Sarah Silverman was an Instructional Designer from September 2020 – January 2024. Her areas of interest in instructional design include STEM teaching and learning, Universal Design for Learning and accessibility, and Culturally Responsive Pedagogy. Sarah earned her PhD in Entomology at UC Davis, where she taught online and hybrid courses in Entomology, Human Development, and Science and Society. Her research focused on the biodemography of wild insect populations. While at UC Davis, she worked in the Center for Educational Effectiveness as a coordinator of the Teaching Assistant Consultant program. Most recently, Sarah was an instructional consultant at UW Madison supporting STEM instructors through learning communities, courses, and workshops. Sarah teaches in the WGST program for UM-Dearborn.
Sarah’s Recent Blog Posts
- Complicating “flexibility” in online learning from a feminist perspective
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes This post is cross-posted from the Feminist Pedagogy for Teaching Online blog where it was originally published on March 15, 2022 The best of intentions When I put together the syllabus for my “Introduction to Critical Disability Studies” class this term, I deliberately made the schedule, assignments, and grading policy… Read More »Complicating “flexibility” in online learning from a feminist perspective - What you need to know about email privacy at University of MichiganEstimated read time: 4 minutes Note: This post pertains to email privacy policies at the University of Michigan. If you are not part of the UMich community we hope that this post will give you some ideas for questions that you can ask of your CIO or Privacy Officer. After receiving questions from the University… Read More »What you need to know about email privacy at University of Michigan
- Easy ways to make time for studentsEstimated reading time: 3 minutes Office hours are an important part of any course, and provide students the opportunity to ask questions and get to know their instructor. As teaching and learning have transitioned online, it is challenging to determine the best format for online office hours for both students and instructors. If you think… Read More »Easy ways to make time for students
- Digital Detox 3: Harm reduction and abstinence with Canvas analyticsEstimated reading time: 8 minutes Note: This post is part of our recently initiated Digital Detox series, which is designed to be in conversation with the Digital Detox resources at Middlebury College and Thompson Rivers University. Teaching online (especially during a pandemic) can sometimes feel lonely. During past teaching experiences, I got bogged down by… Read More »Digital Detox 3: Harm reduction and abstinence with Canvas analytics
- Tired of “post once, respond twice”? Rethinking discussion board activitiesEstimated reading time: 3 minutes Discussion board activities offer an opportunity for students to share their knowledge, debate, and otherwise interact with each other. Have your students been complaining about discussion board assignments, calling them “busy work” or a “waste of time”? Students may get bored with the standard post and reply discussion structure, or… Read More »Tired of “post once, respond twice”? Rethinking discussion board activities
