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    Out of the Box

    Reimagining the virtual classroom for Fall 2020!

    A Life Sciences Educational Initiative

    Co-sponsored by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute

    OUT OF
    THE BOX

    Back By Popular Demand!

    Reimagining Virtual Teaching
    in Winter 2021

    The Dean of Life Sciences launched Out of the Box: Reimagining Virtual Teaching in Fall 2020, for Life Sciences faculty. Based on its success, and the support of the Dean of Physical Sciences, the initiative is now also available to Physical Sciences faculty teaching in Winter 2021! This will help us provide a more coordinated approach to UCLA undergraduate STEM education.

    Receive guidance, feedback, and resources to help you create a new and improved teaching plan. Attendance can be highlighted in your dossier to be recognized for your next merit promotion.

    Join
    "Out of the Box"

    Participants will receive $1000!

    • What is Out of the Box?
    • Eligibility
    • Instructions
    • Guiding Principles
    • Timeline
    • What You Will Learn
    • FAQs

    What is Out of the Box?

    Out of the Box is an educational initiative to provide resources and time to support you in rising to the occasion, to get from “good enough” teaching to deliberate and inclusive teaching tailored to the needs of your students. There is no single approach to adapting to remote teaching. Here you can find four evidence-based guiding principles that can be used to inform the many small decisions you’ll make.

    How did this go in Fall 2020?

    In the fall, 30 Life Sciences faculty completed Out of the Box and reimagined their courses by transforming them to be more equitable and inclusive!

    Here’s what some of them said:

    “After a long lonely summer the teaching initiative felt like a great support like a fresh breeze. It inspired me to introduce a focus on Group Work for the Fall offering and enhance equitable learning modules. I was able to revisit strategies I already had implemented during summer and refine these. Furthermore I also learned about new strategies and tools, which I was able to adopt and try out for the fall offering.”

    “…attending….was an important time for self-reflection and forced me to confront some harsh truths about systemic racism and the nature of microaggressions. It was eye-opening and oftentimes uncomfortable. But it helped me understand and appreciate the significant challenges that under-privileged and minoritized groups face on a daily basis.”

    Eligibility

    Due to support from HHMI, these funds are available to all Life Sciences faculty who teach a course of at least 30 students, or undergraduate laboratory courses with 10 or more students. The Division of Physical Sciences is piloting this opportunity for Physical Sciences faculty who teach a course of at least 100 students. (193-199 courses not included.)

    Instructions

    image-1

    How can I incorporate INCLUSIVE, evidence-based strategies to help all my students succeed, in these challenging times?
    Copied
    How can I incorporate INCLUSIVE, evidence-based strategies to help all my students succeed, in these challenging times?

    image-1

    Register for Out of the Box & CEILS Workshops by Nov. 17
    Copied
    Register for Out of the Box & CEILS Workshops by Nov. 17
    Join "Out of the Box"

    Join “Out of the Box”
    image-1

    Attend 6 CEILS workshops (~2 hrs each; 11 hrs total). Work with experts and colleagues to improve your virtual classroom.
    Copied
    Attend 6 CEILS workshops (~2 hrs each; 11 hrs total). Work with experts and colleagues to improve your virtual classroom.

    image-1

    Submit your materials and check-in mid-quarter.
    Copied
    Submit your materials and check-in mid-quarter.

    image-1

    Everyone will benefit from this effort! You will receive $1,000. Participation counts towards your next merit review.
    Copied
    Everyone will benefit from this effort! You will receive $1,000. Participation counts towards your next merit review.

    Guiding Principles

    (developed by Karin Gosselink, Yale University)

    Being reflective and flexible helps you adapt to your students’ needs; being transparent clarifies often unstated expectations; and building community fosters connection students are missing and the critical sense of belonging that students need to persist in STEM. Using all of these principles as an overarching guide will lead to the transformation of your curriculum to being more equitable and inclusive.

    Include time to REFLECT, for yourself and for students 

    Reflect on your teaching: How do you want to revise your course, accounting for the circumstances AND your own time limits? 

