UCLA Center for Education Innovation & Learning in the Sciences | Monthly Newsletter

CEILS Monthly Newsletter | Issue #61 | May 7, 2020 | ceils.ucla.edu

Message From the Director

Dear colleagues,

I hope you are doing well during these unprecedented times and congratulate you for all your hard work and successes in the face of the COVID-19 disruptions.

As many of you know, I will be stepping down from my position as the Director of CEILS at the end of this month as I have accepted a position at the University of Illinois at Chicago as the founding director of their new center for teaching and learning. Before I leave, I would like to take a moment to express my deepest thanks and appreciation to all of you, our inspiring and innovative members of UCLA’s education community. It has been an honor and a privilege to work with you over the years. I am humbled by the dedication I have seen from educators in the Life and Physical Sciences, as well as campuswide, to support the well-being and academic success of all our amazing Bruins. I know this tradition will continue long into the future.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to introduce Dr. Rachel Kennison as the new Interim Executive Director of CEILS. Rachel is currently the CEILS Senior Associate Director for Instructional and Professional Development and is the Administrative Co-Leader of UCLA’s Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL@UCLA) program. Rachel is an incredible colleague. Her commitment to student success and to fostering equity and inclusion in STEM classrooms is well-known and celebrated across the campus. Please see the Dean’s official announcement of Rachel’s appointment here.

Please join me in welcoming Rachel as the Interim CEILS Director. And thanks once again to all of you for being such wonderful collaborators, mentors, and friends these past 22 years I’ve been at UCLA.

All my best to you,

Erin Sanders O'Leary, Director of CEILS

Upcoming CEILS Events

How to Teach Inclusively & Equitably Online :

CEILS Webinar for Summer Session Instructors in Life and Physical Sciences

If you are an instructor for Summer Session A or C, we invite you to attend this special CEILS webinar to help plan for an equitable and inclusive remote course. Engage in discussion and learn tips on how to adjust your course outcomes, assessments, and activities to a remote teaching environment while considering the challenges with equity and limitations students are experiencing during this time. We will discuss lessons learned from spring quarter and provide important recommendations to design for equity and a positive student and instructor experience.

Multiple offerings:

Monday, May 18, 10 - 11:30 am

Wednesday, May 27, 9:30 - 11 am

Thursday, May 28, 1 - 2:30 pm

CEILS One-on-One Pedagogy Consultations

Need help planning for finals, summer course design, or getting a start on fall planning? Schedule a 30 min. meeting for a one-on-one consultation with the CEILS leadership team. If the following times do not work for you, please email us and we would be happy to find an alternative time to meet.

Tuesdays, 10 - 11 am
Wednesdays, 11 am-12 pm
Fridays, 1 - 2 pm (Specifically for Teaching Assistants)

Email us at media@ceils.ucla.edu to reserve a time .

Please briefly describe the help or advice you need and we will connect you with someone on the team with the requisite expertise.

Need One-on-One Zoom help or want someone to sit in on your Zoom session?

Email lazoomassistance@gmail.com to reach a team of CEILS-trained undergraduates standing by to help out. Indicate when you’d like an appointment, and they’ll respond as soon as possible.

Faculty Workshop

Effective Faculty-TA Communication:

Working Together as a Remote Teaching Team

UCLA's Center for the Advancement of Teaching (CAT) and CEILS are collaborating on a workshop for faculty centered around what TAs wish faculty knew about their experience teaching during this extraordinary time. The session will be centered around questions of disruptions and difficulties that TAs are experiencing, how faculty and TAs can best communicate with each other, how to manage work expectations in this time of disruption, and how to function as a team in order to meet students’ needs.

Wednesday, May 27, 12:00 - 1:00 pm

CEILS Weekly Virtual Happy Hour

Fridays, 4:00-5:00pm | ucla.zoom.us/j/335629419

Stay connected with the CEILS community- In place of the CEILS Journal Club, this quarter we are hosting a weekly Zoom social hour so we can stay in contact and help support each other through these unique and challenging times. Grab a drink or a snack and join us to relax, talk with peers, share advice, and get support from others. We hope to see you there!

