COVID-19 Resources: Instructors

Faculty of Arts Remote Teaching Guidelines: Winter 2021

The following guidelines apply to courses delivered remotely, entirely or in part, by the Faculty of Arts in Winter Term 2021. These guidelines replace the previously published Fall 2020 Remote Teaching Guidelines. As the public health situation evolves, these guidelines may be modified in response to public health and University directives. Nevertheless, the core principle remains the same: a student who cannot come to Montreal or who is in Montreal but cannot come to campus should not be disadvantaged.

1. The Faculty of Arts adopts in full the Guidelines for Instructors and Students on Remote Teaching, Learning, and Assessment (W2021), published by Teaching and Learning Services. All Instructors in the Faculty of Arts are expected to conform to those Guidelines in the delivery of courses in Winter 2021, with the following addenda.

2. It is expected that the window of availability for all examinations in the Faculty of Arts, whether “timed” or “take-home” (as defined in the TLS Guidelines) is at least 48 hours (72 hours minimum is recommended). The availability window for exams must be indicated in the course syllabus.

3. “Synchronous” (“fixed”) remote sessions must conform to the scheduled timetable. That is, a “fixed” session must be held during the time period scheduled in Banner for the course and appearing in Minerva. Discussion conferences must be scheduled in Banner and appear in Minerva. Courses and scheduled course components (such as conferences) must conform to the usual pattern (i.e., beginning at :05 or :35 and ending at :25 or :55, with sessions usually scheduled for 50 or 80 minutes for non-seminar courses). Note that remote conferences may be scheduled around the clock, e.g. a conference could be scheduled 22:05-22:55 EST to accommodate students in China (11:05-11:55 CST).

4. Although three credit hours equals 135 total hours of work for a course, including contact, reading, working on assignments and studying (see TLS Guidelines: A. Guidelines for Instructors, 4. Workload), the Faculty of Arts is mindful of the increased workload students experienced in Fall 2020 as a result of the shift to remote instruction. Therefore, in the Faculty of Arts, course components that simulate “contact hours” such as fixed or recorded lectures, discussion conferences, and in-class assessments may not exceed 39 hours total for the semester, and may not exceed 3 hours per week for a three-credit course.

5. It is expected that synchronous (fixed) lectures in courses in the Faculty of Arts will be recorded and made available to students.

6. For security reasons, instructors in the Faculty of Arts are reminded that they may use only McGill-approved software and platforms in the delivery of their course(s).

Remote Teaching Webinars

Learning from Remote Teaching Experiences: What Worked, What Didn’t? (August 6)

Learning from Remote Teaching Experiences - Professor Dunn's Presentation Slides

Learning from Remote Teaching Experiences - Professor Kleinman's Presentation Slides

Learning from Remote Teaching Experiences - Helpful Links

Crafting a (remote) learning community through close reading exercises (July 30)

Crafting a (Remote) Learning Community - Webinar Presentation Slides

Social Annotation Readings & Resources

Crafting a (Remote) Learning Community - Helpful Links

Designing Remote Assessments with Time Management and Academic Integrity in Mind (July 21)

Designing Remote Assessments - Webinar Presentation Slides

Engaging Students in Large Classes

Creating Engaging Group Discussions in Remote Teaching (July 16)

Creating Engaging Group Discussions - Webinar Presentation Slides

Strategies for Online Discussion Forums - Presentation Slides

Creating Engaging Group Discussions - Helpful Links

Remote Assessment Strategies: Examples from Arts Instructors (July 8)

Remote Assessment Strategies - Webinar Presentation Slides

Multiple Choice Exams Online - Presentation Slides

Remote Assessment Strategies - Helpful Links

Fostering Academic Integrity in the Remote Environment (June 19)

Fostering Academic Integrity - Webinar Presentation Slides

More Remote Teaching Resources

As some employees prepare to resume on-campus work, there are some guidelines to keep in mind. Please review the Employee Guide – Return to campus from Human Resources for more information, including when to go, what you should bring to campus, how you should travel there, and what to do once you are on campus

• Resources and Training for Instructors

• Teaching and Learning Services resource guide to using Zoom
• TLS resource Teaching Continuity Guide for Unplanned Course Interruptions
• Discipline Specific Resources for Remote Instruction
• Submit questions to TLS to request support for remote teaching
• Webform to inform Enrolment Services about plans to reconfigure Final Examination