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IMPACT in Action - Engagement #1

  • 1.  IMPACT in Action - Engagement #1

    Posted 01-04-2021 08:08:00

    How do you begin to build community in your learning environment during the first week?  Share your thoughts here, but if you have a more detailed activity/document, feel free to share it by posting it in the All Access Public Library and then providing the link to your entry in this discussion thread.



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    Nancy Rivers
    Wake Technical CC
    Raleigh NC
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  • 2.  RE: IMPACT in Action - Engagement #1

    Posted 01-05-2021 14:53:00
    To keep this conversation going... I solicited some ideas from friends. Here is an idea from Analemma McKee-Schwenke who teaches at Wake Technical Community College in Raleigh, NC:

    This semester I assigned an individual lab the second week of class but also put them in groups of 4 in Teams and said they would get a second attempt if they discussed their results in the group.  Most of them did! Then about ⅓ of the groups kept using their Teams channel to work together on homework and other things!  I left those groups alone, but re-arranged the other groups so that students who tried to reach out were grouped together and quiet people were grouped together for the next lab discussion. Then even more groups were using their channels to work together on other assignments.  I will definitely use this next semester. - Analemma McKee


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    Nancy Rivers
    Wake Technical CC (Retired)
    Raleigh NC
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  • 3.  RE: IMPACT in Action - Engagement #1

    Posted 01-06-2021 12:11:00
    I mostly teach with groups through out the course, so I start the first day of my synchronous classes with a group assignment that they work on. This let's them get to know each other, and also sets up the expectation of them working together throughout the semester. I randomly put them into the groups on the first day and then randomly pick the groups each day after this.

    When I have face-to-face classes, I have in the past let the people choose their own groups, but after teaching virtually this year, I may randomly pick the face-to-face class groups in the future.

    For my asynchronous classes I ask the students to introduce themselves to each other in a discussion post. I also ask them to sign up for a group that they will be in for the entire semester. The groups are all the same, so I find that students who sign up early for a group all get in the same group and they usually work well together and participate earlier in future group assignments. Students who wait to sign up for groups usually all end up with each other, and usually those groups don't do future assignments until right before the due date. This way I have less complaints that no one is working on the assignments in the groups. I will move people from one group to another if they request or when students have dropped. I find with the asynchronous classes that the students need the consistency of who they are working with instead of doing random groups.

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    Kathryn Kozak
    Instructor
    Coconino CC
    Flagstaff AZ
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  • 4.  RE: IMPACT in Action - Engagement #1

    Posted 01-07-2021 13:03:00
    All my classes are asynchronous this year...I was concerned that students would feel like they are isolated and learning Calculus on their own, so I wanted to include a way for students to attempt to get to know other classmates. I have students make an introduction video of themselves using Flipgrid in week 1, where I require students to comment on 2 other student videos.

    After week 1, I have a "Get To Know Your Classmates" assignment at the beginning of each module where students answer a non-math question using Flipgrid and embed the video in the discussion board. A few examples: "Create a Flipgrid video sharing your best school memory/experience, favorite teacher, and/or favorite class and why." "Create a Flipgrid video sharing your dream job or career." "If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?"

    I want students to be able to learn about their classmates and I think it makes the student-to-student interaction in the discussion board and study groups more personable. Also, students may be more willing to reach out to another classmate for questions or to study if they feel someone in the course has common interests.

    I also watch and respond to every video because I think it is important for students to feel like they have a professor who cares about them as a person, in addition to their success in the course.

    Andy

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    Andy Jeanson
    Residential Mathematics Faculty
    Chandler-Gilbert CC
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  • 5.  RE: IMPACT in Action - Engagement #1

    Posted 01-07-2021 17:20:00
    Andy,

    Thank you for sharing this. Flip grid sounds very interesting! Have your students commented on how they feel about Flip Grid? Was it helpful in their feeling connected or engaged?

    Nancy

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    Nancy Rivers
    Wake Technical CC
    Raleigh NC
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  • 6.  RE: IMPACT in Action - Engagement #1

    Posted 01-09-2021 09:46:00

    I know that we have great ways to help our students engage in our courses. Let's share our ideas!!!

    Please, share ways you get your students involved in a class - with the material, with their classmates or with the instructor. 


    Thank you!



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    Nancy Rivers
    Wake Technical CC
    Raleigh NC
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  • 7.  RE: IMPACT in Action - Engagement #1

    Posted 01-10-2021 11:52:00
    This is my favorite activity to do before the semester starts (and also looped back mid-way for motivation). It's a slideshow that my students contribute to and I send it in an email a week before class starts. I love how it helps me get to know my students (and them each other) even before the first day.

    Ana Jiménez 
    (she/her)

    Stay Safe �� and Healthy ❤️️

    CoViD19 self-report here.

    Need help? 
    Email me!
    Text me! 520.344.2624 
    Set up an appointment to see me!   


    "Racism is not merely a simplistic hatred. It is, more often, broad sympathy toward some and broader skepticism toward others." ~ Ta-Nehisi Coates







  • 8.  RE: IMPACT in Action - Engagement #1

    Posted 01-10-2021 17:17:00
    Ana,

    Thank you for sharing! How do you contact your students before the semester begins? Perhaps it is different at your college but I know at many colleges instructors do not have access to a class roster before a semester begins. I only glanced at your transcript (I have a sleeping grandson in my arms), did you say how far in advance of a semester you first reach out to your students?

    Thank you!
    Nancy

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    Nancy Rivers
    Wake Technical CC
    Raleigh NC
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  • 9.  RE: IMPACT in Action - Engagement #1

    Posted 01-10-2021 17:59:00
    Nancy: Our learning management system has an "Intelligent Agent" feature that automatically sends an email to anyone who has registered for the class based on parameters I determine. I have the IA check my roster one week before classes start and it runs a check daily to send the email to anyone who is registered and hasn't already received it.
    I recommend asking your IT if your LMS has a similar feature.

    Ana Jiménez 
    (she/her)

    Stay Safe �� and Healthy ❤️️

    CoViD19 self-report here.

    Need help? 
    Email me!
    Text me! 520.344.2624 
    Set up an appointment to see me!   


    "Racism is not merely a simplistic hatred. It is, more often, broad sympathy toward some and broader skepticism toward others." ~ Ta-Nehisi Coates







  • 10.  RE: IMPACT in Action - Engagement #1

    Posted 01-12-2021 10:29:00
    Similar to this, last semester I set up a Google Jamboard for each of my classes and sent it to them about a week before class started, along with other introductory material. I asked them to create a post it to introduce themselves to each other. There are no pictures, just their name (what they prefer to be called) and a few quick words about themselves and expectations for the class. A few of the classes very quickly filled the Jamboard allowing me and them to know who would be in the room prior to class. As for the first days of class, I've used an activity for a while that involves me giving students a piece of paper with 16 real numbers on it. I ask them to sort the numbers in whatever way they see fit. Then (back in the in person days), half the class walks around and looks at the other half's work. Then they switch. In the virtual environment, this can be done with a combination of Google Slides and breakout rooms. Along those lines, I think that any collaborative problem solving on low ceiling, high floor problems can be a great way to start a course and build community.

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    Chris Sabino
    Associate Professor
    Harold Washington College
    Chicago IL
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  • 11.  RE: IMPACT in Action - Engagement #1

    Posted 01-13-2021 19:35:00
    Chris,
    These are great ways to engage your students. I like your 16 number activity.
    Nancy

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    Nancy Rivers
    Wake Technical CC
    Raleigh NC
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