Guiding Principles

The core guiding principle of the Keep Teaching Guide is to maintain a supportive, outcomes-focused, engaged, and media-rich online teaching environment. The most important aspect of Keep Teaching is student learning and an engaged student experience, while meeting regional and programmatic accreditation guidelines. Student communication is critical during this time, so please be sure to communicate with students frequently through Blackboard and university email about revised course plans, schedules, and course activities. 

During this time, we also want to encourage sharing of ideas and strategies for creative, innovative teaching applications using the rich variety of instructional technologies available to USAHS students and faculty.  To this end, please be sure to visit the ILIFE Community on Blackboard, which houses tutorials, faculty development information, as well as a forum for peer discussion. If you do not have access to the ILIFE Community, reach out to facultydevelopment@usa.edu to be added. 

Please also visit the ILIFE Site for all faculty development resources at ilife.usa.edu. Login with your usa.edu credentials.

Labs

Lab activities typically require specific equipment and supplies and are therefore difficult to fully translate into an online space in a short period of time. If you have a physical lab, consult with your Program Director to determine whether any lab hours and outcomes can be achieved using a combination of recorded and/or live video strategies. If any lab sessions can be implemented using online strategies and technologies, schedule a recording via the USAHS Digital Media Scheduling Form to create online lab demonstrations. Contact your Clinical Simulation Specialist to access pre-existing simulation media in the Simulation IQ digital library, or create your own virtual simulation experiences to engage your students when they are learning from a distance.

Faculty are encouraged to carefully review the learning outcomes associated with lab sessions and make reasonable determinations with Program Director guidance whether all or part of the learning outcomes can be achieved in a remote setting. The use of video demonstrations, written instructions, and remote practice may substitute for lab sessions with Program Director approval, with guidelines being determined by appropriate accrediting agencies. 

However, where specialized equipment or specific human interactions are required, this may not be reasonably possible. In this case, “make-up” lab sessions will be held in conjunction with supervised open-lab sessions focused on specific content that was missed. These sessions may be held in residency format or during weekends and evenings. Faculty, Program Directors, and Administration will coordinate and communicate scheduling details to students as soon as feasible.

For labs where make-up sessions will be scheduled, faculty should focus on preparing video materials that facilitate pre-lab preparation. This will also maintain course momentum and facilitate learning and understanding through the time that all instruction is virtual. Video can be used by faculty to demonstrate and simulate. Then, students can be instructed to perform the exercises in self-supervised remote settings and correlate the laboratory experience with theoretical course content. When students attend make-up sessions at a later date, they will be fully prepared to immerse and achieve the learning outcomes.

Visit our Virtual Labs and Practicals (Video and GoReact) page for further guidance on developing virtual lab experiences for students.

Communication with Students

Once you complete your Course Plan for Continuity, post a communication statement immediately to your students via email and Blackboard announcements regarding your course’s revised schedule and expectations. If you are planning to fully deliver any lab hours or practical exams virtually (instead of a make-up at a later date), you must have Program Director approval prior to communicating this to students. Be sure to attach an updated schedule with clear expectations and weekly communication. 

Remember, student communication is critical during this period. Post frequent announcements and updates, and always respond to student emails within 24 hours. Use Collaborate and RingCentral for real-time communication with students in your course. Consider email, VoiceThread and Kaltura for asynchronous communication. 

Video

Video is an important aspect of this continuity plan, both for student communication and engagement, as well as lab demonstration. Since the quality and clarity of instructional media, particularly video intended to demonstrate lab skills or concepts, is critical to student learning, all lab media must be recorded on campus. This will ensure proper lighting, sound, and a campus setting/backdrop appropriate to the lab environment. Refer to the Video section of this Guide for further detail about how to schedule video recordings or get support to plan your own recordings. Use Simulation IQ live streaming or pre-recording CICP media to substitute for face-to-face simulation experiences. Reference the Online Simulation Guide to access or create online media that will substitute for face-to-face simulations. RingCental can be used to set up a post-simulation debrief using the Pearls Debriefing Tool.

Visit our Instructional Video Support: Digital Learning and CICP/Simulation Teams page for information and support for instructional video.

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Live Streaming and Live Meetings

You may want to live stream some portion of the lab time that was scheduled before. It is not recommended that you attempt to live stream to the entire session due to connectivity and visual quality concerns. However, it is recommended that you offer students Blackboard Collaborate or RingCentral sessions to engage with each other and with instructors. Consult with your peers, your Program Director, and the Teaching, Learning and Innovation teams on ways to design and manage live sessions. For example, you might pre-record segments of lab demonstration, instruct students to practice in improvised, simulated home settings, and then schedule multiple smaller group Collaborate sessions with students to discuss and debrief application of those skills. Visit the Live Streaming Instructions page of this guide for further information and instructions for using these tools.

The Keep Teaching Showcase is a repository of innovative ideas that have been implemented by faculty across the university to deliver lab sessions and experiences for students online. If you see a video that you would like to use in your course, please email onlineedsupport@usa.edu and the team can embed the video in your course. All of the course media that is being created is reusable across our university network.

Assessment: Exams and Virtual Practicals

You will want to consider the structure and delivery of your assessments to students unable to attend campus. Consult your syllabus and consider changing the format of assessments so that students can receive and submit assignments remotely. Delivering frequent low-stakes assessments helps students stay connected to the course and can often be achieved virtually. High-stakes assessments that are hands-on in nature and cannot be implemented virtually should be delayed when possible until students return to campus. Academic integrity should be maintained in all assessments but especially high-stakes assessments (e.g., final exams). Review the Padagogy Wheel for ideas for designing formative and summative assessments at various levels.

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USAHS is supporting two approaches for online examination” Respondus (automated proctoring) OR ProctorU (human, live proctoring), which ensure a secure testing environment. Refer to the Administering Written Exams Online page of this Guide for further information about these and other options.

Lab practicals may require a face-to-face testing environment and may need to be rescheduled at a later date. However, if your practical can be implemented using a virtual format and has been approved by your Program Director via the Course Plan for Continuity form, these assessments can be hosted virtually via Collaborate, RingCentral, or Kaltura. Visit the and the pages of this guide for further information and instructions for using these tools. Use the Virtual Practical Template when working with your course team to design and implement a virtual practical.

Keep Teaching Resources