Protocols for In-Person Teaching

As we are preparing for the start of the Spring 2021 term, it is worth taking a few minutes to review some of the protocols that are in place for us.

If you plan on returning to campus:

• All Castleton employees upon initial return to campus need to take a Vermont Occupational Safety and Health Administration training; this takes 15 minutes and it issues a certificate for Janet Hazelton to keep on file.
• Plan to adhere to the protocols for on-campus employees, which includes signing in to the building every day, wearing a mask when in public spaces of any building, and social distancing at all times.

If you are planning in-person classes:

• • You should review Provost Mauhs-Pugh’s responses to Frequently Asked Questions, if you haven’t.
  • Dean Proulx will be holding an open meeting on Tuesday, January 26, at 10:00 AM;  link below:
    • Tuesday January 26 10:00 AM
      https://vsc.zoom.us/j/82210926899
    • Meeting ID: 822 1092 6899

In a meeting on January 14, Dean Proulx shared some basic protocols not covered in Provost Mauhs-Pugh’s FAQ list.

• • On hallways:  the short answer is that there won’t be any directions for hallway traffic except the expectation that everyone in the hallway maintain social distancing.
  • On classroom cleaning:  Rooms will be professionally cleaned daily, typically in the evenings.  Cleaning agents are available in the classrooms for students and faculty to use as they see fit upon entry or exit of the room.
• Make sure that you are certain about the room capacity for your course.  The numbers haven’t changed since you planned your spring schedule in October, but you can review the room capacities by following this link.
• If your course enrollment exceeds the room capacity, then you will need to use some kind of hybrid approach.  Typically A Group one day; B Group another.   You will need to communicate this to students well in advance.  Find more information on hybrid courses from a summer workshop in the Remote Delivery Resources site.

If you are expecting to use new technology that Castleton has recently purchased to address the COVID situation in the classroom:

• In the past months, Castleton has made major purchases to outfit many rooms with instructor cameras, and some rooms are being equipped for teleconference instruction.  Purchase and delivery have been major logistical projects, and professional installations are ongoing.
• As these installations conclude, we will be announcing training sessions in which you can learn about the technology in your classroom and how to use it.  Watch your email for an announcement on this.
• Sarah Chambers will be holding an open meeting to review “the current state of A/V at Castleton”.  Link below:
  • Join Zoom Meeting
    https://vsc.zoom.us/j/81529610136
  • Meeting ID: 815 2961 0136
    Passcode: 315118

If you are planning to conduct a “blended learning” or “hy-flex” course:

• Blended learning refers here to a situation in which in which some students can access the course online and some can be present in the classroom either at the same time or accessing via a recording of the classroom (this is sometimes called hy-flex, as well):  Sarah Chambers and/or Chris Boettcher have been in touch about the current technology capacities of the room to which you are assigned.  If you haven’t been in contact with them, please contact Sarah ASAP!  We will confirm the technical capacity of your room and talk with you about pedagogical strategies if you need this help.
• Please note:  Provost Mauhs-Pugh has strongly advised that students are expected to attend in the modality for which they signed up and we are not to change the modality of a course.  So, for example, if your course is scheduled to be in-person hybrid, and a student approaches you and says that she can’t attend in-person, you are under no obligation to change the modality to create a blended or a-synchronous course for that student.
• Though we know you will be tempted to help specific students, be aware that doing so as a regular practice makes it more difficult for other instructors to hold the line.  (And doing so may increase your workload significantly.)  Additionally, you should be aware that your assigned classroom may not have the technology required for such contingencies; consult Sarah Chambers.

If you are offering a synchronous course:

You can access the recording of the January 19 workshop on  synchronous courses at the Remote Delivery Resources site.  Participants discuss (but don’t really arrive at) community standards for such subjects as “cameras on” and share ideas about practices to help engage more students.