The pandemic demanded changes in teaching practices. On Zoom, contending with silent black boxes, private communication in the chat window and unmonitored group work in virtual breakout rooms, many teachers struggled to understand if, when and how learning was happening. Along the way, I have heard stories of creative strategies to reach students and guide them towards productive learning remotely. Our April newsletter is focused on the theme of reflection; therefore, I would like to explore the lessons that we have learned while teaching remotely that will change how we teach in-person and how these lessons might guide us to properly address inequities in the classroom.
The Center for Urban Education (CUE), located at the University of Southern California, defines equity as "achieving parity in student educational outcomes, regardless of race and ethnicity." It is a bold and audacious goal, as many of us struggle to provide equal access, much less achieve equal outcomes among all racial and ethnic student groups. We must strive for equity mindedness which CUE defines as "the outlook, perspective, or mode of thinking exhibited by practitioners who call attention to patterns of inequity in student outcomes, and are willing to assume personal and institutional responsibility for the elimination of inequity." These definitions provide a productive lens to examine some of the new teaching practices that were adopted this year.
I heard many stories about addressing remote teaching challenges during the School of Engineering teaching conversations this spring, run by English professor William Kuskin as part of the Going the Distance teaching initiative. During these sessions, we talked about resilience, wellness, inclusivity and the challenges of remote teaching and learning. This group identified several new teaching practices that they will use ongoingly, which I will identify below with a summary of how each practice addresses equity and equity-mindedness in the classroom.
Providing Wider Access to Resources
Professors shared that they have been offering virtual office hours in the evening and, given the engaged student participation, will continue to do so. They found the use of a side channel, such as the chat window, generated more participation from a variety of students. There are several platforms that can be used when returning to in-person teaching, such as Slack, GoSoapBox, and Discord, to provide extra discussion space about challenging course topics. Lastly, recording short video lectures on Zoom allowed professors to review lectures and provide extra asynchronous material. All of these practices provide wider access to resources for students, especially those who might have an untraditional schedule due to additional responsibilities.
Revealing Hidden Curriculum
The term hidden curriculum refers to a set of implicit academic, social and cultural messages of the dominant culture. First generation and international students often misinterpret these messages and might not ask the questions that help to reveal them. When teachers strive for transparency about assignment due dates, teaching decisions, and learning objectives, they are illuminating pathways for the successful participation of all students. In remote classes this year, professors have found the need to provide more structure than in the past. In the teaching conversations, we discussed removing extraneous material, frequently updating the course schedule and setting clear learning objectives. One engineering professor discussed a practice of letting students set deadlines for themselves. If they need to negotiate the deadline, he teaches them about professionalism in his discipline, with this syllabus statement: "We are training in this course to become engineering professionals. It starts with taking ownership of your work, having integrity in the work that you submit, and communicating effectively when you are unable to follow through with your original commitments." This transparent communication paired with both high expectations and flexibility for submitted work allows for multiple pathways to success.
Building Relationships
Many professors indicated that they are taking time during class to address wellness, resilience and managing stress. They incorporated a 16-week Student Wellness Curriculum developed by Dr. Tina Pittman Wagers and Dr. Roselinde Kaiser and shared wellness events created by the student group Connecting Flight. They often started class by validating student experience regarding the pandemic. These teaching practices, which require taking time away from covering content, help students to feel valued in the classroom. I heard from several students this year that they really appreciated moments in the classroom when professors validated their experience and addressed potential stressors with resources. Professors also noted that taking just a few minutes at the beginning of class to congratulate students on their work during a challenging semester improved classroom climate. One hope of mine is that we choose to continue making space for relationship building and conversations about stress and overwhelm even after we are able to return to in-person learning.
All of these teaching practices illustrate how teachers can take responsibility for student outcomes, by opening up new avenues for students to accomplish the learning goals while feeling valued and welcome in the classroom. Perhaps we will find gratitude for the lessons learned from teaching remotely.