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Moving to a fully online learning environment can dramatically shift the teaching practice in STEM courses. Faculty who have had excellent success in a face-to-face classroom, lecturing to students who use pen and paper to practice problems and take notes, now need to carefully reconsider how they will engage learners. More importantly, they need to review how their students interact with the technical, mathematical and scientific language of their discipline. They might be wondering, "How will I direct my learners to practice?" or "How will I scaffold my activities to prepare learners for evaluations?"

Automated Assessments

Consider using multiple choice to engage, provide feedback and possibly evaluate learners. All learning management systems (LMS), like Brightspace, offer multiple choice and other similar question options. Multiple choice questions delivered to students online have some advantages for faculty, such as question pools, automated feedback, and aggregate class performance data.

For example, a question pool is a set of questions with the same level of complexity and on the same topic. When I teach Physics and build online assessment banks, I pool a set of questions related to Newton's second law.
F=ma
I can ask a simple one-step question in three different ways.

Find:

I consider them to be the same level of complexity and on the same topic, so I can place them all in the same pool.

Many systems are capable of generating random variables for the given information within set parameters. This ability to pool questions and generate random variables can help prevent academic integrity issues online and allows learners to practice with similar and endless problem sets.

Another advantage of creating these kinds of assessments is that they can provide instant feedback to the learners. It is possible to customize feedback based on user responses and direct them to what they need to learn to succeed in their course. Learning analytics are highly efficient and effective because they are captured for multiple choice, or similar auto-corrected assessments, allowing faculty to have more frequent and dynamic understandings of the learners' current individual performance levels. Reviewing and knowing where students are under performing can help direct instruction to areas that are needed to best serve your students.

However, automated assessments have limitations. Even though you can have learners analyze and apply concepts, such as identifying the slope of a graph, there is a level of complexity that is not captured. For that, different types of evidence of learning is needed.

Online Learning Software

There are a number of software programs and technologies that will facilitate learner engagement in STEM. For example, in online Math courses there are opportunities to practice problem solving in more engaging ways than multiple choice questions. Homework systems such as Webwork or MyOpenMath allow faculty to create and adopt problems that can be assigned to students. These systems provide built in latex editors for learners to input answers. There are also many online open source applets and simulations that students can engage with to help their comprehension of certain topics such as PhET. These homework systems and simulations provide more dynamic opportunities for learning because students are challenged to create and solve in more complex ways.

Traditionally, using longer answer question types, which students would have to solve with lines of mathematical and scientific script on paper, worked as a popular practice for the evaluation of student's achievement of outcomes in face-to-face courses. Online, this practice is challenged because the learners interface with the language through screens and writing latex in editors, which is often something learners are not efficient at. Faculty need to reorient their assessments to the course outcomes in ways that online tools permit. High stakes online exams are not ideal. It is possible to require assignments through which learners can show evidence of their achievement in authentic and meaningful ways outside of testing. Whatever you choose, make sure you consider how students can practice, learn, and show evidence of that learning and remember that it is possible to demonstrate mastery in alternative ways.

For example, I had students in my Physics class identify a video that represented circular motion. They had to describe it mathematically and use their creativity to express that description to the group. I graded them using a rubric that was both efficient and effective at evaluating the accuracy of their analysis. This is a simple example of how we can apply alternative assessments. Ask students to create something that shows us they have achieved the desired outcome. Have them choose the context, the event, or the problem. Require them to author the problem and solve it.

Regardless of what you decide, allow yourself the opportunity to reconsider how your practice aligns with online methods, and design with this in mind. Let's not force our traditional classroom delivery into an online modality. Rather, be open to how learners show their achievements and ready to shift the teaching role from lecturer to moderator and from expert to facilitator.

Other Resources:

Writing Good Multiple Choice Test Questions Vanderbilt University

Create a New Quiz with A Randomized Set of Questions in Brightspace Brightspace Tutorials (Video)

Creative Methods of Assessment in Online Learning Wiley Education Services

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Moving to a fully online learning environment can dramatically shift the teaching practice in STEM courses. Faculty who have had excellent success in a face-to-face classroom, lecturing to students who use pen and paper to practice problems and take notes, now need to carefully reconsider how they will engage learners.

