Teaching News

Dear colleagues,

What a challenging term! Congratulations on drawing winter courses to a close—we wish you restorative rest and happy spring breaking in the days ahead.  

Academic Council’s spring guidance removes most campus-wide attendance and makeup policy provisions in favor of individual faculty discretion. Thus, you may be considering spring course policies—especially for in-person classes—that curtail some extensions of flexibility in favor of a more unified and engaging class experience. We’ve written to students to convey that streaming and recording options may not be available and that they should save absences for when they really need them in accordance with the policies of individual courses. Here is a “syllabus starter” resource that puts this guidance into sample course policies.

Re-calibrating students’ expectations is something we’ll all have to do together and with the help of partners in Academic Advising.  

We admire that UO’s teaching community continues to center student support, access, wellbeing, and more sustainable models of flexibility. You’ll find resources and invitations in this newsletter devoted to these topics. 

In thinking about what to carry forward in your spring teaching, we remind you that UO Academic Data Analytics analyses of Student Experience Survey data show the power of relatively straightforward choices like: 

  • posting assignments earlier to allow students to choose when to complete their work; 
  • designing for imperfect attendance by, for example, allowing students to drop the lowest assignment grade and posting slides, notes, or recordings; 
  • making expectations for students transparent. 

Your efforts have mattered so profoundly. 

Student Wellbeing Toolkit

What do we mean when we talk about “wellbeing,” and what are those actions faculty and GEs can take as helpers, not clinicians, that may also be compatible with their own wellbeing? This new teaching toolkit addresses these questions by synthesizing national and UO-specific data about what wellbeing is and why it matters, and by offering a range of strategies, pre-made tools, and draft language to support student wellbeing in the context of your courses.

Canvas Course Sites – Wrapping Winter, Launching Spring!

WINTER: Arrange for access to Winter term Canvas courses for students with incompletes.

Click on the Request Canvas Support button, select “Grant student access for incomplete” – in the “What do you need help with?” section. To streamline this process, please provide all requested information.

SPRING: Prepare Spring Canvas course sites. Panopto videos must be copied to the new course site to ensure student access.

Rolling over a course - copy course content “selectively.”

Faculty who plan to submit course merge tickets asking for their spring or summer courses to be manually merged into a single Canvas site: A Canvas system change is complicating this process. To discuss your options, please contact the Canvas support team. 

Spring Invitations

ACCESSIBLE AND INCLUSIVE DESIGN WORKSHOP SERIES

This series features practices to create more accessible and inclusive classes for students, particularly students with disabilities and/or who are neurodivergent. It centers needs and recommendations students have identified (see the Practitioner Guide: Accessibility) and was developed in consultation with specialists at the Accessible Education Center (AEC). Series facilitators include staff from TEP, UO Online, AEC, and the Library; workshops occur Wednesdays from 1-2 pm throughout spring term. 

  • Session 1: Organizing and Designing in Canvas for Accessibility
  • March 30, 1-2pm
  • Join via Zoom 
  • Register here »

While formal registration is not required, please consider filling out this very brief three-question forms survey prior to attending.   

SCIENCE TEACHING JOURNAL CLUB: Helping students succeed in your course

Join us to examine ways to help students reinforce the content knowledge and skills they need for your course and to employ effective learning techniques so they can use their time as efficiently as possible. We will also explore interdisciplinary introductory science courses and consider whether they might be a good idea for UO. All are welcome to participate every week or drop in for selected conversations. 

TEACHING AMIDST CRISIS: FOUNDATIONS OF TRAUMA-INFORMED PEDAGOGY

with Proessor Anita Chari

EMBODIED PRACTICES FOR INCLUSIVE AND ANTI-OPPRESSIVE TEACHING with Professor Anita Chari

GRADUATE RESEARCH FORUM & UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

Encourage your students to share their discoveries! Proposals for the Graduate Research Forum are due on April 4 and the Undergraduate Research Symposium on April 11.