Making a Plan

Making a plan may seem obvious, but it’s also the single best thing you can do for you, your peace of mind, and that of your students. Print or download our helpful planning template Download Print or download our helpful planning template, look it over, then start in on this module. Over the next few pages, we’ll pose some of our recommended answers to these questions. Think through and write down how you’d handle some of the scenarios described in the previous page. Consider the following questions:

• What happens if I have to self-isolate? How will I continue delivering lectures, handing back papers, leading class discussions, handing things out? How will I hold office hours? (Remember, if you're sick, you can take sick leave!)
• What happens if a student has to self-isolate? How will they continue participating in the class? Coming to office hours? How will they get online to do these things? How will you handle your attendance policy? 
• What happens if the room gets shut down on my face-to-face class day? How will I teach? (This is really a combination of the above questions.)

Share your plan

Yep, with your students. Talk about this on the first day and add a document to your Canvas site. Let students know what they should do to prepare. Do they need Zoom? A working mic? Laptop? The time to set that up is in the first week, so that a shift to remote doesn’t throw them for a loop in week four. 

Encourage them to think ahead about how they will handle the same scenarios you’re thinking about. (Could this be a good first-day, get-to-know-your-students discussion? Why, yes!)

Resources

"Returning to the classroom," Tea for Teaching Podcast, Episode 202, John Kane and Rebecca Mushtare, Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching at the State University of New York at Oswego (Podcast Links to an external site., Transcript Links to an external site.)

"What if students can't come to class? Links to an external site." Oregon State University Center for Teaching and Learning