An expanded course description is provided consistent with the course learning objectives and requirements and provides students with broader insight and motivation for taking the course.

Rationale

A course description gives students an overview of the course's purpose and insight into key concepts, skills, or knowledge. When students are provided with an explanation of how the course will contribute to their education, how it fits into their major, curriculum, or discipline, or how it is relevant to their lives, research shows increased motivation for underrepresented minoritized students (Gardner & Leary, 2023; Li et al., 2022).

Questions for Reflection

• Where can students find an explanation of the course's purpose and an overview of what they will learn throughout the semester?
• How will students understand the relationship between the content of your course and your course learning outcomes?
• Where do you explain what students gain from engaging in your course?

Possible Evidence

• Course description included in the syllabus, on the course home page, in introductory materials, and/or the instructor's introduction video.

The relationship between student learning outcomes (aka course objectives), materials, and assessments is clear and communicated throughout the course.

Rationale

Alignment involves the intentional selection and design of course materials and assessments to meet the learning objectives in your course. Effective course alignment enables students to make a clear connection between what they are doing in any learning task and how they are making progress on course learning outcomes (Jaggars & Xu, 2016; Konstantinidou & Nisiforou, 2022). It reduces unnecessary cognitive load, increases learner motivation, allows students the opportunity to see the connection between activities, and provides more opportunities for metacognition.

Including objectives that are measurable and specific can also help instructors plan assessments and learning activities that are designed at an appropriate level and aligned with the skills and knowledge students take away with them at the end of the course (Jaggars & Xu, 2016; Konstantinidou & Nisiforou, 2022; Martin et al., 2019).

Course alignment demonstrated through learning objectives, especially in introductory courses, may address core learning skills that transcend an individual course and integrate across the curriculum. These may include critical thinking, information and digital literacy, and technology skills that fulfill UNM General Education requirements.

Questions for Reflection

• How are you contextualizing your materials within the scope of your student learning outcomes or course goals?
• How do you show alignment between course materials (readings, videos, lectures, etc.) and assessments (quizzes, discussions, homework, projects, etc.)?
• How do you communicate to students the purpose and value of course materials and activities?
• How does completing an assignment show that a student has met stated student learning outcomes?

Possible Evidence

Alignment of objectives with materials and assessments can be shown in:

• A course map
• The syllabus
• Module overviews
• Descriptions for assignments and course materials
• The course schedule
• A flowchart, concept map, or infographic

Students have access to full instructions, requirements for assignments, and detailed evaluation criteria far enough in advance to plan and complete the work necessary.

Rationale

Quality work often requires steady effort by students over time and clear guidance on expectations. Students need ample time and notice to begin planning for larger assignments. Research also suggests greater student satisfaction and self-efficacy when the workload is spaced equally throughout the semester (Konstantinidou & Inodorous, 2022). This supports adult learners who often face a host of non-academic obligations (Gardner & Leary, 2023) and helps to reduce student anxiety and stress (Grace et al., 2021). Students also need clear expectations so they can understand how to approach each assignment successfully.

Questions for Reflection

• When do students get access to the full assignment instructions?
• Where can students go reliably for directions to each assignment?
• How will students know how they are doing on the assignments and in the class?
• Can students readily see the rationales and explanations for points allotted or subtracted in their grades?

Possible Evidence

• Syllabus contains assignment instructions along with evaluation criteria.
• Longer or more complex assignments are broken up and instructions are available well in advance.
• Instructors address upcoming assignments in “looking ahead” portions of modules.
• Assignment instructions are embedded in the assignment submission page and a rubric, evaluation checklist, or assessment guidelines are attached to each assignment or discussion.
• Students are walked through the assignment/assessment process synchronously (Zoom) or asynchronously (video). If synchronous, indicate the date for this overview.

Instructors employ scaffolding techniques, such as chunking large assignments, providing reading guides for complex materials, or assigning pre-work with feedback to engage students and provide them with the tools needed to progress through the course.

