Dear Danforth Faculty Colleagues,
The Fall Planning Committee continues its work on planning for next year. Updates will be available on a new website devoted to this purpose, WashU Together: Keeping Our Momentum and in the Danforth Digest, distributed periodically via email.
A Faculty Town Hall is scheduled for today, Friday, June 19th, from 4:00-5:15 pm. (Zoom URL) This town hall will be recorded for those who are observing the Juneteenth holiday and linked on the Town Hall webpage. Alternatively, there will be a general session on Monday, June 22 from 3:00-4:15 pm that faculty are welcome to attend. (Zoom URL)
Although many aspects of our planning are continuing to evolve, it is clear that nearly every course will have an online presence. This will enable us to offer remote instruction to students who choose not to return to campus in person or become subject to quarantine at some point during the semester, and to pivot seamlessly should public health considerations require a return to alternate operations. The Office of the Provost has committed to provide support and training options for faculty in addition to those that the schools are able to offer. I write with an update on those.
First, the Center for Teaching & Learning has committed resources and staffing to working with faculty to film lectures in advance this summer. In addition, consultations are available with professional staff on how to adapt your courses to an online environment. The Center also maintains a page listing best practices for online teaching and featuring short how-to video clips geared to preparing faculty for teaching in a hybrid learning environment, and organizes support groups. (https://teachingcenter.wustl.edu/resources/digital-pedagogy/)
Second, the Educational Mission Working Group for the Fall Planning Committee is developing several WashU specific training opportunities for faculty:
- A two-to-three hour asynchronous course, Foundations in Digital Pedagogy, that serves as an on-ramp to online teaching. This will be available by the end of June on your Canvas Dashboard.
- 30-minute informal virtual conversations on online teaching held during June, July and August. Preregistration is required on the Center for Teaching & Learning website.
- A two-week intensive online introduction to course design, Designing an Adaptable Course, offered multiple times during July and August according to demand. Preregistration is required on the Center for Teaching & Learning website.
A Fall 2020 Preparation Guide is attached as a ready resource describing these opportunities and more.
With thanks for all you are doing to prepare for the fall.
Best regards,
Marion Crain
Interim Provost & Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Wiley B. Rutledge Professor of Law