UW Online/Hybrid Course Development & Teaching Evaluation Rubric

What are measurable course objectives?

A learning objective or outcome is a simple, concise statement that tells students what they should be able to do as a result of working through your course. Measurable learning outcomes help instructors, programs, and institutions analyze whether students are actually achieving the goals we've set out for them.

Why do measurable course objectives matter? 

Research shows that when students engage in activities that focus on specific goals and that challenge them beyond their current ability, their chances of learning increase. Measurable objectives help us know whether and how students are making progress around the knowledge and skills we’ve identified as important for them. 

How do I create measurable course objectives?

How can you tell if your learning outcomes are "measurable"? Here's a quick way to check: If you have to explain what the verb in your outcome means, your outcome is likely not measurable.

Consider this example: students will understand the difference between asynchronous and synchronous learning.

How will you know if students "understand" the difference between asynchronous and synchronous learning? If you answer, "Well, I'll quiz them on it and see if they can correctly identify the definition of those words," you've already highlighted the insufficiency of the verb "understand."

To get a sense of whether students "understand" something, we need to observe them doing something else, such as correctly identifying something or performing some action. When writing learning outcomes, eliminate vague verbs like understand, know, learn, realize, and appreciate and replace them with verbs that describe the actions your students will take to demonstrate their understanding.

This revision gives us something to measure: Students will be able to differentiate asynchronous learning from synchronous learning.

The great thing about measurable learning outcomes is that they can point us toward potential assessment methods that align with our outcome. Using the example above, we could develop a quiz question where students match the terms "asynchronous" and "synchronous" with the right examples or write the definition of each word. Or we could assign a short essay in which students explain how the two modes of learning differ. 

Where Can I Learn More?

• Writing Measurable Learning Objectives. Use Bloom’s taxonomy to compose active, measurable learning objectives.
• Objective Builder Tool. Create measurable learning objectives from three different learning domains.
• The Educational Value of Course-level Learning Objectives/Outcomes

How Do I Get Help or Contribute?

For help building learning experiences aligned with this standard, contact your local instructional support team.

• UW Bothell Digital Learning and Engagement Team, uwbdl@uw.edu
• UW Seattle, Center for Teaching and Learning, thectl@uw.edu or Learning Technologies
• UW Tacoma, Office of Digital Learning, athelp@uw.edu

What Are Aligned Course Assessments?

Assessment is the evaluation of learning achievement. If your assessments clearly measure the achievement of your course’s learning objectives, they are aligned.

Why Do Aligned Course Assessments Matter?

Aligned assessments ensure that our students are learning what we want them to learn or what they need to learn, according to our program goals. They also help motivate students. Students who understand the purpose of an assignment (e.g., its relationship to the larger goals in the course) are more likely to succeed.

How Do I Create Aligned Course Assessments?

As this resource from Vanderbilt University’s Center for Teaching and Learning explains, employing backwards design can help ensure that your assessments are aligned with your course learning objectives. Begin with your specific learning outcome in mind - what do you want to make sure students are able to do? Then determine how students might demonstrate that they can do what you want them to be able to do? Finally, develop an activity or assignment that makes space for them to demonstrate their ability.

Where Can I Learn More?

Thomas Reeves, “How do you know they are learning? The importance of alignment in higher education,” International Journal of Learning Technology Vol. 2, no. 4 (2006). 

How Do I Get Help or Contribute?

For help building learning experiences aligned with this standard, contact your local instructional support team.

• UW Bothell Digital Learning and Engagement Team, uwbdl@uw.edu
• UW Seattle, Center for Teaching and Learning, thectl@uw.edu or Learning Technologies
• UW Tacoma, Office of Digital Learning, athelp@uw.edu

What is a “synchronous session”?

In an online or hybrid course, the term “synchronous session” refers to a virtual class meeting or student-instructor meeting that happens in real time, often through Zoom or some other form of videoconferencing.

Depending on local campus policy and established course definitions (e,g, hybrid, online/DL), faculty may not be allowed to require students to attend real time sessions. If virtual real time class meetings are allowed, faculty need to understand that required synchronous sessions can only be scheduled during the class meeting times that are listed in the Time Schedule. 

Why Do Synchronous Sessions Matter?

While 100% asynchronous online courses can be highly engaging and have proven effective when they are intentionally designed using evidence-based approaches, teaching completely asynchronously may not be right for you...only you can make that determination. Some faculty have found that synchronous sessions can help students stay on track and can contribute to the development of a sense of community in the course. The research base on this practice is still relatively shallow, but there is preliminary evidence that synchronous sessions can advance learning.

