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Last week, I was one of four @baylor faculty members who talked with our Academy for Teaching & Learning about how to create a community of care for online students. I wanted to offer a list of some of the tips shared.
One of the things that you will see from this list is that it is incredibly difficult to be a caring instructor during COVID and still conduct research or have "work-life" balance. Not all items are burdensome, but that burden must be grasped we go into the second year of COVID.
Send one weekly reminder email that lists what students need to accomplish that week. Ensure that the class is incredibly well organized and easy to navigate.
Kindness was an incredibly important gesture for all faculty. We praised our students frequently for all that they are doing in the midst of one of the most trying times in history.
I reduced overall workload for the class and target assignments to enhance creative learning that can be student-directed. Ensure that there are multiple assignment formats offered that allows learners to highlight their own skill set.
Let students know that they are cared for and appreciated by their professors--as people in your community, whose value far exceeds any class or assignment. One thing I do is offer to bring food, care packages, and list out specific campus support offices.
Include class rituals--either asychronous or synchronous--that build a sense of community. Meme Monday is always popular. At Baylor, a good Sic 'em is always a nice way to begin a class zoom.
Participate in discussion posts and offer mini-lectures within those discussions. Ensure that discussion posts have very specific directions including word counts, thematics, and due dates.
When you lecture over zoom or over recording, you better BRING IT. Our faculty are wearing costumes, being overly animated, and are SUPER EXCITED!
We answer emails as soon as possible. Some faculty mentioned that they use Slack and respond at all hours. If they are up at 11pm, they respond.
Emailing 3-5 students each week to check in on them was recommended. As was setting up phone calls or personal zooms to ensure that each student is making a connection with the prof.
Being very flexible with deadlines and assignments right now. Not all faculty were so open with deadlines, but I am accepting work for as long as possible and trying to help students locate smaller goals if they are struggling to complete work.
Long, written commentary [with alt delivery options] on assignments and group work was noted as especially helpful. I've been writing 1-2 paragraphs for longer essays and 1 paragraph roughly for shorter essays.
Changing the syllabus as the semester requires it. I dropped essays or assignments when the circumstances seemed even more overwhelming.
Three books were mentioned as helpful: The Spark of Learning; Small Teaching; and Small Teaching Online.
Digital tools that are useful: Perusall, http://Hypothes.is , Slack, Discord, FlipGrid
According to the faculty on the panel: A very well organized class with a weekly module was preferred by BU online students.
Every person on the panel was a professor who had the latitude to focus solely on teaching. Each person mentioned that they could not conduct research and be an excellent teacher during this time. I'm a recently minted full professor, and I was the most junior person on the panel
I was also the only person on the panel with small children. I mentioned that I have stopped trying to "be professional" on camera. If my kids walk in, you are seeing them. I have instead made it so that teaching is more integrated into our lives.
These are incredibly trying times. I hope that universities remember that this level of work is simply impossible for many employees. I love that so many of us have connected with our students. Remember that such connections are labor that is not easily managed without costs.
