Dean's Community Message

July 14, 2020

Dear College of Engineering Community,

Good afternoon. Exactly one week ago, I expressed the college’s great concern following the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announcement regarding the newly developed regulations for international students. Today, I write to you with good news as multiple media outlets are reporting that ICE has made the decision to rescind these regulations. Once again, I want to acknowledge the fact that our international students are critical to the intellectual vibrancy of our college and University. We are extremely grateful that our international students will no longer have to deal with the stress of these regulations.

Here are today’s updates:

Staff: Planning for Return to On-Site Work

Across the college, we know that our staff have questions about the University’s plans for a phased return to on-campus work and the implications and expectations for individuals and departments. Our goal is to host a college town hall on this topic as details are clarified. While we don’t yet fully know how the return to on-site work process will unfold and within what timeframe, it is important to reiterate that those who can effectively work remotely should continue to do so. We will continue to share additional information as it is available.

Guidance for Graduate Students Serving as TAs or Instructors of Record

The Penn State Graduate School has provided guidance for graduate students who are serving as TAs or Instructors of Record. As the University moves to residential teaching and learning for the fall, graduate student TAs and Instructors of Record who have concerns with in-person instruction are encouraged to follow the guidelines listed here.

Upcoming Workshops on Instructional Strategies and Technologies for FA20

The Leonhard Center (LC) and the Office for Digital Learning (ODL) will offer a weekly workshop series throughout July to help you prepare for teaching in the fall. The workshops will be offered in pairs: the first workshop focuses on instructional strategies and the second on instructional technologies. The next pair of workshops focus on building community. Registration is required.

• A little note goes a long way: Communicating with students to develop community within your classroom
  Tuesday, July 21, 9:00 to 10:30 a.m.
  Registration
• Digital Tools for Building Community
  Thursday, July 23, 3:00 to 4:30p.m.
  Registration

Teaching Tip #25 – Engaging students in different modes of instruction

If you normally have students turn and talk to each other in class, here are some ways to adapt that activity for various fall teaching modes:

• Physically Distanced Classroom – Assign partners who can talk six feet apart, have students “talk” via text or a shared document
• Remote Synchronous – Use Zoom chat feature to ask a question and let students reply with a brief response
• Remote Asynchronous – Assign partners and pose a question, asking them to share ideas in a Canvas discussion for the pair

Contact the Office for Digital Learning for help with your fall course design planning.

Penn State updates are available on the University’s coronavirus information site. You can connect with me on LinkedIn, and follow the college on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Be well!

Justin Schwartz
Harold and Inge Marcus Dean, College of Engineering