CEILS Monthly Newsletter | Issue #60 | April 7, 2020 | ceils.ucla.edu
Message From the Director
Dear colleagues,

Congratulations to you, your TAs, and your students for successfully navigating the transition to remote instruction this quarter! I hope you are doing well despite this unprecedented and difficult time in our global history. We are experiencing a new modality by which to host meetings, deliver courses, interact with students and with one another, and support learning and collegiality in an online environment unfamiliar to many of us. Thank you for your continued dedication to inclusive education and for your openness to trying to new educational technology. CEILS will continue to be here to support you in teaching remotely throughout the spring term and into summer. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us as needed.
Stay safe! 

All my best to you,
Erin Sanders O'Leary, Director of CEILS
Upcoming CEILS Events
Planning for a Remote Spring Quarter – Part III
Planning Your Summative Assessments: Rethinking Strategies for Evaluating Student Performance, Competency, or Mastery
In addition to sharing best practices for remote testing that disincentives cheating as well as the strengths and weakness of remote proctoring, we will spend time discussing alternative strategies to consider for remote assessment of student learning. We invite you to review the  checklist   currently in preparation describing recommendations from campus stakeholders across various disciplines.

Wednesday, April 8, 9-10 am
Zoom URL:  https://ucla.zoom.us/j/484567087 Meeting ID: 484 567 087
Video recording will be available on our website afterwards .
CEILS Virtual Office Hours - Offered Every Day of the Week!
Drop-in to our weekly Zoom office hours to get help from the CEILS team
  • Mondays, 10-11 am (April 13 alternative 3-4 pm) | ucla.zoom.us/j/413113312
  • Tuesdays, 10-11 am (April 21 alternative 9-10 am) | ucla.zoom.us/j/696520980
  • Wednesdays, 11 am-12 pm | ucla.zoom.us/j/522105128
  • Thursdays, 10-11 am | ucla.zoom.us/j/3108256126
  • Fridays, 1-2 pm (*for Teaching Assistants*) | ucla.zoom.us/j/338030007

Visit our website for more ways to join
CEILS Weekly Virtual Happy Hour
Fridays, 4:00-5:00pm | ucla.zoom.us/j/335629419 

Stay connected with the CEILS community- In place of the CEILS Journal Club, this quarter we will be hosting a weekly Zoom social hour so we can stay in contact and help support each other through these unique and challenging times. Grab a drink or a snack and join us to relax, talk with peers, share advice, and get support from others. We hope to see you there!
1:1 Pedagogy Consultations
Need help transitioning your course to an online setting? Schedule a 30 min. meeting for a one-on-one consultation with the CEILS Director or Associate Directors.

Email us at media@ceils.ucla.edu . Please briefly describe the help or advice you need and we will connect you with someone on the team.
Announcements
Check out the CEILS Remote Teaching Checklists!
A detailed checklist, links to resources, and suggestions on preparing your classes for a quarter of remote teaching

Learn more about alternative assessment tools including those that can be used to disincentivize cheating
View our website for more resources including recordings from our previous webinars:
  • Preparing for Spring Quarter Parts I & II (Course Design and Interactivity on Zoom)
  • Introduction to Gradescope, A Rubric-Based Online Grading Platform
  • How to Caption Videos and Add Interactivity on CCLE
  • Delivering STEM Labs Remotely
CAT Teaching Symposium
Teaching at UCLA: Exploring Approaches to Enhance Student Learning
 UCLA’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching (CAT) is hosting a campus-wide teaching symposium on Zoom. The goal is to learn from each other about teaching practices that can enhance student learning with an emphasis on remote teaching tools.