How Do I Create Alignment in Synchronous Sessions?

Like any scheduled class time, the synchronous sessions should be designed with the course objectives and students' needs and challenges in mind. There are many ways, short of simply conducting all your classes in Zoom, that instructors can use synchronous sessions to strategically build connections with their students. Here are some ideas for how you might incorporate synchronous sessions into your online or hybrid course:

• Consider requiring each learner to schedule a few synchronous "check-in" meetings with you.
• Rather than scheduling weekly synchronous sessions, make the first couple of class meetings synchronous to help students develop a sense of who you are and to build a sense of connection.
• Schedule a couple of open optional exam review/study sessions where students can connect with you and each other as they prepare for your exam.
• Schedule an optional informal synchronous get-together (e.g., non-alcoholic "happy hour") where everyone can drop in to celebrate finishing the midterm or a job well done on a project. 

Where Can I Learn More?

• Annelies Raes, et al., “A Systematic Literature Review on Synchronous Hybrid Learning: Gaps Identified,” Learning Environments Research Vol. 23 (2020).

How Do I Get Help or Contribute?

For help building learning experiences aligned with this standard, contact your local instructional support team.

• UW Bothell Digital Learning and Engagement Team, uwbdl@uw.edu
• UW Seattle, Center for Teaching and Learning, thectl@uw.edu or Learning Technologies
• UW Tacoma, Office of Digital Learning, athelp@uw.edu

Why Does Thinking about Workload Matter?

The Internet allows us to connect students to a wealth of information in the form of websites, podcasts, and digitized articles with just the click of a button. In addition, the learning management system (e.g., Canvas) allows instructors to easily develop and drop quizzes and assignments into their course. 

Often instructors new to online teaching overload their courses with too many links or activities, many of which don’t clearly align to the course’s learning objectives. In part this may be an attempt to compensate for the misperception that online courses are “dumbed down” versions of “real” courses (i.e., courses that take place in the physical classroom). Instructors might assume that because there aren’t “butts in seats,” they have to ramp up the amount of content and activities. In actuality, students often work harder to find and access information in online courses. Instructors should avoid adding additional assignments and requirements simply because the course is online and should be intentional about mapping activities to course learning objectives.

How Do I Get Help or Contribute?

For help building learning experiences aligned with this standard, contact your local instructional support team.

• UW Bothell Digital Learning and Engagement Team, uwbdl@uw.edu
• UW Seattle, Center for Teaching and Learning, thectl@uw.edu or Learning Technologies
• UW Tacoma, Office of Digital Learning, athelp@uw.edu

What is This?

Students may come to your online course with the misconception, or previous experience, that online courses are automated, impersonal, and don’t require much commitment. A welcome from you at the start of the course helps students understand that your course isn’t taught by artificial intelligence but by a live, engaged faculty member with a strong investment in this course and their learning.

Your personal welcome invites students to be active members of an online learning community and models engagement. It also provides space for your specific guidance on how to begin learning and working. Your class is unique; whether a student has previously taken an online course or not, they need your guidance to understand how to successfully navigate this particular course.

Why Does It Matter?

• Presence matters. Your presence helps students invest in the course by knowing their participation is being seen. 
• How you welcome students to your online learning environment sets the tone for the course and for future communication.
• You can use a welcome to clarify your expectations of students as learners and participants in a learning community, increasing transparency. You can also take this opportunity to share what students can expect from you.
• Letting students know exactly how and where to get started puts all students on the same page and sets them up for success. 

How Do I Do It?

• You can create a welcome via text, video, or audio. Share a picture of yourself - a professional headshot, an action shot of you at work or lecturing, or a candid photo engaged in a hobby or with a pet. Use the format and photos that best match your comfort level, personality, and boundaries.
• Share what brings you to the course and what you bring to the course. Is there subject matter in the course that is particularly meaningful to you? Has this topic played a role in your own career? Sharing your connection to the material can help students find their own connection or more clearly understand how the course ties into their big picture goals.
• Make it clear how you can be contacted and under what circumstances. For example, should questions go to a TA or be brought to office hours? Do you respond to Canvas messages or do you prefer email to your UW address? Also let students know the timeframes for when they can expect a response. 

Where Can I See It?

• In BIS 261, instructor David Goldstein does a great job of introducing himself in a short video. He also provides a 16 minute screen capture video tour of the course to orient students on where to find content and how to successfully navigate the Canvas course.
• In ENVIR 100, instructors Kristi Straus & Yen-Chu Weng use a Course Expectations & Accommodations page in their Course Resources module to make it clear what they expect of students and what students can expect from them. 