    Reflect on student feedback: Survey students before class about anticipated challenges with Remote Teaching. 

    Check in every week: What is working in this learning environment and what is not? For you and your students.

    Be FLEXIBLE, especially about hardware, internet, timing, etc.

    Be flexible with yourself: Remember that you have NOT gone through training to develop a perfect online course.

    Be flexible with your students: Show them you understand there are many more uncertainties in many lives now. Provide multiple ways to participate and indicate contingency plans if something goes wrong (e.g. during an exam).

    Be TRANSPARENT and communicate expectations 

    Send out weekly (or more frequent) check-ins to update students on assignments, grades, resources etc. 

    Reach out to students who are not participating to find out if/how they need support.

    Explicitly build COMMUNITY among students

    Foster in-person connections (with instructors + peers).

    Assign groups that can meet up during class or on their own time. Provide resources or platforms where students can easily connect.

    Connect material to students’ lives and society.

    Timeline

    We will support you in achieving four outcomes, with interactive workshops for you to spend time learning and implementing these outcomes in your own course. For any workshops you cannot attend, we’ve included relevant resources to provide you with the necessary knowledge and skills needed in order to make the requested revision and achieve the learning outcomes. 

    Each of the outcomes is aligned with one of the four guiding principles and an artifact that you will create or revise based on what you learned in the workshop.

    Nov. 17, 2020
    Opt In to Out of the Box
    Nov. 18-Dec. 16, 2020 CEILS Faculty Workshops: work with others to transform your courses

    Use the workshops and resources to revise your syllabus to incorporate most of the outcomes indicated below. (This should take 10-20 hrs, including time for workshops and to implement.) Full workshop descriptions and schedule are here. 

    Revise your assessments, rubrics, project descriptions, teaching statements and/or diversity statements to incorporate any other relevant outcomes. The intention is that any revisions you make are for your students or your future merit review – not just for this submission.

    Dec. 21, 2021 Share transformation: Submit cover letter, syllabus and other artifacts

    In a 1pg cover letter, please do the following for each outcome: 

    1. Refer to the workshop or resource that your revision is based on
    2. Refer to the artifact that demonstrates achievement of this outcome (e.g. syllabus, assessment, rubric, teaching statement, diversity statement). A table is a great format if easier to do that way!

    For example: “To help my syllabus be a guide for students from all backgrounds on how to succeed in my course [Outcome 1b], I used ideas from the USC syllabus toolkit to add a “Tips for success” section on p. 3 of my syllabus; I will ensure students read this by including it in my Wk1 syllabus scavenger hunt assignment.” 

    By addressing these ten outcomes, you are incorporating the four guiding principles to help make your course more equitable, inclusive and effective in a remote environment.

    Submit here: https://forms.gle/SUXpLqzjYnrLabPE7

    Jan. 18 – Feb. 5, 2021 Mid-quarter check-in: Get support to troubleshoot challenges
    Feb. 6, 2021 Get $1000 big ones

    Learning Outcomes & Resources

    Please click a project outcome tab on the left to reveal more information.

    1. Transform your syllabus to empower and foster belonging in your students

    1a. Identify & apply ways to have a welcoming tone & inclusive language in your syllabus

    1b. Create a syllabus that is a guide for students from all backgrounds on how to succeed in your class

    Guiding Principle: Be Transparent
    Artifact: Syllabus
    Workshop: Equitable Syllabus Design
    Resource: USC toolkit

    2. Adapt assessments and grading scheme to be more effective, authentic and flexible

    2a. Adapt grading scheme to distribute weight across more formative low-states assessments

    2b. Adapt assessments to be more effective and equitable

    Guiding Principle: Be Flexible
    Artifacts: Syllabus/Assessments/Rubric
    Workshop: Equity-minded Assessment
    Resource: UCLA Assessment Recommendations

    3. Build community and belonging with strategic asynchronous and synchronous learning

    3a. Consider how to shift learning to asynchronous instruction for those not able to attend most synchronous sessions

