There has been a surge in the research literature in the last decade regarding faculty of color and college teaching. More specifically, the issues related to faculty of color teaching evaluations, instructor dispositions, and what actually occurs in the classroom.
Some scholars have discussed the need to focus on student perceptions of their instructors. Others have suggested altering the evaluation process of teaching. However, in this commentary I offer some suggestions on ways to improve the teaching and learning process for faculty of color teaching students. More specifically, I am writing about faculty of color teaching online.
Online teaching is fairly new territory for all instructors but especially for faculty of color in online teaching positions. It is my hope that these suggestions will offer a way for online instructors of color to make the technical process of course management seamless for students.
I have been college instructor for more than a decade. I have taught face to face, hybrid, and online courses. I have been an online instructor for five years at the same institution. I teach a variety of education courses online at a two year college where teaching is the prime focus. I prefer this type of institution since my background is actually in Education. I teach a 5/4 load every year and I teach summer courses as well.
Each year I teach, I revise my course as part of my goals for the academic year. I include new policies, update practices, revise my assessments, and strengthen my course powerpoints. It is something that I have been doing for the last six years. I highly recommend that instructors that teach online for the first time create a similar system. Also, I recommend that online instructors spend time creating a course that students can navigate.
First, online instructors should include everything in the course syllabus. I include the policies, procedures, course schedule, study guides, projects, paper description, and rubrics in the same document. I do this to ensure there is absolutely no excuse from students of whether they have read the syllabus and supporting materials.
Second, instructors should create a course syllabus as a contract. I require all students to read, sign, and submit the syllabus contract during the first week of class. This is to ensure they understand the course requirements. I also inform the students that this document is used during grade disputes or challenges at the end of the course.
