Author: Linda Boland

Dear Colleagues, 

As exam season approaches, some of you may be thinking about the best ways to assess student learning during these unusual times. In consultation with the Provost’s Office, we have looked into best practices for remote assessment. 

These include: 

• developing open-book/open-note assessments that require a higher level of cognitive engagement (analyze, critique, create anew)  
• using the timed test and/or question pools and/or random block features in Blackboard 
• adopting more frequent/lower stakes assessments 
• using student self-reflection as a form of assessment  

Whatever approach you take, please consider regular reminders of our institutional Honor Code and the importance of academic integrity. Please also consider this resource on preserving academic integrity in online assessments and a blog post with options to help reduce pressure and anxiety for students. 

We have also evaluated a number of different online exam proctoring tools, and consulted with other institutions that have either used or evaluated these tools. The listing of tools we considered includes ProctorU, Respondus, Examity, HonorLock, Proctorio, Proctorfree and ProctorTrack. In all cases, our research shows that such tools are ineffective, expensive, raise student privacy issues, undermine our Honor Code and can be off-putting to students. Because of these reasons, some schools have adopted policies asking faculty to not use such tools. While UR is not taking this approach, we are cognizant that students and faculty are all working under very unusual circumstances and these tools may not be especially well-suited at this time. 

However, to support those for whom alternative assessment options are not an option, we are considering the possibility of purchasing a small number of proctoring services. Please contact Carol Parish for more information.  

More information on using open-book assessments: 

http://www.iiserpune.ac.in/~mohanan/educ/openbook.pdf 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4477727/ 

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1092705.pdf 

More information on low-stakes assessment 

http://languages.oberlin.edu/blogs/ctie/2018/04/15/less-is-more-low-stakes-assessments-and-student-success/ 

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/researchers-find-that-frequent-tests-can-boost-learning/ 

As always, we wish you the best and thank you for all you are doing for our students! 

The Faculty Hub 

Dear Faculty, 

Now that classes are in full swing by new and different methods for teachers and students, the Faculty Hub wants to relay some updates and links to additional resources.  We also know that you are having success along with the challenges and we have  created an opportunity for faculty to share success stories on Friday afternoon this week:   

A Virtual Hub Pub—Wine without Whining 

We have risen to the challenge of teaching remotely while also adapting to our new world of social distancing.  Thankfully, we have technology to help bring us together so let’s use it for a virtual Hub Pub!  Pour your drink of choice and hop into a Zoom room with the Faculty Hub on Friday at 4 pm when we will toast our successes from this week.  Wine without whining is our goal for this Zoom session to mitigate the social isolation!   

Topic: Wine without Whining- Virtual Hub Pub 

Time: Friday, Mar 27, 2020 04:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)  

Faculty Tip:  Building community while teaching online is often cited by students as one of the keys to their successful learning.  So, how does a teacher build community from a distance?  By being virtually present, responsive, having clear expectations, and designing organized learning experiences that afford students time to interact with you and with each other. 

Faculty Resilience:  The Chronicle of Higher Education is hosting a weekly forum on faculty resilience.  Each week they will examine issues such as how to support vulnerable students, pivot to online lessons, and manage workloads. To join the open discussion, with Q&A, any and every Friday at 2 p.m., EDT – Sign up here. 

• The attached article on resilience is from the Vanderbilt University archives on Work/Life Issues and it may be useful reading during this time of enhanced emotional and physical stress. 

AAC&U Webinar:  Safeguarding Quality, Equity, and Inclusion as Learning Moves Online.   

This webinar is on Friday, March 27, livestreaming from 1-2 pm, EDT.  As the undergraduate experience goes virtual in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, how can colleges and universities ensure that the rapid scaling of online learning to unprecedented levels doesn’t come at the expense of their commitment to quality, equity, and inclusion?   Presenters will offer practical advice and effective pedagogical strategies for creating and sustaining high-quality, equitable, and inclusive learning environments online.  Go to this page to register; you will have to create an account (see below) or use your account login.   

• If you already have an AAC&U account set up, please use that information to register for webinars which are free for faculty at member institutions. If you need to set up an account, please click on this link. 
• If you have any difficulties setting up an accounts, please contact Abdullah Jones at AAC&U. 

 

ACE Engage has new materials available on implications of COVID-19 policies on diversity, equity and inclusion.   A 30 day free trial for these resources is here.   

As time allows or if you are seeking other types of support, you may find it useful to consult the list of consortia to which we belong.  In particular, there are useful resources at the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD) website. 