Rationale

Scaffolded learning, which can include smaller assignments building to larger and more comprehensive work, reading guides, or pre-work designed to gauge student experience with a topic, enables instructors to provide clear and detailed expectations paired with timely feedback. This scaffolding supports learners in successfully progressing through the course and can ease learner anxiety (Konstantinidou & Nisiforou, 2022; Li et al., 2022; Martin et al., 2023; Wei & Taecharungroj, 2022).

Questions for Reflection

• What supports are in place to help students make progress in completing larger assignments?
• How will students know they are on track to succeed on larger projects?
• In what ways have you broken down course activities to set students up for success?
• How do you present challenging course materials so that students can successfully engage with them?
• How do assignments reflect the level of the course?

Possible Evidence

• Each assignment includes a prompt that explains the purpose, task, and assessment criteria.
• Large assignments include instructions that break down the steps involved, and a schedule of assignments and activities clarifies how a large project is broken down into constituent parts.
• Announcements are used to support work at appropriate intervals.
• Rubrics explain all the required elements of the assignment.
• Grades and feedback are given for segments of the assignment.
• Surveys or pre-work are used to gauge student knowledge and are coupled with individualized feedback or support to help students move forward successfully.

Aspirational Evidence

• Instructor can demonstrate how coursework builds on the preceding course and/or builds to the next course in a curriculum.

Students have consistent opportunities to recall and apply what they are learning.

Rationale

When students recall and/or apply new information, they are much more likely to build long-term knowledge (Martin et al., 2023; Redmond et al., 2023).

Questions for Reflection

• In what ways do students recall and apply fundamental learnings and course concepts?
• How are students invited to make connections between new content and previously covered content in the course?

Possible Evidence

• Students have the opportunity to demonstrate learning through ungraded learning activities, multiple attempts on assessments, or revision of assessment submissions.

Students may also demonstrate their learning through multiple assessment types, such as:

• Journals
• Quizzes
• Discussions
• Reflections
• Problem-based Learning
• Project-based Learning

The instructor provides opportunities to build an online learning community through peer interaction and collaboration throughout the semester.

If there is limited student interaction, please detail in the Self-Review Evidence space for this element how other learning activities will compensate to maintain students’ sense of belonging in the course.

Rationale

Peer collaboration and academic and personal community support are key to student emotional health and academic success (Archambault et al., 2022; Borup et al., 2022; Entusiastik & Sirega, 2022; Hardwood & Brett, 2019; Jaggars & Xu, 2016; Li, Bañuelos, Liu, & Xu, 2022; Redmond et al., 2023; Schirmer & Lockman, 2022; Yang et al., 2022). Underrepresented minoritized students can have a strong interest in social connection and can feel isolated in online classes without an intentionally built online community (Gardner & Leary, 2023).

Questions for Reflection

• How do course activities provide students with opportunities to interact and collaborate with their peers?
• How will students know what your expectations are for peer interaction?
• For courses with limited interaction, what opportunities are there for students to see their learning in context or make connections with others working on similar assignments and projects?

Possible Evidence

The course contains opportunities for students to interact through:

• Web-conferencing
• Group work
• Discussion boards
• Peer assessments
• Literature circles
• Wikis
• Blogs

If the course relies on peer interactions it includes:

• Breakout room discussion prompts
• Activity descriptions

Instructor’s grading practices, assignment timeline, feedback timeline, and expectations of student work are clearly stated.

Rationale

Grading practices, expectations, and feedback timelines allow students to know what they can expect from their instructor. Transparency in these elements increases student success and satisfaction in the course (Entusiastik & Siregar, 2022; Fayer, 2014; Harwood & Brett; Konstantinidou & Nisiforou, 2019).

Questions for Reflection

• Where do students locate grading policies, assignment timelines, and evaluation expectations?
• How do students know when they will receive feedback?
• Where do you explain your approach to late or missing work?
• What do your students regularly ask regarding grades and being successful in the course?

Possible Evidence

• Explained in the syllabus, course orientation, course map, assignment instructions and/or schedule.
• Grading breakdown includes how calculations are determined, feedback timelines, how grades on individual assignments will be determined (rubrics, checklists, detailed grading criteria, etc.).
• Due dates are clearly marked in a syllabus or schedule.

Multiple types of course learning materials are used to convey course content to help students achieve learning outcomes.

