We have made it to the end of the second week of Spring Term 2020. For all of us, this is a term like no other. After rising to the challenge of pushing finals online (now a distant memory), OSU faculty and staff rallied to keep going under drastically different situations. OSU students are now learning remotely. OSU faculty are fully immersed in Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT). After the frenetic early weeks of navigating Zoom and exploring the full capabilities of CANVAS, for many of us teaching, it is time to think about key pedagogical issues. Your OSU Center for Teaching and Learning is here to help.
The CTL is now offering Dedicated Teaching Support. We realize that together with the general challenges to being a good educator, teaching and learning online call for additional considerations. If that was not enough, ERT is another ball of wax as well. The reality that faculty and students now have more to cope with such as childcare, caregiving responsibilities, and more, makes ERT even more challenging. Pedagogical challenges that we may not have paid as much attention to before, now raise their heads calling for attention.
To help faculty address some of the special challenges of ERT, the CTL staff will be available daily for conversations about teaching. Faculty with a teaching challenge or who encounter a pedagogical problem are invited to schedule a 1-on-1 teaching consultation with the Center for Teaching and Learning, contact CTL@oregonstate.edu
In an examination of the research on teaching and learning with special attention to the lessons learned from online education, there are three major challenges for all faculty teaching this term. ERT highlights the need for increased instructor presence, calls for explicit attempts to build community in the classroom, and necessitates additional efforts to foster student engagement. Fortunately there are evidence-based practices for how to do this. ERT is also a time to be mindful of inclusive teaching practices (see 8 ways to be more inclusive in your Zoom Teaching).
The CTL is here to help you. If you have a pedagogical issue get in touch. The Keep Teaching site continues to be a general hub for ERT resources and the CTL webpage will also feature timely tips. Follow us on Twitter @OSUteaching for timely teaching tips and information. We know this is difficult and salute all the efforts to keep OSU moving forward. We applaud all the extra work faculty and staff have done to get us this far and we are rallying to get us to the other side.
Onward.
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