Faculty Focus

MARCH 14, 2023

These pedagogies provide instructors a powerful opportunity to create learning environments that effectively support all students, minimize student stress, and support overall student mental health, without sacrificing academic rigor. Described below are three ways that instructors support student well-being and mental health.

Syllabus 131

Syllabus Exams Instructors Assignments 131

Faculty Focus

MAY 13, 2025

Increasingly, instructors report difficulty maintaining students attention, citing ever-present distractions like smartphones, laptops, and a relentless stream of digital notifications. Rather than dictating course policies and classroom norms, instructors can instead ask: What do you think about this plan? Often, class ends early.

Syllabus 104

Syllabus Instructors Learning Confidentiality 104

Edsurge

NOVEMBER 20, 2018

Communicate Expectations Early and Often Millet stressed that it’s imperative for faculty to set definitions and guidelines early about academic honesty, and regularly communicate those expectations to students. Searching for a particular phrase can often take an instructor to the website where it was taken from.

Academic Integrity 146

Academic Integrity Exams Assignments Instructors 146

Edsurge

APRIL 30, 2020

Our administration has done well at communicating, and the faculty have done a really great job of moving online quickly. What are some of the accessibility needs college students have that instructors, researchers and course designers should be thinking about when moving courses online? Is it going pretty smoothly?

Accessibility 218

Accessibility Disabilities Universal Design Syllabus 218

Faculty Focus

JANUARY 24, 2023

Language for the disability statement in their syllabus. In other words, we need to take the time to create inclusive learning communities if we’re going to make the most of teaching and learning. Express care for your students in your descriptions, communications, and policies. This is the humdinger. Start strong.

Teaching 98

Teaching Syllabus Instructors Disabilities 98

Faculty Focus

MAY 13, 2025

Increasingly, instructors report difficulty maintaining students attention, citing ever-present distractions like smartphones, laptops, and a relentless stream of digital notifications. Rather than dictating course policies and classroom norms, instructors can instead ask: What do you think about this plan? Often, class ends early.

Syllabus 97

Syllabus Instructors Learning Confidentiality 97

Faculty Focus

SEPTEMBER 19, 2024

It is often said that much, if not most, of communication comes not in what we say but in how we say it. In fact, the ability to convey nuance in communication is one of the many advantages of providing voice or screencasting feedback to students—an issue I have covered in past columns. All rights reserved.

Instructors 101

Instructors Communication Syllabus Discussions 101

Faculty Focus

JANUARY 18, 2024

I was handed a syllabus, a classroom, and students, and left to figure out the rest on my own. In preparing that first course, I focused on what I thought were the essentials of teaching: finalizing the syllabus, picking the readings, and writing the assignments. You might be surprised by what you learn.

Teaching 119

Teaching Syllabus Feedback Instructors 119

Faculty Focus

JUNE 1, 2023

As such, more instructors are teaching online courses. Asynchronous online courses can create barriers for instructors to connect with students, but instructors can implement small and significant changes to their online courses that can help build community, connection, and relationships. Why did you take this course?

Instructors 59

Instructors Syllabus Feedback Assignments 59

Faculty Focus

OCTOBER 15, 2023

Washington (2019) studied the face-to-face instructor experience, and we already had anecdotal information, along with some survey data, from our own faculty regarding their use and preferences regarding the LMS. Clarity and communication  The importance of clarity and communication cannot be overstated. Avoid confusing instructions.

Syllabus 111

Syllabus Instructors Peer Review Lecturing 111

Faculty Focus

MAY 9, 2024

As educators and students grapple with what is allowed when using generative AI (GenAI) tools, I have compiled five tips to help you design or redesign academic integrity statements for your syllabus, assignments, exams, and course activities. Banning GenAI tools is not the solution Many students use GenAI tools to aid their learning.

Academic Integrity 137

Academic Integrity Writing Syllabus Exams 137

Faculty Focus

OCTOBER 27, 2024

Connecting with students shifts the obligation from the instructor working singularly to create an inclusive environment to one where the class works collectively to build the community. Instructors lead by example, sharing information about themselves, their backgrounds, and their interests, and encourage students to do the same.