Save the Date: Tuesday April 14, 2020
More details to follow. Stay updated by visiting the website .
Featured Job Opportunity
University of California, Los Angeles
Executive Director, UCLA Center for Education Innovation & Learning in the Sciences (CEILS)

The University of California, Los Angeles is seeking an individual to lead a campus unit that serves all 13 departments in the Life and Physical Sciences Divisions. The unit’s mission is to support a collaborative community of instructors committed to teaching excellence. In the five years since its inception, CEILS has become a national leader in innovative science pedagogy and in approaches to increase the inclusivity of science education. The Executive Director would develop and implement a plan of activities to improve teaching, curriculum, and student success, annually develop and manage a budget to carry out the mission of CEILS, and supervise CEILS personnel.

Review of applications begins April 15, 2020.
For more information, view the full job description here .
Grant Opportunities
Deadline Extended:
OpenUCLA Affordable Course Materials Initiative Awards Applications

OpenUCLA is an Initiative created to help erase barriers that limit access to the materials and scholarship produced at UCLA. UCLA Library is offering the OpenUCLA Affordable Course Materials Initiative Awards for the 2020-2021 academic year in order to support and encourage UCLA instructors to create and use Open Education Resources (OERs) and low or no-cost resources as their required course materials.

Two OpenUCLA ACMI awards of $5,000 each will be awarded to eligible faculty. Each award will result in the development and release of an Open Education Resource (OER), to be made available on eScholarship.

Applications are due May 1st, 2020.
For more information, visit the  website and apply  here  .
Apply Now:
CAT Instructional Improvement Grants

The Center for the Advancement of Teaching (CAT), in conjunction with the Committee on Instructional Improvement Programs, provides grant funding to support innovation, experimentation, and development of undergraduate curricula and pedagogy. The goal of the Instructional Improvement Grant Program is to improve the quality of undergraduate education through pedagogical experimentation in areas such as student-centered learning, course design, diversity and inclusion in the classroom, and instructional technologies. The program especially values innovations that will have a lasting impact on undergraduate education.

Applications are due May 8th, 2020.
For more information, visit the  website .
Featured Teaching Resources
CEILS Website for Teaching Remotely A compilation of teaching suggestions, resources, upcoming events, and webinar recordings
CEILS Teaching Guides Several guides for best practices in teaching for both in-person and online courses
CAT Resources for Remote Teaching A resource page for remote teaching guides, tips, and resources for instructors and TAs
Student Resources for Remote Learning A compilation of resources for students to help them succeed during this quarter
Protecting Privacy and Security on Zoom The official campus guidelines on protecting student privacy and online security
Workshops for Online Teaching and Learning A summary of workshops and events happening on campus for faculty and TAs
Resources for Teaching Remotely: A Community Page A CCLE site with resources and a space to connect with other faculty
Remote Resources for UCLA Library Users Updates on resources and training available through the UCLA Library
Remote Teaching Resources for Grad Students and Post-Docs A compilation of teaching resources on- and off-campus created specifically to share with graduate students and post-docs
Additional Campus Resources: COVID-19
Planning for Academic Continuity
The UCLA Administration Planning for Academic Continuity website is the central hub for accessing up-to-date resources to support the transition to remote teaching. These resources are made available by a collaborative community of educators in teaching and learning as well as educational technology units across campus. We recommend visiting this website several times per week for updates.

To stay up-to-date with these resources and announcements, visit their website
Bruin Safe Online: Campus Communications Regarding COVID-19
Bruin Safe Online has created a site with relevant resources and updates on COVID-19. This includes an archive of recent campus communications from the Chancellor, Provosts and Vice-Provosts, and Deans on topics such as Zoom security, importance of community, mental health and well-being, changes to campus resources, student concerns, and more.

To view the list of communications, visit their website
Semel Healthy Campus Initiative
Social distancing and concerns over COVID-19 can seriously affect your health. During these challenging times, it's important to consider your physical and mental health. UCLA’s Semel Healthy Campus Initiative (HCI) Center prioritizes the health and wellness of students, faculty and staff. Semel HCI offers advice and workshops and promotes the “healthy choice as the easy choice” through its seven major thematic areas: BEWell, BreatheWell, EatWell, EngageWell, MindWell, MoveWell and ResearchWell.

