Equity in Feedback & Communication

When it came to communication, I defined equity as lots of options/ways to talk with me as the instructor, giving opportunities to provide feedback, and opportunities to bring up concerns/issues. It was important to me that everyone should have a way to do this in a method that was comfortable to them.

In the Week 0 - Orientation Module, students were given a page of information (Communication Policies) on how best to communicate with me.

- - Email (either Canvas inbox or UWGB email)
  - Phone
  - Discussion Boards (both General & Lesson-based)

Also included on this page, was information about the time-frame in which students could expect an answer to their questions (usually within 36-48 hours). Including this language as part of the core course "rules" not only gave students the information they needed but also created accountability on my part to be sure to meet those response times. As a way to start setting the tone of the class I included this language "However, please know that if I do not respond to you in the timeframes listed that you are allowed to email me again and give me a nudge! I promise I won't be offended if you need to do this. Sometimes my inbox grows faster than I can keep up!"

Beyond the basic information contained in the Orientation Module, I tried to do the following to encourage open communication and feedback in the course:

1) Set an open tone from the beginning of the course - "This is why I am having you do this...." Given the repetitive nature of my course, I was able to explain why the course was setup the way it was within the Syllabus video and the Course Welcome video. Reiterating the necessity of repetition and practice and the fact that the material builds week to week was crucial for student buy-in to the process and their commitment to the process early on which would lead to success in the course.
2) Build a community online Given this was the first time I had developed and run this online course, I focused on the students building a relationship with me rather that try to specifically target student to student online community. I do think there is value in trying to create an online community between the students, however given the unique situation of this past fall, I didn't want to force it (or figure out how to facilitate this well!). With my focus in building community between me and the students, I did the following:
	Fast communication I commonly replied to emails and discussion threads within 6-12 hours. Knowing I had leeway built in given the Communication Policies, I could under-promise and over-deliver in this aspect. Drawback - I was always tied to my smartphone and was answering emails and discussion posts everyday (including weekends since HW and quizzes were due on weekends). Counterpoint to drawback - I never had students get upset when it did take me longer to answer an email or discussion post. So although they got used to my fast responses, they never seemed to take it for granted that my response would always be fast. Setting an open tone to the class and their relationship with me, I think, gave me (and them) some grace in a busy semester.
	Have backups ready! I had an unusual start to the semester in that I was on maternity leave for the first 5 weeks of the semester. As such I had two great colleagues volunteer to be substitute instructors that monitored my course and answered questions during those early weeks. Normally I would not have this type of support (since I am not always on maternity leave), but it was great having extra support in answering student questions during those weeks. If it is ever available, appropriate or needed, having backup from colleagues or TA's is fantastic!
	Post Videos (for anything/everything) Videos were a relatively fast and relatively easy way for the students to get to know me. Participating in the CATL courses over summer definitely helped get me over my fear of having to produce a "perfect" video. I quickly got over the weirdness factor of watching videos of myself and I also came to the realization that I just needed to be me in my videos. Videos were a great medium to allow my personality to shine through - just like it would have if the class was face-to-face. I embraced this opportunity to bridge the gap with my students in this way rather than feel like I need to only present a "perfect, polished product" (video). The videos I created for the course fell into two categories: Announcements/Class Information - these videos were frequently just me speaking to the camera and giving information or commenting on feedback, etc. Lecture Videos - these videos were created as picture-in-picture videos in which students could see the document camera I was working on as well as my webcam feed to be able to see me in the bottom corner of the screen. I recorded these videos using a free, open-source program called OBS Studio (https://obsproject.com/)
3) Ask for feedback and act on it I used participation graded "Forum Discussions" three times throughout the semester to gather feedback and information from the students.
	Forum Discussion #1 - Reflect on your performance on Exam 1 (exam wrapper activity/questions). What is working so far? What is not working? How did the exam go for you? What did you like or not like and why? Students were very honest in their critique of themselves and their performance in the class up to this point (4/5 weeks in). They would freely admit what struggles they were having and how they planned to overcome them. Many students commented about disliking the setup of the first exam (one question at a time, no going back, tight timing) and they registered those complaints respectfully and with reasons as to why it was problematic for them. Tying back to my point above - I recorded a video in an announcement responding to their responses and addressing their concerns. I let them know why I had the exam setup that way and how the class grades came out as a whole (on par with my expectations for Exam 1) - but I also agreed to change the setup for Exam 2 to alleviate some of their concerns and see how it goes. This was a slight concession on my part as the instructor, but it was one that I felt was an acceptable accommodation and a bit of a class experiment. Via the video, the students could see and register my tone and expressions that would have not come across the same way in only a written announcement.
	Forum Discussion #2 - Find a funny chemistry meme and post it for the class! I would normally have used this second discussion to ask students to do a "relate chemistry to real life" kind of assignment, but we all needed a break half-way through the semester! Bonus - Students found some funny chemistry memes that I hadn't seen before that are now added to my stash of funny chemistry jokes.
	Forum Discussion #3 - End of the semester - how did this class go? What did you like? What didn't you like? Students again were very honest in their critiques of the class. They all gave me great feedback - both positive and negative and they gave me reasons behind their comments. Insights that I don't normally get in print (or on evals). Usually I learn the reasons behind a students positive and negative comments in casual conversations in lecture (or lab). In this case, being an online class, I was very happy to see that many students felt comfortable enough to share that information with me and with the class. As a semester wrap-up and response to their comments I recorded a final video response back to the class.
Improvement for the future: Include anonymous feedback opportunities. The forum discussions were graded (participation) activities so I did not make them anonymous. Other feedback via email was also obviously not anonymous. Although I feel that I had a good rapport with my students and had developed a good relationship with them all, I should have planned in at least 1 (if not 2) opportunities throughout the semester to give anonymous feedback in case a student was more comfortable providing comments this way.