Where Can I Learn More?

• UW CTL Creating a Welcoming and Supportive Learning Environment - Sarita Shukla (VIDEO)
• TTFI 2021 Module Activity 2.3: Conveying Presence and Care Online

What is This?

Regardless of teaching modality, the syllabus and schedule provide a road map to students for how they should navigate the course, including what is expected of them and where they can find different types of information about the course.

Often the schedule and syllabus are the first resources students engage with in a course, sometimes even before the class has officially begun. As a result, these resources are an essential part of orienting students to their course and connecting them to resources and support that will help them succeed.

Why Does It Matter?

• Students need to know when and how to participate in your course. Providing guidance in a single central resource helps, especially if the information is structured to be easily referenced throughout the course.
• Sharing course goals and how students’ work will be assessed helps students stay focused on the topics and activities that will most support their learning.
• In many contexts syllabi are a required part of a course, and students often expect to look at the syllabus at the beginning of a new course. Given the visibility of this document at an early point in the course, it’s critical that it is both clear in the information it presents and consistent with the tone of the course itself.

How Do I Do It?

• In general, a syllabus includes some version of the following information (not necessarily in this order):
  • Heading information: course title, meeting times, and names of instructors/TAs
  • The topic and central goals of the course (and optionally, how these goals might fit into students’ larger professional or academic goals)
  • Information on when, where, and how students will participate in the course (including a course schedule, either linked or directly in the Syllabus)
  • How students can communicate with the instructor(s) or TA(s)
  • What materials (texts, software, equipment, etc.) they need to complete this work
  • When work should be completed (informal and formal due dates, as well as systems of requesting extensions)
  • How their work will be assessed (grading scheme, including late policies)
  • Any other information students might need for how to succeed in the course (such as recommendations from the instructor or advice from past student)
  • What resources they can use to help in the course (office hours, library resources, student services, etc.)
  • Policy information required by your campus or department (please consult with your department chair or the Office of the Registrar for more information)
• The syllabus does not have to go into detail for every assignment or class meeting, but should provide enough information for students to know where to look for the information they need for each of their course activities.
• Plan to share your syllabus with your student in a format (or multiple formats) that make it accessible and easy to reference later on.
  • If you start with a PDF or Word document version of your syllabus, please make sure this document is accessible for learners with disabilities. Instructors can use the Ally accessibility tool in Canvas to check uploaded files (including documents) for accessibility issues, and students can use Ally to download alternative formats of an uploaded file.
  • Consider providing a web-based version of your syllabus content as well to make it easier for students to access this information from a variety of devices.
  • In Canvas, the Syllabus tool allows you to (a) easily link to other Canvas resources within the syllabus, and (b) automatically generate a calendar for your course based upon due dates and calendar items inputted in Canvas.
  • In cases where your syllabus information requires more customization than the built-in Syllabus tool allows, you can also use one or more Canvas pages to host this information.

Where Can I Learn More?

UW-Specific Resources:

• Course and syllabus design - UW Center for Teaching and Learning 
• Syllabus Guidelines and Resources - Office of the University Registrar

External Resources:

• How to Create a Syllabus - Kevin Gannon, Chronicle of Higher Education 
• Constructing a Learner-Centered Syllabus: One Professor's Journey - Aaron S. Richmond, IDEA
• How do I use the Syllabus as an instructor? - Canvas Community
• How do I create a new page in a course? - Canvas Community

What is This?

It’s important that online course resources, activities, and information are organized in a way that will help your students find what they need. Ultimately, the success of a course organizational scheme depends on using a consistent structure across different parts of the course, with naming conventions that identify the purpose of each course material. This is best achieved by organizing the materials for each week or unit of the course in the same order and labeling each resource clearly so that students know what each resource is and why they need to open it.

Why Does It Matter?

• Extra time that students spend searching for readings, assignments, or other resources is time that’s taken away from their learning.
• Inability to find resources can be discouraging and frustrating for students , and can result in students accidentally missing important assignments, readings, or deadlines.
• If resources are difficult to find in a course, this won’t impact all students equally - those with more previous experience using Canvas will likely be more comfortable clicking around or asking questions. [Citation]
• A well-organized course can actively draw students toward your course. It signals that the instructor or instructional team respects students’ time and wants them to succeed, making the online course environment feel more welcoming.

How Do I Do It?