Announcements

CANCELED:

The 2020 CEILS Summer Institute on Scientific Teaching

Unfortunately, due to concerns over COVID-19, we have decided to cancel this year's Summer Institute. We believe that the interactive and community-building nature of the institute is most effective in-person and thus will not be offering it this summer.

As an alternative, there are several online workshops offered by other organizations this summer that we highly recommend you attend instead:

The National Online Summer Institute on Scientific Teaching

Date to be announced. We will share more information as it becomes available.

The Intentional College of Teaching Online Courses :

Significant Learning by Design Part I

Significant Learning by Design Part II

Teach Students How to Learn

Additional UCLA Workshops for Remote Teaching:

Preparing Your Course for Summer

Centers across campus are hosting workshops, webinars, and drop-in office hours to help support instructors plan for summer session classes. Workshops include:

How to Teach Using Zoom
Making the Most of CCLE
Assessing Learning in Remote Classes
Drop-in Consultations with an Instructional Designer
Drop-in Consultations with a Video Producer
Inclusive Teaching for Students with Disabilities and Digital Accessibility

To view a full list of available workshops and ways to join, visit the website .

CAT Teaching Symposium Recordings and Resources

Teaching at UCLA: Exploring Approaches to Enhance Student Learning

The Center for the Advancement of Teaching (CAT) held a teaching symposium in mid-April on addressing challenges and share great ideas for teaching remotely. Workshop sessions include assessment strategy ideas, a student panel, and more!

View the session recordings and resources here .

Call for Student Participation:

Encourage Your Undergraduate Students to Participate in the 2020 UCUES

All UCLA undergraduates have been invited to participate in an online, UC-wide survey: the University of California Undergraduate Experiences Survey (UCUES). More information about the UCUES and sample text that you can use to reach out to your students is provided here .

Encourage Your Graduate and Professional Students to Participate in the GPSS

The Graduate and Professional Student Survey (GPSS) has also been emailed to all graduate and professional students enrolled for the Spring 2020 term. The survey and its goals are very similar to the UCUES. Email svaldovinos@saonet.ucla.edu with any questions.

Zoom Lecture and Co-Host Support for Faculty and TAs

For spring quarter, faculty and teaching assistants will have an option to be provided a trained co-host for their zoom lectures. A co-host can address audio/visual questions from the professor or students, monitor student participation (mute students, stop video, share screens, etc), manage questions from the chat, notify the professor when students' hands are raised, and administer poll questions.

Learn more and request a Zoom Lecture Assistant (ZLA) here.

Student Resource

Connect from Off-Campus: Get Configured with VPN or Proxy

Many students have reported having trouble accessing some of the resources available through the UCLA library such as academic journals and videos. The UCLA Library has created instructional videos for students on how to properly use VPN in order to access these resources.

Feel free to share the videos and resources with your students.

Now live from the Writing Instruction and

Research Education Center (WI+RE)!

C.R.E.A.T.E.S: A Method to Help Student Understanding of Scientific Articles

Do students frequently read articles in your class and discussion sections? The C.R.E.A.T.E.S. method is an excellent framework for helping students work through primary literature and has been shown to increase student retention and understanding of the materials.

Visit their website to learn more here .

Further questions about CREATES may be directed to CEILS Instructional Consultant & MIMG Director of Laboratory Curriculum & Assessment, Dr. Jordan Moberg-Parker ( jparker@microbio.ucla.edu ), who is an expert uses of this innovative process

Health and Wellbeing

Resources for Health and Well-Being

(For both Faculty and Students)

The Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRLT) at UCLA created a special edition of their newsletter with health and wellness resources for graduate students and post-docs. Many of these resources are relevant for anyone working at UCLA , however. Topics include:

What to do in a crisis
Mental and physical health
Coping with COVID

Dealing with anxiety and stress
Time management and motivation
Staying connected

View the collection of resources here .

Additional Resources to Help Avoid Burnout

Student Equity in a Remote Learning Environment:

Challenges Your Students May Be Facing

This is a unique time for all of us and many students may be facing extra stress beyond stable internet and access to technology.

This short video created by UCLA's RISE (Resilience in your Student Experience) Center, explains several of the unique challenges your students are experiencing. Some examples include:

Reduced access to food and shelter
Enhanced financial hardships
Increased family obligations
Personal illness

Grief and loss of loved ones
Increased depression and anxiety
Lack of community
Loss of identity expression

View our recent announcement for suggestions on making your assessments more equitable.

