Virtual Teaching: Consider Your Students Perspectives
How many ‘nice that you won’t have to work anymore’ jokes have you heard from acquaintances who have no idea the amount of work you’re putting in? The same is true for many of our students: this experience doesn’t feel anything like ‘a 3 month Spring Break’ and is, instead, a time when many of our students feel lost, stranded, separated from family, overwhelmed by course materials and now all the associated technology.
Use this space to share resources on how we can help our students, as well as ourselves, adjust to this ‘new normal.’
5 Responses to “Consider Your Students’ Perspectives”
Timothy Flood
The Daily Tar Heel (UNC’s daily campus newspaper) had an article about Religious Studies professor Brandon Bayne’s syllabus which he revised in light of moving all-online. Prof Bayne’s has gotten a lot of credit for focusing on the students perspective. You can read the article here and see the new frontpage of the syllabus here.
Timothy Flood
Think too about food banks, not only for your students who are stuck on or around campus, but for your under-advantaged neighbors as well. Seems like most campuses are maintaining minimal levels of food service for campus residents; others might rely on food banks (thanks to Wayne State Wellness Center for the mention)
Timothy Flood
The CAPS (Counseling and Psychological Services) here at UNC has a webpage on the “Dimensions of Wellness”: an interesting series of pages, although not quick reads. https://studentwellness.unc.edu/about-us/dimensions-wellness
Timothy Flood
If you use the few minutes before class starts (as people are logging in to the virtual space) for socializing and chatter, you not only help students confirm that their video and audio settings are correct; you also create an interactive and approachable environment that carries over to office hours–exactly as we all do in face-to-face environments.
Timothy Flood
Virtual office hours–and virtual small-group meetups–can be just as beneficial as the face-to-face alternatives, sometimes even better because students are less likely to feel they’re intruding on you.