“What I started to notice was that the coaches who paid attention to these little things, and focused on small fundamentals, tended to do a lot better than the teams that didn’t.”
Dear Faculty,
Welcome back to the spring semester!
We hope this newsletter offers you some tips for a successful start to your semester and we are excited to share with you new ideas throughout the spring term. The focus of this newsletter is on having a strong first day and the importance of small (yet powerful) teaching moments. Capitalizing on the first few minutes at the start and end of each class can offer opportune times to build connections and community. We encourage you to start by reading the article How to Teach a Good First Day by James Lang.
In subsequent newsletters, we will be exploring the 4 key principles Lang mentions when designing course activities and assessments. The name James Lang may sound familiar to you, as he was our keynote speaker at the UMass Dartmouth 2025 New Approaches to Teaching and Learning Conference. We hope that if you attended you found opportunities to connect with fellow faculty, discovered new assessment and engagement methods, and explored some of the innovative teaching and learning practices taking place at UMass Dartmouth. Welcome back to the start of an exciting new semester at UMass Dartmouth!
-The ID Team
CITS | Instructional Development
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Did you know…
The U.S. Department of Education now requires that all online courses for which students may use Title IV funds (federal financial aid) “ensure that there is regular and substantive interaction between students and faculty.” In online teaching and learning environments of any kind, (asynchronous, synchronous, blended/hybrid), regular and substantive interactions should:
- Be with an instructor
- Be initiated by the instructor.
- Be scheduled and predictable.
- Be academic and relevant to the course.
- Substantive interaction assumes direct interaction between the learner and the instructor including:
- Providing pre-recorded lectures and videos contextualizing course content
- Facilitating a group discussion regarding the content of a course or competency
- Hosting live class sessions
- Engaging students with interactive activities curated by the instructor
- Facilitating collaborative group projects with instructor guidance
- Scheduling one-on-one virtual meetings between students and instructor
- Assessing or providing feedback on a student’s coursework
- Providing information or responding to questions about the content of a course
RSI is essential because it keeps students engaged, helps clarify uncertainties, promotes a deeper understanding of the material, and allows instructors to gauge student progress and provide necessary support. RSI encompasses a wide range of evolving practices for creating active learning communities in a digital space. (Ohio State University)
RSI compliance is the legal federal requirement that distinguishes the status of courses between distance education and correspondence courses. Correspondence courses are not eligible for financial aid. Institutions risk losing access to student financial aid if the institution is audited by the US Department of Education’s (DoE) Office of Inspector General, or as part of a periodic Departmental financial aid program review, and found to be out of compliance. Institutions may be required to repay financial aid associated with the correspondence courses and students. (SUNY OSCQR online courses)
Check it out:
Clear communication practices within a course, start with clear syllabus expectations and policies. Here is a great read for constructing a strong syllabus, How to Create a Syllabus by Kevin Gannon and The Chronicle of Higher Education. Additionally…
- COIN to LMS Enrollment Syncing – COIN was not syncing properly with Blackboard or Canvas. This has caused many student enrollment issues between COIN and the LMS systems. This issue has been resolved and the systems are now syncing their data as normal. After clearing their cache, users should see their respective course sites in Blackboard and Canvas.
- New IT Help – CITS has launched a new IT Help website. Feel free to bookmark it!
- Course Combinations/Merges – Combination requests for Blackboard and/or Canvas need to include specific course section info. Please submit via the IT Help website.
- TA Requests – To have a TA/GA added to your course site(s), submit an email via the IT Help website including hiring/employment verification.
- Echo360 Scheduling – Please submit via the IT Help website
CITS | Instructional Development Workshops:
- Wed, 2/5/25 at 9:30 am – Kahoot! 101: Getting Started
- Wed, 2/5/25 at 12:00 pm – Using Echo360? Check out this session on EchoVideo Refresh
- Online Course Prep self-paced workshop
View a full list of Blackboard and Canvas workshops and self-paced offerings!
Instructional Development works with faculty to…
- Explore, design, and experiment with different teaching and learning modes.
- Research and integrate technologies that can enhance teaching and learning.
- Design and develop online courses and programs.
- Write learning outcomes, design assessments, craft activities, and develop content.
- Utilize best practices for using instructional technologies.
Feel free to contact us online to book an appointment!