Rationale

While all instructional materials need to be appropriately matched to the learning task, it’s helpful to include some combination of text, video, audio, and/or interactive elements (Jaggars & Xu, 2016; Martin, 2023). A variety of appropriate instructional materials enables diverse students to achieve stated learning outcomes and helps foster learner engagement (Mayer, 2020).

Questions for Reflection

• What types of resources are you providing to support students in meeting the learning outcomes?
• How are you providing multiple means of representation for students?
• What range of media types are you using in the course?
• Do the course learning materials reflect seminal work within the discipline and/or work published recently within the field?

Possible Evidence

• A mixture of text, documents, video, and/or audio is used to convey course content.
• Module Overview pages include an introduction to how assessments and course materials are connected.
• Students are provided with context for how the course materials, assessments, and outcomes are aligned.

Videos are compact, preferably under 12 minutes, and each one presents a specific topic or concept. Include a rationale in the course if videos are longer.

Rationale

Chunking information in smaller amounts supports the appropriate cognitive load for the topic and course (Fiorella & Mayer, 2018; Mayer, 2020). The precise length should depend on the complexity of the topic (Brame, 2016, & Zhu et al., 2022) and what you want students to be able to do with the information. You can ensure that students have equal access to learning materials by considering the length of instructional videos.

Questions for Reflection

• How long are your videos?
• Can longer videos be broken into smaller sections, for example, by adding chapters?
• How do longer videos align with learning objectives?

Possible Evidence

• Most videos are under 12 minutes in length.
• Viewing guides or chapter titles are provided for longer videos.
• Notes from the instructor highlighting important topics or timeframes.

High quality instructional media (videos, audio, podcasts, etc.) are used to enhance the student's learning experience and instructor’s presence.

Rationale

Through well-designed videos and interactive content, instructors can convey information with clarity, enthusiasm, and instructor presence. Additionally, multimedia learning materials increase student engagement as they deem this to be "the most important element for the facilitation of learning" (Konstantinidou & Nisiforou, 2022). High quality media contains clear audio and high-resolution visuals to create a professional and engaging appearance. Well-designed videos use appropriate lighting, smooth transitions, appropriate pacing, an appropriate mix of visuals such as graphics, animations, real-world examples, and up-to-date content. Research shows that instructional videos where the instructor is visible and demonstrates professional presentation skills (including verbal delivery of content) increases student satisfaction (Li et al., 2022; Wei & Taecharungroj, 2022).

Questions for Reflection

• Is the verbal delivery of content (rate of speech and tone) in a video or audio file clear?
• Are editing tools used to enhance a video or audio file?
• Do the videos use animation, post-production editing, or a high-quality camera to ensure that any important content is clearly visible for viewers?

Possible Evidence

• Videos contain clear resolution and synced audio, relevant visuals and effects, and information is presented in an organized and consistent manner.
• Audio/podcast is clear and does not contain background noise, echoes, or unclear narration.
• Any recordings of in-person teaching are edited for clarity and quality.
• PowerPoint presentations embedded in videos use consistent font and formatting and accessible color contrast.
• Any included text in the video is legible.

Course materials meet minimum standards for web accessibility. This includes:

• Images have alternative text.
• Weblinks and document attachments use descriptive text.
• Document files are screen-reader compatible, text-recognizable.
• Course pages use heading structures for ease of navigation via keyboard.
• Tables each have a title and summary description.
• Videos have accurate closed captions.
• Color contrast is used appropriately.
• Transcripts are present for audio files.

If you aren’t sure how to determine this, please work with your instructional designer or come to a CTL Open Lab for help.

Rationale

Course materials must be accessible and meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines so all students can access all course content in a timely fashion (Guilbaud et al., 2021; Martin et al., 2019). Content must be compatible with accessibility tools such as screen readers. You can ensure that students have equal access to multimedia learning materials by including accurate captions for videos and transcripts for audio files.

