Module 0410: Start of Semester Check-list for CIS instructors
What is this?
This document is mostly intended for new faculty members as a preparation roadmap at the beginning of the first semester. However, veteran instructors are more than welcome to read this and contribute changes!
Deliverables
This section outlines what must be ready in the first week of class.
Syllabus
Syllabus content
In the context of a class, a syllabus serves multiple purposes:
- An outline of topics,
- Class related policies.
In a sense, it is a contract between the instructor and students. Let’s get into some of the required sections of a syllabus:
- Course description: this section includes the course code (such as CISP 310), the course title, the course description, unit count, and course student learning outcomes (SLOs).
- Section description: a section is an offering of a course. This part includes the modality, meeting days/time, meeting location, and start/end dates of the session.
- Instructor information: This section includes information needed for students to find the instructor: name, email, office hour time and location, and other means to contact.
- Communication policy: this section describes expectations related to communication, including, but not limited to, the following:
- Expected frequency for students to check their email/messages from the learning management system (LMS). Every 24 hours for weekdays and 48 hours for weekends are reasonable expectations.
- Turn-around time: this is the maximum amount of time that the instructor may take to respond to a student’s electronic message. 24 hours for weekdays and 48 hours for weekends are reasonable for in-person sections.
- Office hours: this describes how to utilize office hours, especially if office hours are held online via Zoom.
- Course material/resources: this section outlines what materials/resources are needed. Textbook, YouTube channel, etc. go to this section.
- Accommodations: This section describes how a student can get accommodation from the Disability Services and Programs for Students. Accommodations can vary for individuals.
- Student conduct: this section describes conduct expectations. The college has its own student conduct document. Each instructor can include additional items as long as these items do not conflict with college policies.
- Academic integrity/cheating: this section may be needed to clarify the expectations. It is best to define cheating in the broadest sense, such as “cheating in the context of a class refers to deception that relates to assessments or classroom management.”
- Examples of what constitutes cheating can be helpful. For example, if a student is absent, but another student signs the roll sheet, does that constitute cheating?
- Consequences of cheating: this states what the instructor will do in response to cheating. Due to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), instructors cannot share details of cases of cheating. As a result, it is important to rely on a college-wide system to track occurrences of cheating. Use the Violation of Student Conduct Referral Form to report instances of cheating.
- Before filing a referral, it is best to check with the Office of Student Conduct to understand the process.
- Late policy: this section describes what happens when work is submitted late.
- Absence policy: this section describes what an absence is, and what happens when there are too many absences. This section can also describe how absence excuses are evaluated.
- The enforcement of absence policy is important so that legitimate wait-listed students can enroll in classes.
- The enforcement of absence policy can also help curb fraudulent enrollment.
- Regulation 2222 of the Los Rios Community College District includes absence-related policies.
- This regulation was written prior to online teaching. As a result, the term “session of a class” is ambiguous for 100% asynchronous online classes.
- A class session, for the purposes of absences, can be defined as a scheduled activity that has a published due date.
- At the beginning of a semester, an activity may be a quiz based on the syllabus.
- It is helpful to identify students absent by the first Wednesday of a semester to curb fraudulent enrollment.
- Assessment and grading: this section outlines the categories of assessments and how the final letter grade is computed from the numerical scores.
- Topic schedule: this section outlines the topics and when each subject will be introduced. A list of suggested topics and their durations is in the course curriculum. Sign in to the Los Rios Intranet, then select “SOCRATES Curriculum Services”, then “Courses”, then the discipline, then the individual course.
A copy of the syllabus of each class should be submitted to the division office no later than the first class meeting. For 100% asynchronous online classes, the syllabus should be submitted prior to the first day of the semester session (full semester, 8W1, 8W2, 5W1, etc.). Please follow division-specific instructions to submit syllabi.
Organizing syllabi
Instructors who teach multiple sections can benefit from a more structured approach to organizing syllabi. Common portions of syllabi can be maintained as their documents and a master template document acts as the template to structure the components. The template can also factor in syllabus sections specific to each section.
Canvas shells (one for each section)
Even for in-person classes, the LRCFT contract section 11.2.5 specifies that online LMS course shells should be maintained. Please refer to the contract for a full description of the minimum usage of the LMS.
Using Canvas
As an LMS, Canvas offers a variety of features. This section explores some of the main configuration options and features.
Concepts
Activities
- Quiz: a quiz consists of one or more questions, and each question can be of a variety of types. Depending on question types, grading can be automatic or manual.
- Assignment: an assignment has an associated due date and a score. There are options for how work is submitted. Grading is manual.
- Discussion: a discussion is an activity that may, or may not be, graded. This is a method for the class to communicate asynchronously.
Content
- File: an instructor can upload a file as content.
- Page: an instructor can utilize the web-based editor of Canvas to create a web page in Canvas. Note that not all HTML features are supported on a Canvas page.
- External URL: an instructor can create a link (URL) to any resource on the Internet.
- Announcements: an announcement is a specific message that is broadcast to all students.
Organization
Canvas offers two main organization methods. Click “Home” of a course, then click “Choose Home Page.” This provides a few options as the landing page of a course. The most common method is to use “Course Modules” as the landing page.
Mastery
The organization of course modules is flexible. A module is the only level of containment in a Canvas course. Within a module, activities and contents can be included and ordered.
Each activity (assignment or quiz) optionally has a mastery path. A mastery path is specified by thresholds in points and the next activity to unlock based on the score.
Outcomes and Rubrics
Canvas allows the tracking of (learning) outcomes. Outcomes can be hierarchically organized. This is an optional and complex feature to use in a Canvas shell.
The top-level outcome groups should match the student learning outcomes (SLOs) that are included in the curriculum of a course. Sub-levels can be used to increase the granularity of an SLO.
An objective specifies a scoring scale. This numerical scale is fixed for each objective.
Each rubric can be associated with an objective. In return, a quiz optionally links to a rubric. A rubric can include objectives as criteria. An included objective does not need to be a part of the score.
If any, the rubric of an assignment or quiz does not have to relate to the scoring of the assessment.