This page is intended to be a forum for CECAS faculty to share tips, advice, lessons learned, and other information relevant to teaching this semester. Many of us are doing things different this semester and trying new things. Some of these efforts will work well and others may not work very well at all. What’s important is that work together and share our experiences with each other. This may save colleagues from making the same mistakes. Your experience may also inspire colleagues to try something new that they may not have previously considered.
You can share by adding a comment at the bottom of this page. You are not required to include your name, but it could be helpful if others have questions or would like to learn more about your experience.
When posting to this page, please remember to be positive and constructive.
To get things started, here’s a helpful tip from Scott Mason (IE):
When you start a class in Zoom (or other platform) make a TA a co-host. That way if you lose your internet or Zoom connection, the session will not end for your entire class since there are multiple hosts. If your TA is prepared, they can continue the discussion while you try to get back into the meeting. If you have a large class, it may be difficult to get everyone to rejoin if the session ends abruptly.
Here’s another one from Brad Putman (CE):
If you use breakout rooms often, be sure to jump around to different breakout rooms as time permits. This will not only demonstrate that you are engaged and interested in what the students are working on or discussing, but it may also keep the students on task if they think you might pop in at any time. You may also learn something about your students that you wouldn’t otherwise learn in the large class meeting.