Instructors 115

Instructors Students Minute Papers Course Design 115

Faculty Focus

OCTOBER 29, 2023

However, as a former instructor of online courses, I have seen first-hand the power of introducing a librarian to a group of online students and how such exposure can lead to curiosity on a topic and deepen student learning. I begin with a caveat. I am not an academic librarian. In fact, I have never worked in a library.

Syllabus 98

Syllabus Instructors Learning Assignments 98

Faculty Focus

JANUARY 18, 2024

I was handed a syllabus, a classroom, and students, and left to figure out the rest on my own. In preparing that first course, I focused on what I thought were the essentials of teaching: finalizing the syllabus, picking the readings, and writing the assignments. You might be surprised by what you learn.

Teaching 110

Teaching Syllabus Feedback Instructors 110

Faculty Focus

MAY 7, 2024

In the dynamic landscape of online education, the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communications online graduate programs (UF CJC Online) stands at the forefront of innovation and quality. The template, housed in Canvas, is easy to update to reflect resource and content information changes.

Feedback 119

Feedback Course Design Instructors Education 119

Faculty Focus

JANUARY 21, 2024

Five strategies to foster sense of belonging Be caring and authentic: Syllabus policies and language, as well as introductory comments on the first day of class, set the tone for an entire term. The good news is that research points us to several aspects of inclusive and supportive classroom environments that positively impact belongingness.

Syllabus 132

Syllabus Exams Students Motivation 132

Faculty Focus

OCTOBER 27, 2024

Connecting with students shifts the obligation from the instructor working singularly to create an inclusive environment to one where the class works collectively to build the community. Instructors lead by example, sharing information about themselves, their backgrounds, and their interests, and encourage students to do the same.

Instructors 105

Instructors Students Minute Papers Course Design 105

Edsurge

APRIL 18, 2018

It’s easier to provide a syllabus with structured projects and assignments that have assigned due dates and clear grading parameters. Finding the appropriate balance of support for each student requires continuous communication. Now it’s postsecondary instructional designers and instructors.

Teaching 163

Teaching Education Learning Syllabus 163

Edsurge

SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

Instructors who flunk a student on an exam can reasonably expect to see an email from a concerned parent every so often. A hands-off approach is increasingly difficult given how easy it is for families to stay in touch with digital communication.

Syllabus 156

Syllabus Exams Instructors Study 156

Faculty Focus

SEPTEMBER 19, 2024

It is often said that much, if not most, of communication comes not in what we say but in how we say it. In fact, the ability to convey nuance in communication is one of the many advantages of providing voice or screencasting feedback to students—an issue I have covered in past columns. All rights reserved.

Instructors 84

Instructors Communication Syllabus Discussions 84

Faculty Focus

MAY 7, 2024

In the dynamic landscape of online education, the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communications online graduate programs (UF CJC Online) stands at the forefront of innovation and quality. The template, housed in Canvas, is easy to update to reflect resource and content information changes.

Feedback 109

Feedback Course Design Instructors Education 109

Faculty Focus

MARCH 14, 2023

These pedagogies provide instructors a powerful opportunity to create learning environments that effectively support all students, minimize student stress, and support overall student mental health, without sacrificing academic rigor. Described below are three ways that instructors support student well-being and mental health.

Syllabus 97

Syllabus Exams Instructors Assignments 97

Faculty Focus

SEPTEMBER 29, 2024

The updated syllabus will front-load teaching and learning about the social justice movements that may be selected for the collaboration. The SSC syllabus will be re-conceptualized to accommodate the valuable collaborative project learning experience.

Syllabus 105

Syllabus Science History Communication 105

Faculty Focus

JANUARY 21, 2025

Collaborative syllabus design: During the first class, engage students in setting community and classroom norms and goals. A co-created syllabus session fosters accountability and trust, as students feel ownership of the course structure (Cook-Sather et al., Journal of Intelligent Communication , 3(2) , 2031. Nilson, L.

Plagiarism 118

Plagiarism Syllabus Ethics Feedback 118

Edsurge

MARCH 28, 2018

But it wasn’t until her current gig, serving as an instructor for a course on water supply and demand in California, that she got her feet wet with open educational resources. Water is a unique discipline, it’s not like math or history or communication studies were major publishers put out multitudes of textbooks on,” she says.

