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Overview of Zoom for Students
Boston University utilizes the Zoom platform for synchronous class sessions. As a student, you may also decide to use Zoom for connecting with your peers or interacting on projects. The videos and resources below offer an overview on how to access your Zoom class session, and how to set up your own meeting with your […]
Active Learning Strategies in a Remote Environment
This “Quick Guide to Converting your Face-to-Face Pedagogical Approaches to the Online Environment” from BU’s CTL offers a comprehensive table with tips and suggestions for adapting your typical face-to-face classroom approach to an online synchronous or asynchronous modality Adapting Active Learning Strategies to Remote Environments Active learning strategies involve planning activities in which students are […]
Student Motivation in a Remote Environment
Keeping students motivated in a remote course is a common challenge not only in remote writing courses, but across various subject matters. Without in-person contact, it may often be more difficult for faculty to pick up on students’ nonverbal cues, which may often signal their disinterest or unenthusiasm. The resources below offer tips and suggestions […]
Community Building in a Remote Environment
Creating a sense of community is important for any course and in any modality; however, instructors often find it more challenging to build a strong online community in remote courses. The resources below offer some practical tips and suggestions for building a stronger community in your online courses.
Outdoor Class Meetings and Activities
We at BU know the value of connecting students to this campus and beyond, of making local-global connections. We at Boston Now, a curricular initiative in Boston University’s CAS Writing Program that focuses on outside-the-classroom experiences and place-based learning, see the whole university/city/world as a classroom. We need to expand the traditional classroom, emphasize the value of […]
Notes for Inclusive Syllabi: Diversity and Land Acknowledgment Statements
When trying to create a welcoming, inclusive classroom, instructors may want to include a diversity statement and a land acknowledgment statement on their syllabi. We provide examples of each here for your benefit. Instructors may also want to read more about universal design and accessible syllabi, and also about diversifying their reading lists. [/collapsible] Guide […]
Paragraph/Essay Reconstruction
Students work in pairs to analyze and improve the organization of a paragraph or essay using hard copies of their paper. Alternatively, this activity can be adapted for remote learning situations. Objective To focus on the structure of a paragraph or an essay; to consider the effects of transitions and signposting language on readers; to […]
Interview a Professor
In this exercise, students interview another professor about writing in their field and then reflect on what connections they might make between writing in different contexts. Guide to Oral/Signed Communication in Writing Classrooms Objective To learn about the role of research and writing in different disciplines and professions; to learn about how research and writing […]
Video Presentation and Reflections
For this assignment, students work in small groups to create and edit short video presentations (flexible in genre) to recast their research for a new audience. Students then reflect on their presentations. Guide to Oral/Signed Communication in Writing Classrooms Objective To remediate the findings of a research project into a different genre; to work […]
Anatomy of an Assignment Sheet
In this guide, we invite instructors to think through the different sections of an assignment sheet and perhaps take a fresh look at their own assignment sheets. At the bottom of the page, you’ll find some insights into more effective assignment sheets from Writing Consultants working in the CAS Writing Center. Key Elements Things to […]