To complete this template, please follow the directions that follow. The highlighted sections are where you change the text to make it your own and to complete your personal reflection.

1. Title: Replace the "Course number: Name of Course" with your course number and name, for example "Math 110: Precalculus". Also, replace "short description of course" with a short description of your course. (delete this paragraph after you have completed this.)

Photo 130: Photoshop and Lightroom for Photographers

PHOTO 130 is an intermediate Photography course that teaches Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop for digital photography. Students create projects using their own digital photos, using Adobe Lightroom to organize and edit photos, and Photoshop to retouch and enhance their images. Basic image exporting and printing are covered. Significant photographic works are presented and discussed to provide a context for the production and critique of photographic images. This is required for Photography majors.

2. Reflection: Read the directions for each paragraph and enter your text in where it says "Start typing here". Your reflection should be 3 short paragraphs - about 200-250 words (remove these instructions when you are done with the block.)

Reflection on Instructional Change:

I accept unlimited resubmissions on all my assignments except for events that are time specific and require a student to be present. An example of this would be an artist talk or a class critique for a face to face class. I have had this policy for the past few years and have found that it works really well. I let the students know that what is important to me is that they master the content of the course, not that they get it the first time around. This is particularly helpful in my online asynchronous courses as multiple submissions with detailed, constructive feedback emulates in class feedback on assignments during the lab time. Through this workshop, I have learned that this is an equitable grading practice.

Students react well to the resubmission policy. They are grateful for it and I am grateful for their persistence in learning techniques that can be quite tricky at first. A fear I've heard many faculty members express is that it will make their grading burden too large. What I've found is that yes, there is more grading. But, typically the resubmissions aren't as lengthy a grading process if you're good at giving really clear feedback. Given the results of having the students gain a better mastery of the subject, I think it's well worth it. Sometimes this feedback will even be a video showing the student how to do something they're clearly having trouble with in the assignment. That is the most detailed feedback I give if a student is unable to attend office hours to get additional help.

The most important part of this class for me was the experience of being in a class that practiced equitable grading strategies. The aspect that affected me most was that there was no penalty for late work and a respect for my life outside of the class. I needed to turn in work late to be able to do a good job on it. Julie's response to this was always positive and supportive. I could feel the stress of deadlines that my life wouldn't let me meet, and it was fantastic to be able to let go of that stress and still do my best work in the class. The feedback I received was also very specific and felt as though I was having a conversation with a colleague. This made me feel as if the work I was doing was being seen and that felt really good. Based on this experience, I am removing my penalty on late work and am asking my students to keep an open dialog with me about needing extensions to complete their work. I am also balancing my feedback on small assignments as being concise (to keep grading manageable) and framing feedback on larger assignments as a respectful and helpful conversation about the work.

(OPTIONAL) Dig Deeper Prompts. Choose one (or both) of the prompts below.

You will find the grading section of my Photo 130 class pre and post the class in the Files section.

Faculty Biography

3. Faculty Bio:

My name is Amy Oliver and I am a professor as well as a fine art and documentary photographer. 26 years ago, I began my study of photography at a community college in my hometown in North Carolina. My recent projects have included abstract aerial landscapes, a book about taco trucks, a series about the Los Angeles Public Pools, a project about Ventura, CA and a still life project looking at the (sometimes) beautiful mess I find around my own home.

I began teaching at Los Angeles City College in 2007 and then taught at Pasadena City College, Ventura College, and College of the Canyons. This experience led me to becoming an Associate Professor at Glendale Community College. I'm very happy to be here.

When I’m not teaching or taking pictures, I enjoy surfing, playing my mandolin, and adventuring with my husband and little boy, Jack (7 years old).

Amy Oliver

This work was supported by the Title V Hispanic-Serving Institutions Grant, Adelante GCC, the Innovation Grant and the LEAD program (Language Equity Across Disciplines).