Questions for Reflection

• Do all images (including those used in documents linked within the course) use descriptive alternative text?
• Are graphs or charts explained for students who may have visual impairments?
• Do links use descriptive phrases?
• Are tables accompanied by a title and summary description?
• Do you provide a transcript of all audio files?
• Do your videos include accurate closed captioning? (Machine captioning is a helpful tool, but not 100% accurate. It may miss key discipline-specific terms that you want your students to know and use.)
• If your course materials are image-based infographics or complex diagrams, how do you provide this information in an alternative format for students?

Possible Evidence

• Course documents have been checked for accessibility features and pass screen-reader compatibility.
• Audio files have accurate transcripts.
• Videos contain accurate closed captioning (auto-generated captions require human review for accuracy).
• Weblinks and document attachments use descriptive text (e.g. “UNM website” instead of “unm.edu.”) and avoid the use of phrases such as “click here.”
• Course documents use descriptive text (e.g. “Study Guide 1” instead of “study_guide_1_202341.pdf”).
• Images have alternative texts. Images that do not convey any important information for the students to understand the page content such as banners or icons are tagged as decorative images.
• Pages use proper heading hierarchy.
• Font color provides appropriate contrast and is not the only way to convey important information.

The course includes a personalized introduction from the instructor.

Rationale

A written or video introduction lets students know that the course is being actively taught by a present instructor. It increases a student's sense of belonging and community as well as their satisfaction and engagement with online courses (Jaggers and Xu, 2016; Li et al., 2022). Historically underrepresented students can have especially strong interests in social connection and feel isolated in online classes (Gardner & Leary, 2023). Introductions also tell students why this instructor is particularly qualified to teach the course content.

Questions for Reflection

• How do your students know who you are and why you are teaching their course?
• How do you create a strong presence for your students, assuring them that the course is being taught by an engaged instructor?

Possible Evidence

• Instructor posts a welcome video on the home page or in a welcome/orientation module.
• Instructor sends a welcome message when the class opens.
• Instructor posts a written introduction on the home page or in a welcome/orientation module.

Aspirational Evidence

• Instructor includes a belonging story in their personalized introduction.

Instructor routinely encourages students to seek assistance and/or clarification and offers multiple ways for students to engage with their instructor, including through drop-in hours.

Rationale

Instructor presence increases student motivation and success, especially for underrepresented minoritized students (Jaggars & Xu, 2016; Konstantinidou & Nisiforou, 2022; Gardner & Leary, 2023). It also helps build community (Archambault et al., 2022) and decreases stress and anxiety (Grace et al., 2021; Tang et al., 2021). Even in an online, asynchronous course, virtual drop-in hours or Q&A sessions can provide real-time opportunities to interact with instructors and promptly address student needs (Martin et al., 2019; Martin et al., 2023). Regular and substantive interaction with students is also a federal requirement for online courses offered at institutions such as UNM that receive federal funding.

Questions for Reflection

• How often do you plan to communicate with your students?
• What tool(s) will you use for communication with your students and how will they know about them?
• How do you encourage students to take advantage of regular or by-appointment drop-in hours when students can talk directly to you?
• How do you encourage students to ask for help or clarification if they need it?

Possible Evidence

• Explained and encouraged in multiple places, such as the syllabus, home page, introduction module, course orientation, and via announcement.

Student feedback is collected midway through the course and at the end of the course via survey or other course tools.

Rationale

Students’ experience within the course can be used to improve the course quality for current and future students. Specific course issues can be addressed before the end of the term, improving learning potential for students (Li et al., 2022).

Questions for Reflection

• How do you know what is and isn’t working well for your students?
• How will students who may not feel comfortable initiating feedback be given anonymous opportunities to let you know they are struggling?
• Will you make reasonable changes to the course to address student concerns?
• After teaching the course, how will you improve it for future students?

Possible Evidence

• An evaluation is requested at the course midpoint, and a later module, course message, or announcement debriefs the feedback and any changes with students.
• An evaluation is requested at the end of the course.
• Other evaluation tools are utilized (e.g., discussion post where instructor solicits feedback).

The course includes clear links and explanations of use to academic and non-academic resources that promote student success.