• Modules - provide a linked outline of core activities and resources for the course in one place. In Canvas, this is most easily achieved using the Modules feature.
  • In each unit or module, provide an overview page of that unit’s objectives and the resources or tools students need to focus on, broken into categories based on the type of work (Weekly objectives, Readings, Homework, etc.)
  • Consider arranging course materials and assignments chronologically. In particular, setting up one module for each week of the course can help students quickly find their place in course work and identify what deadlines or activities require their attention.
• Naming conventions - use clear and descriptive labels for files, pages, modules, and assignments. This can help for when students need to skim or search for the right resource in your files or modules. 
  • It helps to use a similar naming convention across course materials of the same type. For instance, if your first assignment is titled “Homework 1 - Chapters 2-3,” it will help to label the next assignment “Homework 2 - Chapters #-#.”
  • Using naming conventions that relate to the unit numbers or week of the course can make skimming easier, particularly if your course uses a similar structure of assignments for each unit.
  • Make sure the assignment and resource names are consistent with those in the syllabus, too - this helps with navigation and with students’ understanding of where each activity sits in the overall structure of the course.
• Eliminate unnecessary links or information (e.g., extra navigation links in Canvas) - this can help students focus on the tools and resources that they need.
• Test your course navigation to see how it works.
  • In Canvas, use the Student View to preview navigation from a student perspective. Check to make sure the order and titles of links makes sense and connect to the right resources.
  • Consider having a colleague test your course navigation from the perspective of a student and provide feedback.
• Course Tour - If, after organizing your course to the best of your ability, it still seems like it might be difficult to navigate, consider facilitating a short virtual tour of your online course materials.
  • To keep the tour brief, you can focus on demonstrating how the materials are organized in general, using one or two modules as an example, as well as where to find critical information. 
  • While this activity can happen during a scheduled class session, you can also facilitate this tour through a screen-captured video or a written guide with screenshots. These asynchronous approaches also make it easier for students to revisit this information if needed.

Where Can I Learn More?

• Explore the UW Canvas Course Template - IT Connect 
• Canvas Modules Overview (Instructors) - Instructure Community

Why Does This matter?

Feeling welcome, included, and connected to others is crucial to students’ ability to learn, whether they are learning in a physical or digital classroom. A sense of connection is especially important in online courses because students' physical and often temporal distance can produce a sense of disconnectedness and isolation. Establishing connections between you and your students and between students themselves - is fundamental to effective, human-centered online course design.

How Do I create communication norms and channels?

Robinson, Segal and Smith (2015) stated that “Effective communication is also a two-way street. It’s not only how you convey a message so that it is received and understood by someone in exactly the way you intended, it’s also how you listen to gain the full meaning of what’s being said and to make the other person feel heard and understood.”

You can create a foundation for a sense of connection by:

• Clearly articulating communication preferences (i.e., email, phone, email through Canvas), including how often students should check for updates and where to look for course communications.
• Clearly stating how to reach all members of the instructional team and articulating expected response times.
• Establishing, sharing, or offering students an opportunity to co-create “netiquette” standards or other course norms to guide learner interactions.
• Providing students with an opportunity at the beginning of the term to introduce themselves and get to know others in the course.
• ​​Learning and using students’ names while modeling inclusive language.

Where Can I Learn More?

• Pilcher, Amy J.. “Establishing Community in Online Courses: A Literature Review.” (2016).
• Venable, M. (July 22, 2015)  “Make a personal connection in your online classroom.” http://www.onlinecollege.org/2013/07/22/make-a-personal-connection-in-your-online-classroom/
• 20 Ways to Create Social Presence Online
• Kilgore, W. (2016). Let’s talk: Effectively Communicating with your Online Students. Humanizing Online Teaching and Learning.

How Do I Get Help or Contribute?

For help building learning experiences aligned with this standard, contact your local instructional support team.

• UW Bothell Digital Learning and Engagement Team, uwbdl@uw.edu
• UW Seattle, Center for Teaching and Learning, thectl@uw.edu or Learning Technologies
• UW Tacoma, Office of Digital Learning, athelp@uw.edu

Why Does It Matter?

The role of the instructor in course interactions is among the most critical for student success in online courses. Students who perceived that they had high levels of interaction with the instructor also had high levels of satisfaction with the course and reported higher levels of learning, compared to students who thought they had less interaction. An active presence on the part of the instructor—one in which they actively guide and coordinate the class—relates positively to both a students' sense of connectedness and learning. 

How Do I Do It?

• Create a welcome page that sets the tone for an online “first class” experience. 
• Build a Community Forum
• Hold virtual office hours
• Provide timely feedback 
• Seek input from students on how the course is going through mid-quarter check-ins or evaluations

Where Can I Learn More?