Please reach out by email or visit our Remote Teaching @ UR website or contact the HelpDesk for technical issues. 

– Linda  

Dear Faculty Colleagues, 

Thank you for all of your hard work in preparation of our move to remote teaching on Monday. Thank you as well to all who were able to attend the Faculty Hub and Information Services’ webinars on using Zoom and Panopto/Blackboard for remote teaching. We wanted to pass along some resources from those webinars, as well as some new ones.  

• NEW– Boatwright Memorial Library, The Faculty Hub, Information Services (IS), and SPCS have created a number of resources to support faculty during this shift to remote teaching. They can be found on the Hub’s Remote Teaching site: https://blog.richmond.edu/remoteteaching/ 

• NEW– Zoom FAQs: http://blog.richmond.edu/remoteteaching/zoom-faqs/ 
• NEW – Blackboard FAQs: https://spidertechnet.richmond.edu/TDClient/1955/Portal/Shared/Search/?c=all&s=blackboard 
• NEW– Panopto FAQs: https://spidertechnet.richmond.edu/TDClient/1955/Portal/Shared/Search/?c=all&s=panopto 
• The Liberal Arts Collaborative for Digital Innovation’s Student Guide to Zoom: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XUxsTTHLQccEzHficDzNNWajhTNBCc1KlVqHP88zHgs/edit 
• Sample Remote Teaching Survey: https://richmond.box.com/s/djp4f7kex9y1l1djr7pgrpc1wm6f0qek 

• NEW– The Faculty Hub’s Pedagogy Tips for Q&A and Discussion in a Class Using Zoom:  

Below are some updates on previously scheduled Faculty Hub Events: 

• April 10: The Hub Talk with Rana Dajani has been canceled. 
• May 6: The Faculty Development Day scheduled for May will be rescheduled to a future date.   

Have a safe and healthy weekend and good luck to all on Monday morning when we are officially teaching remotely.  Reach out if you still need help from the Faculty Hub (facultyhub@richmond.edu or direct emails or converse with us and the faculty at large via our Slack workspace 

Faculty Colleagues, 

 And now, for some good news. 

 The Teaching and Scholarship Hub is pleased to announce the selection of two Faculty Hub Associate projects for the academic year 2020-2021.  Both projects are cross-disciplinary and have high potential to impact faculty development at the University of Richmond.  Dr. Elisabeth Gruner will complete a project to advance faculty development goals in assessment and grading while Dr. Kristine Nolin and Dr. Kristine Grayson will collaborate on a project to advance faculty development in data literacy.  More information about each project is provided below.  Please join us in welcoming our inaugural Faculty Hub Associates! 

 Assessment and Grading 

 What are the ways in which assessment of student work results in enhanced motivation for continued learning and improvement toward learning goals?  Effective teaching communicates expectations for quality work, provides useful feedback for improvement, and enhances motivation for learning and improved performance.  In this faculty development project, Dr. Elisabeth Gruner (English) will examine different approaches to assessment and grading and how they impact the success of all learners. Dr. Gruner has participated in several faculty learning communities on inclusive pedagogy and mindfulness and the synergy of these efforts has included experimentation with alternative models of assessment and grading and examined their relationship to motivation for learning and student communication of what they have learned. She is experienced in designing and delivering faculty development programming and consultations in prior service as an Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences and as the Inaugural Coordinator of the First Year Seminar Program.  As a Faculty Hub Associate, Dr. Gruner will continue to experiment with varied approaches to assessment of student work and grading practices including portfolio grading, contract grading, and ungrading.  In transforming her own courses, Dr. Gruner will generate data on assessment and grading approaches and their outcomes for students, communicate the results, facilitate faculty dialogue on assessment and grading practices, and she will develop resources to guide faculty decision-making around effective methods of assessment and grading. 

Data Literacy 

How do faculty prepare to help students assess the validity of data-based claims, build skills to visualize trends in data, and effectively communicate conclusions from data?  Developing student competency in data literacy is important to many fields including business, government, science, healthcare, and journalism.  In a collaborative faculty development project, Dr. Kristine Nolin (Chemistry) and Dr. Kristine Grayson (Biology) will support the design and execution of Hub resources to advance faculty training and expertise in data-centric teaching practices. Dr. Nolin recently completed the Data Analytics Bootcamp with the School of Professional and Continuing Studies and leads the Faculty Learning Community on Data Science/Analytics. Dr. Grayson serves as co-Principal Investigator for a nationwide network on developing, publishing, and sharing data-centric teaching resources and she engages faculty in professional development on these practices through the Quantitative Undergraduate Biology Education and Synthesis (QUBES) project and HHMI BioInteractive.  As Faculty Hub Associates, Drs. Nolin and Grayson will each address new learning outcomes focused on data competency and literacy in their courses, facilitate faculty collaboration and dialogue on data literacy, and publish open educational resources on integrating data literacy objectives into campus 

 The Faculty Hub looks forward to hosting and assisting with these projects in the next AY. 

