CLAS Acts July 2021

Monthly e-newsletter for the tenure-line faculty of CLAS.

A Note from Dean Drake

 

Josephine Miles, the poet, scholar, editor and first woman tenured in the English Department at Berkeley, wrote these lines in her poem “Preliminary to Classroom Lecture” a half-century ago:

The voices to burden down a tale upon you

Were indolent with din.

Would better ask and have answer from you.

And would you then begin

Querying too, querying, my quiet kin?

 

Like us, Miles was thinking about how to center student voices and experiences in the classroom, how to create a culture that fosters inquiry and belonging. As we rest and recharge this summer, we are asking ourselves about the right mix of those teaching and learning practices that have shaped our own educations, those we have learned from esteemed colleagues, and those we have adopted out of necessity during the pandemic.

 

The Summer Strategy and Innovation Group (the SSIG) has been busy stewarding the CLAS strategic planning process. Participants have been deeply engaged with reading and discussion, modeling and writing about the sort of structures that will support CLAS values and aspirations, our own flourishing, and ultimately our students as they prepare to take on the challenges and opportunities of the world that form our context.  The SSIG presented three rich models to the CLAS Faculty Council and Unit Heads just a couple of days ago.  Now our work turns to taking the very best of these ideas and constructing a draft plan that will be presented to the college at the beginning of the academic year.

 

Strategic planning at the college and university level is one thing.  Planning your courses for fall necessarily feels even more pressing.  In this month’s article, we’ve gathered some thoughts on how different course modalities worked in practice for some of our faculty.  We hope that their reflections, whether they affirm or challenge your own, will support your decision-making about what worked and what can work as we expand our pedagogical toolkits. 

 

Today is also the day we release our annual report.   I hope it demonstrates my gratitude for your prodigious efforts on behalf of our students. 

 

 

Jen

Coaxing the Mule and Chasing the Griffin—Teaching in Hybrid Modalities

One of the biggest challenges for faculty in the hybrid model was that while students were EITHER in person or online each week, faculty were teaching students in BOTH delivery modes at the same time - half the class meeting for face-to-face instruction and the other half completing different online assignments. 

This was a lot of extra work for faculty to manage, and I'm very proud of how they handled it.  ~Janet Vigna, biology unit head

 

The dictionary suggests that hybrid is “the offspring of two plants or animals of different species or varieties, such as a mule.”  A secondary definition of chimera is “a thing that is hoped or wished for but in fact is illusory or impossible to achieve”.  Over the last year, it was a rare faculty member who didn’t wonder about the true character of the quickly adopted teaching modalities forced upon them by the pandemic.

 

Out of great discomfort was born (phoenix-like?) a sense of potential though.   The optimism built into the act of teaching meant that faculty both recognized the downsides and found opportunity.

 

As Christopher Kurby, associate professor of psychology, put it:

 

I taught an online hybrid class, a synchronous/asynchronous mix. I believe that being forced to teach online last year has improved my teaching because I needed to dissect everything I did and ask myself “what is this component’s purpose?” In doing so, I came up with, I think, better versions of activities, lectures, assignments, etc. I look forward to incorporating these changes to my in-person classes this Fall.

 

Others noted that the original plans morphed under the influence of policy decisions.  BMS Chair Dan Bergman noted that “many of our courses … were listed as staggered hybrid, [but] ultimately ran as separate in-person and online experiences within a course since there was no attendance policy to enforce the in-person hybrid component. What really ended up happening in these staggered hybrid classes looked and behaved more like hyflex, since many students in groups for in-person attendance decided not to attend in-person after the first couple of class meetings and just went 100% online.” 

 

Chemistry Chair, Deborah Herrington agreed, saying:

 

...from a Department standpoint, I would agree with Dan. Though many of our faculty started with hybrid/staggered hybrid, many went to fully online or treating face-to-face time more like discussion sections because they could not require attendance at face-to-face, and if they offered option of face-to-face or online, students may start face-to-face but then many would just decide to go online because interactions in the classroom, at least for the larger classes, were really hard with the social distancing. Trying to have some students in class and some online at the same time (hyflex) may work in smaller classes where you could have full class discussions, but if you wanted students to work in smaller groups, that was a nightmare.

 

Debbie refers to her own attempt to do this as spectacular failure, but we doubt her on this one point. 

Nancy Mack, professor of mathematics, also resonated with the experience Dan Bergman described about attendance.