• 20 Ways to Create Teaching Presence Online
• Arbaugh, J. B. (2008). Does the community of inquiry framework predict outcomes in online MBA courses? International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 9(2).
• Shea, P., Li, C. S., & Pickett, A. (2006). A study of teaching presence and student sense of learning community in fully online and web-enhanced college courses, The Internet and Higher Education, 9(3), 175-190. 
• Swan, K. (2001). Virtual interactivity: Designing factors affecting student satisfaction and perceived learning in asynchronous online courses. Distance Education, 22(2). 306-331

How Do I Get Help or Contribute?

For help building learning experiences aligned with this standard, contact your local instructional support team.

• UW Bothell Digital Learning and Engagement Team, uwbdl@uw.edu
• UW Seattle, Center for Teaching and Learning, thectl@uw.edu or Learning Technologies
• UW Tacoma, Office of Digital Learning, athelp@uw.edu

What is Student-to-Student Interaction?

One of the assumptions people often make about online learning is that it is a lonely endeavor. They imagine isolated students, working alone, without any human connection. It is certainly possible to develop an online class where students never interact with one another and It is just as possible to develop a face-to-face class with limited human connection. It is the dynamic give and take between students that builds community, connectedness and shared learning experiences. In both face-to-face settings and online settings, instructors need to be intentional about creating opportunities for students to connect with each other.

Why Does Student-to-Student Interaction Matter?

Student-to-student interaction is a vital part of any course experience. In the online space, unless required, students could progress through the course without ever interacting with another student. Students who work cooperatively tend to do better on tests, demonstrate higher levels of reasoning and a stronger ability to apply knowledge to new situations. Evidence suggests students who are given opportunities to work in diverse groups develop a deeper understanding and broader recall of content than students in homogeneous groups. Research from the University of Oregon Teaching Effectiveness Program found that online discussion produced higher levels of learner-to-learner interaction compared to face-to-face discussion. Getting students connected with one another builds motivation and lessens feelings of isolation

How Do I Facilitate Student-to-Student Interactions?

There are many ways to facilitate student-to-student interactions and help students build rapport with one another, encourage discussion, and allow students to interact and collaborate in real-time while applying newly acquired knowledge. 

• Develop a guided introduction or ice-breaker activity
• Having students collaborate in groups is one of the most effective ways to foster active learning and build learner-to-learner interaction.
• Asking students to post introductions in a discussion forum or work in teams to facilitate class discussion
• Create Active Learning Opportunities

Where Can I Learn More?

• 10 Tips for Effective Online Discussions
• Rising Above the LMS: Hacking Online Discussion
• Active Learning for Your Online Classroom: Five Strategies Using Zoom
• Learning Activities and Active Learning Online

How Do I Get Help or Contribute?

For help building learning experiences aligned with this standard, contact your local instructional support team.

• UW Bothell Digital Learning and Engagement Team, uwbdl@uw.edu
• UW Seattle, Center for Teaching and Learning, thectl@uw.edu or Learning Technologies

UW Tacoma, Office of Digital Learning, athelp@uw.edu

What is Instructor Presence?

“Instructor presence” refers to students’ sense that you are actively and visibly engaged in the course. Establishing instructor presence is critical to online learner success. While technology mediates interaction in online courses, it does not eliminate students' need for human presence, care, and agency. Establishing connections by signalling your presence - whether that presence is synchronous or asynchronous - is fundamental to effective, human-centered online course design.

Why Does instructor presence matter?

A lot of faculty who haven’t taught online are deeply skeptical of it, in part because they believe that distance and technology make meaningful interaction and a sense of community impossible. But, as many of us learned during the pandemic shift to emergency remote teaching, it is possible to build community in digital spaces and your “presence” makes all the difference. A number of research studies confirm that instructor presence—a learner's sense that the instructor is actively and visibly engaged in the course—is a crucial variable in online learner success and satisfaction.

How Do I Create and Maintain Instructor Presence?

• Introduce yourself through a welcome video or instructor introduction page in Canvas.
• Articulate your availability for one-on-one meetings. Give students the opportunity to schedule time with you in case they can’t come to your office hours. Many online instructors actually don’t schedule set office hours, but work with individual students to set appointments.
• Provide feedback on assignments. You can do this by adding comments to an assignment while you’re grading, by using a detailed rubric (which you share with students in advance), and by programming feedback directly into Canvas quizzes/exams as you’re building your assessments.
• Facilitate student discussion (but don’t dominate it!) and consider using announcements to provide summaries of the ideas that emerged in the course’s discussion forums.