Rationale

When students' basic needs are met, they can achieve greater knowledge retention and engage more fully in their learning. Facilitating connections with a broader range of academic and non-academic resources and normalizing their use communicates to students that instructors and the institution care about students’ wellbeing (Greenhow et al., 2022; Martin & Bollinger, 2022; Zeng et al., 2023). Online students may not come to campus regularly or know what specific supports are available to them beyond engaging with your course.

Questions for Reflection

• What information is provided to online students about the UNM support services and resources available to them?
• How can students use UNM support services to be successful in the course?
• How easy would it be to direct a user to these resources in your course if you needed to describe their location quickly in a course message?
• Where will students access support materials specific to the course?
• How will students be supported when working with new or unfamiliar technologies within the course?

Possible Evidence

• Welcome and/or orientation modules include a list of student support resources (with links) and a summary of how to access them and/or use them as a part of the course.
• Syllabus includes a list of student support resources (with links) and a summary of how to access them and/or use them as a part of the course.
• Course-specific resources help students to develop or practice skills within the field, such as documentation on citation processes appropriate for the discipline (APA, Chicago, IEEE, MLA, etc.).
• Guides or tutorials are provided for working with technology that will be used as a part of the course.

Aspirational Evidence

• Resources are linked in a prominent location with clear explanations as to when and how a student might access them. (e.g. The Lobo Food Pantry, located in SUB 1093, provides nutritious food and toiletries for all UNM students, at no cost. Visit the food pantry Monday through Thursday from 11-5).

There is a clear and consistent course structure. There are easy-to-follow instructions for course navigation, assignments, discussion boards, and other expected course contributions.

Rationale

A consistent structure makes it easier for students to understand each module and determine what they need to do. Research demonstrates that organized and consistent structures improve student success and satisfaction (Entusiastik & Siregar; 2022; Fayer, 2014; Martin et al., 2023; Wei & Taecharungroj, 2022). An organized structure can be demonstrated by content divided into weekly topics, clear information about instructional materials, required assignments, and general information about each topic (Konstantinidou & Nisiforou, 2022).

Questions for Reflection

• Will your structure reduce the number of procedural questions you receive from students?
• How do you ensure that someone new to your materials understands what you want them to do at each stage of the course?
• Can a student expect a similar structure when they move from one module to the next?
• How do students know how to proceed within each module? With each assignment? Through the course itself? (This may differ for students and programs. Undergraduates taking an online course for the first time may need different cues than graduates taking an advanced course in a fully online program.)

Possible Evidence

• Modules have consistent structure and use headings to group module materials.
• Each module has an overview page, and they are clear, concise, and consistently structured.
• Headings and phrasings in the overviews are consistent.
• Items on the course menu visible to students only include what they will use and are in logical order (for example, you could do Home, Announcements, Module, Syllabus, Grades). Note: You can check which menu items students see by going into Student View.

Visual design elements are used intentionally to increase engagement and selectively to avoid overburdening learners.

Rationale

Well-structured visual design elements help improve learner comprehension and “can encourage learners to engage in active learning by mentally representing the material in words and in pictures and by mentally making connections between the pictorial and verbal representations” (p 71, Clark and Mayer, 2011). On the other hand, extraneous graphics that “interfere with the learner’s attempts to make sense of the presented material” are “distracting and disruptive” (p. 159, Clark and Mayer, 2011). Graphics that are meant to be an aid to learning should be simple, clear, and directly related to the learning goals to avoid unnecessary burdens on learners’ cognitive load.

Questions for Reflection

• Are my images meant to aid in student learning? If so, how do they directly support the learning goal?
• How do I use visuals (video or images) to enhance students’ experience of text heavy pages?
• How do I use headings and other structural elements to chunk information and direct student attention in pages, documents, and modules throughout the course?
• Do I use consistent fonts and font styles across the course in documents and on pages in Canvas?

Possible Evidence

• Screenshots, images, videos, or links to images used in instructional materials enhance or clarify meaning of text or verbal instructions.
• Headings are used to break text heavy pages into smaller sections.
• Text Headers are used consistently within Canvas Modules to organize course materials and assignments.
• Fonts and font styles (sizing, bolding, italicization, etc.) are used consistently and intentionally across pages and documents within the course.
• Images and graphics used in the course reflect the diverse student population at UNM.