    3b. Adapt inclusive practices to increase engagement in remote teaching

    Guiding Principle: Be Flexible, Build Community
    Artifacts: Syllabus/Teaching Statement
    Workshop: Engaging Students Remotely & Equitably (Part I), Engaging Students Remotely & Equitably (Part II)
    Resource: 1-pg summary: CEILS Remote Teaching Steps

    4. Combat racial inequalities, in your classroom and institution by identifying how you can use your privileges

    4a. Identify your privilege and how you can use it as a resource

    4b. Identify racial inequalities and disparities inside and outside of academia

    4c. Incorporate at least 7 approaches for creating a more inclusive classroom climate and using more inclusive pedagogical choices

    4d. Identify racist policies that you personally can help shift, in your department or institution, and make a a concrete plan for next steps and accountability

    Guiding Principles: Reflect, Build Community
    Artifacts: Syllabus/Diversity/Teaching Statement
    Workshop: Becoming an Anti-racist Education (Part I); Becoming an Anti-racist Educator (Part II)
    Resource: Becoming an Anti-Racist Educator [Wheaton], Inclusive Teaching Guide + List

    Outcome Principle Artifact Workshop Resource
    1 Identify & apply ways to have a welcoming tone & inclusive language in your syllabus BE TRANSPARENT Syllabus Equitable Syllabus Design [2 hrs] USC toolkit
    2 Create a syllabus that is a guide for students from all backgrounds on how to succeed in your class BE TRANSPARENT
    3 Adapt grading scheme to distribute weight across more formative low-stakes assessments BE FLEXIBLE Syllabus/ Assessments/ Rubric Equity- minded Assessment [2 hrs] UCLA Assessment Recommend- ations
    4 Adapt assessments to be more effective and equitable  BE FLEXIBLE
    5 Consider how to shift learning to asynchronous instruction for those not able to attend most synchronous sessions BE FLEXIBLE Syllabus/

    Teaching Statement

    Engaging Students Remotely & Equitably, Pt I [1 hr] 1-pg summary: CEILS Remote Teaching Steps
    6 Adapt inclusive practices to increase engagement in remote teaching BUILD COMMUNITY Engaging, Pt II [1 hr]
    7 Identify your privilege and how you can use it as a resource REFLECT Diversity/ Teaching Statement Becoming an Anti-racist Educator, Pt I [2 hr] Becoming an Anti-Racist Educator [Wheaton]
    8 Identify racial inequities and disparities inside and outside of academia REFLECT
    9 Incorporate at least 7 approaches for creating a more inclusive classroom climate and using more inclusive pedagogical choices BUILD COMMUNITY Syllabus/ Diversity/ Teaching Statement Becoming an Anti-racist Educator, Part II [2 hrs] Inclusive Teaching Guide + List
    10 Identify racist policies that you personally can help shift, in your department or institution, and make a concrete plan for next steps and accountability REFLECT Becoming an Anti-Racist Educator

    FAQs

    Read FAQs
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    Chemistry Early Path

    ** Students should meet with departmental Student Affairs Officers, to help pick the right courses and curricular pathway.**

    First Year

    Fall Winter Spring
    CHEM 14A
    LS 30A (OR MATH 3A OR MATH 31B)
    Plus other courses
    CHEM14B
    LS 30B (OR MATH 3B OR MATH 31B)
    Plus other courses
    CHEM 14BL
    LS 7A
    STATS 13 OR LS40 OR MATH 3C

    Second Year

    Fall Winter Spring
    CHEM 14C
    LS 7B
    STATS 13 OR LS40 OR MATH 3C or other course
    CHEM 14D
    LS 7C
    LS 23L
    PHYSICS 5A
    CHEM 153A*
    LS 107*

    Third Year

    Fall Winter Spring
    PHYSICS 5B
    Electives and remaining requirements as needed for graduation
    PHYSICS 5C
    Electives and remaining requirements as needed for graduation
    Electives and remaining requirements needed for graduation

    Fourth Year

    Fall Winter Spring
    Electives and remaining requirements as needed for graduation Electives and remaining requirements as needed for graduation Electives and remaining requirements as needed for graduation

    * Only required for select Life Science majors.