Where Can I Learn More?

• UW Center for Teaching and Learning, Engage Students. 
• Jaggars, S, et al. “Creating an Effective Online Presence.” Community College Research Center, April 2013.

How Do I Get Help or Contribute?

For help building learning experiences aligned with this standard, contact your local instructional support team.

• UW Bothell Digital Learning and Engagement Team, uwbdl@uw.edu
• UW Seattle, Center for Teaching and Learning, thectl@uw.edu or Learning Technologies
• UW Tacoma, Office of Digital Learning, athelp@uw.edu

What does providing multiple means of engaging content mean?

A significant part of our role as instructors involves creating and organizing learning materials and opportunities that will help students engage. In online courses, the way students engage with content is always mediated by technology. Presenting instructional materials in a variety of ways (reading a text, viewing lectures & multimedia, listening to podcasts, reinforcing learning through publisher resources) provide students with options on how they consume content. 

Why Does It Matter?

Providing students with multiple ways of engaging with course materials can help increase their access to your content. Because students’ ability to process information and access prior knowledge differs greatly, providing multiple pathways into the content (e.g., through text or video), makes sense. Allowing students choice in how they engage ideas and demonstrate their understanding also allows them to make the ideas they encounter in the course relevant to their own experiences.

How Do I Do It?

In the early days of online learning, many were enthralled by every whiz-bang new tech feature that came down the pike. But we soon learned that just because it can be done in a course, doesn't mean it should be done in a course. The goal is to focus your students on your content, not the technology. While variety is good, online courses also need a measure of consistency. In online courses, students often interact with content through:

• Text-based webpages (like the one you're reading now) 
• Images and diagrams
• Videos
• Digitized documents 
• Audio resources like podcasts or music files
• Utilization of publisher Support Resources

Where Can I Learn More?

• CAST (2018). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines.

How Do I Get Help or Contribute?

For help building learning experiences aligned with this standard, contact your local instructional support team.

• UW Bothell Digital Learning and Engagement Team, uwbdl@uw.edu
• UW Seattle, Center for Teaching and Learning, thectl@uw.edu or Learning Technologies
• UW Tacoma, Office of Digital Learning, athelp@uw.edu

What does “accessibility” mean?

Accessibility is the degree to which a product, device, program, service, resource, or environment is available to a student. 

Why is accessibility important?

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 32% of students in higher education have at least one disability. Many decide not to report their disabilities and some students may not even be aware that they have disabilities. Given this, we should adopt a “born-accessible” mindset and be proactive and intentional about designing courses and assignments that are accessible.

How can I make my course more accessible?

It’s easy to get overwhelmed with the process of making a course accessible, particularly if we have a lot of materials that we already developed without thinking about accessibility. Set yourself 1-2 achievable goals each quarter and start small.

• Use fewer PDFs. Well-formatted Word documents, PowerPoint files, and Canvas pages are more accessible than PDFs.
• Use the heading styles, list formatting, and other accessible features that are built into Canvas, Word, PowerPoint, Google, and other tools.
• Check broken links in Canvas, using the Canvas Link Validation tool.
• Use the Ally accessibility tool for Canvas to ensure images and downloadable files meet web accessibility requirements. 
• Check the accessibility of your Canvas text with the Canvas Accessibility Checker.
• Provide information on alternatives for students in need of testing accommodations, including what to do to receive additional time on timed assessments.
• Caption videos or include accessible transcripts.
• Make sure the images you use have good alt text descriptions and that you load these into your Canvas courses. 

Where can I learn more?

• UW Designing Accessible Online Course page
• UW DO-IT Center, What is Universal Design?
• UW Accessible Technology,  IT Accessibility Checklist
• Accessibility Features page

• NCES. (2017). Distribution of students enrolled in postsecondary institutions by level, disability status, and selected student characteristics.

How Do I Get Help or Contribute?

For help building learning experiences aligned with this standard, contact your local instructional support team.

• UW Bothell Digital Learning and Engagement Team, uwbdl@uw.edu
• UW Seattle, Center for Teaching and Learning, thectl@uw.edu or Learning Technologies
• UW Tacoma, Office of Digital Learning, athelp@uw.edu

What is an inclusive learning environment?

An inclusive learning environment is one in which students of all backgrounds and abilities feel welcome, safe, and valued. 

Content is viewed from multiple perspectives and presented in a manner that reduces students' risk of marginalization and, wherever possible, helps them understand that experiences, values, and perspectives influence how they construct knowledge. 