Dear Faculty Colleagues, 

Well, this is not the version of March Madness that I was looking forward to.  

It is clear that our quick conversion from our normal modes of face-to-face teaching to alternative forms of on-line instruction will require hard work, creativity, and flexibility. I write to remind you that you are not alone! Information Services and the Faculty Hub are among the groups that are working to communicate about tools and approaches to help you.  Please visit the resources we have provided and try some things and then reach out when you need more help.  We are responding as quickly as possible.  As some Hub staff will be working remotely, email is better than phone, but we are also checking our voice messages. 

Above all, it is important that we convey to students that we are here to support them and that we will help them be successful in meeting their academic goals this semester.  The psychological toll this will take on many students should not be under-estimated in the adaptations we make to teaching this semester.  A suggestion is to reach out to your students and advisees now to check-in, let them know that the academic mission is going to work, they will be successful, and you will be there to facilitate their success.  The faculty-student interaction is the number one reason students come to UR, stay at UR, and find success at UR.  Let’s be sure to continue those interactions!   

We have produced a survey you may use to assess your students’ capacity for the on-line work you will do with them and to give them a chance to communicate concerns (thank you to Kristine Nolin and Marcella Torres for ideas).  It would be helpful to also communicate to students your confidence that the teaching-learning partnership will be successful.  Attached is a sample survey– you are welcome to modify this with your own language or add/delete questions as you see fit. Four suggestions for how to administer a survey are also listed. 

It also important to manage the expectations you have for yourself!  We recommend that you first try the on-line tools with which you are most familiar. As you then experiment with new tools, please give yourself time to read up and play around with the new tool before trying it in a classroom setting.  You cannot learn all of the options available to you, so you will have to make some choices and move forward.  To help support your own success, you might consider spending some time devoted to mindfulness.  Special thanks to Monti Datta and the Mindfulness FLC for producing this video for our faculty:  https://vimeo.com/397506535  

Are you looking for remote teaching support and/or consultation? We have many options in the coming week to help you make this transition. 

• Tool Webinars – a collaboration between IS and the Faculty Hub 

Using Zoom for Remote Teaching: Monday 3/16 at 3:00 pm 
Using Zoom for Remote Teaching: Tuesday 3/17 at 10:30 am
Using Blackboard and Panopto for Remote Teaching: Tuesday 3/17 at 3:00 pm 

• 1:1 Faculty Hub Consultations on On-Line Pedagogy 

We are available to talk with you 1-1 via Zoom. Faculty Hub consultants will be available on Wednesday 3/18 and Thursday 3/19 to help you strategize about how to choose the appropriate tool(s) and pedagogical approaches for your version of online teaching. One size does not fit all and there will be a variety of ways to have success, from simple to more complex tools.  If you want some 1:1 help, please click on a name to schedule this via youcanbookme:  Andrew Bell or Ryan Brazell  

Please install Zoom and try it out prior to your 1:1 appointment.  If you need help setting up Zoom, please follow these instructions from spidertechnet (a service of IS): https://spidertechnet.richmond.edu/TDClient/1955/Portal/KB/ArticleDet?ID=100515 

You may also contact the IS Help Desk with additional questions about getting Zoom up and running.   

• Other ways of getting support 

As a reminder, the Faculty Hub has a Slack workspace for faculty to share information and ask questions as they embark on this transition from face to face to online teaching. Join the conversation here. 

For general pedagogy and scholarship support, please contact us at facultyhub@richmond.edu.  

For technical support, please contact the IS Help Desk at helpdesk@richmond.edu  

 

Below are some updates on previously scheduled Faculty Hub Events  

• March 17: the Hub Talk with David Wilkins has been postponed indefinitely. 
• March 24 and March 25: our Intentional Tech book club discussions will still meet via Zoom at the regularly scheduled times. Registered participants will receive a Zoom meeting invitation via email.   
• March 27: our Early Career Faculty group will still meet via Zoom at the regularly scheduled times. Registered participants will receive a Zoom meeting invitation via email. 