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What can you do as a instructor to encourage your students to do honest work? There are many reasons cited by students when they are asked why they cheated, plagiarized or collaborated dishonestly. Some of the most common reasons can be instructive regarding what faculty members and teaching assistants can do to discourage dishonest behaviour and encourage academic integrity in their courses.

1. Educate your students: students must be educated on what is and is not acceptable, and that there can be substantial penalties for not following the University of Waterloo policy. Do not assume that your students know how to correctly acknowledge sources, or that they will come to you with questions. You may also want to direct your students to the Academic Integrity (AI) undergraduate or graduate tutorial in your course syllabus to further their knowledge on AI. If your students are having issues with writing direct them to the Writing and Communication Centre Workshops.

1. Explain why the principles of academic integrity are important in your field/profession.

2. Consider inviting your liaison librarian to your class to discuss proper citation and paraphrasing practices. The Waterloo library's librarian page has a list of the liaison librarian for each academic unit.)

3. Let your students know that all ideas and information that they incorporate into their work should be referenced, even something that someone told them about (referenced as a "personal communication" from that person).

2. Provide clear instructions on the course syllabus and in introductory lectures on what is expected and required of your students. For assignments, clearly indicate if group collaboration is acceptable (and the level of collaboration permitted) or if students must do all work independently.

3. On the course syllabus, refer to Policy 71 (Student discipline). Indicate both verbally and in writing that there can be significant penalties for failing to meet the Univeristy of Waterloo AI standards. You may also choose to have your students complete an Academic Integrity Acknowledgement Form with each assignment, on which students "sign off" on having done the work themselves, and/or listing classmates with whom they may have consulted.

4. Provide information on how to credit academic sources, and/or refer to a source for that information. The library has excellent information on Modern Language Association (MLA) and American Psychological Association (APA) formatting, etc. You may also find it helpful to require an annotated bibliography, where students are required to provide a brief abstract for every source document. This ensures that students have documented their research and used source material appropriately.

5. Ensure all of your teaching materials properly acknowledge all sources (including course notes, charts, data, tables, figures, maps, PowerPoint presentations, etc.) so that you lead by example. Remember, your behaviour will set the standard for your students.
Be reasonable in your expectations of students. They are (usually) taking other courses and have responsibilities beyond their school work. Students should spend 8-10 hours per week on each course, and this includes in-class time.

6. Report all cases of suspected misconduct promptly to the Associate Dean of your Faculty. It is critical that all cases of misconduct (even minor ones) are reported promptly to improve our efforts in educating students and to identify those who re-offend.

1. Provide sufficient space between people taking a test. Reserve another room, if necessary, to allow for this, and ask the departmental secretary to arrange for graduate-student proctoring help.

2. Have more than one ordering of questions on tests, and do not colour-code different test versions, as this allows students to know which tests are the same as theirs.

3. Proctor tests conscientiously. Avoid merely sitting or reading passively at a desk at the front of the class or allowing your teaching assistants (TAs) to do this - circulate in the room and monitor students' behaviour carefully.

7. Take the time to talk to your students about the importance of AI and the need for them to learn and reflect on the information in your course. Developing relationships with your students helps to build an atmosphere of trust and respect. Help them understand the importance of AI and integrity in general.

1. Establish an environment that is conducive to their coming to see you (rather than resorting to cheating or plagiarizing) if they have a problem with getting a paper or an assignment done on time.

2. Tell them a little about yourself, and how you came to be a professor or graduate student.

3. Make a serious effort to learn the names of at least some of your students.

4. Be available to students and/or have teaching assistants be available for help, particularly at crucial 'crunch' times before assignment due dates and test dates.

5. Let them know that you are all on the same side as far as the ultimate goal - learning - is concerned, rather than establishing a "me against them" mentality.

Small ways to help

Highlight the relevance and importance of your assignments to improve student engagement and deter "shortcuts".

Clearly explain your expectations with regard to group work.

Don't assume your students already know how to correctly cite source documents.

Encourage discussion on Academic Integrity issues and the challenges facing your students.

Make the weighting of assignments and tests reflective of the effort involved.

Change assignments and exams regularly. Provide students with copies of old exams and assignments for practice or post them on the web.

