Preparing Your Course for QM Certification:

Four Standards

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Soc 126: Sociology of Gender

Course Description

Sociology of Gender is an asynchronous upper-division Area D GE lecture course. In the past, I have taught it with 80 to 120 students in one section. Next semester I will have two sections of 40 students.

**Motivation for Preparing Your Course for QM Certification: 4 Standards Participation**

I have taught online courses regularly since 2020. I previously enrolled in an FLC on APPQMR, (Applying the Quality Matters Rubric) and I decided to participate in this FLC because I learned that I have much work to do, especially in terms of creating module objectives that align with the pre-determined course objectives, and aligning them with assessments and other parts of the course. Two of the general standards I worked on were GS2 Learning Objectives and GS3 Assessment and Measuring. This will benefit students, as it will ensure that they are learning material and being assessed in ways that fit the module-level, course-level, and university level outcomes.

I also wanted to evaluate two of the general standards I had worked on before to find out what else I could do. I wanted to ensure my course was welcoming and had clear instructions for getting started, which was assessed with GS1, Course Overview and Introduction. This will benefit students from the first day of class: it should be easy for them to see how to get started and how to progress through the modules. I also wanted to ensure my course was accessible and used UDL, which was assessed with GS8. This will benefit all students, but particularly those with learning disabilities.

Alignment or Engagement Changes Addressed in Course

GS1 Course Overview and Introduction

I started by assessing GS1, the course overview and introduction. I had previously spent much effort on the homepage and course navigation. I was pleased that this work is mostly finished. The home page has vital information about the course, including: a heading “Welcome to Sociology of Gender Fall 24”; information about the instructor and the asynchronous format; computer and software requirements; how to contact me and participate in office hours; a course description; instructions on getting started; a downloadable syllabus in both MS Word and Adobe PDF format; and a list of links to the modules.

Someday, I want to learn how to use menu tabs, like the SMART demonstration in this course, or the SRS standards for each module. I could use this to have more information on the home page, but it would be less cluttered and easier to navigate. I looked up how to do this, but it requires coding and using the HTML editor, which I have never done.

GS8 Accessibility

I also assessed the course for GS8, accessibility. I have been working to make everything accessible, which is important for students with disabilities. My first score was 91%: I deleted some old files and reformatted one, now it is 96%. The remaining issues include a flyer from the Writing Center, which I cannot alter. My syllabus also needs some work, which I will do when I revise it for spring.

GS2 Learning Objectives and GS3 Assessment and Measuring

Lastly, I looked at GS2 Learning Objectives and GS3 Assessment and Measuring. When I first started teaching, there were no course objectives, and then later I included them on the syllabus, but they were not foundational to the course design. It is only recently that I have focused on the objectives. My goal is to make the course objectives central to the course, to determine module-level objectives, and then begin to align them with assessments, materials, and activities.

For this FLC I created a course map for the first five modules, focusing on the learning objectives and the assessments. The biggest change was to add measurable module-level learning objectives for each of the first five modules.

Evidence of Redesign

Examples of Redesign
the "getting started" section of the home page with links to course modules	top: accessibility score before bottom: accessibility score after	A section of the new coursemap with module-level objectives.	A test question that asks students to identify the term sex.

Plan for Redesign

I am still in the beginning stages of redesigning my course using QM standards. I do not have a set timeline, although I plan to keep working on this course every semester.

Two of the standards I assessed in this FLC have met the essential standards: GS1, Course Overview and Introduction, and GS8, Accessibility. I now need to assess the non-essential standards.

Two standards I worked on before need to be assessed: GS 6 Course Technology and GS 7 Learner Support.

Of the standards related to alignment – GS 2, GS 3, GS 4, and GS 5 – I worked on GS2 Learning Objectives and GS 3 Assessment.

I have much to do in terms of alignment. For GS 2, I need to create module-level objectives for the last 10 weeks of the course, and continue to revise those for the first five weeks. I have not yet worked on or assessed GS 4 Instructional Materials and GS 5 Learning Activities and Learner Interaction. I also need to review the non-essential standards for GS3, Assessment.

Additionally, for GS3, Assessment, I need to figure out how to communicate to students that each assignment is worth a percentage of their grade that is not related to how many points the assignment is worth. When assessing this, I was thinking only in terms of percentages, as per the syllabus, but a few days later I realized that each assignment is also associated with points in Canvas, which can be confusing to students. For example, the activity on the gendered pay gap is worth 5% of their semester grade, but it is 22 points, while each essay is worth 10% of their semester grade, but it is divided into 100 points.

The next step would be to complete the course map, and then implement this new map into the course. When working on the course map this semester, I found it easier to work on each module rather than to focus on each standard, so for the first 5 weeks I have worked on filling out all of the columns. Adding to the map will be my focus for further work on this course.

**Faculty Bio**
Professor Michelle Durden with her cat Mister Whiskers	Michelle Durden has been working as a lecturer in the department of sociology at Sacramento State since 2008. She regularly teaches Sociology of Gender, Ethnic and Race Relations, and Self & Society, which is a writing intensive course. She lives in Sacramento with her husband and their two cats, Mister Whiskers and Ceasar Orange Julius.