Fall 2021 Instructional Updates
Posted: 2021-09-03 10:20:47 Expiration: 2021-09-30 10:20:47
Updates from Shirin Malekpour regarding instruction during COVID
Dear Colleagues,
Welcome to the start of the 2021-22 Academic Year. I am writing with updates related to Fall 21 semester instruction and answers to commonly asked questions. I appreciate and recognize that the start of the semester comes at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic presents continued uncertainty and challenges.
The rich instructor-student and student-student engagement is at the core of the UW-Madison residential learning experience. This is why our campus has committed to offering a semester that is primarily in-person. The expectation is that instructors are teaching their courses in the published modality (in-person for nearly all of our sections).
Common Questions about Teaching this Fall
- A high-level document that the Chancellor provided during her Leadership Summit on August 25, 2021 includes information about how the University is preparing and instructional FAQs. Please be on the lookout for a message from the Provost Office about the newly created Center for Teaching, Learning and Mentoring (CTLM).
- Teaching and Learning, Office of the Provost Fall 2021 webpage has additional FAQs, including communications to students about masking policies and how to respond to students who do not comply.
- The COVID-19 Response page, FAQ is a filterable guide to common questions about COVID-19 testing and safety measures.
- The L&S Fall 2021 Common Questions about Instruction page provides links and updates to relevant policies to support instructors during this time (masking, accommodations, modality changes, and more). We will update this page as new or different information becomes available.
Teaching & Technology Support
We are shifting away from the “batch lead” support structure that was previously in place to support remote instruction. Instructors and departments will continue to have teaching and technology support through the newly formed L&S Instructional Design Center (IDC). The IDC is made up of staff who were formerly part of L&S Learning Support Services. Please visit idc.ls.wisc.edu for a listing of their services and to connect with the team.
Course Tune-Up Initiative
The 2021 Fall semester brings a compelling new opportunity for transformative learning as we meld the best of our residential experience with the most promising technology-enabled practices that sustained us during more than a year of remote teaching. The L&S IDC is offering a Course Tune-Up Program to provide instructors with support to design an intentional “new normal” for their teaching. Sign-up at https://idc.ls.wisc.edu/course-tune-up-initiative/.
The past year and a half has not been easy (this is an understatement!) and I am grateful for your continued efforts in fulfilling the UW-Madison and L&S’s teaching mission.
Be well,
Shirin
-- Mead Witter School of Music: Anne Brutosky