RECAST | Week 1 Provost Note
Date: Apr 2, 2020, 7:51 AM -0700
From: Drake, Jennifer <drakej@evergreen.edu>
Hi all,
You have all been on my mind as you continue to work so hard to launch a very unusual spring quarter. Your resilience and creative engagement as you prepare for this first day of instruction is nothing short of astonishing.
It’s clear that staff and faculty are all deeply committed to maintaining a supportive student experience through new remote delivery systems. Staff colleagues from across the institution have been working to respond to the emergent situation of COVID-19, to rethink how we work together, and to provide training in how to use new tools. I see collaboration occurring across the College in ways that are both strategic and inspiring.
Faculty have been incredibly responsive to the workshops offered by the Keep Teaching Team and the one-on-one and small group support offered by the Learning and Teaching Commons. More than 150 faculty have participated in Zoom workshops and the Keep Teaching Canvas site. It’s been heartening to see faculty sharing knowledge with each other while building new skills. Here are a couple of examples:
From Cynthia Kennedy and Paul Przybylowicz: We’re trying to shift a heavily-experiential program to online. Since we were planning to bring tea and fresh bread to the first class, we’re asking our students to bake a loaf of bread and make a pot/mug of tea/coffee for the first online class. If they don’t have time to bake, bring something else to show and “share” and we’ll use that as one of the video shares around the “circle.” Sort of a virtual potluck.
From Julie Russo: I want to provide multiple options for students to demonstrate participation and learning (synchronous and asynchronous), while ideally assigning all students the same “checkpoints.” I plan to use Canvas quizzes regularly as a way to track student engagement in this way and do quick formative assessments. For example, students will complete an “exit ticket” after my lectures (whether they’re on the Zoom conference or review the recording/slides later) with a few simple questions (e.g. “What is one idea that stuck with you? What question are you leaving with?”).
Joli Sandoz, the Learning and Teaching Commons Faculty Scholar, is offering Pedagogy Pop-Up “office hours” via Zoom from 9-10 and 4-5 on April 1, 6, 9, 13, and 16. The LTC website lists several additional workshops and conversations to support remote teaching and learning.
I hope you are healthy and finding ways to take care of yourself and your family while maintaining balance in this extraordinary time. I am including Laurel Uznanski’s recent e-mail about the Employee Assistant Program (EAP), which continues to be a resource to support our well-being.
You are all so appreciated.
Best,
Jen
Jennifer Drake, PhD | Provost and Vice President for Student & Academic Life
she/her pronouns
3805 Library, The Evergreen State College
2700 Evergreen Pkwy NW, Olympia, Washington 98505
(360) 867-6400 I drakej@evergreen.edu