Basic information and materials are clearly present and accessible to all students. These include:

• Course Title, Number, and Credits
• Course Goals
• Student Learning Outcomes
• Contact information for the instructor and for the department and/or program
• Instructor preferred method of communication and typical response time
• Syllabus
• Prerequisites (if any)
• Modality type (asynchronous, or synchronous with scheduled dates and times provided)
• Expected time commitment
• Schedule of course activities

Rationale

These items are a demonstration of instructor presence in the course. Instructor presence is especially important for student success and engagement in online courses (Gardner & Leary, 2023; Entusiastik & Siregar, 2022; Martin et al., 2023; Tang et al., 2021). The above elements also meet many of the required elements outlined in the Registrar’s sample syllabus.

Questions for Reflection

• Is your contact information in a prominent location for students?
• Who can students contact if they have questions about the program or department?
• Who can students contact if they can't get in touch with you?
• How do students know what they will be expected to do and when?
• How will students know what’s expected of them for your course?

Possible Evidence

• Required course information is placed prominently in the syllabus.
• Required course information is placed on the course home page.
• Required course information is placed in the course orientation module.

For complex assignments, such as those requiring digital tools, third party apps, or group work, the instructor provides samples of the work or instructional videos. 

Rationale

High quality examples and transparent directions increase student engagement (Li et al., 2022; Redmond et al., 2023). 

Questions for Reflection

• How do you provide guidance and support to students for complex assignments, such as those requiring the use of digital tools, third party apps, or group work?   
• How will students know that the approach they are taking is aligned with your expectations? 
• Will your support materials reduce the number of procedural questions you receive? 

Possible Evidence

• Complex assignments and those using digital tools have tutorial or explanatory videos or examples embedded in the course. 

Students are provided with strategies for building essential success skills, such as time-management, self-regulatory skills, motivation-related behaviors, and/or digital and information literacy. 

Rationale

Students who are provided (and choose to implement) self-regulatory and other success strategies are better able to manage their time, cope with failures, and persevere in the face of challenges (Gardner & Leary, 2023; Zeng et al., 2023). Additionally, courses that provide students with experience in digital and information literacy better prepare students for careers in our rapidly changing workplaces (Mokhtari, 2023). 

Questions for Reflection

• How will a student know how much time to expect to set aside weekly for this course?  
• How will a student know how to track their progress in the course and their learning about the subject?    
• How are effective help-seeking behaviors modeled, instructed, or encouraged throughout the course?  
• How do you set students up to succeed in this course and beyond?  
• What strategies do you encourage students to use in order stay on track in your course?
• How will this course leave students with a better understanding of how to seek relevant and accurate information or how to use industry standard software?
• How will students learn ethical and strategic uses for AI in your field of study?

Possible Evidence

• Course includes a suggested weekly schedule with allotment of time for each activity.  
• Syllabus has concise explanation of effective strategies for success in the course.  
• Welcome module explains and discusses success strategies.  

• Explanations and discussion are integrated into weekly modules to help students stay on track and motivate peers.
• Students are given assignments that incorporate digital literacy or information literacy in order to model the workflow of someone working in the field of study.
• Students may use AI to complete a portion of an assignment, report the prompts they use and responses they generated as part of the assignment, and reflect on how the use of AI helped them with the assignment.

Aspirational Evidence

• Message or video from a former student providing advice for how to succeed in the course or create a Former Student Gallery. (Be sure to have written consent from students to include their messages - we recommend the FERPA Consent to Release Classroom Recording & Media form available through the Registrar.)

• Students learn or demonstrate digital literacy by completing a project using a specific type of software used by specialists in the field of study. For example: students studying health education might create an educational video for a chosen health topic and population group using Adobe Premiere Rush, Final Cut Pro, or other video editing software.

Instructors incorporate opportunities for student choice into some of their course design and assessment practices.

Rationale

Inclusive and student-centered learning environments provide multiple means of engaging with materials and assessments, allowing students to engage in flexible and creative ways (Jiménez-Cortés & Aires, 2021).