 

My MTH 223 class also had a virtual field experience with a 2nd grade class that was an essential part of our course.  Since my class met synchronously, all my students were able to participate in our virtual tutoring on both Monday and Friday.  On tutoring days, we met virtually at the elementary school for 50 minutes, took a 10-minute break and then met virtually using our class Zoom link.  Being able to meet in this way allowed us time to debrief about the tutoring and to begin planning for the next tutoring lesson.  It also helped build a strong community in our class.  On non-tutoring days, (Wednesdays) two students chose to attend in person and did so on a regular basis.   This proved to be very helpful for their learning.  Additionally, the next to last day of class, six students chose to attend in person.  As the class progressed that day, the students saw how different the dynamics were when they attended class in person and several commented that they wish they had attended more of our classes in-person throughout the semester.  They also explained that our MTH 223 class was the only class they were taking during Winter 2021 that provided them with an opportunity to attend in person.   They expressed gratitude for being able to attend in person.

 

 

 

Nancy has had some thoughts about what she would do if presented with a decision about modality in the future.  “During Fall 2021, my MTH 221 class was a staggered hybrid (asynchronous) modality.  This modality did not work well for the tutoring field experience and for building a community in the class.  If I need to teach online in some way again, I would need the modality to be staggered hybrid (synchronous).  With this modality and the use of Jamboard, the class can be very engaging to students and build a strong classroom community.”

 

Debbie Herrington describes her unit’s agreement that online labs were not good substitutes for in-person labs. “It is not possible for students to learn physical lab skills in online labs. Further, in classes where we had to alternate online with face-to-face labs so that we could have students spread out apart enough in the lab rooms, students overwhelmingly indicated that they MUCH preferred the face-to-face labs. Some went so far as to say that face-to-face labs were their favorite part of the class.”

Debbie also noted that, “it is not possible to ask students questions to evaluate their understanding, make sure they are not going off down the wrong path, or give them immediate feedback on their questions the way you can in a face to face lab. Online labs are not something that we will be looking to keep moving forward.”

 

On labs, Janet emphasized the importance of the Laboratory Supervisors in making the transition to hybrid labs and field experiences.  “They did extraordinary work to prep these courses with an eye to COVID-safety cleaning, social distancing and traffic patterns as students engaged in face to face activities.  They worked closely with the VAT and course coordinators to make sure everyone felt safe, and that all protocols and procedures were clearly posted for students and faculty.  In addition, our lead lab supervisor worked with student workers to create a very effective COVID lab safety video that was posted on all Bb sites, and I'm sure this practice of creating lab safety videos is one we will continue.”

 

Debbie spoke to many and found that they felt they had learned a number of things that they would keep.  “The general consensus was the videos/lectures pre-class were something that faculty generally liked and foresee keeping to some extent so that they have more time in class for group work.”

 

She is also in this camp. 

 

I learned that structured online pre-class activities/instruction can provide students with a good foundation and instructors with important information about student challenges and I plan to keep these as an integral part of my classes moving forward. Though this means more than just videotaping a lecture and having them watch it before class. They have to be required to do something while watching the video to help them self-assess what they do and don’t understand, and there should be a mechanism though which the instructor can get input about this so that they can customize their instructions.

 

 

 

Like Nancy Mack, she learned the benefits of synchronicity.  Debbie said,

 

I also learned that the vast majority of our students need required synchronous instruction where they can engage in group work/practice and that this is much more effective when it is done face to face. It is easier to get students engaging with one another and make sure students are on task and heading in the right direction with face to face group work over remote sessions with break out rooms. This is also essential for responsive teaching. No two classes of students are the same so you need to interact with students to identify how to adapt appropriately for each class.

 

Providing connection outside the classroom also presented some surprises. Nancy Mack was in her first year serving as a Student Success Network Faculty Partner. 

Despite the fact that I was only able to meet with students virtually, it was a wonderful experience.  I spent much of my time communicating with student partners about matters related to registration, in general, and some specific classes. I found the students to be very optimistic and enjoyable.  I was tickled when a few students very politely asked if I would grant them closed class permits for classes in different departments.  They appeared to think I could do anything and everything.  I look forward to serving as an SSN Faculty Partner again next year.

 

 

The role of intentional planning seems a fitting way to conclude. Janet Vigna said:

 

One positive thing that came from hybrid teaching was the development of some very impressive online curriculum we can use in subsequent semesters in a variety of ways.  That being said, it was very apparent that the face-to-face experiences were vital for teaching the essential skills, and I'm impressed with our ability to have engaged in these activities safely, as a result of intentional planning.  These face-to-face experiences also created regular contact with faculty that many students, especially those in their first year, really needed to support their success.