CTL Happenings - Message #505

The CHAT Room is a virtual, informal space where faculty can gather to discuss timely topics related to teaching. There will be a different topic each month, offered two days/times to make it possible for more faculty to participate. Each one-hour CHAT Room discussion will have a faculty facilitator and a CTL host. At the beginning of the session, the facilitator will talk briefly about the topic and facilitate open discussion for the remainder of the hour. Following the facilitated discussion, a CTL host will direct the participants to resources pertaining to the topic. The discussions are scheduled for the first week of each month on Tuesdays, 10:30 -11:30 a.m. and Wednesdays, 1:30 - 2:30 p.m.

Spring 2021 Dates and Topics:

January 5, 6:  Is it really just busywork? David Sabol (English), Facilitator; Lisa Contino, CTL Host, Register for Jan 5 or Register for Jan 6
February 2, 3:  How do students experience my course?  Darrell Nickolson (Engineering), Facilitator; Terri Tarr, CTL Host, Register for Feb 2 or Register for Feb 3
March 2, 3: Rigor, flexibility – why not both? Carrie Hagan (Law), Facilitator; Andi Strackeljahn, CTL Host, Register for Mar 2 or Register for Mar 3
April 6, 7:  How do my blind spots impact my teaching? Jessica Alexander, CTL Host, Register for Apr 6 or Register for Apr 7

Three new Small Teaching Online Faculty Learning Communities (5 sessions each) will begin the last week of January, 2021. The goals are to strengthen community among teaching colleagues, increase confidence and skill in applying online and general teaching strategies, and provide an opportunity to document professional development in teaching. Flower Darby’s book, Small Teaching Online: Applying Learning Science in Online Classes will serve as a guide to generate reflection and discussion. Each FLC will be capped at 10 participants.

Faculty may register for one of the following  FLCs:

1. Begins Tuesday, January 26, 12:30-1:30 p.m. Meets weekly for 5 consecutive weeks on Jan 26, Feb 2, Feb 9, Feb 16, and Feb 23. Facilitated by Aimee Zoeller. Register
2. Begins Wednesday, January 27, 10:30-11:30 a.m. Meets bi-weekly on Jan 27, Feb 10, Feb 24, Mar 10, and Mar 24. Facilitated by Lisa Contino. Register
3. Begins Friday, January 29, 11:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m. Meets weekly for 5 consecutive weeks on Jan 29, Feb 5, Feb 12, Feb 19, and Feb 26. Facilitated by Darrell Nickolson. Register

The Early Career Teaching Academy (ECTA) invites applications from full-time faculty members in the first, second, or third year of their appointments at IUPUI, IUPU Columbus, or Indiana University Fort Wayne. Faculty will develop their philosophy and connect it to evidence-based teaching practices, laying a foundation for a career of effective teaching. The program helps faculty transform themselves into powerful teachers who are rooted in a desire for student success through reflective and evidence-based teaching approaches. For more information and to apply.

The 2021 Curriculum Enhancement Grant (CEG) Request for Proposals is now open. The CEG provides faculty with technical and instructional support, time, and funds to implement projects designed to improve student learning and success at IUPUI, IUPUC, and IU Fort Wayne. This year we especially seek proposals focused on advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the classroom. The deadline for submitting proposals is January 29, 2021. Click here for more information and to submit a proposal. 

We encourage you to attend the Applying for a CEG webinar series to learn more about the proposal requirements, review examples from past successful proposals, and examine the components of a strong CEG proposal.

Are you getting ready to plan your winter and spring courses? CTL’s Just-in-Time Course Design online Canvas course is now available as a web resource for all instructors! This web resource is organized into five categories:

• Structuring and Organizing Modules
• Creating a Welcoming and Supportive Learning Environment
• Engaging Your Students Online, On Zoom, and in the Physically-Distanced Classroom
• Developing and Adapting Assessments for Multiple Course Formats
• Developing and Adapting Content for Multiple Course Formats

Each category features recorded webinars, online resources, readings, and hands-on instructional guides for creating course materials in the online, in-person with physical distancing, or a mix of online and in-person teaching modes. For more information, go to: Access the Just-in-Time Course Design website.