Textbooks 122

Textbooks Instructors History Syllabus 122

Scholarly Teacher

NOVEMBER 20, 2024

Keywords: Student partnerships, Asset-Based Mindset, Language Resources Introduction In educational contexts, English is often privileged as the language of communication and instruction. What does the language in the syllabus/assignment assume about students (e.g., 2024; Cook-Sather, 2020).

Teaching 98

Teaching Instructors English Language 98

Faculty Focus

JUNE 18, 2024

Today, many of my colleagues who remain wedded to the traditional face-to-face teaching modality share some of the same fears I experienced as a beginning online asynchronous instructor. As college professors and instructors, we are the content experts and instructional leaders of our courses. If so, please list below.

Instructors 108

Instructors Disabilities Culture Syllabus 108

Faculty Focus

JUNE 18, 2024

Today, many of my colleagues who remain wedded to the traditional face-to-face teaching modality share some of the same fears I experienced as a beginning online asynchronous instructor. As college professors and instructors, we are the content experts and instructional leaders of our courses. If so, please list below.

Instructors 105

Instructors Disabilities Culture Syllabus 105

Faculty Focus

SEPTEMBER 29, 2024

The updated syllabus will front-load teaching and learning about the social justice movements that may be selected for the collaboration. The SSC syllabus will be re-conceptualized to accommodate the valuable collaborative project learning experience.

Syllabus 98

Syllabus Science History Communication 98

Faculty Focus

SEPTEMBER 22, 2024

I selected OpenStax because of the many resources they provided, such as PowerPoint lecture slides, instructor solution files, and even LMS cartridges for online classes. Broadening Student Communication Before using an OER textbook, students rarely visited me to inform me they did not understand the reading.

Textbooks 115

Textbooks Syllabus Instructors Peer Review 115

Faculty Focus

MAY 9, 2024

As educators and students grapple with what is allowed when using generative AI (GenAI) tools, I have compiled five tips to help you design or redesign academic integrity statements for your syllabus, assignments, exams, and course activities. Banning GenAI tools is not the solution Many students use GenAI tools to aid their learning.

Academic Integrity 98

Academic Integrity Writing Syllabus Exams 98

Faculty Focus

JULY 16, 2023

At some point, most instructors were once students, so it’s easy to relate to sitting in a classroom, listening to a lecture, and perhaps feeling your mind wander. By integrating dialogue into the classroom, instructors can help students connect academic content to real-life experiences and current events.

Instructors 98

Instructors Lecturing Syllabus Knowledge 98

Edsurge

AUGUST 8, 2017

Most of the failures that I’ve ever experienced using flipped learning have been failures in communication and failures in planning, and so that’s not something specifically tied to a flipped learning model. There can be an unhealthy dependency of students upon instructors. I wasn’t asking my students how things were going.

Failure 146

Failure Lecturing Syllabus Instructors 146

Faculty Focus

JULY 16, 2023

At some point, most instructors were once students, so it’s easy to relate to sitting in a classroom, listening to a lecture, and perhaps feeling your mind wander. By integrating dialogue into the classroom, instructors can help students connect academic content to real-life experiences and current events.

Instructors 96

Instructors Lecturing Syllabus Knowledge 96

Faculty Focus

JANUARY 21, 2025

Collaborative syllabus design: During the first class, engage students in setting community and classroom norms and goals. A co-created syllabus session fosters accountability and trust, as students feel ownership of the course structure (Cook-Sather et al., Journal of Intelligent Communication , 3(2) , 2031. Nilson, L.

Plagiarism 98

Plagiarism Syllabus Ethics Feedback 98

Faculty Focus

SEPTEMBER 3, 2024

First Day Community building starts day one by laying a strong foundation. Ideally the entire first week of the course should be devoted to community building. Before any work on the course concepts starts, the focus should be on developing communication and trust in the classroom space.

Exams 116

Exams Syllabus Group work Assignments 116

Faculty Focus

JANUARY 21, 2024

Five strategies to foster sense of belonging Be caring and authentic: Syllabus policies and language, as well as introductory comments on the first day of class, set the tone for an entire term. The good news is that research points us to several aspects of inclusive and supportive classroom environments that positively impact belongingness.

Syllabus 96

Syllabus Exams Students Motivation 96