A Sheridan staff member will contact you to arrange for a brief meeting to hear about how your class is going, your goals for the observation, and any questions you may have. They will also work with you to finalize details for the day of the observation.

A Sheridan staff member will come to observe your course. For long seminars, we may work with you to determine a portion of the class that would be best for us to observe. Please let your students know in advance that the class will be observed for your benefit, not for evaluating student performance. During the observation, the Sheridan staffer will observe and take notes on the things they observe.

You and your observer will arrange a meeting to discuss their observations and your ideas for your class. They will also provide you with a brief written summary of the observation. This summary goes only to you, although you are welcome to share it as you like.

Faculty members may request teaching observations, consultations, and early student feedback with Sheridan staff by emailing sheridan_center@brown.edu at least two weeks prior to the date you would like to be observed.

A Sheridan consultant will meet or talk by phone with you to hear more about how your class is going, key goals, and questions you have. We also talk through the process you would like us to use to gather feedback (if not the one below) and the date that you would like us to visit your class.

On the date of your choosing, the Sheridan consultant will sit in the back of your class to observe, primarily for context. (The exception would be if there is anything you want us to look for, since we are there.) In the last 20 minutes, you turn the class over to us. After a very positive framing, we prompt your students to provide feedback in the following ways:

• Reflective Writing: We break the class up into small groups to write about key course strengths and suggestions for their learning. (This can be tailored to your own questions or to additionally prompt students to think about their own contributions to the learning environment.)
• Large-Group Discussion: After 5-7 minutes, we convene a large-group discussion to list key strengths and suggestions. We try to get a sense of consensus and ask questions when something is unclear or not related to student learning. Key ideas are listed on the board to check our understanding with students.

Within a week’s timeframe after the visit, the Sheridan consultant will write up a brief report for you about the student feedback and class observation, and meet with you to discuss. The last part of this conversation involves strategizing with you about how to “close the loop,” e.g., thank students for their feedback, note 1-2 things you could address in response, or discuss what you can’t change (and why). The individual report goes just to you, although you are welcome to share as you like.

Early in the semester (after the first major assignment is an ideal time), a Sheridan staff member will meet or talk by phone with you to hear more about how your class is going, key goals, and questions you have. We will then talk through the process for gathering feedback and the date that we will visit your class.

On the date of your choosing, a Sheridan staff member will come to the first 10 minutes of  your class. After explaining the process to your students, the staff member will prompt them to provide electronic feedback to three broad, qualitative questions: What is really helping you learn in this course? What could be improved in this course to support your learning? What could you do to improve your learning?

Over the course of the next few days, we will use a Python Notebook---a language processing tool---to generate a report of the major themes that emerged from the high volume of written responses. Leveraging this data, we will then develop a highly tailored set of class-specific statements with which your students will rate their level of agreement. This subsequent survey will be administered by a Sheridan staff member in the first 10 minutes of class one week after the first visit.

Within a week of the second visit, a Sheridan staff member will provide you with a data packet that includes a Qualtrics report, i.e., visualizations of the major patterns, including key areas of consensus and disagreement, in student responses to the survey questions administered. Along with the summary statistics from the second survey, you will receive a spreadsheet with all the raw student data collected. 

After discussing this diagnostic tool and its results and implications, we will strategize ways you might “close the loop,” e.g., thank students for their feedback, note 1-2 things you could address in response, or discuss what you can’t change (and why). The individual report goes just to you, although you are welcome to share as you like.

If you have an urgent Canvas issue, Canvas provides Brown with 24/7 support via chat (choose from the Help menu in Canvas) or phone (833-761-6970). You might also find the answer to your question in our Canvas knowledgebase articles.

For Zoom technical support, instructors should refer to the Zoom & Technical Help section of our website or contact help@brown.edu.

• Visit Using Zoom for Remote Teaching to get started.
• Visit Remote Teaching: Zoom and Panopto FAQ for additional insights.
• The Brown IT Service Center is available should you have trouble with software (e.g., Zoom, Google Apps, Brown Blogs, etc.) or your computer.
• Request an appointment to review your Zoom settings by emailing help@brown.edu.
• “Zoom Buddies” are available to assist you while teaching with Zoom. If you would like live technical support during your Zoom class, you can click the request button below.
  Zoom Buddy Request form

For Course Reserves support, instructors review the Library's Reserves Website or contact reserves staff at rock-reserves@brown.edu for assistance with managing reserves materials.

For Slack technical support, instructors should refer to the Slack Course Workspace Help Guides or contact OIT Support Center. 

If you have a question about Canvas (or one of our other Brown-supported course tools), course design, or implementing educational media, you can always email dld@brown.edu or sign up for a consultation below. (If you need Gradescope specific help, please use the Gradescope consult link below.)

Sign up for 1:1 consult Sign up for a Gradescope 1:1 consult