The Annual Faculty Curriculum for the 2024/25 academic year is a year-long academic development opportunity that will focus on substantive feedback in the classroom - what it is, why it is essential, and strategies to help provide it.
UAGC considers feedback that meets the following criteria as substantive, as defined in the US Department of Education's distance education standard (Federal Register, 2020):
- It demonstrates the monitoring of student progress toward mastery of the subject matter. Course learning outcomes (CLOs) drive the design of our courses, so we'll use those to create more tangible goals for our purposes.
- It demonstrates evidence of interaction with a student's work.
The Annual Faculty Curriculum consists of three activities that 1) describe faculty practice toward this definition, 2) facilitate peer discourse about it, and 3) provide an opportunity for structured reflection about how you apply it.
- Annual Faculty Course – This course lays out concepts that will help you develop and deliver substantive feedback in the online classroom and refresh your awareness of critical compliance topics.
Next Steps: Beginning with courses that start on 7/9/2024, UAGC will enroll you in the Annual Faculty Course during your prep week. Read your welcome email from Faculty Affairs, which will provide instructions on completing the required compliance elements. Complete these items before the end of your contract to ensure your compliance with state and federal regulations and to fulfill your contractual professional development obligation.
- Community of Practice Workshops - These quarterly workshops allow you to learn, engage with, and apply specific topics from the Annual Faculty Course relating to substantive feedback. The topics will include the following:
- How a Course is Designed Around CLOs
- Assessing Students' Progress Toward Mastery of CLOs
- Synthesizing Information for Feedback
- Tailoring Individualized Feedback
Next Steps: Learn more here.
- Course Feedback – This process is designed to facilitate your reflection on the evolution of your teaching practice, and it is a complement to the Annual Faculty Course and the Community of Practice. Consider Course feedback as a valuable opportunity to turn classroom experiences into further learning and growth. Course feedback is not an evaluative process related to performance; it's a developmental opportunity.
Next Steps: Faculty Affairs is eager to discuss your teaching experiences – especially those related to instructive feedback practices – via the Course Feedback process to facilitate these learning opportunities. Be on the lookout for an email from your Faculty Consultant, or learn more here.
Learn More:
- Chronicle article: 2024/2025 Annual Faculty Course – Substantive Feedback
Resources:
- Substantive Feedback Resource
- Finding Course Learning Outcomes Video Walkthrough
- Finding Course Learning Outcomes Job Aid
- Finding & Reviewing Course Maps Video Walkthrough
- Finding & Reviewing Course Maps Job Aid
- Finding a Student’s ZPD Resource
- Questions for Crafting Substantive Feedback Resource
Related FAQs:
- What is the Community of Practice?
- Where can I find information on Course Feedback?
- How can I check if I have completed a training course in Workday?
- What are Faculty Support Office Hours?
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Reference
Federal Register Distance Education and Innovation, September 2, 2020, Volume 85, Number 171, p. 54760.