Questions for Reflection

• How will you provide students with choice in demonstrating their learning?
• Are there multiple forms of expression that allow students to demonstrate that they met module and course objectives? Consider the ultimate learning goal (e.g., if writing is a course objective, this could be demonstrated with a paper or a scripted video or audio recording).
• How can assessments (e.g., exams, term papers, final portfolio) be designed to allow students to produce a wider variety of work to demonstrate learning?

Possible Evidence

• Syllabus indicates that students can resubmit assignments.
• Assignment instructions state that students have options for media/format of their submissions (e.g., text, audio, presentation, infographic, etc.).
• Course introduction explains flexible elements of the course

Students are given opportunities to integrate their background knowledge, cultural wealth, and experiences into their learning.

Rationale

To make learning meaningful and engaging, students are provided with opportunities to make connections to their lived experience (Fayer, 2014; Schirmer & Lockman, 2022; Redmond et al, 2023; Hardwood & Brett, 2019). This can be especially important for Indigenous and Hispanic students (Gardner & Leary, 2023; Migueliz Valcarlos et al., 2020).

Questions for Reflection

• How do assignments and course activities allow students to make connections to their backgrounds and experiences?
• How do assignments and experiences allow students to incorporate multiple ways of knowing or knowledge-making about a given topic?

Possible Evidence

• Students are given options in an assignment that lets them connect their academic life and home life.
• Students have opportunities within the course to analyze and critique the discipline’s racial or cultural biases, such as challenging the assumption that Law is objective.
• Students may choose design or capstone projects that are community-engaged and accountable to community partners.

Resources and instructional materials are reflective of UNM’s diverse student population.

Rationale

Instructional materials used in a classroom should reflect the experiences of students from diverse backgrounds, which increases student engagement and their sense of belonging in the class (Gardner & Leary, 2023; Schirmer & Lockman, 2022). As explained in the Student Experience Guide to Ensuring Classroom Identity Safety “when learning environments are dominated by representations of individuals from majority groups, individuals that come from historically excluded or underserved groups or who are numerically underrepresented in college settings can experience reduced social belonging, impaired academic performance, stress-indicative physiological responses, and reduced interest and motivation in the academic discipline (Cundiff, Matsick, & Vescio, 2011; Murphy, Steele, & Gross, 2007; Covarrubias & Fryberg, 2015; Lewis & Sekaquaptewa, 2016). By incorporating positive and inclusive representations of diversity in courses, instructors can promote student learning and engagement” (Ryan, et al., ND).

Questions for Reflection

• How do course materials reflect different points of view and acknowledge diverse identities in your field?
• If a student was new to your discipline, do they see people like themselves in leadership or knowledge-making roles?
• How do your course materials elevate voices that have historically been excluded from your field?

Possible Evidence

• Reading lists or other course materials reflect a diverse student population and were created by a diverse group of scholars.
• Examples highlight leaders and thinkers in the field that reflect the diversity of the student population.
• Sharing profiles of current scholars or leaders who reflect a diverse student population to help students understand current topics in the field.

• Creating a student gallery project where past students can pass along advice and encouragement to current students. (Be sure to have written consent from students to include their messages - we recommend the FERPA Consent to Release Classroom Recording & Media form available through the Registrar.)

Course follows a purposeful and reflective design process and is responsive to student needs.

Rationale

Robust online courses involve deliberate design processes, rather than designs based on the structure of a book or other content resource (Martin et al., 2023). During and following each semester a course is taught, instructors also reflect on strengths and weaknesses of the class and incorporate revisions to continually improve the learning experience (Li et al., 2022).

Questions for Reflection

• How have you incorporated student feedback into your course design (e.g., from mid-course and end-of-course surveys)?
• How have you incorporated instructional designer, peer observation, or previous course review feedback in your course design?
• How have you redesigned and/or updated your course assessments and course materials over time?

Possible Evidence

• Instructor includes an explanation of their course design in the Self-Review Evidence space for this strategy (could include screenshots, quoted comments, and specific details, wherever applicable). This might include documenting what you have incorporated into this course and built from over time, reflections on your course design process, descriptions of how you have incorporated student feedback into your redesigned course, how you have updated assessments and course materials to reflect changes and new research within your discipline, and/or changes in your approach to teaching this class.