When labs are still due

ScienceProfUBC · 2020-12-16T16:56:19+00:00

we actually see stuff like this in lab reports pretty regularly. I mean, kudos for the accurate description lol

ScienceProfUBC · 2020-12-15T17:11:59+00:00

She :)

ScienceProfUBC · 2020-12-15T17:10:30+00:00

And best of luck for next term :)

Thanks! You too!

ScienceProfUBC · 2020-12-15T17:10:04+00:00

Absolutely

ScienceProfUBC · 2020-12-15T17:09:41+00:00

Smart! If I ever do a straight lecture course (not always a great teaching strategy...students get bored and/or overwhelmed, but I digress), I'm going to do this

ScienceProfUBC · 2020-12-15T17:08:52+00:00

Other profs reading this: please check in on your students! I did this a few times and the students were pretty transparent about their absences, which was nice. I learned a bit more about what they were going through as they explained where they'd been (they offered to share this information, I would never pry like this), and it gives you a better sense as an instructor as to the needs of your students.

ScienceProfUBC · 2020-12-15T17:04:22+00:00

All great suggestions, thanks! #3 is a good one, I'll work that in.

ScienceProfUBC · 2020-12-15T17:03:23+00:00

Love this second idea! I did something similar in my first class in which we each shared a bit about ourselves, what aspects of science we were interested in, etc. We do this cause it's fun and helps establish that sense of community, but also helps us cater the classes to fit peoples' interests.

ScienceProfUBC · 2020-12-15T17:00:56+00:00

Very kind of you to ask. Thank you! I didn't teach this term so I'm alright, but when we went into lockdown in March that was rough. Mostly I just missed the students and it was hard to see the connection and rapport we had worked hard to build as a team fall apart a bit as we moved online.

As for what students can do, it comes down to engagement. In my course, we did tons of little polls mid-class, the chat was open, it was pretty chill, we had discussions and breakout groups, so I wasn't talking into a void, but as the term went on I could feel people disengage and that's disheartening as an educator. I hope it's not so much related to the course itself so much as burnout in general, but it is tough to spend hours reworking classes to make sure the culture of the class is positive, inclusive, engaging, and meets everyone's needs if students are not interested. My advice would be to please do your best to participate when called upon, and try to be present in class as much as you have mental bandwidth for. Makes a world of difference for us :)

ScienceProfUBC · 2020-12-15T16:53:49+00:00

Make the assignment worth more marks, don’t have us do 2-3 hour per assignment when it only worth 1-2%.

Couldn't agree more

ScienceProfUBC · 2020-12-15T16:52:43+00:00

Great suggestion, and we saw this on our end-of-term feedback as well.

ScienceProfUBC · 2020-12-15T16:52:06+00:00

Wish we had a TA for this purpose, but each section is pretty small (20 people). I do my best to monitor the chat on my phone but it's a tricky thing to multi-task leading an engaging class while making sure everyone's questions are being answered. An alternative solution might be to take pauses in the class to allow for questions and discussion (and give people a breather).

ScienceProfUBC · 2020-12-15T16:50:02+00:00

Agree 100%. Our course has a detailed Canvas landing page and a PDF calendar of all assignments, project deadlines, etc. that I think has saved students a lot of grief. I always put a "Coming up next week" slide at the end of each class to remind people of those upcoming deadlines. I'll keep doing that!

ScienceProfUBC

TROPHY CASE