Teaching this past semester, you don’t have to be reminded, was incredibly difficult. Faculty were required to prepare for all eventualities, as the course of the pandemic remained uncertain. That included face-to-face, online (synchronous and asynchronous), hybrid, and “hy-flex.” The assumption is that teaching in the spring will occur in and across all modes, with some teaching from classrooms and others remotely. Our purpose here is to offer as much help as we can, without raising your anxiety level about the 47 articles you haven’t yet managed to get to. We want to offer some advice gleaned from the fall semester, and some continuing suggestions for making it through the spring as strongly as possible, both for your students and for you.
We plan to do this in a number of ways: (1) By dividing our materials, as possible, into categories that are specific and searchable, so that you can easily find just what you’re looking for; (2) by providing some “go-to” articles on major topics, content or resources that we think will give you a good overview of a theme if you only have time to read 1-3 articles; and (3) access to short videos (2-5 minutes) which colleagues have developed on specific themes that can help you get started. Our website continues to be divided into four main categories, as will be evident on the home page: “Into the Fall Classroom,” which will offer resources and advice on teaching across modes, including general advice and technical/technological support; “Inclusive Pedagogy,” applying universal design for learning to the present moment, focusing on issues of access and responding to the different learning circumstances and needs of individual students; “Anti-Racist Pedagogy,” offering resources and approaches for developing anti-racist pedagogies across the curriculum, and advice on making our classrooms truly diverse, inclusive, equitable, and welcoming, and “The Election’s Aftermath,” reflecting the deep divisions that persist in our country and suggestions for how to help students (and colleague) talk and think across differences.
The Global Liberal Arts Alliance (GLAA) has created a Speakers Bureau including faculty and staff from affiliated schools who have offered to speak on a set of timely issues that are of general interest across the Alliance. The list of speakers and topics can be found here. The list will be updated as new speakers are identified. Speakers can be invited to give a presentation in a class or to a student, faculty, or staff group, or could be part of a small set of speakers who, together, would offer a panel presentation providing perspectives from different parts of the world. Please contact the speaker(s) directly to make arrangements. Faculty/staff who are interested in being added to the Speakers Bureau should complete the Speakers Bureau Survey.