Zero Week

Best practices from SCC's Center for Teaching and Learning

Zero WeekBest practices from SCC's Center for Teaching andLearning

Zero Week

Zero Week is that week before the first day of online instruction in which the courses are open and students are encouraged to engage, interact, and get oriented prior to the “official” start date of classes.


Implementing Zero Week strategies can aid students in understanding what is expected of them in your class, work out kinks in technology, get students used to the format of your class and get to know you as their instructor.


Zero Week is NOT required, it is simply a best practice the CTL would like to share with you. If you choose to implement Zero Week strategies, your CTL is happy to provide assistance.

Why Zero Week?

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Zero Week Impact

In a study conducted by Albert Shank, SCC Faculty, over the past 4 years, implementing zero week, he developed two videos to orient students to the class and creates a 20-question quiz over the materials covered. The quiz counts as a quiz grade for the class, but if they complete it for zero week, they get 1 point of extra credit for each question they get correct. Those points are then added to their first test grade.
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Student Retention

The results show that students who participate in zero week will complete and pass the course. 6 out of the last 8 semesters have seen 73-100% of students who did zero week completed and passed the course.
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Student Success

For 7 out of the last 8 semesters the percentage of students who did zero week and completed with a passing grade was higher than those who didn't.

Zero Week Strategies

Here are strategies and activities you can use in your classes for Zero Week.
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Technology run through/Testing

Take time to schedule technology run-throughs so you can make sure that students can log in and their technology works. Doing this prior to the class start will save time during your live classes.
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Orientation Video & Quiz

Providing an orientation video that explains how students can navigate through your class and a quiz that covers the key points will help your students remember the most important parts of your orientation and will help them understand the design of your course.
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SmarterMeasure Activity

SmarterMeasure is an online readiness quiz that is provided to students in the Online Learning Essentials (OLE) course. You can direct students to the OLE and then have students reflect on the results of survey. Here is an assignment prompt you can provide for your students.
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Low-risk Assessment

Providing a low-risk assessment that is representative of your style of assessment/assignment can help students know what to expect and expose them to your instructional style and introductory content.
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Instructor Contact Activity

You can ask students to contact their instructor via the Canvas messaging system, in order to set up a meeting by phone or web-conferencing. This brief meeting can provide an opportunity for students to connect with the instructor in a tangible way.

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Incentivizing Zero Week

Providing extra credit is a great incentive for participation in zero week activities. One technique is to apply the extra credit points to the first major exam or project. This can provide extra confidence for the student.

Do's & Don'ts

Do’s

  • Send an email or Canvas Message to students letting them know about Zero Week. Here is a sample email you can use.

  • If you would like, you can offer extra credit to students. If you do, you should make the extra credit available for all students even if they do not participate prior to the class start date.



Don’ts

  • Do not make zero week activities required, they should be optional as they are prior to the class’ official start date.

  • If you decide to implement zero week activities, do not overextend yourself, be sure to make this something you can manage.