Monday Musings from The Kravis Center December 7, 2020 Focus: Beginning again
Wednesday at 2:00: Come learn more and share best practices about using Microsoft OneNote in the classroom - Kravis Center Zoom room.
Dear Colleagues,
While preparing for the start of this term, it was hard for me to not drift back to the last time we began a term all online back in March. In a moment of procrastination, I dug up old e-mails from that time, to see what we were thinking then. In one early update, Tim Lawrence, in response to the reality that we would need to teach classes that have students joining from all over the world, wrote that, "We are reminded, daily, that this is simply not business as usual. We must all consider an emphasis on asynchronous teaching and learning, with any Zoom and other synchronous time with our students as part of our larger efforts toward engagement and touch points." Looking at those guidelines with the intervening nine months in mind, I was struck by Tim's candor and foresight around engagement, and what we value about our synchronous time — it's about connection and engagement with the courses we teach, but also with each other.
Though I am still reminded, daily, that this is simply not business as usual. On my best days, I see that as an opportunity – to move beyond "just because" ways of doing things in my classroom, to tinker and experiment with what works best for my students. On worse days, or perhaps even typical days, the reminders that this is simply not business as usual weigh me down.
But I'm not the same teacher I was on March 26th. For better or worse, I've opened up the waiting room hundreds of times since then. I've learned from my best classes, my mistakes, and my colleagues. This is certainly not business as usual, but at the start of this term I find myself filled with a brash sense of hope – that though this is hard, we know so much more than we did before.
What follows are some resources that reflect a lot of our collective learning. Of note are two chances to learn more about some new features of the 365 ecosystem – Bookings and OneNote.
The Kravis Center has worked on a thorough guide of some best practices, resources, and technology tools to serve as a guide through online teaching. Click here to access this document, which is a mash-up of a guide put together by Sonia Rosen of Penn GSE and another document made by the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning.
The Kravis Center hosted two workshops this past week for asynchronous lesson design. It was a great opportunity to collaborate with colleagues across disciplines! This document (our "launchpad" for the session) contains all the resources from the workshop as well as the lesson plan.
Dan mentioned Microsoft Bookings in his e-mail about the migration to 365. Here's a brief video to show you what Bookings does and how it could be especially helpful in our online term. If this is of interest to you, put in an rSchool request to IT to have the feature enabled on your account. It can be tricky to set up, however. There will be an info session Wednesday from 4:30-5 in Matt's Zoom Room.
If you want to try to go about setting it up yourself, the University of Chicago has this excellent resource.
There have been a few teachers who have started using Microsoft OneNote in their classrooms this year. We will host a time for teachers to share best practices and uses of the app on Wednesday at 2:00 PM in the Kravis Center Zoom room. More information on OneNote can be found on the Academic Technology Resource Page.
Matt, on behalf of the Kravis Center
Make sure to check out the articles, resources, and PD opportunities below! ________________________________________________________________ Relevant articles and resources
NAIS: Assessment Practices for Promoting Equity, by Amoy Walker is a must-read. Ms. Walker speaks to her experiences as a student as an an educator on the importance of examining "assessments more closely and identify best practices to combat bias."
When broken down into chunks, What works, what doesn't could serve as a valuable learning tool for our students. "Some study techniques accelerate learning, whereas others are just a waste of time—but which ones are which? An unprecedented review maps out the best pathways to knowledge." Thanks, Scott!
Another resource on teaching and learning that I always keep handy: Deans for Impact, The Science of Learning
Women of Color Need Courageous Allies in the Academy: An Open Dialogue Part One and Part Two. These interviews with seven women are outstanding, informative, and full of information about how to advance the work of allyship and accompaniment.
Active Learning Activity Bank: Ideas for Improved Student Engagement, Created by the Penn Libraries Staff
Where we began and what we've discovered about sync and async classes at LC. ________________________________________________________________ Professional Development Opportunities
Here's the perfect opportunity to take a deep dive into creating authentic assessments with the Buck Institute, the gold standard of PBL workshops. PBL Works Summer Workshop, June 21-24, 2021
If you have have between 2-6 years of experience, click here to learn more about the Klingenstein Summer Institute, July, 2021.
The Science of How We Learn . . . at a Distance: Learning and the Brain is offering numerous PD options for teaching during COVID.
Harvard GSE programs for educators - so any worthwhile workshops for teachers! ________________________________________________________________ More interesting Articles and podcasts...
Reading Diversity: a tool for selecting diverse texts, Teaching Tolerance
Seeing White - podcast - and there's a study guide!
Creating Moments of Genuine Connection Online. the Cult of Pedagogy
Are you Teaching Content or Just Covering Material?, by Terry McGlynn, The Chronicle of Higher Education, A new book on science teaching makes the case for focusing on a smaller set of concepts to produce deeper learning. _______________________________________________________________ Follow us on Twitter! |