To learn more, visit their website
National Webinars and Workshops
Webinar Recording:
Faculty Resilience and the Coronavirus
This webinar discusses ways that faculty can help find balance between the move to remote teaching and prioritizing their own needs.

Register to view the recording here .
Writing Studio Short Course:
A Partnership Between CourseSource and SABER

Offered twice this summer:

  • June 15-17th from 9:00 am - 1:00 pm each day
  • July 21-23rd from 9:00 am - 1:00 pm each day

In partnership with Society for the Advancement of Biology Education Research (SABER) meeting, CourseSource is hosting an ONLINE Writing Studio Short Course. The Writing Studio Short Course is open to instructors (including faculty, graduate students, and postdocs) who teach biology to undergraduate students and are planning to publish an activity in CourseSource. Participants must commit to attending the full Writing Studio Short Course, either the June or July session.

Apply here by Monday, April 20, 2020.
For more information, visit the website .
Upcoming Free Webinar:
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective STEM Department Chairs

April 22, 2020 | 1:00 pm PT

This webinar discusses the "7 Habits of Highly Effective STEM Department Chairs" developed in the bi-annual Physics Department Chairs Workshop and the Physics and Astronomy New Faculty Workshop series run jointly by the American Association for Physics Teachers (AAPT) and the American Physical Society (APS).

Register here by Monday, April 20, 2020.
For more information, visit the website .
Upcoming Free Webinar:
Transforming the Conversation about Teaching Evaluation in Higher Education:
Thoughts from the National Academies' Round Table on Systemic Change in Undergraduate STEM Education

May 19, 2020 | 11:00 am PT

This webinar will highlight some of the examples presented at the national meeting, themes noted by participants, and opportunities for further work that will bring these ideas to a wider audience that includes campus leaders. The webinar will provide an opportunity for participants to share ideas on what kinds of resources and events would be helpful to elevating and advancing the discussion of teaching evaluation, in particular how it relates to evidence-based instruction and faculty incentives and rewards.

Register here by Sunday, May 17, 2020.
For more information, visit the website .
In the News
Coping with Coronavirus: How Faculty Members Can Support Students in Traumatic Times | The Chronicle of Higher Education

Everyone is under stress trying to cope with the novel coronavirus pandemic, but students are especially vulnerable: They’ve lost access to their friends, their campus communities, and the structure and
rhythm of the academic year. Seniors are mourning the traditions and rituals they will miss, and worrying
about what comes next — assuming they can graduate.Many students have additional worries, including how to help their families financially and how to transition to online education, sometimes in regions where access can’t be taken for granted. Above all, the virus continues to spread, and students worry that the health of loved ones — or their own health —could be at risk. This special collection, available online and free, includes some of the strongest pieces on how faculty members can help students cope.
How to Recover the Joy of Teaching After an Online Pivot | ChronicleVitae

In the first few weeks of the pandemic, a lot of faculty members were rushing out of their comfort zone, moving their face-to-face courses online, and figuring out how to teach from home with kids and pets. As head of a teaching center on their campus, author Flower Darby was seeing many of their earnest colleagues overcome their nerves and experiment with unfamiliar modes of instruction. They are excitedly posting their first attempts at recording mini-video lectures and drafting syllabus statements of flexibility and support for students. But how long will that fizz last? After all, many faculty members are sacrificing much of what they love about their chosen vocation. At some point, they will need time to mourn the loss of spring 2020.
Accessibility Suffers During Pandemic | Inside Higher Ed

In the quick shift by colleges from in-person to online instruction in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the needs of students with disabilities can sometimes be overlooked. Students who are deaf or hard of hearing, have low vision or are blind, those with learning disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or a physical disability that requires use of a computer keyboard instead of a mouse, students with mental illnesses or various other challenges, have been put on the backburner “en masse,” as instructors scramble to transfer two months' worth of teaching content to a digital format, said Cyndi Wiley, digital accessibility coordinator for Iowa State University’s Information Technology Services.
"Zoombombing" Becomes a Dangerous Organized Effort | The New York Times