Humanizing Online Teaching : A group at Mount Saint Mary's College of California created a guide to help faculty humanize their online teaching curriculum including pedagogical practices that promote care for the whole student and class collective.

5 reasons to Stop Doing Timed Tests: This article explains why having timed tests online is not an equitable approach and does not solve the cheating issue.

Remote Teaching Resources

Check out the CEILS Remote Teaching Checklists!

The Checklist for Quickly Moving to Remote Teaching

A detailed checklist, links to resources, and suggestions on preparing your classes for a quarter of remote teaching.

The Checklist for Remote Assessment Recommendations

Learn more about alternative assessment tools including those that can be used to disincentivize cheating.

CEILS Website for Teaching Remotely: A compilation of teaching suggestions, resources, upcoming events, and webinar recordings

CEILS Teaching Guides: Several guides for best practices in teaching for both in-person and online courses

CAT Resources for Remote Teaching: A resource page for remote teaching guides, tips, and resources for instructors and TAs

Student Resources for Remote Learning: A compilation of resources for students to help them succeed during this quarter

Remote Resources for UCLA Library Users: Updates on resources and training available through the UCLA Library

Remote Control: How to Manage Your New Remote Classes: A new tool to help student learning in a remote environment.

Aspire Alliance Resources to Support Students: The Aspire Alliance has compiled several resources that are specifically tailored to inclusive and equitable responses to COVID-19.

Aspire Resources to Support Faculty During and After COVID: Students aren't the only ones who need support- faculty and staff need support and equity too.

Resources for Teaching Remotely: A Community Page: A CCLE site with resources and a space to connect with other faculty

Remote Teaching Resources for Grad Students and Post-Docs: A compilation of teaching resources on- and off-campus created specifically to share with graduate students and post-docs

National Webinars and Workshops

Free Mini-Course

Aspire Teaching Online in Summer & Fall 2020 Mini-Course

This mini-course will walk instructors through the process of designing an online course that is effective, equitable and inclusive. It will focus on developing both synchronous and asynchronous formats and will include both types of sessions. The course will address the basics of online and inclusive pedagogy and over the three weeks, participants will design their own online course materials.

Dates include: May 12th, May 14th, Asynchronous -Week of May 18th, May 26th, May 28th

Synchronous sessions will be held from 1:00-2:30 pm PT.

Summer Institutes of Scientific Teaching: Friday Happy Hours

Join colleagues across the country for stimulating conversation and camaraderie each week on topics such as:

May 8th, 1:00 - 2:00 pm: Taking Field Experiences Online! (with Daniel Barton)
May 15th, 1:00 - 2:00 pm: Faculty and Student Surveys for Characterizing Online Teaching
May 22nd, 1:00 - 2:00 pm: Prioritizing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Age of COVID-19

Special Summer Institute Webinar: Applying Principles of Student Engagement to Address the Online Assessment Dilemma

May 22nd, 12:00 - 1:00 pm

Upcoming Webinars from the POD Network :

Promoting Teaching Practices Rooted in Equity & Justice

May 8, 2020 | 10:00 - 11:00 am PT

This session will assist educational developers in securing an understanding of equity and adopting equity as a lens through which to examine our efforts.

POD Check-ins: You Are (Still) Not Alone

May 15, 2020 | 10:00 - 11:00 am PT

Let’s check in with one another and talk about what (and how) we are all doing during this pandemic. Participants will be placed in breakout rooms to keep groups smaller and give everyone a chance to participate.

Webcast Recording:

Strategies to Effectively Engage Students in Online Learning: A Discussion of Best Practices

Watch this webcast recording of a facilitated discussion around how best to foster student engagement in an online setting with Amber Dailey-Hebert, Director of the Faculty Center for Innovation at Park University. Shared ideas and current practices include things like:

Motivating reluctant students who are new to remote learning
Setting the appropriate tone as an online instructor
Course communication and announcements
Designing engaging activities online
Facilitating Group Discussions

Watch the free webcast recording here!