Make assignments relevant and interesting, and design them so that it is difficult for students to plagiarize or cheat on them. For example, you can ask for outlines and drafts, annotated bibliographies, and photocopies of the first page of each of the references. You can also assign very specific topics that would not be available from a commercial paper mill.

Resources

Christensen Hughes, J. (2003). Academic integrity: A renewed Canadian focus. Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 35, 7-9.

McCabe, D. and Pavela, G. (2004). Ten updated principles of academic integrity. Change, May/June, 10-15.

Petrie, O. (2003.) Core, January 2003, Volume 12, No. 2 (York's Newsletter on University Teaching, edited by Olivia Petrie).

Stevenson, S. (2003). Academic integrity: What do students want from faculty? In Touch, November, 3.

Van Gyn, G. (2004). General strategies to encourage academic integrity. Currents (Newsletter of the Learning & Teaching Centre, University of Victoria), Vol. II, No. 1.

This Creative Commons license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon our work non-commercially, as long as they credit us and indicate if changes were made. Use this citation format: Encouraging academic integrity in your courses. Centre for Teaching Excellence, University of Waterloo.

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Encouraging academic integrity in your courses | Centre for Teaching Excellence

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What can you do as a instructor to encourage your students to do honest work? There are many reasons cited by students when they are asked why they cheated, plagiarized or collaborated dishonestly. Some of the most common reasons can be instructive regarding what faculty members and teaching assistants can do to discourage dishonest behaviour and encourage academic integrity in their courses.

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The UDL Guidelines are a tool used in the implementation of Universal Design for Learning, a framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn. Learn more about the Universal Design for Learning framework from CAST. The UDL Guidelines can be used by educators, curriculum developers, researchers, parents, and anyone else who wants to implement the UDL framework in a learning environment. These guidelines offer a set of concrete suggestions that can be applied to any discipline or domain to ensure that all learners can access and participate in meaningful, challenging learning opportunities.

Coming soon! UDL Guidelines 3.0

The UDL Guidelines are a living, dynamic tool that is continuously developed based on new research and feedback from practitioners. In 2020, CAST launched our most recent effort to update the UDL Guidelines, with a specific focus on equity. There has been a strong call from the field-both practitioners and researchers alike-to more fully develop the Guidelines to address critical barriers rooted in biases and systems of oppression. The current update aims to respond to this call and to work toward fulfilling the promise of the Guidelines as a tool to guide the design of learning environments that more fully honor and value every learner.

Since our launch in 2020, we have been committed to a community-driven, inclusive, and transparent updating process. As part of this effort, we are:

Collaborating with an Advisory Board, a UDL Guidelines Collaborative, and a Young Adult Advisory Board to guide our work

Conducting focus groups with a diversity of participants to learn from their perspectives, lived experiences, and feedback

Reviewing the research on the UDL Guidelines research pages to understand the balance of different research fields, methodological approaches, epistemological approaches, and author positionalities

Conducting literature reviews of equity-oriented research that connect to and extend the Guidelines, such as disability studies and critical pedagogy studies

We are excited to share this next iteration of the UDL Guidelines in 2024. If you are interested in receiving our UDL Guidelines 3.0 newsletter to stay updated on our progress and to share your ideas and perspectives, please complete this brief form.

Review the Summary

Explore the Full Draft

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The UDL Guidelines are a tool used in the implementation of Universal Design for Learning, a framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn. Learn more about the Universal Design for Learning framework from CAST.

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The Open Anthology of Earlier American Literature - Simple Book Production

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The Open Anthology of Earlier American Literature by Robin DeRosa is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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Antología abierta de literatura hispana - Simple Book Publishing

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Descripción del libro: Una antología crítica de textos literarios del mundo hispanohablante. Se enfoca en autores canónicos y también se intenta incluir voces marginadas. Cada texto tiene una introducción y anotaciones creadas por estudiantes. // A critical anthology of literary texts from the Spanish-speaking world.

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This EXAMPLES AND TIPS webinar provides engagement ideas that help prevent cheating.
Reducing Cheating Online

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This EXAMPLES AND TIPS webinar has lots of ideas about how to engage students in their learning.
Fostering Student Engagement Online

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examples and tips - engagement alt title