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- If you do group work, structure the group work. Give students roles, and change the roles throughout the semester. Provide guidance for what each role should accomplish.
- Provide steps for completing assignments.
- Provide guidelines for ways to succeed in the class.
- Provide rubrics prior to giving assignments. Teach students how to use them.
- For each week provide a list: What do you expect from yourself? Be sure to have your May self speak with your December self as you set these goals and expectations
- What we will learn this week.
- What assignments are due this week and when.
- What assessments are happening this week and when.
- If you see "stack-ups" where multiple important learning events occur on one day or within one week, push the calendar around. If you cannot push the calendar, announce this "stack up" two weeks early and remind students that it is coming (dates in the calendar are closer than they appear).
- Build in encouragement moments. "Look at how far we've come!" "Look at what we've accomplished this week."
Setting expectations is crucial.
- Create 4-5 minute recordings of solutions/answers/responses to known problem areas in the course and material. Post these for students to review. Be sure to explain in a different way from the way that you have explained "in class" so that learners get the information in a different way. (Suggestion courtesy of Jon French)
Setting expectations is crucial.
- What do you expect from your students? Be sure to include statements reminding them that in any context, they are responsible for their own learning. They will have to take up the work of reading and reviewing, practicing and demonstrating that they have progressed appropriately in their knowledge, skills, abilities, comprehension, and ability to apply what they are learning.
- Establish tech expectations. Have a "Quiz Zero" for these tech expectations and set-ups. Are students technologically prepared? If not, direct them to ITS (help@syr.edu).
- What do you expect from yourself? Be sure to have your May self speak with your December self as you set these goals and expectations.
- If you have graduate TAs, clarify your expectations for them. As part of their expectations, give them responsibilities for answering certain kinds of emails from students. Have them develop "expertise" in certain questions, and shift those questions to the TA.
If you have an undergraduate TA or technology helper, establish what you would like as support.
Treat any TA or support as your partner in making the learning experience work.
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- After 3 of the same question, provide an announcement or message to the entire class clarifying where to look, what to do, how to find, etc. You can use different modalities, such as Blackboard announcements or embedded videos for this purpose. After you make the clarification, simply point students to the location of the information.
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