Why Does Having an Inclusive Classroom Matter?

Research indicates that inclusive pedagogies and design positively impact student learning. Inclusive environments can help reduce stereotype threat, increase retention and persistence, increase self-awareness, promote student engagement, and make space for difficult conversations. 

How Do I Make My Classroom More Inclusive?

To promote positive interactions instructors can pursue a number of different strategies, including:

• Include content from multiple perspectives
• Learn about your students at the beginning of the quarter and allow them to draw on their backgrounds and experiences in assignments
• Provide accessible content from the start so it is available to all students.
• Provide and model grounds rules for communication, behavior and respect (e.g., Netiquette, addressing students by preferred name and using pronouns appropriately)
• Provide students with different ways to demonstrate their abilities
• Periodically ask students for feedback on the course climate & their learning experiences. Make adjustments or modifications where necessary.

Where Can I Learn More?

• Inclusive Teaching at UW page
• Increasing Inclusivity in the Classroom
• Strategies to Encourage Students to Turn Their Cameras On

The Research Basis for Equity Focused Teaching - Center for Research on Learning and Teaching University of Michigan

How Do I Get Help or Contribute?

For help building learning experiences aligned with this standard, contact your local instructional support team.

• UW Bothell Digital Learning and Engagement Team, uwbdl@uw.edu
• UW Seattle, Center for Teaching and Learning, thectl@uw.edu or Learning Technologies
• UW Tacoma, Office of Digital Learning, athelp@uw.edu

What are UW institutional guidelines for stating academic and institutional policies?

The UW Syllabus Guidelines and Resources webpage, maintained by the UW Curriculum Office in collaboration with the Faculty Council on Academic Standards (FCAS) provides guidelines intended to assist faculty in meeting this goal. 

• UW Bothell should consult the syllabus template requirements of their particular school.

• UW Tacoma faculty should consult the Faculty Assembly Required & Suggested Syllabi Services Statements and their particular school.

How Do I Get Help or Contribute?

For help building learning experiences aligned with this standard, contact your local instructional support team.

• UW Bothell Digital Learning and Engagement Team, uwbdl@uw.edu
• UW Seattle, Center for Teaching and Learning, thectl@uw.edu or Learning Technologies

UW Tacoma, Office of Digital Learning, athelp@uw.edu

Why is it important to be flexible and offer students alternative ways to engage?

Students face multiple responsibilities and circumstances beyond their academics. Showing grace and understanding demonstrates that we care. Providing alternative means for engagement and interaction with course content and activities creates more equitable learning experiences for students. 

How Do I Do It?

A good way to build flexibility into your course is to adopt Universal Design for Learning principles in your course and assignment design. 

• Provide alternative ways for students to demonstrate knowledge
• Provide students’ choice in formats for completing an assignment (e.g., paper, slide presentation, video, etc.).
• Record lectures for viewing outside of class. This allows learners an opportunity to revisit material, watch with captions, watch at a slower pace, and pause to take notes or right down questions.
• Have an established (but flexible) late work policy.  
• Consider using positive language around late grades and turning assignments in late. Positivity can help motivate students to finish the assignments even if the grade is less than 100%.

Where Can I Learn More?

• UDL: Getting Started
• Incentivize! Don’t Penalize: Revisiting Late Policies for Online Students

How Do I Get Help or Contribute?

For help building learning experiences aligned with this standard, contact your local instructional support team.

• UW Bothell Digital Learning and Engagement Team, uwbdl@uw.edu
• UW Seattle, Center for Teaching and Learning, thectl@uw.edu or Learning Technologies
• UW Tacoma, Office of Digital Learning, athelp@uw.edu

What are the different types of assessment?

Assessments are a key component of any course and allow faculty to monitor student progress towards course learning outcomes. Assessments can take many different forms, from quizzes, discussion boards, projects or presentations to drafts or components that build upon one another towards a final product.

There are two basic categories of assessment: formative and summative. Formative assessments are those that provide ongoing, process- or progress-based feedback to learners as they are learning. These types of assessments typically take the form of low-stakes activities or learning checks and can help instructors get a sense of learners’ strengths and weaknesses in a certain area. 

Summative assessment “sums up” what students have learned about a particular concept and typically comes at the end of a learning unit. Instructors often use performance on summative assessments as an indication that learners have (or have not) met particular learning objectives. 

It is important to design assessments that align with your learning objectives and to balance the ways in which students can demonstrate their skills and competencies.

Why is it important to have assessments that are sequenced and varied?