In recent weeks, as schools, businesses, support groups and millions of individuals have adopted Zoom as a meeting platform in an increasingly remote world, reports of “Zoombombing” or “Zoom raiding” by uninvited participants have become frequent. While those incidents may have initially been regarded as pranks or trolling, they have since risen to the level of hate speech and harassment, and even commanded the attention of the F.B.I. The weaponization of Zoom — a videoconferencing app that has become a de facto social platform for the coronavirus era — is the latest development in the story of online abuse, the kind playing out on social networks and darker, unmoderated corners of the internet.
CIRTL - Graduate Students and Postdocs
Attention UCLA Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Scholars!

The Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL) is a national network providing graduate students and postdoctoral scholars with online training on evidence based teaching and professional development opportunities.

UCLA is a member of CIRTL, giving graduate students and postdoctoral scholars access to all CIRTL online programing across the network, as well as local learning communities and opportunities for professional development on campus. We also have a separate newsletter specifically for our CIRTL@UCLA community where we share information most relevant to graduate students and postdoctoral scholars. Subscribe to the CIRTL newsletter here .

Learn more about CIRTL@UCLA and get connected: https://cirtl.ceils.ucla.edu/
Job Opportunities
Executive Director of CEILS
University of California, Los Angeles
► Please see posting details here .


Senior Consultant for the Center of Teaching and Learning
University of California, Berkeley
► Please see posting details here .


Director of Biological Sciences Undergraduate Programs
Carnegie Mellon University
► Please see posting details here .


Research Associate, Chemistry Education
University of Utah
► Please see posting details here .


Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology
Emory University
► Please see posting details here .


Lecturer in Introductory Biology
University of Rhode Island
► Please see posting details here .


Professor of Inclusive Biology Education 
Lawrence University
► Please see posting details here .


Teaching Faculty in Plant Biology and Physiology
Simon Fraser University
► Please see posting details here .


Teaching Faculty in Genetics and Microbiology
Simon Fraser University
► Please see posting details here .


Assistant/Associate Professor of Biochemistry
Marian University
► Please see posting details here .


Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
Marian University
► Please see posting details here .
Academic Coordinator in Division of Biological Sciences Student Programs
University of California, San Diego
► Please see posting details here .


Associate Director of Assessment & Evaluation
Stanford University
► Please see posting details here .


Vice President for Academic Affairs
Tarrant County College
► Please see posting details here .


Managing Director of Online Programs
Arizona State University
► Please see posting details here .


Instructional Designer
Georgetown University
► Please see posting details here .


Assistant Professor (Lecturer)
University of Utah
► Please see posting details here .


Assistant Professor in Biology Education Research
Arizona State University
► Pleas e see posting details here .


Instructor of Biochemistry
Carleton University
► Please see posting details here .


Instructor in Physics
Oregon State University
► Please see posting details here .


Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology
Davidson College
► Please see posting details here .


Tenure-Track Instructor in Biology / Molecular Biology
Utah Valley University
► Please see posting details here .


Assistant Professor of Environment and Ecological Sciences
Marian University
► Please see posting details here .
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Connect with UCLA's Center
for Education Innovation &
Learning in the Sciences
For more information about CEILS events and resources, including a list of STEM education events from previous mailers, please visit the CEILS website at  www.ceils.ucla.edu  or stop by our CEILS office in 222 Hershey Hall.  If you wish to be added to the CEILS mailing list for future newsletters and special announcements, please send your request to  media@ceils.ucla.edu .

Please note, this monthly newsletter is circulated through many departmental listservs. Most other CEILS correspondence, including special event announcements and reminders, are sent to CEILS mailing list recipients only. Thanks!