Free Webinar:

Assessment Now: Cross-Campus Collaborations

May 13, 2020 | 12:00 - 1:00 pm PT

Many units on campus are planning in unprecedented ways for how to best support students, faculty, and other communities in the coming academic year. These units are also working together more than ever before to ensure their institutions are as responsive as possible. What can we learn from this collaborative approach to assessing and addressing community needs? What additional opportunities for collaboration exist at this moment in time?

Free Webinars

Using Citizen Science in Higher Education

CSA is hosting a series of events to support educators using citizen science in higher education. These events are designed to help you as you think about creating online or face-to-face learning experiences for undergraduates and connect you to a community of others doing the same.

Each event will take place from 12:00 - 1:00 pm

Webinar Recording:

Trauma-Informed Pedagogy

Watch the free webcast recording here !

In the News

8 Ways to Be More Inclusive in Your Zoom Teaching | ChronicleVitae

Faculty members are getting a crash course in Zoom and finding it can be supremely awkward, at least at first. One reason for our collective uneasiness: Most of us are not well acquainted with the "hidden curriculum" of Zoom — all the unwritten rules and expectations that you’re supposed to know but none of us have been taught. Faculty members and students together are diving into a new tool with little to no experience with it, technically or culturally.

The Quandry: How Available Should Faculty Members Be to Students Online? | The Chronicle of Higher Education

Online instruction raises new challenges, one being how much time an instructor should be accessible. Students may need more support during the pandemic, but instructors also have personal lives and other work to manage. From extending virtual office hours to fielding calls, texts, and emails on weekends, it can be hard to figure out where and how to draw boundaries.

Productivity and Happiness Under Sustained Disaster Conditions | Chronicle Vitae

By now, many people are slowly coming to terms with the idea that the Covid-19 crisis may continue for months and create a radically changed world. That realization is understandably distressing, given the prospect of prolonged physical distancing, rising death tolls, and serious economic decline. As the denial fades, fear and anger take its place, which can result in emotional and intellectual paralysis.

COVID-19 and the Academic Parent | ChronicleVitae

The shift to remote work has been hard on every faculty member, and having kids at home adds an extra layer of stress. What with child care, food prep, financial worries, and general Covid-19 anxiety, it's hard to focus on work for more than a few minutes at a time. That’s true for all engaged parents, but the juggling is especially difficult for academic mothers who tend to bear the burden of home and kids much as they do in nonacademic families. Already we are seeing reports of female professors "submitting fewer papers during coronavirus."

See also:

Women Academics Seem to be Submitting Fewer Papers During Coronavirus

Beating Pandemic Burnout | Inside Higher Education

Author Rebecca Pope-Ruark writes "By spring 2018, I woke up every morning with a sense of foreboding and had panic attacks before entering my building and again at my office door. Interacting with students became something to bear and escape. Having endured burnout, I more easily see it in others, and I see signs of burnout everywhere. In this spirit, I offer four reflective pillars that were crucial to my own recovery from burnout: focusing on purpose, compassion, connection and balance. "

Why is Zoom So Exhausting? | The Chronicle of Higher Education

These days, Robin DeRosa’s workday begins at 8:30 a.m. when she heads to the makeshift desk she’s set up on a buffet table in her home and opens Zoom. DeRosa, director of the Open Learning & Teaching Collaborative at Plymouth State University, used the videoconferencing program long before anyone was talking about social-distancing or Covid-19. But now, she spends her entire workday on it. “Our office has shifted completely to a virtual Zoom office,” DeRosa says. “It’s on the one hand a total replication of our face-to-face office, and on the other hand, completely different on so many levels.”

CIRTL - Graduate Students and Postdocs

Attention UCLA Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Scholars!

The Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL) is a national network providing graduate students and postdoctoral scholars with online training on evidence based teaching and professional development opportunities.

UCLA is a member of CIRTL, giving graduate students and postdoctoral scholars access to all CIRTL online programing across the network, as well as local learning communities and opportunities for professional development on campus. We also have a separate newsletter specifically for our CIRTL@UCLA community where we share information most relevant to graduate students and postdoctoral scholars. Subscribe to the CIRTL newsletter here .

Learn more about CIRTL@UCLA and get connected: https://cirtl.ceils.ucla.edu/

Job Opportunities

Executive Director of CEILS

University of California, Los Angeles