as Google Docs, with the prompt and space for breakout groups to type their responses. At the end of the activity, the participants have a crowd-sourced list of ideas or notes. This action also allows the instructor to clarify any misconceptions or call on a student group to elaborate on particular items. (Idea contributed by many! Monica Lamm, Chemical and Biological Engineering and CELT Faculty Fellow, Clark Coffman, Genetics, Development, and Cell Biology and CELT Faculty Fellow, and Karen Bovenmyer, CELT).
  4. Consider not discussing! If you want to get a “pulse” on the students’ knowledge or attitude in the class, consider strategically using the chat window or a poll rather than large or small group discussions. Pose a question for the students to respond to in the chat window. Or display a problem with plausible solutions. Ask students to use the emoticons on Webex or Zoom to “vote” for the correct answer. (Lesya Hassall, CELT).
  5. Explain the why of discussing. Lastly, inform students that you value their perspectives and explain why you ask for their participation—seeing the why behind discussions can positively influence their participation.

Have an idea to share? Email it to celt@iastate.edu, and we will include it in our Instructional Strategies.

With a joy for teaching,
Sara Marcketti, Director
Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching

Full Teaching Tip

View the published CELT Teaching Tip: Encouraging thoughtful participation (August 28, 2020 – Constant Contact) website.

Prefer a Print version?

To view the Teaching Tip as a printable document with web addresses, download the CELT Teaching Tip for August 28, 2020 (PDF).

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