    Biology Exploration Path

    ** Students should meet with departmental Student Affairs Officers, to help pick the right courses and curricular pathway.**

    First Year

    Fall Winter Spring
    LS 20
    Non-majors biology class (LS 15, EEB 25, EEB 87, MCDB 50)
    Plus other courses
    LS 30A (OR MATH 3A OR MATH 31A)
    LS 7A
    Plus other courses
    LS 30B (OR MATH 3B OR MATH 31B)
    LS 7B
    Plus other courses

    Second Year

    Fall Winter Spring
    LS 7C
    CHEM 17
    LS 23L
    CHEM 14A
    STATS 13 OR LS 40 OR MATH 3C
    LS 110
    CHEM 14B
    CHEM 14BL
    Plus other courses

    Third Year

    Fall Winter Spring
    CHEM 14C
    LS 107* OR STATS 13 OR LS 40
    Plus other courses
    CHEM 14D
    PHYSICS 5A
    Plus other courses
    CHEM 153A* or 14D
    PHYSICS 5B
    Plus other courses

    Fourth Year

    Fall Winter Spring
    PHYSICS 5C
    Electives and remaining requirements as needed for graduation
    Electives and remaining requirements as needed for graduation Electives and remaining requirements as needed for graduation

    * Only required for select Life Sciences majors.

    Physics Early Path

    ** Students should meet with departmental Student Affairs Officers, to help pick the right courses and curricular pathway.**

    First Year

    Fall Winter Spring
    LS 30A (OR MATH 3A OR MATH 31A)
    LS 7A
    Plus other course(s)
    LS 30B (OR MATH 3B OR MATH 31B)
    LS 7B
    Plus other course(s)
    CHEM 14A
    PHYSICS 5A (OR LS 40 OR STATS 13)
    Plus other course(s)

    Second Year

    Fall Winter Spring
    CHEM 14B
    LS 40 OR STATS 13 (OR PHYSICS 5A)
    Plus other course(s)
    LS 7C
    LS 23L
    CHEM 14C
    CHEM 14BL
    PHYSICS 5C (pre-req for Neurosci M101A) *
    Plus other course(s)

    Third Year

    Fall Winter Spring
    PHYSICS 5B
    CHEM 14CL
    Plus other courses
    CHEM 14D
    Plus other courses
    CHEM 153A
    Plus other courses

    Fourth Year

    Fall Winter Spring
    Electives and remaining requirements as needed for graduation Electives and remaining requirements as needed for graduation Electives and remaining requirements as needed for graduation

    *Physics does not require Physics 5B as a pre-requisite for Physics 5C

    Biology First Path

    ** Students should meet with departmental Student Affairs Officers, to help pick the right courses and curricular pathway.**

    First Year

    Fall Winter Spring
    LS 30A (OR MATH 3A OR MATH 31A)
    LS 7A
    Plus other course(s)
    LS 30B (OR MATH 3B OR MATH 31B)
    LS 7B
    Plus other course(s)
    STATS 13 OR LS40 OR MATH 3C
    LS 7C
    LS 23L

    Second Year

    Fall Winter Spring
    CHEM 14A
    STATS 13 OR LS 40
    Plus other course(s)
    CHEM 14B
    CHEM 14BL
    Plus other course(s)
    CHEM 14C
    PHYSICS 5A
    Plus other course(s)

    Third Year

    Fall Winter Spring
    CHEM 14D
    LS 107*
    Plus other course(s)
    CHEM 153A*
    PHYSICS 5B
    Plus other course(s)
    PHYSICS 5C
    Plus other courses

    Fourth Year

    Fall Winter Spring
    Electives and remaining requirements as needed for graduation Electives and remaining requirements as needed for graduation Electives and remaining requirements as needed for graduation

    * Only required for select Life Science Majors.

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