New active learning in Zoom resource
Just in time for the post-Thanksgiving-break-fully-online planning part of the year, the new active learning in Zoom ebook, Zoom to the Next Level: Active Learning in the Virtual Classroom, is now available. The book currently has 20+ activities with instructions and links to related technical documentation. 

Virtual Access to STC Computer Labs 

Faculty can let their students know that while they are away from campus, they continue to have access to the specialized software and high-powered computing of Student Technology Center (STC) computer labs using IUanyWare. 

STC virtual labs provide remote desktop virtualization through a personal device connected to the Internet. IUanyWare is compatible with PCs, Macs, and Chromebooks, as well as iPads, iPhones, and Android phones. For more information, see Access IU STC labs during COVID-19.

If you are interested in applying for a 2021 Curriculum Enhancement Grant (CEG), you should attend this informative and interactive webinar series! 

Webinar 3 of 3: Applying for a CEG Grant: Evaluation Plan and Project Logistics, Dec. 16,  will focus on developing an assessment and evaluation plan for your CEG project. In addition, you will learn about the expectations for the CEG budget, timeline, and dissemination plan.  

CEG proposals must be submitted by January 29, 2021. For more information, go to 2021 Curriculum Enhancement Grant,  https://ctl.iupui.edu/Programs/CEG.

This workshop introduces faculty and staff to the Quality Matters (QM) Rubric and to the QM Process. Quality Matters is a nationally recognized quality assurance organization for online course design, and the QM Process is a faculty-led peer review process that uses the research-based standards (criteria)  of the QM Rubric to certify online courses. Eventually, many online courses within the IU system will undergo the QM Process with the goal of achieving national QM recognition. Faculty may also use the QM Rubric as a guide to design online courses. And, for faculty who are interested, this course serves as a pre-requisite for QM's Peer Reviewer Course, which is a required course for faculty who seek certification as a QM Peer Reviewer, allowing them to participate in QM course reviews for courses created here at IU and at other universities.

The workshop is offered at IUPUI as a one-day synchronous Zoom workshop from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. with a one hour break for lunch. To receive the QM certificate of completion for this workshop, participants must be present for and participate in the entire workshop. 

Sign Up for Writing Groups is Now Open

Each semester, the Faculty Forum offers writing groups that provide encouragement, accountability, and a sense of community for faculty and staff. This fall, there are three ways to participate: 

Hybrid Writing Group  Participants will meet in person or on Zoom for two hours each week. In the first 30 minutes of the meeting, participants will discuss a writing-related topic. In the remaining 90 minutes, they will sit quietly and write. 

Online Writing Group Participants will meet on Zoom for two hours each week.  In the first 30 minutes of the meeting, participants will discuss a writing - related topic.  In the remaining 90 minutes, they will sit quietly and write. For more information and registration: https://facultycrossing.iupui.edu/WritingGroups, or contact faccross@iupui.edu.

At Your Pace  Participants in the at-your-pace writing groups will record their time spend writing in an online spreadsheet that is shared with the other writers. In addition, participants will receive a weekly email sharing a concise reading on a writerly topic.

The Polis Center at IUPUI presented findings from its fall 2020 Community Trends report: Health and Economic Impacts of COVID-19 on Neighborhoods during its fall SAVI Talks and Data & Drafts events. If you missed these presentations, you may download presentation slides here and explore the map. Related information is available here. 

Reinholz, D. L., Stone-Johnstone, A., White, I., Sianez Jr, L. M., & Shah, N. (2020). A pandemic crash course: Learning to teach equitably in synchronous online classes.CBE—Life Sciences Education, 19(4), ar60.

A professional learning community used an observation protocol to provide data analytics to instructors during spring 2020, when their courses moved online mid-semester, and faculty were able to see how student participation patterns changed with the new format. The article describes concrete strategies instructors used to equitably increase student participation in their online classes.