“This class reminded me of how I used to think about math before it became unenjoyable for me. Now that I actually enjoy it again, I am easily motivated to use mathematics in both my college career and in life.” – Anonymous Student Evaluation
In response to the spread of the novel Coronavirus, healthcare workers, politicians, business leaders, educators, and the public have taken extreme measures, including social distancing and self-isolation, to ensure the continued health and wellbeing of those we love and those whom we will never meet. However, while social distancing and self-isolation are necessary at the moment, these measures also have psychological side effects. Dr.
Higher education faculty across the country are hearing “Campus is closed for classes, let’s move online!” But, we all know that is by no means a simple thing to do. If remote teaching with our campus Learning Management System is feasible for your class, before jumping into the learning management system, take a few moments to look at your syllabus and course schedule and make some decisions:
It is unfortunate that this site already contains a post on student cheating (“The Value of an Index Card” by Kirsten Gardner). Although cheating is an uncomfortable topic for professors to address, it is also a significant problem and cannot be ignored.
For my entire career, I have taught courses addressing issues related to race, ethnicity, culture, and multiculturalism. One of the most challenging topics to teach about is race and racism. It is well documented that race and racism are provocative and emotionally charged topics to teach. Faculty who teach classes about race are sometimes subject to punishment by students in the form of poor courses evaluations and, in extreme cases, complaints to administrators. Students sometimes use course evaluations to express disdain at being intellectually and morally challenged.
