November 2024 Tuesday Tips

5th November 2024

Tuesday Teaching Tip: Election Office Hours and Resources

Hello Colleagues, 

Today is a big day and tensions are high. We are offering a few things in this tip that may help you navigate this day and the days following. 

1. Wednesday 11/6 is the day after the election, and while we may not know the results, sometimes people want a chance to process what has happened and talk through what might happen. I will have office hours in the Rose Garden Room (MLIB 459) with some of the FDEV advisory board members from 8:30-11:00AM on Wednesday. We will have coffee, snacks, and an opportunity to talk through whatever is going on. 
2. An updated guide to difficult classroom moments (PDF) from the Campus Assessment Response and Evaluation (CARE) Team. We are working on placing this in each physical classroom. 
3. A guide to election discussions (PDF) from the WellCat Center.
4. A series of videos(opens in new window) from the Free Speech and Inclusion webinar series we hosted this fall with the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. We think there is material here that might prove useful in the coming weeks. 

Take care of yourselves and each other,

Zach Justus
Director of Faculty Development
Professor of Communication Arts and SciencesGoogle Voice/Text: 530-487-4150

All past Tuesday Tips are curated on the FDEV website.

12th November 2024

Tuesday Teaching Tip: Guide to Immigration Conversations

Hello Colleagues, 

There may be a lot of questions about changes to immigration policy in the coming months. Faculty are often a point of contact for students who may have concerns about their status, or the status of someone they care about. In light of this reality, we gathered some information from the Dream Center on campus that might help you navigate these conversations. View the flyer (PDF) for details. 

Lastly, a quick reminder that this Thursday at 11AM Logan Smith from Agriculture and David Zeichick from Computer Science will host a live tool demonstration and discussion about the AI platform NotebookLM(opens in new window). We will record the session and add it to the FDEV Media Channel(opens in new window).

Zach Justus
Director of Faculty Development
Professor of Communication Arts and SciencesGoogle Voice/Text: 530-487-4150

All past Tuesday Tips are curated on the FDEV website.

19th November 2024

Tuesday Teaching Tip: Dealing with Student Absences

• Dear Professor, I cannot be in class on Tuesday night because I am rushing a Greek organization and we have an event.
• Hello teacher, I need to reschedule my presentation on Monday because I will be out of town for an athletic competition.
• Hi, did we do anything in class on Thursday? I was sick.

It is that time of year when you are probably being inundated with requests to adjust your schedule or help a student make up for lost time. Some of you are reading your email and thinking “Do I have to? Unsurprisingly this issue is complicated, but my office has been doing a little legwork to help faculty deal with attendance policies.

The first and most important thing to remember is that the vast majority of students who miss class do so because of legitimate reasons and are looking to get a high quality education while balancing other commitments. Some of the common scenarios are explained below.

Greek Life: Most fraternity/sorority events take place in the evening hours after most classes have concluded, but not always. Even so, many of us teach in the evenings and must resolve requests to miss class. Fraternity and Sorority Affairs Program Coordinators Erika Guerra and J Jesus “Chuy” Rojas Rivas do not allow students to miss class for fraternity/sorority matters, should this happen, and students use fraternity/sorority events as excuses to miss class, please feel free to reach out to the coordinators directly. 

Athletics: Chico State is the proud sponsor of a great many intercollegiate student athletes and their success is a point of pride for many of us. Travel and competition schedules invariably result in missed classes. In a conversation with Faculty Athletic Representative Matt Thomas I learned a couple things about how the programs negotiate this conflict. Scheduling conflicts are typically predictable and students are encouraged to find course schedules that line up well with their athletic schedules (although student athletes can be added to a travel roster midseason, providing less ability to plan). Second, as a faculty member you should receive a letter with a roster, and a schedule from the student at the start of their competition season. Third, ultimately the decision resides with the faculty member as to what constitutes a sensible accommodation that also recognizes the contributions that student athletes make to Chico State.

Health: We all get sick and most of us are quite accommodating when students have physical or mental health issues that prevent them from coming to class. In an email exchange with Interim Executive Director Satia Sisay from the Health Center she reminded me that the Center has not provided sick notes since 2020. A sick student is often also a stressed student who is worried about missing class time.  Whether accommodations are made ultimately resides with the faculty member. One thing to keep in mind if you take a hard line on attendance, do you really want a classroom full of sick students?

Students also miss class for other reasons from bereavement to forgetfulness. It is impossible to have course policies that govern all these areas, but I would recommend approaching the situations with compassion and honesty. 

This is an update to a Tuesday Teaching Tip I authored many years ago, but the timing seemed appropriate given the upcoming fall break. 

Finally, a quick word from our friends in the Technology and Learning Program: The TLP Zoom Lab(opens in new window) is closed the week of November 25th for fall break, but TLP staff will be available for 1:1 consultations on Monday and Tuesday. Fill out the form to request a personal consultation(opens in new window).

Zach Justus
Director of Faculty Development
Professor of Communication Arts and SciencesGoogle Voice/Text: 530-487-4150

All past Tuesday Tips are curated on the FDEV website.