CTL Happenings - Message #532

Are you interested in redesigning your course or modifying your program’s curriculum to improve student learning experiences? Apply for a Curriculum Enhancement Grant (CEG) to get funds, technical and instructional support, and dedicated time to implement your project! CEG proposals can focus on course and curricular enhancements for inclusive and equitable student learning experiences using innovative pedagogies, technology, or high-impact practices like Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences or ePortfolios. Proposal submissions are due by January 31, 2022. Read RFP and submit a proposal.

The IUPUI Faculty Council Technology Committee and UITS Learning Technologies are partnering to host “listening sessions” to learn more about faculty members’ needs, identify gaps, and ideate probable solutions with technology tools and services for teaching and learning at IU. Multiple 45-minute Zoom sessions will be held the first two weeks in February and instructors of all ranks are invited to participate.

Please register for your preferred session online. Zoom connection information will be sent via email after registration submission.

Cooper, K. M., Schinske, J. N., & Tanner, K. D. (2021). Reconsidering the share of a think–pair–share: Emerging limitations, alternatives, and opportunities for research. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 20(1), fe1.

Think-pair-share is a widely used evidence-based teaching strategy to promote student engagement with content and their peers. But is this activity truly inclusive and equitable for all students? Can it have unintended consequences for student learning experiences? Read this article to reflect on common assumptions about its benefits, potential issues with inclusion and equity, and how you can modify it to address these issues.

Faculty who seek to refine and promote their teaching efforts may document their work through the development of a teaching portfolio, a site where faculty engage in reflective practice to measure the effectiveness of, and to refine, their teaching practices. This webinar introduces faculty to the teaching portfolio and to the several interrelated tasks that yield the teaching portfolio's elements: developing a teaching philosophy, identifying specific teaching practices to explore, document, and to improve, situating an identified teaching practices in an appropriate context, and collecting and evaluating evidence of teaching and learning.

As IUPUI continues the process of reviewing general education courses, course coordinators or faculty responsible for preparing course dossiers for review may have questions about the information and materials that need to go into the dossiers. This webinar will provide an overview of the course review process, course dossier requirements, and the rubric that will be used to review the course dossiers. It will also address the option for preparing a simplified course dossier based on using a Mile Marker assignment. Examples from existing course dossiers will be incorporated into the webinar. Questions and discussion will be encouraged.

Matthew Brennan is a PhD candidate in the Indiana University School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering. His research involves the application of technologies, particularly virtual reality, in humanities fields such as art and architectural history, and the design and investigation of virtual experiences. This talk will cover the design and creation of virtual reality experiences for use in an Italian Renaissance Art History course taught at IUPUI. Two separate strategies for operationalization of the VR experiences, and lessons learned, will be discussed as well.

A teaching philosophy presents a faculty member’s reflection on the experiences and beliefs that shape his or her teaching and learning strategies. Often used as part of a job application, a promotion and tenure dossier, a teaching award nomination, or course syllabi, a teaching philosophy captures and documents a teacher’s values and aspirations in teaching. This webinar will review one model for structuring a teaching philosophy and will also examine some example philosophies. Webinar participants will take the first steps in articulating their teaching philosophy; those who have already begun to craft a philosophy will have an opportunity to continue that work. This webinar is the 1st webinar in a 3-webinar series designed to introduce faculty and graduate students to the process of creating, refining and documenting one’s teaching practices.

Have you ever had the experience of reading your end-of-semester student evaluations and found yourself surprised by the comments? You don’t have to wait until the end of the semester to find out how students feel the course is going! Gathering mid-semester feedback helps students feel like they are being heard and gives you useful information that allows you to make improvements and address concerns in the current class. In this webinar, we will discuss a variety of ways to gather mid-semester feedback including surveys, focus groups, and classroom assessment techniques, and respond to what your students say.

Diversity and inclusion play an important role in promoting student learning. Today’s college students are increasingly diverse compared to prior generations. Traditional teaching strategies have also been shown to lead to lower academic achievement for underserved students compared to majority students even when differences in GPA and other factors are controlled for. By considering the diversity of the classroom and implementing equitable teaching strategies, instructors can increase student learning and sense of belonging for all students, not just those who are underserved. In this webinar, participants will learn how to leverage student diversity and incorporate inclusive teaching strategies in their classrooms. Questions and discussion will be encouraged.

Each semester, the Faculty Forum offers writing groups that provide encouragement, accountability, and a sense of community for faculty and staff. Participants will meet on Zoom for two hours each week. In the first 15 minutes of the meeting, participants will discuss a writing - related topic and share session writing goals.

The remaining time is spent quietly writing, and there are two options:
      1. Tuesdays 10:00 a.m. - noon
      2. Wednesdays 10:00 a.m. - noon (members of the Wednesday group can participate online or in person at The Faculty Crossing at IUPUI)

The Tuesday writing group session began January 4 and the Wednesday section began January 5. You can join anytime throughout the semester.
Membership is open to IUPUI, IUPUC, and IU Fort Wayne faculty and staff of all ranks, appointments, and disciplines.

For more information and registration or contact faccross@iupui.edu.

Getting Started with eText workshops - Jan. 7 - Feb 17

ePortfolio Studio at IUPUI, your hub ePortfolio support! now open.

Academy of Teaching Scholars: Intro to Educational Research - Jan. 26

Expanding Access to Higher Education through the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program - Jan. 26

University Library is seeking nominations for the Open Education Award by Feb.14 

Applications being accepted for The Bantz-Petronio Translating Research Into Practice Faculty Award - deadline Feb.28

The ePortfolio Symposium, hosted online - Fri., April 8, 2022