Research shows students learn better when given opportunities to apply their knowledge. True assessment helps students monitor their learning as they progress and helps guide instructors in their instruction throughout the course.

Varied assessments enable students to use their strengths and experiences to demonstrate their understanding. No one form of assessment is optimal for all learners, which is why providing multiple options for engagement is core to Universal Design for Learning principles. Offering multiple modes of assessment ensures that students who struggle with one mode of assessment (e.g. multiple-choice exams) can demonstrate their learning in a way that they feel more confident.

Sequencing or “scaffolding” assessments build toward higher-order thinking and explore complex ideas and skills. Rooted in Vygotsky’s theory of the “zone of proximal development,” scaffolding chunks complex ideas and tasks in a way that allows students to gradually push beyond their existing knowledge and skill base without becoming overwhelmed.

How can I build varied, sequenced assessments?

• Think about the different ways a student might demonstrate their understanding or ability. For example, students might demonstrate their understanding through a research paper or a demonstration video or a business plan. Offer learners a choice of assessment methods or vary the type of assessments you use from week to week.
• Think of the component skills that are required for a larger/deeper project or assessment. Develop smaller assignments that build upon each other. You might consider taking into account Bloom’s taxonomy and start with assignments focused on developing understanding and remembering, and then add assignments that build up to higher level critical thinking.
• Avoid only using high-stakes assessments. Consider providing practice or low stakes opportunities for students to show progress and process.

Where Can I Learn More?

• University of Waterloo Center for Teaching Excellence
• University of Michigan Center for Writing
• Texas Tech Teaching, Learning, & Professional Development Center
• Maki, Peggy L. “Developing an Assessment Plan to Learn about Student Learning.” The Journal of Academic Librarianship 28.1 (2002): 8–13. 
• Why should assessments, learning objectives, and instructional strategies be aligned? Carnegie Mellon University Eberly Center Teaching Excellence & Educational Innovation

How Do I Get Help or Contribute?

For help building learning experiences aligned with this standard, contact your local instructional support team.

• UW Bothell Digital Learning and Engagement Team, uwbdl@uw.edu
• UW Seattle, Center for Teaching and Learning, thectl@uw.edu or Learning Technologies
• UW Tacoma, Office of Digital Learning, athelp@uw.edu

Why is it important to provide descriptive criteria [and performance standards]?

In every assignment, instructors look for students to meet certain basic standards or expectations. For example, in a writing assignment, you might expect students to demonstrate an ability to develop a thesis, support claims with evidence, state thoughts clearly, write in a scholarly or professional manner, and/or format their work according to a certain style guide. Each of these constitute a criterion or category by which you will measure a student’s performance.

For students to succeed, though, they need to understand what constitutes excellence in each of these categories. For example, if having a thesis is important to the assignment, what characteristics of the thesis will distinguish an excellent thesis from a mediocre thesis? Without this information, students can quickly develop grade- or assignment-related anxiety, which can negatively impact their performance on an assignment. Being transparent about the purpose of an assignment and providing descriptive criteria helps students better understand your expectations and how they will be evaluated.

How Do I Do It?

Instructors should be transparent about the purpose of an assessment, what students are expected to demonstrate and the process by which they will be evaluated. 

• ​​Clearly state your grading policy at the beginning of the course. Include information on how grades are calculated and the relationship between final letter grades and overall points, percentages, and assignment weights (if applicable). 
• Provide assignment instructions that describe submission requirements and outline acceptable formats/style guidelines (length, formatting, citation convention, etc.)
• Create clear and well-defined rubrics to reduce grading bias.
• Include examples for students that demonstrate submission expectations.

Where Can I Learn More?

• Assessing Reflections DePaul Teaching Commons
• Assessment and Bias DePaul Teaching Commons
• Assessment Vanderbilt Center for Teaching
• Assessing Student Learning, UW Center for Teaching and Learning

How Do I Get Help or Contribute?

For help building learning experiences aligned with this standard, contact your local instructional support team.

• UW Bothell Digital Learning and Engagement Team, uwbdl@uw.edu
• UW Seattle, Center for Teaching and Learning, thectl@uw.edu or Learning Technologies
• UW Tacoma, Office of Digital Learning, athelp@uw.edu

How Do I Get Help or Contribute?

For help building learning experiences aligned with this standard, contact your local instructional support team.

• UW Bothell Digital Learning and Engagement Team, uwbdl@uw.edu
• UW Seattle, Center for Teaching and Learning, thectl@uw.edu or Learning Technologies

UW Tacoma, Office of Digital Learning, athelp@uw.edu