FAQs: Back to In-Person Teaching

The Provost’s Teaching & Learning Resource Guide includes a variety of practical resources and strategies to proactively address potential teaching and learning challenges.

You and your students have experienced high levels of stress and disruption for an extended time. Most of us have not had regular interaction with large groups of people for quite a while. Not surprisingly, people are finding it takes more energy to do things that seemed ‘normal’ just a couple of years ago. It will take some time to find new rhythms for in-person teaching and learning. 

Although you have already met your students through online activities, it is a good idea to take some time to acknowledge the change of being together in a physical classroom or lab. There are likely a range of feelings and opinions about transitioning to in-person learning.

• See the recommendations on the Provost’s Teaching & Learning Resource Guide under ‘First day of returning to in-person classes’.
• Start with a conversation on establishing a positive learning community. You may want to include questions about what students are looking forward to as well as what they are concerned about in this transition.
• Invite students to indicate their personal comfort level with some sort of visible symbol such as a red (I’m not comfortable with close contact or face-to-face conversations right now), yellow (I’m somewhat comfortable with 1:1 or small group conversations), or green (I’m completely comfortable with close contact or face-to-face conversations).  As circumstances shift, you may want to repeat this activity several times throughout the term.
• Discuss classroom norms by introducing your guidelines for positive classroom interactions and/or inviting students to collaborate on such guidelines.  For more information on strategies to do this, see our resource on Strategies for Promoting Positive Learning Environments. For examples of classroom guidelines, click here.
• Remind students of campus resources such as the Taylor Family Digital Library, the Student Success Centre, Student Wellness Services, and any others that are relevant to your course.

While the Provost’s COVID-19 FAQ for Academic Staff clarifies that masks are not required when instructors can maintain physical distance from students, you may still need or choose to wear a mask in the classroom or lab.

The pandemic has highlighted the importance of being able to respond quickly and intentionally to disruptions to teaching and learning. We have a number of resources that provide specific strategies to plan for and/or respond to disruptions, but the key considerations are the same: flexibility, accessibility, and transparency. 

Even with the COVIDsafe protocols, students may have different responses to active learning strategies such as small group discussions. It is a good idea to focus on building a positive learning environment through strategies such as co-creating relational agreements or classroom norms with your students before introducing active learning activities. If you are unsure of how students will react to previously ‘normal’ activities – like you circulating among them while they work – it is always best to have a conversation ahead of time.

Below are some strategies you may want to try to make classroom learning more active and engaging.

Due to the pandemic, many students have experienced learning interruptions due to illness, abrupt changes in circumstances, and other challenges. Even in normal times, it is helpful to begin the term by finding out what your students already know and are ready to learn. To do that, you may want to try some pre-assessment activities.

• Use concept maps or ungraded tests early in the term to assess students’ prior learning.
• If your course has online components, consider starting with a survey such as this Student Technology Capabilities Check-in,
• Create ungraded quizzes or surveys in D2L  when new topics/skills are introduced.
• Poll students with in-class questions for immediate response/feedback using TopHat.

Remote teaching may have taught you new teaching strategies. Many of these online teaching strategies can be adapted for blended or in-person teaching. For example, you may want to continue holding virtual office hours as well as posting resources and having discussion boards on a D2L shell.

A lot of time and energy has gone into developing creative and effective online assessment strategies. Why not keep the best of those strategies moving forward?  If you have incorporated group projects, capstones, case studies, etc. in the remote version of your course, you can use those same assignments in your in-person course.

Remember that flexibility, accessibility and transparency are important in all teaching modalities. Try using this Transparent Assignment Instructions Template to help communicate assessment instructions.

Whether we teach remotely or in-person, there are many ways to make our classes more equitable, diverse and inclusive. Here are some starting points:

• Reflect on your commitment to creating an inclusive and equitable learning environment.  Is that commitment evident in your course outline and classroom practices?
• Revisit course content and identify opportunities to update readings and resources to include multiple perspectives and diverse voices.
• Create opportunities – open discussions or even anonymous surveys – that allow students to share their experiences.
• Practice meaningful territorial acknowledgements.

This is a great question to ask! Rather than waiting for formal student feedback at the end of the term, you can gather informal feedback at multiple points in the term to help gauge how things are going and to inform any adjustments along the way. Remember to keep the focus on student learning rather than teaching performance or personal preferences. You are more likely to get helpful feedback from questions such as What aspects of the course best support your learning? than from questions such as What do you like best about the course?