I reently sent out an email about how we hear consistently from students that “check-ins” are really important to them while we’re in remote-delivery mode, and including some tips from faculty. Here are some of the additional tips our faculty have offered:
Zoom polls and 5-minute free-flowing breakout sessions to begin the class. –Marcelo Diversi, Human Development
3-min breakout room check-in (daily tasks, something to look forward to) and a quick debrief in a main room; add a question to Chat before class begins that is not related to class such as “where do you want to study abroad and what do you want to see/experience in the new world” – got lots of responses about cultural differences, norms, different education systems, etc. –Miwako Nakamoto, Success Coach, UNIV 104 instructor
Call each student by their name and ask how they are doing, ask if they need any help. Stay 10 -15 mins after class for individual queries or consultations. Many students prefer one-on-one chat at the end of the class. Be flexible on giving extensions on their homework without penalties considering so many uncontrollable factors. –Praveen Sekhar, Engineering & Computer Science
All my students send me a response to a study question once a week. I respond to each one. I encourage them to use these emails also to tell me what’s up with them and how they are doing. Most of them do this a lot. If I don’t hear from them or they miss the weekly synchronous class, I email to find out what’s up. I never say they are in trouble but reassure them that I’m here for them and WSUV has plenty of resources to help. A lot of work for me, but it helps them stay calm and devise strategies for success. –Carol Siegel, English
And for the record, here are the tips that appeared in the original email I sent:
Faculty start each class with a prompt that asks students how they are or what they are looking forward to today or something they need and to place it in the chat—the trick they use is no one hits send until the faculty member says go! And then all the feedback waterfalls in the chat and no one is singled out and there’s an immediate sense of the tenor of the day. –College of Education faculty
Bring an object that describes how you’re feeling. –Elizabeth Soliday, Human Development
If you have a large class with TAs, consider having the TAs do regular check-ins with students. –Christine Portfors, Research and Graduate Education
Thanks, everyone, for everything you’re doing to keep each other and our students moving forward through these hard times. I appreciate all of you very much.