Best wishes for good health and our continued successes in teaching and learning next week and beyond – 

Linda Boland 

Director, Teaching and Scholarship Hub (Faculty Hub) 

The Faculty Hub is excited to announce a few upcoming events that align with our faculty development goals. We also have a few “save the date” opportunities for which pre-registration will be available soon.

October 8, 2019, 12-1 pm in the Richmond Room of HDC: We invite a representative of each academic department, program or unit or campus partner to Meet the Faculty Hub and learn more about our programming as we also learn how we can help you. The event requires registration.

Faculty Writing Space is still available on Friday mornings, every week. This is a chance to move forward on your writing projects. Until the space is filled, faculty may commit to all remaining weeks of the semester or participate less frequently. Please click here to reserve a space.

Don’t forget about our Workshops To-Go option for scheduling hands-on training at a time that meets your schedule. We invite departments, programs, faculty learning communities, communities of practice or other assembled groups of faculty to benefit from this opportunity for assistance. You may also request customized workshops. Go to our Programming and Events tab and scroll down to Workshops To-Go to learn more.

We want to point your attention to our first Hub Talk – an engaging format for presentation and discussion. Hub Talks will include an 18 minute presentation on an intriguing question or topic followed by a deeper discussion with your faculty colleagues. The talk begins promptly at 12:12 pm (easy to remember) and the discussion runs from 12:30-1 pm. You are invited to arrive early for a light lunch and visit with your colleagues. Hub Talks will help us share scholarship and teaching interests and build community among the faculty. We are thankful for the following speakers who will help us initiate the program this year:

October 28, 2019, 12:12pm in the Whitehurst Living Room: What can a taxidermied horse tell us about public memory? – Dr. Nicole Maurantonio, Associate Professor of Rhetoric and Communication Studies. Please click here for more information and to register for the event.

January 23, 2020, 12:12 pm (location and title TBA): Dr. David Wilkins, Professor, E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Professorship in Leadership Studies. Save the date – registration is coming soon.

Save the Date – May 6, 2020: Faculty Development Day! A focus on teaching for learning. More information is coming soon.

Thank you for reading the Faculty Hub blog!

Dear fellow faculty members,

About seven weeks ago, we initiated the Teaching and Scholarship Hub (Faculty Hub).  We are excited today to roll out version 1.0 of our new website!  Our goal in the Faculty Hub is to support faculty development throughout the professional lifecycle, including support for effective pedagogical practices and opportunities to enhance scholarship, creative work, and intellectual community. With the start of another academic year, we are reminded of the countless ways in which our work demands our best every day.  However, sometimes it helps to acknowledge that there is no need to be an island.  Faculty connecting with and learning from other faculty enriches our professional lives and helps us do our best work with students and for our disciplines. We invite all faculty to consider the programs and opportunities offered by the Faculty Hub as ways to cultivate these important connections.

We want to point your attention to an upcoming event with an early registration deadline—we are fortunate to host Dr. Kumea Shorter-Gooden, an expert in facilitating dialogue to promote awareness and effective practices to encourage a culture of inclusivity.  On the morning of September 6, Dr. Shorter-Gooden will lead us in a workshop on strengthening faculty capacity to foster equity and inclusion.  We hope that faculty will join in this important discussion. To learn more about this event and please register here.

This semester, we are initiating an early career faculty seminar to dive into issues that resonate with the inclusive excellence plan.  This program complements school-based or department-based orientations and begins the process of connecting faculty with professional development opportunities in the Hub and building community among the faculty.

We invite faculty to share their creative, engaging, and sometimes provocative work or works-in-progress in our new “Hub Talks” series, a program designed to foster cross-disciplinary conversations. We also invite faculty to be “learners” in their colleagues’ classrooms through a new “Teaching Squares” program.  Please see this article for more information on teaching squares and you may register here.

An appreciation for the time demands on faculty has guided our approach to help faculty learn about and use pedagogy and scholarship tools.  We have designed a “workshops to-go” program with training to be delivered in time periods during which faculty already meet as a group.  We are also initiating on-line training for faculty in which we share approaches and materials in ways that facilitate faculty adoption of new tools in their teaching or scholarship.  We will continue to add to the workshop menu and create new learning modules and resources throughout the year.

We hope that faculty will engage with the Faculty Hub as we continue to grow and expand the opportunities for meaningful professional development.  In addition to programming and events, individual consultations and your feedback are always welcome in the Faculty Hub.

Best wishes as you prepare for the start of the semester and as we welcome all who are new or returning to our campus community.

Linda Boland – Director, Teaching and Scholarship Hub